The opening of the sutra feast in the orthodox dynasty is no longer as simple as teaching the emperor to read, but more like a kind of ceremony.

The honorable relatives, the cabinet, the six ministries and other important ministers of the DPRK and the central government were present one after another, plus the officials who were authorized to observe the scripture banquet, as well as various deacons, there may be no less than 100 people.

Does it take hundreds of people to read a book?

The answer is obviously no, these officials exist only to brush their faces in front of the emperor. and to prove to the outside world that he is now in the limelight and stands at the core decision-making level of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, there are a small number of people who can obtain the honorable title of "Emperor Master".

It has been more than three months since the last time Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen opened a sutra feast. Now that the sutra feast is held again, it is naturally more solemn, and only if the emperor is satisfied with the reading, will he continue to "go to school" in the future.

So the feast was bigger and more attended by more officials, no less than a small official ceremony.

It's just that what these officials don't know is that the more solemn and formal it is, the more it can arouse Zhu Qizhen's disgust and disgust for the scriptures. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager Sun's personal persuasion today, he would never have opened a sutra feast to disgust himself!

The hundreds of officials in the Wenhua Hall have been put in place, and according to the different positions and ranks, different groups have been divided.

The British public Zhang Fu served as the secretary of the feast, and his responsibility was to take charge of all affairs of the banquet for the consul general, and before the change of the civil fort, it was held by the honorable relatives, and later this position was held by the first assistant of the cabinet.

The knowledge of the scriptures and feasts belongs to the honorary title, which is similar to the meaning of the honorary president of a certain generation in later generations. The real manager is the Tongzhijing Banquet Officer, a position that is basically held by the Cabinet Ministers and the Six Secretaries.

And then there is the scripture banquet speaker, which is commonly known as the imperial teacher. Responsible for explaining the subset of scriptures and histories to the emperor, and was responsible for the officials of the Hanlin Academy or the priest of the country.

The participating officials below basically belong to the category of deacons, such as officials in charge of praise, security, etiquette, and so on.

Shen Yichen stood in a very special position, not standing with the ministers, but standing alone next to the imperial case on the opposite side, ready to turn the book for the emperor at any time.

Among the group of officials who are allowed to observe, Hanlin officials occupy a large part of the quota, and among them, the group of junior Hanlin officers in the duty hall are the mainstay.

When they saw Shen Yichen standing in the position of the exhibition officer, they were first incredulous and shocked, and then turned into jealousy and anger.

He and others served in the Hanlin Academy for three years, and finally obtained the qualification to observe the banquet, why did Shen Yichen, a member of the eunuch party, be able to get close to the emperor later, who arranged it for personal gain behind his back?

Among this group of Hanlin officials, there is Shen Yichen on the day he entered the office, and he used his official title to suppress Tao Hongzheng.

His eyes were red at this time, and his heart was full of humiliation. The official rank is lower than Shen Yichen, Tao Hongzheng admitted, this is a rule passed down from the ancestors, and the champion can directly give Hanlin the position of repair.

But the waiter lectures and feasts in the Hanlin Academy, but the emphasis is on seniority, why can Shen Yichen skip the steps of daily lectures, auditing, etc., and become an exhibition officer in one step?

Is his father a prince of the country?

Even if the country is powerful, it is impossible to put his hand into a noble place like the Hanlin Academy, there must be someone behind him to promote favoritism!

Thinking of this, Tao Hongzheng looked at Ni Qian, a scholar-in-waiting, on the other side. At present, Ni Qian is in charge of the Hanlin Academy, and Shen Yichen wants to be the exhibition officer, so he will inevitably pass through his hands.

Could it be that he was studying for a bachelor's degree, and he also fell under Shen Yichen's flattering power?

"Colleagues, how can Shen Yichen be the exhibition officer, don't you have any doubts in your heart?"

Tao Hongzheng was aggrieved in his heart, and opened his mouth to incite the Hanlin officials beside him, he believed that he was definitely not the only one who was not convinced.

Sure enough, when these words came out, the Hanlin officials who were listening began to talk about it. According to his qualifications, Shen Yichen joined the Hanlin Academy for more than a month, and was soon transferred to the East Pavilion to study.

In terms of achievements, there is no such thing, what kind of career can you do in the Hanlin Academy in a month?

Even in terms of identity, now Shen Yichen can't be regarded as a pure Hanlin official, why does he still occupy the resources of the Hanlin Academy?

From the beginning of the whispering, to the follow-up louder and louder, it has attracted the other courtiers who participated in the feast to keep looking at it.

"Silence!"

Ni Qian, who served as the lecturer of the scripture banquet, couldn't stand it anymore, and whispered a warning to the group of Hanlin officials who were observing.

Although the banquet was not as formal as the court meeting before the emperor came, such a loud noise still hindered the appearance.

I saw Tao Hongzheng standing up and arching his hand towards Ni Qian: "The younger generation has something that is not unhappy, and I hope that Bachelor Neihan will answer!" ”

"Do you want to know why Shen Yichen can serve as an exhibition officer?"

Ni Qian was not deaf in the discussion of this group of Hanlin officials, so he naturally listened to it.

"That's right!"

Tao Hongzheng was humiliated in public by Shen Yichen that day, and he had already had resentment in his heart. Now that I feel unfair, I don't care about any superiority and humility, I just want to ask Ni Qian for an explanation.

"Responsibility and persistence."

On this occasion, it was inconvenient for Ni Qian to explain too much, and he didn't want to explain too much.

The book "Universal Chronicles" was not specially left for Shen Yichen to compile. After all, no one has the ability to predict the future, and he expected in advance that this kid would be arrogant enough to intimidate the Hanlin seniors on the first day of his entry.

Ni Qian mentioned several times in the courtyard before, hoping that someone would be willing to take over the revision of this book, but no one answered. It just so happened that Shen Yichen was angry, so he simply pushed the boat down the river and threw this black pot at him.

Now in Ni Qian's view, this group of juniors all claim to be rich and talented, but they are just exaggerated and false.

In terms of responsibility, it is not as good as Shen Yichen, the so-called eunuch in the party!

What is a deed, regardless of the mind, isn't there a stark contrast in front of us?

Responsibility and persistence?

Hearing this answer, Tao Hongzheng felt incomprehensible, what Shen Yichen did could be called responsible and persistent.

Not to mention him, the group of Hanlin officials who were listening together were also very unconvinced!

On that day, Qian Xili, the bachelor in charge of the academy, and Zhou Xu, the bachelor of the waiter, had obvious favoritism to protect Shen Yichen, and now it seems that even the bachelor Ni Qian is no exception.

Could it be that once you are in a high position, you will be corrupted by the official office and will not be able to maintain the integrity of the literati?

Just when Tao Hongzheng was about to argue with reason, the officials of Honglu Temple shouted: "The Holy Lord has arrived!" ”

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live."

All the officials in the Wenhua Hall knelt down and bowed to Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong one after another, and bowed five times and three times, indicating that the feast was about to begin.

There are two experienced lecturers today, namely Ni Qian, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and Li Shimian, the priest of the country.

In fact, seriously speaking, the high-level leaders of the Hanlin Academy present today are not only Ni Qian. For example, the cabinet minister Gao Gu also held the official title of Hanlin Attendant Bachelor, and Qian Xili, the master of the academy, was also present.

It's just that one of them sits in the cabinet and the other sits in the ministry, and it is a bit too much to say that they still occupy the pit of the officials of the scriptures, so they have to leave some space for the people behind them.

From the moment Zhu Qizhen entered the Wenhua Palace, his face was expressionless. In addition to the requirements of the banquet etiquette, there is also the disgust in my heart, which I can't suppress and write on my face.

"Let's talk!"

The chanting officer of Honglu Temple chanted his life, announcing the official beginning of the sutra feast.

Shen Yichen hurriedly took a step forward, unfolded the four books on the imperial case for the emperor, and turned to the chapter on the content of the lecture.

Everything in the sermon was prepared in advance, so Shen Yichen's movements were not very flustered. But just when he was about to return to his original position after he finished it, he found that Zhu Qizhen's eyes were a little indifferent when he looked at him.

This look made Shen Yichen nervous, the emperor was the supreme existence in ancient times, controlling life and death and seizing power.

Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, once warned that nothing in the court could compare to the emperor's honor. When he was accompanied by the royal driver before, he and Zhu Qizhen had a very happy conversation, and the other party was reluctant to turn back when he returned to the palace.

During this period of time in the East Pavilion, I haven't even seen Zhu Qizhen's face, so it shouldn't provoke the emperor, right?

Could it be that this is his disgust with learning?

With a feeling of anxiety, Shen Yichen stood beside him and listened to Ni Qian, a bachelor-in-waiting, give Zhu Qizhen a lecture on four books.

Listening to it, Shen Yichen somewhat understood Zhu Qizhen's mentality of being tired of studying. Putting aside the year-round study time, in the process of the feast, Zhu Qizhen had to maintain a state of sitting upright throughout the whole process, without any small movements or distractions.

And the content of the four books is full of boring content such as "public world", "benevolent government", "inner saint and outer king", etc., which makes people doze off when they listen to it.

What is even more outrageous is that in the process of the feast, when the speaker talks about the "way of the sages", he will constantly exhort and admonish the emperor. is similar to a person with a strong "father's flavor" in later generations, who keeps telling you some big truths.

And the emperor can't refute and accuse, once this situation occurs, it means that it is rude and there is no respect for the teacher!

No wonder so many people want to be the emperor's teacher, in addition to the noble status, can the emperor be trained as if he was a grandson, can he be unhappy?

After Ni Qian, a scholar, finished speaking, it was the turn of Li Shimian, the priest of the country, to give a lecture. Perhaps in order to expand the multifaceted nature of the emperor's knowledge, he did not continue to talk about the Four Books and Five Classics, but talked about "Zhenguan Political Leaders"

"Zhenguan Political Dignitaries" is a political history book of the Tang Dynasty, which records the content of the political discussions with the ministers during the reign of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. It can bring good inspiration and experience to the governance of future emperors.

Compared with the boring Four Books and Five Classics, the discussion of history is relatively more interesting, but it is only a little.

After staying up like this for an hour or two, when Shen Yichen felt that his back was sore and his legs were numb, Li Shimian, the priest of the country, finally finished teaching, which meant that today's lecture was over.

According to the process, after the end, the British Gong Zhang Fu will lead the officials to kowtow to the emperor.

However, at this moment, Zhu Qizhen unexpectedly opened his mouth, turned his head to Shen Yichen behind him and asked, "Shen Qingjia, how do you think I am like Tang Taizong?" ”

As soon as these words came out, all the officials who participated in the feast looked at each other.

On the one hand, it was an accident to Zhu Qizhen, and he would ask Shen Yichen, a six-grade petty official. On the other hand, if you don't answer this question well, it's equivalent to sending a proposition!

Translated in modern language, Zhu Qizhen asked Shen Yichen how he compares with Tang Taizong Li Shimin?

Tang Taizong Li Shimin's status and prestige in Chinese history are simply without too many words, and he has almost reached the peak of the emperor in all aspects of cultural governance and martial arts.

In a sense, it is not too much to call it an emperor through the ages.

It is precisely because of this achievement and merit that many emperors in later generations took Tang Taizong as an example, and even the content of the banquet was added to the political history book "Zhenguan Political Leaders".

The emperor is said to be lonely and widowed, and his heart is arrogant, so he naturally hopes to become a generation of saints, just like Tang Taizong was admired by all generations.

In the Ming Dynasty, evaluating the merits of Tang Taizong was also something that the emperor often did, such as Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Ming Taizong Zhu Di, and Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji, all of whom had the experience of talking to ministers.

But the problem is that they won't compare themselves with Tang Taizong, let alone ask the minister how they are after the comparison.

After all, can it be compared, don't you have a little pressure in your heart?

Shen Yichen never expected that Zhu Qizhen would be so unpressed, and he kept this proposition to himself.

As for why it is a proposition, the reason is that the emperor asked, who dares to say that you are far inferior to Tang Taizong? Naturally, the answer is only one way to pat the horse.

Everyone likes to listen to sycophants, but everyone hates sycophants.

And if he can ask this kind of question, the emperor may not really have self-knowledge, once he chooses to open his eyes and say nonsense, he will be suspected of flattery.

It's too fake, and it will also be disgusted by the emperor.

I don't dare to say the truth, I can't tell the lie, and the ministers of the DPRK and China are watching, what is this not a proposition?

After seeing this scene, Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, glanced at each other with the cabinet minister Ma Yu, and the two sides instantly knew it.

It seems that the Shen Yichen unveiling post presented has worked, the little emperor is in a rebellious period, this son "negated" the achievements of the three expeditions to Mongolia in the northwest war, and "questioned" the effect of the second expedition to Luchuan in the southwest war.

It's just a big talk once, and the second time you dare to explain the policy on the unveiling post, it's simply self-defeating!

Now even if Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, is here, he can't restore Shen Yichen's impression in the emperor's heart, and this proposition is the best proof.

The audience was silent, and Qian Xili and Wang Ying both showed worried expressions on their faces. But due to the occasion of the banquet and the dignity of the emperor, they could not help Shen Yichen answer the question, and they could not answer this question.

It can only be said that a companion is like a companion tiger, Shen Yichen is still too young to comprehend what is called the majesty of the Son of Heaven!

At this time, Shen Yichen's mind was running wildly, thinking about how to give the most suitable answer. In fact, this question was not only raised by Zhu Qizhen, as early as hundreds of years ago, Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, did not ask the minister a lot.

At that time, a minister named Li Fang replied with a poem: "Three thousand resentful women were released from the palace, and four hundred death row prisoners returned to prison." ”

This poem cites an allusion, that is, on the eve of the Spring Festival, Tang Taizong summoned the death row prisoners detained in Beijing, and promised them that if they could consciously return to prison to serve their sentences in the autumn of the next year, then they could be released home now to spend the Spring Festival with their relatives.

As a result, by the autumn of the following year, hundreds of prisoners had voluntarily surrendered, and none of them had absconded. In recognition of the integrity of these death row inmates, Tang Taizong issued an edict pardoning their crimes.

The allusion itself is to promote the virtue and politics of Tang Taizong, even death row prisoners can be happy to surrender and be probationed, which emperor in later generations can be so "inner saint"?

Hearing this poem, Zhao Guangyi also understood that he was far inferior to Tang Taizong.

Li Fang could hint with poetry, but Shen Yichen understood that he couldn't do this. Because he already knew that the indifferent eyes of Zhu Qizhen that he felt before were not only disgusted with the feast, but also dissatisfied with himself.

In this state, he dared to bluntly point out that he was not as good as Tang Taizong, and he was definitely looking for death!

"Shen Qingjia, is this question so difficult for you to answer?"

Zhu Qizhen even had a hint of "grievance" in his tone, he hand-picked Shen Yichen's three yuan and the first, and regarded him as the future minister, hoping to create a peaceful and prosperous era for the monarch and the minister!

But he never expected Shen Yichen to disappoint himself, this son never really agreed with his own martial arts, and successively admonished the threat of Mongolia and Luchuan.

If the Tartars and barbarians can still threaten the Ming Dynasty, then where will they put the results of their several expeditions?

Today's question is that Zhu Qizhen wants to know what Shen Yichen really thinks in his heart.

Do you think that you are as wise and martial as Tang Taizong, or do you have no way to govern the country?

"Returning to Your Majesty, although Taizong is both civil and military, he has a loss in filial piety. And Taizong is good at pretentiousness, not as good as His Majesty's generosity and compassion for his ministers. ”

I have to say that some time ago, Si Cheng Xu Jiang's suggestion indirectly solved Shen Yichen's current crisis.

From the perspective of looking at the emperor, comparing Li Shimin and Zhu Qizhen, it is completely incomparable. Even if Zhu Qizhen has not changed his temperament greatly, he is still too far behind Tang Taizong in terms of cultural and martial arts in the ten years of reign.

Since it is impossible to compare from the perspective of the emperor, then you can only find the shining point in your personal identity.

Li Shimin's killing of his brother and forcing his father is well known to the world. Looking at it from the perspective of later generations, it is natural that there is not much feeling, and the position of emperor is occupied by capable people. But in the ancient environment of ruling the world with loyalty and filial piety, it was a stain that could not be bypassed, and Zhu Qizhen was not much of a problem if he was stronger.

The word "for goodness" was the evaluation given by the minister when Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, discussed Tang Taizong with his subordinates, and Zhu Yuanzhang did not refute it.

Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's words and deeds were the golden rule in the Ming Dynasty, which was irrefutable for absolute political correctness, and Shen Yichen had no problem using it.

And the two points of generosity and compassion for the ministers are indeed Shen Yichen's summary of Zhu Qizhen's human feelings in "Actual Records" and "Sermon".

After he succeeded to the throne, he released more than 3,800 musicians from Dufang, reduced more than 17,000 people from the imperial tomb, and disbanded more than 4,700 chefs from Guanglu Temple......

For natural and man-made disasters, Zhu Qizhen did not slack off and lazy government, and reduced taxes and disaster relief to be sympathetic to the people. And he also continued to eliminate redundant officials and redundant personnel, and tried to reduce the expenses of the imperial court, and he was not extravagant and wasteful.

treats his subordinates, Zhu Qizhen can also be called courteous. It's like even if he is extremely disgusted with the feast, he doesn't get angry with his subordinates.

Especially Zhu Qizhen's feelings towards eunuchs, Shen Yichen felt that they far exceeded the standards of his subordinates, and they could be called family concepts, just like Wang Zhen.

As for the abolition of the funeral and the release of the Jianshu people, it is all a matter of the Tianshun Dynasty, so don't mention it.

It can only be said that many times, people are not simply face-painted to describe, and the scores are treated at different points in time and at different stages.

At least the current Zhu Qizhen is really not a brutal and faint king, and the two praises given by Shen Yichen are not too sycophants.

There was no flashy praise, no false flattery, a simple answer, which was somewhat unexpected by Zhu Qizhen.

At the same time, he also noticed that Shen Yichen, who had been lowering his head according to the etiquette of the king, now raised his head and glanced at himself.

There was no panic in his eyes, no fear, and no so-called flattery.

There is only a kind of indifference, calmness, and sincerity left.

This glance made Zhu Qizhen have mixed feelings in his heart. Maybe Shen Yichen, who is uncompromising and flattering, and dares to speak out against the dragon scales, can become a real minister.

Advice is indeed contrary to the ear, but it is good for deeds.

"Shen Aiqing, I understand your intentions."

Zhu Qizhen nodded, he saw the true feelings in Shen Yichen's eyes, which was far more than 10,000 words of false obedience and praise.

All the emperor needs is loyalty!

As soon as these words came out, Hu Hu and Ma Yu's faces changed instantly. What they are looking forward to is to create a gap between Shen Yichen and the emperor, and it is best that Shen Yichen loses his holy family, so that it will not become an obstacle to supporting his own people.

But judging from the emperor's last sentence, there is quite a feeling of heart-to-heart between the monarch and the minister.

You must know that the attention and grace brought by heart-to-heart communication are far beyond ordinary saints and rewards, and Wang Zhen is the best example.

The little emperor could even kneel on the ground and cry and plead with the Empress Dowager for him, and disobey the current Empress Dowager!

In Hu Hui's view, no one can answer this question perfectly. According to Shen Yichen's previous style, he definitely developed towards subtle words, and even praised the emperor with flashy rhetoric.

As a result, he never expected that Shen Yichen's Dao to Jian touched the emperor's heart.

Hu Hui has gone through five dynasties, and he understands very well that it is definitely not an accident that he can do this, Shen Yichen is a son who has a deep emperor's heart, it is really not simple!

At the same time, Wang Zhen, who had been standing on the other side of Zhu Qizhen and did not speak, looked at Shen Yichen's eyes and became meaningful.

In the past, he just felt that Shen Yichen was very smart and capable, and he could be his good helper to make contributions and fight against the civilian clique.

But today, Shen Yichen let Wang Zhen see the overly smart side, maybe he wants to control him, it's not that simple.

After all, there is no one in this world who knows Zhu Qizhen better than Wang Zhen, and Shen Yichen's generous and sympathetic answers can be called the best interpretation of the emperor's character, especially for those close to him in the palace.

This son is intelligent, and he feels a little proud of the world.

"All the Aiqing have worked hard after the feast, I ordered Guanglu Temple to hold a banquet in Dongshun Gate, and the Aiqing should retreat."

The Imperial Wine Banquet is also one of the processes of the feast, and this meal is very rich and rich, and you can take it away if you can't finish it.

"Minister, thank you, Lord Longen."

Knowing the scriptures, the British Gong Zhang Fu led the ministers to kowtow and give thanks, and then prepared to retreat.

On the other side, Shen Yichen also planned to follow the crowd and exit the Wenhua Palace.

But at this moment, Zhu Qizhen's voice came from above the throne: "Shen Aiqing stays, I still have something to tell you." ”