The intimidating power of Li Zhi's memorial was so astonishing that the civil servants seemed to have their ancestral graves dug up. They all turned pale and knelt on the ground speechless. For a long time, no one stood up to object.
The foundation of Confucianism in the world is the imperial examination.
It is precisely because of the imperial examination that Confucian scholars have gained fame and status. Speaking from a large perspective, it is precisely because of the imperial examination that civil servants with the rank of Jinshi can serve as officials and take charge of the country as great Confucian scholars, managing from the imperial court to the people.
Chu said that it was the imperial examination that turned Confucian scholars into distinguished gentry, transcending local affairs and becoming superior people.
The imperial examination system was the starting point for the gentry to control the Ming Dynasty. Without the imperial examination system, there would be no civil service group and no gentry.
Li Zhi no longer wants the lives of civil servants and gentry, Li Zhi wants to fundamentally eliminate such a class.
Even Zhu Youjian was extremely surprised, as if he heard a thunderbolt from the blue.
The abolition of the imperial examination system is different from the confiscation of the gentry's tax-free privileges. This gentry's tax-free privilege has never been an official system of the Ming Dynasty. It has always been an act of "theft" colluded by the gentry and civil servants. Zhu Youjian's behavior of restricting tax evasion by the gentry for the sake of the country and the people is
Go with the flow without any mental barriers.
However, the abolition of the imperial examination will be different.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the system of selecting scholars through the imperial examination has been the official system of the Ming Dynasty. All the bureaucratic mechanisms of the Ming Dynasty are based on this system of selecting scholars through the imperial examination. Origin, promotion, and relationships between officials
The "same year" and "teacher" relationship, everything is determined by the starting point of the imperial examination.
If there were no imperial examinations, the Ming Dynasty would be governed by another group of people. The entire society would undergo earth-shaking changes, and both the court and the people of the Ming Dynasty would be reshuffled.
Li Zhi wanted to abolish this fundamental system and use public moral standards to select officials.
Zhu Youjian did not speak, but subconsciously looked at the officials kneeling on the ground.
The officials on the ground were lying on the ground, but they were all silent, as if they were scared out of their wits, as if they had been forced with guns by King Qi's soldiers.
The entire Huangji Palace fell into a suffocating silence.
Cui Changwu looked at the emperor and the ministers kneeling on the ground, and frowned.
After a long time, Dongge University Scholar Hu Yongnian bravely raised his head and looked at Zhu Youjian.
He found that Zhu Youjian was also looking at him.
Hu Yongnian read something in Zhu Youjian's eyes. He lowered his head and seemed to think for a while. Suddenly he was no longer afraid. He flicked his sleeves and got up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, we must not destroy the world's scholars."
The way to enter the body must not abolish the most holy road, the saint said softly!"
Hu Yongnian looked at Cui Changwu and said, "Yes, according to King Qi, what Confucian students learn every day is private virtue."
"However, Your Majesty, it is precisely because Confucian students are students who are immersed in private virtues every day, that they must repay kindness and revenge. They know how to be loyal and filial, and how to repay the emperor's kindness.
, only then do they know how to be grateful for the status given to them by the Ming Dynasty, and then they can protect the court and the royal family from the bottom of their hearts!"
"It is said that loyal ministers have given birth to filial sons since ancient times. Only those who pay attention to loyalty and filial piety will be truly loyal to the monarch without hesitation."
"The public morality promoted by the King of Qi in Tianjin does not talk about loyalty, but only about right and wrong and public interest. The minister can't help but ask, if the master violates right and wrong and harms the public interest, then should the minister launch a counter-attack?
monarch?"
"If the ruler is not outstanding in ability and cannot sweep the world to seek benefits for the country and the people, do the people have to replace the ruler? Replace him with a more capable one?"
"I would like to ask, if we follow King Qi's rules, are there any rules left in the world?"
Hearing Hu Yongnian's words, Zhu Youjian closed his eyes and said nothing.
Cui Changwu looked at the emperor and thought something was wrong.
Unlike the abolition of the gentry's tax exemption rights, the abolition of the imperial examination was not only a blow to Confucianism, but also a blow to the foundation of the emperor's rule.
The Ming Dynasty lasted for hundreds of years, and the reason why it could endure so many storms and remain firm was, in the final analysis, relying on the loyalty and filial piety of the people in the world. It is precisely because millions of people are immersed in the Confucian theory of kings, ministers, fathers, and sons.
Therefore, no matter which descendant of the Zhu family is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how corrupt and shameless the civil servants appointed by the emperor are, the world is still loyal to the royal family and the court.
Although this Confucianism does not talk about public morality or right and wrong, it is very effective in maintaining the stability of the ruling order.
Don't you see, Qin ruled the world with severe punishments and laws, drove the Xiongnu in the north and suppressed the barbarian Yue in the south, but the second generation perished. However, the Han Dynasty deposed hundreds of schools and only respected Confucianism, and the country lasted for four hundred years.
Theoretically, for those who don't care about public morality and only care about private morality, if the emperor gives you honors and titles, you should abandon all public morality and even conscience, and only focus on safeguarding the interests of the emperor and the royal family.
This is why the royal families of all dynasties have greatly promoted Confucianism, governed the country based on Confucianism, and even determined whether they could become officials based on how well they studied Confucianism, that is, selecting scholars through the imperial examination.
The last level of the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty was the palace examination, which was personally presided over by the emperor. Scholars who passed the palace examination and became Jinshi called themselves disciples of the emperor. From then on, the emperor became the mentor of all civil servants.
In other words, the imperial examination system not only selects Confucian scholars who are good at learning loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, but also ensures that the titles and status of all officials are determined by the emperor himself. This is a system design to ensure that the emperor is supported by scholars.
Cui Changwu had read the books of sages for more than ten years, so he certainly understood the importance of Confucianism to the entire Zhu Ming Dynasty.
What Cui Changwu knew, Zhu Youjian also knew.
Cui Changwu was not at all sure about King Qi's memorial. He was really not sure whether the emperor could make up his mind to abolish Confucianism and truly strengthen the country with public morality and right and wrong.
Cui Changwu took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, the reason why the new law has not made any achievements in the local area is precisely because the Confucian private morality system still rules the local area. Although there are courts to administer justice, officials still believe in private morality, and the people are still subject to private morality.
If morality is suppressed, how can we dare to discuss what is right and wrong? What kind of public ethics can we dare to discuss?"
"Without the right and wrong, there is no guarantee that those who contribute will be rewarded, and the people will not have the courage to forge ahead."
"Only by adopting the advice of King Qi to abolish the imperial examination and select scholars based on public morality can we truly build a prosperous and powerful country."
When the civil servants kneeling on the ground heard Cui Changwu's words, they did not dare to refute, and they all looked up at the emperor Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian opened his eyes and looked at the civil servants. He did not answer Cui Changwu's words, but took a deep breath.
After a few seconds of silence, he slowly said: "I'm tired. That's it for today. Let's retreat from the court!"
