"Without patriarchy, authority, saints, and morality, what does Your Majesty want to rely on to rule the world for a long time? Do you really want to go back to the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, where 'the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong', and completely contempt for all order and authority? ”

Hu Yan's words are heart-wrenching.

At the same time, Hu Yan also cleverly avoided the topic of "whether the Mandate of Heaven really exists", and even supported many specific reform measures that did not involve the Confucian Mandate of Heaven.

That is to say, how can a Confucian of Hu Yan's level who is full of poetry and books not know that the Confucian concept of the Mandate of Heaven can only be proved by heart, not empirically?

And don't forget, Hu Yan is a master of astronomy, geography, the legal calendar, and divination, especially has a deep knowledge of astronomy and latitude, and is almost a youth version of Zhuo Jing Hu Yan, how can he not know that there are many unreasonable things about celestial and human induction?

But Hu Yan almost told Zhu Di explicitly.

It doesn't matter whether the celestial induction is real or not!

Fear the destiny of heaven, fear of adults, fear of the words of saints.

In the final analysis, for the ruler, the biggest "adult", the most important thing is not the three fears of the gentleman mentioned by Confucius, the great sage and the most holy teacher, but the second half of the three fears of the gentleman, that is, "The villain does not know the destiny of heaven and is not afraid, and the lord insults the words of the saint."

If the "villains" are not afraid of the Mandate of Heaven, then the patriarchy, authority, saints, and morals formed on the basis of the Mandate of Heaven. This set of things that rule the world must be followed and not feared.

Without these things to fear, what would people fear?

Knife handle!

If whoever has a hard knife handle will be the emperor, can the Ming Dynasty rule for a long time?

You Zhu Di has a hard knife, okay, you are the emperor.

If you pass the throne to Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaoxu's knife handle is also hard, okay, he is also the emperor.

And what about the future?

Is there a story of the Chen Qiao Mutiny in the future, and the yellow robe will be crowned emperor?

Why did Zhao Kuangyin betray his own class even though he was born as a martial artist, engage in "releasing military power with a glass of wine", engaging in "strong cadres and weak branches", and engaging in "soldiers who don't know generals and don't know soldiers"?

Why did Zhao Song pathologically emphasize literature and suppress martial arts?

Why did Han Qi pout Di Qing, a famous general, in person, and said that "the roll call outside the Donghua Gate is a good man"?

In the final analysis, it is necessary to maintain this set of mandates, patriarchy, authority, saints, and morals that the "villains" are afraid of, so that the Zhao and Song royal families can rule for a long time.

Otherwise, if the people are not afraid of these things, but only of the sword, there will be endless chaos in five generations and ten kingdoms.

And Zhu Di also understood the meaning of Hu Yan's words.

This couldn't help but make Zhu Di, who had already murderous intentions, hesitate for a moment.

Hu Yan is not the second Fang Xiaoru.

Hu Yan is neither as hard-mouthed as Fang Xiaoru to the end, nor as stubborn as Fang Xiaoru to admit death.

Hu Yan's purpose, of course, is to maintain Confucianism and Taoism, but Hu Yan also takes into account the explanation of imperial rule that is in line with Zhu Di's vital interests.

first safeguard Zhu Di's interests, and then through the binding of the two, maintain the Confucian Taoism, rather than the immutability of Taoism as soon as it is opened.

Hu Yan analyzed the relationship between the Confucian Mandate of Heaven and the rule of imperial power clearly, told Zhu Di, and told him that the reform and reform itself may be fine, and some reform measures are also good, but the problem is.

If such things as expanding the scale of the Qintianjian and monitoring astronomical phenomena; restore the status of the five sages of Xunzi Confucianism and adjust the content of the imperial examination; It is almost inevitable that the propagation of the doctrine of the holy king and the establishment of the concept of the nation-state will shake the Confucian Mandate of Heaven.

The Mandate of Heaven was shaken, and a series of patriarchal, authoritative, sage, and moral things used to maintain the rule of Zhu Di and his descendants would also be shaken.

Then the fundamental interests of the Zhu family will be harmed.

Therefore, the emperor must carefully consider whether to change the Confucian Taoist system and change the law at the cost of shaking the foundation of imperial power.

After hearing this, everyone in the cabinet suddenly realized, and couldn't help but admire Hu Yan's essence of study.

These truths, as the top young talents of the Ming Empire, of course everyone in the cabinet also understands.

But if you want to point to the essence of the Confucian classics used to maintain the rule in such a high-pressure situation, bypass all the pits dug by the emperor, and then achieve the goal of maintaining both the Confucian Taoist system and the imperial rule, and save the emperor's face.

This is really a test of skill.

"I really didn't expect that Hu Yan is honest and quiet on weekdays, but today he can say this."

Zhu Gaochi also glanced at Hu Yan and thought in his heart.

Just like the sentence of later generations, "The vicissitudes of the sea show the true character of the hero; The wind is high and the waves are urgent, and the pillars are in the middle", everyone in the cabinet talks loudly on weekdays, but they dare not speak at this time.

On the contrary, Hu Yan, who doesn't like to talk much on weekdays, can persuade the emperor very reasonably, and even let the emperor have no reason to be angry.

How to get angry?

People are good for you, and they explain the truth clearly from your point of view, you were originally the one who let people express their opinions, but now you can still turn your face and kill people?

Zhu Di was silent.

Of course, Zhu Di is not illiterate, but if you want to say that he is familiar with the scriptures and meanings to the point where he can refute Hu Yan's statement now, then he is not.

Therefore, Zhu Di understood that Hu Yan was a loyal minister, or for him, on the surface, he was still a loyal minister who was trying to maintain the rule of the imperial power.

The other party is not as hard-mouthed as Lian Zining and Fang Xiaoru, how can he kill him?

At this time, the cabinet members also stopped sitting.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet was almost equivalent to the Zhongshu Province, which was not abolished thirteen years before Hongwu. The kind of low-profile version.

The cabinet is specially responsible for sorting, diverting, and screening various government affairs, and it is also a department that has been created, and everyone knows that as long as it persists in forming a system, the cabinet will definitely become the second Zhongshu province in the future, and the future is extremely bright.

Of course, there was intrigue among the cabinet members, but at this moment, Hu Yan stood up and said so many things, and the emperor was not angry, but still hesitating.

If you want to pick yourself up, the final effect may be counterproductive, so it is better to work together and continue to advise the emperor from Hu Yan's point of view.

This is not a clique!

We are all for the emperor, your imperial rule!

So, Xie Jin, Huang Huai, Yang Shiqi, and the three of them exchanged glances and said separately.

"Your Majesty, the reform and change of law is a big matter, and the ministers do not disagree, but please consider it carefully."

"If you make a hasty decision, it will inevitably lead to mistakes, and the minister thinks that it is the right way to plan carefully, arrange it slowly, and then decide how to implement it after clarifying all kinds of obstacles."

"If Your Majesty wants to carry out reforms and change the law, the ministers should serve their own orders, but now that the matter is sudden, there is a lot of haste, why not think carefully and plan well, and then make a thunderous move?"

After speaking, the three of them looked at Jin Youzi, the emperor's henchman and nail in the cabinet.

Of course, Jin Youzi's heart is like a mirror, he knows that the emperor will probably not punish Hu Yan, and he is a member of the cabinet after all, so he might as well be a favor, and unite his colleagues, so as not to really become a lonely minister.

Jin Youzi got up and said: "I was born in this world, and I am fortunate to meet a heroic king like Your Majesty, who intends to change the law and reform, which is naturally a great thing for the country and the people, and for us ministers, we can also be stained with glory and leave a name in history. But as Sun Tzu said in "The Art of War": The husband who wins the temple without a fight has to be counted as much; The temple is not victorious without a fight, and it is considered to be less. More wins, less wins, and nothing counts! I look at it this way, and I can see the victory or defeat. ”

"Whether it is marching to fight a war or changing the law, it should always be well planned, and the eight strategies for changing the law proposed by Master Daoyan are just an idea, and there are many specific implementation steps that can be improved. For example, when did something start, how often did it take to achieve what kind of goal? The human geography of this place is different from that of another, should we use different methods? ”

Seeing that Zhu Di was thoughtful, Jin Youzi didn't say anything more, arched his hand, and returned to his seat.

Zhu Di groaned for a while, and said: "I think what Hu Qing said is not unreasonable, Hu Qing is still loyal to the monarch and the country, but the things I see are inevitably a little narrow-minded When Master Daoyan comes, I will talk to you in detail, so let's sit back first." ”

Hearing this, Hu Yan saluted respectfully and sat back.

When his butt sat on the chair, Hu Yan realized that the back of his official robe had already been wet with cold sweat.

Although Hu Yan tried his best to calm down just now, he still couldn't hide his complicated emotions about Zhu Di's determination to carry out reforms in a big way.

Zhu Di is not an elegant young man like Zhu Yunwen who grew up in the deep palace and was raised by a woman, Zhu Di is a general, a butcher, and a real son of heaven who fights the world with a knife and a shot.

If Zhu Di wants to reform and change the law, he will definitely be able to reform and change the law!

Hu Yan remembered that in order to implement the apportionment into the mu in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhu Di appointed Zhu Neng, the Duke of Chengguo, as the commander of the army, and led Zhang Wu, the Marquis of Chengyang, the Marquis of Tong'an, Huoli Huozhen, the Marquis of Jing'an, Wang Zhong and other Hou Bo, and nearly 100,000 troops of infantry and cavalry soldiers and auxiliary soldiers to sweep away the south of the Yangtze River, what a magnificent scene!

Guns and halberds are like forests, the sun is shining brightly, and the flags are covering the sky.

That's what these cabinet members saw with their own eyes on the tower of Shence Gate City, and I'm afraid I will never forget it!

Therefore, Hu Yan has no doubt about Zhu Di's ability to implement reform and change the law. From the bottom of his heart, Hu Yan has long been dissatisfied with the various shortcomings of the Ming officialdom.

But Hu Yan couldn't tolerate it, the premise of reform and reform was to attack the Confucian Taoism he cherished the most, so Hu Yan spoke out to dissuade him.

But Hu Yan also knows that if the name is not right, it is not good, since Zhu Di wants to reform and change the law drastically, it is impossible to cross the hurdle of "ideology" and only carry out small repairs and small repairs in the system.

Hu Yan knew very well that his words about fighting for the lives of the whole family and the whole clan could only stop the reform and change of the law for a while, and even a few days.

This is how small the power of an individual is in the face of the torrent of historical change.

At this time, Hu Yan's heart took a long breath.

"Anyway, I've done everything I could."

Next, the crowd waited in silence.

Waiting for the arrival of Daoyan, who represents the reformists, and the six Shangshu, which represent the supreme power of the Ming civil bureaucracy.

Their wait did not last long.

"Father, several Shangshu have already arrived, and Master Daoyan is still on the way, and he will arrive later."

The third prince, Zhu Gaosui, walked into the cabinet room and whispered to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di also took a deep breath, he knew his strengths and weaknesses.

In the ideological field, he is not good at it, and he still has to discuss with the ministers Daoyan, Jiang Xinghuo's best student.

Moreover, Zhu Di also realized that he had made a gaffe just now.

As a king, even if he is inclined to reform and change the law, he should put himself in a higher position as an arbiter.

(End of chapter)