Ye An's words were well-founded, and Fan Zhongyan was speechless for a moment. His belief was Confucianism and the Confucian way. Deep in his mind, he always insisted that Confucianism was the way to govern the country and educate the people.
Nowadays, a study of things that was born out of Confucianism has broken his original idea.
"Gewu", a word born from Confucianism, has long been forgotten by Confucian scholars in the development of Confucianism for thousands of years, but now it is lifted up by this young man.
The power of Gewu is undeniable. At present, nearly half of the tax revenue of the country comes from business, and the wealth created by Gewu is extremely important.
Not to mention cotton-padded clothes and sweaters, clothing to keep out the cold, even the armors, weapons, and weapons used by soldiers are all inseparable from Gewu.
Recently, the craftsmen who will serve as supervisors regard the study of objects as their prominent knowledge, which has made many scholar-bureaucrats in the court dissatisfied.
In Fan Zhongyan's view, Ye An was a young and talented person with ideas. He had a profound understanding of the politics of the country and had many views on the world's leading scholarship.
But he does not think that now is the time to argue about the relative importance of Confucianism and the study of things, nor is it the best time to promote the study of things.
"It is a well-known fact that the study of Confucianism is beneficial to the country, but Confucianism is based on it and has the effect of educating all people. It is a prominent study in the world and will live forever! If the government is unclear and the accumulated shortcomings are not eliminated, even if the study of Confucianism is recommended as a prominent study, it will
How about it? If the country is peaceful and the people are at peace, the court is solemn, and stubborn diseases are gone, the study of studying things will naturally rise. You yourself have said that the prosperity of a country cannot be separated from the study of studying things. Since the country needs it, it will eventually flourish, so why rush for quick success?"
Ye An was slightly taken aback by Lao Fan's words. This involved an essential question: Should we first promote the status of geological objects, or should we reform the court first?
Lao Fan's choice was undoubtedly the latter. Ye An nodded slightly and said: "What Mr. Fan said is reasonable, but the study of studying things is a cumulative study. The sooner you implement it, the sooner you will gain something. The living person of Yingtian Academy
Puhui Company accepted the offer, but you must also agree to one condition."
Fan Zhongyan smiled and then said: "Promote your study of studying things in Yingtian Academy? No wonder the officials in the court call you a cunning rabbit. You are really a cunning rabbit with three burrows!"
Ye An smiled bitterly and shook his head: "What a cunning rabbit with three caves, in the eyes of Changsheng, this is just a spark!"
"A spark?"
"The momentum of a prairie fire is unstoppable!"
Ye An suddenly stood up from his seat and pointed to the Tokyo city road: "Mr. Fan, please see, what are the people in the world doing? Isn't it just to live a better life? Confucianism can educate people's hearts, but the study of things can educate people.
Live a better life, why should I just sit back and watch if I know this?! Confucianism and Confucianism are inherently integrated, and only the combination of the two can make things prosperous and people prosperous while educating people's hearts! This is the ratio of "Tao" and "Utensil"!"
Fan Zhongyan was stunned for a moment. He thought of the key issue of Confucianism. Confucianism can educate people's hearts, but it mostly embodies the illusory Tao, and there is nothing that can be directly reflected so that the people can see and touch it.
, this is also the ultimate question that troubles everyone in Confucianism.
The Taoists' elixir refining, training, and even magical techniques are what convinced the people. The military strategists' ability to capture cities, deploy troops, and plan thousands of miles away amazes the world.
Only Confucianism is known to the common people through poetry. Civil servants assist officials in running the court. In the eyes of the people, this is the ability of the civil servants themselves. Because civil servants are capable ministers and officials, Confucianism is a prominent school. Although this is a fallacy, it is true.
What the people think from the bottom of their hearts.
Literati wanted to change this view more than once, but if they wanted to express their ambitions, they had to study and become officials, and then they fell into an endless cycle.
And if the study of studying things is incorporated into Confucianism, the people will be able to see that everything they use, including food, clothing, housing and transportation, comes from the study of studying things and is also a branch of Confucianism. In this way, the status of Confucianism will naturally increase...
Somehow, Fan Zhongyan was actually looking forward to the rise of the study of objects as mentioned by Ye An, and also wanted to see if the study of objects was as magical as he said.
"I wonder if Changsheng will let me have a glimpse of the way of investigating things when I return to Beijing after completing the disaster relief work?"
That’s right!
Ye An shouted in his heart, this is the effect he wants. The study of studying things is afraid that you will ignore it. If you have experienced it, no wise man will reject this subject, because it explores the most common things that human beings come into contact with.
Something “matter”!
"It's natural. Ye An will personally drive Fan Gong's car by then!"
Fan Zhongyan stroked his beard and said happily: "Very good, very good!"
The two of them had a topic. After that, Fan Zhongyan began his long conversation, which mostly focused on reforming the long-standing shortcomings of the government. The content involved surprised Ye An, a bold man.
And Fan Zhongyan spoke very prophetically about the problems of three redundancies and three costs: redundant soldiers, redundant officials, redundant expenses. If the country is not eliminated in a day, it will be like a sword hanging over its head!
Hearing the wonderful thing, Ye An couldn't help but clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Fan Gongzhi saw Ye An in awe! I wonder if Fan Gong can deal with the opposition? Or how to resist the criticism of the conservative people?"
When Fan Zhongyan asked this question, he was so embarrassed that he remained silent. All his impassioned energy was powerless at this moment. Ye An could clearly see the helplessness and loss on his face!
Ye An sighed and stopped talking. Fan Zhongyan talked about the many long-standing shortcomings of the Song Dynasty, going all the way to the core of the pain, pros and cons, but unfortunately he only thought about reform, but did not think about how to deal with the counterattack brought about by the reform.
It is needless to say that one should use civility to control the military and abandon martial arts. It is well known that miscellaneous taxes cause suffering to the people. In addition, the luxurious life of the clan and relatives, generals and nobles is also a drag on the dynasty.
But the conservatives are the beneficiaries, so why should they be allowed to overthrow themselves? This is simply a joke. Otherwise, why would Fan Zhongyan’s reforms and Wang Anshi’s reforms be in vain?
From the beginning to the end, Ye An was cautiously changing everything here, but he found that reform was not a random act without a clue. On the contrary, it should be carried out rigorously, scientifically, and cautiously.
Economy, culture, politics, military, public opinion, cognition, etc., these changes need to have a sequence. Only a stable environment can promote cognitive changes, and only a safe environment can improve the internal political environment.
The long-standing disadvantages of the Song Dynasty have begun to manifest, and the hidden dangers of three redundancies and three expenses are about to explode. Land annexation, the gap between the rich and the poor is too wide, and the exploitation of the common people by the powerful and the rich has gradually begun.
This country is in the best stage of reform. This stage is not the best time to exert force, but the best time for reform. It is the beginning. Everything needs to lay the foundation.
The ancients often said that "governing a big country is like cooking small dishes", but in fact, this is also true for every reform.
The price of acting too hastily is that "the people will perish and the government will cease." History has reminded the later reformers countless times, but few people have seen the pattern. The reforms in the Song Dynasty were not many, nor were they not radical, but the results were obvious.