Li Shimin was speechless, almost choked to death by those words.
He never imagined that his casual remark would become a weapon against him.
If there weren't so many civil and military officials present, he would have grabbed Li Jue by the ear and told him that those were just polite words!
"I did say..."
"but……"
Li Jue interrupted Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, there are no buts!"
"As long as His Majesty has said these words, he should know the importance of the people to the Tang Dynasty!"
"The reason why the Tang Dynasty is the Tang Dynasty, and the country is the country, is because it has the support of the people. If one day the people no longer support the Tang Dynasty, the country will fall, and a change of dynasty will be inevitable!"
"Therefore, emperors should dedicate themselves to serving the people and the world, rather than treating the world as their private property to be exploited at will, treating the people as slaves to be relentlessly squeezed, and treating the army as a tool to maintain their rule, guarding against it day and night..."
Li Jue's words left Li Er speechless, as were the other ministers present.
After his initial shock, Changsun Wuji quickly became secretly delighted.
That bastard is really good at talking!
However, if this grandson is good at talking, he should talk more, preferably making His Majesty angry, and then killing him in a fit of rage!
Li Shimin was indeed very angry, but he was far from killing anyone.
However, his gaze toward Li Jue was full of hostility, thinking that once the man left, he would give this brat a good lesson!
Just as Li Shimin was speechless, Ma Zhou, who had been watching the commotion, spoke up.
"Your Majesty, I believe the eldest grandson's words are reasonable!"
"Since the Zhou emperor established the country, all people under heaven have regarded the land under heaven as the king's land. All people on the shores of the land are the king's subjects and regard him as the standard."
"However, it is ultimately inappropriate to put the world under one person's control. After all, the world does not belong to one person, but to all people."
"While the eldest grandson's statement that emperors should serve the people is somewhat inappropriate, emperors should indeed not oppress the people, but should treat them kindly, ensuring their peaceful and prosperous lives, providing for the young and support for the elderly..."
"Since the Zhenguan era, Your Majesty has widely implemented benevolent policies, which is precisely out of love for the people of the world."
Li Shimin felt much better after hearing Ma Zhou's words; indeed, changing it to "caring for the people" sounded much better.
Upon seeing Ma Zhou speak, Liu Ji quickly followed suit.
"Your Majesty is ordained by Heaven, and it is only natural for you to rule over the people of the world."
"Although the emperor is subordinate to the people, he is blessed by the Mandate of Heaven and is the one who governs the people on behalf of Heaven. Therefore, he should be above the people!"
Li Shimin was even happier to hear this, and looked at Li Jue with a hint of provocation.
"Li Jue, what else do you have to say?"
Li Jue curled his lip in disdain upon hearing this.
"What destiny? It's nothing but a means to fool the people!"
Upon hearing Li Jue's words, Li Shimin could no longer hold back. He immediately rushed over, grabbed Li Jue, and kicked him several times in the buttocks.
"Bullshit!"
"I am ordained by Heaven, how dare you question me, you brat!"
"I ask you, if I did not have the Mandate of Heaven, why would this world belong to me?"
"If I did not have the Mandate of Heaven, why would I have captured Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong!"
"You little brat, you haven't even grown your hair yet, how dare you question fate? I'll beat you to death!"
Cheng Yaojin wanted to rush over and break up the fight, but seeing that His Majesty's blows were not severe, and considering that the topic concerned the Mandate of Heaven, he held back for the time being.
Ma Zhou was speechless for a moment, then glared at Liu Ji inwardly, cursing him as a sycophantic scoundrel.
In fact, anyone with discerning eyes knows what the Mandate of Heaven is all about. It's nothing more than a fabrication by rulers throughout history to deceive ordinary people.
For people like them who have been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood, respecting ghosts and gods while keeping their distance, and adhering to the principle that Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits, is the norm.
Furthermore, the theory of the interaction between Heaven and humanity was proposed by their Confucian sage, Dong Zhongshu.
The essence of Dong Zhongshu's proposal was not to endorse the legitimacy of the emperor, but rather to weaken and limit imperial power through the concept of the interaction between Heaven and Man, so that the emperor would have some reservations and not be too cruel to the people.
However, Dong Zhongshu underestimated Emperor Wu of Han, as well as later emperors.
Once rights are freed from their shackles, they inevitably become a burden on the people.
For example, in the later years of Emperor Wu of Han, the national strength of the Han Dynasty, accumulated by Emperors Gaozu, Wen, and Jing, was exhausted by him, and he had no choice but to issue the Luntai Edict of Self-Reproach.
For example, Emperor Yang of Sui, in just over a decade, completely depleted the national strength accumulated by Emperor Wen of Sui...
Although the Tang Dynasty had Your Majesty's reign of Zhenguan, during which a great deal of wealth and resources were accumulated over twenty years, Your Majesty's extensive construction of palaces and abuse of force in recent years have already placed a considerable burden on the people.
If no restrictions are imposed, it is hard to say that the Tang Dynasty will not repeat the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty.
Therefore, after a slight struggle, Ma Zhou stepped forward to act as a peacemaker.
"Your Majesty, please do not punish the eldest grandson. I believe that although what the eldest grandson said was inappropriate, his intention was good. He wanted to persuade Your Majesty to conserve the people's resources and cherish the people."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glared at Ma Zhou, then turned to look at Li Jue.
"Li Jue, is that really what you think?"
Li Jue shook his head upon hearing this.
"no!"
"I just feel that none of you have figured out one thing: what is the world, what is an emperor, and what are a country, a nation, and its people?"
Li Shimin sneered upon hearing this.
"How arrogant!"
"Did you figure it out?"
Li Jue nodded upon hearing this.
"I know a little!"
"Know a little?"
Li Shimin was stunned when he heard this, and everyone else was dumbfounded. They thought to themselves, "This is a question where everyone has their own opinion, and there really is an answer to it?"
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