The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 233 The Law Finally Falls
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Li Xianmu stood up and respectfully bowed.

Seeing that Li Xianmu spoke first, everyone in the hall couldn't help but be curious. Li Xianmu rarely spoke first, and had a habit of planning carefully before acting and arriving first even after starting later.

"Xianmu, you speak."

Li Xianmu straightened the wrinkles in his cuffs and solemnly spoke amidst the curious gazes of the crowd:
"Your Majesty, the burning of books by the scholars of the Nanjing Imperial Academy is the first such incident, but it will certainly not be the last. The court should handle this matter with caution in order to reassure the scholars of the nation."

"The scholars only burned the commentaries on the Four Books, but held high the transmitted records, which shows that they were not disloyal to the court. They were just stuck in Neo-Confucianism and could not make any progress. Therefore, they had no rebellious thoughts."

"It is a tradition for scholars to discuss current affairs since ancient times. Now, in the court, there is a heated debate about the laws concerning those from humble backgrounds. These scholars are from humble backgrounds and have experienced this firsthand, so it is perfectly normal for them to comment on the affairs of the court. Moreover, their words did not involve His Majesty or the high-ranking officials, which shows their respect and adherence to etiquette."

"Your Majesty, please judge!"

Zhu Di pondered for a moment. The core idea behind Li Xianmu's three points was that the matter stemmed from the frustration and impatience of scholars from humble backgrounds, who were unable to control their emotions and thus developed strong dissatisfaction with the Neo-Confucian scholars, led by Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel. This had nothing to do with the court itself.

In this conflict, the imperial court was originally an outsider. The two sides in the conflict were poor scholars and Confucian scholars. The poor scholars believed that those Confucian scholars were treacherous officials who were cutting off their future!
Those so-called "fairness and justice" are completely unconvincing to the hearts of children from poor families.

Zhu Di glanced thoughtfully at Li Xianmu. For a long time, people from poor families had never thought of having resources poured into them. Rankings were based entirely on the results of the imperial examinations, which had always been accepted by the world.

In the past, if children from poor families could not pass the imperial examinations, they would only feel that they were not capable enough.

But now the mindset of children from poor families has changed.

The debate between Jian Yi and others' assertion of "fairness and justice based solely on performance" and Li Xianmu and others' assertion of "the true fairness and justice of resource supply should be considered" has been ongoing.

From the imperial palaces to various battlefields among the common people, this was a grand and vigorous debate, involving basically one-third of the officials of the seventh rank and above.

Both sides have their own version of events, and neither side is willing to admit defeat.

But the core of a debate is not to persuade the other side, but to gain the approval of onlookers and thereby unite their strength.

Judging from the current outcome, Li Xianmu has won this great debate. The fact that a poor man did this clearly shows that he harbored deep resentment and anger.

The imperial court should not be made to take the blame for Neo-Confucianism!

Zhu Di made the right choice almost instantly, without even needing to listen to the opinions of other ministers. Since Li Xianmu had won the debate, he naturally had to support the victor.

When it doesn't involve imperial power, whoever the emperor sides with wins; whoever wins, the emperor sides with.

"Do any of you have any different opinions on what the Minister of Revenue just said?" Although Zhu Di had made up his mind, he still decided to listen to other people's thoughts. After all, this was an expanded meeting before the emperor, not a one-man show by Li Xianmu.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!" Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel, immediately stepped forward. Everyone looked at him with complicated expressions, feeling a mix of curiosity and nervousness. Zhu Di also sat up straight, waiting to see how Jian Yi would refute Li Xianmu.

Jian Yi turned his head to look at Li Xianmu, sighed slightly, and then solemnly bowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, the sage said that if there is a mistake, one should correct it; if there is no mistake, one should be crowned. This is the way of the sage."

Since the end of the seventeenth year of the Yongle reign, the court has been embroiled in endless debate over the law concerning the treatment of commoners. The ministers each held their own views, all for the sake of the country and the people. It was difficult to determine who was right or wrong, which shows that although the ministers had different ideas, they were all ultimately thinking about the country.

Now that such a heinous incident has broken out in the Nanjing Imperial Academy, some voices believe that these scholars should be severely punished. I believe this is not the case. These scholars have not done anything serious, nor have they committed any unforgivable offenses.

Your subject suggests that these scholars from humble backgrounds be brought to the capital to hear their voices. For the sake of national stability, perhaps a decree regarding scholars from poor families should indeed be implemented.

boom!
Almost everyone in the hall stared in disbelief at Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel!

A jealous silence fell over the hall.

They could hardly believe their ears; what had they just heard?
Jian Yi, who had been arguing with Li Xianmu over the law on the poor, suddenly agreed with Li Xianmu's idea and chose to admit defeat.
Allowing these students from impoverished backgrounds to come to Beijing would be a way to completely eliminate the obstacles that hinder students from studying in poor families.

Why is this happening? What exactly happened to Jian Yi?
Zhu Di thought he had misheard. "Jian Qing, what did you say? I think I just heard you agree to Li Xianmu's decree on the treatment of poor families."

After speaking, Jian Yi relaxed and collected his complicated thoughts. He said seriously, "I still believe that the law on the selection of scholars from humble backgrounds is not fair enough and cannot select truly talented people. However, such a serious incident has broken out in the Nanjing Imperial Academy. If the court does not handle it properly, it will inevitably cause turmoil among scholars and have an adverse impact on the Ming Dynasty. Implementing the law on the selection of scholars from humble backgrounds is the best solution."

While everyone else stared in astonishment, Li Xianmu remained quiet, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. This was the first time in three years that he truly considered Jian Yi a worthy opponent.

This move, a strategic retreat, is anything but simple!
Jian Yi probably already realized that relaxing the law on the poor was inevitable. If he continued to insist on it, or even insist on punishing those students, it would only implicate a wider range of people. Only by quickly distancing himself from the matter of the law on the poor could he protect his true base of support.

interesting.

It seems we can't just remove the Minister of Personnel this time; let him stay in that position for a while longer.

Zhu Di understood Jian Yi's meaning. This unexpected event had disrupted part of his plans. He forced himself to calm down and asked the others, "You have all heard what Minister Jian said. Now, Minister of Revenue Li Xianmu and Minister of Personnel Jian Yi are in agreement. What about the rest of you?"

The issue of the "Law on the Prevention of Illegality" has always been a struggle between Li Xianmu and Jian Yi, reflecting a psychological battle. Whatever the others thought, they naturally wouldn't speak up. Neutral people were unwilling to get involved in the "Law on the Prevention of Illegality" and the psychological battle, and since the big shots had chosen to back down, they could only follow suit.

"Since none of you have any objections, let's do as Minister Jian and Minister Li have said and give an explanation to all the scholars in the world."

The emperor made the decision, and the others had no further objections.

When they left the Hall of Literary Glory, many people were still a little confused. After learning about the burning of books in Nanjing, they all thought that today would definitely be a fierce battle, and that a minister might even have to resign because of it. But no one expected that it would end peacefully in the end.

"What does Jian Yi mean by this?" Zheng Huan walked to Li Xianmu's side and asked in confusion, "Why did he suddenly back down?"

“Because he is an extremely intelligent man.” Li Xianmu looked at Jian Yi, who was walking ahead of the group, and said with a slight narrowing of his eyes, “His insistence on the law on poor families was to suppress the School of Mind. But now he has found that after these three years, his set of ‘fair and just’ arguments has gone bankrupt. If he continues to insist, the foundation of Neo-Confucianism will be affected.”

Zheng Huan pondered for a moment before suddenly realizing, "So that's how it is. To be able to think things through so quickly after receiving the letter and abandon a viewpoint that he had held for years, Jian Yi is truly not to be underestimated."

Li Xianmu nodded slightly, "Heroes are as numerous as carp crossing a river; there is no one in this court who is simple."

The two men were discussing Jian Yi, who was walking ahead and being questioned by his own faction, especially the Hanlin scholars, who were the ultimate conservatives of Neo-Confucianism. They had wanted to speak up in the court, but Jian Yi had stopped them. Now that the court session was over, they naturally stepped forward to ask questions, their tone somewhat unfriendly.

"Minister Jian, why did you suddenly change your tune in the palace just now?"

"Yes, those students burned books in the Imperial Academy. Such a serious matter could even be considered a major crime of treason. Making an example of them is the right thing to do!"

"If we let Li Xianmu accomplish the decree for the poor, wouldn't he be taking it a step further and making our Neo-Confucianism seem to be in continuous defeat?"

The crowd surrounded him, chattering and making a racket, which gave Jian Yi a headache. He hissed angrily in a low voice, "Enough!"

He was, after all, the Minister of Personnel, who held the highest power in the Ming Dynasty, and was highly respected and influential. The crowd immediately fell silent, but still looked at Jian Yi, waiting for him to give an explanation.

Jian Yi said in a low voice, "After Li Xianmu said those words just now, didn't you all realize that His Majesty was already tempted? Use your brains and think about it. If something like this happened in Nanjing, wouldn't it happen in other places as well?"
If the court cannot provide an explanation, a large number of scholars from humble backgrounds will inevitably resent the court, and even the emperor. Will Your Majesty continue to support us, even at the cost of your reputation?
We have already suffered a complete defeat in the matter of enacting laws for those from poor families!

What's the point of arguing there any longer?
Moreover, don't forget that we initially opposed the laws against poor scholars in order to oppose the School of Mind. Now that the poor are starting to backfire, do you want to push millions of poor scholars to the side of the School of Mind?

"With the loss of countless scholars from humble backgrounds, the very roots of Neo-Confucianism will be uprooted!"

Once Jian Yi explained the root of the problem, everyone fell silent with grim expressions, but they had to admit that Jian Yi was right. Once the Nanjing incident occurred, the dispute over the law for poor families was completely ruined. Only by changing course now could the losses be minimized.

The crowd fell silent. Jian Yi gazed silently at the majestic palace towers. Such is the way of the world; once things fall, it is difficult to revive them.

Would Neo-Confucianism also be like this?
Once shining brightly, it has gradually declined, suffering repeated defeats in the face of the flourishing philosophy of mind.

He was a little confused.

(End of this chapter)