Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 121 News, Enlightenment! Spring Thunder Explodes in Daming!

When I came out of Fang's house, the cold wind was still there.

But a little sunlight came out from behind the dark clouds.

Although the sun is still not visible, the light shining through the thick clouds gives people a very different feeling.

Zhu Yunhuan boarded the carriage and returned to the palace under the protection of layers of guards.

Inside the carriage, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Zhu Yunhuan thought about Fang Xiaoru's move for a long time before he came up with it.

To implement major reforms, we must think first.

Just as later generations cannot avoid talking about modern history without mentioning the May Fourth Movement.

The change in thinking may seem insignificant on the surface.

But in fact, it is just like the spring breeze and rain, moistening everything silently.

It will settle in people's hearts, slowly take root, sprout, bloom and bear fruit, until it finally erupts like a volcano.

Useless is a scholar.

A scholar who cannot offer advice has no place at all in the court.

But if you change to another platform, things may be completely different.

The reason why Fang Xiaoru was able to gain such great fame among scholars all over the world was that he had his own outstanding qualities.

He is also an idealist.

When it comes to getting something done, realists are almost always more reliable, more capable, and more likely to get things done.

But realists will not promote social change, they will only try their best to maintain the existing system and keep it running forever.

But if a society wants to achieve fundamental transformation, it cannot do without those lovely, sad, pitiful and unrealistic idealists!
Only idealists are willing to work hard, struggle and sacrifice for goals that are beyond reality!

They are a group of people who look up at the stars.

The vast majority of them will not have a good ending!
In real life, thinking too far ahead is never a good thing.

Because this will be despised and opposed by most people!

But it is this group of people who have led the continuous changes in human society!

If there were no realists in the world, human society might go back and forth in the cycle of slavery for ten thousand or one hundred thousand years, never changing!
Without them, humanity would never make any progress in social systems.

Many of the thinkers who emerged during the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were idealists of the time.

Their thoughts can still shine brilliantly thousands of years later.

Many of these ideas were too lofty for people of that era.

It is unrealistically high, as high as the clouds in the sky, as high as the stars and the moon thousands of miles away, so high that it cannot solve any real problems!

But it is precisely these ideas, which are far ahead of their time, that drive human civilization forward.

Fang Xiaoru himself was a feudal landlord.

But idealism can never be defined by the class to which one belongs.

Just like the pioneers of the later Chinese revolution, the vast majority of them were from the landlord class.

Many of them have studied abroad.

This would be impossible if it weren't for the wealthy family.

But it was also this group of "rich people" who launched a vigorous revolution for their ideals!
The revolutionary mentor Engels was himself a capitalist.

So what?
In the face of their ideals, none of that is worth mentioning.

Since ancient times, the imperial court has collected taxes from the people and then split the profits with the local gentry in a 3:7 ratio.

The imperial court got three points, and the local gentry got seven points.

This system has worked for thousands of years.

What Zhu Yunhuan had to do was for the court to collect taxes from the gentry and then split the profits with the people in a 30:70 ratio.

This is a ground-shattering, earth-shattering event.

This is also something that has never happened before.

Therefore, even with Zhu Yunhuan's identity, he had to be extremely careful and cautious when doing such a thing.

He couldn't even bring up the idea himself with the officials.

Otherwise, what will greet him is an unprecedented storm!

The King of Wu might really become the "public enemy of the world"!

Even the people around him are not suitable.

Given Yang Shiqi's personality, he would never support such a change.

The old monk Yao Guangxiao should be happy to see this happen.

But as someone close to Zhu Yunhuan, if he brought up the issue, everyone's target of attack would be Zhu Yunhuan.

Only Fang Xiaoru, after he resigned from office, was undoubtedly a very good candidate.

He already had a very high reputation. After serving as an official in the court for a short period of time, he voluntarily resigned and returned home, discarding fame and fortune as dirt, which would further enhance his reputation.

When he interpreted the scriptures, starting from the most trivial things, even if those powerful landlords heard it, they would only dismiss it as the empty talk of a scholar and would not pay much attention to it.

Until the idea spreads everywhere and starts a prairie fire!
As for what the final effect will be, Zhu Yunhuan cannot figure it out now.

Anyway, Fang Xiaoru was not his man, so being able to use him for his own purposes, even if it was only a small role, was better than nothing.

Of course, Zhu Yunhuan would not and could not place all his hopes on him.

It's just a casual move.

Maybe it will come in handy someday.

The carriage soon returned to Prince Wu's palace.

As soon as I entered the mansion, I saw Yao Guangxiao walking towards me.

"We just got the news that Huang Zicheng went to the Ministry of Justice. He did not even discuss anything with the Minister of Justice Yang Jing, but went straight to the court to interrogate Wang Bi and other military generals and nobles."

……

After Zhu Yunhuan left, Fang Xiaoru began to pack his luggage.

If he wanted to preach new theories and explain the teachings of the sages, he could not stay in the capital.

Instead, stay away from the court.

His luggage mainly consisted of several carts of books.

Although there are a lot of them, it is still easy to sort them out.

By the evening, all the goods had been loaded.

Afterwards, Fang Xiaoru left Jinling City with his family and several students.

When we were about to leave, the thick dark clouds in the sky had dispersed, and the setting sun was casting sunset glow in the west.

Fang Xiaoru looked very calm. He said goodbye to the few friends who came to see him off one by one before driving away.

At this time, we can’t go far today.

But he still insisted on setting off today.

Because a fire had been ignited in Fang Xiaoru's heart and was burning fiercely.

Heading west from Jinling.

During this period, many Confucian scholars heard the news and came to pay a visit.

Although Fang Xiaoru had resigned from his official position, he was still a world-famous scholar.

Even though he was embroiled in controversy because of the incident involving the King of Wu, there were still many scholars in the world who admired Fang Xiaoru.

As a disciple of the great Confucian scholar Song Lian, and the most famous of Song Lian's students, Fang Xiaoru used to dislike this kind of welcoming and seeing off, polite conversation, and always seemed unkind.

Many people think that he is conceited about his talent and knowledge, and therefore aloof and arrogant.

Of course, facing a famous scholar, people can still tolerate his arrogance.

But this time when he left Beijing, Fang Xiaoru seemed like a different person.

He received everyone who came to visit him with great courtesy, making them feel like they were in the spring breeze.

As a result, more and more people came to visit Fang Xiaoru.

There are also many people who want to become his disciples.

The family members all thought that Fang Xiaoru would definitely refuse.

Before this, although he had accepted a few students, the requirements were very high.

It is impossible for a great scholar like Fang Xiaoru to accept just anyone as his disciple.

Unexpectedly, this time, he accepted everyone who came.

When someone wanted to be his disciple, he would gladly accept him.

It took Fang Xiaoru more than two months to travel from Jinling to Jiangxi, a distance of more than a thousand miles. He recruited hundreds of disciples along the way.

These disciples all followed him, so wherever he went, there was a huge momentum.

When the local gentry, officials, and landlords heard that a great scholar was passing through their region, they all came out to greet him and treated him as a guest of honor.

As we walked along, before we knew it, the 25th year of Hongwu had passed and the New Year had passed the severe winter.

During this period, Fang Xiaoru was busy writing manuscripts.

But no one can see what is written.

Outsiders have no way of knowing.

They walked all the way to the White Deer Grotto Academy in Lushan.

This academy, founded in the Tang Dynasty, had just experienced the devastation of war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

The entire academy was burned down by a fire, leaving only ruins, and has not yet been rebuilt.

But the love of learning that has been passed down for hundreds of years still exists in the area.

Some local gentry paid for the establishment of a school in the ruins.

Although it is small in scale, it is filled with the fragrance of books.

Fang Xiaoru brought a group of his disciples and followers and moved into this academy which was half in ruins and half full of books.

After that, he refused to receive guests and stayed indoors.

Another month passed like this.

The number of people coming to visit from nearby areas has not decreased, but has increased instead.

The news that the great scholar Fang Xiaoru had come to the White Deer Grotto Academy spread hundreds of miles around.

Even villagers from the mountains and countryside came here out of curiosity, wanting to catch a glimpse of the legendary great scholar.

Because the Bai Lu Dong Academy was built here, the culture of reading is very strong in this area.

Even the illiterate villagers have special respect for scholars.

They tried their best to send their son to school to study for a few days.

They admired Fang Xiaoru, a great scholar with a world-renowned reputation, and vied with each other to spread his person, his deeds and his writings.

A month later, the nearby gentry came collectively.

They had already discussed it and decided to raise funds to rebuild the White Deer Grotto Academy and wanted to invite Fang Xiaoru to be the academy's master.

The gentry actually didn't have much hope for this request.

After all, Fang Xiaoru was not a local, and most of the White Deer Grotto Academy had become ruins. Why would such a great scholar stay here?
Reconstruction is not something that can be done overnight.

However, since the other party hasn't left for a month, maybe there is hope?

The squire thought of giving it a try.

Unexpectedly, Fang Xiaoru, who had been reading at home and not seeing guests, came out and agreed to their request immediately.

"Okay, then I will stay here and rebuild the Bailudong Academy with everyone."

The gentry were all overjoyed.

With the help of a great scholar, it will be only a matter of time before the White Deer Grotto Academy regains its former glory.

This is a big event in the local area, and it means that there will be a few more scholars in the family.

Fang Xiaoru added: "I have been studying in seclusion for a month, absorbing the spirit of the academy for hundreds of years, and I have understood the way of the saints."

"Now that I have decided to rebuild the Bailudong Academy, I plan to choose a day to give lectures."

"Anyone who is interested in learning and seeking the truth, regardless of their social status, can come and listen."

After hearing this, the gentry cheered even more.

Upon hearing the news, scholars nearby rushed over.

Because there is no restriction on identity, anyone can attend the lectures, and the lectures are held outdoors.

On the day when the lecture officially started, the venue was packed with people.

Thousands of people came to listen to the lectures.

Among them were officials, gentry, and scholars from several neighboring counties.

Even many ordinary poor people nearby came to join in the fun.

It is extremely difficult to attend lectures from private school teachers on weekdays, and one has to pay high tuition fees.

Now that they can listen to lectures by great scholars, even villagers who cannot read would feel that it is an opportunity not to be missed.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Fang Xiaoru stepped onto the podium.

The noisy voices quieted down, and thousands of burning eyes stared over.

Due to the harsh conditions, people in the front row sat on the ground and those in the back had to stand.

A little further away, the surrounding trees and broken walls were all crawling with people.

Fang Xiaoru slowly glanced at the people around him and nodded with a smile.

"I have been studying since I was young, but I was very stupid and could not understand the way of the sages."

"I went to Beijing to serve as an official last year, and then resigned. I felt something in my heart during the ups and downs."

"When I left Beijing and traveled west, my feelings became deeper."

"But it's still like there's a layer of window paper between us that has never been broken."

"It was not until I came to the White Deer Cave Academy that I suddenly had an epiphany."

"After more than a month of seclusion, I finally understood the way of the saints."

He spoke calmly.

The people around became excited.

Especially the gentry who asked him to stay.

Judging from what Mr. Fang meant, he will definitely talk about something different today.

The way of the sage is respected by everyone in the world.

But the explanations for it vary.

During the Warring States Period, there was a saying about the eight schools of Confucianism.

The views of various schools are very different, but they all believe that they represent the Confucian thoughts of the saints.

In later generations, there are more and more explanations.

In the past few hundred years, among the many Confucian schools of thought, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is the most prominent.

It has a far-reaching influence and is sought after by countless readers.

But I don’t know what Mr. Fang will talk about today?
Is it to further explain on the basis of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, or to take a different path and talk about a new way of the sage?
Amid countless expectant gazes, Fang Xiaoru sat cross-legged with the demeanor of a master.

The spring breeze blows, and clothes and long hair flutter in the wind.

At this time, the sun was rising and the light was brilliant.

The trees in the forest have just sprouted new buds, and they are green and fresh.

"The learning I am going to talk about today is different from others."

"It has always been in the path of the saints and is also the saints' lifelong pursuit."

"It is a pity that people in later generations are ignorant and cannot understand the truth of the saints. As a result, although this truth has been mentioned repeatedly by the saints, no one pays attention to it and no one studies it in depth."

"What's worse, many people have learned a little bit and then started to misinterpret the words of the saints."

"The way of the saints has been changed beyond all recognition."

"I am giving a lecture today to clarify the truth."

How could the teachings of the saints be changed beyond recognition by later generations?

When these words were spoken, many people were shocked.

When the great scholar opened his mouth, his words were earth-shattering!

Hearing this, thousands of people below couldn't help but hold their breath.

The sun is rising.

The sunlight and gaze are intertwined, but where they converge is intangible and invisible.

Fang Xiaoru's calm voice echoed throughout the White Deer Grotto Academy.

"The way of the saints is to be fair to the world!"

……

In the spring of the 26th year of Hongwu, Fang Xiaoru attained enlightenment at the White Deer Grotto Academy and began giving lectures, which was like a burst of spring thunder that exploded across the Ming Dynasty!

……

(End of this chapter)