Chapter 375 The Way of the First Kings!
Jia Yi was looking at the scholar, and the scholar was also looking at Jia Yi, bowing slightly and saying, "This humble servant greets the Prime Minister."
Liu Che introduced him with great interest: "Prime Minister, this is a great scholar from Guandong, his surname is Dong, and his research is Luogong Chunqiu. I want to talk to him.
Prime Minister, is there something important that you want to see me about?"
The Spring and Autumn Annals has a very broad scope. As the only classic written by two Confucian saints, there are several major schools of thought on the Spring and Autumn Annals. However, it is normal for Spring and Autumn Confucians to meet the emperor. After all, Emperor Xiaowen respected Confucianism and focused on the Spring and Autumn Annals.
Shaking off these thoughts, Jia Yi began to report his findings, “Your Majesty, a smaller-scale battle took place in the northern border earlier.
After confirmation by me, the number of Huns moving southward has gradually increased in recent years. After consulting the data, I concluded that the climate on the grassland has gradually deteriorated, and the water and grass are not as abundant as in previous years, so the Hu people moved southward in order to survive.
This means that the Hu people are facing a survival crisis, which is very difficult to deal with. The court should pay more attention to it. My suggestion is to increase intelligence on the grassland so as to fully understand the movements of the Xiongnu. "
Upon hearing this, Liu Che sat up straight. This was not just a small battle. Once the facts were confirmed, it might be a full-scale war between the two empires.
The Central Plains regime has always been extremely cautious about the northern barbarians. Think about it, the various countries built a continuous Great Wall in the north, but did not take any measures against the barbarians in the south. This is the difference.
"What do you think, Mr. Dong?"
When Liu Che saw that Dong Zhongshu seemed to be thinking deeply after hearing about the Huns' invasion, he asked immediately, which could be considered as an investigation.
"Your Majesty, I think we should take the initiative to attack and destroy the Xiongnu, so as to carry forward the teachings of our ancestors!"
Emperor Wu of Han was immediately interested when he heard this, and asked in surprise, "Oh? Promote the Way of the Ancient Kings? What is the Way of the Ancient Kings?"
Dong Zhongshu crossed his hands and raised them above his head, then bowed his head slightly and said solemnly: "The so-called ancient king is only one Su Wang. Su Wang is the heaven, the Tao, and all things in the world. All yin and yang, life and death, disaster and happiness are all in Su Wang Tao.
Weren’t Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang sage kings with great merits?
However, the duration of the Xia and Shang dynasties was far from comparable to that of the Zhou dynasty.
I have searched through ancient books to find the reason.
Finally, we can only draw one conclusion, that is, King Su was born into the world and reincarnated in the Zhou Dynasty, so the Zhou Dynasty had the destiny of a thousand years.
The Han Dynasty did not have a reincarnated celestial being like the Su Wang, so promoting the ways of the previous kings could also prolong the country's prosperity. This is the principle of governing a country."
Jia Yi couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Dong, the King of Su is indeed a sage king like a god, but times change, and only the old and the new can be changed. This is what the King of Su said. Can we use the policies of the past to govern the world today?"
Jia Yi was a prime minister with talent and was adept at governing a country, but he was not considered a great scholar among Mencius because his theoretical level was questionable.
Dong Zhongshu was a master of theory. He not only had a complete set of theories, but he was also able to adapt them to the situation at the time. He could put forward whatever the rulers needed.
In real history, he was actually one of the destroyers of Confucianism, and the practice of "Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside" was gradually completed under the guidance of his thoughts.
From then on, the Legalists successfully went public through a backdoor listing, replacing the Huang-Lao Taoism and becoming the thought that dominated China for two thousand years. They also made Confucianism take the blame. But it cannot be said that it was a blame, after all, Confucius had been worshipped for so many years. It can only be said that everything has retribution.
It’s just that under the Confucian robe in the previous life was the skeleton of Shang Yang, the flesh and blood of Han Fei, and the fur of Confucius.
This situation is probably similar to what the devil said to the Buddha in the Buddhist scriptures: "When your Dharma ends, I will have my disciples sneak into your Buddhist community, wear your robes, destroy your Dharma, misinterpret your scriptures, and break your precepts."
Confucius was unwilling to yield for the sake of his ideals throughout his life, but his disciples ended up bowing and scraping for fame and fortune. If he had seen this evil creature, Dong Zhongshu, he would probably have beaten him to death on the spot.
However, with the emergence of the Luo family in this life, Dong Zhongshu's thoughts naturally underwent tremendous changes.
Dong Zhongshu laughed and said, "Prime Minister, the ancient dynasties used feudalism, while the current dynasties use counties and kingdoms; the ancient dynasties used bronze, while the current dynasties use iron. This is what you mean by change.
But the ancient dynasties had the Son of Heaven and the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, and the current dynasties also have the Emperor and the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. It is still people who rule everything in this world, and it has always been people.
The way of the ancient kings is to promote the way of man, so the way of the ancient kings does not change.
King Su served as regent for the Zhou Dynasty for twelve years. He established fiefdoms, established clan laws, quelled rebellions, punished barbarians, and brought order to the world. These achievements surpassed those of the ancients.
However, the immortality of the Su Wang does not lie in his deeds, but in his words. The Prime Minister was born into a Confucian family, so he must have read all the classics that are circulated abroad. How do you feel about this?"
Upon hearing this, Jia Yi said solemnly: "Nature is so high that the higher you look up, the harder you dig, and the deeper it becomes. It is unfathomable."
Jia Yi did not lie. After all, Ji Zhao was a time traveler. His thoughts would not be outdated even after two thousand years. The source of all things was definitely not just talk.
"Yes, is there anyone in this world who is so smart as to go a hundred miles away to get a copper coin even though he has a mountain of gold at home?"
Jia Yi stopped talking, and Liu Che smiled and said, "Please tell me about the way of the ancient kings. Why is conquering the Xiongnu promoting the way of the ancient kings?"
Dong Zhongshu said: "The teachings of the ancient kings are broad and profound, but after careful study, I think the core is just two points, namely, one world and one king.
The way of the world is the consensus of all Confucian schools. Changing the calendar, changing clothing, and regulating the official system are all the ways of the world. However, I think this is not enough.
There is also the Way of the King. King Su conquered the world and destroyed almost all the barbarian countries that could compete with the Zhou Dynasty. This ensured a hundred years of peace, and the countries enfeoffed by the Zhou Dynasty were able to grow and develop rapidly.
What does this mean?
The so-called "No Second King" means that there cannot be another equally powerful country around the Xia Dynasty, just like the Huns to the Han Dynasty. Since ancient times, is it possible for the master to remain safe while the neighbor holds a knife?
Only by defeating the Xiongnu can the world prosper. "
Dong Zhongshu paused for a moment. He saw that Liu Che wanted to expand his territory, so he expanded on Bu Er Wang's theory at the right time. However, there was nothing wrong with this theory. It was indeed a theory he found from the Spring and Autumn Annals.
"color!"
Liu Che could not help but clap his hands in excitement. He needed a theory that could convince the world to endorse his political behavior. Dong Zhongshu's remarks were very much to his taste, so he laughed loudly and said, "Dong's remarks really enlightened me. The fog in my heart has been cleared."
Jia Yi looked at Dong Zhongshu in some surprise. He didn't expect that this Confucian scholar, whom he had never heard of, would have such insights. There were truly many talented people among the Confucian scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period.
However, Jia Yi didn't care too much about it. After all, Mengru was different. There would always be a place for them in this world. After all, the status of the second sage was there and it was impossible to jump over it.
Liu Che turned to Jia Yi and asked, "Prime Minister, you are also a world-renowned scholar. What do you think of what Dong Sheng said just now?"
Jia Yi shook his head and said, "What Dong Sheng said makes sense. The Xiongnu invasion is increasing. The world cannot remain the same for decades. Without natural disasters, we will have to go to war sooner or later. There is no two suns in the sky, and no two masters on earth. The Xiongnu Chanyu must submit to you, just like the tribe leaders of the Southwestern Yi. This is beyond doubt."
Liu Che was not at all surprised by Jia Yi's rather overbearing remarks, or rather no one would be surprised, because this was the impression people had of Confucian scholars: a group of well-mannered but extremely overbearing madmen.
Many people will ignore the internal logic because of some superficial appearances. For example, in real history, many people think that Xiang Yu likes the feudal system because of his temporary enfeoffment, and even think that Xiang Yu wants to return to the Spring and Autumn Period.
In fact, if you think about it a little and look at the way Xiang Yu divided the fiefdoms, you will understand that Xiang Yu actually wanted to let the princes fight each other, weaken their strength, and then pacify the world. It's just that he did not have the ability of Liu Bang and failed.
If Liu Bang had just established the Han Dynasty and died after enfeoffing kings of different surnames, perhaps people would have thought that Liu Bang wanted to restore the feudal system.
Since the Qin State, which practiced magic, was the most aggressive and eventually gained control of the world, the legalists became synonymous with pioneering, while Confucianists were considered conservative, which is actually also a misunderstanding.
It can be seen from the classics of the Legalists' predecessors that the Legalists' primary priority is to maintain the status of the monarch, which requires a fairly stable society, and war is the most unstable method, so the Legalists fundamentally reject war.
This problem seemed to be solved until the emergence of the farming and warfare system, but it eventually backfired and the Qin Dynasty collapsed very quickly.
Confucianism also attempted to build a great unity and chose a way to distinguish between enemy and friendly civilizations, which made a great contribution to the formation of the nation.
"Mr. Dong, I invite you to be a doctor of the Thirteen Classics and teach at the Imperial College. Your theories should be known to the world."
Liu Che spoke loudly. Dong Zhongshu was excited, knowing that this was the beginning of his rise to fame. Jia Yi was startled, knowing that Liu Che wanted to build momentum for the war.
It seemed that the emperor had long wanted to go to war with the Huns. Jia Yi felt a little uneasy about the future war, but he did not stop it.
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In the Western world, the nation is the subject of the state, and civilization is the collection of the world. However, in the East, "Xia" is a collection of civilizations and a gathering of dynasties. It is a civilization with a strong centripetal force. It opposes the division between "Xia". Any intellectual of Xia civilization is committed to unifying all "Xia". If a monarch is unwilling to unify, he will be replaced. This is the logic of many wars in the Eastern world. ——"Global History: Ancient Asian Civilizations"
(End of this chapter)
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