Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 167

Chapter 167

"His Majesty has already ordered the Imperial City Guard to arrest those merchants," Wang You said.

Hai Wenqing made no response to the government's order to arrest the merchants.

Although the Song Dynasty did not discriminate against merchants, the long-standing contempt was difficult to change.

Most intellectuals actually look down on merchants.

In Hai Wenqing's view, even if those merchants did not know that Prince Chong was rebelling, the reason they gave him money was simply that they wanted to receive a reward after he ascended the throne.

Whether the reward was an official position or a powerful patron, the merchant had no good intentions.

"What does the emperor intend to do with those officials listed in the accounts?"

"I don't know either."

Wang You shook his head and said, "The Emperor has not said anything, and I dare not ask."

After hearing this, Hai Wenqing pondered for a moment, but ultimately did not ask any further questions.

Whether Wang You knew it or not, it was already very rare for him to be able to say these things to him.

"This is a task assigned to you by His Majesty, so I won't ask any questions."

Hai Wenqing smiled and said, "Did you know that the study of mind has been developing quite rapidly lately?"

"The students have heard about it, and have even formed a small circle dedicated to the study of human nature."

Wang You was not surprised by the development of the philosophy of mind.

Many people have a misconception that people in ancient times were conservative.

Actually, that's not the case. People in ancient times were even more receptive to many negative things than people in later generations.

Take the new laws of that year as an example. At first, the emperor asked Fan Da Xiang Gong to formulate the new laws, and there was actually very little opposition.

Many people are even supportive.

Because once the new law is implemented, the situation in the court will change, and they may well benefit from such a change.

But when the new law was enacted, they suddenly realized that many of the new laws were aimed at them.

Therefore, most people began to oppose it.

To put it bluntly, it's all about self-interest. If the reforms are beneficial to them, they will naturally support them.

After suffering a loss once, the officials in the court could no longer bear to hear the word "reform".

The same applies to the philosophy of mind. As a new academic viewpoint, although many people do not agree with it, there are also quite a few who do.

For most scholars, they were too young and had no standing in Confucianism.

Even if you accumulate seniority, you may not achieve much in the future.

However, the philosophy of mind is different. As a new field of study, those who joined early and persuaded more people to accept and join it are considered pioneers and elders.

Once the School of Mind gained a certain status, those who joined it earliest would become great Confucian scholars of the school.

With profits to be made, naturally some people want to join, and they will work hard to persuade others to join.

"If we wait a few more years for the development of the School of Mind, and then announce that you are the founder, you might become a great Confucian scholar. At that time, your reputation might even surpass that of your teacher," Hai Wenqing said with a smile.

"Don't!"

Wang You said solemnly, "I think it's better not to announce this matter. The reason why the School of Mind can be accepted by some people is largely because Mei Zhijiang has passed away."

If the world knew that I was the founder of the School of Mind, it would actually hinder its spread.

He only recently figured out the key to this.

Neither Neo-Confucianism nor the School of Mind was brought to its full glory by its founders.

Others support the philosophy of mind and travel around advocating for it, all in order to become the leader themselves.

But when they were promoting the philosophy of mind everywhere, they suddenly learned that the founder was still alive. How should they face Wang You, the founder?

Normally, they should respect me as their teacher.

After all, he was the pioneer, and those people were just learners.

This is similar to how founding emperors recognized their ancestors.

Who would want to bring back a living ancestor for themselves?

It must be a famous person from a long time ago, and one whose legacy has not been passed down to any descendants.

Just like how the Li Tang dynasty recognized Laozi as their ancestor.

When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, some ministers suggested that Zhu Xi, one of the founders of Neo-Confucianism, should be made the ancestor of the dynasty.

Old Zhu initially planned to do the same, since he came from a humble background and only by recognizing a famous ancestor could he enhance his reputation.

But when he learned that Zhu Xi had descendants who had survived, he objected.

Just kidding. If he admits it, what if Zhu Xi's descendants come knocking on his door, claiming to be the main line? Would he have to hand over the throne?

Even if those people dared not speak up, he still had to acknowledge the status of Zhu Xi's descendants as members of the imperial clan and grant them titles and official positions.

Old Zhu was unwilling to do it.

Similarly, it was Mei Yaochen's death that made the philosophy of mind able to become widespread.

The same reason why Neo-Confucianism emerged in the Northern Song Dynasty but was not valued until the mid-to-late Southern Song Dynasty is the same reason why it was not valued.

Most importantly, Wang You no longer needs this title.

Although the current emperor and Zhao Sheng and his son are not particularly intelligent, they are both incredibly decisive and courageous.

The government wanted to take action against the civil officials, and so did Zhao Sheng.

In fact, given the Song Dynasty's system of decentralization and centralization, it would have been easy for the emperor to completely control military power.

With military power in hand, as long as one has enough courage, it is not difficult for the reform to succeed.

"What you said makes sense, but are you willing to give it up?" Hai Wenqing asked.

The situation Wang You described could indeed happen, but even so, announcing that he is the founder would only temporarily limit the spread of the information.

When Wang Youlai passes away a hundred years later, and his philosophy of mind develops, it will greatly benefit his reputation.

When people are alive, they may be greedy for money, sex, power, and so on.

But when a person is about to die, all they crave is fame, wanting to be remembered in history.

If the philosophy of mind were to develop further in the future, Wang You might even be able to enter the Confucian Temple.

"Teacher, compared to these empty titles, I actually want to make this world a better place," Wang You said solemnly.

"What spirit!"

Hai Wenqing exclaimed admiringly, "Truly worthy of being the King's student!"

"Isn't it a pity that the teacher didn't have a student who entered the Confucian Temple?" Wang You laughed.

"You don't care about those empty titles, but do you think I do?"

Hai Wenqing laughed and scolded, "The Hai family's reputation for integrity wasn't earned through such empty titles!"

The Hai family produced five members who had served in the Hanlin Academy, with his father holding the lowest official rank, followed by his grandfather.

His grandfather was a high-ranking official in his day. He tried to dissuade Emperor Zhenzong from negotiating peace with the Liao Dynasty, but to no avail. He fell ill and died not long after.

His father felt guilty because his attempts to dissuade Emperor Zhenzong from performing the Fengshan ceremony failed, and the court later felt guilty because the Fengshan ceremony was very expensive and the national treasury was empty.

He believed that if he had been willing to die for his cause, he could have dissuaded Emperor Zhenzong.

He died of illness a few years later, consumed by melancholy.

Hai Wenqing's father and grandfather were both ambitious. Even when the new laws failed, he was still an official in the local area. After learning the news, he wrote a letter to dissuade the officials.

"What if the Emperor intends to move those civil officials?" Wang You asked with a smile, as if joking.

"Um?

'

Hai Wenqing, however, did not think Wang You was joking. He was about to ask a question but stopped himself, seriously considering Wang You's words.

"If the evidence is conclusive and complies with national law, I will naturally support it," Hai Wenqing said silently.

"What if the evidence isn't sufficient?" Wang You continued to ask.

"A country has its laws, and a family has its rules!"

Hai Wenqing frowned and said, "Since the evidence is insufficient, we only need to proceed according to the existing evidence!"

Wang You shook his head slightly and asked, "Does Teacher still remember the case of Chao Zhongyue?"

"The case of Chao Zhongyue?"

Hai Wenqing's expression changed slightly as he asked, "Why are you bringing this up?"

"The students have heard a little about this, but they find it rather strange!"

Wang You said, "Back then, Chao Zhongyue bribed the rebel army. When the news reached Bianjing, the emperor was furious and wanted to execute him. However, when the imperial decree reached the hands of Grand Chancellor Fan, he refused to sign it."

At that time, the court was divided into two factions, with Fan Da Xiang Gong leading the opposition to the execution of Chao Zhongyue.

The reason given was that since the time of Emperor Taizu, no civil official had ever been lightly executed.

On the other side, officials led by Fu Xiangong believed that this was tantamount to treason, and if they were not executed, many other officials would inevitably follow suit.

However, after being persuaded by Fan Da Xiangong, Fu Xiangong and others tacitly agreed not to execute Xian Zhongyue.

The reason given by Master Fan for persuading them was also quite ridiculous. He said he was afraid that if the emperor got carried away with killing, he would kill them in the future.

Are all the officials in the court afraid of death? Such a reason is clearly insufficient.

When Wang You first heard about this, he thought that Master Fan was just a fraud.

But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that things might not be that simple.

Even if Prime Minister Fan is a fraud, does that mean all the officials in the court are cowards?

Moreover, what Master Fan said was just a guess.

Moreover, the official who is to be killed is a convicted official. To say that the official is worried that he might kill them in the future is a bit far-fetched.

This excuse is more like setting up a get-out-of-jail-free card for all civil servants.

Given Fan Da Xiang Gong's status at the time, as long as he didn't commit any major mistakes, he was unlikely to be sentenced to death, so he had no worries about that at all.

As for saying it's for the sake of future generations, that's also untenable.

Wang You did not believe that Fan Daxiang was unaware of this matter, and that his intervention might earn him a bad reputation in history.

Hai Wenqing sighed upon hearing this and said, "When I was an official in a local area back then, I found it hard to believe when I heard this news."

Although the situation was already set in stone when I received the news, I still wrote a letter angrily questioning Lord Fan.

Fan Da Xiang Gong was truly a gentleman rarely seen in the world, and he had his reasons for doing so.

At that time, the reform had already encountered considerable resistance, and even those who supported it began to waver.

"So, is Lord Fan doing this to curry favor with those officials who oppose him?"

Wang You frowned slightly. Surely Master Fan isn't that stupid?

While this matter would benefit all civil servants, it wouldn't necessarily lead them to support the reforms.

After all, it's hard to say whether the government will kill them, but those who support the reforms will suffer losses now.

"How could Master Fan be so naive?"

Hai Wenqing shook his head and said, "Master Fan is not trying to curry favor with those officials who oppose the reforms, but rather to appease those wavering officials."

"To appease those wavering officials?"

Wang You was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and said, "Does Grand Chancellor Fan want to stop the Emperor from killing civil officials, so that those who support the reforms will have no worries?"

"good!"

Hai Wenqing said, "If it weren't for this method that solidified the resolve of those officials who supported the reform, the new law might not have even been implemented and would have already failed."

Wang You hadn't expected there to be such a reason, and for a moment he couldn't comment on this approach.

If what Hai Wenqing said is true, then Fan Da Xiangong's purpose is very simple: to tell the civil officials who support him that even if they fail, they will not die.

Nobody likes someone who is indecisive.

If their lives are in danger, those who waver will choose to defect in order to save their own lives, even if they know they will be scorned.

But if there is no danger to their lives, and they only lose their official positions, it is not worth their defection.

After all, losing an official position can lead to reinstatement, but betraying one's allies in the face of disgrace may mean the end of one's career.

Moreover, they would have to bear the infamy and be despised by others, so the choice is obvious.

Wang You thought of one person: Su Shi.

During Wang Anshi's reforms, he was targeted by the reformists for criticizing the new policies and almost lost his life.

The reason he was ultimately spared was because of the rule against killing civil officials.

It wasn't that the emperor at the time wanted to uphold this rule, but rather that some of the reformists opposed it.

At the time, there were many who opposed the reforms, and some people proposed to execute Su Shi to deter those who opposed him.

But some people within their ranks said that if they broke the rule of not killing civil officials, what would happen to them and their descendants?

In the end, those who supported killing Su Shi compromised.

In that sense, Su Shi was able to save his life thanks to Fan Da Xiang Gong.

Because the Song Dynasty originally did not have a rule against killing civil officials.

There are records of Emperors Taizu, Taizong, and Zhenzong killing civil officials.

The late emperor was kind and benevolent, and after succeeding to the throne, he never killed any civil officials.

Chao Zhongyue's actions had such a terrible impact that the late emperor had this idea.

It was precisely because of Fan Da Xiang Gong's intervention that the late emperor never killed any civil officials until his death.

After the late emperor died, what was not originally an ancestral rule became one.

Because for later emperors, the previous emperor was also one of their ancestors.

In other words, the policy of not killing civil officials officially began with the late emperor.

In that sense, Master Fan also left behind a huge pitfall.

"Has the teacher ever thought about this?"

Wang You asked, "Once this rule is fully established, it will be very difficult for subsequent emperors to violate it, and civil officials will act and fight for power without restraint."

They thought that no matter how they fought, they couldn't possibly die.

Moreover, there will be more and more officials like Chao Zhongyue.

"Back then, in the midst of reform, I didn't think about so many other things," Hai Wenqing said, shaking his head.

"It's not a question of whether or not we want to think about it anymore; the rule has already been established."

Wang You said solemnly, "This is also the only chance to break this rule."

The death of the late emperor was related to the rebellion of Prince Chong. Once it is confirmed that those people participated in the rebellion, the officials will be unable to use ancestral rules to suppress the emperor.

Rebellion was a capital offense in any dynasty. If rebellion were no longer punishable by death, then there would only be more people rebelling in the future.

Hai Wenqing remained silent for a long time before saying, "I wanted to advise you, but I didn't expect to be advised by you instead."

"Because the students could tell that the teacher didn't want to persuade them," Wang You said with a smile.

"yes."

Hai Wenqing sighed and said, "What you said makes sense. As long as the officials are not implicated too widely, I will not object."

"Teacher is wise!" Wang You said with a smile.

"So you're saying you lied to me before?" Hai Wenqing said expressionlessly.

"Teacher, you've wronged your student. I'm telling the truth, but I feel that His Majesty does indeed mean it that way," Wang You said.