The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 205 Killing and Punishing the Heart

"Minister Liu! Whether I, Li Xianmu, am loyal or not is for the judgment of history, and it is not for you, Liu Guan, to say!"

Li Xianmu pointed at Liu Guan with his right scepter and said disdainfully, "My Li family has been deeply favored by the emperor for two generations and has served as a close minister to the emperor. I, Li Xianmu, have been in office for ten years. I was the first to propose the relocation of the capital, twice participated in the northern expedition, twice went to the south of the Yangtze River, and made a decision on Japan. In every single matter, I have been selfless and pioneered for the world. What achievements do you have that you dare to be listed above me and still talk nonsense here?"

I am not a loyal subject, are you?
"It was you who, while serving as the prefect of Jiaxing, accepted bribes, favored the powerful, and oppressed the common people."

Li Xianmu's sudden revelation stunned Liu Guan, who almost instantly screamed, "You..."

Li Xianmu showed no mercy: "Shut up, Liu Guan!"

Your son Liu Fu is greedy, lewd, fierce, and tyrannical. He colludes with censors Yan Kai and Li Lun, and all the censors in various circuits obey his orders.

How dare you utter the word "loyal subject" in front of me?

That's utterly ridiculous! Don't say another word about it!

Li Xianmu spoke quickly and urgently, and before anyone could react, a huge bombshell was casually dropped, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

Zhu Di was incredibly clever; he could tell from Liu Guan's expression that Li Xianmu was telling the truth. He frowned slightly and tapped the armrest lightly, but did not immediately remove Liu Guan from his position.

Unlike his father, he didn't have the same idea of ​​eradicating corruption completely.

Liu Guan looked up at the emperor and felt slightly relieved. He had always harbored resentment towards Li Xianmu, otherwise things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Now that he had lost face so badly in the palace, he hated her even more. "Li Xianmu, you don't need to change the subject like this."

"Change the subject." Li Xianmu sneered. "I didn't want to talk about this, but since you insist on getting to the bottom of it, I'll say it in court today."

"Your Majesty, I have some heartfelt words to say today."

With that, Li Xianmu turned to face the ministers and said loudly, "Our Confucian school has flourished since the Han Dynasty, unifying all the schools of thought in the world, and all of them have come together as one family of Confucianism."

Among the various dynasties, the Han Confucian scholars were the most different. At the end of the Later Han Dynasty, there were Lu Zhi and Wang Yun, both of whom were typical Han Dynasty scholar-officials. They made several attempts to restore the Han Dynasty and had a strong desire to rule the world.

A change of dynasty is almost an unbelievable event.

Cao Cao massacred several veteran officials of the Han Dynasty, eventually plunging the world into darkness and replacing Han with Wei. But what happened afterward?
Before the Song Dynasty came the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, with frequent changes of dynasties. It seemed to make people all over the world think about change, talking about the cycle of destiny and obeying the mandate of heaven. As a result, the Duke Yansheng flattered the mandate of heaven of four dynasties and became prominent.

What about the Confucian scholars?
Wen Gong, whose personal name was Tianxiang, died in a Yuan prison. Some people went deep into the mountains and did not serve as officials of the Yuan Dynasty, but many more entered the Yuan court.

I often wonder, what does the changing of dynasties mean to you?!

Li Xianmu stepped forward and interrogated Liu Guan. He came in with a menacing aura, and Liu Guan couldn't help but take two steps back in fear.

Li Xianmu bypassed him and went to the censors lined up in the hall, asking sternly, "What does the Ming Dynasty mean to you?"

All the censors dispersed to the left and right.

To the courtiers on both sides, it seemed as if Li Xianmu was surging forward, unstoppable, with an aura of unifying the universe!
Li Xianmu stopped in the center of the hall and said in a firm voice, "This has always been a question, but seeing how you all defend the Duke Yansheng today, I know the answer!"

Li Xianmu's voice became sharp, "The Ming Dynasty, like those dynasties of the past, is replaceable. The Duke Yansheng thinks so, and so do you. And so do the Confucian scholars taught in the Confucian school today!"

“In your hearts, the Confucian tradition is more important than my Great Ming!” Li Xianmu tapped a censor’s chest with his scepter and said, word by word, “That’s why you said that the Duke of Yansheng’s defection to the rebels was a small matter, and that’s why you defended the Duke of Yansheng.”

Because the Duke Yansheng represents the Confucian tradition, and because the Ming Dynasty is far less important to you than the tradition, this is what you think.

Yes and no!

The censor, terrified by Li Xianmu's repeated harsh rebukes and the chilling interrogation, collapsed to the ground. His official tablet clattered to the floor, and he stammered, "No...that's not how it is. I am utterly loyal to the Ming Dynasty. You are speculating, you are slandering me."

But his disheveled appearance as he collapsed to the ground made his words utterly unconvincing.

This time, the others in the hall could no longer sit idly by, since Li Xianmu's words had affected almost all the Confucian scholars.

However, the fighting prowess that Li Xianmu has displayed since taking the throne is truly frightening. Fearing that Li Xianmu would entangle them again, they could only offer some non-targeted words of advice.

“Mingda Gong, you are exaggerating.”

"We are all loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

"Yes, loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness have always been the top priorities. Lord Mingda is really overthinking it."

As they spoke, they secretly glanced at the emperor's face, and then their hearts sank.

The emperor's face was very gloomy, and what was most frightening was that there was a hint of thoughtfulness in his gloom, which made almost everyone feel uneasy.

Almost everyone wanted to ask the emperor, "Your Majesty, what are you thinking about right now? Stop thinking about it!"

Even the most foolish person could guess that the emperor was pondering what Li Xianmu had just said.

Zhu Di was indeed pondering this. Just now, Li Xianmu's words had deeply moved him: "The Duke of Yansheng is the embodiment of the Confucian tradition, while the Ming Dynasty is far less important to Confucian scholars than the tradition itself."

The late emperor and previous dynasties treated the Duke of Yansheng well because they wanted to show respect for Confucius and hoped to stabilize the situation in the country through Confucianism.

In fact, the results were very good.

Therefore, Zhu Di never intended to change the system of the Duke Yansheng, which is why he stopped Li Xianmu from attacking the system of the Duke Yansheng today.

Zhu Di was quite clever, and he felt he was close to grasping the key to that statement.

At this moment, Li Xianmu's soft voice rang out again in the hall, "Whether my words were too harsh or not is for His Majesty to judge."

The Confucian tradition could be placed on the Duke Yansheng, and all scholars in the world would only follow the Duke Yansheng. If respecting Confucianism is the orthodoxy, then it would be like the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

Once the Duke Yansheng surrenders, and scholars across the land follow suit, won't they no longer feel any psychological pressure?

The hall was silent.

A decisive blow, silencing all excuses.

Words that pierce the heart are like a knife that kills.

Almost everyone fell silent and looked at the emperor in quiet contemplation.

The confusion in Zhu Di's heart and mind immediately dissipated.

He had never thought of it before, but after Li Xianmu said it, Zhu Di suddenly realized that the system of the Duke of Yansheng had such great drawbacks.

While they can stabilize the country when the dynasty is prosperous, once the dynasty declines and the Duke of Yansheng surrenders, these civil officials have no burden whatsoever when selling out the old dynasty.

He didn't care about the previous dynasty.

But the Ming Dynasty cannot do that!
Zhu Di's gaze gradually sharpened, becoming as sharp as a piercing blade.

(End of this chapter)