Liu Yanzong said, "Your Majesty, Zhang Yuan has criticized the new learning, defied the court, and committed treason!"
Zhao Huan said, "This matter is of great importance. Does Imperial Censor Liu have any evidence?"
"Zhang Yuan has confessed!"
After saying this, Liu Yanzong presented the charges against Zhang Yuan, which he had signed and affixed.
The ministers were all shocked.
Zhao Huan took the list of crimes and immediately flew into a rage.
"This is outrageous!"
The ministers all cried out in unison, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
Zhao Huan said menacingly, "My ministers, what should we do with Zhang Yuan? Speak up!"
The ministers were all taken aback, as they were very familiar with the emperor's tactics.
At this point, the emperor was not asking for their opinions, but forcing everyone to reach a consensus.
What kind of consistency?
Kill Zhang Yuan!
Why kill Zhang Yuan?
Of course, it's for the old school of thought to see!
The emperor wanted everyone in the court to side with the new school and to make them all say that Zhang Yuan deserved to die.
This time, we'll use Zhang Yuan's head as a sacrifice for the new school. After that, everyone who goes down there should obediently support the new school!
Xu Churen immediately said, "Your Majesty, the implementation of the new school is imminent and must not be hindered in the slightest. I believe that Zhang should be exiled to the frontier as a warning to others!"
Tang Ke said, "I second that!"
The Grand Chancellor and the Regent of the Song Dynasty have both expressed their opinions, so it is clear that there are no obstacles to reaching an agreement on this matter.
Although Xu Churen and Tang Ke were also Confucian scholars, they were different from the great Confucian scholars. As qualified politicians who entered the palace to govern the country, they thought more about political issues.
Using the principles of sages to govern the country as a pretext is nothing but rhetoric.
When the emperor wants to make forceful changes, the prime minister, though unwilling in his heart, will inevitably support the emperor for political reasons.
In later Western academic circles, some scholars have also commented on the prime ministers of ancient China, saying that most of them had lofty political ideals and aspired to govern the country with Confucian classics.
But things often don't go as planned, and it's impossible to achieve the sage-king's way as described by Confucianism.
Therefore, these outstanding politicians in ancient China did not actually govern the country purely based on Confucianism. Although they could make concessions and changes according to different circumstances.
At this moment, Xu Churen and Tang Ke's attitudes represented the attitudes of the Political Affairs Hall.
Their attitude will be directly conveyed to local administrative officials.
Zhao Huan then asked, "What about the others? What do you think should be done with Zhang Yuan? You are all my trusted ministers, and I still have to consult you on everything."
Holy crap! Your Majesty, doesn't your conscience hurt when you say that?
You are now clearly forcing us to shout the slogan of killing Zhang Yuan to the world, and you are putting on the face of a sage ruler and asking for our advice.
The ministers said, "Your Majesty is wise. Zhang Yuan openly opposes the new learning and the court. He should be exiled to the frontier as a warning to others!"
At this moment, Qin Hui stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, the new learning concerns the nation and the people. I believe that exiling him to the frontier is insufficient to punish Zhang Yuan's crimes, nor is it enough to deter the rebels!"
He practically shouted it out, in a very loud voice that sounded very imposing. He knelt directly on the ground, looking righteous and awe-inspiring: "Your subject risks his life to speak frankly, Zhang Yuan should be beheaded and his head displayed to the public, and Zhang Hong's entire clan should be exiled to the frontier as a warning to others!"
Upon hearing this, the ministers felt that Qin Hui's words had gone too far.
Before the ministers could continue speaking, Zhao Huan stood up and said, "Qin Aiqing's words are reasonable. Issue my decree: Zhang Yuan shall be executed immediately, and Zhang Hong's entire clan shall be exiled to the northwest!"
The hall was deathly silent. The emperor said in a cold voice, "Court is adjourned!"
They even stopped reporting, which clearly meant there was no room for negotiation on this matter.
After the court session ended, the ministers were all speculating in their own minds.
They felt that the matter was not so simple, and that the emperor's attitude was more resolute than they had imagined.
The New Year has arrived in the blink of an eye, and this year's New Year celebrations in Tokyo are more lively than ever before.
Zhang Hong's entire clan was exiled to the frontier, and Zhang Yuan was beheaded and his head displayed to the public.
As for those imperial students, they are still imprisoned in the imperial prison.
Nothing happened during the New Year period, and the emperor peacefully celebrated the New Year.
Zhang Yuan's crimes were announced to the world, but the New Year overshadowed them.
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, in Nanjing, Yingtian Prefecture, at Yingtian Academy.
Before dawn, the entrance to Yingtian Academy was already crowded with people.
The Nanjing prefect Xie Kejia was still asleep when he was woken up by his chief clerk Li Ji.
"Shangguan, something terrible has happened! More than a hundred new students are currently gathered in front of Yingtian Academy!"
Outside the house, Li Ji's words made Xie Kejia's heart tremble. He was instantly wide awake and immediately got out of bed.
He hurriedly put on his clothes, his mind racing.
The new school was Yingtian University, built by the Hanlin Academy of the Imperial Court in Yingtian Prefecture. Yingtian University had a wide range of disciplines and began enrolling students in November of the second year of the Jingkang era. Because of the large number of disciplines and the low entry requirements for the first class, Yingtian University now has more than 1,300 students.
This number has already surpassed that of Yingtian Academy, the original top of the four academies in the Song Dynasty.
However, most of the students recruited by Yingtian University were second-rate individuals who had no reputation in the imperial examinations and had only read some books without any official rank.
Some were even from artisan families, knew a few words, and were recruited.
Last year, the imperial court allocated limited educational resources to Yingtian Prefecture, and the Hanlin Academy also clearly stipulated that more resources should be allocated to Yingtian University to reduce unnecessary expenditures on Yingtian Academy.
As a result, Yingtian University and Yingtian Academy began to argue and attack each other.
Yingtian Academy has a long history, with renowned scholars presiding over it, and it has many students in Yingtian Prefecture and even the Song Dynasty.
They didn't even give him, the prefect, any face, and repeatedly berated him mercilessly.
What is Xie Kejia's biggest worry?
The biggest worry is a direct conflict between Yingtian University and Yingtian Academy.
Why are more than a hundred new students suddenly running to Yingtian Academy during the Lunar New Year?
No matter what they did, when the Xie family heard the news, they were on edge.
He dressed quickly, went out, summoned the guards of the manor, and led them toward Yingtian Academy.
Along the way, Xie Kejia asked Li Ji, "Tell me quickly, what is the matter?"
"Shangguan, Zhou Bin from Yingtian University says his sister was killed by Zheng Dan from Yingtian Academy!"
Xie Kejia asked, "Is there any evidence?"
"Shangguan, Zhou Bin's sister, Zhou Ling, committed suicide by drowning herself in the river at dawn today, leaving behind a suicide note. In the note, she said that her innocence had been defiled by Zheng Dan. Fortunately, someone passed by and rescued Zhou Ling. She did not die, but Zhou Bin was furious and gathered a large group of students from Yingtian University to go to Yingtian Academy to seek justice for his sister."
Xie Kejia's face immediately darkened: "Is this Zheng Dan Zheng Hongyi's grandson?"
"Exactly!"
Who is Zheng Hongyi?
He was a renowned Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty, a student of Cheng Yi, a leading figure in the academic world of the Song Dynasty, and the headmaster of Yingtian Academy.
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