In the carriage, Bi Maokang's expression was very complicated. He was angry, disappointed, panicked, and a little weird.
Zhang Jimeng knew that the teacher was a smart man, and there was no need to lie to smart people.
"How can we not know that students are preparing the way for the Linqing army?"
"Do you know what you're doing?"
In Bi Maokang's view, Zhang Jimeng is playing with fire. If he is not careful, he may be ruined.
Zhang Jimeng was also calm.
"This is the common wish of all."
In the political arena, only the top leaders can act according to their own ideas. The rest must act within their own sphere of influence.
Bi Maokang was stunned.
He originally thought it was Zhang Jimeng who was so bold, but he didn't expect there was someone else behind it.
Zhang Jimeng even said: "Teacher, haven't you noticed? The prefect of Dongchang and the prefect of Linqing both have profound meanings."
If he didn't say anything, Bi Maokang really didn't think deeply about it. After he woke him up, Bi Maokang realized that some people had laid such a careful plan unknowingly.
In the political arena, it has always been a habit to look at the top rather than the bottom.
Just because people go to higher places, water flows to lower places.
If you want to grasp greater power, you must enter the center. The peak of being a minister is to ascend the cabinet and become the prime minister.
Although the Ming Dynasty had many considerations for local administration, in many cases it was difficult to detect the fishiness in the appointment and dismissal of several local officials.
But unknowingly, the Donglin Party has taken control of the important town of Linqing. And under the cover of several chief officials, a weak ambition is budding.
"All the princes are gentlemen and have always taken it as their duty to be loyal to the king and serve the country. How could they do such a treasonous and unethical act?"
Bi Maokang couldn't figure it out.
Why do you resign and return to your hometown for a few years, and then come out again and the old man you used to be has changed?
Zhang Jimeng smiled bitterly, but did not avoid it.
"Teacher, we also thought that the new king would ascend the throne and everything would be new. However, you can see all the turmoil in the court today. What is the difference between this day and the past?"
Before Bi Maokang could say anything, Zhang Jimeng sighed.
"When all the princes were in Linqing, the young man once said something like this. He said that what determines what the emperor does is not the emperor's character and talents, but the chair under the emperor's buttocks. From ancient times to the present, there is no
An emperor will give up the power in his hands, and there is no emperor who does not absorb the flesh and blood of the world to enrich himself. Because the whole world is not the king's land. The emperor naturally regards everything in this world as his own, and naturally takes and asks for it, so how can he care?
All the people are wailing and suffering?"
Bi Maokang was quiet.
He closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
After a long time, he suddenly asked: "That young man was talking about the world, not the court?"
Zhang Jimeng recalled Zuo Menggeng's words and said: "He once made a statement. Changing his surname and changing his name is called the subjugation of the country. Humanity and righteousness are full of benevolence and righteousness. As for leading beasts to eat people and people eating each other, it is called the subjugation of the world. Know how to protect the world and then
Know how to protect the country. Those who protect the country must have their rulers and ministers, and those who eat meat must seek to protect the country. To protect the world, how can a humble man be held responsible?"
Hearing these words, Bi Maokang's eyes shone brightly and he couldn't help but wince.
"It's true!"
Zhang Jimeng was greatly excited to hear praise from Bi Maokang, and he quickly continued talking about Zuo Mengeng's remarks.
"The young man once said that countries are also different from each other. A country with one family and one surname is not the same as a country with all the people in the world. One is that the king owns his own property and ignores the common people; the other is that the family, the country and the world are all responsible. Today we should save
It is a country of all peoples in the world, not a country of one family and one surname."
Bi Maokang's blood boiled when he heard this.
Don't think that Zuo Menggeng's words are out of line. In fact, many of his remarks were made by Mingren themselves during this period.
During the period of great ideological change, society was filled with many thoughts and opinions, which were commonplace and not surprising to people at the time.
It's just that in addition to Gu Yanwu's superficial conclusion of the subjugation of the country and the subjugation of the world, Zuo Menggeng gave an additional layer of interpretation of the country.
He distinguished the imperial court, which the feudal king regarded as private, from the country, which was shared by all people, and also sought rationality for his actions.
Bi Maokang thought of something else, and said worriedly: "The people of Donglin are good at talking and neglecting practice, which is not an opportunity to achieve success. If you do this dangerous thing with them, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape the same mistake."
He was thinking of his teacher Li Tingji.
That's right, it's the temple elder who wrote the most resignations in history.
During the Wanli period, the Donglin Party wanted to elect Li Sancai and Guo Zhengyu to the cabinet. For this purpose, it mobilized public opinion and set off a war of words.
Li Tingji was thin-skinned and couldn't stand it, so he just wanted to resign and end things. He didn't want to be driven by Wanli and turn against Dong Lin.
As a result, Wanli refused, and Li Tingji was so angry that he moved to live in a temple, doing nothing but writing his resignation.
In five years, he wrote a total of 123 resignation letters.
Wanli is also a hard-hearted person, but he just won't approve.
In the end, Li Tingji collapsed completely and ran back to his hometown on his own initiative, accused of resisting the imperial decree.
What's rare is that he was not pursued by Wanli and was safe.
When talking about the court situation with Bi Maokang, Li Tingji was full of complaints about the emperor and the Donglin Party.
In addition to what he had seen with his own eyes over the years, Bi Maokang also felt that the Donglin Party was a top-notch rhetorician and was always good at making opposition, but rarely did anything concrete, so he had to remind Zhang Jimeng.
Zhang Jimeng laughed, but there was a hint of edge in his words.
"That Donglin is not this Donglin, or in other words, it is better to build a new Donglin."
Bi Maokang's hair stood on end when he was stimulated by the electric current. He had no idea that Zhang Jimeng and others were so ambitious.
But if you taste it carefully, this move is actually a great good.
Donglin is already rotten. If we continue to hold on to this rotten tree, we will not achieve any great achievements except decay.
Why not start a new one?
"So you abandon the center and focus on the local areas?"
The center is just a quagmire, and the emperor only plays tricks and has no overall plan. He can't do anything if he stays in the center.
During these days, Liu Zongzhou, Hou Xun and others exchanged letters with Linqing, and their words implicitly expressed their disappointment with the new emperor and the court.
Especially Liu Zongzhou, life was quite difficult.
Let Zuo Mengeng speak.
When Chongzhen read his memorial, he threw it aside and didn't take it seriously at all.
When Liu Zongzhou was the governor of Shuntian, in addition to rectifying the security of the capital, he discussed the government affairs several times but was ignored by Chongzhen.
This made him feel desolate and vaguely thought of leaving.
At this point, everyone suddenly discovered that leaving the center aside and operating a corner locally would allow them to have more freedom.
Anyway, the Ming Dynasty was in chaos from south to north, and rebellions and rebellions occurred from time to time. The imperial court's control over local areas was good at the provincial level, but it was no longer concerned about the state capitals below.
It would be unimaginable if three Donglin Party members controlled the power of the Dongchang government during the Wanli period.
But now, just because Chaoguan Wharf was repaired quickly and well, and the supply to the capital was quickly restored, the imperial court turned a blind eye.
Maybe the big guys in the center want to come, and the district magistrates, prefects and other small officials can make decisions with just a few words?
But I don't want to think that once time goes by, these people will take root deeper and deeper. If they want to move again, it will not be so easy.
The most important thing is that the big shots in the imperial court never thought that behind a few low-level civil servants, there was a military commander who was currently inconspicuous.
Now several civil servants are covering up Zuo Mengeng. Given time, when Zuo Mengeng is strong enough, everything will be reversed.
Bi Maokang returned to his residence and could not calm down for a long time.
The shocking scene of the new musket always echoed in his mind, and the young man's ambitious appearance was also frightening.
But at the same time, the turbulent country made him even more gloomy.
He has lived a long life and has experienced a lot.
It is precisely because of the many experiences that I know better that the problems in Ming Dynasty are really deep and hard to recover from.
In the past, he hoped to help the Ming Dynasty resist foreign enemies and internal invasions by building better guns, but it was just a little extravagant hope due to his powerlessness.
The Ming army in Liaodong was equipped with so many firearms, but in the end they were still unable to annihilate the Donglu, and instead retreated steadily.
Originally, he felt that firearms were not good enough and wanted to continue working hard in this area. Therefore, he was so happy to learn that someone had invented a flintlock gun.
It can be seen that he saw a weapon that was more advanced than a flintlock gun, but the young man's words wiped away his last extravagant hope.
If people are not good enough, no matter how good the weapons are, they are useless.
Tossing and turning in the middle of the night, unable to sleep.
Bi Maokang felt that he should find an answer.
An answer to solve this world, this people, this country.
The next day, he got up early and went to the rear camp alone without disturbing Zhang Jimeng.
He didn't know whether his actions were right or wrong, but when he saw no other hope, any faint light attracted him to pounce.
The military camp is getting closer and closer, and you can already feel the charm that is different from other places.
Groups of neat soldiers ran past the carriage in unison, kicking up dust and smoke like a tiger.
While running, the officer leading the team shouted loudly: "We have everything, get ready...sing!"
In an instant, all the soldiers sang loudly, and an unprecedented tune swept through Bi Maokang's feelings from all directions.
"I am a soldier...from the common people...the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers raised me...fighting for the people...I am a soldier..."
Bi Maokang had never heard such a song before, and the simple and straightforward lyrics were so evocative.
The army that sings such a song must have the common people in their hearts!