Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5010: Stubborn and Unreliable
Gao Kan had a blank expression on his face. He looked around and saw that there were still people peeking inside the examination room. He then shouted, "Is there anyone else who is unwilling to take the exam like this person? You can come out of the examination room and talk to me in detail. Don't disturb other candidates."

Several candidates in the academy were immediately cheered up. Are the government troops going to surrender?
It turns out that it is not enough to be submissive. The more obedient you are, the more the court will demand more. Previously, they measured the land and increased commercial taxes. Now, they are cutting off the foundation of the inheritance of the Jiangnan gentry through the imperial examination. If you continue to be submissive like a sheep, I am afraid that sooner or later you will be broken by the court!
After such a commotion, the imperial court was indeed afraid that things would get out of hand!
A handsome young candidate raised his arms and shouted: "You should know that the Jiangnan gentry has reached a time of life and death. You must not be afraid or retreat. You should speak up for justice and be brave and fearless to show the character of the Jiangnan scholars!"

Several people on the left and right also shouted in unison, encouraging the students in the examination room to come out together and put pressure on the court.

Immediately, several people were instigated by him and walked out of the examination room. Even though the invigilating officials scolded them repeatedly, they remained indifferent. They strode proudly into the courtyard and stood with the other candidates, all of them looking excited and proud.

Gao Kan looked on indifferently and asked Xiao Yu beside him: "Who is that candidate?"

The scene was chaotic, but the candidate who raised his arms and shouted stood out like a crane among chickens, attracting great attention. He was obviously a leader among the candidates. Such a person would definitely not be unknown, otherwise it would be difficult for him to have such a strong appeal.

As expected, Xiao Yu looked at the examinee with a look full of pity and helplessness, and said with a sigh: "This boy's name is Lu Yanyuan. His father Lu Jianzhi was a scholar of Chongwen Academy and was famous for his calligraphy. Lu Jianzhi's uncle Yu Mijian... Lu Yanyuan is his youngest son. He is not yet twenty years old but has already become famous in Jiangzuo. He is not only highly educated and intelligent, but also has profound attainments in calligraphy and excellent talent."

Gao Kan raised his eyebrows: "A descendant of the Wujun Lu family? They have a long family tradition of learning!"

Although he was a military general, he also knew that "Yu Mijian" was Yu Shinan, one of the twenty-four meritorious officials in the Lingyan Pavilion, a minister in the Emperor Taizong's secret residence, and an extremely famous calligrapher... But these were nothing and could not serve as Lu Yanyuan's amulet.

"Exactly."

"Haha," Gao Kan sneered, "Very good."

Xiao Shougui, who was huddled like a quail, felt a chill down his spine and was worried.

Who doesn't know about the feud between Wujun Lu and Fang Jun? The aristocratic family that has been passed down for nearly a thousand years almost lost its bloodline because of Fang Jun. The main branch died out and only some side branches were left to support it. If it had been honest and law-abiding, it would have been fine. With Fang Jun's current status, he might not have been killed. But this time he jumped out to openly resist the imperial examination, and Gao Kan was Fang Jun's henchman. I'm afraid Lu Yanyuan is in danger.

Thinking of their past friendship, Xiao Shougui mustered up his courage and was about to open his mouth to plead for mercy, but he saw his grandfather looking at him coldly. He was immediately frightened, as if the secret in his heart had nowhere to escape, and he dared not say a word.

But I am anxious in my heart. We all discussed it together when preparing for this matter, but now it is about to happen. Should I protect myself and betray my friends?
Gao Kan asked again: "What are the origins of the others?"

Xiao Yu didn't know the other juniors and looked at Xiao Shougui.

Xiao Shougui swallowed his saliva and whispered, "Some of the famous ones include He Mo of the He family in Kuaiji, Zhang Zheng of the Zhang family in Wujun, and Zhu Yuan of the Zhu family in Wujun... The rest are unknown."

"Is the person named He Mo the descendant of He Deren?"

"Exactly."

He Deren and his cousin He Deji were both disciples of Zhou Hongzheng, the chief priest of the Imperial Academy of the Southern Chen Dynasty. They also had six other cousins, all of whom were outstanding and famous in the south of the Yangtze River. They were praised by people at that time as the "Eight Dragons of the He Family". After He Deren entered the Tang Dynasty, he became close friends with the hermit prince Li Jiancheng until he retired and lived in seclusion in the south of the Yangtze River after the "Xuanwu Gate Incident". He refused to serve in the government during the Zhenguan period.

"Wujun, Kuaiji... these are all the wealthy families in Jiangzuo, why don't we see any immigrants from Jiangnan?"

The Jiangnan gentry is a general term, and there are different factions within them. There are the Wujun Four Surnames, the Kuaiji Four Surnames, which are the local factions of Jiangdong, and the four immigrant families who migrated south that year, Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao. The ones causing trouble now are the Wujun Four Surnames and the Kuaiji Four Surnames, but there are no immigrant families from Jiangnan...

It's hard not to have some conspiracy theories.

Xiao Yu's expression remained unchanged, and he shook his head and said, "I may seem to have great reputation, and I am touted as the 'leader of Jiangnan', but in fact, only the Qiao family will listen to me. The rest of the Jiangdong clans, whether Wujun or Kuaiji, may not accept my respect."

Clear yourself of all charges and do it in a reasonable way.

Gao Kan smiled and said, "What do you think of the current situation, Duke Song?"

Xiao Yu said helplessly: "No matter what, disrupting the imperial examination is an unforgivable crime."

After a pause, he said, "Since His Majesty intends to let me rectify Jiangnan, why not let me persuade these young candidates? If they understand that the imperial talent selection ceremony cannot be disrupted and take the initiative to confess their crimes, then perhaps the entire Jiangnan student body will be convinced. Otherwise, if they are punished severely, it may arouse public anger and affect national plans."

Gao Kan nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Duke Song. However, if persuasion doesn't work and these candidates refuse to change, I will have to resort to drastic measures."

Xiao Shougui was frightened. What is "thunderous means"?
I'm afraid there will be rivers of blood.

The young talents of the entire Jiangnan region gather here. They can be said to be the future of the Jiangnan gentry. If they are all killed at once, I am afraid that the roots of the Jiangnan gentry will be completely cut off. Even if they can still survive for a while, they will be like dry bones in a tomb, and decline is a matter of time.

Therefore, if Gao Kan starts killing people here, the Jiangnan gentry will definitely not tolerate it. I am afraid that the whole of Jiangnan will be in turmoil and raise the banner of rebellion. From then on, there will be smoke and corpses everywhere...

What a tragic scene that would be, with mountains and rivers shattered and lives lost?

And how will the person who caused such a tragedy be despised by the people of the world, how will he be recorded in history books, and how will he face his own conscience?

……

Xiao Yu walked with his hands behind his back, wearing a brocade robe and looking gaunt. A jade pendant dangled from his waist. He did not have the dignity of a former high-ranking official. He only had a faint smile, and was kind and warm, like an old man next door.

The candidates who were making trouble quickly fell silent, and then bowed respectfully: "We greet Duke Song."

The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are of the same blood. Although there are conflicts among them, they are more closely related to each other and are interdependent. There is frequent contact between the families, so naturally they all recognize this "leader" who is old, virtuous and has great prestige.

Xiao Yu smiled gently, his eyes swept across the faces of several people, and nodded, "As expected of a Jiangnan scholar, you are not only full of literary talent, but also have an unyielding character, which is enough to continue the family's glory and the Jiangnan culture."

Several candidates were excited. Such praise was enough to make them famous. He Mo asked generously, "Does Duke Song also agree with us to boycott the exam to protest?"

If there is the support of the "Jiangnan leader", the commotion will surely become more and more powerful, and may even force the court to change the questions of the imperial examination, or even change the regulations!

Xiao Yu shook his head, his smile faded, and asked, "Why are you making trouble?"

A young man beside Lu Yanyuan said angrily: "The court is unfair. Mathematical questions are mixed into the Mingjing exam papers. This is an insult to us Confucian students and even a blasphemy to Confucianism! If we don't fight back angrily, won't we be encouraging such arrogance? In time, our Confucianism will fall!"

Xiao Yu frowned and looked over: "Whose child are you from?"

The young man said solemnly: "My student is Zhang Zheng, and my father is Zhang Ji."

Xiao Yu suddenly realized: "So you are the direct descendant of the Wujun Zhu family, but you are causing trouble here, does your father know about it?"

Zhang Zhengdao: "This happened suddenly, so I didn't have time to ask my father for advice. I can only follow what I have learned and put things right!"

Xiao Yu did not comment. He was silent for a moment before speaking earnestly, "The Zhang family of Wu County is a military family with hundreds of years of inheritance. It is not easy for a talented person like you to emerge. I think your father has also spent a lot of effort on you. If you lose the qualification to take the imperial examination because of this, wouldn't it be a pity if all the years of training were wasted in one day?"

Zhang Zheng said generously: "Where justice lies, I will go even if there are tens of thousands of people against me!"

Xiao Yu nodded and said, "You all call yourselves Confucian scholars, but the questions for the imperial examinations were compiled and selected by the court with famous scholars from all over the world, including great scholars such as Kong Yingda and Yan Shigu. They even put math questions in the examination papers. Why are you shouting about injustice?"

He could understand that Confucian students would boycott the exam in anger and denounce the injustice because of the appearance of mathematics questions on the exam paper.

Because they won’t…

The essence of Confucianism is the exposition of humanities, politics, and moral ethics, while mathematics that divides and quantifies the world is almost contrary to it and is naturally not respected or accepted. Even astronomy is considered "heresy" by Confucianists because it fundamentally undermines the theory of "harmony between heaven and man."

If the movement of celestial bodies and the alternation of the four seasons can be proven to be traceable, and the occurrence and disappearance of disasters are all natural operations and have nothing to do with human power, how will Confucianism hold the imperial power hostage and control people's hearts?
It was just that the king was unwilling to believe in the "harmony between heaven and man" from the bottom of his heart. He hoped that the movement of the stars was a natural law and not caused by the right or wrong of the king's governance. Only then could astronomy continue in the gap between imperial power and Confucianism.

Therefore, the Confucian disciples, who have monopolized educational resources and represented the highest level of knowledge and IQ for thousands of years, did not produce many geniuses in astronomy and mathematics.

This is not Confucianism’s fault, but human’s fault.

Since the Han Dynasty, in order to cater to the rulers and to persist in "abolishing all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", Confucian scholars have continuously castrated the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Confucianism is no longer the inclusive and pioneering spirit of its inception, but has become a philosophy that delves into governance and controlling people's hearts.

Today's Confucianism does not allow change or development. It seems to want to draw a circle around it to confine everyone and make them become the rulers' beasts of burden.

Even though great Confucian scholars of the time such as Kong Yingda and Yan Shigu recognized their own limitations and tried to break the shackles of Confucianism through the imperial examination and introduced other disciplines to allow Confucian students to break free from their confinement, the shackles that had been formed over a long period of time could not be broken overnight.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanyuan said angrily: "Master Kong and Master Yan are the masters of Confucianism, but they are in Chang'an and must be oppressed by the imperial power. They have to endure shame and humiliation and allow themselves to be bullied. We young people are still full of blood and are not afraid of power. We are willing to sacrifice our lives and die to show our determination!"

Xiao Yu sighed, turned around, and shook his head at Gao Kan: "I have tried my best. This fool has lost his mind. You can deal with him as you wish."

Gao Kan held the sword at his waist with his hand, took two steps forward, looked around with disdain, and a murderous aura instantly condensed.