Chapter 716: Burning Books and Burying Confucianism?
"I will see you, Your Majesty!" Everyone bowed.
Li Shimin still had a look of anger on his face. He waved his hand and said, "Excuse me. Are you here because of those people outside the palace?"
"Your Majesty, that's right."
As Shangshu Zuopushe, Fang Xuanling had the highest official position among the people, so he stood up and said on behalf of everyone.
Li Shimin said with an ugly face: "Those people are disrespectful and dare to carry coffins to block the palace gate. There has never been such a ridiculous thing since ancient times. I have already decreed that all those people will be imprisoned for questioning. You don't need to say anything."
"Your Majesty, you must not do it. If it were just some of He Yu's disciples, it would be okay to do this. But now there are more and more scholars outside. The number of scholars kneeling outside the palace gate has reached more than 300. If all of them are
If you ask questions, you may lose the hearts of the world's scholars." Fang Xuanling said hurriedly.
"I am only dealing with some rebellious officials and traitors, how can I lose the hearts of the world's scholars? If the scholars of the Tang Dynasty are so ignorant of right and wrong, black and white, then what use are they?" Li Shimin said coldly.
"Could it be that your Majesty wants to imitate the First Emperor and burn books to entrap scholars?" Wei Zheng asked.
"Presumptuous!" Li Shimin's face turned livid.
Qin Shihuang was the only emperor through the ages, but his act of burning books and humiliating Confucian scholars earned him a thousand years of infamy.
Of course, this also has a lot to do with the later Confucianism.
Li Shimin was determined to surpass Emperor Qin and Han Wu, but what he wanted to surpass was merit.
Wei Zheng was not afraid at all, and said calmly: "It is indeed inappropriate for those scholars to carry coffins and force them to the palace, but if your Majesty directly punishes everyone, what is the difference between the First Emperor burning books and harassing Confucians? The First Emperor lost the world's scholars by burning books and harassing Confucians.
If your Majesty does this, you will also lose the hearts of the scholars in the world."
I have to say that Wei Zheng really doesn't know how to persuade people.
From the fact that Li Shimin did not ask Li Mu to continue delivering the order, it can be seen that Li Shimin made the decision in anger before, but it was difficult to change it overnight.
The arrival of Fang Xuanling and others also gave him a step forward.
He originally planned to wait for Fang Xuanling and others to persuade him, then he would go down the steps and discuss how to deal with it.
As a result, Fang Xuanling just tried to persuade him, but Wei Zheng jumped out and said that he wanted to burn books and humiliate scholars.
"Your Majesty, the words of Wei Guogong are indeed a bit alarmist, but we have freedom of speech in the Tang Dynasty. These people are indeed guilty of carrying coffins and forcing the palace, but many of them were just bewitched. It would be inappropriate to punish them all." Changsun Wuji said.
Although he was unhappy with Wei Zheng, this was not the time for revenge. The most important thing was to eliminate Li Shimin's anger and resolve the matter at hand.
Li Shimin said with a cold face: "Then what do you think we should do about this matter?"
Fang Xuanling bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to personally persuade them to go back."
Li Shimin rubbed his head. Fang Xuanling had followed him for so many years. After he succeeded to the throne, Fang Xuanling had been assisting him in handling government affairs. How could he not know Fang Xuanling.
If Fang Xuanling had a way, he would definitely say it. Now he directly proposed to persuade him in person, which shows that he has no good way to do this.
Fang Xuanling came here just to use his reputation to persuade those people to go back.
But Li Shimin knew very well that the aristocratic family was behind this matter, so he could not be persuaded to go back so easily.
Changsun Wuji's eyes flashed and he said: "Your Majesty, I think that the person who ties the bell must be tied to untie the bell. The Marquis of Jingyang County can win the competition, which shows that he has a quick mind. Maybe he can do something?"
As for actually executing Lin Xuan, Changsun Wuji never thought about it.
If Li Shimin gave up on Lin Xuan, it would be tantamount to compromising with the aristocratic family. The aristocratic family would have tasted the sweetness, and I am afraid that similar things will happen more often in the future.
"Li Mu, go and summon Lin Xuan into the palace." After Li Shimin finished speaking, he warned: "Let him go through the Xuanwu Gate."
Xuanwu Gate is located to the north and west of Taiji Palace and is not a commonly used palace gate.
And because of the changes in the Xuanwu Sect, everyone in the Xuanwu Sect became aware of it.
In fact, Xuanwu Gate is the closest gate to the East Palace, and usually only the prince would go here when entering the palace.
Since the Xuanwu Gate incident, few people have mentioned the name 'Xuanwu Gate' again.
"Yes." Li Mu bowed and retreated.
…
He Yu died, and his disciples carried the coffin and knelt at the palace gate. Lin Xuan naturally got the news about such a big thing.
"Husband, I am going to the palace to see my father now. Those people are so abominable. What does his suicide have to do with my husband?" Li Lizhi said angrily.
Lin Xuan smiled and said: "Don't panic, it'll be fine."
To be honest, Lin Xuan was a little panicked when he heard the news.
Historically, it was not uncommon for emperors to be unable to withstand the pressure and for their ministers to become outcasts.
But Lin Xuan soon gave up this idea.
Li Shimin could not give up on him.
The reason why Lin Xuan thinks so is not because he thinks he is very important to Li Shimin.
The higher-ups knew that this incident was a game between Li Shimin and the family.
If Li Shimin gave up on him, it would be tantamount to compromising the family, and it would also chill the hearts of others.
It will be very difficult to suppress the noble family in the future.
Take the Song Dynasty as an example. During the two Song Dynasties, there were continuous reforms. Wang Anshi's Reform and Qingli's New Deal were all advanced to a certain extent and had very valuable guiding significance and historical role for future generations. Especially in the Northern Song Dynasty, the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were quite diligent.
Emperors of all dynasties have worked hard to govern, and reform has always been the main theme of political life. However, few have truly succeeded. Wang Anshi was even called a traitor and was included in the list of traitors.
Shang Yang's reform made Qin become the first of the seven heroes of the Warring States Period from a small border country in one fell swoop, and finally unified the country; the reforms of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty made the country prosperous in the Northern Wei Dynasty. However, whether it was the Xining Reform of the Northern Song Dynasty or the Qingli New Deal, or Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty
ZTE's reforms, without exception, all ended in failure.
Because they essentially touched the interests of the landlord class and aristocratic families, the problem of aristocratic families controlling the court could not be solved in the Song Dynasty or even in the previous Tang Dynasty. The imperial power was not strong enough, and even Renzong defected in the face of battle. This led to the path of reform in the Song Dynasty.
No way.
The lack of courage of several generations of emperors also allowed those wealthy families and powerful landlords to have experience in reform. This was also an important reason why the Song Dynasty's reform continued to fail.
With Li Shimin's intelligence, he can naturally understand this. As for courage, Li Shimin is also not lacking.
Li Lizhi didn't know why Lin Xuan was so confident, but there was still a worried look on her face.
Lin Xuan didn't know how to explain the reason.
He couldn't say that your father was a ruthless man who killed his brother and imprisoned his father, so he couldn't be easily forced by a wealthy family.
"Master Marquis, Prince Consort, someone is coming from the palace and has already gone to the front hall." Chunyue walked in and said.
"Husband, what should I do?" Li Lizhi said in a panic.
Lin Xuan said softly: "Don't worry, His Majesty should have sent someone to summon me to the palace to discuss the matter. You are waiting for my return at home."
After saying that, Lin Xuan tidied his clothes and went to the front hall.
After waiting for a while, a servant came to report, and Lin Xuan followed the people from the palace into the palace.
Li Lizhi gritted her teeth, asked someone to prepare a car, and headed to the palace.