While Zhu Zhanzhen was worrying about choosing his concubine, a conspiracy was slowly unfolding.
One afternoon a few days later, Zhu Di was discussing with the cabinet the planning of the Chief Secretary of Proclamation in Mobei, and based on geography, tribe, and history, eighteen Chief Secretaries of Proclamation were randomly divided in Mobei.
This is still a preliminary discussion. Now they want to separate Mobei bit by bit and attack them. Some of them are obviously willing to become Ming vassals, so they will reward them.
"Zhan Zhen, this kid, has a quick mind and has good ideas."
"His Fifth Highness is truly a strange person."
When Zhu Di was happy, a young eunuch hurried in and said something in Zhu Di's ear in a panic. Zhu Di's face became furious.
"You all go down first, Wei Zhe, you stay." Zhu Di sent everyone away in the middle of the discussion, leaving only Xia Yuanji, whom he trusted the most, and the rest of the cabinet naturally knew that it must be an extremely important matter.
When Yang Shiqi and others walked to the palace gate, they saw a person kneeling. It was Chen Yun, the ceremonial doctor of the Ministry of Rites, who had come to see him, and was the Tanhua Lang in the 16th year of Yongle.
This man has always been known for his ability to give advice, and he is also an eloquent and cultural person. Recently, he has gained Zhu Di's trust.
Zhu Di in the study gave Xia Yuanji the secret letter handed over by the eunuch, and then he read the book with "Origin" written on it.
There are two names written in the author column of the book, Wenda and Zhu Zhanzhen.
After Xia Yuanji read the secret letter, he, who was usually steady, looked shocked.
"Your Majesty, we must thoroughly investigate what is said in this letter, and more importantly, the person who wrote the letter must be punished. He actually framed the Prince of Zhujiang County and had the intention of treason!!!" Xia Yuanji immediately expressed his attitude.
"Do you know what is written in the book he mentioned in his letter?" Zhu Di's tone was calm, but there was a hint of coldness hidden in it.
Xia Yuanji didn't reply.
Zhu Di continued: "Let me give you a look. I just read one page, and what is said in the letter is correct. Just this first page has the intention to shake the ancestors of the gods, and is wildly rebellious."
Xia Yuanji took the book and opened it.
"Flowers, grass, insects, birds, beasts and birds are not created by gods. All things are animistic. They are born in chaos and reproduce. Survival of the fittest is the result of natural selection. Although humans have spirits, they were not created by Nuwa. Their natural appearance is similar to that of apes. , it must have evolved from apes and monkeys over tens of millions of years. There are no gods or Buddhas in the world, and everything is derived from heaven."
"There are no gods or Buddhas in the world. All things are derived from nature. Humans are derived from monkeys. Do you think it's funny or not?" Zhu Di was both angry and funny.
Xia Yuanji turned two more pages than Zhu Di, but even a scholar like him couldn't bear to read this kind of article, so he closed it and said: "Your Majesty, this book is ridiculous and unspeakable. Just read it as a joke." , His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhujiang County has always behaved differently from ordinary people. Perhaps it was because this book was so interesting that he continued to write it. How could he have any treasonous intentions? On the contrary, the person who falsely accused him must be punished, and he must be punished. ."
"The person who presented the memorial is Chen Yun."
"Chen Yun?" Xia Yuanji also didn't expect that such a rising star in the officialdom would sue the emperor's grandson like this.
"His Majesty……"
"Let Chen Yun kneel outside first. Someone, come and call the Prince of Zhujiang County."
"Joke, joke, humans come from monkeys, even Emperor Wa dares to be disrespectful." Zhu Di asked the eunuch to call Zhu Zhanzhen, but he kept talking, indeed he was still a little angry.
Zhu Zhanzhen, a young man in his prime, was still worried about where his love would go. When my youth was flowing like a river, the eunuch came to tell him.
As soon as he stepped into Zhu Di's study, Zhu Di threw the book in front of him: "Have you read this book yourself?"
Zhu Zhanzhen picked up the book, and it said "Origin" on the cover. This was the book he asked Wenda to write. It was intended to be used as a biology textbook at Nanhai University. He originally wanted to call it "Evolution", but after thinking about it, he decided
Using the origin of the name written by Wenda himself, he only gave Wenda some ideas and ideas, but Wenda insisted on writing his name as well.
Zhu Zhanzhen picked up the book, smoothed away the wrinkles and said: "Grandpa Huang, my grandson has read this book."
"It's such a ridiculous statement that makes people laugh. How dare you write your name on it?"
At this time, as long as Zhu Zhanzhen said something about joking, the matter would be over like this. At most, he would be said a few words.
But since Zhu Zhanzhen asked Wenda to write this book, he has made up his mind to write about the theory of evolution to let people know. Although these ideas are relatively advanced, Darwin suffered a lot in history because he said that humans were transformed into monkeys.
Years of ridicule, but someone has to do it. Now that this person has been discovered, he cannot be allowed to sink.
"Grandpa Huang, I have read the book, and my grandson thinks that many of it are indeed reasonable." Zhu Zhanzhen's words surprised Xia Yuanji.
"What's the point?" Zhu Di said coldly. The emperor, who was above the throne, had no smile on his face.
Xia Yuanji hurriedly persuaded: "I have just read this book. It has a novel angle and interesting words. It is a new type of novel reading. Your Highness has been exposed to newspapers and novels for many years, so he probably wants to use it as a novel manuscript."
Xia Yuanji tried to smooth things over, hoping that Zhu Zhanzhen would just accept it and step down when he was given the opportunity. Zhu Di was indeed very uncomfortable with the theory about this book, and he was considered an outlier at the moment.
After all, the imperial power is granted by heaven, and all emperors call themselves the Son of Heaven. Now you want to overthrow the way of heaven, saying that there is no god, no Buddha, and that our ancestors were not created by Nuwa but evolved from monkeys.
Doesn't this completely overthrow the theory of imperial power and divine right? It doesn't seem to matter much, but once this theory takes root in the hearts of the people, it's over.
Both Buddhism and Taoism have gods. Although Chinese beliefs are not as extreme as Western beliefs. If you are not good at it, you will be labeled as a heretic and burned to death. But if you shout in the temple that Tathagata is a monkey, you will probably still be punished.
Get beaten.
The biggest enemy of the theory of evolution is theocracy, which is much better in China than in the West. Zhu Di still only treats it as a joke. If it were the West of this era, Wenda would have been arrested and killed.
But Zhu Zhanzhen ignored Xia Yuanji's attempt to smooth things over, but he also didn't answer Zhu Di's question.
"Grandpa Huang, I want to meet this person who participated in the concert."
"What do you want to do?"
"I just want to ask him what his intentions are?"
Zhu Di stared at Zhu Zhanyang with a pair of eagle-like eyes. The gaze from the Ming Emperor was menacing.
"Come here, bring Chen Yun in."
Xia Yuanji stood aside, knowing that today's events would not go away easily. Zhu Zhanzhen seemed not as harmonious as he was when he was a child. He refused to give in even on this small matter today.
Chen Yun walked in. He was an elegant young man with the look of someone who couldn't take a joke, the kind of person who would start a fight on the basketball court if he didn't understand.
"Your Excellency, Chen Yun, the ceremonial doctor of the Ministry of Rites, is here to see Your Majesty."
The etiquette doctor of the Ministry of Rites is the person in the Ministry of Rites who specializes in etiquette, and it is those things that Zhu Zhanyi likes to transgress most.
"Chen Yun, you wrote a letter saying that the Prince of Zhujiang County was involved in compiling this book with the intention of treason. Do you know that slandering the emperor's grandson like this without real evidence is a serious crime of beheading."
"Your Majesty, as a doctor of etiquette, I naturally understand this truth. I just happened to see this book. What is written in it is extremely treasonous and contrary to the laws of nature. I am your Majesty's minister. If I don't report it, it will be against the law.
The courtesy of being a minister."
Zhu Di looked at Zhu Zhanyi: "Zhanzhen, what do you have to say?"
Zhu Di didn't want Chen Yun to come in at first, just to let Zhu Zhanyi casually say that this was a joke and fool him, but Zhu Zhanyi's attitude made him feel a little uncomfortable, so Chen Yun came in to confront him in the hall.
, we must explain why.
"Where is the rebellion against the Tao, where is it contrary to the principles of nature?"
"The book records that Wen Da himself took a merchant ship to travel to various parts of the Southeast Asia and Australia. There were creatures like turtles and fish on many islands. There were slight differences. It was said that different evolutionary directions occurred due to different environments in different places. Then
I asked His Highness, Guangzhou and Shuntian Prefecture, with different geographical environments, weather and climate, why did they not evolve into two different people?" Chen Yun said righteously.
"So he put forward a hypothesis, and you think it is treasonous and contrary to the principles of nature? Since Mr. Chen is Tanhualang, he should know the story of the two children arguing about the sun. The two children argued about the size of the sun. How difficult is it for Sage Kong?
Distinguish between right and wrong. Did Confucius say that the two children were treasonous and contrary to the laws of nature? Now that Dawen just expressed his own thoughts and you slapped him with a big label, who among the scholars of the Ming Dynasty will dare to ask questions in the future? Who?
Dare to explore?”
Chen Yun's face remained unchanged: "Da Wen also said that humans evolved from monkeys. Doesn't it mean that the ancestors of my ministers are monkeys, that your majesty's ancestors are monkeys, that the ancestors of Emperor Taizu are monkeys, and that Nuwa, Fuxi, Shennong, and Yanhuang Emperors are
monkey?"
"Pangu created the sky, Nuwa created humans, the three emperors established the country, and the five emperors opened the borders. Could it be that they were all just a bunch of monkeys playing around."
Xia Yuanji saw that the situation was not good and shouted: "Chen Yun, you are brave!"
Chen Yun hurriedly saluted: "Chen Yun is just a scholar. He only speaks impartially and gives direct advice to the country."
The Ming Dynasty never lacked admonishers.
Zhu Di looked at Zhu Zhanzhen: "What do you have to say about what Chen Yun just said?"
"Grandpa Huang, when my grandson said that there is no horse to drive a carriage, and no wind to run a boat, no one believed it. Then he looked at the boiling water and put the lid on the kettle, invented the steam engine, and made everything become a reality. It was only five or six years ago.
During the Ming Dynasty, the rivers and seas of the Ming Dynasty were filled with steamships, and there was a train from Tianjin to Shuntianfu. Why can’t people make assumptions? Don’t let people make conjectures? "
Chen Yun responded quickly: "Your Highness, the hypothesis is not nonsense, the conjecture is not random imagination. What is said in the book is too groundless and baseless. I suspect that this Dawen has deceived Your Highness. He may be from some small sect."
Those who confused the Ming Dynasty, such as the pseudo-Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty, built temples in the name of Buddha, occupied land and oppressed the people, making the people miserable. I am worried that the words in this book do not respect the gods and your majesty, and will harm the imperial court in the future."
Xia Yuanji, who knew the emperor best, immediately said: "Your Majesty, the Yongle Golden List encourages folk inventions and creations. There are more and more new creations, and cultural creation is one of them. This book is just the words of one person, and it cannot go far enough to cause harm beyond the program.
, it would be better if Your Majesty ordered us to stop the printing of this book first."
Then he said to Zhu Zhanzhen: "Your Highness, this book is indeed too unbelievable. I need to do more research before publishing it. What do you think?"
Xia Yuanji gave a compromise, and Zhu Zhanzhen also understood that maybe the theory of evolution was too advanced, and the emperor obviously didn't like it, so he had to wait. At worst, he would open elective courses at Nanhai University first, and a small group of interested people would listen.
Just listen.
At this time, Chen Yun spoke again: "Your Majesty, Wenda wrote such a demonic book. I ask your Majesty to order someone to arrest him and bring him to justice, and behead him in public."
"You tmd." For the first time in so many years, Zhu Zhanchen wanted to scold his mother in front of the hall.