In the guest room, there are several sets of books, which are newly bought.

There have been several versions of "Tao Yong Strategy", and Zhu Ming's version has been changing, constantly adding new content. Chen Yuan returned to Nanjianzhou to teach students, and he was always revising.

The Tokyo version and the Shaxian version have half of the chapters that are very different.

There was also a castrated revision, and at that time, many sensitive contents were deliberately hidden in order to spread in Tokyo. With the fame of Zhu Ming's "Public Security Sparse", the castrated version was also listed as a banned book, but it was the most widely disseminated.

At this moment, the "Taoist Strategy" in Xiao Chu's hand is the standard version of this year's official printing of the Ming Dynasty.

This book is not a bibliography of the imperial examination, but some of the chapters are taken out separately as textbooks for the imperial examination, such as mathematics and physics.

After Xiao Chu became a scholar, he didn't seek to understand what books he read, but only understood the core idea of the book.

Therefore, his reading speed was very fast, and he finished the theoretical chapter of "Tao Yong Strategy" in a quarter of an hour, and said to his disciple Hu Quan: "This set of books is an elaboration of Gewu Zhizhi, which originates from Mr. Yi Chuan's understanding of Gewu Zhizhi, and exhausts the principles of all things and applies them. 'The people's daily use is the way' This sentence is very wonderful, when the three whites are floating! ”

Hu Quan took "University Justice" and said: "His Royal Highness the Prince's "University Chapters and Sentences Shuyi", students have read it in Jiangxi, but some words and sentences have been copied incorrectly. Now it's been renamed "University Justice", and it seems that it has been revised a little more, and it is even more exciting than what I have read before. There are some places that are different from what Mr. said, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is more bold and direct. What is inconvenient for Mr. to say, the prince will break it with a word. ”

Xiao Chu took it and swept it, frowned, and said, "There are pros and cons." ”

This edition of Juming's commentary on the University adjusts some of the order of the scriptures. And after becoming the crown prince, it was revised again, and the "people-oriented" thought in it was further elaborated, and even implied that the people could rebel if they couldn't survive.

Although Xiao Chu also agrees that "the people are the foundation of the state", he is more concerned about the "centralization of power by the emperor", and there is no fundamental conflict between the two, and in an ideal state, they can promote each other.

But the reality is often not an ideal state, and Xiao Chu feels that when assisting the king to create a prosperous world, he can sacrifice the interests of some people in the short term. And Zhu Ming's argument is too radical, which may not be conducive to centralized rule.

Hu Quan said: "The disciple thinks that there are advantages and disadvantages, as long as the national policy benefits the majority of the people, even if a small number of people rebel, they are not afraid. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is talking about the faint monarch Zhao Ji, who is mediocre and cruel, and exploits excessively, so that the world is against him! ”

Xiao Chu didn't dwell on this anymore, just nodded slightly, and then continued to look at the content behind "Dao Strategy".

He had already read the mathematics chapter in Jiangxi, and it was quietly copied by a friend, Xiao Chu not only learned Arabic numerals, but even analytic geometry.

However, the version he got at this time also had the calculus that Zhu Guoxiang added......

There is not much to cover, just the basic concepts and simple applications of calculus.

But this has shocked Xiao Chu, who is proficient in mathematics, and he doesn't care about anything at the moment, he picks up the pen and writes while reading.

The next day, the master and apprentice went to the Ministry of Rites to report.

Hu Quan came to the Ministry of Rites to hand over the examination certificate, that is, to report his basic information, and wait for the Ministry of Rites to review and arrange the examination number.

Xiao Chu was recommended by the magistrate, and the imperial court recruited through the Ministry of Rites, and he needed to tell the Ministry of Rites that he was coming.

After the matter was done, the two went to inquire about Master Zhiquan again, but the old monk had been sick and died for several years.

In the evening, a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in official civilian clothes, came to the inn, and when he heard the room number, he hurriedly went upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Disciple Feng Lu, meet the teacher!" A middle-aged man was outside the door.

Hu Quan opened the door and said, "Brother, please come in." ”

Xiao Chu looked at it carefully, and then smiled: "I didn't teach you for a few days, so you don't have to be like this." ”

Feng Lu said: "One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a teacher." ”

Xiao Chu didn't bother to care about this, and beckoned Feng Lu to sit down: "You are already an official in the new dynasty?" ”

Feng Lu, a native of Anyue, Sichuan, replied: "After my father died of illness, the students helped the coffin to return to their hometown. When the prince set up an army in Shuzhong, the students saw that the righteous army did not plunder the people, so they took the initiative to go to Chengdu to serve the prince. At the beginning, it was the order of Yingshan County, and now it is the Ministry of Rites. Today, I saw the name of the gentleman in the Ministry of Rites, so I inquired all the way to come to meet him. ”

"Well done." Xiao Chu nodded in approval.

Feng Lu was a little excited: "If Mr. comes to the capital three months early, he can still see Zhao Yiruo (Zhao Yang)." He had been in the Hanlin Academy before, and after Cao Hou recovered Zhejiang, he went to Zhejiang to be the magistrate. ”

Xiao Chu said: "Since you are officials in the new dynasty, you should do your best to assist the Holy Monarch to secure the people and prosper the country. ”

"Students take the teachings to heart!" Feng Lu hurriedly said.

Xiao Chu asked, "How is the new dynasty?" ”

Feng Lu sighed: "Everything is good in the new dynasty, but it is too harsh on officials. Although no one dares to complain, I am afraid that there are many people who slander them. ”

Hu Quan couldn't help but ask: "How harsh?" ”

Feng Lu elaborated in a low voice: "Petty officials and small officials, all of them are rising. For officials above the fifth grade, the salary has been reduced a lot, and many other favors have also been canceled. As a local official, there is less money that can be freely used. Also, I am more tired than I used to be an official, and I have added a lot of trivial affairs for swordsmen and penmen. ”

Hu Quan couldn't help but laugh, he could hear it, compared with the previous Great Song Dynasty, the officials of the new dynasty did more and took less.

Of course, this is not always the case, the salaries of low-ranking officials have risen, and some officials have also received official salaries.

Feng Lu continued: "The Inspectorate ...... That is, the former Imperial Historical Tower, and now it has become more powerful. Chen Dong, the imperial history of the left capital, is very young, and he is completely reckless in doing things, and even His Majesty's cronies dare to investigate and deal with them, and the rest of the officials are not a problem. This year alone, there are more than 120 people who have been dismissed because of greed, and those who are above the seventh grade. More than 30 of them were exiled to southern Sichuan and Xihe, and were never allowed to be used again. Even their children and grandchildren were not allowed to take the imperial examination, and only their great-grandchildren could take the examination to become officials. ”

Hu Quan was dumbfounded.

Xiao Chu was also quite surprised, although he was not used to looking down on corrupt officials, but this was somewhat unexpected.

Feng Lu became gossipy: "The Linjin County Order is called Yang Huaien, who was denounced for excesses in the levy, and when he heard that the Imperial History of the Inspectorate had arrived in Fucheng, he was so frightened that he took the initiative to go to Hezhong Mansion to surrender. But it is a corrupt official who voluntarily surrenders, as long as he honestly hands over the stolen money, he can be exempted from exile in the border area, and his grandchildren can participate in the imperial examination. Of course, if there is too much corruption, it is certain that the official will be dismissed and imprisoned, and the son will not be allowed to take the imperial examination. ”

Hu Quan sighed: "In the old Song Dynasty, how could there be such a thing? Officials who levy exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are not even counted as embezzlement, and cannot be convicted at all. ”

Feng Lu said: "It is because corruption was common in the previous dynasty, and many officials cannot change it in the new dynasty. Even though the rules of the court are strict, corruption and malfeasance are everywhere, and every month there are people who are dismissed for corruption. There are many officials who are already nostalgic for the old Song Dynasty, and there are even officials in Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi who defected to the puppet dynasty. ”

"Defect to the puppet dynasty set up by the Jin people?" Hu Quan couldn't believe it.

Feng Lu said: "There are more than one or two people who defected to the puppet dynasty, and they all heard that the imperial history wanted to investigate themselves, so they absconded with their families in fear of crime. ”

Xiao Chu said angrily: "Huayi is no different, if he is caught, he must be punished with capital punishment!" ”

In fact, there were corrupt officials who ran to Song Huizong this year, and Li Bao led his troops to kill them shortly after he ran over......

The three of them chatted until midnight, and asked the store to bring the food halfway.

After Feng Lu left, Xiao Chu said to Hu Quan with a smile on his face: "The Son of Heaven of the New Dynasty is so strong, we can all make great achievements!" ”

Not all officials expect a "generous and benevolent monarch", and the faction of Xiao Chu and Hu Quan likes strong monarchs.

Strictly speaking, Juan's faction was also keen to assist the powerful monarch.

If the monarch is not strong, how can he be a holy king?

Two days later, the internal officials came to deliver the decree and took Xiao Chu to the palace for an audience.

These recruited officials, according to the process, were all inspected by the emperor himself.

Xiao Chu, who is already a handful of years, seems to be particularly energetic, as if he has suddenly come to the second spring of his life.

When Xiao Chu came to a side hall, he found that the emperor was sitting on the main seat, and the one next to him should be the prince, but there was still an official sitting on the guest seat.

Xiao Chu strode forward and saluted the emperor and the crown prince.

Zhu Ming introduced: "This is Hu Anguo, whose name is Kanghou, and he is good at "Spring and Autumn". ”

"Don't dare to be fine," Ju Anguo stood up, "Foolish brother Ju Anguo, meet my senior brother, I once studied with Mr. Yichuan." ”

Xiao Chu calmly returned the salute, which can be regarded as recognizing this junior brother.

Xiao Chu is Cheng Yi's personal disciple, while Hu Anguo is only Cheng Yi's registered disciple.

In addition to learning from Cheng Yi, the two have another thing in common: they both traveled around to study when they were young, and they were not confined to one family, but learned from each other's strengths.

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said, "Sit, old gentleman." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xiao Chu bowed and sat down calmly.

Zhu Ming went straight to the point and directly tested: "There are six officials in Jiangxi, and they jointly recommend Your Excellency. Even my father-in-law called Your Excellency a Great Confucian, and called Your "Spring and Autumn" unique in the world. ”

Xiao Chu was also unambiguous, and when he came up, he said amazingly: "The Holy Lord wants to be the king of the world, and he has two handles. One is mighty, and the other is blessed. Two handles, the world is governed. The Son of Heaven should be a blessing! ”

It's kind of interesting.

Zhu Ming smiled: "Mr. continue." ”

Xiao Chu said: "Those who are blessed will also be punished." If there is a loss, it will be ruined and ruined. ”

Zhu Ming asked: "Zhao Ji, the faint monarch, is also powerful, and both handles are there, how could he be defeated?" ”

"Otherwise, Zhao Ji seems to be a blessing, but in fact, both are lost." Xiao Chu said.

"Please elaborate." Zhu Ming said.

Xiao Chu said: "Where does the prestige of the Son of Heaven come from? It's nothing more than the ...... of time and personnel."

In Xiao Chu's mouth, the time of heaven is the internal and external situations faced by those in power, including various natural disasters and so on. Personnel, on the other hand, is the coordinated handling of these situations, including the government framework, personnel transfers, and people's morale.

As an emperor, you should see the situation clearly, adapt to the situation, and mobilize various resources to solve problems.

"Zhao Ji belittled the virtuous and exploited the people, which was indiscriminate. Gentlemen and virtuous people are not allowed to display their talents, and the people of Li cannot live with food and clothing, what majesty does Zhao Ji have? ”

"and pampered the traitorous ministers, and slipped the beard and patted the horses, so that they could live in the temple; Those who kill good people and take meritorious deeds can also be ordered to be generals. This is also a blessing! ”

"Why can the Prince's soldiers fight? There are only clear rewards and punishments. ”

"Be mighty, be blessed, Lord of Wisdom. Indiscriminate power and fortune, the king of the dead country! ”

Zhu Ming smiled and said: "Mr. has said so much, in fact, there are four words of reward and punishment. ”

Xiao Chu said: "How difficult is it to make rewards and punishments clear? First, we must be strict with the system; Second, we must do our best not to be chaotic. King Shu changed the law back then, but only did the first point, but did not do the latter point, so he failed to change the law. ”

Zhu Guoxiang praised and said: "It is very good to set the system and strictly implement it." ”

Xiao Chu continued: "How to do it without chaos? It's just a matter of rectifying the rule of officials. As a courtier, it is impossible to rectify the rule of officials, because the blessing does not come from him. At this time, there needs to be a holy king. The holy king is powerful and blessed, as long as the rewards and punishments are clear, why worry about the officials not being clear? ”

Xiao Chu stood up excitedly: "Your Majesty has done a good job in investigating and punishing corrupt officials." In my opinion, exile is still too light, and if you take more than 1,000 yuan, you should be sentenced to death! ”

Hu Anguo sat next to him, looking at his senior brother in a daze, and suddenly felt that there would be a lot of competition pressure in the future.

(End of chapter)