The person who spoke was Yan Zhong, a famous man from Liangzhou who had just stepped down as the commander of Xindu County, he was about forty years old, and his appearance was not handsome, but his eyes were shining, giving people a feeling of being able to see through everything in the world.

However, his person is indeed as famous as the original Huangfu Song's introduction, and even Fuquan has heard that he has the ability to "understand human ethics", and there are not a few people who have been on the career by him. Moreover, almost all of the people Yan Zhong has learned from him have made great achievements, which is not a lie, because Fuquan himself is also half of the people who have seen his skill of connoisseurship, such as Fuquan's friend Jia Xu, who was discovered by his people and not famous.

Jia was not famous when he was young, only Yan Zhong, a famous man in Liangzhou, after seeing him, thought he was different, and called him good and peaceful. The so-called "good and peaceful", naturally refers to Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, the founding ministers of the Han Dynasty, in fact, the final result of Jia Xu is worthy of what Yan Zhong said, and later in real history, almost like Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, low-key people, but repeatedly for Cao Cao's father and son, dedicated to the plan, and later became the Tai Lieutenant of the three founding princes of Wei, so it seems that there is indeed a good and peaceful strange.

Of course, in Fu Quan's opinion, if Jia Xu is compared between Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, he is more like Zhang Liang. I'm afraid that if it weren't for Cao Cao's courtiers, unlike Liu Bang, who was born as a ruffian and cared about the instability of the country, and the rabbit died and the dog cooked, I can't say that in later history, Jia Xu would also become the third duke, and then resigned and lived in seclusion.

As for the reason, without it, it is due to his temperament, although Jia Xu likes to be an official, but he is not obsessed, and if it involves his own danger, he will not take risks at all.

Without further ado, Yan Zhong was actually a strategist recruited by Huang Fu Song from his hometown of Liangzhou after he was at home, and he has been serving the early Huang Fu Song since Huang Fu Song was ordered to quell the Yellow Turban Moth thieves in Taiping Road.

Suitable talent, Yan Zhong's words can be described as a great rebellion, extremely disobedient, who is the culprit?

The meaning of his words is that the high-level of the imperial court who are now enjoying themselves in Beijing, and with the public opinion among today's scholars, the Taiping Dao is incompetent, the son of heaven is mediocre, and the traitorous ministers are in charge, which makes the people's lives difficult, and Li Minqian is the first to revolt.

Of course, in Fu Quan's view, these words are too official, just like the kings of the dead countries of all dynasties, and their public opinion and evaluation in the people's government are almost the same.

However, it is clear that these things, in the mouth, can be said as much as they want.

Taiping Dao, is it really an uprising?

Obviously, it can't be defined by uprising, the simplest one is the people who revolted, not to mention those who were coerced, they are the faithful believers of the Taiping Dao, how did they come about?

They first became believers in the Taiping Dao, but they drank the talisman water of the three Zhang Jiao brothers, cured the disease and saved their lives, and came in a flicker.

Moreover, the people who said these things were all poor peasants, and they were obviously nonsense.

Not to mention the three brothers of Zhang Jiao, almost before the incident, they all relied on the Taiping Road to make profits and became a giant household on the rich side, and the mansion in Guangzong County, Fu Quan was shocked when he saw it, so he said that the high-level of the Taiping Road, there are also many upper echelons of the court echoing, the most illustrative thing is that the Taiping Road was found and killed by the court in advance, and the Zhongchang servants Feng Zhen, Xu Feng and others, they are committed to the Taiping Road, and are willing to respond to the Taiping Road.

In Fu Quan's opinion, if you make a comparison, the Taiping Dao is actually similar to the White Lotus Sect in later generations, of course, compared to the White Lotus Sect and Zhang Jiao's Taiping Dao, it is really far behind.

Although Zhang Jiao's set of gameplay is indeed the ancestor of the White Lotus Sect in the future, he really plays much higher than the White Lotus Sect. The White Lotus Sect is mainly spread among the people at the bottom, so it often highlights the temperament of being too low and too earthy, while Zhang Jiao's Taiping Dao is spread in the upper and lower classes at the same time, and it is not comparable to the White Lotus Sect of later generations in terms of coverage, organization or theoretical height.

This is because, from the pre-Qin period to the present, both the wealthy class and the common class have been convinced of the statement of the "Mandate of Heaven". Whether they are superstitious or pious, they think that in order to be the Son of Heaven, it is not enough to have strength, but also to have the Mandate of Heaven, and Zhang Jiao took advantage of this to make himself the spokesperson of the Mandate of Heaven among some upper-class people.

For example, Ban Biao, a beginner in this dynasty, did not think that Taizu Gao's Emperor Liu Bang's seizure of the world was the result of the competition and survival of the fittest, but believed that Liu had the mandate of heaven, so he wrote in "The Treatise on the Destiny of the King": "The world saw that Gaozu was prosperous in cloth, but he did not reach the reason, thinking that it was suitable for riots, and he had to fight for his sword." Lobbyists, compared to the world, are fortunate to get it. I don't know that the artifact has a life, and I can't ask for it intellectually. ”

This kind of Manifest Destiny Theory is not an isolated case, but a top-down, deliberate propaganda and brainwashing of the people's thoughts, and eventually becomes the norm in society and an artifact for rulers to effectively rule the world. The so-called "I am the mandate of heaven" is like this, as far as the ruler is concerned, what is conducive to his own rule, of course, chooses what propaganda.

And this is not only the case of the Han Dynasty, even in later generations, it is still prevalent. For example, Shen Yue, a famous scholar of the Southern Dynasty, on the issue of winning the world, in order to consolidate the foundation of the clan and the imperial rule, also admired the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven and opposed the theory of chasing deer...... Those who strive for it, and those who chase them, are chaotic ministers and thieves, so there are more than the world. Fulong Fei Ninety-Five, with Tianguang House, there is a talisman of command, and heaven and man should respond. ”

Even until the late Tang Dynasty, Du Guangting, who had tried and failed, also used legendary stories such as "The Legend of the Bearded Guest" to emphasize the mandate of heaven and oppose the vague heroes, hoping to become an official, such as the end of the legendary story said: "It is the prosperity of knowing the real people, not the hope of the heroes." What about those who are not heroes? The erroneous thoughts of the ministers are the refusal of the mantis arm. My royal blessing is vain. ”

All of the above shows the far-reaching impact of the Mandate of Heaven on the people, even if the late Han Dynasty was in turmoil, the princes all had the strength, but those who dared to call the emperor were only Yuan Shu, and the rest of the people, even Cao Cao, when he played "King Wen Cao", he probably thought that the so-called Mandate of Heaven is not in me.

And just like Zhang Jiao, this time he led the Taiping Dao uprising, using the slogan "The sky is dead, the yellow sky should stand", at the beginning, he used the Mandate of Heaven, he said that the Mandate of Heaven is about to change, so that it can be recognized by the vast majority of believers who believe in the Taiping Dao. This is also the reason why Fu Quan Zai and Huang Fu Song suggested that the Yellow Turban Moth thieves captured by the migration should go to the outside of the Saiwai and re-carry out ideological education, because if they don't change their Mandate of Heaven back into the Great Han, their thoughts of wanting to change the Mandate of Heaven will still become an invisible bane.

From the early days of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou put forward the words of "respecting heaven and protecting the people", changing the "respect for God" in the Shang Dynasty to "respecting virtue", so that Chinese politics changed to reality and rationality, and to the holy master Confucius, it was "respecting ghosts and gods and staying away", so it was easy to give everyone the illusion that Confucianism has nothing to do with religion and ghosts and gods, and was even hyped up as cultural superiority.

In fact, in the face of autocratic imperial power, reason is more vulnerable than divinity, and divinity can also make the emperor fearful, and whether reason can restrain the emperor depends on the emperor's mood.

Early Confucianism and ancient theology are actually inseparable, although Confucius did not talk much about ghosts and gods, but did not deny the existence of ghosts and gods, on the contrary, he also believed that the unicorn would bring peace, and because the unicorn that finally appeared was killed, the spirit was greatly hit, and he never did it, and soon passed away, that is, the so-called "no pen in the lin".

By the time of Dong Zhongshu in the former Han Dynasty, Confucianism combined Taoism and Yin-Yang thoughts, believing that the heavens have a will and will react to things in the world. This point was immediately recognized by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, because his ideas greatly attached to the rule of the ruler, and even had the later "depose the hundred schools and respect Confucianism." ”

After the founding of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu had a lot of power to give Wei, and then the emperors of all dynasties also developed Weiwei, and finally established a complete set of Confucian theological system, and even the gods of the five directions in the southeast, northwest, and north were stipulated one by one, and Bangu's "White Tiger Tongyi" was explained one by one.

Of course, not only that, in order to further consolidate the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven, since the Han Dynasty, it has been constantly changing the actual things in society in accordance with the Confucian classics, so as to be more in line with the spread of the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. For example, the sentences in Confucian classics such as the Book of Shang became sacred doctrines, and the former Han Dynasty even changed Kyushu to eleven states and the prime minister to the three princes according to the words of the Shangshu and Zhou Li, so that the reality conformed to the description of the Confucian classics.

Even, when the Taiping Road Incident occurred, Xiang Xu proposed that "but send the Yellow Turban Moth Thief to the north of the river to read the "Book of Filial Piety", and the thief should be eliminated, which is not without the shadow of the Mandate of Heaven, of course, this proposal could not come true from the beginning.

But Xiang Xu, who is a celebrity, believes in the Confucian classic "Book of Filial Piety" so much, and even its scriptures simply have monstrous mana and can calm the chaos. It can be seen that today's Confucianism has become a law religion similar to Buddhism, although there is no one true God like the Creator, but there is a divine law, just like the Confucian scriptures like Buddhism.

In this way, Confucianism is no different from religion at the moment, and it can even be directly called "Confucianism", but this is not officially defined as such.

However, since it is a religion with divinity, the imperial power is naturally higher than the reality in theory, and if the emperor does not do a good job, he can abdicate by the will of heaven, which is the mandate of heaven.

In the late Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars such as Zhenghong and Gai Kuanrao both persuaded the emperor of the Han Dynasty to abdicate and make way for Xian, although they were all killed under the pretext, but the emperor of the Han Dynasty did not dare to say that the Mandate of Heaven and Chan Rang themselves were wrong, because he was opposed, that is, he was opposing the foundation of the Han Dynasty's rule of the world.

At that time, when the politics of the former Han Dynasty were deteriorating and difficult to save, more and more people believed that the emperor of the Han Dynasty should abdicate and give way to Xian, headed by the Confucian master Liu Xin, everyone believed that this "Xian" was the model Confucian Wang Mang. Therefore, Wang Mang became the emperor of the Han Dynasty and was determined to build an ideal world described by Confucianism, but because his governance was divorced from reality, he caused chaos in the world and died and the country was destroyed.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty deliberately promoted the Wei Wei and maintained his status as the chosen one, and at the same time learned the lessons of the previous dynasty, and no longer let Confucianism have the opportunity to change the mandate of heaven, so as to seize the throne.

Of course, these measures were carried out in secret, since Guangwu Liu Xiu, they are vigorously showing Confucianism, and at the same time controlling the thoughts of Confucianism, so in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, vigorously develop the power of relatives and eunuchs, so that they alternate dictatorship and compete with Confucian scholars and doctors.

However, this doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven has not always been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the times are changing, the situation is changing, when China once again experienced the chaos of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Mandate of Heaven can no longer imprison the people, and new ideas are born.

After experiencing the division of feudal towns in the late Tang Dynasty and the tragic turmoil of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Wang Gang untied the button, and the people saw that the king did not necessarily take the throne for a long time, and the so-called Mandate of Heaven was purely after the monarch himself pasted gold, but the social status quo was as An Chongrong, a bachelor in the Later Jin and early Song Dynasty, said: "The Son of Heaven is the ear of the strong soldier and the strong horse!" ”

Since then, since the Middle and Tang Dynasties, represented by Liu Zongyuan and Ouyang Xiu, the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven has gradually gone bankrupt in the scholars who have gradually become the main theme of society, and has been replaced by the theory of benevolence. That is to say, scholars and doctors more realistically demanded that the emperor practice benevolent government to gain political legitimacy, and no longer paid attention to the question of whether or not to be ordained by heaven, and the elements of theological destiny such as the end of the five virtues with theological significance and the jade seal of the country since the Qin and Han dynasties were no longer valued.

In the eyes of the scholars, the Son of Heaven no longer has the blessing of the Mandate of Heaven, but they support the people who maintain the rule. After all, since the Song and Ming dynasties, the central court has not been able to fully count the local household taxes, and the scholars and doctors have gradually begun to rise from the cold to enjoy the road to luxury life.

And why can't the local household tax be counted, there are naturally many reasons, and the biggest reason is naturally that the scholars and doctors who have risen from the poor family are just seeking personal gain for themselves in order to become wealthy.

In the Song Dynasty, even if the salaries were high, it was still common practice for officialdom to take bribes and merge personal land. And when it came to the Ming Dynasty, who strictly controlled Yulu, he had always been for his own scholars, so he naturally didn't want to live a hard life, and he worked harder to loot.

If Song Ming could have the control of the Qin and Han dynasties in the local area, and down to a township or a li, they could check the household registration and register the register, I am afraid that these scholars and doctors would not have many chances to get their hands on it.

Anyway, as far as the scholars are concerned, if they can be on an equal footing with the emperor, they will naturally no longer have the awe of the ancestors for the divine authority of the monarch, and they can use the emperor's name to do whatever they want outside. And the emperor, according to their benevolent ideology, should sit in the deep palace, with their support, hang the arch and rule, everything they see, hear, know and think, should be what they told the emperor, not consistent with their thoughts, it is all a prohibition, it is a move to destroy the society and destroy the country.

Of course, in today's Han Dynasty, although the scholars have not appeared, the scholars are already there.

For example, some of them want to set up a small emperor who is easy to control to fight for power, some people support Taipingdao, and some people think about a coup d'état...... Undoubtedly, Yan Zhong, who spoke at the right time, was one of them.