I'm really not doing business

Chapter 709: Lin Fucheng, the opinion idiot, was arrested

Yue Fei was extremely strict with his soldiers, and this strictness was applied to both the top and the bottom. For example, when Yue Fei's son Yue Yun was riding a horse downhill in the army, the horse fell to the ground because he did not control it well. Yue Fei immediately pulled out his whip and punished Yue Yun.

Yue Yun joined the army at the age of twelve and followed his father in three northern expeditions. He made many outstanding achievements, recovered six counties of Xiangyang, attacked Suizhou, and was the first to enter the camp and charge into the enemy's formation. He was the first to climb the city wall when attacking Dengzhou. He was known as Mr. Ying in the army. Even though he was so brave, Yue Fei still did not give Yue Yun any preferential treatment.

If a soldier takes a bundle of cotton or linen from a civilian without permission, he will be executed immediately without mercy as an example of military precedent; if a soldier camps outside a door at night and the civilians open the door to welcome him in, but the soldier dares to enter, he will be punished by military law. So wherever the soldiers go, they never enter any civilian homes, because they are armed and if they enter a civilian home, they will show their greed for money.

While strictly enforcing military law, soldiers were treated extremely well. There were pharmacies in the army where family members could see a doctor. If generals and soldiers were stationed far away on the border, their wives would be sent regularly to comfort them. If the border was stable, strongholds, trenches and farmland would be built to ensure border security. If soldiers unfortunately died, the Shenwu Rear Army, that is, the Yue Family Army as a group, would support their orphans and widows. Whenever the court offered rewards or favors, Yue Fei and the generals would never keep them for themselves.

As for drinking the blood of soldiers, that is, beating and scolding soldiers with corporal punishment, enslaving soldiers for labor, withholding military pay and rations, etc., the punishment is immediate execution.

The two Song dynasties never emphasized culture over military power. Instead, they emphasized culture over military power and suppressed military men in all aspects. They even preferred internal stability to external resistance and would rather be bullied by the barbarians than give military men any power or improve their social status. This resulted in the two Song dynasties being a period of laziness between culture and military idleness, with culture unable to bring peace to the country and military unable to stabilize the country.

The three words "thieves' army" are a true portrayal of the late Northern Song Dynasty. All soldiers were thieves' army, no matter whether they were the imperial guards or the four million garrison troops. The only ones who could fight were the Western Army of the Song Dynasty guarding the border.

There were so many famous ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty. Didn't anyone see this harm? Of course there were, and there were many. But according to historical experience, the court didn't know what to do. Redundancy was the first of the three redundancies in the Northern Song Dynasty. Regarding the social positioning of soldiers, the Northern Song Dynasty court was also quite confused. They didn't know what to do with the soldiers, so they had to follow the rules. What they did in the past is what they do now.

When the Northern Song Dynasty was in decline, a group of generals from the lower classes, such as Yue Fei, began to actively explore the social positioning of soldiers. The military institutions in the Central Plains began to evolve from simple killing machines and violent institutions to the ballast of social stability, taking on more social responsibilities and striving for more obligations.

This transformation of the Central Plains military organization should have been completed in the tenth year of Shaoxing, but everything came to an abrupt end because of the peace between Song Gaozong Zhao Gou and the Jin people.

Qi Jiguang and Yue Fei are really alike. When the Japanese pirates were rampant, they explored the social status of soldiers and the evolution of military institutions. Finally, they proposed to report to the emperor and save the people. This is the military soul of the Beijing Camp and the Navy at present.

The military spirit is engraved in the bones of soldiers through military discipline. Such an army has been active in Nan Ya for many years and has created a broad environment of support for the army, but it is also divisive. The wealthy, arrogant and powerful still look down on the soldiers.

There are many aspects to saving the people. On the one hand, the nine battalions in Zhejiang went out to fight the flood. On the other hand, they never took action against the people. On the other hand, they prevented the phenomenon of killing innocent people and taking credit for their achievements. In fact, it was about shouldering social responsibilities and restraining violence.

Lin Fucheng's attitude was very clear. In the past, soldiers who behaved like a comb were a factor of social instability. It was right to promote culture and military power. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, who had strict military discipline and assumed more social responsibilities, became the ballast of the Ming Dynasty and the country. They were the soldiers who ultimately provided stability and means. To promote culture and military power again was to interrupt the evolution of military institutions. Like Song Gaozong Zhao Gou, they would bear historical responsibility.

Lin Fucheng fully expressed his opinion and Li Zhi gave him a thumbs up. Old Lin was still as eloquent as ever. He refuted the view of promoting culture and strengthening military power from the perspective of the development and evolution of the military system.

When Lin Fucheng elevated the promotion of culture and military to the level of great unification, the scholars in Yanzheng Tower turned their attention to Lin Fucheng. After all, the views of Ma Jinglun and Yuan Zongdao were all clichés, and they were a bit tired of hearing them, but Lin Fucheng's words successfully attracted everyone's attention.

All the scholars present thought of what happened in Chongdefang a few days ago. Qin Zhongke still refused to fight back even when he had someone to support him. This was not cowardice, but the development and evolution of the military system, which was beneficial to everyone. Songjiang Prefecture had a naval force of 100,000. If the violence got out of control, which family could withstand it?
"I brought a few hats." Lin Fucheng took out a pile of hats with a smile. These were the props he would use for today's gathering.

Lin Fucheng's gatherings required admission, and the price was not cheap. The ticket price alone for a gathering was at least seven hundred taels of silver, which was enough to cover the expenses of the Chu Guild Hall for a year. He also carefully prepared various activities to make the scholars feel that it was good value for money.

"These hats represent the various types of people in the Ming Dynasty. Some wear one, while others wear several." Lin Fucheng took out the first hat and said, "You are the guest."

This first hat made everyone present breathe faster. Even Li Zhi looked at the Tianzihao box again and confirmed that His Majesty was not here today, otherwise anyone wearing this hat would be a traitor.

"The world is the master and the emperor is the guest" is a common view in Zhejiang Province. It is a comprehensive opposition to the "family dynasty" and is a traitor among traitors.

Lin Fucheng also came to understand this viewpoint during a gathering in Zhejiang. The word "ke" has the same meaning as the "ke" in "kexing", which means guest. From Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, dynasties changed and emperors had different surnames. The world has never been a family empire, but a world of all people. The emperor is a guest, so this argument is an anti-traitor argument, but it is the fact.

Why do we have kings and emperors? To make the world benefit and to relieve the world of harm.

The word "emperor" is the final result of the great speculation during the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. There needs to be a person who can be a weightlifting champion and take on the historical responsibility for the rise and fall of the world. He must suppress personal interests, promote public interests, seek benefits for the world, and eliminate disasters for the world. For the emperor, obligations are the first priority, and the emperor's power all comes from the gains after fulfilling his obligations.

"What are you afraid of?" Lin Fucheng looked at the scholars who were as if they were facing a great enemy, and said in great surprise: "Don't you read the court reports? His Majesty's comments on the world as the master and the guest are: It makes sense, His Majesty says it makes sense, why are you so scared? I didn't ask you to rebel, and you are all sweating profusely."

Lin Fuchengdu didn't know what these people were afraid of! If they were afraid, why did they come to talk?

His Majesty the Emperor believes that this view is correct, and looking at the Emperor's behavior, it can be found that His Majesty's supreme power was obtained after fulfilling his obligations, including military power, political power, financial affairs, etc.

Your Majesty has proved this through practice, but the scholars are now treating it as if they are facing a formidable enemy.

"Well, Master Lin, should we put away our hats? There are some things that the Emperor can say but we cannot." Li Zhi carefully reminded Lin Fucheng. His Majesty said that of course it was His Majesty's responsibility, but the people said that some of the officials came to embarrass them.

"Then why are we seeking to be fifth-rank Doctor of the Inquiry of Things?" Lin Fucheng immediately retorted. It might be fine for others, but he, Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi were fifth-rank Doctor of the Inquiry of Things, although their origin was not legitimate, as it was obtained by Young Master Huang through his connections in the General's Mansion.

"That's right." Li Zhi thought about it and felt that this issue could be discussed, but discussing it did not mean putting it into practice.

"If you take all the benefits of the world for yourself and all the harm of the world on others, then your country will be destroyed and you will be a guest." Lin Fucheng summarized the first hat. All the benefits in the world belong to the emperor, and all the harm in the world is done by others. If you dare not take any responsibility, then the country will be destroyed and the emperor will be a guest.

The destruction of a country and the destruction of the empire are different. The destruction of a country means a change of dynasties, while the destruction of the empire is like the Southern Song Dynasty, which even ended the Han Dynasty.

Lin Fucheng started by talking about the promotion of culture and military affairs, and talked about the responsibilities and powers of the military, in order to talk about the responsibilities and powers of the emperor. This was originally a topic that could easily lead to problems, and one might even be arrested directly by the Embroidered Uniform Guards. However, because Your Majesty did an excellent job, this topic became not so sharp.

Lin Fucheng took out his second hat and said, "Straightforward advice to correct the king's mistakes."

How could the emperor be wrong?! Isn't it treason to speak out against the emperor's mistakes? But the emperor is also a person and can make mistakes. Hai Rui has to wear this hat. He is a moderate among the treasonous people. He mainly corrects the emperor's mistakes and asks the emperor to correct his mistakes. This is the mainstream public opinion in the Ming Dynasty.

Lin Fucheng looked around and asked with a smile: "Everyone, when you serve as an official, do you serve His Majesty? No. If you serve His Majesty, then there is no such thing as directly admonishing the emperor to correct his mistakes."

The logic is very clear. It is wrong to be an official serving His Majesty and then to point fingers at His Majesty's behavior.

"Master Lin, don't talk nonsense." Ma Jinglun felt a little regretful. He heard that Lin Fucheng's talks were extremely bold, but he didn't expect him to be so bold. He was deconstructing the imperial system!

"Mr. Wen Dao, where did I say anything nonsense? This explains why there is a monarch, so let's talk about why there are ministers. The world cannot be governed by one person, so officials are set up to govern it. Therefore, officials are the monarch's alter ego. In essence, the monarch and the minister are different in name but the same in reality."

Yuan Zongdao stood up and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Stop talking, stop talking, everyone. I have something else to do, so I won't accompany you any longer. Master Lin said something that I didn't see. I never said it, and I don't agree with it. It's just a coincidence today. If there is anything in the future, it has nothing to do with me."

Yuan Zongdao left after he finished speaking, as if he had made up some kind of resolution. He swore that he would never participate in such gatherings again. This gathering was really too bold, and Lin Fucheng was really too rebellious.

Yuan Zongdao knew that Lin Fucheng was right, but he didn't dare to listen to what Lin Fucheng said! Is this something he can listen to?

Lin Fucheng was such a big traitor, but the emperor actually tolerated him to become a doctor of the Five Classics and specialize in social sciences and humanities. It was really a bit too indulgent.

What kind of imperial system is the Ming Dynasty? It is a system in which everything in the world is a servant and a private property in the pocket of the emperor. It is the emperor's personal and surname that matters. When the emperor makes a move, millions of people all look up to him, take him as an example, and act accordingly. It is a system in which the emperor is the leader of the ministers and the ministers have to die if the emperor wants them to.

What Lin Fucheng said was not wrong, but it was not correct and could not be said.

Yuan Zongdao has nine clans. Have you ever asked the relatives of the nine clans before talking nonsense?
Not only Yuan Zongdao, but even some scholars who were listening to the conversation below the stage felt a little uneasy. Was it really possible to listen to this?

"Mr. Yangchun is leaving now?" Lin Fucheng said with a smile, "We'll meet again someday."

"I just hope that you still have a future." Yuan Zongdao was helpless. He bowed to all directions again and left quickly.

Lin Fucheng was not in a hurry to speak. He was waiting, waiting for those cowardly people to leave. He knew that he was not a traitor. He also knew that for society to develop and for the Ming Dynasty's politics and economy to move forward, someone had to make a breakthrough on this conventional boundary.

The scholars left in twos and threes, but in the end some people stayed behind, about only one-third, who were willing to listen to Lin Fucheng's words.

"Everyone, since you are staying, I will continue." Lin Fucheng sighed and said, "Everyone, what is an official and for whom is an official? This is a question that must be discussed clearly. Why?"

"If you serve as an official for the emperor, and the ministers are appointed by the emperor, then the officials are the emperor's watchdogs, and they only need to be responsible to the emperor, and they only need to be fully responsible to their superiors, and they will leave the people in danger and do nothing."

"If being an official is not for the emperor, but for the world and for all the people, then it won't be like this."

"When you go out as an official, you should work for the country, for the people, for health and peace, for the government and harmony among the people, and you should give frank advice to correct the king's mistakes." "Master Lin, please put away your hat. I have said enough, enough." Li Zhi was a man of many opinions and was known for being difficult to deal with. He found that Lin Fucheng was even more difficult, so he had to step out and put on the brakes.

"I have several more here." Lin Fucheng said, holding the hat in his hand, "It's a bit bold, but it's nothing. The more you debate, the clearer the truth becomes. There is nothing that can't be discussed. If we don't talk about it now, I'm afraid we will never be able to talk about it again."

Lin Fucheng's words and deeds are somewhat open-minded, or even a desperate move.

"Oh, Master Lin has finally come to his senses?" Li Zhi asked with a smile after hearing Lin Fucheng's bleak tone.

Lin Fucheng said angrily: "You knew it a long time ago, but you didn't tell me!"

The riddle they were playing was actually the identity of Master Huang. Lin Fucheng, who returned to Songjiang Prefecture, suddenly figured out a problem: Master Huang was the emperor himself. All the previous doubts about Master Huang were immediately solved. Master Huang was too omnipotent. He could get a fifth-rank official position at will and send the Imperial Guards at will. It could be said that he was spoiled by Qi Jiguang.

The reason why Lin Fucheng came to his senses was actually because of what Master Huang had done a few days ago. Even if Qi Jiguang favored this junior, it was impossible for him to directly dispatch three infantry battalions into the city to support Master Huang. Three infantry battalions, entering the city, no matter which one, it was against common sense. So these three infantry battalions could only be dispatched by the emperor himself.

Thinking about his previous outrageous words, Lin Fucheng felt that his life was really coming to an end, and today's gathering would be his last dance.

After coming back from the grassland, he gossiped about the dirty rumors about the emperor himself in front of the emperor. Is this not a sign of being tired of living?
"There's no need to be overly nervous. Young Master Huang is very reasonable. You are not a traitor, and you are not plotting a rebellion." Li Zhi said calmly, "Young Master is reasonable."

What Li Zhi said made sense, and His Majesty was indeed reasonable, but Lin Fucheng continued to take the hat. The reason was very simple, because the emperor was a human being, and his emotions were as changeable as the weather. As a basket of opinions, he could not die before he finished speaking.

Now that things have come to this, I can only express my opinions more radically, so that I won't have so many regrets if I die.

"The third hat is limited freedom. I have to wear this hat." Lin Fucheng sighed and put on the hat. He was the leader of the limited liberal school. The theory of limited freedom advocated the greatest freedom in the current political, economic, military and cultural environment. The court represented by the emperor should not interfere if possible. This is a liberal school.

This school of thought is also anti-traitor. Under the family-run empire, it is natural for the emperor, as a monarch and father, to intervene in advance before things get worse. However, the theory of limited freedom opposes such interference. This school of thought advocates that the court should summarize experience and intervene only after the contradictions have fully collided. This is the safe way.

Maintain a positive attitude towards any emerging thing instead of dismissing it out of hand.

"I don't think I'm completely right. For example, I have been opposed to a total ban on smoking before. Opium or tobacco should not be banned completely, and the court cannot do it. It doesn't have that much power. Instead, we should look at the impact of these new things. In this matter, I was wrong, and the court was right." Lin Fucheng first admitted the limitations of his school of thought.

The imperial court is much smarter than him, a lone opinion-monger who can only offer suggestions, and is ahead of the others.

"According to the research of the anatomy institute on various specimens, opium cannot be touched. It will permanently destroy the body's own balance." Lin Fucheng said to everyone very solemnly: "Opioids will permanently damage the body's functions."

"There is a man in the Jiekuyuan named Fan Yingqi. He should have become a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty like Wang Jiaping, but now he is stuck in the Jiekuyuan and can never get out."

"Nature and all things are very wonderful. Humans can secrete a substance that can relieve pain. The principle is the same as that of opium. However, if you take too much opium, the body will not secrete this substance to relieve pain."

"For example, Fan Yingqi always felt like countless ants were crawling all over his body after quitting opium. He could clearly sense that it was actually the blood flowing. For example, when he walked, his knees would tingle, when his joints made sounds, they would ache, and when he was doing strenuous activities, his whole body would ache. These pains that we cannot feel on a normal day can be clearly felt after quitting opium."

"So, Fan Yingqi had no confidence to come out of this. He knew that he would definitely get addicted to opium again and he couldn't quit. He simply couldn't quit."

"I hope everyone here will not touch opium out of curiosity. The imperial court's ban is absolutely correct. The reason why humans are the most intelligent creatures is that they have spirituality, rationality, and can control their own behavior. If they cannot control their own behavior and lose their rationality, they are no longer human."

The Qisheng Zabao published by the Jiekuyuan was a newspaper with extremely low sales but was very authoritative, and Lin Fucheng read every issue. He believed that the emperor should not listen to his opinions, but should listen to the opinions of more professional doctors of the Five Classics.

Lin Fucheng's words caused a murmur of discussion at the scene. Perhaps it was time to buy these low-selling but sufficiently authoritative newspapers and magazines to enrich one's knowledge, so as to avoid falling into the animal realm.

"This fourth hat, everyone can be Yao or Shun." Lin Fucheng took out the fourth hat, handed it to Li Zhi, and said with a smile: "This is your hat."

Li Zhi's Taizhou School advocated this the most. This is not a new topic, because the saying that everyone can be Yao and Shun comes from "Mencius·Gaozi Part 2", which is an issue that has been discussed clearly in the pre-Qin period. Everyone can become a saint, but this saying opposes the Confucian set of strict hierarchical official orders, with each official having his or her proper place, and the order of respect for the elderly and the young.

"Studying is expensive. If a person wants to be free from work, he needs to have a certain amount of family wealth. Brushes, ink, paper and inkstones are expensive. Books are expensive. Tuition is expensive. I believe everyone here has the experience of writing and drawing on the land with tree branches." Lin Fucheng said with emotion: "Take me as an example. My family is above the middle class. We can barely be considered as local sages. But when I was a child, I still had to work in the fields and pick up ears of grain."

Lin Fucheng's words resonated with people. This was the common memory of the scholars in the Ming Dynasty, reading, learning to write and working.

To be off-duty means to leave production, not to work, and concentrate on reading the books of sages. Children from middle-class families cannot be off-duty either, and they also need to help with some work, such as driving cattle, picking ears of corn, drying grain, winnowing grain, etc. Everyone knows clearly how expensive studying is.

Lin Fucheng whispered, "Everyone can be a Yao or Shun. If you don't read, you obviously can't be a Yao or Shun. If you don't understand the infinite principles of all things, you probably can't settle yourself. Therefore, only the roar of the iron horse can bring more material and support more scholars. Maybe one day, everyone in our Ming Dynasty will have books to read."

This is Lin Fucheng's best blessing for the Ming Dynasty. He hopes that one day everyone in the Ming Dynasty will be able to support their own children, everyone will be able to fill their stomachs, and everyone will have books to read. He hopes that one day his blessing will come true.

"This fifth hat is a Confucian scholar's hat." Lin Fucheng's fifth hat is different from other hats. It is a very standard Confucian hat, Chengzijin, which is the Chengzi in Zhu Xi's Cheng School of Neo-Confucianism, the hat worn by Cheng Yi, a great Confucian scholar in the Song Dynasty. It is a tall and square turban with two square pieces of silk hanging at the back.

(Cheng Zijin)

All scholars in the Ming Dynasty had to wear such a hat, because they were all Confucian scholars. This type of people could be further divided into rigid and conservative Confucian scholars, nonsense-talking and mean Confucian scholars, law-abiding officials who wanted to do things and could do things, and so on. However, Lin Fucheng did not make a detailed distinction because there were too many hats.

The two words "Confucian scholars" can summarize it, which is actually the largest centrist group.

Lin Fucheng took out the sixth hat and said with a smile, "The sixth hat is for the extreme conservatives. They are more conservative than Confucian scholars. For example, Zeng Xingwu, the Grand Marshal of the current dynasty, advocated the restoration of the laws of the ancestors during the Hongwu and Yongle periods. Most of the ministers in the Ming court are conservatives. For example, Your Majesty criticized the Ministry of Revenue more than once in the official reports for not wanting to take on even a little debt and being very conservative."

The greatest conservatism of these extreme conservatives is that all under heaven belongs to the king. In the world known to the Ming Dynasty, everything is either the territory of the Ming Dynasty or a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. A vassal state is a land that cannot be ruled by the king for the time being. These conservatives are often the most radical.

For example, on the issue of Japanese invasion, conservatives generally believed that only by completely eliminating the Japanese could the Japanese invasion be completely eliminated, so the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office came into being, and was also actively exploring hydrology to completely eliminate the Japanese invasion and prevent future troubles.

For example, on the issue of England's privateering license, the extreme conservatives believed that since the imperial court was too far away and had tried all kinds of methods but failed to eradicate this cancer and stubborn disease, they should give Felipe enough support so that Felipe could completely and physically eliminate these parasites!
"The seventh hat is the actuarial abandonment faction." Lin Fucheng took out the second to last hat. This kind of trend is not uncommon in Nan Ya.

The wealthy South provides money and food to support the remote areas, why should they pay for this money and food? ! It would be best to give up all these remote and unprofitable places!

This kind of public opinion lasted for a long time. The Nurgan Regional Military Commission, the Beijing Regional Military Commission, the Hetao Plain, the Six Guards of Guanxi, the Three Xuans and Six Weis in the Southwest, and the Thirteen Regional Military Commissions of Jiaozhi all abandoned their lands under this kind of public opinion.

"This is the biggest traitor!" Li Zhi said angrily, "Now that the sea is open and the Nanyang trade is open, we should have two legs to walk on, but because we lost the Thirteen Divisions of Jiaozhi, now we can only walk on one leg. We can only go to Xingang, Ryukyu, Keelung, Manila, and Jiugang and return the same way instead of going to Da Nang."

"Da Nang was built by Emperor Chengzu Wen! Why can't we leave?"

At this time, Li Zhi still had to wear the hat of a conservative, and he always cited the laws passed down by his ancestors. Lin Fucheng said from the beginning that he had to wear this hat many times, and not all the time, but only when needed, to show the flexibility of a scholar.

Without the Thirteen Offices of Jiaozhi, Ming Dynasty’s territorial trade would be as miserable as having a broken leg!

"The last hat, the absolute liberal." When Lin Fucheng took out the last hat, he was holding a Chengzi crown from Korea, with a crown band designed with reference to the Chengzi scarf from the Ming Dynasty. However, the crown band was small and ugly, quite funny. The hat itself was mocking the absolute liberals for plagiarizing and making false narratives. The free city in the free corner of the west was not free at all, but a paradise for crime.

"Hahaha!"

As soon as the hat of absolute liberal was brought out, it caused laughter in the room, because the outrageous remarks made by absolute liberals often attracted everyone's criticism, making the people wearing the previous seven hats unprecedentedly united.

"These eight hats can probably include all living beings. I hope that everyone here will not be fooled by scholars, especially the absolute liberals. Their nonsense should be viewed with caution. Well, let's end today's gathering here. I have to go." Lin Fucheng glanced at the Tiqi who walked in and sighed. What was coming had finally come.

"I'm Chen Mo, the chief judge of the Northern Pacification Division. Lin Fucheng, come with us." Chen Mo showed a fire card and wanted to arrest someone in public.

"What did you do?" Li Zhi said in horror. The depth of today's conversation was actually not very deep. Why was Lin Fucheng arrested?

"It's nothing. I just published a treasonous newspaper or a demon book while you were away. I deserve it." Lin Fucheng surrendered and said very calmly.

The opinionated person Lin Fucheng was arrested. This was a major event that was beyond everyone's expectations. He was arrested because he published an article in a newspaper that triggered the court's error correction mechanism and misled the people.

(End of this chapter)