Chapter 1100 Stumbling Block

Except for Liu Sanwu, everyone else was terrified and lowered their heads. The emperor's sudden change of attitude was beyond their expectations.

The Emperor Yiwen in front of them was much more approachable than the Emperor Hongwu in his behavior. But now, he looked a bit like the Emperor Hongwu. This made them lower their heads in fear: according to their expectations, the Emperor Yiwen would not be like this.

Emperor Hongwu was an emperor who didn't care about rules and dignity. Although he was reasonable, he would kill anyone who offended him. Emperor Yiwen was a kind person who treated people with respect and never got angry.

Therefore, according to their speculation, even if the emperor was dissatisfied, he would most likely just give a slight reprimand, a minor punishment or a severe warning, and there would definitely be no such outcome as during the Hongwu Dynasty where people would be beheaded... But now Emperor Yiwen suddenly attacked, confusing them.

Some of them did believe in the saying that "foolish people are easy to control" and had a sincere public spirit. But there were not many such people.

More people wanted to maintain the power of the southerners, wanted to become famous, etc. But when the emperor exposed their ideas without any scruples, they could only panic, but subconsciously continued to cry out for injustice.

"Your Majesty, I have no second thoughts in my actions... If Your Majesty does not believe me, I am willing to retire." Liu Sanwu took off the imperial crown and belt on his head and put it beside him. He might have been a little flustered just now because of the emperor's anger, but now, all that was left on his face was determination.

"However, the scholars who are petitioning are still outside Chengtian Gate. Your Majesty, please be sure to look at the sincere will of the scholars and the people."

"To enlighten the people is indeed a way to bring disaster! Even if an old minister dies, it is not a pity, but our Ming Dynasty is now thriving, which is not easy. If the people are enlightened, the world will be in turmoil, and China may never have peace again..."

In his heart, he truly felt that he was thinking about the Ming Dynasty and the world. Therefore, these two sentences were spoken with righteousness.

Zhu Biao remained calm and said, "I have just explained the reason. You said that if you enlighten the people, the world will be in turmoil, but it is just talk without any basis."

"True knowledge comes from practice. I will not trust situations that are imagined behind closed doors."

"I met you today because I don't want you to lose face in front of the world's students, not because you have got a hold of me... The scholars are full of passion, but I don't want you to use it to incite collusion and force me to bow my head."

"The education in the north has declined to this point. No matter what, I will not give up on enlightening the people in the north and educating them... It doesn't matter whether you are doing this to protect the interests of the southerners or to worry about the world."

"I will not allow you to play tricks and interfere in this matter. I know that many of you think that I am more kind and lenient than my father, and you praise me as a 'benevolent king' every day."

"Today I tell you, I do not want the reputation of 'benevolence'! If there are people who dare to form cliques and regard the interests of the world as the interests of the southern half, and try every means to divide the world into north and south..."

"Then I hope you will remember that I have never abolished the law of 'skinning and strawing'."

"If you continue to force me, I don't mind hanging dozens more human skins in front of the Imperial City!"

Below, all the ministers were trembling with fear, wishing they could stick their heads into the ground to avoid Emperor Yiwen, who was acting out of character today. Liu Sanwu didn't dare to say anything more, and just lowered his head deeply.

Until the angry Zhu Biao left the Jinshen Hall, this group of ministers still maintained their prostration, not daring to look up or even breathe.

After a long while, some of them could no longer hold their breath and looked up cautiously. After confirming that the emperor and even the eunuchs in the palace had left, the ministers stood up tremblingly. Their faces still showed the shock from before, and many of them were in a state of despair. The sudden rage of the usually kind new emperor shocked them even more than the former emperor.

"Master Liu, this..." Someone came over to Liu Sanwu and helped him up from the ground. "What should we do next?"

Among these people, Liu Sanwu was the most prestigious and the oldest, and he was undoubtedly the backbone. The emperor made a sudden move, and his actions were beyond their expectations. Now they were still in shock and confusion, and their first reaction was to ask Liu Sanwu what he was going to do next.

"..." Liu Sanwu gritted his teeth. The emperor's threat was no longer concealed, but he did not retreat in fear. Looking in the direction where the emperor left, he felt a determination like a martyr.

"The scholars...are still outside Chengtian Gate."

"Your Majesty is angry out of shame, which shows that Your Majesty is also confused."

"We... can gather together with the scholars and kneel down outside the palace gate to make our appeal to Your Majesty."

"We must change His Majesty's mind and save the country and the people..."

Some people turned pale, but more people nodded after thinking about it.

Their trump card, after all, was the scholars who were incited. And the emperor did not make any statement to those scholars.

Changing one's ways after being reprimanded by the emperor would be a sign of disgrace and he would lose his reputation in the literati circle. For people like them, losing their reputation would be more terrible than death... Moreover, the emperor acted out of character, perhaps because he was frightened by the overwhelming public opinion of the scholars and thus showed that he was timid?
Most of these people hold this idea in their minds.

While thinking about how to incite the scholars, Liu Sanwu and the officials left the Jinshen Palace under the guidance of the eunuchs. When they left Chengtian Gate, they were stunned by the scene before them.

These scholars were actually very excited, and were looking at something in groups of two or three. Most of them were holding something in their hands, some were reciting, sometimes clapping their knees and cheering, and some were sitting together, talking loudly with their companions.

If we say that before he and others entered the palace, these scholars who were sitting quietly outside Chengtian Gate stayed there in a sad and resolute atmosphere, then at this moment, their atmosphere turned into an unusually warm one.

From the noisy discussions, it was obvious that the originally unified opinion of these scholars had been divided into two for some reason.

"Master Liu!" Someone came up to them when he saw Liu Sanwu and a group of officials walking out of the imperial city.

"What's going on?" Liu Sanwu asked in a deep voice.

"Master Liu, you are wrong!" The scholar who came forward did not answer Liu Sanwu's question, but spoke to Liu Sanwu with unusual excitement.

"Wrong, all wrong."

“A rich country is easy to govern when it is poor, and a foolish country is easy to govern… This is totally wrong!”

"When the people are wise, they know propriety and righteousness. When they know propriety and righteousness, the world will be right... This is the right way!"

"The people do not know etiquette and morality, and the only ones who benefit are corrupt and incompetent officials. The people have nowhere to turn to and can only endure silently. How can this be called a prosperous era?"

"Now that our Great Ming is rich and powerful, many people have left their homes and gone overseas to explore. If the people are not enlightened and go to wild places to reproduce and live, after several generations, how can our descendants still claim to be the descendants of China..."

The scholar was a bit dazed, shaking his head and looking at the paper in his hand from time to time. It was obvious that everything he said was written on the paper. Someone stepped forward, snatched the paper from his hand, and then put it in front of Liu Sanwu for everyone to see.

On these papers, there was an article. After reading the title, Liu Sanwu's face turned pale and alarm bells rang in his heart.

Because at the top of the paper were the title of the article and the author's signature.

Title: "On the Wisdom of the People"; Author: Song Lian.

Song Lian, the leading figure in the Ming Dynasty academic circles is almost unquestionable, Song Lian!
"This article..." Liu Sanwu couldn't help but clench the paper in his hand, his voice dry: "This article,"

"Who gave it to you?"

He already understood why these scholars who were united just now were divided and split in such a short time. It was because of this article that suddenly appeared.

Liu Sanwu is indeed the leader of the new school of thought in Yingtian City. But in terms of reputation, he cannot even compare to Song Lian!

Liu Sanwu was actually a monk who changed his career to Buddhism. After the new learning flourished, he changed his studies to Buddhism and became a great scholar of the new learning. However, Song Lian was one of the founders of the new learning. He wrote for the new learning himself, sorted out the theories of the new learning, and promoted the new learning himself. He can be said to be the hope of today's literati.

Even Liu Sanwu had to behave like a teacher to Song Lian...

Most of the scholars in the world are loyal to Song Lian. Song Lian supports the enlightenment of the people in his articles...then how many people can Liu Sanwu incite?

"Teacher Liu, this article was given to us by His Majesty for circulation," said the scholar. "No wonder His Majesty suddenly wanted to enlighten the people. It turns out that he had discussed this with Teacher Song before."

"Master Liu, this time, we were the ones who acted rashly. Your Majesty is far-sighted, but we almost became a stumbling block to the world."

Liu Sanwu felt extremely embarrassed, and the words "stumbling block" and so on were like a slap in his face. He flipped through Song Lian's "On the Wisdom of the People", and saw that it started with Confucius's "teaching without distinction", then went on to the changes in the Ming Dynasty over the years, his experiences in the north, and his longing for "all the people in the world are wise". It can be said that it is closely linked, and every word and sentence is incisive.

Obviously, this article was extremely profound, no wonder it was able to arouse the thoughts of some scholars. Liu Sanwu calmed down and said with difficulty: "Although Mr. Song is talented and knowledgeable, he is also biased."

"To enlighten the people is such a big deal. How can we generalize? From ancient times to now, there has never been any effort to enlighten the people."

"If we try rashly and ruin the good situation, wouldn't our generation become the eternal sinners of China..."

"My new school of thought has always emphasized 'seeking truth from facts'. In my opinion, it is better to be cautious. The theory that 'foolish people are easy to govern' has been passed down for thousands of years. What our ancestors said has its own reasons..."

Seeing Liu Sanwu speak, some officials around him wanted to save the situation, and someone echoed: "Master Liu is right."

"This matter is of great importance and cannot be generalized. Although Mr. Song is highly talented, national affairs cannot be trifled with. We must be extremely cautious."

"In our opinion, it is safer to follow the old practices..."

"That's right, that's right..." People kept nodding in agreement.

"Uh..." They were just here arguing against the article, but the scholar who came to greet Liu Sanwu with the article was looking at them with a strange look.

"But the policy of keeping the people ignorant has not proven to be a safe one... Dynasties have been replaced for hundreds of years without stopping."

"Besides, it has already been determined whether it is good or bad to enlighten the people..."

"Nonsense!" Liu Sanwu retorted with a pale face. "The change of dynasties is the law of nature. How can we offend against this?"

"Besides, when will it be determined whether it is good or bad to enlighten the people?"

"It has indeed been concluded." Facing Liu Sanwu's rebuttal, the scholar was not flustered. He took out a few more pieces of paper from his sleeve. "Master Liu, please take a look at this article. This article was written by His Majesty King Zhou..."

"King Zhou!" Liu Sanwu was shocked.

If Song Lian is the pioneer of the new learning, then King Zhou is the founder of the new learning... Many of the new learning theories came from King Zhou. Even the theories he used to incite the scholars actually borrowed many of the original words of His Majesty King Zhou.

Moreover, King Zhou had been the chief priest of the Imperial Academy, and his reputation among scholars was unmatched. He actually wrote an article... Liu Sanwu snatched it away, and tried to find some loopholes.

However, there is not much theory in this article by King Zhou Zhu Su. Adhering to the consistent style of His Majesty King Zhou, this article is just presenting facts and reasoning, analyzing the role of "people's wisdom" in the changes of dynasties.

"People's wisdom" is education, and it is also justice. In all dynasties, those loyal ministers and righteous men were all people who enlightened the people. Even Liu Sanwu could not refute this. King Zhou believed that if he wanted to strengthen the country, he should make the people of the world know justice. With education, justice would naturally spread more easily.

At the same time, literacy is also a way to strengthen a country. The article gives an example that it has been hundreds of years since Bi Sheng invented movable type printing in the Song Dynasty. Movable type printing is indeed a good method. If used properly, it can make the output of books in the world achieve a qualitative leap.

However, movable type printing has never been popularized. Most books in the world still have to be copied by hand or carved.

Why? Because movable type printing requires craftsmen to arrange the characters. But most craftsmen can't read, so how can they recognize the characters?
Most of the scholars of this era have experienced the embarrassing situation of wanting to read but having no books to read. In the final analysis, it is because the output of books is too small. Because most craftsmen are illiterate, movable type printing cannot be popularized, and the output of books in the world cannot be increased, countless scholars who want to study have no way to get a book.

There are even many rare books of our ancestors that have been lost because of their small number, which is truly a pity for the world.

If people's wisdom is enlightened, craftsmen can recognize words, and movable type printing becomes popular, will we still need to worry that students will have no books to read and the writings of ancient sages cannot be passed on?

(End of this chapter)

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