Zeng Guoquan's heart felt like a storm. He never expected that his eldest brother's help for Xiao Letian was not unconditional, and that there was such a secret agreement.
If Xiao Letian represents the irresistible wave of the times for mankind and the most violent reform force, then Zeng Guofan represents traditional Chinese Confucianism...not a corrupt Confucianism but the interests of real Confucians like Wang Yangming.
Zeng Guofan was not opposed to change. He also knew that the corrupt Confucians were trying to block the trend of the times, but he understood better how terrifying the people's emotions were in China.
On the surface, the seemingly gentle and obedient people may turn into murderous mobs in the next second. In the ten years of the war for the Kingdom of Heaven, he has seen too many people with distorted minds who are on the wrong path and cannot turn back.
Those people who shouted slogans of worshiping God and massacred other people were once kind farmers and hard-working craftsmen. However, these people were really unable to resist the tide of the times, and their thoughts were easily influenced by others.
Moreover, Chinese culture always has a terrible subconsciousness, that is, overcorrection!
Yes, overcorrection is simply a cancer in Chinese civilization. When a group of people go to the right, the rulers do not try to get them to go on the right path, but try every means to push these people to the left. It doesn't matter if it's bloody or bloody.
Zeng Guofan knew very well that once Xiao Letian launched an academic dispute on the land of China, with the military and financial resources in his hands, the doctrine he supported would definitely become the mainstream that no one could shake.
Maybe Xiao Letian is calm and wise, but after all, he is only one person. Even if he is three-headed and six-armed, he cannot cover everything. So, will the people under him, or simply the lucky people among the people, do it under the banner of reform? To bully Confucianism, Taoism and even Buddhism.
The three schools of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have been the cornerstones of Chinese civilization for thousands of years. Without these three schools, it would not be called Chinese civilization!
"I'm really afraid that one day, there will be countless thugs shouting slogans of abolishing Confucius, abolishing Lao Tzu, and abolishing Buddha, and destroy everything... It is precisely because I am afraid that I have such an agreement!"
"Old Jiu! Your intelligence network is too isolated and extreme. You rarely pay attention to people's livelihood, education, and economy... Do you know that it is precisely because of my secret agreement that Xiao Letian has all the power in the Chinese nation?" In the classroom, the curriculum of the Four Books and Five Classics has been restored, and the study of traditional Confucian classics has been resumed!"
"Xiao Letian has to manage the army and formulate national strategies. He doesn't have that much energy to take care of these things, but I know, and I have also recommended a group of outstanding talents. They are now in Ryukyu..."
"Do you still remember Hanlin Luo Hao, and Wen Xiu from the Military Aircraft Department... why did they leave Beijing? Haha, of course you are too lazy to care about these small characters, but let me tell you... there are two more of them More than a dozen great Confucians are secretly carrying out a reorganization of Confucianism in Chinese universities!"
"Are you shocked? Not to mention you, when Xiao Letian mentioned this plan to me, I was also shocked! He is consciously using the knowledge of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism to guide people to be good and strengthen the hearts of Chinese people. Peel it off. Those ideas that conflict with the current era must be taken out one by one and then criticized!"
"This is a very long job, but it is very important! Xiao Letian once told me a story. After listening to it, I felt relieved about him. This Xiao Letian is definitely not the enemy of our Confucianism. On the contrary, he is Our savior!"
Jiu Shuai looked at his brother in a daze. He was speechless. At this time, Zeng Guofan suddenly started coughing violently. Even if the old farmer used his internal power to open up his meridians, he couldn't stop it.
"Commander, please take a rest. Can I tell you that story? I was also present at the time..."
The old farmer smiled honestly, "Actually, it's not a story, it's just an example! Prime Minister Xiao once talked about the sea ban policy. The Prime Minister said that the sea ban was a policy that only started from the Ming Dynasty. There was no sea ban in the Song Dynasty, and there was no sea ban in the Tang Dynasty. , the earlier Qin and Han Dynasties had never heard of it..."
"Why is a policy that only existed in the Ming Dynasty been regarded as a classic by the Confucian scholars in the court? No one can change it. Anyone who changes it will not listen to the sage! Excuse me, when did the sage Kong say that the sea will be banned?"
“Is it Confucianism that wants to ban the sea, or is it the officials who claim to be Confucian scholars?”
"Prime Minister Xiao has a hobby, which is to collect antiquities and cultural relics everywhere. He especially likes some foreign treasures. He once entrusted many Western businessmen and desert chiefs in the Middle East to collect ancient treasures for him everywhere. It seems like in Ottoman Turkey There is also an expedition team supported by the Prime Minister’s funds!”
"The Prime Minister told us a very strange incident, that is, during the short period of time when the Ming Dynasty's sea ban was the most stringent, it stands to reason that sails of the Ming Dynasty could not go into the sea, so precious porcelain from that period of the Ming Dynasty should rarely appear abroad! "
"But something strange happened. The more stringent the maritime ban was, the more valuable porcelain from that period was unearthed overseas. This phenomenon is particularly obvious among Japanese folk porcelain collectors!"
"What does this mean? Haha, this shows that the sea ban is actually a huge scam! While the central government is vigorously implementing the sea ban, there is a huge force that is desperately smuggling overseas in exchange for huge profits!"
"Those Confucian scholars who shouted righteous words in the court, those ministers who shouted that ancestral family laws cannot be changed, did their families participate in this large-scale smuggling operation all over the southeast coast? How much money did they spend? Is there any money earned from ocean trade?"
"Yes! There must be, and there must be! The person who scolds the most harshly is actually this person!"
"So, Xiao Letian is not against Confucius, nor against Confucianism, but he must clean out those who are cheating under the banner of saints, and ultimately make Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism correct people's hearts, but Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism cannot Impeding China’s progress on the road of natural science!”
"How unjust Confucius was! He took all the blame that he shouldn't have. Those who chanted his slogans did all vile things. Finally, I have to say that these were all taught by saints! Damn it, saints When did you say there was going to be a sea ban? When did the saint say that women must have their feet bound?"
"This is the one who takes the blame! The saint who has been suppressed can't even stand up from the ground!"
The old farmer tried his best to imitate Xiao Letian's tone of voice, but in fact, there was no need to learn it at all. Jiu Shuai had seen Xiao Letian many times, and he was very familiar with the evil smile on his face and the weird sarcastic tone.
Jiu Shuai shook his head and smiled bitterly and said, "The person who scolds you the most is actually him! Hearing the tone of these words, it must be that Xiao Letian is right... Brother, it's so hard for you to hide it from me!"
Zeng Guofan also calmed down at this time, "Aren't I also afraid that Xiao Letian's Jiangnan layout will fail? If he doesn't get through this money crisis, then this secret agreement will be a waste of paper! Just because he got through it , I have to tell you!"
"Our Zeng family must keep this secret agreement well. This is our family's protective umbrella, and it is also a chance for Confucianism to be reborn! Hold him, my life is not long, you can keep him safe for me, and monitor Xiao carefully. Lotte! He dares to break the contract..."
"Cough cough cough... if he dares to break the contract, you will expose it to me and ruin his reputation... cough cough cough..."
