On November 22, the second year of Ming Liang, Jingshi.

A newspaper boy held a large stack of "Wen Bao" in his hand, waving it and shouting: "Flash! Alerts! Shen Gongbao, the first assistant of the cabinet, published an article "Public Servant Shu" to refute the seven sins impeached by Yang Ge Lao of the cabinet. ”

"Wenbao" already has an extremely far-reaching influence in Beijing, and this is the first official publication of Shen Yichen's article, and he still refutes the impeachment of his "powerful ministers", which undoubtedly drops a bombshell between the government and the opposition.

Hundreds of officials in the court, in the market, in the streets and alleys, in teahouses and restaurants, almost anywhere that can be touched, everyone is fiercely discussing the content of Shen Yichen's article, and for a time it has caused a situation of "Luoyang paper is expensive".

"I heard that the 5,000 copies of the newspaper that were printed overnight at the latest have been sold out, and now the outside of the newspaper office has been blocked, when will the second edition be printed?"

Yue Zheng asked He Wendao in a tone mixed with excitement and eagerness.

Originally, after he and Peng Shi discussed with Shen Yichen yesterday, they should go back to their homes and wait for the next day to be on duty at the Yamen. As a result, He Wendao expected that as soon as the article "Public Servant Shu" came out, it would definitely cause a sensation in the city, and there would be a scene where newspapers were in short supply.

So he simply left the two of them to help, and at the same time wrote two articles on the content of "Public Servants", further combing and explaining, so that the people can better understand what the essence of officials is.

But He Wendao still far underestimated Shen Yichen's influence, he didn't need to look at what the content was when he published an article, just the three words "Shen Yichen" appeared on the signature of the article, which was enough to make countless people bend their waists.

You must know that Shen Yichen is the leader of the Ming Dynasty, and his imperial examination articles have been cited as classics by countless people, not to mention the unprecedented "three yuan in the world, six in the world", even with pure curiosity, it is enough to buy a copy of "Wenbao" to see what is written.

"The second edition is already being printed overtime, and it should take another hour or two, and there is still enough to distribute to the state capitals, so I'm afraid it will still be a drop in the bucket even if it is issued."

"Wenbao" is not only supplying the Beijing Division, but the entire Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and thirteen provinces, and the current circulation is already the limit of metal movable type printing, and He Wendao has no good solution.

Listening to He Wendao's embarrassing words, Yue Zheng replied in an emotional tone: "The more people see "Public Servant Shu", then the closer it is to the teacher's ideal world, when officials are no longer rulers, the people can unload the heavy pressure on their bodies." ”

"And the Emperor!"

He Wendao added succinctly, he has realized the core of equality from Shen Yichen's "Public Servants". If the scholars were privileged beings from above, then the emperor undoubtedly surpassed the gentry.

"Hear it, be cautious."

Yue Zheng hurriedly reminded that at present, the teacher is already equivalent to an embattled situation to challenge the entire gentry class, and if the emperor is involved, it will really be difficult to gain a foothold in the court.

"Don't worry, I won't cause trouble for my teacher."

He Wendao smiled, now he dares to speak so bluntly in the face of Yue Zheng, and he will definitely not say such words in the face of outsiders, the proverb "the people are noble and the king is light" has been passed down for thousands of years, and he believes that it will be realized in the hands of his teacher!

Compared with He Wendao and Yue Zheng, the most devout "Shen Xue" protégés, they have gradually explored the core of Shen Yichen's concept, and the discussion of "Public Servant Shu" by other civil and military officials in the court is more superficial.

The court room on the left and right of the noon gate is the duty room of the officials of the six branches, so this corridor is also called the six department corridor. As the parties of Shen Yichen's Dao Qingliu Mission, they pay more attention to the content of "Public Servant Shu", after all, this article may be related to their future interests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, does Shen Gongbao's article define scholars as servants of the people, is it in line with Mencius's doctrine of 'benevolent government', emphasizing people-oriented?"

One of the household officials asked his colleagues in the middle of the incident that the concept of public servant was too new, and somewhat beyond the comprehension of traditional Confucian literati, and they could only rely on this set of concepts to rely on the doctrine of the sages to see if they could be explained by quoting scriptures from it.

In fact, in Mencius's doctrine, there are descriptions of concepts such as "people-oriented", "benevolent government", "royal road" and so on. The content of Shen Yichen's "Public Servant Shu" vaguely has some ideas of Mencius's doctrine, but it doesn't seem to be the same thing.

"Meng Sheng's benevolent government emphasizes the people's foundation, but it is not a reversal of the end, how can there be a scholar in the world who is a servant, it is simply a fallacy and heresy!"

Another person with a white beard was in the middle of the ceremony, and when he heard this question, he was simply furious, he had read the books of the sages all his life, and he followed the concept of the scholars and the Son of Heaven ruling the world together.

Since ancient times, there has only been a saying that scholars and doctors have been acting on behalf of the herdsmen of the Son of Heaven, and there is absolutely no reason for civil and military officials to be servants to the people.

"Zhang Zhishi said well, let's not talk about whether the benevolent government and the people are in line with the theory of public servants, and it is impossible for Shen Gongbao's style of acting to inherit Meng Sheng. You must know that Meng Sheng clearly opposes war, and once said that he fought for land and killed people; Fight for the city, kill the city. This so-called handsome land and cannibalism is a sin that does not allow death. ”

"Shen Gong Bao is poor and martial, and he has been in charge of the government and war all these years, how can he listen to the words of Confucius and Mencius?"

A Thirteen Dao Overseer stood up and echoed the concept given by the Ministry of Rites, and his expression was awe-inspiring.

But under the appearance of benevolence and morality, it is actually extremely hypocritical!

The reason why he opposed Shen Yichen's dispatch of Beijing officials so fiercely was that the power of supervising local officials sent abroad in the past was in the hands of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Thirteen Dao Supervision Imperial History was equivalent to the existence of "Qin Minister".

Although the Kedao Yanguan is a whole in the court, they belong to two completely different yamen after all, and there will inevitably be a fierce conflict of interest when they arrive at the local level.

To take the simplest example, in the past, when supervising the imperial history and sending them to the local area, the officials in various places were all flattering and tried their best to entertain and bribe. Now that there are one or more six departments for colleagues in the matter, it will be much more difficult to accept bribes, which is equivalent to an additional mechanism for mutual supervision.

Even if you take 10,000 steps back and send a few people to the same place to join the same stream, there is an upper limit to the benefits that local officials can come up with.

Supervising the imperial history is 10,000 unwilling in my heart, so that the six departments will participate in the matter and decentralize power.

Not to mention that in addition to the six subjects, Shen Yichen also plans to send Hanlin to the place, that group of people is really noble, and the future is immeasurable, it is quite difficult to win them over to fall together.

Just when the group of people were talking, an official in a green robe walked in, and after all the officials saw who was coming, they bowed down and saluted, showing great respect.

You must know that under normal circumstances, unless they reach the level of cabinet ministers, they don't pay attention to the regular three or four grade scarlet robes. After all, their duty is to pick up the thorns of high-ranking officials, and the more they are not afraid of the powerful and do not bend their waists, the more they can attract the reputation of the government and the opposition.

But this green-robed official is not an ordinary person, he is Ni Qian, the head of the Hanlin Academy, which is equivalent to the leader of the clear stream of officials. And according to the provisions of the "Daming Huidian", the Hanlin Commander is the only person among the five-rank officials who can skip the rank and wear the third-grade scarlet robe in accordance with the rules.

It's just that Ni Qian has always been low-key, and he has been obsessed with learning in the Hanlin Academy all the year round, not to mention these vanities.

"Xia Guan has seen Ni Zhangyuan."

Facing the greetings of Qi Shushu, Ni Qian also politely bowed back.

"You guys just had a conversation, the official stood in the corridor and heard something, and he couldn't help but have some questions in his heart."

"Is it really that important whether Shen Gongbao's concept is in line with Mencius's doctrine, and is it not true that "Public Servant Shu" itself is not people-oriented?"

Ni Qian asked the officials present in a calm tone, but there was actually a sense of anger in his heart.

No wonder Shen Yichen bluntly said that he didn't need a group of saints with high moral character, he only needed a group of officials who followed the rules to do practical things. Now it seems that this group of so-called officials are all abandoning their roots, sticking to details and words, and none of them really discuss why officials should become public servants!

In the face of Ni Qian's questioning, all the members of the group of scientific and Taoist officials present were silent, and they could be filled with a sense of moral and identity superiority in the face of other officials in the imperial court, but in the face of a clear leader like the Hanlin Academy, the most proud sense of superiority became worthless.

Moreover, Ni Qian's identity and knowledge are there, and refuting it means that there is the possibility of "discerning the scriptures", and whether he can distinguish it is still a point in the hearts of everyone, and offending him is equivalent to losing fame and fortune.

Seeing that no one answered, and no one even dared to look him in the eyes, Ni Qian couldn't help but sigh.

You must know that Shen Yichen had just joined the company, and when he was a pure newcomer to the Hanlin Academy, in the face of his own suspicion and distrust, he never escaped the gaze of his eyes, and he resolutely let go of his words and deeds, regardless of his heart, and his own descendants commented on the merits and demerits!

The more people he came into contact with, the more Ni Qian agreed that some people were destined to be extraordinary, and it was not for nothing that Shen Yichen could be ranked in the cabinet to be in charge of the Ming Dynasty.

"This official has been in the office for decades, and the most heard sentence is to benefit one party for the first term of office. In terms of heart, how many people have really benefited one party and put the people in the most important position? ”

"Shen Gongbao's "Public Servant Shu", this official also read it on the way here, and the content of the article can be described as word for word. As early as the pre-Qin era, Mencius proposed that the people are precious, the society is secondary, the monarch is light, and even the emperor can be subordinated to it. ”

The sonorous and powerful words resounded in the Six Science Corridor, and Ni Qian was not speaking for Shen Yichen in a sense, but for the sages of the past.

A thousand years have passed since the old era, and the new era should have come long ago, but the new generations are following the example of the ancients. It is no wonder that Shen Yichen emphasized during his lecture that the trend of history is constantly moving forward, and we should not hold on to what was thousands of years old, oppose antiqualism and insist on advancing with the times.

Looking back now, it seems that he has said it all!

There was still silence in the room, and no one dared to refute Ni Qian, or didn't know where to refute it.

In fact, if you think about it seriously, if you let go of your prejudice against Shen Yichen, his "Public Servant Shu" is indeed dedicated to the people. For thousands of years, the doctrine of Confucius and Mencius has long been gone, but the thinking of later generations has become more and more imprisoned, and even the concept of serving the people cannot be accepted.

The prince and the prince will have a kind of Xiangning, is the scholar really superior?

The people are the foundation of the world, and benefiting the people is the real responsibility of the world!

Everything that should have been said has already been said, Ni Qian calmed down his emotions for a while, and then added: "Before entering the palace this time, this official has already discussed with his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy about the dispatch of Beijing officials, and nine times out of ten he is willing to go through the hardships of the people, rather than live in the temple and talk about it. ”

"You are also a member of the clear stream of officials, and you yourself have the responsibility of ruling and reprimanding and refuting. How many acres of land are hidden by the pride of the Ming gentry, do you really not know at all? ”

"I hope that you can be worthy of the black gauze hat on your head, worthy of the teachings of the sages, and live up to the Son of Heaven, not to mention the expectations of all the people in the world."

"That's all there is to it, you can do it yourself."

After saying that, Ni Qian resolutely turned around and left, leaving only a free and easy back for everyone.

To be honest, with his character, it is not easy to say this openly. This group of science and Taoist officials can listen to a little bit Ni Qian doesn't know, he only knows that Shen Yichen's words can be summed up, the matter is man-made!

After Ni Qian left, there was a long silence in the room, and I don't know how long it took, finally someone broke this atmosphere and said: "Ni Zhangyuan is actually right, isn't our original intention to be an official just to govern the country and level the world?" ”

"It doesn't matter whether Shen Gongbao is in line with the sages of the past, what matters is what he can do for the people with the decrees he promulgates, and what we can do for the people."

"In the next place, I am willing to send the place to clear the acres of fields, and give birth to three points of the fields!"

As soon as the words fell, the young official arched his hand towards his colleagues, and walked out of the court room in a very dashing manner, his steps were unusually firm.

"If you live in a temple, you will worry about its people, and if you are far away from the rivers and lakes, you will worry about its king. After many years of being an official in the temple, it's time to go to the rivers and lakes and say goodbye. ”

Another person arched his hand and walked out of the courtroom, making the faces of the remaining Kedao officials present extremely complicated, they didn't expect that Ni Qian's words could bring such a big touch and change.

In other words, it is not Ni Qian who has brought about change, but Shen Yichen's philosophy of governing over the years.

"Brother Liao is high-minded, how can the younger brother be left behind, you all say goodbye!"

The third person answered, and walked out of the courtroom after him.

"Let's go, farewell!"

"I still want to go!"

One after another, voices rang out, and one of the officials in the room crossed the threshold, as if they had crossed the shackles in their hearts!