My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 10: Queen Ma's Inspiration
Although Zhu Biao was very smart, he was only a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old, which was exactly the age when he questioned everything.

This is also a very emotional age.

When he approves of something, he will be obsessed with thinking that it is good, otherwise he will think that everything about it is bad.

Ma Yu was discovered by him, and for this he was scolded by Empress Ma.

The more capable Ma Yu was, the more meaningful his mother's scolding was.

To some extent, a relationship was established between the two.

At least that's what Zhu Biao thought.

I realized that he was a talented person, so I kept him despite the pressure, and he turned out to be a great talent in governing the country.

This is such a wonderful story.

Just thinking about him makes me feel happy.

This made him have an unusual sense of identification and expectation towards Ma Yu deep in his heart.

Subconsciously, I hope Ma Yu is stronger, and I am willing to believe that his views are correct.

Therefore, ever since he heard the idea of ​​"Confucius and Mencius as the basis, Guanzi and Xunzi as the application", he began to study "Guanzi" and "Xunzi".

As the Crown Prince Regent, many questions accumulated in his mind while assisting Empress Ma in handling government affairs.

Many of these questions were beyond the ability of Empress Ma to answer.

But he found that since reading these two books, he has had ideas for many problems.

This made him feel even more that Ma Yu's views were simply the truth.

So he devoted more energy to studying these two books.

Human energy is limited. When he uses his energy here, his study of Confucianism will naturally slacken.

Song Lian was very keenly aware of this problem.

However, he did not point it out directly, but instead conducted a small test first.

What he meant was that Zhu Biao had not studied hard these days and would definitely not be able to answer well.

When the time comes, I will give him some advice and tell him to study hard.

This will not only make the prince realize his mistake, but also preserve the face between the monarch and his subjects.

His idea is not imperfect.

And the facts were exactly as he expected. Zhu Biao's answers to the first few questions were not very good.

Until the last question, everything was beyond his expectations.

This problem is 'Four Knowledges Based on Gold'.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the famous official Yang Zhen passed by Changyi, Wang Mi, the magistrate of Changyi who was recommended by Yang Zhen for an official position, gave him ten pounds of gold at night.

And he said no one knew about this, so you should just accept it.

Yang Zhen said: Heaven knows, God knows, I know, you know, how can you say no one knows?
Then rejected the bonus.

This is the story of the Four Wisdoms occupying Gold. Later, many people named their study rooms, guest rooms, etc. as the Four Wisdom Hall for this reason.

According to normal logic, Zhu Biao should have answered with ideas such as "gentlemen are guided by righteousness, while villains are guided by profit", "behave with shame, and do not disgrace the king's orders when sent to all directions".

However, Zhu Biao blurted out:

"Rites, righteousness, integrity and shame are the four pillars of a country. If these four pillars are not upheld, the country will perish."

Only after he finished speaking did he realize that something bad had happened.

As expected, Song Lian's face was filled with surprise and astonishment:

"Your Highness, are you...are you reading the Guanzi?"

At this point, Zhu Biao became calm and did not lie. He nodded and said:
"Yes, recently I have been studying the works of Guanzi and Xunzi."

"The principles of state governance in the book truly amazed me and opened my eyes to new things."

Song Lian frowned, feeling extremely unhappy, but he did not vent his anger.

Instead, he advised, "Guanzi and Xunzi did have meritorious service in governing the world, but their path was not the right one."

"Guan Zhong, as a minister of Prince Jiu, could not die for Prince Jiu. Instead, he became the prime minister of Duke Huan of Qi, who murdered Prince Jiu. This is disloyalty and unrighteousness."

"Their laws placed too much emphasis on wealth and too little on moral education, leading to everyone in Qi being obsessed with profit."

"This led to the civil unrest in Qi, and the great overlord Duke Huan of Qi starved to death in the palace."

"Xunzi's method of educating the people does have merit, but it is mixed with the teachings of Shen and Shang, and is focused on utilitarianism, without understanding the fundamental goodness of human nature. It is far from the way of a sage."

Seeing him belittling Guanzi and Xunzi in this way, Zhu Biao felt a little unhappy.

But his upbringing had kept him rational enough, and he said:

"Sir, you are absolutely right. The teachings of Confucius and Mencius are fundamental."

"I watched Guan Xun only to understand their statecraft."

"As the saying goes, Confucius and Mencius are the foundation, Guan and Xunzi are the application."

After hearing the first few sentences, Song Lian felt greatly relieved, thinking that the boy was teachable.

But when Zhu Biao said the last sentence, his expression froze and he became furious.

"Nonsense! Guan and Xun are villains. How dare they be listed alongside Confucius and Mencius?"

"Who taught the prince such perverse ideas? I will never forgive him."

Zhu Biao also got angry and said:
"Confucius and Mencius had the Way but not the Law, while Guan Yu and Xun Zi had the Law but not the Way. What's wrong with combining the best of both?"

Song Lian was so angry that he was shaking and raised the ruler to hit him.

But considering that the other party is the prince and the monarch, it would be disloyal for a subject to punish the monarch.

In the end, he just slammed the ruler heavily on the table, making a loud noise.

The eunuchs outside were startled and quickly looked inside.

Song Lian angrily said, "How can this be? Come with me to see the Empress. I want to see who taught you this evil way."

Zhu Biao stood still and said, "If you have anything to say, just tell me. My mother is already very tired from all the work she has to do. Don't bother her with these little things."

"It's just a small matter?" Song Lian's hands began to tremble with anger.
"The crown prince's education concerns the future of the Ming Dynasty, and you actually call it a trivial matter?"

"I think you are not afraid of disturbing the Queen, but afraid of being punished by the Queen."

He regretted it the moment he said it, as it was also a humiliation to the king.

But the words have been spoken and there is no chance to regret.

Zhu Biao took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said:

"Teacher Song, although we are teacher and student, we are also ruler and subject. Please do not lose the etiquette between ruler and subject."

Song Lian said straightly: "I serve you with the Way, so please do not deceive me and offend me."

"Since the prince is unwilling to accompany me to see the queen, then I can only go by myself."

After saying that, he turned around and went to the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Biao opened his mouth but ultimately did not try to dissuade him.

Go find it, go find it.

Some things have to be changed sooner or later, so let's start with this.

In the past, he thought Song Lian was knowledgeable, righteous, polite, and generous to others, and was a true Confucian.

What happened today made him realize that Song Lian was not really a perfect gentleman.

Song Lian walked a long way and found that the prince did not chase him out to apologize to him, which made him even more angry.

Originally he just wanted to scare Zhu Biao, but now he decided that he had to go and see the queen.

He did not do this for his own face, but because he really felt that the prince was going astray.

For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, he must stop this from happening.

Unfortunately, he didn't know yet that today's conflict was indeed a disenchantment.

I just don't know if he will regret this conflict after knowing the truth.
-
In the Qianqing Palace, Empress Ma had just sent away a group of foreign officials.

I finally got some free time and was about to rest for a while when I saw a eunuch running towards me in a hurry.

It is said that Mr. Song had an argument with the prince.

Empress Ma was taken aback for a moment, and then anger showed on her face. It was not directed at Song Lian, but at Zhu Biao, who was so young and yet he didn't respect his teacher.

In her heart, she still had great respect for Song Lian, the most famous Confucian scholar of the time.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty also needed Song Lian to win over scholars from all over the world.

The key point is that Song Lian is indeed a true Confucian. He not only talks about great principles, but also practices his own teachings in his own actions.

So, when she heard that Zhu Biao had a conflict with him, her first reaction was that Zhu Biao made a mistake.

After careful questioning, I found out what was going on.

I felt very helpless, and it was all because of Ma Yu.

In the Yingtian Prefecture prison, Ma Yu, who was bragging to Zhu Chong, had no idea that he had been inexplicably blamed.

Let’s talk about Queen Ma.

After learning what had happened, she was not as angry as Zhu Biao. Instead, she understood why Song Lian was so angry.

This is like running up to a Taoist priest and praising Buddha. If he doesn't beat you to death, he's considered magnanimous.

It has nothing to do with right or wrong, it's purely a matter of stance.

My son is still too young. He doesn’t even know the principle of speaking the truth to people and lies to ghosts.

Of course, she didn't think her son was wrong. She had also been looking after Xun Zhishu these days and had gained a lot.

I am more and more in agreement with Ma Yu's view on "original use".

As the crown prince, it is natural for the son to read the strategies for governing the country.

But now that the problem has arisen, how should we solve it?

If one of the issues is not resolved properly, and Song Lian says something outside the palace, it might affect the prince's status in the hearts of scholars.

Just when he was having a headache, the eunuch came to report that Song Lian wanted to see him.

Queen Ma quickly let him in and even stood up to greet him personally.

Song Lian was deeply moved and said, "You treat me as a national hero, and I will repay you as a national hero."

Then... the Emperor and the Empress treat me so well, I must teach the Crown Prince well.

He was a little hesitant at first, but immediately made up his mind.

He recounted what had happened.

How to discover that the prince is slacking off in his studies, why do we need to assess him, and how do we plan to admonish him?

Then there was the accident that happened in the middle and the reason for the dispute between the two.

He did not speak for himself, nor did he shift the blame onto Zhu Biao. He recounted the entire incident in a very pertinent manner.

He even apologized several times: "I offended the Crown Prince out of anger, please punish me, Your Majesty."

What could Empress Ma say but to comfort him by saying that it was her duty as a teacher to educate her students.

Even at the end, Song Lian did not think that there was anything wrong with Zhu Biao himself, and he did not report him.

The Crown Prince has always been respectful to his teachers, but today he must have been tempted by a villain. I hope the Queen can see clearly and find out this treacherous villain.

The more he did this, the more difficult it became to deal with Empress Ma.

I could only comfort him, "Mr. Song, don't be angry. I've already known about this matter and will send someone to investigate immediately."

Then she changed the subject and said, "I have also read the books of Guan and Xun. Their methods are indeed applicable to the world."

"As the heir to the throne, the Crown Prince should read widely and draw upon the strengths of all schools of thought. This is the correct way."

"As the saying goes, one can polish jade with stones from other mountains."

"Sir, you should support it, why are you opposing it?"

Song Lian said seriously, "It's not that I don't want the Crown Prince to read the classics, but the time is not right yet."

“Only when one’s original mind is solidified can one study the teachings of various schools of thought and thus achieve the effect of polishing jade.”

"If one's original intention is not yet solid, and one rashly attempts to learn from other schools, one will easily be influenced and fall into the devil's way."

"The Crown Prince is still young, his studies are not profound, and his mind is not yet solid. That is why this old minister does not allow him to study randomly."

"The fact that the Crown Prince said today, 'Confucius and Mencius are the foundation, Guan Yu and Xun Zi are the application,' already shows the clues."

"Your Majesty, please quickly uncover the treacherous villain who has deceived the Crown Prince, or it will be too late to regret."

Empress Ma showed an expression of deep thought. What Song Lian said was very pertinent and she agreed with it.

But her own personal experience made her feel that there was nothing wrong with what Ma Yu said.

So who should we trust and what should we do?

For a moment she was a little undecided.

At this moment, she couldn't help but think of Zhu Yuanzhang. No, she would write a letter to him and ask him to come back quickly.

What happens here is related to the future of the Ming Dynasty and is much more important than what happens in Kaifeng.

What's more, since we know that Kaifeng is no longer suitable to be the capital, there is no point in staying there.

You'd better come back quickly and deal with this matter.

However, even if Zhu Yuanzhang set out immediately, it would take more than three to five days to arrive, so Song Lian had to be appeased now.

Thinking of this, she pretended to agree and said:

"Mr. Song's words make sense. Don't worry, I'll send someone to investigate right away."

"As for the Crown Prince... I will personally discipline him later and give Mr. Song an explanation."

Song Lian did not agree, but said:
"Your Majesty, you cannot do this. The prince is the ruler and I am the subject."

"How can one blame the ruler for the sake of his subjects?"

"Besides, the prince is young and is only on a temporary mission. He can be comforted and advised."

"If you blame too much, it might backfire."

Queen Ma felt a little guilty. It was really stressful to deceive such a true Confucian scholar.

But there is no other way, this is all she can do now.

After another round of conversation, Song Lian took his leave.

Empress Ma breathed a sigh of relief, then ordered someone to call Zhu Biao over.

After the meeting, she was very stern and pointed out two shortcomings of Zhu Biao:

First, Song Lian is your teacher. Respecting teachers is the foundation of being a human being. You should not conflict with him.

Even if you disagree with what he says, you cannot argue with him in person.

You can discuss it privately. If no conclusion can be reached, just do what you should do and don't provoke him in person.

The second is not knowing how to adapt to individual needs.

“As the saying goes, when speaking with a wise man, one should rely on breadth; when speaking with a clumsy man, one should rely on discernment; when speaking with a discerning man, one should rely on the key points.”

"Mr. Song is a disciple of Confucius and Mencius. How could he not be angry if you praised Guan and Xun in front of him?"

"The same will apply to governing in the future. Different strategies must be adopted for different people."

"If you can't learn this, you won't be able to convince the ministers."

Zhu Biao said respectfully, "Yes, I know what to do. I will apologize to Mr. Song tomorrow."

"I won't mention Xun's affairs in front of him anymore."

Empress Ma shook her head and said, "You see, it's either this or that again. It's not that we can't discuss it, but we can't over-praise Guan Xun in front of him."

Zhu Biao said thoughtfully: "I understand. Thank you mother for your teachings."

Empress Ma was very pleased, but then she said:

"But what happened today gave me an idea."

Zhu Biao asked curiously, "Oh? I wonder what mother has thought of?"

Queen Ma smiled and said, "Haven't we always wanted to know how profound Ma Yu's knowledge is?"

"How about letting Mr. Song go and meet him in person?"

(End of this chapter)