The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 77 The Great Ming Dynasty's Lineage Lies in My Words
This Xie Jin is quite ambitious!

The civil officials, who have always been sensitive to matters of moral orthodoxy, have already discerned the true meaning of this.

This is because since Sima Qian, the Grand Historian, created the biographical style in his Records of the Grand Historian, all historical books of all dynasties have been written in this style, which has become the established practice.

Sima Guang wrote the magnificent Zizhi Tongjian, a history book written entirely for the purpose of educating the emperor.

The same applies to Xie Jin's current work, "A Century of History of China Since the Late Song Dynasty." Recording history is just a side thing; the most important thing is to use it to express the historian's point of view.

Zizhi Tongjian was, after all, a privately written history, so it expressed Sima Guang's personal views. Xie Jin, on the other hand, was writing an official history, which meant that the Ming Dynasty would give a final verdict on the history of the past century!

This is no simple matter.

This is about discussing where the Ming Dynasty came from and what it was founded on. Such matters of tradition and authority have always been of great importance.

Those in the Confucian school are naturally familiar with this. In the two thousand years of Confucianism's development, the orthodox tradition has changed several times, the biggest change being Mencius.

A thousand years ago, Mencius did not have such a high status. It was only during the Tang Dynasty that Han Yu, the leader of the Confucian school, believed that Mencius was the true successor of Confucius's teachings and began to elevate Mencius's status.

Many people only know that Han Yu is one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, but they don't know Han Yu's prominent position in the Confucian school. The reason why Han Fei is not called Han Zi is because Han Yu is Han Zi, so Han Fei can only be called Han Fei Zi.

From the time Han Yu began to elevate Mencius, until the Song Dynasty, Mencius went from being one of the philosophers to becoming the second sage after Confucius. This process involved several shifts in the lineage of Confucianism.

If the Confucian tradition is in such a state, what about the origins of a dynasty's tradition?

At this moment, all the civil officials in the hall turned their gazes to Li Qi, who was standing in the ranks of the imperial relatives. They would never believe that Li Qi was not behind Xie Jin's affair.

Xie Jin was indeed talented, but Li Qi was the world-renowned historian. Moreover, Li Qi's theories contained many distinctions between names and reality, and he placed great emphasis on the legitimacy of names, which was a very proper and serious doctrine.

Zhu Di roughly guessed that this was Li Qi's doing. He didn't actually have many requirements for the Ming Dynasty's orthodoxy. With the Ming Dynasty's rule stable, what did those things matter?

But he didn't forget that he was supposed to cooperate with Li Qi in this charade, so he asked, "Li Qing, you are a world-renowned historian and a great scholar. What do you think of what Xie Jin said?"

Li Qi walked out of the court ranks with an air of nonchalance.

"Your Majesty, I have also considered what Xie Jin said. I have just taken into account all aspects. Now, on the day of the grand court assembly on the first day of the first month, a day to celebrate this important event, I should have some words to say to Your Majesty and to inform the people."

"Please feel free to speak your mind, Li Qing. Such important matters of the nation should be discussed with the ministers, relatives, and learned scholars."

"Where does the Mandate of Heaven and the order of the dynasty of the Great Ming originate? My words alone are clearly insufficient to convince the world. Therefore, I will not speak of that for now, but will only talk about how other dynasties of the past obtained the Mandate of Heaven and came to rule the world."

Li Qi was unhurried and unhurried, and the officials in the hall had a strange feeling of studying with their teacher when they were young. Then they realized that Li Qi was the most famous Confucian scholar in the world. Although he had few disciples, his students were as numerous as the stars in the sky.

The civil officials naturally kept their eyes fixed on Li Qi, while nobles like Zhang Fu listened quietly. Even pure military men like Zhu Gaoxu, the Duke of Qi and Prince of Gaoyang, had started yawning as soon as Xie Jin asked his three questions.

"Since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the world has been ruled by those who are virtuous, but only the Xia Dynasty can truly be established based on virtue."

Before anyone could object, Li Qi continued, "Because only the Xia dynasty was established without war. King Yu controlled the floods and saved the nine provinces and all regions. Therefore, the Xia dynasty was established based on virtue, and all the nine provinces submitted to it willingly."

This is the superior method of establishing a dynasty, therefore the Xia Dynasty's acquisition of the throne was the most legitimate!

Now no one can refute it. King Yu controlled the floods and established the Nine Provinces, and the dynasty lasted for four hundred years. This was the rule of the Three Dynasties, how could it be questioned?

The ability to subdue the world without fighting is indeed the best foundation for establishing a dynasty, and the Xia Dynasty is the most legitimate and indisputable.

As for whether history is truly like this, it's too far in the past for anyone to know. Anyway, that's what Confucius said, and that's how it was worshipped throughout the dynasties. In the imperial temple of Emperor Taizu, there's even a statue of Yu the Great.

Zhu Di also smiled and said, "What Minister Li said is correct. Only the virtuous and wise can win people's hearts. Yu the Great gained the world because of his virtue, which is the most correct way!"

"Next in rank are the five rulers: Tang of Shang, Wu of Zhou, Gaozu of Han, Guangwu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang. These five rulers punished the tyranny of Jie of Xia and Zhou of Shang, and eliminated the chaos of Qin, Xin, and Sui. They made great contributions to all the people and were thus crowned with the Mandate of Heaven. Their rule was legitimate!"

At this point, the courtiers in the hall already knew that the Ming Dynasty probably belonged to this category. Among the many founding monarchs of dynasties in history, being able to be ranked alongside these five was already something to be proud of. Zhu Di's smile was very obvious, and even a hint of pride appeared on his face.

"The next level up is Cao Wei's abdication and succession. Although it is criticized as usurpation, the Han Dynasty was already dead in name only. Cao Cao went through countless hardships and dangers, pacified most of the country, and established a great dynasty. Such a dynasty was inherently flawed and could not be considered legitimate." Cao Cao's image has been changing over the past thousand years, but in general, people acknowledge that he pacified the world. It's just that he did not return power in the end. But why should he return the country he conquered? After the chaotic Northern and Southern Dynasties and the anthropomorphic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Cao Cao can be considered a kind-hearted person.

Moreover, this is the Ming Dynasty. It should be noted that Zhu Yuanzhang was the King of Wu under the Han-Song regime, so his evaluation of Cao Cao would naturally be even higher.

Zhu Di commented: "The Han dynasty has long been corrupt. Cao Cao swept across the four seas with his whip, leaving few in the world who would call themselves emperor. He can be called a hero, but it is a pity that his talent for governing the country was ultimately insufficient."

"He has the wisdom of a general, but not the talent to rule ten thousand chariots." This was Emperor Taizong of Tang's assessment of Cao Cao. Zhu Di, who always took Emperor Taizong of Tang as his role model and imitated Li Shimin in many ways, now expressed the same sentiment.

The attention of the courtiers in the palace had been drawn to Li Qi. In later generations, people on the internet loved to rank various dynasties, their monarchs, civil officials, and military generals, with fans of each dynasty tearing each other apart.

What Li Qi said was already commonplace. If this were his previous life, Li Qi would have been ridiculed beyond recognition long ago. "The unified Sui Dynasty was inferior to the fragmented Cao Wei? That's just Sui hating."

In ancient times, this was the first time someone had ranked dynasties. Not only were the civil officials interested, but even the dozing Zhu Gaochi stared wide-eyed, as if listening to a storybook.

"The next level up are the Jin, Sui, and Song dynasties, which seized power through high-ranking officials and noble titles without suppressing rebellions. They obtained the Mandate of Heaven and made contributions to the founding of the dynasty, bringing peace to the world and allowing the people to rest. Such dynasties obtained their power illegitimately, and were either short-lived or born with an insecure heart."

Li Qi's voice changed from its previous calm and unhurried tone to one with a hint of sternness, and his voice became noticeably louder, causing everyone in the hall to tense up.

"If Cao Wei had no faults, but the Sima family seized the country because a minister murdered his emperor, then they dared not claim loyalty. People like the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove deeply felt the darkness of the world and the absence of ethics and moral principles, so they were unwilling to enter officialdom and only wished to talk about metaphysics. This was due to the collapse of Han Confucianism since the Han and Wei dynasties and the inability of Taoism and Buddhism to support the world!"

The Jin Dynasty was a low point for Confucianism. The Han Confucianism collapsed, and Taoism and Buddhism flourished. The Confucian families that were once powerful in the Han Dynasty were relegated to the lower ranks in the Nine Ranks system. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that Confucianism began to thrive again.

The civil officials in the hall all looked indignant.

"Take Emperor Wen of Sui for example. Among all the emperors of ancient times, none gained the world more easily than Emperor Wen of Sui. He ascended the throne with the help of his wife's father-in-law. Yuwen Zhou already showed signs of swallowing up the world, and the Southern Chen was nothing but dry bones in a tomb. Therefore, Emperor Wen of Sui was suspicious of his ministers, and even princes, dukes, and relatives could not escape death."

Emperor Wen of Sui was highly regarded in ancient times, and many of his contemporaries looked down on him. For example, Fang Xuanling said that "the emperor had no merit and virtue, and seized the world by deception," which was basically a direct insult. Li Qi naturally had to conform to the times.

"For example, the Song Dynasty also bullied orphans and widows. Emperor Renzong of Song said that Di Qing was a loyal minister, and Wen Yanbo said that Emperor Taizu was also a loyal minister of Emperor Shizong of Zhou. The Song Dynasty always had many concerns in its actions. This is the consequence of an illegitimate acquisition of the country and a monarch's guilty conscience!"

"Excellent! Minister Li's words are truly enlightening!"

Zhu Di cheered loudly, and the ministers in the hall also seemed to be deep in thought. The Song Dynasty had been extinct for a hundred years, and they could all point out some of its problems, such as the old problem of redundancy and excessive emphasis on civil affairs over military affairs.

But today, Li Qi pointed out the most fundamental problem incisively—the Song Dynasty obtained the country illegitimately and feared that future generations would follow suit, so it greatly dispersed its officials, which led to the emergence of those redundant officials.

Li Qi cited so many examples of dynasties, those that were rightfully established were all prosperous and powerful with long reigns, while those that were illegitimately established were all poor and weak with very short reigns. His meaning was quite clear.

What about the Ming Dynasty?
Guided by Li Qi, this became a question that everyone from the emperor and nobles to ordinary officials was curious about.

"If the Mongol Yuan dynasty was truly China, then the actions of Emperor Taizu Gaozong were similar to those of Emperor Taizu Gaozong of Han, Liu Bang, who rose from humble beginnings, eliminated the Mongol Yuan tyranny, and then ruled the world. He was second only to the Han dynasty in terms of legitimacy, and his establishment of the country was extremely just, at least possessing the Mandate of Heaven of the Former Han dynasty!"

Although Li Qi did not say it explicitly, everyone understood what he meant.

Although the Han dynasty lasted for four hundred years, it was divided into two parts. Emperor Guangwu's achievements were nominally an inheritance, but in reality, they were a creation. This is a consensus among the ancients. Considering that among the second-tier dynasties, the Shang and Zhou dynasties were long-lasting, and the Former Han, Later Han, and Tang dynasties all lasted for more than two hundred years, the Ming dynasty must have lasted for at least two hundred years.

That's quite a number.

Although everyone talks about it lasting for ten thousand generations, even the emperor himself didn't believe it. If it could really be passed down peacefully for two or three hundred years, Zhu Yuanzhang would probably laugh out loud.

But which emperor would complain about the dynasty's lifespan being too long?

Moreover, Li Qi's words just now clearly implied something: if the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was China, then the Ming Dynasty was second-rate; but what if the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was not China?

Could the Ming Dynasty possibly rise to a higher level and rival the Xia Dynasty, which established itself on the foundation of virtue?

The thought of this possibility sent shivers down Zhu Di's spine, and the assembled officials looked at Li Qi in shock.

It turns out Li Qi was waiting here all along!

(End of this chapter)