Zhu Youzhen, who was sitting on the main seat, glanced at the ministers present, and kept calculating in his mind what kind of reaction his words would cause.

When the reform has advanced to the point where it has been carried out, it is no longer possible to get these ministers to work together on the grounds of centralizing power in the cabinet.

He knew that many of the people here did want to continue to push forward the reforms; But there are also people who feel that it is already good to achieve the current level, and if they continue to move forward, it will not only be difficult, but also damage their own interests; Others took a fancy to Huang Liji's position and tried to replace him.

So he needs to find a basis for reform that is acceptable to everyone in the room, so that he has to stand with him because of the crisis and the officials who pushed for the reform can once again stand firm.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Youzhen finally spoke: "Mencius once said: Those who work hard govern people, and those who work hard govern people. I thought that was a good statement.

If we divide all the Ming people into two parts, one is the laborers who belong to the ruling class, and the other part is the laborers who belong to the ruled.

I and all of you here are the laborers who belong to the ruling class, and the people of the Ming Dynasty belong to the ruled class. If a country does not have a ruling class, then the country will lose order and fall into chaos; But if the ruled class is lost, then the country ceases to exist.

Therefore, the meaning of the existence of the imperial court is to maintain the survival of the state, and the state is a violent machine to maintain the rule of the ruling class. Why do I say that the state is a machine of violence, because we need the state to organize its armies to resist foreign invaders and suppress internal rebels.

We also need the state to organize local governments, mediate conflicts among the people, and collect taxes and labor from the people, soldiers... And the imperial court is the brain of the violent machine of the state, and it is the various orders, policies, and departments issued by the imperial court that can make this machine work..."

Hearing the emperor explain the connection between the state and the imperial court, several ministers present couldn't help but look at each other. Although there were many new words in Chongzhen's words, it was not an incomprehensible matter for them.

As a civilization that has lasted for thousands of years, various concepts and operating laws of politics have long been consciously or unconsciously operating in this land.

It's just that although Chinese philosophers have long known the nature and laws of politics, they are unwilling to show it naked in front of ordinary people. The thinkers of every school of thought want to use their own political ideals to make a gorgeous coat and dress up the real politics as they envision.

Since Confucian thinkers can package politics as a moral etiquette of etiquette, loyalty, and filial piety, it shows that they are not ignorant of the nature of politics.

It's just that this kind of essence of politics is difficult to study from the Four Books and Five Classics, and can only be passed on by the so-called family learning. And the officials who can sit in this room basically have a certain family background, and they are naturally not so unfamiliar with these political concepts that Chongzhen said.

However, learning is something that needs to be studied and accumulated continuously, and politics itself is also a science, and hiding the essence of politics and teaching it only on a small scale will not be of any benefit to this science, but will degenerate because of the passage of time.

Therefore, when they heard that Chongzhen displayed the political ideas summarized by later generations in an almost anatomical way, they felt deafening.

Although everyone here has some understanding of the nature of politics, the degree of understanding is also deep and shallow, and there are comprehensive and one-sided. Before Chongzhen's account, no one had ever tried to describe these political ideas in a concise and scientific language.

As soon as they heard these political ideas, many people subconsciously frowned, they really couldn't accept it, this kind of naked utilitarian language, which made them feel that the fig leaf they maintained was torn off by the emperor.

But as the emperor kept telling the story, this kind of political language, which could be logically rigorously argued, immediately aroused the interest of everyone, and made them feel that this kind of statement about political ideas, although too straightforward and unliterate, had a power that fascinated them, making them want to constantly think about and argue about them.

After Zhu Youzhen tried his best to explain the relationship between the country, the court, and the people in straightforward words, he stared at everyone's expressions sternly, and said in a rigid and impersonal tone: "... However, in the Ming Dynasty, there are some people who are in the ruling class, but they have no consciousness of the ruling class, and everything they do in their daily life is shaking the foundation of this country, as if the only purpose of their birth in the world is to destroy this country.

They have recklessly usurped the last piece of land in the hands of the people for survival, and they rely on the privileges granted to them by the state to oppress the people under their rule, leaving those people displaced and ruined. What is more, some people do not spare even the weaker members of their own class, trying to go beyond the authority prescribed by national law to satisfy their personal desires that they can never fill.

Who are they? They were the local gentry, the court officials, the nobles of the clan, the close ministers of the palace, and I was not even sure that there was one of them among the gentlemen present. ”

When Chongzhen said this, he suddenly paused and looked at everyone meaningfully. Qian Qianyi, who was swept by Chongzhen's gaze, did not withstand this pressure, and subconsciously said like the emperor: "The minister can swear to the heavens, and the minister is definitely not such a person." The minister has always been loyal to His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty. ”

Li Tianjing, who was sitting next to Qian Qianyi, also involuntarily confessed once, so the remaining ministers had to swear allegiance to the emperor one by one to show that they were not the ones who wanted to destroy the Ming Dynasty.

Although Chongzhen understands that some of them are only forced by the situation to swear an oath to themselves. But in the situation, the entire cabinet has reached a unified opinion on the condemnation of those who want to destroy the country.

Zhu Youzhen immediately spoke up again and said, "Gentlemen, there are only two roads in front of us now. One is that we do nothing, let these scum continue to hollow out the foundation of the country's existence, and eventually make the people revolt because they can't survive, and finally destroy the country, smash the original ruling class of the country, and establish a new country.

In the history of our country, this situation has happened many times, far away from the Han Gaozu, and close to the Taizu of this dynasty. In this process of shattering all the old order and creating a new one, no one can be left alone. Heaven Street stepped on the bones of the princess, how can you laugh and pass. I will not take this path, and I hope you will think the same way as me. ”

Huang Liji, Guo Yunhou and other cabinet ministers took the lead in nodding yes, and other cabinet ministers will naturally not lag behind. Only then did Zhu Youzhen continue: "This second way is the reform that the cabinet is promoting. Let's start with the top-down efforts to get rid of all the anachronisms in the country. Kick out the ruling class of the country, who enjoy the privileges granted by the state, but are willing to give nothing for the country.

Bloody revolution, bloodless reform, I have chosen the latter path, hoping that we can shed no blood or less blood, so as to complete this great social change and let the Ming Dynasty be reborn. Of course, if the latter path does not work, then I would rather stand with the people of the Ming Dynasty and take the first path. ”

Zhu Youzhen's previous words were all harsh, but when he said the last sentence, he seemed very gentle. Huang Liji, who had been in contact with the emperor for the longest time, became nervous.

The emperor reiterated the need for reform at the cabinet meeting today, but Huang Liji actually didn't take it to heart, because he had heard a lot of similar words. It's just that Chongzhen has never said it so explicit in formal occasions before, and he prefers to talk about his views on reform when he summons the ministers alone.

Although Huang Liji was surprised by Chongzhen's frank and straightforward attitude of supporting reform and firm determination to promote reform at the cabinet meeting today, he was not nervous. Because today's Chongzhen already has enough strength to say his true words in front of the cabinet ministers.

Just when Chongzhen was speaking, Huang Liji was also looking at the expressions of his colleagues, and he found that Xu Guangqi, Guo Yunhou, and Li Tianjing were unmoved, obviously these people had already made up their minds to support the emperor's reform.

Although Qian Qianyi and Shi Fenglai looked a little hesitant, Huang Liji, who was familiar with the personalities of the two, knew that the two of them would not oppose any opinion of the emperor in person.

There is only about one Zhang Ruitu who is really dissatisfied with the emperor's speech, but at this meeting, he is just a lone hand and cannot shake the overall situation.

What really made Huang Liji nervous was the emperor's last words. Although Chongzhen was relatively gentle when he said it, Huang Liji heard Chongzhen's determination.

He didn't believe Chongzhen's so-called words of standing with the people in the revolution, but he knew that the emperor meant that he was threatening them.

If the cabinet-led reforms are no longer sustainable, the emperor will not choose to compromise, but will use force to deal with the conservative forces that oppose the reforms. And what worries Huang Liji the most is that the current emperor undoubtedly has such power.

In just a moment, Huang Liji made his own choice, he stopped in front of his colleagues, and first said respectfully to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty said so clearly, if the ministers are still hesitant and obstruct the great cause of reform for a little selfish gain, wouldn't it really be to read the sage book into the belly of a dog?"

The minister was in the past, is now, and will be even more in the future, as long as it is beneficial to the people of the Ming Dynasty, the minister will always unswervingly carry it out. ”

Zhang Ruitu was originally a little dissatisfied and wanted to admonish the emperor, but Huang Liji's words made him hesitate for a moment, and then he also reacted, and said to Chongzhen: "The minister is also, as long as the reform plan is beneficial to the people of the Ming Dynasty, the minister will naturally support it..."