Chapter 58: Heaven Establishes the Sovereign, Originally for the People

This saying holds true in any era—at its core, it's all about seeking fame and wealth. "Travel a thousand li to be an official, all for money" is practically a maxim of perfect wisdom.

"Do continue, my dear minister." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said.

Should he keep talking?

Xu Guangqi sighed inwardly. He knew that today he was truly finished—he probably wouldn't even be able to walk out of here, and might even be thrown directly into the Eastern Depot's dungeons.

Thinking of how Mr. Li Zhi had slit his own throat, Xu Guangqi asked himself: did he have that kind of nerve and courage?

Though his heart was filled with such thoughts, Xu Guangqi's mouth did not stop.

"Mr. Li Zhi and my teacher believed that commoners are not base—they have qualities worthy of honor; lords and nobles are not noble—they too have their base aspects. The view that men's insight is always profound and women's insight is always shallow is wrong; that women, being short-sighted, are unfit to study the Way is erroneous. They held that people's understanding is determined by their circumstances, not something innate."

Xu Guangqi raised his head to look at Zhu Youxiao, his expression turning grave. He felt that this time he was surely done for, wasn't he?

Advocating equality between men and women? Also advocating that differences in people's cognition are determined by environment rather than bloodline—from this angle, one could refute the theory of bloodline determinism. Zhu Youxiao nodded. This point could be used for propaganda efforts—at the very least, it could mobilize some of the women's strength.

As a transmigrator, Zhu Youxiao had never dared to underestimate the power of women.

Perhaps he could launch a women's liberation movement to stir up chaos inside the households of those Donglin Faction members—at least it would divert their energy.

Why had Xu Guangqi stopped again? Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Xu Guangqi and said directly: "Do continue, my dear minister. Unless I say stop, you must not stop."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xu Guangqi agreed with his mouth, but in his heart, he downgraded his fate once again—he figured he wouldn't even make it to the Eastern Depot's dungeons now.

The most likely outcome was that after he finished speaking, he'd be dragged out and beaten to death with the court flogging. At that thought, grief welled up in Xu Guangqi—his ideals and ambitions were about to turn to bubbles and shadows at this very moment.

His agricultural treatise was still unfinished, the seeds he wanted to promote had yet to be tried, his wish to make the Great Ming rich and strong had not been realized—to die before his ambitions were fulfilled!

At that thought, Xu Guangqi became completely unburdened. Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well say a bit more.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Li Zhi and my late teacher believed that self-interest is the heart of man—only when a person has self-interest does his true heart reveal itself. 'Heaven completes the way of the world through exchange'—they held that commerce accords with heavenly principle, that commerce should not be suppressed but rather encouraged; that officials must understand financial management, that those who refuse to discuss finance can never govern the realm well, and that those who disdain speaking of profit are all foolish and benighted officials who ought to be dismissed."

"Farming and military training must not be neglected one for the other—for where there is life, there must be that which sustains it: food. Where there is this body, there must be that which protects it: arms. Eating and dressing are the very principles of human relations. A general who understands warfare is the arbiter of the people's fate and the master of the nation's security." Xu Guangqi's words came faster and faster, until finally he stood up straight, his expression turning solemn.

"Heaven establishes the sovereign, originally for the people!" After delivering this final line, Xu Guangqi lifted his robes and knelt to the ground, saying no more.

Zhu Youxiao, meanwhile, was stunned—this era actually had someone raising such an ear-splitting, eye-opening voice!

All people have selfish motives; all actions have purposes. Who in this world is truly without desire or ambition?

Having selfish motives is nothing to be ashamed of. Since one is born, one must eat and wear clothes—this is human desire, the great way of human relations.

The School of Mind directly refuted the claim of "preserving heavenly principle and extinguishing human desire." Officials must understand financial management—finance is the foundation of the state; those who ignore it should not hold office.

If one refuses to speak of profit, then why be an official at all? Just go home. Combined with the earlier criticism of those people—who speak not of profit in public but secretly funnel all the benefits into their own households—isn't that exactly what the Donglin Faction does?

As for the military, it means soldiers must know their generals and generals must know their soldiers—the military is the master of the nation's rise and fall, the very lifeline of the state.

It further refuted the situation where soldiers don't know their generals and generals don't know their soldiers, elevating the status of soldiers and commanders, directly acknowledging them as the nation's lifeline and the master of the realm's rise and fall.

The final line—"Heaven establishes the sovereign, originally for the people"—means that since Heaven established the monarch, it was for the sake of the common people, so the monarch should cherish the people, protect the people, and uphold this nation.

From this angle, one could find a constraint on monarchical power. What the monarch should do is protect and cherish the people—extending from that, if a monarch fails to protect and cherish the people, then he is unqualified for his position.

Ministers should remonstrate and advise; if remonstration fails, then rebellion may follow. As an emperor, who would want to hear such things?

Zhu Youxiao now understood why Li Zhi had died. But in his own view, everything he said was absolutely correct.

And in fact, that's how it was—from ancient times to now, when land annexation becomes severe and natural disasters and man-made calamities arrive together, isn't that precisely the monarch failing to protect his people? So the people simply rebel.

There had been similar rhetoric in history, except it said: "Heaven gives birth to the multitudes, and establishes a sovereign to shepherd them." Though it looks similar on the surface, the meaning is vastly different.

"Heaven gives birth to the multitudes, and establishes a sovereign to shepherd them" means Heaven creates the people and sets up a monarch to manage them; Li Zhi's "Heaven establishes the sovereign, originally for the people" means Heaven establishes the monarch for the sake of the people. One is sovereign-centered; the other is people-centered.

A smile spread across Zhu Youxiao's face—he felt he had found an entry point, a way to make countless scholars accept Li Zhi's teachings.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao also understood why Li Zhi's teachings were so popular, why tens of thousands flocked to his lectures.

Because his thoughts pointed directly at the human heart—far more reasonable than that "preserve heavenly principle, extinguish human desire" nonsense.

All people have private desires; engaging in commerce is nothing shameful; all are equal; women's liberation; elevating the status of military officers and soldiers; farming diligently so the people have food to eat and clothes to wear.

Of course, this isn't to say Li Zhi's thought was perfect—it had its flaws too.

The most obvious flaw was that Li Zhi's teachings could only remain at the level of ideas. That is to say, his thoughts were just words—they never mentioned specifically how to implement them.

One could only say Li Zhi was a thinker, not a man of action—or perhaps he himself didn't know how to go about it.

But Zhu Youxiao knew that as long as Li Zhi's ideas were propagated, he could formulate corresponding policies.

For example, "commerce is the way of Heaven"—once that was spread widely, then everyone under heaven could engage in commerce. The emperor could do business, nobles and relatives of the imperial house could do business, and he himself could openly develop royal enterprises and state capital without being branded as "competing with the people for profit."

Every one of Li Zhi's ideas could spawn countless policies—and as for those policies, they would be whatever he, Zhu Youxiao, said they were.