I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 340 What Kind of Great Han Should Be Built?

Liu Miao took the things Chen Yu handed him.

The opening remarks made Liu Miao laugh.

In his article, Chen Yu immediately presented the legal basis that the Duke of Zhou had found for the Zhou dynasty's overthrow of the Shang dynasty.

That is "matching virtue with Heaven" and "respecting virtue to protect the people".

The Zhou emperor overthrew the Shang king, breaking the Shang dynasty's rule. Therefore, the Zhou duke, the actual ruler of Zhou at the time, began to gradually mix sand into the "heaven" with "human" power.

Although the Duke of Zhou retained the nominal concept of Heaven's will, he placed greater emphasis on the weight of the monarch's personal character and the administrative philosophy of protecting the people in the legitimacy of the dynasty. This almost laid the foundation for the legal system of China.

As the social order collapsed, a fierce debate erupted among the various schools of thought during the Hundred Schools of Thought period.

Because Liu Miao had stopped prohibiting the circulation of books by various schools of thought when he was in Jingzhou, the ideas of these schools of thought were no longer taboo in the eyes of many scholars in the south. Chen Yu also presented all the views of various schools of thought on orthodoxy to Liu Miao.

Lao Tzu insisted that "in accordance with the Dao is in accordance with the law" and advocated "governing by non-action".

Confucius inherited the legacy of the Duke of Zhou, affirming the "divine right of kings" while emphasizing the legitimacy of the monarch's rule through his administration. He required the monarch to govern with virtue, be honest and trustworthy, save expenses, cherish officials, not miss the farming season, strengthen self-cultivation, and first and foremost be "upright in character" to uphold the principles of "the ruler being a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, and the son a son."

Mozi believed that although a ruler is "chosen by Heaven," he must maintain his position through his own administrative practices and by faithfully implementing the ten "principles."

But what Chen Yu wanted Liu Miao to see today was not the content of these ancient sages.

What he wanted to show Liu Miao was still Mencius.

Mencius believed that the legitimacy of monarchical rule came from "divine mandate" and "people's acceptance," that is, it was granted by Heaven and accepted by the people.

Chen Yu even copied down the contents of "Mencius: Wan Zhang".

Wan Zhang was a disciple of Mencius and co-authored the book "Mencius" with Gongsun Chou and others.

Wan Zhang asked, "Did Yao really pass the throne to Shun?"

Mencius said, "No, the emperor cannot give the world to others."

Wan Zhang asked, "Then who granted Shun the throne?"

Mencius replied, "It was bestowed upon me by Heaven."

Wan Zhang asked, "When Heaven bestowed this upon him, did it repeatedly instruct and admonish him?"

Mencius said, "No, Heaven does not speak; it expresses itself through actions and events."

Wan Zhang asked, "How would you express this through actions and events?"

Mencius replied, “The Son of Heaven can recommend people to Heaven, but cannot force Heaven to bestow the throne upon them; the feudal lords can recommend people to the Son of Heaven, but cannot force the Son of Heaven to bestow the feudal lord's position upon them; the high officials can recommend people to the feudal lords, but cannot force the feudal lords to bestow the high official's position upon them. In the past, Yao recommended Shun to Heaven, and Heaven accepted him; then Yao publicly introduced Shun to the people, and the people accepted him. Therefore, it is said that Heaven does not speak, but expresses itself through actions and deeds.”

After reading this passage, Liu Miao understood what legitimacy Chen Yu had found for the regime.

The Great Oath states: "Heaven sees as my people see, and Heaven hears as my people hear."

Mencius grounded the "empty" concept of "what Heaven bestows" on the solid foundation of "what the people receive," thus further weakening the concept of "what Heaven bestows" and deepening the sense of existence of "what the people receive" on the basis of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius.

Chen Yu believed that now was the right time to change the meaning of the Han emperor's existence from "bestowing it upon Heaven" to "bestowing it upon the people"!
Most importantly, Mencius's answer can be used to refute the legitimacy of Yuan Shao's acceptance of the abdication!
Even the emperor has no right to hand over the world to others!
After reading it, Liu Miao did not rush to affirm it, but instead asked Chen Yu, "Can the common people accept such scholarship and such explanations?"

"OK."

Wang Lang answered.

"To live in the present dynasty and not change the customs, one can achieve the power of a thousand chariots, but this cannot be achieved in a single day."

This is also a quote from Mencius.

The meaning is: In this day and age, if old customs and habits are not changed, even if a thousand chariots are built, it will be impossible to maintain rule for long.

The world has changed!
The Han Dynasty's divine right of kings, which had lasted for four hundred years and bound the emperor's authority to the unspeakable heaven, had long been shattered by Zhang Jiao and millions of Taiping Dao followers' angry cry of "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise!"

No matter how much great Confucian scholars like Lu Zhi, Zheng Xuan, and Song Zhong tried to cover it up, they could not conceal the collapse of the Han Dynasty's four-hundred-year-old system.

Since you, the Han emperor, are ordained by Heaven, then I will use my Yellow Heaven to kill your Azure Heaven!
This is a cry for help.

This is also a wake-up call!
What Heaven bestows is but an illusion.

Only when the people benefit can it be considered a foundation!

Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao could deafen themselves and blind themselves, ignoring this shout and this warning bell, but Liu Miao could not!

Because what is impassable will always remain impassable.

If you don't care about history, history won't care about you either.

The failures of Qin and Xin have proven that if you take a dead-end road, you will eventually find yourself with nowhere to go in a decade or so.

Therefore, no matter how much Liu Miao tried to justify the legitimacy of emperors from the Liu family, he still could not prove the legitimacy of the divine right of kings.

This is progress. This is also the voice of millions of ordinary people who shouted with their lives during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Liu Miao cannot be ignored.

However, directly abandoning the "divine gift" would obviously be an extremely foolish act.

Since your Liu family's emperorship is not bestowed by Heaven, why can't I sit on it for a while?
Without a suitable reason to instill awe in the people, the regime is also on the verge of collapse; for details, please refer to the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties...

Mencius's theory is undoubtedly the most suitable for Liu Miao's current predicament.

It's not about completely abandoning "divine mandate," but rather moving closer to "human mandate."

The three dynasties gained the empire through benevolence, and lost it through lack of benevolence. The same principle applies to the rise and fall, survival and demise of a nation. If the emperor is not benevolent, he cannot protect the entire realm.

Thus, Liu Miao's previous kindness towards the people became "benevolence," and "benevolence" became the greatest legitimacy of Liu Miao's regime.

Liu Miao can no longer claim that he was ordained by Heaven and therefore became the emperor.

Instead, the emphasis should be on first implementing benevolent policies towards the people, ensuring their satisfaction, and only then gaining the approval of Heaven to become the emperor.

Although it was just one additional premise, the legitimacy and source of power of Liu Miao's regime were completely rewritten.

In other words, since Yuan Shao accepted the abdication of the Han emperor, his source of power was "Heaven".

However, Liu Miao added that he gained Heaven's approval and became emperor because of his benevolent rule, so the source of Liu Miao's power was the people.

in this way.

It seems that Yuan Shao was first "given by Heaven" and then "received by the people," while Liu Miao was "received by the people" and then "given by Heaven"... It seems like there is not much difference, but in fact they have completely gone to opposite sides.

Liu Miao was quite satisfied with this explanation and this change.

What is considered legitimate or orthodox is actually power, authority, or system that is generally recognized and voluntarily obeyed by the public.

Liu Miao's pursuit of "legitimacy of regime" was not about asking himself what kind of Han dynasty he wanted to establish, but rather about asking the people of the land what kind of Han dynasty they desired.
And now, it seems that Liu Miao has been found.

"Tsk!"

Liu Miao closed Chen Yu's memorial: "No wonder Mencius fared so poorly. If I were a ruler during the Warring States period, I would have driven him far away as well."

"In that case, the matter of the enthronement edict will be entrusted to the two of you."

"Here."

Liu Miao's eyes suddenly lit up: "Change the wording, it's best not to mention Mencius at all!"

It wasn't Liu Miao who discarded his workmanship after it was done.

Mencius's theories certainly have merit, but there are also countless things about them that are worth criticizing!
For example, Mencius believed that "governing is not difficult; one must not offend powerful families. What powerful families admire, the whole country admires; what the whole country admires, the whole world admires; therefore, virtuous teachings overflow throughout the four seas"...

This bastard thinks that a monarch should not offend powerful clans, and that what the powerful clans pursue is what the country pursues. He's utterly worthless!
No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to chop Mencius up after reading him. If Liu Miao had only read this part, he would have wanted to chop Mencius up as well!
For example, Mencius believed that "schools should be established to teach people. Learning was common to the three dynasties, and all of them were for the purpose of clarifying human relationships. When human relationships are clarified by the rulers, the common people will be close to the people below."

He spends all his time daydreaming, believing that as long as people's morality is improved, the world will be at peace! He doesn't even mention the basic needs of the people—food, clothing, and daily necessities—it's a completely naive theory of governance!

If we were to govern the world according to Mencius's theories, then even if people were starving to death, they would still have to study and follow etiquette. In other words, Mencius treated everyone as a great benefactor!
Liu Miao didn't object to treating his own people as benevolent, but the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan—these covetous foreign tribes—wouldn't refrain from invading just because you're a benevolent person! Therefore, Liu Miao seriously suspected that Mencius was born at the wrong time. If Mencius had been born a few hundred years earlier, look at how the barbarians of the Spring and Autumn period bullied the feudal lords of China; or if he had been born a few hundred years later, look at how the Xiongnu ravaged the Han people. Liu Miao didn't believe Mencius would still say such things.

Therefore, Liu Miao greatly admired Mencius's theories on governance! Even though they were not perfect, they could indeed solve his current predicament and were a form of progress.

As for Mencius's methods of governing the world... Liu Miao just wants to say, don't even get involved! Get as far away as possible! The Han Dynasty, currently in chaos and war, has absolutely no need for that kind of unrealistic thinking.

Since the pre-Han dynasty could apply the concept of "Confucianism in form but Legalism in substance," then Liu Miao could similarly use the Confucian Mencius framework to wrap up other things!
"Thus, the legal issue is resolved!"

Liu Miao marked the character "儒" (Confucian) with a big cross on his paper.

The next issues to be resolved were the "military" and the "officials".

Once these two matters are resolved, Liu Miao can then formally prepare for his ascension to the throne.

Liu Miao's brush landed below the character "军" (army), and first wrote the characters "钱" (money) and "权" (power).

A moment later, Liu Miao picked up his brush again, but drew another circle.

Chen Yu curiously leaned closer and pointed at the circle: "Zhongshan, what are you trying to do by drawing an egg?"

"fool!"

Liu Miao tapped the circle heavily a few times—

"This is not an egg!"

"This is just a pie in the sky!"

(End of this chapter)