novelhk Chapter 118 The Scholar's Topic
Chapter 118 The Scholar's Topic
Chapter 118 The Scholar's Topic
"I have come without prior notice, and have been an unwelcome guest. I hope the Duke of England will not be offended," Prince Chong said with a smile.
"Your Highness is too kind."
The Duke of England stepped aside and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please come inside!"
As Prince Chong walked towards the gate of the mansion, the Duke of Ying glared at the servant who had brought the message and whispered, "Why didn't you say that Prince Chong came with his heir?"
"My lord, His Highness Prince Chong did not get out of the carriage earlier. He only sent someone to announce that the Prince of Yan's son had also come. I didn't know that either," the servant who brought the news said aggrievedly.
The Duke of England's face darkened further, but he didn't have time to say anything and hurriedly chased after him.
Upon arriving at the main hall, the Duke of England invited Prince Chong and his son to sit down and had servants serve them tea.
Prince Chong smiled and chatted idly with the Duke of Ying, delaying the reveal of his purpose.
After a short while, the Duke of England couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Your Highness, I have to go to the military camp for an inspection soon, so I'll have to entertain you another time."
Upon hearing this, Prince Chong sneered inwardly. Although the Duke of Yingguo was nominally in charge of the Western Suburbs Camp, in reality, the Western Suburbs Camp was completely controlled by the government.
Emperor Taizu gathered the elite troops from across the land into the Imperial Guard, thus placing the military completely under the emperor's control.
Many people say that the civil officials led the military in the Song Dynasty, but that is a very one-sided view.
To be precise, the army was in the hands of the emperor.
However, the emperor, staying in the palace, could not completely control the army.
This is similar to an emperor needing ministers to govern the country for him, and even having to delegate power to the prime minister.
Not everyone is like Zhu Yuanzhang, with such great energy that they don't need a prime minister to assist them in handling government affairs.
Appointing civil officials to command the military was merely a tactic employed by the emperor.
The appointment of civil officials to command troops was always temporary. The civil officials could be summoned to the court at any time, while the main army would return to the western suburban camp.
The Duke of England, as the nominal commander-in-chief, could not mobilize even a single soldier from the camp without the emperor's decree.
He was aware of this himself, so he rarely went to the military camp.
That was just a way to get rid of him.
Although Prince Chong was annoyed, he did not show it. Instead, he smiled and said, "Since that's the case, then I will speak frankly and not take up any more of the Duke of Ying's time."
"Your Highness, please proceed!" said the Duke of England.
Prince Chong sighed and said, "I only have one son. Last year, my daughter-in-law died in childbirth, and I became a widower. Today, I have come to your door to shamelessly propose marriage for my son to the daughter of the Duke of Ying.
When the British Duke saw Zhao Lin there, he already had this suspicion.
Upon hearing this, he feigned difficulty and said, "It is an honor for the Duke of Ying's mansion that Your Highness has taken a liking to my daughter."
Over the years, many families have come to propose marriage, including some talented young men, but I have rejected them all.
I had my daughter late in life and want to keep her by my side for a few more years.
Moreover, before the Marquis of Zhongjing passed away, I had arranged a marriage between us, and I can only regret failing to live up to Your Highness's kindness.
"I never expected this to happen. Since that's the case, then let it be."
The Prince of Yan smiled and stood up: "If the Duke of Yingguo has other matters to attend to, I will not disturb him any longer."
"I'll see Your Highness out."
The Duke of England saw the Prince and his son off at the door, and only after seeing them off in their carriages did he turn and enter his residence.
"Father, that old scoundrel is despicable! There's not a single word about this outside the palace. It's obvious he made it up to appease you," Zhao Lin said angrily.
"I didn't expect him to agree anyway, otherwise I wouldn't have come," Prince Chong said nonchalantly.
"Um?
""
Zhao Lin was taken aback by these words and asked in confusion, "If that's the case, why did Father still bring me here to propose marriage?"
"Did you think I wanted to marry the Duke of Ying to gain his support?" Prince Chong looked at his son with some disappointment.
"Isn't that right?"
Zhao Lin, oblivious to the disappointment in Prince Chong's eyes, said, "The Duke of Ying has a high prestige in the army. If we can form a marriage alliance with him, all the military generals in the court will support Father."
"If all the military generals in the court support me, then my death is not far off," Prince Chong sneered.
"Why do you say that, Father?" Zhao Lin's expression changed slightly. After all, with the Prince of Chong gone, he, as the son, would naturally not have a good ending either.
He just didn't understand how a simple marriage proposal could be considered a matter of life and death in his father's eyes.
"I ask you, among the military heroes who supported me, which one is still serving in the army?" Prince Chong asked.
After thinking about it carefully, Zhao Lin realized that it was indeed the case.
Because his grandmother came from a military family, she had the support of military officers and generals.
However, those families that truly took sides were all families where no one held a position in the military, or if they did, it was not a high-ranking one.
"You're vying for the throne and even marrying the top military officer. Do you think the Emperor won't become suspicious of me?"
Prince Chong said calmly, "If the Emperor chooses me as the Crown Prince, then I won't even need to ask; the Emperor will directly bestow a marriage upon you."
But as long as the Emperor has not made a decision, even if the Duke of England's mansion is willing, I dare not agree.
"If that's the case, why did Father still come to propose marriage? What if the Duke of Ying agrees?" Zhao Lin asked, puzzled.
"The Duke of England isn't stupid; how could he possibly agree to that?"
The Prince of Yan shook his head and said, "I have come to propose marriage in order to show all the generals and military heroes in the world."
According to the ancestral rule established by Emperor Taizu, the empress must be chosen from among the families of military meritors.
But that only applies to crown princes who were appointed early on; it's clearly not applicable to the current situation.
According to ancestral rules, if an emperor has a son, he must choose a crown princess from among the families of military officers.
However, this does not apply to him, the Prince of Yong, or their sons.
The two had long been married and had children, and their sons were also married.
Although Zhao Lin's wife died in childbirth, Zhao Lin cannot remain a widower indefinitely unless the emperor decides on the heir apparent now.
In other words, regardless of whether he or the Prince of Yong succeeds to the throne, at the very least, neither he nor their sons will be able to marry women from Wu Xun's family as empresses.
This is clearly not in the interest of Wu Xun and his generals.
But they had no way to solve it.
After all, neither Prince Chong nor Prince Yong are crown princes, so it is entirely up to them to choose which family to marry into at this time.
On the contrary, in order to avoid arousing suspicion from the emperor, neither of them would marry into the families of military generals or powerful military officers.
"But when my father went to the Duke of Ying's mansion to propose marriage, it didn't have the desired effect, and it will even arouse suspicion from the emperor," Zhao Lin said.
"It's not bad that you could think of these things."
The Prince of Yan nodded slightly and smiled, "The Duke of Yingguo has refused, so why does Your Majesty still suspect me?"
As for how to demonstrate this to those military officers and families of merit, didn't you just make it very clear?"
"Did I say that?"
Zhao Lin scratched his head in confusion, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "I understand."
As candidates for the crown prince, both Prince Yong and Prince Chong have attracted much attention for their every move.
The news of Prince Chong's grand marriage proposal could not be kept secret and spread quickly.
The first reaction of those who heard the news was disbelief.
After all, even if Prince Chong was stupid, he couldn't possibly be unaware that a marriage alliance with the Duke of Ying's family would do more harm than good, could he?
The Duke of England, the top military official, was completely unable to mobilize troops.
Even if they were to actually pledge allegiance to Prince Chong, the chances of them successfully helping him rebel in the future would be virtually nil.
The reason why Emperor Taizu decided to select the empress from the families of meritorious officials was to appease Wu Xun, not to gain his support.
Marrying Prince Chong to the Duke of Ying would bring almost no benefit and could even arouse suspicion, making it completely meaningless.
Judging from Chong Wang's previous behavior, he doesn't seem like such a stupid person.
However, the news was soon confirmed: Prince Chong had indeed come to propose marriage, but was rejected.
Many people are pondering the purpose of Chong Wang, but no matter how much they think about it, they still don't understand the intention behind it.
Upon learning of this matter, the Prince of Yong immediately summoned his trusted confidants and asked them to analyze the Prince's intentions.
The final conclusion was that Chong Wang made a foolish move under pressure.
The source of this pressure is the issue of having offspring.
He promoted himself by wielding power and influence, while the mediocre were everywhere under the Yongwang banner.
The Prince of Yong's methods were much simpler and more straightforward; he focused on the issue of having offspring.
However, this problem was extremely fatal. Prince Chong also knew the seriousness of the problem. Since he could not have children himself, he arranged for Zhao Lin to marry and take concubines early on, and the father and son worked together to have children.
When Zhao Lin was fifteen years old, they arranged for him to get married.
Within a year of marriage, she arranged for her son to take in more than a dozen concubines.
This approach did have some effect; within a few years of marriage, five of Zhao Lin's wives and concubines had become pregnant.
However, although the five women had three sons and one daughter, two of the sons died shortly after birth.
Even his legal wife died in childbirth.
Zhao Lin only has one son now, who is an illegitimate child and is only a little over a year old. It is still hard to say whether he will die young.
Prince Yong naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass, so he sent people to spread all sorts of rumors.
Therefore, the Prince of Yong's confidants unanimously believed that the Prince of Chong was in a hurry and needed to gain more support.
The ministers in the court couldn't possibly take sides, so they set their sights on the Duke of England.
The Prince of Yong also agreed with this speculation and was very pleased with it, so he told them to continue to intensify their propaganda campaign.
After his trusted aide left, Zhao Sheng said with a grave expression, "Father, I feel that things may not be so simple."
"Um?"
The Prince of Yong was in high spirits when he heard this, but he frowned and said, "Then tell me, what is the Prince of Yan's purpose?"
"I can't guess it right now, but even if Uncle Chong is in a hurry, he wouldn't make such a mistake," Zhao Sheng said.
"Heh, he might not be in such a hurry for anything else, but this is the throne. He knows very well what the consequences will be if he fails. Now that he's exhausted all his options, isn't it normal for him to make such a foolish move?" Prince Yong said indifferently.
"I'm not surprised that Uncle Chong made a foolish move, but regardless of whether this matter succeeds or fails, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. This is no longer a foolish move, but simply a stupid one," Zhao Sheng said, shaking his head.
"Sheng'er, you yourself said that regardless of success or failure, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. In that case, even if he has other schemes, what is there to worry about?"
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"alright!"
Prince Yong waved his hand and said, "Stop worrying about this and that all day long. I'm tired, you may leave."
"Yes."
Zhao Sheng bowed and left, deep in thought.
He had just wanted to say that the purpose of becoming a prince was not directly related to his marriage alliance with the Duke of Ying's family, which was more beneficial than harmful.
But his father was clearly not listening, and he didn't understand what the Prince of Chong was planning, so his argument lacked persuasiveness.
"Perhaps he can sense something is amiss?" Zhao Sheng murmured.
Although Wang You and the others were studying, they still learned about what was happening outside when their lunch break ended.
When they arrived at the school in the afternoon, Sheng Changfeng asked Wang You and Qi Heng for their opinions on the matter.
Neither of them wanted to talk about it, so he started to boast on and on.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
He praised the Prince of Yan for doing the right thing, saying that Emperor Taizu had an ancestral instruction that the empress should be chosen from the families of military meritors.
Prince Chong and Prince Yong are already married, so the ancestral precepts do not apply to them. However, both heirs should choose their wives from the Wu Xun family.
Wang You found it both funny and absurd; the empress was chosen from Wu Xun's family to appease him.
It is also a good way to eliminate its influence in the military.
Once someone becomes a relative of the emperor's wife, they cannot hold a substantive official position, regardless of whether they are the Duke of Ying or his son.
Over time, the prestige of the British government in the military naturally diminished.
By allowing the eldest sons of both Prince Chong and Prince Yong to marry into the highly prestigious Wu Xun, wouldn't this be forcing the future new emperor to take action against him?
Only an emperor or a future crown prince could do that.
Otherwise, why don't so many members of the royal family marry into the Wu family?
Qi Heng couldn't help but retort, "Neither of your princes is the crown prince, so naturally they cannot marry into Wu Xun's family."
"But both princes are candidates, and one of them will inevitably become the crown prince. If neither of them marries Wu Xun, what will become of the ancestral system?" Sheng Changbai retorted.
Qi Heng was about to say something when the sound of a clapper rang out outside, and everyone quickly sat up straight.
A moment later, Zhuang Xuejiu walked in. After everyone had finished their greetings, he smiled and said, "I heard you arguing from afar. May I ask what you were arguing about?"
"Back to the scholarly ways!"
Sheng Changfeng stood up, bowed, and recounted the topic of their recent debate.
Scholar Zhuang smiled and nodded, saying, "Perfect, this class is a debate class, so let's have a debate on the topic of 'Should we establish the eldest son or the most virtuous son?'"
Such debate classes can be considered a distinctive feature of Zhuang Xuejiu's teaching.
At first, Zhuang Xuejiu only taught one debate class per month, selecting a sentence from the classics they had studied and having them debate it, expressing their own opinions.
In the past two years, debate classes have become much more frequent. Every time after a ten-day break, the first class on the first afternoon will be a debate on a topic.
Therefore, when Zhuang Xuejiu heard their debate and posed such a question, apart from Wang You, no one else seemed to find it unusual.
Wang You was stunned when he heard the question posed by Zhuang Xuejiu.
He remembered that Zhuang Xuejiu had also given a similar question in the original drama, but Gu Tingye had already returned by then, and the question was something he just randomly pointed to while flipping through a book.
Sheng Changbai tried to stop them, but Zhuang Xuejiu insisted on letting them debate.
Now, Zhuang Xuejiu, upon hearing Sheng Changfeng's argument, took the initiative to use this as a topic.
It seemed like there was no difference, but Wang You sensed that Zhuang Xuejiu had intentionally set such a question.
Wang You thought back carefully and realized that Zhuang Xuejiu didn't seem to have expressed his own opinion, but was very satisfied with Minglan's answer.
Could it be that Zhuang Xuejiu deliberately set this question to teach Sheng Changbai and others not to participate in such matters?
But what he wanted to say was said by Minglan beforehand?
"pedant."
Sheng Changbai stood up and said, "Isn't it inappropriate to discuss this kind of thing in private?"
"It's alright."
Zhuang Xuejiu waved his hand and said, "Nowadays in Bianjing, even peddlers and laborers can have a few words to say. What's more, I'm just asking you to debate whether to establish the eldest son or the most virtuous one. Such things have happened in every dynasty, there's nothing that can't be said."