The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 612: The Romance of Wei and Jin Dynasties
The autumn rain continues, the west wind blows up the curtains, in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City in Nanjing.

The burly emperor squatted on the dragon throne like a falcon returning to its nest to feed, looking at his only son with a kind gaze.

Emperor Guangde was wearing a dark black dragon robe with twelve chapters on it. The whale oil lamp illuminated the black robe, and the little emperor's fair and resolute face looked particularly dazzling.

"Father, who is this Huang Duanbo? He entered the palace and attempted assassination, but failed. Should he be killed?"

At the morning court yesterday, Emperor Guangde was observing government affairs in the Qianqing Palace as usual, while the retired emperor was still in the military camp. After the ministers had reported to the young emperor, Liu Kan heard that another group of old men from the previous dynasty had surrendered, so he made an exception and summoned them.

Among them was an official who surrendered, named Huang Duanbo, who was said to be the former head of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. He first exchanged a few pleasantries and then, using the excuse of offering auspicious signs, wanted to come closer.

Liu Kan agreed to the request despite the advice of the guard officer Lin Yu. As a result, when he was only five steps away from the throne, Huang suddenly drew his dagger.

Fortunately, the assassin was subdued by Lin Yu.

This incident shocked the court and the public. It was the first assassination attempt after the Emperor of Da Qi entered Nanjing City. Although it failed, it was still sensational enough.

Huang Duanbo was taken to the Nanjing Zhenfu Prison, where Li Zicheng personally interrogated him and investigated whether he had any accomplices.

Hearing that the assassin was still alive, the emperor was silent for a long time and said:
"He was a loyal minister, willing to die for his master. He lived up to his promise. In such a huge city like Nanjing, he was the only one who had the courage to shed blood within five steps. Who says there are no brave men in the Southern Dynasty? Who says there are no brave men in Nanjing?"

"Is the emperor's intention to keep this person?"

The emperor looked at the little emperor's slightly childish face and put away his smile.

Emperor Guangde then asked, "Since he is a loyal minister, why don't you keep him?"

Liu Zhaosun did not answer the question immediately. He stood up and walked down the hall, facing the gate of Qianqing Palace. Outside the hall, two rows of guards stood in the rain with sharp blades in their hands, motionless.

"Kan'er, do you know how many people Da Qi has now?"

Liu Kan gestured with his fingers and said, "Your Majesty, I heard from Xie Yang that the northern and southern provinces, including Korea, should have a population of 60 million."

The Emperor smiled and said, "I don't know how many people I have now. There are too many people. We need a force to gather them together, otherwise there will be chaos."

Liu Kanruo looked confused, not knowing what his father said had to do with Huang Duanbo.

"To win over the people, some emperors would use Confucianism, others would use magic. The Great Qi used to use the Qi Dynasty Land System. You should be aware of that, right?"

Liu Kan received the best royal education since he was a child. In the imperial lectures held every three days, in addition to the empire's most talented Hanlin scholars, there were also chief officers from the front lines of the workshop battlefield (such as training officers and soldier representatives).

In addition to the traditional Four Books and Five Classics, he also had to learn various military books, the Red Barbarian language, livestock breeding, arithmetic, and navigation technology...

There were people specifically responsible for introducing the imperial political system to the young emperor, such as the advanced nature of polarization, helping the poor first and then the poor, using war to promote peace (war is peace), the policy of keeping the people ignorant, etc.

"Father, are you saying that Huang Duanbo sacrificed his life for justice and therefore cannot be killed?"

Liu Zhaosun did not keep the secret and said everything he was thinking:
"Ever since Emperor Wu of Han abolished all schools of thought and promoted Confucianism alone, successive dynasties have ruled with Confucianism. Of course, many emperors merely used Confucius' teachings as a fig leaf, actually selling dog meat under the guise of sheep, claiming to be Confucius and Mencius, but acting like beasts... However, there were also some scholars who absorbed the essence of Confucianism. Huang Duanbo was one of them. His belief in Confucianism was pure and without utilitarianism. He did not seek fame or wealth - otherwise he would have surrendered to the Great Qi long ago. Such people can transcend history."

"Going back to Ji Kang during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and Yu Qian and Yu Shao Bao during the previous dynasty, they were all people of this kind. With Ji Kang's wisdom and Yu Qian's talent, didn't they know that the building was about to collapse and that they didn't know how to change their ways?"

Liu Zhaosun looked up at the plaque with the words "Upright and Open" on the main hall.

"They knew it, but they still used their lives to illuminate the path ahead. They were walking the right path, the upright one."

Liu Kan happened to be reading "Book of Jin" recently. The little emperor was quite interested in Ji Shuye. After hearing what his father said, he seemed to suddenly understand something, but also felt a little confused.

"Father, I heard from the Virtuous Mother that Xiong Tingbi, the former Liaodong Governor of the Ming Dynasty, once compared you to Ji Kang and Ji Shuye. Is this true?"

Liu Zhaosun smiled awkwardly and recalled something from long ago:
"Two years ago, during the second year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty, your mother and I met by the shores of Daming Lake. Back then, I wasn't as tall or strong as I am now, and I hadn't killed as many people. Perhaps then, I was more like Ji Shuye."

When Liu Kan heard his father mention Zhang Yan, his fair face suddenly turned ashen.

The Emperor, with his back to Liu Kan, was unaware of the change in the young Emperor's expression. He sighed deeply and said leisurely:

"I am far inferior to Ji Kang. For the sake of Da Qi, I gave up a lot, many people, many things, and many obsessions."

Liu Kan thought to himself, "For example, you killed my mother."

The bitter wind and rain splashed along the eaves and fell at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, making a heavy dripping sound.

A cold autumn breeze swept across the entire Forbidden City and blew onto the corridors of the main hall.

The retired emperor suddenly turned around, his sharp eyes falling on the black dragon robe on his son.

"Everyone talks about the romantic style of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Do you know what romantic style means?"

Liu Kan blurted out: "To be unrestrained, unconstrained by doctrines, to drink and enjoy life in every moment, this is the romantic style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties!" Liu Zhaosun grinned: "Kan'er, when I was your age, I was still serving in my adoptive father's army. We fought from Annan to Guizhou, and from Guizhou to Liaodong. We were busy with wars, fighting and killing. We were on the edge of the knife every day, either killing people or robbing silver. If I hadn't met the Empress Dowager Cisheng in Sarhu and learned to read and write from her, my life would have been a mess and I would have died in the chaos of the army. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos. I don't know how many people were like me back then..."

Cao Mengde wrote in a poem: "Bone bones are exposed in the wild, and no rooster crows for a thousand miles. If only one out of a hundred people survives, the thought of it breaks one's heart."

Liu Zhaosun suddenly stopped and fell into deep thought. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty that he mentioned, most of the population had died. Just as the first sentence of "Book of Jin" said, during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the world was in turmoil and few famous scholars survived.

“The so-called Wei and Jin style originated from this.”

Liu Kan was surprised and asked, "What does the chaos under heaven have to do with romanticism? Father, are you saying that because the world is in turmoil, scholars have abandoned their faith and started to indulge in pleasure?"

Liu Zhaosun shook his head.

"From the end of the Han Dynasty to the Rebellion of the Eight Princes, the world was in turmoil and wars were frequent. The emperors of that time were like those of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, changing frequently. Cao Wei replaced the Han, Sima replaced Cao, and then the Rebellion of the Eight Princes. Each change of dynasty was followed by rivers of bloodshed, and scholars and common people were not spared. This is what is known as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when the world was in turmoil."

"Famous scholars of the time, such as Ji Kang, refused to cooperate with the Sima clan and were ultimately killed. This is the kind of elegance and refinement that Father wants to tell you about. People, after a cursory reading of a few articles, think that elegance and refinement in the Wei and Jin dynasties involved taking Wushisan (Five Stone Powder), streaking and drinking, living for the moment, disobeying etiquette, and engaging in all sorts of cynical behavior. That's laughable."

Liu Kan sat upright. He had never heard of his father's remarks on the elegance of the Wei and Jin dynasties before. Even the great secretaries of the Hanlin Academy sneered whenever they talked about the historical scriptures of the Wei and Jin dynasties. They regarded Ruan Ji's weeping as a dissolute act and Guangling San as a sad sound for troubled times.

Liu Zhaosun felt relieved to see that his son was listening attentively.

"Who was Ji Kang? He received favors from the Cao Wei regime. When he was dying, he entrusted his son Ji Shao to his friend Shan Tao to raise. Ji Shao grew up to serve as an official in the Jin Dynasty. Later, he risked his life to protect Emperor Hui of Jin, shielding himself from an arrow. This is what it means to eat the emperor's salary and die for the emperor."

Liu Kan nodded and said, "This is the blood of Minister Ji, don't wash it!"

"What is loyalty? To do one's best and understand the will of Heaven is loyalty. To be in one's position and to plan one's policies is loyalty."

Liu Zhaosun concluded: "Ji Kang and Ji Shao were both loyal ministers."

"During the Wei and Jin dynasties, true Confucian scholars adhered to loyalty and righteousness. They could not cope with the "leopard change" and could not tolerate the manipulation of morality by those in power. For example, Cao Mengde killed many famous scholars in the name of disloyalty and unfilial piety."

"Kong Rong, Mi Heng, Bian Rang, Xun Yu, Cui Yan, Yang Xiu, Lou Gui, Xu You... famous scholars were slaughtered, but it was far less than this. Therefore, few famous scholars survived. One of the charges against Ji Kang was "disapproving of Tang and Wu and despising Zhou and Confucius." However, when Sima Zhao had the final say on these Tang and Wu, Zhou and Confucius, how could Ji Shuye not disapprove of Tang and Wu, and despise Zhou and Confucius? Take Kong Rong, for example. Cao Cao killed him for "disrupting the customs" and "having an affair with vanity." If we talk about disrupting the customs, Cao Mengde was the real disruptor."

Liu Zhaosun patted his son on the shoulder:

"Ji Kang was like this, as were Kong Rong, Mi Heng, and Bian Rang! Knowing they would die, they insisted on upholding their inner morality, fearing death without hesitation. This is a true gentleman, this is the elegance of the Wei and Jin dynasties!"

"Do you know why the Jin Dynasty didn't last long?"

Liu Kan thought for a moment and asked, "Is it because the emperor's authority was ineffective and the Eight Princes Rebellion broke out?"

The Emperor said earnestly, "Kan'er, if all the famous scholars are killed, the only ones left in the Great Qi will be sycophants like Zhong Hui and Jia Chong! Sycophants are not without merit, but if the entire government is filled with treacherous and treacherous people, claiming loyalty but acting like beasts, switching sides the moment they see the tide is against them, just like the Southern Ming officials who surrendered these past few days, how can the Great Qi not be defeated?"

Liu Kan nodded thoughtfully.

"So, my son, now, do you know how to deal with Huang Duanbo?"

Liu Kan said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I beg your Majesty's guidance."

"Kill him and honor his reputation for loyalty; pardon him and win the hearts of the people. Killing him or not is fine, but you can't let the people think he was slaughtered because he offended the Emperor of Da Qi, or you."

Liu Kan nodded silently. "I'm thinking of sending him to Ganghwa Island in Korea, nominally as a military exile, but actually allowing him to reunite with Zhu Changling. This way, his loyalty will be fulfilled, and he won't have to die."

Liu Zhaosun smiled and said, "This is a very good idea."

"Then what about those treacherous ministers and flatterers that the 'upright gentlemen' call them? Do you want to use them? And what about the ban on foot binding?"

This time, Emperor Guangde's answer was straightforward: "Use. All talented people must be used by the Great Qi. An emperor should not employ or dismiss people based on personal likes and dislikes. This is what my father taught me."

Speaking of the ban on foot binding, Liu Kan asked cautiously, "Father, when you issued this order, you were actually looking for a pretext to wipe out the enemy, right?"

Liu Zhaosun nodded: "That's right."

Liu Kan continued, "The bad custom of foot binding must be eradicated, without a doubt. Therefore, the Jiangnan area must be treated the same as the Jiangxi area."

The Emperor smiled and said, "Didn't we just talk about the elegant customs of the Wei and Jin dynasties? How will you deal with those "famous scholars" who stubbornly refuse to accept this order and insist on foot binding?"

Liu Kan said righteously, "How can such a person who clings to the past be called a worthy scholar? The principles held by worthy scholars endure for millennia, remaining ever more relevant and a model for future generations to emulate. Father, let me ask you, did foot binding exist a thousand years ago? The ban on foot binding will benefit both the present and future generations! It must be enforced, and those who dare to obstruct it must be severely punished!"

Liu Zhaosun looked at the high-spirited young man with satisfaction.

"Kan'er, you've grown up."

(End of this chapter)