Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 255: The Song people lost too much, and my hometown became a frontier fortress!

The main hall of the Hanlin Academy.

Xia Zhibai walked in confidently.

Liu Sanwu, Huang Zhang and other scholars looked at Xia Zhibai with complicated expressions.

They were genuinely opposed to Xia Zhibai, and after hearing that the court had agreed to the salt policy, they were extremely unwilling to be chosen by Xia Zhibai. But when they saw that they were not chosen, they felt inexplicably unhappy, and even felt a strange anger and dissatisfaction.

They were in the Hanlin Academy with Xia Zhibai.

When Xia Zhibai selects people, normally he gives priority to Hanlin scholars.

As a result, Xia Zhibai didn't choose anyone.

Although they all breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the result, they also felt that Xia Zhibai was very disrespectful. As Hanlin scholars, they were both talented and virtuous, and even if they were placed in the whole world, they would be people with great reputation, but Xia Zhibai still looked down on them.

It's really ridiculous.

Xia Zhibai ignored him completely.

The scholars in the Hanlin Academy are indeed talented enough.

But too old.

Many ideas are deeply rooted.

Having these people around you is just making things more troublesome for yourself.

Especially since these people liked to quote from classics and make all kinds of indirect accusations. Xia Zhibai would not make himself look bad. He had never considered Liu Sanwu and others from the beginning. The only candidate he considered was Fang Xiaoru. After thinking about it, he finally gave up.

Fang Xiaoru was equally unsuitable.

The head is too hard.

Moreover, he is stubborn and once he makes up his mind about something, nothing can change his mind. If such a person is used well, he can indeed be a great help, but if he is not used in the right position, he will only cause trouble for himself. Things in the south are already complicated, and he will not think of causing more trouble for himself.

Xia Zhibai gathered all the scholars in the Hanlin Academy together.

He stood on the third step and said loudly: "The court has issued an edict, asking me to follow Duke Xin and Jinyiwei Envoy Jiang Li to go south in a few days, so I will trouble you to compile the course."

Xia Zhibai bowed to the scholars below.

Liu Sanwu and others stroked their beards and nodded indifferently.

Xia Zhibai glanced at the bottom indifferently, and then said: "Regarding history, I would like to remind you that when writing about the Song Dynasty, you should not over-praise the so-called scholar-official politics, but rather belittle it."

"You know the reason."

“I don’t recommend including too many frontier poems that were highly praised by many literati in the past.”

"after all."

"As a northerner, I don't want my hometown to become a frontier fortress because of too many losses to the Song people."

"I don't want future students of the Ming Dynasty to really think that the world always focuses on the south, and that Chang'an is outside the Great Wall. I firmly disagree with and strongly oppose this kind of writing that forgets its roots."

"I don't want to see that one day, when we mention the emperors who were born in Guanzhong, such as Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang, we will inexplicably become people from outside the pass."

"Isn't this Xiu Xian'er? There are also Xuanyuan and Shennong in the north. They are the leaders of Chinese civilization. We must not abandon the leaders of Chinese civilization because of the selfishness of some people."

"The Yuan Dynasty was inherited by the Ming Dynasty."

"Then he should inherit the Yuan Dynasty's legal system."

"That is, the Song Dynasty was on par with the Western Xia and Liao dynasties, and was in a period of division."

"The Song Dynasty must not be the only one that is dominant in the book."

Xia Zhibai's attitude is very tough.

Because these scholars had too many problems when writing books.

Various praises of the Song Dynasty.

He almost praised the Song Dynasty to the utmost in his words.

But those who really know history know that the Song Dynasty is not worth boasting about at all. Even the homeland of China has been lost, and even the resting place of our ancestors has been occupied. The entire frontier poem is still just about Guazhou Ferry and Dasan Pass.

When did Guazhou Ferry and Dasan Pass become frontier fortresses in history?
Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?
He didn't want to go south and come back to see all these things in the books compiled by these people. That would be too torturous. The Song Dynasty was a period of division, which was a foregone conclusion. He had to make this clear to these scholars.

After hearing Xia Zhibai's words, the scholars below became a little agitated.

But I didn't dare to refute anything.

Because what Xia Zhibai said was true, no matter how much they disagreed, they could not deny that Xuanyuan and Shennong were the common rulers of China, and they could not deny that the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties in history were located in Guanzhong.

Any comparison can reveal the problems of the Song Dynasty.

But they do admire the Song Dynasty, especially the idea of ​​sharing the world with the literati that was prevalent in the Song Dynasty.

This is the common vision of literati all over the world.

This would classify the Song Dynasty as a period of division. Wouldn't it make 'sharing the world with the ministers' a joke? Since it was not even a unified dynasty, it was a huge failure in itself. How could people believe that it was right?

Xia Zhibai said coldly: "It's normal for you to have your own preferences."

“But don’t cross the line!”

"The textbooks you write are for the whole world to read."

"I'm not asking you to brag about yourselves and mix your own preferences here."

"If you are still so self-righteous and indifferent, I will ask the court to change the editors and recruit qualified scholars from all over the country. I believe that there should be many scholars willing to come and compile such an important book, even a book that can be recorded in history."

Hear the words.

Huang Zhang and the others' faces changed slightly. Huang Zhang was dissatisfied and said, "Master Xia, you are exaggerating."

"Teaching is about teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. Your insistence on unification is already a perverse act, and now you are trying to restrict our ideas. Isn't this a dictatorship? Then why do you want us to compile books? Why don't you just compile them yourself?"

"There were a thousand things wrong with the Song Dynasty."

“But it is indeed a prosperous era for world governance.”

"Besides, the Song Dynasty was very close to the Ming Dynasty, and there are more relevant historical materials and books left. Why not give more emphasis to the Song Dynasty?"

"Then add more Xixia and Liao as well." Xia Zhibai said indifferently.

Xia Zhibai looked at Huang Zhang sarcastically and said indifferently: "Western Xia and Liao were not far from the Ming Dynasty, and there are also historical materials compiled in the Yuan Dynasty, which are also very sufficient. What's more, the Liao Dynasty has Yelu Dashi's Western Expedition, which can be written about in detail. The Song Dynasty emphasized culture, and other countries also emphasized military affairs."

"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, and don't let the top be too heavy."

"and"

“I am the chief planner of the book.”

"Everything is based on the book outline I provided."

Xia Zhibai didn't want to waste any more time arguing with Huang Zhang about these things.

A complete waste of time.

He continued, "The compilation of textbooks is now on the right track, but there are still many aspects that can be improved. Therefore, I will propose to the court to further extend the time for compiling books. The textbooks compiled by the Ming Dynasty are to correct the chaos and make people all over the world recognize the glory of the Han people again."

"The Han people's achievements in civil and military affairs are unprecedented in history."

"This is to make the people living on this land proud of it."

"Rather than creating resentment and dissatisfaction."

"Besides, even the people of the Song Dynasty themselves admitted that they and the Liao Dynasty were considered the Northern and Southern Dynasties."

"Where do you get the confidence to be the only one who respects the Song Dynasty?"

"in addition."

"This time when I go south, I will also look for some prestigious scholars and introduce them to the Hanlin Academy. Perhaps they will also compile books with you. In addition to the scholars in the south, I will also look for scholars in the north. These teaching materials are for the Ming Dynasty."

"It's not to cater to one place."

"Without my consent, teaching materials are strictly prohibited from being reported!"

Done.

Xia Zhibai waved his sleeves and said no more to these people.

Huang Zhang and his companions were filled with resentment.

How could Xia Zhibai be discussing this with them?
It's clearly a notification.

Moreover, without any reason or basis, their achievements were directly denied, and they even tried to force them to submit and let them follow Xia Zhibai's ideas. Isn't this destroying their enthusiasm?
Huang Zhang said angrily: "This young boy is so arrogant."

"Isn't he just appointed as a Grand Secretary by His Majesty? How could he be so arrogant? I thought he was just conceited, but it turns out he is not. He is just pure arrogance. He has no deep knowledge and only knows how to study some unorthodox ways. He also refuses to listen to advice. I am ashamed to be associated with him."

Huang Zhang shook his sleeves angrily and walked out of the Hanlin Academy directly.

The others also looked unhappy.

Xia Zhibai has openly denied them.

How could they have a good face?

After giving the instructions, Xia Zhibai turned and walked towards the side hall.

Why would he want to get angry?
It’s just that people like Huang Zhang are becoming more and more excessive.

They almost exaggerate the Song Dynasty as a "prosperous and prosperous era" without mentioning the humiliation it suffered.

He is like this now in the Hanlin Academy. After he goes south, with the tolerance of people like Huang Zhang, I don’t know how much he will change privately. It is even very likely that they will submit these textbooks behind my back and promote them in advance.

How could he let them succeed?
Think of this.

Xia Zhibai also shook his head secretly.

Although the scholar-official politics since the Song and Ming dynasties has been highly praised by later generations, if we really look into it in detail, it is actually a regression compared to the aristocratic politics of the Han and Tang dynasties. Xia Zhibai actually has a rough idea of ​​this situation.

Ultimately, the channels for upward mobility changed in the Tang and Song dynasties.

In the Tang Dynasty, one could still use military merit to gain wealth and honor, but in the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination became the most cost-effective way.

But how many of these scholars who only read the books of sages really know how to govern a country? How many of them really care about people's livelihood? They are all busy consolidating their own power and making money for their families. At the local level, they do whatever they want and focus on political struggles. The intensity of party struggles is unprecedented.

The governance of the world is in a state of chaos.

Looking at the Song and Ming dynasties in history, the so-called scholar-official politics has always been a mess.

The peak period of the Ming Dynasty was purely a personal show of Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Di. But even so, the four Hexi counties were still not occupied, the Silk Road for communication with the outside world was also disconnected, and the entire northwest was in a complete mess, so much so that they later took the initiative to invite the Qing army into the pass.

If this was only the case during the Song Dynasty, then it was still the same during the Ming Dynasty, which is enough to prove that this was a systemic problem.

It also fundamentally proves that intellectual politics is rotten to the core.

Because it deviates from reality.

If the Ming Dynasty does not correct its course, the magical scene in history when the Qing troops entered the pass will one day be staged again.

He must correct this chaos.

Solve the problem at the root!
Textbooks are the first step to getting back to the basics.

(End of this chapter)