Ming politicians

() Knowing that Liu Zongzhou had arrived in Jiangning County, Su Tiancheng was more worried.

It should be said that Liu Zongzhou is a great Confucian, a real great Confucian. From the perspective of academic research, Liu Zongzhou is famous in history. In history, he is called the last Confucian master of the Ming Dynasty. From the perspective of academic and achievements, Liu Zongzhou is It is well-deserved, but Liu Zongzhou also has limitations in understanding, that is, he blindly emphasizes being cautious and independent. Zhu Youjian, who was eager to change the situation in the Ming Dynasty, said that these suggestions were dismissed as pedantic.

The independence that Liu Zongzhou emphasized is actually a very high moral requirement. He infiltrates everything and all moral standards in the world, and requires everyone to become a perfect person in the world by strengthening their self-cultivation. .He proposed cautious independence, but also aimed at the prevailing party struggle and selfish thoughts among the scholar-bureaucrats, which has a certain pertinence.

Liu Zongzhou's understanding has a certain advanced significance for the late Ming Dynasty. However, it is very difficult to implement this kind of excessive moral requirement, especially in troubled times.

Liu Zongzhou has close ties with the Donglin Party. He was once considered a member of the Donglin Party. In fact, he also supported the Donglin Party’s ideology and had a very good relationship with many influential figures in the Donglin Party. .

Facing such a great Confucianist, Su Tiancheng needed to spend some thought.

It is of course a good thing for Liu Zongzhou to join the Zhongxing Academy.But it was very difficult, and Liu Zongzhou's consciousness had already formed.Because he has a cautious and independent thinking, he is not very interested in doing things in a down-to-earth manner. He always believes that scholar-bureaucrats must change their minds, and court officials must be moral and noble, and they cannot have selfish ideas. Yes many difficulties.Solving many practical problems in a real way is regarded by him as eager for quick success and instant benefit, which has no fundamental effect.

The idea of ​​great harmony in the world is a very beautiful wish. Everyone hopes to achieve that state, but the actual situation must also be considered, strictly speaking.Hundreds of years later, the social development has not reached the realm that Liu Zongzhou said.

Su Tiancheng's understanding is different from Liu Zongzhou's in general direction.

For example, Su Tiancheng's request.It is to start from the grassroots, lay the foundation step by step, and use the small ball to drive the big ball to make changes, Liu Zongzhou's request.It started with the emperor, and he was strict with himself.This further affected imperial officials and scholar-bureaucrats, and the entire bureaucratic group has undergone fundamental changes, thinking about starting from the top.

The purpose of the two is somewhat the same, but the method is completely different.

Moreover, what Su Tiancheng pays attention to is practical results. No matter how lofty your thoughts and ambitions are, you must do things in a down-to-earth manner step by step. He is the most disgusted by the things and the way of boasting.

From this aspect, Su Tiancheng and Liu Zongzhou's understanding is fundamentally different.

This is a contradiction, a real contradiction.

But Liu Zongzhou is indeed a great Confucian, a great Confucian who cannot be easily denied.

Whether in a prosperous era or a troubled one, the society needs people like Liu Zongzhou and Huang Daozhou. They have the integrity of a scholar, they cannot be subdued in power, they cannot be swayed by wealth, they pursue academic ideas, and stick to their beliefs.

But such people should be used well, otherwise, they may endanger the foundation of the imperial court.

After serious thinking, Su Tiancheng found Liu Jingting.

Since joining the Zhongxing Academy, Liu Jingting has never been a storyteller. He has become a staff member of the Zhongxing Academy. He is mainly responsible for following Sun Chengzong, Lu Shanji, Huang Daozhou and others. During their conversations, pay attention to collecting and organizing data, summarizing and summarizing the understanding.

This kind of work task cannot be done casually, so Liu Jingting puts almost all his energy into it. On the one hand, he often learns from Sun Chengzong and others, and on the other hand, he studies with Liu Yunqing and others. , He will show Sun Chengzong and others the compiled information, and immediately revise the inappropriate parts.

After half a month, Liu Jingting's understanding has changed a lot. He seems to have entered a new field. In this field, there are too many things that need to be learned.

Faintly, he also felt that in this brand-new field, some viewpoints were different from those advocated by scholar-bureaucrats, emphasizing the people's livelihood, that is, to let ordinary people live a good life, it seems that the common people The interests of the people should be put first, this is a point of view that has never been heard.

In his heart, Liu Jingting was very grateful to Su Tiancheng, because Su Tiancheng personally guaranteed that he could stay in Zhongxing Academy, and he didn't need to continue storytelling to maintain his life. The people he came into contact with and his knowledge were different.

Knowing that Su Tiancheng had something to do with him, Liu Jingting hurried to the county government office.

"Brother Liu, I've been in the academy for half a month, how do you feel?"

"Very good, Caomin thank you for this opportunity."

"Don't say that. I heard Master Sun, Master Lu and Master Huang say that you work very hard every day. No matter what you say, you still have to pay attention to your health. I originally wanted to listen to your storytelling. Unfortunately, there was no chance."

"My lord, please don't say that. If you want to listen to Cao Min's stories, you can do it anytime, anywhere."

"Okay, I have an idea. In the near future, please tell me a passage, but don't talk about history books. Tell me about my Ming Dynasty. The focus is on the suffering of the people. You have been in the market for many years. Knowing the sufferings of the common people, knowing the grievances and grievances of the common people, tell these things, let those scholars and wealthy gentry listen carefully, and know what they need to do."

Liu Jingting was very surprised. The biggest taboo of storytellers is not to talk about government affairs casually. There are too many things that have been punished for their words. What is the suffering of the common people? Heaven-shattering injustice.

"Don't worry about it. You don't have many people listening to your storytelling this time, but you can definitely do things in real terms. You should sort it out carefully and prepare carefully. Just talk about the sufferings of the common people. Don't have any taboos." Yes, you can rest assured that I will take all the responsibilities."

"My lord, the grassroots said this, but you can't ask your lord to take responsibility."

"It's settled like this. I will take all the responsibilities. Don't insist on asking you to take the responsibilities. It will cause many things, and you may not be able to bear it."

"My lord, when the grassroots are ready, first tell your lord to see if there is anything taboo."

"Hehe, brother Liu, when did you become such a mother-in-law? Please tell me what you think is appropriate. There are too many grievances from the common people. It's a pity that many of our scholar-officials have forgotten this. It seems that the common people are all ignorant and rely on you to speak out, you have to remember that when you come to Zhongxing Academy, you represent many poor people, and you have to speak out their grievances and demands boldly."

Looking at Su Tiancheng, Liu Jingting felt the heat in his eyes, and he was speechless. His inner feelings became more and more real. The Zhongxing Academy is different from other societies, and the focus is on the interests of the common people. , and it requires the gentry and wealthy households to make contributions.

"My lord, don't worry, the grass people must be ready."

After Liu Jingting left, Huang Daozhou also came to the county government office.

Between Su Tiancheng and Huang Daozhou, the conversation was much more direct. Liu Zongzhou came to Jiangning County, Huang Daozhou must have known about it. It is not a simple matter to continue to carry forward Confucianism with his own knowledge, Su Tiancheng needs the help of Huang Daozhou.

After learning about Su Tiancheng's thoughts, Huang Daozhou pondered for a long time.

He did know Liu Zongzhou's thinking. When he was in the court, Liu Zongzhou insisted on his own thinking and did not hesitate to argue with the emperor. It might not be easy to change his thinking.

However, in the past half a year, Huang Daozhou's thoughts have undergone great changes, especially the series of changes in Jiangning County, and the impressive achievements of the Jiangning Camp. These are all fundamental changes in Jiangning County's tax policy. After the changes, the situation that may appear, slowly, Zodiac Zhou, who believed in the facts, felt that everything Su Tiancheng insisted on was correct.

He agreed, and worked with Su Tiancheng to persuade Liu Zongzhou.

Having made all the preparations, Su Tiancheng felt a little relieved.

Liu Zongzhou's understanding is fixed, and it is impossible to let him give up his previous ideas through one conversation. This is unrealistic, but at least it can be done so that Liu Zongzhou will not object to the views and practices insisted by Zhongxing Academy.

To do anything, if someone supports it, there must be someone who opposes it. It is impossible to think that scholars, gentry and wealthy households in the world are all venting out of one nostril. You must have a heart to tolerate everything, but you must use coercive means , implement all policies and ensure the operation of the regime.

Taking a ten-thousand-step back, the worst situation is that Liu Zongzhou insists on his own views, unites the Donglin Party and the Fushe, and opposes the Central Academy. It will not slow down because of these ups and downs. On the contrary, through a series of struggles, the ideas of Zhongxing Academy have gradually matured and improved, reaching a certain historical height, thus uniting the largest number of scholars, twisting them into one rope, and gradually Change the situation of the Ming Dynasty full of holes.