I

Bayou Pier.

Fei Yuanlu opened the cabin door himself and said earnestly: "Inspector Cai, please come ashore!"

Cai Maode was very humble and said with a smile: "I don't dare to take it. The elders and the younger are in order. Senior Fei invites you first."

Ti Xuedao, also known as: school inspector, academic administration.

If the deputy envoy is appointed to serve, he is called the "deputy envoy of Tixue". If it is filled by the inspector, it is called "ti xueqianshi".

These various titles actually refer to the same official position - the Provincial Director of Education.

Cai Maode, a Taoist scholar in Jiangxi, has been hated by others in recent years. Because he was not greedy for money, he did not allow cheating in the imperial examinations, which made many rich children unable to buy the title of scholar even if they had money.

Moreover, this person was so elusive that he dared to run around Jiangxi with only one long-term entourage, secretly investigating the academic style of various states and counties.

I came to Qianshan a few days ago and spent half a day visiting the county school. Finally, a scholar recognized him. Zheng Lun, the newly appointed magistrate of the county, rushed to wait on him, but he was in vain. Cai Maode left to pay his respects to Xin Qiji.

"Hanzhu Mountain is really a good place for outstanding people and places," Cai Maode said, looking at the mountains from a distance.

Fei Yuanlu quickly said: "There is still a shortage of great Confucian teachers. If the inspector can give lectures in the mountains, the academicians will definitely make great progress."

Cai Maode smiled and said: "Hanzhu Mountain is rich in cultural heritage, I am just doing my own thing."

The two of them walked forward together, followed by several others.

One of them has a strong physique, a long sword hanging on his waist, and a book box on his back. He seems to be Cai Maode's personal entourage.

On the way up the mountain, Cai Maode suddenly asked: "How did the students of Hanzhu Academy react to the imperial court's cancellation of exemptions and exemptions?"

Fei Yuanlu replied: "The country has treated its scholars favorably for more than two hundred years. Now that Taicang is short of money and food, the scholars should take care of the country's worries."

The answer was not what the question was asked, and Cai Maode was too lazy to ask again.

Arriving at the entrance of the academy, there was a piece of paper taped to the wall beside the door.

Cai Maode walked over to check, and suddenly looked strange, asking: "All people in the world are created equal. Which great scholar in the academy is this masterpiece?"

Fei Yuanlu replied: "The actions of an arrogant boy have aroused public outrage. The court will not be punished for his words, and the academy should do the same. I plan to hold a debate tomorrow and let the boy debate with the teachers and students of the academy. If he loses, I will charge him to correct himself and stop making weird remarks. If he can refute all the teachers and students in the school and consider himself a child prodigy, then we can let him develop."

"This method is very good, I should take a look." Cai Maode was very interested in this.

Fei Yuanlu was waiting for this sentence and immediately hit the snake with a stick: "Although this is absurd, it is also rare. Can the inspector write a composition to record it?"

Cai Maode turned around suddenly and stared at Fei Yuanlu with a half-smile.

Fei Yuanlu was more than twenty years older than him. He had white hair and wrinkles. He had a flattering look on his face and pleading eyes.

Cai Maode's heart softened and he sighed: "That's all, I'll just write an article."

Fei Yuanlu straightened his clothes and bowed straightly.

This article is very important. It was written by the Deputy Envoy of Tixue, and the topic of the debate is controversial. It will definitely make Hanzhu Academy famous.

At the same time, there is another deep meaning, involving the grievances of the predecessors.

Wang Yangming's father is Wang Hua, and Fei Hong is Wang Hua's disciple. Fei Hong's cousin Fei Cai was Lou Liang's grandson-in-law, and Wang Yangming was Lou Liang's student.

During Prince Ning's Rebellion, Wang Yangming and Fei Hong defeated Prince Ning together.

In terms of personality, Fei Hong highly respected Wang Yangming. Academically, Fei Hong was very resistant to Wang Yangming. Politically, Fei Hong resolutely suppressed Wang Yangming.

The conflict between the two sides originated from the handling of King Ning, that is, who should hand over the captives.

Later, Fei Hong prevented Wang Yangming from coming back and refused to promote Wang Yangming. Eight months before Wang Yangming's death, Fei Hong took the initiative to show his goodwill, and the two parties ostensibly reached a settlement.

Because of this, Wang Yangming's disciples and grandsons have never wanted to see Qianshan Fei.

If Cai Maode can write articles for Hanzhu Academy, it means that his faction accepts the Fei family.

After receiving a positive answer, Fei Yuanlu said happily: "Inspector, please come in."

"Please." Cai Maode no longer declined.

As time passed, the grudges between their predecessors had faded away, and the two of them crossed the gate of the academy hand in hand.

The man behind the sword did not follow immediately, but carefully read the article on the wall. Sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning, and finally thoughtful.

This person's name is Zhu Zhiyu, a scholar from Yuyao.

But when Fei and Cai entered the academy, they bumped into a group of students.

"I've seen the mountain leader!" The students saluted one after another.

Another student recognized Cai Maode and said, "Meet the Master (Master)!"

Fei Yuanlu returned the greeting and asked, "You are in a hurry, where do you want to go?"

A student said: "The imperial court has canceled the exemptions for students, so I went to the governor together with the intention of jointly submitting a petition to ask His Majesty to take back the order!"

Another student said: "Since the inspector is here, we should not abandon the near and seek the far away. Please help the inspector to hand in the memorial!"

"Nonsense!"

Fei Yuanlu immediately scolded: "The abolition of the preferential exemption for students was an imperial order two years ago, but Jiangxi has only delayed its implementation until now. How many of you scholars can make His Majesty retract his decree?"

A student said excitedly: "Chief, the student is from a humble background and all depends on Fei's support. But students also have to support their families, and the whole family cannot rely on Fei for survival. Two stones of food is not much, but for students, it is their home." Life-saving food. Now that the imperial court has canceled exemptions and exemptions, and there are hundreds of thousands of students in the world, who among the poor scholars like students would not feel chilled? This is a state of chaos!"

Fei Yuanlu was speechless.

Cai Maode sighed: "Give me your memorial."

"Thank you sir!" The students were immediately overjoyed.

Cai Maode added: "I will only forward it to the General Affairs Department for you. I cannot guarantee whether His Majesty can see it."

The students were instantly dejected, and then became increasingly angry, feeling that Chongzhen was a foolish king.

It's a matter of self-interest, so it would be strange not to be resentful!

But Emperor Chongzhen had no choice. He had to find money to maintain the situation.

Take the third year of Chongzhen's reign as an example. The Ministry of Household Affairs requested for an increase in taxes for the first time, but the emperor directly refused. Six months later, there was really no money in the treasury, so the emperor had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Not much was added, only 0.003 taels of silver per mu of land.

However, it has been increased once in the past few years. How can the people hold on?

The south is slightly better, after all, the yield per mu is higher.

The land in the north is barren and droughts have been encountered for years, which is driving farmers to death.

The policy is implemented and the country is blooming.

Shanxi was directly bombed, and peasant uprisings broke out.

There are more and more White Lotus believers in Beizhi, Henan, and Shandong.

At this time, in order to control the army, Chongzhen sent his trusted eunuchs across the country.

When the eunuchs took office, their first priority was to make money and exploit the soldiers together with the civil servants and military generals. Within a year, mutinies broke out in five provinces, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan. Many of them were encouraged by military attachés to give the new eunuchs a warning.

Compared with these chaos, what is the scholar's two kilo of rice?

The students were dejected, and one person said: "That mad student preaches equality between good and humble, but we scholars are not even as good as domestic slaves. Look at those rich slaves, none of them are well-dressed and well-fed, while we scholars can only eat chaff." Food. Now that even the exemption is gone, I would like to be equal to the domestic slaves."

"Why talk in anger? We can still take the exam, and a domestic slave will be a domestic slave for the rest of his life." Another student advised.

The student before said: "Can you take one test for me to see? The Jiangxi provincial examination is extremely difficult, and the officials and gentry colluded to cheat, so some idiots passed the exam! How much hope can we, poor scholars, have?"

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, fraud in rural examinations occurred almost every year.

Now that Qian Qianyi has resigned from office and is at home, he is involved in a rural examination fraud case, and it is difficult to prove his innocence!

Everyone was silent.

Suddenly, a student said: "I won't take the exam. I will go to Nanchang tomorrow to visit my relatives. It would be best if I could find a job as a tutor. But if it doesn't work, I will copy and write letters to others. I must not wait for my family to starve to death."

"I'm going to Shangrao, where my uncle is working, to see if I can find something to do." Another student said.

These are all ordinary scholars. Only Lin students can receive Lin rice on a monthly basis, and only Lin students can earn the money required for government exams. But they can't get anything. The most they can do is be a guarantee in the county examination. Now that the court has canceled the exemptions and exemptions, and at the same time increased the land tax, the poor scholars really can't bear it anymore.

Even if he could bear it, he was still disheartened and felt that he had been abandoned by the court.

“This court, it’s better to do the opposite!”

"Quiet, are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy! I studied hard in the cold window, had no hope of taking the imperial examination, and was rejected by the court. What else can we do?"

"Brother Changqing is crazy, pull him back quickly!"

"..."

All of a sudden, everything was going crazy.

Zhao Han's "Hanzhu Debate" came under this background.