"Dong Guo, the Kong family will not rebel! They have made great contributions to the country!" Yuan Gang almost cried.
Xu Jingchang, on the other hand, was calm and said, "Yuan Yushi, please tell me clearly why you were so confused when you arrived at the Confucius family. This matter is no longer about the Confucius family. The thousand-year-old family is there, and they pride themselves on being disciples of the Confucius."
Scholars are spread all over the government and the public. This is a force that can control the world. In our Ming Dynasty, there is only one emperor and father, and the Kong family is also the minister of the Ming Dynasty, don't you think so?"
Yuan Gang nodded stupidly, could it be wrong?
But what on earth are you going to do?
"Dong Dingguo, my subordinate upheld the right path and wrote a letter of impeachment. Now I think it is my fault. If you want to kill or behead me, just do it. I just ask you not to force me to do so!"
Xu Jingchang smiled and shook his head, "Yuan Yushi, why are you confused? I didn't say you were wrong. On the contrary, I agreed with you. Of course I agreed to the closure of the Xuwang Temple. This is a matter of course.
You did the right thing, and I would like to thank you. But I hope you can take a step forward, show more courage, change the wrong ideas of scholars all over the world, and release them from the prison of Confucius and Mencius disciples. Let us let you
They understand that they are scholars of the Ming Dynasty, and they want to share weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty, rather than imitating Confucius and hoping to survive forever and remain unshakable. This will not work! This kind of idea is also inconsistent with Confucian principles and loyalty."
Xu Jingchang's persuasive approach can be heard in Yuan Gang's ears, no less than the devil's voice calling for life.
"Ding Guo Gong, all the people in the court are loyal ministers. Only the family of Confucius and Saints can last forever. No one dares to expect to be like the Confucius family. How can I expect Ding Guo Gong to show his noble hand!"
Xu Jingchang laughed again, "Since ancient times, there are no two days in the sky and no two masters in the country. It is unreasonable for the Kong family to be superior. You said that the Kong family is a family of benevolence, filial piety, loyalty and righteousness. I believe this. After all, there are no members of the Kong family.
, climbed high and shouted, came out to rebel. But every time the dynasty changed, the Kong family would stand up to welcome the new king. Seeing the Kong family surrender, many spineless scholar-bureaucrats also surrendered. Then with the new king, they continued to be prosperous and wealthy.
High-ranking officials and generous salaries... If nothing else, the Zheng family has just been split up by His Majesty's decree. Even if you don't want to learn from the Confucian family, there are still people who want to learn from it, and they have been passed down for hundreds of years."
What Xu Jingchang said was entirely based on Yuan Gang's words to silence him... and Xu Jingchang basically made Kong's problem clear.
This is not a matter of discussing the Confucius family. In the final analysis, who has the final say!
A family that pursues continuous inheritance will definitely be different when facing a national crisis than those benevolent and righteous people who are willing to live and die with the country.
"Yuan Yushi, I am telling you this to advise you to put state affairs first. As a loyal minister, you should not refuse!"
Yuan Gang was already speechless. Stop talking and let me die!
At this moment, Zhu Di suddenly said: "Ding Guogong has made it clear, Yuan Gang, you should know what to do!"
Yuan Gang trembled all over, raised his head slightly, looked at Zhu Di with a stern expression, and immediately lowered his head again.
Cold sweat flowed down his temples. He thought again and again, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, I am talking nonsense and would rather be cut into pieces than have the slightest complaint. But the Confucian family is the foundation of Confucianism and is the world's best scholar.
This is where you look up. If the Confucius family is shaken, the world will inevitably be in chaos, and the country will be ruined. I sincerely ask your majesty, never disrespect the saints!"
Yuan Gang obviously lost his sense of proportion, and what he said not only did not make Zhu Di give up his idea, but on the contrary, it made Zhu Di even more convinced of what Xu Jingchang said.
Confucianism, Confucianism, officials and gentry... these three cooperated with each other to form the largest force in the world today. Even if you are the emperor, you must bow your head.
But I, Mr. Zhu Laosi, refuse to admit defeat.
With a corner of Peiping, Jingnan succeeded and conquered the world.
At this time, when facing Confucian officials and gentry, I can also change their minds.
Apart from the Zhu family, there can be no other family in this world!
"Is it not that I don't respect the saints? I admire him very much for crossing the river at Nankong and passing on his loyalty and righteousness. After he became a sage, he was worthy of his loyalty and righteousness. On the contrary, some people have abandoned the teachings of their ancestors and disgraced the saints, but they still have dignity.
Let me be in awe of them? It makes me laugh!"
Zhu Di spoke sternly and angrily: "Yuan Gang, write it now and clearly describe the crimes of the Confucius family. If you don't write it, I will chop off your head!"
Yuan Gang was stunned, and suddenly fell to the ground without saying a word.
Zhu Di was furious when he saw this.
OK!
You just want to die, right?
Then I will help you!
Just as he was about to issue the order, Xu Jingchang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please let Rong Chen say a few more words to Yuan Yushi."
Zhu Di reluctantly agreed, "Well, if he still refuses to repent, I won't be polite. I have killed thousands of troops, so why would I care about him?"
There is no doubt about Zhu Di's murderous intentions. Xu Jingchang knelt down, sighed softly, and then said: "Yuan Yushi, you are an honest and upright official. If you impeach me, you are speaking out with justice. I don't resent you. On the contrary, I wish
The whole dynasty is full of people like you. But you should also have the courage to face reality. The situation of the Kong family is already very clear. One is the hereditary Duke Yan Shenggong, and the other is a family of saints that scholars all over the world look up to.
This is over."
"The water overflows when it is full, and the moon waxes and wanes. Can't all the good things in the world befall them? Either the Duke of Yansheng should be abolished, or the scholars in the world should give up their identity as disciples of Confucius and Mencius, or they should stop worshiping Confucius.
…These three things should be at least the same, don’t you think?”
Yuan Gang was stunned when he heard this. If he really did this, he would become a Confucian sinner, and he would be a heinous one.
He kept shaking his head and refused desperately.
Xu Jingchang gradually turned serious and said with a faint smile: "In this way, I was wrong. Yuan Yushi did not put the truth in his heart first... If you impeach me, you are just trying to gain fame and favor.
!It’s really disappointing. I thought I met a real Confucian scholar, but it’s really disappointing!”
Yuan Gang shook his head in pain, struggled for a long time, and then said: "Where the Tao lies, there is no turning back. It's just that this matter concerns saints and will shake the foundation of the country. I would rather die than be a sinner for the ages!"
If you don't want to do it, then go die!
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows and wanted to kill again.
Xu Jingchang pondered and said again and again: "Yuan Yushi, since you are unwilling to choose, can you write an article to clearly explain the harm of this matter, so that the world can make a decision."
Yuan Gang still shook his head, "I, I don't know what the harm is in this matter, I, I don't know how to write."
At this moment, Yuan Gang felt his eyes go dark, and something was thrown in front of him.
He quickly looked at it and saw that it was the memorandum he wrote to Zhu Di, which contained everything he wanted to impeach the Xu family.
Zhu Di hummed: "Don't you see it clearly and write it clearly? Just write it according to this and replace the King of Zhongshan and the Xu family with Yan Shenggong and the Kong family!"
Yuan Gang stared at the memorial on the ground and almost cried.
Is this just asking for it and shooting yourself in the foot?
He was extremely unwilling, but now that the matter had come to this, there was nothing he could do.
He could only tremble, pick up the brush sent by the eunuch, lie down on the ground, and start writing intermittently... It took him half an hour to finish writing.
The moment he stopped writing, it seemed as if all his strength had been drained away.
He collapsed limply, panting, and had no strength to even speak.
Xu Jingchang was quite concerned about him. He took what he had written and handed it to Zhu Di. Then he winked at the eunuch and soon brought a bowl of lotus seed soup with honey added.
"Yuan Yushi, please use it."
Yuan Gang lowered his head and thanked him softly.
Then I took a sip, it was warm and sweet, going straight to my heart and lungs.
There are such delicious things in the world. How come you didn’t know about it before?
At this moment, he really went through the hell gate several times and back again.
I wanted to die but couldn't.
I have so many mixed feelings in my heart that I can't explain clearly.
At this time, Zhu Di looked at this thing, thought about it again and again, and then slowly said: "The courtiers of the past dynasties have formed cliques for personal gain, evaded the imperial power, and committed evil... I can see some clues to the truth in this."
Xu Jingchang said: "Your Majesty, the Confucian family has a long history and a prominent position. Looking at the world, they are all disciples of Confucius and Mencius. There are so many new scholars every year, and they all call themselves disciples of Confucius and Mencius. All the great families in the world imitate the families of saints...
… As the saying goes, the family, the country, the world, and the home is before the country, it’s no wonder that there are many national policies, but they can’t be pushed forward.”
Zhu Di deeply believed that this was the case with all the resistance he had encountered in the past year or so.
You want to improve the status of craftsmen, but the scholars are obstructing you in every possible way. They want to promote lending to facilitate the people, but they also ruin the jobs of the gentry. There are also many obstacles to rectifying finance and taxation.
Gentlemen always want to pay less taxes and take advantage of more.
Even if the country encounters financial and tax constraints and the treasury is empty, they will not care. Anyway, whether the Ming Dynasty dies or not has nothing to do with us.
The Yuan Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Han Dynasty...we have sent away so many dynasties, not least of which is you!
The scholars were aloof, alienated from the country, and unwilling to share the same destiny... In the final analysis, they were existences that transcended the dynasty.
And the representative of all this is the Kong family!
The fact that they exist and enjoy the glory and wealth shows that the dynasty cannot do anything to them.
"There are only a few scholars in the world who can serve the country loyally because of their kindness. This is a fundamental problem." Zhu Di gritted his teeth and was furious.
"Xu Jingchang, you gave three prescriptions. Which one do you think I should start with to make changes?"
Xu Jingchang thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, I want you to tell me that the inheritance of Yanshenggong from generation to generation is recognized by Emperor Taizu. Your Majesty does not need to abolish the title, it is nothing more than spending a little more salary."
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows, nodded for a while and said, "Where are the others?"
"There are so many scholars in the world. It is unrealistic and unworkable for them to give up their identity as disciples of Confucius and Mencius."
"Then we just have to stop offering sacrifices to the hole?"
"It's not stopped." Xu Jingchang said with a smile: "I was thinking that it is okay to sacrifice to Confucius, but the court cannot participate, or the standards cannot be too high, and it is left to the local government. Those loyal ministers and heroes who really need the court to sacrifice are the Ming Dynasty
fundamental!”
Zhu Di thought for a moment, nodded vigorously and said: "Good!"
