One winter day in the eighteenth year of Wanli, it snowed heavily.
The royal inner garden covered with glaze and snow has become a fairyland on earth again.
And this day happened to be the crown prince's birthday, so he didn't have to study and had a day off.
That morning, Zhu Yijun came back early from the Imperial Palace and went with the Crown Prince to where the girls' school in the palace was.
The Palace Girls' School was a place specifically for royal ladies to study and learn etiquette.
Since Zhu Yijun no longer ordered the maids in the palace to teach the princesses etiquette, he has allowed the princesses to learn culture and etiquette here. At the same time, he will also select some clan and noble ladies to learn here, and the newly selected concubines will also come here. Study, presided over by the Queen.
As for the teachers, they were selected from educated concubines in the palace and educated women in the clan.
Zhu Yijun and the crown prince came to the palace girls' school today just to pick up Queen Du.
Because the prince's birthday wish was to stay with the queen longer, Zhu Yijun brought him here to take his mother back to the palace.
On the way here, Zhu Yijun asked Prince Zhu Changjun about his recent studies, and also asked Zhu Changjun to ask him a few questions.
"Father, why did those wealthy families fail in the end even though they had built such a great momentum?"
Zhu Changxun asked Zhu Yijun this question at this time.
Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "This is because they are not the ones who decide how the Ming Dynasty will go. They all seem to be rich and invincible. In fact, they are not as threatening as a bandit on the run."
"Then it is the emperor who decides how Ming Dynasty will go?"
Zhu Changxun asked.
Zhu Yijun said: "Not the emperor either."
"Who is that?!"
Zhu Changjun was a little unconvinced. He thought that the emperor would decide the trend of the world.
"It's all the people in the world!"
"They are the ones who create history, and they are the ones who influence history. You can't ignore the influence of the working people in history."
Zhu Yijun replied.
Zhu Changxun said: "The teacher who can teach me Confucian classics said that the common people in the world are a bunch of ignorant people. They only know how to eat, clothe and raise children, but they rarely have great ambitions. Therefore, although they are the foundation of the world, they cannot control the world. Let the new people For etiquette to be deeply rooted in people's hearts, it depends on whether the emperor and the world's scholars are willing to govern."
"There is a saying in the Taizhou School that people use the Tao every day!"
"No matter how ignorant or simple the thoughts of the common people are, they are the thoughts that have the greatest influence on the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty, because the common people have always been the majority of the people in this country. Their level of civilization determines the degree of civilization of the Ming Dynasty, and also determines how far the Ming Dynasty can go. How far."
"So, it's them who decide how Ming Dynasty will go."
Zhu Yijun said.
Zhu Changxun nodded and began to think deeply.
Not long after, Zhu Yijun and the prince arrived at the location of the women's school and met Queen Du.
As soon as Mrs. Du saw Zhu Yijun, she walked up to Zhu Yijun and bowed slightly: "Your Majesty!"
Zhu Yijun said "no courtesy" and patted the snow on Du's shoulder.
The prince also greeted Du Shi, then walked to Du Shi and hugged her.
Mrs. Du also touched the prince's head lovingly, smiled gently, and asked, "Are you tired from studying?"
"Not tired!"
After a while, the prince took the initiative to lead Zhu Yijun and Du back to the palace.
Zhu Yijun had a meal with the queen and the prince and then went to Shiyusi again.
As soon as he arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Zhu Yijun said to Shen Shixing: "Change the prince's Confucian classics teacher!"
After hearing this, Shen Shixing couldn't help but ask: "Excuse me, Your Majesty, but what's wrong with him?"
Zhu Yijun said: "It's not that there's anything wrong. It's that he didn't inspire the prince to see things dialectically, but only instilled in him his own inherent concepts, or that he only understood the new rituals according to the teachings of the saints."
Zhu Yijun said: "It's not that there's anything wrong. It's that he didn't inspire the prince to see things dialectically, but only instilled in him his own inherent concepts, or that he only understood the new rituals according to the teachings of the saints."
"If he continues to teach like this, my son will become more and more stupid as he teaches him! The new etiquette will be the same as the old etiquette. He will only remember it as a dogma and forget that the essence of today's learning is etiquette and it needs to be constantly updated."
"But now, I suddenly feel that it's okay not to change, but I have to choose another Wang Xuemen person to be his husband, preferably from Taizhou School!"
"The King's disciples alone are not enough. It would be best if Luo Qinshun and Wang Tingxiang, among others, should also choose one of them to be his Confucian classics teacher."
"History and literature have also been arranged in this way. One from both the Retrospective School and the Xingling School will be chosen to teach the prince."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"If we teach like this, I'm afraid that on the one hand, the prince will not know which gentleman's words to follow as the guideline, and on the other hand, I'm afraid that the lecturers in the East Palace will be in civil strife."
Shen Shixing spoke at this time.
Zhu Yijun said: "Listening to both will bring light, and listening to one side will bring darkness. This is a weapon for the emperor to be the ruler of Yao and Shun. And the prince is the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he is not asked to listen to any gentleman's words, but to make his own judgment and pass it through. Listen to the opinions of others and form your own opinions, so that you can better distinguish between right and wrong; "
"As for the civil strife among the officials in the East Palace, the master is worried about it, but this is actually a good thing. The Ming Dynasty that the prince will face in the future will definitely be an era of more intense disputes between different schools. There may be some old among the old, and some among the new. It’s better to let him face this kind of dispute in advance and know how to deal with it in the future.”
"Your Majesty said so."
"A sage king should learn from the strengths of others and understand them all."
"And if His Highness the Crown Prince can know in advance that all schools of thought have their own advantages and disadvantages, and may even be incompatible with each other, it will indeed help in the future to avoid believing in one family's words and thereby mislead the world."
"I didn't think carefully before. I only chose those who believe in the new rites to teach His Majesty the Crown Prince the new rites."
"However, Yuchen is still worried that if this happens, will it make His Highness the Crown Prince advocate the old etiquette and learning more in the future?"
Shen Shixing asked at this time.
Zhu Yijun glanced at Shen Shixing with a serious face.
Shen Shixing hurriedly bowed his hands.
Zhu Yijun suddenly smiled again: "Do you have no confidence in the prince, or in Xinli?"
Shen Shixing was stunned for a moment after hearing this.
And it was like a thunder exploded in his ears, and he immediately had to bow his hands again and said:
"Your Majesty knows me better than I do myself, and I dare not hide it from Your Majesty. After His Majesty asked, I found out that I was not willing to let His Highness the Crown Prince inquire about the opinions of other families. I was indeed worried that His Highness might be exposed to the old rituals. Later, I was more willing to support the old rituals.”
"If we don't let him have contact now, will he not be able to have contact when he becomes emperor in the future?"
"Instead of doing that, it's better to let him have contact."
“We must have faith in the new gift!”
Zhu Yijun said this: "However, as a dignified Yuanfu, the master has no confidence in the new etiquette he implemented. I am also very surprised."
Shen Shixing blushed even more as if his underwear had been taken off, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I dare not hide it. Although the battle against Luzon has been won, many wealthy families along the coast have been purged, but most of the country and dynasty The clan is still based on farming and studying, rather than being business-oriented. Even business families often have children who are farming and studying, so they advocate the rules rather than the old rites of the nation, which still has its own fertile ground!"
"And actually."
"The greater reason why we were able to achieve a great victory in this expedition against Luzon was not because the new rituals were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but because of His Majesty's Holy Power!"
"After all, most of the people in the world support the conquest of Luzon because His Majesty asked them to support it, not because they really have such determination. Even if the king disapproves, they will not continue to cause trouble or even start an uprising. They will only accept it. Reality."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this: "What the master said is that if the emperor in the future forces the sale of subscription tickets to belong only to the powerful, the people of the world will not resist as long as they are still alive. Even if they are dissatisfied, they will only dare to be dissatisfied in their hearts. Who will let this happen?" The land of China is too fertile and productive. As long as you lower your desires, many people can survive, but they will only resist when there are so many people that they cannot survive no matter how much they abstain."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"Because of this, Yuchen still doesn't have enough confidence in Xinli."
Shen Shixing replied.
Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "You have to believe that the people of the world will change with the efforts of me and my master."
"If we don't let the prince face this change now, he will face this change himself in the future. What we have to do is to give him the ability to analyze and think, instead of just instilling it blindly, even if he If he supports the new rites now, he may not support them in the future, but he should be guided. Even if he has doubts about the new rites now, he will also have doubts about the old rites in the future.”
(End of chapter)
