The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 295 Ideological Arming
"Our ancestors created a splendid secular culture."

"Religious thought can only exist as a supplement. Even the ruling class disdains using religion to paralyze the people."

"Instead, they regard it as a threat and suppress it from time to time."

"If we hadn't taken the people's feelings into consideration, I'm afraid the Buddhist and Taoist families would have been destroyed long ago."

"So, Chinese people cannot feel the restriction and oppression from religion."

"Confucianism did have such signs, but it has stopped under His Majesty's successive attacks."

"The Ming Dynasty has made all preparations, and its ideological and cultural culture will surely usher in another glory."

Regarding Chen Jingke's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestors and grandson behaved differently.

Lao Zhu didn't know how serious he was. What kind of thing could he eat?

But what you said is quite impressive, so let’s give you a round of applause.

"But ancient Greece has been destroyed, leaving only a poem whose authenticity is unknown."

"It's like, there is a country that wants to learn from Chinese civilization, but it only learns Confucian culture."

"For example, the Roman Empire in the far west was the result of the intersection of multiple civilizations."

According to the laws of history, the first generation of monarchs conquers the world, and the second generation of monarchs rules the world.

"In addition to these four origin civilizations, there may have been other origin civilizations."

"The so-called origin civilization is a civilization that developed independently from scratch. This is the case with our Chinese civilization."

"But the inheritance has been cut off. Not even a single word has been left. We have no way of knowing whether they existed."

Rest and recuperation is a decision made based on the needs of the country and does not count as his life goal.

"This is not the case with secondary civilizations. They do not have the weight given by history."

Our ideal is to revive culture and lay the ideological foundation for a new era.

"Secondary civilization is a civilization that is extended by the influence of the original civilization."

"Some people claim to be their inheritors, but most of them are just clinging to them. In fact, they have not inherited much of the essence."

Zhu Biao was very excited and felt that he had found his life goal.

"As students, it is impossible for them to fully learn and accept all the essence of the origin civilization. It is already very difficult to learn part of it."

"They have little contact with Mohist, Legalist, Taoist, military and other cultures, and they don't even know that these schools exist."

"As far as I know, there are only four origin civilizations that can be traced now, namely China, Ancient Shendu, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece."

Chen Jingke rearranged his language and said:
"Civilization is different from culture, country, etc., it is more profound..."

"But apart from the complete inheritance of religion and caste system, I didn't learn much else."

It wasn't until they all expressed understanding that they continued:

"Except for the Chinese civilization, which has been passed down to this day, the other three civilizations have experienced great destruction and their inheritance has been cut off."

Culture will also usher in a great boom in the second generation of monarchs.

"Returning to the question of Your Highness' talent, we can say without humility, yes."

“And civilization is divided into origin civilization and secondary civilization.”

A prosperous culture is very much to his liking.

"Under such circumstances, how did Rome learn the true face of ancient Greek civilization and learn to inherit it?"

"The same is true for Rome. They claim to be the successors of ancient Greek civilization."

Hearing that China was the origin of civilization and the only one whose inheritance has not been cut off, Zhu Yuanzhang and the other three couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"The reasons for this are complex, but also simple."

But at this time, the ruins of ancient Babylon should not have been discovered yet, so Chen Jingke naturally couldn't tell him, otherwise there would be no way to explain it.

As the saying goes, things like others harm their own kind. So many origin civilizations have been cut off. Can China be spared?

"Except for China, the integration of politics and religion is the norm elsewhere."

"For example, the countries in Tianzhu now also claim to be the successors of the ancient Shendu civilization."

"The civilization of origin is thicker, more diverse, and more inclusive."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang and the others will most likely not ask further questions, it is better to say less about such inconsequential matters.

As for Zhu Xiongying, it's as if he's been given a shot of chicken blood, and he can't wait to start a big era right away.

After calming down, Zhu Biao noticed the problem in his words and asked:

Naturally, there are other origin civilizations, such as ancient Babylon.

"You have just been emphasizing that China is unique and has tamed religion. Isn't that the same for other countries and civilizations?"

"So, this matter is also doubtful."

But then I felt a pressure coming over me.

Chen Jingke paused for a while as usual, giving the three of them time to digest.

"Under such circumstances, no matter how thoroughly they study Confucianism, they will never be able to learn the essence of Chinese civilization."

"It is also impossible to have the richness, diversity and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization."

"Confucian culture is just a school for us."

"But to them, it's all they have."

"Similarly, for Chinese civilization, religion is like a drop of water in the ocean."

"For secondary civilizations, religion is the most important part of their culture, or even the whole thing."

Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two nodded clearly. The thought and culture of the original civilization was slowly formed over thousands of years.

It is impossible for secondary civilizations to learn all of them in a short time. They can only learn part of them.

What if the secondary civilization spent a lot of time learning comprehensively?

I'm sorry, they will be assimilated by Chinese civilization and become part of China.

Zhu Biao raised another question: "As you just said, they have learned Confucian culture, but Confucianism is secular thought."

"If they really use Confucianism to govern the country, how can they embark on the path of integrating politics and religion?"

Chen Jingke thought to himself, this is a good question:
"Because reality will force them to take the path of theocracy."

Seeing the confusion on the three people's faces, he further explained:

"You already have some understanding of the situation in the outside world, and the collision between forces is very cruel."

“Civilizations have always been in fierce confrontation with each other, countries with countries, tribes with tribes.”

"If you want to survive, you have to become stronger, and you have to eat the weak and strengthen yourself."

"But every country has its own culture and customs. How easy is it to integrate them?"

“Chinese civilization itself is extremely rich, inclusive, and capable of integrating the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought.”

"We assimilate hundreds of ethnic groups not by destroying each other's culture, but by absorbing it and integrating it into our own."

"This is something that secondary civilizations with weak cultures cannot do."

"If they try to do this, there's a greater chance it will be counterattacked and eventually self-destruct."

"So, they want to use Confucianism to govern the country and achieve national integration."

"We can only deify Confucianism, deify Confucius, and turn Confucianism into a religion."

“Then the extremity and spread of religion are used to forcibly complete ideological identification.”

"Those who do not believe in Confucianism are heretics and will be destroyed."

"The remaining people became Confucian believers after being brainwashed over and over again."

"This is why the secondary civilization must follow the line of integrating politics and religion."

"Islamic religions and Christian religions all do this, using religion to unify their thoughts and regard religion as the legal basis for governing the country."

"Every time you conquer a place, you completely destroy its culture, force it to believe in your own religion, and then complete the integration."

Their world only has two concepts: losing and winning.

The loser gets nothing and the winner takes all.

They cannot understand the idea of ​​win-win, have no feelings for their family, country and the world, and are unwilling and afraid to do so.

So when the West learned about Chinese civilization, it was incredible. How could such a civilization exist?
In an interview, a senior official of Lighthouse said directly that his family was not allowed to have access to the international version of a certain music channel because it was full of Chinese culture.

For them, the polar bear's military threat is at most a hurricane, and China's cultural threat is as terrifying as climate change.

After hearing the above words, the pride in the hearts of Zhu Yuanzhang and the three of them almost overflowed.

It turns out that our civilization is so excellent and unique.

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his thigh and said, "We now believe that your imperial plan will succeed."

"Our ancestors have left us such rich wealth. If we can't make good use of it, how can we have the face to meet our ancestors?" Zhu Xiongying clenched his fists excitedly and said in an passionate voice:

"The imperial plan will succeed, and the future belongs to China."

Zhu Biao was also very excited, and he was even more sure of the correctness of his pursuit.

It is to inherit and develop Chinese civilization and make it more profound and splendid.

At the same time, he finally accepted the policy of suppressing Confucianism.

His teacher Song Lian can be said to be the first Confucian at that time, and as a student he was naturally deeply affected.

Although I am not superstitious about Confucianism, I will inevitably have some inclinations in my heart.

Especially Chen Jingke actually wanted to revive Legalism, which he actually disagreed with.

Legalism has nothing to do with the rule of law. Their ideas are a complete system of morality and governance.

In short, establish a complete institutional framework to accommodate everyone.

Everyone lives strictly according to the tasks given by the institutional framework, and no changes are allowed.

If you are a farmer, you can only farm and are not allowed to do anything else.

You can't wear fancy clothes, you can't enjoy music, you can't do this or that.

There are strict rules on what time to go out to work every morning and what time to get off work in the evening.

After get off work, they had to cut a bundle of firewood and bring it back, and those who didn't bring it would be punished.

Even if the land is your own, you must work according to the country's regulations.

Too tired and want to take a rest today? Sorry, no.

The descendants of craftsmen can only be craftsmen, and there are regulations on what they can and cannot do.

What do you think of this institutional framework?
Caste System? Nine-grade Zhongzheng system?

Does anyone else think that Legalism is superior to Confucianism?
Some people may say, nonsense, how could the Legalists be so overbearing?

However, Legalism is just so overbearing.

Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty said: The Han family has its own system, which is based on the overlord's way.

The "hegemony" among them is realized through Legalism.

The craftsmanship system was invented by Guan Zhong, one of the founders of Legalism.

Prostitution also became a legitimate industry in his hands, just to facilitate tax collection.

Shang Yang's reforms in Qin included strictly stipulating what the people must do and what they are not allowed to do.

Why did everyone in the country feel so happy after Shang Yang's death?
It is because everyone from top to bottom, from the powerful to the common people, are all victims of his reforms.

Serve the country at the expense of all individual interests.

This is Legalism.

If Confucianism likes to fool the people, then Legalism is the founder of the policy of fooling the people.

The Han Dynasty learned from the lessons of the Qin Dynasty and adopted more moderate measures, that is, the system of foreign Confucianism and internal law.

Use gentle Confucianism to wrap up the harsh legal system, making it easier for everyone to accept.

This is the core of Confucianism and Dharma.

If I had to choose between Confucianism and Legalism, I believe most people would choose Confucianism.

This is also the fundamental reason why Confucianism finally defeated Legalism.

Zhu Biao has studied these things and naturally knows the truth.

Therefore, he was very dissatisfied with Chen Jingke's revival of Legalism.

And it’s still incomprehensible.

Because Chen Jingke advocated the abolition of craftsmanship, the abolition of the poll tax, the sharing of people into acres, and allowing people to move within a certain range.

It is completely contrary to Legalist thought.

Since you want to loosen the bonds of the people, why do you want to revive Legalism?
Is it just because you don’t like Confucianism that you want to bring Legalism into the ring?

Now he finally understands.

After one family becomes dominant, Confucianism will slowly become sanctified.

The sanctified Confucianism will make Chinese civilization narrow and lose its diversity and strong inclusiveness.

Legalist thought is not perfect, but it also has its own merits.

The most critical thing is to introduce a competition mechanism to prevent Confucianism from becoming dominant and maintain the diversity of Chinese civilization.

After thinking about all this, Zhu Biao looked at Chen Jingke with eyes full of admiration.

It turned out that without knowing it, he had done so much for Chinese civilization.

Even if he was misunderstood, he would never argue or explain, and he would not make any noise or take credit for his achievements.

A true gentleman.

Chen Jingke himself was so excited by what he said that it took him a while to recover.

Seeing that the three of them were immersed in excitement, they decided to pour some water on them to calm them down:
"Origin civilization does have various advantages, but it also has a huge disadvantage."

"The power of tradition is too strong. We like to stick to the old ways and are unwilling to accept new things and changes."

Zhu Xiongying blurted out: "So the reform of the young Qin State was preserved, while the reforms of other countries with a longer history always failed."

"Although secondary civilizations are shallower, they are less constrained by traditional forces and are more receptive to new ideas."

"Once the situation changes in the future, secondary civilizations are likely to be latecomers and surpass us."

"If we don't want to become the Six Kingdoms that were wiped out, we must learn from Qin and actively embrace new ideas."

Chen Jingke nodded and said: "Yes, war can best stimulate technological progress."

"The competition in the outside world is very fierce. If you lose, your country will be destroyed."

"In order to survive and defeat their opponents, they will rack their brains to improve warfare technology."

"Competition in the Central Plains is relatively relaxed. If you lose, you will surrender at most, and the cultural system will be preserved."

"If you seize the right opportunity, you can revive it again."

"In this case, our crisis awareness is weaker than that of people outside."

"The lack of a sense of crisis, coupled with the overpowering of traditional forces, has led to us not paying much attention to the development of technology."

"One will ebb and flow, and one day the productivity of the outside world will surpass ours and then invade us."

"At that time, losing will not be as simple as temporary surrender, but the real subjugation of the country and the annihilation of the species."

The expressions of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao became much heavier.

Zhu Xiongying said without fear: "Then let's collide and see who is the final winner."

A smile appeared in Chen Jingke's eyes. When the relatively conservative Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao felt threatened, they would seek changes.

Not to mention Zhu Xiongying, this kid is like a chicken blood now.

Don't worry about him stopping, but worry about him being too aggressive.

"Also, after a long period of development, secondary civilizations may also have the same characteristics as the original civilization."

"Rome was born from the intersection of multiple civilizations, and they absorbed the advantages of these civilizations."

"After thousands of years of development, a splendid civilization has been created."

“They are the civilization that has the best chance of being thick, diverse and inclusive at the same time.”

"But unfortunately, at the critical moment they chose to convert to Christianity, and the entire West fell into religious rule."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang and the other two people not only did not feel pity, but instead felt a little gloating.

Hey, it's good to convert to religion, so that China will still be unique.

Chen Jingke didn't know their little thoughts, otherwise he would be speechless.

After introducing the general situation of religion, he finally brought the topic back to the beginning:
"The current structure of the Western world is that Islam occupies the western regions and Christianity rules the countries in the far west."

"The two religions have been locked in a centuries-long war for their own interests and beliefs."

“In this protracted tug-of-war, both sides have been looking for ways to arm themselves.”

"This is true from weapons and equipment to ideas."

"After hundreds of years of arming each other, the ideas of the two religions are now very extreme and very demagogue."

"If we contact them rashly without preparation, I am afraid it will have a huge negative impact."

"So, before joining this world war, we must first arm ourselves mentally."

(End of this chapter)