My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 67 Confucianism
The demonic monk Daoyan.

Prime Minister Yao Guangxiao in black robes.

Zhu Di's most important strategist and one of the biggest driving forces behind the Jingnan Campaign.

Born into a family of doctors, he shaved his head and became a monk at the age of fourteen, but later became a disciple of a Taoist priest and also studied Confucianism.

It can be said that it integrates Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

His situation perfectly matches Ma Yu's criteria.

They are not superstitious about Confucianism, do not care about its authority, and are not concerned about social pressure.

The key point is that he is a person who cannot stand being alone.

In the eighth year of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned people well-versed in Confucianism to the palace to answer questions, and he actively participated.

Unfortunately, before the Song Dynasty, a scholar who was well-versed in the three teachings was a great scholar admired by the world.

However, in the eyes of Confucian scholars after the Song Dynasty, this was considered neglecting one's proper duties.

Ultimately, he was not granted an official position.

Of course, it's also possible that he was too eager for quick success and tried too hard to show off, which made him unpopular with Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, regardless of the circumstances, this attempt to enter officialdom ended in failure.

What followed was a seven-year hiatus.

During those seven years, he concealed his brilliance and made some useful friends.

Opportunities are for those who are prepared.

In the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign, Empress Ma passed away. Zhu Yuanzhang once again summoned eminent monks to accompany the princes and chant sutras to pray for their well-being.

He got another chance through a friend's recommendation.

This time, he did not go directly to Zhu Yuanzhang, but met with Zhu Di first.

After a long talk, he successfully persuaded Zhu Di.

At Zhu Di's request, she successfully took the first step and became a servant of the Prince of Yan.

Then it took more than ten years to operate.

He gradually gained Zhu Di's trust and, at a crucial moment, gave him a push that changed the course of history.

According to historical records, he lived a life that was not particularly simple, but at least not extravagant.

He had absolutely no interest in beauty or money, and he was also indifferent to offspring, which were of utmost importance to the Chinese people.

Even his desire for power was quite ordinary; at least, there is no record in historical books of him attempting to directly seize power.

His power all stemmed from Zhu Di's trust.

If we absolutely have to say what he's after...

Perhaps it was for fame.

But Ma Yu believes that he did it more to prove himself and to put his skills to good use.

Or perhaps, he enjoys the feeling of stirring up trouble.

If he were truly a monk who had renounced worldly desires, Ma Yu might not be so confident in persuading him.

But since that's his personality, things actually become easier to handle.

Just tell him directly if he's interested in messing with Confucianism.

I believe he will join immediately.

The next step was to figure out how to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.

As for contacting Yao Guangxiao privately... don't even think about it.

Every move he made was under Zhu Yuanzhang's surveillance, so it was impossible for him to find someone without his knowledge.

Moreover, when Yao Guangxiao first left his seclusion, he went straight to Zhu Yuanzhang.

The second time he went out of seclusion, he lowered his target and sought out Zhu Di again.

Clearly, his target is the royal family.

To put it bluntly, what he wanted was to rise from humble beginnings as a peasant to high office as an emperor overnight.

Instead of climbing up the ranks from the bottom.

Although he is now Empress Ma's cousin, he is still an outsider and only ten years old.

It would be very difficult for him to persuade Yao Guangxiao on his own.

The best way would be to use Zhu Yuanzhang's help to bring Yao Guangxiao over.

The rest is easy.

So, in the end, this matter still needs to be resolved by Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.

Ma Yu's mind raced, and she quickly came up with an idea.

He also took the opportunity to adjust what he was going to say to Empress Ma later.

They needed to guide Zhu Yuanzhang in the direction they desired.

By the time he arrived at the main hall of Kunning Palace, he had completely sorted out his thoughts.

He immediately stepped into the main hall and found Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao there as well.

He was not surprised by this; if Confucianism had problems, the consequences would be enormous.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao would definitely be present so that they could personally learn the details.

After exchanging greetings, he sat down to the left of Zhu Biao.

Empress Ma spoke first: "You're out so quickly, didn't you reach an agreement?"

Ma Yu nodded and said, "We didn't talk at all; I was just testing the waters."

"After realizing that he was the true representative of the old order, I left."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "He is the leading scholar of our time. If Confucianism really has problems, will he be absolved of responsibility?"

"How can you expect to get any results if you go to talk to him?"

Ma Yu simply sighed and said nothing.

At this moment, Zhu Biao asked, "Cousin, where exactly has Confucianism gone wrong?"

"I've been thinking about this for a long time but I still don't have a clue. Stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us."

Ma Yu did not answer directly, but instead followed her pre-planned approach and said:
"Before discussing the issue of Confucianism, let me first talk to you about religious and secular aspects."

All three of them perked up; it seemed another long lecture was about to begin.

"Religion is based on supernatural beliefs, which is that there is one or a group of gods that cannot be profaned."

“Through rituals, scriptures, and the transmission of doctrines by clergy, a unique religious culture has been formed.”

"Religions are generally very extreme, and all other ideas besides their own gods and doctrines are denounced as heresies."

"They placed the gods above everything else, making the gods the starting point and the ultimate goal of everything."

Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously retorted, "That's not entirely true. Taoism doesn't really care about these things."

Ma Yu said, "Taoism is just a derivative of Taoism. Rather than calling them a religion, it's more accurate to say they are imitating religions to survive."

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to refute this, but he had been a monk and had experience in this area.

Empress Ma knew his temperament well and knew that he had his habit of arguing.

He glared at her and said, "Are you going to listen to me or not?"

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly replied, "Listen, listen, we were just asking casually."

He then said to Ma Yu, "Continue talking, continue talking."

Ma Yu and Zhu Biao couldn't help but laugh, realizing that Zhu Baoju still had the advantage of Empress Ma.

"Secularization is based on real life."

"We pay more attention to people's livelihood, productivity development, and social order, emphasize rationality, and value the experience passed down from our ancestors."

"To put it bluntly, the starting point and ultimate goal of secularization is to make the world more orderly and to make people's lives better."

"As long as this goal can be achieved, all means and ideas are acceptable."

Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma, and Zhu Biao all nodded in agreement. That's more like it.

If a deity cannot bring a good life to the people, then such a deity is unnecessary.

Ma Yu continued, "Most civilizations in the world are based on religious thought and have a very strong religious character."

"Only Chinese civilization was free from religious influence from the very beginning."

"In fact, China itself has never given birth to a true religion from beginning to end."

"Our ancestors initially believed in heaven and earth, the natural world. The Supreme God, the Supreme Deity of Heaven, and so on, were all manifestations of the heavens." "Later, they began to believe in ancestral gods..."

"The deities worshipped by the Chinese people are all ancestors who have made outstanding contributions to our people."

"They are real people, or the embodiment of a certain group."

"The Shang Dynasty was the most prominent example. At that time, in addition to worshipping the heavens, people worshipped their ancestral gods even more."

"But we worship the heavens and our ancestral gods not because they are sacred and inviolable."

"It is because they have contributed to our good life that people worship them as gods."

"From the very beginning, the standard by which the Chinese people measure everything is whether or not they can make the world a better place."

"If you can make the world a better place, even if you are just a craftsman building a house, you can be worshipped as a god by all people."

"Youchao, Suiren, Shennong, including Cangjie, Leizu, and so on, were all worshipped as gods because of this."

"There are many others, such as those who do good deeds and are revered as gods by the public."

"For example, the Mazu worship that is popular in the south."

"If he can't make people's lives better, even if he really is a god, no one will believe him."

“When there is a drought, people go to the Dragon King Temple to pray for rain, and if it doesn’t rain, they smash the temple. Such things are commonplace.”

"At the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou received the Mandate of Heaven because of his virtue, which set a standard for later emperors."

"As a monarch, one must govern the country well and enable all people to live a good life."

"The Duke of Zhou established the system of rites and laws, turning the rules of respect and reverence people showed to the gods into ways of getting along with each other."

"We should treat others with the same reverence we have for the gods."

"This also signifies that religious thinking, which was in its nascent stage, has been completely eradicated."

"We only need to revere the heavens and be grateful to our ancestors; we don't need false gods."

"The purpose of everything we do is for four words: national prosperity and people's well-being."

Confucius's original intention was to restore order to society and allow people to live and work in peace and contentment.

"Including the various schools of thought that followed, their starting point and ultimate destination were all these four words."

"But religious countries are different. They regard faith in gods as the foundation of everything and don't care about people's livelihood at all."

"If they could only choose between the people and the gods, they would choose the gods without hesitation."

"Because any hesitation is an act of disrespect to the gods."

"Not to mention the common people, even the king is a servant of the gods."

"A king's ascension to the throne requires divine coronation; otherwise, it is illegitimate."

"If the interests of the monarch conflict with the interests of the gods, then it will be the king who is overthrown."

Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two frowned. The gods were everything; wasn't this putting the cart before the horse?

At this point, Ma Yu changed the subject:

“Compare this to Confucianism today; doesn’t it already possess religious characteristics?”

"Confucius was transformed from a man into a sage, and the Four Books and Five Classics became classics, which are not allowed to be questioned."

"That's fine, but the key issue is that the current Confucian scholars have placed Confucian 'doctrinal teachings' above the life and death of ordinary people."

He looked at the three men, who seemed lost in thought, and smiled, mainly at Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Your Majesty, why don't you try to touch Confucius and the Confucius family, and see how the Confucian scholars will react?"

Zhu Yuanzhang, who hadn't paid much attention at first, suddenly changed his expression and angrily said:

"How dare you! You dare to incite us to target Confucianism!"

Ma Yu shrugged and said, "Just consider it me stirring things up, but aren't you curious?"

"Don't you want to know which is more important to Confucianists: doctrine, Confucius, or imperial power?"

"Don't you want to know about imperial power..."

Zhu Yuanzhang roared, "Enough! I don't want to listen to your nonsense!"

"No wonder you didn't dare tell Song Lian your true purpose. If you had, he would have made you bleed on the spot."

Ma Yu laughed loudly, "See, you know that if I don't respect Confucius, I'll be splattered with blood five steps away."

"Doesn't that prove that what I said is correct? Confucianism can no longer tolerate dissenting opinions."

"Confucius has long since become a saint who cannot be looked at directly, a deity who cannot be profaned."

"I'll tell you something else you don't like to hear."

"No dynasty lasts forever, and the Ming Dynasty will eventually perish."

"At that time, the descendants of the Zhu family will fall from the imperial family to the lowest level of commoners."

"But the Kong family, relying on their status as descendants of the sage, only need to present a letter of surrender to the new dynasty to remain the unapproachable Duke Yansheng."

"When the time comes, even if your Zhu family descendants kneel in front of his Confucius Mansion, I'm afraid no one will even give you a second glance."

"Whoosh!" Zhu Yuanzhang finally broke down, transforming into a master of table cleaning, sweeping everything off the table in front of him onto the floor.

His eyes glared fiercely at Ma Yu: "You're incredibly rebellious. Do you really think we wouldn't dare kill you?"

Zhu Biao was shocked and wanted to persuade her, but Empress Ma stopped him, and he could only watch anxiously.

He didn't understand why his cousin, although he also loved crickets, had always been very careful about his behavior.

Why would someone say such extreme things today?

Ma Yu took a deep breath and said seriously, "Of course you dare to kill me, but I know you won't."

"Because you are the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, you know who truly cares for the Ming Dynasty and its people."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a long time, then slammed his fist on the table with a loud bang.

Then, without saying a word, he turned and left the main hall.

Zhu Biao hurriedly went over to try and persuade him, but Zhu Yuanzhang scolded him instead:

"What are you doing out here? Go back."

Zhu Biao was a little confused: "Huh?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said irritably, "What? You've become stupid too?"

Zhu Biao then realized that he was being asked to go back and listen to see if Ma Yu would say anything else.

But then he asked with some concern, "Are you alright?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were icy: "I am very angry, but I want to know even more whether we can touch the tiger's whiskers of the Kong family."

After saying that, he ignored Zhu Biao and turned to go to the Qianqing Palace.

He had long been disgusted by the Kong family's duplicity.

In particular, after Xu Da conquered Shandong last March, he issued an edict summoning Kong Kejian, the head of the Kong family, to pay homage to him.

As a result, Kong Kejian claimed to be ill and did not come, but sent his son Kong Xixue to Yingtian instead.

This clearly shows that they don't take Zhu Yuanzhang seriously.

If it weren't for the desire to win over scholars, he would have killed Kong Kejian long ago.

Now that Wang Baobao has been driven out of the Central Plains, and in a few more months the remnants of the Northern Yuan army will be wiped out, the Ming Dynasty will truly unify the world.

At that point, there will be no need to feign politeness with scholars.

Even without Ma Yu's words, he still wanted to take action against the Kong family.

This further strengthened his resolve.

We'd like to see what you Confucian scholars will do.

On the other side, Zhu Biao returned to the main hall and said with a wry smile:

"Cousin, what you said today is really a bit much."

Ma Yu put down his teacup and said:

“A serious illness requires strong medicine. The Ming Dynasty needs Confucianism to govern the country. Even if I speak eloquently, your father will not easily touch Confucianism.”

“But now it’s different. The religious Confucianism has touched a nerve with him.”

“Once he confirms what I said, he will definitely take action.”

Then he looked at Empress Ma and said, "My aunt also supports me; otherwise, she would have stopped me just now."

Zhu Biao looked at his mother in confusion. Had she only just heard about this?

Why was it supported so hastily?
Shouldn't such a big decision be made only after thorough investigation and careful consideration?
Empress Ma remained silent for a moment before speaking:
"I don't know if what you said is right or wrong, but I'm willing to believe you because we are family."

(End of this chapter)