Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 168 Eastern Version of the Renaissance—A Hundred Schools of Thought Plan!
Well, in fact, the main reason was that Li Yi planned to hold another imperial examination in Hunan and give official titles to Hunan scholars.

Naturally, Ding Shanqing surrendered.

After all, he is just an old man who has retired. There is no need for him to sacrifice his entire family for the Qing Dynasty, right?
Besides, it seemed that the Qing Dynasty could no longer save Hunan.

But Old Ding's children and grandchildren still have to become officials.

As for whether this official is from the Tang Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, it doesn’t matter.

Therefore, in front of Li Yi, the current president of Yuelu Academy behaved very properly.

"I, Ding Shanqing, the headmaster of Yuelu Academy, and I, along with all the students of the academy, come to pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Ding Shanqing walked quickly to Li Yi, bent down and bowed deeply. Behind him, the students of Yuelu Academy followed suit.

Hearing this, Li Yi reached out to help Ding Shanqing up, and then said.

"Hurry up and get free of charge!"

"I have always heard of Mr. Ding's reputation, and now that I have seen him, I find that he is indeed extraordinary and has the demeanor of a famous scholar."

"I wonder if Lord Ding is willing to return to the government and serve the Tang Dynasty?"

When he met Ding Shanqing, Li Yi's old habit of being courteous to humble people came back and he couldn't help but try to recruit him.

Upon hearing this, Ding Shanqing quickly waved his hand to refuse.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am now old and half buried in the earth. I will study and run a school in the academy to benefit my hometown. I will no longer serve as an official."

As he spoke, Ding Shanqing couldn't help but feel emotional. Everyone said that Li Yi, the King of Tang, was respectful to the wise and humble, and was eager to seek talented people.

Now it seems that as expected, he is not going to let go even an old man like me.

Hearing this, Li Yi laughed and did not force it, but continued speaking.

"It's fine if Mr. Ding doesn't want to be an official, but there are so many talented people in Yuelu Academy, Mr. Ding should recommend one or two to me."

Li Yi didn't know whether the students of Yuelu Academy were talented people.

But he knew that behind this student was a landlord family. If he could accept all the students of Yuelu Academy, half of Hunan would be secured.

As for the issue of dividing the land, what should we do?
Of course, what should we do?

Li Yi's current idea is to use official hats in exchange for the gentry's support for land distribution.

In his opinion, the big landlords might resist firmly for the sake of their own interests, but the small and medium-sized landlords would not be so irreconcilable with the Tang Dynasty.

Most of the small and medium-sized landlords only had a few hundred acres of land. The Tang Dynasty gave them a quota of 200 acres, and there was no need to divide the land below 200 acres.

If you pass the imperial examination and become an official in the Tang Dynasty, you can get an additional 200 acres of land.

This is enough for many small and medium-sized landlords.

What Li Yi wanted was to win over these small and medium-sized landlords.

Li Yi doesn't care about those big landlords.

After losing the support of a large number of small and medium-sized landlords, the big landlords alone can no longer cause any trouble.

Upon hearing this, Ding Shanqing responded hurriedly.

"Your Majesty is right."

"Everyone in Yuelu Academy is willing to serve the Tang Dynasty."

Li Yi nodded slightly and then said.

"very good."

"Thank you, Mr. Ding, for leading the way and taking me around Yuelu Academy."

Ding Shanqing responded and led the way.

Li Yi followed Ding Shanqing into Yuelu Academy and visited the academy's dining hall, holy temple, imperial library, Wenchang Pavilion and other buildings, nodding frequently.

After walking around the academy, Li Yi said to Ding Shanqing.

"In today's world situation, the Chinese land is under threat from Western powers and under threat from the Manchu Tartars. This is a major change that has only happened once in a thousand years."

"Given the current world situation, if Yuelu Academy continues to teach only Confucianism, it will not work and will sooner or later fall behind."

"I think that Yuelu Academy can appropriately expand the scale of the college and add different subjects such as mathematics, Western learning, and technology."

"I can allocate a sum of money to be used for the renovation and expansion of the academy, as well as for hiring teachers and recruiting students."

When Ding Shanqing heard this, he was stunned at first, but then he reacted and spoke.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Although he did not agree with Li Yi's statement.

But I also understand the simple truth that the one who spends money is the boss.

Since Li Yi had announced that he would allocate funds to support the reconstruction of Yuelu Academy, he naturally would not object to Li Yi's request.

Since Li Yi wants to add new subjects, then just add them!

Li Yi nodded slightly, then continued to patrol Yuelu Academy, greeted the students of Yuelu Academy, and personally attended a class.

Li Yi has always respected knowledge.

After doing all this, Li Yi set out on his return journey.

On the way back, Li Yi sat in the carriage, accompanied by the sound of horses and carriages, and recalled what he had seen and heard in Yuelu Academy today.

To be honest, the teaching level of Yuelu Academy is quite good, and the teachers give lectures in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Even though I am a half-baked person, I can understand what is being taught.

But the problem is that although Li Yi could understand it, he did not agree with the content of teaching at Yuelu Academy.

The ideological confinement brought about by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is really terrible...

Since the prevalence of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, the entire Chinese culture has become increasingly conservative, lost its enterprising spirit, and even led to a catastrophe in which both countries were destroyed.

Under the influence of such culture, Li Yi believed that if he wanted national development and social progress, it would not be enough to rely solely on the industrial revolution and the distribution of land to liberate productivity.

Apart from these, Li Yi believes that what China needs more at this time is ideological liberation.

As for ideological liberation, Li Yi does not want to copy the West.

Because, in this era, the idea that "I am the most powerful country in the world" is still deeply rooted in people's minds.

It is easy for Li Yi to learn about Western advanced technology, economy, military, etc.

Wearing Hu clothes and riding and shooting are nothing more than this.

The Chinese have never been reluctant to learn from other ethnic groups and their advanced features.

But if Li Yi wants to copy Western culture, replace Chinese culture with Western culture, and liberate China's thoughts, it will inevitably trigger a backlash at the social level.

How did the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom perish?
Isn’t it because they used crooked means and then caused a backlash from the whole society?

Everyone is believing in their ancestors and everything is fine, but you are using guns and knives to force everyone to believe in some damn Western God. Isn't that bullshit?
Who can accept it?

What if you can’t accept it?
Then we have no choice but to trouble the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to die.

The Chinese people of this time and space have not yet experienced the century of decline in history. Although they suffered a small loss at the hands of the British in the Opium War, Li Yi has regained the upper hand in the Battle of Guangzhou.

Nowadays, almost all Chinese people sincerely believe that foreigners have only made achievements in the study of worldly affairs, but their cultural thoughts are not worth mentioning.

The so-called "Chinese learning as the basis and Western learning for practical application" is based on such considerations.

Unless China is allowed to experience another century of decline as it did in history, wholesale Westernization will never work.

No one can accept it!
And this is naturally impossible for Li Yi.

If he traveled through time and caused China to fall into decline for a hundred years, wouldn't it be a waste of his time? Therefore, Li Yi had to think of a way to come up with something new.

Suddenly, the expression on Li Yi's face changed and he had an idea.

Since the West had the Renaissance to liberate people’s minds, why not have an Eastern version of the Renaissance—the Hundred Schools of Thought Plan!
For rule of law, we can refer to the Legalists; for technology development, we can refer to the Mohists; for diplomacy, we can refer to the Diplomats; for agricultural development, we can refer to the Agriculturalists; for business, we can refer to Tao Zhugong’s school; for the idea that the people are more important than the ruler, we can refer to Mencius; for benevolence, we can refer to Confucius; even for superstition, we can refer to the Huang-Lao Taoism and Buddhism…

Very good, I will ask someone to look through the pile of old papers later.

If it really doesn't work, you can find someone to write the book yourself.

Li Yi finally discovered that his ancestors were truly an inexhaustible treasure.

Whatever you want to do, you can almost always find examples in China's past history.

Well, this is the benefit brought by a long history and splendid culture.

Western countries are certainly far behind China in this regard.

In addition, Li Yi also planned to reform Confucianism. He planned to delete some of the dross in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, and then add some of his own ideas into it.

As for how to operate it?

In fact, it is very simple. He just needs to change the content of the imperial examination.

Nowadays, when people study Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, not all of them really take Neo-Confucian thought as the golden rule.

The main reason is that the imperial examination requires examination of science.

In order to pass the imperial examination and become an official, scholars had to study Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism regardless of whether they liked it or not.

However, the power to set questions for the imperial examination now lies in Li Yi's hands.

In order to become officials, the scholars of course studied whatever questions Li Yi set.

If studying Neo-Confucianism does not allow one to become an official, then the status of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism will actually decline very quickly.

……

During the Battle of Changsha, Zeng Guofan fell into the water and became "unconscious", but was quickly rescued and taken away from the battlefield.

After leaving the battlefield, Zeng Guofan quickly woke up from his coma.

He took his younger brother Zeng Guobao, Hu Linyi and others all the way north and soon arrived in Xiangyin.

However, the Qing army in Changsha was ambushed when it left the city and was almost wiped out. Zeng Guofan had no troops left and was very keenly aware that Xiangyin could not be defended.

Therefore, he abandoned the city again and headed north to Yuezhou.

After arriving in Yuezhou, Zeng Guofan asked for help from provinces such as Hubei and Jiangxi, requesting them to send troops to help guard Yuezhou. At the same time, he summoned the gentry of Yuezhou and began to prepare for the battle of Yuezhou.

Zeng Guofan was preparing to fight a defense battle in Yuezhou, trying to stop the Tang army south of the Yangtze River to prevent it from entering Hubei.

However, before he had time to complete his preparations for the war, a team of fast horses crossed the river from the north and headed straight for Yuezhou.

"Master Zeng, the emperor has issued an order. Please prepare to receive it!"

An imperial envoy wearing a yellow jacket and holding a scroll of imperial edict stood in front of Zeng Guofan and spoke expressionlessly.

When Zeng Guofan saw this, he took a deep breath and had a bad feeling in his heart.

But he still knelt down obediently, with his forehead touching the ground and his butt raised high, and began to speak.

"Your humble servant, Zeng Guofan has received your order!"

Upon seeing this, the man in the yellow jacket who delivered the imperial edict held the edict above his head with both hands, then unfolded it and recited it.

"The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says:"

"Zeng Guofan, the Minister of Hunan militia, was incompetent and failed to do his job well. He fled Changsha without a fight and abandoned the city, which led to Changsha falling into the hands of the bandits and most of Hunan falling. His crime is unforgivable."

"Order him to be dismissed from his post immediately, removed from office, investigated, and escorted to the capital to await the court's decision. No mistakes can be made!"

After saying this, the man in the yellow jacket continued.

"Master Zeng, what are you still standing there for? Accept the order!"

When Zeng Guofan heard this, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

He knelt on the ground in a daze. He didn't expect that he was so loyal to the Qing Dynasty, but the Qing Dynasty treated him like this!
He will be dismissed from his post, investigated and escorted to Beijing to await sentencing!
Zeng Guofan couldn't help but want to cry out to the sky and express his grievances.

But in the end, he could only suppress the grievance in his heart, knocked his head heavily on the ground again, and then said.

"Your Majesty, I obey your command!"

The man in the yellow jacket who came to deliver the imperial edict saw this and waved his hand and said.

"Come here, take off Mr. Zeng's official robe and hat, and put Mr. Zeng on the prison cart..."

Upon hearing this, several attendants immediately stepped forward, stripped off Zeng Guofan's official robe, and prepared to put him on the prison van.

Zeng Guobao, who was standing by, saw this and was about to take action to save his brother.

But he was stopped by Zeng Guofan.

"Stop it, Lao Wu, what do you want to do?"

"Is it possible to rebel?"

Zeng Guobao heard this and said with a look of grievance.

"Brother, you obviously did nothing wrong..."

Zeng Guofan took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. As subjects, we should just accept them obediently. How can we disobey?"

"I believe the emperor will give me justice!"

The man in the yellow jacket beside him heard this and spoke.

"Master Zeng, please come with us. The Emperor is anxious to see you in the capital."

Zeng Guofan nodded when he heard this.

"Thank you for your kindness."

After saying this, he prepared to get on the prison van.

Seeing this, Cai Bingwen on the side hurried forward and stuffed a stack of silver bills into the hand of the man in the yellow jacket who delivered the imperial edict, and then spoke.

"These are the travel expenses. Thank you for taking care of Mr. Zeng on the way."

"Master Zeng is old and can't stand the hardship..."

The man in the yellow jacket pinched the banknote that was stuffed into his hand, felt its thickness, and nodded immediately.

"Don't worry, Master Cai. I will take care of Master Zeng on the way..."

The reason why Cai Bingwen stuffed a red envelope into the yellow jacket was not only out of his friendship with Zeng Guofan as a colleague, but more out of guilt.

Well, the reason why Zeng Guofan was dismissed and investigated by Emperor Xianfeng this time had something to do with him.

Cai Bingwen came to Hunan with Zeng Guofan this time. In addition to being appointed as the prefect of Changsha, the Qing court also gave him the task of supervising Zeng Guofan to prevent Zeng Guofan from rebelling by relying on militia.

To put it bluntly, Cai Bingwen and Tazibu were both thorns planted by the Qing court next to Zeng Guofan.

After the Battle of Changsha, Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, fell, and the prefect Cai Bingwen could not escape the blame.

In order to help himself get rid of the crime, Cai Bingwen used the secret information given to him by the Qing court as soon as he left Changsha, and reported the entire process of the Battle of Changsha to the Qing court.

Cai Bingwen specifically emphasized in his secret memorial that it was Zeng Guofan's will that caused the army to flee without a fight and abandon Changsha, leading to the fall of Changsha.

He wanted to put the blame on Zeng Guofan so that he could escape punishment.

(End of this chapter)