Seeing everyone nod, Wang Linsheng continued, "There are traitors in the court."

No one was surprised by this statement. Wang Linsheng had often cursed the court for treacherous officials, but he had never been as serious as he was today.

"These people have betrayed the teachings of their ancestors and the sage Confucius. They are truly unworthy of being scholars! These people have obscured the wisdom of the sage and are spouting nonsense. They are truly unworthy of being human sons!"

"During this academy reform, these people actually petitioned His Majesty to stop teaching the teachings of Confucius in the academy. This is simply cutting off the roots of our scholars!"

"Such behavior is simply the greatest treacherous act of all time!"

After hearing this, everyone nodded, with expressions of indignation on their faces.

There was a man next to him, about thirty years old, with a beard and a calm expression.

He also spoke at this time, indignantly saying: "Brother Wang is right, we can't let people like this succeed. If we let them succeed today, how will future generations of scholars look upon us?"

Seeing someone agreeing with him, Wang Linsheng turned around, bowed to the man, and said, "Brother Qi, what you said makes sense. We can't just sit back and watch this kind of thing happen. Otherwise, wouldn't that be breaking the rules and regulations?"

Hearing Wang Linsheng's words, someone nearby frowned and said, "But what should we do? After all, the Royal Academy reform is a rule set by the court. If we oppose it, wouldn't we be going against the court?"

"Reform of academies is a good thing," Wang Linsheng said with a serious face. "We have discussed why the court is reforming academies before."

"The knowledge taught in academies across the country is all one-sided and chaotic, with anyone saying whatever they want. Some people take this opportunity to spread their own heretical doctrines and betray the teachings of the sages. This is simply a disgrace to civility and unworthy of being a scholar!"

The reform of the academies, bringing them under the control of the imperial court and providing financial subsidies and official positions to all teachers, demonstrates Your Majesty's benevolent spirit. This clearly demonstrates Your Majesty's commitment to education. When all academies teach the teachings of the sages, how will the culture and education of the Ming Dynasty flourish?

"Your Majesty's benevolent policies are unprecedented throughout history! Your Majesty's commitment to promoting enlightenment is unmatched by any emperor, past or present! Your Majesty has truly shown the utmost kindness and justice to us scholars!"

Everyone nodded, agreeing with what Wang Linsheng said.

In reality, they knew that the final outcome would only be known after the event. However, their sole purpose in staying in the capital was to gain fame and fortune. If they opposed the court and His Majesty, wouldn't that be opposing themselves?

So no one objected to Wang Linsheng's words.

Seeing everyone nodding, Wang Lin violently threw the wine glass in his hand to the ground. The glass was instantly broken into pieces, and the fragments were scattered all over the ground.

Wang Linsheng said angrily, "Even with such a benevolent government, there are still people with ulterior motives who want to take advantage of it. We absolutely cannot allow this!"

"What are these people doing? They actually want the academy to not teach the teachings of the sages. What then should they teach? Aren't they just trying to teach their own heretical doctrines? These people want to control the scholars, and their hearts are despicable. Their intentions are unclear, and they are truly traitors to our Ming Dynasty!"

After hearing Wang Linsheng's words, the scholar named Qi beside him also became angry and shouted, "Yes, this is the traitor of the Ming Dynasty! We scholars cannot sit idly by. Brother Wang, what do you want to do?"

Wang Linsheng said directly, "Right now in the capital, Senior Zhong Yuzheng of Shoushan Academy has already rejected this idea. Senior Zhong Yuzheng has made it clear that if the court does not allow the academy to teach the Way of the Sages, then he will absolutely not agree to the court reforming the academy."

"I think we should go support Senior Zhong and go to Shoushan Academy. We must make a big noise. Let the court know, let His Majesty know, that we scholars are against this."

After hearing this, the sound of a pin drop was so deafening on the second floor that one could hear it. No one responded for a moment, and they all looked at each other. Only the sound of breathing could be heard.

Clearly, they were all worried. After all, this matter involved a wide range of people. There had been some disturbances before, back when Li Zhi was promoting his academic achievements, and many people had been arrested and imprisoned in the Jinyiwei prison. Although they were later released, they were still implicated.

If the people present really started to cause trouble, they might have been able to be released last time, but not this time. Everyone was still hesitant.

Wang Linsheng looked at the crowd and said, "Everyone, with Senior Zhong's example before us, what do we have to fear? Besides, we are not the only scholars in the capital. As long as the news spreads, there will be a lot of responses! What we do will definitely be known to everyone!"

The meaning of this was simple: With Zhong Yu leading the charge, what were we afraid of? He would shoulder the responsibility if anything went wrong. Besides, this matter was such a big deal, and going now would be a great opportunity to make a name for ourselves.