Chapter 65

Li Zhi followed the eunuch into the palace.

Because it was already evening, the two walked a bit faster.

If he met the Emperor for too long and couldn't get out of the palace before the locks were closed, it would be somewhat troublesome.

Eunuch Zhang Cheng looked at Li Zhi walking fast, his hat somewhat messy, and reminded him: "Assistant Director Li, when you meet the Emperor later, you must wear your hat properly."

He just saw Li Zhi's flat head under the hat and was stunned.

It was the first time he had seen such a Confucian scholar; it was simply improper.

He was afraid of startling the Emperor later, so he gave this instruction.

Li Zhi followed the advice and adjusted his hat: "I will definitely pay attention later!"

After answering, Li Zhi looked at the route and couldn't help asking: "Eunuch, this doesn't look like the way to the Qianqing Palace, right?"

Although he had never been to the palace, he knew that the Qianqing Palace was in the heart of the Forbidden City; now that he was walking further and further away, anyone could see it.

Zhang Cheng explained ritually: "A few days ago, there was a fire in the palace of the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Chen; before it was repaired, she had to move to the West Garden."

"The Emperor could not bear for the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Chen to live alone, so he took the Holy Mother Empress Dowager Li to live in the West Garden together."

"When the Ciqing Palace is repaired and the Holy Mother has someone to rely on, the Emperor will return to the Qianqing Palace."

This was the official statement.

Apart from sighing at his pure filial piety, the officials could not pick any other faults, at most writing a few more notes in their own notebooks.

Li Zhi was far from the center and naturally could not distinguish between true and false.

Instead, he realized suddenly: "No wonder they said the palace was clearing the palace these days, and there was no manpower in the palace."

Zhang Cheng smiled and nodded.

The West Garden was far away, and they had to walk a long way.

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

Theoretically, this question should not be asked, nor answered.

But one did not understand the rules of the center, and the other had instructions long ago.

Zhang Cheng answered very naturally: "The Emperor is very interested in Assistant Director Li's theories."

He slowed down and pointed to the palace people walking back and forth in the Forbidden City: "Assistant Director Li, 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, Censor Hu Xiao suggested that 'the palace concubines of the two dynasties are blocking the back court; the old ones don't know where they ended up, the young ones are full of resentment; widows and lonely women, their sorrow is like ten thousand shapes'."

"Although this person only used this matter to fabricate omens and had ulterior motives."

"But the Emperor still chose the good and followed it, releasing all the palace maids in the palace who were willing to return."

Speaking of this, he looked at Li Zhi's expression.

Seeing that he showed approval and agreement, he couldn't help but feel relieved.

He added without leaving a trace: "This includes Assistant Director Li's contribution."

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

Zhang Cheng nodded: "The Emperor has doubts about the theory of good and evil; the most difficult problem lies in what is good and evil?"

"After that, he consulted the classics and listened to the scholars, and just happened to hear Assistant Director Li's theories; the Emperor called him a great talent."

"Afterward, he kept Assistant Director Li in his heart, and even this dismissal of palace maids was influenced by Assistant Director Li."

"Assistant Director Li speaks for women, with words like 'if you say that seeing has length and shortness, that is fine, but if you say that men's seeing is all long and women's seeing is all short, how can that be?'"

"The Emperor highly approves of Assistant Director Li's learning, which is why he treats the palace maids well."

Li Zhi was silent.

His theories have always been regarded as heterodox; not to mention being beaten and killed, he has also received all kinds of white eyes.

Now that he has been valued by the Emperor, he doesn't know what his mood should be for a while.

He just bowed to the Qianqing Palace from afar.

After being reminded by Zhang Cheng, he bowed to the West Garden again.

This was superficial work; Li Zhi had different expectations for meeting the Emperor in his heart.

From official social interaction, it gradually rose to personal interest.

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

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

The forbidden army was stationed every ten steps and every hundred steps, and occasionally Embroidered Uniform Guards and Eastern Depot people patrolled back and forth.

A tense and murderous atmosphere rushed toward him.

Is this the solemn place in front of the Emperor?

Infected, Li Zhi followed Zhang Cheng carefully, for fear of causing trouble.

The two arrived in front of the Wanshou Palace.

Zhang Cheng stopped and smiled at Li Zhi: "Assistant Director Li, the Emperor only wants to see you."

Wanshou Palace was the residence of Emperor Jiajing of the Shizong; it was wide and atmospheric. Even if Li Zhi only looked from outside the hall, he couldn't help but feel somewhat cautious.

He took a deep breath, bowed to thank him, and entered the hall alone.

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

Li Zhi's heart jumped, and he immediately realized that this was the eleven-year-old young Emperor.

After reacting, he prepared to bow.

Who knew the Emperor grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

The word "stranger" seemed not to exist in the young Emperor's dictionary; he acted as if they were old friends and said to himself: "I have been moving palaces these past few days and have neglected Assistant Director Li; are you used to the capital?"

Li Zhi, a small official of the classics, could not bear this courtesy from the Emperor and said dryly: "Still... still used to it."

Zhu Yijun noticed that Li Zhi was uncomfortable and immediately led the topic to where Li Zhi was comfortable: "Assistant Director Li, my theory of good and evil a few days ago had some shortcomings, and I am just about to discuss it with Assistant Director Li."

Li Zhi wanted to speak but stopped, but his expression was much more relieved.

Obviously, he was much more at ease with familiar topics.

Zhu Yijun said directly: "I heard that Assistant Director Li once said when lecturing, 'People's right and wrong have no fixed quality'."

"And words like 'Yesterday was right and today is wrong, today is wrong and tomorrow is right again'."

"Only then did I realize that I have not defined what is good and evil, what is right and wrong!"

As soon as these words came out, Li Zhi instantly forgot about sovereign and subject, and etiquette.

He nodded repeatedly: "That is so!"

"The so-called good and evil, right and wrong, for generations, all take Confucius's right and wrong as right and wrong; the Song took Zhu Zi, and now we take Wang Zi."

"Right and wrong, good and evil, should have no fixed number."

"Therefore, people have no right and wrong, good and evil."

Zhu Yijun hurriedly followed his words: "It is taking the world's right and wrong as right and wrong."

Li Zhi cast an appreciative look.

Not many people could keep up with his train of thought.

Zhu Yijun paced back and forth, pondered for a moment, and said: "Good, good, good, Assistant Director Li, as soon as you entered the palace, you solved my doubts; you are worthy of being a master of the classics."

"I will publish it in the newspaper tomorrow."

"If it were in plain language, it should be said that when a person is born, there is no consciousness, and therefore no good or evil."

"And consciousness is shaped by the world's environment; when a person forms consciousness and has expressions, they begin to divide good and evil according to different principles, and then according to individual talents, they have so-called right and wrong, good and evil."

"And this kind of good and evil, right and wrong, is judged in the world's environment; each era's good and evil, right and wrong are different, and the good and evil formed are also different."

The so-called social practice determines human consciousness; this is the path.

Li Zhi also nodded frequently, occasionally showing an expression of meeting a soulmate.

Only hearing Zhu Yijun continue: "Since this is the case, isn't the quality of the world's environment the key that has the greatest impact on people's good and evil?"

Matter determines consciousness; it is also passable here.

Li Zhi explained: "This is natural; the Southern Barbarians are fierce, the Northern Barbarians are ruthless, the Japanese pirates are deceitful; all are because of famine, barbarism, and usurpation in their own countries, which shaped the inferior quality of their nationals."

Speaking of this, he was originally excited, but suddenly his eyes dimmed.

Zhu Yijun found it strange.

Only hearing Li Zhi say languidly: "Therefore, corruption is rampant in our dynasty, becoming a trend; the environment is bad, and most of the newcomers are also corrupt officials..."

Speaking of this, he realized!

For a moment of discussion, he actually forgot where he was, and hurriedly wanted to plead guilty!

Zhu Yijun held him, smiled gently: "Assistant Director Li, it doesn't matter; with your patriotic heart, how could I blame you? Besides, I already have a clue about this matter."

He met Li Zhi's gaze and continued: "I have already implemented the Examination Method with the Grand Secretariat."

"In the future, I will gradually make up for the salaries of all officials, and will no longer be in arrears or convert them into treasure notes as before."

"At the same time, I have invited Hai Rui back; in the future, the Censorate will strictly investigate corruption."

"The Censorate and the Thousand-Household Offices in all places, when the Examination Method arrives, will investigate all illegal matters."

Li Zhi looked at the Emperor with a pure heart and sighed.

These measures cannot be said to be useless, but in his view, the effect is really limited.

He said slowly: "Your Majesty, making up for salaries can only make people self-disciplined, and the so-called strict punishment of corruption is also executed by officials."

"When the upper and lower are in collusion, how can a single word of punishment stop it? Could the Great Ancestor's skinning and stuffing with straw stop it?"

"Your Majesty, this is what we just discussed—consciousness shaped 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, what he has seen and heard is at the very bottom; what cover-ups, what collusion, what solicitation, are all common.

Not ashamed, but proud.

He does not believe that under this atmosphere, it can be solved by punishment.

When everyone is guilty, everyone is innocent.

Zhu Yijun chuckled, then restrained his expression, his tone became firm, and said: "Assistant Director Li, I understand; this world's atmosphere should also be gradually corrected."

"I summoned you here precisely for this matter."

Li Zhi's heart moved, and he hesitated: "Your Majesty is preparing..."

Zhu Yijun led Li Zhi to the table.

There was a copper chime on the table; Zhu Yijun knocked it casually, and the sound echoed in the Wanshou Palace.

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

Li Zhi's conditioned reflex: "Naturally, it is Your Majesty's Great Ming Dynasty."

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

"I won't force you to speak your heart, but what I want to say is, why is our dynasty full of corruption? I have thought about it."

"Does Assistant Director Li want to hear it?"

Li Zhi was silent.

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

"Assistant Director Li."

"The Great Ming Dynasty died when it lost the ability to construct an imagined community."

Li Zhi was stunned.

Confused: "Imagined community?"

Zhu Yijun nodded and knocked the copper chime again.

He naturally thought deeper than Li Zhi.

The root of the Great Ming Dynasty's atmosphere is rotten, but it is not rotten in corruption; even if it is corrupt, can it compare to the Qing?

Corruption is only a manifestation; if you really want to find the root cause—the Great Ming Dynasty has fallen to this point, and the first reason in terms of ideology is that the Great Ming has lost the ability to construct an imagined community.

Whose Great Song is it? This question is easy to answer; naturally, it is the Great Song of the Emperor and the scholar-officials.

Then whose Great Qing is it? It is also easy to answer; naturally, it is the Great Qing of the Eight Banners.

But the Great Ming is different.

Will the Emperor think that the Great Ming is his own Great Ming? The master of the world who has concerns about his life? Of course not.

Several generations of emperors ignoring the world is out of this mentality; the Great Ming world? None of my business!

Will the officials think that the Great Ming is the world governed by scholar-officials? The governance that is beaten to death or abandoned in the market? Of course not.

The background of rampant corruption is that the world's big picture has nothing to do with me; the Great Ming world? I'll just make a profit, you guys govern slowly.

Similarly, various regional factions, Nanzhili, Xuan-Da, Zhejiang gentry, Fujian sea merchants, and even the people of the world, from top to bottom, are not afraid of the country's demise—as long as it doesn't affect me, changing a dynasty makes no difference.

This is the sadness of losing an imagined community—it is really hard to imagine that the Great Ming, which obtained the country most correctly, would fall to the point where the common imagined body dies.

Only talk about interests, no right or wrong.

For the sake of self-enjoyment, one can live in the deep palace as a carpenter, eating aphrodisiacs until death.

For the sake of regional interests, one can assassinate the king, kill, set fire, and gather colleagues to resist the center.

For the sake of self-preservation and the continuation of power, one can naturally raise foreign races to bolster one's own position, and even open the door for the Qing.

Losing an imagined community will inevitably lead to an infinite increase in operating costs, and the end of system rigidity will inevitably be the demise of the country.

Therefore, while Zhu Yijun is planning to lift the Great Ming Dynasty from military and institutional aspects, he must inevitably reconstruct an imagined community.

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

This imagined community can make the most miserable coal miners of the British Empire show pride when they think of the British Empire.

This step is not only to correct the atmosphere and clarify the administration, but also the path that must be taken to connect the north and south and unify the world.

Even, this is the theoretical preparation that must be done to improve the tribute system.

Zhu Yijun used the local language of the Great Ming Dynasty, hid most of the content, and only briefly pointed out two sentences of cultural identity and correcting the corrupt atmosphere to Li Zhi.

"Not bad, this name is newly taken by me."

"The so-called imagined community refers to the people of the world, gentry, officials... and even me, constructing a spiritual Great Ming Dynasty through common origins, history, classics, etc.!"

"This Great Ming Dynasty belongs to everyone."

"Once someone destroys the Great Ming Dynasty in reality and ruins the big picture, then it will attract everyone's hostility!"

"In this way, we can work together to correct the evil of the scholars."

"This is what I need Assistant Director Li to do."

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

After listening, Li Zhi was stunned and silent.

Is this an eleven-year-old boy?

The level and depth of speculation are almost like founding a sect; compared with this Emperor, those Five Classics Doctors in the Imperial Academy are really stinking dog shit.

At this level, let alone eleven, even when he, Li Zhi, was twenty-one, he hadn't reached this point!

If it weren't for the Emperor's identity, he almost couldn't help but want to be friends.

Imagined community, good name, unconstrained, yet makes people see the light.

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

Just this precise feeling made Li Zhi feel that it would not be as simple as the Emperor said, used to correct the atmosphere.

He couldn't taste the flavor for a while, secretly remembered it in his heart, and prepared to go back and deduce it.

Great Ming Dynasty, whose Great Ming Dynasty is it.

This is really a difficult question to answer.

Li Zhi said: "Your Majesty, I have little virtue and talent, I can only..."

Zhu Yijun interrupted him directly, his expression strange: "Assistant Director Li, do you think I want you to sing praises?"

"Minister Li, I will tell you bluntly."

"I found you because this matter needs to set aside the set of sovereign and subject, and start a new stove."

"It is not as simple as patching it up; the theory must reflect reality and explain what already exists, otherwise it will have no vitality."

"Minister Li, besides you, I cannot find such a heterodox and outstanding classicist."

To explain what already exists, naturally, one cannot simply take what is precious to the people and light to the monarch; after all, the common people know how they live, and they know whether they are precious or not.

Theories detached from reality will give the people a sense of disharmony; let alone constructing a common imagined body, it will only be treated as toilet paper by the people.

At the same time, without being rooted in the Four Books and Five Classics themselves, one cannot create such a theory; at least Zhu Yijun himself certainly cannot.

This is the difficulty; not to be detached from the era, but also to start a new stove.

Li Zhi shook his head helplessly.

No wonder the Emperor said he could "study with peace of mind"; to tailor a set of theories, without four or five years of peace, the framework wouldn't be built.

But the difficulty is not just here.

Li Zhi looked up at the Emperor: "Your Majesty said well, the theory can only reflect reality."

"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, if the people are hungry and have no fixed place to live, no matter how good the theory is, it cannot construct the imagined community in Your Majesty's mouth."

Zhu Yijun nodded: "I understand Minister Li's meaning."

"If in the decades I am on the throne, I cannot improve the situation of the people..."

He looked at Li Zhi and said seriously: "Then that is my incompetence."

Li Zhi was silent and bowed again.

After exchanging his heart, he finally recognized the Emperor.

He said: "Your Majesty's holy virtue, I am willing to do this!"

Zhu Yijun smiled, helped Li Zhi up, and instructed: "I will hand over part of the Tongzheng Office's new newspaper to Minister Li, and the salary will also be counted in this."

"This matter is not urgent; as long as a prototype is polished within three years, it will be considered that you have not failed the trust."

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

He called Jiang Keqian again and said: "Let the Zhongshu Sheren go to the Ministry of Personnel and tell Wen Chun to transfer Wang Shizhen to the capital."

Jiang Keqian responded and left.

Zhu Yijun stood in the empty Wanshou Palace, slowly closing his eyes to recall the recent responses and arrangements.

Handing this matter to Li Zhi alone is certainly not enough.

The new newspaper's plain language is only for the common people to see; there is still something missing among the literati.

This is the reason why he summoned Wang Shizhen back to the capital; after Li Panlong died, Wang Shizhen led the literary world alone, and his prestige could not be underestimated; it was also appropriate to enter the capital for his use, acting as a loudspeaker in the literati world.

As for whether to open the imperial examination and widely recruit talents, he and Zhang Juzheng have not discussed it well, so he can only look forward.

Hai Rui left for the two Huai regions yesterday; there will inevitably 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 is not inappropriate.

After Zhu Yijun suppressed the Grand Secretariat and forced Zhang Juzheng to follow his rhythm, he just happened to keep a low profile for a period of time.

Cultivate oneself and practice virtue.

After going through everything, Zhu Yijun took a deep breath with his eyes closed.

He nodded with satisfaction.

He knocked the copper chime beside him, and the crisp sound echoed in the Wanshou Palace.

One more chapter around 12 midnight tonight.