Great Wei Kyoto.
Liyang Palace.
The Qi of talent rolls to the east, stretching for three thousand miles.
The vast Qi of talent shakes the heart.
Like a holy light, it reflected in the sky, shining brightly and drowning everything.
All the people in the capital of Great Wei were silent.
The people watched all this in silence.
All the previous visions had suddenly disappeared, and now the crowd completely understood why.
It was because all the visions, coalescing together, had formed this unparalleled vision.
Talented Qi coming from the east for three thousand miles.
How terrifying it was.
The Great Talents of the Ten Kingdoms fell silent, their mouths opening and reopening, wanting to say something, but in the face of such a vision, they could no longer say a single word.
A sense of powerlessness rose up among the Ten Kingdoms’ talents.
Previously, when Xu Qingnian had written a poem, they could say that the question had been leaked.
Now that Xu Qingnian had written the poem, they could pick holes in it.
But now that the seven poems had been released, what reason did they have to refute Xu Qingnian and the Great Wei.
Even if there was someone behind the scenes, so what? This is proof of the strength of Confucianism in Great Wei.
The seven poems have been published in ten countries, and the talent has come from the east for 3,000 miles.
The sharpness in the eyes of the talented scholars of the Ten Kingdoms was completely gone, and the arrogance in their hearts had also been beaten out of them by Xu Qingnian.
A sense of powerlessness rose up, and Xu Qingnian seemed like a divine mountain towering over the crowd, towering over all the literati.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
At this moment, a divine mountain appeared in everyone’s heart, a divine mountain on the literary altar, and Xu Qingnian stood on top of it, his back, like a saint, so that they could only look up.
The ten great talents of the ten kingdoms lost their hearts and minds, and like a draw, every one of them looked forlorn on their faces, they had prepared for years to come to the Taiping Poetry Competition.
They had been preparing for years to come to the Peace Poetry Competition, hoping to overpower everything at the event.
But what happened?
The Great Wei had declined and the literary world had fallen, but a Xu Qingnian had emerged, a demon of the ages.
The people were quiet, unable to utter a single word anymore.
“Brother Xu, astonishing talent.”
“Brother Xu, swallowing mountains and rivers.”
“Seven poems to the town meeting, talent to the east for three thousand miles, a certain, convinced!”
The next moment, voices came from the literati of the Great Wei, they were completely convinced by Xu Qingnian, one person composed seven poems that were pa*sed down through the ages.
How could they not be convinced? Such talent could not be found in one person in 5,000 years.
At this moment, for some reason, everyone’s mind suddenly thought of one thing, that is, whether Xu Qingnian would really become a …… The Holy Spirit.
Outside the Liyang Palace.
Chen Zhengru and the others looked at the 3,000 miles of talent and could not help but twirl their beards, he really could not help but praise a great talent of the ages.
Only soon, Chen Zhengru’s gaze, however, slowly fell on Sun Jing’an.
What happened today, or even what happened yesterday, there were actually several places where there were problems, the biggest being Sun Jing’an.
He was too biased towards the ten kingdoms, although it appeared that he was standing up for the Great Wei Dynasty, including the Great Wei Wen Gong.
But in reality there were some problems, the kind that ordinary people could not see, neither the great scholars of the Wen Gong nor, for that matter, the rest of the Shang Shu.
However, he himself was keenly aware that something was wrong, because he was both a great scholar and a court shang Shu.
Although Sun Jing’an is somewhat stubborn and has sole respect for Zhu Sheng, and cares about the face of Great Wei and the Palace of Literature, he is not so tough as to witness a Confucian of the Palace of Literature abrogating his own clear intention without taking action to stop it.
Although that scholar was also a bit impulsive and made Sun Jing’an unable to step down, things should not have gone to this extent.
This Sun Jing’an.
There are problems.
Including this Taiping Poetry Competition, there were also problems.
“There are not many people in the Palace of Literature who can make it to the top ten.”
“Sun Jing’an is extra perverse, knowing full well that he will incur the wrath of the people, yet he is bent on doing so.”
“Shouren left due to the affairs of the Household Ministry, and the three merchants named him for the banquet.”
“And …… Hua Xinyun did nothing at this Taiping poetry meeting either.”
Chen Zhengru has been silent for the past two days, all thinking about this matter, this time the peace poetry meeting, almost rely on Xu Qingnian alone to save the wild, for the people of the world, Xu Qingnian won a good reputation.
But for many people, the overall strength of Great Wei is indeed not good, and has really declined, and these several problems, just together.
The person who dared to interfere with the Peace Poetry Festival must be a big shot, and a ……. The person who dared to interfere with the peace poetry meeting must be a big person, and a person who can only cover the sky.
The Prince of Huining could not do it.
The other is that the king of the va*sals cannot do it either.
There are not many people in Kyoto who are capable of doing so.
He didn’t dig any deeper, he had to talk to the empress about it.
Otherwise …… The man behind the curtain would not be able to stand up to himself alone.
Chen Zhengru did not speak, his face always had a smile on it, and in the eyes of onlookers, he was celebrating Xu Qingnian.
As for not far away.
Sun Jing’an looked at the 3,000 miles of talent Qi coming from the east, apart from the initial shock, what remained was calm and deep thought.
And Hua Xinyun in the crowd, his gaze was also calm, as calm as water. Theoretically, with his talent, with his status and position in the past, seeing such an amazing talent as Xu Qingnian.
Theoretically, with his talent, with his status in the past, he would have been angry, or maybe some other emotions, but Hua Xinyun was not, not at all.
There was only peace.
The Taiping Poetry Competition was bizarre.
It was as if there was a hand behind the curtain, arranging everything, but unfortunately, Xu Qingnian’s appearance disrupted all the plans.
The great talents of the ten kingdoms were still frozen in place, only afraid that for a while, they would not be able to completely come back to their senses, while the Great Wei literati gave each other a look as they left in pairs, as if they had something to negotiate.
Listening intently, some voices rang out.
“Brother Li is waiting for us, let’s go together.”
“There is something to discuss, if nothing, go over together.”
“Let’s go, let’s have some wine together.”
It was as if the Great Wei literati had some unspoken intentions, but there was a group of Confucian students who wanted to follow them over, but thought about it but did not move, not many, more than ten, but all of them were the better Confucian students of the Great Wei Literary Palace.
Meanwhile.
The Drunken Immortal House in Kyoto.
The talent of the three thousand li had left the room speechless.
The representatives of the three merchants looked somewhat dazed at the astonishing talent, as for Gu Yan, although he quickly regained his composure, the shock in his eyes could not be concealed.
Xu Qingnian took a sip of his tipple and sat back down, his gaze falling on the representative of the Jin merchants, allowing him to continue.
He swept a glance at the vision outside the window.
The Jin merchant representative paused slightly, but he soon continued to speak.
“As long as the price is raised by a further ten per cent at the previous price, the patriarch is still willing to risk the people’s wrath and harvest early, but please rest a*sured, Minister Gu, that this silver will be given to the people.”
So he said, stating a price that the Ministry of the Household simply could not possibly accept.
“Raise it by another ten percent?”
“That would be sixteen thousand five hundred taels of silver for a waterwheel?”
Gu Yan did not have a half-hearted expression on his face, just a calm tone of voice as he asked this towards the other party.
“En! Not even a single cent less.”
The latter did not dare to look directly into Gu Yan’s eyes, but he still did not drag his feet in answering, not even a single cent less.
“Heh.”
Gu Yan laughed lightly, he didn’t say anything, he just drank a gla*s of wine by himself.
“Three of you, not even one point less will do?”
At this moment, Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, and with a smile on his face, he asked so.
To be honest, Xu Qingnian did not expect that these three big merchants would dare to open their mouths like this, not only did they not lower the price, but they also raised it by another 10%, which was really …… The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are getting.
This bottom line, to say that there are not two big dynasties behind, he really does not believe.
“The price given, it is impossible to be less, but the patriarch also understands that this matter benefits the country and the people, so the patriarch is willing to raise the strength of the chamber and serve the Great Wei, and is willing to pay in installments.”
The representative of the Jin merchants spoke, speaking very generously.
But when he said this, for some reason, Xu Qingnian felt somehow sick in his heart.
It seemed that these people really felt that they were sure of Great Wei.
“How are the instalments?”
Xu Qingnian inquired.
“Sixteen thousand five hundred taels a piece, Great Wei needs fifty thousand pieces, that’s eighty-two thousand five hundred million taels of silver.”
“We, the three merchants, are willing to extend for Great Wei for twenty-four months, and we only need to pay us three thousand four hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred taels of silver each month.”
“Only in consideration of the pressure of our advances, so we need to pay another half become the total interest, I wonder what does Minister Gu think?”
The other party slowly spoke out, stating their plan.
Eighty-two thousand five hundred million taels of silver.
If they were to be paid, the treasury would still owe 25 million taels.
Moreover, this did not take into account the cost of manpower and so on, if these costs were included, 100,000,000 taels of silver would be barely enough.
Fifty counties, 100,000,000 taels of silver, twice as much as the 50,000,000 taels of silver previously envisaged.
Bravo.
These merchants are really good at planning, and even he, the Minister of Household Affairs, could not help but praise them for their calculations.
They even came up with an instalment model of 3,435,000 taels of silver a month, which was not much compared to the 80,000,000 taels of silver.
But you know, if you really agreed to it, it would be 34 million taels per month, and Great Wei’s annual income would only be 10 million taels of silver.
Xu Qingnian stopped talking.
Because he already understood completely what the other party’s intentions were.
Shang Shu Gu also rose at this moment, he swept a glance at the three great merchants, then raised his wine cup and said.
“Three of you, you are truly good merchants of Great Wei.”
Gu Yan raised his cup, then drank it down in one gulp and turned to walk away.
Xu Qingnian didn’t even say anything and followed Gu Yan to leave.
Because the negotiations had completely collapsed, the other party did not intend to negotiate properly at all, but instead kept increasing the price, even taking out such things as staging to fool the Ministry of Finance.
This was really treating the Ministry of Finance like a pig.
“Lord Gu, Lord Gu.”
The three men got up, wanting to say something, but looking at Gu Yan leaving so resolutely, in the end they didn’t say anything, just sat back down, and between each other, gave each other a look.
This look was odd and complicated, to say that they were happy was not at all happy, but to say that they were sad was not at all sad either.
Leaving the Drunken Immortal Building.
Xu Qingnian got on the carriage with Gu Yan to go back.
Inside the carriage, Gu Yan was still not furious, but looked at Xu Qingnian and said.
“Shouren, tell us what you think.”
Gu Yan spoke out calmly and asked Xu Qingnian, wanting to hear Xu Qingnian’s opinion.
“Lord Gu.”
“Qingnian feels that this Jin merchant, Hui merchant, and Gan merchant, are trying to cooperate with us, but still, as said before, someone has offered them a price that they cannot refuse.”
“It will just be a bit risky, they don’t dare to take it lightly, so they raise the price, if Wei agrees, they are ecstatic, but if Wei doesn’t agree, they will have to sell to the other side.”
“Although it’s a bit risky, it’s just that businessmen are profit-seeking, when the profit reaches a certain level, even if it’s the crime of killing their heads, they dare to try.”
Xu Qingnian voiced her opinion.
The three great merchants’ performance behaviour was entirely a desire to cooperate with Great Wei, it was just that the price offered by the other party was too high, and if Great Wei merely used the original price to buy it, they could not spare the huge profit.
“En.”
“You have looked very carefully and thoroughly.”
“It’s just that, right now, it’s a deadlock, the three major merchants hold important materials, and the price they are unwilling to lower, and the Ministry of Household Affairs is unlikely to agree to their price.”
“I am afraid that the matter of the waterwheel is as difficult as ascending to heaven.”
“Shouren, I know that your heart is for the people of the world, but there are many things that are not as simple as having an idea.”
“Tomorrow, it would be better to start a memorial to inform His Majesty and put the matter on hold.”
Gu Yan was very satisfied with Xu Qingnian’s answer, because he saw it very thoroughly, but satisfaction was not enough, right now, he had indeed encountered a deadlock.
The Chamber of Commerce was unwilling to sell at a low price.
The Ministry of the Treasury was unwilling to buy at a higher price.
It would be useless for anyone to come in, unless it was suppressed by imperial power, but if imperial power was really used, it would inevitably lead to terrible turmoil.
So this is a deadlock. The Ministry of the Household is being held over a fire, and it is difficult to go in or out.
Inside the carriage.
Xu Qingnian listened to Gu Yan’s words, he couldn’t help but be silent, one thought after another came to his mind.
After a while, Xu Qingnian spoke.
“Lord Gu, the matter is not over yet, there is a turnaround.”
Xu Qingnian said so.
When this was said, Gu Yan could not help but be slightly curious.
As the Minister of Household, he understood many things and knew that there were many forces involved behind this. All that mattered at the moment was just a high price and a low price, which was the easiest thing about doing business and also the biggest trouble.
Hearing this tone of Xu Qingnian, it seems that he has a way to deal with the situation?
“You have a solution?”
Gu Yan asked.
“There should be.”
Xu Qingnian replied slowly.
But when this was said, Gu Yan was surprised, he was aware that if Xu Qingnian dared to say that there was, then there must be.
“How much can you press the price down to?”
Gu Yan asked directly, not beating around the bush.
“I don’t know the exact amount, originally I was thinking of letting the three major chambers of commerce sell to us for 10% or 20%, but now it seems it won’t work, I guess it’s 50% of our pricing, 50% at most, otherwise they wouldn’t be happy.”
Xu Qingnian stated the price.
And Gu Yan’s entire body was a little down.
Inside the carriage, it seemed unusually quiet.
Gu Yan looked at Xu Qingnian, and his eyes were as if he had seen a ghost.
Fifty percent?
Fifty percent of the fixed price?
Fifty percent of the 7,500 taels? Isn’t that 3,750 taels of silver?
Now they are asking for 16,500 taels of silver, and you are asking the three merchants to offer 3,750 taels of silver?
Are they out of their minds or are you out of your mind?
If it were anyone else sitting in front of him now, unless it was the empress, whoever dared to say such a thing to him, Gu Yan would definitely go up and slap him twice.
This is simply a fool’s errand.
Ask yourself, the same thing could have been sold for 16,500 taels of silver, but you can sell it for 3,750 taels of silver, provided you know its value.
Who would be willing to do so? Isn’t that giving it away for nothing? And it’s a loss. Even if you don’t make any profit, you’ll lose money.
It’s equivalent to a loss of about 30%, because 7,500 taels of silver is the price from the Ministry of Household Affairs, and their cost price is definitely not that high.
Looking at Gu Yan who did not say anything, Xu Qingnian faintly spat out two more words.
“Packaged mail.”
The voice rang out and Gu Yan frowned a little, he did not understand what this meant.
“Free shipping.”
Xu Qingnian changed it, and for a moment, Gu Yan was silent.
Because he didn’t know how to answer.
Three thousand seven hundred and fifty taels and free transport fees?
Guoren, are you dumbfounded by your talent?
Gu Yan swallowed his saliva and waited for a while for his mood to calm down before he continued to speak.
“Shouren, what’s your plan? Don’t mess around with it.”
Gu Yan was a little afraid, afraid that Xu Qingnian would open a direct attack on the merchants of Great Wei, if that was really the case, then he would rather not mess up like that.
The reason for beheading the merchants was that they had caused public discontent and were, after all, foreigners, so what could be done if they were not given face?
But not the merchants of Wei, this is not a joke. It’s the whole of Great Wei, up and down, whether it’s the people or the powerful, it’s all involved.
Unless they are looking for death, for example, if you have evidence of their collaboration with the enemy at hand, then it cannot be moved.
“Lord Gu, don’t worry, Qingnian won’t be impulsive.”
“I have a plan, I just can’t talk to you, Lord Gu, for now, but there is one thing, Lord Gu must help me, otherwise, this plan of Qingnian’s cannot be carried out.”
Xu Qingnian said this.
“You say.”
Gu Yan inquired, but he was also dry.
“Prepare a memorial for the Ministry of the Treasury to inform the merchants of the world that Great Wei needs to promote the waterwheel project and is short of silver, so I hope that the merchants of Great Wei will generously support it.”
Xu Qingnian said calmly.
“Merchants’ support?”
Gu Yan was a little curious, this kind of thing was not a big deal, because during the sixth and seventh Northern Expedition, a similar thing had been done, and even when the country was in distress, this kind of announcement would also be issued.
It was hoped that merchants from all over the world would sponsor something, but generally speaking it was often an exchange of rights and interests, and not many people were genuinely willing to sponsor, holding out until they died a million taels of silver, which was still a tremendous chamber of commerce and for other purposes.
After just donating a million taels of silver, they turned around and used this to earn money from the people.
Most chambers of commerce, on the other hand, donate a few thousand or tens of thousands of taels, and some even donate a hundred or so taels when they earn several million taels a year.
This is not very meaningful, but rather a bit of a loss to the state.
“En, and limit it to within Kyoto, not to mention outside of Kyoto, just within Kyoto, but allow merchants from all over to come to the capital to donate.”
Xu Qingnian continued.
“Restrict Kyoto?”
Gu Yan was even more puzzled this time, there were many powerful people in Kyoto, and many rich people, but the richer they were the more stingy they were, let alone donating to the Great Wei?
If it was a time of war, it would be fine, after all, the country was in ruins and many merchants would be affected, so they had to donate, but now was a time of peace and prosperity, it was almost impossible to get these merchants to donate.
Moreover, after the donation, there is nothing good, it is just the Ministry of the Household to send some plaques and so on, of course the most donated, for example, the highest record, 17 million taels, the Emperor Wu rewarded a few words, but not a plaque, can only be posted in the family inner hall.
Meaningful, yes, but not very meaningful.
Therefore, Gu Yan really did not understand Xu Qingnian’s thoughts.
“My lord, in short, it is fine for you to do so, and leave the rest to Xu.”
“Within seven days, I will have the three major chambers of commerce, scrambling to provide the materials.”
Xu Qingnian spoke out, his tone filled with certainty.
Looking at Xu Qingnian’s face full of certainty, coupled with this tone of conviction, Gu Yan’s heart was filled with curiosity, but since Xu Qingnian did not say anything, he did not ask too much.
Seven days! Then, let’s see what methods Xu Qingnian would use to make the three big merchants pay the silver at a loss after these seven days.
After a while, the carriage arrived at the Shouren Academy.
“Lord Gu, take care on your journey.”
Xu Qingnian stepped down from the carriage and bowed towards Lord Gu who had come out to see him off.
“Rest early.”
Gu Yan nodded, and then returned to the carriage.
Tad! Tap! Tap!
When the carriage moved forward, Xu Qingnian also exhaled a breath as he turned to enter the school hall and began to prepare his plans.
Just after Xu Qingnian walked into the school hall, a familiar back appeared on the tea table.
“Shang Shu Chen.”
Xu Qingnian was a little curious, he did not expect Chen Zhengru to be waiting for him inside the Shouren Academy.
“My humble servant Xu Qingnian, pay my respects to Shang Shu Chen.”
Xu Qingnian walked quickly and bowed towards Chen Zhengru.
“Shouren, don’t curtsy.”
Chen Zhengru got up and held Xu Qingnian.
“Minister Chen, at this hour, you? Something important?”
Xu Qingnian was curious, at this hour, it was already dark, why did Chen Zhengru suddenly appear?
It was a late night visit, so it was probably something important.
“Shouren, something might be going on.”
Chen Zhengru pressed his voice and slowly spoke out.
When this was said, it made Xu Qingnian frown.
The Chancellor of the Great Wei, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, the Great Confucian of the Palace of Letters, this kind of person was used to seeing storms, anything might be a small matter in front of him, while when he said something, it must be a big matter.
“Lord Shang Shu, come into the room and speak?”
Xu Qingnian invited the other party into his room.
“Good.”
Chen Zhengru walked straight into Xu Qingnian’s room.
Once he had entered the room, Xu Qingnian slightly raised his hand, and the Eight Desolate Bells appeared, with a vast and righteous Qi filling the surroundings, forming something similar to a boundary that would prevent others from prying eyes.
“Such a literary artifact, it is truly extraordinary.”
Looking at the Eight Desolate Bells, Chen Zhengru could not help but sigh in admiration, but today he had important business to seek Xu Qingnian, so he did not chat much.
“Lord Chen, what is it?”
Xu Qingnian wasted no time and opened up directly.
“Shouren, I am asking you, what do you feel about this Peace Poetry Competition?”
Chen Zhengru asked Xu Qingnian.
“The Great Wei literary world has indeed fallen.”
“But the decline is somewhat odd, Qingnian doesn’t know the strength of the Great Wei Literary Circle, but no matter how bad it is, the ten best literati, apart from the first day, one or two are listed from then onwards, even on the first day, there can’t be only five of them.”
“Furthermore, the ten great talents of the ten nations are imposing this time, they should be respecting the Great Wei Literary Palace and saluting Great Wei according to reason, but this time these literati, it is as if they don’t care about the Great Wei Literary Palace or Great Wei at all.”
“Just the retreat thing alone, it is reasonable to say that any literati of clear intention would not do it, it is out of the style of a Confucian, not like a literati, but rather like some merchants.”
Xu Qingnian pointed out the problems involved, and these three problems gave him the most serious feeling.
The Great Wei Literary Palace, which one of them was not the pride of heaven everywhere? Furthermore there were the Four Great Schools, equivalent to the four top schools of learning in Great Wei, and everyone in them was an existence with Confucian talent.
They are enlightened readers, but at the Taiping Poetry Conference, not a single one of them made the list, and in the end, it was up to him to save the day.
One can imagine that if he had not appeared, Great Wei would have been disgraced this time.
What kind of Confucian orthodoxy and lineage of saints do you still claim to be? It was all a joke.
“En.”
“It is true that the literary world of Great Wei has declined somewhat, which is normal, after all, it has been affected by the Northern Expedition, however, even if it is affected again, it is not as bad as the Taiping Poetry Society.”
“As for the great talents of the ten kingdoms, they are indeed a bit eccentric. If there had been another Taiping Poetry Competition, you would have worshipped me and had respect in your eyes.”
“In Wei, they would have acted in a polite manner, and they would have even been polite to the literati of Wei, but this year was different, they were slightly arrogant.”
“The arrogance in their eyes, the complete change in their demeanour, this early exit has never happened since the founding of Great Wei, not to mention that Great Wei has done nothing wrong, even if Great Wei had done something wrong, they would not have retired early.”
“Do you know why?”
Chen Zhengru nodded, while answering these questions from Xu Qingnian.
“Why?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
“Zhu Sheng originated from the Great Wei.”
“Therefore, the literati of the world regard the Palace of Literature as a holy place, and the literati of Great Wei as the disciples of the sage.”
When Chen Zhengru said this, he looked incomparably proud and confident at the same time.
And this was something that Xu Qingnian also had to admit.
How exaggerated was the influence of the saints?
In his own words, he was not insulting the saint at all, nor was he disrespectful to the saint; in the end, he did not want to follow the Zhu Sheng lineage, but chose to start his own school of thought, which was actually not a problem.
At least before Zhu Sheng became a saint, there were many people who had started their own schools of thought, and the Zhu Sheng school was killed all the way from that time.
But after Zhu Sheng became the fifth sage, all schools of thought disappeared and were replaced by a kind of fanaticism, a kind of fanaticism among the literati of the world.
Xu Qingnian could not deny the charisma of Zhu Sheng’s personality, and even in other words, if he had been in that era, even with countless poems, he would not have dared to compete with the saint.
This was the charisma of the saint.
Naturally, Xu Qingnian believed and agreed with these words of Chen Zhengru.
But since this was the case, then this Peace Poetry Competition was a big problem.
Before Xu Qingnian could continue to ask, Chen Zhengru spoke up again and told Xu Qingnian the story of today’s Peace Poetry Competition.
The story was clear, including how Sun Jing’an reprimanded the literati of Great Wei and how he favored the great talents of the ten countries, without any favoritism towards his own great scholars or any blackmail.
He just told the whole story as it was.
After Chen Zhengru finished speaking, Xu Qingnian’s brow grew tighter and tighter.
“It’s not right!”
“This is completely incorrect.”
“Sun Jing’an, a great Confucian of the Palace of Literature, who revered Zhu Sheng, clearly intended the Sacred Way, established his words to uphold the saints, wrote books to spread the saints, and had a somewhat indifferent personality.”
“It is normal that he might be a little cold and arrogant towards the Confucians of Great Wei, but in this situation, he should not do this and knows that he cannot do this.”
“Angering the Confucians of the Wen Palace will not do any good in the end, and although it is the face of Great Wei that is being defended, it is a little too much.”
Xu Qingnian frowned, after listening to Chen Zhengru’s words again, he really could not understand it somewhat.
He knew that Sun Jing’an was arrogant and stubbornly rigid, but as a great Confucian and his age was here, he could not be so foolish as to defend the great talents of the Ten Kingdoms and rebuke the literati of Great Wei.
Wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?
It was completely out of line with what a great scholar would do, even a normal person would not do that.
Xu Qingnian muttered to himself as he analysed.
Chen Zhengru did not say anything, and when Xu Qingnian was at a loss for words, his voice rang out.
Chen Zhengru’s voice rang out.
“Someone is attempting to strip the Palace of Literature.”
Chen Zhengru’s voice was calm.
However, these calm words were like thunder in Xu Qingnian’s ears.
Subconsciously, he denied it, but when combined with what Chen Zhengru said, it seemed to be true.
But Xu Qingnian still could not help but speak out.
“Stripping the Palace of Literature?”
He swallowed his saliva, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The Great Wei Palace of Literature, born five hundred years ago, at the time of Zhu Sheng.
Why did Great Wei’s Kyoto appear here? It was because the Palace of Literature was first revealed and the capital was eventually moved here, such was the prestige of the sage.
Since then, since that day, all the literati of Great Wei have been called disciples of the sage, and have walked around foreign lands with their heads held high.
Now, five hundred years later, the sage has pa*sed away, but the Palace of Literature has remained here, and future generations have continued to nurture it with their talents.
It can be said that the greatest pride of the people and literati of Great Wei lies not in their military prowess, nor in their wealth, but in the fact that a sage has emerged from Great Wei.
How many flourishing dynasties have come and gone in the past and present? How many dynasties have produced saints?
This is absolute spiritual pride, something that every citizen of Great Wei is proud of.
But now Chen Zhengru informed that someone wanted to divest the Palace of Literature, the equivalent of taking away this Confucian orthodoxy, how was this possible?
“Chen Ru, this is not possible.”
“How can Zhu Sheng be stripped away when he became enlightened in Kyoto?”
Xu Qingnian no longer used to address his lordship, but used Chen Ru, representing talking about this matter in the capacity of a Confucian scholar.
“But Zhu Sheng has travelled through the kingdoms and preached the way of the saints.”
“There has always been a dispute over saints, in fact, it’s just that since Zhu Sheng, Great Wei has also produced countless talented people who have suppressed the literati of the world.”
“For example, the Taiping Poetry Society, otherwise, if the Great Wei literary palace once declined, there would be people who would fight for the claim of orthodoxy.”
“This time, I feel that someone is pushing behind the scenes.”
Chen Zhengru replied calmly.
It left Xu Qingnian somewhat speechless.
Yes, Zhu Sheng was enlightened in the capital of Great Wei and was still a subject of Great Wei, but the problem was that Confucianism itself was to teach the world, and anyone could learn Confucianism, as long as they had a heart to study.
Naturally, Zhu Sheng would also go to various countries to preach the Way and carry his school of thought forward, which is something every saint would do.
And such a practice would lead to many controversies; one cannot say that if he is from your country, he is a saint of your country, for saints do not have national boundaries.
So says the saint himself.
And the sage orthodoxy represents is the Confucian orthodoxy, and whoever becomes the Confucian orthodoxy is, for the country, a spiritual strength, a cohesion of public opinion, and a great help to the development of the country.
It is a spiritual struggle.
“Daring to plot against the Palace of Literature, what a man.
Xu Qingnian spoke out.
He really could not imagine what kind of person was it that had the audacity to do so.
If the Great Wei Palace of Literature was stripped away.
It would be a fatal blow to Great Wei, no weaker than opening two more Northern Expeditions, and that too under the present circumstances.
To say that the fall of the state is exaggerated, but Great Wei is probably never likely to return to its heyday, and may be retired from the stage of history as a result.
This matter was too big.
“It’s not clear.”
“But what we can know is that this person’s background, it’s terrifying, ten Prince Huai Ning wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Chen Zhengru spoke out, he wasn’t sure who it was either, but the only thing he could be sure of was that this person’s identity was extremely terrifying.
Even ten Prince Huaining could not compare to one of him.
Xu Qingnian was silent.
He felt that Chen Zhengru should have someone in mind, it was just that he didn’t dare to say anything, nor could he tell himself, it wasn’t a good thing for such things to be learned by himself.
“It shouldn’t be.”
“If someone really wanted to divest the Great Wei Palace of Literature, they shouldn’t be like this, right?”
“It’s too obvious.”
Xu Qingnian still shook her head, unwilling to believe it was that fact.
“No!”
“It’s precisely because it’s so obvious that you can be sure of the other party’s intentions.”
“And do you know why it’s so obvious?”
Chen Zhengru asked so.
“Why?”
“The waterwheel?”
Xu Qingnian’s first reaction was to inquire, but immediately connected the dots.
“Yes.”
“The waterwheel project.”
“This object benefits the country and the people, and can gradually restore Great Wei to its heyday, plus there is another reason why they had to go out and be so eager.”
Chen Zhengru nodded, but there was another point Xu Qingnian had overlooked.
“What?”
Xu Qingnian said curiously.
“The Great Wei, which has gone through so much suffering, has produced you, a great talent of the ages.”
Chen Zhengru said word by word.
These words were not half praise, but words from his heart.
The waterwheel project, which was certainly beneficial to the country and the people, made some people feel threatened, but the real reason that compelled them to take action.
It was Xu Qingnian.
A great talent of the ages.
The waterwheel project is beneficial to the country and the people, and now, at the Taiping Poetry Conference, he has seven poems that have been used to town ten countries, and his talent has come from the east for 3,000 miles.
Oh, and add to that the sixth-ranked Confucian scholar who entered school at the age of 20, just one year ago.
Any one of these things can make a person a popular figure.
Xu Qingnian has done so many things all by himself, and he is only twenty years old.
What would happen to Wei? I can think of it with my toes.
“But don’t worry, they won’t dare to touch you for the time being, at least not now.”
“They are even willing to draw you in, but I am not trying to draw you in by telling you all this today, I am simply telling.”
“Because I believe in you, you have set up your words for the people, every single thing you have done, I see it in my eyes, and your heart is for the Great Wei.”
“Heart for the people of the world, and the old man set up his words for the people of the world in the first place, so the old man believes in you unconditionally.”
Chen Zhengru’s words were incomparably generous, he believed Xu Qingnian because Xu Qingnian had set up his words for the people, such a person could never betray the people of Great Wei.
“Thank you, Chen Ru, for your compliments.”
Xu Qingnian thanked him, and he was not modest in these words.
“Just what does Chen Ru think should be done at the moment?”
Xu Qingnian asked Chen Zhengru, knowing so many things, he should also find a solution.
“Let’s wait and see what happens.”
“I have already submitted a report to His Majesty to thoroughly investigate Sun Jing’an, he has already revealed his horse, if the gods are gracious to the Great Wei, perhaps this calamity can be stopped.”
“Shouren, I am telling you this much today so that you can take precautions in your mind, and also, if you have nothing to do in the future, come to the Great Wei Palace of Literature.”
“You do need to come, to feel the holy will, it will help you.”
Chen Zhengru slowly said, informing this matter.
“The student understands.”
Xu Qingnian nodded.
However, Xu Qingnian was still a little curious and said.
“Sun Jing’an is a great Confucian, and the matter of stripping the Palace of Literature, if he is involved, ……. wouldn’t he not be allowed to take his place?”
Xu Qingnian was a bit puzzled by this.
This is a great Confucian.
Would heaven and earth allow it to do such a thing?
However, Chen Zhengru shook his head and said.
“Shouren, you still don’t understand the Confucian Way. To become a Confucian, one needs to make clear one’s intention and establish one’s words.
“And this has always been the case in the Great Wei Palace of Literature, the great Confucians of the Zhu Sheng lineage, they actually don’t care about the country at all, because in their minds, the sage comes first.”
“So similar to Sun Ru and the others, they don’t have any official positions in the court, whereas we are the ones who set up our words for the people and for the common people, so we can be officials.”
“In other words, if in their eyes, there is no Great Wei Palace of Literature, but only Zhu Sheng Palace of Literature, so if Zhu Sheng Palace of Literature appeared in another country, it could make the people of the world believe in Zhu Sheng even more.”
“Then they would not hesitate to choose to leave.”
“Because their Confucian position involves the power of faith, preaching for the Zhu Sheng, expressing their intention and establishing their words, being able to become a great Confucian has a great deal to do with the Zhu Sheng, and down the road, if they want to become a great Confucian of heaven and earth, or even become a half-saint, it also involves it, do you understand?”
Chen Zhengru patiently explained.
And Xu Qingnian was instantly enlightened.
It turned out that there were still two kinds of great scholars, one was on his own, for the people of the world or the people of the sky, or follow the natural way, in response to the order of heaven, this kind of great scholars was the one recognized by heaven and earth, and similar to Sun Jingan.
After all, the way of Zhu Sheng is approved by heaven and earth, and they spread the way of Zhu Sheng, which is also in accordance with the will of heaven, and as for how to do it, that is their business, and heaven and earth have no control over it.
So it can be deduced that there are two forces in the Great Wei Palace of Literature.
Understood.
This is what happens when you don’t study.
It’s better to go to the Book Depository and read more books when there’s nothing to do.
“Alright, Shouren, take a good rest these few days, I’m afraid the Peace Poetry Fair will only be unsuccessful, and the ten great talents of the ten countries won’t have the heart to attend the banquet.”
“You take a good rest, also, pay attention to Hua Xinyun, he is definitely not as simple as he seems, understand?”
Chen Zhengru gave an extra reminder.
Let Xu Qingnian pay attention to Hua Xinyun.
“Okay.”
“Chen Ru take care.”
Xu Qingnian did not see him off from afar, but instead watched Chen Zhengru leave.
After Chen Zhengru had left.
At this moment.
Great Wei Kyoto.
Inside the Palace of Literature.
In a secret room.
A bland and incomparable voice slowly sounded out.
“The plan has failed.”
“He has revealed himself.”
“Let it do one last thing for the Vermilion Sage, please.”
The voice rang out.
A young voice soon responded.
“Yes.”
