Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 17 Reply

"Shouzhou Tong's judgment was fair."

The emperor felt that Wang Min's handling of the matter was very fair, but the law was not formulated to address similar issues.

The Classic of Filial Piety states: Filial piety begins with respecting one's parents, continues with serving one's ruler, and culminates in establishing oneself in the world.

It means to be filial to one's parents from a young age and to continue to be loyal to the monarch; true filial piety is to be both loyal and filial.

The fundamental purpose of governing the country with filial piety in ancient times was to maintain the feudal ruling order through the extension of family ethics, linking filial piety with loyalty to the monarch in order to consolidate monarchical autocracy and social stability.

If we replace filial piety with loyalty to the monarch, many things become easier to understand.

Children must absolutely obey their parents and must not disobey them.

There are no parents who are not good.

These seemingly blind acts of filial piety are actually a way for those in power to substitut loyalty for filial piety, a subtle and gradual influence.

Then, loyalty and filial piety were linked together to form an ethical chain of "filial piety at home and loyalty at court," ensuring that the social hierarchy was not transgressed, thus facilitating their rule.

Wang You believed that enacting laws for similar matters would leave loopholes for the government to exploit, and the emperor would not agree to it.

However, his thinking was actually one-sided.

For those in power, enacting laws to address similar issues would allow children to disobey their stepmothers or even physically harm them under certain special circumstances.

Doesn't that also mean that if a princess is not virtuous, her subjects can also be disloyal?

This is a case that already existed during the Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty did not formulate laws for similar matters.

Later dynasties did not have similar laws, and when officials faced similar situations, even though there were similar cases in history, they would still hesitate without understanding why.

Although the emperor, as the ruler, was deeply influenced by Confucianism, he also knew the dangers involved.

Naturally, I wouldn't do something that would dig my own grave.

But this did not diminish his appreciation for Wang Min.

"Check which year this Prefect of Shouzhou was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)," the Emperor ordered.

"Your Majesty, this old servant does have some knowledge of the Prefect of Shouzhou," Eunuch Li said, bowing.

As a close attendant of the emperor and in charge of the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau, Eunuch Li dared not claim to know everything about all the officials in the country.

He knew almost all the important officials and officials with special status.

Wang Min's official rank alone was not enough for him to deliberately seek knowledge, but the fact that the man had a father who was honored with a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple made him qualified.

The so-called "being honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple" does not mean that the spirit tablet is enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple is the royal family's ancestral temple, and it is impossible for outsiders to be worshipped there

Rather, it has a greater symbolic meaning in the auxiliary palace complex of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

It can only be considered an honor, without any real benefit.

Grand Tutor Wang was posthumously honored by the Emperor and had even taught the Emperor, making him a figure of special status.

Therefore, Eunuch Li understood that if it were a minister from the late emperor's era who was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, he would have no recollection of most of them, except for a few.

"Oh?"

The official put down the petition and said, "Tell me about it."

"Yes."

After a moment's consideration, Eunuch Li said, "The prefect of Shouzhou is named Wang Min. His father was the late Grand Tutor Wang. He did not enter officialdom through the imperial examination, but through hereditary privilege."

"He's actually the son of the royal army?"

The emperor was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but then smiled and said, "If he is the son of the royal army, then it is quite normal."

Grand Tutor Wang was upright and incorruptible, and served successively as a Hanlin Academician, Censor-in-Chief, and finally became Prime Minister.

During the Qingli Reforms, he did not participate because he served as the Vice Censor-in-Chief, an official responsible for remonstrating with the emperor.

However, he repeatedly submitted memorials pointing out some of the drawbacks of the new policies, and also impeached many officials who criticized the new policies.

In general, Grand Tutor Wang also favored reform, but believed that the new laws were related to the people's livelihood and should not be rushed.

This resulted in Grand Tutor Wang being neither favored by the reformists nor by the conservatives in the court at that time.

In the eyes of reformers, he was a conservative, only his way of opposing was not so extreme.

But in the eyes of the conservatives, he was a reformer.

If it weren't for the fact that after Fan Da Xiang Gong and others were demoted, the emperor was also somewhat annoyed with the conservatives and unwilling to promote them to fill the vacant positions left by Fan Da Xiang Gong and others, it would have been difficult for Grand Tutor Wang to become prime minister.

After the new law failed, the government also pondered where the problem lay.

The final conclusion was that it was due to being too hasty and insufficient preparation.

Therefore, the emperor valued Grand Tutor Wang even more, but alas, he did not live long.

"Although the king's son did not enter officialdom through the imperial examination, he has inherited his father's style. I imagine the king would be very pleased if he knew this in the afterlife."

After a moment's thought, the official said, "Go and tell the Ministry of Justice that this case should be handled according to the report submitted by Shouzhou."

"Yes!" Eunuch Li bowed and replied.

…………

In mid-May, the weather in Shouzhou gradually became hot.

Wang You usually spent his time either studying at the state school or practicing calligraphy at home, quite content with his lot.

Wang Min was rather annoyed, mainly because his petitions to the Ministry of Justice and the government had gone unanswered.

This is actually normal. The report was submitted normally, and given the transportation in ancient times, it would have taken quite a while to travel back and forth.

All things considered, there's only enough time for the round trip. The Ministry of Justice also needs time to process the documents, so it's normal that the official documents haven't been issued yet.

Wang Min was unsure of himself, so he was a little anxious.

That day, Wang Min was handling official business in his office when an attendant entered carrying sealed bamboo slips covered with sealing wax. The attendant bowed and said, "My lord, official documents from the court have arrived."

"They've finally arrived!"

Wang Min was delighted upon hearing this, stepped forward to take it, and began to read it.

Upon seeing the contents, Wang Min looked disappointed.

This was not an official reply from the imperial court regarding the case of Li Dalang, but rather a reply from the Ministry of Rites regarding the candidate he had previously reported to participate in the prodigy examination.

The examination for child prodigies was conducted by local authorities, who reported the child's age, family situation, and performance during the examination. The Ministry of Rites then made the selection based on this information.

Only those who pass the initial screening can go to Bianjing to participate in the prodigy examination.

In this individual insurance project in Shouzhou and its subordinate areas, thirteen child prodigies were reported. The Ministry of Rites approved that only one of them could participate, and Wang You was one of them.

Although it wasn't a reply regarding Li Dalang's case, it still left him somewhat disappointed.

However, the good news that her son had passed the selection process and would soon be participating in the prodigy exam still needed to be shared with his mother.

Wang Min quickly finished his remaining official duties and was about to go home when another official document arrived.

After reading the official document, Wang Min was very excited. This document was the Ministry of Justice's reply to the case of Li Dalang.

The official document expressed satisfaction with the handling results he reported and instructed him to proceed accordingly.

Wang Min's joy was short-lived; his expression suddenly changed.

Although the Ministry of Justice's reply had been issued, it did not mention the Emperor's attitude, nor did the Emperor respond to the impeachment he had submitted.

Wang Min was worried that the talisman might displease the emperor.

At this point, he wanted to consult with someone, but he didn't know who to turn to.

Other officials in Shouzhou wanted to protect themselves and were unwilling to get involved in the matter.

Suddenly, he thought of Wang You.

After all, this was proposed by Wang You, so perhaps Wang You has some unique insights.