There was a strange difference between the Ming government and the public in their attitudes toward Shandong.
The imperial court was very indifferent to Shandong.
There was no official statement, neither sending troops nor condemning.
It is as if Shandong is still the Shandong of the Ming Dynasty and nothing has happened.
But obviously everyone knows that Shandong is actually independent and is a rebel.
The reason is that the imperial court clearly understands the comparison of strengths between the two sides and knows that nothing can be done.
Especially among the high-ranking officials of the imperial court, many of them were doing business with Shandong secretly, and they were even more unwilling to antagonize Shandong, lest it affect Qian Cheng.
On the contrary, among the people, or to be precise among the scholars, Shandong has become a formidable enemy, even above the Hou Jin Dynasty and the peasant army.
Because Hou Jin was completing the transition from slavery to feudalism, his interest position was no different from that of the landlords in the Central Plains.
This is also an important reason why the Qing Dynasty later entered the customs and advanced by leaps and bounds.
What kind of hatred between family and country, what kind of national integrity...
Everyone has to stay behind before class interests.
In the eyes of Shilin, the peasant army was a rogue bandit.
Rogue bandits live in no fixed place, just like a source without roots. Their rise is rapid, and their demise is sudden.
But Shandong is different.
After the ideological confrontation in the past few years, the die-hards in Shilin have realized that this is a completely different new force.
What Shandong is doing is destroying the roots of orthodoxy.
If Shandong is not wiped out, these people will die without a burial place.
Zhang Pu was keenly aware of this storm among scholars, and he decided to stand up and become the banner of these people.
As long as he stands firm on this point, he will be able to reach a higher level. Even if he does not cultivate spokespersons in the court, he can still influence the situation in the world.
"This is a recent work, and it should be regarded as our epilogue. How about it?"
Zhang Pu took out his carefully crafted article and gave it to everyone to read.
Zhang Pu was very proud of his new work.
The previous several debates with Shandong had ended in disgrace, and he had learned lessons.
This time, there are no complicated twists and turns.
He wants to take the Chinese army directly.
Zhang Cai was the first person to read the article.
Just reading the title, he was stunned.
"On the Destruction of Saints and the Collapse of Righteous Ways"
[If heaven does not give birth to Zhongni, the eternity will be as long as night. The world can only worship the saints, and the righteous path will always be the guide. If you want to protect the righteous path, you should worship the saints. Shandong Zuo, Liu, Huang and other evil and rebellious people first regard the saints as being robbed and ignore them.
If you continue to refuse the return of the Holy Duke to your hometown, you will succeed. There is no greater danger of destroying the righteousness of the world than burning books and humiliating scholars. It is the right time to respect the saints and worship the Tao, to fight against rebellion and punish evil...]
How is this an ordinary article?
This is clearly a statement.
Zhang Pu had torn away all the obstacles and regarded Shandong as his life and death enemy.
This of course requires great courage.
Although in his opinion, there are more righteous ways in the world, but if Shandong takes over the world in the future, Zhang Pu will probably die without a burial place.
But as an old friend, Zhang Cai knew Zhang Pu to the core.
Zhang Pu's approach is obviously not to get into the tiger's den, but to get the tiger's cubs.
In other words, is there room for reconciliation between these people and Shandong?
Recalling that during this period, dozens of tenants and slaves at home had escaped, and the fertile fields were uncultivated, Zhang Cai knew that the matter of dealing with Shandong had reached a point where there was no need to delay.
"What Xi Ming said is exactly what we feel. Everyone, it is our duty to uphold the right principles and principles."
Those who can come here are obviously members of the Fushe community and are all members of the traditional and conservative landowning class.
These people naturally support Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai's ideas very much.
At that moment, everyone present at the meeting signed Zhang Pu’s article.
There are even some who think that their literary talent is good, and they have written articles in support of it.
In just over ten days, Zhang Pu's article was widely disseminated, reprinted many times, and spread all over the country.
The common people were busy with three meals a day and were slow to respond. However, the entire Shilin was incited, and countless people responded and cheered.
For a time, Fushe and Zhang Pu gained great momentum.
Violence against Shandong occurred in various places. Many businesses in Shandong were smashed and many people were injured.
The news quickly spread back to Shandong.
"This is war!"
Hou Xun's face turned pale and he directly concluded the matter.
No one disagrees.
This is a war.
A war without smoke.
It is more dangerous than normal war.
If you lose, you lose the hearts of the people.
So you can only win, not lose.
But how to do it, everyone couldn't help but scratch their heads for a while.
After all, Shandong's power cannot penetrate all over the world, and it seems that it is beyond its reach in the face of damaged business.
Only Zuo Mengeng remained calm.
"To shoot a man first, shoot a horse, and to capture a thief first capture the king. We cannot deal with these people with ulterior motives one by one, but there are people who can deal with them."
Zuo Mengeng gave a solution.
"Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs talk to the Ministry of Etiquette of the imperial court. According to the agreement, our business in Shandong shall not be disturbed or damaged anywhere. If something like this happens, the imperial court must give us an explanation."
Everyone looked sideways.
Can it still be like this?
Regarding this, Zuo Mengeng could only smile secretly.
It can only be said that the use of diplomacy by people in this era is still in its primitive stage, and there is still much to learn.
In addition to negotiating with the court and asking the court to give an explanation, Zuo Mengeng looked at Huang Zongxi.
"Now that things have come to this, it's time for that article of mine to be published, right?"
Huang Zongxi laughed.
"We both have the same ideas."
He ordered to go down, and the staff came in and distributed Zuo Menggeng's article "The Process of History".
Everyone who saw it was filled with admiration.
"Zhongheng took action, and it was indeed extraordinary."
"This is equivalent to pointing a finger at Zhang Pu and others and scolding them."
"The process of history is bound to move forward. Those who are addicted to the old and enjoy themselves by exploiting and enslaving the working people will inevitably be eliminated by the general trend of history. Fortunately, even the old farmers on the field can understand this. No.
I know Zhang Pu and others will vomit three liters of blood after watching this?"
Huang Daozhou saw this article for the first time and fell in love with it immediately.
The longer he served as an official in Shandong, the more disgusted he became with the imperial court.
The differences between the two sides in terms of ideals, interests, efficiency, goals, etc. have made people of insight already understand the necessity of survival of the fittest.
Only Zuo Mengeng could explain this difference clearly and bring it to everyone's heart.
"This is the first time that I, Shandong, have promoted our ideas to the people of the world, and we ask for your help. He, Zhang Pu, has led a group of stale and old people to shout and be arrogant. We have more like-minded people. How can we allow the justice of heaven to be surrendered to others?
"
Finally, when it was time for Shandong to take a clear-cut stand to spread new ideas, Liu Zongzhou actually felt a little dizzy.
That is the feeling of happiness when the ideal comes true after waiting hard.
What is the purpose of writing books and expounding truths all his life?
Isn't it just to revive this old dynasty and the declining world?
The knowledge he had been immersed in for decades was not enough, but now the new ideas gave him hope.