I

"Your Majesty, Beijing has been restored. Please revise the History of the Ming Dynasty." Qian Qianyi requested at the court meeting.

Zhao Han nodded and said, "Yes. I ordered the History Museum of the Hanlin Academy to compile "History of the Ming Dynasty". Qian Qianyi will be the president and Wang Tiaoding will be the vice president."

"I accept the order!" Qian Qianyi was overjoyed.

This matter has been settled for a long time, and it was taken very seriously when it was brought up to the court.

Although Qian Qianyi is the president, he can only serve in the professional field. The person who is really in charge of the overall situation is Vice President Wang Tiaoding. This "History of the Ming Dynasty" must be compiled in line with the theory of Datong.

As for Zhang Pu, he became seriously ill again and was bedridden every year, but he never died.

Zhao Han also told Chen Wenkui, the Minister of Punishment: "Chen Wenkui temporarily stepped down from his post as Minister. He collected cases over the years and combined them with the criminal laws of past dynasties to compile a "Law of Datong". "Law of Datong" is divided into Constitution, Etiquette, Criminal Law, Civil Law, Industry and Commerce There are seven parts: law, publication law, and land law. The constitution does not need to be compiled for the time being. I will compile it myself. I really can’t say when it will be compiled.”

This matter was not agreed upon in advance, so Li Banghua asked doubtfully: "Your Majesty, the etiquette can be understood, but what is this publishing law?"

Zhao Han took out a book and threw it in front of the ministers: "This book "The Legacy of the Ming Dynasty" is full of nonsense, and there are a lot of pages arranged by me. It doesn't matter if you scold me in private, but it cannot be tolerated when it is written into a book. Yes. I know there is a book called "Gushan Biju". The author knows how to detect forgeries, so readers would rather believe it. In that book, what happened to Concubine Wan Gui? The Publishing Law is a law that specifically governs the publishing of books. !”

The dirty information about Concubine Wan Gui originally came from Shen Xing's "Gushan Biqu".

However, when Yu Shenxing wrote the book, he added a special sentence: These things were said by an old eunuch, and it was possible that the old eunuch was spreading rumors.

Mao Qiling compiled "Supplementary Records of the History of Sheng Chaotong" and quoted Yu Shenxing's content, but deleted the questionable sentence in the original work. Mao Qiling compiled "History of the Ming Dynasty: Biography of the Concubines" for a while, and moved the "Supplementary Notes of the History of Shengchaotong" intact, so the unofficial history directly became the official history.

Mao Qiling was the gangster who offended Zhao Han and was thrown into a minor official position. He also presided over the punishment of the Kong family in Shandong.

"It should be so." Li Banghua quickly agreed. He had also read "Gushan Biju", which was very popular during the Wanli period.

Zhao Han further stated: "The "Etiquette" part covers general etiquette, but it must be greatly revised! Take funerals as an example, you can organize funerals, but you are not allowed to invite opera troupes to play and beat, and you are not allowed to ask monks and Taoists to do things. I follow this Ancient rituals, not to mention the three generations, are the Han and Tang Dynasties. Which family will hire a theatrical troupe when their parents die? Also, three years of mourning is too long, and only one year of mourning is required for the death of parents! The marriage part of "Etiquette" is roughly followed in "Etiquette" "Da Ming Code", but the annotation that the husband is the guide for his wife should be changed. The husband and wife should each follow their own way, which is the ethical guideline. If the husband is unworthy, the wife can seek reconciliation and divorce. If the husband is deceased, the wife can remarry, and the tribe and the government cannot stop it!"

"Please remember this." Chen Wenkui accepted the order with his hands raised.

The "Etiquette" mentioned by Zhao Han actually includes the "Marriage Law".

However, an ancient family was not a small family of three, but a large family. Zhao Han could only try to limit the number of people in each household to a maximum of ten people (over twelve years old).

This is determined by productivity. In ancient times, productivity had not yet reached the point where people were generally divided into small families.

"Etiquette" was very important in ancient times. Take "Da Ming Law" as an example. A large amount of content in the opening chapter is all about etiquette.

Chen Wenkui asked: "Your Majesty, does the "Publishing Law" provide any instructions?"

Zhao Han said: "First, you must not ignore the facts and create rumors to cause trouble; second, you must not violate public order and good customs."

Chen Wenkui was instantly blinded. This was a completely ambiguous instruction. Even when enforcing the law, it has unlimited maneuverability. If the government wants to ban a book, it can directly specify that it violates public order and good customs.

"Okay, let's not talk about this," Zhao Han said. "Let's talk about other things during today's court meeting. I have learned something from my reading today. Confucius said: 'The people can follow it, but they cannot make it known.' What is the meaning of this statement? ?”

Zhao Han's court meeting has actually turned into a banquet meeting.

In addition to instilling knowledge of astronomy and geography into officials and the benefits of opening up the sea to the country, they also often discuss Confucian classics - competing for the right to interpret Confucian classics!

Zhang Pu dragged his sick body and immediately replied: "Reporting to your majesty, Zhu Zi has made it very clear in the "Analects of Confucius" and quoted Cheng Zi. Confucius taught without distinction, not because he did not let the people know the truth. But The people are really ignorant, and it is impossible for everyone to understand. Therefore, when governing the country, as long as the people know how to do it, there is no need to let everyone know why they do it. This is a helpless move."

"No," Qian Qianyi said, "Zhu Xi's annotation said that people can take it for granted, but they cannot know why it is so. It means that the people only need to know how to do it, but they cannot let the people know why it is like this. Do it. This is the way to govern the people. People's thoughts are very different. Even if it is the same truth, different people will have different ideas when facing the same thing. Let the people know the reason, and it will inevitably lead to chaos in their lives. It is not as good as Keep them in the dark.”

Zhang Pu retorted: "Then why does Zhu Zi still quote Cheng Zi? Does the shepherd explain to your majesty like this to let your majesty practice the art of morning, night and four?"

Cheng Zi's annotation is: If the sage does not let the people know the truth, it belongs to the dazzling way of governing the country in later generations, and is not the original intention of the sage.

Qian Qianyi explained: "The art of Chao San Dui San refers to the original intention. If it is for deceiving the people, it is the Chao San Dui Si technique. If it is for governing the country and the people, it is not the Chao San Dui Si technique."

This can only be blamed on Zhu Xi. When he annotated the Analects of Confucius, he was really ambiguous, no matter how he understood it.

All the ministers in the court held different opinions, and the scene was chaotic.

After Chen Maosheng became the Minister of Rites, he was also studying for homework every day, and he was already familiar with at least the four books. He cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I think there is a problem with the segmentation of this sentence. It can be broken down as: the people can, let it be known. It cannot be made, let it be known. Or it can be broken as: the people can make it, let it be known. It cannot be made, know it. "

"Chen Shangshu's words make sense." Xu Ying immediately expressed support.

This time the quarrel became more lively, and the two factions split into three factions.

Pang Chunlai half-squinted his eyes and said with a smile: "Your Majesty said that he gained something from studying. I think your Majesty has something else to say."

The ministers were quiet, waiting to hear the emperor's explanation.

Zhao Han said: "I was reading Zhu Zi's works today and read an article "Reply to Fan Bochong". Zhu Zi said that to build the people, you can only use their ears. As for knowing, you must wait for them to realize themselves, and you can't make them know... , then if you know it, you will definitely not achieve it, and those who achieve it will also go beyond it, and they are no different from those who fall short.”

Zhu Xi said in the article: It is enough to make the people implement the laws. As for making them understand the truth, it depends on the people's self-consciousness and cannot be forced by the government. Just knowing how to do it but not knowing why it is done does not prevent the people from understanding the truth. It is of course best to wait until the people realize it themselves. Let the people know how to do it first, and then let them understand why they do it. This is a process from the shallower to the deeper. If you force people to understand, they may never be able to understand. Even if they do understand, they will be biased, which is no different from not understanding.

"Of course!"

Qian Qianyi and Zhang Pu said at the same time that their different understandings actually lead to the same goal in Zhu Xi's words.

Qian Qianyi said: "Don't let the people know the reason. What you should be careful about is the young people. If you can know the reason for yourself and understand the truth by yourself, you will be a gentleman."

"Nonsense," Zhang Pu angrily rebuked, "If you can't understand the truth, you are a villain. How many villains are there in the world?"

Qian Qianyi argued: "I did not say that those who cannot understand the truth are villains, but I said that villains should be prevented from understanding the truth at will, or even deliberately distorting the truth."

Although there are still disputes, Zhu Xi's "Reply to Fan Bochong" has unified the understanding of all ministers on "the people can follow it but cannot know it".

However, this is not what Zhao Han needs.

Zhao Han said with a smile: "My understanding of this sentence is roughly the same as Zhu Xi's, but there are some slight differences."

"Your Majesty, please speak clearly." Li Banghua said.

Zhao Han asked: "Have you ever heard of it, perseverance and perseverance, and the rotten wood will not break?"

Ai Julius, a foreigner, rushed to answer: "This sentence comes from "Xunzi Encouraging Learning Chapter"."

Zhao Han asked again: "Have you read the "Book of Jin" and "Yanzi"? In the "Book of Jin", the word "rotten wood does not break" is written as "rotten wood does not know". In "Yanzi", the word "breaks for thousands of miles" is written as "knowledge rushes for thousands of miles." This is 'Zhe' and 'Zhi' seem to have been the same word in ancient times. 'The people can follow it, but they cannot make it known', can it be interpreted as 'The people can follow it, but cannot make it known'?"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole court was shocked. This was an attempt to tamper with Confucian classics!

Zhao Han continued: "Does the word "you" mean to guide?"

Aiululu was dumbfounded. After changing it, the sentence became: the people can be guided, but they cannot be forced to submit.

In fact, Zhao Han's understanding was based on the Chu slips unearthed in later generations.

It was a batch of bamboo slips from the Warring States Period, and there were two sentences in it: The people can be taught the truth, but not the wise. The people can follow the Way, but cannot be strong.

The people can guide but cannot force!

"Haha, I am also very whimsical, you may want to taste it." Zhao Han did not force the ministers to understand, otherwise it would violate the spirit of this sentence.

If the emperor said this, people will naturally study it, and it will become a way of understanding in the future.

Zhao Han added: "I ordered the tribes to migrate, but many local officials acted recklessly. After all, they were carrying out the emperor's orders, and they had merit but no fault. But they took advantage of the opportunity to prey on the common people, under the guise of the emperor's orders. It is wrong to smear the emperor and the court, and will definitely be punished. In addition, when implementing government decrees in the future, regardless of whether the people understand it or not, the truth must be explained clearly to the people."

"Please remember this!" All the ministers bowed and bowed.

Zhao Han has two more things to do here, one is to compile "History of Ming Dynasty", and the other is to compile "Datong Law".

As for Li Zicheng and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they were already on the verge of exploding.