I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 574 Confucian Reform Plan
Xu Guangqi's method is actually very simple.

First of all, he enlightened the sect and reiterated Zhu Youxiao's formulation of "administering the world for practical purposes" and advocated that if we want to change the shortcomings of Confucianism's empty talk, we must reform in the direction of managing the world for practical purposes.

But it is not easy to be effective in the world, and it needs to be done step by step.

The first step is not to talk empty talk, but to "confirm what you say" about anything, any speech or doctrine.

Zhu Youxiao saw this and agreed deeply. Isn't this the reason why future generations must have references when publishing papers? Otherwise, they will just talk nonsense like self-media, which will not do any good to society.

Then he continued to look down. Xu Guangqi came prepared, and his theories were also complete and systematic.He then discussed how the demonstration should be done by "confirming what he says and applying it in practice", which included four aspects:
The first is to use classics, especially Confucian classics, as evidence. The so-called "Confucian classics is Neo-Confucianism" emphasizes that theory must be based on the classics, and other than that, no false statements are allowed.

Secondly, we cannot just stick to the classics, we cannot only worship the classics and think that the classics are untouchable.Don't have the idea that future generations are inferior to the ancients, and encourage readers to read all classics and history.We should have the spirit of seeking knowledge and "nothing cannot be mastered" and "nothing cannot be learned", and try our best to abandon the kind of "business" career that talks about morality all day long and despises skills.

Therefore, scholars should study the astronomy, military art, settlement, salt, water conservancy, agriculture, technology, and mathematics of the Ming Dynasty and the West, and integrate this knowledge into the practice of social life. Only in this way can the best results be achieved, not Take a Confucian classic and do something.

The third is that in order to truly study things and gain knowledge, we should not speculate or guess the truth of things, but should use the facts of nature as evidence, not only to know what is happening, but also to know why it is the case.

Here he particularly emphasized the empirical spirit of Western learning, especially the "experimental method". He believed that all conclusions derived from mathematics should be tested by practice, so we must pay attention to the use of instruments and experiments to obtain evidence.

The fourth is to introduce Western learning, return to the roots and seek truth, and get rid of the impetuous habits of Confucianism. He has already thought of the method, which is to first translate Western classics, then integrate Chinese and Western learning, and finally surpass Western learning.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi's eloquent measures and suggestions with unspeakable surprise in his heart.

Secretly, Xu Guangqi indeed has more vision than others. It is said that stones from other mountains can be used to attack jade. When he studied Western doctrines, he did not just indulge in Western teachings, but discovered the excellence of European culture from Western learning. I hope Can use the West to make up for Confucianism.

Zhu Youxiao then continued to read the comments of others and found that not only Xu Guangqi, but also other cabinet ministers and six ministers had criticized Neo-Confucianism and Xinxue.And many people have the same opinion, that is, both Neo-Confucianism and psychology nowadays are mostly empty talk, and many people are not interested at all in doing practical things, applying knowledge in the world, etc.

Zhu Youxiao slowly closed the contents of the question book. There was too much content in the question book and it also gave him many surprises. He had to think about it carefully.

After this debate and the comments from six cabinet ministers and others, he knew that there were not a few officials in the court who knew that the current Confucianism was problematic. This also increased his confidence in reforming Confucianism.

So what he needs to do now is two things.

One thing is to reorganize the cabinet after Ye Xianggao becomes the chief minister.At the same time, some officials will be selected into the cabinet, and these people must support their future reforms.

Originally, Colonel Zhu You had no specific ideas about who should be included in the cabinet, but after such a series of events, so many people expressed their opinions.

His thoughts on the next cabinet also gradually became clear. It is best for the cabinet members to be dominated by the Donglin Party and the Western Learning Party. To put it bluntly, he wanted to bring Xu Guangqi into the cabinet.

In this way, with Ye Xianggao as the chief assistant, Xu Guangqi, Sun Chengzong and others as cabinet ministers, there will not be too many people in the cabinet and others who oppose him.

Then the six ministers were adjusted. Some of the feudal officials who were away, such as Bi Ziyan, Zhu Xieyuan and others, could also come back. Some officials of the Western Learning Party, such as Li Zhizao and Bi Maokang, could also be promoted.

The second thing is about the reform of Confucianism, which he must focus on. Although this reform is destined to be a long process, the suggestions of Ye Xianggao, Xu Guangqi and others coupled with Zhu Youxiao’s original thoughts The idea has prompted him to prepare now.

Thinking of this, he immediately asked Zhang Chang to get some pen and ink. First, from the contents of the debate title book, he selected the ones that he felt were important and that suited his heart and sketched them.

Then he thought for a long time, and after a while he began to write quickly, summarizing his views on the debate.

Its content is also simple, it is a summary of the opinions of Ye Xianggao, Xu Guangqi and others.He also reshaped the concepts of applying knowledge to the world and studying things to gain knowledge, and put forward his own opinions and requirements.

After finishing writing, Zhu Youxiao stretched out slowly, then picked up the densely written paper in his hand and blew on it, then turned to Zhang Chang and said:
"Zhang Chang"

"The servant is here!"

Upon hearing the emperor's summons, Zhang Chang stepped forward quickly.

"Extract all the parts I sketched from the title book about the Imperial College Debate, send it to the Hanlin Academy, and give it to Master Ding (Ding Shaoshi), so that the Hanlin Academy's editors, editors, and Shu Jishi who studied in the Hanlin Academy can outline it. Write a policy review based on the published content and give it to me in the end."

"The slaves obey the orders!"

The Shuji scholars who wrote, edited and studied in the Hanlin Academy were among the top two Jinshi in the imperial examinations in recent years. They were promoted and elected from among the six generals who passed the imperial examinations.Therefore, both talent and ambition are top-notch.In particular, these people have just entered the officialdom. Now it is considered a protective period for novices, and they are not contaminated by the dark side of the officialdom. Therefore, Zhu Youxiao deliberately asked these people to write policy papers.

The original intention was to take this opportunity to summarize and elaborate on their own doctrines through their talents and learning, and finally to find and promote rookie officials like Lu Xiangsheng and others, train them as reserve forces, and gradually reuse them after the situation stabilized in a few years.

Zhang Chang also knew that this matter was important, so he did not dare to neglect it. He quickly took the title book and Zhu Youxiao's documents out of the Forbidden City and went to the Hanlin Academy.

By the time he arrived at the Hanlin Academy, it was already afternoon. At this time, Ding Shaoshi, the Imperial Academy's attendant, was still sorting out documents in the Hanlin Academy.

As the emperor's secretarial agency, the Hanlin Academy has a wide range of responsibilities. It can be said that all the emperor's paperwork can be handled by the Hanlin Academy.Because the emperor was the literary secretary, every time the emperor needed to write edicts, consult historical affairs, and consult information, the Hanlin Academy was responsible.

Recently, Zhu Youxiao had to deal with issues such as Mongolia and Japan's Ryukyus, so he asked the Hanlin Academy to organize documents and documents about Mongolia since Wanli to facilitate his own inquiry. At the same time, he also asked the Hanlin Academy to collect relevant information about Ryukyu and Japan.

The workload is really heavy, so the Hanlin Academy and others often work overtime to collect, for fear of missing the emperor's important events.

"Your Excellency, your Majesty's personal eunuch Zhang Chang is here."

Ding Shaoshi was slightly startled when he heard this, put down the book in his hand, and said hesitantly:

"What are Zhang Chang doing here? Could it be that he has some instructions?"

The reporter who reported it shook his head, how could he know about such a thing.Ding Shaoshi didn't understand, so he waved his hand and asked Zhang Chang to come in.Although Zhang Chang, as the emperor's personal eunuch, would not look at the monk's face but the Buddha's face, basically everyone would give him face.But Ding Shaoshi was an exception, and he didn't give him any face.

"Ding Shidu, our family is being disturbed!"

Under the guidance of the scribe, Zhang Chang saw Ding Shaoshi and immediately greeted him with a smile. Ding Shaoshi was the emperor's lecturer in banquets, and even the emperor respected him very much, so even he did not dare to offend him.

Hearing what Zhang Chang said, Ding Shaoshi nodded slowly, and then asked expressionlessly:
"Eunuch Zhang, do you have any instructions from the emperor when you come here?"

Seeing Ding Shaoshi asking straight to the point, Zhang Chang was not angry and directly took out the question book and wrote to the emperor:
"His Majesty gave the order, and Ding Shaoshi accepted it."

"Ding Shaoshi, a bachelor at the Hanlin Academy, accepted the order."

Upon seeing this, Ding Shaoshi quickly knelt down to receive the order, and everyone else in the room also knelt down.

"His Majesty said: Master Ding, the debate on psychological psychology was very good a few days ago. Ye Xianggao and others also collected the content and commented on some points. After reading it today, I felt that some of the words in it were very interesting. It makes sense, so I wrote some thoughts and sent them to you.

As the saying goes, the more you debate the truth, the clearer it becomes. I heard that the Hanlin Academy was the place where the imperial court stored talents, and there were many talents.So I asked Master Ding to sort out the content I sketched in the title book and the reflections I wrote, and then asked the editors and editors of the Hanlin Academy and the Shujishi who studied in the Hanlin Academy to write an essay based on the content. policy theory. "

"I accept the decree, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After Zhang Chang finished speaking, he paused for a moment, then handed the title book and the emperor's document to Ding Shaoshi, and said with a smile:

"Master Ding, Your Majesty attaches great importance to this matter and specifically told our family that these Jinshi must be bold in writing and speaking boldly, and their words are guilt-free. As long as the theme revolves around the content prescribed by Your Majesty, there are no other requirements."

Ding Shaoshi was still digesting the emperor's oral instructions, and he nodded mechanically to Zhang Chang's words. He only reacted when he received the question book handed over by Zhang Chang.

"Eunuch Zhang, your Majesty requires all the Imperial Scholars in the Hanlin Academy to write?"

"Indeed, this is what His Majesty said to me personally."

After receiving a definite answer, Ding Shaoshi nodded secretly, then exchanged a few words with Zhang Chang and ordered someone to send Zhang Chang out.

Ding Shaoshi, who stayed in the room, immediately opened the title book and the emperor's document in his hand. However, the more he looked at it, the more frightened he became. By the time he finished reading it, he was breaking out in a cold sweat.Finally, he weakly threw the title book on the desk and muttered to himself.

"I'm afraid the peaceful days of the Hanlin Academy are coming to an end."

　This is the end after dropping the book bag. I will listen to everyone’s opinions and write more about people’s livelihood later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)