Chapter 927 1016 Imperial Teacher

"Illustrated Imperial Mirror", Wei Guangde certainly knew about this book. Zhang Juzheng designated Ma Ziqiang and other Hanlin scholars to compile this book as a textbook for Emperor Wanli.

The book is divided into two parts, the first part "Saints and Sages' Rules" tells the emperors' efforts to govern the country, and the second part "The Mad and Foolish Repeat the Mistakes" analyzes the disasters of the emperors' perverse actions.

This book was written according to Zhang Juzheng's mind, and naturally interpreted the emperor's way in Zhang Juzheng's mind, or it can be said that this is the quality that he thinks a wise ruler needs to have.

In order to cater to the age of the young Emperor Wanli, the whole book consists of small stories, each with vivid illustrations.

The illustrations in the book are woodcuts from the Ming Dynasty, with simple lines and clear outlines. They are simple and childish, cute and vivid, and both appreciative and collectible.

So after the book was delivered to the young emperor Zhu Yijun, he couldn't put it down and often read it.

The first part of "Imperial Mirror Illustrated" is titled "Saints and Sages' Rules", which compiles 81 deeds of "good deeds that can be followed" of 23 ancient emperors from Yao and Shun to Tang and Song.

"Why?"

Most of the so-called "reformers" are very sensitive to their surroundings. They combine what they saw and heard before entering the officialdom with what they saw and heard afterwards, discover problems that arise, and then find ways to solve them.

However, the dream of Confucian officials is that the emperor will give them special treatment on the premise that the emperor's authority is not weakened, and the daily life between the monarch and the ministers should be equal, friendly, harmonious and intimate like Tang Suzong's "Roasted Pear Couplets".

His comments are easy to understand and concise, which can be seen from this.

And the young Zhu Yijun did not disappoint everyone. At a young age, he behaved like a wise monarch, but Wei Guangde knew that it is easy to break.

It should be said that Emperor Wanli actually read the book compiled by Zhang Juzheng.

Wei Guangde lowered his voice and explained in a low voice, "What he should learn is more about the way his grandfather, the previous emperor Jiajing, ruled his subordinates, rather than talking about harmony between the monarch and his subjects."

Wei Guangde had actually pointed out the contradiction, and Chen Ju was not a fool, and he realized something.

In fact, the little emperor should learn how to govern the country and how to control the ministers, rather than asking him to be a moral role model.

Emperor Wanli did not learn the essence, so he naturally did not know how to use it. Even though the so-called Qi, Zhejiang, Chu and Donglin factions had appeared in the court, he did not know how to intervene and balance their power.

As the emperor, he has a series of etiquette systems to strengthen his majesty.

Wei Guangde was too lazy to answer, but just asked a question in return, which made Chen Ju speechless.

"Why didn't you say it at the beginning?"

Shaking his head gently, Wei Guangde didn't know what to say.

For example, for Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, there are "Enter the Pass to Make a Law" and "Appoint Three Heroes"; for Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, there are "Removing the Palace and Living in the Camp", "Respecting the Wise and Embracing the Hawk", "Opening the Academy of Literature", "Rebuking the Flatterers"; for Emperor Qin Shihuang, Ying Zheng, there are "Sending Envoys to Seek Immortality", "Burying Confucian Scholars and Burning Books", "Building a Large Palace"; for Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, there are "Should Offer Flowers and Stones" and "Appointing Six Thieves".

What do you think, Your Majesty will think at that time?"

The main themes of the book can be roughly divided into two categories, one is to express respect for the Confucian group, and the other is to express admiration for the Confucian code of conduct.

Teaching scholars to be morally noble and how to do things, and teaching the emperor how to select and employ people.

But because the requirements were too high, so high that they were unrealistic, the Wanli Emperor had a rebellious mentality and did bad things instead.

When they were in the Hanlin Academy, they had already read the old documents of the previous dynasty and knew what happened in the past and how they were handled.

After I came to power, I just had to follow the example.

The emperor, as a person in a high position, could not do things personally, so he had to learn how to use people.

In short, all the arrangements were to make the cabinet form two factions and fight each other, while the emperor sat on the dragon throne and controlled the power.

When Wei Guangde said this, Chen Ju seemed to be glowing.

When it is time to support the weak faction, you must choose the right opportunity to intervene and ensure the balance of power in the court.

This is also the reason why most of the cabinet in the Ming Dynasty were officials who had no grassroots work experience, but they could still govern the country well.

These stories mainly include three themes: treating Confucian officials with courtesy, delegating power, and soliciting advice.

When he found that his body was not good, he knew that Zhang Juzheng alone could not check and balance Gao Gong, so he hurriedly recalled Wei Guangde, hoping that his joining would form a three-legged tripod in the cabinet.

The so-called treating Confucian officials with courtesy means giving them enough respect in words and deeds.

In the end, after realizing that he could no longer control the power of the court, Emperor Wanli chose to hide in the harem and not attend court, using laziness to fight against the aggressive civil service group.

However, Zhang Juzheng was a civil official after all and a staunch supporter of Confucianism, so it was inevitable that he would add some private goods.

And he himself probably could not have imagined that after his death, the emperor who had read "The Emperor's Mirror and Illustrated Explanation" would abolish the imperial lectures and not attend court for 28 years, which would bring him to the point of ruin.

For example, in the 17th article of "The Rules of Sages and Sages" "Refusing the Thousand-Li Horse", the compiler commented on the motives of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty when explaining why he refused the Thousand-Li Horse offered by his ministers: "The Thousand-Li Horse is a good horse, but Emperor Wen thought it was not suitable for the emperor to use, so he did not accept it. What about other pearls, jade, treasures, rare birds and beasts?

If it is not relevant to the daily life of the ruler, how can it be enough to move his heart?

The book says: "If you do not do useless things and harm the useful, the work will be accomplished; if you do not value foreign things and despise the useful things, the people will be satisfied.'

After that, he used Gao Gong's personality to successfully make him oppose Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhan and himself.

"Too idealistic, what is claimed in the book is naturally right, but there are not so many beautiful things in the world.

Moreover, the most important thing is that Emperor Wanli was clearly aware of the problem, but he was helpless.

It must be said that Zhang Juzheng took great pains to educate Emperor Wanli, and it can be said that he gave the best educational resources to the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Ju frowned and said.

At this time, Chen Ju was actually conflicted.

The power of the prime minister here does not refer to the chief minister of the cabinet, but the interests of the civil service group.

Chen Ju was even more puzzled and naturally asked.

In such a Under the influence of the enlightenment textbooks, the young emperor Zhu Yijun's three views were shaped according to the standards of a wise ruler.

The "Book of Changes" calls nine a yang line and six a yin line. When selecting examples, these two books use the numbers of ninety-nine eighty-one or sixty-six thirty-six to distinguish good from evil, which is in line with the "Book of Changes". It can be said that they are well-intentioned.

Chen Ju finally figured out the difference between Wei Guangde's class and other Hanlin's lectures. In addition to the prescribed scriptures, they talk about history.

"No wonder you and the emperor talk about the affairs of the previous dynasty except for the "Book of Shang"."

But he was also very surprised when he saw Wei Guangde's reaction, so he asked this question.

"Shan Dai, have you ever considered that the things you talk about will be more or less contradictory to what the emperor has learned from books. How should the emperor deal with it then? ”

He had read it, so he knew it was a good book, but the book’s flaws were obvious.

When Wei Guangde heard Chen Ju say that the two Empress Dowagers thought highly of the “Imperial Mirror Illustrated” compiled by Zhang Juzheng, he sighed in his heart.

Indeed, Zhang Juzheng and the Hanlin he selected were all well-read people in the court, so they definitely had talent and could teach ordinary students.

And this was precisely what made him feel helpless and he didn’t know what to do.

“I will teach him to think and learn to know what his own interests are. ”

Its purpose is to take the idea of ​​Tang Taizong to learn from the past, "tracing back to the Tang and Yu dynasties to the Han, Tang and Song dynasties, the rise and fall, the gains and losses that can be used as a warning, listing more than a hundred events, drawing pictures for each event, and linking them with theories", so it is named "Imperial Mirror Illustrated".

However, in fact, although the young emperor Zhu Yijun once loved this book very much, when he grew up and really took power, what he saw and heard was very different from "Imperial Mirror Illustrated", and he couldn't help but doubt it, and thus overturned all the education he had received before.

Both factions must be restrained and balanced, and the powerful faction must be attacked decisively to avoid being too powerful.

Wei Guangde obviously did not think that it was a good thing for the prime minister to have too much power, it needed to be restrained by the imperial power.

If it is done wrong, it will be the same.

However, they did not realize that they were teaching the emperor, how could they Educate in the same way as ordinary students.

This does not mean that ministers become smarter after the Jiajing Dynasty and know the emperor's methods.

For each example, there is also a title, and all titles are limited to four words.

In fact, for ancient society, because of the slow development of social economy and technology, governing the country has become very simple. Most of them are based on old examples, and there are few sudden things that have never happened before.

Confucian officials are particularly concerned about face. Even in front of the emperor, they must hold their tempers and let the emperor condescend to respect me.

Perhaps this was also a coincidence. Wei Guangde just realized that Zhang Juzheng's teaching model was not good, and he also knew that Emperor Jiajing had great means to control his subordinates, so he chose to tell him more about the old things of the Jiajing Dynasty, so that he would have a concept of power and intrigue in his heart.

In short, being an emperor , the means of controlling subordinates is to pull one faction against another, anyway, the subordinates cannot be harmonious.

He knew who Wei Guangde was referring to by "they".

As a person of later generations, Wei Guangde naturally knew that the content of educating ordinary people and educating the emperor must be very different.

For the sake of world peace and the Confucian ideal of great unity, the emperor's authority must be maintained, but there is no formal and effective means to restrict the imperial power. Confucian officials can only choose to limit the imperial power, protect and compete for political power by influencing the emperor personally.

When he first saw the book, Wei Guangde actually had some ideas, but Zhang Juzheng's book was so well compiled that he had nothing to say.

What they knew was just the means of Emperor Jiajing.

Each case has a plot and characters, and the content is all from historical records. "Those that are not recorded in detail, I dare not adopt them. In addition to citing historical books, each chapter is also accompanied by explanations written in the vernacular of the time, and some chapters are followed by some brief comments.

He also memorized the wise sayings in the book, but he also understood that the affairs in the court actually involved the struggle between imperial power and prime ministerial power.

All the officials were civil officials, so it was inevitable that they would stick together. At this time, we had to learn to divide them.

Standing on the moral high ground, what else can we say?

It is futile to cultivate a perfect emperor and restrict imperial power, and it is imaginary to respect the authority of Confucian officials.

He did not listen to Zhang Juzheng's teachings at all, but instead achieved the opposite. When this "young master and prince's master" died, he completely overturned the new policy advocated by Zhang Juzheng, and from then on he stayed in the deep palace, neglected the government affairs, and openly asked for the treasury, becoming another extremely incompetent emperor in the Ming Dynasty.

Confucian officials could not decide the emperor's mind, and moral education could not replace the restriction of strength.

"It's a good book, but it may not be the book your majesty should read."

Because it is rich in pictures and text, it did inspire the young emperor's interest in reading.

The emperor should learn the kingly way rather than Confucianism.

This attitude can be said to be pedantic, or it can be said that the style of the scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period still exists, which is quite similar to the style of Mencius.

This is what Emperor Wen meant. ”

The guiding ideology of Zhang Juzheng in compiling this book is very clear, that is, "Look at the good ones, take them as teachers"; "Look at the bad ones, use them as warnings."

Wei Guangde sighed.

"Have you read that book? What reasons do you have to oppose it?"

The ideal of Confucian officials is that the emperor's mind determines everything, and Confucian officials decide the emperor's mind.

Chen Ju knew the reason and felt that Wei Guangde's words made sense, and he was even more confused.

If you oppose the book compiled by Zhang Juzheng, you have to let him give reasons. Can those reasons be said?

"Shan Dai, but what's wrong with that book? ”

Therefore, this book can also be said to be a general declaration by the Confucian officials in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, which expressed the fantasies and demands of the civil service group or Confucianism on the monarch. It is a dream that was fully realized.

Emperor Longqing did a good job at the beginning. After he came to power, he made full use of Gao Gong's temperament and made him oppose Xu Jie.

Chen Ju has also read the book. In this era, most people who read books will not realize deeper things after reading this book.

Wei Guangde just said lightly.

If things more than ten years ago can be regarded as history, Wei Guangde is still telling history.

Chen Ju nodded. He realized that Wei Guangde told the little emperor about the old things of the Jiajing Dynasty, which was actually instilling in him the balance of Emperor Jiajing in the court.

When the little emperor How strong will the stress reaction be when he really grows up and truly realizes that the so-called wise rulers in the books are actually puppets of civil officials?

He has never learned these things, and has even been taught to reject these ideas and methods, because these are extremely evil in the eyes of civil officials and should be rejected by "ancient wise rulers".

Now your majesty is still young, so naturally he will do what the book says, but once he grows up and learns to think independently, he will find that things in the world are completely different from what the book says.

The second part is titled "The Mistakes of Madness and Foolishness", which records a total of 36 "evil deeds that can be used as a warning" of 20 emperors from the three generations to the present.

"They may be qualified as teachers, but they cannot be considered qualified imperial teachers. "

It has to be said that this was Zhang Juzheng's mistake.

Although it was different each time, it was still roughly the same. At least if you follow the old routine, you won't make a big mistake.

Did the Wanli Emperor in history understand it?

He should have understood it, but he didn't learn how to control him.

Judging from the later performance of the Wanli Emperor, Zhang Juzheng was just daydreaming.

If you do it well, you will naturally be remembered in history.

Correspondingly, the imperial power also needs to be restricted by the prime minister's power to prevent the emperor from acting according to his own likes and dislikes and causing endless harm.

"Shan Dai is the imperial teacher of my Wanli Dynasty."

At this time, Chen Ju finally sighed. (End of this chapter)