Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 147 Bai Zhangwen

"Dong... Dong... Dong... It's dry, be careful with fire." The night watchman's shouting sounded so clear in the middle of the night that Meng Jun raised his head from his desk. Looking at the pile of documents, he frowned, drank a sip of tea, and frowned as he shouted to Yu An outside the door, "Yu An, the tea is cold, add some hot water."

Yu An pushed open the door and said with a yawn, "Governor, it's time for you to rest. It's almost midnight." Then he picked up Meng Jun's teacup and took it out to add hot water.

Meng Jun stood up, stretched, walked to the window, and looked at the quiet night outside. The November moonlight was quietly shining on every corner of the Suzhou government office. Meng Jun stared at the moonlight. Now he was in a high position. Every decree he issued affected the progress of this era. One order could affect thousands of households. The great responsibility made Meng Jun more cautious and busy, which was a true portrayal of his days.

Now Meng Jun has become like a vassal, controlling the entire Zhejiang Province, Suzhou, Songjiang, Hangzhou and Huzhou prefectures. Although Meng Jun is fully responsible for government affairs, Yang En and others from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have shared most of Meng Jun's trivial matters.

The surrender of many old officials, such as Longwu's old ministers and Lu Wang's old ministers, also allowed Meng Jun's governor's office to barely control such a vast territory. However, some things, such as the creation of new technologies, promoting the opening of the sea, attaching importance to commerce, etc., naturally could not be expected from traditional officials, and had to be done by Meng Jun himself.

Suzhou Governor's Mansion, morning.

Meng Jun held his little daughter in his arms, looking at her from left to right. He felt that she was so magical. She was so small, and her face was not even as big as his palm. Old Mrs. Zhou also smiled when she saw Meng Jun teasing her daughter.

"Jun'er, I heard that Changshu County has been recovered. I think I should go back. After all, the tombs of your father and grandfather are in Changshu. On the one hand, I have to go back to pay homage. On the other hand, I don't know what the old house is like."

Meng Jun frowned slightly when he heard this. Changshu had just been restored, and he was afraid that there might be some bad guys. But he thought again and thought that if he sent more people to escort them, there should be no problem. He immediately agreed and said, "Since mother wants to go back to Changshu, I will send someone to escort you back."

Just when Meng Jun was having a great time, Yu An came in from outside the court, saluted and said to Meng Jun: "Governor, Mr. Yang, Mr. Gu and Director Wu are here."

Meng Jun sighed when he heard this. He had just come back and hadn't even sat down yet. He then put his daughter down and handed her to the maid. He then said to Yu An, "Please ask them to come into the hall. I'll be there right away."

When Meng Jun tidied up and entered the hall, the three of them were already sitting together, discussing the affairs of the Propaganda Department and some matters of the school.

Seeing Meng Jun coming in, the two stood up and bowed to Meng Jun, saying, "Greetings, Governor."

Meng Jun raised his hand and said with a smile: "Please take a seat, gentlemen." Then Meng Jun sat in the main seat. Seeing that the two had already sat down, he said straight to the point: "What's the urgent matter?"

"Governor, this is the first edition of the newspaper. Please take a look." Wu Tai stood up, picked up a piece of bamboo paper on the table and handed it to Meng Jun.

Meng Jun took the newspaper and saw the words "Zhenxing Newspaper" written on it. Below that were the words on the front page: "To protect the world, even the humblest of men, has a share of responsibility."

Gu Yanwu said modestly: "I spent one night writing this humble work. Please correct me, Grand Commander."

After listening to this, Meng Jun looked at the newspaper in his hand. Although Meng Jun felt that the writing was good, it was a bit too obscure and difficult to understand.

"When Emperor Ming of Wei died, Shaodi ascended the throne and changed the reign title to Zhengshi. In the tenth year, Grand Tutor Sima Yi killed General Cao Shuang, and the power of Wei was transferred. The Three Kingdoms had been in a tripartite relationship for nearly 30 years, and at that time, famous scholars flourished in Luoxia. However, they abandoned the classics and advocated Laozi and Zhuangzi, despised etiquette and law, and advocated freedom. They regarded the crises of their masters as passers-by, expounded on Laozi and Zhuangzi, and Wang was the beginning of the Jin Dynasty. As a result, the country was destroyed by the upper class, and the teachings were lost by the lower class. The Qiang and Rong usurped the throne, and the ruler and ministers changed frequently."

Ji Shao's father Kang was killed by King Wen of Jin. When Emperor Wu was overthrown, Shan Tao recommended him to serve, but he wanted to decline. Shan Tao said to him, "I have been thinking about this for a long time. The four seasons of heaven and earth still have their own rhythm, let alone people." It was widely circulated and regarded as a famous saying, but people did not know that it was a violation of morality and teachings, and even led the world without a father. Moreover, when he first served, since the beginning of the Zhengshi period, the lack of understanding of the great principles was widespread throughout the world. Shan Tao, who was the leader of the heresy, knew how to protect the people below, and then knew how to protect his country. To protect the country, the king and his ministers, the meat eaters, are responsible for it. To protect the world, the humble man is responsible for it.

There is the destruction of a country and the destruction of the world. How can we distinguish between the destruction of a country and the destruction of the world? It is said that changing surnames and names is the destruction of a country. When benevolence and righteousness are filled to the point of leading beasts to eat people and people will eat each other, it is the destruction of the world. How did the elegant conversations of the Wei and Jin people destroy the world? This is what Mencius called the words of Yang and Mo, which is to the point of making the world without fathers and rulers, and turning it into animals.

This sentence means that Emperor Wei Ming died and Emperor Shao ascended the throne. Sima Yi killed Cao Shuang. At this time, the Three Kingdoms had been in existence for nearly 30 years, and the Luoyang area was full of celebrities. They abandoned the classics, advocated the thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi, despised etiquette, pursued a free and unrestrained lifestyle, and were indifferent to the safety of the country and the king. The thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi opened up a new atmosphere in the Jin Dynasty. However, this atmosphere led to the demise of the country, the loss of education, the usurpation of the throne by the Qiang and Rong tribes, and the frequent replacement of the monarch and ministers.

Ji Shao's father Ji Kang was killed because of Sima Zhao. After Sima Yan established the Jin Dynasty, Shan Tao recommended Ji Shao to serve as an official. However, Ji Shao wanted to refuse the proposal. Shan Tao said to him: "I have been thinking about you for a long time. The world has four seasons, let alone people." This sentence is considered a famous saying.

However, morality began to become blurred. Under the influence of Shan Tao, Ji Shao gave up the revenge for his father's murder and served the Jin Dynasty. The actions of Shan Tao and Ji Shao also led others to follow suit. Some people chose to betray their monarch and country when facing the crisis of the country. While protecting the country is the responsibility of the monarch and the ministers, protecting the world is the responsibility of everyone.

The destruction of a country and the destruction of the empire are two different concepts. The destruction of a country refers to the change of political power, when one dynasty is replaced by another, and the ruling power of the country changes. The destruction of the empire refers to the collapse of social morality and the complete extinction of cultural heritage.

……

Meng Jun looked at the eloquent text and understood what Gu Yanwu meant by publishing it. He used the Jin Dynasty's migration to the south as an example, implying that the Qing Dynasty's entry into the Central Plains was like the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China, and was by no means comparable to an ordinary imperial change.

After a long while, Meng Jun put down the newspaper and considered his words. After a moment, he slowly said to Gu Yanwu: "I also deeply admire Mr. Gu's literary talent and ideas, but such a text is a bit abstruse, and I am afraid that ordinary people will find it difficult to understand."

Gu Yanwu was a little puzzled when he heard this and said, "Commander-in-chief, this is something that all scholars and gentry can understand, how could they not understand it?"

Meng Jun stood up and said loudly, "This article is very good, but I want this newspaper to be more easily understood by all ordinary people, not just by the gentry and officials. Mr. Gu, you said that every man has a responsibility to protect the country, so you should write it more directly so that the people can understand the meaning of this article more clearly."

Gu Yanwu stood up and said with some shame: "What the governor said is very true, I will revise it now."