Jingming

Chapter 200 Ascension to the Throne Again

Before Wang Anshi's political reform, there were new studies. "Three Classics and New Meanings" and "Zi Shuo" are all intended to lay a theoretical foundation for Confucianism to govern Taoism.

Why is it necessary to have a foundation of knowledge in order to reform?Because reform is to change interests, and it is best for people to respond to changes in interests with guidance or constraints on moral aspects.

This is the issue of human relations that Yang Tinghe is most concerned about now.

It is necessary to find a theoretical basis for the "human principles" of the new law, to define good and evil under the new law, and to have as many people as possible recognize and agree.

Now, they are all thinking about what Zhu Houcong said about practice.

The principles of heaven, physics, and human are just concepts, and the word practice...

They looked at the emperor, and Yang Tinghe asked: "Your Majesty, practice is the eternal truth? All knowledge comes from practice, and practice is not stopped, so knowledge is always new. Knowledge is new, knowledge and action must be united, so the law Should it always change?"

Zhu Houcong felt that after all, they were the top smart people in Ming Dynasty, and they would soon be able to find the most beneficial basis for their current reform from these new concepts.

He nodded: "That's the reason. For example, in the early days of the country, the situation was that the population was dying and taxes were insufficient, so the system of marching and stationing guards was established. Now the population of the Ming Dynasty has already doubled that of the early days of the country, and the taxes can actually be doubled. Even more. The situation has changed, and it is in line with the system at the beginning of the country, but it may not be in line with the current system."

For the emperors behind the Zhu family, the ancestral system that cannot be easily moved is also a constraint.

Now Zhu Houcong also needs a theoretical basis. He went on to say: "Although the law cannot be changed lightly, it cannot be changed. Even if it is the new law that I am discussing with Qing and others, there may be some points that do not conform to the current physical and human principles. Practice The essence of it is that after thorough consideration, practice and observe the results, and then improve with new knowledge.”

"Your Majesty, how can the world understand the good and evil of Chinese politics?" Yang Tinghe asked what he cared most about.

Even if there is a theoretical basis for the reform, the process of the reform will after all damage the benefits that many people have already obtained.It is said that it is good governance and bad governance, but it is actually the good and evil in the hearts of officials and gentry in the world.

"Human principles have their own selfishness, and they also have the public interests of the world." Zhu Houcong has been thinking about these issues. The law of justice, naturally there are often times of change of dynasties. At that time, how many officials and gentry of the old dynasties will survive?"

"Naturally, that's not the situation that exists right now. It's just a precautionary measure. Everyone should restrain their selfish desires and prevent their family and country from getting to that point. I hope that everyone can eliminate human desires. It's better to restrict them by strict laws and regulations. The constant change of the law suppresses it."

"As far as state affairs are concerned, it's not that there will be no law from now on, otherwise the people of the world will not know what to do? However, from a practical point of view, each period finds the most important contradictions and disputes that damage the justice of the world, and only finds ways to solve the main contradictions that have emerged. The state system The foundation does not change lightly, and the laws used by the country can change with time.”

"What is the main contradiction in the current Ming Dynasty? The population is increasing day by day, but the wealth is not increasing. Everyone knows the reason. The wealth and land are concentrated in the officials, gentry and wealthy households, and the hundreds of millions of people have almost no place to stand. The law of heaven is just. Where is it? If this main contradiction is not resolved and history is used as a mirror, how far can Ming be from subjugation?"

After a pause, he said: "In fact, everyone understands the truth. It is evil government that hurts their immediate interests. Every new law is evil government for some people and good government for others. Everything has advantages and disadvantages. , there is no perfect good government, and this is also the law of nature.”

"The foundation of the reform has never been the perfect goodness, but it is like medicine for curing diseases. It is three parts of the poison, but it can be revived with the right medicine. Why can the reform of the Guangdong government office divide the Guangdong gentry? Dashihaohaotang Tang, those who follow it will prosper, and those who want to go against it will perish."

"Those who intend to override the laws of heaven with selfish desires are like weeds in the field. How can there be a good harvest if we don't get rid of them? Weeds are something that must be done every year and forever. As long as the justice of the world is upheld , that is, good governance can win the hearts of the people. Once the hearts of the people are there, the world will be safe and secure, and history will have its own justice."

Zhu Houcong didn't need to speak clearly.

To rule the world, you need to rely on officials and gentry, but to perish the world, you only need to prevent the people from rising up if they really can't survive.

The current situation is that the officials and gentry started to drive the people to that road. Those officials and gentry who could not accept the emperor and the court's desire to maintain the ruling order, wouldn't that amount to rebellion?
Yang Tinghe and others are always worried about the reactions and judgments of the world. The reformers and rulers of the past dynasties are always obsessed with distinguishing good governance from evil governance.

How many years have we been fighting over whether human nature is inherently good or inherently evil?It is not so easy to improve thinking to learn to look at problems in a comprehensive, connected and developmental way.

Now, Zhu Houcong is the mentor.

Neo-Confucianism is materialistic, but they are short boards in methodological guidance.

The simple sentence of Neo Confucianism, which is to learn from things, and the simple sentence of Xinxue, which is to achieve conscience, are not systematic enough, and their guiding role is very limited.

With Wang Shouren's letter, Zhu Houcong began to give them some small shocks of materialist dialectics.

Everything is changing and connected forever, and the law of change is the contradiction between everything.

Opposition and unity, quantitative change and qualitative change, negation of negation; phenomenon and essence, content and form, cause and effect, possibility and reality, contingency and inevitability; about the whole and part, about individuality and commonality, about relative and absolute...

Finally, it points to the contradiction analysis method.

"...The contradictions between officials, gentry and common people in the world will always exist. Many contradictions are complicated. We can only try to find the main contradiction and distinguish the primary and secondary aspects of the main contradiction."

When Yang Tinghe and others were writing wildly and their scalps were itchy, Zhu Houcong went on to say: "For now, the main contradiction in implementing the new law is the contradiction between the selfish desires of the officials and gentry in the world and the justice of the people in the world. This is mainly The main aspect of the contradiction is that those officials and gentry who stubbornly pursue their selfish desires will try their best to hinder the change of the new taxation law."

Wang Qiong took up the conversation and asked: "Therefore, when drafting the law on the treatment of officials, adopting measures, reforming the government office, encouraging industry and commerce, and affirming that the laws and regulations are divided first, and then the new law on taxation and labor is implemented, the same generation cannot be united. With weak strength, is it okay to follow the law?"

Zhu Houcong nodded in agreement: "The best way to deal with the affairs of the world is to have more comrades and fewer enemies. If I don't uphold this principle, how can the emperor and ministers in the Imperial Study Room be as united as they are today?"

Yang Tinghe and the others had complex expressions. At the beginning, they protected Wang Qiong and the others, and later turned the original "enemy" into a new party. Is this the power of dialectics?
Your Majesty has said that debating means speculating and arguing for the purpose of knowing; proving means practicing and corroborating it for the purpose of doing.

Only in this way is the complete unity of knowledge and action.

I don't know what Wang Shouren's expression would be at this moment if he were here.

Yang Tinghe said: "Today I feel a sense of understanding. Since Your Majesty has already known this method, why did you just explain it to the ministers today?"

Zhu Houcong laughed: "It's not easy to understand on paper, but I don't know that this matter has to be done. Didn't Lu Fangweng say it a long time ago? The new law has begun to be tested. You have faced criticism from the government and the public for more than a year, and have personal experience. , isn't it easier to comprehend this method now?"

This is absolutely true.

In Zhu Houcong's mind, how many people and how many lessons have gradually precipitated these thoughts?Where can one be comprehended by talking empty words?
Besides, the previous Zhu Houcong didn't have the prestige he has now - in this imperial study room.

At this moment, the counselors could only look at the emperor inexplicably, as if they were looking at a heavenly being.

Based on their life experience and knowledge accumulation, they are naturally knowledgeable.

This set of theories, the profound thoughts contained in it can indeed be called a sentence that surpasses the sages.

This dialectical practice method can also be used in state affairs, and it can be used in dealing with people in a small way, and even in seeking new knowledge.

The party leader's life and posthumous name could no longer be separated from the new law. Yang Tinghe left his seat and bowed to salute: "Your Majesty, please give this school a name."

"Oh? Are you going to start publicizing?" Zhu Houcong looked at him and asked with a smile.

"Guangdong's editorial and review department has been completed. Starting next year, Guangdong will implement the separation of taxes and labor, and the sharing of the rich and the poor. Yan Weizhong went to Zhejiang, and Fei Zi was in Sichuan. Although the provinces do not temporarily implement new laws, they should use new learning as the world's debate. topic."

Yang Tinghe paused and said: "Private interests are just like what your Majesty said, and everyone is unwilling to talk about it publicly. This new learning is now in the world, and those who keep the old will refute it by citing scriptures and classics. Through the dispute of learning, it is easy to distinguish who is the new law. The main aspect of the main contradiction. Learning, after all, is the foundation for the world's gentry to settle down."

Confucianism allowed scholars all over the world to gain status and accumulate wealth through the imperial examination and the gentry class as long as they studied Confucianism.

Now that the government wants to promote new learning, those who can accept it and adapt to it are naturally comrades, and those who cannot accept it and find ways to oppose it are naturally enemies.

Yan Song wants to clarify the local interest relationship through the drama performed by the imperial court in Zhejiang, and prepare for the future.

Now, Yang Tinghe wants to directly find out the enemies of the new law across the country through the debate of new knowledge.

Zhu Houcong looked at him deeply: "In this case, do you have any plans to change the imperial examination system?"

Only showing the idea of ​​wanting to use the sword on the imperial examination is the most powerful weapon to manifest this contradiction.

With new knowledge, the imperial examination will naturally change.

Those stubborn gentry families and scholars who have not yet graduated above the world will all have to be affected.

Does it mean that the new law has been implemented nationwide?Not counting, because the next subject will be in the Jiajing fifth year.

For the new party, it is enough to reveal this idea.Anyway, whether it will really change at that time depends on the effectiveness of Guangdong.

Yang Tinghe replied: "If there is new knowledge, the imperial examination should be changed gradually. Guangdong officials are sufficient. Starting from Guangdong, the township examination can be held once a year to test new knowledge. The salary of officials has been improved. In the future, if there is success in the imperial examination, they can all be accepted Officer, why would scholars in the world not do it?"

If the entire Ming Dynasty is like Guangdong in the future, how many official positions will there be in the world?How can there be only [-] Juren and [-] Scholars in the world?

How many officials are there in the world?
This is an unprecedented feat.

What is damaged is only a small number of stubborn officials who cannot keep up with the times.

Why does it seem to be beneficial in many ways?

Because His Majesty has already given the answer: everything is developing, and the wealth of the world is not fixed.Qiu Jun said in "University Yanyi Bu" that wealth is "funded by human resources".

The more people there are, the more they understand physics and human principles, and their work will naturally create and accumulate more wealth.

The treasury of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly empty because all the wealth was hidden, hidden in the rich households of today's officials and gentry.

Why is Yang Tinghe willing to do this?
First, it is a done deal to become the leader of the party, but now I have a sense of mission to create history, find more outlets for scholars all over the world, and benefit the people all over the world.

If it can be done, the Yang family will last forever, and their status and wealth will never be lacking.He Yang Tinghe, Taimiao, Confucian Temple, and history books can laugh and dance.

Zhu Houcong looked at them with a smile, and these thoughts flashed through his mind.

"I wanted to wait for the Wanfa Museum to achieve something in physics before spreading it with the benefit of new things." Zhu Houcong gave an affirmative answer, "In that case, let Qing and others argue with scholars all over the world. As for the name, just Let practice be learned well, and the method of learning is dialectics."

After Neo-Confucianism and Psychology, I am afraid that Da Ming will take this practice as official learning from now on.

How can the new law avoid theoretical disputes?Now under the "leadership" of Fei Hong, the old party is constantly criticizing the new party's misconduct and harming the country and the people from the perspective of theory and the views of sages on the way of governing the country.

Fei Hong knows that there is new knowledge, so now it seems that the New Party is difficult to resist - after all, the new knowledge has not been made public.

After being crazily criticized for more than a year for "emphasizing agriculture and emphasizing business" so that the world will not be old, "treating scholars harshly" so that education will not be successful, and "destroying the old system" is actually harming the country and taking power, the new party is excitedly preparing to fight back up.

Dear, there is a whole set of new knowledge here, do you want to experience it?
Zhu Houcong looked at them with a smile: "I just learned the three principles of heaven, things, and people from the knowledge of Qing and others, and comprehended the dialectical method from the unity of knowledge and action. But starting from this practical study, why must reforms be made?" , that is what Qing and others have understood."

This is what Fei Hong said: let the courtiers fight, and the emperor must leave room.

Therefore, the theoretical ideas that do not involve specific applications are His Majesty's. Yang Tinghe has to reform his thoughts after he understands them. If they are really useful after the changes, it proves the correctness of His Majesty's thoughts!
The "meeting minutes" of this national policy meeting were then locked in a secret box and sent to Sichuan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Zhejiang by special personnel.

By the time these people arrived, it was already mid-December.

The news gradually spread to the entire Ming Dynasty, and scholars all over the world were stunned.

After more than a year of brainstorming and joint efforts by the consultants, a new knowledge has appeared in the world: practical learning.

The bad news is that this seems to be a suture monster, and theories of Neo Confucianism, Psychology, and various schools of thought are all included in it.I heard that in the future the imperial examination will take practical studies, so how much more books should I read?
The good news is: it seems to be fully sewn, and the seams are perfect and creative.The Guangdong Provincial Examination will also be taken once a year. In the future, there will be regular rankings for the principal and deputy. The chances of becoming an official are increasing.

The most important thing is: the core principles of heaven, physics, and human principles in the new learning, that set of dialectics, originated from the emperor.

Not yet full emperor.

On New Year's Eve, the banquet in Qianqing Palace was very large.

Counselors, relatives, and worshipers of Wanfa Hall were all present, and the three talents of Wuzhong, Wang Wensu, and Alfonso, who had initially learned some Ming Mandarin, all looked at Zhu Houcong in shock.

Although there is no such thing as a thinker today, those who tinker with philosophical thoughts are the most ferocious scholars throughout the ages.

Just as the emperor told him that the science of arithmetic is probably the general outline of the science of everything, Wang Wensu also knows that these ideas are the general outline of the science of everything.

The so-called sages are not called the ancient sages?

"Long live Your Majesty! Long live! Long live!"

This time, all the people at the banquet paid homage with more or less sincere awe in their hearts, as if they were paying homage to Biden.

More than two years ago, he was enthroned as emperor.

But now, he seems to be enthroned as a saint.

There were lanterns and festoons in the palace, and candles were brightly lit beside the throne. Zhu Houcong smiled and said, "Your Excellencies are in peace."

After tonight, it will be the third year of Jiajing.

On this day and tomorrow's Zhengdan Festival, officials and people all over the world will pay homage to the emperor as usual.

Those who have read books and have an understanding of learning all have an image of an emperor who is accumulating a halo of sage in his heart.

All it takes is time to prove whether his thoughts are correct or not!

(End of this chapter)