Chapter 98: Mourning at the Temple

Wanli was indeed stirred to anger.

Early the next morning, Yang Xin was taken into the Imperial Palace by the Imperial Guard…

“What is this all about?” Wanli asked with an impassive face.

Yang Xin glanced at Xu Xianchun beside him and then spoke frankly, “Your Majesty, they truly held a grudge against this commoner. Seeing me receive Your Majesty’s favor, they were dissatisfied. They deliberately blocked the Silver Ingot Bridge intending to publicly humiliate me. Assistant Commissioner Xu drove them away because I incited him to do so. But this commoner truly does not understand: in the Great Ming, who is greater, Your Majesty or their Confucius? Whose land is this, Your Majesty’s or that of their Confucian disciples? Assistant Commissioner Xu escorted me home by Imperial Edict, yet they dared to block the way with a Memorial Tablet of Confucius. In their eyes, Your Majesty’s Imperial Edict is inferior to Confucius’s tablet. Are they Your Majesty’s subjects or Confucius’s slaves?

This subject is simply infuriated by this.

Assistant Commissioner Xu was right: in the Great Ming, vast as heaven and earth, the Imperial Edict is the greatest!

Once an Imperial Edict is issued, the subjects must obey.

They knew full well Your Majesty’s intent in having the Imperial Guard escort me home: first, to reward me for fighting bloody battles for the country; second, to let the whole world know that Your Majesty rewards merit, and that anyone who truly exerts themselves for the state will receive Your Majesty’s reward, gaining not only immediate wealth and honor but also glory for their ancestors.

They understood this clearly.

Yet, merely because of a personal grudge, they did not hesitate to publicly humiliate me, ruining Your Majesty’s well-intentioned efforts. Knowing that Assistant Commissioner Xu was escorting me by Imperial Edict, they relied on having Confucius’s tablet and treated the Imperial Edict as mere scrap paper. If such people are not taught a lesson, what will the common folk around think? They will see the imperial authority yielding to Confucian scholars, the royal family yielding to Confucianism, Your Majesty yielding to the literati. Then how will Your Majesty command the realm?

In the future, could any random group of scholars simply hug Confucius’s tablet to oppose an Imperial Edict…”

“Nonsense!” Wanli roared angrily.

“Your Majesty, these are this commoner’s sincere words. There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two masters for the people. In the Great Ming, no one stands above Your Majesty, not even Confucius. Your Majesty, the West is a cautionary tale,” Yang Xin said.

“Speak,” Wanli was immediately intrigued.

“In Western countries, they all believe in Deus. The head of their religion resides in the Vatican, establishing a Church. They send priests to various countries and even to each country’s provinces and counties. When a monarch dies, the successor must be crowned by the Church; otherwise, it is considered usurpation, and all countries attack them. Moreover, no matter how great a monarch, even one ruling over tens of millions, upon meeting the Pope, they must kneel on both knees and address him as ‘Father.’ Those who dare not kneel are punished with excommunication, and any lord in their country may replace them. There was even a case where a monarch, along with his Empress, was forced to walk barefoot through wind and snow to a mountaintop, kneeling before the Pope’s door for three days and three nights, before finally receiving the Pope’s pardon. If Your Majesty continues to indulge these increasingly unruly scholars, aren’t you afraid that one day the Emperor of the Great Ming might also need to kneel before the Confucian Temple, requiring the Confucius family’s coronation to have the authority to rule the world?” Yang Xin said.

“Are these not lies you fabricated?” Wanli asked sternly.

“Your Majesty, find a Red-Haired Barbarian, but not a Missionary. Missionaries are sent by the Church to preach in the Great Ming. Have someone in Macau find an ordinary Red-Haired sailor. Then ask him whether the King of Portugal must kneel when meeting the Pope, and whether the King of Portugal’s succession requires the Church to preside over the coronation. This will verify the truth of what this commoner says,” Yang Xin said.

The verification would certainly prove everything he said was true.

Yang Xin disdained lying!

He would merely, like those so-called experts, selectively inform Wanli of such content. Things like the Humiliation of Canossa could be mentioned, but there was no need at all to mention the Avignon Papacy.

“You may return for now!” Wanli waved his hand, signaling him to get out.

However, His Majesty the Emperor seemed somewhat troubled. After all, the Europe Yang Xin described was quite frightening. Having fought civil officials his entire life, even resorting to secluding himself in the deep palace as passive resistance, he naturally understood well the immense power of the gentry class now. It had even surpassed that of the hereditary nobles and military officers. The only group that could barely oppose them with his support was the eunuch faction, and even that was a struggle. What bound the civil officials together was the banner of Confucian sagehood.

Something like the Duke Yansheng crowning the Emperor was still unlikely.

But scholars holding Confucius’s tablets and resisting his Tax Supervisors and mine supervisors in various places had already become common practice.

These individuals, enjoying tax-exempt fertile lands and even receiving government stipends, not only showed no gratitude for the favors he bestowed but also, relying on the saintly banner over their heads, openly opposed imperial authority. This…

This was indeed getting a bit too bold.

Of course, Yang Xin paid no mind to what Wanli thought.

Having played the role of a treacherous minister, he left the Imperial Palace with Xu Xianchun in high spirits.

Old Xu’s punishment was negligible—just a one-year salary deduction. Even as a ceremonial guard, he did not rely on the theoretical two to three hundred dan of rice per year to live. But the role he played in this matter had already made his uncle remember his name. As an Imperial Guard, he was sufficiently dutiful. If the Imperial Guard did not uphold imperial authority, what were they called Imperial Guards for? Not to mention he merely injured a few Green Robed Scholars for this; even if he had trampled a few, it would have been the same. His inevitable promotion was now assured.

“Brother Yang, to be honest, being with you often leads to impulsive actions, but the outcome always turns danger into safety. You, my friend, are a lucky star!” Xu Xianchun said with emotion.

“Because His Majesty the Emperor knows that we are the truly loyal ministers,” Yang Xin said.

Xu Xianchun nodded deeply in agreement.

Then the two exited through the Xi’an Gate. Just outside, they saw countless common folk running northward.

“What’s happening?” Yang Xin bent down and grabbed someone to ask.

“They’re mourning at the temple! The Government Students from the Imperial College are mourning at the Confucian Temple!” the person said excitedly.

“Huh, I actually called it!” Yang Xin released the person in astonishment. The moment he landed, the man immediately continued running forward excitedly.

Yang Xin and Xu Xianchun looked at each other, then turned their horses around and joined the crowd. Soon, following yesterday’s route past the Silver Ingot Bridge and the Drum Tower, they arrived at the Confucian Temple in the northeast corner of the Capital City. There, amid the still sporadically falling snowflakes, the previously pure white area before the Confucian Temple was now completely covered in green. Countless Green Robed Scholars lay there wailing. The five gentlemen injured by trampling yesterday were on five stretchers, wrapped in bandages and such, looking like mummies, placed inside the main gate of the Confucian Temple…

Not inside the main hall.

They were intentionally on display. If placed in the main hall, who would see them?

Besides, the main hall was currently holding sacrifices to Confucius. This wasn’t about mourning at the temple; how could such a thing happen in the Great Ming’s era of Taiping prosperity? Don’t always think about making big news. This was merely worshiping Confucius. Then, because there were too many worshipers, the line extended all the way to the street. The scholars hurt yesterday happened to feel aggrieved, so they cried a bit at the back.

It definitely was not mourning at the temple.

It definitely was not a demonstration against His Majesty the Emperor.

“Do we have a Martial Temple in the Capital City?” Yang Xin asked.

“No,” Xu Xianchun said.

These Green Robed Scholars were provoked because Wanli’s punishment of him was too light.

Yesterday morning, almost all the Censors from the Censorate jointly submitted a memorial impeaching him for leading the Imperial Guard in violence and trampling the Memorial Tablet of Confucius. Then Wanli simply deducted his salary for a year. Such punishment was clearly unacceptable to the Green Robed Scholars.

“Then who do military officers worship?” Yang Xin asked.

“There are Temples of Guan Yu in the city, but there is no official Martial Temple. In the southern capital, there is the Martial Virtue Tower and a Temple of Meritorious Officials, but none in the northern capital. They are all enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His Majesty canonized Lords Guan and Yue as sages. We in the Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot worship Lord Yue. However, the Capital City has no separate Temple of Lord Yue, only separate Temples of Guan Yu. Worship of Lord Yue is at the Three Loyalties Shrine, which also includes Marquis Wu and Prime Minister Wen,” Xu Xianchun said.

“Then why don’t we build a separate one for Lord Yue?” Yang Xin said with an innocent expression.

“That is possible. Even if His Majesty does not issue an edict, it is reasonable for the Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot to pool money to build a Temple of Lord Yue. It would just take some time,” Xu Xianchun said.

“Building a Temple of Lord Yue certainly requires time, but finding a plot of land and having everyone gather to worship Lord Yue in preparation for starting construction is feasible. How many Green Robed Scholars do they have? How many of us are there in the Imperial Guard in the Capital City?” Yang Xin said.

Xu Xianchun drew a sharp breath.

“Don’t be afraid. You have to believe me. You just said I’m a lucky star,” Yang Xin said with a smile.

“I’ll trust you one more time. I’ll go gather the brothers!” Xu Xianchun said through gritted teeth.

“Can brothers from the Capital Garrison also worship Lord Yue?” Yang Xin asked.

“Of course. All military men under heaven can worship at the Temple of Lord Yue,” Xu Xianchun said.

“Go ask the Marquis of Taining if he’s interested in slapping the civil officials in the face. Speaking of which, these hereditary nobles muddle through their days meekly; don’t they want to stand tall and proud for once?” Yang Xin said.

Xu Xianchun nodded with a sinister smile as well.