First Minister of Ming Dynasty

Zhu Ming was stunned for a moment, kneeling on the ground, staring at the floor tiles in front of him, motionless.

A Zhu Yuanzhang may not be so scary, what is terrible is that Zhu Yuanzhang is educated in reading...

Chapter 300 The True Way of Confucius and Mencius

Zhu Ming's knowledge is not outstanding. After all, he just pulled the banner of Zhu Xi and came to make friends with Zhu Yuanzhang, hoping to keep the status of Neo Confucianism.

If Neo Confucianism does not fall, Zhu Zi does not fall, and people like Zhu Ming can continue to maintain their current status.But unfortunately, his little ability was directly defeated by Lao Zhu.

Even without Zhang Ximeng's action, Zhu Ming was in such a panic that he almost collapsed on the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang had kind thoughts in his heart, so he didn't do anything to him.

"Xueshi Zhu go to the post to rest, and give Xueshi Zhu a meal later."

Zhu Ming hurriedly thanked him, then staggered up, bowed and left.

In the end, I didn't know what happened. When I stepped over the threshold, I was in a trance, tripped all of a sudden, and fell heavily on the ground. The bridge of my nose was hit hard, blood flowed, and my face was covered with flowers.

That's miserable!

Fortunately, Guo Ying was serving outside. Seeing this situation, he hurriedly asked someone to help Zhu Ming up, and hurried to bandage the wound.

Zhu Yuanzhang was watching from inside with a faint smile on his face.

There are some things that I'm afraid to tell the truth, when I was down and begging for food, how did Master Zhu's descendants show mercy to their fellow clansmen?When do you want to help relatives?

Now that I have great power in my hands, but I have pounced on him, what is the intention, who doesn't know?

Old Zhu thought for a while, "Go and call Mr. Zhang and the others."

Not long after, Zhang Ximeng, Song Lian, and several civil servants all came.

At this time, Song Lian had nothing but admiration for Zhang Ximeng.

On the way here, they heard that Master Zhu's descendant, Xueshi Zhu, who came to recognize his relatives, fell hard at Zhu Yuanzhang's door, bleeding profusely, and the fall was terrible.

Does this mean that Zhu Yuanzhang's door is so high that they can't climb it?

Thinking of this, Song Lian couldn't help laughing.Sure enough, Zhang Xiang has seen through the superiors. For such a heroic figure, you just need to explain the truth clearly, and let others decide what to do.

What is haste makes waste!

This group of people is purely lifting a rock to shoot themselves in the foot, self-defeating!

Song Lian was convinced and smiled all over his face, which Zhu Yuanzhang saw in his eyes.

"Scholar Song, what do you want to tell us?"

Song Lian paused, and hurriedly said: "Your Highness, the grand ceremony has almost been planned. When the time comes, the ministers will persuade you to enter, and your Higher will announce it to the world, and you will be officially promoted to the King of Wu, and you will be in charge of Jiangnan."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with a smile, "Mr. Song has worked hard."

After a pause, Old Zhu leaned forward, and then said: "The ceremony is second, the key is to explain the truth clearly and convince the people of the world... We decided to announce the evil deeds of the Zhao and Song Dynasties at the ceremony, build a kneeling statue, and place it in front of Yue Fei's tomb. At the same time, in front of Yue Fei's tomb, we must officially announce that our army is determined to expel the Hu captives in the Northern Expedition, and to complete a great cause that no one has ever accomplished before."

Song Lian nodded, he could arrange all these things, it was nothing more than adding some items to the ceremony, but there was one thing, Song Lian didn't know if the time would not come and whether it could be done in a perfect manner. .

This matter probably depends on Zhang Ximeng's intentions.

"Mr. Zhang, tell me too!"

Zhang Ximeng said with a wry smile: "My lord, I have long been looking forward to my lord's ascension to the throne, but I'm afraid I have to wait a little longer. After all, the matter before me may not end so easily."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, "So, there are people who are more important than Master Zhu? Could it be that they are descendants of Confucius? Do we remember that they are not loyal ministers of the Yuan Dynasty? Can they also come to persuade us, a rebellious minister and traitor?"

Old Zhu's words were sarcasm and contempt, and there was no need to hide it anymore.

If Master Zhu ended up like this, Confucius would not be much better off. Even if he held his hand high, the members of the Confucius family might not be able to escape the fate of severe punishment. At this time, trying to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang would only add fuel to the fire.

Zhang Ximeng said: "My lord, it's not the Confucian family, but the famous Confucian Huang Jin. This old man has already left home. It is said that he wants to use his old body to persuade the lord. He also said that if he fails, he will become benevolent! He is holding the promise of death." Heart, come to persuade the lord."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, what do you mean?A dying person?Are you going to try your best to persuade yourself?Does he have the weight?

Song Lian was taken aback. This old Mr. Huang Mohuang was not ordinary. He was honored by the world as one of the four outstanding scholars, while the other three were all dead. Mr. Huang was very talented and wrote many books. He is old enough and his seniority is high enough to be regarded as the Taishan Beidou of today's scholars, a master-level figure.

People like Song Lian and Liu Ji are all inferior to others, perhaps only Jia Lu can be compared.But Jia Lu is famous all over the world for his water control, and Shilin actually despises such dirty work.

Smelly water control, you know a fart of Confucianism!

When Huang Mo came here, he basically brought the Yitian Sword and the Dragon Slaying Saber to teach his disobedient juniors a lesson.

After Zhu Yuanzhang knew his identity, he finally became serious. He looked at Zhang Ximeng, and then at the others.

"Mr. Zhang, we fight with reason. We don't care about martial arts. We have never been afraid of anyone... Since he is coming, let's open the door to fight. Are you sure you can beat him?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled faintly, "My lord, the debate is not about winning or losing. If this boss is really dedicated to serving the people and what he says makes sense, I would be willing to ask him for advice. If he has his own intentions and plans, even the three of you will be fine." Resurrected, the four outstanding scholars have come together, we can also refute him!"

"it is good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing, "In the past few years, we have been debating truths together, looking for strategies, being open and honest, and speaking freely...that's why we are in today's situation. Zhu Ming also suggested that we speak out widely, as he said, it is best to speak out widely... Invite some ordinary people, please invite the lieutenant generals and soldiers, the three religions and nine streams, traffickers and pawns, all are invited, as long as there is a reason, you are not afraid of debate!"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not think it was a big deal just to watch the excitement, and he saw that the funeral was not afraid of burying too many!

Mr. Huang is in his seventies and eighties, so I don't know if he can handle it?

If the journey is tiring, during the debate, if you can't talk about it, you will die in anger, that would be bad.

Song Lian secretly planned that he must invite several famous doctors to come and stand by to save people at any time.

Even if Huang Jin couldn't hold on and collapsed, he would wait until this matter passed before he died.

Good guy, the funeral has been prepared in advance, and it really is clearly arranged.

Song Lian was making preparations here, but the legendary Mr. Huang was full of confidence. He passed the Jinshi examination, served as an official in the Yuan court for many years, and participated in compiling history.

His whole life was basically the most standard scholar-bureaucrat procedure.

He studied hard in his early years, then obtained fame, served as an official, benefited others, retired to the forest, and wrote books to make a statement... It can be said that even the most picky person may not be able to find out his problems.

If you want to persuade others, you must first stand upright, and you must first correct yourself, otherwise why teach others?

Huang Jin was very sure of this point, so after he arrived in Hangzhou, he only met a few old friends, and chatted with Zhu Ming again when he had time, and then the old man went to bed early.

When I am old, I can't stand the toss, and I need to recharge my batteries.

In this way, until the third day, Zhu Yuanzhang actually ordered to meet Mr. Huang Mo, a senior scholar at Lingyin Temple, and at the same time welcome all walks of life in Hangzhou to attend.

After the news spread, the whole Hangzhou was boiling.

After Zhu Yuanzhang took Hangzhou, he only dealt with some simple matters. When it came to how to govern the city, Lao Zhu didn't express his opinion. Everyone was full of expectations.

During this period of time, the discussion about Yue Fei's unjust case made the public excited again.Everyone had a vague expectation that this time they summoned Huang Jin and faced the people of Hangzhou at Lingyin Temple, and they were afraid that they would draw conclusions on these matters.

So people come early to help the old and the young to grab the best seats.

It was the scholars who were more active than the ordinary people. They came here one after another, hoping that Mr. Huang could refute the little traitor, let his fallacies prove self-contradictory, and restore the peace of the world's scholars.

Even Zhu Ming, who was in a trance a few days ago and had a bad fall, came here.

If Mr. Huang makes a move, it must be the old fairy farting. He is extraordinary, just watch it.

There are a lot of people here, but unexpectedly, there are also a lot of people on the other side. Gao Qi, Zhang Yu, Xu Ben, Tang Su, and Yu Yaochen are all young talents. There are famous talents in Wuzhong. They are smiling and full of expectations. .

Quite simply, Mr. Zhang, whom they have always admired, will also be here today and will be the main speaker.

"Finally, I can appreciate the demeanor of Mr. Zhang."

Several people clenched their fists and couldn't wait.

The scheduled time came, and the main characters finally began to enter the stage... What is unexpected is that, including Zhu Yuanzhang, they are all dressed up as literati, wearing dark clothes, flowing and elegant, very imposing.

The only exception was Zhang Ximeng. He was wearing a Daoist robe and a cloak, which made him stand out from the crowd.

Obviously, this kind of outfit is very interesting.

After Zhang Ximeng took his seat, the legendary Huang Daru also came. He first saluted Zhu Yuanzhang, and the old Zhu smiled, "Scholar Huang came here to listen to the admonition. Today is to sit and discuss the Tao. Please don't be too polite, just speak freely." !"

Huang Jin thanked him, and then sat down. He looked around, and his eyes fell on Zhang Ximeng. There was nothing he could do, because he was too young to be recognized.

"The old man heard that Zhang Xiang seems to be a descendant of Mr. Yunzhuang?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "I dare not, it's just the same clan of the Zhang family, not direct relatives."

"Well! I remember that when Mr. Yun Zhuang wrote the imperial edict to enshrine Confucius, he also very much agreed with the teachings of Confucius and Mencius and the sages. After Zhang Xiang is a famous family, why should he deviate from the classics and despise the rules? I really can't figure it out! "

As soon as this remark came out, the people around who heard it couldn't help frowning.

Especially Gao Qi and others, they simply wanted to curse.

Rely on the old and sell the old, right?

If you talk like that, you are being kind to Mr. Yunzhuang against Mr. Zhang?

Zhang Ximeng calmly smiled and said: "The late students didn't study much, and then there was a drastic change in the family, and both parents left... If I have any knowledge, I came out of it step by step, not from books. It just so happened that I was born with misfortune. When I was young, I fell into the chaos of war, struggled to survive, and almost died. Therefore, my knowledge has a taste of earth and blood. I can’t be stable, moderate and peaceful.”

"Also, since the Tao of Confucius and Mencius is mentioned, I would like to ask for advice. Back then, Confucius traveled around the world, and Mencius also visited many kings... From this, it can be seen that they are also walking around, not studying behind closed doors."

"Only in terms of academic methods, the late students not only did not deviate from the way of Confucius and Mencius, but they are still the true disciples of Confucius and Mencius. Do you think so?"

Chapter 3 and One: Heaven and Man Response, You Can Stop

Huang Jin frowned when he heard that Zhang Ximeng claimed to be a true disciple of Confucius and Mencius, and said that the way of Confucius and Mencius came from traveling around the world.

When people get old, they will inevitably be stubborn. When they encounter something that challenges their cognition, they will get angry and angry!

"Zhang Xiang, Confucius is the teacher of all ages. As the saying goes, no Zhongni is born in the sky, and the ages are like a long night! You are also a scholar, how can you slander the sages and misinterpret the meaning of the sages?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly, he talked very differently in the past today, Huang Mo was young, sharp-edged, attacking every sentence without mercy.But Zhang Ximeng has a calm atmosphere, quite a family attitude.

"From this point of view, what Confucius is facing is that after three generations, the rites are broken and the music is broken, the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the feudal lords are in dispute, the kings dominate, and they attack each other endlessly. The people are in poverty and the people's livelihood is difficult. Give the land of the Central Plains, heal the sick and the wounded, and restore order."

"The Spring and Autumn Period is not the same as the Warring States Period. The Spring and Autumn Period was just for hegemony. In the Warring States Period, the scale of wars became larger and larger and merged with each other, and there was a need for the unification of the world. That's why Mencius believed that the world was fixed in one. At that time, Confucius just hoped to act. Benevolent government, restore ancient rituals."

"Any kind of theory does not appear out of thin air. For example, we advocate expelling the Hulu and restoring China. This is because the Central Plains fell and the Mongols sat on the dragon chair. This situation did not exist in the era of Confucius. Yes, in the Analects of Confucius, Confucius said: "Wei Guan Zhong, I have been sent to the left!"

"That is to say, at that time there were heroes, such as Guan Zhong, who respected the king and fought against the barbarians, and maintained the orthodoxy of the Central Plains. Even Confucius admired and respected him very much."

"The reality we see is that the Yuan court is stupid, differentiates between levels, and regards human life as a cow and horse. The common people have no means of living, the poor have no place to stand, and the rich and wealthy families collude with the Yuan court. One after another, the common people in the world are in dire straits, and the common people are in dire straits!"

"Under this circumstance, we propose to expel the Hulu and restore China, which is to drive away the Yuan court and restore the order of China. However, in the past, the Zhao and Song Dynasties were defeated again and again, and fell into the hands of the Hulu. The lesson is not painful. We After learning from the painful experience, I put forward the idea of ​​saving the people by dividing the land evenly.”

"When I say this, I just want to say one thing. Nothing comes out of thin air, nor is it divorced from reality... I have some ideas, and I discuss and summarize them with my colleagues and friends."

Zhang Ximeng looked to both sides, including Song Lian, Zhu Sheng, and many others, all smiling, very satisfied with Zhang Ximeng's calm handling.

"Who is our friend and who is our enemy? We are very clear about this. From this, we advocate redefining the universe and reinterpreting Gangchang... because we need to give an explanation to the people who support us, and we need to let everyone Know why, support us, and get real benefits from it."

Having said this, Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly and turned to Huang Jin.

"Since we want to divide the acres of land equally, it is natural to ensure fairness. Starting from this idea, we have adopted measures to transform ordinary Mongolians and Semu people. For men and women, we also advocate that everyone should have a piece of land. You can learn to improve, and you are a complete person before the law. Of course, we know that there are surprises among people, and there are almost no women in our government departments. But we will not restrict women, so we must not , as long as you have both ability and political integrity, and outstanding ability, you can join."

"This is our thinking. Besides, we pay more attention to the people, and believe that the real power comes from the people, from countless ordinary people. This is also the experience we have accumulated and summarized since we became an army. We fight, not Relying on the destiny, but relying on the life of the soldiers, relying on countless ordinary people, carrying on their shoulders, pushing with carts, and countless blood and sweat, in exchange for victory."

But what he said was earth-shattering... Don't look at Zhang Ximeng's simple words, but being able to express the national policy in words that everyone understands is a kind of ability in itself.If it can still be justified and logically consistent, it will definitely be a state of transcendence and holiness... After all, the current era is not the era when the secret technique of dragon slaying is made public and everyone is a master of government.

Even Huang Mo, a famous Confucianist, seemed powerless.

"Senior, these thoughts of the late students are very superficial and have shortcomings. Please give me some advice!"

After Zhang Ximeng finished speaking, he turned around and sat down, lowering his eyes, as if he was listening to the teaching.

At least no matter how you understand Confucian classics, monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, love, scholars, farmers, businessmen... In the eyes of Confucian scholars, there are levels.

Not to mention the level of the initial understanding, in the development process in 2000, using the three cardinal principles and five constant principles, the society was indeed divided into several levels.

People like Mr. Huang are used to limiting a topic, such as reason and qi, and then citing scriptures and quotations, and finally saying a lot of things to prove their own ideas.

However, Zhang Ximeng's remarks have toppled the foundation of Confucianism from an unprecedented height.

From this, many Confucian classics of people and people, benevolent government and kingly way often do not include the people at the lowest level in the process of implementation. What does it have to do with the elders if your life is good or bad?

But it is obvious that Zhang Ximeng's views are different. He pays attention to the equalization of land and fairness, which leads to many viewpoints... Some of them absorb Confucianism, and some are original. In a word, he sums up a A whole set of things, a whole set of ideas...

Scholars stand aloft, monopolize everything, and reap the rewards.

The emperor wants to share the world with the scholars, and the common people want to support the scholars.

He decided to put these aside, down to the core!

"Zhang Xiang, I heard that you plan to make Song Gaozong kneel in front of Yue Fei's tomb. Such an act of ignoring the king and father, and deceiving the king, is something that a scholar can do? The old man wants to ask for advice. In your opinion , where is the Son of Heaven?"

This made it difficult for Huang Jin to refute, after all, he couldn't just say that I was against fairness!

But as a Confucian who has debated the classics for many years, Huang Mo's level is still above the line.