The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 208 What if one day

Left Censor-in-Chief Liu Guan was furious when Li Xianmu pointed his finger at him and berated him like that. He had truly lost face in the palace today. He broke down and said, "Li Xianmu, is this how you speak to your superiors?"
Don't forget, I am the Left Censor-in-Chief, and you are my deputy. Who taught you to be so ignorant of hierarchy and rank?

The Left Censor-in-Chief was the Grand Censor, one of the Seven Ministers of the Ming Dynasty, while the Right Censor-in-Chief was the Junior Censor, with much less power and status than the Left Censor-in-Chief.

Liu Guan felt his dignity had been challenged, so he brought up the difference in their social status to save face.

But Li Xianmu just sneered, "Liu Guan, my Great Ming has seven ministers, six ministries and one academy, but do you see if there is a distinction between left and right ministers among the six ministries?"
Are there two second-rank officials among the six ministries?
Only the Censorate has two Grand Censors, one on the left and one on the right, both of whom are high-ranking officials of the second rank. Although you are on the left, your rank is only the same as mine. What kind of superior are you?
Should we check the official roster to see if we are jointly in charge of the Censorate?

This mockery and ridicule made Liu Guan's face turn even more purple. He felt that the gazes of the officials in the hall were all strange, but he didn't know what to say. He could only stand there hatefully, like a wooden stake.

The ministers of the six ministries, dukes, marquises, earls and other high-ranking officials all secretly mocked Liu Guan for bringing shame upon himself.

The Left Censor-in-Chief is superior to the Right Censor-in-Chief; this is indeed a common practice in officialdom, but it is merely a common practice.

Because the Left Censor-in-Chief generally has higher seniority than the Right Censor-in-Chief, and is superior in terms of seniority and reputation, many Left Censors-in-Chief are even promoted from Right Censors-in-Chief. In addition, when the emperor bestows rewards, he will deliberately raise the level of rewards for the Left Censor-in-Chief, thus creating the high status of the Left Censor-in-Chief.

But these are all unofficial!

In terms of rank, both are of the second rank, and there is no question of which is higher or lower. Although the Left Censor-in-Chief has more power, the Right Censor-in-Chief has a very crucial function, which is to supervise the Left Censor-in-Chief.

Just like the Imperial Censor among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers of the Qin Dynasty, who was said to supervise all officials, his most important function was to supervise the Prime Minister and divide the Prime Minister's power.

The reason why the six ministers did not have checks and balances was because there were six supervising officials.

In fact, the same is true for the Grand Secretariat. All Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat are of the fifth rank, and there is no inherent hierarchy among them. However, due to seniority, prestige, and close relationship with the emperor, the distinction between the chief Grand Secretary, the second Grand Secretary, and the other Grand Secretaries arose later.

Liu Guan wanted to use his position as Left Censor-in-Chief to suppress Li Xianmu, but he chose the wrong person. Li Xianmu's achievements, prestige, and even talent were far superior to his. His only advantage was that he was born a few years earlier, which allowed him to be ranked ahead of Li Xianmu.

Just as Li Xianmu had previously mocked him, "What qualifications do you, Liu Guan, have to be listed before me?"

Liu Guan has truly brought shame upon himself.

He felt deeply ashamed, but in reality, few people paid attention to his words, and Li Xianmu's retort was not taken to heart.

Only one sentence kept buzzing in the minds of everyone in the hall—

If the Confucian Temple is not restored, the world will not be at peace!

Everything is quiet!

No one in the Fengtian Hall cared about the matter of the Duke Yansheng anymore.

Because of the new incident that Li Xianmu has exposed, and the new statement he has made, it is enough to change the world of Confucianism!

Destroy the Confucian Temple! Li Xianmu's so-called solution actually involves touching the thousand-year-old Confucian Temple!
Many modern people may not understand what the existence of the Confucian Temple really means.

This brings us to the fact that after two thousand years of development, Confucianism had truly acquired some religious characteristics by the Ming Dynasty.

Every religion creates countless sacred stories, and Confucianism is no exception.

In Confucian classics, Confucius traveled to various states to spread his teachings, eventually having three thousand disciples, among whom were seventy-two sages.

Confucius is revered to such a high position because he is the "Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations". All Confucian scholars in later generations are his disciples, and the three thousand disciples and seventy-two sages are the achievements of Confucius during his lifetime.

The 72 people who are honored in the Temple of Confucius come from here, most of whom are disciples of Confucius.

If Confucius is likened to Buddha, then the Seventy-Two Sages are all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats, and the Confucian Temple is actually the "pantheon" of Confucianism.

If you feel that Buddhism's status is insufficient, then let's use another analogy: the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Confucianism is somewhat like a weakened version of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In the Eastern Roman Empire, the emperor was the supreme ruler. Even the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church (similar to the Pope) was appointed by the emperor and was in fact the emperor's chief minister. The Orthodox Church was a tool used by the emperor to maintain the rule of the empire.

The attack on the Duke of Yansheng is like an emperor's dissatisfaction with the Patriarch. While it would greatly damage the reputation of the Orthodox Church, it is ultimately a matter of human affairs.

If a Duke Yansheng of good character were appointed instead, and then some publicity were done, it could be said that the problem was only with Kong Gongjian, not with the descendants of the sage.

But if someone like Li Xianmu were to delve into matters concerning the dead, then the entire set of rules of Confucianism would inevitably have to be changed!

Zhu Di realized that things were getting serious.

Even someone as radical as him felt that Li Xianmu was being too radical.

The imperial court's policy of honoring Confucianism and Confucius is unchangeable. The Confucian Temple, established by successive dynasties, is the core of Confucianism; how can it be changed arbitrarily?

But he also knew that Li Xianmu, with his intelligence, would not speak aimlessly in such a situation.

"Xianmu." Zhu Di raised his voice to suppress the noise in the hall, and looked at Li Xianmu with a calm gaze. "You just said that Liu Guan did not understand the meaning of your words, so explain it to him. The truth is self-evident."

This was not only an explanation for Liu Guan, but also for the court officials in the palace, and for the emperor himself.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became tense, with almost everyone staring intently at Li Xianmu, wanting to know the theoretical basis for his intention to transform Confucianism.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Li Xianmu said calmly, “Before discussing these issues, I would like to tell you about something that happened to my late father.”

What happened to Li Qi, the Duke of Li Zhongwen, during his lifetime?
Zhu Di became interested. "Tell me about Jinghe's life."

“When my late father was teaching me the learning of the sages, he would often revise the previous scholars’ commentaries. At that time, the imperial examination required me to study Zhu Xi’s Four Books and Five Classics. So when my father was teaching me, he taught me Zhu Xi’s Four Books and Five Classics with both the commentaries and the transmitted classics. The differences between the two are now known to the world, so I will not go into details.”

From Li Xianmu's words, everyone could tell that Li Zhongwen Gong had long been dissatisfied with Zhu Xi's commentary on the Four Books, so he personally revised it.

Li Xianmu continued eloquently, "I asked my father at the time, 'Why do you want to revise the teachings of past sages?'"

The father replied, "Because the knowledge of these past sages is of great harm to the Ming Dynasty, offering only minor benefit."

I was shocked and asked my father, "But isn't this the teachings of the sages? Can it be changed so easily?"

My father said, 'If one day the teachings of the sages become harmful to the Ming Dynasty, then discard them.'

Left Censor-in-Chief, and you all…

Li Xianmu raised his hand and pointed at each of the ministers who had just been passionately arguing with him, saying, "You all say that I, Li Xianmu, am heretical and have dared to attempt to shake the system of the Duke of Yansheng and the current Confucian Temple. You call me a traitor to Confucianism and a disgrace to scholars. But today, I will say something from the bottom of my heart to you and to all the people of the world—"

If one day…

Li Xianmu took a deep breath, and the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly tense. Almost everyone held their breath. Today in the Fengtian Hall, Li Xianmu had already said too many astonishing things. He attacked the Duke Yansheng, attacked the sages in the Confucian Temple, and sternly rebuked the Left Censor-in-Chief. But everyone believed that he would say even more astonishing things now.

Sweat dripped slowly down Zhu Gaochi's chubby face. He was a very upright and peaceful person. He used to think that Li Xianmu was also upright and peaceful, just like his uncle Li Qi. But now he knew that he was wrong, and very wrong.

Li Xianmu was practically a war god whose sharpness was unparalleled, a divine sword capable of sweeping across the world.

Sitting on the throne, Zhu Di was momentarily dazed. He saw the shadow of Li Qi in Li Xianmu once again. He even felt that Li Qi had been resurrected and descended upon Li Xianmu.

Many people wondered why he trusted Li Qi so much, since the two of them hadn't known each other for very long, and Zhu Di had gone to Yan to take up his fiefdom much earlier.

If it's because of his sister, that's even more illogical. Although Zhu Di and Princess Lin'an were close, they couldn't possibly be closer than his own sister, could they?

Mei Yin was also a prince consort, and even the prince consort of his own sister, yet he not only failed to gain trust, but was even implicated and killed.

Moreover, Li Qi had not participated in the Jingnan Campaign.

This is what intrigues the world the most. They simply cannot understand how Li Qi gained the emperor's trust and, in the year or so from the first year of the Yongle reign to the beginning of the third year, Li Qi practically obtained supreme power.

In fact, even Zhu Di himself couldn't explain it clearly. First and foremost, Li Qi must have had exceptional talent. From seizing the throne to handling all the aftermath, he arranged almost everything for him, and even created the famous historical scene of "questioning the world about its crimes before the palace gates".

It remains a popular topic of conversation among the people to this day, and it will surely be recorded in history.

Then, probably because Li Qi never took credit and had a heart that was willing to do his best until his dying breath, Li Qi's advice never made him angry.

With a sincere heart, do good for the world!
During the year or so that Zhu Di spent with Li Qi, he felt that Li Qi was good in every way. He thought that none of the famous virtuous, loyal and good ministers in ancient times could compare to Li Qi.

He had always hoped that Li Xianmu would become the second Li Qi, and Li Xianmu did not disappoint him, handling almost everything perfectly.

They also have a sincere heart.

Before Li Xianmu could even utter a word, Zhu Di could already vaguely guess what Li Xianmu was going to say—

Li Xianmu looked around at everyone in the hall. He saw the solemn civil officials and courtiers, the sweaty Crown Prince, and his father-in-law, the Duke of Yingguo, smiling at him.

"If one day..."

(End of this chapter)