Zhu Yuanzhang was amused when he saw Zhang Ximeng begging for benefits for Zhu Ying... At this moment, Mr. Zhang looked more like an outstanding young man.
Thinking about it, I was also lucky at the beginning. I picked up a good son and a great talent from the auxiliary country!
"Sir, we are going to hunt this fierce tiger in Zhang Dingbian. I'm afraid Xu Da is not good enough, so you can go with us. By the way, take a look at that boy. He has been guarding the city for several days. Let's see if he is scared to death."
Zhang Ximeng's heart moved and he went to see Zhu Ying?
No, absolutely not!
If I go, will this kid not go to heaven?
He has stolen his salary for so many years and is so angry that his liver hurts... When he goes to Yunnan, let him pay back double... Yunnan is a good place. Not only is there endless mushrooms, but there are also copper mines. We must let those
The boy should honor himself well and give away millions of taels every year.
I asked you to steal from me, and I want you to repay me ten thousand times!
Zhang Ximeng gritted his teeth like a profiteer.
"My Lord, I will not interfere with Zhang Dingbian... Actually, I have a more important place to go to."
Zhu Yuanzhang was startled, "Where are you going, sir?"
"Go to the battlefield!" Zhang Ximeng said meaningfully.
…
Zhang Ximeng rode a small donkey, surrounded by a group of guards, and headed south from Jiangzhou to the southern foot of Wulao Peak, where there was the best academy in the world called Bailudong Academy.
Zhu Xi, a great scholar of Neo-Confucianism, once gave lectures here.
Lu Jiuyuan, the founder of mind science, also gave lectures here.
An academy that combines Neo-Confucianism and Psychology has shaped the cultural context of China for hundreds of years. What an achievement!
And if Zhang Ximeng, the newly rising Master Zhang, wants to replace Neo-Confucianism and become his own school, what he needs to conquer most is Bailudong Academy!
As a monarch, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, always thinking of conquering the four seas and encompassing eight wastelands. He wished he could write a big red character on all the territories in the world.
But unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Ximeng followed a different path. What he was tinkering with was to replace Neo-Confucianism, lead the trend of the millennium, and lead the rejuvenation of China.
He has a great plan!
So when others defeated Chen Youliang, they thought about territory, population, soldiers, money and food...but he focused on the academy that everyone ignored.
"Zhu Xi, Zhu Xi, don't blame me for digging up ancestral graves, robbing you of your inheritance, and cutting off your cultural heritage."
In addition to the guards who came with Zhang Ximeng, there were also Sun Yan, Ye Chen, Gao Qi, Xu Bi, and several young people who were also among them.
They didn't know Zhang Ximeng's plan, but they just felt that Prime Minister Zhang was indeed a scholar. The No. 1 academy in the world had a long-standing reputation. It would be good for any scholar not to look up to those sages and get a taste of literature.
Everyone was walking happily. Zhang Ximeng, riding on a donkey, suddenly asked: "Can any of you tell me why Jiangxi has a long history and Bailudong Academy is famous all over the world..."
Everyone hesitated, isn’t this question a matter of course?
After a while, Gao Qicai tried to say: "Mr. Zhang, Bailudong Academy faces Poyang Lake, with Wulao Peak at its back, and gathers the world's cultural heritage. Jiangxi has outstanding people and talents since ancient times. This is something everyone knows.
"
Zhang Ximeng exclaimed: "Listening to you is like listening to your words!"
"Thank you..." Gao Qi didn't say the next words. He realized something was wrong, and his handsome face turned red instantly. Several other people couldn't help but laugh when they looked at it. Were they embarrassed?
Gao Qi held it in for a long time and could only bow and said: "Please give me some advice, Prime Minister Zhang."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Actually, I ask this because I want to tell you about my recent experience. After all, there is nothing different where Zhu Xi preached. I really don't dare to face the sages for fear of being criticized.
Ridicule!"
There was an air of pride between Zhang Ximeng's brows, and everyone was slightly stunned. No wonder Zhang Ximeng came over, he was here to cause trouble.
It stands to reason that Zhang Ximeng has done a lot of things to criticize Song Confucianism, attack Neo-Confucianism, and overturn Gangchang. However, what Zhang Ximeng expounded still lacks a complete system and a basis for argumentation.
This cannot be blamed on Zhang Ximeng. Confucianism started from the royal way of benevolence and righteousness, and after two thousand years of rich elucidation, it has formed a complete and rigorous system with very rich and complete content.
In contrast, Zhang Ximeng crudely interpreted the principles of heaven as equalizing land, divided it into three thousand years, made Zhao Gou kneel down, and subverted the principles of monarch and ministers... Although these things are very powerful, they only impact the Confucian system and corrupt the foundation of Neo-Confucianism.
The question is, enough damage has been done, what should we replace it with?
How to establish a new system?
It seems that there is no clue yet, and everyone does not have such high expectations. After all, the things above are already amazing. Zhang Ximeng is not as prolific as a certain writer, so how can he be able to maintain stable output?
But it seems that the situation is a little different. Zhang Ximeng really plans to come up with something new!
"Xiang Zhang, we are all listening!"
Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Learning is not enough just listening, it must be discussed. What I tell you must be traced back to history, verified with facts, and can stand the test to convince most people. If
If I am just talking to myself, I would be deceiving myself.”
After a few words of explanation, the conversation changed and Zhang Ximeng suddenly said: "I remember that Meng Haoran had a poem that was presented to Prime Minister Zhang. Now my surname is Zhang and I am the Right Prime Minister. If someone writes such a poem to me,
What do you think will happen to me?"
This time Gao Qi didn't speak, but Xu Bi said: "Meng Haoran can be regarded as an unparalleled poetic talent. With Zhang Xiang's love for talents, he will definitely reuse him."
"Wrong!" Zhang Ximeng said flatly: "I will not use this kind of madness!"
Xu Ben was startled and subconsciously said: "Prime Minister Zhang, Meng Haoran is in trouble in his official career, and he doesn't like the world. He can't be considered crazy!"
"Doesn't count? How can you write without arrogance that you want to save people without a boat and live in shame as a sage? Is it a shame for us in power to let such a great talent sit high and have nothing to do? We are all blind.
Isn't it the fault of the prime minister to fail to recognize talents and fail to distinguish between the wise and the foolish, so that there are still talented people in the wild?"
Xu Ben was stunned, is this what these two sentences mean?
Sun Yan said from the side: "No matter what Meng Haoran means, I believe that the two Prime Ministers Zhang guarantee that they think so!"
His words made everyone laugh.
Gao Qi asked curiously: "Xiang Zhang, are you trying to say that Meng Haoran doesn't know what is good and what is good?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "What am I telling you about a confused scholar who can't understand what he is doing? Isn't it interesting? What I want to say is Prime Minister Zhang, my colleague, who started the prosperity of Jiangxi!"
Everyone was surprised, what is the reason for this?
After a long while, Ye Chen slowly said: "Mr. Zhang, do you think you want to dig through Meiling Pass?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "That's what I'm talking about."
Meiling, also known as Dayuling, is located exactly between Jiangxi and Guangdong. A mountain pass separates the two places and belongs to two different economic and cultural circles.
Zhang Jiuling had crossed Meiling several times. He felt deeply that the road was difficult and it was very inconvenient to climb over mountains and ridges. Therefore, Zhang Jiuling wrote to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, which eventually led to the construction of a wide official road through Meiling.
People at that time described it as flat and square with five tracks and Khotan and Khotan with four links.
Just imagine, in the Tang Dynasty, there was an official road that could carry five carriages in parallel. How spectacular it would be?
From all directions, merchants from the north and south of Dayuling took this road.
In an instant, merchants prospered and goods flowed continuously.
If it was just a commercial road, that would be enough. When people gathered here, they suddenly discovered that to the south of Meiling was the Beijiang Waterway. Along the water, you could reach Guangzhou.
To the north of Meiling is the Ganjiang River Basin.
Starting from the Ganjiang River, passing through Poyang Lake, entering the Yangtze River, and then taking the canal directly to the capital city.
In other words, this trade route runs through the north and south, connecting sea transportation, river transportation, and water transportation... The distance is so far and the radiation is so wide that it is simply indescribable.
Moreover, the Poyang Lake Basin has a large population and rich products. Materials from the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will also gather here and then be transported to the north together.
A trade route created the economic development of Jiangxi.
However, before this road had time to play a role in the Tang Dynasty, due to the Anshi Rebellion, the world fell apart and wars continued. Until the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, people were in danger and business was suppressed to the lowest point.
Until the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the rare peaceful years finally ushered in, with merchants coming and going and goods gathering.
Jiangxi has entered a period of rapid development.
During the two Song Dynasties, although Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Bashu were both the most prosperous areas, Jiangxi suddenly emerged and made the fastest progress.
Merchants gathered, wealth gathered, and there was a material foundation. Academies were spread all over Jiangxi, and talents emerged in large numbers.
This point can be known by simply checking the historical data. Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, Yan Shu, Yan Jidao, Huang Tingjian, Zhu Xi, Lu Jiuyuan, Yang Wanli, Jiang Kui, Wen Tianxiang... these splendid and golden names all came from Jiangxi.
This kind of prosperity continued into the Yuan Dynasty. Just a few years before the Red Turban Uprising, the national census showed that the population of Jiangxi was nearly 14 million, reaching an astonishing level!
You must know that there were not 100 million people in the entire Yuan Dynasty!
Economic prosperity and a large population have brought about cultural prosperity and endless theories.
It is not surprising that Zhu Xi lectured at Bailudong Academy and Neo-Confucianism became very popular.
"So what I want to say is that it is not the cultural background and luck that create scholars, but solid wealth... It is food production, it is trade... When Zhu Xi was giving lectures at Bailudong Academy, he also wanted to
People who eat rice grains, don’t you think so?”
Everyone was startled. Gao Qi, who was as keen as Gao Qi, seemed to have understood what Zhang Ximeng was going to say!
Whether it is the benevolent kingship of Confucius and Mencius, the induction of heaven and man, or Zhu Xi’s heavenly principles and human desires... in fact, these are all inseparable from the category of moral determinism.
As long as you are a good person, practice kingly ways, implement benevolent governance, cultivate yourself and manage your family, you are guaranteed to be able to govern the country and bring peace to the world... This may seem like a joke to later generations, but it is the truth that has dominated the thinking of literati for a long time.
But Zhang Ximeng said, you are saying the opposite, because material wealth and trade exchanges have created cultural prosperity.
As expected, they are here to cause trouble, and now there is a good show.