Chapter 1498. Catch them all in one fell swoop (5).
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Like the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, Zhou Shangjing had also arrived at the Confucius Temple at this time, nominally to witness the public debate between the Jin gentry forces and the Huangzhuang forces, and by the way to assist the seventh prince Zhu Hejian in stabilizing the order during the debate between the two parties.
But only he himself knows what Zhou Shangjing's true intention is.
At least, Zhu Hejian didn't believe Zhou Shangjing's reasons at all.
Just a spectator and witness? How could Zhou Shangjing's stance be so neutral?
Help him stabilize the order of the debate? How could Zhou Shangjing have such good intentions?
In fact, Zhu Hejian would rather give up the opportunity to stay in Zhanyuan to watch and interfere in the tripartite joint trial, and must come to Confucius Temple in person to preside over the debate, just to guard against Zhou Shangjing.
However, Zhu Hejian delayed until midnight this morning before finally deciding to hold this public debate as scheduled. Therefore, there was almost no preparation on the Confucius Temple side. The debate venue still needed to be temporarily arranged, and the process arrangements for the debate also needed to be temporarily formulated.
The list of debaters for the Jin gentry force and the Huangzhuang force also needs to be temporarily determined.
As a result, there are too many things that require temporary preparations, and the public debate between the Jin gentry forces and the Huangzhuang forces will start at 4:00 this morning. Compared with the start time of the tripartite joint trial, it is only an hour later. Zhu Hejian can be said to have time.
Tight, heavy task.
Since Zhou Shangjing arrived at the Confucius Temple, Zhu Hejian also wanted to talk to Zhou Shangjing more and take the opportunity to test Zhou Shangjing's true intentions, but Zhou Shangjing quickly said that Zhu Hejian should get down to business first and sent Zhu Hejian away directly, while Zhou Shangjing himself
Stay in a secluded room in Confucius Temple to rest and recuperate, patiently waiting for the start of the debate between the Jin gentry forces and the Huangzhuang forces.
While Zhu Hejian was busy, he had been paying close attention to Zhou Shangjing's movements and did not dare to be careless in the slightest.
When an unidentified mysterious person hurried to the Confucius Temple, informed Zhou Shangjing of the latest progress of the tripartite joint trial in Zhanyuan, received the latest instructions from Zhou Shangjing, and hurriedly left the Confucius Temple, Zhu Hejian quickly received
According to the news, it was learned that Zhou Shangjing had just secretly met with a mysterious person, but the content of the secret conversation was completely unknown.
Zhu Hejian became increasingly uneasy, and quickly abandoned the matters at hand and hurried to the room where Zhou Shangjing was temporarily resting to ask for a meeting.
The room where Zhou Shangjing is located is a small study room in the Confucius Temple. The study room contains a large number of unique ancient books.
When Zhu Hejian asked to see Zhou Shangjing, Zhou Shangjing was standing in front of the bookshelf browsing these solitary ancient books, but he just glanced at them. After taking out an ancient book, he just flipped through two pages, and quickly put the ancient book back on the bookshelf, with an old face from time to time.
There will also be a flash of disapproval.
After Zhu Hejian made the announcement, he opened the door and entered the small study room. He happened to see Zhou Shangjing putting an ancient book back on the bookshelf, while shaking his head and sighing in disapproval.
After seeing this scene, Zhu Hejian was a little curious, and happened to find a topic, so he asked: "Zhou Shoufu, from the look on your face, this junior seems to be disapproving of these ancient books collected in Confucius Temple? But as far as I know, this junior,
These ancient books are the most precious collection in Confucius Temple. Many ancient books are even worth tens of thousands of gold. They are the result of Confucius Temple’s hard work for hundreds of years. Do you, Zhou Shoufu, look down on them at all?”
Zhou Shangjing sneered, turned around, walked to a round table and sat down, and waved to Zhu Hejian to sit next to him.
After Zhu Hejian sat down, he respectfully poured tea for Zhou Shangjing.
After Zhou Shangjing drank the fragrant tea, a complicated expression flashed across his old face, which was mixed with emotion, coldness, and a lot of helplessness. He said slowly: "It's worth ten thousand gold? It must be genuine! But I roughly
After looking through the collection of books, I found that at least 90% of the collection had been secretly replaced with imitations! Moreover, they were still full of loopholes, and even the words and sentences were copied wrong in some places. Such imitations are simply worthless!
"
Zhu Hejian couldn't help being surprised and couldn't help but ask: "You mean... the officials of Confucius Temple are guarding and stealing?"
Zhou Shangjing nodded lightly: "Not only is it self-stealing, but this behavior has been going on for many years! When I visited Confucius Temple ten years ago, I also stopped in this small study for a break, and took the time to browse through the articles here.
In the book collection, a large number of imitations had been discovered at that time, but after all, nearly 30% of the originals remained. Unexpectedly, only ten years later, less than 10% of the originals remained.
Hey! This is the Confucius Temple! The place where the incense of Saint Confucius is enshrined is one of the three major Confucian temples in the world together with the Confucius Temple in Beijing and the Confucius Temple in Qufu. It is also the office of the Nanjing Imperial College and a lecture place where students from Jiangnan gather.
As a result, the relevant officials in a place like this are all robbers and thieves, which is really ridiculous!"
Zhu Hejian was startled again and asked again: "Since Zhou Shoufu has already discovered that the relevant officials of the Confucius Temple were stealing from the temple, why didn't he investigate the matter strictly?"
Zhou Shangjing turned his head and glanced at Zhu Hejian without any explanation.
But after Zhu Hejian thought for a while, he quickly guessed what Zhou Shangjing was thinking, and nodded: "That's it! I understand, junior! The existence of the Confucius Temple is to win people's hearts and gather popularity, so that all scholars in the world can see the imperial court.
Respectful attitude towards Confucian scholars! Under such circumstances, if Zhou Shoufu investigated the theft of books from the Confucius Temple and let the world discover that the relevant officials of the Confucius Temple were all thieves, it would actually shake the imperial court's authority among the people.
Prestige will also arouse strong dissatisfaction among scholars, and the significance of the existence of the Confucius Temple will be lost.
When Zhu Hejian asked and answered himself, he seemed to fully understand Zhou Shangjing's thoughts, but a trace of sarcasm flashed through his heart.
Because Zhu Hejian knew very well that the reason why Zhou Shangjing had no intention of exposing the relevant officials of the Confucius Temple was because many of the officials in the Confucius Temple were Zhou Shangjing's cronies, or were from Zhou Shangjing's powerful base.
For the gentry class, investigating these officials is equivalent to investigating the "Zhou Party" itself. Naturally, Zhou Shangjing would not do such a thankless thing.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Zhu Hejian even secretly guessed in his heart that a considerable part of the many stolen books in the Confucius Temple had been dedicated to Zhou Shangjing by "Zhou Party" officials.
It became the collection of books in the Zhou Mansion, so Zhou Shangjing could tell the true from the false at a glance.
Zhou Shangjing may have guessed Zhu Hejian's true thoughts, or maybe he didn't, but he just said slowly: "That's right! This kind of thing is undoubtedly one of the stupidest behaviors in the world, but the vast majority of people in the world are incompetent.
They are all short-sighted people who cannot tell the difference between the root and the bottom. They only pursue their own short-term interests, causing greater harm to the overall situation and themselves without knowing it!"
While speaking, Zhou Shangjing turned his head and glanced at Zhu Hejian, as if he wanted to admonish Zhu Hejian, and even gave people the feeling of an ultimatum.
Then, without waiting for Zhu Hejian's response, Zhou Shangjing continued: "I did not strictly check the officials involved in the Confucius Temple for committing theft. There is another level of consideration... During the reign of Emperor Chengzu, our dynasty had already put all its efforts into compiling the "Yongle Dadian"
", it can be said to be a masterpiece. It is a collection of ancient classics in Dacheng and other books. A subset of the classics and history of all dynasties, hundreds of schools of thought, astronomy and geographies, yin and yang medical divination, and monks and Taoism skills have all been compiled in the "Yongle Dadian"
Among!
During the compilation of the "Yongle Dadian", the imperial court screened the world's collection of books. Only the ancient books included in the "Yongle Dadian" were considered orthodox books recognized by the court. Most of these books in the Confucius Temple were not included in the "Yongle Dadian".
The ancient books included in "Yongle Dadian" can only be regarded as wild books. They are not recognized by the imperial court and cannot be classified as orthodox. Even if they are old and isolated copies, they are not worth mentioning at all. It would not be a pity to lose them!"
Having said this, Zhou Shangjing stared at Zhu Hejian with his old eyes, and still said slowly in an ultimatum tone: "For the imperial court, nothing is more important than the word 'orthodoxy'! Only
Only by adhering to the word "orthodoxy" can the court control the people legitimately, and the people will willingly accept the government's governance!
The so-called 'orthodoxy' does not specifically refer to a person's identity, but the basic order that maintains the rule of the country. It is also the behavior method recognized by everyone throughout the ages... If you deviate from 'orthodoxy', you will go astray, and you will inevitably
You will receive collective hostility and contempt from all walks of life in the government and the public! You can achieve your goals by taking the right path, but you still choose to take the wrong path. This is also a stupid act that sacrifices the fundamentals for the sake of the inferior..."
Later, Zhou Shangjing finally returned to the topic and asked: "Let's not talk about these things for now... His Highness the Seventh Prince is here to see me at this time, but what do you want to say to me?"
Zhou Shangjing's inquiry was obviously asking Zhu Hejian why he came to see him at this time, and his tone was also kind and gentle.
But in Zhu Hejian's ears, he seemed to hear Zhou Shangjing's stern question - "I will give you one last chance to confess frankly. If you are still stubborn, don't blame me for being cruel!"
Zhu Hejian's expression changed slightly.
Although he has always been firm-minded, at this time he was still uncontrollably panicked for a moment under Zhou Shangjing's scrutiny.
But the next moment, Zhu Hejian had regained his composure again.
Of course, it is impossible for Zhu Hejian to confess his crimes to Zhou Shangjing. This approach undoubtedly leaves his fate and life and death in the control of Zhou Shangjing.
But Zhu Hejian will never trust Zhou Shangjing. He never trusts anyone. He only believes in himself. Not to mention that he now thinks he has a good chance of winning. Even if there is only one chance, he will definitely struggle to the death and fight stubbornly!
So, Zhu Hejian lowered his head and took out some pieces of letter paper, handed them to Zhou Shangjing with both hands, and said: "The reason why I came to see Zhou Shoufu is because the venue for the public debate between the Jin gentry and the eunuchs of Guanzhuang has been arranged. The specific procedures for the debate are as follows.
The details, as well as the roster of players on both sides, have been roughly determined...but I still want to consult Zhou Shouxiang's opinion."
A hint of disappointment flashed deep in Zhou Shangjing's eyes, thinking that Zhu Hejian had personally given up the last chance. He finally stopped admonishing and made up his mind.
But on the surface, Zhou Shangjing remained calm. He reached out and took the pieces of stationery handed to him by Zhu Hejian and looked through it carefully. He saw that the specific procedures and appearances of the Jin gentry forces and the Huangzhuang forces in the debate were written in detail on these pieces of paper.
List.
After reading for a while, Zhou Shangjing raised an objection: "His Highness wants the Jin gentry and the Guanzhuang eunuchs to debate outside the Dacheng Hall? Is the place too small? This is a public debate, and all the wise men from all walks of life in Nanjing will come to watch.
Witness, and there is insufficient space near Dacheng Hall, so I’m afraid it won’t be able to accommodate too many people.”
Zhu Hejian explained: "But now the situation in Nanjing has just stabilized, and the people are focused on buying rice grains, and not many people will come to watch the excitement. In addition, this public debate will be held as scheduled, and it will be Yinshi this morning.
Most people from all walks of life in Nanjing have not received news about the temporary decision. And because of the repeated changes during this period, I am afraid they have forgotten about this public debate!
Therefore, the younger generation predicts that the number of sages from all walks of life who come to Confucius Temple to witness this debate will not be too large, so the debate venue is arranged outside Dacheng Hall. The space is enough! In a certain respect, this is also a
It's a good thing. When the gentry and the officials and eunuchs are arguing with each other, they will definitely attack each other with all their strength and expose each other's shortcomings. The less people see this situation, the better..."
Zhou Shangjing shook his head again, half-smiling but not smiling: "There won't be many people coming to the scene to witness? His Highness the Seventh Prince is too optimistic."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Hejian heard Lu De's report from outside the study.
"Your Highness, students have important matters that need to be reported to you immediately!"
Hearing Lu De's serious tone, Zhu Hejian's heart suddenly condensed. After obtaining Zhou Shangjing's consent, he immediately summoned Lu De into the room.
After Lu De opened the door and entered the room, he didn't even bother to say hello, and quickly reported: "Your Highness, Lord Chief Assistant, the students have just received the news that a large number of Nanjing students have arrived outside the Confucius Temple.
, there are thousands of people, saying that they also want to witness the public debate between the Jin gentry and the Guanzhuang eunuch!"
After hearing Lu De's report, Zhu Hejian's expression changed slightly again. He did not expect that such a large number of Nanjing students would come to the Confucius Temple to watch.
Thinking back to Zhou Shangjing's statement just now, Zhu Hejian was completely certain that the appearance of these Nanjing students must be due to Zhou Shangjing's secret arrangement.
In fact, Zhu Hejian's guess was correct. The night before yesterday, when the situation in Nanjing was at its most chaotic, and when all the Yingtianfu Yamen officials were helpless, Zhou Shangjing sent someone to meet Yingtianfu Yin Jiang Qing and promised Jiang Qing
He gave some guarantees and asked Yingtianfu Yamen to gather a large number of Nanjing students in one place on the grounds of protecting young scholars.
Then, taking advantage of the large gathering of these Nanjing students, Zhou Shangjing sent someone to deliberately leak the news and let the students know about today's public debate.
As a result, these young students with nowhere to vent their energy and nowhere to express their thoughts must have gathered their friends and rushed to the Confucius Temple to watch and witness this public debate between the Jin gentry forces and the Huangzhuang forces.