"There is an island country in Europe called England..."
Zuo Mengeng paused deliberately to observe Liu Zongzhou's reaction.
Facts have proved that Ming people, especially those in the southeast, still know a lot about the world.
"Four hundred years ago, there was a monarch in England, King John, who signed a code of law called the Magna Carta. It stipulated that the power of the nobility and the church would not be violated by the king, and the king's power in taxation was limited. At the same time,
We also need to protect people’s freedom and property rights. In Europe, it’s called a constitutional monarchy.”
Liu Zongzhou was greatly surprised.
"Why is King John so enlightened?"
Zuo Mengeng smiled bitterly.
"Sir, do you think King John is willing to give up his power? It's not because the nobility and the church are too powerful. If King John does not compromise, his rule will be overthrown."
Liu Zongzhou shook his head.
"This Englishman is so devoid of kings and fathers, and ignores the rules and order, which is inhumane behavior."
Zuo Mengeng understood.
Even people like Liu Zongzhou who are at the forefront of the times are still inevitably imprisoned and restricted in their thinking.
"Why do we need a king and a father? Why should we treat the king like his father and a god?"
Liu Zongzhou was dumbfounded, he didn't expect Zuo Mengeng's thoughts to be so radical.
"The Lord of Heaven and Earth, my dear teacher, this is the principle of human ethics, how can we violate it?"
How could Zuo Mengeng be persuaded? His tone became more intense.
"Before Yingzheng, was there an emperor in the world? Before Xia Qi, was there a king in the world? Since emperors and kings are not born, why should we take them as a matter of course?"
Liu Zongzhou was stunned.
He couldn't refute Zuo Mengeng's words.
The historian's brilliant works are known to everyone, and there is no room for refutation.
Zuo Mengeng was on full fire, and it was rare to say that he was so happy.
"Emperors and kings are born for the support of the people. They should work for the welfare of all people. It is not an exaggeration to call them public servants of the people. However, today's emperor regards the world as private property and the people as lambs. He robs and exploits at will, harming the world.
If you enrich yourself and do not match your virtue, how can you gain the support of the people?"
Liu Zongzhou broke into a cold sweat after hearing this, as if he was meeting Zuo Mengeng for the first time.
This young man is not only outstanding in his martial arts.
This insight and courage are truly a magic weapon, unstoppable.
He struggled to find the language.
"Now that the new king has ascended the throne, the eunuchs and rebels have been eliminated, the people are in full swing, and the government of the country has taken on a completely new look, we cannot speculate on the past."
Zuo Mengeng sneered.
"Sir, do you really think that the new emperor is different from the late emperor?"
If the previous words are just general political ideas, this involves specific tactics.
Liu Zongzhou looked solemn and asked: "Why do you think so?"
Although Chongzhen has not taken action against the Donglin Party, Zuo Menggeng cannot find evidence.
"My lord, please think about who is disturbing Mr. Liu Qingyue? Who are Yang Weiyuan, Li Hengmao, Yang Suoxiu, Tian Jingxin and others? My lord, you should know."
There is no need to speak too clearly, Liu Zongzhou is not a fool, he is already shocked.
The people Zuo Mengeng mentioned are all members of the eunuch party.
The strange thing is that since Chongzhen liquidated the eunuchs, why did he keep these people?
And repeatedly caused trouble for cabinet members?
The emperor's thoughts are self-evident.
Zuo Mengeng's words are serious and thoughtful.
"Although that Feng Lun is a treacherous person, one thing he said is right. The emperor is always the emperor. It is wishful thinking to expect the emperor to give up the power he has obtained."
He pointed to Liu Zongzhou's memorial.
"The younger generation made a bet with the elder. If you submit this memorial to me, the Emperor will probably just sneer, put it away, and not even listen to a single word of it."
Liu Zongzhou fell silent.
Although his official career is not very impressive, and he has no political talents. But if he can become a leader, he naturally has a certain sense of judgment.
In my heart, I told him that what Zuo Mengeng said was absolutely correct, but there was still a trace of luck.
Especially the liquidation of the eunuchs after Chongzhen ascended the throne made him feel that this emperor might be different.
This is the mixture of feudal scholar-officials and enlightened thinkers, before they have transformed.
"You are young, intelligent and knowledgeable, and your future may be limitless. But you must be careful with your words and deeds to avoid getting into trouble."
As expected, Zuo Mengeng stopped talking.
It's still early, especially before the facts happen. No matter how much he says, people like the Donglin Party will not wake up.
The outcome will be known in less than two years, so why should he be in a hurry?
After thinking for a while, he changed the topic.
"My lord, this junior has recently written a manuscript, and the daughter of Duke Xu Xuanhu has read it and admired it very much. My lord is a master of literature, I wonder if I can correct it."
Since we have to work hard on the Donglin Party, Liu Zongzhou is definitely a good breakthrough point.
Although this gentleman had no political achievements, his influence in thought and literature was very important.
Historical records record that when he went north to the capital, he gave lectures along the way. Everywhere he went, the streets were empty and his fans were like crucian carp crossing the river.
If you can draw such great sages to your camp, you will gain countless supporters out of thin air.
Hearing that Zuo Mengeng actually made a fuss, Liu Zongzhou burst into laughter.
"You can write with your sword and gun skills?"
But thinking about Zuo Mengeng's precise remarks just now, I felt that this young man might really have some literary talent.
"Hurry and get it, I'll help you polish it up."
Zuo Mengeng was overjoyed and went off in a hurry.
Liu Zongzhou shook his head and laughed, then picked up his pen and planned to continue writing the memorial.
But I don’t know why, when I read the words on the paper, I always feel upset, my thoughts are cut off, and I can’t continue.
Zuo Mengeng left quickly and came back quickly, respectfully handing the manuscript to Liu Zongzhou.
Liu Zong read it on Monday and said, "Is this written by that girl Ruolin?"
Zuo Mengeng asked curiously: "Does the boss know her?"
Liu Zongzhou burst into laughter.
"I am in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Xu Xuanhu is in Songjiang Mansion, and we have a lot of contacts."
During the Tianqi period, due to the dictatorship of eunuchs, a large number of officials resigned and returned home. Officials and scholars in the south of the Yangtze River had nothing to do, so they naturally had more exchanges.
It is not surprising that Liu Zongzhou became friends with Xu Guangqi.
But after reading the words and looking at the content, Liu Zongzhou couldn't help but frown.
"Such vulgar words are worthy of being turned into an article?"
In the eyes of such great scholars, plain and straightforward vernacular literature is really worthless.
But Zuo Mengeng also had something to say.
"Ms. Xu said that this kind of article focuses on arguments first, and it is more appropriate to write in vernacular."
Liu Zongzhou shook his head.
"That girl who was taught by Xu Xuan is also lawless."
Then he thought of something.
"Then why is this girl in your house?"
Zuo Menggeng explained how he saved people, which made Liu Zongzhou look at him with admiration.
"That's right. I thought you were young and ambitious, and would be arrogant. I don't want to be so stable. It's rare."
During the banquet during the day, Zuo Mengeng publicly talked about fighting the bandits in Jifu.
But from beginning to end, he never mentioned Xu Ruolin.
Just because women's reputation is of paramount importance in this era, if outsiders know that Xu Ruolin is alone in the wilderness with a strange man, how will she behave in the future?
If it had been any other young man who had saved someone from the insurrectionary army, and she was Xu Xuanhu's granddaughter, I'm afraid it would have been publicized everywhere.
But Zuo Mengeng kept it in his heart and refused to take credit for it.
This stability alone is very impressive.
However, since Xu Ruolin commented so much on Zuo Mengeng's article, Liu Zongzhou did not care about the issue of plain writing.
The granddaughter of Xu Xuanhu still has some appreciation ability.
Regarding "The Wealth of Nations", Zuo Menggeng copied the original text.
Ask him to make modifications according to the reading and language of the ancients of this era, but he does not have the ability.
I showed this book to Liu Zongzhou just to see if the top scholars of this era could accept this discussion.
If not, then from now on he will shelve the Wealth of Nations and never show it to others.
But because they were copied from the original text, many terms were relatively technical. Liu Zong looked around and asked questions, and he explained from time to time.
Liu Zongzhou originally thought that this was a young man's game, so he didn't take it seriously at first. But the more he read, the more frightened he became, and the layers of confusion in his heart suddenly became clear.
Even though Liu Zongzhou was a great Confucian, Liu Zongzhou was born into a family of merchants.
Liu Zongzhou's father and grandfather made a living by doing business and went bankrupt several times.
Had it not been for the upbringing and instruction of his maternal grandfather, Zhang Ying, a great scholar, there would have been no Liu Zongzhou.
Among the students Zhang Ying taught, the most famous was Xu Jie.
Precisely because he was born in a merchant family, Liu Zongzhou was deeply involved in merchant affairs when he was young, and even helped out at home, so he was not a nerd.
If the content in "The Wealth of Nations" were shown to others, they would definitely be accused of being evil.
But Liu Zongzhou was fascinated by it and completely forgot himself.
However, there were not many parts that Zuo Menggen wrote. He turned over and over, but there were no more parts at the end.
Liu Zongzhou became anxious at this time and grabbed Zuo Mengeng's arm with such force that Zuo Mengeng felt a little pain.