Zhu Mo reflected on his brief life, sighing with regret. He had been unlucky since childhood, wandering as a youth and enduring immense hardship. As an adult, when he finally gained independence, he was merely a menial laborer. By sheer chance, he stumbled upon an opportunity as a political commentator, only to be tasked with overseeing the most challenging reform in history. Throughout his journey, he had never known a single peaceful day, faring worse than many impoverished commoners.
On this day,
He listlessly wandered the streets again, feeling the biting cold of the capital’s heavy snowfall. Those "great gods" on the internet were right; the Great Ming, objectively speaking, had indeed fallen due to long-term climatic shifts. Of course, subjectively, those great gods were mistaken—
The Great Ming did not fall due to financial problems, nor agricultural or commercial taxes, nor the Tatars or Jurchens. The sole reason for the Great Ming's demise was that the feudal bureaucracy had inverted everything in the world, confusing black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. This led to the catastrophic total collapse.
Within this window, some had fought, but like Zhu Mo himself, they had only accelerated the downfall…
He couldn’t explain this extreme state.
But it was indeed that strange!
Some matters only become clear after the dust has settled, after all has been accepted, that the truth slowly emerges. These past few days were like that. With the epitaph written and resigned to await his fate, profound thoughts began to surface.
He increasingly felt that the Great Ming was the most peculiar and captivating era in human history. All known human thought was present in this era. All of humanity’s struggles were displayed with utmost clarity, and with doubled cruelty.
It had escalated to the point of engaging in warfare with witchcraft and sorcery. Without experiencing it firsthand, one could not imagine it. Learned individuals would turn into sorcerers who slandered others with veiled accusations. The materials excerpted by those great gods could only be truly understood when placed within the context of his experiences. And this, was humanity's great tragedy…
By early evening, the streets were deserted.
The human world was silent, with only the soft falling of snow, oblivious to the times.
After walking for an unknown duration,
He turned a corner near a noodle stall and overheard some unbelievable words—
“You wouldn’t know this, but it’s quite lively now! My nephew said the Grand Secretariat received another ‘Memorandum of a Thousand Teachers,’ arguing against establishing that Yangming Official Academy or whatever. I laughed; this world is truly strange, how could such a thing happen?”
“Teachers? Aren’t they just educators? Why are they causing trouble? Are they from the same academies as those academy heads? Hahaha…”
“It’s amusing! I heard about it too. The leader isn’t just any educator; he’s called He Xinyin, everyone calls him Mr. He…”
“Not to mention, I’ve truly heard of this person. He gave away a fortune to establish something called the Juhe Hall? It’s quite famous in the south!”
“Yes, yes, it is famous. They say he rallied over a thousand teachers to jointly submit this memorial to the Grand Secretariat…”
“But that’s useless, isn’t it? Can educators really stand against academy heads?”
“Whether it’s useful or not, the point is to make some noise! Are things only decided by what those academy heads say? After all, it’s still the educators who are doing the teaching! Am I making sense?”
“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right!”
“Hahaha…”
“…”
Zhu Mo, upon hearing of the “Memorandum of a Thousand Teachers,” almost blurted out—
This He Xinyin is no bookworm!
If this is the case, is there a turning point?
He steadied himself slightly, and his mind immediately reacted—
Finally, there was another voice, and it was a powerful one – the voice of the common people! Although the gentry of the realm held considerable influence, they were fewer in number!
At this very moment,
His desolate heart suddenly stirred anew—
Damn it!
Yan Shifan, Gao Suqing, I might not die this time!
You calculated everything, but you couldn’t calculate conscience!
To know with conscience, can also lead to Great Harmony, my heart is aligned with this!
Understand this,
Once a different voice emerges, and it possesses sufficient momentum to contend, he would regain his capacity for action, finding opportunities in the standoff to launch a sudden counterattack.
…
The next day,
He rose early and strode purposefully to the Grand Secretariat.
At this time,
Xu Jiefeng, Li Chunfang, Yan Shifan, and others were gathered, discussing matters, while the officials’ sons also murmured in low voices. Upon seeing Zhu Mo enter, several nodded in greeting, but no one offered a friendly hello as they usually did.
Zhu Mo paid them no mind, already deeply disgusted by these wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing individuals, and saw no need to greet them. He spotted a transcribed copy of the “Memorandum of a Thousand Teachers” on the table and snatched it away.
Emerging, he sat on the stone steps outside the Grand Secretariat and read it word by word.
The memorial read:
“Memorial from the Educators of Academies Across the Realm to His August Majesty:
For learning is the foundation of the realm, and must not be disrupted. The Sage said, ‘I detest purple stealing the luster of red, I detest the music of Zheng corrupting the elegance of Ya, I detest glib tongues overturning the state,’ this is what is meant.
Now, the hundred academy heads wish to establish Yangming as official learning, akin to purple stealing the luster of red. Why so? Cheng and Zhu represent a single principle; Yangming represents ten thousand hearts and minds. Where will the imperial examinations find their footing? Moreover, we, who have long served as educators, know that the learning of Yangming is a method of cultivation, and the Way of Innate Knowledge can only be judged by one’s own heart; even closest kin cannot fully know it. Thus, how can scholars attain this?
Furthermore, Yangming’s philosophy of the mind is the trace of the Great Way; and the Great Way is public rule of the realm, with Great Harmony as its aim, wherein innate knowledge resides. If every person possesses the heart of a sage, then peace will naturally abound; if every person possesses the heart of Yao and Shun, then the era of Yao and Shun will be established. The learning of Yangming’s mind is merely this. That the hundred academy heads now advocate for Yangming official learning is a completely superfluous act, as can be seen from this…”
Well done.
Truly excellent.
It is a pity it does not delve deeper. It should have expounded further on the true Way of the Former Kings, that is, the Way of Revolution, for greater clarity.
However, even with these words, Zhu Mo naturally understood: it is best not to speak these things. If truly spoken, it would ignite another great uproar in the court, diverting the main topic.
But still,
With this Memorandum of a Thousand Teachers, there is finally a basis for contention.
One must understand that there are moderate gentry in the realm. For instance, the Neo-Confucian officials are more moderate than the scholars of the Wang Yangming school, much like Xu Jiefeng; whatever he did would not be too extreme (although he also studied Wang Yangming, it was to support Neo-Confucianism). Furthermore, the Great Ming had a population of one hundred million. It wasn’t just the gentry and scholars; six or seven tenths were ordinary people. These ordinary people did not have muddled minds and were not interested in such veiled witchcraft. They were interested in tangible benefits, such as industrial policies.
Under such circumstances, as long as the timing is right, these more moderate and rational individuals will shift their stance, or at least withdraw from observation. The arena would then consist of only three opposing parties: Zhu Mo, Yan Shifan, and Gao Gong. And tripartite conflict has an advantage over a two-party clash: the chances for reversal are also multiplied.
Understand this,
The Great Ming was an era of exceptionally complex struggles in human history. One could almost say that if one understands the Great Ming, going anywhere else would be child’s play. Zhu Mo had experienced so much, and this time he had walked out of the gates of hell, his courage and insight were no longer what they were six months prior.
Zhu Mo, having regained his confidence as if reborn, found his desolate heart suddenly brimming with inspiration. After two days confined at home, he had a general grasp of the future trajectory.