eldest son of Ming dynasty

Li Dongyang realized that his time was running out, so he followed his heart even more when he spoke.In the early years, when the emperor first ascended the throne, he still had various worries. However, in the past ten years, the income, administration, people, and border troops have all changed greatly. The facts have convinced him and made him trust the emperor.

As a result, he only had one wish to live up to his reputation as a loyal minister.

In addition, there is also his appearance Li Zhaofan...

After the emperor left, this boy came in.

"Father, are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you want my child to help you lie down?"

Li Dongyang was half-leaning on the bedside. His beard was sparse and gray, his eyes had deep bags, and his age spots were obvious, but he looked good today. "...Have you seen off His Majesty?"

"Yes, in compliance with the father's wishes, the son sent His Majesty to the door. Your Majesty is more approachable than the son expected, and he didn't say much."

"Dong Bo, you have a peaceful personality and a kind heart, ahem..." Li Dongyang said with some unforgettable concern, "As my father knows, someone may tell you that your career should not stop at this."

Li Zhaofan narrowed his eyes with a smile, "Someone said so, but that would require troublesome father to speak to the emperor... My son, I don't want to do this. My son is already very satisfied if he can have a job to make a living."

Li Dongyang shook his head slightly.

This is not a matter of face for him, an old man. He is not afraid to speak to the emperor. The emperor is not that careless person. On the contrary...

"You have misunderstood what it means to be a father." Li Dongyang sighed, "Your Majesty is not a conservative monarch, nor is he as mean and ungrateful as ordinary people say. On the contrary, Your Majesty treats old ministers like my father very kindly. After my death, I will treat you as a father." Your majesty's tolerance and kindness may favor you in a higher official position. But...but you are so peaceful and kind, the officialdom is more of a disaster than a blessing for you. Don't think that the emperor is so approachable, if If you offend the emperor and ask him to plot against you and deal with you...many people die without knowing how."

Li Zhaofan felt awe-inspiring.

Of course he had heard of the reputation of Emperor Zhengde.

However... when they met for the first time, the emperor was so young and spoke in a majestic manner without any sense of profoundness. This inevitably made him misjudge.

Now I listen to my old father say this... I must have committed my old problem again, which is to think of people too simply and too beautifully.

"My son is stupid and makes my father worried."

"There are no bad parents in the world, and there are no parents in the world who despise their children and grandchildren. Although you are not suitable for officialdom, you are kind to others. Although you do not have a palace, it just makes people defenseless. Your Majesty may also like you very much."

Li Zhaofan blushed slightly, "These... my son doesn't dare to think about it. And even if it is true, with his little thoughts, he can't accomplish anything."

So in the past few years, I have been fulfilling my filial piety in front of the bed.

"Haha..." Li Dongyang chuckled softly, "Not necessarily."

Li Zhaofan said with some expectation, "Dad, did your Majesty say something to you?" "His Majesty said that today is a time of great strife. In the past few years in Jiangnan, you should have come into contact with a lot of Semu people and Japanese people. There are many island countries in Southeast Asia. Your Majesty believes that after the Ming Dynasty opened the sea, it began to interact with other countries and also began to compete with other countries. This is a challenge that our people in the Central Plains have never encountered before."

Li Zhaofan didn't quite understand, "...so?"

"Well... to give an inappropriate example, if the Ming Dynasty loses and the Han people lose in the competition between countries, will there be a day like the Mongolian Yuan took over the Central Plains, and people with colored eyes will get involved in the Central Plains again? Although in recent years It is still impossible in ten years. But you also know that your majesty is gifted and far-sighted, so your majesty thought of it. Now that you have thought of it, you must find a way to deal with it, so your majesty said that Zhu Ming is Han orthodox and can keep it. This is the homeland of the Han people, and the land of the Han people cannot be occupied by the Yi or the Di."

Li Zhaofan frowned, "What dad means is... His Majesty wants to tell the world that the Han people must unite as one."

"To put it simply, you can say this. But from a historical perspective, His Majesty wants to change the people's minds of one clan's struggle for hegemony into one clan's struggle for hegemony."

Li Dongyang glanced at Li Zhaofan's expression and said, "Look, you can't fully understand its meaning. How can hundreds of millions of people fully understand it?"

"Then what will His Majesty do?"

"It should have already been done. Yesterday's sacrifice was a signal, but His Majesty did not say clearly how to do it. This is what my father wants to tell you. You can make some achievements in this matter."

"I?"

"Yes. Since you are not good at dealing with living people, then deal with dead people. The 'ethnicity' your Majesty mentioned is not just a title, but without the support of content. Han people, how can they be counted as Han people? A Han people. Ethnic groups need to have common ancestors, a common language, and common etiquette. These are very profound questions that require a lot of reading or even on-the-spot observation to get the answer.

We have a lot of books in our home. You can read them all, and you can also use the remaining wealth to finance your long journey.Throughout your life, if you can answer this question well.Then this achievement as a father today is nothing at all. "

Li Dongyang first expressed some of his thoughts, "My father believes that the term ethnic group must of course be Han, but it is best not to use only Han. Otherwise, how should the court treat the ethnic groups in the mountains of the southwest chieftains? They are not Han. , then they cannot be counted as Han people, and if they cannot be counted as Han people, then they are not the people of the Ming Dynasty. So what should we do? Abandon it? If we abandon people, should we abandon their land? So this is tying ourselves up.

Furthermore, we cannot rely on blood.After the Han people in Central China went through the Five Husties, many Han people in the north have the ancestry of the Hu people. Furthermore, Your Majesty wants to conquer all directions. How will the court treat the people in the newly conquered areas who are not of Han ancestry?In fact, Emperor Taizu Gao made it clear in his appeal to the Yuan Dynasty: Although Mongolians and Semu are not Chinese races, they are born in the same world between heaven and earth. Those who know etiquette and justice and are willing to be subjects are no different from those raised by people in Zhongxia.

Therefore, my father thought that as long as he abides by Confucius and Mencius, knows etiquette, is loyal and filial, and is willing to be my ministers and people in the Ming Dynasty, he can join our clan.Only in this way will Ming Dynasty have the soil to grow stronger.It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand these words, just memorize them first.Read more, observe more, think more, and then write a book. This is probably more suitable than letting you be an official. "

Li Zhaofan lifted up the corner of his clothes and knelt respectfully beside the bed, "My child understands what dad said from the bottom of his heart."

"I understand, are you willing?"

"Yes. The child made an oath in front of his father. From today on, the child will take this as his lifelong career. If he violates this oath, he will let the child..."

"Hey. My father is old, so don't say those words to scare me. It's enough to know your thoughts. You have always been an obedient child."

Li Zhaofan was very filial and would not speak if he was not allowed to.

In fact, he himself was not lying.No man with a normal mind doesn't want to make a career. Most of them can't do it so they give up. Now Li Dongyang has pointed out a way for him, and he really doesn't need to be bothered by officialdom anymore. Isn't that good?