The Ming Dynasty started with caution

The father and son sat on the straw mat. Cheng Minzheng handed a sesame cake to his son: "Eat it. I have been living on it these days. It tastes good as I eat it."

Cheng Zitang felt mixed emotions and did not take it.

Knowing that he had been living a life of luxury since he was a child, he looked down on the sesame cake and did not force him.

Seeing his father eating enthusiastically, Cheng Zitang tore off a little to taste it. It tasted extremely bad.

"Why does your father need to do this to educate the refugees in Liangxiang? Yan Chengjin... is really hateful."

"Hey!" Cheng Minzheng scolded like an opera singer: "Don't say that. Education is not an easy task. You won't understand the difficulties even if your father tells you."

"Dad, how many days have you not washed yourself?"

"Is it very smelly?"

"Like the stinky tofu in Jiangnan."

"..."

"Go back to Huizhou?"

"Go back! My education has just begun!"

At night, the refugees came back from the workshop and went to the straw shed but did not see Cheng Qingshan. They ran over impatiently.

"Qingshan, what are you going to talk about tonight?"

"I haven't finished talking about the dirty story of beheading Wang Yushi last night!"

Cheng Minzheng stood up and patted the dust on the back of his clothes: "You go first, I'll come after I clean up."

When Cheng Zitang arrived at the straw shed, he was shocked. It was full of refugees. He consciously made way for a small path and waited for his father to pass by.

It was about Bao Gong's angry judgment of the world's public cases.

...

In the capital,

the news of Cheng Minzheng's return to the capital was rampant. Next year was the year of the provincial examination, and scholars cursed.

"Fortunately, there was an extra layer of defense. Scholars didn't know that Cheng Minzheng was in Liangxiang." Yan Chengjin was thinking, who was the one who spread the news about Cheng Minzheng.

"It can't be Zhu Houzhao. Zhu Houzhao didn't know about this."

First of all, Zhu Houzhao was ruled out.

Then he thought of Wang Yue and invited Wang Yue to his house.

Wang Yue said angrily: "What did I say? Cheng Minzheng was arrogant and domineering when he was in the court, and he offended many ministers. He must have come from the court. But my dear nephew, where is Cheng Minzheng?"

I know that Cheng Minzheng was invited to the capital, but I don't know where he is.

Yan Chengjin shook his head. It seems that he will cut off contact with Cheng Minzheng in the next few days.

Fengtian Hall,

When Emperor Hongzhi saw the memorials of the Ministry of Revenue, he would always habitually ask: "How is Liangxiang now?" It seems that the refugees in Liangxiang are well-fed and well-clothed, and poverty is eliminated, and the prosperous times are coming.

Mou Bin replied: "Liangxiang is still poor."

Emperor Hongzhi sighed, stood up and walked a few steps: "Where is Cheng Minzheng?"

"Cheng Minzheng pretended to be a refugee and went to Liangxiang. He told stories to the refugees every night. It seems that he was telling "Bao Gong's Anger to Judge the World", but it was a little different."

"Pretended to be a refugee?" Emperor Hongzhi looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, in order to educate the refugees in Liangxiang, after the last fight in Liangxiang, I also found that many refugees did not know the laws of the Ming Dynasty." Mou Bin pondered for a moment and continued: "The scholars in the capital seem to know that Cheng Minzheng has returned to Beijing, and they talked about the fraud case again."

Emperor Hongzhi hummed, unwilling to mention it again, and sat down to continue reading the memorial.

"Nanjing Revenue Minister Liang Jing requested to retire. I remember that this person wrote to me to request to suspend the miscellaneous duties imposed on the Taoist priests of Wudang Mountain. He has made great achievements and has done a good job. Why did he ask for retirement?"

Xiao Jing looked strange. His Majesty came again, and he couldn't help but mention it: "Your Majesty, Liang Jing was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Tianshun. This year, he is seventy years old."

Your Majesty, give him a few years to enjoy family happiness...

"Seventy?"

Emperor Hongzhi's old face twitched slightly.

…………

Yan Chengjin's sedan passed by Chang'an Street.

The news of Cheng Minzheng's return to Beijing spread, and the scholars were ashamed and cursed.

A scholar cursed Cheng Minzheng for not having a good death, and that he would have no place to be buried after death. Even if he was buried, he would be dug out by wild dogs and torn into pieces. After the body was torn into pieces, he would go to the eighteenth level of hell.

It was always inhumane...

"Your father misled the students! Misled the students!"

"You know that we failed the exam because of your father, and it took us another three years! Your father's punishment from heaven is not a pity!"

"Those who misled others' futures should not have a good death!"

"I apologize to all of you brothers on behalf of my father!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Yan Chengjin slightly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and saw that Cheng Zitang was forced by a group of scholars to pay for his father's debt...

After the fraud case, the monkeys scattered when the tree fell, and the students of the Cheng School abandoned him. Cheng Zitang had no one to rely on in Beijing.

Yan Chengjin said to He Neng: "Go and call Commander Xu of the Wucheng Military Department."

After a while,

Xu Yong came with his subordinates on horseback, and his subordinates surrounded the scholar.

"The Wucheng Military Department is in charge of the order of the streets in the capital. You must disperse immediately! If you disobey, I will put you in jail."

The scholars dispersed one after another upon hearing this. Cheng Zitang stood up with shame and bowed to Xu Yong: "Thank you, Lord Xu."

"No need to thank me, I was also entrusted by someone."

"May I ask who is the benefactor?"

"It is inconvenient to disclose."

Back at the mansion, Yan Chengjin took out the sketch that was almost finished. Before asking Cheng Minzheng to come to the capital, he had anticipated this possibility.

"I am 70% sure to help Cheng Minzheng clean up his reputation."

Next year is the year of the provincial examination. Thousands of candidates will take the examination in Shuntian Prefecture. Many scholars have ordinary families and can only read limited books.

"If a library is built in Liangxiang in the name of Cheng Minzheng, and books can be borrowed at will, the scholars will be grateful to Cheng Minzheng, right?"

Cheng Minzheng's cheating case occurred in the joint examination.

In other words, the number of scholars implicated by Cheng Minzheng is only a hundred.

There were more than a thousand Shuntian Prefecture scholars who participated in the provincial examination, and many of them had nothing to do with the fraud case in the twelfth year of Hongzhi.

It’s just that someone led me to the rhythm…

"The library must have the most complete collection of books in order to attract scholars."

The advantage of entering the Imperial College is that you can borrow books from the Imperial College collection, which is extremely complete.

The number of places in the Imperial College every year is small. Many scholars cannot afford to buy books and cannot enter the Imperial College. Even if they can afford it, they are not as comprehensive as the Imperial College.

"In the whole world, only the palace's collection of books is more complete than that of the Imperial College. Your Majesty must agree to this matter." Yan Chengjin decided to go to the palace.

At dawn, the imperial kitchen stewed a bowl of tonic soup for Emperor Hongzhi. As soon as he drank it, Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, Yan Chengjin wants to see you."

"Announce him to come in!"

Why are everyone looking at me like this? It must be that Jin Yiwei reported something to His Majesty again...

Before he could speak, Emperor Hongzhi squinted his eyes and said, "I guess you have something to ask for from me?"

Yan Chengjin nodded: "I want to help Cheng Minzheng clear his reputation. Do you believe that I can do it?"

Emperor Hongzhi shook his head and said he didn't believe it.

Li Dongyang and others also shook their heads, but they were waiting for a miracle to happen.

Yan Chengjin said: "I didn't believe it either, so I came to ask for your Majesty's help."

"..."

"I want to build a library in Liangxiang for the reading of scholars all over the world."

"Build it, build it, what do you want me to do?" Emperor Hongzhi said with a straight face, thinking in his heart, this kid doesn't want to waste money, does he?

"There is no collection of books anywhere in the world as good as those in the palace. I beg your majesty to grant permission to hand over the Hanyuan collection and the cabinet collection to booksellers for rubbings."

Fu Han, the Minister of Rites, was worried: "Your Majesty, no! Some forbidden books should not be leaked out of the palace. This is against etiquette, and the collection of books is huge. If they are lost..."