Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 405 A real taxi!

Liu Sanwu said: "That being said, have you ever considered the consequences of warriors being too strong?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said calmly: "Warriors cannot be strong."

"Why?" Liu Sanwu frowned.

Xia Zhibai smiled slightly and said, "Master, you know too little about what happened at the banquet yesterday. You only heard the warriors say that the court wanted to improve the status of warriors, but you didn't hear the whole background of the court's improvement of the status of warriors."

Liu Sanwu frowned and waited for what happened next.

"The court does want to restore the normal reputation of the warriors, but the warriors have been stigmatized for many years. There are many reasons, and I will not go into details. And how easy is it for the warriors to regain the trust of the world? Can it be done just by erecting a stone tablet?"

“That’s unrealistic.”

"The people are realistic. They have their own standards for judging the real situation of the warriors."

"They won't believe whatever the court says."

"Take the military commanders like Lan Yu, whom the Master hates the most, for example. The court said that Lan Yu and other military commanders have pure personalities, but I'm afraid that if this word gets out, few people will believe it. If you want to re-establish the reputation of military commanders, you must change these things, at least in an open way so that the people won't hate them."

"Therefore, the premise for rehabilitating the reputation of warriors is that warriors themselves must make changes and change the bad impression people have of them."

“This is bound to be a long process.”

“It also means.”

"The transformation of the army will be continuous. There are some bad apples in the army right now, and some arrogant and arrogant people. But even if you only mention the names of these people, the people will be afraid of them like a tiger. So how can the court just let them go?"

“It’s essentially a screening.”

"We should eliminate the military personnel who have bad habits and bad practices in the past from the army, and retain some military generals who are upright and honest. Let these people become the representatives of the Ming army, so as to reverse the influence of the world on the military personnel. We should also constantly rectify the military discipline so that the people can truly believe in it."

"This group of upright generals are the model of military men."

"Rather than the ones in the court right now."

Hear the words.

Liu Sanwu's mind moved.

He looked at Xia Zhibai thoughtfully, and gradually figured out something. The court was playing a big game.

By flattering the military officers, they are allowed to let down their guard, and at the same time secretly restraining the behavior of the military officers, making it impossible for them to speak out. Therefore, the blame is on the people, and it is also what these military officers themselves promised. Now that they can't do it, who can they blame?

The imperial court can use this to hold military officers accountable!
These military officers seem to be praised by the world, but they have to pay a great price. At least they dare not be so blatant and presumptuous, nor do they dare to oppress the weak and local people at will. Otherwise, it will damage the image of military men and the court can easily blame them.

But at the same time, the status of those military officers with integrity has indeed been improved.

Isn’t this also a hidden danger?
Civil and military affairs meet each other.

When military men are powerful in the court, the intellectuals will inevitably be at a disadvantage.

Moreover, in the past, civil officials could impeach military officials based on their conduct, but this may not be possible in the future. Instead, the military officials will bully them. Thinking of this, Liu Sanwu's eyes, which had originally brightened, quickly dimmed again. He always believed that this was not conducive to the stability of the court.

He said, "Can't we just continue using the old method?"

He was puzzled.

Since the world has already provided a solution, why should we be self-righteous and change it?
Isn't this a waste of time?
Xia Zhibai looked at Liu Sanwu deeply, shook his head and said, "No." "Why?"

Xia Zhibai said: "Master, you are a father and you should educate your children. But people in this world have a very absurd idea. When children are young, they are required to be upright and honest, but when they grow up, they hope that they can quickly learn to be flexible and cunning."

"The book teaches us to be upright and have a conscience and perseverance."

"This may be a lesson for people to have a bottom line."

"When you grow up, you are taught to be smooth and flattering. This is the way to protect yourself, because being too hard can easily break you, and being too soft can easily deceive you. You need to know how to be square inside and round outside in order to remain calm in the face of adversity. But people cannot grow up in an instant. This is the same as the previous system of using culture to control martial arts."

"They put strict restrictions on the military, asking them to learn to be 'gentle, kind, respectful and yielding', constantly suppressing the status of the military, suppressing the influence of the military, and even discrediting the existence of the military. When the world is really at stake, they hope that the military will stand up and save the world. But at that time, how could the military have the courage that a military should have? How many people would really send their children to the army?"

“The principle is actually the same.”

"Too hard can easily break, too soft can easily deceive. The Tang Dynasty and before were too hard, and the Song Dynasty and after were too soft."

“Neither is good.”

"Therefore, a relative balance needs to be struck, so that the warriors can maintain their original image as warriors, and can always have a positive and active influence on the world, while at the same time preventing the warriors from causing chaos. Therefore, discipline and military law become a great constraint."

"Now the Ming Dynasty is on the right track."

"It is true that the change in the reputation of warriors among the people will make many scholars uneasy, but this uneasiness comes more from the filthiness in their hearts, not from the warriors themselves. If they are truly upright, how can they be affected? In ancient times, there was still a good reputation for the harmony between generals and ministers."

"Master, you place too much emphasis on your identity as a scholar."

“Sometimes, it is even distorted to the point of confusing right and wrong and making trouble out of nothing. This is also the current situation of many literati in the world. They never reflect on their own problems and are only willing to find the reasons in others. The corruption of the world is caused by this.”

"I support raising the status of warriors."

“Because they’re worth it!”

"In times of peace and prosperity, the world belongs to the nobles and the literati. When the country is about to fall, the world belongs to the common people. When the country is prosperous and the people share the benefits, the common people have no share. When the country is in danger and needs help, the nobles and the literati disappear, but secretly demand that the common people take responsibility."

“This is a distortion of the world.”

"The Ming Dynasty today is just restoring order."

"To present the world in an upright manner, so that all classes in the world can receive the respect they deserve."

“This is the point!!!”

Xia Zhibai stood tall, his sleeves moving without wind.

Liu Sanwu stood there in a daze, unable to speak for a long time.

a long time.

Liu Sanwu slumped in the chair, sighing deeply, his face blue and purple, feeling so ashamed that he couldn't face anyone. He was speechless after being refuted by Xia Zhibai, and it was also the first time that he was left speechless.

A leaf obscures the eyes, and Mount Tai cannot be seen.

He finally understood the difference between himself and Xia Zhibai.

He is a man of letters.

And Xia Zhibai is a true "scholar"!
(End of this chapter)