The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 430: "Anti-Classics" - Confucianism must be opposed! (Please subscribe and vote)
After entering the inner city, Huang Shijie and Peng Yulin headed for Zeng Jia. Guofan's house in the inner city of Beijing. The sun was so hot that it felt like a fire. The two of them walked through Beijing like they were walking in a maze, turning around and around, sweating profusely, and finally saw a courtyard house with a sign that read "Lin Mansion". That's right, it was "Lin Mansion", not "Zeng Mansion". This was the rule of the bannermen, and they used the first character of their names as the surnames of the Han people. Zeng Jia. Guofan didn't stay in Beijing often, so the "Lin" character of his father "Lin Shu" was hung at the door of his house, so it became "Lin Mansion".

The scene outside the Lin Mansion was like a sedan chair and carriage fair, with sedan chair bearers and coachmen crowded in the shade of the alley. The servants of the Lin Mansion were also smart, carrying out wooden barrels filled with cold barley tea and steaming steamed buns, serving bowls of barley tea with meat buns, and serving the sedan chair bearers and coachmen well, each of them eating to their heart's content. These servants chatted while eating, in different accents, talking about the prosperity of the capital at the top of their voices, and the excitement was like the New Year.

Looking inside the Lin Mansion, it was even more lively! The small courtyard was covered with a pergola, and underneath the pergola were tables and chairs filled to the brim. All the people sitting there were old men wrapped in long gowns even in the hottest weather, as if they were in a sauna. Some of them crossed their legs, fanning themselves with paper fans and talking at the top of their voices; some of them held a thread-bound book that had just been printed and still smelled of ink, and read it with their heads shaking as if they were holding a rare treasure. They looked as serious as they could be.

As soon as Huang Shijie and Peng Yulin entered the house, they saw a middle-aged man in his thirties, short, dark-skinned, and sturdy-looking, rushing out of the main room and shouting in authentic Hunan Mandarin: "Ziying, Xueqin, you're finally here. Father-in-law has been waiting for you for a while!"

Huang Shijie had sharp eyes and recognized the man as Luo Zenan's apprentice Wang Qin at a glance. He immediately bowed and smiled, asking, "Brother Pushan, why are you here too? Has Mr. Luo Shan arrived?"

"Here we are, here we are!" Wang Qin replied with a smile, "The teacher arrived in Beijing yesterday, and is now working with Master Di and Master Wo to figure out how to revive the orthodox religion and fight against those Guangdong bandits."

"Oh? What does Mr. Luoshan think?" Huang Shijie asked with a smile as he followed Wang Qin to the main hall.

"That must be excellent!"

The voice that answered Huang Shijie came from the main hall, and it was his former teacher Luo Zenan.

Huang Shijie nodded to Peng Yulin swiftly, then walked in quickly and bowed to the three people sitting in the upper seats: "Student Huang Shijie greets the teachers, Mr. Luo Shan, and Mr. Genfeng." Then he turned around and bowed to Li Hongzhang, Guo Songtao, and Zhang Yuzhao who were sitting next to him.

"Please sit down." Zeng Jia Guofan pointed to the empty chair beside him. After Huang Shijie sat down, he twisted his beard and asked with a smile: "Ziying, have you read the "Promoting Confucianism and Resisting Taiping Theory" written by your teacher?"

"I have read it." Huang Shijie answered respectfully.

"How do you feel?" Zeng Jia Guofan asked with a smile.

In Huang Shijie's mind, this is the fourth volume of "Anti-Scripture"! Why do you say that? In his opinion, if the Mingjiao, that is, Confucianism, develops to the point where it can compete with the God Worshipping Society, then it will be a mess! The God Worshipping Society has such strong organizational ability, while the Mingjiao is as loose as a pile of sand. If the Mingjiao becomes like the God Worshipping Society, wouldn't it be equivalent to rebellion!

However, Huang Shijie did not dare to say this directly to his teacher Zeng Jia Guofan. He could only clasp his fists and say to his teacher sincerely: "Teacher's "On Promoting Orthodox Teachings to Fight the Taiping Rebellion" is really sharp and hits the nail on the head. It is definitely a masterpiece for suppressing rebellion, saving the country, and bringing peace to the world!"

Weiren, the Neo-Confucian master and leader of the Qingliu sect, who was sitting next to Zeng Jia Guofan, also laughed: "Ziying, I think the same as you! Why is the world in such a mess? Why did the Taiping rebels emerge? How could the barbarians' perverse theories of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother confuse so many people in our Chinese land? It's because our religion has been weak and sluggish for the past two hundred years. It can't reassure people at home and can't withstand the barbarians abroad."

Luo Zenan also nodded: "Brother Genfeng is right. If our Mingjiao can be like the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we can unite as one, and respond to the orders from above, and the people will be united as one. Then the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be finished! Mr. Liangtu said that we should learn from the barbarians to defeat them. In my opinion, we should also learn from Taiping and change Mingjiao into a 'Confucius and Mencius Society'!" Li Hongzhang, who had just returned from studying abroad, said: "Mr. Luoshan is right! Our Mingjiao is different from those Taiping Heavenly Kingdoms. Compared with the sects that worship God, it is too loose. The God Worshipping Sect has the Heavenly King and angels in China, and the Pope and pastors in the West. Their words are more effective than imperial edicts, and they have too many disciples to count. Look at our famous religions, we have nothing, no Pope, no bishops, no dioceses, and even no churches... Oh, there is the Confucius Temple, but the control of the Confucius Temple over Confucian scholars is nothing compared to the control of the churches over believers. No wonder Hong Xiuquan made such a big fuss!"

"Genfeng, do you think we should take advantage of the opportunity of the reopening of the Council of State Affairs to submit a memorial to the Emperor, asking him to promote Confucianism and fight against the Taiping rebels and foreigners' heresy?" Zeng Jia Guofan's face was solemn. "We are now fighting the Taiping rebels, we can't just focus on the battlefield and ignore people's hearts!"

Woren nodded and said, "Disheng, I agree with promoting orthodox teachings and winning people's hearts! Before, I advocated that we only want foreign guns and not foreign affairs, but I didn't know how to drive out all those things with the word "foreign" in them, except for foreign guns and cannons. Now that I have read your masterpiece, I have a clear idea!"

"Does the emperor also think that defense against foreign invaders is a top priority?" Zeng Jia Guofan paused and said worriedly, "Also, Genfeng, I just raised the flag not long ago!"

Woren knew exactly what Zeng Jia and Guofan meant - which one was more important, defending against foreigners or defending against Han people?

Promoting Confucianism to fight against the Taiping Rebellion seems to be detrimental to defending against the Han people... Of course, the defense against the Han people today is also against those Han literati who are obsessed with becoming slaves of the Qing Dynasty.

Men like Hong Xiuquan, Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui cannot be guarded against!

Although Zeng Jia Guofan had raised the flag and became a slave, his "slave age" was too short and he had not really caught the eye of Emperor Xianfeng, so it was not convenient for him to take the lead in proposing the "Theory of Promoting Confucianism and Resisting the Taiping Rebellion".

"Disheng, I understand. I will take the lead in the 'Theory of Promoting Confucianism to Fight against the Taiping Rebellion'!" Woren said with a smile, "The decline of Confucianism in the past two hundred years is ultimately due to the prevention of the Han people's disturbances... But we cannot only prevent the gentlemen from rebelling, but also prevent the rebels! If we continue like this, the Taiping Rebellion will become more and more arrogant!"

Zeng Jia Guofan clasped his fists in thanks: "Genfeng still understands me! This time, the six-way attack on Mao must be coordinated with the "Theory of Promoting Confucianism and Resisting the Taiping Rebellion". Otherwise, our six-way army may be able to defeat 200,000 Taiping Rebellions, but if we face 200,000 Taiping Rebellions and the millions of ignorant people incited by the God Worshipping Society, then we will be in trouble!"

Having fought against the Taiping Army and the God Worshipping Society for so long, Zeng Jia Guofan knew too well their ability to organize and mobilize the common people. In a protracted war of attrition, whoever can mobilize more resources will have the last laugh!
In this respect, the Qing Dynasty was far inferior to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was backed by the God Worshipping Society.

Therefore, Zeng Jia Guofan came up with a plan to "learn from" the Taiping Rebellion and "educate" Confucianism.

From now on, it will be chanting against chanting, and performing shamanism against shamanism, to see who is more powerful!

Moreover, Zeng Jia Guofan is a descendant of Zengzi, who is the patriarch of Confucianism, one of the five great saints, and one of the four companions in the Confucius Temple. If Confucianism can really be thoroughly "educated by the name of the world", then Zeng Jia Guofan can become a "descendant of the saint"!

(End of this chapter)