amaotonovel Chapter 1105: Heaven's Will and Public Opinion
Chapter 1105: Heaven's Will and Public Opinion
Chapter 1105: Heaven's Will and Public Opinion
Old Zhu is not a saint. He is very protective of his own shortcomings by nature and he also has selfish desires.
And his greatest selfish desire is his own descendants.
Zhu Su knew that what Old Zhu pursued was to make the Ming Dynasty last forever, and the Zhu family would rule the country for generations, even before the people could live and work in peace and contentment...
Precisely because Zhu Yuanzhang himself came from the bottom of society, he knew better that a court that wanted to continue forever must treat the people well and not force them into a desperate situation. A person who is forced into a desperate situation will not know how to respect imperial power. Zhu Yuanzhang himself is the most typical example.
When Zhu Yuanzhang recalled the past, he had said to his sons and grandsons countless times: "If we could have had enough food to eat back then, we would never have rebelled. There would only be an honest peasant Zhu Chongba in the world, and there would never be the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang."
Therefore, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang paid so much attention to the people's livelihood, in addition to his own empathy, was also largely because he hoped that the Zhu family could rule this country forever.
But Zhu Su never thought of such a thing. Although he sympathized with the heroism of Chongzhen when he lost his country, and was indignant about the fact that the Tartars and Qings seized China and caused China to suffer a thousand years of humiliation, he never thought about making the Zhu family rule China forever, nor did he think that the Zhu family could really rule China forever.
The core of various policies and systems in the feudal era has always been to maintain the family's rule, and all rules and regulations have always been defined by "emotion, reason and law". Therefore, the system of the feudal era is absolutely impossible to survive forever. The system based on human relations will inevitably become stale and collapse as the network of human relations becomes denser and denser.
Zhu Su never expected that the systems he proposed would make the Ming Dynasty last forever. Those systems might be able to fix some of the problems of the Ming Dynasty in the future, but after hundreds of years, they would inevitably have drawbacks as time went on, and even eventually become bad policies that hindered the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Su only hoped that the national policies he proposed, such as pioneering and enterprising, enlightening the people, etc., could make China stronger and avoid foreign aggression in the future while everything was still early. His position was not in the Zhu family, but in the entire China...
Of course, he didn't dare to tell this to Old Zhu Ming. He had been deliberately avoiding it.
But now, Lao Zhu has guessed his true position...
"So, you put shackles on our Zhu family's emperor? You're coaxing us, hiding a tiger beside the Zhu family's descendants... If the emperor of the future is unworthy, you will let the people replace him?"
"You think that it's better for the world to be taken by people like us who rose from humble beginnings, or even by other Han princes, than to be handed over to the Tartar barbarians... yes or no?" Old Zhu's voice was also indifferent, but Zhu Su still sensed the murderous intent in it.
"Your son... I really don't think the world can truly belong to the Zhu family forever." Zhu Su looked at Old Zhu's expression, carefully considered his words, and continued.
"You are a man of great talent and wisdom. Just now, you personally taught Xiongying the truth that 'water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.'"
"This will open up the people's wisdom and enable them to independently promote the development of the world. This is the only way that can have a lasting impact for thousands of years to come. You and I have reached a consensus on this matter before."
"If there is an emperor named Zhu in the future who does something wrong and ruins the country... I, your son, will..."
"I think it's better for the world to fall into the hands of other Han people than to be lost to foreign Tartars."
After Zhu Su finished speaking, he tried to raise his eyes to meet Old Zhu's gaze, but the hairs on his back still stood up.
Old Zhu is one of the wisest people of this era. How could I possibly keep all these little thoughts of mine hidden from him forever?
Since Lao Zhu has already thought of this, it would be better for the two of them to be frank with each other.
When Old Zhu was talking to Zhu Xiongying just now, he also said, "If there are unfilial descendants in the future...then the country will be destroyed, and it will be destroyed." He shouldn't be so angry just because of this matter.
Old Zhu stared at Zhu Su with burning eyes for a long time. After a long time, he looked away, patted Zhu Su's shoulder, and leaned back in the chair.
"At the beginning...I believed in what you said."
"I believe that you are also a descendant of the Zhu family, and you must also hope that our Zhu family's kingdom will be passed down from generation to generation and last forever."
“……” Zhu Su bit his lip and said nothing.
"Although you are a smart kid, you are not a genius. It's just that you have a special status, so you can have such vision and perspective." Old Zhu said to Zhu Su with a smile. "At that time, I was very arrogant. I pulled Shanchang, Bowen, and later your elder brother, and I wanted to use the policies you said to make our Ming Dynasty as strong as an iron barrel."
"But... the longer I've been the emperor, the more I feel that even these things that are far ahead of their time may not be able to sustain the Ming Dynasty forever."
Old Zhu's eyes, which had always been firm, actually revealed a hint of melancholy, and Zhu Su was also surprised by this.
But Old Zhu quickly put away his wavering look, and turned back into the decisive Hongwu Emperor: "If we can't maintain it, then we can't maintain it. As an ancestor, I have done enough of what I can and should do."
"My children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. No matter what the world will be like in the future, I will have already turned into ashes by then."
"Your position is actually correct. Don't really leave China to the barbarians and make our Zhu family the sinners of China."
His words sounded light and casual, but to Zhu Su they sounded like thunder and lightning.
He said it calmly now...but it must have been after many sleepless nights in private.
God knows how fierce the ideological struggle was when Zhu Yuanzhang let go of his obsession of “letting the Zhu family rule the world forever”!
Zhu Su also breathed a sigh of relief... Since Old Zhu agreed with his position of "for China, not just for the Zhu family", he naturally would not blame him in his heart.
"But this 'promoting people's wisdom' you mentioned is still a fierce tiger." Old Zhu said. "The Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues can be followed by the people, but they cannot be made to know them. These two things are a shackle that Confucianism has placed on the people of the world, allowing the emperor, the Son of Heaven, to be high and mighty in a legitimate way. This has reduced the resistance of the court to control the people of the world by a hundred or a thousand times."
"This does exist. I understand you. If you want to have an impact for thousands of years, you have to enlighten the people so that these ignorant people can stand up on their own and no longer be ignorant. More people will emerge to support this nation and country. In this way, if the world is in trouble and the country is about to fall, the Chinese people can also work together and gather strength to face the difficulties together."
"Father..." Zhu Su was slightly moved. Old Zhu's words "I understand you" made him no longer worried.
"But!" Old Zhu changed the subject, "You are now enlightening the people, which means you are taking these things out in advance."
"I know you don't want to overturn the moral principles, but as the people gradually become wiser, the legal system of our Zhu family as the emperor will definitely be overthrown. Even the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues will be used by some villains to deal with our Ming Dynasty."
"The reason why I called you here... is to tell you that while this founding emperor of ours is still alive, you must... become the emperor for our Zhu family and come up with a new legal system!"
"Although I have thought it through, I don't expect my Zhu family to always control China. But! Yes!"
"Our Ming Dynasty must last at least four hundred years longer than the Han Dynasty!" Old Zhu's eyes were sharp as he stared straight at Zhu Su.
"Otherwise, wouldn't all our efforts over the years be in vain? You must come up with a new set of laws for us so that the Ming Dynasty can last for at least another four hundred years."
"If it weren't for four hundred years... I would still pull you out from underground, strip you of your pants, and give you a good beating!"
"..." Zhu Su was completely stunned by Old Zhu's sudden outburst.
Come up with a Taoist tradition to allow the Ming Dynasty to exist for at least four hundred years... Do you really think that time travelers are gods?
The four hundred years of the Han Dynasty... were divided into the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty. Strictly speaking, the two are not the same thing at all.
And the Ming Dynasty...is there any dynasty in the world that lasts for four hundred years?
Zhu Su just felt a huge pressure.
But what Lao Zhu said was not wrong. He had been managing the country like this for many years, wasn't it because he hoped that his descendants would live in peace and stability?
He no longer expected the Zhu family's territory to last forever... In four hundred years, Old Zhu had indeed made great concessions.
"As for the matter of orthodoxy, as a matter of fact, I have discussed this with Master Song before," said Zhu Su.
To enlighten the people involves many aspects. If the thoughts of the Ming Dynasty are not suppressed, the development of science is the most important part of enlightening the people.
After all, science and education can make a country prosperous. If the purpose of enlightening the people is to teach a lot of scholars, then the Ming Dynasty will indeed fall faster. The development of the scientific system will inevitably have an impact on these existing simple philosophical systems.
Redefine the Ming Dynasty's orthodoxy so that the Ming Emperor can rule the world more legitimately... This is also the issue that Zhu Su has been considering in recent years.
"Although... there is no perfect conclusion yet, but these days, Master Song and I have indeed worked out a rough framework, but we have not told you, father," said Zhu Su.
Song Lian was more sensitive to the issue of enlightening the people than Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Su. The old man actually hoped to achieve the ideal of a saint, to truly teach everyone. But he also knew that the new learning was no longer the same as traditional Confucianism.
Science is constantly developing under the name of "investigating things", and Zhu Su, the so-called founder of the new school, actually pays more attention to the science of objective truth and the enlightenment of the people. In fact, it is also to cultivate more scientific talents rather than new Confucian scholars.
Song Lian was very worried about this, which is why he had some doubts and resistance to enlightening the people.
It was not until he arrived in Xi'an with Zhu Su's convoy and saw the great changes that "the study of things" had brought to the people of Xi'an and how the workers were living and working in peace and contentment because of the growth of productivity that the old man strengthened his determination to use his lifelong reputation to help Zhu Su enlighten the people.
As for the hidden dangers, the old man naturally tried his best to make up for them with his academic knowledge.
He discussed with Zhu Su for many days, and although the two had come up with a general framework, they had not yet reported it to Zhu.
"Oh?" Old Zhu leaned forward slightly. "Tell us about it."
"What kind of orthodoxy do you plan to establish for the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"
"Hmm..." Zhu Su said. "Compared to what Dong Zhongshu called 'the emperor's power is granted by heaven', 'the destiny of heaven'."
"I think that 'the will of heaven and the people's will' might be more appropriate... What do you think, father?"
"The will of heaven and the people?" Old Zhu's pupils moved slightly, and his eyebrows were wrinkled, showing a majestic look. "Speak more carefully."
"That is..." Zhu Su looked at Old Zhu with some trepidation, "That is, the emperor accepts the mandate of heaven, protects the people, and governs the world; the ministers follow the emperor's orders and shepherd the people. Although the people provide for the emperor and his officials, they are not fish in water at will. The will of heaven and the will of the people are the will of heaven and the will of the people."
"The power that the emperor has is not granted by heaven, but the right to distribute land and manage the people of the world. The ministers are not the emperor's retainers, but the virtuous and talented people selected by the emperor from among the millions of people to assist the emperor in dividing the land, managing the world, maintaining discipline, protecting the people, and making good use of public tools... The emperor accepts the will of heaven and follows the will of the people, and the officials accept the holy order of our emperor to look after the people. The people support the emperor and his officials with their output, so the will of heaven is the will of the people, and the will of heaven is the will of the people. The people hope for fairness, and the people want justice. All kinds of fairness and justice depend on the will of the people. The will of heaven is for the people, and the will of heaven is for the people."
"The emperor cannot rule the world by himself, nor can he enjoy all the offerings from billions of people by himself... In the final analysis, the whole world belongs to the king, and this king's land is divided equally among the people by God through the emperor. If the emperor divides it fairly, the people will be convinced and the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe. If the emperor divides it unfairly, the world will be in turmoil, the country will be in turmoil, refugees will be everywhere, and rebel armies will rise up everywhere. Someone will be needed to redistribute the land and manage the people. Only those who can divide the land well and manage the people well can reign as the emperor and sit on the dragon throne."
"The emperor receives the mandate of heaven, but what is the mandate of heaven? The mandate of heaven is to ensure that the people have land to farm and roads to live on."
"The emperor is the one who governs, and the officials are the public tools of the world... The emperor distributes the land of the world to the people of the world, governs the people of the world and makes them live and work in peace and contentment. This is the duty of the emperor, not to receive offerings from the world..."
(End of this chapter)