Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 512: False
After Xiao Yan ascended the throne, he also faced a common problem among kings of that era, that is, the issue of replacing the legal system of Qi.

Xiao Yan was originally a minister of the Southern Qi Dynasty. It was not in line with Confucian ethics for him to betray his emperor as a minister.

Although Xiao Baojuan, the last emperor of Qi, was unjust, if we follow the theory of the revolution of Tang and Wu, Xiao Yan was actually regicide.

What's more, after Xiao Yan entered Jiankang, he naturally accepted Xiao Baojuan's harem, and there was also the ridiculous incident that Xiao Zan defected, thinking he was Xiao Baojuan's posthumous son. Even though he was very prestigious in the literary world, he could not stop the Confucian scholars from attacking him.

When Xiao Yan ascended the throne, countless people from all over the country rose up under the slogan of restoring the Southern Qi Dynasty. There were also members of the Southern Qi royal family like Xiao Baoyin who fled to the Northern Wei Dynasty and wanted to restore the country at all times.

This also caused a lot of trouble for Xiao Yan in his early years of governance. Although he tried hard to please Confucian scholars, he was still criticized and abused by many people.

This was also the reason why Xiao Yan frequently launched northern expeditions at the beginning of his reign.

One way he found was to use the debate between Chinese and barbarians to strengthen the legitimacy of his accession to the throne.

At this time, Xiao Yan angrily denounced the Northern Wei as a demand for his children, emphasized that he was the legitimate Chinese dynasty, while the Northern Wei was a bastard of the Di and Hu people, and made the unification of China the highest program of his rule, elevating himself to the level of the guardian of Chinese civilization.

Xiao Yan tried to use the "Hua-Yi Debate" to eliminate the negative impact of the "Tang and Wu Revolution" and use this method to promote his own legitimacy.

When it comes to national issues, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects in a family or a room naturally has to take a back seat. The one who can accomplish the great task of unifying China is certainly qualified to be the emperor.

Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny.

The several northern expeditions launched by Xiao Yan all ended in failure, resulting in heavy casualties and great depletion of national strength.

Moreover, Xiao Yan met Emperor Xiaowen, who had just been sinicized. At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty was still in its heyday. After the Battle of Fushan Weir, the Southern Liang Dynasty switched to a strategic defensive position and was no longer able to organize a Northern Expedition.

This road is also bankrupt.

The next day, at Tongtai Temple, all the wise men, including masters of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, gathered. Under the chairmanship of Zhu Yi, the debate among the three religions began.

Fu Ting, who came on the field as the representative of Confucianism, soon discovered that something was wrong.

Zhu Yi, who moderated the debate, was more or less leaning towards Buddhism.

When I was speaking, Zhu Yi would always interrupt me rudely, or simply not give me enough time to speak.

And when Buddhism spoke, Zhu Yi would express his praise.

However, Fu Ting had a profound knowledge of Confucianism, and he quickly silenced several Buddhist monks in the debate.

Just when Fu Ting thought he had finally won, a purple-robed monk beside Xiao Yan suddenly stood up and said to Fu Ting:

"May I ask Fu Sheng, according to the Tang-Wu Revolution, were Cheng Tang and King Wu loyal or traitorous?"

Fu Ting was stunned for a moment. He glanced at the Bodhisattva Emperor sitting high on the cushion and thought to himself that something was wrong.

This purple-robed monk is Bian Ji. Now everyone in Southern Liang knows that he is Fotucheng’s disciple from a different generation. He possesses supernatural powers and is the most trusted monk of Xiao Yan.

But no one expected that Bian Ji was so knowledgeable about Confucianism that he raised such a fatal question.

Cheng Tang and King Wu have always been regarded as representatives of sage kings in the Confucian system.

If they were rebelling, then what were those famous ministers who rebelled with King Cheng, Tang and King Wu?
By extension, if King Cheng, Tang and King Wu were rebels, then what was Xiao Yan?
But if we say that King Tang and King Wu did not rebel, then do we still need to talk about the Confucian system of monarch and ministers?
Any set of theories must be rigid and leave no room for compromise on the most fundamental issues.

If it is vague on major issues of right and wrong, then this theory is just a rag doll that can be dressed up by others. How can people in the world truly believe in it?
Perhaps everyone has different standards when it comes to academic theory and practical operations.

However, praising virtues and criticizing vices is the most basic part of an academic discipline. If this cannot be achieved, then what is the point of learning this theory?
The decline of Confucianism during the Wei and Jin Dynasties was largely due to the irreparable rift between theory and reality.

Which of the Confucian principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness can be applied to the Sima family?

Since none of these can be applied to the Sima family, then what kind of schizophrenic state do the Confucian scholars who serve the Sima family have?
Confucian scholars in the Wei and Jin dynasties either completely degenerated into utilitarianism and turned into beasts dominated by power, or became as dissolute as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, numbing themselves with poetry and the Five-Stone Powder, and replacing the discussion of Confucian theories with discussions of metaphysics.

Fu Ting felt even more sad because Bian Ji was a close minister to Xiao Yan, and the fact that Bian Ji participated in the debate had fully demonstrated Xiao Yan's attitude.

As expected, Fu Ting had no answer to this question, and Bian Ji then raised several fatal questions, which also left the Confucian scholars speechless.

As for Taoism?

The Taoist leader Tao Hongjing simply did not come. This prime minister in the mountains wrote a letter himself, surrendering on behalf of the Southern Tianshi Dao.

Towards evening, Zhu Yi took the stage and announced that Buddhism had won the debate among the three religions.

The Confucian scholars were all dejected, while the Buddhist disciples present were celebrating, except that they didn't have crowns.

Then, Zhu Yi began to speak:
"Buddhism has a prophecy that when there is a great disaster in heaven and earth, a wheel-turning king will be born. Before the wheel-turning king is born, seven treasures must appear in the world - the wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the jewel, the jade girl treasure, the main treasure, and the treasure of the army."

"Now, two treasures have appeared in the world. In the past few days, the prefecture has discovered three treasures. After being identified by Master Bianji and Master Fayun, they are all Buddhist treasures."

Fu Ting now understood that after the Confucian system failed to work, Xiao Yan, the "genius emperor", chose another path, which was the path of Buddhism.

He used the identity of the Chakravartin, the king of all kings and the king of kings in Buddhist scriptures, to replace the title of "emperor" which had gradually lost its authority. By identifying himself as the Chakravartin, he thus completed the construction of the legitimacy of his throne.

Looking at Xiao Yan wearing a monk's robe, Fu Ting felt bitter.

He actually understood Xiao Yan a little. Xiao Yan had been in power for such a long time, and his throne was already stable. He did this for the sake of his descendants.

The prince is in frail health and fell ill again this summer.

Although famous doctors tried their best to treat him, his health was getting worse day by day.

The prince was the heir trained by Xiao Yan and carried the hopes of the entire Southern Liang Dynasty. The prince had done a good job before.

If the crown prince dies, how will the successor hold on to the position under the dazzling brilliance of Crown Prince Zhaoming?

What Xiao Yan was worried about was that once he and the crown prince passed away, would his descendants be able to keep the throne?

Xiao Yan personally seized the throne from Southern Qi.

The Southern Song Dynasty was founded by Liu Yu and lasted for 59 years with five emperors.

The Southern Qi Dynasty was established by Xiao Daocheng and lasted for 23 years with four emperors.

To date, Xiao Yan has been in power for twenty-three years, which has surpassed the entire Southern Qi dynasty.

This debate finally confirmed Xiao Yan's identity as the reincarnation of the Chakravartin. Xiao Yan ordered his ministers to call him the Bodhisattva Emperor and the crown prince the Arhat Prince.

Buddhism was established as the state religion, and monks were granted the privileges of tax exemption and exemption from military service. Local officials were required to support a temple and enshrine a statue of the Chakravartin in the temple.

After finishing all this, Xiao Yan was finally satisfied and returned to the palace to practice meditation.

Bian Ji looked at the palace of Southern Liang and felt inexplicably depressed.

You, Xiao Yan, don't govern the country well, and don't handle border issues properly. Now all the generals in Jiankang City don't ride horses, and the civil officials spend the whole day talking and feasting. All industries are in decline, but Buddhist temples are thriving. Even if the theory is well constructed, how can the country not perish?

Nan Liang already has a way to die!
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Hou Jing stood on Mount Qingcheng, looking at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System below the mountain, and said to the officials around him:

"So this Dujiangyan also needs maintenance?"

The middle-aged official next to me looked exhausted, with his face wrinkled from long hours on the road, like a little old man.

He was Su Miao, a Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Works (the naval commander of the Western Regions who wasted the people's money and resources).

Su Miao had just completed the repair work of Zhengguo Canal and hurried to Shu.

He took the official document from the Ministry of Works and asked directly for an audience with Hou Jing, proposing to visit Dujiangyan.

Hou Jing had also heard of the name of this engineering madman.

He was in charge of the construction and repair of the Karez in Dunhuang and the Zhengguo Canal in Guanzhong. Because of his reliability and professionalism, he was noticed by Duke Su, who wanted to promote him to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

According to the recent official system reform, the Administrative Office will be under the jurisdiction of the royal palace, and the six ministries under the Administrative Office will have a Shangshu as the chief official, who will be of the third rank.

There were also left and right assistant ministers, who were of the fourth rank.

Officials of the third and fourth ranks have already entered the ranks of middle-level officials.

Hou Jing was a rough man, and it was good enough for him to read the military book well.

But Hou Jing also has an advantage. He respects capable professionals very much and is willing to leave professional work to professionals.

Su Miao's abilities are obvious to all. People have ranked him on par with Li Bing, who built the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and consider him to be the world's top water conservancy expert.

Su Miao said:

"Of course. Although the Dujiangyan Irrigation System is ingeniously designed, there will still be siltation. At this time, the silt and sand must be cleared to prevent siltation."

"During the Han Dynasty, water officials were appointed in Shu to take charge of the cleanup work."

"After the chaos, the people of Shu would also organize themselves to clear the silt, but the number of Han people in Shu has decreased over the years, and the chaos has continued, so there has been no clearing for many years."

Everyone likes to say that we Han people are an agricultural nation, but in fact, the Han people have been infrastructure fanatics since ancient times.

You should know that Dujiangyan was built in the pre-Qin period!

There are also the engineering wonders created by the First Emperor, such as the Great Wall and the Chidao, which have been in use for two thousand years.

Chinese civilization began to tame rivers very early, and in some peaceful times, the people would also spontaneously build water conservancy projects.

Hou Jing nodded as if he understood. Since Su Miao said he wanted to dredge the silt, then let's do it.

Su Miao set up an official office next to Dujiangyan and prepared to clean up the silt in Dujiangyan.

When Hou Jing returned to Chengdu, he saw Princess Nanyang's steward coming to visit him again.

(End of this chapter)