Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The situation at the scene has become orderly. The eunuchs have withdrawn. The soldiers of Jinwu Guard and Zhongyi Guard are nearly a hundred steps apart and stay at the end of the long street. Troops from all directions have Jiang Xinghuo's time. , have blocked the intersection and been deployed, and we are no longer afraid of these thousands of soldiers disrupting the city of Nanjing.

Under the increasingly dazzling swords and guns, the Imperial Master's debate process seemed to become smoother.

From this point of view, convincing people with reason and convincing people with strength seems to have the effect of one plus one being greater than two.

Seeing that the crowd-like scene had been effectively controlled, Jiang Xinghuo did not turn his back and used military force to evacuate the students.

Some people may think that it is not good to just ask the soldiers to clear the field? It's straightforward and refreshing. Why bother talking to these people? The situation has been effectively controlled. After the encirclement, we are not afraid of them running around and making the whole city noisy. What happened to them in the end and what does it have to do with Jiang Xinghuo? They brought it on themselves anyway!

However, temporary pleasure is definitely in conflict with long-term planning.

Reform and innovation is a matter of defying the world's disapproval. Jiang Xinghuo will never be hesitant about things that should be solved with violence. However, there are some things that can clearly turn opponents into neutrals/supporters, but they must use violence. , to make one's enemies more and more, isn't this digging one's own grave?

No one in the world has ever heard of a battle that can be won if the enemy fights more and more and our side fights fewer and fewer. If we want to defeat the strong with the weak, we must unite all the forces that can be combined.

Jiang Xinghuo's voice echoed on Taiping Street. In the quiet night, there was only the sound of breathing one after another.

"The main contradiction is easy to understand."

"All contradictions in things have primary and secondary distinctions. As the saying goes, shoot the man first, capture the thief first, and capture the king first. Everything, no matter how complicated it seems, has a dominant contradiction that plays a leading role. It is said This is the main contradiction, and the rest are secondary contradictions.”

Song Li, who was sitting under the willow tree by the river, also gained some new understanding of the Imperial Master.

As far as the "reform" is concerned, what is the main contradiction? Naturally, there is a conflict between the reformers who want to enrich the people and strengthen the country, and the conservatives who have vested interests.

Is the conflict between the reformers and the troublemakers a primary conflict or a secondary one?

Of course, some students are the children of gentry, and some are from relatively diligent/wealthy peasant families. They have half-footed their feet in the civil service system. Strictly speaking, they are not ordinary people, but these people are by no means unattainable. , this is a secondary contradiction.

Secondary contradictions must be resolved using secondary contradictions.

These supervisors are not enemies, they are just pawns to be used. They are full of passion and have the ambitions of young people. They have not yet been infected by the big dye vat of the civil service system, just like Yan Song in his youth.

Sometimes, at the crossroads of destiny, a green light really needs to be turned on to lead them in the right direction.

Therefore, this is why Jiang Xinghuo has to face the accusations of thousands of people, why he has to stop them with gold juice that is so degrading to elegance, and why he has to spend so much time debating scriptures.

It would be much easier to just let Zhu Di get angry and lay down tens of thousands of corpses.

But the price is that everyone at the scene has become one of the "buried corpses".

The enemies of the secondary contradictions will unite with the enemies of the principal contradictions, and the chance of winning the reform will become extremely low.

At the same time, most of the students also thought about this clearly and began to feel remorse.

In the previous debate process, not all students were unconvinced. They were all young people. Who didn't feel angry when they were young?

It's just that the troops were slowly pressing up. Many people didn't dare to take the lead anymore because they lost the energy they had at the beginning.

Otherwise, no one will argue with you calmly. If you fail to argue, you may start discussing the Three Character Classic of Chinese Essence, or you may "not listen or listen" from the beginning.

To put it bluntly, it wasn't because there were countless soldiers standing behind Jiang Xinghuo.

This is why Jiang Xinghuo thought that the army could not be used during the war, but when he arrived at the Jinshen Palace, he did not object to Zhu Di's use of the army, and only said that he had ways to stop these supervisors.

Because Jiang Xinghuo quickly realized that having a knife in the scabbard and not using it had two different effects when talking.

With the backing of force, he can calmly reason with others.

And through the strategy of blocking their momentum many times, from the beginning, the degree of control of the situation was developing in the direction Jiang Xinghuo expected.

"What are the main aspects of the contradiction?"

Jiang Xinghuo pointed at Zong Chaoyi, who had just mocked him, and said calmly.

"Actually, the person who just asked me whether I am a gentleman born of righteousness, or a villain born of yin evil, said it very well."

Most of the people listening were a little surprised when they heard Jiang Xinghuo give an example of the thing that had just mocked him, and they didn't expect Jiang Xinghuo to face this problem so calmly.

"Take the article he just mentioned in "The Fisherman and the Woodcutter". This article says that without yin, yang cannot be achieved, and without villains, a gentleman cannot be achieved. The only thing that can happen is the ups and downs."

"Look, a gentleman and a villain are contradictory, right?"

Use the other's way to return the other's body. Jiang Xinghuo already had a foundation in Neo-Confucianism. During this period of time, he had intensive discussions with the old monk. Allusions to famous Neo-Confucian books were readily available.

Everyone nodded, and Jiang Xinghuo continued.

"Then I would like to ask, how to distinguish the main aspects of the contradiction between the gentleman and the villain?"

Fan Weixing, who was the first to participate in the debate, thought for a while, raised his head and answered.

""Yu Qiao Wen Dui" says that if yang is divided into six parts, then yin is divided into four parts; when yin is divided into six parts, then yang is divided into four parts; when yang and yin are half in proportion, then each is divided into five parts. This is why we know that the gentleman and the villain have their ups and downs. In order to govern the world, a gentleman will be divided into six points, and a gentleman will be divided into six points, and a villain will be divided into four points. The villain will not be able to defeat the gentleman, but in troubled times, the opposite will be true."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly and said: "This means that if there are more gentlemen than villains, that is the world of governance; if there are more villains than gentlemen, that is troubled times. In other words, in the conflict between villains and gentlemen, who has the upper hand? That’s the main aspect of the contradiction, right?”

Without waiting for anyone to answer, Jiang Xinghuo asked loudly.

"Then Jiang wants to ask, are there more gentlemen or villains in the world today?"

"How do people's customs and scholar's customs compare with real governance?"

Looking at the people who were silent, or holding on to the stubbornness in their hearts, Jiang Xinghuo's words struck everyone's hearts like a yellow bell.

"Don't you dare answer."

"Why?"

"The rich and poor people in Jiangnan have no place to stand!"

"Where in the vast mansion can a humble man be welcomed?"

Anyone who has a little understanding of the society of the Ming Dynasty knows that what the Imperial Master said is correct.

The Ming Dynasty had only been founded for more than thirty years, and various hidden dangers were already like cancerous tumors, buried everywhere, even popping up and spreading more and more.

"Jiang, please ask, you are all well-read poetry and books, don't you still realize what are the main aspects of the contradictions in today's world?"

"Four words."

"——The people are weak and the country is weak!"

When these four words were uttered, the so-called contradictions and the main aspects of the contradictions suddenly became extremely vivid.

The last layer of fig leaf has been completely lifted.

The era between Jianwen and Yongle was by no means a peaceful and prosperous era.

People's livelihood is in dire straits, and the difficulties between people and land are becoming more and more intense. We have reached the prelude to an era destined to undergo great changes.

"Students, Mr. Jiang asks you to speak straight to your heart tonight. Why are you studying?"

The supervisors looked at each other blankly, but soon, the situation changed.

I don't know who was the first to say it. The scattered voices gradually became more organized as they were repeated over and over again.

This is the ultimate goal of all readers in this era.

In other words, the meaning of life instilled in them by Neo-Confucianism.

"Establish a heart for heaven and earth!"

"Establish a destiny for the people!"

"Continue the unique learning for the Holy Spirit!"

"Bring peace to all eternity!"

The four sentences of Hengqu, which are covered by waves, seem to be some kind of magic spell that sweeps through the crowd. It seems that there is a real aura of greatness in this world, flowing smoothly from the chest and abdomen of every living person on Taiping Street. He spit it out through his mouth and condensed it into an endless stream.

Perhaps many of them have various thoughts, studying to become an official or to make a fortune, but at this moment, even the most despicable people will be infected by this momentum.

Even the soldiers who had experienced hundreds of battles were a little surprised when they looked at the supervisors who had united their minds a hundred steps ahead.

On the walls of the palace, the sound of Taiping Street not far away reached the ears of the dignitaries and was clearly audible.

"Your Majesty, are they determined to knock on the door?"

Qiu Fu, the old general and Duke of Qi, asked Zhu Di beside him.

Zhu Di frowned and shook his head.

"Then what happened?"

The distance is so far that even young people with good eyesight can see the figures on Taiping Street, but no other sounds can be heard except Hengqu's four sentences that echo repeatedly in the air.

Recalling Jiang Xinghuo's extremely powerful, even bewitching charm of words, Zhu Di said uncertainly.

"Perhaps they will be completely convinced by the Imperial Master soon."

Under the clear breeze and bright moon, Jiang Xinghuo clenched his fists and raised his arms vigorously.

"The sky is changing, and so is the Tao!"

"Contradictions are eternal, and there is no way that will remain unchanged forever!"

"The people are weak and the country is weak. This is the main contradiction in the reform."

"Innovation and conservatism are the main contradictions of the reform."

"When we are born in this world, just when we are cheering up, since you and I are of the same mind, any conflict is a secondary conflict!"

"Today Jiang asked you to think carefully, can you put aside the secondary contradictions and grasp the main contradictions, so as to strengthen the country and enrich the people, live up to the aspirations for the world, establish the destiny for the people, carry forward the unique knowledge of the past saints, and create peace for all generations?"

After saying that, Jiang Xinghuo lowered his raised arm and bowed deeply to the thousands of people on Taiping Street.

After Jiang Xinghuo finished speaking, the scene fell into a long silence.