Chapter 136 Obscene Book
After more than ten days of experiments, Pan Yinchuan, who did the work himself, finally overcame various difficulties in practice and tested his long-planned river management ideas on the artificially dug canal. He introduced clean water from the outside, dug up the embankment to "use clear water to wash away turbid water", artificially filled the river with soil to narrow the river channel, used the turbulent water to wash away the silt at the bottom of the river, and lowered the height of the riverbed, which is the so-called "water restraint and sand attack" method.
After repeated scouring, the silt in the riverbed has indeed been greatly reduced, and the amount of sediment carried by the river water has also decreased accordingly. Although the time is still short, the effect is already quite obvious. Prince Mu, who was watching the whole process, was greatly impressed. He immediately sent someone to invite the chief officer of the nearby river engineering project and asked them to write down the results of the experiment in detail and have them sign and seal their names for confirmation. This kind of experiment may not be noticeable now, but when new water control plans are debated in the future, it will be the final evidence in the court.
After the verification was completed one by one, the post horses that were transferred from all directions arrived. Mu was very enthusiastic and invited Mr. Pan to ride in the same carriage. He rushed all the way to the capital and introduced him directly to the Foreign Affairs Office, which was still in operation, in the name of a cabinet minister.
In a sense, this is also the benefit of temporary agencies. If the Cabinet and the six ministries want to recommend officials, they need to go through the process of issuing official documents and transferring seals. This process is dragged down and passed through dozens of hands. If there is a problem in any of the procedures, the process will be stuck. It is the epitome of bureaucracy. However, since the Foreign Affairs Office had just been established and had not yet had time to establish rules and procedures, the key person only needed to pass a note to get the business card and documents together.
Of course, this kind of efficiency has both advantages and disadvantages; the advantage is that it saves time and shortens the process, but what about the disadvantages... The biggest disadvantage now is that Mu Qi must find Zhang Taiyue in advance, check their testimonies with each other, and fill in some of the previous foreshadowings - for example, the part about "Zhang Hanlin admires Pan Xun'an very much" and "can compete with Xia Yu for credit".
After all, they have been working together in a superior-subordinate relationship for several years. No matter how strange and bizarre the prince's requests are, Master Zhang is always able to understand and cooperate. However, after Zhang Taiyue took Pan Yinchuan's file, he hesitated for a moment, looked around, and then spoke in a low voice:
"…If it involves river works, then this document will probably have to be put on hold for a while before it can be approved."
"What's wrong?"
"The emperor hasn't summoned foreign ministers for many days. He just approves the memorials every day." Zhang Taiyue said softly, "Since half a month ago, even the instructions on the memorials have become less frequent..."
The prince frowned, instinctively feeling that something was wrong. If you stay in a feudal society for a long time, you will have the awareness of feudal society. Although the Da'an court was weak, disorganized, and perfunctory, and could not be punished, this highly centralized central system could not be separated from the emperor for a single moment. For more than a decade, Lao Deng has been devoted to meditation and neglected state affairs, but he would meet with cabinet ministers every now and then, relying on the cabinet as an intermediary to maintain the stability of the court. But if even the cabinet cannot see the emperor, the long-term separation between the emperor and his subjects will inevitably arouse unpredictable panic... If this continues, I really don’t know what the situation will be like!
Of course, as a well-informed time traveler, Prince Muguo merely frowned and did not think anything of it. To be honest, compared with the terrible behavior of Lao Deng's beloved grandson Jin Sun Bai Zong, who didn't approve a single memorial for several years, leaving the six ministries and cabinet empty, and the court soaring into an anarchist utopia, Fei Xuan Zhen Jun's behavior is really nothing big - after all, he is still reading memorials, approving official documents, and making decisions, what else do you want?
But unfortunately, as a minister who has not been rubbed by Jin Sun, Zhang Taiyue still has too little experience and a bad mentality, and he can't stand it and is worried:
"Your Majesty's health has been poor to begin with, and now he has not yet seen any outsiders. If this continues, I'm afraid both the inside and the outside will be in shock. What should the central government do?"
The prince was silent, thinking that this was just young people making a fuss out of nothing. What's the point of hiding in the palace and not seeing outside officials? During the reign of Emperor Baizong, the ministries and officials could handle only a few official documents throughout the year. The central government officials only showed up twice a month and left immediately after signing their names. The six ministers of the six ministries had been on duty for several years, but some of them could not even recognize the emperor's height, weight or appearance. With this kind of laissez-faire policy, people are able to get by as long as the emperor is there, right? What is “shock inside and outside”? You will get used to it after a while, so why be startled?
One should always remain calm when dealing with major events. Now even the True Lord cannot be served, so I am afraid that I will suffer in ten or twenty years.
In view of this, the prince remained calm and said only one sentence:
"Can you ask Eunuch Li to persuade the emperor? As long as he is summoned once, the doubts inside and outside will naturally disappear."
"Lord Yan has passed the message to Eunuch Li." Zhang Taiyue sighed, "But Eunuch Li said that he and Eunuch Huang are in the palace, and it is difficult for them to see the emperor now. If they make random comments without being summoned, they will only die."
"I can't even see these two?" The prince was finally shocked: "Who is the one serving me closely?"
"Except for a few mute palace servants, only Princess Sishan, who has become a nun, can enter the imperial court." Zhang Taiyue said, "The emperor's original words were that only his daughters could serve him most attentively. So it is difficult for outsiders to enter the imperial court."
It was the familiar little trick of moral blackmail again. The sign of filial piety was waved out and was invincible. The scholars outside the court had no way of discussing the emperor's decision. However, as people who have been dealing with Lao Deng in the central government for several years, the Crown Prince and Zhang Taiyue are too familiar with this kind of weird little thoughts, and can understand the hint of the emperor's mind in an instant - Princess Sishan's serving skills are definitely not as good as the nimble eunuchs, and it is even more difficult for her to understand the profound and tortuous riddle style of Zhenjun; but Zhenjun would rather endure all kinds of inconveniences and forcibly change the division of labor in the palace, so he must have some unspeakable thoughts.
What can you think of? Li Zaifang and Huang Shanggang were certainly good at serving the emperor and could deal with Lao Deng comfortably and properly; but these two eunuchs had been serving the emperor for a long time, and the power they held had expanded rapidly, and their roots had grown deep. On ordinary days, these docile powers might not mean anything, but when the emperor is most sensitive and vulnerable, any tiny bit of "possibility" will prick his nerves and trigger terrible imaginations.
——In other words, Lao Deng must be feeling insecure again.
Human beings' need for a sense of security is unreasonable, especially for someone as smart and vicious as Master Feixuan, who is extremely sensitive. It stands to reason that a trusted eunuch who has been with him since childhood would never betray him, but when Zhenjun goes crazy, he will never believe in any human nature. He only trusts ability. Princess Sishan, a lonely, powerless monk who has no connection with the outside court, and a weak woman who is absolutely incapable of rebellion, is the only relative who can be trusted at this time.
This extreme insecurity had already been revealed when the emperor was seriously injured. At that time, Zhenjun was bedridden, and he also dispatched Princess Sishan to serve him personally, intentionally or unintentionally weakening the power of the eunuchs. It was only after his confidence recovered that he sent the princess back to the Taoist temple to recuperate. And now he is using the same old trick again and dragging his daughter out to take the blame. The subtle and mysterious change in his mentality is probably hard to imagine.
The Lord has been in this manic and gloomy mental state for more than a day or two. The prince thought for a moment and could only sigh:
"There's nothing we can do about it. We can only wait and see what happens."
Indeed, we can only wait and see what happens, and don't even think about making any suggestions or remonstrations. This is the bloody experience that ministers have gained from serving the old giant baby for decades. When the True Lord fell into this sensitive and self-suspicious period, the more vigorous and high-spirited the ministers below appeared, the more likely they would be subject to inexplicable suspicion; especially young men with a promising future like Zhang Taiyue. The sun at seven or eight o'clock in the morning - the damp and crawling underground creatures absolutely could not tolerate the vibrant morning sun, and would beat to death anyone they saw; at such a delicate juncture, if Zhang Hanlin was not careful and shut up, even the prince would have a hard time saving him.
Zhang Taiyue had never witnessed the time when Lao Deng was mentally disturbed and tortured his subordinates at will; but based on some of the innate inspiration of a politician, he guessed that it was not advisable to act rashly at this time. He agreed in a low voice and changed the subject:
"The Tianjin Port sent a message saying that the iron smelting plant that was built earlier has begun to produce iron and make a profit. In addition to the expenses of the cement plant expansion, it is expected that about 50,000 refugees will be recruited."
“It’s profitable so quickly?”
"It's Brother Donglou's credit." Zhang Taiyue knew how to unite his colleagues: "Brother Donglou found a connection with the Bank of England and signed a contract to sell ironware. He prepaid 300,000 taels of silver and it has been delivered."
Prince:? !
...According to the Sino-Japanese "Nanjing Treaty", Yan Donglou also served as the Minister of Japanese Affairs, and together with foreigners assisted Japan in preparing customs and collecting compensation, so there was indeed an opportunity for contact. But if you calculate carefully, the time he spent with the Bank of England was only a few months; in just a few months, could the young minister overcome the double barriers of language and culture and drag the English into his network?
They also "prepaid three hundred thousand taels of silver". What efficiency and trust!
Of course, considering the behavior of Young Lord Yan, it is unknown how much more profit he will make besides the 300,000 taels of silver. But there are only a handful of talented people in the world, and we really can't worry about so many things. So the prince was stunned for a moment, and could only speak:
"Young cabinet minister is indeed very skillful, and he should be credited with a merit... In this way, the situation in the capital can finally be calmed down a lot, and everyone can rest assured."
Absorbing refugees and strong laborers means absorbing unstable factors. As long as everyone lives and works in peace and contentment, no matter how windy it is, it will not cause any waves. This is extremely important at this sensitive time in the political situation.
"Yes." Zhang Taiyue said, "After the ironware factory was established, many laborers came to work. They used their wages to buy food and rice, and the various industries in the capital prospered. However, many laborers learned a few words after working, and they still went to the market to buy storybooks and watch operas..."
"That's quite comfortable. No wonder people are saying that the sales of "Mortal's Journey to Immortality" has increased so much..." The prince replied casually, and suddenly realized: "Is there something wrong with the script they read?"
Zhang Taiyue hesitated to speak, and finally decided to ignore "The Mortal's Journey to Immortality" and so on, and just said:
"Lots of obscenities."
This is too euphemistic. What "quite a lot of obscene words"? A group of lower-class laborers who do heavy labor are extremely bored. Are they going to discuss the "Four Books" and "Five Classics"? When people are well fed and warm, they will have sex, so they must have some meat.
Of course, Mr. Zhang is not a moralist who has gone crazy from studying science, and he can't control others from reading pornographic books. For ordinary books like "Jin x Mei", he would probably just turn a blind eye to it. If he deliberately said "obscene" in front of his boss, it must be that he played a little too much...
The prince looked up and thought for a while, then slowly said:
"I remember that the Jinyiwei once confiscated a banned book in the cabinet, called "Spring in the Western Garden"..."
Zhang Taiyue shuddered, looked around timidly, and spoke in a low voice:
"Whether it is a banned book or not, I still don't know. But some of the stories circulating in the market are much more powerful than "Spring in the Western Garden"..."
——Are there any more experts? !
I originally thought that "The Old Man is Locked Up in the Western Garden Deep in Spring" was so shameless that it was unbeatable in the world, but I didn't expect that there is a book that is even more courageous than it! Whose masterpiece is this?
Even though the prince was well-informed, he couldn't help but take a breath:
"How...how is it so powerful?"
Zhang Taiyue shrank back slightly, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:
"It seems, it seems to be related to the alchemy of the emperor in his early years..."
Okay, there’s no need to say more. Everyone who should understand this will understand. In his early years, the emperor used Chilong, Qiubai and the sex of young boys and girls to make elixirs. This is a strange past event that the court is very secretive about but is difficult to cover up. There is no need to create this kind of subject matter anymore. Just any perfunctory work can turn out to be an 18+ pornographic classic. Under the disguise of gods and Buddhas who are pure, inactive and have abandoned human desires, they use the so-called "cultivation" and "improvement" as an excuse to indulge in the most debauched, shameless and bottomless desires. This is one of the secret methods used by religion to seduce dignitaries. In front of the solemn statues, twisted desires break through the precepts and trample on the classics, which instead brings a more twisted and mysterious pleasure. This has been the case for dignitaries since ancient times.
Of course, just because the emperor can do it doesn’t mean those below him can say it. Upon hearing that the script actually involved secrets, the prince's face turned serious. He sat upright and spoke in a deep voice:
"How dare you offend His Majesty and leak secrets? This is an unforgivable crime!"
Zhang Taiyue: ...Oh, no, “leaking secrets”?
After Zhengyi's angry rebuke, the prince looked up at him:
"Taiyue, what do you think we should do?"
What can I do? Judging from the advanced experience of "The Elder is Locked Up in the Western Garden in Spring", the Jinyiwei's search and confiscation is of no use. Except for a few unlucky ministers who were hurt due to carelessness, the rest of the books can continue to be sold, and at most they can be given a new look. In fact, everyone understands that due to the continuous decline of administrative capacity, the so-called "banning of books" has been just a consolation measure so far; its function is not to eliminate rumors, but to make people believe that the rumors have been eliminated - oh yes, in most cases, this "people" only refers to His Majesty the Emperor.
It was very hurtful to reveal this truth, so Zhang Taiyue was quite embarrassed. But perhaps out of a sense of responsibility, he still made a suggestion:
"Can we send a letter to the Jingzhao Yin, asking them to close some book printing workshops?"
"That's not impossible." The prince said, "But according to the cabinet, we should be preparing for the next year's imperial examinations by the end of this year. It's not easy to move the workshop at this time. Can we try another method?"
Normally, it would be no big deal for a small printing workshop to close down; but around the time of the imperial examination held every three years, the small workshops in the capital had to print examination materials, various collections of essays, and undertake all the expenses of the scholars from other places coming to the capital. In an instant, they could turn stones into gold and become an inexhaustible golden rice bowl. The bigwigs in the court rushed to get a share of this golden bowl. To raid the workshop at this time would be - that would be very courageous.
...Of course, if Master Zhang really wants to show this courage, then it is not impossible. After all, the reputation of pornographic books is too bad, and the bigwigs in the court certainly cannot openly oppose it. But even if they couldn't oppose it openly, they could still implicate others secretly - the workshop that printed the pornographic books was closed, but a large amount of materials were still there. As long as they followed the clues, they could immediately seal up all the printing machines and material sources in the workshop and wipe them out. However, the technology of the new printing machines in the capital was developed by Prince Mu, and most likely Duke Mu's Mansion also invested in it. In this way...
Zhang Taiyue, who had received great kindness from Duke Mu's Mansion, was a little stunned.
The trouble with things in this world is that you are in me and I am in you. If one is truly impartial, there would probably be nothing difficult in the world. But who can be so selfless and fearless, without any selfish motives?
Zhang Taiyue could only take a deep, deep breath and then slowly exhale.
"...Actually, if you think about it again, this is just a small matter of words." He said softly: "It would be great if the workshop can be closed, but if it can't be closed - there's actually no need to make a big fuss."
"No need to make a big fuss?"
The prince's eyes widened, as if he looked very innocent and harmless, without any calculation at all. And Zhang Taiyue... Zhang Taiyue could only smile bitterly:
"Of course, after all, the current political situation is so sensitive, there is really no need to create trouble for no reason. It is best to make a big thing small."
“So I still have to consider the government.”
"...Yes." Zhang Taiyue whispered, "For the sake of the overall situation, why don't we just... ban it and get rid of it?"
Big things become small, small things become nothing. For the sake of political stability, some things cannot be helped.
In short, let Zhenjun suffer first, and let Master Zhang bear the blame.
·
On September 11, after an absence of several months, the worried central ministers finally received the emperor's edict and went to the Western Garden to meet with Fei Xuan Zhenjun, who had not shown up for many days, to discuss the military situation in Spain and Luzon.
After not seeing it for several months, the West Garden has been renovated inside and out, and the furnishings have been changed. The important officials who had not entered the palace for a long time were extremely careful and did not dare to make any mistakes in their behavior. They waited outside the door for a full quarter of an hour before a palace servant they had never met before came out and led them in.
Compared with Li Zaifang and Huang Shanggang who were familiar with the situation, these newcomers were obviously clumsy and their manners were very unfamiliar. Not only did they have difficulty in identifying directions, they often stumbled when walking. But everyone saw it, but did not dare to ask a single question, and just followed behind with their heads down. Only the prince of Mu State lowered his head to smell the wind direction, and he felt a little surprised:
"Why is there such a strong smell of smoke?"
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