***
This time, the court passed safely. But the turmoil did not subside, and the problem was not solved. On the contrary, the longer the problem was accumulated, the more violent it would be when it broke out.
The Qin Dynasty holds a court meeting every five days. Avoiding this court meeting only bought Qin Mu five days. Within these five days, he must quickly and effectively direct the flow of energy, otherwise this overwhelming torrent will really burst the dam.
After the court meeting, Qin Mu held a banquet in Wuying Hall to congratulate Su Jin on his great victory with his ministers. While the imperial kitchen was preparing the banquet, Qin Mu urgently summoned Huang Lianshan, the commander-in-chief of Yebushou, and Wang Fuzhi, a Hanlin scholar, to Jianjia Hall.
No one knows what the emperor talked about with the two men. When Huang Lianshan left, he looked normal, but he walked faster and disappeared in a hurry. When Wang Fuzhi left, he looked solemn and seemed unable to lift his feet. It can be said that he had difficulty walking.
At noon, Qin Mu arrived at Wuying Palace on time to entertain his ministers.
In fact, only officials above the third rank were eligible to attend the banquet this time, and Qin Mu made this decision after careful consideration. Civil officials above the third rank were mainly cabinet assistants, seven or six ministers, assistant ministers, and various temple officials, so the number was not very large.
As for the military generals, there were many of them. Most of the founding generals were either dukes or marquises. There were as many as thirty-two people who were granted the title of marquis.
As a result, the number of military officers who came to the banquet was nearly twice that of civil officials, and the momentum was great. And the military officers stood on the side of the emperor.
At the banquet, Qin Mu looked cheerful, but he was a little cold to the civil officials. He was drinking and chatting happily with the military officers, and the atmosphere was lively. Needless to say, Liu Meng and others strongly supported the emperor, which made the civil officials very jealous.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Qin Mu calmed down and said, "I know that you ministers are worried that I will abandon Confucianism and follow the Legalists. As the saying goes, a king should not joke. Today I can tell you clearly that I will not abandon Confucianism and follow the Legalists.
As the saying goes, punishing without teaching is cruelty. Confucianism guides people to benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and brotherhood. These ideas must be upheld by a country and a society. Without these things, people are no different from animals.
The Legalists defended the last line of social order. They should not use punishment as a means to solve social problems until the last resort. This is my view on Confucianism and Legalism.
In other words, Confucianism must be the main and first, while Legalism should be the auxiliary and last. Otherwise, it is punishing without teaching. Legalism can defend the last social bottom line, but it has no ability to lead people to a higher moral level, and only Confucianism can do this.
However, the two schools should not be contradictory or in opposition. Today, we, the ruler and the ministers, may as well speak frankly. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, although most dynasties have only respected Confucianism, the actual situation is that without Legalism, the country will be in chaos.
Confucianism is the main thing, and law is the auxiliary thing. This has always been the true situation in every dynasty. I think you ministers will not deny it. If it were not so, why would every dynasty need to make laws
Now I want to promote judicial reform, but I do not mean to abandon education and use cruel laws. I have always believed that the deterrent effect of punishment does not lie in its severity, but in its inevitability.
What I want to do is not to make many cruel laws to deter evil people, but to let evil people know that whoever does not listen to Confucianism will not escape the punishment of Legalism. On the contrary, as long as he listens to the teachings of Confucianism and practices benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and brotherhood, he does not have to worry about being punished by Legalism. That is all I want to do. "
Qin Mu's words were sincere and heartfelt.
But this did not reassure everyone. Yao Peizhen, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. We believe that every word you say is from the heart. However, scholars in the world may not think so. Ministers and scholars in the world are worried that although your Majesty has no intention of abandoning Confucianism and following the law, the current judicial reform has actually made the Legalists superior to the Confucians.
As the saying goes, those who are in the right path will have many supporters, while those who are in the wrong path will have few supporters. Now almost everyone in the world is against judicial reform. As a minister, I am loyal to the emperor and I have no choice but to advise Your Majesty for the sake of the world. The will of the people cannot be violated. I hope Your Majesty will think twice."
"Yao Qing, haven't I made it clear enough? I use the law to protect the last bottom line of society. Confucianism advocates benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and brotherhood. This is the most important thing. The difference between the primary and the secondary is clear at a glance. How can the Legalists be superior to the Confucians?"
"Your Majesty may not have such intentions, but the policies you issue are becoming more important than the law, and this is obvious to all the world!"
Yao Peizhen's words were equivalent to directly contradicting the emperor. Some of the civil officials sat in silence with their heads down, while others nodded frequently. As for the military generals, most of them glared at Yao Peizhen, showing great dissatisfaction with him.
As an emperor, Qin Mu certainly would not get furious about this. Getting angry will not make you look more powerful. Anyway, it will only make you look less valuable.
He said slowly, "I am willing to reform the judiciary, but only to make it more fair and professional, so as to benefit the people of the world. How can it be confused with emphasizing the law over Confucianism? Mr. Yao, I want to ask you, as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, you handle cases according to the law every day. If you say so, can it be considered that you are a disciple of the Legalists and a traitor to the Confucianists?"
Hao Yaoqi, Zhu Yijin and many other military generals burst into laughter. Yao Peizhen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was speechless. However, the one who refuted him was the current emperor, and he did not dare to turn his face against him. The expression on his face was like a dyeing factory, with patches of red, white, black and yellow.
Sima An, Lu Zhenfei, Li Yuan, Yang Tinglin and other important ministers who served as assistant ministers of the cabinet, all had their eyebrows lowered and looked aloof from the world.
Qin Mu spread out his sleeves and gently pressed down to stop the laughter of Hao Yaoqi and other generals, then said calmly: "In all dynasties, there have been laws. It is a consensus in the world that the law cannot be abolished. Since the law cannot be abolished, what's wrong with my intention to make it more perfect and efficient
As important officials of the court and pillars of the country, you should understand the reason behind this. How can you just follow the crowd and insist on regarding my efforts to improve the judiciary as valuing law over Confucianism? What's the logic behind this
In the "Things to Know When Taking Office" written by Emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, for new officials, after filial piety to heaven and earth, matters of criminal justice were the most important, which showed respect for life.
If we follow the outside world's words, wouldn't Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty also value law over Confucianism? The ministers present today are my right-hand men and I need your assistance. Therefore, I can tell you again without getting tired of it:
My strategy for governing the country is based on Confucianism, advocating benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety and fraternity, guiding the people's moral level to a higher level and making society more harmonious and healthy.
In addition, with the help of legalism, we should clarify the bottom line of society, so that all officials and citizens know which bottom line they cannot touch. Whoever touches it will not be able to escape the punishment of the law. "
Lu Zhenfei was the first to stand up and bow, saying, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. I am willing to assist Your Majesty in completing the judicial reform."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
“… ... ... ... .”
In fact, the important officials selected by Qin Mu are rarely corrupt scholars. Their thoughts are usually more open-minded. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to occupy important positions under Qin Mu.
At today's banquet, Qin Mu spoke to them heart to heart and seemed very sincere.
At the same time, he has a lot of tough skills today. Look at the brave generals who are twice as many as the civil officials. These people have crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Since the emperor started his army, he often led his troops to charge into battle and was invincible. He has an unparalleled lofty status in the hearts of the military generals.
The emperor has been so frank today. If everyone continues to pester him, no one can guarantee that the emperor will not be enraged and go to extremes.
Lu Zhenfei and others can be very sure that as long as the emperor gives an order, those fierce generals who have crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood will never care about your Confucianism or Legalism. They will only use their butcher knives to send you to become an immortal.
Never challenge the emperor's bottom line, especially a founding emperor with great martial arts skills like Qin Mu.
Today the emperor did not compare himself with anyone else, but only with Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, and finally emphasized some bottom line.
Anyone with a slightly more delicate mind should know that the emperor has really shown his bottom line this time. If anyone challenges the emperor's bottom line again, he probably won't mind clearing out the court with blood like Zhu Yuanzhang did.
Thinking about this, it is inevitable that people are thrilling, so Lu Zhenfei took the lead to stand up and show his sincerity to Qin Mu... (To be continued...)
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