“Ah! Foolish! Foolish! Tingyi is foolish! He did not listen to my words! He did not listen to my words, now, he is dead! There is no way to turn the tide!”
Xu Jie furrowed his brows tightly, shaking his head and sighing endlessly, lamenting his lack of ambition, angry at his refusal to listen, his emotions extremely agitated.
“Master Xu, Lord Zhang achieved a great victory at Wangjiangjing, is this not great joy? With this great victory, is it not the best response to the impeachments from Zhao Wenhua and others, self-evident without debate, why does Master Xu say Lord Zhang is dead?!”
Zhang Juzheng asked with a face full of puzzlement.
“Shuda, have you forgotten Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment? Do you still remember what he impeached him for?!” Xu Jie looked at Zhang Juzheng, his tone raised considerably.
“I remember, Zhao Wenhua impeached Lord Zhang for fearing the Japanese pirates and not fighting, harboring the pirates for his own benefit, wasting military rations and missing opportunities……”
Zhang Juzheng said slowly, Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment memorial, he could not recite it backwards now, but he had committed it to memory.
“Then do you understand now?” Xu Jie asked.
???
Zhang Juzheng’s face was full of question marks, still unable to understand.
Xu Jie shook his head slightly, Shuda was still young, if it were Zihou, er, although Zihou was even younger, but Zihou was more mature than Shuda despite his youth, Zihou would have understood long ago, however, Shuda also had areas where he was more mature than Zihou, Zihou knew what was more correct, but in behavior he often acted with youthful spirit, choosing what his heart desired but not the most correct approach, for example, helping Yang Jisheng revise the memorial impeaching Yan Song…… but Shuda was different, although Shuda understood things more slowly, in behavior he would absolutely choose the most correct, the most beneficial approach.
The two students, each with their own strengths, rivals in brilliance for a time, in the future Ming court, they would certainly be two of the pillars.
They were both still young, with a long road ahead, they both needed to become more mature to reach the pinnacle.
“Shuda, you still have not truly understood Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment memorial.” Xu Jie said slowly.
“I have not truly understood Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment memorial?” Zhang Juzheng could not help but show a face full of disbelief.
Impossible, I have read Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment memorial no less than a hundred times, there is nothing profound or difficult to understand in it, it is just framing, how could I not have truly understood his memorial.
Zhang Juzheng was puzzled, falling into deep confusion.
“Shuda, Zhao Wenhua is not someone to be taken lightly, do not look down on him just because he recognizes Yan Song as his adoptive father, curries favor with the powerful, do not underestimate him.” Xu Jie shook his head slightly, reminding Zhang Juzheng.
Er
Zhang Juzheng could not help but be stunned, to be honest, he really looked down on Zhao Wenhua, in his eyes, Zhao Wenhua was nothing but a petty man who recognized Yan Song as his adoptive father in exchange for wealth and honor, a corrupt court parasite who accepted bribes, a shameless person who presented aphrodisiac wine to the emperor, a treacherous villain who framed loyal officials.
Suddenly, Master Xu said not to look down on him, not to underestimate him, how could Zhang Juzheng not be astonished.
“Zhao Wenhua is in Jiangnan, the Yan party’s influence is pervasive, although Tingyi used every means to isolate Zhao Wenhua from military affairs, there is no wall that does not let wind through, with the Yan party’s power, Tingyi’s military plans would have some traces leaked to Zhao Wenhua. Tingyi’s military deployment for this great victory, Zhao Wenhua must have been able to anticipate, but Zhao Wenhua dared to submit the impeachment memorial before Tingyi was about to start the campaign against the Japanese pirates, Shuda, do you know why?”
Xu Jie looked at Zhang Juzheng, asking slowly.
Zhang Juzheng shook his head.
Since Zhao Wenhua knew that Zhang Jing was about to launch the campaign against the Japanese pirates, why did he still rush to submit the impeachment memorial first?
“Because he knew that once his memorial was submitted, if Tingyi lost, then Tingyi might still have a way out, but if he won, he would be doomed.”
Xu Jie sighed, his face full of regret, regrettable, hateful, lamentable, Zhang Jing did not listen to my words.
“Ah?”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng could not help but exclaim in surprise.
“Shuda, you cannot just look at the memorial itself, you also have to see who initiated the memorial, to whom the memorial is presented, and who is being impeached, the relationship between the impeacher and the impeached, besides that, you have to look at the causes and consequences, the current situation, and also look at……” Xu Jie further guided.
Zhang Juzheng felt enlightened, thoughtful,
“After Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment, Zhang Jing dispatched troops to exterminate the Japanese pirates, achieving a great victory, what do you think the emperor will think?”
“You must know that after Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment, the emperor ordered a discussion in Wuyi Hall, his trust in Tingyi has already been shaken.”
Xu Jie looked at Zhang Juzheng with burning eyes.
Enlightened, Zhang Juzheng’s expression changed, his face filled with shock and worry, “The emperor will think that only after Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment did Lord Zhang go to war…… even, the emperor will think Lord Zhang is deceitful and disloyal!!!”
Saying this, Zhang Juzheng became dejected, now he finally understood why Master Xu said it was over as soon as he heard the news of Lord Zhang’s great victory.
Indeed, it was over!
“Tingyi is foolish, I reminded him more than once, but he did not listen……” Xu Jie sighed endlessly.
“Why is this the case with Lord Zhang?!” Zhang Juzheng sighed repeatedly.
Since Master Xu had already reminded Lord Zhang multiple times, why did Lord Zhang not listen? If Lord Zhang had listened to Master Xu’s words and submitted a memorial to report his duties early, he would not have fallen into today’s situation.
Moreover, as governor, Lord Zhang’s power in Jiangnan was unparalleled, although the Yan party’s influence was vast, a strong dragon does not suppress the local snake, it could be said that every move of Zhao Wenhua was under Lord Zhang’s eyes, including this impeachment memorial, Lord Zhang must have known about it.
Since he already knew Zhao Wenhua was impeaching him, why did he not listen to Master Xu’s words and submit a memorial to report his duties?!
Why.
Zhang Juzheng, with tightly furrowed brows, recalled Xu Jie’s previous guidance, thought for a moment, then had some idea, nothing more than trusting the emperor, and being confident that the campaign against the Japanese pirates would succeed, the news of a great victory was the best response to Zhao Wenhua’s impeachment, and keeping military deployments secret to avoid them being known by the Yan party, and then leaked to the Japanese pirates by the Yan party for their own selfish interests……
This is too……
Ah.
No wonder Master Xu said Lord Zhang is foolish, foolish.
Ah, regrettable, lamentable, hateful, once Lord Zhang meets with misfortune, then the position of Jiangnan governor will very likely fall into the hands of the Yan party, once the Yan party gets involved in military power, then they will truly cover the sky with one hand.
“Now that things have come to this, there is no way to turn the tide, Shuda, you must remember this lesson, do not follow in his footsteps.”
Xu Jie sighed, teaching Zhang Juzheng.
“Thank you, Master Xu, for the reminder, I will never forget it.” Zhang Juzheng cupped his hands, his gaze exceptionally firm.
“Shuda, I have one more thing to remind you of.” Xu Jie said with a serious face.
“Please teach me, Master Xu.” Zhang Juzheng cupped his hands to listen to the teaching.
“When Tingyi’s victory report arrives, Yan Song’s followers will certainly use this to make trouble, at that time the emperor will punish Tingyi, you must not use the victory report or other reasons to plead or defend for Tingyi, otherwise, you might be considered to be in league with Zhang Jing, protecting each other, failing to save him and instead harming yourself. As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood, only by preserving a useful body can you have a place to exert your abilities in the future.” Xu Jie seriously warned Zhang Juzheng, absolutely do not act on impulse, plead or defend for Zhang Jing.
“I will keep the teacher’s teaching in mind.” Zhang Juzheng nodded heavily.
