As the cumulus clouds dispersed, the scorching winter sun became brighter and brighter, illuminating the spirits of the monarchs and ministers inside.
At this time, Zhu Yijun, who was sitting on the golden throne, also stood up after Hai Rui finished speaking and looked at Zou Yuanbiao: "You, a Jinshi, are not as knowledgeable as a scholar in the end." As soon as Zhu Yijun said this, everyone except Hai Rui's face Except for Fense, the other ministers nodded and then lowered their heads.
And Zou Yuanbiao had to reply: "The guilty minister is naturally not as knowledgeable as Mr. Gangfeng. Mr. Gangfeng is a true gentleman!"
"Stop calling yourself a sinner!"
"Whether you are guilty or not, I have the final say." Zhu Yijun suddenly said at this time. Zou Yuanbiao burst into tears immediately.
Zhu Yijun knew that he was crying bitterly because of the conflict between his desire to be respected by the emperor and his insistence on observing the ethics and teachings of being a master.
Therefore, Zhu Yijun asked Zou Yuanbiao at this moment: "Zou Yuanbiao, do you consider yourself a loyal minister?"
"I am a villain and a hypocrite," Zou Yuanbiao choked back.
"I want you to answer whether you are a loyal minister or not!" Zhu Yijun said in a deep voice. Zou Yuanbiao thought for a while and then said: "Yes or no!"
"how to say?"
"I am essentially loyal to etiquette. To be loyal to etiquette, I must be loyal to the emperor. If I lose my will and be loyal to etiquette, I will naturally be a loyal minister! But it seems that I am not loyal to etiquette. I actually cursed the emperor's father. It is obviously a betrayal of etiquette, so I am not."
"I shouldn't remonstrate with you by name. This is not the behavior of a minister, and it is not the way of a minister in Neo-Confucianism!" Zou Yuanbiao said and hit the ground with his fist.
"I think you are a loyal minister." Zhu Yijun said suddenly. Zou Yuanbiao raised his head abruptly. Zhu Yijun said again: "Your conscience is urging you to be a loyal minister, to be loyal to the country, to my country, instead of just being loyal to me! It can be said that there is a style of taking the world as one's own responsibility left by the ancient ministers! "
"There is nothing wrong with admonishing me, and even reminding me not to be overjoyed with great achievements is also not wrong. It is even the behavior that a loyal minister should have. But your mistake is that you do not distinguish between public and private, and do not deal with yin and yang!"
"Although I have been admonished that I should not take great advantage of the country and the people, but the remonstrance is because the criminal gentry has not been forgiven, and it is also mixed with the selfishness of gaining fame, so that you yourself don't know whether you are a human or a ghost." When Zhu Yijun said this, he said with emotion: "So the old etiquette harms people. It makes people become slaves of some people and slave masters of others."
"Why is this, do you know?" Zhu Yijun asked the people present. Shen Shixing raised his hands and said, "I respectfully listen to the holy teachings."
"The reason is that this old ritual began in the Spring and Autumn Period. What was it like at that time? It was an era when the scholars were of the same race as the emperor, and the people were all slaves. It was also an era when the emperor of Zhou ruled from the top, and the people of the world were in different countries. Can it be the same as now? , now the scholar and the emperor are of the same clan, but the scholar and the scholar are from different countries?"
"Therefore, in today's world, if we insist on observing Zhou's rituals, we will often ruin the world; we need to mix other learnings, integrate today's rituals, and establish a new system."
"In all the great rulers of the past dynasties, they did not strictly abide by the Zhou rites. Instead, they followed the Zhou rites clearly and in accordance with Legalism. Sometimes they even mixed in the Taoist theory of self-cultivation. Even if they only respected Confucianism on the surface, they also clearly stated that Confucius and Mencius advocated good nature. They talk about advocating moral education, but secretly follow Xunzi, and talk about evil nature to suppress the annexation of the world. If you don't do this, the people of the country will be in ruins, at least, the people's livelihood will be ruined, and at worst, the country will be destroyed and the family will be destroyed."
"Study the ancients and seek truth from facts. This dynasty cannot cling to old rituals, nor can it be without rituals. It cannot worship one saint, but must worship many saints. The king of this world, Chen Shang, entered the Confucius Temple. Why did Xunzi in ancient times withdraw and invite Xunzi Back to Confucius and Mencius! The Ming Dynasty has decreed that the country should be governed only by reality, and that scholarship should coexist with accuracy. The past should not be discarded because of the present, and the past should not be discarded because of the present." After Zhu Yijun said this, he issued the decree he had already decided.
Shen Shixing handed over his hand and said yes. Then, Zhu Yijun looked at Zou Yuanbiao: "So, Zou Yuanbiao, what you are doing now is a loyal minister, and you are considered a loyal minister;"
"However, you are also a villain, full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, and full of fame and wealth. However, whether you are a loyal minister or a villain, sometimes you have no choice but to do it yourself. And there are many people like you who are neither humans nor ghosts. You are said to be loyal to the emperor, but you have turned into a villain who is inconsistent with your appearance. You can't kill them all. The only way is to abolish the old rituals and establish new ones from the root, and use this as a purpose to transform you."
"Morally, people all over the world will criticize you, not to mention that you yourself have already thrown yourself into the eighteenth level of hell morally, so I don't bother to talk about you anymore;"
"As for the crime, you are indeed right. You did something for a loyal minister. Since it is a matter for a loyal minister, I will give you a serious answer. What you said about me is that I am happy with great achievements. It is indeed true. But I am not good at great achievements now. The population of this dynasty is increasing day by day. , plus there are too many people who are plotting to anoint me, China, I cannot help but expand to the outside world, and I cannot not be happy with my achievements. Heaven is the most generous to me, China, and I have the most virtuous culture. If I don’t teach Heaven to educate the world, I will be unvirtuous, and I will be punished. blame!"
"I would rather my people die on the battlefield of aggressiveness than to freeze to death and starve to death outdoors."
"As for you saying that I treat the ministers like domestic slaves, that is absolutely not the case! It is obvious that you are criticizing Sang and Huai, scolding the ministers for not being consistent with you, and kidnapping them morally!"
"In fact, it can be said that the courtesy received by our ministers has far exceeded that of the previous dynasty. Otherwise, they would have invited them there long ago. Otherwise, who would want to be scolded by you and the emperor at the same time, like a dog, staying in a place with the name of a minister but no minister? In a real position?"
"When you reach this position in the future, you will know, and you will feel more intimate with me than they do!" After Zhu Yijun said this, Zou Yuanbiao's eyes lit up.
Shen Shixing, Fang Fengshi, Hai Rui and others turned red. The eunuch Zhang Hong even knelt down and prostrated on the ground, choking and saying: "I don't know what is good or bad, and I don't know the blessings when I am in the midst of blessings. I was moved by Zou's duplicitous words and began to despise myself. I forgot that I was a minister." , you can’t just know that being loyal to the emperor should also be loyal to the emperor’s country, and as a Han Chinese, you should also have the country in your heart!”
"And this servant, who is not good at words and inflexible, can now be the palm seal, and does not feel aggrieved at all. The truth is that the emperor has always known how to preserve benevolence for the country, but this slave wants to support the emperor in abandoning benevolence. It is truly foolish and harmful to the country. shallow!"
"After all, the so-called etiquette should start with respect and end with benevolence. I should not only think about respect, but also think about benevolence. I can't forget the importance of benevolence just because I live in the age of benevolent kings!" Basically, the eunuchs who are in charge of rituals are all He was born in Nei Shu Tang and received education from Hanlin Confucian officials, so a great eunuch like Zhang Hong could speak clearly and eloquently.
"This is not good at words." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said something, then looked at Zou Yuanbiao and said: "So I have to imitate Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and not blame you for your loyal ministers' actions, but also want you to be promoted to an official position and commended. You, but we also need to transform you and experience you.”
"deliver an imperial order!"
"Although Zou Yuanbiao's memorial was rather arrogant and inconsistent with the facts, he valued his courage because he could truly understand the current situation and rectify the gains and losses in the future. Because of his loyalty, he was promoted to the head of the Host and Guest Department of the Ministry of Rites, and was appointed as the Confucian envoy to Myanmar. He immediately crossed the sea to Myanmar to persuade the local people. The native barbarians worship the king, stop fighting and abandon barbarism! Perhaps they can withstand a hundred thousand troops, so that this dynasty can win the cause of civilizing the Burmese barbarians without a fight!" After Zhu Yijun said this, Zou Yuanbiao was dumbfounded.
