Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 327 The Confusion of the Old Confucian

In March, the golden light filled the Ming capital with its densely packed red walls and tall buildings. Everyone could feel the empire's omnipresent glory.

Confidence and harmony were perfectly displayed in every scholar and commoner. They wore long robes with wide sleeves, wore brocade pendants and colorful carriages, and bowed with folded hands. They were wealthy and polite.

Zhu Houzhao, who was on a secret tour, was very pleased to see such people. This was his ideal prosperous scene, but he knew that such prosperity and tranquility as well as the confidence of a great country embodied in millions of people all required money to build.

Although the war to retake Jiaozhi was still going on, the people of the empire were already enjoying the benefits of the war in advance.

Because through the form of war coupons, a large amount of private capital, most of which came from the literati (middle class) and the powerful, flowed into the court, and the court was able to have sufficient capital to carry out public utilities construction in advance.

A sufficient minimum living security system has been implemented for the widowed, the widowed, and the lonely, and there will be professional government agencies to provide employment guidance and training to the vagrants. Beggars will be forced to find jobs if they are lazy. It is precisely because of this that the weak are helped, the poor are aided, the elderly are cared for, the young are educated, and the lazy are taken care of.

"Alas, I don't understand, I don't understand! Why is the politics of today not the way of a sage, but the situation like that under the rule of Yao and Shun, selecting the virtuous and capable, speaking of trust and cultivating harmony... the old have a place to live, the strong have a place to be employed, the young have a place to grow..."

When Zhu Houzhao came to a school and asked an old scholar named Tang Jingyi, Tang Jingyi sighed.

He really didn't understand. As an old Confucian scholar who had experienced the reigns of Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde, Tang Jingyi knew that even during the Hongzhi Restoration, there were still hunger and starvation. There were beggars from time to time, and even theft, kidnapping and trafficking occurred frequently. If there was a year of famine, there would inevitably be starving people.

But there is no doubt that the court officials at that time also worked very hard. From the emperor to the prefectures and counties, they all abided by the rites and laws, did not take advantage of the people, did not waste their money, and even the proposal to recover Hetao was not mentioned in order to avoid wasting military rations.

"During the time of the previous emperor, the court was full of upright people, and the whole nation valued virtue and filial piety. The previous emperor was even more frugal and courteous, treating his ministers with kindness and loving the people like his own children. Confucianism was the leading school of thought, but the people in the capital could hardly afford rice. Today, poor villagers can still eat three pounds of meat every day, and children in the countryside can read the poems of Li Bai and Du Fu.

But nowadays, those with strange skills and lewd tricks are in power, and the officials in the court are mostly villains and no gentlemen. Confucianism is even denounced as pedantic! I don’t understand, I really don’t understand!
For example, the imperial court is not only building large-scale projects everywhere, but also launching wars frequently! Why can they still raise the minimum living allowance for widows, widowers and orphans to five silver dollars per month! There are no less than 100,000 such people in the capital, which means 500,000 silver dollars, or 6 million silver dollars a year! Moreover, the tax silver of the imperial court in the past was not even half of the silver money for subsidizing the weak people now!"

After Tang Jingyi finished speaking, he drank a glass of strong liquor and couldn't help coughing. It was obvious that drinking tea could not relieve his inner depression. At this time, he could only use strong liquor to relieve his depression.

Zhu Houzhao was not angry when he saw this, although he could understand that Tang Jingyi, as an old Confucian scholar, was obviously quite dissatisfied with the court's abandonment of Confucian ideas of governing the country and its bold reforms.

However, the more depressed the old Confucian Tang Jingyi became, the happier Zhu Houzhao became, because only this could prove that the Ming Dynasty had indeed changed.

Moreover, in fact, Zhu Houzhao knew that it was the period of severe drought in North China. According to the original history, there would be a great famine in northern Zhili that year, although the Ming court at that time was able to provide effective relief and thus avoided a major disaster.

But in this life, the impact of this drought is obviously smaller, because the Ming Dynasty's food supply base is already spread all over the world. Coupled with the promotion of sweet potatoes, the capital area has sufficient food reserves to deal with droughts.

"Boss, give me two bottles of Xihuashan yogurt!"

At this time, two young scholars in a tavern had just finished their meal. One of the young scholars in a green shirt suddenly stood up and shouted to the shopkeeper who was using an abacus in front of the counter.

Because they were in the capital, and the queen was the major shareholder of Xihuashan Dairy, all these taverns had people from Xihuashan Dairy using chemical refrigeration to sell Xihuashan cheese.

As soon as the scholar in blue finished speaking, the shopkeeper hurriedly brought two bottles of yogurt in glass bottles. The yogurt was sealed with kraft paper. The outside of the middle glass bottle was engraved with the Xihuashan Dairy brand and a phoenix was painted as a trademark. Of course, many people in the capital already knew that this represented the Empress, otherwise who would dare to use the phoenix as a trademark.

Tang Jingyi might have drunk some wine at this time, and he was also depressed because the prosperous times before him were not the prosperous times created by Confucianism, so he pointed at the yogurt angrily and said to Zhu Houzhao:
"Look, even the current queen, who is the mother of the country, no longer embroiders and raises mulberry trees, observes the etiquette of a wife, and promotes female virtues, but has started a business. A group of villains are praising the queen for their own personal gain, saying that she has made great contributions to the people. This is really ridiculous! But you have to admit that children nowadays do grow faster and taller than children in previous generations, but the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics! This is the ancestral rule!"

Tang Jingyi had just finished speaking when the scholar in blue couldn't help but add, "But the ancestral rules don't say that the harem can't engage in business!"

The old scholar Tang Jingyi couldn't help but choke and was speechless for a while.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't help but recall that ever since his queen developed Xihuashan Dairy into a very famous dairy company in the Gyeonggi area, there were indeed many civil servants who could not tolerate the queen's behavior of doing business as the mother of the country, and therefore submitted memorials to advise the emperor to stop the queen from doing so.

All the civil officials could cite were etiquette and the so-called reason that the harem was not allowed to interfere in government affairs.

However, Zhu Houzhao refuted the civil officials on the grounds that neither etiquette nor ancestral rules stated that the harem was not allowed to engage in business.

It is precisely because of this that the civil service group failed to successfully prevent the development of Xihuashan Dairy.

Zhu Houzhao also knew that theoretically, the powerful, especially the emperor who held ruling power in the empire and the empress who had a relationship with the emperor, would harm the interests of the common people if they engaged in business.

However, at that time, the Ming Dynasty was still an absolute monarchy and fundamentally a family empire. Therefore, the interests of the emperor and even the empress were consistent with the interests of the country. If Zhu Houzhao wanted to keep the empire firmly in his own hands, he could only let himself and his relatives and confidants control the main economic industries of the court.

At this time, the scholar in blue shirt just took over the words, and the younger scholar also stood up: "Brother Ruzhen is right. The current queen does not interfere in politics. The confusion that the old gentleman mentioned is actually not confusion. Moreover, it is precisely because the queen can do business that the queen can directly provide 3 million silver dollars to help during the severe drought in North China. She even provides no less than 1 million silver dollars every year to help poor students. Just think about it, if the queen did not do business, but only embroidered and raised mulberry trees, how could she have so much money to help the world!"

At this time, the scholar in blue shirt placed a stool directly in front of the old Confucian Tang Jingyi: "Old sir, actually there is nothing difficult to understand about this matter. In my opinion, it is because your knowledge is too narrow. Your Confucianism cannot explain why the previous emperor valued Confucianism and was more benevolent than Your Majesty, but still could not avoid internal and external troubles, while Your Majesty now has strict laws and heavy taxes, which makes the country peaceful and the people safe."

"But in fact, it makes sense if we use the teachings of the Holy Scriptures to explain it. The Ming Dynasty used to be closed, and the total wealth of the Ming Dynasty did not increase, but the number of people did increase, and the land did not change. Naturally, the court became poorer and poorer, and the people became poorer and poorer." At this time, the younger scholar also took over the conversation.

"The current Ming Dynasty is not closed. Although the number of people is increasing, the wealth of the Ming Dynasty is also increasing. Through trade and expansion of territory, the court is getting richer and richer, and the people are getting richer and richer. Even if the court imposes heavy taxes and strict laws, both the literati and the common people will not lose their income due to heavy taxes. They will still increase their income due to the court's trade and external expansion.
The world is bustling with people all because of profit. The world is bustling with people all because of profit. Shengxue said that the Ming Dynasty was not isolated and closed, but just a country in the entire earth. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty needed to constantly seize more benefits from the outside in order to make the people of the Ming Dynasty live better and make the country strong!

People have courtesy, righteousness, integrity and shame, but there are only interests between countries. Old sir, you have always respected morality and Confucianism, so you will naturally sneer at some of the actions of the court. However, you have to admit that you can now drink two taels of wine here calmly and eat two or three plates of braised beef, and be a noble gentleman, because the Ming court plundered countless wealth through war and colonization, which gave you sufficient retirement security. "

At this time, after the blue-shirted scholar said this, Tang Jingyi was speechless. After a moment, he said more dejectedly: "Is Confucianism really useless in governing the country? Is there really no prosperous dynasty in the world that governs the country with courtesy?"

"In fact, old sir, you can practice it yourself. Now the Ming Dynasty has issued a decree that all the land in the world is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, those who are ambitious can take the examination to become officials in the Ministry of Personnel of the imperial court. As long as they are students or above, they can also ask the imperial court for a seal to rule a place of their choice outside the Great Wall or overseas. The imperial court will grant you the right to rule for 30 years."

Zhu Houzhao also took over the conversation at this time. He really hoped that old Confucian scholars like Tang Jingyi would not sulk in the capital but go to other places to turn overseas indigenous settlements into places of Confucianism.

After all, we can't just let Western missionaries spread the "gospel" everywhere and allow Western civilization to gradually spread to the world. As the typical Confucian inheritors of Eastern civilization, Confucian scholars should also take the initiative to spread their ideas of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness.

It would be best to turn those natives into obedient subjects who can obey the laws and etiquette.

At this time, when Zhu Houzhao said this, the scholar in blue shirt also echoed: "This gentleman is right. There are still so many wild places. If you really want to govern the country with Confucianism and recreate the era of Yao and Shun, you might as well apply to be an official outside."

Tang Jingyi could not help but stand up and said, "In this case, thank you three for your advice. I will go to the Ministry of Personnel to take the exam and then revive Confucianism among the barbarians!"

After Tang Jingyi finished speaking, he turned away.

The scholar in blue shirt bowed to Zhu Houzhao and said, "My dear, please forgive me for being abrupt. From what you said just now, you sound like a member of the Loyalty Society. Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Hu, my name is Zongxian, my courtesy name is Ruzhen, I am a student in the 33rd grade of the Economics and Money Law Department of the Imperial University of Peking, and a candidate member of the Loyalty Society."

"My name is Zhu Shou," Zhu Houzhao replied.

"You are Zhu Shou? The winner of 67 patents, the founder of the Zhongjun Society theory, and the master of sacred learning! I'm sorry!"

At this time, another young scholar suddenly stood up and bowed to Zhu Houzhao, saying, "My surname is Zhang, my given name is Juzheng, my courtesy name is Shuda, and I am a freshman in the Junior Class of the Department of Mathematics at the Imperial University of Peking. I am an active member of the Loyal Emperor Society!"

Ruiguaner!
It is truly a household name!
Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the two scholars he met now were Hu Zongxian, a famous minister who fought against Japanese pirates in the late Jiajing period in history, and Zhang Juzheng, a famous politician in the early Wanli period in history.

What Zhu Houzhao did not expect was that Zhang Juzheng was still a child prodigy as in history. Although he looked young, he was already a student in the junior class. This was enough to prove that he had already completed knowledge that others would need more than ten years to learn at a very young age. It was truly incredible.

But what Zhu Houzhao didn't expect was that his pseudonym, which had always worked for him, actually surprised the two people. He couldn't help but think that his pseudonym had become somewhat famous and could not be used anymore, and he needed to change it.

In any case, Zhu Houzhao was very happy to have the opportunity to meet these two historical figures in advance. What made him even happier was that these two people were still passionate young people, and were obviously more youthful and energetic than their portraits in historical albums of later generations, just like the Ming Empire which was also in adolescence and thriving at this time.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not plan to have too much communication with these two people. After all, they were not on the same level yet.

Because Zhu Houzhao was now the emperor, not a commoner, he did not need to put on airs in front of Hu Zongxian and Zhang Juzheng to win their favor and gain their favour.

On the contrary, as an emperor, Zhu Houzhao is now more looking forward to how Hu Zongxian and Zhang Juzheng will show off in front of him in the future and demonstrate their extraordinary talents.

In any case, coming into contact with these historical figures at a higher level than historical figures did give Zhu Houzhao a different feeling. He was not disappointed that Hu Zongxian, an enlightened official in history, and Zhang Juzheng, who dared to challenge his own class, did not become rigid and old-fashioned people in this life, but were still very active in accepting new ideas and became progressive youths in the new era of the Ming Dynasty.

Hu Zongxian and Zhang Juzheng were obviously more interested in Zhu Houzhao. Compared with Zhu Houzhao's interest in them, the two of them now began to ask Zhu Houzhao questions non-stop, just like an interview.

"Mr. Zhu, what do you think of the phenomenon that the most lucrative industries in the world are concentrated in the royal family and the court?"

"Mr. Zhu, what do you think of the relevant decrees of Japan and the West prohibiting the flow of silver into the Ming Dynasty?"

"Mr. Zhu, there is one thing I don't understand. I would like to ask you to explain it. You said that there are wise and foolish rulers, and laws have advantages and disadvantages. So if we want to make the country strong and the people safe, should we put the ruler above the law or should we put the law above the ruler?"

……

To be honest, Zhu Houzhao was a little annoyed at this time. He admired the contributions of these two people in history, but their behavior now made him feel that they were like two sparrows chirping in his ears.

"Excuse me, Zhu, I have something else to do."

(End of this chapter)