Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 228: The Stimulation of Heresy
If there is something that the ministers in the palace and some people in the court and the public are still worried about, there is actually only one reason that cannot be said out loud: I don’t actually have any talent. I just borrow the influence of Confucianism to enjoy wealth and honor. I am afraid that I will not be able to squeeze in in the future or will be squeezed out.

How dare you bring up such concerns?

As a result, there was a moment of silence in the Qianqing Palace, and the road was blocked by the emperor.

If we quibble and insist on saying from another angle that Confucius is not a master of summarization who "narrates but does not create", but a great sage whose words are truly true, then I am afraid the emperor will no longer laugh like this.

In particular, you cannot ignore the continuous improvement of Confucianism throughout the dynasties and the continuous annotations by generations.

If you really argue like that, it becomes a question of stance.

Among all the ministers in front of the emperor, Li Zhi felt very happy, emotional, and thoughtful.

The emperor's profound understanding of Confucianism and other schools of thought is enough to make people sigh. And although every dynasty would have a very sharp debate on the origin of knowledge, because one of the people involved was the emperor, it took on a different trend.

There’s no way, I’ve hit the ceiling.

When one of the parties is the emperor, this situation at this moment also proves his words: All knowledge is to comprehend the heaven, earth and man, in order to enable the people of the world to settle down and reproduce.

The knowledge gained is not to be worshipped, but to be useful.

This is of course in line with Li Zhi's "utilitarian" idea, and in fact it also explains why no one expressed doubts at the moment: as for the knowledge of how to govern the country, the emperor ultimately found it useful.

So the emperor was both the "great scholar debater" on one side of the debate and the judge, so what was there to argue about?

Being willing to "persuade" is a sign of respect.

Being able to be so logical and well-reasoned requires talent.

It was his determination to first give up the idea of ​​building a holy temple on Wansui Mountain and then respond to the call of the ministers to convene a special Yan Dynasty.

What had been debated in the Taichang Temple for half a year had now turned into a matter for all the ministers to join in making suggestions.

Of course, since they couldn't argue, they had to join in. Inside the Qianqing Palace, like the construction site to the south, people began to busily add bricks and tiles to the superstructure of Confucianism, a school of thought.

We need to have a new set of rhetoric to explain the thoughts of Confucian sages from Confucius onwards.

This set of ideas should elevate the vision of saints and wise men of all ages and find enough basis and evidence to explain the necessity and inevitability of a new round of reforms to Confucianism.

This set of ideas should also include other ancient philosophers, such as Mozi.

Zhu Changluo also became a "master craftsman" who added bricks and tiles, saying: "The four sentences of Hengqu are very good. There are so many ancient philosophers in China, as brilliant as stars, each with their own unique knowledge, all of which want to establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, and bring peace to the world for all eternity."

"How true!"

This general reference to “past saints” is very good and we can absorb a lot from them.

However, the problem that the Master did not have an overwhelming advantage back then still needs to be solved. After all, no one wants to lose the reputation of Confucianism.

"What is a Confucian? Shuowen Jiezi says: Confucian means gentle, a name for a sorcerer, with the character ren and the sound xu. Confucian means good and harmonious, and it means being able to comfort and convince people. A person who has a certain skill can be called a Confucian, a person who can meet people's needs is called a Confucian, and a person who knows everything about heaven and earth is also called a Confucian! Who among the ancient saints and philosophers was not a Confucian? And today, if you can explain the Confucian principles with laws, why should you be ashamed to be called a new philosopher?"

Zhu Changluo spoke with great vigor, as if to tell them: Don't worry about who was stronger or weaker in the past, they are all Confucianists in essence, and are saints and philosophers who have made contributions. Nowadays, anyone who has laid the foundation for many laws of New Confucianism has the same status as them in history!
Acknowledge their status as Confucian scholars. Mozi will not jump out from the ground and shoot you. The Taoist disciples are probably too lazy to argue with you. They are just bald donkeys... They did not exist during the Hundred Schools of Thought, so don't bother with them.

In short: if we expand the concept, Confucian scholars are equal to learned people.

The right of interpretation is in your hands now!

What do the ancient sages and wise men who wrote books and articles know about Confucianism?
Li Zhi watched in amazement as the atmosphere in the Qianqing Palace began to change. He felt that some people's words seemed a little too unorthodox.

The Confucianism building, which has been stable for so many years, is now being deconstructed and renovated in various ways. It seems strange, but it does seem to make sense.

From etymology to word origin, from some quotations to written discussions, the workload is huge.

Zhu Changluo led them onto the road, and then just looked at them with a smile.

In fact, they are all smart people. If the interests of most people will not be harmed, wouldn't they do things like "Six Classics Annotated to Me" less often? It's just a push for them.

He doesn't care what the knowledge in this world will be called in the future. It doesn't matter.

He just wants the top leaders and officials to start accepting the status of the Hundred Schools of Thought, without having to always say "strange tricks and cunning schemes".

Everyone who comes here is a Confucian. Once you put on this skin, you must work together to safeguard the common interests of Confucianism and become useful people.

Tian Le also watched in amazement as the emperor kept mentioning the names of some "ancient philosophers", and finally understood how the emperor was planning to make "all industries involved in the court."

Zigong, Fan Li, Xian Gao, Sang Hongyang who were engaged in business...

Mohists, agriculturalists, military strategists, novelists, celebrities, and diplomats... In every field, the emperor could point out the usefulness of their knowledge to the country.

If in the future these schools of thought have the identity of "Confucianism", what would be strange about them being included in the court?
However, since they will specialize in certain fields in the future, they will of course pay attention to the development and interests of these fields.

Zhu Changluo was having a lot of fun fanning the flames. At this moment, there was indeed a sense of field effect: many people gathered together, and once a general trend was formed, more people's ideas would naturally be concentrated, and then they would sense, imitate, follow the crowd, circulate, and spread...

With the excitement that Li Zhi felt was "heresy".

In short, it is naturally impossible to completely renovate the Confucian building today, but at least a consensus has been reached.

The holy temple on Wansui Mountain must be repaired and repaired well!

The highest point in the imperial city, how exciting!

Is there anything that could be greater than the emperor's respect for learning?

"This decree, led by the Taichang Temple and carefully drafted by the Hanlin Academy, must be well drafted!" Zhu Changluo said, "The sincerity of Confucianism, my thirst for talents, and the determination of the monarch and his subjects to govern the country must be written in every word and passed down through the ages! Today's discussion will surely be recorded in history, and I and you are all honored!"

Tian Yi and Chen Ju looked at many people who were extremely excited. After they shouted "Long live the emperor", they left while still talking about it.

However, after leaving the hall, with the sun shining and the wind blowing in the corridors of the Forbidden City, many people calmed down and became more sober.

"… Minister Wen, the daily records at the beginning…"

"…Those who compile history will naturally pay attention to their writing…"

"If the decree is passed, the government and the public will criticize it..."

"…According to your needs, I will govern the country and benefit the people…"

Shen Shixing has actually always been calm, but being in this position, he has to take advantage of the situation.

He stood up to ask about the status of Confucianism, and then the emperor provoked that so many people decided on the general direction together... If there are criticisms from the government and the public, everyone will be involved today, and they are all sinners who demolished the old Confucianism and accepted heresy as orthodoxy. What can we do? Let's shoulder it together.

So it is said that we must follow the needs of the monarch, govern the country and benefit the people, and be useful.

After leaving the "scene" in the Qianqing Palace, more and more people calmed down. Thinking of the situation after the imperial edict was issued, some people couldn't help but feel a chill on their backs.

Li Zhi felt hot, took off his official hat and held it in his hands, revealing his bald head. He suddenly laughed out loud: "Creating a piece of heaven and earth!"

When everyone remembered how he evaluated the Master and the sages, it was easy to understand why he was happy today.

But you can't say that he despises Confucianism.

Many people looked at his back with mixed feelings: After Li Zhi was summoned by the emperor last year, so much time had passed and the situation finally went in the direction he advocated.

Behind the ministers, Zhu Changluo was also sweating.

Even though there was an ice jar in the hall to reduce the temperature, with so many people gathered for such a long time, and then everyone excitedly quoted scriptures to express their opinions, it was of course very hot.

After all, the ice jar cannot compare to the air conditioner of the future, and the strong eunuchs could only feel a slight coolness by holding a large fan in their hands.

After wiping his sweat off, Zhu Changluo couldn't help but say, "What a pleasure!"

Tian Yi didn't really understand everything, but at this moment he just smiled and said, "Your Majesty is very knowledgeable. If you can solve Shen Rumo's puzzle, you will be unstoppable from now on. In this way, great things will be accomplished."

"It's just a start." Zhu Changluo walked back, "taking advantage of the situation to tease them, after they came back to their senses, it's possible that many people would be scared again. It's easy to say 'learn so that you can apply what you have learned', but how many people are actually unlearned? How many are actually just mediocre?"

How can there be a smooth reform? Any change in official doctrine will affect the interests of many people.

Otherwise, the School of Mind, which also originated from Neo-Confucianism, would not have been suppressed so much in the past.

But for Zhu Changluo, as long as he, the emperor, actively intervened in the academic dispute, it was nothing more than a guide on who to use and who not to use.

Zhu Changluo is waiting to see whether they can extract some things that can be called laws in the field of "social science".

He was sweating all over, so he took a shower and asked outside, "It's so hot, how are the preparations for the military examination and the special examination going?"

"The Privy Council and the Jinxian Academy are both conducting their own examinations. They have not yet all arrived in Beijing. The time is tentatively set for September. The Imperial Examination Hall will also hold the Northern Zhili Provincial Examination."

"You should go to the Ministry of Rites. The questions for the special examination may include some of the things we agreed on today. Changes cannot just be made in words. The other questions remain the same as usual, but the policy essays can discuss academic thoughts. They should also be worried about selecting a large number of stubborn, conservative, young and impulsive scholars."

"I accept the decree."

Tian Yi took the order and left, while Zhu Changluo stood there with a smile on his face.

On a wooden step beside him, a female official from the Qianqing Palace was using a ladle to add water to a basin placed high up.

Zhu Changluo had already taken a shower, and there was a female official beside him wiping his body with her lips pursed.

"Do you think bathing this way will save water?"

"...Yes, the servants don't have to fill a large basin every time."

Zhu Changluo smiled and looked down again: "It's just not easy to dig up the floor and lay a pipe to drain it out..."

Under his feet was the old large bathtub used to hold water.

Since the water was placed above and flowed out through a wooden "shower head", some of it would spill out from a high place and wet their clothes.

Zhu Changluo thought of renovating a small compartment in the corner, which would save him a lot of trouble in the long run.

Otherwise, every time they take a bath, the basin of water is really huge and they don’t know how long it takes to carry it.

Also pay attention to the water temperature in winter.

For showering, one or two buckets are usually enough.

This was naturally the "result" of his indulgence in strange and tricky techniques in the previous few months - the emperor was putting his knowledge into practice.

Showers are actually already available and are also used in the palace.

The only difference is that before, people would hold a kettle filled with water and sit in the bathtub.

One of Zhu Changluo's father's auspicious robes was embroidered with a pattern of a boy holding flowers and sprinkling them.

However, Zhu Changluo designed a special small bathroom, but there was no running water, so someone still needed to fetch water from the ladder into the wooden basin above.

And due to the workload, there is no floor drain.

You can try it next. It’s not too troublesome. The Forbidden City actually has a complete drainage system, you just need to arrange the pipe lines.

After washing, Zhu Changluo changed into dry and breathable regular clothes. He looked at the two female officials who were slightly wet, lowered their heads, and had slightly red cheeks and sweat, and just smiled.

There are still too many people looking forward to it, and it would not be good to change the female officials in the Qianqing Palace too frequently.

He had gained a lot today. Now he changed into dry clothes and went to the harem happily.

If we are going to make some changes, we might as well make more of them so that everyone can have more choices in the future, and the eunuchs and palace maids will not be so tired when they bathe.

In addition, except for going to the large bath in the hot spring, it is not convenient to take a bath together at other times.

Zhu Changluo has never been so presumptuous before, and his current position is considered restrained and "upright".

As soon as she arrived at Kunning Palace, she heard Sun Moxin imitating Shen Qinghong's storytelling. After entering, she saw Zhu Youjian, who was a few months old, looking at her curiously with his eyes open.

"Well said." Zhu Changluo picked up his son and teased.

"…I learned to entertain Her Majesty the Queen and His Highness."

"Good job, keep learning." Zhu Changluo squatted down and supported his son's waist, "Can you walk? Take a few steps..."

So it was the daily life in the harem again.

He already has descendants here.

The Ming Dynasty in the third year of Taichang had become inseparable from him and was becoming more and more like him.

(End of this chapter)