Confucian political thought not only brought important political claims to the emperor and gave him absolute power, but also brought the important existence of a super-stable social structure to ancient China.
Thanks to the existence of this ultra-stable social structure, vested interests can enjoy absolute privileges and preferential treatment within the cyclical laws of the dynasty, live in luxury, do whatever they want, and prey on the people at will, until the land annexation reaches the extreme and a new round of major reshuffles occurs. Start.
In a major reshuffle, those with vested interests will reshuffle the cards. The old ones will die, and the new ones will come to power. A new cycle of historical cycles will begin, and they will continue to do what they have done before, and so on.
Only stability can provide a breeding ground for vested interests to develop and expand their personal interests.
Only stability can enable them to have powerful privileges and endless glory and wealth, and pass them on to future generations.
The emperor wants inheritance, vested interests also need inheritance, everyone needs inheritance, inheritance is the common need of everyone, and stability is the cornerstone.
The stable inheritance of imperial power will lay the foundation for the stable inheritance of vested interests. If the supreme power cannot be stably passed on, vested interests will not be able to pass it on stably.
Therefore, the entire ruling class needs the concept of divine right of kings to add a heritage buff to themselves.
However, at this moment, Su Yonglin wanted to sing the opposite tune.
He wants to be a human emperor, not an emperor. He does not want the ultimate buff of the divine right of kings. He wants to tear off the sacred label of imperial power with his own hands.
Kong Zheng couldn't accept this decision.
This is obviously a decision that goes against everyone's interests, and he cannot accept this decision under any circumstances.
So he decided to be tough and raised objections to Su Yonglin.
"General... no, Your Majesty, I cannot obey the imperial edict!"
Su Yonglin was busy writing at that time, approving financial allocations for the restoration of water conservancy in the Zhongdu area. When he heard Kong Zheng said that he could not obey the imperial edict, Su Yonglin was not surprised and did not look up.
"Okay, since you can't obey the imperial edict, then I will replace you with someone who can obey the imperial edict to be the Minister of Rites. You can stop being the Minister of Rites. That's it."
Kong Zheng's pupils shrank, and he suddenly raised his head to look at Su Yonglin, who did not raise his head, with surprise on his face.
this……
Didn't you even pull it back and forth?
Go directly to Wang Zha? Are you going to kill me directly?
Kong Zheng was anxious.
"Your Majesty, I...I didn't mean that."
"Then what do you mean?"
Su Yonglin finished approving the memorial, put it aside, took a sip of tea, and looked at Kong Zheng calmly, as if what he said was just a casual chat after dinner.
"I...I don't have any disrespectful thoughts towards His Majesty. I just want to say that this matter is really too involved. I really dare not accept the order rashly, otherwise I may be criticized by thousands of people..."
"It's my business to involve Da. If Qianfu has any objections, he comes directly to me and asks you what to do? Deciding whether you did it or I did it? Or are you the one who has the objections? Are you referring to yourself?"
Su Yonglin's sinister words really made Kong Zheng very unhappy.
But he didn't dare to say anything else to make Su Yonglin unhappy.
He is just pretending to be stupid.
Kong Zheng thought about it and really didn't know what to do, but considering what happened in the future, he decided to explain it a little more clearly.
Don't play dumb.
"Your Majesty, the emperor is the Son of Heaven, and this has been the case from ancient times to the present. I know that your Majesty is powerful in the world, and his military power is unparalleled in the world. However, Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty needs to be passed down forever. Your Majesty must hope that the Ming Dynasty will have long-term peace and stability."
"So what? If I am not the emperor, but I am the human emperor, won't the Ming Dynasty be able to maintain peace and stability for a long time?"
Su Yonglin put down the tea bowl and said with a smile: "Kong Qing, your idea is very strange. What the emperor can do, the human emperor cannot do? Or do you think that without the title of emperor, the Ming Dynasty will not last long, just like the pre-Qin Dynasty Like that?”
"Your Majesty, I don't dare. This is not what I said. This..."
Kong Zheng felt that he could no longer go around in circles with Su Yonglin. Sooner or later, if he continued to go around in circles, Su Yonglin would get involved.
"Your Majesty, the emperors of all dynasties are the emperors, and they govern on behalf of heaven. All the people in the world believe in heaven. Therefore, as the emperor, the emperor can naturally govern the world. But if the emperor is not the emperor, all the people in the world will be suspicious. Why on earth can your majesty be able to govern? Where is the world?"
"Why?"
Su Yonglin sneered: "Because I destroyed the Kingdom of Jin by force and took over the world, everyone in the world doesn't know it, and everyone in the world doesn't know it? What's the point of insisting that I am the emperor?
Or do you think the emperor is omnipotent? If I didn't have such military exploits, I would say that I wanted to be the emperor. Do you think the Jin people would hand over their power to me, or chop me with a knife? "
Kong Zheng looked bitter.
"What your Majesty said is correct, and I know it, but...but..."
"You can't say that on the surface, right? And the successor doesn't have my military exploits, nor can I successfully master my power, and I can't convince the world. Is that what you say?"
Su Yonglin's words made Kong Zheng a little dazed.
You know you are still making things difficult for me like this?
What's the meaning?
"Your Majesty, you..."
"Okay, Kong Qing, you and I know some things very well, and you also know what should be said and what shouldn't be said. However, I still say the same thing, if you don't obey the order, I will choose someone who is willing to obey the order. To be the Minister of Rites, tell me, do you want to be the Minister of Rites, or do you want to disobey?"
Su Yonglin looked at Kong Zheng coldly.
With just one glance, the feeling of pressure hit him, and Kong Zheng clearly felt the terrifying power emanating from Su Yonglin.
Su Yonglin is serious, not fake.
Kong Zheng understood in his heart.
but……
That is why ah?
We want you to be the emperor, of course it is for our own benefit, and it is certainly so that we can do whatever we want, but isn't it also for your sake?
Objectively, the one who benefits the most is your Su family! They are the descendants of your Su family!
In order for you to deceive those ignorant people more conveniently, for your family and the world to have long-term peace and stability, for your family to continue to be the emperor, for your Ming Dynasty to continue to pass on, it is all for you!
Why don't you do this?
Do you really not want your Ming Dynasty to have long-term peace and stability?
Do you really want to imitate the Second Qin Dynasty and die?
The First Emperor of Qin dominated the world. While he was alive, the nobles of the six countries did not dare to act rashly. But once he died, Qin II was no longer the emperor, had no military merits, and could not control the world. The remnants of the nobles of the six countries took advantage of the situation and rose up, and the Qin Empire fell apart.
Will the Ming Kingdom follow the same path as the Qin Kingdom?
Kong Zheng's heart was full of panic and incomprehension.
He knew he had two choices at the moment.
Is it disrespectful to resist the edict and refuse to be the Minister of Rites?
Or should he abide by Su Yonglin's order and kick off a series of potentially controversial events after the founding of the People's Republic of China?
what to do?
Kong Zheng's body began to tremble involuntarily, and he began to think about some long-term issues. He began to understand that Su Yonglin would not hand over the power of the Ministry of Rites to him for no reason.
He needs to pay something in exchange for the power in Su Yonglin's hands.
It was not just the coronation of the ruler for Su Yonglin in the name of the Kong family.
Su Yonglin wanted to do more things in the name of the Kong family, regardless of whether it was good for the Kong family, or even sacrifice the reputation of the Kong family to take the blame for him.
On the one hand, it is the meaning of the Confucius family’s reputation.
On the one hand, it is his personal political interests, and at the same time, it is also the political interests of the Confucius family.
The two were shaken on the balance in his heart, and finally, one side fell down.
Kong Zheng decided to compromise.
Because Kong Zheng suddenly realized that the Kong family was no longer monolithic.
The Kong family and another Nanzong existed in the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty and were providing help to the legitimacy of the power of the Southern Song Dynasty royal family.
The reason why the Beizong of the Kong family can obtain the current position of power and honor, and the reason why it can be sought after by almost the entire Shandong scholar group, is not because of the orthodoxy of the Beizong itself, but because of Su Yonglin's support for the Beizong, which made the Beizong of the Kong family Zong received this honor.
The Confucius family has been divided. Without the support of a strong ruler, one family cannot politically prevail over another family to regain the legitimate name of the Confucius family.
It is not that the rulers need them unilaterally, they also need the rulers, and their relationship is mutual.
So what else can Kong Zheng do?
Only compromise.
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