Li Zhi looked at Wang Chengen and said, "What I mean is very clear in the memorial."
After a pause, Li Zhi continued: "Confucianism does not distinguish between right and wrong and only talks about private affairs, which has seriously misled the country. Since our Ming Dynasty wants to work hard to govern, it is natural to abolish Confucianism and govern the country with public morality."
When Wang Chengen heard Li Zhi's words, he froze there for a long time and was speechless.
He wanted to refute Li Zhi, but he didn't dare.
In the end, thousands of words passed through Wang Chengen's stomach, and they only turned into one sentence: "But what if the Holy One is not willing?"
Li Zhi frowned and said: "The emperor has worked hard over the years to govern, always focusing on strengthening the country and enriching the people. At this critical juncture that determines the future of the Ming Dynasty, I believe the emperor will not hesitate!"
Wang Chengen smiled bitterly and said nothing.
On the surface, Li Zhi spoke in a high-sounding way, but in fact, he spoke very harshly.
Now that Li Zhi is a prince, he certainly has the back-up to do things. If the emperor is unwilling to abolish the imperial examination, Li Zhi will naturally have a way to make the emperor agree. But in name, Li Zhi is the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, and there is really no reason to force the emperor to act according to his own will.
.So Li Zhi stopped talking at this point.
Wang Chengen looked at Li Zhi's face and felt a little panicked, and did not dare to ask any more questions.
He was really afraid that Li Zhi would get angry and say something treacherous. With Li Zhi's current strength, even if he committed trouble, who in the world could stop him?
The conversation between the two people, each with their own thoughts, ended in a hurry.
Wang Chengen bowed to Li Zhi and said: "King Gaoyi of Qi, our family does not dare to stay in Tianjin for a long time, so we are going back to Beijing!"
Li Zhi did not leave him alone, but simply said: "Young nobleman, please go slowly."
Wang Chengen sighed, bowed to Li Zhi again, and slowly exited the main hall of Prince Qi's Mansion.
####
On October 25th of the 25th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Zhu Youjian of the Ming Dynasty stood in front of the incense burner in the Qianqing Palace. He opened the lid and fiddled with the charcoal fire in the furnace for a while without saying anything.
Wang Chengen raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the military might of Tianjin is really too strong."
"It is no exaggeration to say that one of the soldiers of the Tiger Army will have no problem defeating two new Beijing troops. This is the first time I have seen those equipments. It is the first time I have seen such elite soldiers and horses in the world."
"A soldier of the Tiger Army has four guns: a rifle, a shotgun and two blunderbuss. Whether it is shooting from a long distance or fighting at close range, there is no weakness at all."
"And now in Tianjin, the King of Qi has an army of one hundred thousand."
Zhu Youjian frowned, looked at the spices in the incense burner, and asked, "Can you ask King Qi's back-up plan?"
What Zhu Youjian is most concerned about now is what Li Zhi will do if he drags him away and does not cancel the imperial examination.
Wang Chengen's face turned pale and he shook his head.
"Your Majesty, after staying in the barracks in Tianjin for a while, this servant was frightened. In front of King Qi... I really didn't dare to ask in front of King Qi."
Zhu Youjian was stunned for a moment, thinking about Wang Chengen's words.
After a long time, Zhu Youjian understood Wang Chengen's difficulty and couldn't help but sigh.
Wang Chengen failed to complete his mission and was a little discouraged. He stood there speechless.
Wang Dehua, the eunuch of Dongchang, stepped forward and asked: "Your Majesty, now that King Qi's army of one hundred thousand troops is stationed in Tianjin, should we stop the imperial examination first as stated in King Qi's memorial?"
Zhu Youjian's face sank and he couldn't help but sneered.
Li Zhi has always been an enemy of the Confucian scholars and gentry, and always regards himself as a defender of public morality. It is very natural for him to try to abolish the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty. But this natural move is different from all the previous things, which makes Zhu You
The inspection was very embarrassing.
As the political foundation of the Ming Dynasty, Confucianism had a consolidating effect on the imperial power. This was the legal system set by the ancestors, and it was this legal system that ensured the continuity of the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years. This is completely different from prohibiting gentry from evading taxes.
As a great emperor, how could Zhu Youjian be willing to weaken his political foundation?
Zhu Youjian pondered and said: "I have observed Li Zhi's words and deeds over the years...I don't believe he will rebel."
Wang Dehua said: "But Your Majesty, the King of Qi's troops are powerful now. If this continues, the situation may be ruined."
Zhu Youjian frowned and said: "Wang Dehua, if we talk about merit and prestige, who is stronger, me or the King of Qi?"
Wang Dehua's face changed, he cupped his hands and said, "I dare not say anything."
Zhu Youjian sneered and said: "In terms of merit and prestige, I am far inferior to King Qi."
"It is precisely because everyone in the world believes in Confucian loyalty, filial piety and etiquette, that no matter how powerful the King of Qi is, the people of the world will not hesitate to regard me as their master. Even if the King of Qi destroys the Tatars in the north and conquers thousands of miles in the south and expands the land in the north, this world
The hearts of the people are still on the side of our Zhu Ming royal family and will not waver in the slightest."
Zhu Youjian took a breath.
"But if Confucianism is abolished and everyone in the world talks about public morality and pays attention to the wise and holy Lord who benefits the people, where will the world's public opinion go? At that time, everyone will say that King Qi has the hope of the world, and I, the emperor...
"
At this point, Zhu Youjian couldn't go on.
Closing the lid of the incense burner in his hand, Zhu Youjian said: "This Confucianism cannot be abolished!"
When Wang Chengen and Wang Dehua saw that the emperor had said such a thing, they both fell silent. They knelt down on the ground, taking the other eunuchs and maids in the Qianqing Palace to kneel on the ground. The emperor's attendants were all in a panic.
, all of them were crouching and did not dare to get up.
####
On the third day of November, Li Zhi sat in the three halls of Prince Qi's Mansion, looking through official documents submitted from various places.
Nowadays, one town and nine provinces are not much smaller than the Ming Dynasty. The population under Li Zhi's rule is more than 70 million, and all kinds of affairs are complicated. If Li Zhi had to do everything personally, he would definitely be exhausted.
However, Li Zhi had no desire to grasp government affairs. Li Zhi was well aware of the benefits of decentralization and assigned local affairs to local officials.
In one town and nine provinces, the local governors and military control "governors" have great power. Even for some major events, Li Zhi only requires local officials to report them afterwards. Li Zhi only asks for local affairs to be managed.
Well, it doesn’t require you to follow your own arrangements in everything.
For example, when Indochina hired 150,000 unemployed samurai from Japan to manage the mountainous areas, Li Laosi just wrote a document and reported it to Li Zhi. Li Zhi replied with two words "accurate". Zheng Kaicheng, who was in charge of Japanese affairs, and Zheng Kaicheng, who was in charge of Indochina
Li Laosi of Peninsula took care of the matter. Li Zhi had no control over the intricate personnel and financial matters.
Li Zhi's style is closely related to the culture of continuous expansion of one town and nine provinces. If you want to handle frontline affairs efficiently, a high degree of centralization is impossible. Taking history as a guide, whether it is the Eastern Zhou Dynasty countries that continue to expand the territory of China
In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, its politics were highly decentralized rather than centralized.
When the official document arrived on Li Zhi's desk, it actually didn't matter whether Li Zhi read it or not. Li Zhi was actually only concerned with the strategic direction of the territory.
After looking through the documents from various places for a while, Li Zhi suddenly raised his head, frowned and said, "It has been more than a month, and the emperor has not replied to my memorial."
