The emperor’s decree was simple.
He said that the essays he had written were essays of intent.
He told everyone to learn a little from him, but as it was about intention, the Great Wei Dynasty did not need intention at the moment, so he suppressed it for a while, but did not deny his talent.
Is this not telling a lie with your eyes open?
Did the emperor read his own article?
It was clearly an article on building development and advocating prosperity, so why did it become a stand-up article?
“It is impossible for the emperor not to read my essay, if he did not read the best essay, this emperor would have achieved his head.”
“Since he read my article, he should know my purpose, but change it to a stand-up article, is it to …… protect me?”
Soon, Xu Qingnian thought of the reason.
Other than that, Xu Qingnian could not think of a second reason, that is unless the emperor was really blind.
But that was not possible.
“Has the dynastic rivalry reached this level? Even the emperor has to be careful?”
Xu Qingnian pondered over it carefully.
It was obvious that the emperor was not a fool, so the purpose of announcing this decree was to protect himself.
The court was fighting fiercely, this was the first time Xu Qingnian had intuitively felt it, otherwise, with his own peace policy, if it were a normal dynasty, the emperor would have taken out all sorts of bragging rights and then started to make a big deal out of it.
Not to do so is not to disapprove of yourself, but rather to approve of yourself, but because of the situation, want to protect yourself first and wait for the time to be ripe before making your move.
In a flash, Xu Qingnian understood the causes and consequences.
He was a smart man, and so was the Great Wei Emperor, even going so far as to use a stand-up article to attract hatred and use external conflicts to resolve internal conflicts.
Obviously according to the empress’s ideas, his own future route had already been mapped out.
Enter the capital, become an official, then start discussing how to get the money bank, immediately after sneaking off to get the money bank, and when it is ready, just start doing it, at that time even if the court full of civil servants do not agree.
The emperor has a veto power.
The reason why you don’t do it now is because you are afraid that people will start to trip you up during the preliminary preparation stage.
You can’t have a veto at this time, but what about later?
You can’t keep playing the bummer, right?
In fact, it all boils down to one thing: the imperial power is not strong enough.
If it was solid enough, look at Zhu Taizu, if you don’t agree with him, you have to kill him, and if you oppose him, you have to be extremely happy, otherwise you have to kill him too.
“Seven northern expeditions, women claiming the throne, this is the consequence ah.”
Xu Qingnian understood something in general, he understood the emperor of the dynasty, but understanding is understanding, displeasure is still displeasure.
The standpoint article.
This is simply to roast oneself on the fire.
Since ancient times, the most heated debate among writers has been about intention.
The intention.
A gentleman sets his mind.
People have believed in the words of a sage, made them their ultimate ideal, worked hard for decades, and then suddenly you come up with a new idea.
But if you overturn that idea, what will people think?
It would be like telling a man in a previous life that there is no light in this world.
Beliefs collapse.
So the battle of ideas is too big in literary circles.
No, it’s not too big, it’s a devastating argument.
So if one wants to defuse this trouble, one has to honour the will of the sage Zhu.
Five generations of saints.
The first generation of saints, who established the Will of the Cthulhu, in the Age of Supreme Darkness
The second generation of saints, establishing the will of Confucianism, the teacher of all ages.
The third generation of saints, establishing the meaning of ritual and music, the gentleman’s ritual and music.
The fourth sage, who established the meaning of ruler and subject, the ruler before and the father after.
The fifth sage established the meaning of the gentleman, to preserve the principles of heaven and destroy the desires of men, to overcome selfish desires.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with any of these five saints.
Otherwise they could not have become saints.
Their ideas were good, but they could not be added to by later generations.
They all thought that they had understood the meaning of the saints, and then imposed their own ideas on them, turning them into the meaning of the saints.
In the end, it was the sage who took the blame.
It is like storing up heavenly truths and extinguishing human desires.
It means that desires are infinite, and that we, as gentlemen and Confucian scholars, should restrain our desires.
What became of it?
You must not have desires; it is not good to have desires.
It can even be used to attack each other; you ate an extra egg today, you don’t respect the sages, you don’t deserve to be a man of letters.
This kind of thing is not unheard of.
Don’t be disconcerted yet, because it is okay to have to over-interpret the words of a saint, after all, it is not like you can resurrect a saint.
You can’t explain it clearly either, people have to mess with your words.
So Xu Qingnian is not too fond of Zhu Sheng’s intentions, he respects Zhu Sheng, a human saint, who naturally has an unparalleled aura, perhaps with flaws, but how many people can become saints in ancient and modern times?
Xu Qingnian prefers a different intention.
Wang Yangming, Wang Shouren’s unity of knowledge and action.
This is the idea that Xu Qingnian approves of, both are essentially the same.
Overcoming selfish desires.
But it is much better than Zhu Sheng’s intention, which, whether or not it has been added to by later generations, still does not change this strict intention, which is somewhat contrary to human reason.
Wang Shouren’s knowledge and action, on the other hand, is very free, and there is no need to disguise oneself and release the nature that belongs to oneself.
It is just that Xu Qingnian does not dare to say these things.
There was no other reason.
Given his current situation, if he dared to proclaim such a standpoint, all Confucian scholars in the world would be looking for him.
Ninety percent of the literati would see themselves as enemies.
It would be better for him to wait until he had grown up, when he was in control of the court and had the prestige and virtue to promote this idea.
The effect may still be the same, but at least no one will come looking for trouble.
Xu Qingnian looked at the decree and pondered.
It was at this moment that the delicacies arrived.
A plate of steaming dishes was placed on the stone table. Xu Qingnian came back to his senses and did not say anything, lifting his chopsticks and eating.
There was no point in just eating the dishes, so he asked his servants to bring a bucket of rice and prepare a few catties of meat.
As he ate, Xu Qingnian thought about what was to come.
First, there was the matter of the establishment of the will, which was not mentioned in a single word.
It didn’t matter what the purpose of the Tianming Academy was, it was fine to make friends, but if they wanted to set themselves up, that wouldn’t do.
If you don’t mention the intention, you can let them say whatever they want.
Even when they enter the capital later, they will not say anything.
After making up his mind about this.
Xu Qingnian ate his meal even better.
The only thing that scared Li Xin at the side was that he had eaten a whole lot.
Xu Qingnian had eaten half a bucket of rice, plus three or four catties of meat, and four or five plates of dishes, this amount of rice had caught up with him for seven or eight days.
“Brother Xu, I really didn’t expect that you could eat so much.”
Li Xin smacked his lips.
“That’s how it is for people who practice martial arts.”
“By the way, Xiandi, if you don’t mind these few days, you plan to stay here for a few days, if it’s a disturbance forget it.”
Xu Qingnian smiled, while offering to stay here for a few days.
After all, with the arrival of the people from the Tianming Academy, everyone’s eyes in the South Yu Mansion had fallen on him, so instead of going out and attracting trouble, it would be better to rest in Li Xin’s home for a few days.
“That’s a big word from brother Xu, it’s an honour for my brother to have you come and stay at my humble abode, I will now have the upper room prepared.”
Li Xin was thrilled, Xu Qingnian was naturally happy to stay at his house, and he could brag about it later when he met his friends, “I am very close to Xu Dacai, and I stayed at my house in South Yu Province.
How dignified would that be?
Soon, after Xu Qingnian had her meal, Li Xin had an upper room prepared for her and arranged for four maids to follow her and wait on her.
Xu Qingnian was also casual and asked the maids to prepare the bathing water, intending to wash up first.
Although he was a martial artist now, he still had to pay attention to his personal hygiene.
Half an hour later.
Xu Qingnian took a hot bath comfortably, and Li Xin was considerate enough to have someone buy a set of clothes for himself, the fabric was of the finest silk, a set of such clothes would cost at least five taels of silver.
It was really the benefit of fame.
You can eat and drink for free and still have a set of clothes for free. The ancients were kind-hearted.
After changing into his clothes and robes.
Xu Qingnian had nothing important to do next, just to quietly read some books.
But at that moment, Li Xin came in a bit of a hurry, with a look of tears and laughter.
“Brother Xu, something big has happened.”
Li Xin opened his mouth, causing Xu Qingnian to be somewhat puzzled.
It was only half an hour before and after.
How could something big have happened?
What else has happened? Can’t you just say it?
“What’s going on?”
Xu Qingnian was a little curious.
“There was a fight, our South Yufu gang of officials fought over you and the students of Tianming Academy.”
Li Xin really didn’t know how to speak.
“A fight?”
“How did the official officers get into a fight with the students?”
“Also, how is it for me?”
The more Xu Qingnian heard, the more confused he became, he didn’t ask the Nan Yu official to fight, there’s no need to dump this pot on me too, right?
You’re being a bit unreasonable.
“Brother Xu, when you came here earlier, you were dusty and covered in mud.”
“Now it’s being rumoured outside that the students from the Tianming Academy, seeing how arrogant you were, found you and beat you up in a fit of anger.”
“The people up and down South Yufu are all spreading the rumours, one more than the other angry, saying that South Yufu has so easily produced a great talent that they were targeted by the people of Tianming Academy and bullied South Yufu into incompetence.”
“Those constables could not hold down their tempers at once, especially two of them, who had some connections with you, shouted over a large part of the constables of the whole South Yufu.”
“When they saw the students of Tianming Academy, they beat them up very fiercely.”
“But I heard from the news that the students of Tianming Academy also had backbone, not only did they not go to explain when they were beaten, they were screaming that you were behind it, not considered a gentleman, a villain.”
“As a result, he was beaten up even more.”
Li Xin really didn’t know what to say.
The whole thing was a complete oops, mainly because Xu Qingnian’s prestige was too high.
After all, it was reasonable to say that the matter was none of one’s business, and if the literati were beaten up, if they didn’t report it to the officials, these officials wouldn’t take action.
But Xu Qingnian’s prestige was so high that he was blown up as the world’s top genius, plus he had been suppressed by the Tianming House all these years.
The government has been suppressed by the Tianming House over the years, but when Xu Qingnian is found to have been beaten up, the South Yufu will explode.
The news was heard from the common people to the scholars and scholars, and they all exploded.
The rumors were so terrifying, plus the fact that Xu Qingnian was indeed winded all the way, completely different from her usual image, naturally led people to think that she had been beaten up.
As a result, the fuse was lit and the officials were the first to bear the brunt. The two brothers Yang Bao and Yang Hu were the first to bring their men there, followed by the students of the South Yu Province, who now regard Xu Qingnian as their idol in life.
Then came the people of the city. They already resented the students of Tianming Academy, but now you dare to bully the scholars of Nan Yu?
Do you really think that the people of Nan Yu are sick cats?
So the matter was instantly raised, and it got particularly big.
Plus this group of Tianming Academy students were one and all defiant, they were indeed defiant to Xu Qingnian, although they had been reprimanded by Wan An Guo, but defiant is defiant.
As a result, they were beaten up even worse.
“This ……”
Xu Qingnian was silent.
Is it just a dirty shirt? How can this cause trouble?
These Tianming Academy students were so hated?
Xu Qingnian really didn’t expect that he had been brainstormed into being beaten up after he had soiled his clothes because he was in a hurry.
This led to the Tianming Academy students being chased and beaten.
This was a little outrageous.
“So what’s the best thing to do now?”
Xu Qingnian frowned, beating up a student was not a trivial matter, it was a lawsuit if it was not done properly, the two brothers Yang Bao and Yang Hu were a bit too reckless, right?
“My father has already sent soldiers over to suppress it, so in theory it should be fine.”
“I’ve asked Wang Ru to explain, but some people are going to be out of luck.”
“Beating up a scholar, that’s no joke, gotta go to jail, no matter what the reason.”
“Brother Xu, the two people leading this, could you know them?”
Li Xin asked.
“It’s called Yang Bao and Yang Hu, right? If it is them, I do know them and have a good relationship.”
“Brother Li, what do you think about this, I will write a letter now, and you can help me send it to the old dean of the Tianming Academy.”
“In this matter, my brother cannot step in, otherwise it will become more and more troublesome.”
Xu Qingnian spoke.
He definitely could not step in on such matters himself.
Although Yang Bao and Yang Hu were reckless, they started out to help themselves, and this Xu Qingnian knew, and the people of South Yufu were also towards themselves.
Although this was a misunderstanding, if he stepped in and apologised to the people of Tianming Academy, he was afraid that it would only lead to resentment.
The students of Tianming Academy were no good either, they had come over to find themselves for no reason, and in the end they wanted to step on their own to get to the top, so they deserved the beating they received.
But the old dean of the Tianming Academy is different, a real authentic Confucian, so Xu Qingnian letter of apology is no problem.
You can’t show up, it’s not good to chill everyone’s heart, it’s even worse to keep the situation frozen, in case you provoke the two houses to tear their faces off, that’s a sin.
“Good, I’ll go do it immediately.”
Li Xin agreed in one breath.
Xu Qingnian did not say anything and immediately entered the room, unfolding a piece of letter paper while Li Xin studied the ink at the side.
After the ink came out, Xu Qingnian moved his pen directly.
The general meaning was.
He explained the matter clearly and hoped that the other party would understand, forgive the people’s hearts and also forgive these officials, he was reading sage books during this period of time and did not want to appear, not unwilling to meet, wait for the new building in South Yu to be built in a few days, he would apologize in person.
After writing the letter, Xu Qingnian put it in an envelope and asked Li Xin to help him deliver it.
At the same time, he asked Li Xin to tell the governor that he should not punish the officials as much as possible.
Li Xin nodded his head, took the letter and left, looking hot and bothered.
And then, as he watched Li Xin leave, Xu Qingnian was a little helpless.
No matter how he thought about it, he could never have imagined that he would provoke such a thing.
It seemed that in the future, one had to pay attention to one’s image, so as not to be misunderstood.
And so it was.
It was until midnight.
Xu Qingnian waited quietly in the courtyard.
He didn’t have the heart to read a book after such an incident, and if he wanted to find someone to go out and inquire about the news, he was afraid that other rumours would spread, so he could only wait in silence.
Finally, at two minutes past midnight.
Li Xin came back.
“Brother Xu.”
“Brother Xu.”
Li Xin jogged all the way, a little out of breath.
“There’s no rush, have a sip of water first.”
Xu Qingnian poured a cup of tea for Li Xin.
“No need.”
“The matter is resolved, but the trouble is not resolved, twelve students from Tianming Academy were injured, two of them were more seriously injured, but fortunately no one was killed.”
“Twenty people were arrested, twelve constables, five readers and three ordinary people.”
“The ones arrested are all starters, I guess there will be a lawsuit, injuring a scholar is not a small matter.”
Li Xin frowned a little and said.
“Your father couldn’t bail them out?”
Xu Qingnian was curious.
“I can’t bail him out, it’s not a matter of bailing out, I can only mediate, my father is also in a difficult position, there is a sixth-grade Confucian, he wouldn’t dare to bend the law if he wanted to.”
Li Xin directly shook his head, and then continued to speak.
“The Great Wei law, unjustified injury, three years of detention, the reader’s crime added to the first degree, at least ten years.”
“If they bite the bullet, ten years in prison will not escape.”
These words made Xu Qingnian’s brow furrow even tighter.
“Have you given the letter to Wan Rushi?”
Xu Qingnian inquired.
“I gave it, but it seems that Wan Rushi is also a bit angry.”
“Just took the letter and didn’t say a word.”
Li Xin’s answer made Xu Qingnian feel even more troubled.
To cause a wrongdoing for no reason, this was the downside of fame.
At that moment, Xu Qingnian did not speak anymore, but walked back and forth within the courtyard for a few steps, thinking of a solution.
Eventually, Xu Qingnian took a deep breath and looked at Li Xin and said.
“Go.”
When this was said, Li Xin was somewhat curious.
“Go to what place?”
“To find someone from the Tianming Academy, I will personally go over to apologise and see if we can reconcile.”
Xu Qingnian said.
“Brother Xu, they are angry now, going over there now would only be unpleasant.”
“Besides, this matter is not very much to do with you, my father’s intention is to calm their anger first, detain the group for a period of time, and then settle the matter slowly when it has pa*sed.”
Li Xin stopped Xu Qingnian.
People are angry now, going over there is just looking for scolding, and you didn’t cause the matter, there is no need to do so.
However Xu Qingnian shook her head, glanced at the moon, and then looked at Li Xin again and said.
“This matter started because of me, if I don’t care about it, I am a gentleman in vain.”
“If Xiandi feels that it is a bit troublesome, let my brother go alone.”
Xu Qingnian meant what he said, not wanting Li Xin to continue to get involved, lest he be held in contempt.
“Brother, since you have a sincere heart, I will accompany you.”
“It’s just a big deal to be scolded, let’s go.”
Li Xin was not afraid of this, but mainly because he felt that Xu Qingnian was of noble status, so if he went over and took the initiative to apologise, would he not be degrading his status?
But after hearing Xu Qingnian’s words, he somehow felt that Xu Qingnian was worthy of being a gentleman.
He was worthy of deep friendship.
With that, the two of them left the Li residence and headed outside.
