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History has its inevitability as well as its contingency.
The words spoken by Liang Cheng and Liang Zhongzhi in Shengshihua Tower triggered a dispute between Confucianism and Legalism, which quickly spread like wildfire. The scholars in the capital argued endlessly about this and the public was in an uproar.
As far as this matter is concerned, there is both inevitability and contingency.
The judicial reform that Qin Mu vigorously promoted not only touched the vital interests of many officials, but also increasingly enhanced the status of "law", which seemed to be above everything else.
China has been the only orthodox school of thought for nearly two thousand years. It would be strange if this move did not arouse the vigilance of Confucian disciples. This is why it is necessary.
As for the randomness, it means that this storm was not caused by anyone deliberately, but was caused by a few words in the casual chat of a group of scholars.
In any case, the powder keg was detonated, and the dispute between Confucianism and Legalism quickly became raging throughout the Qin Dynasty, especially because of the telegraph, the speed of information transmission was rapid.
Moreover, this trend spread from top to bottom, and most local officials also participated in it. To be honest, those local officials who were deprived of the power of judicial trial were the biggest "victims" of this judicial reform. It would be strange if they did not take advantage of the situation to push forward this trend of Confucianism and Legalism.
There are so many officials from all over the country. With their push, this will no longer be a spark that sets the prairie on fire, but a blaze that will fill the sky.
Qin Mu finally understood Zhu Yuanzhang's difficulties. Zhu had creatively come up with the road passes to restrict the free movement of the people and confine the entire nation to one acre and three mu of land. If there had been no telegraph, if he had also confined the people of the country to a few miles away like Zhu Yuanzhang did, this trend would not have spread so quickly and so violently.
The New Year holiday is just around the corner, but people are still so restless that scholars are knocking on the imperial palace and submitting petitions regardless of their lives, and memorials from officials from all over the country are pouring in.
In the Jianjia Palace, Qin Mu was almost overwhelmed by the pile of memorials. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, having a severe headache.
The one who came to serve Mo that day was Li Xiangjun. Seeing his appearance, she couldn't help but said distressedly: "Your Majesty, why don't you go back to the back hall and lie down for a good rest. When Your Majesty has enough energy, maybe you can naturally think of a way to deal with it."
"Xiangjun, please don't mention any law to me. The whole country is so great, the whole country is so great. This time, the whole country seems to be standing against me."
"Even if everyone stands against Your Majesty, I will still stand with Your Majesty." The petite and weak Li Xiangjun said without thinking.
After hearing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but hug her and said, "I know, I know everything." He seemed calm on the surface, but he unconsciously used "I" to refer to himself instead of "I". From these subtle changes, Li Xiangjun could feel the change in his mood.
She put her arms around his neck and said tenderly, "Your Majesty, you are tired. Take a rest first. I will accompany you and guard you..."
Qin Mu said nothing more. He returned to the back hall and lay down on the warm bed, trying to relax himself. He hugged Li Xiangjun. The beautiful woman was in his arms, but he didn't have a single desire. He just hugged her and lay quietly. He was really tired, mentally exhausted.
Judicial reform is the core of all his reforms, and he has almost exhausted all his energy on it. He did not expect that at this critical juncture, it would arouse opposition from the whole country.
Originally, the controversy over Shengshi Hualou would not have caused such a big stir for a while, but once the news of the Judicial Academy to be organized by Yang Shen from the Dali Temple came out, it added fuel to the fire and the situation became out of control.
When he first established the Institute of Technology, he personally presided over the opening ceremony, which was of such high standard that the Institute of Justice could not match it, and no one opposed it at the time. Now, the Institute of Justice has not even been seen, only the news has been spread, so why has it caused such a strong opposition
Qin Mu lay in bed and thought about the reason. He felt that the science and engineering college did not cause much opposition at that time. It might be mainly because the scholars in the world still consciously regarded "science and engineering" as a kind of strange and cunning skill. They thought that engineering was a hopeless case. No matter how much the emperor promoted it, engineering could not threaten the status of Confucianism.
But the Legalists were different. The pre-Qin dynasty used Legalism to govern the country and gained power. During the Qin and Warring States periods, Legalism was one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, on par with Confucianism.
What is more important is that although Confucianism was the only school of thought that was respected throughout the world after Emperor Wu of Han, Legalism was actually always indispensable. It can even be said that in many critical periods, the role of Legalism was actually greater than that of Confucianism.
In fact, scholars all over the world are well aware of this.
Among the various schools of thought, if we look closely, the only ones that are truly capable of threatening the status of Confucianism are Legalism and Taoism. Confucianism regards Legalism as a strong rival, so it is naturally most wary of it.
Previously, whether it was the establishment of a medical school, a foreign language school, or a polytechnic, no one felt threatened, so the reaction was lukewarm.
Now they were going to establish a judicial academy, which was a big deal. Legalism had always been a huge threat to Confucianism. If they were allowed to openly set up a college and train officials for the court,
In the future, students graduating from the Judicial College will have a greater chance of becoming an official than Confucian disciples who pass the imperial examination. After becoming an official, they will enter the judicial system and be able to supervise and restrict the Confucian administrative system.
With this calculation, it is hard to say which one is more respected, Legalism or Confucianism.
Therefore, once the news of the establishment of the Judicial College came out, it was like pouring oil on a flame, and finally ignited a huge wave of opposition across the country.
Thinking about the mountain of memorials on the imperial desk, and thinking about tomorrow's regular court session, which would probably be another endless and loud debate, Qin Mu felt tired, really tired.
There are times when the emperor is powerless. At such times, you cannot raise the butcher knife. If you do so, the country will be in chaos.
This situation was something Qin Mu had not expected before. He previously believed that judicial issues were purely legal issues rather than political issues.
Now, people no longer say that this is a political issue, but rather that it is a question of right and wrong that challenges the supremacy of Confucianism. This is a much more serious political issue.
If you are not in a position to do so, do not meddle in other people's affairs. It is indeed a political issue, and many scholars are too lazy to care about it. But if you challenge Confucianism, you are challenging the bottom line of all scholars.
Li Xiangjun listened to his heartbeat. Although he closed his eyes, Li Xiangjun could hear the ups and downs of his mood from his heartbeat. She hugged her gently and murmured, "Your Majesty, don't think about it anymore. Your Majesty is not alone. You still have the people of the world. Your Majesty still has Nunu. Your Majesty is working for the long-term stability of the country and the well-being of the people of the world. Nunu believes that the people of the world understand your Majesty's good intentions."
Qin Mu couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Xiang Jun, don't forget that the right to speak in this world is not in my hands, but in the hands of the readers. Whatever they say, the people will believe it. I'm afraid that right now, I don't know how many people are scolding me for being a tyrant."
"No, no, Your Majesty has devoted countless efforts to the people of this world and implemented so many good policies that benefit the world. How could the people be so ungrateful?"
"I'm not ungrateful, but ordinary people have no say in judicial reform. Even if they are happy to see judicial reform, they can't form a voice to support me. The people's hearts are like water, and they are most easily influenced by those who love reading..."
"No... No, Your Majesty, I didn't mean... Oh, what I meant was that Your Majesty is not alone. Scholars can influence the opinions of the people, so why can't I? Your Majesty, in the eyes of the people of the world, you are a sage comparable to Shun and Yao. Your words have unparalleled appeal among the people.
In addition to the people, Your Majesty also has an army. Your Majesty is the founding monarch. You have fought on the battlefield for many years, shared hardships with the soldiers, and have been invincible. Your Majesty's prestige in the army is unmatched.
By the way, there are also meritorious officials, wealthy merchants, and these people are all grateful to Your Majesty. Has Your Majesty forgotten the power of Xu Yongshun and others? Their business practices are all over the country.
Judicial reform is good for them. They don't care about Confucianism or Legalism. Your Majesty, think about it. You have the army, the people, and the money. How much do you have? Your Majesty, I will also stand with you..."
Li Xiangjun said the last sentence in a naive tone, intending to make Qin Mu happy. She really did it. After hearing her words, Qin Mu felt quite enlightened. While laughing, he hugged her and kissed her deeply.
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ps: By the way, there will be double monthly tickets at the end of the month, dear friends, you know what I mean. (To be continued...)
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