Chapter 585: The Master Does Not Ask About the Horses

The country rules the world with filial piety, and the Tatar Qing Dynasty is also like this.

However, the Tatar Qing Dynasty had a great filial son, the fifteenth son of the Qianlong Emperor, the Jiaqing Emperor. On the day Qianlong died, the Jiaqing Emperor gave Qianlong a temple name: Gaozong.

For Qianlong, who valued his reputation after death, this temple name was a huge insult, because Qianlong fought all his life and called himself the "Ten Perfect Old Man." He looked down on Gaozong the most, especially Song Gaozong Zhao Gou. Qianlong's evaluation of Zhao Gou was just one sentence: "To shamelessly claim to be a restoration, is it not deeply despicable?"

Qianlong's disdain for Zhao Gou was written on his face, but his good son Jiaqing gave his own father such a temple name.

Throughout history, except for Gaozong Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty who created the Wu Ding Restoration, the later Gaozongs were not very good. For example, Han Gaozong Liu Shi, Emperor Xuan of Han once named him, saying, "The one who messes up my Han family is the Crown Prince." This Han Gaozong was even called the master of the Han Dynasty's disaster.

Hou Jing killed Xiao Gang and gave Xiao Gang, the king of the fallen country, the name Gaozong.

The name Gaozong has never been good throughout history, plus Qianlong Emperor himself hated Zhao Gou extremely.

These, Jiaqing, the good son, knew clearly, but after Qianlong died, Jiaqing Emperor issued five imperial decrees in a row and set the temple name Gaozong for him.

Qianlong loved fame. In order to have a good reputation, he specially gathered the military ministers before he died and told them that although I am the "Ten Perfect Old Man," after ten thousand years, it should be called Zong.

Specially held a meeting, and first declared that he was the "Ten Perfect Old Man," and specially mentioned the matter of the temple name. Qianlong's purpose of wanting to be called Zu was almost explicitly stated. Even a three-year-old child could see it.

With the chaos of the Tatar Qing temple name, giving Qianlong a Zu, pinching his nose, he would have accepted it.

But Jiaqing, the good son, did not. Some ministers played, saying that the temple name Gaozong was too hurtful to him. Jiaqing Emperor almost picked up the inkstone and roared, "It hurts your mother's head!"

Jiaqing Emperor's public reply was: "The Imperial Father has instructions. Although the son wants to respect him to the extreme, he dare not violate the legacy."

Pretending to be confused, just pretending to be confused. As long as Qianlong didn't explicitly say it before he died, Jiaqing Emperor just pretended to be confused and fooled this matter away.

Qianlong's abstract life was all about fighting for fame, but in the end, he got the temple name Gaozong. The reason why Jiaqing Emperor had such great resentment was actually because he had been a "son emperor" for several years. The "son emperor" was not even as good as the crown prince. Above him was a powerful retired emperor who was making a fortune, and below him was a "standing emperor" Heshen who held the power of the court. Jiaqing, the "son emperor," was disgusting.

Zhu Yijun didn't have much opinion on the late Emperor's hiding, and didn't have much dissatisfaction. The reason why Longqing Emperor hid was entirely because he knew he couldn't save the Great Ming, so he handed it over to capable people. Unfortunately, some people were entrusted to the wrong person. Gao Gong was in a high position, and the Jin Party was not dismissed, and he didn't even want to pretend.

So when the Ministry of Works proposed to thoroughly rebuild the late Emperor's mausoleum, Zhu Yijun also agreed.

"Is 100,000 silver too little?" Zhu Yijun asked for the opinion of the Ministry of Works. His meaning was whether to add a little, it was too little. The unit of measurement for the late Emperor's mausoleum increased from 500,000 to 600,000.

"It's enough, it's enough." Wang Daokun waved his hands repeatedly and said, "There is still a loss of more than 10,000 silver in it."

The expenditure included reasonable losses. This part was not necessarily the corruption of the handling officials, but normal losses. Engineering is like this. No one can guess what will happen. It suddenly collapsed while repairing, which is also a possible thing.

Wang Daokun explained that 100,000 silver was enough to reinforce the underground, tear down and rebuild the ground buildings, and expand them. The reason was that the late Emperor's mausoleum was relatively small in scale.

This money doesn't have to be spent now, it has to be spent later. During the Tianqi period, two repairs to the Ming Zhao Mausoleum cost a total of 1.3 million silver, and the ground was expanded once, which was considered to have thoroughly repaired the Longqing Emperor's mausoleum.

"Well, no one is short of money, that's fine." Zhu Yijun said with some disappointment.

Everyone felt the Emperor's changes deeply. Bai Yin was piled up in the palace, and the Emperor was under a lot of pressure.

Having no savings means eating the next meal without the previous one, but this silver piled up like a mountain is also a headache. The Great Ming's discussion on the nature of silver is very clear, because the Great Ming is poor in silver and relies on external input. These silvers are all obtained by the people's production and exchange with foreigners, and they are all the people's fat and ointment.

Bai Yin piled up and not circulating, the Emperor is no different from those landlords who bury silver in pig pens.

The Great Ming's discussion on the liquidity of financial affairs is extremely in-depth, and Zhu Yijun's inner treasury silver piled up like a mountain, which also became the landlords he despised the most.

"Your Majesty, I have one thing I don't understand. I heard yesterday that there was a theft in the palace the day before yesterday, and seven bottles of wine were lost in the Imperial Wine Room." Zhang Juzheng looked at the Emperor, his face showing confusion.

It's already the twelfth year of Wanli, and this palace intrusion can still happen. Is this a bit too small to look at the secret agents and the inner factory agents?

The courtiers suddenly became energetic. The palace intrusion case happened again! This is a big event among big events.

"Feng Daban has already reported it yesterday. It's not a big deal, so I didn't bother the relevant departments." Zhu Yijun answered Zhang Juzheng's question. The news that someone stole wine was specially told by Zhu Yijun to Zhang Juzheng's confidant You Qi and You Shouli through Feng Bao's adopted son Xu Jue, otherwise the outer court wouldn't know about this.

"It's not that the Tonghe Palace was stolen, it's the Imperial Palace." Zhu Yijun briefly explained the case.

The person who stole the wine had been caught. After Zhu Yijun asked for details, he sent the person to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland. If it was said to be released, he went to Liaodong, which was exile; if it was said to be exile, the inner court gave five silvers as travel expenses, lent him six silvers as settlement fees, and gave him a cloak to avoid the cold.

Exile was because of the law, and giving travel expenses, lending him settlement fees, and giving him a cloak were all Zhu Yijun's pity for the people.

The person who stole the wine was a poor laborer, not a habitual thief. A habitual offender steals things, not looking for death. From the moment this person entered the Imperial Palace, he was watched by the secret agents. It was mainly to see what he wanted to do. If he was an assassin, he would follow the vine to catch that bold thing, but in the end, it was just stealing wine.

"This person is a tracker outside the Zhaoyang Gate, living from hand to mouth, working hard all day, only able to exchange for a little copper money to make a living, but a few days ago he was accidentally injured and couldn't do heavy work, and his life could not be continued. Hearing that the national cellar was extremely valuable, he hit the idea of the Imperial Wine Room, pretended to be a vegetable farmer to enter the palace, and was caught after stealing wine and leaving the palace."

"Unfortunately, this person doesn't even recognize the bottle of the national cellar." Zhu Yijun explained why this person entered the palace to steal.

It was not a conspiracy, nor was it to probe the reality, but because of injury, unable to work, and the use was broken, so he took the risk.

"Your Majesty's virtue is subtle and kind, this is a sign of the Great Ming's revival. In the world where a benevolent Son of Heaven ascends to the Great Pole, how can the world not flourish?" Wan Shihe immediately took the lead to flatter. His Majesty's handling of this matter not only ensured the seriousness of the law but also took care of the poor people.

The Imperial Palace is like a sieve. Zhu Yijun had long known it. Throughout the Wanli Dynasty, there were twelve recorded palace intrusion cases, from Wang Jinglong's assassination to Zhang Cha's entering the palace with a wooden stick and beating the crown prince.

There were stealing wine, stealing vegetables, stealing meat, stealing oil, peeping at the Emperor's daily life, and those who had nowhere to complain and wanted to enter the palace to splash blood five steps, and those who hanged themselves at the Huangji Gate because of injustice, etc. The most outrageous was the eunuch who went to the brothel to drink flower wine and didn't pay, and the prostitute disguised herself and entered the palace to ask for flower wine money. This matter was even written in the Di Bao, and the world knew it.

It is said: In the Di Bao, it is seen that a woman in men's clothing was caught in the forbidden palace. When questioned, it was because the eunuch had been cheating for a long time and owed the night's money, hiding in the inner palace and not coming out, so she pretended to be a crown, broke into the forbidden palace, and asked for it.

Wanli Emperor didn't even care about beating the crown prince. If the courtiers hadn't been too fierce, there wouldn't even be an imperial decree to strictly investigate. It was mainly "read and not returned." Palace intrusion cases happened repeatedly.

Wanli Emperor, who was hiding in the harem and smoking opium, was no longer just lazy.

"I live in the Tonghe Palace now. Zhao Tishuai and Feng Daban's main energy is also in the Tonghe Palace, so this Imperial Palace is naturally as chaotic as a vegetable market. Since someone is curious, it is better to open it directly. One person can visit simply for three taels of silver, and one person can pull a car into the palace for ten taels of silver. This Qianqing Palace can also be seen." Zhu Yijun hit the idea of tickets again.

"In addition, I will specially set up a royal manor in the palace. You have to buy a souvenir when you enter, calligraphy and painting are fine, and card carvings are also fine. You have to buy one when you leave. It's not expensive, ranging from ten taels to fifty taels of silver. You have to buy it. If you don't buy it, you will stay and be a eunuch."

The Emperor's carefully selected good things, you can buy them when you enter the palace, you must buy them, mainly "forced buying and selling."

The routes are also divided into three, six, and nine grades. The more money you give, the more things you see. These are Zhu Yijun's business plans.

This money, eunuchs can earn, can't I, Zhu Yijun, earn it?! The Imperial Palace is his industry! He not only wants to earn it, but even the business plan is done. The Daoist Master is good at drawing symbols and invented many imperial symbols, for settling houses, exorcising evil, begging for children, all kinds of things, just sell them.

When the courtiers heard this, everyone's face turned black!

"Your Majesty, the country is prosperous now. If the inner treasury is short of expenses, why not raise the gold and silver?" Grand Minister Wang Guoguang said loudly, "Your Majesty, if you really want to do this, I can only resign."

If the Emperor really sells tickets to the Imperial Palace, he, Wang Guoguang, would hang himself at the Huangji Gate faster. The Emperor can afford to lose this person, but he, Wang Guoguang, cannot.

In order to make the Emperor take back this absurd idea, Wang Guoguang was even willing to give more gold and silver, giving the Emperor some pocket money, so that the Emperor would not hit this idea! The face of the Heavenly Dynasty, the Emperor doesn't want it, but the courtiers still want it!

"I am not short of money." Zhu Yijun said very affirmatively, "Wanting to make money and not being short of money are not contradictory. You have to pay incense money when you enter Mount Tai."

"Okay, okay, Chief Censor Hai, I know, I know, don't sell, don't sell."

Zhu Yijun saw that Hence Hai Rui was going to speak, so he immediately stopped the topic. Hence Hai Rui never lost the courage to bump into the Emperor. Obviously, Hence Hai Rui was already accumulating strength. Zhu Yijun didn't give Hence Hai Rui this opportunity.

Hence Hai Rui still stood up and bowed his head: "Your Majesty, this move is extremely inappropriate. Emperor Ling of Han sold officials in the West Garden, causing the temple to be filled with rotten wood; between the palace steps, beasts ate salary. As a result, the wolf-hearted and dog-walking generation was rampant in the court, and the slave-faced and knee-bending generation took power one after another. The country has no backbone and righteousness, and the world is in danger in an instant. That Emperor Ling of Han cast the Zhongxing sword to show his ambition, but what he did was perverse, and the court was destroyed."

The weather in the first month was very cold, and Zhu Yijun was already sweating. He immediately said: "Chief Censor Hai is right, I know, Feng Daban, must strictly enforce the palace ban."

"I obey the decree." Feng Bao also disagreed, the palace is not short of money.

Hence Hai Rui doesn't like to go up to the line like "cheap Confucians." Many of the Emperor's heretical behaviors, Hence Hai Rui even supports. What he means is that the Imperial Palace is a public instrument, almost the same as the official titles of the Han Dynasty. Selling tickets is still a bit too advanced.

Minister of War Ceng Shengwu was a bit uneasy. He held the memorial and said with an extremely serious expression: "Your Majesty, a national letter came from Zhennan Pass, saying that they request the Heavenly Dynasty's pity and not to buy their rice anymore."

Zhu Yijun took the memorial and looked at it for a long time. After putting it down, he said: "It's interesting. The Mo family, the Ruan family, and the Li family were able to reach a consensus and signed this national letter. It can be seen that from top to bottom, they are all full of the word 'resistance.' Regarding the matter of neighboring, they are always consistent."

"This national letter is even more interesting. Why don't they restrain the powerful and wealthy people under their hands from selling grain, but request the Great Ming not to buy grain? Is it that they don't want to? In my opinion, it is fundamentally impossible."

The Emperor's perspective on looking at problems is slightly different from the Great Ming courtiers. Zhu Yijun changed his position and thought about it, and found the biggest problem in this national letter. In the eyes of the heads of these three families, persuading the Great Ming to issue a ban is simpler than persuading the powerful and wealthy people under their hands.

Forcing the powerful and wealthy to stop selling grain to the Great Ming would not only fail to stop them from hollowing out the foundation of the state, but would also incite them to rebel.

"Your Majesty is sagacious." Ceng Shengwu was quite moved. He had received this state letter last night and had pondered many strategies to deal with it before he finally understood the key point of the contradiction within; yet, after reading it just once, His Majesty had completely grasped the crux of the matter.

This is talent.

"We know." Zhu Yijun did not leave the message unread, nor did he reply haphazardly; instead, he gave a vague and inscrutable "We know." What exactly did "know" mean? The ministers of the Annam kingdom could ponder that for themselves; it was roughly equivalent to one word: "Oh."

The court ministers of the Great Ming, however, had a profound understanding of these four words. His Majesty's meaning was very clear: We have already acknowledged your request, but the Great Ming has its own national circumstances and cannot adjust its maritime trade policy. Please resolve the contradictions yourselves. This is an act of free trade, and it is not convenient for Us to interfere excessively.

"Your subject feels that to resolve the Annam problem once and for all, it would be best to thoroughly turn it into a prefecture and county." Ceng Shengwu was a conservative, and the most distinct characteristic of a conservative is following the ancestral laws; Emperor Chengzu Wen had once done this.

"Isn't the Southwest currently fighting Toungoo? There is no rush." Zhu Yijun actually agreed with Ceng Shengwu's view, but since Toungoo was currently engaged in military action, it was inconvenient to fight on two fronts.

When Emperor Yingzong of Ming personally campaigned at Tumu Fortress, the Great Ming was simultaneously suppressing the uprisings of Deng Maoqi and Ye Zongliu in the Southeast, and campaigning against Luchuan in the Southwest. This was fighting on three fronts, which easily caused a dispersion of military strength. Since then, the Great Ming had always tried its best to avoid fighting on two or three fronts; the border incursions and Japanese pirate troubles during the Jiajing era were also matters of last resort.

"His Highness the Prince of De from the Imperial Academy of Sciences reports that this year, thirty-two steam engines can produce four thousand units. Your Majesty, the coal bureaus at Womagang and Shengzhou need iron horses to transport coal for import." Wang Chonggu sat up straight, speaking of the major event regarding the distribution of steam engines this year.

"The Southern Yamen also needs iron horses, mainly for weaving and shipbuilding. Vice Minister Wang, how about we split them in half?" Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Chonggu with an unfriendly expression and said.

"The import of gold, silver, copper, iron, and coal at Shengzhou and Womagang is extremely important. This is the key to the exchange of coal and silver, and also the key to the civilization of Suiyuan. Grand Secretary, the Southern Yamen has plenty of water power; what is the use of having so many iron horses?" Wang Chonggu did not want to clash with Zhang Juzheng, but he had to fight for the distribution of these iron horses.

When the court ministers saw Wang Chonggu and Zhang Juzheng arguing again, they all remained silent, and some even shrank back; the last time they argued over the distribution of steam engines, it was so dark and chaotic that everyone was afraid to speak loudly.

Good things are not in circulation; even the thirty-two iron horses were still being test-driven, and they had already been allocated.

"Stop!" Zhu Yijun immediately interrupted the two men and said loudly: "Do not argue anymore! Half for each, it is decided!"

Zhu Yijun liked to watch the excitement, but this was excitement he could do without. There was so much excitement all year round that he didn't lack this bit. It was truly too dangerous for these two to argue; once the people below thought a decisive battle was coming, the disaster of partisan strife would immediately appear in the Great Ming court.

This was unfair; Suiyuan needed more iron horses. If allocated according to need, Suiyuan should take the lion's share, but Zhu Yijun had no better way. The master of balancing, Shen Shixing, had spent his whole life practicing one truth: no matter how skilled a master of balancing is, he cannot keep a bowl of water perfectly level. If he keeps adjusting it, he will only spill all the water.

Wang Chonggu sighed, and with a look of helplessness, bowed his head and said: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Since His Majesty had stepped in to tilt the scales, what could Wang Chonggu say? He could only exert force on the animals below and squeeze out a little bit of animal power to supplement the trouble caused by the shortage of iron horses. According to Wang Chonggu's understanding of the post roads, the thirty-six horsepower iron horses were already very easy to use; although they were expensive, they could pull a lot.

"Your Majesty, there is a type of mountain porter on Mount Emei who carries a smooth carrying pole with heavy goods hanging from both ends. These porters are called the 'Bangbang Army' or 'Bangbang porters'."

Minister of Rites Wan Shihe could not hide his anger and said indignantly: "Since the nineteenth year of Jiajing, the porters at the foot of Mount Emei began to raise mules. Mules can pull more and save more human labor. This was a method established by the then-county magistrate Cui Jiong, solely to relieve the suffering of the people."

"In the ninth month of the eleventh year of Wanli, a group of scholars who were sightseeing and enjoying the spring scenery saw that the mules were pulling heavy loads with difficulty, so they ran to the Emei County Yamen to file a complaint. The county magistrate Zhao Wenchang was muddled and fearful of trouble, and did not dare to argue on the basis of reason, so he ordered that no donkeys be raised, causing the materials going up the mountain to be transported by human labor again!"

"Wait a minute... let Us sort this out." Zhu Yijun was a bit confused, and he tentatively asked: "No, are these scholars sick? The mules were pulling goods just fine. If these mules can't pull goods and are useless, isn't their fate just to be slaughtered?"

"They feel sorry for the animals but not for the people? And this Zhao Wenchang, if he can do the job, do it; if he can't, get out and go home quickly. It's still not too late to learn how to grow sweet potatoes now."

"It is indeed so." Wan Shihe said with a very complex expression: "The Analects, Xiangdang Chapter 17: 'The stables were burned. When the Master returned from court, he said, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.'"

"When there was a fire at the Master's house and the stables were burned, the first thing the Master asked when he returned from court was whether anyone was hurt, not whether the horses were damaged. It was not that the Master did not love horses, but that his heart was set on loving people, so he had no time to ask about the horses. Since people are noble and animals are lowly, it should be so! And in a moment of haste, one can especially see the Master's sincere heart of love!"

"Are these scholars who are making trouble out of nothing Confucian scholars?"

What Wan Shihe was talking about was the Analects and the rites and laws.

This was the discussion in feudal ethics about who is noble and who is lowly between humans and livestock: humans are noble, and animals are lowly.

Later generations all acted according to this standard, which was also the reason why the scholars did not dare to say a word when Zhu Yijun liquidated the Kong family in Yanzhou. The Kong family in Yanzhou indulged their henchmen, letting people hold a funeral for a dog. This was a betrayal of Confucius's teaching that humans are noble and animals are lowly. If the Duke Yansheng's mansion did not take the Sage's teachings seriously, then was there any need for the Duke Yansheng's mansion to exist?

Afterwards, His Majesty established the Southern Kong family as the officials for offering sacrifices, which made the opposition from the Confucian scholars even smaller.

For the first time, Zhu Yijun felt that feudal ethics also had its merits; engaging in some feudalism was much better than this kind of hypocritical kindness.

Song Rendong was not hypocritically kind, but rather foolishly kind due to his lack of worldly experience, willing to believe that beautiful things would happen.

But these scholars were not like Song Rendong; this was hypocritical kindness. They didn't care about the mules at all; what they cared about was the satisfaction of being able to point fingers at everything.

"Zhao Wenchang, he is an official of the imperial court, what is he afraid of from the scholars' clamor? Can they control him? He is not afraid of Our punishment, but he is afraid of the scholars' public opinion, right? Am I the Emperor of the Great Ming, or is this public opinion the Emperor of the Great Ming?" Zhu Yijun's expression was grave, and his tone became unfriendly.

This involved a question: who could call the wind and summon the rain in the Great Ming? As the Emperor, Zhu Yijun had only one stance! In the Great Ming, only the Emperor could call the wind and summon the rain!

To put it mildly, this was Zhao Wenchang's incompetence and cowardice; to put it broadly, this was a challenge to the imperial power of the Great Ming Emperor. How long had it been since the proposal that the people are the foundation of the state and that if the foundation is solid, the state is peaceful? How long had it been since the proposal to relieve the suffering of the common people?

This Zhao Wenchang did not have the word "court" in his heart at all!

Zhang Juzheng only felt a darkness before his eyes. Now there was bad news and good news. The bad news was that His Majesty had learned the methods of the lowly scholars; the good news was that he had learned them all.

This was exactly the method of the lowly scholars to impeach the Grand Minister Tan Lun by coughing—making a mountain out of a molehill.

"Zhao Wenchang is to be dismissed immediately, and ordered to restore the old practice of raising mules in Emei County without delay. And as for these scholars who are clamoring and stirring up public opinion, those with official titles are to be stripped of them all, and those without are to be barred from the imperial examinations for life. They are to be treated as criminals; if they still dare to criticize, three generations of their families will be barred from imperial grace, and five generations will be barred from entering officialdom."

"Don't they feel sorry for the mules? From the moment the imperial edict arrives in Emei County, for a period of five years, all these scholars are to work as mountain porters on Mount Emei. If any flee, their entire families will be implicated." Zhu Yijun chose to strike with a heavy fist.

The punishments included dismissal, restoring the mule transport, stripping the scholars of their titles, barring them from exams, five years of labor as mountain porters, and implicating their families if they fled.

Zhu Yijun still said with dissatisfaction: "Absurd! It is one thing not to have a heart of submission to the state, but even after studying, they should have kept the Sage's teachings in their hearts, and they shouldn't have done such things!"

"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites are aware."

Shen Li and Liang Menglong looked at each other, stood up, bowed their heads, and said: "Your subject obeys the decree."

It was really not easy to plead for mercy in this matter, because the discussion between Wan Shihe and His Majesty was entirely based on the Sage's teachings and the Master's Analects, and these were used as the basis for the punishment.

Are these scholars right, or is Confucius right?

The court discussion continued. The Ministry of Works reported on the second sea trial of the Feiyun; the route remained unchanged, mainly to examine the efficacy of the new propeller. The Ministry of Justice reported on the "Spring Thunder Action," focusing on cracking down on brokers, especially those who used the names of various dukes to swindle people everywhere.

The Ministry of Revenue reported on the spring plowing and the progress of abolishing the status of lowly slaves in various places. Except for Guizhou and Guangxi, the Great Ming's two capitals and sixteen provinces, as well as Suiyuan, Gansu, and Liaodong, had all completed the abolition of the status of lowly slaves, and the law no longer recognized the legality of indentured servitude contracts.

After the court session, Zhu Yijun studied the allusion of the Master not asking about the horses in detail. Only then did he know that this kind of "beast" that considered animals more precious than humans had existed since the pre-Qin period, and it was also because of the allusion of the Master not asking about the horses that the consensus that humans are noble and animals are lowly was gradually formed.

"Mules are not stupid. If a mule is really too tired to walk, it will just lie down and refuse to move. If you beat it too hard, the mule will kick back and knock people senseless, sometimes even kicking them to death. That mule is the ancestor of the porter's family; they feel sorry for it themselves, so how could they work a mule to death?" Zhu Yijun made a note on this matter: only humans would drink coffee to squeeze out their last bit of energy.

These scholars were just a bunch of idiots; they felt sorry for the mules and felt sorry for the air, but they didn't feel sorry for the common people struggling to survive at the bottom.

The clamor in the capital by the scholar-officials attacking the coal smoke of the Western Hills was also a similar kind of hypocritical kindness. The scholar-officials didn't care about the problem of heating in winter at all, because no matter what, they wouldn't freeze; it was only the common people who froze to death, which was why they could point fingers so unscrupulously.

"Urge the Ministry of Rites to hurry up and compile the 'Compendium of the Various Masters.' If Confucius knew that the Confucian scholars of the present day had become like this, he would probably be angered back to life." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial and said with some helplessness.

This decree immediately aroused heated discussion once it was announced. Afterwards, these scribes were full of words, but couldn't say a single one. There was no way; Minister Wan had explained the problem very clearly.

The Master did not ask about the horses, humans are noble and animals are lowly—to plead for these scholars and Zhao Wenchang, one must first oppose this proposition of Confucius.

Asking the scribes to argue that Confucius was wrong was truly too difficult. They didn't even have the ability to engage Wan Shihe in battle, let alone argue and win against him.