Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 511 Everyone Must Make Progress
Su Cho looked at the ministers, including some at the prime minister level, and they all nodded repeatedly at Su Tong's words.

Su Cho then realized that he had been prime minister for too long and had lost basic communication with his ministers and was not clear about their thoughts.

Su Cho simply reflected on himself and realized that he had been away from the ministers for too long and even didn't understand the basic political direction of Yongle City.

He secretly blamed himself for being insensitive. The Duke of the County entrusted the rear to him, but he didn't even know about such a big thing. He really failed Su Ze's trust.

After a brief confession, Su Cho raised his head. He saw the shining eyes of his ministers and understood everyone's thoughts.

Everybody wants to make progress!
The current situation in the world is guaranteed to be a situation of three kingdoms competing for hegemony. Su Ze now controls Guanzhong, Yizhou and the northern states, controls Longyou, and influences the Western Regions and the grasslands. In terms of national strength, he is already on par with the Eastern Wei controlled by Erzhu Rong.

As for Southern Liang, it was nothing but a bunch of clay chickens and dogs.

Even if we only controlled one third of the world, it would be enough to found a country.

Didn’t the three kings of the Three Kingdoms all become emperors?
Not to mention the Three Kingdoms, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, how many people proclaimed themselves emperors and how many proclaimed themselves kings?

It's a bit unreasonable for Su Ze to be called a county duke given such a huge empire.

It's time to progress!
However, the current situation is not yet the time for abdication.

But even if I don't become an emperor, I can always be a king, right?

Since Su Ze imitated Cao Mengde in everything, Cao Mengde also became a king.

A king and a duke are completely different.

The greatest characteristic of a king is that he can establish a kingdom.

If there is a fiefdom, it means setting up a altar of grain and rice. One can offer sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestors in the fiefdom, and set up a royal palace with hundreds of officials.

First you become a king, then you can add the nine gifts, such as "wear a sword and shoes into the palace, do not bow when entering the court, and do not name your name when praising or bowing." These things can be added gradually.

Only when Su Ze makes progress can the other ministers make progress, and they will have someone to be loyal to.

Su Chao finally understood that the ministers' opinions had changed.

The Battle of Yubi City showed that Erzhu Rong did not have the ability to attack Guanzhong.

After the Battle of Yanmen, they took the initiative against Erzhu Rong.

In the Battle of Baidi City, Yizhou was completely taken over.

The current Guanzhong government is no longer the makeshift team that could collapse at any time.

Everyone must follow Su Ze to make progress, and becoming king is an inevitable choice.

Su Chuo understood this point, he stood up and said:

"The Duke of the County has made outstanding military achievements and has contributed greatly to rebuilding the country. I will submit this report to Your Majesty and request that you confer the title of King on him."

When the ministers heard Su Cho's change of tone, the atmosphere immediately became harmonious, and everyone began to discuss the title of the king.

But Su Chao still felt something was strange. Then he remembered that he should consult Su Ze's opinion on this matter first.

He immediately said:
"By the way, we must quickly send someone to inform the county lord of this matter."

All the ministers nodded, and everyone looked at Gao Hui.

This old envoy was once a great envoy of the Wei Dynasty and is well versed in all kinds of etiquette and enthronement rites and regulations. It would definitely be best to ask him to handle this matter.

Gao Hui was watched by everyone, and he stood up and said:
"Then I will go to Dingzhou and persuade the Duke to accept the title of King to calm the hearts of Your Majesty and the people of the world."

Everyone said yes, and the atmosphere on the scene became more harmonious.
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Su Ze had learned about the ministers' actions through reports from his followers. He did not blame the Government Affairs Hall, but thought that it was his own negligence that he did not proclaim himself king in time.

If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct.

There are also basic laws for usurping the throne.

The main procedures still need to refer to the great Confucian scholar Wang Mang in the late Western Han Dynasty.

First he was crowned king, then other rewards were given, and finally the abdication was held.

Logically speaking, when Su Ze captured Yanmen Pass, he should have been preparing to become king.

If he doesn't make progress, how can the officials below him make progress?

The simplest point is that many of the generals who have made great contributions can now be granted the title of duke, but Su Ze is still only a county duke. How can they be granted the title of duke or marquis?
We have come to this point, and of course there is no way back. We can only move forward step by step.

Su Ze just couldn't help but sigh, "I am a commoner from Luoyang, what can the world do to me?"

Just be king. This is also a signal to your subordinates and to the world.

After becoming king, you can divide the land and establish kingdoms, do many things yourself, and it will be much easier to carry out personnel appointments and reforms.

But what is the name of the country?

Su Ze was a little hesitant for a moment.

Forget it, let's leave this matter to the professionals, let those Confucian scholars and ritual officials show off their knowledge.

But this time, when discussing Su Ze's enthronement as king, another issue raised by the ministers gave Su Ze a headache.

The issue of "Tang and Wu Revolution".

This is a question of legitimacy and also a question related to the future cost of national governance. Of course, we must prepare early.

It can even be said that the issue of national unity plays an extremely important role in the struggle for hegemony.

Among the Three Kingdoms, Cao Wei used the emperor to control the princes, while Shu Han inherited the Han Dynasty. In terms of legality, Eastern Wu suffered the most, so its national strength was also the weakest. Legality is related to the people's support, the sense of identity of the people, and the question of "whether the country is legitimate or not."

If a country is not acquired by right means, its reign will be short.

If a country is governed in a righteous way, it will last long.

Su Ze could never lay mines for his descendants.

The story of Tang and Wu's revolution is such a thunder that has spanned thousands of years of history.

This thunder was not completely cleared up until Song Ming.

The Tang and Wu Revolution originated during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han.

Two great Confucian scholars at that time, Huang Sheng and Yuan Gusheng, had a debate in front of Emperor Jing of Han.

Huang Sheng believed that Tang and Wu were not ordained by God, but were usurped and murdered. He said: "Tang and Wu were not ordained by God, but were murdered."

To this Yuan Gusheng refuted, "No. When Jie and Zhou were in chaos, the hearts of the people in the world all turned to Tang and Wu. Tang and Wu punished Jie and Zhou based on the hearts of the people. The people of Jie and Zhou did not serve them and turned to Tang and Wu. Tang and Wu had no choice but to take the throne. How else could they not take the throne by command?" That is to say, Tang exiled Jie and King Wu conquered Zhou in accordance with the will of heaven and the people. It was a true "revolution" rather than a usurpation of power.

But Huang Sheng was very stubborn and opposed this. He said: "Although the hat is worn out, it must be put on the head; although the shoes are new, they must be put on the feet."

The meaning of this sentence is that no matter how foolish the monarch is, he is still the monarch, and no matter how virtuous the ministers are, they are still ministers, and they cannot overthrow the monarch, just like no matter how tattered a hat is, you cannot wear it on your feet, and no matter how new a pair of shoes is, you cannot wear it on your head.

Yuan Gusheng used his ultimate move and said, "Bi Ruoyun said that it was Emperor Gao who replaced Qin as the emperor, isn't that right?"

This means that it was wrong for Emperor Gaozu of Han to replace the Qin Dynasty? Was it also a usurpation of power? This is a very serious question.

Seeing that the debate was about to get out of control, Emperor Jing of Han stepped down in time.

The argument between the two was put on hold with the argument that "historical texts have no practical significance."

This topic is really annoying, but it is also an issue concerning the country.

Later, Dong Zhongshu made a patch.

This patch is "sky".

The so-called "harmony between heaven and man".

Dong Zhongshu proposed that man and heaven are connected.

If the political situation is not clear, heaven will send down "disasters" and "divine punishment" as warnings; if the political situation is clear, auspicious signs will appear.

In this way, the chaotic times at the end of the Qin Dynasty were the result of the Qin Emperor being guilty of a crime committed by Heaven, so Heaven sent down punishment upon him.

Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang killed the snake in response to the will of heaven. He was the man of destiny at the end of the Qin Dynasty and should have become the emperor.

But this theory also has problems.

Because of the "interaction between heaven and man", once a natural disaster occurs, the opposition will use astronomical warnings to attack the emperor and ministers and prevent the court from carrying out reforms.

Wang Mang was the master of this theory. He used his status as a great Confucian scholar to create the theory of the transfer of the Mandate of Heaven, becoming the only emperor in history who used academic knowledge to usurp the throne.

The prevalence of prophecies today can be said to be a side effect of this theory.

Su Ze also had a headache. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, countless great scholars have carried out various repairs and upgrades, but none of them could apply this "patch".

That is why the world fell into frequent chaos, the saying "the emperor is the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses" became the mainstream, and the title of the emperor lost its authority.

Forget it, let me be king first.

Su Ze shook his head and put the question aside for the time being.
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While Guanzhong was stepping up preparations for Su Ze to become king, Southern Liang was also conducting a debate on legal legitimacy.

After he sacrificed himself in Tongtai Temple last time, no one knew what Xiao Yan realized, but the old monk began to have worldly desires after returning to the palace. He summoned Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian scholars from all over the world to Jiankang to discuss the general situation of the world.

The Confucian scholars of Southern Liang were ecstatic.

When Xiao Yan first ascended the throne, he attached great importance to Confucianism.

Xiao Yan was originally an aide to King Jingling of Qi. He was famous for his literary talent and was known as the Eight Friends of Jingling together with Shen Yue and Xie Tiao.

After ascending the throne, Xiao Yan attached importance to Confucianism, established schools, and appointed Confucian scholars to important positions, which once gave Confucian scholars in the south hope.

At that time, Xiao Yan often summoned Confucian scholars from all over the country to discuss politics.

However, since Xiao Yan became obsessed with Buddhism, he became estranged from officials outside the court and even disappeared from the crown prince, let alone meeting with famous Confucian scholars.

Although this time the emperor was summoning the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, at least he was willing to listen to everyone's ideas.

Many Confucian scholars set out for Jiankang accompanied by their disciples. Some older Confucian scholars traveled in the scorching heat and some even died of heat on the road, but before they died, they still asked their disciples to dedicate their academic knowledge to Xiao Yan.

In this way, in August, the masters of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in Southern Liang gathered in Jiankang City. Xiao Yan ordered a platform to be set up in Tongtai Temple to debate the scriptures of the three religions again.

When the Confucian scholars heard that the meeting was held in Tongtai Temple, they felt a lot colder.

The oldest Confucian scholar who came to Jiankang this time was Fu Ting, the grandson of Fu Manyong, a famous Confucian scholar from the Southern Dynasties of Song and Qi.

Fu Ting had also served under Xiao Yan, and everyone asked for his opinion.

Fu Ting was unsure, but he still said:

"Your Majesty is open to all opinions. This is a virtuous and righteous ruler. As long as we demonstrate the teachings of the ancient sages, we can naturally keep Your Majesty away from Buddhism."

Although this was correct nonsense, everyone had no other choice but to disperse and prepare to use their own unique skills to convince Xiao Yan.

(End of this chapter)