Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1684 Truth
The Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism is not concerned with "the relief of suffering," but only with "the expression of suffering." What it cares about is whether "your expression of suffering" crosses the boundaries of propriety, whether it affects the responsibilities you should fulfill between heaven and earth, and whether it violates "heavenly principles"—this is of paramount importance, as it is the truth of the empire.

The imperial truth was that everything must remain within the boundaries of propriety, and one should not do anything that harms society. Within the boundaries of propriety, it's like closing the door at home to drink and make merry; no one will rush into your home to interfere with your freedom. Consequently, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism did not concern itself with whether there were any precepts regarding your diet or other aspects of life.

The truth of the empire is concerned with whether someone has caused trouble for others, whether someone has had a negative impact on society, and whether someone has defied the court.

If someone resists, then what they are practicing is witchcraft. If someone resists, then what they believe in is cult. It's crystal clear.

The basic meaning of "illicit worship" is worship that does not conform to the rites.

As for the nature of rites, the Confucian classics say the right to interpret them lies with Confucius and the ancient sages. But the current court, or rather, Neo-Confucianism (Daoism), believes that the right to interpret everything rests with the emperor, because the emperor is a living person, while Confucius is a dead one. The Way of Heaven is unpredictable, so naturally, the living emperor has more right to interpret the principles of Heaven. As long as the emperor can cultivate himself, becoming an inner sage and an outer king, he can implement benevolent governance, allowing education to spread and virtue to reach all corners of the land—this is what Shangluo is currently striving to achieve.

Because this statement, in reverse: if the court's teachings are not implemented here, if the court's virtues are not recognized here, then...
"So, are you telling me that the emperor's virtue is insufficient?" Shangluo looked at the high priest. "You wouldn't be trying to tell me that, would you?"

"I...I don't know the Emperor at all!"

"So you think the emperor's virtue is insufficient! If the emperor's virtue were sufficient, wouldn't you have taken the initiative to get to know him long ago? In the end, you still want to rebel!"

"Wait a minute!" The high priest stood up. "Is this the logic of Zhen Dan?! Do I need to understand the emperor, agree with the emperor's virtues, agree with the emperor's governance, and wholeheartedly and prostrate myself in loyalty to the emperor?"

“We don’t make such demands on ordinary people, but we do on the feudal lords. In other words, those who don’t listen to our reasoning will drift further and further away from their position as feudal lords. But if you are willing to submit to the emperor’s rule, then everything is fine. You can do whatever you want behind closed doors, as long as you don’t cause trouble for the emperor, others, or society. The court will not interfere with your sacrifices or your lives.”

"So what should we do? Can we consider the emperor to be the sun god?"

“No,” Shangluo said in a deep voice. “This is the key point—you cannot understand the Emperor in your own way. The Emperor is not some incarnation of your gods. The Emperor is the Emperor, the ruler of heaven and earth and all things, the ultimate law of the universe. This is the truth of the empire. You must recognize and realize the supreme authority of the Emperor in this one and only correct way, and clearly understand that what you believe in is merely a local belief. Nothing more.”

Seek the Great Way to quell wars, and transcend all things to achieve liberation.

The Son of Heaven is sacred and unique; he has only one title: the Son of Heaven. He does not accept titles such as Sun God, God of the Present World, or God of Wisdom. The Son of Heaven is simply the Son of Heaven, nothing more. He does not accept any other interpretation of the title "Son of Heaven," not even the title of Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty. Only in this way can the truth of the empire truly transcend all things.

This is also the difference between the era after the emergence of Neo-Confucianism (Daoism) and the era before it. The Tang Dynasty emperor might have accepted the title of Heavenly Khan, but the current Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty would absolutely not. Because the truth of the empire is sacred and unique, it is impossible to establish one's own identity within the emperor's system.

This is why Shangluo eradicated the "Mimitori of the Ancient Castle of Ono" from the very beginning—who, to put it bluntly, was the self-proclaimed "Emperor of Kyoto." When the royal army truly begins to shape the world according to its own methods, even such usurpation hidden in its own language is absolutely unacceptable. As for Annam's "inner emperor, outer king" system to the south, that usurpation of the title "Southern Mountain, Southern Emperor's Residence" was quelled hundreds of years ago. "So, do you understand?" Shangluo emphasized, "To accept the title of Son of Heaven, you must acknowledge that your own mythology is limited and has limitations."

He looked at the running water in the room.

These waters are symbols of Egyptian creation myths; Egyptians believed they were the source of all things.

"Now, you need to change your interpretation. In light of our viewpoint, you should revise your creation myth to align it with the truth of the Empire."

In practice, implementing this approach will encounter significant obstacles in many places.

For example, the question of whether to erect a Guandi Temple in Korea after the Imjin War became an important issue for Korea.

The Korean general Ryu Seong-ryong recorded with astonishment: "From Liaodong to the capital, a distance of several thousand li, temples have been erected everywhere to worship Guan Yu, the Marquis of Shouting, a general of the Han Dynasty. I found this strange and asked people, and they said it was not only the north, but everywhere. It was all over the world."

Although temples dedicated to Guan Yu were very popular in the Gyeonggi region, Guan Yu was considered a fictional character in Korea. In other words, Koreans did not have the same deep understanding of Guan Yu as those in the Gyeonggi region. Therefore, when the Ming army planned to raise funds to build a temple for Guan Yu in Korea, it provoked resistance from the Koreans.

This directly ignited the Ming army's anger—in a way, it was like the uncanny valley.

North Koreans behave very much like Han Chinese in everything they do. But even on these seemingly minor issues, because the two sides fundamentally lack a shared history, they also lack a common understanding. This is like the last few layers of a mask that trigger the uncanny valley effect.

When the temple dedicated to Guan Yu was being built in Korea, even Yang Hao donated 50 taels of silver, yet the Koreans didn't recognize him. This aroused unprecedented anger among the generals of the Korean army at the time, because if they didn't even recognize Guan Yu, they were already hypocrites. So they forced the Korean king to kowtow to Guan Yu, and then to worship him every year until the matter was settled.

“Your situation also needs some adjustments,” Shangluo said. “We will release the relevant details. You can handle it as you see fit. There’s no need to worship Guan Yu.” After all, the Ming generals were angry because the Koreans looked “too human.” The court had high expectations for Korea and could not tolerate any behavior that resembled that of a hypocrite.

However, the court did not have such high requirements for Egypt: "However, the Son of Heaven must still be worshipped. Starting tomorrow, the rituals you perform for the god Amun must not exceed those for the Son of Heaven; this is the most basic rule."

(End of this chapter)