Chapter 159: In the lifeless Ming Dynasty, the Kong family’s sky has collapsed!
"Shhhhh!"
Many eyes were cast towards Yan Shifan.
At this moment, Gao Gong was not the only one who realized that Yan Shifan was finally going to take action against the Kong family. Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji also understood it.
Three years ago, Duke Yansheng of the Kong family wrote an article to denounce Yan Shifan, which directly targeted Yan Shifan and damaged Yan Shifan's reputation.
Now, everyone in the world knows that there is a devil in the Ming Dynasty, an executioner, a demon who destroys people and destroys people. Even within the Yan Party, there are many dissatisfactions with Yan Shifan.
It was obvious that the way to deal with the Japanese in Yingzhou Prefecture was a unanimous decision made by the entire Ming Dynasty's top leadership, but the final consequences were borne by Yan Shifan alone. It can be said that he was the one who took the blame.
They were a group of upright people, and although they knew all of this, due to their stance, they naturally made sarcastic remarks towards Yan Shifan, but in the end they did not take any substantial action.
Because they knew in their hearts that the emperor had tacitly approved of this move, and if they continued to target Yan Shifan, it would be tantamount to internal strife.
The most important thing is that this kind of internal strife does not bring any substantial benefits to the Ming Dynasty, so the emperor will naturally not allow it.
However, no one expected that Duke Yansheng of the Kong family would stand up and directly issue an article to denounce Yan.
Given his status as Duke Yansheng of the Kong family, his publication of an article condemning Yan would undoubtedly have magnified the matter infinitely.
Moreover, given the status of the Kong family in the entire Confucian sect, this immediately affected the views of scholars all over the world towards the Yan Party, and even shook the foundation of the Yan Party.
A strict party does not necessarily mean incompetence or corruption, nor does it mean that all of them are bad people.
On the contrary, people like Hu Zongxian and Tang Shunzhi, although they were also labeled as members of the Yan Party, were actually very capable, and there were quite a few such people.
After all, the two factions today, the Yan Party and the Qingliu Party, are just different in their positions and political views.
However, the result of this manifesto by Duke Yansheng was that the Yan Party might lose a lot of talents.
The Yan Party has already destroyed humanity, so why are you still following the Yan Party? Once this was said, anyone with a bit of dignity would think twice.
That is to say, three years ago, when the anti-Yan manifesto came out, the emperor did not say anything, otherwise the Yan party would have lost their patience long ago.
After all, in the eyes of everyone, the Kong family represents the Confucianism of the world, and the emperor cannot completely ignore what Duke Yansheng says.
Fortunately, the emperor did not say anything. No matter how arrogant and domineering the Yan Party was, they did not dare to do anything to the Kong family, so they managed to hold back. Of course, this is what Xu Jie and others thought.
After all, one month, two months, three months... one year, two years, three years, Yan Shifan did not take any action, and everyone thought that the matter was over.
And the fact is, this is indeed the case. Thanks to the efforts of Yan's party, the storm over the anti-Yan manifesto only lasted for a while at the beginning and then completely subsided.
But no one expected that Yan Shifan would suddenly launch an attack on the Kong family three years later!
Moreover, it seemed that he had been preparing for three years to deal with the Kong family, and he even came up with a high-sounding reason to demand reforms in the Ming Dynasty.
And his meaning was very clear, it was aimed at the Kong family!
Yan Shifan, a poisonous snake! Yan Shifan at this moment gave Xu Jie, Gao Gong and others a deeper understanding.
He was able to hold his breath for three whole years, just to be fully prepared and launch his own thundering attack.
On the military merit side, Hu Zongxian, Wang Chonggu and Yu Dayou looked at each other and were also frightened.
Especially Hu Zongxian, as a student of Yan Song, his political sense can be said to be very sharp.
Combining the manifesto against Yan three years ago and the reforms proposed by the young minister today, it is not difficult to guess that this is revenge!
Among the three, Yu Dayou had the weakest sense of smell. After all, his background and experience limited his cognitive level.
And Wang Chonggu, after all, had been the Minister of War, so he could see that today was the revenge drama of the Yan Party.
But both Yu Dayou and Wang Chonggu remained silent, watching with their eyes and noses, listening quietly.
They represented neither the Qingliu nor the Yan Party. They were the party of Prince Yu and Prince Jing, also known as the New Party.
That’s right, it’s the New Party. It is a new faction proposed after the military officers’ voices in the court rose after the Military Honor Faction entered the cabinet.
Inspiring innovation?
Is this what Yan Shifan was preparing for the reform? Jiajing became interested, changed into a comfortable sitting position, and opened the memorial.
At this time, Yan Shifan below also spoke.
"Since ancient times, Confucianism has been the foundation of Chinese governance and has made great contributions to the stability and development of the country."
"However, times have changed. I believe that today's system also needs to be reflected upon and reformed to cope with the changing situation in the world." Yan Shifan said, looking at Jiajing, and then continued:
"For this reason, over the past three years, I have summarized several major drawbacks of the old Confucian-led dynasty system and developed countermeasures," Yan Shifan paused, "First, all previous dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty, have rigid thinking!"
Hearing this, Gao Gong snorted softly, thinking that this madman had started to speak nonsense and boast again.
Zhang Juzheng on the side also shook his head slightly. Reform? He didn't think Yan Shifan had the ability to do so.
Even if he prepared for three years, what would happen? As an old rival, he knew Yan Shifan's strengths and weaknesses very well.
Zhao Zhenji also listened silently, with a look of disapproval on his face. Yan Shifan's reform? This sounded like a story from a vernacular novel.
As for other people, such as Xu Jie, Prince Yu, Prince Jing, and everyone in the Imperial Household Department, they did not think that Yan Shifan could say anything useful and just thought that he was taking advantage of the situation.
However, Yan Shifan ignored everyone's thoughts and continued speaking.
"Too often emphasize the recitation and interpretation of classics while neglecting the analysis and resolution of practical problems will turn scholars into corrupt scholars without the ability to practice," Yan Shifan said, glancing at Gao Gong.
Just this one glance almost made Gao Gong explode with anger.
What do you think of me, you bastard? Am I a corrupt scholar? Am I incapable of practice? Gao Gong's fist became clenched hard because of Yan Shifan's look.
"In this regard, I think we should encourage scholars and students to criticize Confucian classics and express different views on the classic texts. We should integrate the teachings of various schools of thought, such as Taoism, Legalism, Mohism, etc., so that scholars and students in our dynasty will not be bewitched by one school of thought."
All of Yan Shifan's words were directed at Confucianism.
Bewitched by one person's words? It's clear who this is talking about.
"The second is the limitations of the current imperial examination system, which can be regarded as a drawback."
"The imperial examinations in our dynasty were limited to Confucian classics, ignoring other studies. Now that our national strength is rising, scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants should develop in an all-round way, which naturally requires relevant studies."
“Ignoring the diverse talents required to actually govern a country.”
"I think that we should introduce the theories of hundreds of schools of thought into the imperial examinations. As the saying goes, if we use all of them, it will be clear, but if we use only one of them, it will be dark!"
Is partial use the result of darkness? The targeting of Confucianism is really everywhere!
"Third, the disadvantage of being conservative. Confucianism advocates the old system and maintains the old rules. It often resists change and hinders the progress of the country.
Lack of enterprising spirit, too much emphasis on stability and harmony, resulting in a lack of enterprising spirit and insufficient innovation. "
"Our Ming Dynasty is a new Ming Dynasty, and it should have a new look. It should not be hindered in its development by certain parasites. Some old and stubborn diseases should also be eliminated as soon as possible!"
Having said this, Yan Shifan took a deep breath and said:
"The above are the three major problems that I have pointed out that are preventing the Ming Dynasty from entering a new dynasty."
"If these ills continue to exist, then even if our Ming Dynasty becomes an immortal dynasty, it will still be a puppet controlled by Confucianism."
"Since ancient times," Yan Shifan said, looking around at everyone, and talked eloquently: "There are only five stages in governing a country!"
Yan Shifan said this and raised his hand.
At this time, Zhang Juzheng frowned and looked at Yan Shifan. The contempt in his eyes gradually disappeared, and he looked serious instead.
He felt that Yan Shifan's speech today was very organized and did not seem to be barking wildly, so he wanted to hear his opinion.
As a rational reformer, Zhang Juzheng was very sensitive to the word "reform".
The three major drawbacks pointed out by Yan Shifan were certainly due to his dissatisfaction with Confucianism and hatred towards Confucius, and he wanted to take this opportunity to take revenge.
But whether it is "rigid thinking", "limitations of the imperial examination system" or "the evils of conservatism", they are indeed facts.
Could it be that after three years of preparation for revenge, Yan Shifan could really say something? Zhang Juzheng began to examine this young cabinet minister.
None of the people present were simple-minded. Zhang Juzheng could see through it at a glance and understand the reason behind it. Naturally, others could also understand it, so they all became serious.
Jiajing looked at the things on the memorial, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes. It turned out that Yan Shifan did put forward something.
Although the general direction is still to take revenge on the Kong family, it is true in theory. Thinking of this, Jiajing looked at Yan Shifan.
Attaining Jiajing's gaze, Yan Shifan knew that his remarks had aroused the emperor's interest, so he straightened his back and continued speaking.
"The first stage was the policy of inaction advocated by Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, which led to the first prosperous era in history, the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing!"
"It's a pity that what was gained was also destroyed here."
"For example, during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, the princes appointed their own confidants to develop the economy and gained the strength to resist the imperial court."
"Wu Wang Liu Bi recruited fugitives from all over the country to forge coins and boiled seawater to make salt, so there was no tax and the state had plenty of money. He also joined forces with six other princes to launch a rebellion to oppose Han Jingdi's policy of reducing the power of the princes, which led to the famous "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" in history."
"Afterwards, King Liu Wu of Liang, who had made great contributions in suppressing the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion", sent people to assassinate Yuan Ang, a court minister who opposed his succession, in order to fight for the right to inherit the throne."
"These powerful princes gained the power to shake the imperial court because of the 'Reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing'."
"Second, during the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, a large number of powerful people, wealthy merchants, and knights emerged and brought disaster to the world."
"It was not until Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne that he began to reform. With the support of his maternal relatives Dou Ying and Tian Fen, Emperor Wu of Han appointed Wang Zang and Zhao Wan to promote Confucianism, attempting to achieve the goal of "setting up a Mingtang, ordering the marquises to return to their states, removing the passes, using etiquette as the clothing system, and promoting peace." As he spoke, Yan Shifan sneered and said, "It was during this period that Confucianism really began to emerge!"
"When Empress Dowager Dou, who upheld the Huang-Lao school of thought, passed away, Emperor Wu of Han began to take real power. After that, Emperor Wu of Han reaffirmed his position of respecting Confucianism, and Dong Zhongshu made the proposal of "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man"."
"Emperor Wu of Han adopted it. From then on, Confucianism was the only doctrine that was respected! This is the second stage!"
"After that, the third stage is the mixed one of the Domineering Way!"
"Dong Zhongshu absorbed new ideas from various schools of thought at the time to enrich himself, and put forward the view that "punishment is the auxiliary of virtue." Confucianism and legalism were used together, with Confucianism as the main focus."
"So-called, ruling a country with "virtue" is called the kingly way, ruling a country with "punishment" is called the hegemonic way, and the combination of the two is "the kingly way mixed with the hegemonic way."
"When the princes, powerful people, wealthy merchants, and knights-errant were unwilling to submit to the imperial court, it was imperative for Emperor Wu of Han to rule the world by "mixing the ways of hegemony and kingship."
"After that, Emperor Xuan of Han inherited the ambitions of Emperor Wu of Han, and the status of Confucianism was further elevated!" At this point, Yan Shifan sneered again and said, "It's a pity that Emperor Yuan of Han was a waste."
"After he succeeded to the throne, he devoted himself to moral education and changed to Zhou politics!"
"It eventually led to the traitor Wang Mang usurping the Han Dynasty, but..." Yan Shifan suddenly changed the subject and said, "In my opinion, the root cause was Emperor Wu of Han's exclusive promotion of Confucianism."
"The fact that Confucianism has a special status has created incompetent monarchs, which is enough to show how harmful Confucianism is!"
"Although later emperors such as Emperor Taizong of Tang, and even Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu of our dynasty, all used the hegemony and the kingly way, but today, whether it is officials, emperors, or ordinary people..."
“They are all bound by the rules and regulations of Confucianism!”
"Confucianism has formed an invisible rule that has even surpassed the imperial power, attempting to puppet the people of the world and thus influence the officials in the court, and even the emperor."
"What the people want? Even the emperor cannot disobey it? The imperial court's national policy is for the benefit of millions of ordinary people!"
"In the end, they say that it is against human nature, against the harmony of nature, and not in line with the kingly way? They should be educated according to the kingly way..." Yan Shifan sneered, "It's all bullshit!"
"When they said this, did they ever think about the people along the coast who were bullied by the Japanese and robbed and killed by the foreigners in the north? And their families?"
"If we don't kill these barbarians completely, destroy their country and exterminate their race, do we still need to educate them? It's really a shame that the thunder didn't strike them!"
"So!" Yan Shifan finished speaking, clasped his fists towards Jiajing, and said, "I think the first thing to do in the reform is to abolish the title of the Kong family and the Duke of Yansheng!"
"Second, revise the Confucian classics!"
"Establish a 'New Imperial Academy', encompassing the theories of all schools of thought and establishing various branches. Your Majesty will personally appoint the director and doctors."
“Confucianism should be made one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and all its former dignity and glory should be taken back, and it should be treated as equal to the Hundred Schools of Thought.”
Finally, at this moment, Yan Shifan's true intentions were revealed.
First, he explained the three major drawbacks of the Ming Dynasty to arouse the emperor's interest, and then used the examples of Emperor Wu of Han to Emperor Yuan of Han to magnify the role of Confucianism.
The final conclusion is that Confucianism was poisoning people's hearts, interfering in government affairs, and ultimately leading to the tragedy of Wang Mang usurping the Han Dynasty.
All the blame for the incompetence of the emperor was placed on Confucianism.
Finally, the third step was to propose abolishing the Duke of Yansheng, re-establishing the Imperial Academy, promoting the teachings of various schools of thought on a large scale, considering Confucianism, which had originally been the most powerful, as one of the branches, and gradually diluting its influence.
It can be said that this is equivalent to boiling a frog in warm water. As various schools of thought flourish, the status of Confucianism will be reduced.
As for why people feel that the status of Confucianism will be reduced, the reason is very simple!
That is, everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty will become an immortal dynasty in the near future, and at that time both officials and civilians will practice immortality.
If you want to live in the Immortal Dynasty in the future, or even practice Taoism, you must gain a firm foothold in all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty.
For example, if you are a businessman, you have to excel in business to have a chance to work in the Ming Treasury and come into contact with magic.
For example, if you are a farmer and you want to cultivate spiritual fields, you must have outstanding talents in farming.
Others, such as medicine, divination, yin and yang, and the five elements, will all shine in the future immortal dynasty.
Even in the future, court officials had to be well-versed in all schools of thought, rather than just understanding the Four Books and Five Classics and poetry.
At this time, what about Confucianism?
What can be worthy of everyone's praise?
From now on, the Ming Dynasty will have only one saying: "The capable survive!"
"Your Majesty, I have finished speaking!"
Yan Shifan said this and bowed.
At this time, in the main hall, everyone was looking at Yan Shifan's back, especially Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji, they were all a little confused. Yan Shifan really said something.
After hearing these words, Jiajing's consciousness returned to his own world. Looking at the Ming Dynasty in front of him, he fell into deep thought.
With the completion of the second phase of land reform, Ming Dynasty will then develop the third and fourth phases.
However, what the Ming Dynasty today needs most is a stage of digestion and development before the third and fourth stages begin.
Although the population has skyrocketed during these three years, it is still too small. Population drives the economy.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty will inevitably enter a stage of development towards prosperity. When the prosperity reaches its peak, it will finally embark on the road of rewarding military exploits and expanding outward.
Looking through history books, any dynasty that wants to reach its peak of prosperity must reform. Although the current Ming Dynasty can be considered a prosperous era, it is not enough for a mortal dynasty that is about to become an immortal dynasty. A subversive transformation is necessary.
This transformation is an essential transformation from the inside out. For example, the Ming Dynasty's outdated system, although prosperous, still failed to achieve the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.
It was a golden age of culture and thought!
The eight-legged essay cage of the Ming Dynasty was established by Taizu. From officials to ordinary people, everyone exudes a stale air. Even in today's prosperous times, when people are well fed and clothed, there is still no vitality.
Merchants had a low status, and officials were still scheming to stand in line and curry favor with their superiors. There was also the yellow household registration book, and the sons of military households could only be soldiers, the sons of farmers could only be farmers, and so on.
Everyone seemed to be a puppet, lifeless.
After scholars have eaten their fill, they no longer think about adapting to changes in behavior, but only about memorizing things by rote and studying hard.
The entire Ming Dynasty, from top to bottom, in this prosperous era where people were well fed and clothed, exuded a sense of "anger to death".
Jiajing could feel this "anger to death" feeling very intuitively in his life. The Ming Dynasty before him was "too quiet" and "too peaceful", just like an old man in his twilight years.
Although during these seven years he cut out all the sores and rotten flesh on the body of the Ming Dynasty and restored the originally dilapidated Ming Dynasty, its soul was still the old and decadent Ming Dynasty.
Jiajing had naturally noticed this a long time ago, so he had long planned to carry out a reform before the third and fourth stages of the land reform began, so that the Ming Dynasty would undergo a fundamental transformation.
However, he did not expect that the reform proposed by Yan Shifan in order to retaliate against the Kong family would actually provide him with an opportunity.
"What Yan Shifan said is correct." Since it has been decided to bring about a fundamental transformation of the Ming Dynasty, Jiajing naturally would not keep it in suspense and ask everyone for their opinions.
His attitude was telling everyone that he agreed with the reform. And the views proposed by Yan Shifan were very much to his liking!
"Your Majesty is wise." Yan Song said immediately.
When Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Hu Zongxian and others saw that the emperor did not ask for their opinions but made the decision directly, they knew that the Ming Dynasty would indeed carry out a reform next.
No one is a fool. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that before the third and fourth stages begin, the Ming Dynasty needs to digest and develop, so it is not surprising that it has to start reforms.
"However, this reform still needs time to be perfected," Jiajing raised his hand and handed the memorial to Lu Fang, saying:
"We also need Yan Shifan to supervise the work with the cabinet. I will give you five years, how about that?"
Hearing that the emperor wanted him to preside over the reform, Yan Shifan was overjoyed, and then he knelt down and said: "I will live up to the emperor's expectations and carry out the reform!"
Looking at Yan Shifan's back, Zhang Juzheng had a complicated expression.
He didn't expect that among all the people in the cabinet, the first person to realize his ideal ambition of governing the country would be Yan Shifan, whom he usually looked down upon.
Although land reform can be considered as a reform and he also implemented the Single Whip System, the emperor helped him to revise it and it was not proposed by him at all, so it cannot be considered his national policy.
Yan Shifan wanted to directly give the Ming Dynasty a blood transfusion and transform it, so that the Ming Dynasty could undergo a transformation from the inside out.
He did not think that this reform would fail, because it was decided by the emperor himself. By then, the entire Ming Dynasty from top to bottom would have to cooperate, the court would function at full capacity, and everyone would have to submit.
"It's over, it's over," Gao Gong looked at Yan Shifan's smug face and shook his head secretly, "The Kong family's sky has collapsed!"
"There will no longer be a Confucian Duke of Yansheng! Duke of Yansheng? You are a good person, why did you provoke Yan Shifan? This time you will drag the entire Confucian sect to be buried with your Kong family..."
Gao Gong said this in his heart, but looking at Yan Shifan's back, he became solemn. He didn't expect Yan Shifan to have grown so much.
In order to take revenge on the Kong family, he actually endured for three years!
If they don't take action, it's fine. But if they take action, they will uproot the roots of Confucianism. I wonder how the Kong family will feel after the news gets out today?
Well, I’m afraid that people all over the world will be shocked!
"Okay, next, it's time to reward you." Jiajing said with a smile.
Upon hearing the reward, everyone, including Zhang Juzheng, was shocked.
Well, although Yan Shifan’s reforms shocked them, they did not forget that the emperor had come out of seclusion today, and what they were most looking forward to was nothing more than immortal magic, natal talismans, and so on.
People like Hu Zongxian, Wang Chonggu and Yu Dayou, even though they tried to keep their composure, their breathing became rapid.
They also desire immortality and longevity!
"..."
(End of this chapter)
