Chapter 568 Behind the Scenes
For Huang Zixing, what is most rare in Danzhou at this time? Scholars who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty and dislike Haihan are the most rare! There are thousands of scholars in Danzhou, but in Huang Zixing's view, there are very few scholars who have the guts to adhere to the Ming Dynasty's orthodoxy and the courage to reject the corruption of Haihan. Although there are many academies in the local area, most of them have become accomplices and tools for Haihan to poison young people. From Huang Zixing's position, he simply despises being associated with these people.
And under the current sluggish situation in the entire cultural and educational industry in Danzhou, there is actually a young man who maintains a clear mind and correct understanding. This is simply a breath of fresh air that appears in front of Huang Zixing. Huang Zixing has not encountered such a righteous student for a long time. The most rare thing is that this student actually came here because of his reputation, which in Huang Zixing's opinion is a great fate.
Huang Zixing twisted his beard and said, "I have not admitted any more disciples to my family in recent years. If Mr. Zhang is determined to learn from you, I would be willing to accept another disciple in the year of my destiny."
Zhang Qianzhi was waiting for Huang Zixing to express his stance. He immediately stood up again, bowed deeply and said: "How lucky is this young man to be appreciated by the head of Huangshan Mountain."
One of the two people came with a purpose, and the other received them with evil intentions. It happened that one was willing to fight and the other was willing to suffer. It was considered a match, and the master-disciple relationship was established in a few words.
Zhang Qianzhi took the initiative and asked: "I wonder how much the college tuition is per year?"
Huang Zixing shook his hand and said: "There is no need to worry now, just stay in the academy. This academy is not as smelly as other academies in Danzhou, as long as you have the heart to learn."
The current situation of Zhongming Academy is that it is no longer possible to turn around the decline by relying on one or two students to pay tuition. In Huang Zixing's view, the tuition fee is far less valuable than finding a like-minded person. Instead of rushing to collect the few taels of silver, it is better to show him kindness first and leave the person in the academy.
Huang Zixing called the person in charge of chores at the academy and asked him to take Zhang Qianzhi to settle down first. Nowadays, there are only a few permanent residents in Zhongming Academy, but there are a large number of vacant beds and rooms in the west courtyard.
After Zhang Qianzhi left with his luggage, Huang Zixing couldn't sit still anymore, got up and went to another room next door.
That room was also furnished with a study room, which was roughly similar to Huang Zixing's study room. There was a person sitting behind the desk, writing something. Huang Zixing immediately closed the door after entering, then bowed and said: "Master Zhao, the common people have something to report!"
The man he called Mr. Zhao stopped writing, looked up at him and said, "Looking at your happy face, it must be a good thing?"
Huang Zixing responded: "Sir, a young student came to the academy just now to study. After talking with him, Cao Min thought this person could be useful."
"Tell me about it." Mr. Zhao put down the brush in his hand and leaned against the back of the chair as if to listen.
Huang Zixing explained: "This son is from Quanzhou, Fujian, and now lives in Leizhou. He recently came to Danzhou for study. The common people were very dissatisfied with Haihan based on his words and deeds. They found him only after excluding the local academies that were affiliated with Haihan. Come to this college to study.”
"Old place, unfamiliar face, scholar..." Mr. Zhao nodded slightly and said, "The conditions are good, but do you know whether his self-reported situation is true?"
"Caomin tried it out in Fujian dialect, and the statement about his place of origin should be true." Huang Zixing responded: "As for other situations, Caomin will arrange for people in the academy to observe his words and deeds before making a conclusion."
"It's better to be cautious!" Mr. Zhao sighed and said, "The Haihan people's methods are far more sophisticated than I expected. Now the entire Qiongbei government is paralyzed, and there are only a handful of people who can work for the court. ”
Huang Zixing said: "Master Zhao, there is no need to be too pessimistic. In the humble opinion of the common people, there are still many loyal people among the people. In the past few months, the common people have tried to contact everywhere, and there are still many people who are willing to serve the imperial court."
"If the people are as enlightened as Chief Huangshan, why would they allow the Haihan people to take over Qiongzhou!" Mr. Zhao sighed again: "After this matter comes to an end, I will definitely write to the court to ask for credit for Chief Huangshan! Qiongzhou Island is full of waste, and it should be reasonable for the imperial court to appoint local loyal people. ”
"Thank you, Lord Zhao, for your support!" Huang Zixing quickly knelt down to express his gratitude.
Mr. Zhao raised his hand to help him, and continued: "Also, didn't you say that the governor of Danzhou will come to visit in the near future? Remember, don't rush to talk to him about the inside story, let alone reveal the existence of this person. Who is this person standing on? Which side is it? Let’s observe it.”
"Yes, yes, the common people obey your orders." Huang Zixing responded repeatedly.
Just like the previous day, Yan Mingjun's Yamen remained deserted. No one came to visit or transfer any official business to the Yamen, and no one even filed a lawsuit. Yan Mingjun walked out of the study and looked at the government officials sitting in a row under the wall chatting and sunbathing. He could only shake his head helplessly and said, "Let's call it a day here!"
All the government officials responded and dispersed. Yan Mingjun could only smile bitterly at such working conditions. He went out and walked around the city in casual clothes today. It was obvious that the social order here was better than any other city he had ever stayed in. There are no idlers or beggars on the streets. There are no piles of garbage or human and animal excrement in the corners and alleys. It is clean and orderly. This is Yan Mingjun's most intuitive feeling about the local area. Yan Mingjun also took advantage of his meal on the street to chat with passers-by, asking them about changes in their daily lives and whether they were satisfied with Haihan's governance. As he expected, the local people did not have much resistance to the change of government. What the people care about is whether the supply of daily necessities and prices on the market are stable, whether the public security situation is good, and whether they can continue to live a stable life. Today, not many people care whether Danzhou is governed by Ming officials or the Haihan Administrative Committee.
A passerby's answer left a deep impression on Yan Mingjun: "The Haihan people did not rebel, and they managed Danzhou well. Everyone has food to eat, and there is no need to worry about being attacked by pirates again. This is okay." What’s wrong?”
Yes, what's wrong with this? Yan Mingjun also tried to find out some areas where the Haihan people were not as good as the Ming Dynasty. However, except that their land policy was criticized by local landlords, there did not seem to be any obvious weaknesses in other aspects.
Yan Mingjun also heard a saying from local people that Haihan is "always correct", that is, as long as it is a decision made by the Haihan Executive Committee or Management Committee, it is always right. Even if it is temporarily incomprehensible, time will prove the correctness of these decisions. As for why the public has this understanding, the biggest reason is the rapid rise of the Sanya region under Haihan's rule in recent years. If there had been obvious mistakes in the decision-making of the rulers, it would have been impossible for Sanya to replace Qiongzhou Island as the most prosperous economic and cultural center in three or four years.
Although Yan Mingjun has not been in Danzhou for a long time, he has heard many people talk about how prosperous Sanya is in the south. Even people like He Qi who have never been to Sanya will brag about it from time to time. His brother-in-law, who is a sailor, brought back some good Haihan goods from Sanya. Yan Mingjun really wants to go to Sanya to see it in person, to see how amazing this place is that so many people have spread word of mouth and praise each other, and whether it is really like the paradise on earth they say.
However, before going to Sanya, he still hopes to make a difference in Danzhou first, at least to get back some of the authority that belongs to the Ming Dynasty from the Haihan people who control the local governance - perhaps it is unlikely given the situation in Danzhou All of it has been taken back, but at least part of it must be taken back to declare the existence of the local government to the local people. These seemingly transparent days were not his original intention of coming to Danzhou, Yan Mingjun.
Huang Zixing, who took the initiative to visit before, was a ray of hope in a desperate situation for Yan Mingjun. This allowed him to see that under the rule of Haihan, there were still people who adhered to the Ming Dynasty's orthodoxy - despite this Part of the reason for perseverance may be due to selfishness, but it is now extremely rare in Danzhou. The reason why Yan Mingjun planned to go to Zhongming Academy to interview Huang Zixing was because he wanted to know how many cards Huang Zixing had in his hand and whether there was a real possibility of a comeback in Danzhou.
Yan Mingjun originally wanted to invite Li Jin to go with him, but the good-hearted Li Jin actually refused the invitation this time, saying that he was going to Baimajing Pier to "do business." Although Yan Mingjun didn't know what Li Jin was planning, he still told him to be careful. After all, if something really happened, it would be Li Jin himself who would suffer in the end.
Early that morning, He Qi followed Yan Mingjun's instructions and hired a sedan, and then he followed Yan Mingjun to Zhongming Academy in the east of the city as an attaché. Yan Mingjun did not prepare any ceremonial guards for the trip, because subconsciously he felt that the Haihan people would not be happy to see Lord Zhizhou's ceremonial guards appearing on the streets of Danzhou, not to mention that Huang Zixing was a well-known local anti-Haihan Fighter, visiting with great fanfare will inevitably attract the attention of the Haihan people, and this kind of attention is not what Yan Mingjun wants.
Of course, what he didn't know was that before he set off, Wang Baisuo had already deployed comprehensive monitoring measures. Even the two bearers who carried the sedan for him were arranged by Wang Baisuo. Of course, it is impossible for the bearer to find out any inside information, but for Wang Baisuo, one of the work rules he learned during the on-the-job training is to use all possible surveillance methods on the surveillance objects and not let anyone go. Details of the people the surveillance subject may come into contact with - even an inconspicuous bearer is a person the surveillance subject may come into contact with.
During the journey from Temporary Government Office to Zhongming Academy in the east of the city, Wang Baisuo also strictly followed the operating procedures and arranged for several groups of people to follow him. The task of these people is not just surveillance. They also have to prevent Yan Mingjun from having any accidents on the road. After all, no one knows what Huang Zixing's plan was when he contacted Yan Mingjun.
Yan Mingjun and his party arrived at Zhongming Academy without incident. Huang Zixing, who had received the notice yesterday, had already opened the door of the academy and led a group of teachers and academy disciples to line up at the door to greet them.
Yan Mingjun did not want his visit to be exposed to public view. Although the academy was located outside the city, it was next to the official road after all, and there were still many people coming and going. At this moment, Yan Mingjun was not in a hurry to get off the sedan chair. He sent He Qi over and asked Huang Zixing to withdraw to greet the team and meet directly in the academy.
After Huang Zixing received this instruction, instead of being angry, he actually felt a little relieved. If Mr. Yan Ming couldn't save face and got off the sedan to meet him at the door, then Huang Zixing would probably have the impression of being frivolous and unstable. Yan Mingjun asked to withdraw the greeting team, obviously because he did not want his identity to be exposed outside the academy, and this kind of low-key was one of the qualities Huang Zixing needed to act.
At that moment, Huang Zixing asked the people from the academy to return to the courtyard first, and then let the sedan enter directly through the gate. After entering the courtyard, Yan Mingjun got off the sedan and met Huang Zixing: "Chief Huangshan, I have been rude to many people, please forgive me!"
Huang Zixing said: "Master Yan, why did you say this? Today's private visit incognito is because I don't want to make any publicity. The people who greeted me at the door just now are not thinking carefully."
After the two exchanged a few words, Huang Zixing invited Yan Mingjun into the house, while the rest of the academy dismissed themselves and went about their business. Zhang Qianzhi, who had just been admitted to the hospital for less than a day, was also among the crowd, but he did not try to approach the two people at this time. He just watched the two people enter the study room of Dongkuayuan and then left silently.
What the two men talked about alone in the study room was unknown to outsiders. However, this meeting did not last too long. It took about an hour before Huang Zixing sent Yan Mingjun out. Yan Mingjun got into the sedan, and then the group returned the same way.
He Qi inquired tentatively on the way: "Master Yan, what can you gain from seeing Huang Zixing today?"
Yan Mingjun snorted in the sedan chair and said: "This Huang Zixing keeps going around with me and never speaks the truth! It's really abominable to waste my time!"
He Qi couldn't tell whether Yan Mingjun's words were true or not, so he had to offer some words of comfort. Due to his status, he did not dare to continue asking for details, lest he arouse Yan Mingjun's suspicion.
After Wang Baisuo received the report, he did not dispel his suspicion of Huang Zixing. Instead, he ordered to strengthen the overall monitoring measures of Zhongming Academy. In his opinion, Yan Mingjun's words afterwards were not that credible. It was not like Huang Zixing was mentally ill and he managed to get on this line. Would he still push the new governor Yan Mingjun out?
(End of chapter)