People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 483: Young China

It was early summer in April and the room was not particularly hot. Facing Zhao Jun's gaze, Su Shi and his brother's palms were sweating.

It's not that I feel stressed and sweat profusely.

In fact, Zhao Jun had a friendly look, an elegant face, and a slight smile, which made people feel an indescribable sense of intimacy, and did not make people feel oppressive at all.

But the Su Shi brothers were still very nervous. It was not the kind of nervousness that comes from seeing an important person, but the excitement that comes from seeing an object of admiration.

It’s like if many people in later generations traveled back to the Republic of China, they would have to crawl all the way to Yan’an.

If he could meet the teacher and Wu Hao, he would probably be as excited as Su Shi.

Today, Zhao Jun is a legend.

His prestige among the people was very high. During the more than ten years he had been in power, the people of the Song Dynasty could not be said to be wealthy, but they could be said to have no worries about food and drink.

In ancient times, being able to feed the people was already a remarkable achievement, especially in years of famine, when the imperial court was able to deliver relief grain to every victim in a timely manner and prevent anyone from starving to death.

When encountering a particularly severe famine, Zhao Jun would personally go to the scene to guard it, giving the people an extremely strong sense of security.

The ancient people were simple to some extent.

They have their own petty-peasant cunning, they can lie, act like scoundrels, and are more likely to be feudal and superstitious. They just follow what others say and rarely have independent thinking of their own.

But at the same time, they also have their own simplicity.

They will believe in and love whoever provides them with enough food and warm clothes, and are willing to sacrifice their lives for the person who provides them with enough food and warm clothes.

This is a truth that has remained unchanged since ancient times.

And Zhao Jun did just that.

Care about the lives of ordinary people and actively seek benefits for them.

This shows his prestige among the people.

Now I have seen this legendary figure with my own eyes.

For the Su Shi brothers, it was naturally full of excitement and tension.

of course.

It would have been even better if he could meet Mr. Lu Xun, whom he admired more.

"Mingyun, you came back just in time this time."

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Now that the country is thriving, it is a time of rapid development. Talents are needed in all aspects. If you don't come back, it will be a loss to the country."

"Thank you for your concern, Master."

Su Xun said quickly: "I was at home mourning for my father and wasted my time, but the magistrate was still thinking about me. I will never forget it."

Zhao Jun waved his hand and said, "Observing mourning for your father is what you should do. Filial piety is a traditional Chinese virtue."

"only."

He then added with a heavy face, "I have traveled around the world several times and have been among the people, but I have found that many people are not worthy of being parents. In Jiangnan, the custom of drowning infants is prevalent, and some even offer their children to cult members. This is despicable. I hope to hear your opinion on this point."

Su Xun was a smart man. After a little thought, he knew that Zhao Jun must have something new to say, so he said, "I personally think that filial piety can be divided into extreme filial piety and foolish filial piety. In the case of extreme filial piety, parents love their children, and children also respect and love their parents. This is the joy of family. If parents are vicious, abuse their children, or even sell their children, why should children be filial to their parents?"

"good."

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "The Records of the Grand Historian records that Shun's father, stepmother, and half brother Xiang wanted to harm him, but he always remained filial to his parents and loving to his brother. This is probably a story made up by Sima Qian, because the Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, but it also gave rise to many foolish filial piety stories, such as "Lying on the Ice to Catch Carp", "Lao Lai Entertaining His Parents", and "Guo Ju Burying His Son". "

"In my opinion, these are all problematic. They regard "sickening things as fun" and "take indifference as ethics, slandering the ancients and corrupting future generations." Should we kill our sons for the sake of our parents?"

He shook his head and said, "Propaganda like this is full of the hypocrisy and cruelty of feudal filial piety. In my opinion, true filial piety is definitely not like this."

Su Xun continued his words and said: "There is a saying among the people, 'If you give birth to a child but don't raise him, you can repay it by cutting off your fingers; if you give birth to a child and raise him, you can repay it by cutting off your head; if you don't give birth to a child but raise him, you have nothing to repay him; if you don't give birth to a child and raise him, you can never repay him in a hundred generations.' This is the ultimate truth of filial piety."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun looked at him with satisfaction and said, "Mingyun seems to have never given up studying at home over the years."

Su Xun said hurriedly, "It was all taught by the dean. Back then, the dean said that we should look beyond the surface and see the essence of things. I have studied the scriptures over the years, and under the guidance of this sentence, I have also understood many truths."

"very good."

Zhao Jun smiled and said to Su Huan, "It seems that Mingyun has indeed been reading poetry and classics these years and has not fallen behind in his studies."

Su Huan smiled and said, "Mingyun has always loved learning. While mourning for his father, he should also increase his knowledge."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun pondered and said, "In fact, I have been thinking about whether to completely abolish Confucianism over the years."

As soon as these words came out, Su Huan and Su Xun's faces changed suddenly, and even the young Su Shi and Su Zhe took a breath of cold air in their hearts.

But they didn't say anything, and they heard Zhao Jun continue: "The reason why I think so is that Confucianism is mainly based on thoughts and talks about behavioral codes."

"Confucius in his time proposed some rules that people should follow, such as benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, restraining one's desires, the ruler is the ruler, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, the son is the son, and the hierarchy is in accordance with etiquette."

"His thoughts were about political systems and moral norms. It was precisely because he emphasized loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and compliance with order that he was admired by successive rulers and was gradually promoted and strengthened."

"But more than a thousand years have passed since the Spring and Autumn Period, and times are changing. Confucius's teachings were advanced in his time, but in this era, they have become feudal ethics that restrict people's thoughts and actions."

"So at the beginning, when I saw many people being oppressed because of this so-called father-child and husband-wife phenomenon, I felt very angry and thought that its existence hindered social progress."

"So later on, I thought that one day I would abolish Confucianism, let science replace Confucianism, and let new ideas take root in the Song Dynasty."

"But now that I'm at my age, I'm no longer as extreme in my thinking as I was back then."

He looked around and said, "I would think, what is the meaning of Confucianism? Is it feudalism and oppression? No, that is only the bad side I see. It also has a good side, and the good side is far more important than the bad side. This side is to shape the traditional Chinese virtues, shape the Han people's ideas, and educate people's moral character. It is not bad to have both talent and virtue, but it is even worse to have talent without virtue. If science is talent, then Confucianism is virtue. Only by combining this can one have both talent and virtue!"

This is the truth that Zhao Jun has realized in recent years.

Influenced by the May Fourth Movement, young people in later generations have not been very fond of Confucianism, and even feel that it should be criticized because "down with the Confucian shop" has been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

But when Zhao Jun reached his position and age, he gradually understood that the May Fourth Movement was an era when extreme measures had to be taken to correct a wrong.

In order to complete the revolutionary change, the feudal revolution must be completely eradicated, so Kongjiadian became the first target.

But is Confucianism really so bad?
Not necessarily.

"Benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, trustworthiness, tolerance, shame, trustworthiness, sensitivity, kindness, warmth, kindness, courtesy, frugality and modesty" are all excellent traditional virtues that can help people shape their outlook on life, world view and values.

The West does not have this kind of thinking, and the result is the development of pirate civilization and robber civilization.

Some people used the development of the New World as an excuse to enslave black people, sell them like commodities, and carry out massacres of indigenous peoples, yet decades later they labeled themselves as free and democratic.

Some people publicize the events of October 10 every day, portray themselves as victims, and hype up their image as historical victims in front of the media, but they never think about the fact that they have been blockading, invading, oppressing, and killing others for decades.

There are even people who dumped industrial products under the banner of free trade, but later found that finance was more profitable, so they engaged in deindustrialization. After deindustrialization, they used the slogan of environmental protection to force other developing countries to give up development, while they concentrated on reaping the benefits of finance around the world.

As a result, the bubble of the financial game of passing the parcel burst. After the financial crisis, they immediately tried to transfer the crisis abroad, or even launched a war and used the military-industrial complex to promote manufacturing, thereby alleviating the domestic economy.

Under such a comparison, it is clear who is moral and who is not.

Therefore, the existence of Confucianism is not a bad thing, but it does contain a lot of dross, and what Zhao Jun wants to do is to "discard the dross and retain the essence."

Just as in the new era of later generations, we should carry forward China's excellent traditional culture and establish a correct outlook on life, values ​​and world view.

We once abandoned Confucianism, but eventually picked it up again because the Western bandit logic itself is immoral and is not suitable for Chinese people who are born with a sense of morality.

Therefore, taking Confucianism as the body and science as the application, combining correct ideology and morality with scientific development is the correct ideological concept.

After hearing what Zhao Jun said, Su Huan and Su Xun agreed. Su Huan said, "What the dean said is right. Confucianism is a doctrine of thought. Benevolence is the human heart. Righteousness is the path of man. Without Confucianism, how can morality exist in the human heart?"

"But I still say that what Confucianism needs is a correct norm. If we want to establish correct ideas, we must not allow those perverse theories that distort Confucianism."

Zhao Jun said, "So I plan to set up a cultural department to promote and protect our traditional virtues and culture, and to identify those bad cultures, and eliminate the dregs of culture from school textbooks and books circulating on the market. I think Mingyun should be able to identify which cultural content is harmful and which is beneficial, so I decided to let you take on this responsibility. Mingyun, do you have the confidence?"

Ministry of Culture?
Su Xun was stunned at first, then surprised and delighted, and stood up and said, "I will definitely live up to the trust of the governor."

"Ah."

Zhao Jun nodded and said, "Go ahead and do it. The books on the market are of varying quality, filled with all kinds of messy ideas, and many promote foolish filial piety, oppression, and exploitation. Many of the national primary and secondary school textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education use ancient articles, which may contain some bad content. I hope you can cooperate with the Ministry of Education and establish correct ideas for the next generation of students in the Song Dynasty."

"Yes."

Su Xun stood up straight and responded in a loud voice.

Even Su Huan showed a hint of envy when he looked at Su Xun.

He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tiansheng, and passed the examination at the age of 24. He was on the same list as the current Prime Minister Zeng Gongliang. Although he was about the same age as Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, and Han Qi, his seniority was older than them.

Because he had no one to support him in the officialdom, he had only been floating around as a county magistrate or a prefect. He had been in and out of the officialdom for nearly 30 years without becoming a senior official.

Now, he had finally waited for the position of Zhiyuan and had slowly climbed up to his current position. However, his younger brother had only passed the exam in the first year of Kangding, and had sixteen years less experience than him. But now, he was lucky enough to be at the same level as him.

After all, it’s easy to tell that the Ministry of Culture is probably a third-level department, and the chief officer should be of the fourth rank.

Before that, Su Xun was only a fifth-rank prefect, and there was a five-year gap in his qualifications. This means that he had been in office for only seven years in total. His promotion speed was so fast that even his brothers would envy him.

"Of course, your promotion this time is an illegal promotion beyond your level, which is not in line with the officialdom. However, I only look at talent, not seniority."

Zhao Jun finally reminded him, "I trust you by hiring you. I hope you won't let me down. In the next ten years, you should work hard in the Ministry of Culture and make sure that the moral atmosphere of the Song Dynasty is completely renewed. We can't say that there are gentlemen everywhere, but we must ensure that moral education is in place. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Su Xun's heart sank, he knew that the Director had promoted him in violation of regulations this time in the hope that he could shoulder the heavy burden of the Ministry of Culture, so he was well aware of how heavy the burden on his shoulders was.

And Zhao Jun also made it clear that after this illegal promotion, he would continue to work in the Ministry of Culture for the next ten years, and should only serve for two terms.

First, it is to gain experience. For those with more experience, such as Su Huan, they basically work step by step for five years, and then continue to move up. In the next Yangcha Yanggao, they will enter the Constitutional Council. Su Huan and Chen Xiliang, who have more experience, can be promoted to the first-level departments as chief officials, while Wang Anshi, Li Xiaoji and others with less experience will go to the second-level departments. After more than ten years, they can probably enter the Constitutional Council.

As for Su Huan, he had missed five years and was promoted so quickly, so it was naturally impossible for him to move up further. It was natural that he would choose to gain experience in the Ministry of Culture.

Secondly, Zhao Jun gave him ten years so that he could give the Song Dynasty a new atmosphere.

If he cannot correct the bad social trends and establish correct ideological and moral concepts for the next generation within ten years, then he will have to give up his position as the Minister of Culture and naturally forget about promotion.

So working in the Ministry of Culture is not only an arrangement, but also a test.

To test whether Su Xun has the ability to meet Zhao Jun's requirements.

As it concerns Su Xun's future prospects, the joy of promotion that he had just felt disappeared in an instant, leaving only a sense of pressure.

"Well, sit down."

Zhao Jun waved his hand.

"Yes."

Su Xun sat down again.

"You must be the brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe, right?"

After instructing Su Xun, Zhao Jun turned his gaze to Su Shi and the other two.

"Yes, Zhiyuan."

Su Shi and the other two also stood up quickly.

"You came here by train from Xiangyang, right?"

"Yes."

"Along the way, besides seeing the application of science, what else did you see?"

Zhao Jun asked.

Su Shi was thinking about how to answer.

Su Che was an honest child, and he said honestly: "I saw the people and the scenery along the way."

“How are the people doing?”

“Not great, but not bad either.”

"What about Bianliang?"

“It’s very prosperous.”

"Is that all?"

"The footmen wore clothes similar to those of the scholars, and the peasants wore silk shoes."

"Compared to the people along the way?"

“Too much has been paid back.”

"Yeah, it's much better."

Zhao Jun nodded: "But compared to before, the people outside will only be worse off. You don't know that more than ten years ago, people in many places in Song Dynasty couldn't even get enough food to eat, and some even starved to death."

The Su brothers were born during the Jingyou period and grew up during the period of rapid prosperity in the Song Dynasty. By analogy, it is equivalent to the 1980s and 1990s in later generations.

At that time, the country had completed the agricultural revolution, and great famines like those in the past no longer existed.

So they don't feel what it's like to be hungry.

But Zhao Jun knew it.

Because he had traveled all over the world when he came here, he knew the sufferings of the people. He also knew that at that time, the taxes were heavy, and coupled with various exploitations, natural disasters and man-made disasters, it was common for people to starve to death.

Just like when he was dealing with the Huainan disaster relief grain case, he killed so many corrupt officials but was unable to save the lives of so many disaster victims.

Today, the Song Dynasty is booming, and there is also a new agricultural revolution. Food production has greatly increased, food prices are low, taxes are low, and a large amount of land is being distributed. The court is also recruiting workers to carry out large-scale infrastructure construction.

Basically, as long as you are not a lazy person, do not farm the land, and do not go out to work, you will not starve to death.

However, Zhao Jun was still not satisfied. He looked at the two and continued, "Compared to the past, the people of the world now at least have enough food and clothing. But I won't say that it's good for the people to have enough food now. Do you know why?"

"do not know."

"Because I would only say that their lives are not good enough, and the level of goodness must be constantly improved. This is what it means to serve the country and the people."

"I see."

"So I don't think that the prosperity of Bianliang now means that the Song Dynasty is very strong. The real strength is that every place is like Bianliang, and every place is prosperous. Only then will they be truly good. Do you understand now?"

"The academy has lofty ambitions, which is admirable."

Su Shi and his brothers stood in awe.

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "I shouldn't have told you these things. Do you know why?"

"The boy doesn't understand."

“I’m telling you this because you’re young people.”

“Are young people any different?”

Su Che asked.

"Of course there are differences, such as your wisdom."

"wisdom?"

"Yes, your uncle has already told me about your ideas on the train. Very good. You have never taken science courses before, but you can come up with such ideas. This shows that you are very smart."

Zhao Jun looked at them with admiration and said, "What I like most are smart young men like you."

"Thank you for the compliment, my brother and I were just daydreaming, and we couldn't come up with a practical solution, so we really don't want to take credit for it."

Su Shi said this quite maturely and modestly.

"Many people have ideas but don't dare to realize them. And the vast majority of people don't even have ideas. They just see it but never think about how it will change, and live a mediocre life like this."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "What I hope is that everyone in the Song Dynasty will have wisdom, have ideas and dare to realize them, so that the Song Dynasty will become the best era. But unfortunately, it is still too far away, but I firmly believe in the power of the next generation, and each generation will be better than the previous one."

Both of them listened carefully.

"You, the younger generation, are the future of the Song Dynasty."

After that, Zhao Jun looked at Su Shi and the others and said, "This world belongs to you, and to us, but in the final analysis, it still belongs to you. Young people are full of vigor and vitality, so they should face challenges head-on and use them to realize their own ideas and dreams. What do you think?"

"Yes."

The two of them responded.

"I heard you are very interested in science?"

"Yes."

"Then go ahead and learn boldly."

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "It must be very interesting for you, Su Shi, to study science."

"Forehead"

Su Shi didn't understand, so he just said, "I'll follow the instructions of the dean."

"I heard from your uncle that you like Mr. Lu Xun very much? Do you hope to meet him?"

"Yes."

"I asked the gentleman about this matter for you. He likes to travel and hide away from the world. He left for Hangzhou today and is no longer in Bianliang."

Zhao Jun lied without blinking.

Su Shi was immediately disappointed and said, "It seems that my luck is not very good."

"But before he left, he left me a manuscript, which was the article he planned to publish."

Zhao Jun pointed to the article he had read on the table and said, "This manuscript will be published in the Bianliang Daily tomorrow. After listening to your story, the professor decided to give this manuscript to you. I hope you will not disappoint the professor's expectations."

After he finished speaking, Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Take it."

"Thank you, Sir. Thank you, sir."

Su Shi suddenly became excited again. He walked over in small steps and picked up the article from Zhao Jun's desk.

Then, as soon as I looked at it, I saw the line of words above.

"The Liao people called China two things: the Southern Barbarians and the Barbarian Country."

This manuscript.

It is the "On Youthful China" after being improved by Zhao Jun!
(End of this chapter)