Chapter 293 Three Questions, Yes
Hanlin Academy.
The summer sun shone on the courtyard and on the heads of the literati who were known as the chancellors by the people.
Zhang Juzheng opened his mouth slightly, and held his arms high for a long time, motionless...
What is Confucianism?
No, what is Confucianism?
This is a huge force that has loomed over the Central Plains for many years.
Over the years, Confucian disciples have been omnipresent, from the court to the local areas.
They ruled this vast Central Plains, and their presence was evident, either overtly or covertly, in every event that affected the rise and fall of the dynasty.
The emperor must be assisted by them, and the people must be under their jurisdiction...
The rules of Confucianism are the family rules of this world.
No one has ever dared to question the authority of Confucianism in this land.
No one has ever dared to challenge the status of Confucianism.
But today someone stood up and said with a clear and bold stance: The decline of the Han Dynasty began with the emphasis on Confucianism.
The entire Hanlin Academy was in complete silence.
I can't argue any further.
Zhang Juzheng subconsciously searched for rebuttal arguments in his mind, but he sadly discovered that it seemed impossible...
"Without Confucianism, how could the Han and Tang dynasties have survived for hundreds of years? At most, they would have perished in the second generation like the Former Qin Dynasty!" An official stood up.
Jiang Qingzhi held a cigarette between his lips. "Before Liu Shi, how many emperors in the early Han Dynasty used the Huang-Lao method?"
More than just the second generation?
Without the Huang-Lao School, there would be no prosperity of the Former Han Dynasty. Without the prosperity of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, Emperor Wu of Han would have been a wise ruler if he could have stabilized the country, let alone fought back against the Xiongnu.
The official covered his face and retreated.
An official whispered something to Zhan Qin, who said, "If it weren't for Confucianism, how could the people of the world recognize the dynasties?"
Yup!
Zhang Juzheng said softly: "Before Confucianism, people in the world didn't care about the so-called dynasty. How should Jiang Qingzhi fight back?"
Gao Gong said: "This matter is becoming more and more interesting."
Jiang Qingzhi coughed dryly, "This is exactly what Ben Bo wanted to say, where should Confucianism be used!"
Zhan Qin sneered. "My subordinates and I, the colleagues in the Imperial Academy, are waiting for your advice, sir! We are all ears!"
Ha ha!
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Zhan Qin and said, "Can Confucianism be used to govern a country? Farming, military affairs, and fortifications... these are the foundations of a country.
Does Confucianism have the knowledge to strengthen the foundation of a country? Not only that, it is dismissed by you as miscellaneous learning! It is ridiculous that the knowledge that can strengthen the foundation of a country is dismissed as miscellaneous learning! "
He said slowly: "What is the purpose of Confucianism? To cultivate oneself and one's mind. Don't tell me about governing a country and bringing peace to the world. It can't even calm the selfish thoughts in your hearts, let alone the world!"
"In my opinion, Confucianism should be used for personal cultivation, which is where it ends..." Jiang Qingzhi pointed to his temple, "Every scholar, and even everyone in the world, needs to use Confucianism to cultivate themselves and their families. However, pacifying the world is just a pretense and will only harm the country!"
"Jiang Qingzhi, you!" someone shouted.
Sun Chonglou looked at the man with ill intent and lowered his head to look at the hilt of the knife.
"Confucianism can only serve as a supplement!" Jiang Qingzhi thought of the vicious cycle of rise and fall since the Western Han Dynasty, and of the Central Plains where nine out of ten households were deserted at the end of each dynasty.
"I have been wondering why this Central Plains rises and falls every few hundred years. When it is prosperous, it makes foreign races tremble with fear. When it is declining, the foreign races kill nine out of ten families. I can't sleep at night. I look up at the stars and look down at the vast earth..."
Jiang Qingzhi said in a low voice, "Why did the dynasty decline? The population is increasing, but there are only so many fields, and each acre of land can only produce so much... When the land can no longer support so many people, refugees are everywhere, and wars are everywhere... This is a crisis in the country."
"At the beginning of every dynasty, relying on those brave soldiers and generals who emerged in the troubled times, the Central Plains dynasty was always able to sweep away all foreign races. But what followed? It was civil peace and military playfulness!
Then the arrogant soldiers and generals turned into guard dogs, even worse than dogs. However, the grasslands continued to breed fierce opponents, who were eager to invade the Central Plains like their ancestors did. "
"In civil governance, the country was in turmoil. In military governance, the army became a watchdog. Under internal and external pressures, the dynasty collapsed."
"Is there really no way?" Jiang Qingzhi looked at everyone. "I read through history books to see how the meat-eaters dealt with this. But what did I see? I saw factional strife! When the dynasty was in decline, didn't they know how to change everything? They wanted to!"
Jiang Qingzhi's face flushed, and a surge of anger rushed up, making his voice a little hoarse, "But they have no choice! They are helpless in the face of such a situation! So the only thing they can do is to fight for power and profit to cover up their own incompetence."
Jiang Qingzhi said sarcastically: "Look! It's not that I don't work hard, it's not that I'm incompetent, so many people are holding me back... It's not my fault, is it?"
"The Former Han Dynasty, the Former Tang Dynasty, and even the Former Song Dynasty... Come on, who can tell me, when these three dynasties reached their end, was there anyone who could turn the tide?"
Zhang Juzheng stared at Jiang Qingzhi blankly, "Editor Gao, what is he talking about?"
Gao Gong's face was solemn. "He said that the Confucianism we learned is a joke if it is used to govern the country!"
"When Confucianism is used to govern the country, what has it achieved?" Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the lobby of the Hanlin Academy. "It has led to a group of parasites who rely on Confucianism's monopoly and frantically suck the blood and flesh of the Ming Dynasty! It has led to the current crisis in the Ming Dynasty, where the civil and military are at ease, but there is nothing they can do about it!"
He looked around and said, "I have three questions for you: There is not enough farmland. How can we solve it? Does Confucianism have a solution? The army is weak and dares not fight. Does Confucianism have a solution? The weapons are not sharp enough and the tools are not practical enough. Does Confucianism have a solution?"
"Is there any?" Jiang Qingzhi asked with a smile.
Zhan Qin's lips moved, "Those..."
"Those are just miscellaneous studies, and those are things that lowly people should do, right?" Jiang Qingzhi said sarcastically, "But it is the miscellaneous studies and lowly people in your Confucian eyes that support this Ming Dynasty. And what are you doing? Talking big."
"Looking at you, I thought about ten or twenty years from now. When one of you becomes a prime minister and assists the emperor in governing the Ming Dynasty, I wonder if you can solve the three problems I mentioned?"
"No!" Jiang Qingzhi said firmly, his eyes were bleak, "Then I want to ask, if it can't be done, then what is the basis for you to say that Confucianism can govern the country? What is the basis for you to say that you have ambitions... um? The ambition to watch the dynasty under your rule continue to decline, but you are helpless?" Jiang Qingzhi shook off the ashes of his cigarette, "Who else has questions?"
The Hanlin Academy was silent.
"Who else is dissatisfied?"
The Hanlin Academy was silent.
Suddenly someone shouted, "Jiang Qingzhi, you are a traitor to the Confucian school, and everyone has the right to kill you!"
Jiang Qingzhi didn't get angry but laughed instead. He laughed out loud and was extremely happy.
"Hahahaha!" Jiang Qingzhi panted, "When you can't win an argument with others, what you are best at is not to reflect on yourself or to supplement your own knowledge, but to rely on your monopoly and your large numbers to attack the other side.
"Abolish all schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone. All those outside Confucianism are ants, and must be exterminated as soon as possible! This is what you have done most in the past thousand years."
Jiang Qingzhi stood there, his eyes cold, "I am here today, come and try!"
Before Confucianism came to dominate, there was a time when hundreds of schools of thought contended with each other, and countless thoughts and knowledge were born. Every day new knowledge was born, and every day new ideas were proposed...
It's all just like early spring, a little cold but full of vitality.
Then it became dead silent.
Why were the Hundred Schools destroyed?
It’s simple, there’s no gun in hand!
Jiang Qingzhi turned around and chuckled, "The old man's words are always right, political power grows out of the barrel of a gun!"
Therefore, Jiang Qingzhi had to do his best to seize the initiative in reorganizing the Beijing Guards, and the Taoist priest intentionally or unintentionally pushed him to the position of leader.
"Jiang Qingzhi blasphemed our religion. What are you waiting for? Beat him!" a sharp voice came.
"Sure enough, you finally chose this path!" Jiang Qingzhi sighed.
"There are only four of them, get started!"
Jiang Qingzhi brought Sun Chonglou, Dou Jialan, and a disciple named Zhou Xia who was not very good at fighting.
Jiang Qingzhi's weak health is well known, and Zhou Xia was beaten up yesterday...
"Don't do that!" Zhan Qin turned around and said, "Justify it, ah!"
Zhan Qin was overwhelmed.
Jiang Qingzhi turned around and looked at the dozen or so people who had not moved with interest.
"Shame on you!" an official cursed, "You can't win an argument so you take advantage of your numbers to attack. I am ashamed to be associated with you!"
"If you're wrong, admit it. If you're wrong, correct it. You're just being angry out of shame. How shameless!"
"Chang Wei Bo is right!" An official squatted on the ground, holding his head in his hands, muttering to himself, "Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the country has always been strong at the beginning, and then the civil and military are peaceful. Why can't it be reversed? Is my Confucianism really useless? No!"
The official closed his eyes in pain. "But facing such a situation... there are only so many fields, and the population is increasing. Can my knowledge solve it? Is it possible? No!"
The official opened his eyes and almost roared, "Confucianism cannot solve the crisis of national destruction! It cannot!"
The officials turned around in surprise. Some of them smacked their heads and said in pain, "There are no answers to the three questions that Long Wei Bo asked in Confucianism. There are no answers at all!"
Another official looked pale. "What does it mean to not be able to find the answer? It means that no matter how powerful a dynasty is, it will soon fall. A dynasty rises every three hundred years, then falls, and is killed by foreigners, leaving nine out of ten families empty...
Is this my Confucianism, my Confucian way of governing a country? Is this the Confucianism that I have studied for many years, hoping to find the way to govern a country from? "
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, and Sun Chonglou shouted, "More people? My young master is the best at this... Come on!"
More than ten guards rushed in and immediately started fighting with the officials from the Hanlin Academy who rushed over.
In the corner, an eyeliner from the Eastern Depot exclaimed, "This is a tiger among the flock of sheep!"
In just twenty breaths, the officials of the Hanlin Academy retreated, and more than ten people were lying on the ground wailing.
An official who had not taken action walked up slowly, bowed and said, "I am the scholar-official Zhang Juzheng..."
Zhang Juzheng?
What the hell!
It turned out to be this future big boss!
But Jiang Qingzhi had long lost his curiosity about celebrities. He nodded slightly and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
"Yes." Zhang Juzheng said, "Chang Wei Bo said that my Confucianism cannot solve those three problems, so Confucianism cannot govern the country. Then I would like to ask, does Chang Wei Bo have any solution?"
Zhan Qin's eyes lit up. "Yes! Chief Wilbur said a lot, but we can't do anything about it!"
"Hahahaha!"
The officials of the Hanlin Academy couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The air is filled with joy.
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of the medicinal smoke.
nod.
"Have!"
(End of this chapter)
