Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 72 The era of scholars is over!

Chapter 72 The era of scholars is over! (Subscribe)
"It's always been like this, right?"

When Xia Zhibai asked this question, everyone in the audience changed their expressions.

They had never expected that Xia Zhibai would be so radical and would not give up until he achieved his goal, and he even dared to interrogate His Majesty about it.

Is this what a minister did?
"Be bold!"

"presumptuous!"

"shut up!"

"..."

A series of scoldings rang out in the venue, and Xia Zhibai was instantly the target of public criticism.

Zhu Yuanzhang kept a cold face and did not answer.

No need to answer.

Xia Zhibai was not frightened by the scolding. He straightened his back even more with a sense of sharpness and edge.

He glanced at the whole audience calmly and said calmly, "Do you think I am wrong?"

"But I don't think so."

“If you don’t manage the world in one way, then your country will be in violation of its ancient laws!”

"The world has always been in a state of dynamic change. Since the Qin Dynasty, more than a thousand years ago, the world has undergone great changes."

“And it’s a comprehensive change.”

"It's just that the scholar class is constantly regressing, which is why I proposed to select some suitable workers and peasants from all over the world."

"The scholars in the past were pure and noble."

"Today's scholars are neither pure nor noble, but rather vulgar. For the sake of fame and fortune, they turn a deaf ear to the world outside and focus only on reading the books of sages."

"The principles learned from books are ultimately too shallow and too empty to understand the truth from them. Moreover, with the development of the times, some things have become outdated."

Minister of Rites Zhao Mao's face darkened, and he said unhappily, "Xia Zhibai, what do you mean by this? We have read books for so many years, but we still don't understand as well as you, a man in his early twenties?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He looked at Zhao Mao and said in a deep voice: "That is not what I meant, but some of the contents of the Four Books and Five Classics have deviated from the world."

"Only reading the Four Books and the Five Classics will not be enough to govern the world."

"Because the requirements for officials in today's world are getting higher and higher. They must not only be proficient in politics, but also in the economy, people's livelihood, etc."

"All of the above cannot be taught by sage books. Only by going to the local level, understanding the actual situation there, and listening extensively to the voices and suggestions of the grassroots people can we make the right decisions."

“It’s not easy to be an official.”

"It is even more difficult to be a competent official."

Zhao Mao snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "How shameless! The books of sages talk about the most righteous principles in the world, and they cover everything."

“You don’t understand at all.”

"When you really understand it one day, you will know how ridiculous what you said today is. The ancient sages saw farther than us."

Zhao Mao looked indifferent.

Everyone else could ignore it, except him, the Minister of Rites. Otherwise, if His Majesty really believed Xia Zhibai's lies, wouldn't it mean that he, the Minister of Rites, was derelict in his duty and incompetent?

He was also quite annoyed.

He admitted that Xia Zhibai had some talent, but he was too arrogant. He looked down on everyone and wanted to pick a fight with everyone.

This kind of person won’t have long career in the government!
And Xia Zhibai’s idea is very dangerous.

Zhu Biao's eyelids twitched and he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Xia Zhibai is really stubborn.

People always want to argue, especially now that they are blaming the saints. Isn't this denying the research and studies of almost all scholars in the world?

How could this not arouse public outrage?
In the whole world, the only people who dare to question the saints are probably my father and Xia Zhibai. My father just doesn't like Mencius.

Xia Zhibai is a reference to all the sages of Confucianism.

So crazy.

However, he felt that what Xia Zhibai said made sense. It was not enough to just read the books of sages to govern a country. More practical experience was needed.

Because of this.

Only then would my father set up a Hanlin Academy.

The purpose is to train and cultivate some officials who do not have much experience in handling political affairs, so that they can be better used by the court in the future.

Zhu Biao was also very curious.

What is the purpose of Xia Zhibai's radical speech? Is it really for the so-called workers and peasants, or is there another purpose?

He looked at Xia Zhibai, thinking secretly in his heart.

Xia Zhibai took a deep breath, and he knew that it was not easy to break the "saint in the heart" of contemporary scholars, so he did it to test it this time.

If the Ming Dynasty was to truly enter a period of mass production, it was necessary to break the absolute sacredness, absolute authority and correctness of Confucianism in the hearts of scholars.

Otherwise the conservative forces are too strong.

But he is not in a hurry, nor is he impatient for success.

Xia Zhibai smiled.

He looked at Zhao Mao and said slowly, "The interpretations of the Four Books and Five Classics have been changing all the time. They are not static and change with the current situation."

"Today I will use the example of merchants, who are considered the lowest class in many people's minds."

"Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the idea of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce has been prevalent, and agriculture has always been the foundation of the world's development. This is understandable, after all, agriculture is related to the food and clothing of all people in the world."

"However, in the Song Dynasty, this inherent economic model was broken for the first time."

“I’ve read a lot of books.”

"So I have a certain understanding of the Song Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, there was a trend of opposing the idea that agriculture was the basis and commerce was the end."

“This trend of thought is worth pondering.”

"Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty once said: 'It is to benefit our country above and protect our body below. The Zhou officials have a permanent register. How can we expel the inferiors?'" "Ye Shi also said: 'Suppressing the inferiors and strengthening the fundamentals is not a correct view.'"

"If this were just the opinion of a few people, it might not be worth investigating, but even a man as talented as Fan Zhongyan made such a statement."

"This is enough to prove that at that time, many scholars in the world had realized the importance of commerce and affirmed its role, which led to the subsequent suggestion that the development of commerce should not be suppressed."

"at the same time."

"Under the governance of the Song Dynasty, the Confucian concept of righteousness and profit also changed."

"Confucius originally said: A gentleman is concerned with righteousness, while a villain is concerned with profit."

"However, starting from the Song Dynasty, the relationship between profit and justice was no longer in opposition, but transformed into coexistence."

"Su Xun once said: When there is benefit, righteousness exists; when there is no benefit, righteousness is lost."

"It was also from the Song Dynasty that doing business was no longer a shameful thing. Most officials were scholars who studied Confucian classics and valued reputation. In the past, anyone who wanted to do business would be laughed at by the mainstream people of the time."

“But that was not the case in the Song Dynasty.”

"Officials are no longer subject to such prejudice and can conduct business freely."

"In fact, because of the improvement of the status of merchants, the government even relaxed the requirements and allowed merchants to become officials through the imperial examination."

"It was very common at that time for the father to be a businessman and the son to be an official."

"Of course, the government has also taken some measures to curb it, but in the face of huge interests, they are all just a piece of waste paper."

"After that, the Yuan Dynasty swept across the country and was not serious about governing the country. It implemented a tax farming system and allowed local governments to manage themselves, which further exacerbated the collusion between local officials and businessmen."

"The situation of officials engaging in business that appeared in the Song Dynasty reached an even more exaggerated level after the indulgence of the Yuan Dynasty. Officials and businessmen colluded to monopolize the market and compete with the people for profits. They forced people to buy and sell, and corruption was everywhere."

"Although the Yuan Dynasty was a failure in governance, the situation deteriorated so quickly, causing the people to suffer and have no way to survive. This was largely due to the collusion between officials and businessmen at the time, who oppressed and exploited the people."

"After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty intended to reverse the situation, but the effect was not very good, because it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. After seeing the enjoyment of the previous officials, it is difficult for you to remain restrained."

"The Ming Dynasty is no exception."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

He disagreed with Xia Zhibai's opinion. He directly sentenced corrupt officials to death, and some of them were even skinned and eaten grass.

He had experienced the pain of corrupt officials and collusion between officials and businessmen in the past, and he hated these people deeply. He had worked very hard to change the social atmosphere, so how could he repeat the same mistakes?

Xia Zhibai had no idea how hard he had tried to curb this trend.

"Do you think that collusion between officials and businessmen would also occur in our Ming Dynasty? But I can tell you clearly that it is impossible. Our Ming Dynasty is not the Song Dynasty."

"We will not follow the Song Dynasty's example of raising the status of merchants, nor will we allow merchants to get involved in power. If there are officials in our Ming Dynasty who dare to collude with merchants."

Zhu Yuanzhang swept the whole audience coldly. No one dared to look at him. They all lowered their heads and said, "We will make all nine clans taste the pain of being skinned and eaten by grass."

"We always keep our word!"

All officials fell silent.

They never doubted this, because His Majesty really dared to kill him and would never show any mercy.

Your Majesty has never concealed your attitude towards corrupt officials. That is to kill them, and it is a series of killings, which scare those who are killed.

The whole world was covered in blood.

Xia Zhibai frowned.

Zhu Yuanzhang's idea was too one-size-fits-all. If problems could be solved by violence alone, there wouldn't be so many corrupt officials in the world.

Since the Song Dynasty, over the past hundreds of years, scholars have long developed a habit of valuing profit over righteousness, and this habit has only increased with each ban.

And it’s very important.

The low salaries in the Ming Dynasty were not enough to maintain integrity.

Zhu Yuanzhang could resist for a while by his own strength, but he could not resist forever. Interests are the driving force behind people's hearts.

But what he wants to talk about today is not business.

But it is a major plan for the world.

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty and I have different opinions. I think it is better to open up than to block. We cannot defend the city just by strictly guarding it."

“Because the benefits are too great.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened and he looked unfriendly.

Xia Zhibai continued, "I know that Your Majesty hates merchants, but Your Majesty's actions are not worth the loss."

"Merchant is very profitable."

"Once they see that there is something to gain, they will find ways to exploit loopholes and bribe people. And after hundreds of years of brewing, there is already a trend of thought in the world."

"It is the rise of merchants."

"Under these circumstances, further suppression will not have much practical effect. The world has reached a time when change is about to happen."

"I think so."

"The era that belonged exclusively to scholars is over!"

"From now on, the world will gradually move towards an era of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans."

“Agriculture is the foundation.”

"Businessmen and industry are the auxiliary, and scholars are the assistants."

"Only if several roads advance simultaneously can the Ming Dynasty prosper forever."

"This is the general trend of the world!"

Xia Zhibai's eyes were like stars, and he expressed his thoughts in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Silence everywhere.

Everyone looked at Xia Zhibai as if he were a madman.