typeface
large
in
Small
Turn off the lights
Previous bookshelf directory Bookmark Next

Chapter 6 Cleaning up the evils (Part 1)

 As a time traveler, Gao Pingshi has a profound understanding of the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty. Since Taizu Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang established the capital in Nanjing in 1368 and proclaimed himself emperor to this day, the Ming Dynasty has been in its 200th year.

His entire rule is heading towards decay.

In terms of official administration, the government is still tolerant, and there are too many things to do. The ministers and workers, big and small, are tolerant and indulgent, and bribes are given. This makes the law gradually fade away and the discipline is weak. As an important ruling machine of the country, the army will not be able to win people if its soldiers are not trained regularly.

Although there were constant attacks by the Qing troops and attempts to hook up with the troops, in reality they were still fleeing or hiding for powerful men. Many of the people in the camp were old, weak, sick, and disabled. With lax laws and unclear rewards and punishments, their combat effectiveness was extremely low.

Even mutinies in the army occurred from time to time; and corresponding to the unprecedented madness of the imperial court's civil engineering, prayer and sacrificial battles, and the plundering of land and wealth by the powerful gentry, it was the exhaustion of Chinese and foreign government treasures and the people's lack of food.

The army was short of money, wages, horses and grass, and a large number of homesteaders went bankrupt. The number of slave tenants continued to increase. Peasants resisted rent, resisted taxes, grabbed grain, and fought for Sochi.

On the other hand, due to the long-term continuous progress of social productivity and the development of the commodity economy, the germination of capitalist production relations has appeared in some industries and regions; with the development of the urban economy, citizen movements are also quietly rising, with secular

The citizen culture characterized by taste and folk style, the literary and artistic trend with Yanzhi literature and romanticism as the main body, and the social fashion oriented by admiring novelty and pursuing beauty, constitute a new melody in social development.

The general public's anti-plundering and anti-persecution struggles are surging and continuous; with the increasing decay of Yangming's thoughts, especially the continuous exposure of the nihilistic thoughts and the harm of the Qingtan style of study, Yan Jun, He Xinyin, and Li Zhi

Heretical thinkers represented by others advocated recognition of selfish desires and independence of personality, and humanistic thoughts surged in the ideological circles. Practical thoughts were marked by anti-empty and pragmatic, saving the world and the people, focusing on production, encouraging industry and commerce, and reviving natural sciences.

Rapid expansion, all of this is impacting the barriers of the old feudal rule.

At the same time, the world structure was also undergoing drastic changes. In 1566 AD, which was the forty-fifth year of Emperor Shizong’s reign in the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yijun was four years old, an asset explosion broke out in the Netherlands, spearheaded by the iconoclasm movement.

Class revolution. In 1588, which was the sixteenth year after Zhu Yijun ascended the throne in history, Spain would send the "Invincible Fleet" to the British expedition. The fleets of both sides met in the English Channel. After about two weeks of naval battles, the Spanish fleet

Almost all the army was wiped out, and Britain gradually became stronger and established maritime hegemony. In France, the rule of the Bourbon dynasty was established starting in 1589, and the "Clocan" uprising and the promulgation of the "Edict of Nantes" successively occurred

" incident. In Russia, the Tsar will issue a "special edict" that Kazakhs belong to Russian subjects in 1595, and in 1598, the Shibier Khanate will be annexed...

Although Yangming's theory of mind has countless fans in later generations, and Gao Pragmatic also "longs for it" in Wang Yangming himself, but from the perspective of saving the world and the current crisis, he thinks that the descendants of Wang Yangming have completely gone astray at this time.

Wrong way. These people are just pragmatic, just like the scene when metaphysics was prosperous in the past, and they are of no benefit to the country or the people. What these people pay attention to is "normally talking about their hearts and minds, and dying to repay the king's kindness when in danger" - it is a joke!<

/p>

Not to mention how many people of this generation actually died to repay the kindness of the emperor after the death of Ming Dynasty. Should this approach be promoted? You, the senior officials, have to do their job, and you can enjoy the rich work, but you can't get down to business.

Because, you only know how to stand up and talk about your character - no matter how good your character is, what good will it do to the world and the people? If you follow a high and pragmatic view, it is really better for such a person to "die", and it is better to die early.

!

From a high pragmatic point of view, if we want to save the late Ming Dynasty, we can only promote practical learning!

The Gao family, where Gao Pangshi came from, was one of the great masters of practical learning in the dynasty, and Gao Gong himself practiced practical learning and tried his best to promote it throughout the country. Later historians generally regarded Zhang Juzheng as the "king and tyrant" of practical learning in the Ming Dynasty.

Although they are not wrong, they intentionally or unintentionally ignored one point: Gao Gong was the first to truly implement practical learning! The so-called Zhang Juzheng reform in history was just a continuation and development of Gao Gong.

It’s just an “established policy”.

The winner is the king and the loser is the enemy.

If history can be assumed, Gao Gong may not have done as well as Zhang Juzheng; if history can be assumed, Gao Gong may have done more justice than Zhang Juzheng!

This is not because Gao Pragmatic came from a Gao family and spoke from a Gao Gong standpoint, but it is indeed evidenced by history.

In later generations, due to the popularity of a certain book, the historical circle continued to set off a craze for Ming history. During this craze, some scholars tried their best to disparage and even slander Zhang Juzheng, and falsely accused Gao Gong, in order to create the heroic image of Zhang Juzheng as "Gao Daquan".

He repeatedly emphasized that "what Gao Gong left behind was a mess caused by internal and external troubles." This so-called "mess" theory not only erased Gao Gong's achievements in border management, but also contradicted historical facts. Therefore, some serious scholars

Refute it immediately.

In fact, at the beginning of Gao Gong's administration, he was faced with the situation of massive intrusion by southern Japanese and northern invaders since Jiajing, and the border situation was precarious. In order to reverse this situation, on the one hand, he vigorously promoted military reforms, such as establishing a reserve and special relocation system for officials in the Ministry of War.

In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the Ming army, the border generals' vacation and inward relocation system, as well as the punishment system for armaments personnel who failed to perform their duties, were adopted. On the other hand, the Jingbian strategy of "suppressing the south and Fu in the north" was used to vigorously rectify border affairs.

Northeast, southwest, northwest, and south created a new situation of "border Yanran".

As for the flexible and pragmatic methods he has adopted, Gao pragmatically knows that they will be revealed one by one in the next two to three years.

However, Zhu Yijun was only an eight-year-old prince at this time. Emperor Longqing was very concerned about whether Zhu Yijun's childhood was happy because of his tragic childhood. Until this time, he had only allowed him to read and read a little, without formally enrolling in school. Therefore, he expected Zhu Yijun to follow him.

The emperor's words can play a key role in such a major event. High pragmatism is not very optimistic, so if this matter is to be successful, it is obviously necessary to increase the number, and it is to increase the number.

So Gao Pragmatic smiled and said: "If the prince goes to talk to the Holy Spirit like this, I'm afraid the Holy Spirit will still be a little hesitant - just as Factory Governor Feng just said, the ministers in the outer court may object together, so there must be an important minister outside in this matter."

Only when the court agrees can the Holy One make up his mind."

Zhu Yijun was a little stunned at first, then after thinking about it, he suddenly became discouraged: "But, I don't recognize the ministers of the foreign court, let alone the important ministers."

Feng Bao was shocked and hesitated: "Mr. Xiao Gao means... Mr. Gao Ge? This, I'm afraid it's..." What he said later was not spoken, but it must have been nothing more than "I'm afraid it's unlikely?"
Gao pragmatic smiled and said to Feng Bao: "In the past two years, when I was in my hometown in Xinzheng, I was fortunate enough to have my third uncle personally teach me how to read. In my spare time, my third uncle also showed me some of his manuscripts. One of them has not been published for various reasons.

The memorial submitted is called "Reversing the Declined Habits and Advocating the Saints to Govern the Essay", also known as "Eliminating the Eight Abnormalities"..."


This chapter has been completed!
Previous Bookshelf directory Bookmark Next