The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 455 Life or death
Since he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was going to attack the Kong family and strike at the same time Neo-Confucianism, he was very likely to promote his own knowledge to replace Confucianism.

Then Chen Jingke can't pretend he knows nothing.

Moreover, although Zhu Yuanzhang was very smart and had unparalleled political wisdom, he was also subject to the limitations of the times.

Many issues are not fully understood.

As a time traveler, I certainly cannot turn a blind eye to this major historical turning point.

You have to get involved.

What's more, he has his own ideas.

So, he asked someone to tell Fuqing, then he closed the door and thought about the matter thoroughly, and did not fall asleep until late at night.

The next morning, after attending the morning court, he found Zhu Xiongying and said:

"The emperor is going to take action against the Kong family. Do you know about this?"

Zhu Xiongying was surprised and asked, "What? Are you sure?"

Chen Jingke told him about Jiang Li's situation and his own speculation.

And by the way, I gave him a brief introduction to the relationship between the Confucius family and Confucianism.

"In the beginning, the distinction between Confucianism and Confucius was very clear. Confucian disciples would give some respect to Confucius, but that was all."

"At this time, the Kong family is the Kong family, and the Confucians are the Confucians."

"Han Dynasty monarchs worshipped Confucius Temple as a means to win over Confucianists, and thus Confucianism and Confucius established a certain political connection."

“But these connections are still relatively loose.”

"The Confucian scholars at that time did not need the Kong family to seek political benefits for themselves. On the contrary, the Kong family needed Confucianism to maintain its power."

"This situation continued until the Tang Dynasty, when it changed."

"Li Tang respected Taoism because he recognized Laozi as his ancestor, and Taoism became the most prominent school of thought."

"Buddhism is the second most popular religion because of its huge influence among the people."

"Confucianism can only take third place, being suppressed and doing almost nothing."

"The Confucians at this time were eager to find a spokesperson in politics to speak for them."

"The change occurred during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang."

"This person is ambitious and likes to give various honorific titles to the ancient sages to elevate himself."

"He first gave Laozi a title of honor and designated Laozi's birthday as a legal holiday."

"Later, the birthdays of Sakyamuni, Confucius and other sages were also designated as rest days."

"That was not enough, he gave Confucius various honorific titles and conferred the title of Duke Wenxuan on Confucius' descendants."

"The spokesperson that Confucianism has long dreamed of has finally appeared."

"Although the Kong family does not hold actual power, they have the title of Duke Wenxuan, which already has considerable influence."

"Many Confucianists began to flatter and promote the Kong family, hoping to bring them into the court, and the political ties between the two sides became closer."

"During the Song Dynasty, this connection reached its peak, Confucius' honorific title was repeatedly added, and the Kong family was further canonized as Yanshenggong."

"At this time, the Kong family and Confucianism have become a relationship where both prosper and disgrace together."

"In order to win over Confucian scholars, the Zhao and Song dynasties bestowed various honors on the Kong family, ultimately sanctifying it."

"After being sanctified, the Kong family almost became what religion calls the descendants of saints, and they cannot be offended."

"As the Kong family was sanctified, Confucianism gradually took on a religious tone."

"Questioning Confucianism is a great betrayal..."

"Of course, Confucianism is still a secular school of thought, but it has some religious elements."

"But the reality now is that Confucianism and Confucius are already tied together."

"The Confucian scholars will not sit idly by and watch the Kong family be abolished. Once the emperor takes action, he will inevitably be opposed by the Confucian scholars collectively."

“By then, I’m afraid there will be a major upheaval in the country.”

After hearing this, Zhu Xiongying was not worried at all. Instead, he said excitedly:
"Okay, okay, the old man finally figured it out."

"The Kong family should have been dealt with long ago, and the Confucian family should also be rectified."

"Why are they afraid of chaos? With the army at their disposal, how can they cause any unrest?"

"Let's go, let's go find Grandpa Huang and ask him."

Chen Jingke was not surprised by his reaction.

Zhu Xiongying had long known what the Kong family had done, and he wished he could grind them to dust.

For an ambitious monarch, the most intolerable thing is the obstruction of change by Confucian conservatives.

What you are blocking is not the new policy, but my great achievement.

You all deserve to die.

But he is no longer the little boy he was back then, and he knows that many things cannot be done on his own terms.

So I just turned a blind eye.

Now that Lao Zhu took the lead, he was naturally very excited.

However, Chen Jingke stopped him and said, "Such a big thing, but the emperor didn't tell you. Do you know why?"

Zhu Xiongying immediately understood what he meant: "Grandpa Emperor doesn't want me to get involved in this mess."

"Cleaning up the Kong family and Confucianism will inevitably cause scholars to become disloyal, which is not conducive to the stable development of the court."

"When the Kong family is completely overthrown, Grandpa Huang will hand over the power to me and let me finish it."

"When the time comes, I only need to be a little gentle and win the support of scholars, thus consolidating my rule."

As he spoke, he was moved to tears: "Grandpa Emperor has done so much for me..."

Chen Jingke was naturally moved, but now was obviously not the time to express his feelings:
"So do you think your majesty's idea is feasible?"

Zhu Xiongying heard the hidden meaning in his words and asked, "Do you think this method is not feasible?"

Chen Jingke said firmly: "It's not that it's not feasible, but that it can't be done."

Zhu Xiongying asked in confusion: "Why?"

Chen Jingke explained: "After Your Majesty dealt with the Kong family and suppressed Confucianism, he chose to retreat behind the scenes under the condemnation of Confucianism."

"What do you think Confucian scholars would think?"

"They would think that even though the emperor suppressed Confucianism, he still had to rely on them to govern the country."

"Aren't you the Hongwu Emperor who is decisive in killing people? Didn't you still give up power and retire despite our protests?"

"When the time comes, they will surely come back and treat you who have just assumed power with a tougher attitude."

It's a very simple logic. They would think that Zhu Yuanzhang was forced to abdicate, so how dare you, a newly appointed monarch, confront us?
Even if they are afraid of the butcher's knife and dare not attack openly, it is inevitable that they will trip you up in secret.

The key point is that they dare not openly confront the imperial power, but they can collectively target the world of great harmony.

This is an academic matter. You can't not let us comment on the world of great harmony, right?
We will severely belittle, suppress and exclude you, and then we will see what you will do.

This is what Chen Jingke thought about last night.

This principle is actually not complicated. Zhu Xiongying understood it immediately and said:

"That makes sense, but it's not a good idea to keep fighting like this. The court really needs Confucian scholars to govern the country."

Chen Jingke said with a serious face: "This is a contest, and it will continue until one side is completely subdued."

"Don't overestimate Confucian integrity and unity. The Mongols have already set an example for us."

"The only thing the Mongols lacked was new ideas to replace Confucianism, so even though they suppressed Confucianism, they could only rely on Confucian scholars to govern the country." "The Ming Dynasty is different..."

At this point, he straightened his chest and said, "As long as I am in the Ming Dynasty, there will be a world of great harmony."

"After suppressing Confucianism, the Ming Dynasty can govern the country with the idea of ​​great harmony."

Zhu Xiongying looked him up and down, then laughed happily and said:
"Hahaha... you finally got tough."

"You told me at the beginning that you wanted to create an unprecedented prosperity together."

"I know you are capable enough, but I have always been worried. I have been hesitant to publish the Great Harmony World for so many years."

"Do you know how disappointed I am? Now it's all right. This is the spirit that should be possessed to create a prosperous era."

Chen Jingke felt a little ashamed.

Firstly, I feel a little ashamed of everyone's trust; secondly, I feel that I have taken advantage of the time travel and am not worthy of the reputation.

This kind of thinking is good, it keeps him awake at all times, and even if he drifts, he dare not drift too much.

But there is also a disadvantage, which is that I lack confidence at critical moments.

The reason why he dared to be so tough this time was that he was forced into a corner by Lao Zhu.

Old Zhu and Empress Ma were people who could naturally see the concerns in his heart, so they didn't discuss it with him at all.

Just force him to move forward.

They knew very well that Chen Jingke was not lacking in courage, otherwise he would not have dared to carry out such drastic reforms.

Now all we need to do is give him a gentle push from behind, and he will definitely make the right choice.

The truth is exactly what they thought.

When Chen Jingke figured out Zhu's plan, he chose to take responsibility.

After listening to Chen Jingke's analysis, Zhu Xiongying also felt that Zhu's plan had omissions, or to be more precise, it was not decisive enough.

Since they had different opinions, they did not hesitate and went directly to the Qianqing Palace.

There were many ministers queuing up at the palace gate waiting to be summoned.

Seeing the two men, many ministers bowed.

The two of them nodded slightly in return and were about to enter the hall when Zhu Xiongying suddenly turned around and said to the ministers who were waiting:

"Don't wait here, go back and wait for the summons. If there is anything urgent, report to the cabinet."

The ministers immediately knew that he must have something to discuss with the retired emperor, so they did not dare to ask any more questions and left one after another.

Chen Jingke nodded secretly after watching this. This was Zhu Xiongying's status, which was equivalent to that of a monarch.

The reaction of the ministers is the best proof.

If it were any other prince (except Zhu Biao), would he dare to order the ministers waiting to be summoned to leave without the emperor's permission?
Unless he feels that his position as crown prince is too stable and wants to find some excitement.

Then the two of them entered the hall.

Old Zhu had also heard the noise outside and knew that the two of them must have something important to say.

And I have guessed that it is most likely related to the Kong family.

Chen Jingke controls the Jinyiwei, and Zhu Xiongying is the prince with real power. It would be disappointing if they were unaware of Jiang Li's big move.

But he was also a little confused. He clearly didn't want the prince to get involved, and it was obvious.

The two of them appeared together, could there be some other changes or ideas?
With such doubts in mind, he sent away the ministers in front of him, asked all the eunuchs to leave, and then said bluntly:
"Do you know about Jiang Li's affairs?"

Zhu Xiongying sat down next to him and said, "Are you going to touch the Kong family and the Confucian family?"

Old Zhu nodded and said, "Yes, do you have any different opinions?"

Zhu Xiongying said: "Yes, you are not decisive enough."

Everyone else thinks I killed too cruelly, but you two think I was too lenient?
Old Zhu asked with interest: "Oh? What do you think we should do?"

Zhu Xiongying waved his hand fiercely: "Completely overwhelm Confucianism, and then eradicate the Kong family, and clear all obstacles for the world of great harmony."

Old Zhu looked at Chen Jingke and suddenly smiled, "Finally you dare to stand up?"

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, old man."

Old Zhu shook his head, then said seriously: "Do you know the consequences of doing this?"

Zhu Xiongying said: "I know, but have you ever thought about what the consequences would be if you calmed down the anger of Confucianism at the cost of retreating behind the scenes?"

He told Zhu Yuanzhang all of Chen Jingke's previous analysis and his own understanding.

The more he listened, the more solemn Lao Zhu's expression became.

To put it bluntly, the truth is not complicated, but the limitations of the times made him ignore this point.

More precisely, he did not realize that ideological struggle is more brutal than military struggle.

Everyone has their own concerns in military struggles, and many times they will choose to stalemate or give in.

Many times, after fighting for a while, two families become one.

It is different with ideological struggle, it is all about me and nothing about others.

Appropriate compromise and appeasement are very effective in military affairs and are often used in politics.

But in terms of ideological struggle, it is a taboo and is absolutely not feasible.

“The ideological struggles of every dynasty have been like this.”

"Many theories were born during the Song Dynasty, but only Neo-Confucianism flourished in the end."

"Other doctrines either linger in the corner or are lost."

At the end, Zhu Xiongying said in a somewhat cold voice:
"In ideological struggles, one must never take chances. Giving in will be seen as weakness."

"Just keep moving forward until the only winner emerges."

Old Zhu listened thoughtfully, then nodded repeatedly, and finally laughed:

"Haha... Great, great, great, dear grandson, you have such understanding, which makes me happier than defeating the Confucianists."

"And Jing Ke, I'm also very happy that you can stand up this time."

"We will feel more at ease if we hand over the Ming Dynasty to you from now on."

Since the previous plan was imperfect, he did not hide it from the two of them anymore.

He told the two of them about the plan he and Empress Ma had discussed.

After hearing Empress Ma's proposal, they took the initiative to give the moral high ground to the Confucians, set them up with newspapers, and forced them to judge the Kong family.

Chen Jingke was simply overwhelmed with admiration.

What kind of wisdom is needed to come up with such a solution?
No wonder a capable person like Lao Zhu is under her control. Anyone else would be controlled by her.

And they are willing to be controlled.

Since Empress Ma had been involved before, there was naturally no reason to abandon her now.

What's more, such a big matter really requires her wisdom.

So the three of them went to Kunning Palace again and told her the whole story.

Empress Ma also suddenly realized and admitted that she lacked understanding of the cruelty of ideological struggle.

Then everyone sat together and began to modify and improve the plan.

The initial plan remains unchanged, and Confucianism is placed on the moral high ground. The main topic of discussion is how to continue to crack down on Confucianism.

Ma Niangniang was the first to propose a solution: "Suspend the imperial examination."

(End of this chapter)