Chapter 65: Hidden Light, Starting a New Business

Li Zhi followed the eunuch into the palace.

Because it was already evening, the two of them walked a little faster.

If the audience with the emperor takes too long and he cannot leave the palace before the palace is locked, it will be somewhat troublesome.

Eunuch Zhang Cheng watched Li Zhi walk quickly, his hat a little messy, and reminded him, "Li Siye will meet the emperor later, so he must wear a good hat."

He was stunned when he saw Li Zhi's flat head showing from under his hat.

This is the first time I have seen such a Confucian scholar. He is totally unbecoming.

He was afraid that the emperor would be frightened later, so he gave this instruction.

Li Zhi followed suit and adjusted his hat: "I'll pay attention to it later!"

After answering, Li Zhi looked at the route and couldn't help asking, "Sir, this doesn't look like the way to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, does it?"

Although he had never been to the imperial palace, he knew that the Qianqing Palace was located in the heart of the Forbidden City. He was now getting further and further away from the palace, and anyone with a discerning eye could see it.

Zhang Cheng explained politely, "A few days ago, the palace of the Holy Mother Empress Chen caught fire, and we have to move to the West Garden until it is repaired."

"Your Majesty could not bear to see the Holy Mother Empress Chen living alone, so he brought the Holy Mother Empress Li to live with her in the Western Garden."

"Your Majesty will return to the Qianqing Palace only after the Ciqing Palace is repaired and the Holy Mother has a place to stay."

That’s the official story.

All the officials could find no fault with the emperor except to sigh at his filial piety. At most, they made a few more notes in their own notebooks.

Li Zhi was far away from the central government, so naturally he could not distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Instead, he suddenly realized, "No wonder there is no spare manpower in the palace these days."

Zhang Cheng smiled and nodded in response.

Xiyuan is far away and you have to walk a long way to get there.

Li Zhi kept talking to Zhang Cheng: "Eunuch, why did His Majesty summon me?"

Logically speaking, this question cannot be asked or answered.

But one did not understand the central rules, and the other had already been instructed.

Zhang Cheng replied naturally: "Your Majesty is very interested in Li Siye's theory."

He slowed down his pace and pointed at the palace servants walking in and out of the Forbidden City: "Li Siye, look."

Li Zhi looked in the direction of his hand and saw a line of palace maids carrying bundles.

Zhang Cheng explained: "A few days ago, the imperial censor Hu Qi said, 'The concubines of the two dynasties were isolated from the harem. The old ones are unknown, the young ones are full of resentment, and the widows and lonely women are in great sorrow.'"

"Although this person only used this incident to fabricate prophecies, he has ulterior motives."

"But Your Majesty still chose the best and followed it, and released all the palace maids who wanted to return."

Having said this, he glanced at Li Zhi's expression.

Seeing this person's approval and agreement, I couldn't help but feel relieved.

He added unobtrusively: "This is due to Li Siye's contribution."

Li Zhi looked back in confusion: "My contribution?"

Zhang Cheng nodded: "Your Majesty is confused about the theory of good and evil. The most difficult question is what is good and evil?"

"After that, I consulted the classics and consulted the scholars. I happened to hear Li Siye's theory, and Your Majesty exclaimed that he was a great talent."

"After that, I kept Li Siye in mind, and even dismissed the palace maids this time, which was also influenced by Li Siye."

"Li Siye opened the eyes of women and said something like 'It is OK to say that vision has lengths, but how can it be OK to say that men's vision is all long and women's vision is all short?'"

"Your Majesty really agrees with Li Siye's knowledge, so he treats the palace maids well."

Li Zhi remained silent.

His doctrines have always been regarded as heresy. If he was not killed, he would be looked down upon.

Now that I am favored by the emperor, I don’t know how to feel.

He just bowed and saluted towards the Qianqing Palace.

After being reminded by Zhang Cheng, he bowed towards Xiyuan again.

This was just superficial work, but in Li Zhi's heart, he had different expectations for the matter of facing the saint.

From official social activities, personal interests gradually emerged.

Zhang Cheng led Li Zhi all the way into the West Garden.

Li Zhi clearly felt that the atmosphere in Xiyuan was very different.

There was a post every ten steps and a squad every hundred steps for the imperial guards. Occasionally, people from the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot would come and go for patrols.

A tense and solemn atmosphere was overwhelming.

This is what happened in front of the emperor, so serious?

Infected by this, Li Zhi followed Zhang Cheng carefully, fearing that he might get into trouble.

The two of them walked all the way to the Wanshou Palace.

Zhang Cheng stopped and smiled at Li Zhi: "Li Siye, His Majesty only wants to see you."

Wanshou Palace was the residence of Emperor Jiajing. It was spacious and grand. Li Zhi couldn't help feeling a little restrained even when he was just looking around outside the palace.

He took a deep breath, bowed in thanks, and entered the hall alone.

As soon as Li Zhi entered the hall, he saw a slightly immature figure coming towards him.

Li Zhi's heart skipped a beat and he immediately realized that this was the eleven-year-old emperor.

Once you react, you should salute.

Unexpectedly, the emperor grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

The word "stranger" seemed to be out of the young emperor's vocabulary. He acted as if he had known each other for a long time and said to himself, "I have been moving to the palace these days and have neglected Li Siye. Is Li Siye used to living in the capital?"

Li Zhi was a minor official who studied classics, but he could not stand the emperor's courtesy and said dryly, "I'm... I'm used to it."

Zhu Yijun noticed that Li Zhi was a little uncomfortable, so he immediately brought the topic to Li Zhi's comfort zone: "Li Siye, my theory of good and evil a few days ago was a little inadequate, so I should discuss it with you."

After hearing this, Li Zhi hesitated to speak, but his expression was much more relieved.

Obviously, you will feel more comfortable when talking about familiar topics.

Zhu Yijun said directly: "I heard that Li Siye once said in his lectures, 'There is no fixed nature for people's right and wrong.'"

"There are also such sayings as 'It was true yesterday but not true today, and it is not true today but will be true the day after tomorrow.'"

"I just realized that I have not yet defined what is good and evil, what is right and wrong!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Zhi instantly forgot about the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, and all etiquette.

He nodded repeatedly: "Yes!"

"As for what is good and evil, right and wrong, for several generations, all have been based on Confucius's right and wrong. The Song Dynasty adopted Zhu Xi, and now we adopt Wang Zi."

"Right and wrong, good and evil, should not be determined."

“Therefore, people have no right or wrong, good or evil.”

Zhu Yijun quickly followed up with his words: "It is to judge right and wrong based on what the world thinks is right and wrong."

Li Zhi cast an admiring look at him.

Not many people can follow his thinking.

Zhu Yijun paced back and forth, thinking for a moment, and then said, "Well, well, Li Siye cleared up my doubts as soon as he entered the palace. He is indeed a master of Confucian classics."

"I will publish it in the newspaper tomorrow."

"If we put it in plain words, we should say that when a person is born, he has no consciousness, and therefore no good or evil."

"Consciousness is shaped by the world's environment. When people develop consciousness and begin to express it, they begin to distinguish good from evil based on different principles. Then, based on different personal endowments, there is the so-called right and wrong, good and evil."

"And this kind of good and evil is judged in the context of the world. The good and evil of each era are different, and the good and evil formed are also different."

The so-called social practice determines people's consciousness in this way.

Li Zhi also nodded frequently, showing a look of having met a soulmate from time to time.

Zhu Yijun continued, "If that's the case, then isn't the quality of the world's environment the key factor that has the greatest impact on the good and evil of the people?"

Matter determines consciousness, and this also applies here.

Li Zhi explained: "This is natural. The southern barbarians are fierce, the northern barbarians are cruel, and the Japanese pirates are cunning. It is all because of the famine, barbarism, and usurpation in their own countries that the inferiority of the people has been shaped."

When he said this, he was excited at first, but suddenly his eyes dimmed.

Zhu Yijun found this strange.

Li Zhi said in a listless voice, "So, corruption is rampant in our dynasty. It has become a common practice. The environment is bad, and most of the new officials are corrupt..."

Having said this, he came back to his senses!
We were so caught up in the discussion that we actually forgot where we were and immediately wanted to apologize!

Zhu Yijun supported him and said with a gentle smile: "It's okay, Li Siye. I won't blame you for your patriotic heart. Besides, I already have a plan for this matter."

He met Li Zhi's gaze and continued, "I have already implemented the performance evaluation system with the cabinet."

"In the future, the salaries of all officials will be gradually repaid. There will no longer be arrears of salaries and deductions of banknotes as before."

"At the same time, I have invited Hai Rui back. From now on, the Censorate will strictly investigate corruption."

"The local censorates and thousand-household offices will investigate all illegal activities on the day when the law is passed."

Li Zhi glanced at the innocent emperor and sighed.

It cannot be said that these measures are useless, but in his opinion, their effectiveness is indeed limited.

He slowly said, "Your Majesty, making up the salary can only make people self-disciplined, and the so-called severe punishment of corruption is also implemented by officials."

"The upper and lower levels are in collusion. How can they be stopped by empty words or a punishment? How could it be stopped when Taizu skinned daylilies?"

"Your Majesty, this is what we were discussing just now - the consciousness formed by the world's environment, as long as it cannot be changed, corruption cannot be stopped by simple punishment."

Since Li Zhi became an official, he has seen and heard everything from the lowest level. He has seen many things such as shielding, collusion, and solicitation. He is not ashamed of this, but proud of it.

He didn't believe that punishment could solve the problem under this kind of atmosphere.

When all are guilty, all are innocent.

Zhu Yijun suddenly chuckled, then restrained his expression and said in a firm tone: "Li Siye, I understand that the world's atmosphere should be gradually corrected."

"I called you here for this very purpose."

Li Zhi's heart moved, and hesitantly said: "Your Majesty, please prepare..."

Zhu Yijun led Li Zhi to the table.

There was a bronze chime on the table. Zhu Yijun struck it casually, and the distant sound echoed throughout the Wanshou Palace.

Zhu Yijun did not answer this question directly, but asked Li Zhi: "Li Siye, whose Ming Dynasty is this?"

Li Zhi's reflexive response was: "Of course it is your Majesty's Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "There is no one else here."

"I won't force you to tell me what's really in your heart, but what I want to say is that I have thought about why corruption is so rampant in our dynasty."

"Do you want to listen, Li Siye?"

Li Zhi was silent.

Zhu Yijun said to himself: "The Ming Dynasty is already a centipede corpse."

"Li Siye."

“The Ming Dynasty died when it lost the ability to build an imagined community.”

Li Zhi was stunned.

Puzzled, “Imagined community?”

Zhu Yijun nodded and struck the bronze bell again.

Naturally, he thought more deeply than Li Zhi.

The roots of the Ming dynasty’s morals were rotten, but not because of corruption. Even if they were more corrupt, could they still be better than the Qing dynasty?
Corruption is only a superficial phenomenon. If we really want to get to the bottom of it, the primary ideological reason why the Ming Dynasty fell into decline is that it had lost the ability to build an imagined community.

Whose Song Dynasty is it? This question is easy to answer. Of course, it is the Song Dynasty of the emperor and the literati.

So whose Qing Dynasty was it? The answer is easy. It was naturally the Qing Dynasty of the descendants of the Eight Banners.

But Ming Dynasty is different.

Would the emperor think that Ming was his own Ming? Would he be the ruler of the world with his life at risk? Of course not.

Several generations of emperors ignored the world because of this mentality. The Ming Dynasty? It’s none of my business!
Would the officials think that the Ming Dynasty was ruled by scholars and officials? A rule that allowed people to be beaten to death or thrown into the streets at will? Of course not.

The underlying tone of rampant corruption is that the overall situation of the world has nothing to do with me. The Ming Dynasty? I just need to make a fortune, and you guys can slowly deal with it.

Similarly, all kinds of rural factions, gentry in Nanzhili, Xuanda, Zhejiang, Fujian merchants, and even the people of the world, from top to bottom, are not afraid of the country's destruction - as long as it doesn't affect me, changing the court will make no difference.

This is the tragedy of losing the imagined community - it is really hard to imagine that the Ming Dynasty, which was founded in the most righteous way, would fall to the point where the common imagined community died.

It’s all about interests, no right or wrong.

For her own pleasure, she could live in the deep palace as a carpenter and take aphrodisiacs until she died.

For the benefit of the local party, they can assassinate the king, kill the emperor, set fire to the place, and gather colleagues to resist the central government.

In order to protect themselves and continue their power, they can naturally support other ethnic groups to gain self-respect, and even open the door to the Qing Dynasty.

The loss of the imagined community will inevitably lead to an infinite increase in operating costs, and the end point of the rigid system will inevitably be the destruction of the country.

Therefore, while Zhu Yijun was planning to rebuild the Ming Dynasty from a military and institutional perspective, he had to reconstruct an imagined community.

Let the Ming Dynasty once again become the common cultural belonging of people all over the world.

This imagined community can make even the most miserable coal miner in the British Empire look proud when he thinks of the British Empire.

This step is not only to correct the working style and clarify the administration of officials, but also the inevitable path to connect the north and the south and unify the world.

In fact, this is the theoretical preparation that must be made to improve the tribute system.

Zhu Yijun used the local language of the Ming Dynasty, concealed most of the content, and simply gave Li Zhi two sentences to emphasize cultural identity and correct the corrupt atmosphere.

"Yes, this is a new name I chose."

"The so-called imagined community refers to the common people, gentry, officials, and even me, who have built a spiritual Ming Dynasty through common origins, history, classics, etc."

"This great Ming Dynasty belongs to everyone."

"Once someone destroys the real Ming Dynasty and ruins the overall situation, then he will attract the hostility of everyone!"

"In this way, we can work together to correct Shi Xie."

"This is what I need Li Siye to do."

After saying all this in one breath, Zhu Yijun concluded: "In short, I need a new theory to answer the question of whose Ming Dynasty it is."

After hearing this, Li Zhi was stunned and silent.

Is this an eleven-year-old boy?

The level and depth of his thinking was almost as if he had founded a new school of thought. Compared with this emperor, those doctors of the Five Classics in the Imperial College were simply stinking shit.

This level, let alone at the age of eleven, Li Zhi had not even reached this level when he was twenty-one!

If he wasn't the emperor, he would have almost been unable to resist asking to make him his friend.

Imagined community, a good name, it is fanciful yet it helps people see the light.

Li Zhi couldn't understand how such precise expressions could come from the mouth of an eleven-year-old boy.

Li Zhi just felt that this precise feeling was not as simple as the emperor said, that it could be used to correct the atmosphere.

He couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he secretly kept it in mind and prepared to go back and deduce it.

The Ming Dynasty, whose Ming Dynasty is it?

This is a really difficult question to answer.

Li Zhi said, "Your Majesty, I am a humble and incompetent minister, so I can only..."

Zhu Yijun interrupted him directly, and said with a strange look on his face: "Li Siye, do you think I want you to sing my praises?"

"Li Qing, I will tell you frankly."

"I asked you to come here because we need to put aside the monarch-subject system and start anew."

"It's not as simple as just patching it up. Theory must reflect reality and explain what already exists. Otherwise, it will have no vitality."

"Li Qing, apart from you, I can't find a scholar as unorthodox and outstanding as you."

To explain what has already happened, we naturally cannot simply use the saying that the people are more important than the emperor. After all, the common people are aware of how they are living, and they still know whether they are more important than the emperor.

Theories that are divorced from reality will make the people feel uncomfortable. Not to mention building a common imagination, they will only be used as toilet paper by the people.

At the same time, it would be impossible to create such a doctrine without taking root in the Four Books and Five Classics themselves, at least Zhu Yijun himself certainly could not do it.

This is where the difficulty lies, keeping up with the times while starting all over again.

Li Zhi shook his head helplessly.

No wonder the emperor said that he could "focus on his studies" and tailor a set of theories for himself. If he didn't focus on it for four or five years, he wouldn't even be able to create a set of theories.

But the difficulty does not end here.

Li Zhi looked up at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, you are right. Theory can only reflect reality."

"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but if the people are hungry and have no place to live, no matter how good the theory is, it will not be able to build the imagined community that Your Majesty speaks of."

Zhu Yijun nodded: "I understand what Li Qing means."

"If I cannot improve the people's situation during my decades in office..."

He looked at Li Zhi and said seriously: "That means I am incompetent."

Li Zhi remained silent and bowed again.

After exchanging minds, he finally recognized the emperor.

He said, "Your Majesty is so kind, I am willing to do this!"

Zhu Yijun smiled, helped Li Zhi up, and said, "I will give Li Qing a part of the new report from the Tongzhengsi, and his salary will also be included in it."

"There is no rush for this matter. As long as we can polish out a prototype in three years, I will have lived up to your trust."

After giving some instructions, Zhu Yijun watched Li Zhi leave the Wanshou Palace.

He called Jiang Keqian again and said, "Tell the secretary to go to the Ministry of Personnel and tell Wen Chun to transfer Wang Shizhen to Beijing."

Jiang Keqian left immediately.

Zhu Yijun stood in the empty Wanshou Palace, slowly closed his eyes and recalled the responses and arrangements made in recent days.

It would definitely not be enough to leave this matter to Li Zhi alone.

The Xinbao Plain Language is only for the common people to read, and it still lacks meaning among the literati.

This is why he summoned Wang Shizhen back to Beijing. After Li Panlong's death, Wang Shizhen dominated the literary world and his reputation should not be underestimated. It was also appropriate for him to come to Beijing to be used by him and become a human trumpet among the literati.

As for whether to hold a special examination to recruit talents, he and Zhang Juzheng have not yet discussed it, so he can only wait and see.

Hai Rui left for Lianghuai yesterday, and there will certainly be a lot of fighting in the future. Now, taking this opportunity to move to the West Garden and clear out the personnel in the palace, there is nothing wrong with that.

After Zhu Yijun overwhelmed the cabinet and forced Zhang Juzheng to follow his pace, it was a good time for him to bide his time.

Cultivate your moral character.

After going through them all, Zhu Yijun closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He nodded with satisfaction.

He casually struck the bronze chime beside him, and the clear and distant sound echoed in the Wanshou Palace.

　There is one more chapter at around 12 am

　　
　
(End of this chapter)