This issue is something Zhu Qiyu has never considered.
The education he received since childhood was to respect sages and follow etiquette.
I just remember that in ancient times, there was a legend about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors ruling the world. Then Xia came to Shang, and Shang came to Zhou, and Duke Zhou formulated the Zhou Rites.
Then, the Confucianism of Confucius promoted the Zhou rites throughout the world and has been passed down to this day.
However, it seems that... no one has told me how this etiquette came about...
When he was studying, he had never thought about this kind of problem. Now that the emperor raised it, he couldn't help but make him think deeply.
Zhu Qizhen seemed to have known this result for a long time, so he continued talking.
"In the Yin and Shang dynasties, there was no such thing as etiquette in the world, because the Yin and Shang dynasties were originally an alliance of tribes, and it was enough for each tribe to have its own rules. However, by the Zhou dynasty, the world was unified, and the territory of the Central Plains dynasty
As it continues to grow, at this time, a complete system is needed to restrain the people of the world, and Zhou Li came into being."
When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he thought thoughtfully and said: "Isn't the Yin and Shang Dynasty... unifying the world?"
"It should be regarded as a form of tribal alliance," Zhu Qizhen said matter-of-factly. "What the Xia Dynasty was like has been impossible to verify because there is no writing. However, the Yin and Shang dynasties did have writing. The Twelve Heavenly Stems were the Shang Dynasty.
The totems of the twelve major tribes, they took turns to be in charge of the government. However, the Zhou family later planned to monopolize power, which encountered opposition from other tribes. Among them, the Jiang tribe turned to assist the Ji family from Longxi.
, overthrew King Zhou in one fell swoop and established the Zhou Dynasty."
"It was only after the Shang Dynasty in the Zhou Dynasty that the concept of Tianxia came into existence. Duke Zhou claimed to be the emperor and formulated rituals and laws in order to restrain the world. The sages Confucius highly praised Zhou rites and integrated them into Confucian concepts. With the changes of the times, today's scholars
After only reading the Four Books and Five Classics, they naturally regard the words of Sage Confucius as truth. However, they keep praising the ancestral system but never mention the well field system of the Zhou Dynasty. My brother might as well look back and think about it, is there really no problem in this? "<
/p>
Zhu Qiyu felt that his mind was a little confused. In his impression, anyone who dared to question Sage Kong's words was tantamount to seeking death.
The scholars in the world will spit on you to death, even if you are the emperor!
However, how should we explain these words that the emperor said...
"The world regards Zhou Gong and Confucius as sages and respects their actions and the etiquette and laws they formulated. However, as time passes, any system and method will one day deviate from the times. Therefore, we cannot blindly follow the ancients' methods, but must take the initiative to do so.
Change. If I had formulated a very complete system today, I would not require future generations to follow this method to govern the world. Do you understand?"
Zhu Qiyu nodded as if he understood something, and asked: "Is this the reason why the emperor said that the ancestral system cannot remain unchanged?"
"Of course!"
Zhu Qizhen continued: "During the time of Emperor Taizu, the Ming Dynasty had just been established, and the world was in an early stage of stability. It was in urgent need of recuperation and national strength. Therefore, the policies such as the household registration system, the farming system, and the sea ban were very effective at the time. However,
Today, more than a hundred years have passed. Do we still want to govern the world in accordance with the rules established by Emperor Taizu?"
"Can it be said that a hundred years later, or even hundreds of years later, the Ming Dynasty will still be the Ming Dynasty during the Taizu period? Do you know how far the Ottoman Empire and the Franco Kingdom in the West have developed? Their weapons are used every day.
Reform, if one day they invade the Ming Dynasty with strong ships and cannons, what can we do to resist?"
"Not to mention, even if I personally conquered Mobei, Taizu and Emperor Taizong failed to completely quell the troubles in Mobei, but I did it. What did I rely on? The soldiers used improved firearms instead of ancestral weapons!
”
At this point, Zhu Qiyu had a feeling of enlightenment. This battle was very different from the past. In the past, it was about numbers, supplies, and tactics, but this time it was about money.
New firearms are powerful, but they are also expensive.
This battle cost more than ten million taels of silver.
However, the results are indeed obvious to all.
Under the suppression of new firearms, whether they were Oaras or Tatars, they were beaten without the ability to fight back. They were like a strong man bullying a three-year-old child. The strength of the two sides cannot be compared at all. p>
However, the foundation of all this is the development of science and technology.
Although it is just a small technical improvement, a lot of manpower and material resources have been invested, and the court has spent millions of taels of silver to achieve today's results.
What the court needs now is improvement and innovation, or should it follow the old system...
The result is already obvious, but Zhu Qiyu still doesn't understand why these things have never appeared in books.
Why do the great scholars of the time never teach these subjects?
Could it be that what a saint says is also wrong?
Zhu Qiyu has been studying since he was a child, and he also studied Confucianism. Such a result is nothing short of earth-shaking for him, and he cannot accept it no matter what.
"Back to the emperor, my brother believes that loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, which were highly praised by the ancients, are the way to govern the world in any era and should not be abandoned at will!"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said: "All scholars in the world put benevolence and righteousness first. This is the way to govern a country as mentioned by the sage Confucius. However, why does our government advocate benevolence and righteousness, but have to use weapons against the Oara people and the Tatars?"
What about Xiangxiang? According to what scholars say, we should educate them with benevolence and righteousness. Otherwise, it would be disrespecting the way of saints, right?"
He knows very well that everyone has the limitations of the times, and his little brother is now a player in the game.
These things cannot be understood by reading a few days of reading. As the saying goes, the authorities are obsessed with it, but the onlookers know clearly. The reason why I can see so clearly is because I have jumped out of this era and looked at the world from the perspective of a bystander.
Zhu Qiyu fell into deep thought again. He seemed to be defeated by his own theory.
Zhu Qizhen continued: "Before benevolence and righteousness, there are two words of loyalty and filial piety. This loyalty means loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and to our ancestors. Think about it, the Song Dynasty was destroyed by the Tartars, and the world has been occupied by people for hundreds of years.
How many of our ancestors were massacred? It can be seen that benevolence and righteousness have preconditions. When treating the people, you must be benevolent and righteous. When dealing with the enemy, you must throw benevolence and righteousness behind and pick up a knife and a gun to do the damn thing!"
"In the battle of Tumubao, 200,000 troops died on the battlefield. Outside the Yongguan Pass, they were covered with bones and rivers of blood. The so-called way of the saint is to destroy the Wala people and avenge my soldiers! The way of the saint is not just
Peace for the people also lies in fighting against foreigners. If we cannot fight against foreigners, how can we achieve peace of mind for the people?"
"Think about those soldiers. They live in extreme hardship on a daily basis. They are all talented. They guard the border and may be attacked by the enemy at any time. If they are not careful, their bones will be buried in the wilderness. At this time, the benevolence and righteousness in the saint's mouth are still there.
Is it useful?"
"The Duke of Zhou made the Rites of Zhou, and Confucius made the Spring and Autumn Period. Among the Rites of the Zhou, the north is called Di, and the south is called Barbarian. Di is called a dog. Barbarian is called an insect. Duke Zhou, who preaches the etiquette of benevolence and virtue, even knows that the north is a wolf.
There are many pests in the south that are harmful to people, and they should be conquered so that the world can be stable. But in the Spring and Autumn Period, what the saints most admired was Duke Huan of Qi's respect for the king and the rejection of the barbarians. Respecting the king is loyalty, and resisting the barbarians is benevolence. How can we be benevolent to make the people
It is benevolence and righteousness to live and work in peace and contentment, not to be invaded by foreign invaders, and to kill those who want to take the lives of the people. On the other hand, if you use etiquette and righteousness to deal with barbarians, you are said to be following the way of the sage. If the sage knows something, I wonder if he will
Come to life!"
Zhu Qiyu raised his head, with a confused look in his eyes.
He felt that he understood, but... he didn't seem to understand...
Everything the emperor said sounded reasonable, but no one had ever mentioned these truths.
For a moment, he fell into confusion. Could it be that... he had read all the books wrong for more than ten years?
"My dear brother, I still have something unclear, and I would like to ask my royal brother for advice!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "But it doesn't matter."
"Do the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors...really exist? What was the world like at that time? Is it the era of great rule recorded in the history books?"
"I don't know!"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said: "But what if the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors exist or not? Do you want to ask how the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors govern the world? If we take their methods of governing the world, can we achieve peace in the world?
? Not to mention that the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are just legends. Even if they really existed, they also existed in the era of great rule. However, copying their methods may not be effective. I have never blindly worshiped the ancients and sages that scholars call them.
I only believe what I see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears. If the ancestral system cannot allow the people to live and work in peace and contentment, why must we hold on to the ancestral system and not let go?"
Zhu Qiyu stood up, bowed deeply and said, "Thank you very much, Brother Huang, for your advice. I have benefited a lot from it!"
Zhu Qizhen doesn't know how much his little brother can understand. In short, he needs to know that times have changed and he can't always listen to those civil servants.
Those bad old men are very bad. Everything they say seems to be in compliance with the rules and makes sense, but in fact they are all made up to deceive you.
"When I am not in the capital, when you encounter something, you must be able to bear it. You must not be indecisive or blindly trust others. Do you understand?"
"Understand...what?" Zhu Qiyu raised his head and asked, "Your Majesty, do you really want to leave?"
"Yes, I have made up my mind, and I will leave the capital to you."
"But..."
Zhu Qiyu struggled for a long time, and all the officials agreed, so you ran away. What does this mean?
"I'm just telling you, you can't reveal the news, otherwise, the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites will definitely pursue me."
"Your Majesty..." Zhu Qiyu asked, "When are you going to leave?"
"After telling you, I will set off in the afternoon!"
"Ah?"
Zhu Qiyu looked stunned, this is too fast!
"The emperor is going to Mobei, will you bring some people with you..."
"I am accompanied by Tang Xinggu and escorted by three thousand battalions on this trip. My brother does not need to worry. I have only one request for you. You cannot reveal my whereabouts to anyone. Can you do it?"
Zhu Qiyu scratched his head and said: "But, as time goes by, the trick will inevitably be exposed..."
If it's a short period of time, you can still get away with it, but if you go to Mobei for at least a month or two, that's enough on weekdays. However, when encountering major events, you must make the decision yourself. How can I protect you by then? "Then... just hold on as long as you can. In short, I don't want to see the Ministry of Rites chasing me back before we reach the Great Wall. Do you understand?"
"My brother is worried... If there is a major national event and the emperor needs to make his own decision, then..."
Zhu Qizhen solemnly said: "I grant you the right to make decisions. Whatever happens, your decision is my decision, and I will bear all the consequences."
Zhu Qiyu thought for a long time and finally said: "My brother obeys the order!"
"Remember, remember, be sure to block the news of my departure from Beijing!"
To be honest, Zhu Qizhen didn't know how much his little brother had understood, and he didn't expect the other person to suddenly understand and fully accept his ideas.
I showed him so much today, I guess he can change something more or less...
…………
Tang Xinggu looked at the sky and felt very excited.
He finally succeeded!
From the time when he was slapped by the emperor's big mouth so that he didn't dare to say a word, to the few days ago when he was fighting with the scholars in order to open the sea, he finally succeeded in winning the emperor's trust.
Although he offended many people, including his immediate superior, it was all worth it.
When the emperor goes on a tour, he is the only one accompanying him to Hanlin. What kind of treatment is this?
A great career is just around the corner.
At noon, Tang Xinggu left Deshengmen on time as agreed.
Not far away, a Jin Yiwei officer came forward, first showed his badge, and then asked: "But Tang Yushi?"
Tang Xinggu nodded and asked, "Excuse me, where is the emperor?"
The man looked him up and down and said, "The emperor said, don't ask anything, just follow us."
Tang Xinggu looked strange and couldn't help but ask: "Why?"
"Because this is an imperial edict!"
The man suddenly changed his expression and said coldly: "The emperor also said that if Tang Yushi insists on asking why, let him go back!"
Tang Xinggu quickly shut his mouth and nodded vigorously.
The officer said hello and saw a convoy of about a dozen people parked on the roadside. The carriage was carrying food and other supplies and was slowly heading north.
Tang Xinggu followed the team for a while and couldn't help but ask: "Isn't the emperor going on a tour? Why did he bring these things?"
"It's not a patrol, it's a condolence. I'm going to visit the local people. If I don't bring food, how can I go there with two mouths?"
Tang Xinggu felt strange. Of course he was talking about it. He had never heard of the emperor bringing food to the local people when he was on tour...
"That..."
"I said are you done yet?"
Tang Xinggu was about to speak, but was interrupted by the officer leading the team.
He looked extremely impatient and said, "Your Majesty, if you ask this or that, I won't take you with me!"
"No..."
Tang Xinggu waved his hands repeatedly and said cautiously: "It's a long journey, can you... let me sit in the car for a while..."