Chapter 57: If the Ruler Is Not a Ruler and the Minister Is Not a Minister, the World Will Be in Chaos

General Qi Jiguang Jiguang being ennobled was no small matter. Yang Bo's opposition in the Fengtian Hall and his debate with Zhang Juzheng should have been just the beginning. General Qi Jiguang Jiguang had lost the waist-token of the Quan-Chu Guild Hall, and the Jin Party would not rest until they had found various reasons to impeach this thorn in their side, this redundant and useless object.

However, the Jin Party was currently overwhelmed with its own troubles. Huyukou had been easily breached by the Northern Barbarians. The Great Ming court discussion had Li Le, a Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of War, lead a group to Xuanfu and Datong to inspect the border, and now the Jin Party could only struggle to defend itself.

Sometimes, the best defense is offense. Factional strife doesn't necessarily require all sorts of conspiracies and schemes; sometimes, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake is also a good choice.

And the young Emperor of the Great Ming was not very optimistic about this inspection.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment before saying, "I believe that being able to send a Supervising Secretary not from a clan-based clique to Xuanfu and Datong is already a gain. If we can uncover something, it is an unexpected joy; if we can gain a deeper understanding, that is joy upon joy."

Hearing this, Zhu Yijun understood Zhang Juzheng's words. Zhang Juzheng did not expect Li Le to truly uncover anything. Being able to send Li Le, who was not from a clan-based clique, to the two towns of Datong and Xuanfu was a victory in itself. If there were further gains, that would be an unexpected joy.

"'Reviewing the old to learn the new, one can be a teacher.' Senior Grand Secretary, you said before: 'Matters must be pursued to an end; this is called steadfastness.'" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and said with a full smile.

Doing things must have a result to be called steadfastness. Clearly, Zhang Juzheng's statement that sending people out was a victory did not conform to the learning Zhang Juzheng taught—matters must be pursued to an end.

"I am ashamed." Zhang Juzheng had never thought that one day he would be blocked speechless by His Majesty using his own words, and could only say he was ashamed.

"No, I think Senior Grand Secretary has done extremely well. Advancing one step at a time—today we sent a censor, tomorrow we can uncover something, and the day after we can gain a deeper understanding. Walk the path step by step, eat the rice mouthful by mouthful. Just like farming, planting seedlings today and wanting to harvest tomorrow is hypocrisy."

"Down-to-earth practice is the fundamental duty."

"A gentleman focuses on the fundamentals." Zhu Yijun firmly denied Zhang Juzheng's self-denial.

These were the same principles Zhang Juzheng taught. A gentleman focuses on the fundamentals, and down-to-earth practice is the fundamental duty. The actual situation is the fundamental. The actual situation is that Xuanfu and Datong have long become the backyard of the Shanxi Party. Being able to send a censor is already a great success; anything more would be unrealistic.

Zhang Juzheng realized that the young Emperor had truly read the books into his heart, because His Majesty could already turn words upside down and still hold the argument.

'Always having a reason' is a form of self-cultivation for scholars.

It means always having a reason, no matter what happens—that is 'always having a reason.'

And His Majesty already possessed this basic self-cultivation.

The lectures began again. Zhu Yijun discovered an interesting thing: Zhang Juzheng's teaching was not rigid, nor did he lecture according to the length of the text, but rather, whatever happened in the court, he would lecture on that, using facts to speak.

Establish rituals according to events; establish laws according to the times.

Zhang Juzheng held his hands and said sternly, "Confucius said: 'When the world has the Dao, rituals, music, and military expeditions proceed from the Son of Heaven; when the world lacks the Dao, rituals, music, and military expeditions proceed from the feudal lords.'"

"'Proceeding from the feudal lords, it is rare for them not to lose power within ten generations; proceeding from the high officials, it is rare for them not to lose power within five generations; when retainers hold the state's mandate, it is rare for them not to lose power within three generations.'"

"'Rituals, music, and military expeditions' are the great handles by which the ruler governs the world. 'Rare' means few. 'Retainers' means household officials or ministers. 'State mandate' means the state's orders."

"Confucius said: When the world has the Dao, all rituals, music, and military expeditions are decided by the Son of Heaven."

"When the world lacks the Dao, rituals, music, and military expeditions are decided by the feudal lords. If the feudal lords decide, it is rare for them not to collapse within ten generations; if high officials decide, it is rare for them not to collapse within five generations; if retainers or ministers hold the state's mandate, it is rare for them not to collapse within three generations."

Zhu Yijun was silent for a long time. Since when did the Great Ming's state mandate come to be completely controlled by ministers?

From the fifteenth year of Wanli, the Wanli Emperor began to slack off. If one doesn't count the Taichang Emperor, who ascended the throne for only a month before passing away, then Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen make exactly three generations, and the Great Ming collapsed.

"Has there ever been a precedent?" Zhu Yijun asked with a furrowed brow.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "In the Spring and Autumn period, the Zhou Son of Heaven was weak, and the feudal lords fought for power. Later, there were Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Mu of Qin, King Zhuang of Chu, and Duke Xiang of Song—the Five Hegemons rose one after another, presiding over their alliances."

"'Bo' is read as 'Ba', meaning regional leader—that is, the leader of the feudal lords, presiding over the world's alliances, also known as the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period."

"Before ten generations had passed, the Spring and Autumn period ended, and the Warring States period began."

"'Rituals, music, and military expeditions proceeding from the feudal lords, it is rare for them not to lose power within ten generations.'"

Zhu Yijun understood. 'Bo' and 'Ba' actually mean the same thing—the regional leader, the leader of the feudal lords. If rituals, music, and military expeditions proceed from the feudal lords, the world order will collapse in less than ten generations.

Zhang Juzheng saw that the Emperor had carefully taken notes and continued, "After Duke Wen of Jin passed away, the State of Jin entered the era of the Six Ministers' dictatorship—the Fan clan, Zhonghang clan, Zhao clan, Han clan, Wei clan, and Zhi clan fought each other for over ten years."

"The Fan and Zhonghang clans were destroyed, and the State of Jin entered the era of the Four Ministers' chaos, which only lasted for over thirty years. The Han, Zhao, and Wei clans destroyed the Zhi clan, and the State of Jin was divided by the three clans—this is the 'Three Clans Dividing Jin'."

"From the time Duke Wen of Jin passed away to the Three Clans Dividing Jin, it was less than a hundred years, and in less than five generations, the State of Jin was gone."

"'Rituals, music, and military expeditions proceeding from the high officials, it is rare for them not to lose power within five generations.'"

Zhu Yijun nodded. These 'high officials' do not mean 'scholar-officials', but rather the feudal lords of the State of Jin who held fiefs, or perhaps it is more appropriate to call them the noble families of the Spring and Autumn period.

"After Duke Zhuang of Lu passed away, the Three Huans monopolized Lu—the Jisun clan, Mengsun clan, and Shusun clan. The three clans controlled the rituals, music, and military expeditions of the State of Lu. Later, the Jisun clan's retainers Nan Kuai and Yang Hu, the Shusun clan's retainer Shu Niu, and the Mengsun clan's retainer Gonglian Chufu, etc., successively monopolized power within the three clans, imprisoning and expelling their lords. The State of Lu, which had once contended for hegemony with the State of Qi, was destroyed by the State of Chu."

"'When retainers hold the state's mandate, it is rare for them not to lose power within three generations.'"

'Retainers' are what later generations call scholar-officials, readers, or ministers. Examples of this are too numerous to count. Zhang Juzheng could still list many examples, such as the Qin Dynasty collapsing in two generations; Zhao Gao and Li Si forged an edict to enthrone the Second Emperor of Qin, and the Second Emperor of Qin tossed the Great Qin Dynasty into collapse.

"'When the world has the Dao, rituals, music, and military expeditions proceed from the Son of Heaven.' Confucius said this, likely out of sorrow. If so, how can the ruler's power of awe and favor be allowed to be absent from the court for even a single day?" Zhang Juzheng returned to the beginning, using a circular argument to tightly grasp the theme.

Rituals, music, and military expeditions are the great handles by which the ruler governs the world; they should be decided by the Son of Heaven, not by feudal lords, not by noble families, and not by ministers.

They can be, and must only be, the Son of Heaven.

Confucius said this out of sorrow for the collapse of the world's rituals and music. The ruler's power of awe and favor cannot be absent from the court for a single day; otherwise, the ruler is not respected, the ministers are not humble, the system is in chaos, the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, the lower levels usurp the upper levels, the feudal lords usurp the Son of Heaven, the high officials usurp the feudal lords, and the retainers usurp the high officials—this becomes the norm.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and discovered that the Japanese state was exactly like this. The Japanese political system emphasizes 'the lower levels usurping the upper levels', with layers of hollowing out: the Shogunate hollowed out the Emperor, the Kanrei hollowed out the Shogunate, and the Daimyo hollowed out the Kanrei—a complete mess.

Zhang Juzheng must truly hope that the young Emperor can become a talent.

"Senior Grand Secretary, I have a doubt." Zhu Yijun sat upright and looked at Zhang Juzheng.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng heard the words "I have a doubt," he immediately became fully focused. He looked at the water clock, breathed a sigh of relief, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty, the time is almost up. Too much to chew makes it hard to digest."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Rituals, music, and military expeditions proceed from the Son of Heaven. I am the Son of Heaven; adding a quarter of an hour is no problem."

"I accept the decree." Zhang Juzheng was helpless. His Majesty was completely using what he had just learned. The Emperor wanted to add time, and Zhang Juzheng had just lectured on how the ruler's power of awe and favor cannot be absent from the court for a single day.

His Majesty was already putting it into practice.

"Can Xuanfu and Datong be viewed as 'rituals, music, and military expeditions proceeding from the feudal lords'?" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked the question he wanted to ask.

If this were truly expanded upon, it should be: after more than a decade of mutual warfare, have Xuanfu and Datong formed a small political collective that takes special-interest economics as its fundamental interest, uses regional and in-law ties as its hub, and is tightly united—equivalent to feudal lords? More precisely, do the current Xuanfu and Datong already possess all the characteristics of the military governors of the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty?

Zhu Yijun did not speak so clearly, but he believed Zhang Juzheng understood.

Zhang Juzheng bit the bullet and said, "Clan-based cliques exclude others, never stopping until they win. The governance of the border regions follows the orders of the clan-based cliques. It can be viewed as 'rituals, music, and military expeditions proceeding from the feudal lords'."

"Why do clan-based cliques succeed?" Zhu Yijun asked again.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the young Emperor's slightly innocent eyes and really wanted to wave his hand and tell His Majesty not to ask, not to ask.

But His Majesty had a doubt, so he, as the Emperor's teacher, had to answer.

He thought for a long time and said, "Because the state is not wealthy and the army is not strong. If the state is not wealthy, it cannot reward, and cannot even let the soldiers eat their fill to fight, so it can only rely on local supplies, and cannot reward. If the army is not strong, it cannot win in battle, cannot suppress violence or defeat the fierce, and cannot exercise awe and punishment."

"If neither rewards nor punishments are carried out, the worthy cannot advance, the unworthy advance and do not retreat, all things are not in their proper place, changes cannot be responded to, the ruler does not have the timing of heaven, the land does not have the advantage of earth, and the center does not have the harmony of people. Therefore, outside of the law, the trouble of feudal lords is formed."

Zhang Juzheng still had some examples he didn't bring up, such as the Tang Emperor Xuanzong's time, the An Lushan Rebellion, and the causes of the Tang Dynasty's military governor separatism, which can largely be attributed to the state not being wealthy and the army not being strong after the An Lushan Rebellion.

Zhu Yijun understood. He had already understood the root cause of the clan-based cliques growing large, and also understood the confidence Wang Chonggu had in speaking such disloyal words at the court discussion.

Rituals, music, and military expeditions proceed from the feudal lords.

Zhu Yijun said with emotion, "The power of rituals, music, military expeditions, awe, favor, rewards, and punishments is not in the court, but in the localities—this is losing the Dao."

"The rites, music, military expeditions, and the rewards and punishments of governance in a nation must be premised on loyalty to the state and loyalty to great righteousness, and right and wrong must be judged based on facts."

"For a monarch, it is the unity of knowledge and action, consistency between words and deeds, and following one's inner heart. Once something is said, it must be done; once done, it must have a result. If a subject lacks the reality of practicing what they preach, it is untrustworthy and insincere; if words and deeds are not loyal to one's own inner heart, it is disloyal, untrustworthy, and unfilial. This is not the virtue a subject should possess."

"If the ruler is not a ruler, and the subject is not a subject, the world will be in great chaos."

Zhu Yijun used a pencil to quickly write a line of text on the paper, summarizing today's lecture.