Chapter 363 Ke recommends himself

The morning bell rang, the red gate opened, and people in red and purple walked along the white jade arch bridge, passing through the palace buildings. The golden bricks in the Golden Throne Hall were as clear as a mirror.

Under the guidance of the Imperial Guards, all officials stood in their respective positions. Then the chief eunuch sang a song of greeting, and under the ceremonial guard of feather fans, the Emperor and Empress of Great Xia ascended the throne. The pearl curtain was lowered, and all officials shouted "Long live the Emperor and Empress!"

The ceremony is over.

Because yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone would also say some auspicious words at the court meeting on August 16th.

First came the congratulatory messages from various places, and then the Yulin Guards reported to the local officials waiting outside to be summoned, and the Emperor of Daxia allowed them to meet him one by one.

Then today's court meeting officially began. When it came to the discussion stage, Mo Qu was the first to step out and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

All the officials looked at Mo Qu who came out.

Jia Yuanchang, knowing what Mo Qu was going to say, sneered in response and had no intention of stopping him.

Because once his article came out, everything the Mohists said today was wrong. The reason why Mo Qu was so excited, besides hating himself for writing the article, was also because he wanted to cover up one mistake with another.

If Jia Yuanchang and Mo Qu really had a fight outside today, and even used their spiritual practice, then Mo Qu would even dare to entangle the Mohist officials and the Confucian officials in front of the Noon Gate today, and then it would become a dispute over the Mohist and Confucian doctrinal orthodoxy.

Although the problem is also big, it is at least much smaller than the problem that the Mohists want "everyone in the world to obey the Twelve Chapters".

So today outside, Jia Yuanchang knew that he had written this article, and he was prepared to be beaten to death by the Mohist school in front of the Noon Gate.

As long as he doesn't fight back, if the Mohists kill him, it won't be a dispute over the orthodoxy, but a case of the Mohists having a guilty conscience!

So when he saw that Jia Yuanchang did not fight back, Zhou Tiege rushed forward to stop him, and Mo Qu also retreated.

But at this point, Mo Qu still didn't give up. This matter could no longer be dealt with perfunctorily. He could only consult a Confucian scholar's ulterior motives.

On the throne, the crown and pearl curtain of the Great Xia Emperor were lowered, making it difficult to see his expression. "Speak."

Mo Qu sorted out his thoughts and said, "In today's Confucian newspaper Awakening the World, Jia Yuanchang openly published a statement that deceived the emperor. Your Majesty, please punish him!"

The Great Xia Emperor looked at Jia Yuanchang and asked, "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Jia Yuanchang stepped out of the line, bowed and said, "Since Lord Mo said that I made a statement that deceived the emperor, why don't I tell everyone what I said that deceived the emperor? If you can't understand the truth, why bother hiding it!"

Mo Qu's face flushed red, Jia Yuanchang was certain that this sentence could not be said from the mouths of their Mohist school!

The head of the Zhou family court, the Minister of Justice, Chang Sun Dan, thought for a moment, stepped out from the crowd, and said with a folded hand, "Such treasonous words are not for ministers like us to say. Minister Mo has always been loyal to the country and cannot say such words. I have brought a copy of the Awakening Newspaper, please have a look, Your Majesty."

"Pass it up."

When the newspaper was placed on the jade table, regardless of whether the Emperor of Daxia had read the newspaper before the morning court session, he looked at Jia Yuanchang's article as if he was reading it for the first time.

There was silence in the Golden Palace, and most officials were prepared to face the emperor's wrath.

Many officials from other schools even complained slightly about Confucianism and Mohism. They said, "The court is full of righteous people and the world is peaceful. Why are you making things so ugly?"

The above words of deceit were very straightforward, even more straightforward than those of Mei Qingchen and Li Jianhu. However, after reading them, His Majesty the Great Xia simply sneered, and then looked at the officials, "My dear ministers, if everyone in the world wants to obey the Twelve Chapters, how should the world be governed?"

When all the officials heard this, they knelt on the ground in a huge crowd. Only a dozen or so people stood up, including officials from the three ministries, Confucianists, and Mohists.

The Great Xia Emperor looked at the Minister of Citizens and said, "Lord Dong, as the Minister of Citizens, you are in charge of the people of the world. Tell me, how should we govern the world?"

His sentence concealed the subject and did not say how he should govern the world, but asked "how to govern the world". This depends on the officials' understanding of this sentence. In their minds, if someone really wants to make everyone in the world obey the Twelve Chapters, then they will come up with a method.

So it is impossible to say whether this method is right or wrong.

Moreover, the Emperor of Great Xia asked Dong Xingshu first instead of Moqu because he knew that although the article "The Twelve Chapters Admitted by All the People in the World" seemed to be intended to criticize Zhou Tieyi and Tian Fu's "On Wealth and Goods", it was essentially a test of his imperial power by the Confucians headed by Dong Xingshu.

Doesn’t he understand the meaning of the distortion in this process?
He understood. He knew that the Confucians had misinterpreted the meaning and wanted to use the sword to hurt him and make him vent his anger on Zhou Tieyi. So now he threw the sword directly to the Confucians and let them answer to what extent they had misinterpreted it.

This is the same reason why he asked Mei Juncang "Why did you submit the article only now" when he first faced Mei Juncang's letter "On the No Fault of the King and Father".

The Emperor of Daxia needs to make it clear to his subordinates that he is not so stupid as to fail to see clearly the affairs of state. He needs to know what party struggles are and why they involve him.

He now wants to ask the ministers why your party disputes involve him.

This question is more important than what the two people discussed.

Because this is a real test and exploitation of the power of the monarch by the ministers.

On the contrary, the so-called making everyone in the world submit to the Twelve Chapters is, as we all know, alarmist talk. It can be used as a weapon in political struggles, but it will never be realized.

Last time, Mei Juncang gave a very good answer. Although his answer was not related to the question, he still answered the question, so he received a great reward.

Dong Xingshu held the tablet in his hand and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, since the advent of the sage, the five hundred years of prosperity of the Holy Emperor, and the five hundred years of chaos of the Five Dynasties, I have never heard of the world's people obeying the Twelve Chapters. Therefore, the world's people obeying the Twelve Chapters is not enough to govern the world."

Even though the officials were kneeling, they nodded slightly. Dong Xingshu's answer was good.

From the advent of the sage to the present Daxia, such a long time has passed in between, and people in the world have experienced true prosperity and true chaos. But no matter whether it is the prosperous times that are praised or the chaotic times that are hated, there is no reason for people in the world to obey the Twelve Chapters. Therefore, this principle is fundamentally invalid, and there is no need to discuss how to govern the world under this invalid principle.

The Great Xia Emperor looked at Jia Yuanchang and said, "Did you hear what the leader of your Confucianism said? There is no reason in this world for the people to obey the Twelve Chapters. What is the reason for you to write this article?"

Jia Yuanchang bowed and said, "I also oppose the idea that the whole world should obey the Twelve Chapters. So the reason I wrote this article is because I am afraid that someone's fallacies and heresies will spread throughout the world and cause chaos to the people, so that Your Majesty will no longer be able to teach the people!"

The Emperor of Daxia looked at Jia Yuanchang and asked, "What kind of heresy is this?" Jia Yuanchang was prepared and took out a copy of "Mohist Newspaper" from his arms.

The chief eunuch presented it to the throne, and His Majesty the Great Xia read through the "On Wealth" as if it was the first time. When he saw the sentence "continuously liberate and develop productivity to meet the people's ever-growing material and spiritual needs", his eyes narrowed slightly.

To be fair, this statement cannot be considered a big mistake. Considering what Zhou Tieyi did, this is the governing philosophy of a capable minister. If he doesn't even have a governing philosophy, he cannot be called a capable minister.

However, this sentence itself affirms human desires. Zhou Tieyi not only did not feel ashamed of it, but instead praised it highly in "On Wealth", saying that none of the learning in the world was as good as what he had learned.

This statement must have offended all schools of thought in the world.

In the past, the Emperor of Daxia would definitely use such an absolutely lone minister. This was also one of the main reasons why he used Zhou Tieyi in the past few months and even promoted him out of turn.

But now it’s different. He not only has to consider Zhou Tieyi’s governance for the people, but also his terrifying talent!

If it was just a talent for martial arts, even the great Emperor Xia would have just laughed it off, but what is it now?
It’s the talent for fighting for orthodoxy!
With the Taoist tradition, one has the foundation for becoming a saint.

With Zhou Tieyi's talent and his theoretical tradition as the foundation, is it possible for him to become a saint?
Have!
Therefore, the fear of the Great Xia Emperor is now even greater than the phrase "all the people in the world obey the Twelve Chapters".

The Great Xia Emperor raised his head and looked at the kneeling civil and military officials. "Everyone, please stand up. It just so happens that I received a secret report yesterday that mentioned something related to this. I just happened to bring it up for discussion today."

After saying this, the Great Xia Emperor took out a memorial and handed it to the eunuch Xue Minghao who was in charge of the seal beside him, asking Xue Minghao to read it out.

"On the shortcomings of newspapers."

Xue Minghao read the beginning, and the civil and military officials who stood up looked at each other in surprise.

Who submitted the memorial “On the Evils of Newspapers”?
All officials knew that in the process of establishing this newspaper, Zhou Tieyi gained the greatest benefit, followed by the Emperor of Daxia, but various schools of thought also benefited. The only one who suffered a loss was Confucianism.

But today, Confucians are using "Xingshi Bao" to write articles. Apparently, they have also realized another use of newspapers. Why are they mentioning "On the Disadvantages of Newspapers" at this time?
While all the officials were confused, they also listened to the entire memorial with one mind and two attentions.

The content of the memorial is very detailed and written in vernacular!
Everyone instantly locked their sights on Zhou Tiege. Was it Zhou Tiege who obeyed Zhou Tieyi's orders and wrote this article?

If one wants to submit a secret petition bypassing the Three Departments, one can only do so through a few limited positions, one of which is the 'Imperial Study Attendant'!
This seemingly insignificant position of grace has the power to make secret reports!

Then they began to examine the content of the article.

To be fair in this article, the establishment of newspapers by hundreds of families has led to a surge in the number of newspapers, which may result in the number of newspapers printed every day being far more than the people can buy, thus causing a waste of resources.

He then talked about how if the content in newspapers is not reviewed, it can easily be exploited by evil spirits, and specifically cited the "Sleepyhead Case".

Finally, various schools of thought may use newspapers as a means to attack each other's political opponents, and ultimately ignore the role of newspapers in educating the people.

Therefore, it is suggested that the court set up a special agency to manage and approve newspapers all over the world, just like the Imperial Household Department used to manage the court gazettes.

After the article was read, all the officials remained silent.

The Great Xia Emperor once again pointed out the name of a person who had just stood up, "Mei Juncang, what do you think of the article you submitted, in which Jia Yuanchang said that your teacher Zhou Tieyi's "On Wealth and Goods" was a lie to confuse the public?"

Mei Juncang walked out amidst the slightly surprised gazes of the officials, and bowed his hands, saying, "My teacher's remarks are not appropriate, and Director Jia's remarks are too extreme. This is the problem of newspapers. If this problem is allowed to continue, it is foreseeable that if all the schools of thought run their own newspapers without being restrained, it will become a source of disaster."

The people are not wrong, it's the newspaper that is wrong!

Anyway, newspapers can’t talk and won’t quibble.

However, all the officials were more concerned about the deeper meaning of this. The purpose of Mei Juncang's memorial was very complicated. For a moment, everyone could not judge whether this was to help Zhou Tieyi or to seize the foundation left by Zhou Tieyi.

The Great Xia Emperor nodded slightly and looked at the officials, "Why don't you discuss the drawbacks of this newspaper?"

The three officials raised their heads slightly and looked at the Emperor of Great Xia behind the pearl curtain of the crown, wanting to know the Emperor's true thoughts.

Why let go gently?
The Confucian officials looked at Dong Xingshu, wondering whether they should continue to pursue the case.

Si Lu Qing Konggui sighed inwardly at this time, thinking that he was repaying the boy's favor. He stepped out of the crowd and said, "It's not good if there is no law in the country. Newspapers are a new thing. There was no law to follow before. I request to establish a 'newspaper law' to examine, examine, and restrict newspapers."

The faces of the officials changed slightly, especially those who were powerful, such as the Farmers and Yin-Yangs, who were preparing their own newspapers. When Qingkong Gui said this, didn't it mean that all their newspapers would be under the control of the Legalists in the future? Then why would they publish newspapers in the future? Wouldn't they just wait for the Legalists' "Legal Newspaper"?

So the Minister of Agriculture stepped out and said, "The Minister of Law is right. I suggest that we should not only enact a 'Newspaper Law', but also set up a 'Newspaper Department' to review, evaluate and regulate newspapers."

The Legalists wanted to make laws, and they had good reasons and evidence. Other schools of thought had no reason to object, but making laws was the job of the Legalists, and those who enforced the laws were not necessarily the Legalists.

Therefore, the Minister of Agriculture simply followed the suggestion in Mei Juncang's memorial and set up another department to manage newspapers throughout the country, but the people in this department did not have to be members of the Legalist school.

After the Minister of Agriculture said this, the other hundred families thought about it for a moment and nodded helplessly. This was another new round of power struggle. It was probably difficult for the other small families to truly have the right to speak. They could only huddle together for warmth so as not to lose any say at all.

A consensus was quickly reached at the court that a newspaper department should be established and then a newspaper law should be enacted.

The Great Xia Emperor said, "Since you, my dear ministers, agree to set up a newspaper department, who should be in charge of this department?"

After a long period of consideration, all the officials looked between the Emperor of Great Xia and Mei Juncang. Logically speaking, the person who suggested setting up a department would generally gain power in the new department.

Mei Juncang previously managed the Tianjing Daily and is now in charge of the Legal Daily. He is also the son of a Confucian sage. In a sense, Mei Juncang is born to be the most suitable person to manage the newspaper department.

But just when all the officials were thinking for a long time, at the end of the list, one of the officials who were waiting to see the emperor outside the Jinluan Palace stepped out and said, "Your Highness Ke recommends himself."

(End of this chapter)