Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1102 Liu Sanwu's Enlightenment

Going to the north, their reputation will be ruined... Naturally, these ministers find it hard to accept.

Among them, Liu Sanwu was the best. He had studied for several years and his reputation was known throughout the scholar community. He had long regarded this reputation as more important than his own life.

But now, in the Golden Palace, he was reprimanded by the emperor in a veiled manner.

His face had already turned red and purple, and he was about to faint.

But he had no way to refute it... His so-called "ignorant people are easy to govern" had already been refuted by the articles of Song Lian and Zhou Wang Zhu Su. Song Lian and Zhou Wang, any one of them, would have a much higher reputation and prestige in the literati circle than him.

If he had the nerve to be stubborn, he would definitely not have a good ending. The story of the three elders of Pingyang who were taken to heaven by His Royal Highness King Zhou to see the "Way of Heaven" and who became incontinent after coming down, and whose reputations were completely ruined, is still talked about by some scholars with great relish!
If I dare to act recklessly, I will be the next one to be ruined!

Just as Liu Sanwu's thoughts were still in turmoil, Zhu Biao, who was sitting at the top, also stood up and spoke.

"Regarding the matter of enlightening the people, my father also gave me an oral instruction, which I have passed down to me."

Upon hearing that it was the Emperor who was far away in Xi'an who gave the order, all the officials stood up straight to show respect. Zhu Biao continued, "According to my father's will, our Ming Dynasty should promote both civil and military affairs. In schools, we should not only teach civil affairs."

"Father's oral instruction: Since the advent of the new school of thought, our Ming Dynasty has also promoted true Confucianism. Confucian scholars have taken the Confucian scholars of the Han and Tang dynasties as their role models, learning military tactics and martial arts, and cultivating a patriotic heart. Confucian scholars should be patriotic, and the people should naturally be patriotic as well."

"What should a school teach? Poetry, songs, and moral articles? It seems that this is not comprehensive enough. I remember that Confucius advocated the Six Arts. Is that right? In other words, a true Confucian scholar should be good at both literature and martial arts, riding horses, archery, writing articles, and doing arithmetic. So a Ming Dynasty man should be good at both literature and martial arts. He should be able to read and wield swords and guns. If any foreign race dares to invade again, everyone can kill him!"

These plain words full of murderous intent had not been heard in the Golden Palace for a long time. Listening to Zhu Biao repeating the emperor's words, the group of people seemed to have returned to the time when Emperor Hongwu was in power.

"This..." Someone hesitated and said, "It's not easy to be both civil and military."

"Haha, that's right. So, aren't your father and I both trying to find a solution?" Zhu Biao said.

"So my father has given an oral instruction: All the eight prefectures in the north will be equipped with both civil and military teachers to teach the students together."

"According to your instructions, I will select a group of soldiers to serve as martial arts instructors, who will be in charge of the academy's atmosphere and responsible for training the students. Later, they will go north with you..."

"what?"

Despite the risk of impoliteness in front of the emperor, many officials on the list still exclaimed in surprise.

What do you mean?
Let us teach students together with those rough and rude warriors?

I had thought that since I had come to the north, at most I could just work without doing any work, and be a flower and bird teacher in the north, and just fish for a living. At least I would have an official position.

Now you tell us that there are rough warriors who want to go north with us? And even let them take charge of the school's atmosphere?

Wouldn't that mean they would also ride on our heads?
No!

Absolutely not!

A group of officials were shocked, but at this point, they were almost guilty. They exchanged glances several times, but in the end they did not dare to speak.

In the end, all his eyes turned to the leader Liu Sanwu who had been pushed forward earlier.

Liu Sanwu felt as if he was being stared at from behind. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to go forward, but in the end, no words came out.

His current situation is like being on the edge of an abyss...

The court quickly decided on the reinstitution of the special examination, the establishment of academies in the eight northern prefectures, and even the sending of soldiers to the north.

After the oral order of Emperor Hongwu, there was basically no doubt about the matter. Later, Xia Yuanji and other ministers said, "The way of warriors is also desirable. Its intention is to kill the enemy, serve the country and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty. This is exactly what the people of our Ming Dynasty should learn." This gave legitimacy to the decision that the soldiers should go north together.

As for Liu Sanwu and his people, having lost the support of the scholars and public opinion, and with the premeditated promotion of the emperor and many court officials, they were exiled to the north, away from the center of power, and it was decided in just a few words. There was no chance for any resistance.

A group of people left the imperial city with sad faces. If they didn't want to save some face, they would have covered their faces and cried.

In Yingtian, the salary is high, the subsidies are generous, the living is comfortable, the food is convenient, and there are many other benefits.

They are all from the south. When they went to the north, they were not used to eating green onions, did not like steamed buns and pancakes, could not understand the northern dialect very well, and were even less adapted to the northern climate. They heard that the winters were dry and cold. Wouldn't that be fatal?
Survival is already difficult, and His Majesty has sent a bunch of warriors to follow, letting them override the scholars and take charge of school affairs. They are so shameless and shameless...

It really makes people live a life worse than death!

Liu Sanwu also felt as if he had been mourned... He had never imagined that at his age, he would have to suffer such treatment as being exiled.

Thinking about how he had such a sincere heart, but ended up in such a situation. Even the reputation he had worked so hard to build up in his life might be ruined. Liu Sanwu felt that he might as well die.

Or why not just hang yourself and put an end to it all?
When this thought came to his mind, Liu Sanwu quickly shook his head, determined to get it out of his head.

If he dared to die, it might not be a problem for His Majesty the Emperor, but the retired emperor far away in Xi'an would definitely exterminate his nine clans without hesitation, peel off their skins, and make a family bucket of human skin dolls.

Dare to disgust others with death? Then all nine clans shall die together!
Don't worry, Lao Zhu can definitely do it.

Even for the sake of family, I have to bite the bullet and go north.

Liu Sanwu thought.

"Mr. Liu, Mr. Liu, please stay..." Liu Sanwu was just feeling dejected when someone caught up with him from behind. When he turned around, it turned out to be Xia Yuanji.

"Minister Xia...are you here to laugh at me?" Liu Sanwu said.

"Not really..." Xia Yuanji laughed. "I'm just worried that the old man might be obsessed with something and get stuck in a dead end, so I came here with the audacity to have a few words with him."

"Do you feel that this trip north is a demotion by His Majesty, and that is why you are so discouraged?"

"Isn't it?" Liu Sanwu raised his eyebrows.

"Haha, of course not." Xia Yuanji said. "The old man himself is a veteran scholar. This time he is in charge of the school's education. It's like a fish entering the sea, free to swim."

Seeing that Liu Sanwu was about to get angry, Xia Yuanji quickened his pace and said, "Old man, don't think this is something that will ruin your reputation."

"Teacher Song is famous today, but he used to believe in Neo-Confucianism. Did anyone criticize him for abandoning Neo-Confucianism and following the New Learning? Just because the old man wants to fool the people today doesn't mean he can't make contributions to enlightening the people in the future."

"This time we go north, you must be the leader... The learning atmosphere in the north is weak, it can be said that it is an undeveloped land. If you can show your talents, run this school well, cultivate many talents, and change the weak learning atmosphere in the north, then in the future, there will be no one in the north of our Ming Dynasty to worship you as a living shrine."

Liu Sanwu's expression changed.

"Besides, although you are leaving the capital today, since you have taken on this position, you may have many students all over the world in the future." Xia Yuanji said. "This position has great potential. If you can cultivate useful talents, are you still worried that there will be no place for you in the court in the future?"

Liu Sanwu stood there, deep in thought. Xia Yuanji didn't say anything either, but just looked at him with a smile.

Finally, Liu Sanwu bowed to him and left. Behind Xia Yuanji, Yang Shiqi walked out from the shadows.

"Will he be willing to do his best?"

"The reason why others instigated this matter may be for the benefit of the southerners." Xia Yuanji said. "But this old man is a righteous person."

"At most, they just like fame, but they may not really stick to their principles."

"Don't worry, he will be willing to do his best. First, for his own reputation, and second, if he is really a stubborn person, how could he accept my new learning and become a great scholar of the new learning in the early years?"

"That makes sense." Yang Shiqi nodded: "I just hope that he will not disappoint your majesty and make up for his mistakes..."

If the former emperor was still alive, Liu Sanwu would probably never rise again, but the current emperor is merciful after all...

……

After leaving the imperial city, Liu Sanwu returned to his mansion with a pensive look on his face.

The emperor's order to go north was firm, and he did not have much time. He had to go north within seven days at the latest.

When the imperial decree came, there was chaos in the Liu family mansion. Liu Sanwu himself was content with poverty, but he still had the reputation of a great scholar. In the past, this shabby house could be said to be a place where great scholars talked and laughed, and where no unlearned people came and went.

Now that he had lost his reputation and was "exiled" by the emperor, he had experienced the fickleness of human nature. Many of his friends and juniors who had praised him in the past now avoided him like the plague. Those colleagues who had previously provoked him, or even incited him to challenge the emperor, and who were now also "exiled", kept encouraging him to go to the emperor to revoke his order. He completely ignored the lives of dozens of people in his Liu family.

There were even people who put all the blame on him and went to the emperor to complain that they had been deceived by Liu Sanwu… Although the emperor did not believe it, Liu Sanwu was so angry at being deceived by such a villain that he was trembling all over.

In the past, I was associating with these villains!

Faced with such fickle human nature, Liu Sanwu inevitably thought of Xia Yuanji's words again.

He was originally an old scholar who studied and wrote articles. He plunged into the world of fame and fortune in the capital, but in the end he was used as a tool by others.

The articles written by Master Song and His Majesty the King of Zhou do make sense. Why don't I want to believe them?

It's just that I was being held hostage by a group of southerners and couldn't send the letter.

Confucius said: "If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening." I have corrected my mistakes now, so what is there to be ashamed of? Going to the north is just the right way to get away from this world of fame and fortune, and do this career of teaching and educating people... Isn't this exactly what I am good at?
The dispute between the North and the South, the debate on the Imperial Examination... it doesn't matter. If I become a professor myself, I might even be able to pass on my good name in the future. If I continue to be stubborn, I'm afraid I will be infamous in history books for thousands of years!

We must promote education, and we must promote education well! Fortune and misfortune come from no door, but only from one's own actions. Going to the north, maybe it will be a blessing instead of a disaster?
By promoting education, you can also gain a great reputation for yourself!

As long as I stop going against Master Song, His Royal Highness King Zhou, and the new school of thought!
Thinking of this, Liu Sanwu suddenly understood.

Liu Sanwu understood.

Now that I have decided to do a good job in promoting education, the first thing I have to do is to correct my attitude and let His Majesty see my changes and my determination to promote education.

Then, heading north, Liu Sanwu showed why he could become the most outstanding scholar in Yingtian City after Song Lian, and what kind of ideological awareness one should have to become a great scholar...

First, Liu Sanwu took the initiative to propose that everyone who went to the north to start a school should carry a book box and walk there.

That’s right, it’s similar to the thing that poor scholars carried on their backs when they went to Beijing to take the imperial examinations.

These officials were all crying, but it was not like they couldn't afford a carriage, so why not travel light?

not good!

Liu Sanwu spoke righteously. When we were young and studying, everyone had to recite the scriptures. This was also true even in the dead of winter and in the heavy snow.

How come, at my age, I can still carry it? You, sitting in high positions in the government offices in the capital, living a life of luxury, can’t you carry it?

How much of the people's money has been spent on this over the years?
Moreover, going to the north will require hard work to establish education and set up schools, which will require both hardship and physical exertion... Don't think that it will be hard, because Old Liu has done some research.

The north had been ravaged by foreign races for hundreds of years, cities had collapsed, roads had fallen into disrepair, and students in the north had to cross mountains and rivers in order to study, which only made their lives more difficult.

As teachers, what's wrong with us experiencing our students' difficulties in advance?

As a scholar, you must never live a life of luxury. If you are used to a good life, you will not be able to endure hardship. This is not acceptable.

I believe that such actions will be heard by Your Majesty and the people of the world, so that Your Majesty and the people of the world will appreciate my, Liu Sanwu's sincere heart.

His reasoning was so righteous that it was impossible to refute it.

The result was that every official heading north had an extra book box weighing at least 40 kilograms on his back. He carried clothes, books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, and marched north along the road under the scorching sun.

After a day's walking, their clothes were wet and dry, dry and wet again. Whenever they found a place to rest and drink water, these people would completely ignore their manners and lie down by the well, drinking water in big gulps like cattle and horses, until their stomachs could make sounds of water.

I didn't feel relieved until I reached the ferry and got on the boat.

It would have been fine if it was just a matter of exerting ourselves, but Liu Sanwu actually suggested that since we were going to teach, we should familiarize ourselves with the content we were going to talk about in advance.

What should I talk about? Naturally, it is not the textbooks used in elementary school, but the many articles written by His Majesty the King of Zhou and Master Song.

The reason why I, Old Liu, am so wise and study new articles so carefully is because I have realized my mistakes and corrected them. Your Majesty, do you still have the nerve to blame me?

(End of this chapter)