Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The curtains of Duke Rongguo's mansion were closed. It was obviously daytime, but no light could come in. It was extremely gloomy.

In a large room with a clean floor, Jiang Xinghuo sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, and breathing quietly.

Monks in black cassocks and Taoist priests in feathers and cranes filed in one after another, but none of them made any sound.

When the last person came in, Jiang Xinghuo slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were deep and dark, as intimidating as a dark pool at night.

"let's start."

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his head and asked, "Master, what should we do?"

This sound completely destroyed the mysterious atmosphere.

In fact, today is not holding any strange ceremony, but a meeting on how to prepare for a debate.

The curtains were opened, light shone in, and dust billowed in the sunlight.

"We are all gathered together today because the current situation is difficult. We must not only unify our thoughts, but also work together to come up with a complete countermeasure."

Yao Guangxiao's words were not polite, but the current situation was really difficult.

After the "case of an envoy's injury" was uncovered, Emperor Yongle Long Yan was furious and severely criticized the Ministry of Rites for making a big joke. Wang Jing, the only remaining minister in office, was scolded and asked to concentrate on presiding over the upcoming events. On the [anniversary of the death of Taizu], Xun Zhan, the young minister of Honglu Temple, was not imprisoned, but was demoted by half a rank and sent to the Imperial Academy to work as an assistant in the Imperial Academy to serve Hu Yan. Therefore, Zhuo Jing successfully took up the post of Minister of Rites, which was regarded as a contribution to the reform faction. Temporarily stabilized the position.

In a day or two, Jiang Xinghuo completed the next few plans for Annan and Nanyang. Naturally, he achieved his goal and it was considered a worthwhile trip.

But what followed immediately was the unstoppable decline of the reform faction.

The reason is also very simple. It is not that the reform faction has become weaker, but that the opponent has become stronger.

——Kong Xilu, the Confucian of Nankong's generation, came out of the mountain.

In this era when saints did not appear, although Nan Kong did not have the name of Yan Sheng Gong, its prestige far exceeded that of Northern Kong, and it was the place where the reputation was at home. Kong Xilu had only been to the Three Religions Conference held in the Hongwu Dynasty. , and spent the rest of his time concentrating on teaching, educating people, and studying knowledge at Quzhou Academy.

Now that Kong Xilu has emerged, the conservatives who already have the right to speak in Shilin public opinion have begun to rise sharply.

Under the call of Kong Xilu, many famous scholars in the south left their hometowns and began to march to Nanjing, trying to make a final confrontation with the newly rising reformists in public opinion and theory.

In this way, the already precarious situation suddenly became worse and even more desperate.

Under such circumstances, Jiang Xinghuo and others, who were at the center, were inevitably in a state of distress. Fortunately, the old monk rushed back in time.

Yao Guangxiao secretly arrested a large number of Jianwen remnants, but because Baozhao acted secretly, many of them had single-line contacts and their identities were not exposed. Therefore, it is still unknown how many enemies Baozhao is still connected with.

Generally speaking, it is still a form of "the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light", and the remnants of Jianwen are mixed with the conservatives. Most of the civil servants in the court are officials who inherited from the "Hongwu-Jianwen" era, and the specific identity confirmation work is very difficult. The difficulty is that we cannot accurately distinguish the standpoint on which some people oppose the reform.

It cannot be said that just because someone opposes the reform, he should be labeled as a "remnant of Jianwen".

If you want to be happy, you can think about what it would be like to arrest them all and interrogate them, but if this happens, the court will be empty.

The achievements that Hongwu's three major cases have not achieved are obviously impossible to achieve at the moment.

And although the current situation is difficult, it is not yet at the end of the road. On the contrary, Jiang Xinghuo is not afraid that someone will stand up to oppose the reform, but is afraid that no one will oppose the reform, so he silently holds back and does evil.

"Can't you avoid the battle?" Zhang Yuchu still felt guilty instinctively. The frustration of the Hongwu Dynasty's complete defeat against Kong Xilu always lingered in his heart.

Yuan Gong picked up a piece of pastry as a tribute from the pirates. It felt cool in his mouth and he immediately felt refreshed. He took another sip of tea before speaking.

"We can't avoid it, either you die or I live. How can we avoid it? There is no way to retreat, we can only fight decisively."

The first battle is the decisive battle.

How tragic, yet so helpless.

Confucianism has dominated people's thinking for thousands of years. Nowadays, Neo-Confucianism, which represents Confucianism, can lose countless times, but New Learning cannot afford to lose once.

Lose once and lose everything.

Of course, this time Xinxue was not without help. At the very least, the leaders of Buddhism and Taoism all stood on the same front as Jiang Xinghuo.

"I think it is extremely necessary to fight this debate at the level of ideology and public opinion."

Zhuo Jing also said slowly: "The enemy has opened the door. Even if our strength is not strong enough, is there still time for us to grow stronger? The enemy will not give it, and there can be no such thing as 'the right time, the right place and the right people' in this world." Only I can start a war."

"Similarly, winning this battle means a lot."

"As long as the menacing attack of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism can be thwarted, the reforms and new learning will no longer be a flickering candle in the wind in the hearts of people all over the world, but will truly become a towering tree!"

After saying this, Zhuo Jing breathed a sigh of relief.

The most important thing at this stage is to deal with this difficult difficulty.

They need a tough attitude to temporarily unify their internal thinking, even if it is temporary.

After all, they are not only fighting now, but also want to continue fighting this battle until the entire Confucianism is completely destroyed.

The so-called victory is never easy to come by.

But now we must unite as one to win the first battle, so that we can continue to gather morale, strengthen the team, and snowball until we achieve the final victory.

Zhang Yuchu frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Then what should we do?"

This is a good question.

This is something Jiang Xinghuo has always struggled with.

According to the plan, New Learning should first establish a solid foundation, and then slowly plot to knock Neo-Confucianism into the dust and replace it.

But now Kong Xilu's sudden appearance has wiped out the slight advantage Xinxue had accumulated in the capital by relying on praying for rain. Instead, it was forced to face the challenge of Confucianism.

In this way, if Jiang Xinghuo wants to achieve this goal, he will have to start a debate in advance, and there is even a high probability of failure.

But if they fail, or if they make mistakes that lead to unnecessary accidents, then the little capital they have saved may be destroyed. By then, it will be too late to talk about changes and overthrow the old system.

So, what to do?

Jiang Xinghuo took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Confucianism is simply too powerful. It is like a parasitic vine adsorbed in everyone's mind, constantly sucking out the desire for change in everyone's heart. At the same time, it instills the set of concepts of "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Changes" to imprison human nature. , making neither Lu Jiuyuan’s “Xin Xue” nor the Yongjia and Yongkang schools’ “Effort Xue” have any relevance.

"So, as long as there is a way to defeat the menacing momentum of Confucianism, then we have hope of winning." Song Li, who had just returned to Beijing, said slowly.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said: "Then let's take the living flag of the living Saint Kong first."

Everyone was startled.

Yao Guangxiao added: "Look at how powerful this living saint is. During the Hongwu Dynasty, he defeated all challengers in the world with just a few "Analects of Confucius". It would be a scholar's regret not to win a game against him." ?”

"That being said, Kong Xilu is, after all, the Confucian of Nan Kong's generation." Zhuo Jing also shook his head.

Of course it is easy to speak harshly, but strictly speaking, leaders of Buddhism and Taoism such as Yao Guangxiao and Zhang Yuchu were all defeated by Kong Xilu. If it were a matter of debating scriptures, no one in the world could surpass him. It is true that People are afraid of submission.

Seeing these people talking in a few words for a long time without any explanation, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but become irritated.

"It seems that only Master is his opponent."

"Master tells you how to do it, we just do it. What's the point of Jiji Wai Wai Wai Wai Wai?"

After listening to Zhu Gaoxu's words, everyone was not annoyed. First, they had done a good job in cultivating their hearts and qi. Second, they all knew that Zhu Gaoxu's role was indispensable.

Scholars rebelled, but it took three years to succeed.

A qualified group must have both pen-wielding and knife-wielding people. Neither one of them alone can achieve anything, and must be closely integrated.

Jiang Xinghuo, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke as his thoughts settled in his mind.

"This time, we might as well use the most radical method to counter the attack of Confucianism."

"oh?"

Song Li glanced at Jiang Xinghuo in surprise and asked, "What do you mean?"

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "There are examples of continuous attempts at reform and innovation in all dynasties. However, this process of innovation is often accompanied by blood and fire, but most reforms eventually came to nothing and disappeared in the smoke of history."

"The fundamental reason is that the ideological changes have not kept up. So the question is, how to carry out planned and step-by-step ideological changes? This cannot be summarized in one sentence."

Having said this, Jiang Xinghuo paused, raised his eyes and looked around at everyone present, and finally landed on Yao Guangxiao: "This time, we have to do something different."

Zhuo Jing stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I would like to hear the details."

"Everyone, please think about it carefully. The first question is, who are our enemies? What categories can they be divided into based on their social status?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into deep thought.

In the Ming Dynasty, the topmost concept of Confucianism was the sacrifice and worship of saints.

Therefore, Confucian saints such as Confucius and Mencius, and even the descendants of the Five Sons of the Northern Song Dynasty, all enjoy lofty social status and the right to speak in public opinion. After this group of saints, they are the unchanging beneficiaries of Confucianism. If you don't see it, Yan Shenggong How many generations have you been rich thanks to Confucius? Xungui just divorced with the country, but Yanshenggong simply divorced with Confucianism.

The first type of enemy is after the saint.

Next, at the next top level, there are civil servants who were deeply influenced by Confucianism from their education to their official career. They filled the temples and even the government offices all over the world.

Neo-Confucianism was set as the examination standard for the imperial examinations. The government promulgated laws, compiled classics, guided the people, and controlled the flow of culture and education.

On the other hand, the bureaucracy was also controlled by Confucianism, and every government office and school was infiltrated by Confucianism.

The second type of enemy is civil servants.

In the middle level of Confucianism, there are the reserve forces of civil servants, that is, scholars, as well as corresponding academies and private schools.

Many academies have a transcendent status in the local area, and even local officials have to listen to them on some related matters.

This is because the presidents and gentlemen of academies are usually officials who have reached official positions or scholars who cannot go further on the imperial examination road.

Civil servants are the upper level of scholars, and civil servants will also come to this level after becoming officials to teach scholars as Confucian scholars. They who have been trained by Confucianism will continue to train the next generation, and so on from generation to generation, and the cycle continues. endlessly.

The third type of enemy is the scholar.

At the bottom of Confucianism, there are countless common people in the world. They work hard just to let their children embark on this path, work hard to climb up, and completely change their destiny.

Learning is valuable than anything else.

The fourth type of enemy is believers.

It is precisely because of such a complex, extremely large and up-and-down network of relationships that Confucian Neo-Confucianism has been able to maintain its prosperity for nearly two hundred years, always suppressing all schools of thought.

Confucianism is a theory centered on the learning of Confucius and Mencius, but Confucianism is not all pure learning of Confucius and Mencius. In this process, in addition to the parts that are sewn out to justify the theory, it also involves more far-reaching philosophical fields. .

Seeing that everyone had finished thinking, Jiang Xinghuo spoke.

"Queens of saints, civil servants, scholars, and believers."

"What do you think we should do to deal with these four types of enemies?"

"this"

Hearing Jiang Xinghuo's words, the room fell into silence again.

Although most of them have studied Confucianism in depth and have or have held important positions in the imperial court, it is not that easy to ask them to come up with a specific plan immediately.

In the end, it was Song Li who broke the silence first: "We can find breakthrough points among these four types of enemies. For example, civil servants. If the momentum of reform can overwhelm the momentum of conservatism, then many civil servants do not have a firm belief in Neo-Confucianism. We just regard it as a stepping stone to enter the official career through the imperial examination. Once the reform becomes more and more popular, I am afraid it will be inevitable to change the family and join our side for the sake of self-interest, right?"

Song Li's idea was certainly correct, but this was not what Jiang Xinghuo wanted.

"I said, this time we are going to do something different from previous reforms. We have to attack in an all-round way."

Jiang Xinghuo sat upright and said, "The first one is to reduce the worship of saints and the privileges of saints."

Song Li was surprised and said: "Doesn't that mean you are going against the people of the world?"

"We are just swimming against the current."

Zhuo Jing twisted his beard and said: "You can do this! But before doing it, you need to find out the situation and figure out the countermeasures."

Zhang Yuchu also echoed: "That's exactly what it should be."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly and said, "Yes, we need to be cautious about this matter, but there is indeed an opportunity now."

"It seems to be a coincidence."

Yao Guangxiao raised his head and smiled, his triangular eyes shining: "Do you still remember which memorial Li Zhigang fell on?"

"Of course I remember that the writing style of Huang Xin's letter of remonstrance can be described as sharp. A gentleman serves the country but not his body, so he will die if he offends Yan Jingjing; a villain does not serve his country but only slanders his appearance and keeps himself rich. A wise king is happy If the admonition is pure, the country will be prosperous; if the king is ignorant and his talent is high, the country will be destroyed. Jie and Zhou killed the dragon, and when he met Bigan, the obvious effect is there."

Before Zhuo Jing finished reciting, Yao Guangxiao softly uttered a few words.

"The men I sent out have dug up the tomb of King Zhou."

"What?" Zhu Gaoxu was stunned.

Everyone was shocked for a moment by the news.

Yao Guangxiao looked at everyone with a smile, as if he had expected their expressions.

Zhang Yuchu opened his mouth wide, but after a few breaths he regained consciousness. He quickly asked Yao Guangxiao: "Are you sure? You can't joke about this kind of thing!"

"How was King Zhou's tomb discovered after thousands of years?"

Yao Guangxiao stretched out his hand to stroke his beard and said slowly: "Because I have to dig a grave for Jiang Sheng."

Don't get me wrong, it's not a curse, it's a literal "grave digging".

When Jiang Xinghuo was released from prison, he wanted to determine whether the seven times he had traveled through different historical lines were on the same historical line as the Ming Dynasty in this world, or whether the history he had changed would be affected by the future. Due to the influence of the facts, he entrusted the old monk to send people to dig the tomb he left in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Unfortunately, my own grave was not dug up, but the grave of King Zhou was dug up instead.

After King Zhou failed in the battle with King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty at Muye, he boarded Lutai and set himself on fire. The Shang Dynasty was destroyed. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou allowed King Zhou's descendants to bury his remains in order to show his benevolent demeanor of never ending human sacrifices. King Zhou's son Wu Geng followed King Zhou's order to "be buried in the Qi River after death" and ordered people to cut off the Qi River and dig a vertical hole on the river bed for burial. After the seal was sealed, the river flowed, and then the river shifted and the tomb was buried. It was buried together with the river bed. It is precisely because of this that the tomb of King Zhou buried under the old course of the river has never been discovered.

The tomb of King Zhou was only excavated in the 20th century in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life. When it was excavated, it had already been visited by tomb robbers, and the unearthed items were incomplete.

But this time Yao Guangxiao discovered a lot of good things during his excavation.

"When I received the reply from the person sent out, I felt something strange, so I ordered someone to investigate secretly, and I found something strange - there were a lot of tortoise shells inside, and there were symbols similar to words recorded on the tortoise shells. These words The shape is complex, the strokes are thick, the number of strokes is large, the form is rough and natural, and the specific meaning cannot be discerned.”

"I wasn't sure at that time, so I corresponded with Jiang Sheng in Jiangnan, and I just confirmed that this is the legendary ancient text!"

In fact, in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, the initial research history of oracle bone inscriptions can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. At that time, some oracle bone inscriptions had been discovered, but no famous researchers left records until the middle and late Qing Dynasty, with the discovery of a large number of oracle bone inscriptions. , only then gradually formed a relatively complete research system.

This means that the right to interpret is mine!

Not only that, the tombs of the Shang Dynasty, especially the tombs of King Zhou of Shang, had extremely important special significance for the debate, and everyone realized the great value of this matter.

Why does the tomb of King Zhou of Shang have special significance to the debate?

It's because whether it's reform or old-fashioned, the core proposition of the debate is: hegemony, justice and benefit, ancient and modern.

What I have to mention here is the dispute between Neo-Confucianism represented by Zhu Xi and the theory of meritorious service represented by Chen Liang hundreds of years ago. What exactly were they arguing about?

In fact, the "king hegemony" that Zhu Xi and Chen Liang fought for was ultimately a matter of historical outlook, which only elevated the historical outlook to the level of political philosophy.

Zhu Xi believed that in ancient times and up to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the rulers were sage kings. The sage kings passed on the Tao to each other and had pure minds. Therefore, the laws of nature prevailed in society, which was "kingly politics".

Three generations later, due to the loss of the Taoist heart, the emperors of the Han and Tang Dynasties had no Taoist heart and only knew interests and human desires. The benevolent and righteous actions they did were just accidental actions that happened to be consistent with the Taoist heart of the ancient saint kings, because There was no Taoist heart, so the Han and Tang Dynasties had "hegemonic politics."

Among them, the rule of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties was regarded as kingly politics. For Zhu Zi, it was a philosophical setting and political ideal based on Confucius, or, in other words, orthodoxy.

This kind of Taoism actually reflects the ideal political society that Neo-Confucianism wants to build, that is, the sage is in power and the sage is used. In this way, Tao and power are unified. In the minds of Confucian scholars after three generations, the rule of the Three Generations is the most tempting. That's the point.

The focus of the debate between Zhu Xi and Chen Liang in the debate between kings and righteousness lies in the different historical evaluations of the Three Dynasties between Zhu Xi and Chen Liang, as well as the different interpretations of "Tao Tong" reflected in them.

Chen Liang believes that it is necessary to "use both kings and hegemons, and practice both righteousness and benefit." Chen Liang also explained that even the emperors of three generations did not rule the world entirely with kingly ways. There were also overlords in the middle. Kings needed to be overbearing to open up a path for themselves, that is, The so-called "Tang released Jie in Nanchao and became the Shang Dynasty, and King Wu defeated Zhou and took it to become the Zhou Dynasty."

The two argued about the historical view of the rule of the Three Dynasties, that is, the issue of "overlord". Based on this, they also led to a deeper debate on "righteousness and benefit".

In other words, how to distinguish between "kingly" and "tyrannical"?

Zhu Xi's criterion for distinguishing kings and hegemons lies in whether they emphasize benevolence and righteousness or advocate utilitarianism. Benevolence and righteousness are the kingly way, and utilitarianism is hegemony. He believes that the rulers of the three generations practiced benevolence and righteousness regardless of utilitarianism, while the rule of the Han and Tang Dynasties was based on profit and desire.

Chen Liang believes that benevolence and righteousness and utilitarianism are complementary to each other. Benefit is also righteousness, and righteousness must be reflected through benefit. Chen Liang points out that even during the period of the Three Dynasties, utilitarianism was also pursued. This is the so-called "Yu has no merit, how can he succeed?" Six prefectures? How can you possess the four virtues if you do nothing profitable?"

So regarding the core question of this debate, smart people will definitely ask after reading this: Why is Zhu Xi so sure that the rule of three generations is good? He is not a time traveler like Jiang Xinghuo, and he has never seen what the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were like with his own eyes.

The answer is, what Confucius said.

Confucius clearly expressed his ambition to follow and promote the ways of governing the country in the Three Dynasties in the Book of Rites, which is the so-called "The journey of the great road, and the heroes of the three generations, Qiu has not caught them, but they have ambitions", "The Zhou view of the three generations is gloomy. "Huwenzai, I am from Zhou" and so on.

Mencius even spoke of the Three Dynasties. Zhu Xi regarded himself as the orthodox of Confucius and Mencius. He could sew up and explain other things that Confucius and Mencius did not explain, but he could never explain things that were mentioned repeatedly and clearly. , this is his academic foundation and even the foundation of his life, so he naturally has to stick to this point of view.

So got it?

The rule of three generations - the struggle between kings and hegemons - the debate between justice and benefit.

In the final analysis, it all lies in the "three generations" of Xia, Shang and Zhou.

Yao Guangxiao accidentally dug up Jiang Xinghuo's grave. Unexpectedly, he dug up the grave of the last emperor of the Shang Dynasty, the middle dynasty that succeeded Xia and Qi Zhou, and it was accompanied by a large number of oracle bone inscriptions. Unearthed.

This is equivalent to affirming/denying the rule of the Three Dynasties directly through oracle bone inscriptions, a recording medium that reflects the social politics, economy, military, and culture of the Shang Dynasty at that time.

The right to interpret Oracle lies in Jiang Xinghuo's hands.

In other words, Jiang Xinghuo now has the most critical piece of evidence in the "Wang Ba Debate between Righteousness and Benefit"!

It’s the only one in heaven and on earth!

This is a powerful weapon that can win in one blow!

The most important thing is that no one else knows this secret. Only the senior officials here who have been firmly bound to the chariot of the reform faction have just learned about it.

This means that Jiang Xinghuo can completely take things by surprise and save this decisive weapon for the most important decisive battle!

The essence of reform is to use hegemonic means to change the status quo of the country in a short period of time, strengthen the country and enrich the people!

To strengthen the country and enrich the people, we must reverse the current Neo-Confucian thinking concept of "righteousness is absolutely greater than benefit", and at least achieve the state of "using both kings and hegemons, righteousness and benefit" as advocated by Chen Liang. Otherwise, how can we carry out trade without profit? ? Do we still want to build a large rural society where Lao Zhu is self-sufficient?

"In other words, can we use facts to prove that even saints like Confucius and Mencius were wrong in their judgments about the rule of the Three Generations?"

Zhu Gaoxu finally realized it belatedly. Although he worked hard to learn and improve, his foundation was too poor. Naturally, his reaction speed to these things could not be compared with those who had been playing with their brains all their lives.

"Yes."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded heavily and said: "Wangba Yili can use this as a solution, and the debate between ancient and modern times adds a chance of winning. If the appalling aristocratic customs of the Shang Dynasty can be revealed, instead of taking the blame. King Zhou has the head of one person, so when you think about whether it is better to be 'ancient' or 'modern', there is naturally a comparison."

Zhang Yuchu's eyes were shining with excitement: "Unless the saint dies, there will be no more robbers!"

Zhang Yuchu couldn't help but feel excited. As the saying goes, "The person who knows you best is often your opponent." As the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, known as the master of Taoism, he knew very well what the power of Confucianism was.

If it can really be done, the authority of the saints Confucius and Mencius will definitely be damaged. From this, it may be possible to achieve what Jiang Xinghuo said "reducing the worship of saints and the privileges of saints."

"Combined with the promotion of Xunzi into the Five Sages of Confucianism, one plus and one minus, the situation will change."

"What a clever idea!"

Song Li couldn't help but admire.

Everyone's previously slightly pessimistic mood began to be ignited.

The sense of oppression brought to them by Confucianism before was too strong.

It is precisely because they understand Neo-Confucianism and know that Confucianism controls every aspect of the world that they feel pessimistic.

But now Jiang Xinghuo found a breakthrough, a breakthrough with absolute evidence, and his eyes suddenly became brighter.

"Wait, there's another question."

Yuan Gong frowned and said: "That is the result of the translation of the oracle bone inscriptions, or the result of the interpretation that is not conducive to the 'rule of three generations' in the traditional Confucian concept. What should others do if they don't recognize it?"

"Of course there is a way."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said: "Don't forget, it's us who are standing in the light and on the stage. Standing here will be slandered in the dark, but there is also an advantage, that is, we can give orders."

"There are so many dragon bones (the name of traditional Chinese medicine, that is, ancient animal fossils) in the world, and there are always tortoise shells engraved with oracle bone inscriptions. Can't we still find no evidence to support the efforts of the world and the wealth of the world?"

In fact, in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, a large number of tortoise shells with inscriptions on oracle bones were dug out from medicine shops or collections. There must be more tortoise shells that have not been boiled or damaged earlier in the current timeline. This is not necessary. worried.

"So how do we deal with civilian officials?"

Regarding how to deal with the second type of enemy, Jiang Xinghuo actually had some insights when he was controlling floods in Jiangnan.

"A new school needs to be established, Daming Administration."

"The Ming Dynasty Administrative School? What does it do?" Song Li was quite interested in this. Seeing Zhuo Jing become Zhuo Shangshu and his immediate boss, he was not jealous, but that was a lie, so he asked eagerly .

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Of course, civil servants are taught how to be officials and administrators. There are trainings before taking up different official positions, and there are also regular special rotation trainings, such as learning Xunzi's theory of the Holy King, learning the practical regulations of the examination, and follow-up various reform measures introduced.”

Hearing this, everyone fell into a brief moment of thought.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, the imperial examination with Neo-Confucianism as the examination standard was an important means for the Ming Dynasty to select talents as officials.

However, Neo-Confucianism does not teach how to be an official!

All civil servants have figured out the secret of being an official during their long career as an official, but they are just "officials" for the sake of official career and not for administration.

"Is administration also a subject? How to teach it?"

“Everything is a matter of knowledge, even administration.”

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said: "A Confucian scholar, from entering a private school and reciting three hundred poems, to studying the Four Books and Five Classics, taking exams for young students, scholars, and even being elected and Jinshi, all he has learned is how to cultivate oneself, manage a family, govern a country, and bring peace to the world. This is really amazing. This is a county, do you think it can manage it well? Impossible, this is because Neo-Confucianism teaches not administration, administration requires a specialized knowledge to teach, called "Administrative Management"."

From Jiang Xinghuo's words, everyone present actually understood a deeper meaning.

This Ming Dynasty administrative school was used to screen and control civil servants.

It does not matter even if the results of in-school training have nothing to do with matters such as evaluation of civil service examinations and promotion results.

Because this school also has another function, which is to form its own circle, and the biggest beneficiary of this circle is Jiang Xinghuo, who is at the top of the school.

This can be understood with just a little thought and does not need to be extended.

As a result, within the civil service system, the reform faction will gain a steady stream of transformation bases. Under the ebb and flow of one another, perhaps within a few years, perhaps within ten years, the balance of power between the two sides will be completely out of balance.

"I admire the Imperial Master's foresight and foresight!"

After Song Li figured this out, he held his hands in submission.

Zhuo Jing, however, twisted his beard and asked hastily: "But what should we do about the third type of enemies, that is, the scholars? Previously, the Imperial Master said that he wanted to rectify the academic style of the Imperial College. What is the method to rectify it?"

Jiang Xinghuo said: "I think that rectifying the academic style of the Imperial College is the beginning of rectifying the academic style of Shilin, and it is also a typical representative. We mainly start from two aspects, and we have to work together."

“On the one hand, through the Science Department in the Imperial College, the scope of study for the students is expanded, and students learn natural sciences and social sciences. When people’s horizons are expanded, they will naturally not stick to the empty talk of the past, but will explore through hands-on experiments. More interested in the truth of the world.”

"On the other hand, it is the restoration of the old Hongwu system. Not all the strict systems are restored, but the better ones. You know, the other side of the political reform is the reform of the school and examination system. The current imperial examination has been hastily changed. The system can easily cause a huge backlash. This cannot be changed easily for the time being. Just add Xunzi's content. But as the upstream temples and schools, once they are completely changed, the final complete change of the examination system will be a matter of course."

Yao Guangxiao nodded: "Schools cultivate talents, and talents enter the imperial court through the imperial examination. Therefore, the quality of the school's academic style directly affects the atmosphere of the officialdom. This is the right path. Reforming the school and examination system is essentially changing politics."

"I have a memorial here, please read it carefully."

Jiang Xinghuo took out a memorial and handed it to Song Li to read aloud.

This was the specific measure he took after he, Zhuo Jing and Xie Jin proposed rectifying the academic style of the Imperial College that day, carefully thought about it, prescribed the right medicine, and summarized it.

It includes various issues such as the purpose of running schools, the direction of running schools, school regulations and management, the scope of teaching materials, supervision and inspection, instructor responsibilities, student quotas, admission conditions, standards for student reduction, student treatment, school examination standards, etc. , it can be said that what I have been holding back for so long is a set of rules, or standards, that can really be used directly.

Song Li read softly: "The purpose of running a school requires that it should be based on practice. In students' affairs, they should pay attention to the principles of the classics they study on daily basis and practice them for future use. Therefore, we must not stick to the sect or gather in the party to talk empty words. , or they may gather together as a gang, and call out people who are wandering around and doing nothing, talking empty words, ruining their careers, and corrupting the style of study.”

"The management of academic regulations is based on the laws stipulated by Emperor Taizu Gao. Students are not allowed to discuss or interfere in government affairs, or form groups to cause trouble."

"Enrollment requirements must be strictly controlled in terms of qualifications. Fraudulent membership is not allowed. Confucian students who are promoted to Imperial College must be honest in name and real in name and undergo repeated assessments."

"Reduce the standards for student recruitment, and promote the improvement of the teaching quality and student academic performance of the Imperial College through assessment. If a student fails the examination multiple times, he or she will be assigned to serve as an official or dismissed from the public service, and the student status will be cancelled, depending on the specific circumstances."

"Examination standards, no matter what kind of examination they are, must be strictly managed. If anyone cheats in the examination room, he will be punished and dismissed. The Shengxing Hall (the execution agency in the Imperial Academy) will impose the punishment prescribed by Emperor Taizu Gao according to the situation. Punishments include rods, banishment, and even death.”

"In addition, the Imperial College's logistics related matters need to disclose the income and expenditure details, such as damage to the school building, repair work required, and related logistics personnel and logistics materials, such as its vegetarians, cooks, school food, school fields, etc., the court-related The yamen must allocate funds in a timely manner, and no delay or derogation is allowed."

"."

There is no doubt that if this is really done, the Imperial College students who have just been happy for a few years in the Jianwen era, and even the students in all schools in the world, will suffer again.

However, Jiang Xinghuo's preparations obviously made them feel at ease.

Having a leader who has a plan for everything can indeed save a lot of trouble and worries, especially after he puts forward specific solutions, everyone feels more relaxed.

“How should we deal with the last type of enemy, the believers?”

Zhang Yuchu frowned and said, "Are you going to start a trend to get people to boycott Confucianism?"

Jiang Xinghuo waved his hand: "No, we want to use people's wisdom."

Everyone listened attentively.

Jiang Xinghuo continued: "We are going to establish "Ming Pao". I have already mentioned the specific charter to His Majesty. Xie Jin, a big penman, will be the editor-in-chief. From now on, "Ming Pao" will be our main position to promote science and reform."

"As for the specific propaganda caliber, it is that Confucius was a kind and generous philosopher. He also had some cognitive shortcomings due to historical limitations, but this is a very small aspect. Confucius, or traditional Confucianism, includes Several saints, including Xunzi, had good intentions, but later people read the scriptures crookedly, but did not use their thoughts on the right path. The so-called "Neo-Confucianism" was just stitched together by Song Confucianism. It’s just something, what is the true Confucianism like? In other words, what is the original appearance of Confucius and Mencius? These are all places where we can study, discuss, and publicize.”

"Moreover, the specific propaganda method must not repeat the style of "Di Bao". It must use various forms that the people like to hear and see. Now the vernacular is very mature, and there are many vernacular writers who have written very well, such as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin", you may not have heard of it, but we can choose to publish serials to promote it. We can write our own novels to subtly deny Neo-Confucianism. At the same time, promoting vernacular and popular literature is also a change. Don't We underestimate the power that the people can unleash in advancing the historical process."

Jiang Xinghuo said softly: "The core of Neo-Confucianism is the inheritance of Confucianism and the ideas of sages. Therefore, these are its foundations and must not be discarded. Otherwise, Neo-Confucianism will lose its foundation."

From the Pre-Qin period, to the Western Han Dynasty when Confucianism was the sole focus, and then through various ups and downs in between, Confucianism, or Confucianism, is like a ship of Theseus, which has long since changed beyond recognition amid the constant replacement of concepts.

The Five Scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty once innovated, changed, and strengthened Confucianism again and again, but this still could not change this situation.

In fact, the so-called "Tao of Confucius and Mencius" is the basis of Confucianism.

It is a concept inherited and continued from Confucius and Mencius. However, due to the fact that the political environment has changed in the past dynasties, Confucius's successors and later Confucian disciples chose to deviate from orthodoxy in order to maintain this concept, and it was forced to go It followed a path that became increasingly crooked and gradually evolved into what it is today.

Confucianism has been reduced to a tool of political struggle. It is no longer the way of Confucius and Mencius in the past, but has a strong flavor of feudal rule.

In this era, everything is developing in a bad direction, and the influence of Confucianism is getting worse and worse, and it has become difficult to control.

But on the other hand, Confucianism has always had this huge drawback, that is, "Confucianism" is derived from traditional Confucian thought.

In other words, only by destroying the core inheritance part of Confucian Neo-Confucianism can the complete decline of Neo-Confucianism be achieved.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo proposed this idea to separate Confucianism from primitive Confucianism, and to distinguish the Five Scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty from Confucius and Mencius.

"Hit the snake seven inches."

Zhang Yuchu suddenly realized: "So, we have to get rid of this point, deny the connection between Neo-Confucianism and original Confucianism, and make Confucian Neo-Confucianism lose the source of belief and thus lose its support."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said: "Just like if we want to change, we cannot force our will into other people's heads and transfer it to others. We can only change other people's thoughts through various means, and achieve change by changing other people's thoughts."

Song Li exclaimed: "Wonderful!"

Jiang Xinghuo looked at Zhang Yuchu and asked, "What does Mr. Zhang think?"

Zhang Yuchu pondered for a few breaths, nodded and said: "Indeed, this is the only solution, otherwise we will not be able to defeat Confucianism, and we will have to sit back and wait for death."

Seeing this, Jiang Xinghuo finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "So, our main task is to meet this challenge and fight back from these four aspects. That's it. What do you think?"

"good!"

"agree."

"Agree."

"What are you waiting for?"

"I'll leave it to you to handle the matter you mentioned."

Jiang Xinghuo sighed: "If it's really a last resort."

"No problem." Yao Guangxiao stood side by side with him and nodded in agreement.

Because this is something he has wanted to do from a long time ago, and he has absolute confidence that it can be implemented smoothly.

Yao Guangxiao's idea only accelerated the execution of Jiang Xinghuo's plan. This was a back-up move that he had already prepared.

After walking out of the room, Yao Guangxiao turned around and looked at Jiang Xinghuo, who had his hands behind his back and looked out the window: "Jiang Sheng, are you really confident in this orthodoxy battle?"

"have!"

Jiang Xinghuo said solemnly.

"Do you know that once you take this step, there is no possibility of taking it back?" Yao Guangxiao asked seriously.

"I understand that no matter what the outcome is, we will all encounter various doubts, but as long as the country can live in peace and the people have enough food and clothing, I, Jiang Xinghuo, am willing to go through fire and water, no matter what." Jiang Xinghuo said firmly.

"We'll see."

Yao Guangxiao said happily: "If you, Jiang Sheng, can succeed, we can have a future in this world of great strife. If you fail,"

He looked at Jiang Xinghuo and said with a strong tone of compassion: "You can also leave the land of right and wrong as soon as possible and enter the ninth reincarnation."

The flesh on Jiang Xinghuo's face jumped uncontrollably.

Yao Guangxiao lied just now. According to the clues provided by Jiang Xinghuo, he found a tomb on the edge of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province.

After everyone left, a coffin was placed in front of him.

The moment the coffin was opened, Jiang Xinghuo's whole body trembled slightly.

The face lying inside the coffin was familiar to him.

That is my fourth life self.

He was finally convinced that, at least on a certain continuous historical line, he had completely changed history.

The flesh in the coffin has decayed, but the eight large characters tattooed on the sunken skin of the cheek are still vaguely visible and have not faded much.

——Serve the country with one’s heart and vow to kill the golden thief.