Li Shimin's condition is getting worse day by day, and the ministers are watching it. Some are worried about his health, while others are waiting to see the joke.
But no matter what kind of person he is, he would never imagine that he would use this method to solve the problem.
Then not only was the trouble solved, Li Shimin also received unanimous praise from Confucianists, and his status caught up with the ancient sage emperor.
You must know that China's ethical and moral system was established by Confucianism, and the country is governed by Confucianism.
Even though the Tang Dynasty respected Taoism, even if Buddhism was huge, it still outnumbered Confucianism.
But the etiquette and laws of the entire country were established by Confucianism, and the officials were basically scholars with Confucian origins. This is a fact.
And once the Confucians start to praise someone, it means that the entire bureaucracy begins to favor someone. This time they chose to praise Li Shimin.
Ai Wu and Wu, regarding Li Shimin's various reforms, they changed from watching indifferently to supporting them.
In fact, Confucian scholars are the most supportive of the reform. This is not difficult to understand, as long as you look at the main content of the reform.
Enfeoffment belongs to the system of the Three Generations period, which is a retro style.
Academic administration is about enlightenment and good governance, which is in line with Confucius's idea of teaching without distinction. Moreover, the main teaching materials used in the academic administration system are Confucian, which helps them regain the status robbed by Taoism and Buddhism.
There is no need to mention the imperial examination. Only Confucian scholars who implemented the imperial examination can compete with the nobles and nobles for official opportunities.
As for the expansion advocated by the Tang Dynasty and the benevolence and righteousness advocated by Confucianism...that is not the case.
Before the rise of Neo-Confucianism, Confucianism also advocated martial arts. Otherwise, how could the Han Dynasty, which respected Confucianism, be so powerful.
Benevolence and righteousness should be taught to one's own people, but one should teach the enemy through riding and shooting.
It's just that in the past, the Tang Dynasty respected Taoism politically, but actually believed in Buddhism, and did not show any special courtesy to Confucianists. Naturally, Confucian scholars had no special feelings towards the emperor.
Regarding the reform of the imperial court, most of them looked on with cold eyes, and they felt that if you beat me, it had nothing to do with me.
But now that Li Shimin has delegated power to the prince, he has directly touched the Confucian point and brought them to a collective climax.
Under the leadership of the great Confucians headed by Kong Yingda, Confucianism finally began to make its own voice.
He began to praise Li Shimin and also supported and advocated the new law. For a time, the construction progress of the academic administration and imperial examination system was accelerated again.
Originally, there was a shortage of teachers in many places, but now all of them have been solved, and some teachers are even well-known local scholars.
Correspondingly, Li Shimin's position has become more stable.
"But this also means that Confucianism finally refused to be lonely and began to fight for its own interests in this great era." Chen Jingke said.
Wu Shu, Tian Shiwen and Li Chunfeng on the side all nodded silently.
Tian Shiwen and Li Chunfeng came here to reconcile.
Of course, they will not directly say that we have plotted against you and you are sorry, and now we are apologizing to you and asking you to forgive us, or something like that.
it's out of the question.
This crisis was not caused by them, they just took advantage of it.
You are stupid and didn't see through the crisis, and you can't blame others. If you had been smarter and more careful, nothing would have happened next.
But as allies, it is indeed a bit unethical for them to do this. In addition, Zixiaoguan is always the leader of Taoism, so they must come to express their feelings.
So the two came and took the initiative to say that Zixiaoguan had worked hard and left the rest to them. They would mobilize the power of their own sect to launch an attack on Buddhism.
Chen Jingke naturally said nothing and the matter was settled.
At least that's the case on the surface.
Then they talked about Confucianism praising the emperor, and Chen Jingke gave the above judgment.
The three people naturally agreed with this judgment, so they remained silent.
After a while, Li Chunfeng said: "Confucianism has joined the war, and the situation will become chaotic again."
Tian Shiwen said disapprovingly: "Buddhism is our biggest enemy. We don't need to pay attention to Confucianism. We just need to suppress Buddhism according to the plan."
Li Chunfeng said worriedly: "I'm afraid that Confucianism and Buddhism will join forces to fight against our Taoism."
Tian Shiwen frowned and said: "Confucianism is my Chinese ancestry after all, so it shouldn't form an alliance with Buddhism, right?"
Wu Shu said: "Why not? If Taoism annexes Buddhism, and with the support of the royal family, our position as the most prominent Taoist school in the world will be unshakable."
"Since Confucians have joined the war, they are definitely not willing to see this situation arise. It is not surprising that they have formed an alliance with Buddhism."
Li Chunfeng responded: "Confucianists may not object to Laozi's theory of turning Hu into a Hu, and they dare not object, but that's all."
"If we want to continue to exert pressure on Buddhism and annex their power, Confucianism is likely to take action. When the two families join forces, we will not be able to get away with it."
Tian Shiwen also frowned and said nothing. This possibility is very high.
Seeing that the atmosphere had cooled down again, Chen Jingke asked: "Why wait for Confucianism and Buddhism to form an alliance? We can also find Confucianism to form an alliance."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, not expecting that he would make such an opinion.
But Li Chunfeng shook his head and said: "It's difficult, we are too strong, the Confucianists will be afraid. Moreover, we have finally achieved the advantage we have now, and we are giving the benefits to the Confucianists in vain. I think many people will object."
Chen Jingke said without mercy: "Greed."
Li Chunfeng smiled bitterly and said: "It is true that we are greedy, but if we were not greedy, how could we be sitting here?"
Tian Shiwen remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking.
Wu Shu naturally supported this man unconditionally, saying: "If we Zixiaoguan were greedy, we wouldn't be sitting and talking like this now."
Li Chunfeng was also speechless.
Indeed, with Zixiaoguan's position, if he were more ambitious, he could integrate the small sects first, and then turn around to deal with the big sects like them and become a leader with real power.
At that time, everyone's identity will no longer be allies, but subordinates.
After a little revenge, Wu Shu felt very happy and asked Chen Jingke: "Master, you said you want to cooperate with Confucianism, but you don't know how to cooperate?"
Chen Jingke thought about it and said: "The secular world belongs to Confucianism, and the faith belongs to Taoism."
Li Chunfeng immediately said: "No, secular power is the most powerful. If we give these up, we will be controlled by Confucianism in the future."
Tian Shiwen finally expressed his position: "This method is tantamount to holding a sharp blade upside down, and it is absolutely impossible..."
However, he changed the topic and said: "But I agree with what the real person said about forming an alliance with Confucianism, but the conditions have changed."
Chen Jingke said happily: "Oh, I wonder what you have in mind?"
Tian Shiwen said: "First, we do not annex Buddhism. We only need to let Buddhism recognize that Laozi has transformed into a Hu. Second, we will work with Confucianism to revise and interpret Buddhist scriptures to make them completely Chinese."
"At that time, Buddhism will still exist and will still compete with our Taoism in terms of beliefs, but this competition will be an internal dispute within Chinese culture... just like the dispute between the north and the south of our Taoism back then."
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, due to the division of political power between the north and the south, Taoism was divided into two parts. One was Northern Taoism and the other was Southern Taoism.
Both sides have talented people and have carried out a series of reforms. It can be said that each has its own characteristics and strengths.
After the unification of the country, there was a long period of friction between Northern and Southern Taoism. However, the ideological foundation of both Northern and Southern Taoism is actually the same as the Right Way.
So even if there are disputes, they are not very intense.
After decades of integration, the two sides have absorbed each other's strengths and returned to unity. There is no longer a distinction between north and south, only different sects.
Everyone understood Tian Shiwen's meaning, which was not to give up on annexing Buddhism, but to extend the timeline a little longer.
First determine that Buddha is the Tao, and then slowly carry out ideological communication and integration, and finally merge into one.
Although this plan was too idealistic, no one objected, mainly because they couldn't think of a better way and could only give it a try.
So Li Chunfeng thought for a while and then expressed his position: "Buddhism is very powerful. It is really difficult to annex them all. Gradually encroaching on them may be the best way."
Chen Jingke also said: "Yes, I agree with Tian Guanzhu's idea. Let's try this method. Someone go and contact Confucian people and ask their opinions."
Tian Shiwen looked at Li Chunfeng.
Li Chunfeng took the initiative and said: "Confucianism does not have a leader, but Scholar Kong is the direct descendant of Confucius and has a very important voice in Confucianism. I can go and talk to him."
Chen Jingke said: "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. Get Academician Kong's opinion as soon as possible."
The matter to be discussed was almost over, and the two of them took their leave.
Chen Jingke sent them to the door. Before parting, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Daozhang Li, does the Taishi Bureau have detailed drawings of the armillary sphere?"
Li Chunfeng nodded and said: "There are indeed drawings, which were collected by the order of the former Fu Taishi."
Chen Jingke said: "I wonder if you can show me the drawings. I can find them of great use."
Li Chunfeng said in embarrassment: "This matter is so important that I need to report it to the saint first."
After all, ancient astronomy and astrology belong to the science of prophecy, and ordinary people are not allowed to learn it.
Chen Jingke said: "Forget it, I'll ask Your Majesty for a note myself when I have time someday. Just go back and make a copy of the drawings and have them ready."
Li Chunfeng was naturally happy and said, "Okay, I'll have someone prepare it when I get back."
…
After they all left, Wu Shucai asked in confusion: "What do you want the drawing of the armillary sphere for?"
Chen Jingke pretended to be mysterious and said: "Make a baby, you will know when the time comes, and you are guaranteed to make a lot of money."
Wu Shu smiled and said: "It doesn't matter whether we make money or not. We are not short of money. I am more curious about the treasure you are talking about."
Chen Jingke said: "Then just wait and see, I'm sure you won't be disappointed."
While they were talking, the two returned to the room, and Wu Shucai said seriously: "I don't believe you can't see the consequences of letting Confucianism control the world, but why do you still propose this method of cooperation?"
This method is indeed feasible in religious countries, but in China, secularity has been greater than religion for thousands of years, so this method simply does not work.
Unless we can turn China into a religious country, which is not much easier than unifying the earth, don't even think about it.
Chen Jingke asked back: "Can't it be that I want to make a mistake?"
Wu Shu shook his head and said: "You can't imagine such a simple truth. There must be other reasons."
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Sister Wu, who knows me, does have other reasons."
Wu Shu asked: "Tell me quickly, what makes you so confident and not afraid of Confucianism becoming bigger?"
Chen Jingke did not answer directly, but asked: "Can you estimate that even if Confucianism obtains the power to govern the secular world according to my method, how long will it take for them to fully control the secular world?"
Wu Shu thought for a while and said: "It's difficult. In addition to Taoism, there are also schools of thought such as Legalism and Military Science. It is too difficult for Confucianism to completely control the secular world."
"Unless they can make a breakthrough in their thinking and then crush the legalists and military strategists in terms of overall strength, they will not be able to completely control the secular world."
"But even so, they will still have a huge advantage. It will not be difficult for them to surpass our Taoism in power over time."
Chen Jingke said: "What you said makes sense, but I will not give Confucianism this time."
Wu Shu said in surprise: "Are you planning to break the contract and take action against Confucianism?"
Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "No, there is no need for it at all. I just need to develop the study of physics and promote Chinese civilization."
Wu Shu said with some confusion: "Is the study of physical studies really so important?"
Chen Jingke affirmed: "It's more important than you think. In the future, there will only be Chinese civilization, and the knowledge of Chinese civilization will be divided into liberal arts and science..."
"The liberal arts are Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Dharma, and military science, etc., and the sciences are the various subjects included in the study of physics..."
"Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism... will no longer be important. People who study literature will be familiar with hundreds of schools of thought and draw nutrients from them to form their own complete thoughts."
"So it doesn't matter if we give up the secular world to the Confucians. Before they really take control of the secular world, the world will change again."
Wu Shu said in disbelief: "Will these really come true?"
Chen Jingke said categorically: "It will definitely come true, and it won't be too long. We can see it in our lifetime."
Wu Shu was infected by his self-confidence and couldn't help but said: "I will do my best to help you so that this day comes as soon as possible."
Chen Jingke stepped forward, held her hand, and said, "I knew you would help me."
Then he added: "Many people suspect that I came to Datang with a mission. Although no one gave me any mission, I gave myself a goal."
Wu Shu answered: "Let Chinese civilization dominate the entire world?"
Chen Jingke paused for a moment, then said with a dumb smile: "This is just incidental. The real goal is to bring scientific thinking methods to Datang."
Wu Shu asked doubtfully: "Scientific thinking method? What is this?"
Chen Jingke thought for a while and said: "It's not clear enough to explain in a few words, but you will understand it in the future. As long as you know that quwu studies is one of the important manifestations of scientific thinking methods, if you develop quwu studies well, science will come."
Wu Shu still seemed to understand. However, she did not break the casserole and ask the truth. Instead, she said: "Although I don't understand very well, it doesn't matter. I can help you make suggestions for what you want to do."