There were only two months left in the sixteenth year of Jiajing, and the imperial edict to posthumously honor Emperor Xingxian cast a layer of gloom over the court.
Qin Dewei didn't want to be in the limelight, so he fell into dawdling mode again. His only job was to supervise the revision and compilation of "Huang Ming Bao Xun".
However, celebrities like Qin Dewei will always find themselves in the limelight.
On this day, Bachelor Qin went to the Hanlin Academy to check in, gave Xu Gu and Zhao Zhenji some prodding, and then took the newly published manuscript and prepared to go home to "review and copy".
Suddenly, Academician Wen, who was in charge of the academy, sent off his servants and asked Academician Qin to come over and talk.
Academician Wen didn't know what he was feeling, so he said to Qin Dewei in a complicated tone: "You are in trouble again!"
Qin Dewei was puzzled. After he came back from Nanjing, he worked at two o'clock every day, clocked in seriously, fished honestly, and was indifferent to fame and fortune. How could he still get into trouble?
Then I heard Scholar Wen continue to say: "Someone is going to criticize you for your academic pedantry!"
Qin Dewei was stunned at first, then rubbed his hands a little excitedly and said, "Oh, some people actually think that I am academic?"
In this era, the word "academic" is not used indiscriminately. Generally speaking, most scholars are called "learned". Those who dare to call themselves "academic" are those who are experts in classics and righteousness.
Academician Wen was speechless, what the hell is your Qin Dewei's "very glorious" reaction?
Qin Dewei asked urgently: "Senior Wen, tell me quickly, how was the impeachment carried out?"
Academician Wen then replied: "The main reason is that you are taking the Nanzhili Township Examination this time, and many of the students' answers are based on the principles of Qi Xue, so some people are impeaching you..."
Although this kind of thing happened, Qin Dewei didn't think it was big, mainly because the impeachment could not hurt his fundamental health.
Therefore, Academician Qin only defended himself for a few times and then let it go. Besides, quarreling about Confucian academics was not his strong point.
Moreover, when the emperor wants to cause trouble, getting too entangled in ideological issues will lead to getting burned.
But for some unknown reason, the supporters of Yangming’s theory of mind jumped out and quarreled with the “Neo-Confucian fundamentalists” who impeached Qin Dewei.
Qin Dewei, the person involved, stayed out of the matter and watched dumbfounded as the battle between Xinxue and Neo-Confucianism continued for another month.
The two sides have been quarreling since Qin Dewei won the first prize, and they are still quarreling almost three years ago.
Until the end of the year, Emperor Jiajing suddenly issued an edict declaring Xin Xue to be a pseudo-science. In recent years, the academic master Zhan Ruoshui, who had turned to Xin Xue, was transferred to Nanjing.
Qin Dewei didn't know much about the history of academic thought, so he didn't understand why Emperor Jiajing banned the study of the mind, but a few years later, Xu Jie, a great scholar, could openly gather people in the capital to talk about the study of the mind.
Another major event before the end of the year is that the new posthumous title for Emperor Jiajing's father has been drawn up, from "Emperor Xingxian" to "Emperor who knows the sky and guards the way, Hong Deyuan, benevolent, broad, Mu pure, respectful, frugal and respectful of literature".
Just as Qin Dewei expected, he followed the posthumous title template of normal emperors from his ancestors.
Many ministers hope that Emperor Jiajing can stop here and stop tormenting his father.
In fact, Emperor Jiajing has indeed paused it now. Firstly, because the next few months are the Spring Festival and the imperial examination time, the timing is not right; secondly, because the happy event of his biological mother, the Empress Dowager Jiang, is coming, so he will take care of this first.
After several years of construction, the Queen Mother's new palace, which demonstrates the emperor's filial piety, has finally been completed!
To the east is the Ciqing Palace of my aunt, the Empress Dowager Zhang, and to the west is the Cining Palace of my biological mother, the Empress Dowager Chiang.
As a filial son, Emperor Jiajing personally visited the new palace with Empress Dowager Chiang on that day, accompanied by Gao Zhong, the eunuch who was in charge of the project.
The group first went to Ciqing Palace, which will belong to Empress Dowager Zhang in the future, and did not make any comments after viewing it.
Then they went to Cining Palace. In contrast, Empress Dowager Jiang smiled brightly and said to Emperor Jiajing: "Gao Zhong did a good job!"
The Ciqing Palace over there is dense and rigid. It looks very tall and has high standards, but in fact it was built according to a template and is very uninhabitable.
The Ciqing Palace is comfortable and exquisite, yet gorgeous. It also has a small garden, which is very suitable for the elderly to rest in peace. At first glance, it can be seen that it has been very thoughtful.
Emperor Jiajing was also very satisfied and praised: "Gao Zhong is very good!"
Gao Zhong quickly knelt down to thank him.
Emperor Jiajing generously handed out rewards and told the eunuchs accompanying him: "I will reward you with fifty taels of silver for Gao Zhong, four colored satins on the outside and inside, and one son with brocade clothes to guard one hundred households!"
Gao Zhong kowtowed again and said: "I dare not accept the reward. There is only one thing that I can ask your Majesty to decide!"
Emperor Jiajing frowned and asked patiently: "What's the matter?"
Gao Zhong reported: "In order to build the two palaces in the past two years, one hundred thousand taels of silver have been transferred from the Royal Horse Prison.
Now that Qin Fu, the Royal Horse Supervisor, has repeatedly pursued me, I am so troubled and have nothing to do, and I have no money to return to the Royal Horse Supervisor, so I have no choice but to go!"
When Emperor Jiajing heard this, he shouted to his left and right: "Call Qin Fu!"
This Qin Fu simply didn’t know what to say, and the longer he lived, the more he went back! The money had already been given to the Empress Dowager to build a palace, and he actually wanted to get it back!
Then Emperor Jiajing accompanied Empress Dowager Jiang to continue to see the Cining Palace, and then went out after watching it. When they were resting outside the Longzong Gate, they saw the eunuch in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor and the Admiral Dongchang Qin Fu trotting over in a hurry.
Emperor Jiajing asked directly: "Tell me! Why did you ask Gao Zhong for money?"
The eunuch of Qin replied: "When Gao Zhong was in charge of the construction, the imperial eunuch lent him one hundred thousand taels, which he owed."
Emperor Jiajing rudely interrupted Eunuch Qin and said directly: "Then Gao Zhong doesn't need to pay it back!"
Eunuch Qin kowtowed repeatedly and said: "This is what I meant, I didn't want Gao Zhong to come back!
Unfortunately, the Chief of Ceremonies repeatedly asked the Royal Horse Supervisor for silver, but since I had no money in hand, I had no choice but to go to Gao Zhong to ask for the silver I owed him!"
Emperor Jiajing: ""
Gao Zhong pulled out Qin Fu, and Qin Fu pulled out the Supervisor of Ceremonies. This must be another conspiracy!
The Royal Horse Supervisor has the responsibility of managing the palace. Currently, he earns about 60,000 taels of silver every year, which is one of the sources of financial revenue for the palace.
According to the rules, these 60,000 taels must be handed over to the palace, which is why the Chief of Ceremonies asked the Royal Horse Supervisor to ask for the silver taels.
So if the Royal Horse Supervisor gave the money to Gao Zhong, of course he would have no money to give to the Si Li Supervisor.
Not long after, Zhang Zuo, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, also came over in a hurry.
He also wrote a counter-narrative: "Theoretically, the Royal Horse Supervisor should hand over the silver to the inner treasury. If Gao Zhong is short of silver, the Chief Liturg Supervisor can spend it and withdraw it from the inner treasury."
However, it is extremely inappropriate for the imperial eunuch and Gao Zhong to give or receive privately, so it is necessary to rectify the source and establish rules."
Qin Fu quickly said: "The Chief of Ceremonies is in charge of the affairs of the inner court, and the expenses are huge. If these 100,000 taels are given to the Chief of Ceremonies, I wonder how much will be left to the Holy Mother to build the palace!"
I thought at that time that it would be best to lend the money directly to Gao Zhong, as long as the Chief of Ceremonies would be considerate and the accounts would be offset.
Who would have known that the Chief of Ceremonies would not give up and even asked the Royal Horse Supervisor for some silver."
Zhang Zuo, the chief seal officer of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, retorted: "If you are not in compliance with the rules, you are not in compliance with the rules. How can you condone it?"
Zhang Zuo is a former member of Emperor Jiajing's vassal residence, and his qualifications are on display here, and he has the qualifications to speak rudely.
The Qin eunuch ignored Zhang Zuo, but said to Emperor Jiajing: "Your Majesty, it is clear! It is precisely because the eunuch gave Gao Zhong a quick loan that the Cining Palace can be completed half a year earlier than expected, so that the Holy Mother can celebrate the New Year in the new palace!"
Emperor Jiajing had a slight headache. This was not a question of money, but a question of grudge!
The Chief of Ceremony held back his anger and forced the Royal Horse Superintendent to ask for money, and the Royal Horse Superintendent also held back his anger and forced Gao Zhong to ask for silver.
At this time, Huang Jin, the eunuch who was closest to Emperor Jiajing and his companion, whispered a few words to Emperor Jiajing.
After hearing this, Emperor Jiajing couldn't laugh or cry, but he felt that it made sense. He spoke again: "Gao Zhong has made great contributions to the construction, and he has been promoted to the position of Royal Horse Supervisor!"
Others around were shocked. Gao Zhong was the censor of the horse, but what about Qin Fu? He was exempted from it?
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Qin's face changed drastically, he kowtowed repeatedly, and shouted miserably: "Your Majesty, forgive me!"
Emperor Jiajing stared at Eunuch Qin for a few times, and then spoke again: "Qin Fu has been appointed as eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of etiquette, and he still supervises the East Factory!"
Eunuch Qin's expression changed again, but he still kowtowed: "Thank you for your grace!"
The status of the Si Li eun in the inner court is equivalent to that of the cabinet in the imperial court, and the Si Li eun Bingbi is equivalent to the bachelor in the civil service, so he must have been promoted.
And according to the default industry practice, the role of Si Li Jian, Bingbi eunuch and admiral of Dongchang, is the second highest figure in the entire eunuch system, second only to Si Li Jian, Palm Print eunuch.
Although the faces of everyone around him were expressionless, their moods were shaken violently. This is really unpredictable.
Only the eunuch Zhang Zuo, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, was confused. This appointment was like a ghost!
Then he realized what he was doing. He must have been tricked by Qin Fu! This was a despicable and shameless sudden attack!
Emperor Jiajing nodded with satisfaction. If Gao Zhong owed money to the Royal Horse Supervisor, he should go to the Royal Horse Supervisor. If Qin Fu owed money to the Secretary of Ceremonies Supervisor, he should go to the Secretary of Ceremonies Supervisor.
As long as you use a little imperial power, you can solve the problem perfectly!
Then Emperor Jiajing added: "The Chinese New Year is coming soon, everyone should be calm!"
The palace is preparing to celebrate the New Year, and the same is true outside the palace. At this time, all the major yamen have sealed their seals according to the old practice, and have begun to eat and drink at the year-end banquet.
The Hanlin Academy was no exception. When Qin Dewei went to attend a banquet, there was a little book boy beside him.
Wang Yan, whose family was well-educated, gave him a famous painting and asked Qin Dewei to take his son Wang Shizhen to the Hanlin Academy to see the world and receive the highest level of cultural influence.
In fact, Qin Dewei wanted another painting from Wang Yan's house, which was not a famous painting, but "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". But Wang Yan probably wouldn't give it to him, so Qin Dewei didn't say anything.
He also remembered that he had promised to find a Hanlin teacher for Wang Shizhen to teach him. Qin Dewei brought Wang Shizhen with him today for the same purpose, to see who was more popular.
Originally, Qin Dewei proposed that Wang Shizhen simply become his teacher, but Wang Yan firmly declined.
On the way to the banquet, Qin Dewei's mood was as calm as ever.
As an old Hanlin official who has gradually gained seniority, what is there to be excited about when he routinely attends the party of his unit?
But the child Wang Shizhen was very excited, which is understandable. Any scholar, regardless of age, would not be excited if he could go to the Hanlin Academy to attend a party?
"Who will you see today?" asked kid Wang on the road.
Qin Dewei thought for a while and replied: "Mr. Ge may come, he is the biggest celebrity."
Wang Shizhen asked again: "Except Mr. Ge?"
Qin Dewei said proudly: "Apart from Mr. Ge, I am the only one! Others are far less famous than me!"
Wang Shizhen said a little shyly: "Actually, what I want to ask is, are there any big sisters at the banquet today?"
Qin Dewei: ""
This child is too precocious. He is only twelve years old during the Chinese New Year and already misses his elder sister every day.
Zhang Juzheng began to take the provincial examination at the age of twelve!
When we arrived at the Hanlin Academy, the banquet scene was still so cramped. To be honest, the Hanlin Academy’s office was not a suitable place for a banquet!
Chief Assistant Li Shi, Xia Yan, and Gu Dingchen, the three cabinet bachelors, also arrived, which was somewhat different from previous years.
During the Zhang Fuking era, the relationship between the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy was very tense. Cabinet scholars did not attend the year-end banquet of the Hanlin Academy to avoid embarrassment to each other.
But since Zhang Fujing took office, especially after the loyal and good Li Shi became the chief minister, the relationship between the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy has normalized, and the old tradition has been continued.
The cabinet and Hanlin have the same origin. On today's occasion, we only talk about our seniors in Cilin, and there is no superiority or inferiority.
Qin Dewei sat boredly in the corner, socializing boredly. Others started to sing, and Qin Dewei had no interest in participating.
Little friend Wang, who had come to gain experience, was very puzzled and asked: "When I was in Jiangnan, I heard many stories about Scholar Qin's deeds.
Whenever there is a banquet, bachelor, you often publish many of your masterpieces, which shock the world, and everyone who hears it falls in worship. Why is it that what I see today is completely different from the rumors?"
Qin Dewei then earnestly taught the younger generation: "Little friend Wang, please remember that poetry is just a minor way, and it is just a name. You must not indulge in it too much, because you will lose the big for the small."
At this time, eunuch Huang Jin came to the Hanlin Academy, which was expected by everyone.
This is an old tradition, and it is also the privilege of the Hanlin Academy. During the year-end banquet of the Hanlin Academy, the emperor often interacted with the Hanlin Academy to show that he was dear to the Hanlin Academy.
Only Wang Shizhen didn't know why. Just when he was about to ask Qin Dewei what was going on, he saw Qin Dewei abandoning him and running out.
Huang Jin announced this year's interactive content to all the poets: "The Cining Palace where the Holy Mother lives has been completed, and I have ordered you to write poems to congratulate me!"
Everyone looked at Qin Dewei and began to think urgently.
After only a short while, I heard Qin Dewei say: "Here comes the pen and ink!"
As a little book boy, Wang Shizhen squeezed to the desk and helped Qin Dewei study ink.
Qin Dewei wrote as soon as he picked up his pen: "Yi's virtue is ahead of the ancients, and his purity and happiness bring prosperity to the queen. The Holy Emperor is raised by the world, and Yao's mother is revered in her domain."
Yongsu's example for thousands of years has carried the kindness of two generations. When spring comes, the Phoenix Tower will fly, and the auspicious wind will surround the Dragon Gate."
As Wang Shizhen watched, her views gradually shattered.
How could the most popular and talented man in the south of the Yangtze River be like this? What kind of stuff is he writing about?
The idol collapsed
Qin Xueshi wrote a complete poem, which was very large and full.
Eunuch Huang collected the poem and saw that others were still composing it, so he asked a young eunuch to take Qin Dewei's poem and send it to the palace first.
Anyway, it is quite large, so Your Majesty can enjoy it for a while.
Everyone sighed secretly, and it was Qin Dewei who took the lead again. Although he didn't know the quality, but it was so fast and plentiful, others could not match it.
Wang Shizhen couldn't help but ask: "Scholar Qin, didn't you say you shouldn't indulge in poetry too much?"
Qin Dewei replied calmly: "I am not overly obsessed with poetry. I just do it casually, unlike you people who have to think hard when writing poems."
Wang Shizhen said sincerely: "No wonder my father taught me that if I want to live a long life, I must not imitate the words of Bachelor Qin."
Qin Dewei touched the head of little boy Wang and said kindly: "You'd better learn a little bit, so as not to quarrel with others. After all, the trend will become more and more impetuous in the future."