Chapter 489: School Opening Order! There are two minds in the world!
An empress dowager who once shouted "I wish I was born a man" passed away in this cold winter.
Her life's deeds were almost the ultimate that aristocratic women pursued. A hundred years after Empress Gao's death, her appearance allowed the world to have a deeper understanding of Empress Gao, not to mention that she was Empress Gao's direct descendant.
The person who had the greatest influence was naturally Liu Xun. His mother was almost his imperial teacher. Lu Ying had a strong personality and believed that human nature was evil. On the surface, he followed Confucianism and Huang-Lao, but in fact he liked the way of criminal law.
Influenced by her, Liu Xun also liked the way of criminal law. All the previous investigations originated from this. He also learned the art of balance as an emperor from her.
Lu Ying reminded him about the problem of Confucian scholars, and he naturally took it to heart.
But after careful consideration, he decided to promote Confucian classics for two reasons.
First, the Confucian scholars would not suddenly launch the Fengtian Jingnan Rebellion to kick him off the throne.
This generation of marquises is indeed loyal, but what about the next generation, and the next generation?
The grace that the Zhou Dynasty gave to the princes was enough, even far more than what the Han Dynasty could give. Apart from the Luo State, who was the truly loyal minister?
Liu Xun was not a king like Emperor Xiaohui. He would not trust one person wholeheartedly and entrust the country to one person.
Second, scholars of Confucian classics are truly talented. Fighting and killing is not the kingly way. Governing a country is the eternal theme. Look at the prime ministers who led the Han Dynasty. The best ones were all scholars. There were so many clansmen in the Han Dynasty. Why did he value Liu Xiang? It was because Liu Xiang had the talent of an official.
"Emperor, remember that treacherous methods will never be accepted in the halls of elegance. The eyes of the people in this world are bright. The ministers and the people in this world are not fools. If you use evil magic to deal with them, even if you win, it will only be temporary and will only provoke stronger resistance.
Tell the world openly and honestly that you want to do things that benefit the country and the people, and naturally people will follow you. "
Liu Xun thought to himself, "Mother, now I will use fair and square means."
Liu Xun's voice resounded in Changle Palace.
"Inform the scholars of the world.
The tyrannical Qin Dynasty and the tyrannical Emperor cut off the path of the sages and thus perished. I do not want to follow in their footsteps and must vigorously promote the bright path of the sages.
The books were covered in dust in the high cabinet and could not be known to the public. If Emperor Xiaowen had not gone to the Luo family to ask for books, if the Luo family had held on to the books and was unwilling to make them public, how could there be the current prosperity of culture?
Regardless of whether you come from Confucianism or other schools of thought, I allow you to open academies at will.
Teach more disciples so that there will be more talented people in the world. My only request is the same as Luo's request for passing on the book, that is, to teach people with moral integrity.
Do not let books become weapons of chaos for evil people.
I have built thousands of houses in the royal gardens for the scholars who come here to study.
When scholars graduate from the Imperial College, I will select the best among them and confer official titles on them to express my respect for the teachings of the sages.
Just do what I want you to do, and I will give you everything I have."
Liu Xun read the last sentence of the imperial edict and asked Huo Guang, "Zi Meng, what do you think of my imperial edict?
You are the son of a noble family, and a descendant of a meritorious official who helped to save the country. Are you dissatisfied with my preferential treatment of scholars?"
Huo Guang whispered: "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and judgment, so he will not be wrong.
The scholars of Confucian classics are selected from all over the world, they are talented people chosen from tens of millions of people. They have accepted the teachings of the saints and have the ability to bring peace to the world and enrich the country. However, the princes and nobles are of mixed quality, and there are countless good-for-nothings.
In the past, there were heroes who helped the country through the Jingnan Rebellion, but if you count them carefully, how many of them are talented?
Marquis Changping is my relative, but I have to say that he does not have the talent to be a prime minister.
If you employ virtuous people to govern your country, the world will prosper. If you employ mediocre people to govern your country, the world will decline. You are now employing virtuous people, so who can blame you?"
Liu Xun's expressionless face finally burst into laughter. He patted Huo Guang's shoulder and said with a smile: "Zi Meng, you are right. The founding heroes of my Han Dynasty were a bunch of butchers. Can't I use a group of poor scholars to create a prosperous era?
These ministers and nobles don't necessarily have to be from noble and famous families. Wouldn't it be great if a commoner could rise up through my selection and become a legend like Gongsun Hong and Changping Liehou?
This is what my mother told me about the power of the emperor.
Zimeng, you come from a noble family, but you can think of the scholars of humble origins. This is extremely rare. It is obvious that you are my confidant. I have trusted you well."
Huo Guang still kept his head down, thinking to himself, "The books are there, and no one says that marquises cannot study.
The marquises can recommend people, have the financial resources to study full-time, and can also arrange marriages. The advantages are so great that they still cannot compete with people of humble origins.
It's just like what my cousin said, it's so corrupt, damn it."
…
Imperial Observatory.
Luo Qing received Liu Xun's order at the first time. He read it through first, then put it down. After just a few breaths, he picked it up again and read it again.
“What a generous move!”
Luo Qing couldn't help but sigh, this was the power that the emperor possessed. He could mobilize all the resources in the empire, and a single decree could affect tens of millions of ordinary people.
"What impact will such a violent reform of the dynasty have?"
Luo Qing couldn't help but stroke the imperial edict in his hand, trying to deduce the future of this edict. All he could foresee was that more people in the world would read books.
Because previous private schools, such as Confucian ones, had no official endorsement and were purely for learning and communication.
But now with official endorsement, scholars can openly say which academy they came from. To a certain extent, this is an officially recognized society.
The more disciples you have, the greater your power will be. This is a very simple truth. Even if it is just to increase their power, great scholars and sages will recruit disciples on a large scale.
Luo Qing was also very clear that this was still Liu Xun's means of weakening the military nobles. He did not deliberately suppress the military nobles, but chose to raise the status of other forces.
For example, the proportion of clan members entering officialdom was increased, and the status of Empress Xu's family was also greatly elevated, allowing them to control the imperial guards and hold high positions and titles.
However, there were many talented people among the military nobles, and it was not enough to rely solely on these people. The scholars of Confucian classics were the group of people he found who had both capabilities and posed no threat to the imperial power.
This imperial edict was spread from Chang'an to all the counties and kingdoms in the four directions. It first spread in Guanzhong, which excited the people.
Guanzhong is where the imperial capital is located and has always been the area that the emperor has cared most about. Now that the emperor has bestowed this grace, needless to say, the counties in Guanzhong will be the first to benefit.
Especially since the Imperial College was going to recruit students on a large scale and it also received various subsidies from the imperial court, Guanzhong was close by, but people from Guandong and even the most remote counties and kingdoms probably had already entered the Imperial College before the news even reached them.
When people in Guanzhong were shouting for the emperor's wisdom, this edict crossed the river and entered the land of Shanxi, passed Wugu Pass and entered Nanyang, crossed the ancient road of Qiaohan and reached the most prosperous city in the East.
Luoyang!
A large number of scholars from Guandong gather here. This is the most convenient place for information to flow in the entire Guandong, and there are countless passages from here to various counties and kingdoms.
The brilliance of culture and art in Guandong has never been comparable to that in Guanzhong. Almost all of the most famous scholars and sages in the world are in Guandong.
Those who had gained the reputation of being great scholars and noble men in Guanzhong and even in Guanxi would be very cautious and would not speak easily once they arrived in Guandong, especially after entering the Luo Academy.
After reading the imperial edict, a great scholar said excitedly: "His Majesty the Emperor wants to build a great imperial academy, and also allows us to open private schools and recruit disciples at will. This means that the golden age of Confucian classics is coming!"
Someone immediately poured cold water on him, saying, "The Imperial College is in Guanzhong, and we are in Guandong. It is very inconvenient. Isn't this suppressing our Guandong school?"
The great scholar immediately retorted: “Is it inconvenient?
How inconvenient is it?
But is a distance of just a thousand miles enough to make you hesitate?
Have you forgotten the story of the ancient sage Confucius who traveled around the world?
Moreover, the prosperity of the Imperial Academy is ultimately a good thing, and we don’t necessarily have to go to the Imperial Academy. His Majesty the Emperor allows us to open private schools.
Those who graduate from private schools can also become officials as long as they are recommended.
Besides, you said that it is inconvenient for the Imperial College to be in Guanzhong, but the Luo Family Academy is in Guandong. Isn't this good news for students like me in Guandong?"
The great scholar's last sentence made everyone's eyes light up.
yes!
Although the Imperial College was in Guanzhong, the Luo Family Academy was in Guandong. No one could remember exactly how many books the Luo Family had.
The Luo family has very strict requirements on the character of their disciples, so the number of their disciples must be small.
But it doesn’t mean that Luo’s requirements for those who attend the lectures are so high!
As long as we go to Luo's Academy to listen to the lectures, then when we recommend someone in the future, we can say that I have attended classes at Luo's Academy for several years.
The speaker at that time was the noble scholar Luo.
Isn’t this the strongest introduction?
If Liu Xun knew what these people were thinking, probably the only thing he could do was smile bitterly.
The more they thought about it, the better it seemed to them. They all bowed in the direction of Chang'an City and said, "Your Majesty, lifting the ban on schooling is truly a great deed!"
————
The "Yuanfeng School Opening Order" signed by Liu Xun was a great decree that was no less important than the abolition of the "Law on Carrying Books". The issuance of this decree enabled the Han Empire to gain a large number of mature scholars and bureaucrats.
The Han Empire gradually began to transform from a military conquest empire into a normal centralized empire. The unified ideas that had been born in the empire over the past hundred years were implemented at the grassroots level under the promotion of these scholar-bureaucrats.
The ideological soil of the oldest feudal system was completely destroyed, and it was transformed into a feudal system with centralized power. ——"Global History: Qin and Han Volume 6"
I would like to thank the leader Yin Shiyuren for the reward, and thank my brothers for the reward. I will write more chapters after my marriage and more chapters after the leader's appointment. I will write when I have free time.
(End of this chapter)
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