The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 181 Song Dynasty Confucianism? Ming Dynasty Confucianism!
On the Vermilion Bird Avenue, Li Xianmu dismissed all the students, and his last question, "Could it be that someone in the Ministry of Rites leaked this matter?" was like drawing a sharp sword. Anyone who knew the inside story would know that Li Xianmu was pointing directly at Hu Ying, the Minister of Rites.

Before outsiders could speculate, Hu Ying, the Minister of Rites, had already submitted a memorial impeaching Li Xianmu, and dozens of others followed suit.

He said that—

"Trying to replace the great way with false techniques."

“They questioned the sanctity of Zhu Xi, disrespected the great principles of Confucianism, and sought alternative paths.”

“The Four Books with Commentary was established by the late emperor and is revered as the orthodox system of the imperial examinations. How can this be changed?”

"The philosophy of mind is just one school of thought, formed over ten years, and is not reliable. How can we allow students all over the world to be poisoned by it?"

"Although Li Zhongwen was a man of great talent and profound knowledge of Confucianism, he was not a saint in everything."

This matter immediately shocked the government and the public!

The impeachment accusations circulated, and everyone exclaimed in shock, "If these charges are proven true, they will condemn Li Mingda to eternal damnation."

"Not only that, but such a denigration of the School of Mind, and such blatant praise disguised as criticism, is an attempt to use this as a pretext to attack Li Zhongwen, overthrow the School of Mind, and even dethrone Li Zhongwen!"

Their naked, blatant, and undisguised purpose is like drawing a sword in a bustling street, ready to fight to the death in a bloody battle!
Everyone knows this is a war.

When the attacks on the imperial examination policy spread from Li Xianmu to the School of Mind, it was inevitable that one side would fall.

When Li Xianmu was appointed Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, many people speculated that he would clash with Hu Ying, the Minister of Rites.

But no one expected it to happen so quickly and urgently, and the intensity of the conflict escalated to the point of a struggle between the School of Mind and the School of Principle.

Only a few dozen people echoed the petition, but everyone knew that far more than just those people were involved!

How will Lee Hsien-mu respond?

"The Song Dynasty lasted for a hundred years, producing countless so-called geniuses, but in the end, it was nothing more than the humiliation of Chanyuan. Afterwards, there were many reforms, but none of them succeeded. Then came the humiliation of Jingkang. How laughable and hateful!"

The Ministry of Rites, inside the main courtyard.

The corridors and houses were almost filled with officials from various departments, but none of them were on duty at the moment; they were all looking into the courtyard.

It is now the golden autumn season, the most pleasant time of year in the capital. The houses are surrounded by willow trees in the middle, their golden leaves fluttering and dancing in the air.

What drew everyone's attention was not the beautiful autumn scenery, but Li Xianmu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, standing under the willow tree, speaking loudly at that moment.

"At the end of the Song Dynasty, did Confucian scholars have the courage to reform the world?"
This has never been recorded in history!
All that could be seen was that it was easily trampled by the Mongol hooves.

All that could be seen was the fall of half of the Song Dynasty's ruined empire, and the Prime Minister Lu Xiufu carrying the young emperor as he jumped into the sea and died.

Where are the Song Dynasty Confucian scholars now?

When the day comes that they have to bow and scrape, they will say something like, "Starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's integrity is a big matter." They cannot drive out the Mongols, nor can they protect the elderly and women and children. All they can do is utter these pedantic and sour words.

They could neither help the Song Dynasty defend its territory nor persuade the Mongols to follow the sages. Do I really need to elaborate on the uselessness of Song Confucian scholars?

"How can such useless Song Dynasty Confucian scholars contribute to the Ming Dynasty? Han Dynasty Confucian scholars have ruled for at least four hundred years. What achievements have you Song Dynasty Confucian scholars made that you dare to stand arrogantly in the world?"

This was Lee Hyun-mok's response.

Since you've already torn off all pretense with your petition, I will utterly humiliate you in the Ministry of Rites!

Every cut draws blood, every stab bleeds!
Birds leaped from the willow branches, white clouds shifted in the clear sky, and the cries of wild geese could be heard. The withered golden leaves that fell with the wind swirled and fell to the ground.

Hu Yingyu's face was gloomy inside the room, so dark it was almost dripping with water. He never dreamed that Li Xianmu would actually corner him in the yamen and then use his full power against him.

Although no names were mentioned, everyone knew that this was aimed at Hu Ying.

"Grand Minister of Rites, are we just going to stand by and watch Li Xianmu act so recklessly?" Hu Ying's subordinates spoke up angrily. "If word gets out about what happened today, you will be looked down upon and considered inferior to Li Xianmu!"

Hu Ying naturally knew this. He paced anxiously in the room, wanting to rush out at any moment, but he didn't dare. In the end, he sat down angrily and said, "Li Xianmu is sharp-tongued and you won't gain any advantage arguing with him."

I'm scared.

The subordinates were dumbfounded. As superiors, they were blocked in the yamen by their subordinates, and they didn't dare to respond. They just chickened out.

"Grand Minister of Rites, if you don't respond, won't people think you're guilty? Does that mean what Li Xianmu said is correct?"

Several advisors immediately became anxious. How could they back down now? Even if they couldn't win the argument, they had to break Li Xianmu's momentum.

We can't let him gain momentum!
But the thought of confronting Li Xianmu reminded Hu Ying of the time he almost got tricked and killed. He was determined not to use his weaknesses against Li Xianmu's strengths. Li Xianmu was adept at playing word games in debates, and Hu Ying would not give him that opportunity. Most of the officials in the Ministry of Rites were waiting for Hu Ying to rush over and confront Li Xianmu, even to have a heated debate, but so far, there was no movement from the Imperial Study.

An unbelievable thought popped into everyone's minds: Had Minister Hu chickened out?

He's too scared to come out?
They only dared to submit memorials, but now they dare not confront each other face to face?

What a despicable act! The word "despicable" almost instantly came to everyone's mind.

Even with the facts laid bare, they still couldn't believe Hu Ying had truly backed down; Li Xianmu's increasingly impassioned voice still echoed in their ears—

"Please ask yourselves honestly, is there any unchanging knowledge in this world?"

Han Confucianism was rejected, Tang Confucianism was abandoned, but at least the Han and Tang dynasties had once been glorious. The Song dynasty was born out of injustice and died in shame. For three hundred years, it was ashamed of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. The Han people who once sealed the wolf's lair, inscribed the Yanran Mountain, and drank from the vast sea were humiliated by the Khitan, the Jurchen, and the Mongols!

Should Song Dynasty Confucian scholars be abandoned?

After so much buildup, Li Xianmu finally asked the world this question, cutting the Confucian school, which was supposed to be a complete tradition, into pieces, and then thoroughly dismantling it!
Now it was time for those who had prepared in advance to step up and perform. Almost as soon as Li Xianmu uttered his question, several people stepped forward and enthusiastically echoed, "We should give it up!"

Then a dozen or so people stepped forward and said in unison, "We should give it up!"

The power of language is revealed in this, surging in like a tide. If you don't seize the opportunity, it will fall into the hands of others.

Hu Ying's reluctance to confront the enemy was seen as cowardice and weakness by others, especially since he had already initiated the conflict and was now acting so timidly.

"He is outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly, fond of scheming but indecisive; he is cautious about his life when undertaking great tasks, but will risk his life for small gains."

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites looked at Hu Ying's study with disdain; he had always looked down on Hu Ying.

He had already made his choice before this, and now, amidst everyone's shocked gazes, he loudly proclaimed, "What Minister Li said is truly insightful and wise; I wholeheartedly agree!"

The Ministry of Rites was thrown into shock. Everyone was too shocked to understand why the Left Vice Minister, who had always remained uninvolved, would suddenly join the battle and support the seemingly weaker Xinxue faction.

But the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites thought it was perfectly normal.

The philosophy of mind? The philosophy of principle?
What does it matter to him who shines in the world? He is neither a student who needs to take the imperial examinations, nor a disciple of a major school of Neo-Confucianism.

For him, this was a purely political struggle. He saw the potential for victory in Li Xianmu, so he invested all his wealth.

As for remaining uninvolved, that became impossible once the conflict between Li Xianmu and Hu Ying became public. No matter who it was, after their victory, they would not allow an unrelated person to benefit from their life-or-death struggle, and would even take him down during the struggle itself.

He walked into the courtyard, looked around at everyone, and emphasized again, "The Song Dynasty Confucian scholars are useless; this statement is truly a wake-up call."

at this time.

Wild geese cried out in the blue sky, and white clouds drifted gently. The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites stood on the left side of the corridor in the courtyard, looking at the crowd with his hands behind his back. The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Li Xianmu, stood under the willow tree. The two echoed each other from afar. Between the two was the Imperial Study.

In the room.

When the Left Vice Minister clearly sided with Li Xianmu, Hu Ying's expression changed drastically. He never expected the Left Vice Minister to betray him in public. This was because he had overestimated himself. The Left Vice Minister had to be humble and subservient in the past, after all, Hu Ying came from an extraordinary background and was one of the leaders of the conservative faction of Neo-Confucianism. But the Left Vice Minister had never respected Hu Ying.

"Grand Minister, things are getting out of control." The advisor grew increasingly anxious. "This is a sign. If we don't turn things around soon, the hearts and minds of the people and the general trend will gradually shift to Li Xianmu. Officials in the capital are all watching this matter closely."

"Don't exaggerate." Hu Ying couldn't stand their constant urging. "Of all the officials in the capital, how many of them are trained in the philosophy of mind? How could Li Xianmu possibly gain the upper hand?"

The staff member was speechless upon hearing this. What nonsense was this? Xie Jin and Chen Ying, the current Left Vice Minister, were both scholars of Neo-Confucianism who had sided with the School of Mind.

Who says that just because they study science they have to speak for science?
Back in the time of Emperor Wu of Han, Legalist scholars who had always been at odds with Confucianism all defected to him. So what is this now?
If those students hadn't been hoping to pass the imperial examinations, countless others would have already turned to the School of Mind!

But officials have all passed the imperial examinations, so why would they care about this?
in the courtyard.

After a brief silence, Lee Hyun-mok issued his final ultimatum.

He declared his true purpose to the entire world: "If the Ming Dynasty is to last for thousands of years, it must abandon the corrupt and useless Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty."

What should we do after abandoning the Song Dynasty Confucian scholars?

Naturally, it is to create Confucianism for my Great Ming Dynasty, to create a system of Confucianism that can allow my Great Ming Dynasty to pass through five hundred, one thousand, or three thousand years of history!
This system of Confucianism has already emerged.

Li Xianmu looked around at everyone, his voice resounding throughout the land and reaching everyone's ears, "My father, Lord Li Zhongwen."

A descendant of the founding fathers, he was highly praised by the late emperor and the current emperor. Scholars from all three hundred prefectures of the country called for him to become a saint, thus making him the first saint of our great Ming Dynasty!
Enter the Confucian Temple!
"I dare ask all students of the world, if the scholars of the Great Ming Dynasty do not worship the sages of the Great Ming Dynasty, then what should they do?"

(End of this chapter)