"Zhao Xuan, is it really true that our Great Song will be dragged down by military and official expenses?”Zhao Zhen looked at Zhao Xuan and said helplessly.
"Your Majesty, do you want to change?" Zhao Xuan looked at Zhao Zhen and said indifferently.
"Of course I want to change!" Zhao Zhen said seriously.
Zhao Xuan nodded. He was really afraid that his good old cousin had no ambition at all. One had to know that during the Song Renzong period, Song Liao had not fought for more than 40 years.
For the people of the grasslands who were predatory, this was a miracle.
Fortunately, Zhao Zhen was still young and ambitious.
"Brother Xuan, you've been intelligent since you were young and have extraordinary talent. Tell me, how should I change this world?”In fact, Zhao Zhen was very clear about Zhao Xuan's power over the years, even though Zhao Xuan had only shown him a portion of it.
However, just this small portion was enough to shock Zhao Zhen. This was a true genius.
Fortunately, Zhao Zhen wasn't a jealous person, so he didn't feel dissatisfied with this brother of his. He only felt gratified.
"Then let me ask Imperial Brother, do you only want to be a leader? Or to be a lord who opened up the four seas and far surpassed the Qin Emperor and Han Wu?”Zhao Xuan looked at Zhao Zhen and said indifferently.
Zhao Zhen frowned and asked in confusion,"What about the Lord of Defense? So what if he's the lord of the four seas?"
"If Your Majesty is the Lord of Defense, I can train a strong army for Your Majesty to recover Yanyun, conquer Liao in the north, suppress Baiyue in the south, take Gaoli in the east, and destroy Tubo in the west!”
Hearing Zhao Xuan's words, Zhao Zhen's face flushed red. He couldn't help but ask,""Then what if I want to be the lord of the four seas?”
"Your Majesty, do you know that when I traveled westward back then, it was more than hundreds of thousands of miles? The world is far bigger than you and I can imagine!”
"Your Majesty, do you know that there is a huge island in the Far West that is made entirely of ice and doesn't melt all year round?”(Greenland)
"Ten thousand miles away, there is a vast land covered in yellow sand. The size of the desert is far larger than the entire land of our Great Song!”
"In that land, there is a huge canyon. Any livestock that enters will die, but if humans enter, they will be safe!”
"In the opposite canyon, livestock will be fine, but humans will die if they enter.”
"Your Majesty, do you know how big this world is?”
"If Your Majesty is really the ruler of the four seas, I just want to say that wherever the sun shines, it is the territory of our Great Song Empire. Our Great Song Empire is a country where the sun never sets!”
"Brother Xuan, don't talk nonsense. The sky is round and the earth is square. The sun will eventually set.”Zhao Zhen shook his head lightly.
"Hehe, round sky and square earth? Royal brother, this is exactly what I wanted to tell you. According to my investigation, this world is definitely not round.”
"In the Far West, there's a place called Norway, which is rich in pirates. I came into contact with them there and discovered a phenomenon.”
"When their pirate ships returned to the port from afar, the first thing they saw was always the tall mast, followed by the hull. They were puzzled. Later, a wise man made a spherical model and placed the small boat model on it.”
" Because of this, they guessed that the world was round. Later on, they had another huge guess. If the world was round, then they would be able to return to their original place if they followed the vast sea and set off from a certain region.”
" When I returned to my country, the messenger I left there sent back news. After seven years, the group of pirates finally returned to the port through the vast sea. At that time, there were hundreds of people with them, but only a few dozen remained!”
"The place we live in is indeed round, but this sphere is too big. If I make an analogy, that sphere is the land of the Great Song, and we humans are just ants in this land. Therefore, we can't feel that this land is a sphere.”Zhao Xuan said seriously.
Of course, Zhao Xuan was just making up stories about how the Norwegians sailed around the world. After all, not many people in Great Song could go to Norwegians now, and the world was round. There was no doubt about it.
Sooner or later, Zhao Xuan would form the voyage squadron and start the expedition era.
"But, the teachers who taught me said that the sky is round and the earth is square!”
"Royal brother, how can one person know everything? How much could the scholarly faction know? Before the Han Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty had established its country with the laws and used the power of Legalism to destroy the six countries and unify the world. Could Confucianism have any performance in the seven countries?”
"After the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu emphasized the divine right of the monarch and strengthened the authority of the Son of Heaven. But is the Gongyang School of Dong Zhongshu the same as the Confucian School of today?”
"Those Confucians are eloquent, but do they know why the sun rises and the moon sets? Do they know why the river flows eastward?”
"The river flows from the west to the east because the east is high and the west is low!”Zhao Zhen said.
"Alright, if the terrain is high in the west and low in the east, then does royal brother know why there are tides surging up the river bank in the east?”
"If the water is high in the west and low in the east, shouldn't the water flow from the west to the east?”
"Also, Your Majesty, do you know that there is a sea in the middle of the Far West? It is very large.”
"This…"
"In this world, how many things can't be explained by the Confucians? Back then, when Confucius traveled east, how many countries did he pass? How could they know why the sun was scorching in the south while the north was covered in ice and snow all year round?”
"The path of Confucianism can teach people to understand the meaning of the scriptures, to distinguish right from wrong, and to know how to be a person!”
"But how can Confucianism solve everything in the world?”
"This…"
"Imperial Brother, you should also know that since the Han Dynasty, although the Confucians taught people to distinguish right from wrong and govern the country, there were thousands of Confucian disciples who were righteous, but there were also many who were evil. If not for this, why would the people say that those who were righteous would slaughter dogs and those who were unfaithful would be scholars? If the Confucians couldn't even teach their own disciples well, how could they educate the world?”
Without a doubt, Zhao Xuan had fired his cannon at the Confucians. To reform the Great Song, he had to start by destroying the worldview of the Renzong.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。