Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 233 Even if Confucius is wrong, he still deserves a slap.
"Since that's the case, then tell us about how decaying grass turns into fireflies?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Song Lian and spoke, unintentionally revealing his trump card.

The phrase "rotten grass turns into fireflies" comes from the "Monthly Ordinances" chapter of the Book of Rites. It means that fireflies are transformed from rotten grass.

Someone had told me about this in my previous life.

If I remember correctly, it was Song Lian who told me this.

At that time, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

It's actually quite amazing that decaying grass can turn into fireflies!

When he came to modern life, he saw something different.

Six hundred years later, the times have undergone earth-shattering changes.

Confucianism, the ideology of Confucianism, is no longer supreme and unchallengeable.

People tend to view problems from a materialistic perspective and start from practical experience.

The principle is that if it is, it is; if it isn't, it isn't.

Today, the Confucian classics, which are regarded as the gold standard by many, have also come down from their pedestal, breaking through the layers of gold powder that generations of scholars and Confucian masters have adorned them with.

It breaks down all those things that don't belong to it, revealing its true nature and returning to the essence of knowledge.

In this context, many sayings from Confucianism will be examined closely and interpreted and studied from a completely new perspective and with a scientific attitude.

As a result, many things have become quite different.

The words and phrases, as well as the deeper meaning, are all fine.

However, when it comes to more tangible things, it becomes easier for people to find something different in them.

The transformation of decaying grass into fireflies is the best example.

Rotten grass could never be a firefly; a firefly can only be born from a firefly's mother.

The idea that decaying grass can produce a glow is clearly not biologically accurate.

Later generations also conducted various observations and experiments, and were able to easily find the errors and omissions in it.

The golden rule of Confucianism in later generations has long been broken, and they now emphasize seeking truth from facts.

In such circumstances, even if Confucius was wrong, he would still get slapped a few times when he passed by.

Not to mention the mere Book of Rites.

In later generations, Zhu Yuanzhang simply regarded these stories as amusing anecdotes.

But now that he's back, this amusing anecdote has suddenly taken on a different purpose for him.

Putting aside everything else, the claim that "rotten grass turns into fireflies" is obviously wrong and easily verifiable.

That alone could be his trump card.

Now, this trump card has been used, and it's being used on Song Lian.

Let Song Lian try this fresh playing style from the 21st century!
"Your Majesty, this sentence comes from the Monthly Ordinances chapter of the Book of Rites. Cui Bao of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in his Notes on Ancient and Modern Times that 'rotten grass transforms when it is exposed to hot and humid air.'"

In other words, after the Great Heat (a solar term), decaying grass will turn into fireflies.

Song Lian was a great Confucian scholar of his time, and was naturally well-versed in Confucian classics.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, he answered without hesitation what he knew.

At the same time, he was somewhat surprised, not understanding why the emperor would ask such a question at this moment.

Could it be that the emperor wants to debate with me on classical texts?

If it really comes down to debating scriptures, he gets really energetic and isn't afraid at all!

Although he has now fully realized that His Majesty is no ordinary person.

He understands many principles, and his attainments in literature, poetry, and many other things are not as superficial as we think.

Even a fleeting glimpse reveals that His Majesty is no longer the ignorant and naive ruler he once was.

But knowing something is one thing, but debating scriptures is entirely another.

It requires systematic learning, guidance from renowned experts, and various forms of inheritance.

Only in this way can one have a thorough understanding of various classics and be able to cite them to provide explanations.

This requires in-depth knowledge to understand.

An emperor could not possibly be an expert in the classics; at most, he would only have a superficial understanding, and that would be all.

Trying to argue with yourself using these things is undoubtedly very unwise.

He instinctively felt that something was amiss with this matter.

On the one hand, it is because the emperor would not be so unwise as to attack someone else's strengths with his own weaknesses.

This is something no emperor would do.

On the other hand, judging from the emperor's demeanor and tone when he spoke to him, one could sense that he was very confident in what he was saying.

It was as if they had discovered some incredible loophole.

This puzzled him and set off alarm bells.

They were afraid that they might fall into some kind of trap if they weren't careful.

His mind raced through a thousand thoughts in a short period of time.

There was nothing wrong with the idea that decaying grass turns into fireflies.

This is recorded in the Book of Rites, and so many predecessors and sages have provided annotations, so how could it be wrong?

But... why did the emperor speak to me with such an expression and tone at such a crucial moment?
A growing unease lingered in his mind.

"Mr. Song is right, that is indeed the explanation."

That's always been the case.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, affirming Song Lian's statement.

Upon hearing this, Song Lian not only did not relax in the slightest, but on the contrary, his unease intensified.

I always felt that the emperor was brewing something I didn't know about, something waiting for me.

"We originally believed in this wholeheartedly, but later, the more we thought about it, the stranger it seemed."

Why can decaying grass turn into fireflies?
So, people were asked to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter.

Observe how decaying grass becomes fireflies.

However, to this day, the decaying grass has become foul-smelling, and no fireflies have appeared.

Conversely, fireflies appeared in another room where observations and studies were being conducted simultaneously.

These fireflies did not turn into decaying grass, but rather into firefly eggs.

This process is similar to that of silkworms, where tiny larvae first hatch from eggs.

After the larvae grow to a certain size, they will turn into pupae.

Then it emerges from the pupa and becomes a flying firefly.

Only then did we realize that the fireflies weren't actually transformed from the decaying grass, but rather from firefly eggs laid by their mothers, which then developed into fireflies.

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke softly.

But these words, when they fell into Song Lian's ears, were like thunderclaps, exploding continuously in his mind.

It felt as if someone was squeezing Song Lian's heart tightly, again and again, making him feel dizzy.

It was as if even their souls were about to fly to the highest heavens.

Fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

These beads of sweat quickly gathered together, forming large droplets that fell down.

His whole body couldn't help but sway slightly.

With a thud, he knelt down in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, this is a misinterpretation of the saying 'rotten grass turns into fireflies' by later generations due to their lack of knowledge."

In fact, the Book of Rites says that decaying grass turns into fireflies, but it does not mean that decaying grass turns into fireflies.

It means that the firefly eggs on the decaying grass turned into fireflies.

Many ignorant and incompetent people have misinterpreted the Book of Rites, thus misleading young people for so many years…

Song Lian spoke these words in a hurried tone.

For someone like Song Lian, his ability to cultivate inner strength had long since reached its pinnacle, and ordinary things simply couldn't shake his mind.

He is the kind of person who remains calm even when Mount Tai collapses before him.

But now, having long since become a great Confucian scholar, and extremely composed, he instantly knelt before Zhu Yuanzhang.

Not only did they kneel, but they knelt down completely.

The reason is simply that the emperor's explanation was far too shocking.

The records in the Book of Rites, as well as the annotations by later generations, are all erroneous. How can this be tolerated?

In the eyes of people like him, the Book of Rites and many other Confucian classics had long been considered sacred and inviolable.

Even if the whole world is wrong, the Confucian classics cannot be wrong.

But now, the emperor has indeed found such a mistake.

If it were anything else, that would be easy to handle. These people are best at patching things up; they can find a reasonable explanation and quickly patch it up.

However, the idea that decaying grass can turn into fireflies is untenable; this is something that can be verified in practice.

Not only the emperor could verify it, but anyone could verify it after the emperor raised this claim.

There's no way to deny that.

This proves that Confucian classics are wrong.

It's not something sacred and inviolable. For him, the consequences are simply unimaginable!
Even a Confucian classic like the Book of Rites can contain such a major error.
Could other Confucian classics also contain errors?

Could there be anything wrong with what Confucius said?

These things are simply too terrifying to contemplate!
Just thinking about it for a moment made Song Lian, a great Confucian scholar of the time, feel a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but tremble.

This is terrifying! Terrifying to the point that he can't even face it!
This matter must be suppressed!
This is why he knelt down before the emperor so readily.

His Majesty is not the kind of person who is overly sentimental.

There are many things I want to do, and I can do them, even if it means going against the grain.

More importantly, the influence of the Ming Daily, now dominated by the emperor, is growing ever stronger.

The emperor didn't need to do much else; he just needed to tell Luo Guanzhong, the writer, about it, and have him write an article about it and publish it in the newspaper.

Once released, it will immediately stir up a storm and cause a complete upheaval.

If things were to turn out that way, it would be terrifying for him!

Its impact on him will definitely surpass His Majesty's order to manufacture paper and establish an industrial university.

After all, regardless of whether an industrial university is established or courses like physics are incorporated into the Imperial Academy.

The emperor never said anything about Confucianism being bad.

Today, Confucianism still holds an orthodox position.

Moreover, it's clear that this industrial university mainly teaches craftsmanship and so on, and doesn't actually have much impact on governance, ideology, morality, and other aspects.

Even if their Confucianism is impacted, it won't be too significant.

Their strong hostility towards industrial universities and similar institutions is primarily a precautionary measure.

Furthermore, having always been accustomed to the supremacy of Confucianism, they naturally could not accept seeing such lowly people entering the school so openly.

But now, the emperor's words about turning rotten grass into fireflies seem simple, but in reality, they are directly aimed at eradicating the roots of Confucianism!
If left unaddressed, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous.

The negative impact on Confucianism far exceeds that of establishing industrial universities.

In other matters, Song Lian might be slower to consider things.

But now, this concerns the very foundation of Confucianism, and he weighs the pros and cons very quickly.

"Mr. Song, you're saying that even the Book of Rites can contain such obvious errors?"

Could there be major errors in other Confucian classics as well?

This incident also served as a reminder to us.

That is, everyone can make mistakes, even saints.

Not every word of a sage's teachings is a profound truth, nor are they all principles to be followed.

I remember Mencius saying that it is better to have no books than to believe everything in them, which seems to make sense.

Sages are human beings, not gods. The ideas and viewpoints they put forward were based on the living standards, social conditions, and various other factors of their time.

What worked for that time may not work for today.

Laws cannot remain unchanged, and the words of sages also need to be discerned and examined.

The idea that all saints are right, and that even a saint's fart can be interpreted in a thousand different ways, is utter nonsense.

What does Mr. Song think?

Zhu Yuanzhang watched as Song Lian pressed his advantage.

What he said was like killing someone's spirit.

Upon hearing this, Song Lian felt as if thunderclaps were exploding in his mind, shaking his very soul.

This is the situation he is most worried about and least wants to see.

Now, the emperor has said it to his face, in all real detail.

This was a huge shock to him!
It's so big that the sky might collapse!
How could a sage make a mistake? A sage would never make a mistake! Nor could he afford to!
Even if mistakes are made, they are the mistakes of later generations who misunderstood the sage's meaning and have nothing to do with the sage himself.

This point must be made clear.

Otherwise, if that happens, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Let alone revitalizing Confucianism, I'm afraid that Confucianism will suffer its greatest setback when it reaches them.

This is something they absolutely do not want to see.

"Your Majesty, these are all erroneous interpretations made by later generations who are ignorant and incompetent and cannot accurately understand the profound meaning of the sage's words."

A sage is a sage; the way of the sage is impeccable and beyond reproach.

Every word and deed of a sage conforms to the principles of Heaven.

Your servant is willing to organize the classics, remove these erroneous and corrupt annotations, and provide correct commentary.

Let's restore the integrity of the Book of Rites and vindicate it.

As Song Lian spoke, he knelt on the ground, almost pleading.

Zhu Yuanzhang had never seen Song Lian like this before.

Looking at Song Lian kneeling on the ground, he couldn't help but nod to himself.

Fresh tactics from the 21st century are still the most effective, winning with a single move.

He directly defeated a great Confucian scholar like Song Lian.

If this were my past life, I wouldn't have dared to speak up about these matters, no matter what.

After all, the other party is a great Confucian scholar, and mentioning Confucianism in front of him would be nothing short of humiliating.

But now, by focusing on this point and using it to break through the surface, I can achieve a surprisingly effective result.

He didn't let Song Lian get up, but looked at Song Lian and asked, "So, Mr. Song, what do you think of the toilet paper?"

Song Lian said with a serious expression, "Toilet paper is beneficial to the country and the people. As Your Majesty said, it can not only curb the arrogance and debauchery of those high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants and other people."

This way, we can save on the amount of cloth.

It can also restore the dignity that those who are raised to be used as toilet paper deserve!

And this is only the surface benefit.

Once it reaches a certain scale, it will create many jobs, benefiting countless ordinary people.

They earn money through their labor, and then honestly buy cloth to improve their lives.

Now, Song Lian no longer dwelled on this matter.

The answer was exceptionally straightforward.

"So, Mr. Song, what do you think of the industrial university we've established?"

Song Lian said, "The Industrial University is of extraordinary significance and embodies His Majesty's good intentions."

I was shallow before, but after talking with Your Majesty today, I have suddenly realized the wonder of mechanics.

This industrial university may seem like a place where craftsmen gather, but that is not actually the case.

A towering tree begins as a tiny sprout, and that is the broad road to the prosperity of our Great Ming Dynasty, which will surpass even the Han and Tang Dynasties!

Industrial universities should be established!
Moreover, it is imperative that we take this seriously. I eagerly anticipate the day when industrial universities will be able to manufacture numerous machines that will benefit the people of the Ming Dynasty, making our Ming Dynasty prosperous and strong, and pioneering a new era!

"Haha."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed upon hearing this, feeling a sense of relief.

He took two steps forward, bent down, and reached out to help Song Lian, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet.

"Mr. Song is absolutely right. We think Mr. Song is quite correct."

The saying that decaying grass turns into fireflies is likely a result of later commentaries being imprecise and misunderstanding the original meaning of the Book of Rites.

From now on, Mr. Song will be responsible for correcting this matter.

Upon hearing this, Song Lian felt a sense of relief, his heart finally calming down.

This short period of time felt like he had survived several ordeals.

However, he was not entirely at ease, because he knew that, given the emperor's nature, he would not let the matter off so easily.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice rang out the next moment.

"It's just that outsiders know too little about this industrial university and toilet paper, and have too many misunderstandings, so they keep making a fuss."

Mr. Song should go and explain things properly to them, so they won't join in the commotion and cause trouble.

Song Lian felt a jolt in his heart, his mouth filled with bitterness.

But at this moment, not even a single word of refusal can be uttered.

"I will go and explain to them that Your Majesty has good intentions and that they have been deceived and misled by treacherous people."

Let them come to their senses.

"Okay, go ahead, we'll wait for your good news."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and Song Lian took his leave.

With heavy steps, he walked out of the Wuying Hall...

……

"Haha, don't worry, with Master Song in charge, he won't let us down..."

Someone spoke calmly to the person next to them.
"Mr. Jinglian is here! Mr. Jinglian has come out!"

Just then, shouts rang out from afar.

With a whoosh, many Confucian scholars rushed towards Song Lian's location.

They wanted to hear the surprise Mr. Song had in store for them as soon as possible!

(End of this chapter)