Stepping into the palace, everyone saw the official half-leaning on the throne, holding a bamboo book in his hand.
"Join Your Majesty!"
Li Wei led everyone to give a big gift to Li Jie. It was their first meeting in the new year, so it was naturally more grand.
"Plain body."
Li Jie put away the bamboo slips in his hand and gestured.
"My lords, please sit down."
"At the right time of the year, I invite you to come to the palace. I hope you won't mind me."
"Don't dare."
As soon as Li Wei heard this, his buttocks were not yet warm, and he immediately jumped up from the chair.
"Family happiness is nothing more than family happiness, how can it be compared with state affairs."
"That doesn't need to be the case."
Li Jie waved his hand: "Li Qing, sit down and talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Li Wei sat down, Li Jie glanced at the important ministers, and then slowly spoke.
"You, your ministers, are great scholars who have read poetry and books. Today, you are summoned to the palace. Actually, there is a question that you need to resolve."
"A few days ago, I found several bamboo scrolls from Longtu Pavilion. According to the annotations, these bamboo scrolls are Qin bamboo slips."
(PS: Longtuge, a place where Taizong’s imperial books and various classics are collected)
"The content is somewhat different from the "Historical Records" I have read."
"On his southern tour, the First Emperor once passed by Xiangshan Mountain. Taishi Gong records:
It crosses the Huai River from the southwest to Hengshan, Nanjun, Fujiang, and reaches Xiangshan Temple.
In strong winds, it is almost impossible to cross.
The doctor was asked: "Who is the king of Xiang?"
The doctor said to him: "I heard that Yao's daughter, Shun's wife, was buried here.
So the First Emperor was furious and ordered three thousand prisoners to cut down the trees in Xiangshan Mountain and destroy the mountains."
This is a record of the First Emperor's southern tour in the Historical Records. The general idea is that the First Emperor arrived at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain and was preparing to cross the river.
As a result, a strong wind suddenly blew, making it impossible for the First Emperor to cross the river.
So the First Emperor asked, what kind of god is Xiangjun?
The doctor replied, "Xiang Jun is Yao's daughter and Shun's wife."
When the First Emperor heard this, he became furious and ordered people to cut down the trees on Xiangshan Mountain.
"When I first read this record, I was a little confused and didn't understand why the First Emperor wanted to build the mountain."
"It wasn't until I saw this bamboo slip in my hand that I discovered that the First Emperor not only did not cut down Xiangshan Mountain, but instead issued an edict prohibiting entry into the forest."
"I would like to ask why there are two completely opposite records?"
"Which one should I believe?"
"Is it Qin Jian or Tai Shigong's handwriting?"
In the audience, as early as when the official mentioned the "First Emperor's Southern Tour", he had already guessed what the official wanted to ask.
He was able to predict the future simply because he read the Qin bamboo slips in the hands of officials.
These volumes of Qin bamboo slips were compiled by his brother Li Hang. Back then, the two brothers even talked about it.
In the end, the two brothers had the same view.
Qin bamboo slips are more credible.
After all, the Qin bamboo slips in the hands of officials are not official records of the Qin Dynasty, but folk records of the Qin Dynasty.
As we all know, when the government is revising the history of the country, many things need to be avoided. For example, some things that are not conducive to the image of the country must be covered up.
It is necessary to exploit strengths and avoid weaknesses.
But folk records don’t have so many taboos.
As long as there are no reactionary remarks recorded or there is no large-scale circulation, the authorities basically turn a blind eye.
In addition, revising the history of previous dynasties and revising the history of this dynasty are another matter.
There is no need to avoid taboos. It’s okay to be fair, to praise a little, and to discredit a little.
Therefore, compared with the history books compiled by later dynasties, the historical records recorded by the former dynasty are obviously more credible and more objective.
This is a recognized fact!
However, although this was the truth, Li Wei could not tell the officials directly.
What was good about the Qin Dynasty?
All the wealth that the Qin kings had accumulated through their military and military campaigns was completely defeated by the First Emperor alone.
Tai Shigong may have thought so, so he recorded it in the history books.
Half a moment.
The ministers in the palace remained silent. Seeing everyone's reactions, Li Jie suddenly laughed. It was really interesting.
It seems that everyone here is a master of pretending to be confused.
Rang Xue traveled through ancient and modern times and was still applicable in the Northern Song Dynasty.
"Scholar Yan?"
After a while, seeing everyone still bowing their heads in deep thought, Li Jie immediately called his name.
Hearing the official call out his name, Yan Shu raised his head slightly, his face seemed calm, but he frowned secretly in his heart.
This question is easy to answer.
But why officials ask this question is worth pondering.
If it was just to clear up doubts and celebrate the New Year, why would the officials summon them into the palace together?
Moreover, those who entered the palace today were all courtiers who compiled the "Records of Zhenzong".
The meaning can't help but make people daydream about it.
"I think the Qin bamboo slips are more trustworthy."
""Historical Records" has a total of 130 chapters, with a full text of more than 500,000 words. It took more than ten years and passed through the hands of several people. It is inevitable that there will be errors and omissions in it."
"In addition, many chapters in "Historical Records" do not quote original historical materials, but processed ones."
"Therefore, I think the "Historical Records" is considerable and credible, but it cannot be fully trusted."
After listening to Yan Shu's speech, Li Jie nodded slightly and then turned his attention to Sun Shi.
Seeing this, Sun Shi also stood up.
"Mencius said, "Believing all the books is worse than having no books at all."
"Although this sentence refers to "Shang Shu", I think it can also be extended to other categories."
"In addition, the purpose of observing history is to choose the good ones and follow them, and to change the bad ones. If we pursue the history itself too much, wouldn't we lose the original intention?"
Sun Shi's view is also the mainstream view among current scholars. The fundamental purpose of most scholars reading history books is not to seek truth.
Just to understand the gains and losses.
Whether there are any errors or omissions is not the point.
With Yan Shu and Sun Shi 'charged' in front, the few ministers who had not spoken for the time being had less worries in their hearts.
Subsequently, Li Wei, Song Shou, and Chen Yaozuo expressed their views one after another.
Although their words are different, the general meaning is still a continuation of Yan Shu's views.
Being wise is the key.
"I have learned a lesson."
After a while, Li Jie slowly stood up and gave a disciple salute to several people.
Seeing that the officials were so aware of etiquette, everyone couldn't help but be very satisfied.
However, after the ceremony, Li Jie suddenly changed the topic and raised a new question.
"In this case, do you think it is more important to compile history by recording records or recording events?"
The words "documentary" and "record" sound very similar, but in fact they have very different meanings.
One focuses on ‘facts’ and the other focuses on ‘things’. Putting them here is tantamount to asking them.
Is it important to understand the gains and losses, or is the fact more important?
Obviously, the officials were not very satisfied with their answers. Otherwise, they would not have said "received instruction" in the first sentence and "questioned back" immediately in the second sentence.
"You don't need to answer immediately. You can go back and think about it carefully. You can answer my questions until we meet next time."
Seeing the mixed expressions of everyone, Li Jie smiled slightly.