No one wants their own culture to be abolished.

Hu Jima took the lead and the ministers followed.

Chen Yong was also happy to watch the show.

No matter who wins, Chen Yong believes it is God's will.

If Zhu Ying were here, he wouldn't think like this.

After all, Nom script was only a flash in the pan in the history of Annan, and was eventually replaced by phonetic script without any retention.

The current point of contention is simply the promotion of Chinese characters.

The reason why Annan Nom script was able to prevail in Annan for hundreds of years was entirely because the suzerain state of the Central Plains dynasty had no intention of promoting culture at all.

Perhaps, among all the emperors throughout history, only Qin Shi Huang truly wanted to integrate and export culture.

The rulers of the Central Plains dynasties have never had this idea.

We have so many illiterate people in our own country, why should we care about your small border country?

Even if some small countries use Chinese characters and Chinese, it is because they were once under the rule of the Central Plains dynasty. Creating an independent language and writing system is not an easy task.

In fact, including the current Goryeo, according to the course of history, it will also develop its own writing.

So now is a critical period. Popularizing and promoting Chinese characters worldwide at this time will affect changes in the cultural landscape for perhaps thousands of years to come.

The Central Plains dynasty has never been a dynasty of national independence, but a dynasty of great unification and integration.

This was also the political task that Zhu Ying assigned to Liu Sheng and others before leaving.

He was not in a hurry to seize power from Annan, but rather to educate the people of Annan subtly.

Therefore, on the issue of the Nôm character, Liu Sheng would never make any concessions.

Since Chen Yong wants to watch the show, then just watch it carefully.

Immediately, Liu Sheng came out and looked at the kneeling Hu Jima and said, "Prime Minister Hu, you must understand one thing. As the emperor just said, the country of Annan has existed for thousands of years."

"And the Nôm script only began to appear hundreds of years ago. In Annan hundreds of years ago, did people not use writing or language, but communicated with each other by babbling and gestures like the barbarians who had not yet been enlightened?"

"What's the difference between a thousand years and a hundred years? Now that we have abolished Nom characters and promoted Chinese characters, it is a move to return to the right path. Why do you oppose it?"

"Does it mean that we should ignore the customs of a thousand years and stick to the customs of a hundred years just because of our own habits?"

"It is ridiculous to say that the people of Annan cannot adapt to the abolition of Nom script. How did they get used to it when Nom script was first introduced?"

"As for the imperial edict, I remember that Emperor Yezong of Annan once issued an order to promote the Nôm script. Now, what's the problem with issuing an imperial edict to promote Chinese characters?"

Liu Sheng had followed Zhu Ying for many years and was himself an old hand in the Western Regions.

The thing that is scary is not hooligans, what is scary is hooligans with culture.

At that time, Liu Sheng, who was in his seventies, learned to read and write from Zhu Ying. With almost a lifetime of experience, he never gave up in the debate.

Hu Jima had been working in the imperial court for half his life, so naturally he was no less skilled in smooth talking.

He immediately stood up and explained, "General Liu's words are wrong."

"The application of Nom characters is indeed not as long-term as Chinese characters, but the invention of Nom characters is also the pride of Annan, and it also represents Annan's achievements in literature."

"Since the invention of Nom script, there has never been any attempt to force us Annanese to learn it. It was the Annanese who liked it and gradually learned it."

"There are many talented people who think this is the future of our Annan. When the Nôm characters first appeared, they were not perfect. It was only after generations of talented people in Annan studied and polished them that they were gradually perfected and put into use today."

"There are also many literary works written in Nom characters. Isn't this enough for me, Annan?"

"Today, Chinese characters have not disappeared in Annan. The Ming Dynasty is still the suzerain of Annan, and correspondence is still written in Chinese. What major influence does the Nôm characters have?"

"Even though some of the languages ​​have changed with the Nôm characters, Liu Jianjun should also know that even in a powerful country like Ming with such a vast territory, the pronunciation and language are still different every ten miles."

"Liu Jianjun has been in Annan for more than a year. There may be some differences in words and phrases, but I think there should be no problem in daily communication."

"If that's the case, why does Liu Jianjun insist on abolishing our Annan Nôm language? Why not just do both at the same time? Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"

"From now on, it doesn't seem to have much impact."

"Since the development of Nom characters until now, no king has ever said that he would abolish Chinese characters. The current situation is completely a free development."

Hu Jima's words were immediately recognized by many Annan court officials.

They all nodded frequently. After he finished speaking, some people couldn't help but cheer loudly. For a moment, Hu Jima's power was extremely great.

As far as the current debate is concerned, Hu Jima's angle of speech is extremely tricky. It is obvious that he wants to convince Liu Sheng openly and leave him no room for rebuttal.

If Liu Sheng lost the debate, the edict would definitely not be issued.

Sitting at the top, Emperor Chen Yong of Annan looked at Hu Jima as he spoke eloquently. His words were full of logic, but there was a complex look in his eyes.

He once thought that Hu Jima had sidelined him and seized power in the court. If the power was in his hands, he would definitely be able to develop Annan better than him.

But from what he just said, Chen Yong felt a huge gap.

When Liu Sheng was speaking earlier, Chen Yong put himself in Hu Jima's shoes and couldn't think of any words to refute for a moment.

I think what Liu Sheng said makes sense.

But after hearing what Hu Jima said, Chen Yong found that he had no way to refute it. If he were Liu Sheng now, he would probably be speechless.

This level of rebuttal gave Chen Yong the feeling of a complete dimensionality reduction attack and a crushing IQ.

This made Chen Yong twist his body and feel a little uncomfortable.

So he followed his gaze and looked at Liu Sheng to see if he had anything else to say.

However, Liu Sheng's expression clearly told him that he not only had something to say, but also had a lot to say.

After the hall was quiet, Liu Sheng said slowly, "What Prime Minister Hu said makes some sense."

"I think Prime Minister Hu must have studied Nôm characters for many years and has a high level of attainment in this area."

Hearing this question, Hu Jima had no choice but to deny it, and said, "Of course."

Liu Sheng continued, "Not only Prime Minister Hu, but also officials in this palace, both big and small, should be very familiar with Nôm characters, and some may have started learning them since childhood."

"Even some officials probably didn't study the Nôm characters seriously, not only the Chinese characters. There are always people in Annan who know Chinese characters, so this has no big impact on the Ming Dynasty's unified writing system."

"Among the subjects of Annan, how many have learned Chinese characters since childhood? I think you should all be very clear about this."

Liu Sheng did not make this up, but rather came to this conclusion after a year of observation.

At present, the imperial examination in Annan uses Nom characters as the basic writing system. Naturally, it is impossible for scholars in Annan to learn Chinese characters specifically, as this has no significance for their official career.

The royal family was somewhat reserved about this, so all communications between the upper and lower levels were conducted in Nom.

It can be said that the entire Annan is now basically learning Nom characters, and the study of Chinese characters is just a branch.

It's usually not used much.

Just based on these words alone, it is not enough to effectively refute what Hu Jima said just now.

Liu Sheng continued, "I ask you all to think carefully about why the First Emperor wanted to standardize the wheels and the writing system. This was not to annihilate the various schools of thought, but to make it easier for everyone to communicate and exchange ideas."

"Now that the maritime ban of our Ming Dynasty has been lifted, the era of maritime trade is about to come. In Annan, the port will not only restore its former prosperity, but it is also possible to surpass it."

"You all should know that in this maritime trade, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty is promoting maritime trade, building sea vessels, and allowing civilian use. In the years to come, merchants from the Ming Dynasty will surely be able to travel around the world."

"If the subjects of Annan want to do business with our merchants from the Ming Dynasty, is it more convenient to communicate directly or to find an interpreter everywhere?"

"In terms of navigation, there is not only Annan, but also Champa. In terms of maritime trade, Champa is more convenient to travel to than Annan."

"I think everyone knows that the development of Champa is strong. The source of this is the dynasty in the Central Plains. In the pre-Tang Dynasty, many nations came to the Tang Dynasty. With the help of this atmosphere, Champa was able to develop rapidly."

"Now a new era is coming. In the competition for development, Annan has no advantage over Champa. Now even the language is not fluent. What do you think the merchants of the Ming Dynasty will choose?"

"The dispute between Annan and Champa has a long history. If you fall behind because of this, will you be willing to accept it? Perhaps this will not take more than a few years or more."

"Perhaps you feel that what happens decades later has nothing to do with you. Don't you have any descendants? Shouldn't you think about your descendants?"

At this point, Liu Sheng paused for a moment, and then continued: "The reason why I advocate the abolition of Nôm characters is because the national conditions of Annan are different. Nôm characters themselves are also Chinese characters. It is very simple for Annan to learn Chinese characters. It is not difficult to learn."

"From the perspective of the changes in Nom characters, it is actually a change of Chinese characters. This change does not actually mean much to Annan."

"If it is not abolished, how many years will it take for Annan to implement the policy of using Chinese characters for all its subjects?"

"In the future, how can Champa be competitive?"

"Let's talk about Nôm. Is there any real benefit for Annan? Does it make Annan more prosperous, or does it make Annan have better weather and more food?"

“Is external communication more convenient or more troublesome?”

"You have been learning Nôm characters since you were born, so you don't think it's a big deal. But think about it from the bottom of your heart, what has Nôm characters brought to Annan?"

"Let me tell you something you may not like to hear. The territory of Annan is not even as big as the slightly larger prefectures of Ming Dynasty, but they still use a special language."

"This is a bondage to ourselves and to our future, and it puts a shackle on everyone."

"Now only by completely breaking this shackle can Annan usher in a more powerful development."

"Perhaps you don't feel anything, but I know it very well. With the popularity of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Gazette, now you can find a translation job as long as you know Chinese characters."

"Then I'm wondering if the ministers in Annan who can get the imperial court bulletins have scholars who can read Chinese characters in their homes."

"This expense should be considered quite large."

"In the future, the use of Chinese characters will inevitably expand to more countries. The understanding of Chinese characters will inevitably become the mainstream in the future. At this time, Annan chooses to stick to its own ways and confine itself to a certain area. What's the point of that?"

Such words made Hu Jima frown, and there was a hint of contemplation in his eyes.

Liu Sheng’s point is not at all in Hu Jima’s direction.

To put it simply, you talk to me about the feelings of national independence, and I talk to you about the development of the international situation.

You talk to me about literature, and I talk to you about practicality.

Among all these, bringing out Champa to stir up conflicts could greatly stimulate the Annan court officials, including Chen Yong.

What benefits did Nom bring to Annan?

Just on this point alone, according to Liu Sheng's thinking from a practical perspective, there is absolutely no way to answer this question.

At this time, Hu Jima was not speechless, but was indeed moved by the future development prospects in Liu Sheng's words.

Hu Jima, a well-informed man, is not a stubborn person, otherwise he would not have had such powerful position today.

Although he was greedy for power, he also wanted Annan to develop better.

In fact, Hu Jima knew a lot of what Liu Sheng said, and he also had his own sources of intelligence.

The current contemplation is to truly consider whether it is really necessary to abolish the Nom characters.

In fact, this did not matter much to Hu Jima himself, because he was very knowledgeable. Not only was he very familiar with Chinese characters, but he also had a large collection of books from the Central Plains at home.

He himself did not make much difference between using Nom characters and using Chinese characters.

Because too many literary classics are written in Chinese characters.

Chen Yong leaned back in his chair and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

I used to think that Hu Jima's words made a lot of sense, but now I feel that what Liu Sheng said is the true reflection.

Although he didn't say anything, he felt a little embarrassed.

He feels like a fence-sitter now, thinking whoever speaks is right.

When he turned his gaze to Hu Jima, he saw that his face no longer had the previous calmness, which made him a little conflicted.

He agreed with Liu Sheng's words, but also hoped that Hu Jima could say more.