Starting from the world of Joy of Life

Chapter 59: The hypocritical Emperor Qing: He is avoiding the question!
Poetry competitions are common among literati, but the most important one is the academic dispute.

Losing your life is the least of your worries; having your reputation ruined is the worst.

It was a very low-class question from old man Zhuang.

He lacks the bearing of a literary master.

Which is more important, the people or the ruler? Which is less important?
Mencius said, "The people are the most important, the country and the people are second, and the king is the least important."

Can you answer like this?
In this scenario, this is definitely not possible.

What old man Zhuang wants is for him to make a choice between "the people are more important than the king" and "the king is more important than the people".

If he chooses the latter, the old man will have a lot of sermons waiting for him. In public, his answer will be spread by one person, and then by ten people. How bad will his reputation among the people be? It is easy to imagine how many ordinary people are knowledgeable and reasonable? The king is more important than the people? Corrupt officials!
If he chooses the former, Emperor Qing loves making bows and arrows and seems to be interested in military affairs, but he has also read a lot of books and may understand that the real meaning of "the people are more important than the monarch" is to better maintain the emperor's rule, not to really belittle the monarch and elevate the people.

But what if you don’t understand?

Lao Deng is a suspicious person!

If this word is not mentioned, the monarch will feel uncomfortable no matter what.

Even a man of great talent and strategy like the Hongwu Emperor almost kicked the Second Sage out of the Confucius Temple because of Mencius' ideas on people-centeredness and the relationship between ruler and subject.

Ye Zheng did not answer immediately, but asked, "I have heard for a long time that you are a great master in the literary world. I have a doubt in my mind and would like to ask for your advice."

Academic disputes always require back and forth.

There is no reason for him to be the only one to be beaten passively.

Zhuang Mohan nodded gently, "Please."

"There was an old woman in the countryside. She was sick and bedridden. The eldest son served her by her bedside, taking care of her excrement and urine. He was very dedicated. The second son ate and drank...gambled, and spent all day wandering around outside. He never visited his mother. Once, the old woman was seriously ill. In this critical moment, if she had enough money to hire a doctor for acupuncture and buy medicine, she might have survived. However, the eldest son was short of money and could only watch his mother suffer. When his mother's life was hanging by a thread, the second son returned home, took out money, hired a doctor to treat her, and boiled medicine to save her."

"I want to ask, the eldest son or the second son, who is filial? Who is unfilial?"

After these words fell, the Daqing scholars present were stunned for a moment, then looked embarrassed, but in order to show their face in front of Zhuang Mohan, they still started to discuss.

"The eldest son serves with all his heart, and he is helpless because he is short of money. Naturally, the eldest son is filial."

"You tried so hard, but you couldn't save your mother's life. How can you be called filial? I think the second son is more filial!"

"... "

Zhuang Mohan stroked his beard silently, thinking secretly.

To this question, he can just make a vague answer and say that both the eldest son and the second son are filial, or both the eldest son and the second son are unfilial. But just like this, how is he different from those scholars of Qing State who are shallow in knowledge and endlessly arguing?

Sophistry is just a small talk.

"Please give me some advice, sir."

What old man Zhuang said.

This response, his bearing and demeanor do indeed have some of the style of a great literary master.

The Daqing scholars present stopped one after another, looking at Zhuang Mohan in disbelief, and then their eyes turned to Ye Zheng.

Ye Zhengqian just smiled and said, "I, a junior student, don't have the answer either."

"No answer?"

"Aren't you kidding Mr. Zhuang?"

"How rude!"

"... "

Zhuang Mohan did not respond, and the Qing scholars rushed to defend him with threats.

"Noisy." Zhuang Mohan couldn't stand it anymore and sighed.

My good mood was completely destroyed by these opportunists!
If you have real talent and knowledge, you should listen quietly to what Ye Zheng has to say.

If I can understand something from it, it will be worth my trip to the city gate to welcome him today.

Ye Zheng didn't say anything either.

He was not just a bystander, observing the various behaviors of these Daqing scholars.

He also wanted to continue talking.

These people were yelling so loudly, what could he say?

As if they could see that Zhuang Mohan was in a bad mood, some of the Qing scholars gradually calmed down their anger. After one or two, there would be three or four, and finally the only one left would blush and quietly shrink behind the crowd.

Zhuang Mohan frowned slightly and met Ye Zheng's gaze.

Similarly, the scholars of Daqing also looked at Ye Zheng again.

Okay, now it’s time for me to show off my skills in front of others?
"Mr. Zhuang, I personally think that if we judge by the heart instead of deeds, there will be no filial sons in a poor family; if we judge by deeds instead of the heart, there will be few perfect people in the world."

"Being loyal to the emperor and loving the people are not contradictory. Being loyal to the emperor is also loving the people, because the emperor of Daqing is a wise, benevolent and enlightened emperor. Loving the people is also being loyal to the emperor, because the emperor of Daqing is a wise, benevolent and enlightened emperor."

"It's just a foolish and shallow opinion. Please forgive me for laughing at you, sir."

Zhuang Mohan smiled when he heard it.

The above explanation of my question does have some truth to it.

The subsequent explanation of his question is pure sophistry.

Never mind, let’s call it a draw.

Of course it has to be a draw!
Ye Zheng complained in his heart. What kind of person is Lao Deng?
If I answer old man Zhuang's question honestly, wouldn't I be digging a hole for myself?
"Goodbye."

Old man Zhuang waved his hand elegantly and lowered the bamboo curtain.

Ye Zheng did not return the greeting or wave, but continued to perform his duties, only shouting, "Mr. Zhuang, take care~"

……

imperial study room

"A wise ruler, a benevolent ruler, a wise ruler..."

Emperor Qing rolled up the note slowly, and instead of throwing it into the stove, he placed it on the horizontal table. There was a smile on his face, but he said, "He is avoiding the question!"

How could Eunuch Hou not hear the tone of the conversation, and not hear that Emperor Qing was 'saying one thing and thinking another', he laughed in his heart and said, "Lord Xiao Ye is so loyal, it's really admirable."

"Hmph." Emperor Qing snorted lightly, with a rather arrogant tone.

Suddenly, he said calmly, "Write down all the scholars who are welcoming us at the city gate today. Those who have taken the imperial examination will not be admitted."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

……

Outside Honglu Temple
"Wang Qinian, do you know Zhuang Mohan?" Fan Xian asked casually after he separated from Xin Qiwu and came out, still a little dazed.

For some unknown reason, he became the deputy envoy in charge of negotiations with the Northern Qi delegation.

It was as if...something was pushing him forward and arranging everything for him step by step.

"I know, the literary giant, the living saint walking in this world, the teacher of scholars all over the world, sir. Yesterday when we came to the city, Mr. Zhuang had a debate with Lord Ye." Wang Qinian said with a smile.

Fan Xian's expression paused.

Why is Ye Zheng's matter happening again?

"tell me the story."

"That's right. When the Northern Qi delegation entered the city gate, Mr. Zhuang suddenly..."

After listening to Wang Qinian's vivid retelling, Fan Xian felt a little numb.

This brother-in-law is really a boaster. I rarely see him all day long, and all I hear is news about him showing off.

This old man too.

Why would a literary giant, a man in his forties, make things difficult for a young man?
I'm afraid he's here with bad intentions.

"Let's go." He sighed, jumped into the carriage and got into the carriage.

Wang Qinian also flipped over lightly, grabbed the reins, and swung the horse forward. The wheels only turned twice.

A man wrapped in black, wearing a hood and a mask, walked over silently.

It's a shadow!
Wang Qinian pulled the reins of his horse.

"What's wrong?" Fan Xian asked as he opened the curtain of the carriage. When he saw that the person coming was Shadow, his expression became more serious. "Master Shadow, does Chen Pingping want to see me about something?"

"Someone wants to kill Chen Pingping." Shadow spoke in a light tone, and behind the mask, it seemed as if he was talking about something insignificant.

"There are many people in the world who want to kill Chen Pingping."

Fan Xian was not mocking, he was just speechless.

Chen Pingping covered up for him and suppressed the news of Lin Gong Liu Jinghe's assassination attempt on him, preventing it from spreading. He even sacrificed a person from the Seventh Division and arranged for the four female swordsmen from Dongyi City to bite their tongues and commit suicide.

He was grateful.

But Chen Pingping is the head of the Inspection Institute, so how can this matter...

"It will take less than half an hour."

Shadow said again.

Hearing this, Fan Xian was somewhat moved.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"Inspection Institute."

"That's fine. Without a large force, who would dare to rush into the Inspection Office and kill people?"

"He has no one around him now."

"... "

After explaining, Fan Xian thought for a moment and looked at Wang Qinian, "You are good at Qinggong. Go to the Military Department and invite my brother-in-law to come."

"Lord Ye? Lord Ye is the most upright and law-abiding person. I'm afraid Lord Ye won't agree if I ask him to interfere in the affairs of the Inspection Institute." Wang Qinian was a little hesitant.

He can see it all. This is obviously a trap set for you.

Fan Xian smiled.

Yes, this is obviously a trap set for me, I must ask for external forces to break it.

"You don't have to worry about this. Just tell him this and give it to him. He will definitely come."

Wang Qinian's eyes fell on Fan Xian's palm, somewhat stunned.

(End of this chapter)