In the afternoon, Prince Yu and Prince Jing went to the lecture hall in Xiyuan again to listen to a lecture. This time the lecturer was Zhang Juzheng, the editor of the Hanlin Academy.
Zhang Juzheng attached great importance to this lecture.
Although one of the main tasks of the editor of the Hanlin Academy was to lecture at the imperial lectures, this was his first time to lecture to Prince Yu and Prince Jing. It was also his first time to have such close and long contact with the only two princes of the Ming Dynasty.
One, and only one, of the two princes will definitely inherit the throne and ascend to the throne.
Which prince can sit on that chair
What you hear is not as good as what you see.
Zhang Juzheng also wanted to take this opportunity to observe the two princes with his own eyes to see if he could find any clues.
Who wouldn't want to follow the dragon's lead?!
When Zhang Juzheng received the emperor's oral instructions on preaching in the morning, he was at his residence receiving Qi Jiguang, who came to the capital to report the urgent military situation in Jimen.
Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang met last year. At that time, Altan Khan's troops were heading straight for the capital. Qi Jiguang, who came to the capital to participate in the military examination, volunteered to defend the city. Zhang Juzheng and Li Chunfang met Qi Jiguang when they went to the city wall to entertain the troops.
Later, Qi Jiguang became the flag officer of the nine gates of the capital, which was also the result of Zhang Juzheng's repeated recommendation to the Minister of War.
Zhang Juzheng admired Qi Jiguang, and Qi Jiguang admired Zhang Juzheng, and their friendship flourished.
Qi Jiguang came to the capital to report the urgent military situation in Jimen to the cabinet. However, Yan Song was busy presenting the Qingci at that time. He squeezed out time to summon Qi Jiguang in his busy schedule. After listening, he didn't say anything, but just asked Qi Jiguang to go back and wait for news.
Qi Jiguang waited for several days but received no response, so he had no choice but to wait in the capital while looking for ways to get the approval as soon as possible. The military situation at Jimen was urgent, and the longer he delayed, the worse it would be.
After hitting a wall several times, Qi Jiguang thought of his good friend and mentor Zhang Juzheng. Hearing that Zhang Juzheng often visited Yan Song's residence, he thought of passing a message to Yan Song through Zhang Juzheng, so as to get approval as soon as possible and return to Jimen.
When Qi Jiguang was visiting Zhang Juzheng, the eunuch came with the imperial edict from the Jiajing Emperor. After receiving the imperial edict, Qi Jiguang tactfully said goodbye and left. Zhang Juzheng was concerned about the lecture, so he did not force him to stay. After seeing Qi Jiguang off, Zhang Juzheng ordered the gatekeeper to close the door and refuse visitors, and fully prepared for the afternoon lecture.
Hard work pays off.
Zhang Juzheng's lecture in the afternoon was very successful. The two princes were deeply impressed by Zhang Juzheng's profound knowledge and political talent, and they treated him with great respect.
After the news reached the harem, the response it caused was much greater than when Zhu Ping'an and others were preaching yesterday.
Before Zhang Juzheng finished his lecture, Concubine Lu Jing in the harem had sent several bowls of soup to Emperor Jiajing. Even Concubine Du Kang went there once. Emperor Jiajing got a migraine from all the noise.
"I really want to put up a sign here saying 'The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs'..."
After quieting down, Emperor Jiajing pointed to the door and spoke half to himself and half to Huang Jin.
Huang Jin stood aside with his body hunched, as if he hadn't heard anything. He couldn't respond to such words.
"Forget it. I can let them act like spoiled brats here, but I can't let them act like spoiled brats about my country. I have to intervene this time even if I don't want to." Emperor Jiajing muttered to himself again, then patted Huang Jin on the shoulder and said, "Huang Ban, have someone summon Yang Guoliang, Zhu Ping'an and Zhang Juzheng. I will give a banquet tonight."
"I obey your command." Huang Jin bowed and accepted the order.
Soon, Zhang Juzheng in the lecture hall received an oral order from Emperor Jiajing to grant him a meal, which made Zhang Juzheng feel pleasantly surprised.
Zhang Juzheng knew about it. After Zhu Ping'an and his friends finished their lecture yesterday, the two princes hosted a thank-you banquet for their teachers.
I didn't expect that today, I would be given a banquet by His Majesty. What an honor.
Zhang Juzheng had mixed feelings towards Zhu Ping'an.
As soon as Zhu Ping'an entered the officialdom, he was appointed as a sixth-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy. Only three days later, he was promoted to a sixth-rank reader. Now, only a few months have passed, and he has been promoted to a fifth-rank bachelor of the Hanlin Academy.
As for myself, when I first entered the officialdom, I only joined the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi. To be honest, Shujishi was not even a formal official position. After staying in the Hanlin Academy for so many years, I am now only a seventh-rank editor.
If Zhu Ping'an was like Yuan Wei, who became famous for his poetry, opened many publishing houses and rose to high positions, Zhang Juzheng would not have been too upset.
However, after observing for such a long time, Zhang Juzheng discovered that Zhu Ping'an was not a person like Yuan Wei who was only talented in writing but good at talking. The memorial case some time ago and the Taicang theft case a few days ago showed that Zhu Ping'an was also an extraordinary pragmatic person.
As a result, Zhu Ping'an's rapid promotion made Zhang Juzheng feel somewhat complicated.
Of course, Zhang Juzheng also knew that when Yan Song was in power, it was not a good time to stand up.
It is best to keep a low profile.
However, keeping a low profile does not mean being unknown. If you continue to be unknown, you will not be able to stand out in the future. You will have talents and practical skills but nowhere to display them.
If one could be a tutor to the prince like Gao Gong, keeping a low profile and wait for the prince to ascend the throne, then it would be the opportunity to rise.
Through today's lecture, Zhang Juzheng also had his own judgment on the two princes.
If we talk about the chances of taking the throne, of the two princes, Prince Jing has a better chance. Prince Jing has at least a 60% chance of taking the throne, while Prince Yu has at most a 40% chance.
But if we were to ask who would be most beneficial to him if he sat on that seat, it would naturally be Prince Yu.
When the master is strong, the ministers are weak, and vice versa. When the master is weak, the ministers can be strong.
Nowadays, refugees are scattered everywhere, bandits are causing trouble, the national treasury is empty, funds are scarce, there is the threat of Tatars in the north, and the invasion of Japanese pirates and the rebellion of local chieftains in the south. The Ming Dynasty seems to be prosperous, but in fact the people are already living in misery.
Since we are living in this era and have entered the government as officials, we should take the people of the world as our responsibility, eliminate evils, strengthen the basics and be pragmatic, so as to benefit the world.
If Prince Yu ascends the throne in the future, he will have more space to display his talents and shoulder the heavy responsibility of the world with a loyal character.
Perhaps, this is what Gao Gong thought, which is why he went into Prince Yu's mansion to give lectures when he was studying the scriptures.
This time, I also want to enter Prince Yu’s Mansion.
Therefore, after hearing the oral order of Emperor Jiajing to grant a banquet, Zhang Juzheng felt unexpectedly delighted.
While he was giving the lecture, Zhang Juzheng had already received hints from Prince Jing and Prince Yu that their palace was still short of a lecturer, and the emperor was also interested in hiring another lecturer for them.
The fact that His Majesty gave a banquet at this critical juncture must be related to this.
This time, I have to seize the opportunity.
No matter whether you are promoted one level, two levels or three levels, no matter how you get promoted, it can never be as good as the achievement of following the dragon.