Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

On March 12th, there was a feast.

Zhu Youjian listened to Yuan Keli's explanation of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and quickly understood his intention——

This is based on what happened to Emperor Zhou after he broke the etiquette system to remind himself to observe etiquette.

If he had made it clear that he would abide by the etiquette system, then the reconstruction of etiquette and music presided over by Liu Zongzhou might include a lot of restrictions on the monarch. A system similar to a constitutional monarchy is very likely to come.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian did not want to express his position on this. Thinking of a passage in "The Analects of Confucius", he said:
"Confucius said: If the world is righteous, rituals, music, and conquests will come from the emperor. If there is no righteousness in the world, rituals, music, and conquests will come from the princes."

"Does Yuan Qing think that the world today is ethical or unethical?"

"Who should make the decision about making rituals and music?"

Of course, Yuan Keli could not say that the world is immoral, he could only say:

"Now that there is a way in the world, rituals, music and conquests come from the Son of Heaven."

"It is up to His Majesty to decide whether to make rituals or music."

Easily taking the lead in remaking ritual music, Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction and said:

"In this case, I will abide by the etiquette and music I have established."

"The reason why King Weilie of Zhou destroyed the ritual system was because he lost the power to conquer rituals and music."

"After the Duke of Zhou conquered the east, he made rituals and music. Therefore, the basis of rituals and music is to master the conquest."

"As the Minister of War, Yuan Qing must not be careful about this!"

Not only did these words not fall into Yuan Keli's trap, but they also made it clear that the emperor had the power to control rituals and music. He also reminded Yuan Keli to work hard in his position as Minister of War.

This left Yuan Keli helpless and could only bow his head and obey his orders:

The emperor is too wise, which makes his minister helpless!

Even using the words in "Zizhi Tongjian" could not convince the emperor.

After all, how can Sima Guang's remarks compare to those of Confucius?

Confucius said, "The conquest of rituals and music came from the emperor", which allowed the emperor to take the lead.

In fact, he was glad that the emperor did not take advantage of the situation to fully grasp the power of conquest and completely take away the power of the Ministry of War from him.

But I don't know that it's not that Zhu Youjian doesn't want to master the conquest, but that he currently doesn't have the ability and can't spare his time.

Since the changes in history are likely to happen more than a year later, it is impossible for him to be busy seizing power with the Ministry of War at this time.

Only when the security of the capital was completely assured and the direction of military reform was determined, could he dare to change the military system and fully control the military power.

So he put aside the conquest aspect for the time being, thinking about the enfeoffment system he planned to implement, and said to the officials attending the banquet:

"The division of the three families into the Jin Dynasty was nothing that could be done to King Weilie of Zhou Dynasty."

"The three families have actually been divided into the Jin Dynasty. King Wei Lie can only admit it."

"If Ming Dynasty wants to restart enfeoffment, how should we avoid this kind of thing?"

"As the Son of Heaven, how can I control the princes?"

This question is a retreat question now. The ministers had nothing they dared not say and expressed their opinions one after another. Yuan Keli said:
"Your Majesty said that the basis of ritual and music is conquest. I believe that the key to controlling the princes lies in the strength of the army."

"As long as the Ming Dynasty's army remains strong, it will naturally be able to punish the princes who violate etiquette and music."

"With such power, he should be able to control the princes."

Liu Zongzhou then said:
"I believe that the key to controlling the princes lies in ritual and music."

"The emperor abides by rituals and music, and the princes will naturally abide by them."

"If any princes disobey orders, the emperor can call on all princes in the world to attack him."

"This will naturally control the princes."

Wen Tiren, the Minister of Rites, said after him:

"I think the Ming rites and music should be different from the Zhou rites."

"The emperor of Zhou Li governs the three princes, and the three princes lead the princes. The princes control the ministers and officials, and the ministers and officials govern the scholars and common people."

"So the emperor canonizes ministers and officials as princes, in order to destroy the etiquette system."

"But the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has been appointed by the Emperor and Heaven to be the king of the world. All people in the world are ministers of the Emperor."

"The ministers of the princes are also the ministers of the emperor. If the princes rebel, the emperor can canonize the ministers of the princes as new princes."

"In this way, I can control the princes and prevent them from rebelling."

The meaning of this passage is that the division of the three families into Jin Dynasty is not correct according to Zhou etiquette. But according to the Great Ming Li, it should become the norm.

It can be said that Wen Tiren was so bold that he openly violated Zhou etiquette.

Such rebellious words aroused a lot of discussion among the ministers. Although some people think what he said makes sense, more people think it is rebellious.

After all, how could Zhou Li's statement be violated at will?

Especially Liu Zongzhou, who was responsible for recreating the ritual music, frowned in deep thought, not knowing what he was thinking.

Regardless of what his ministers thought, Zhu Youjian was extremely happy after hearing Wen Tiren's words.

Because Wen Tiren's words pointed out a big issue in the feudal system: that is, whether the ministers of the princes are ministers of the emperor.

This reminded him of a sentence, and he turned to Bachelor Xu Guangqi and asked:

"I heard that Taixi has a saying:"

"The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."

"Have you heard of Xu Qing?"

Xu Guangqi frowned and thought, and said:
"I have never heard this before, but judging from the relationship between the Thai and Western monarchs and their vassals, it seems reasonable."

"In the Western countries, the monarch ennobles the princes, and the princes ennoble the vassals. The vassals of these princes are only loyal to the princes, not to the monarch."

"The so-called 'vassal of my vassal is not my vassal'."

Governor Zhu You was impressed and asked Xu Guangqi to tell the ministers about the affairs of European kings and lords in detail. It opened the eyes of the ministers who participated in the sutra banquet.

I heard that Europe, which was not as big as the Central Plains, was divided into many countries. Countries also have lords, and lords have vassals.

This caused many people to talk about it. Yuan Keli said:

"This is the Warring States period when all countries compete for hegemony!"

"After the fall of Constantinople, the Roman Empire had completely disappeared, and various countries were vying for the position of hegemony."

Liu Zongzhou frowned and said:
"After the division of the Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire seemed unable to claim the title of Emperor Zhou."

"The Emperor of Zhou in Taixi is more like the so-called Pope who occupies Rome——"

"The kings of the Thai and Western countries will be crowned by the Pope."

Under the hustle and bustle, I became interested in the history of Taixi.

Even some people's views on the violent Qin have changed, and they feel that if Qin had not destroyed the six kingdoms, the Warring States period of various countries competing for hegemony would probably have continued.

Zhu Youjian listened to their opinions and was inspired. After the voices of the ministers fell, they said: "The enfeoffment system of the Zhou Dynasty seems to be somewhat similar to the current enfeoffment in the West."

"Even during the Han Dynasty, people at that time were also affected by this."

"Zhao Xiangguan Gao, Zhao Wu and others felt that the monarch was humiliated because of Han Gao's rude treatment of King Zhao, so they plotted to kill Hen Gao."

"This is because Guan Gao and others are loyal to the princes, not to the emperor."

"Can something like this still happen now?"

"How do you think this kind of thing can be prevented?"

The words were so clear that the ministers still didn't understand. When Yuan Keli and Liu Zongzhou were silent, Wen Tiren said without hesitation:
"I should be a minister of the princes and a minister of the emperor."

"The ministers of the princes should first be loyal to the emperor, and then the princes."

This solves the problem of who to be loyal to first under a dual monarchy.

Some of the ministers had different opinions on this, but in front of the emperor, no one dared to say anything nonsense——

Do they want to say that the vassals of the princes should first be loyal to the princes, not to the emperor?

In that case, he might be accused of being a traitor and being disloyal to the emperor.

Therefore, Wen Tiren's statement has become a consensus.

If the Ming Dynasty implements the enfeoffment system in the future, it will become one of the basic principles between the monarch and his ministers.

Now Zhu Youjian has not yet implemented enfeoffment, so he took action on the vassal state and said:
"Then the ministers of the vassal state should be loyal to me?"

"Is it in line with etiquette for me to confer the ministers of the vassal state?"

Wen Tiren naturally believed that this approach was consistent, and Xu Guangqi also agreed. Because after this matter was confirmed, his proposal to monitor North Korea had a theoretical foundation:
In the future, the ministers sent by the Ming Dynasty to the DPRK could represent the emperor and confer titles on the Korean monarchs and ministers.

Yuan Keli frowned, feeling that this matter seemed reasonable, but it was not realistic.

If the Ming Dynasty insists on holding this attitude, then the surrounding vassal states are likely to cause trouble.

So he tried to dissuade him gently:
"If you are a minister of the inner vassal, your Majesty can naturally canonize him."

"But the ministers of foreign vassals think of themselves as foreign ministers."

"I believe that we should be cautious and not interfere arbitrarily with foreign vassals."

Liu Zongzhou had been thinking about remaking ritual music, and at this time he said:
"For ministers of foreign vassals, the etiquette system was not clear before."

"I think that etiquette should be implemented and I will inform the princes and ministers of foreign vassals."

Zhu Youjian was quite satisfied with this statement and approved:
"Mr. Liu said it well!"

"If the etiquette system is not clear, it should be made."

"How to determine the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty and foreign vassals, sir, I still need to worry about it."

"I have sent an envoy to North Korea to preside over the canonization of Lord Gwanghae."

"I hope Mr. Liu will participate in this matter and formulate a ritual system that satisfies both Ming and North Korea."

"Mr. Liu, together with Yuan Qing and Wen Qing, assisted Xu Xueshi in handling Korean affairs."

The supervision of North Korea was expanded to be presided over by four ministers. I hope the four of them can formulate appropriate etiquette and regulate the relationship between Ming Dynasty and foreign vassals.

When Liu Zongzhou heard this appointment, he felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavy again. If the etiquette system he formulated is not easy to use, the relationship between Ming Dynasty and foreign vassals will be messed up. Then there must be a lot of criticism among the world.

Yuan Keli smiled bitterly, knowing that the emperor had taken control of him. Because he has different views on the matter of Guihai in North Korea. The relationship with the current North Korean monarchs and ministers is very unharmonious.

Moreover, North Korea's current position is important and is one of the keys to blocking Jianlu. This requires him to make a clear attitude and restrain North Korea's monarchs and ministers.

In this way, he naturally could not insist that the emperor should not interfere with foreign vassals at will, but should formulate appropriate etiquette systems according to the needs of the Ming Dynasty.

Knowing that the emperor wanted to enthrone Gwanghae Jun, he already realized that the separation of the three families into Jin Dynasty, which he had warned the emperor about before, might happen again in Korea.

This makes him, who specializes in explaining this matter, how not to feel depressed.

After the feast, Yuan Keli was still in a daze. It was not until Liu Zongzhou called him several times that he came back to his senses and smiled bitterly at Liu Zongzhou:

"Mr. Liu, it seems that His Majesty thinks much more than we do."

"The rituals and music of the Ming Dynasty cannot be completely based on the Zhou rites."

Liu Zongzhou also had this understanding and said:

"Indeed, Zhou Li is out of date."

"We all think that the promotion of the three families is a ruin of etiquette, but in His Majesty's opinion, he feels that this practice should be designated as a Da Ming Li:"

"The ministers of the princes should also be the ministers of the emperor, and they can be promoted to princes after being canonized by the emperor."

"All ministers in the world are ministers of the emperor, and they all have the possibility of becoming princes, or even dividing princes."

"The division of the three families into the Jin Dynasty is not a matter of etiquette and music."

Saying these words, Liu Zongzhou felt extremely uncomfortable. Because his name was Zong Zhou, he respected Zhou Li far more than anyone else.

Since he was ordered to remake ritual music, what he has been thinking about all the time is to refer to Zhou rites. The previously proposed National People’s Congress was also proposed in accordance with Zhou rites.

But today's discussion at the banquet made him realize that the Zhou rites were inappropriate. In today's era, it is no longer possible to implement Zhou rites.

If implemented forcefully, it will bring about a series of chaos. Even like Jianwen's restructuring, he died and the country was destroyed.

This made him feel uncomfortable and at the same time, he had a deeper understanding of etiquette. It is not an easy matter to realize more that the re-creation of rituals and music that one is responsible for is not an easy matter.

After returning, Liu Zongzhou was still thinking about this matter, and even for a while he didn't know how to recreate the ritual music.

It wasn't until he looked through the previous records of the sutra feast that he suddenly realized that the emperor had already made it clear how to recreate the rituals and music:
"A world of great harmony, a world of well-off society." 』

"Your Majesty has already explained clearly how the ritual music should be recreated! 』

Suddenly, his literary thoughts surged, and he wrote a memorial with a splash of ink and sent it to the emperor.

Zhu Youjian was extremely happy when he saw Liu Zongzhou's memorial, because in this article Liu Zongzhou clearly stated that the purpose of remaking rituals and music was to enter the era of great harmony. We should use the thought of Datong as a guide to recreate the rituals and music of the Ming Dynasty.

This means that Liu Zongzhou's idea of ​​​​recreating rituals and music has been completely clear. And it is consistent with yourself and current needs.

So he gave this memorial a name and decided it to be "Reproduction of Ritual and Music". After revising it according to his own wishes, he sent someone to give it to Liu Zongzhou.

After being approved by Liu Zongzhou, this memorial was sent to Di Bao and other newspapers for official printing and distribution.

On the morning of the 13th, everyone saw Liu Zongzhou's "Reproduction of Rites and Music" on the front pages of various newspapers.

Moreover, we also saw the discussion of the Sutra Feast on the 12th, the sit-in on the 11th, and the emperor’s promise to establish a parliament.

This makes people who don't understand these things feel that things are changing and they are overwhelmed. But the scholars of Ming Dynasty cheered for this.

Because the emperor's attitude was obviously to give up power. Let them have more power when remaking rituals and music——

Otherwise, why would the establishment of a parliament become the first policy to remake rituals and music?

These scholars are looking forward to the arrival of a new era.

Some people saw more, that is, the discussion between the emperor and ministers on the enfeoffment system seemed to indicate that the current emperor intended to restart the enfeoffment system and ennoble the princes with fiefdoms.

Especially those who heard about the overseas titles were looking forward to the emperor's early advancement of this matter and the enfeoffment of their territories. (End of chapter)