Volume 4 Chapter 8: Heavenly Principle
Zhao Jiu was frivolous and unreasonable, as if he was drunk and broke into the prime minister's house to cause trouble... Actually, it's hard to say "as if", because he really had a few drinks of "Blue Bridge Fengyue" with Han Shizhong and others today, and then broke in.
From this perspective, it was indeed a case of provoking trouble while drunk.
Of course, turning back, except for a few people who really didn't understand, everyone realized that although Emperor Zhao seemed to be strolling around at the end of the year, he actually had serious business to discuss with Prime Minister Lu, and the matter seemed to be quite relevant.
After hesitating for a while, Lu Benzhong finally decided to remind his father before he could speak: "My old poems have made the emperor laugh."
"What's so funny?" Zhao Jiu brushed the table in front of him and said casually. "At that time, the country was destroyed and the family was ruined. It seemed that there was no chance of survival north of the Yangtze River. Your father was also disheartened by the events of Jingkang, so he resigned from his official position and prepared to move south to live out his life. You were ordered to leave your hometown in Shouzhou and buy a house in Liuzhou. It seemed that there was no future for you in this life, and the family's generations of nobles might be destroyed. With a bleak heart, it was normal for you to have such a poem."
Only then did Lu Haowen realize that the absurd words spoken by the official actually had a source, and were related to the darkest time for his son, the entire Lu family, and even the entire country... It was just that his son wrote too many poems on a daily basis, so he didn't pay attention to it.
But this further confirmed that the official came prepared this time.
"At that time, I didn't know your majesty was so powerful, how could I have thought that I would have this day?" Lü Benzhong responded helplessly. "Today, I am back to my old home in Tokyo. During the New Year, my family and friends gathered together to write poems. Thinking back to my mood at that time, it is really ridiculous..."
"It's one time at a time, it's another time."
Zhao Jiu shook his head, but found a pot of "Blue Bridge Wind Moon" on the stove behind him, and a few clean cups, so he took the opportunity to take it over, and then poured himself a cup, drinking and talking. "Today's entertainment mood is not fake, but is the depressed mood at that time also fake? It's just that one or two lines of poetry seem a little interesting now. It's just like the first prime minister of your Lu family's ancestors, Xu Guogong Lu Mengzheng, didn't he study in a broken kiln when he didn't pass the imperial examination? How could he have thought that the Lu family, starting from him, would have four prime ministers in five generations? People say that the Han family of Meihua is to this dynasty just like the Yuan family of Runan is to the Later Han Dynasty. If so, isn't your Lu family as prominent as the Yang family of Hongnong?"
It was winter and the courtyard was cold, but Lü Benzhong was sweating profusely. After hearing these heart-piercing words, even a calm and prudent person like Lü Haowen could no longer sit still and could only stand up and salute:
"Our family is so prominent because of the grace of the world..."
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Zhao Jiu looked at the vegetarian food in front of him and felt a little bored, so he just continued to drink. "It's fate. Your family has been three dukes for four generations, not to mention three dukes for nine generations. It's none of my business if they live together with the country. And we, the king and the minister, can't have what we have today because of those things... At that time, I fell into the well and was seriously injured. I couldn't even recognize the past for a while, so I was taken advantage of by the traitor Kang Lu and trapped in Mingdao Palace. If it weren't for Prime Minister Lu, Prime Minister Zhang, and Zhengfu, I would have been unable to escape... right?"
The others held their breath, Lu Haowen sighed slightly, and the other party involved, Yang Yizhong, lowered his head and remained silent.
"At that time, I remember that Mr. Lu had already submitted a petition to go south, and he probably wanted to spend the rest of his life in Lingnan. It was just because I was injured that I reluctantly stayed to wait and see." Zhao Jiu drank a few more cups, lowered his head and looked at the sundries on the table with more emotion. "So this person's achievement, if you want to talk about a person who stood out from the crowd, you also have to talk about time and fate..."
"People like the deceased Zong Xianggong and the living Li Yanxian are heroes who have risen up at the right time. They are like a spark in the pitch-black night, ready to start a prairie fire. They are also like a pillar in the midst of a raging flood, standing firm against the odds and not falling... People like these have earned their fame and fortune by themselves. Even if they meet a tyrant, they will still have a good reputation after their death."
"Then there are people like Prince Yan'an and Mr. Xu who can no longer hold on. They are talented, timely, and have good luck, so they are three times better than Li Yanxian and Mr. Zong. They enjoy wealth and honor while they are alive, and leave a legacy in history after their death... This is what they deserve."
Hearing this, Han Shizhong puffed out his chest slightly, but seeing that the atmosphere was not right, he had to slightly tighten his abdomen and pretend to look up to enjoy the scenery.
"But there are also people like me, like you, Lord Lu, and even Lord Wang, who should have been the last one to die..."
At this point, Zhao Jiu drank the whole thing in one gulp, holding the empty cup and sneered. "According to me, the three of us actually have neither outstanding talents nor extraordinary courage. We were just forced to a position by the current situation, and then we looked around and found that there was no one to replace us, and no one to rely on. It was difficult to abandon basic conscience and morality to do shameful things, so we reluctantly supported each other and managed to hold on... Lord Lu, do you understand what I mean?"
"I dare not agree with this. Your Majesty is powerful and everyone in the country knows it..." Lu Haowen bowed his head.
"Others may not know my 'divine power', but don't you?" Zhao Jiu held the wine glass and almost fell down with laughter. "And what I want to say is not that you are incompetent, nor that I am alone, but that no matter what, you and I, as well as people like Wang Xianggong, have already shared honor and disgrace in life and death. Because no matter what, the emperor who created this situation is me, the prime minister of the capital province is you, and the Privy Council is Wang Xianggong... The two rivers have not been recovered yet, and they all say that the country has been revived. If it is really a revival, then who is the leader of the revival if not me? And who is the first meritorious official of the revival if not you, Lu Haowen? What's the point of you refusing again?"
Lü Haowen was about to speak, but Emperor Zhao suddenly pressed his wine glass on the table, forcing him to continue asking questions: "And speaking of that, if one day we are easily defeated like Western Chu, Former Jin, and Later Tang, or if we hesitate and stay in peace, I will become a laughing stock for all eternity, and won't you, Lü Haowen, also be a laughing stock for all eternity? Lord Lü, your family and the country are worth less than shit in my eyes, but you and I are the king and minister, and we will rise and fall together, and we will fall together, which is an ironclad fact, and it cannot be deviated or distorted no matter what you and I think... Last year, I asked you once at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain. At the beginning of the year, in front of Yiyou Gate, we had both the intention of entrusting the orphan to you and the intention of gambling. When we returned victorious in autumn, you advised me to slow down a bit, and I slowed down for several months. Now it is the twelfth month, do you want me to slow down until next year?!"
By the end of his speech, Zhao Jiu had lost his smile. Lu Haowen knew that he was ready to be frank with the emperor, but he bowed slowly and said, "Your Majesty, I will speak alone!"
Zhao Jiu nodded, but raised his hand slightly to the right.
Immediately, Prince of Yan'an Han Shizhong and other generals, officers and attendants stood up and saluted, then hurried away. On the other side, the relatives and friends of the Lu clan also bowed their heads and saluted, then walked away.
"Lü Benzhong, stay." Zhao Jiu suddenly said. "If your father can't do it today, maybe you, as his son, will have to do it."
Lu Ben's heart trembled with fear, but he could only turn around and stand on the empty space between the tables a few dozen steps away from the emperor and his father, with his hands clasped and his head lowered in silence.
Seeing that there were only three people left in the backyard, Lu Haowen said helplessly: "Your Majesty, my son was born early, and he encountered so many things by accident. He is over 40 years old and has not yet entered the officialdom. What's the point of keeping him?"
"What I want is the Lu family school, which has a place in Taoism, and your position as prime minister. After all, he is your eldest son and the heir of the Lu family school, right? If you don't do it, I will let him do it in your name." Zhao Jiu continued to pour wine. "Lu Xianggong, please sit down... Let's talk slowly today... It's your turn."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Haowen turned around and sat behind a table on one side, sighing a few times before speaking. "I understand the emperor's intentions and the importance of this matter... During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, hundreds of schools of thought contended with each other. Confucianism was the only school of thought in the Former Han Dynasty, and the ancient and modern texts were the only ones in the Later Han Dynasty. In this dynasty, the interaction between heaven and man and the cycle of the five virtues were almost abandoned, and everyone wanted to find another way to achieve the great way... Academics may seem like empty talk, but they have always been a fundamental matter of the country. Whether there is an official and respectable doctrine is the difference between doing twice as much work with half the effort and doing half as much work with twice the effort."
Zhao Jiu poured himself a glass of wine and drank continuously.
"Your Majesty." At this point, Lu Haowen looked at Zhao Jiu seriously. "As your Majesty said, we, the king and his subjects, have been through so much, and we dare not say one, two, two, one, but your Majesty has this request, and I should do my best. Moreover, your Majesty has had this intention for a long time, and I knew it as early as last year at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain..."
"Then why do you still pretend to be deaf and dumb?"
"There are two reasons why I pretend to be deaf. This is because I still have a few difficulties..."
"You also think that the New Party ruined the country?" Zhao Jiu sneered while holding the cup. "The New Learning ruined the country? Do I have to say that? The ones who ruined the country were the two saints of Beishou, especially the Emperor Taishang Daojun. As early as the Jingkang period, you were afraid to say that it was actually him who ruined the country because of the respect for him. And because of decades of party strife and grievances between the New and Old Parties, you took the opportunity to point fingers at Cai Jing and throw all the responsibility for the country's ruin to the New Party, the New Learning, and even Wang Anshi... There is one thing I still dare to say now... It's too shameless!"
Seeing this kind of scene for the first time, Lü Benzhong's heart was already in turmoil. Lü Haowen, on the other hand, became more and more docile: "In fact, what new party or old party, new school or old school, the past grudges, I don't care about them anymore. At least I won't argue with the government over such a personal matter..."
"I knew I could trust Mr. Lu." Zhao Jiu was relieved and quickly poured wine, then raised his glass and sighed. "In fact, I know that most of the new laws have bad effects. Later, when Cai Jing and his people controlled the New Party and the government, eight out of ten new laws were bad... But the problem is that no matter what, Wang Anshi's original intention of reform must be affirmed, and changes must be required when it is not feasible! Sitting in limbo and waiting for death is absolutely not advisable! This is the basis for my determination to protect the new learning!"
"Your Majesty." Lu Haowen waited for the other party to finish speaking before continuing helplessly. "The reason why I have never agreed to this matter with your Majesty is not that I cannot change your political course, but that there are naturally some shortcomings in the new learning of King Shu (Wang Anshi). This involves the unique learning of the sages, and I dare not go against the laws of nature... What is the difference between doing so and abandoning the country and surrendering to the Jin Dynasty?"
Zhao Jiu immediately drank another cup and then sighed... Of course he understood what the other party meant. It was that in the eyes of people like Lu Haowen who belonged to a branch of Taoism, the new school of thought was ultimately a theory with huge and obvious errors and omissions. Asking him to promote this thing was as absurd as a government in later generations forcing a scientist to promote the flat earth theory.
However, after sighing, Emperor Zhao shook his head, but instead of getting angry, he smiled: "We talked about this matter at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain. I seem to remember that it is not right in terms of morality and ethics?"
"It's not wrong, it's missing." Lu Haowen explained helplessly. "So that the emperor knows that Wang Shuwang (Wang Anshi)'s knowledge and morality are impeccable, but even he can't study the fundamentals of heaven and man... There are two major shortcomings in the new school. One is the explanation of the universe, that is, what is the so-called heavenly principle? The new school doesn't mention it at all! The other is what kind of interactive relationship there is between heavenly principle and man, how man can obtain heavenly principle, he didn't mention it! Although Taoism and Buddhism are not perfect, Taoism says that heavenly principle is nothing, and Buddhism says that heavenly principle is empty... And the reason why these Neo-Confucianists and Taoists are called Neo-Confucianists and Taoists is that we are trying to find a heavenly principle for Confucianism!"
Zhao Jiu continued to pour himself a glass of wine, as if to give himself courage, but he was already a little drunk: "In other words, compared with Buddhism and Taoism, the new school is actually just missing a foundation? Compared with Neo-Confucianism or Taoism, it is just missing half a foundation?"
Lu Haowen finally lost his composure: "Your Majesty, you are missing half of the foundation, isn't that enough? How many great scholars have spent their whole lives studying classics, and several generations of people and factions have studied non-stop, only to find this half foundation..."
"It's still that ridiculous 'qi'?!" Zhao Jiu raised his glass and drank again, sneering unbearably.
"Your Majesty!" Lü Haowen stood up and faced him sternly. "Although Hu Anguo's 'qi' has obvious flaws, he dared to take this step, and it must have been decades of hard work. How can it be ridiculous?!"
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so frivolous." Zhao Jiu put down his wine glass, looked up at the sky and said, "To be honest, Mr. Lu, I have studied Hu Anguo's 'qi' a lot these days... and I have gained a lot of experience."
Lu Haowen frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, do you want to connect Hu Anguo's Qi with Wang Shuwang's new learning? Forgive me for being frank, but it would be better to learn from the Buddhist concept of emptiness."
"I would rather use 'qi' than 'kong'!" Zhao Jiu sneered at his prime minister again. "Prince Lu, do you think that I am talking nonsense when I tell you to eat more meat and less vegetables?"
"Your Majesty." Lu Haowen tried to suppress his emotions and advised. "I know that your Majesty hates Buddhism, but that is a Buddhist problem and has nothing to do with the doctrine. It's like your Majesty thinks that the bad one is Cai Jing, not the new school... It's not the same thing! Moreover, Buddhism has indeed gone a step further here. Even Hu Anguo's 'Qi' has borrowed from Buddhism and Taoism, hasn't it?"
"I'm just making a comparison. In fact, the reason I came here today is to ask you, Mr. Lu, to come forward and help me complete this natural law (cosmology) and then sew on the newly learned utilitarianism, right?" Zhao Jiu was also obviously impatient.
But when these words came out, not only did Lü Benzhong feel bitter when he heard them from a distance, but even Lü Haowen, who had a good character, finally became furious: "Your Majesty! If I could explain this heavenly principle (which is consistent with the Confucian worldview) to you in person, I would have become a saint long ago!"
"That's hard to say." Zhao Jiu quickly poured another glass of Lanqiao Fengyue, then raised the cup to the sky and said, "If I were to ask you, today's weather is very good, and the yin and yang meet, it's a good time to comprehend the principles of heaven... Maybe we, the king and his subjects, can make up for this principle of heaven, and then you, Lord Lu, can use it to sew new knowledge, and you will really become a saint!"
"The emperor has drunk too much!" Lu Haowen angrily waved his sleeves.
"Taishigong said that one should study the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes of ancient and modern times, and form his own opinion." Zhao Jiu was already half drunk, but he didn't care and sighed at the sky. "Zhuangzi said that one should judge the beauty of heaven and earth and analyze the principles of all things. Mr. Hengqu said that one should establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, inherit the unique knowledge of the past sages, and create peace for all generations... There are also 172 questions in Qu Yuan's Heavenly Questions. I have thought about it for a long time and have already known it in my heart. That is, the theory of heaven's principles must exist! With it, I can drive Confucian officials with half the effort. Without it, I will get half the result with twice the effort!"
Lu Haowen glanced at his son Lu Benzhong, and the father and son looked at each other and sighed... The meaning was very clear, the official was drunk, and Lu Haowen had clearly said this before.
"In my opinion, Hu Anguo's biggest problem is that he regards everything as 'qi', but he doesn't know that his qi is too broad. It should be divided into two parts, one is principle, and the other is matter." Zhao Jiu looked up at the sky and kept talking. The white gas around his mouth kept dissipating, but kept pouring out again. "So, we should change it like this. The so-called heavenly principle is one, the principle of heaven (the basic law of the universe), and the other is the origin of heaven (the matter that constitutes the universe, which can be atoms)... Things and principles are not the same thing. We have to separate matter from the concept of heavenly principle... Mr. Lu, do you think I am right?"
You know what, Lu Haowen and Lu Benzhong were stunned. They actually felt that the official's drunken words were quite interesting, and even had some connection with the statements of the Cheng brothers, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism.
"Then may I ask the emperor..." Lü Haowen was almost helpless and decided to perfunctorily answer. Anyway, if he continued to ask, the emperor would definitely end up in a dead end like those Neo-Confucian and Taoist predecessors. "Since we are talking about Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions", then I would like to ask the emperor a few questions based on the "Heavenly Questions"... If it is like this, 'before the heaven and earth had a shape, how can we study it (before the heaven and earth had a shape, what was the universe like)?'"
"Naturally, the principles of heaven existed first (the basic laws governing the operation of the universe came first) and converged into Tai Chi (the origin of the universe)." Zhao Jiu's face flushed as he answered calmly.
Lu Haowen didn't care. It was just the initial setting, so he could say whatever he wanted. So the minister just nodded and continued to ask perfunctorily: "Who can understand the darkness? Feng Yi only has an image, how can he recognize it? (However, how did the chaos get to the state of being clear)?"
"Taiji suddenly gave birth to Yin and Yang (the Big Bang), and from Yin and Yang came the Origin of Heaven (atoms gradually formed after the Big Bang)." Zhao Jiu looked at the sky and blurted out this noun substitution, which took him two or three months to sort out. "The Origin of Heaven came out, following the principles of Heaven, and then all things were born (atoms formed various substances), and all things also followed the principles of Heaven, and naturally they were clear and discernible."
Lu Haowen thought about it for a while, and was sure that the logic was still valid, so he continued to ask perfunctorily: "Your Majesty's words have already mentioned the first few questions of "Heavenly Questions". Then I would like to ask your Majesty, since all things are born and yin and yang are known...what is the next time of light and darkness (what is the time of day and night)?"
"The sky gave birth to all things. Among all things, there is an extremely yang thing that removes yang and collects yin, which is spherical, and that is the sun; there is an extremely yin thing, which is also spherical, and that is the earth, which removes yin and collects yang... The earth rotates on itself, and is attracted by the sun and revolves around the sun, and light and darkness are generated by itself." Zhao Jiu blurted out, but he was a little nervous, as if he was afraid that his mediocre level would not be able to make the logic self-consistent. "In fact, these things can be verified slowly in the future... It is better than the great world and small world of Buddhism... I know that Mr. Lu's question is not here."
Lu Benzhong's eyes were blank, as if he was dizzy by the spherical shape of the sun and the big earth, and their rotation and revolution.
However, his father Lu Haowen sighed after hearing what Zhao Jiu said, gave up thinking about the two balls and went straight to the point: "Then may I ask the emperor, whether it is the way of heaven or the principle of heaven (the basic laws and truths of the operation of the universe), how can it be reflected in people? How can people obtain the principle of heaven?"
"Human beings are things," Zhao Jiuqing knew he had come to the crux of the matter, but he still answered with a stiff upper lip. "Things carry the laws of nature."
"So that's what you say." Lu Haowen finally laughed. "Everything is based on the laws of nature, right?"
"That's exactly what I mean!" Zhao Jiu threw down the empty cup in his hand and slammed the table in response. "So we must study things to gain knowledge, and study all things to gain insight into the principles of heaven!"
Lu Haowen opened his mouth to speak, but was a little dazed for a moment, because it sounded as if he really connected people, things and the principles of heaven? And the reason why they were connected was that at the beginning, Emperor Zhao divided Hu Anguo's general "qi" into the principles of heaven and all things, stripping all things from the originally chaotic concept of the principles of heaven.
Lu Haowen was dumbfounded. He spoke after a long while, but with more caution and seriousness: "Sir... If this is the case, this person is also a creature and also carries the laws of nature. Then what about human morality? Why do some people not follow morality?"
"Morality is that people are born with desires, and desires naturally follow the laws of nature. However, humans are the most intelligent creatures in the world, and they are born against the will of heaven. They are unstable, so sometimes they have excessive desires, or their desires are too shallow, which goes against the laws of nature. At this time, we must study things to gain knowledge, fundamentally understand what the laws of nature are, and then guide desires. This is the so-called unique learning of the ancient sages, so we must follow human desires and distinguish the laws of nature..." Zhao Jiu gritted his teeth and talked nonsense, but the more he talked, the more afraid he became. "In fact, I don't know how this person is, but Mr. Lu, after all I have said for a long time, it is better than Hu Anguo's "qi", right? Just tell me if it can be connected with the new learning? I think it can be done, right?"
There was already a hint of pleading in Emperor Zhao's words, but Lu Haowen was stunned and speechless. He stood there for a long time with his hands behind his back. He wanted to speak several times, but in the end he couldn't.
Besides, he had been with this official for so long, how could he not know what level of Confucianism this official had? It was certainly true that he had been "studying" for a few months... But the problem was, the "heavenly principles" that he had "studied" out of, did their logic seem to make sense? It seemed that he had really forced people to connect with the heavenly principles? Moreover, this thing about following human desires and distinguishing heavenly principles, although the official had run out of words, seemed to have some feeling, and it also barely had something to do with utilitarianism?
There is no doubt that the natural law created by Emperor Zhao must have a lot of loopholes in it.
But the problem is, this connection between the principles of Heaven carried on the things of Heaven, and then using human nature to gain knowledge of things to pursue the principles of Heaven, seems to be much stronger than those of the trendy Neo-Confucianists and Taoists like Hu Anguo...and what is even more difficult for Lu Haowen to accept is that he, Lu Haowen, has also been a Taoist and Neo-Confucianist for decades, and his level of understanding of the principles of Heaven is not as good as Hu Anguo's. As a result, this official spent two months studying and came up with something that he could not figure out for most of his life (although he might not approve of it). What's going on?
"How did the emperor come up with these ideas?" Lu Haowen remained silent, but his son Lu Benzhong couldn't help but suddenly asked.
"I found it by studying things to gain knowledge." Zhao Jiu, with a mouth full of alcohol, forced himself to answer, and then looked at Lu Hao eagerly to change the subject. "Mr. Lu, what you and your son have mended today is this 'heavenly principle'. Just tell me, are you willing to sew it for me? For such a thing, I have tried my best, and it was very hard!"
Lu Haowen stared at Emperor Zhao, whose mouth was full of alcohol, and still couldn't accept it... He couldn't accept the other party's attitude towards justice.
"If you don't want to, then it will be Lü Benzhong!" Zhao Jiu finally lost his temper. "If he doesn't want to , then it will be your second son, Lü Youzhong! If your whole family doesn't want to, I will just imprison you at home, and then publish an article in your name in the official newspaper to explain this heavenly principle! You and your son will have to do this, whether you want to or not!"
"I am willing." Half a day after the ultimatum, Lu Haowen finally spoke tremblingly. "But if the investigation of things reveals the true principles of heaven, the emperor will have to allow me to change..."
Zhao Jiu felt relieved, and was about to stand up to shake hands with his old partner, but he felt dizzy as soon as he stood up... It seems that Emperor Zhao drank too much courage-boosting wine today.
