My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 77 A Great Change Unseen in a Millennium
This time, Liu Bowen was truly panicked.

One will only be accepted if one still cherishes their former master under one condition.

That was funerary sacrifice.

When the person he was loyal to died, he committed suicide to follow him in death.

Even enemies would show him respect, praising him as a loyal and righteous man, and then giving him a grand burial.

If one serves a new master but still harbors feelings for the former master, then that is to be disloyal and unjust.

Even in death, they will be despised.

Of course, there is one special case, which is playing the double agent.

Pretending to serve the new lord, while secretly continuing to plot for the former lord.

Such a person can also be described as a magnanimous man who compromises and makes concessions.

But to the 'new lord,' you are an enemy, the kind that needs to be killed.

Which category do you fall into, Liu Bowen? Figure it out yourself.

For him, this was a life-or-death question.

"Young Master Ma, please be careful with your words. Liu Bowen's loyalty to His Majesty is as clear as day..."

Ma Yu shook his head and laughed, "It's no use telling me. What do you think others will think when they see your behavior?"

Liu Bowen fell silent.

Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective; he believed he had served the Ming Dynasty and had been assisting Zhu Yuanzhang in military affairs for eight years.

I participated in and made great contributions in key battles such as the Battle of Poyang Lake.

Do you still doubt my loyalty?
But how do others see it?

Even if you offend Li Shanchang, you still want to kill the corrupt official, but when the emperor supports you in challenging him, you back down.

I'd rather be spat on than not be a coward.

The emperor gave you a task, but you kept making excuses and refused to do it.

He thought about resigning every few days, but after resigning, he would run to Yingtian Prefecture every day, afraid that if he was far away, he would not be able to keep up with the situation of the court.

In other people's eyes, you are either a petty person or have ulterior motives.

Ma Yu said slowly, "The Yuan Dynasty doesn't trust the Han people, and the so-called imperial examination is just a game."

“But under such circumstances, a Han Chinese man passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-three, which can be described as a great success in life.”

"After being granted an official position, he was upright and incorruptible, hated evil and was determined to crack down on local tyrants and bullies."

"When he was being retaliated against, his superiors and colleagues stood up to protect him."

"Tsk tsk tsk... If it were me, I'd probably be incredibly grateful and would be willing to die for it."

Liu Bowen's expression changed again, because this young man was him.

"Although his career was not smooth later on, it was all due to persecution by treacherous officials. The Yuan emperor valued him very much."

"The official positions granted to them were either provincial governors or provincial marshals, which could be described as high-ranking and powerful."

"He also showed great loyalty to the Yuan Dynasty."

"They were the most active and ruthless in suppressing the rebels, even forcing their commanders to attack and massacre cities at the cost of their lives."

"But later, the commander ignored his advice, and the young man had no choice but to resign in disappointment."

"Lord Liu, do you think this young man is very loyal to the Yuan Dynasty?"

Liu Bowen opened his mouth again and again, but couldn't utter a single word.

At this point, Ma Yu's face turned cold, and he said:
“Liu Zhongcheng, if you really want to resign, then resign decisively and cleanly. From now on, do not concern yourself with the affairs of the court.”

"Keep your home behind closed doors and live an honest life. If you have made contributions, no one can harm you."

"Now that the world has just been unified, there are countless things to do that can go down in history."

"Who would keep targeting an old man like you who has resigned from his post?"

"Even if the emperor is the most cruel and ungrateful, would he allow someone to murder a meritorious official who has relinquished all power and remained indifferent to worldly affairs?"

"If he really lets this happen, which of the other meritorious officials would dare to relinquish power?"

"You, Liu Zhongcheng, are so clever, surely you didn't even think of this?"

“So…” Ma Yu stared at him and questioned:
"You refuse to serve loyally, yet you refuse to leave the center of power. What are you thinking?"

Liu Bowen was drenched in sweat from the words, his previous eloquence gone, and he stammered:
"I...no. I was too caught up in the situation to see clearly. If it weren't for Young Master Ma's reminder, I don't know how much longer I would have remained confused."

Ma Yu suddenly laughed and said, "You really should thank me, because no one else but your father would say these words to you."

Liu Bowen: ...

That makes sense, but aren't you trying to take advantage of me by saying that?
Ma Yu was secretly pleased, but on the surface he pretended to be serious and continued:
"However, you should thank the Queen more. If she hadn't asked me to persuade you, I wouldn't have said these things to you."

"To put it bluntly, we have absolutely no connection whatsoever. Whether you live or die is none of my business."

Liu Bowen rose and bowed solemnly towards the direction of the palace: "Your humble servant Liu Ji thanks Your Majesty the Empress for your kindness."

"I swear that I have no disloyalty to the Ming Dynasty or Your Majesty. If I have uttered even the slightest falsehood, may I die with ten thousand arrows piercing my heart."

Then he stood up and bowed to Ma Yu:

"Thank you for reminding me, Young Master Xie. I will never forget your kindness today."

Ma Yu accepted his greeting readily, and then asked:
"Has Liu Zhongcheng thought it through?"

Liu Bowen said solemnly, "If you have thought it through, go back and resign from your post and retire from public life, never to concern yourself with worldly affairs again."

Ma Yu smiled and asked, "Are you really sure?"

"This is a once-in-a-millennium change, are you content to be just a spectator?"

Liu Bowen was taken aback; this was the first time he had ever heard such a statement.

Although he thought Ma Yu was making things up, he couldn't help but feel curious.

"A great change unseen in a thousand years? I am foolish and would appreciate your guidance, Young Master Ma."

Ma Yu countered, "Does Liu Zhongcheng believe that there have been several major changes in Chinese history that can be described as unprecedented in a thousand years?"

After pondering for a long time, Liu Bowen said, "The Three Sovereigns ruled the world, the Five Emperors established the order, the Duke of Zhou established the rites, and Confucius was born."

Ma Yu waited a while, and seeing that he didn't continue, she couldn't help but ask in confusion:
"Where's the back?"

Liu Bowen shook his head and said, "In my opinion, only these four things deserve to be called the great change of the millennium."

Ma Yu said helplessly, "It's rare that you didn't say only Confucius was born. You're practically a traitor to Neo-Confucianism."

Liu Bowen said sincerely, "I am ashamed to say that, in Young Master Ma's eyes, what constitutes a great upheaval in a thousand years?"

Ma Yu immediately understood; that old fox was at it again.

He's not unaware of it, he just can't be sure, so he's talking nonsense.

But you can't really criticize him, because the things he said are indeed very important to Chinese civilization.

But by this point, he was too lazy to argue with Liu Bowen anymore.

I'm only telling you this because I see you're a talented person, and also because the Empress entrusted me with this task.

If you continue like this, then hurry up and go back to where you came from. If you get killed in the future, I'll be there clapping and cheering.

Thinking of this, he said directly: "The first time was when the Xia Dynasty was established, which established the system of family, state and world."

"The second time, the Duke of Zhou established the rites, which established a unified cultural foundation for Chinese civilization."

"The third time, the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms."

"Building on the foundations laid by his predecessors, Qin Shi Huang completed the geographical unification and established the imperial system and the prefecture-county system."

"It laid the political foundation for the next thousand years."

"The standardization of writing, the unification of cart tracks, and the unification of weights and measures also removed obstacles to internal communication."

"The fourth time, Emperor Wu of Han unified thought and completed the construction of the Chinese national consciousness."

"Opening up the Western Regions allowed the Chinese people to come into contact with civilizations outside the region for the first time."

"The fifth time, Buddhism spread eastward, and Chinese civilization was challenged by a foreign civilization for the first time."

"And this is the sixth time."

Liu Bowen fell into deep thought, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this argument was indeed very reasonable.

As for not including Confucius, he didn't think there was any problem with it.

Although he was a follower of Neo-Confucianism, he was not a believer in Confucius.

Confucius's thought was based on the ideas of the Duke of Zhou, so he can only be considered a successor of the Duke of Zhou's thought.

His only objection was that the eastward transmission of Buddhism could be considered a major upheaval, let alone a challenge to Chinese civilization.
Are they worthy?

At this point in the conversation, he knew he couldn't continue with his diplomatic approach and had to reveal his true thoughts.

Otherwise, if we really anger Ma Yu, things will get complicated.

So he spoke up and said, "Young Master Ma, do you think too highly of Buddhism?"

Ma Yu shook his head and said, "Where did Neo-Confucianism and the School of Mind come from?"

"Let me ask you this: what does Zhang Hengqu mean by 'treating all people as brothers and all things as one'?"

Liu Bowen opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Zhang Zai's statement can be interpreted from the perspective of the unity of heaven and man. But no matter how you interpret it, it cannot bypass one underlying meaning: all things are one.

What does it mean for everything to be one? Simply put, everything is essentially the same.

Extending this to people, all people are the same.

In Buddhist terms, this is called the equality of all beings.

Therefore, Zhang Zai's thought was influenced by Buddhism.

More accurately, it was modified in response to the impact of Buddhism.

Because in the past, Confucianism emphasized etiquette and laws, and it divided people into different social classes.

Faced with the Buddhist concept of equality for all beings, they were utterly powerless to fight back.

Confucian scholars could only find a way to develop their own grand and caring ideas in order to counter Buddhism.

Furthermore, you can't directly say things like "all beings are equal," because there's a whole set of logical arguments behind that statement.

Slogans without an internal logical argumentation system are meaningless.

How can Confucianism extend its own concept of equality for all beings within its own ideological and cultural system?
It was only after generations of refinement that Zhang Zai completed this improvement.

Zhang Zai absorbed ideas from the I Ching, Taoism, and other schools of thought, and then used Confucianism to interpret them, thus establishing a complete logical system.

This filled the gap in Confucianism.

It's not just Zhang Zai's "People are all people, all things are one" that reflects the fact that both Neo-Confucianism and the School of Mind were formed under the influence of Buddhism.

Liu Bowen, a master of Neo-Confucianism, was not aware of these things at first, but suddenly realized them after being reminded by Ma Yu.

Although this made him very uncomfortable, he did not refute or deny it, but sincerely said:

"I see. Thank you for reminding me, Young Master Ma. No wonder Mr. Song is so fond of you."

Ma Yu smiled and said, "Mr. Song, you are mistaken. I am unworthy of such praise."

“In the past, Chinese culture evolved independently. The eastward transmission of Buddhism was the first time we encountered a challenge.”

"During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism flourished like never before, and neither Confucianism nor Taoism could rival it."

"Confucianism was defeated and lost its armor, so Taoism had to become a religion to meet the challenge."

"During the Tang Dynasty, Taoism was able to barely maintain its position as the most prominent school of thought thanks to the support of the imperial family."

"But Buddhism remains the second most prominent school of thought, firmly surpassing Confucianism."

"Faced with this situation, our Chinese ancestors did not sit idly by and wait for their doom."

"They first upheld the traditions passed down from their ancestors and then found ways to face the challenges."

"After more than a thousand years of analysis and absorption, our ancestors completed the absorption of Buddhism during the Song Dynasty."

At this point, Ma Yu couldn't help but become somewhat emotional:
"This is the only instance in the entire history of human civilization of absorbing such a complete and vast system of thought."

Liu Bowen found it puzzling. What do you mean there was only this one case?
Isn't it normal for us to absorb and digest Buddhist thought? What's there to be excited about?

On the contrary, it's shameful that our glorious Chinese culture has been suppressed and beaten by Buddhism for over a thousand years.

However, after listening to Ma Yu's analysis, there was one thing he had to admit.

That is to say, Buddhism did indeed have an unparalleled impact on Chinese civilization.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a once-in-a-millennium transformation.

So he nodded and then asked, "Young Master Ma said that we are currently facing a great change that is unprecedented in a thousand years. May I ask where this change lies?"

Ma Yu sighed. He knew that at this time, everyone in China looked down on everyone else, so he couldn't understand this feeling.

However, this is a good thing. Hopefully, the Chinese people in this generation will never experience this feeling.

Upon hearing Liu Bowen's question, he took a deep breath and replied:
“It has been 1,500 years since Emperor Wu of Han opened up the Western Regions and Chinese civilization officially came into contact with civilizations outside the region.”

"Over the past 1,500 years, improvements in transportation have made it increasingly easier for people to travel to distant places."

"Exchanges between civilizations around the world are becoming more and more frequent."

"During the Tang Dynasty, exchanges with civilizations outside the region reached a new peak."

"Huaxia even established a protectorate in Anxi."

"By the Song Dynasty, people were able to build giant ships and conduct exchanges by sea."

"Although the ocean is dangerous, communication has indeed become much easier."

"And the Mongols proved to the world that a civilization can conquer more civilizations across regions."

"The Mongols also brought advanced technologies such as gunpowder to Western countries."

"With these technologies, Western countries are undergoing dramatic changes."

"Look at my China, after the Mongol invasion, our civilization even regressed."

"Although the Ming Dynasty has unified the world, it is about to face an unprecedented mess internally."

“The outside world is a group of ambitious people who are undergoing intense changes and preparing to emulate the Mongols and conquer the world.”

"Isn't this a great change unprecedented in a thousand years?"

After speaking, he looked at Liu Bowen, hoping to see something different.

To his disappointment, the other party seemed indifferent.

Liu Bowen was indeed very dismissive, even thinking that Ma Yu was worrying unnecessarily.

I've always heard of people from China fighting their way out, but I've never heard of outsiders being able to fight their way in.

Although the Mongols were barbarians, they were also born under this same sky.

Those Western barbarians wanting to invade are simply out of the question.

"Is Young Master Ma... exaggerating?"

Ma Yu smiled bitterly. He knew that the Chinese people at this time would find it hard to understand and would not believe that they would be bullied by Westerners.

Liu Bowen had served as an official in the Yuan Dynasty and should have had contact with people from outside the region, so it was thought that he could have sensed something.

I never expected it to end like this.

If even someone as worldly-wise as him was like this, then Zhu Yuanzhang and others must have been even more so.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was very knowledgeable about the outside world.

He organized the creation of the world's first world map, the Great Ming Unified Map.

The map clearly depicts the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa, and even the terrain and landforms are almost identical to reality.

However, the proportions in some areas are not entirely accurate.

But as I said before, China is too strong, and the idea of ​​the world being the center of power has a long history and will not change easily.

Of course, the most crucial point is that the Western powers had not yet truly risen to prominence in the early Ming Dynasty.

People at that time could hardly imagine that danger would come from them.

Just as people in the early 21st century could not believe that the Middle East would rule the world in the future.

Therefore, when faced with external threats, Zhu Yuanzhang chose to ban maritime trade.

Although the ban was lifted once during the reign of Emperor Zhu Di, and the state even organized voyages to the Western Ocean.

However, when Confucianism is turned into a religion, it inevitably tends towards conservatism.

Ultimately, they used the banner of the founding emperor's teachings to implement a policy of isolationism.

Although several emperors subsequently attempted to open the seas, they were unable to reverse the overall situation.

Ma Yu knew that if he wanted to change the times, he had to break the established idea of ​​the world being the center of everything.

Or, it could be about reshaping a new understanding of the center of the world.

However, it seems that it will be difficult to convince these people based solely on what is currently available.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang, despite his daily lectures, was unable to fundamentally change Zhu Yuanzhang's views.

For example, he has not taken any action to split and suppress Confucianism.

It's not about taking action now, but about organizing people in advance to study how to split Confucianism.

He was clearly hesitant.

As for what they're hesitating about, it's not hard to guess.

Throughout history, Confucianism has been used to govern the country. You can't just attack them or divide them at will.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely suppress Confucianism and the Confucian school.

After all, he would not allow any force to challenge the imperial authority.

But how to suppress it is another matter entirely.

Whether things will turn out in the direction Ma Yu hopes for is even harder to say.

Therefore, it is necessary to present an even bigger threat that no one dares to refuse, forcing them to change in the established direction.

As for where this threat came from, he had already figured it out.

However, this great danger needs to be verified.

This task is perfect to hand it over to Liu Bowen.

Thinking of this, he looked up at Liu Bowen.

(End of this chapter)