[The previous chapter should be five-two-two, and I can't change it......]

Compared with Confucius, who was dignified and steady, and in line with the ruler's taste, Brother Meng Ke was a great indignation when he saw people's evil, and it is said that Zhu Yuanzhang admired Confucius very much when he read the Analects, but he hated Mencius when he read Mencius...... In fact, where admiration is, it is just that Confucius said what he liked to hear, and where is disgust, it is just Mencius who said what he was afraid of.

Open the original version of "Mencius" and take a look at his old man's remarks:

'The people are precious, the community is secondary, and the monarch is light. This sentence does not need to be explained, for the emperor who is self-respecting, he is the most important at all times, how to accept this statement?

'The king regards the minister as a sibling, and the minister regards the king as the heart. The monarch regards the minister as a dog and a horse, and the minister regards the monarch as a countryman. The king regards the minister as a mustard, and the minister regards the king as an enemy. 'Okay, if I don't treat you well, you treat me like an enemy?' It's really the opposite.

'The minister kills his king, but what? Said: A thief is called a thief; Those who are righteous thieves are called crippled; The thief is called a husband; I heard that a husband was punished, but I didn't hear of killing a king. 'Damn, kill the king? I'm not mistaken, old Meng, what else are you afraid to say?

'If the people are violated, they will kill the country and perish. 'Woo yes! Come on, arrest this man surnamed Meng, and I will punish him for nine tribes, no, ten tribes, one hundred and eighty tribes!!

Fortunately, Lao Meng has been an ancient man for 2,000 years, and he can't even find a bone, so the emperors of the past dynasties can't do anything to him, and although the big guys are unhappy, they are hindering Mencius's status as a sage, and they can barely endure these extremely harsh remarks. Open-minded and far-sighted like Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he also took "Mencius" as a warning and wrote "Zhenguan Political Leaders" to warn himself and future generations.

He said to his ministers, 'For the sake of kingship, you must first save the people.' If the people are harmed and their bodies are served, they will cut off their strands and eat their stomachs, and their stomachs will be full and they will die. If the world is safe, it must be corrected first, and there is no one who is upright and shadowed, and the upper rule is chaotic. Wei Zheng said to him: "The ministers have heard the ancient saying: 'Jun, Zhouye; People, water also. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize a boat. Tang Taizong also thought it was terrifying, as it was a holy decree.

Therefore, it is said that 'the way of Mencius is people-oriented; Abide by the bow, the four seas are salty; The country and the people are safe, and the rule of Zhenguan. ’

But when it was Zhu Yuanzhang's turn to be the emperor, Brother Mencius finally suffered retribution. Before Emperor Zhu became emperor, he once let go of cattle and became a monk, and then rebelled. There is no culture, no reverence, and there is a strong resistance to civilization, culture, and literati. Therefore, unlike the previous emperors, he was able to buy the account of Yasheng.

It is fair to say that Zhu Yuanzhang is the emperor who thinks about the people the most among the emperors of all dynasties, and there is no one. But he was limited by his own level of knowledge and could not really understand what philosophical thought was - he did not know that true philosophy was the exposition of truth, and that philosophy could be destroyed, but truth was eternal. Therefore, he naively thought that as long as the mark of Mencius was wiped out with the help of secular imperial power, the terrible phenomenon of 'water can capsize boats' could be eliminated. So, he did a ridiculous act like hiding his ears and stealing the bell...... In the second year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang read "Mencius", and when he read the sentence "The king regards his ministers as grass chestnuts, and the ministers regard the king as enemies", he thought that this was a great rebellion, and said indignantly: "This is to instigate those who study not to take the king's life in their eyes!" He carefully read the book of Mencius and found those extremely reactionary remarks, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious, and said with hatred: "If this old boy lives to this day and falls into my hands, it will be strange if he doesn't pick his skin!" So he issued an edict to remove Meng Ke's deserved treatment and drive him out of the Confucian Temple! At the same time, in the edict, it was strictly ordered that if anyone admonished, he would be punished with great disrespect, and let Jin Wuwei shoot him on the spot.

As soon as the holy decree was issued, the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu Deng panicked, everyone was a disciple of Confucius and Mencius, and it was impossible to carry out the order, and it was extremely ridiculous to carry out the order, so he slowed down Zhu Yuanzhang on the one hand, and did his best to change the emperor's mind.

The eunuchs of the Guozijian knelt down in front of the noon gate, and Qian Tang, the secretary of the Criminal Department, exposed his chest, pulled the coffin into the inner hall with a car, and was hit by an arrow on the spot, but Qian Tang still said loudly: "I can die to protect the reputation of Mencius, even if I die, it will be glorious!" Zhu Yuanzhang finally felt the power of faith, and was also afraid of the momentum of life and death, and did not dare to be the enemy of the scholars in the world at the same time, so he ordered the imperial doctor to treat Qian Tang's arrow wounds.

Seeing that the emperor's attitude was shaken, the ministers came to the book one after another, asking for a change of will, and Qin Tianjian also said: "Yingxing is confused, which is a harbinger of the heavens' anger, is there some policy measure that Your Majesty has made the heavens feel uneasy?" This was given to Emperor Zhu under the steps, and the matter was over.

In the next few years, there was nothing to do, and everyone forgot about it, only when the emperor was nervous. But what no one expected was that Emperor Zhu held a grudge, and it really reached the point where 'this hatred lasts forever'...... Zhu Yuanzhang didn't forget his hatred of Mencius at all, but he was killing ministers, princes, generals, honors, and officials.

But in the twenty-second year of Hongwu, Emperor Zhu looked around and found that there was no way to kill, the ministers were prostrate at their feet, his wheezing voice was a little rougher, the mountains and rivers were trembling, and he couldn't help but be complacent, feeling that there was no enemy he couldn't fight. Therefore, he simply issued a decree to directly ban the book "Mencius" - any act of reading, teaching, disseminating, and printing is illegal, and will not only be banned according to law, but will also be investigated for legal responsibility.

But the ministers said, no, your most admired sage Zhu listed Mencius as one of the four books, and you also issued a holy decree early on, making the four books the only textbook for scholars in the world. This matter can't be reversed, otherwise it will be Your Majesty's wisdom, and denying the correctness of Zhu Shengren will be very serious for the courtiers and scholars in the world.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he felt that there was some truth, so he patted his head and spoke, let's make an abridged version, and deleted all the sentences that he didn't like, didn't like to hear, disgusted, and resisted, and made a castrated version of "Mencius", which was distributed nationwide as the designated textbook for scholars.

It is strictly forbidden to take exams at all levels, and it is not allowed to go beyond the scope of textbooks...... Under the unremitting struggle of the ministers, by the Zhengde period, the imprisonment had gradually loosened, and even Emperor Yanjing did not take this seriously, but because of the ancestral system, he had been using the "Mencius Verse" as a textbook.

However, when it was Jiajing's turn to be the emperor, he was not in the right position, he held high the banner of the great grandfather everywhere, and his attitude towards Mencius was extremely strict, and he suppressed the defenders who had just raised their heads, so few people who have read in the past 20 years know that there is a complete and unabridged version of "Mencius", and they took out the Song version of "Mencius" as if Zhao Zhenji would offer treasures.

Although Shen Mo had already familiarized himself with the full text of Mencius from Tang Shunzhi, his surprise at the moment was not pretended at all - he didn't know why Old Master Zhao, who had always been a Taoist, would take this [***] book to himself?

Zhao Zhenji thought that silence was rare and strange, so he said in a low voice: "This book was actually available for purchase during the Zhengde period, but in recent decades, the Jinyi guard has strictly banned it, and ordinary people can't see it." ”

Shen Mo nodded and said softly: "Dazhou Gong, you gave me this book, not just to let me collect it, right?" ”

"Of course not." Zhao Zhenji shook his head and said, "The book is for reading, is it hidden to feed the silverfish?" ”

"This ......" Shen Mo didn't know what to say, and after thinking for a while, he said in a hurry: "Aren't you the most important to Taoism?" How do you make me watch '[***]'? "You pay the most attention to Taoism, which is a euphemism for 'guardians'.

"What is Taoism? The way of Confucius and Mencius is also! Zhao Zhenji said: "As a Confucian disciple, studying the "Complete Works of Mencius" is to abide by the Taoism!" ”

"What about the ancestral system...... "Shen Mo asked softly.

"Ancestry?" Zhao Zhenji's expression suddenly darkened, and he was silent for a long time before he said slowly: "You can't have both fish and bear's paws, I take the Taoist system and abandon the ancestral system." Saying that, he raised his head and said with a deep face: "Over the years, I have been thinking, what is wrong with this country? Why am I in the Heavenly Empire, and there are endless internal and external troubles; Natural disasters [***] emerge in an endless stream, seemingly powerful, but in fact they are middle-class, and even small widows can't deal with it, and even their own people can't feed them. Something, I believe, must have gone wrong. ”

Shen Mo nodded slowly, and listened to Zhao Zhenji continue: "If something goes wrong, it must be something wrong with us officials...... The local officials only know that the people are expropriated and extorted, and the officials in the capital only know that the party is fighting against differences, fighting for power and profit, and the entire officialdom is in a miasma, and the people are naturally not able to make a living, so how can the country not be in chaos? ”

"Is it really wrong for us to rule the world with Confucianism?" Zhao Zhenji shook his head slowly and said firmly: "No! The way of Confucius and Mencius has been passed down for 2,000 years, and history has long proved that if the monarchs and ministers abide by it, they can usher in the rule of the world, and even the prosperous era...... Therefore, I believe that the way of Confucius and Mencius will not be wrong, and what is wrong is that we students did not learn well. ”

Shen Mo nodded, he couldn't help but be impressed by Old Master Zhao. This is the true apologists.

"Later, I suddenly understood why my Confucianism is also called the Tao of Confucius and Mencius, because it is the common Taoist system of Confucius and Mencius, Confucius cannot leave Meng, and Meng cannot leave Confucius, once separated, it is not a complete Confucian and Mencian way, it is a fake Confucianism!" Zhao Zhenji's voice gradually became louder, with the pleasure of expressing his chest, and said, "Why do you say that? Because Confucius taught the way of governing people, and Mencius taught people to be people-oriented, both are indispensable...... If you don't understand the 'way of governing people,' you won't be able to control your subjects, and if the country has no order and the monarch has no authority, there will be chaos; if you don't understand why you should 'put the people first,' you will regard the people as grass and mustard to trample on at will, and the country will be even more chaotic! ”

"The reason why I tell you this is because the Guozijian will be yours sooner or later." Zhao Zhenji got up and arched his hand and said: "Humble words, please go back and take a good look at this book, if you think it really makes sense, I hope you can tell the students about it, even if you don't say it directly, it's just subtle, and it's also immeasurable." As he spoke, he hugged his fists again and said: "If you are in power in the future, you should still listen to the teachings of Master Mengzi and have a little awe, and this official will not be badly deserved; Know how to cherish the people, no matter what you do, you can have a clear conscience. ”

Shen Mo bowed deeply when he heard this: "The student has been taught......

"Humble words, believe me, I am not alone!" Zhao Zhenji helped him up, and said with some emotion: "Many people are thinking about what happened to Da Ming. Although I am a scholar, I do not plan to return to my hometown, but I will give lectures in various places and preach the essence of Mencius. ”

Shen Mo nodded and said, "I'll try to help you get rid of the trouble." ”

"Don't worry, I'm from the Ministry of Rites, and they don't dare to touch me." Zhao Zhenji smiled and said: "It's better if you really move me, I'm just afraid that it won't be big, and if it is big, it will attract everyone's attention, get twice the result with half the effort, save time and effort." ”

Wrapping the book of "Mencius" in silk and carefully storing it in his arms, he was about to say goodbye silently, Zhao Zhenji got up to see him off, and suddenly said: "Some things, what you see and feel, are not necessarily the truth......"

Shen was stunned, I didn't know what he meant, and when he wanted to ask again, Zhao Zhenji smiled and didn't answer, but said: "It's not time, I'll know when the time comes." Shen Mo couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard it, this is really unpleasant retribution, he just fooled Gao Gong like this, and he didn't expect to be fooled back by others the next day.

Zhao Zhenji is a sincere person after all, and when he saw that he was uncomfortable, he said again: "Gao Gong is a person who can't be double-faced, although he is short-tempered, he can be trusted." ”

When asked again, Zhao Zhenji was silent and refused to answer completely.

asked Sanchi to stay and receive the books and send them to the Guozijian, while Shen Mo himself carried the '[***]' and went first; Asking for leave with Gao Gong, two hours is two hours, and if you are late for a while, you will be scolded bloody, which is really unacceptable.

The next day, Zhao Zhenji left Beijing, and it is said that many Xu Party members, as well as non-party officials, went to the Shili Changting to see each other off. Some people say, look at you as a person, not when you are in a position, because others respect Wusha and your official position, not you as a person...... Changing to another person to sit in your seat will also make people hold and respect.

Now that Zhao Zhenji is in the wilderness, there are still so many people who remember him and miss him, and they will send him even if they offend the powerful, that is simply a tribute to him...... Being an official is only for a while, but being a man takes a lifetime, although Old Master Zhao is disappointed in officialdom, his life is definitely successful.

But Shen Mo didn't go to join in the excitement, he had already sent Old Master Zhao yesterday, and it would be hypocritical to go again. So he sat firmly in the office room, trying to check his syllabus, but found it difficult to read, because as soon as he calmed down, a sentence of Mencius quotations immediately appeared.

Shen Mo knew that these remarks were out of place and that teaching students would be troublesome, but the political temptation of 'putting the people first' was too strong, and he had the urge to take risks.

'What's going on?' Shen Mo patted his face vigorously to sober himself up, and asked himself, "What does Zhao Zhenji mean by giving me this copy of Mencius?" He and I are not related to each other, and he has just released his old suspicions, why does he value me so much? Is it really because I am loved by others, and flowers bloom? ’

Apparently not so. Shen Mo is still self-aware - he is not the type that Zhao Zhenji appreciates at all, even if he wants to preach and teach, he should find Zhang Juzheng, not himself, a guy who has no external desires.

"There's a conspiracy......" Thinking about it, Shen Mo accidentally whispered.

"What conspiracy?" Then he heard the sound of a high arch in the doorway.

Shen Mo was startled, and quickly calmed down: "Hehe, my lord, I was thinking about the situation in the southeast, and I couldn't see the actions of the Japanese Kou clearly. It's hard for his brain to turn so fast, Gao Gong didn't notice it, and followed the silent words: "Alas, it's all a good thing that Wang Bengu's idiot did!" Saying that, he laughed and said: "The dignified Ming, you have to trample on your own credit in order to catch the Japanese chieftain." With this kind of inferior method, not only can it not cure the Japanese invaders, but also make the court lose all its faith, which is really worth the loss. ”

Shen smiled silently, didn't continue, but got up and arched his hand and said, "My lord, please come in, you can call me if you have something, why do you want to come here in person?" ”

"Oh, I just came back from the Hanlin Academy," Gao Gong smiled, "so I stopped by you." ”

"Looking at the happy appearance of the adults, it seems that there is a good thing." Shen Mo also smiled.

"Hehe," Gao Gong smiled, "Whether it's a good thing or not depends on what you think." ”

"About me?" Shen Mo asked softly.

"Yes," Gao Gong nodded and said: "According to the regulations, there should be four attendants in the palace, but now there are only three of the princes of Yu, and the Hanlin Academy has to recommend two more to go over, and today they asked for my opinion, and I recommended you." ”

(To be continued)