Chapter 4989 Good and Evil in Human Nature
Li Chengqian frowned and looked at the cup of bird's nest that was handed to him. The cup was like jade and his delicate hands were white. It was clearly the nutrients his body needed urgently, but he felt nauseous at the sight of it.
Waving her hands, she said: "I'm not hungry yet. Queen, please put it aside. I will eat it later."
"Then I will put it here, and when it gets cold, I will ask the servant to take it and heat it up."
Queen Su put the bird's nest on the coffee table, glanced at Li Chengqian, and whispered softly: "I have something to do, and I am not sure about it. Please make a decision, Your Majesty."
"Oh? All matters in the harem are handled by the queen, so why can't she be sure?"
Li Chengqian was a little surprised. Although the queen looked as slim as a willow and as weak as the wind, she was actually soft on the outside and strong on the inside. She was quite capable. Since she came to the throne, everything had gone smoothly in handling the harem. Moreover, the number of people in her harem was small and there were not many chores. But there was never anything that required him to come forward.
Thinking of this, I thought, could it be...
As expected, Mrs. Su's expression remained unchanged and her tone was calm, as if she was narrating an insignificant matter: "Shen Jieyu is favored by His Majesty and should be promoted to the throne. Now that all the positions of the fourth concubine are vacant, it is better to promote her to the fourth concubine. One of the concubines, what do you think, Your Majesty?”
Li Chengqian glanced at the queen and hesitated without saying a word.
The Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui Dynasty system, and the harem had the queen and four concubines, collectively called "the concubines". There were also nine concubines, who together with the four concubines were called "the concubines", and there were twenty-four wives, including Jieyu, Meiren, and Cairen. There are nine people and eighty-one concubines, nine concubines, concubines, and concubines, collectively called "concubines", which are the names of the emperor's concubines.
Both Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong were energetic, good-natured and well-equipped with various titles. However, Li Chengqian had not been on the throne for a long time, and he was determined to work hard to govern, continue the prosperous times, and give people the image of being dedicated to government affairs. The harem was extremely lacking, with only a few Jieyu, Cairen, and even the positions of the fourth concubine are all vacant.
Although Shen Jieyu is fragrant and beautiful, and has a delicate body, how can she achieve the position of the fourth concubine?
The fourth concubine and the empress were in charge of the affairs of the harem together, and could be called the "deputy empress". They not only had to please the emperor, but also had noble moral character and a strong family background. How could a mere concubine, Jie Yu, go to bed overnight and rise to two levels in a row? Fill it?
It is impossible for the queen to know these rules, but she still recommends Shen Jieyu to be one of the four concubines... Is she testing herself, or is she trying to retreat, intending to completely suppress Shen Jieyu, so that she will never have any hope of promotion?
After thinking about it, Li Chengqian said: "Maybe I can be promoted to Zhaoyi. What does the queen think?"
She did not obey the queen's wishes and was promoted to one of the four concubines, but she was promoted to the head of the nine concubines, one step away from the fourth concubine...
The queen lowered her eyebrows and lowered her eyes, saying: "That's fine. If she is pregnant, it won't be too late to be promoted to the fourth concubine."
Li Chengqian: "..."
I see.
He hadn't slept with the queen for a long time, but suddenly he trusted Shen Jieyu and stayed at her residence for several days in a row. The queen may not be jealous, but she was definitely worried. The relationship between husband and wife was weak. This time the traitor rebelled against him. Keeping the prince in the East Palace to act as "fish bait" may have given the queen a sense of crisis, fearing that he would no longer favor the prince. Once Shen Jieyu gave birth to the prince, the prince's status would be in jeopardy.
After all, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, "Prince" has become the highest position in the world...
Li Chengqian was dissatisfied and wanted to repay the suffering of the unstable throne by himself, but how could he inflict it on the prince? Moreover, even if Shen Jieyu is young and beautiful, even if she can give birth to an heir in the future, how will she compare with the status of the prince?
If he is easy to save, Fang Jun will be the first to stand up and object...
Suppressing the unhappiness in her heart, she waved her hands and said: "Queen, don't worry too much, let's leave this matter as it is for now."
"Well, my concubine will not disturb His Majesty's official duties. It's just that you still need to be more considerate of the dragon body, so as not to delay maintenance due to official duties."
"Okay, I understand, please step back."
"I retire."
Li Chengqian held the brush and looked at the memorial in front of him. The jingling sound in his ears disappeared. He suddenly sighed and dropped the brush, feeling upset.
The supreme being in the world seems to follow the rules and speak with a golden mouth, but in fact, that is not the case at all.
It is impossible for the emperor to do whatever he wants. Every order must not only be reviewed by his subordinates, but also take into account the fluctuations of the government. Whether the civilian officials agree and whether the military obeys is subject to restrictions and constraints everywhere. Even no government affairs can be decided with a single word. .
Even though Emperor Taizong was so powerful and monopolistic in both civil and military affairs, Wei Zheng and others still remonstrated and repeatedly forced Emperor Taizong to take back his orders. Be vigilant at night...
And since he lacks prestige, he is even more difficult to move forward.
He thought that taking huge risks to eliminate rebellion and stabilize the country would boost his prestige, but unexpectedly it aroused strong resistance from the military, forcing him to adopt soft measures to appease him.
He was really afraid. What if Li Ji and Fang Jun were dissatisfied with him and simply forced him to become a crown prince and become a supreme emperor and be raised in the Daming Palace? What would he do?
Even the harem doesn't stop.
I just got lucky with Jieyu, what big deal is that?
Your queen has Fang Jun's support, and my position as emperor may not be as secure as yours, so why do you have to be so impatient and aggressive?
The emperor must be feeling aggrieved!
*****
On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the Imperial City was opened. People from the entire Chang'an City poured into the Imperial City from the Yanxi Gate, Anfu Gate, Zhuque Gate, Hanguang Gate, Anshang Gate and other city gates, and then gathered on Tianjie, descending from the Chengtianmen Gate Tower. Looking around, countless people gathered here despite the severe cold, and they were crowded and rubbing shoulders.
On the top of the city tower, the white-haired and old Yang Shidao was wearing armor, holding an arrow stack and looking down. Seeing such a grand scene, he couldn't help but sigh: "The badness of human nature seems to be inherent, and the worst thing is not to see others being kind. , if someone is miserable than myself, I will often feel happy.”
Fang Jun stood beside him with his hands folded, overlooking the crowds of pedestrians gathering on the street, and said calmly: "There is no absolute between good and evil. If you cultivate people's good nature, they will be good, and if you cultivate their evil nature, they will be good." , if cultivated, evil will grow, but how can the good and evil be done as one pleases? Therefore, laws are used to restrain the world, so that they know what can and cannot be done, and only punish evil and promote good. "
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Confucianism initially emphasized self-cultivation, used morality to restrain people's behavior, praised "benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, and trust" and pursued world harmony. However, with the development of the times, Confucians also realized that such beliefs are tantamount to whims. If we really govern the world in this way, evil people will run rampant, good people will be humiliated, good and evil will be reversed, and the world will be in chaos.
Therefore, after defeating Legalism, Confucianism integrated and absorbed the ideas of Legalism, using morality to praise the goodness of human nature, and using law to punish the evil of human nature.
This is called "Confucianism and Dharma"...
Yang Shidao retracted his hand, turned around, looked at Fang Jun, and shook his head slightly: "I knew you were a believer in Legalism, but the teachings of Legalism are too harsh and are not a good way to govern the world, because many times the problems of aristocratic families cannot be blamed blindly. When it comes to right and wrong, sometimes you have a good heart, but you have to do evil things to save people, and sometimes you have a bad heart, but you are full of kindness and morality, and you are extremely despicable. Which one is right? "
"There are no absolutes in things in this world. There is neither absolute right nor absolute wrong, and there is no absolutely perfect system. When we live in the present, we must start from the current situation and make decisions that are beneficial to the present. Rather than clinging to the traditions of our ancestors and waiting until the situation changes in the future, if today's decisions cannot adapt to future developments, we should make changes every day, and make new decisions every day, which is the way to govern the country."
"...There is some truth."
Although Yang Shidao is a famous Confucian, he is not a stubborn person. He pondered for a moment and agreed with Fang Jun's philosophy: "The current situation is changing rapidly and is very different from the past. If we still adhere to the past methods of governing the country, perhaps we will If you hinder the growth of the country, this world belongs to you young people, and we old people can no longer keep up with the times.”
The study of things to achieve knowledge, the reform of the military system, and especially the rapid influx of huge overseas wealth have caused drastic changes at the entire social level. These old people who have read Confucian classics can no longer understand them. Their ideas of governing the country have long been completely overturned and lost. Into the dustbin of history.
Pointing to the turbulent crowd on the street, he said seriously: "The execution is about to be carried out. We must stabilize the people's emotions. There must be no panic or even trampling!"
Fang Jun looked at the soldiers who were waiting in formation on the street, and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, the Jinwu Guards on the left and right have dispatched five thousand soldiers. The entire imperial city is under control. The rest are also patrolling in the city. No one can take advantage of this opportunity." Make trouble.”
"Execution" was a big event. All the people in Chang'an were afraid and curious about it. They gathered in the imperial city and wanted to watch the execution. However, after all, the punishment was too cruel and would inevitably cause psychological fluctuations in the spectators. If someone took advantage of it, This opportunity to stir up public opinion will lead to a huge turmoil...
Yang Shidao waved his hand, "With you here, why am I worried? You can just watch the punishment here, and I'll make a cup of tea. People's hearts soften when they get old, and we can't bear to see such torture."
Turn around and walk into the tower.
Fang Jun smiled bitterly: "I'm not a hard-hearted person. I can't turn a blind eye. Why don't I sit with you and have a cup of tea."
Yang Shidao stopped and asked curiously: "Even so, why not advise your majesty?"
Fang Jun glanced around and whispered: "Why not to persuade? I tried to persuade, but I couldn't persuade."
Yang Shidao frowned, then suddenly realized, and sighed softly: "It's not easy for Your Majesty..."
Who wants to bear the reputation of being cruel?
But sometimes kindness cannot bring obedience, only cruelty can.
Human nature is evil...
Under the tower, Li Sijong, who was hanging in the air, was slowly put down. Several executioners from Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishments stripped the dying Li Sijong naked and tied him to a pillar. One person spread out the leather package, revealing There were rows of daggers, large and small, with cold light. He picked up a small knife and found a spot on Li Sijong's body and cut it without hesitation.
The miserable screams shook the imperial city, and the hearts of those who watched were trembling with fear and their spines running cold. (End of chapter)