Invincible Zhengde

Chapter 494 Wang Shouren's Thoughts
The crown princess gave birth to the emperor's grandson, and the great news spread throughout the palace in an instant.

All kinds of rewards came one after another, and the atmosphere in the palace eased up a lot. The whole day was full of joy, and even scolding and punishment were gone.

All of a sudden, there was great joy in the palace.

The news quickly spread outside the palace, and for a while, the whole court was full of joy. No one would choose to make trouble at this time, because it would be death.

Therefore, all the news presented by the court was good news, and all the congratulatory forms from the officials were sent to the palace, which can be said to be a voice of praise.

For officials, this is a very good opportunity. After all, if it is well written, it is likely to receive double appreciation from His Majesty and His Royal Highness, and the future will naturally be bright.

Under such circumstances, the court was naturally full of joy.

It's just that the outside affairs have little to do with Zhu Houzhao. He mainly stays with the princess these days, and other things are handled by other people.

Especially on Queen Zhang's side, compared to Zhu Houzhao who is a father, Queen Zhang who has become a grandmother is even more excited to death.She would come here every day, and at the same time, she would celebrate with great fanfare. It can be said that she was very energetic, and she felt like "the waist is no longer sore, and the legs are no longer painful". Her laughter can be heard all day long. .

In this regard, Zhu Houzhao could only smile, and did not speak to persuade.

If he tried to persuade him at this time, he would probably be scolded and choose not to speak.

As for the grand celebration in the palace, Zhu Houzhao didn't say anything.After all, unlike before, the palace has money now.

Of course, some people came to the prince to congratulate him.Not everyone can come here, the important ministers in the court will choose to go to the emperor's side, they will not run to the prince's side, otherwise they will be suspected of befriending the prince, they have to avoid suspicion.

But the young officials promoted by Zhu Houzhao were different. Tang Bohu and Wang Shouren came to congratulate them.

Many generals from the army also came, and there were also many nobles and relatives. Of course, they were all from the younger generation, but this was enough for Zhu Houzhao.

"Your Highness, Wang Shouren has arrived." Liu Jin came to Zhu Houzhao's side and said with a smile on his face.

If anyone is happy these days, there may be many happy people.

But if anyone is the happiest, Liu Jin is definitely one of them.
Liu Jin is the confidant of His Highness the Crown Prince, and in the eyes of many people, he will be the great companion of the Emperor's grandson in the future.What status is that?
Can't tolerate him not caring, can't tolerate him being unhappy.

Zhu Houzhao didn't say anything about this, he knew that a new round of competition had already begun.

So he nodded and said, "Let's go then."

After saying this, Zhu Houzhao stood up and walked straight ahead.

Wang Shouren came here because of He Xi, but Zhu Houzhao wanted to talk to him about something.

When he came to the front hall, Wang Shouren was already waiting here.

After seeing Zhu Houzhao, Wang Shouren saluted quickly, and congratulated with a bright smile on his face: "I congratulate Your Royal Highness, the Ming Dynasty has an emperor's grandson, and there are successors, and the country is stable! Now that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, this is the fortune of the Ming Dynasty, and the fortune of the people in the world." !"

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "Today, Aiqing also has a share of credit. From now on, we should work harder and don't slack off! It's not the time to put the swords and guns into the warehouse and let the horses go to Nanshan."

"Yes, His Royal Highness." Hearing what Zhu Houzhao said, Wang Shouren's expression became serious, and then he said: "I will definitely live up to the high expectations of Your Royal Highness."

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "Sit down and talk."

After Wang Shouren sat down, Zhu Houzhao continued: "How are you doing in the Ministry of War? Are you used to it? Have you ever been made things difficult for you?"

Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Wang Shouren was moved.His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has valued himself so much these years, and he still cares so much about himself now, and he has indeed reached a certain level as a minister.

He said with a smile: "I am living a very good life in the Ministry of War."

This is not Wang Shouren's nonsense, nor is he deliberately concealing it, but he really had a good time in the Ministry of War.

As for the reason, it is also very simple. Wang Shouren's father is a cabinet scholar, and his family is so prestigious. The most important thing is that he is favored by His Highness the Crown Prince.

Everyone knew that he would be someone that His Highness the Crown Prince would definitely use in the future. Under such circumstances, who would wear shoes for him?
If it is said that there are newcomers with insufficient foundation, there may be some people who want to do something.But now the Wang family's father and son can be said to be a big trend. My father is a cabinet scholar. If you wear small shoes for his son, do you still want to mess around?
What's more, Wang Shouren himself is a titan. In the past few years, he has fought countless battles, big and small, and basically won them all.

If you have a background, you have ability. As long as you are not too harsh in the world, you are basically praised by everyone.

Naturally, there was no problem with Wang Shouren's handling of things, so he was like a fish in water in the Ministry of War.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao knew this too, so he nodded and said, "That's good. You just came here today, and I want to discuss something with you."

Zhu Hou took care of Wang Shouren and said with a smile: "The national military reform has almost been completed, you know that. Civil officials everywhere have also implemented the test method, which can be regarded as very effective."

"However, I still have some ideas." As he spoke, Zhu Hou looked at Wang Shouren, and asked, "What do you think of Neo Confucianism?"

After asking this question, Zhu Houzhao didn't speak any more, but quietly waited for Wang Shouren to speak.

In fact, Wang Shouren disdained Confucianism, which Zhu Houzhao knew without asking.

You must know that Wang Shouren is a master of Xinxue, if he has a cold about Neo Confucianism, then there is something wrong with him.

There is one thing Zhu Houzhao is still very clear, that is, when Wang Shouren returned to Yuyao with his wife Zhu Shi, the boat passed Guangxin, and Wang Shouren paid homage to Lou Liang.

Wang Shouren was very pleased when Lou Liang taught him the science of "learning from things and learning".Afterwards, he read Zhu Xi's works and thought about the so-called Song Confucianism's theory that "everything has its surface and its interior is refined and rough, and every plant and tree has the ultimate principle".

In order to practice Zhu Xi's "investigation of things to gain knowledge", once he made up his mind to use the principle of poor bamboo, and "examined" the bamboo for seven days and seven nights, but found nothing, and people fell ill because of it.

From then on, Wang Shouren had great doubts about the theory of "gewu", which is the famous "Shouren Gezhu" in the history of Chinese philosophy.

Corresponding to this one is the famous Longchang Enlightenment in later generations.

In the previous life, the eunuch Liu Jin was good at governing, and arrested more than [-] people including the imperial censor Dai Mian in Nanjing.

Wang Shouren went up to talk about rescue, but offended Liu Jin. He was cast forty and relegated to Longchang, Guizhou ([-] miles northwest of Guiyang, the county government of Xiuwen), where he became the postman of Longchang.

At the same time, his father, Wang Hua, was also expelled from Beijing and transferred to the post of Minister of the Ministry of Officials in Nanjing.

On the way, Wang Shouren was chased and killed by Liu Jin, and he escaped by faking diving and committing suicide.

Wang Shouren, who escaped from being chased, went secretly to Nanjing to meet his father Wang Hua. Wang Hua said to him: "Since the imperial court entrusts you, you have the responsibility. You should take office."

Then Wang Shouren embarked on a journey to Longchang, Guizhou.

"Thousands of mountains are thin, and Miao and Liao live together." Longchang was still an uncivilized area at that time. Wang Shouren was not discouraged. He taught the local people according to the customs and was loved by the people.

During this period, Wang Shouren had a new understanding of the central idea of ​​"The Great Learning".

Wang Shouren realized that "the way of a sage is self-sufficient in nature, and it is a mistake to seek truth from things." During this period, he wrote "Doctrines Show All Living Beings in Longchang", which is known as Longchang Enlightenment in history.

This period has never happened in this life. Although Zhu Houzhao also taught Wang Shouren some things, he has not been by Zhu Houzhao's side for several years. Zhu Houzhao doesn't know if his thoughts have changed now.

At the same time, Zhu Houzhao didn't know whether he realized something new.

Zhu Houzhao has always wanted to talk to Wang Shouren, but there is no good opportunity.This time is a good opportunity, and we can have a long time for two people to talk about this issue.

Although there is no Longchang Enlightenment, Wang Shouren has also performed enlightenment in the Northwest these years and taught many people.

Zhu Houzhao has also heard some things more or less, so he wants to discuss with Wang Shouren to see if his thinking has changed, has something new been produced?
Hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Wang Shouren's expression became serious.

In fact, apart from being serious, Wang Shouren was somewhat uneasy.Because he did have ideas, and he was really dissatisfied with Neo Confucianism, but he didn't know whether he should say it or not.

Seeing Zhu Houzhao looking at him earnestly, Wang Shouren sighed softly.

A scholar dies for a confidant.

His Highness the Crown Prince treats him so kindly, and since he entered the official career, he has been taken by His Highness the Crown Prince's side.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a lot of trust in himself, and at the same time, he has cultivated himself more. This is to treat himself as a national scholar.

If you have treated me as a scholar of the country, I will repay it with a scholar of the country.

Thinking of this, Wang Shouren had no hesitation, and said directly: "Returning to His Royal Highness, I do have some ideas. But there are some big treason, and I don't know whether I should talk about it. If I say something wrong , and please forgive me, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

After hearing Wang Shouren's words, Zhu Houzhao became interested instead.

If he can't say anything new, he will disappoint Zhu Houzhao.Now he has an idea, which is what Zhu Houzhao hopes to see.

So Zhu Houzhao quickly said: "It doesn't matter, just say it. No matter what you say, I will not blame you."

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Wang Shouren said quickly and respectfully.

After pondering for a while, Wang Shouren said: "His Royal Highness once taught me to take a long-term view and not limit myself to the words of one family. So I have read a lot of books over the years, and I have been in the Northwest these years. In the grassland, it can be regarded as having some insights."

"However, with more and more insights, I feel more and more confused in my heart. Compared with what I have learned in the past, and I kept searching in the sea of ​​books, but I didn't let me find a solution."

"By chance, I saw a book, which made me suddenly enlightened."

Hearing Wang Shouren's words, Zhu Houzhao immediately became interested, and asked him quickly, "What book is it?"

Wang Shouren didn't dare to hide anything, and quickly said, "Go back to His Royal Highness, it's Xunzi."

"At that time, I was confused and couldn't answer, so I started looking for various books. When I saw Xunzi, it seemed that the doubts in my heart were solved."

"When I was young, I used to cross bamboo. Although I persisted for seven days and seven nights, I didn't have any insights, and even made myself sick."

"I once wondered whether it was because my talent was not enough. So I began to study more and more, and was admitted to Jinshi. Later, I discussed with many scholars, but after all, I couldn't find a solution, and no one could. To answer the doubts in my heart."

"But when I saw Xunzi, I got a feeling." After saying this, Wang Shouren didn't speak again.

He is waiting for Zhu Houzhao, because he has already reached this point, and he needs Zhu Houzhao to let him continue.

Because the next words are somewhat unreasonable, and even what I say now is not accepted by the mainstream.

The reason is also very simple. Today's literati believe in Confucius and Mencius, and even Mencius is more important. On the contrary, no one believes in Xunzi, and he is even regarded as heresy.

Zhu Houzhao also knows about this matter, the current mainstream thinking is definitely not Xunzi, and even rejects Xunzi a lot.

Of course, this situation appeared after the Song Dynasty.Before the Song Dynasty, Xunzi was more admired, but Mencius' thoughts were not accepted by the mainstream.

It was not until the Song Dynasty that Mencius gradually became the mainstream.

As for the beginning, it was when Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty combined "Mencius", "The Analects", "University" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" together as "Four Books".

Since the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, it has been regarded as a book recited by families.

Zhu Xi also wrote a collection of notes on the Four Books, which has become a scientific examination question, which shows its status.

In the fourth year of Song Shenzong Xining, the book "Mencius" was included in the imperial examination subjects for the first time.

In the sixth year of Yuanfeng, Mencius was officially posthumously named "Zou Guogong" for the first time, and was approved to share the Confucian Temple the following year.

Later, the book "Mencius" was upgraded to a Confucian classic.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi combined "Mencius", "The Analects", "University", and "The Doctrine of the Mean" into the "Four Books", and its actual status is even higher than the "Five Classics".

In the Yuan Dynasty Zhishun first year, Mencius was conferred the title of "Yashenggong", and he was called "Yasheng" later, his status was second only to Confucius.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the official regulations stipulated that the eight-legged essay topics in the imperial examinations must be selected from the "Four Books", and they should "write words on behalf of the sages."Therefore, the book "Mencius" became one of the must-read books for scholars in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

There is another very interesting thing in this, that is the Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang, he wanted to get Mencius out of the Confucian Temple, thinking that Mencius' theories were heresy.

Zhu Yuanzhang compiled "Mencius Festival", and deleted the chapters and sentences in "Mencius", such as "the people are the most important, the society is second, and the king is the least", "The man who is a thief is called a husband, and it is unheard of. Killing the king also" and so on.

Zhu Yuanzhang once said, "May this old man be spared today!" He also ordered the world to say that many of Mencius's remarks were "unsuitable for ministers", and ordered Mencius to be expelled from the Confucian Temple.

The next day, Qian Tang Shangshu tried to dissuade him, and the astronomical officials also reported that the literary stars were dim, so Zhu Yuanzhang issued another decree: "Mencius debates heresy, wards off heresy, and invents the way of Confucius, and he deserves to enjoy it as before."
(End of this chapter)