Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 359 Looking Northwest!
In addition to Su Shi, many disciples of Su Shi also bid farewell to their families sadly and embarked on the journey of serving as officials in remote counties.

On the official road outside the city of Bianliang, a row of willow trees had been plucked bare by people leaving, but Yang Shi still took the opportunity to pick off a piece of dead willow.

He stroked the rough dead branches and suddenly laughed out loud: "Zitong, look at the situation in the court, it is even colder than the three feet of snow in Sumen."

Upon hearing this, You Zuo threw the muddy willow branch in his hand into the glacier, and the muddy water waves swallowed up the curled branches.

He pointed to the post road in the distance and smiled, saying, "Back then, outside the Imperial College, you and I stood in the snow for three days and were able to chew snow to satisfy our hunger.

Now that the malaria is spreading for thousands of miles, isn't it a good time to taste the lychees of Lingnan and the fragrance of Minyue tea?

Yang Shi laughed and said, "The Su clan migrated south, how could they be trapped in the imperial court?

Last night I had a dream. I was in a simple thatched cottage. There was a pile of freshly picked Wuyi rock tea on the desk. The steam blurred the red marks on the exile document outside the window.

I simply opened the window to let in the moonlight, and said to my students with a smile: "When I was in the Imperial College, my teacher taught me to 'seek truth from facts' - now that I am exiled to teach, I have the opportunity to observe the sufferings of the people."

You Zuo also smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I also had a dream last night. I dreamed that I was under the leaky eaves of the official residence in Yongzhou, and you happened to write to me.

I opened it and saw that you wrote: Although Yizhou is poor, looking at the surging Yi River, one can still see the source of the Bian River.

I then dipped my pen in rain water and wrote a poem on the wall. Suddenly, I saw a clerk carrying two jars of freshly brewed wine. He attached a note saying, "I heard that Brother Guishan's office is poor, so I specially sent you Jianyang red yeast rice wine. The road is in the south, and the wine is also in the south."

At that time, the aroma of wine filled the damp manuscript of "Mencius Annotations", so I picked up my pen to write back: "When drunk, I look at the sword by lamplight, and when sober, I carry the jar to water the garden, both of which can prove that the law of nature prevails."

Yang Shi understood immediately and laughed, "I look at my sword under the lamp while drunk, and I dream of blowing the horn in the camp. Hey, you really wrote these two lines of lyrics.

Alas, I just don’t know where the gentleman has gone. Do you think he will go…”

You Zuo quickly signaled Yang Shi to shut up with his eyes, and Yang Shi quickly shut his mouth.

They were on the left side of the road. If they accidentally guessed where the master was going and someone with ulterior motives heard it, wouldn't that put the master in danger?

There was a sudden sound of horse hooves in the distance, and a masked messenger rode past, leaving behind a scroll of silk book in the dust.

The two knew something was wrong and quickly put the silk book away.

You Zuo quietly unfolded the letter, and Yang Shi leaned over to read it. Their pupils suddenly shrank: "Su Xue should be flourishing in Mizhi..."

You Zuo crumpled the silk book thrown by the messenger into his sleeve. The sharpness of the handwriting "Su's learning should flourish in Mizhi" made his fingertips tremble.

Yang Shi and You Zuo looked at each other and saw shock and confusion in each other's eyes.

Mizhi is a place located in the northwestern border area. It has always been the frontier between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia. What is the deep meaning behind the flourishing of Su Shi's school of thought there?
"Is it your intention that Su Xue flourished in Mizhi, or was it the plan of the Su Xue Society?"

Yang Shi asked in a low voice, his brows furrowed and his eyes full of worry.

You Zuo shook his head, thought for a moment and said, "No matter what, this is a big deal.

Su's philosophy advocates practical application of knowledge, which may be of great use in this northwestern border area.

But this news came so suddenly, there must be something hidden behind it."

The two men stood beside the official road, watching the dust in the distance gradually dissipate, but their hearts were filled with undercurrents like those beneath the glacier.

At this time, the sky was gradually darkening and the cold wind was blowing, making the dead branches on the roadside rustle.

"Let's find a place first and discuss this matter carefully."

You Zuo said, pulling Yang Shi and walking quickly towards the nearby town.

In the inn in the small town, the two found a secluded corner and sat down.

We ordered a few simple side dishes, asked for a pot of hot wine, and started the discussion.

"Mizhi is located at a strategic point. If Su's philosophy can take root there, it can educate the people and cultivate talents for the court, thus stabilizing the border."

Yang Shi analyzed, while using chopsticks to gesture the terrain of the northwest on the table.

You Zuo picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and said slowly: "That being said, there are many difficulties involved.

Most of the people in Mizhi make a living by nomadism and farming, and their cultural levels vary greatly, so it is not easy to promote Su's learning.

In addition, the local Qiang and Han people live together, and ethnic conflicts are complicated, so any carelessness could lead to trouble.”

After hearing this, Yang Shi nodded heavily: "That's true. However, this is also where Su's teachings come in handy.

Mr. Su once said that learning should take the world as one's responsibility. Now this northwestern border may be the place where we can put what we have learned into practice."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a noise at the door of the inn.

Several officers in official uniforms walked in and scanned the inn.

Yang Shi and You Zuo felt nervous, worried that the messenger's affairs would be discovered.

The two remained calm and continued to talk in low voices.

An officer walked up to their table, looked them up and down, and asked, "Where are you two from and where are you going?"

You Zuo stood up calmly and said, "Sir, we are students on a study tour. We are passing by here and want to stop here."

After hearing this, the officer looked at them suspiciously, walked around the inn again, and then left with his men.

At this moment, the waiter came over. Yang Shi grabbed the waiter's arm and whispered, "Brother Xiaoer, what happened in Bianjing City? Why are there officials patrolling outside the city at night?"

The waiter smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous, this is something that the Su Society did. Isn't the imperial court banning the Su Society?

Hehe, there are also ruthless people in the Su Society. They directly spread a large number of documents in and outside the city, recording the family of Minister Lu and the family of Duke Wen Lu's annexation of land and their weak requests for peace with foreign countries.

Now the reputations of the Lantian Lü family and the Jiexiu Wen family are all ruined. Yes, the most terrible one is the manifesto. It is said that after reading it, Duke Wen Lu was so angry that he vomited blood and almost died. Haha, they deserved it!"

You Zuo was surprised and asked, "There is such a thing. What is the content of the manifesto? Can you tell me?"

The waiter looked around and asked in a low voice, "Want to see it?"

You Zuo and Yang Shi nodded quickly.

The waiter rubbed his fingers together, and Yang Shi immediately understood and patted the waiter's hands.

The waiter pinched it and nodded with satisfaction.

Then he quickly took out a folded piece of paper from his bosom and stuffed it into Yang Shi's hand, whispering: "Burn it after reading it. Now that it is in your hands, it has nothing to do with me. I will not acknowledge it."

Yang Shi nodded and said with a smile: "I picked it up myself."

The waiter then left satisfied.

After the waiter walked away, the two of them quietly came together, unfolded the paper, and were so shocked that they almost jumped!
Under the dim light, the following words were written on the paper:

[Punish the treacherous and corrupt officials, clear the emperor's entourage, rectify the country and bring peace to the people.]

——A letter to the people of the world to jointly fight against the Yuanyou political chaos group.

God is disgusted with this false dynasty, and both humans and gods are angry!
Today we have the evil Queen Gao, the Sima rebel party, Wen Yanbo, Lu Dafang and their ilk, who have usurped the country and abused power, deceiving heaven and earth, destroying the foundation of our Great Song Dynasty, and insulting the will of our late emperor!

His crime is heinous and he deserves death! All the loyal and good people in the Song Dynasty should take up arms and fight against this beast together! ...】

This manifesto, which is nearly a thousand words long, mainly denounces the crimes of the Yuanyou Party group headed by Empress Dowager Gao, Wen Yanbo and Lu Dafang.

He strongly criticized their changes in laws. Wang Anshi's reforms were vigorously promoted during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, aiming to enrich the country and strengthen the military, and reverse the situation of poverty and weakness.

After the Yuanyou Old Party came to power, they completely abolished all of Wang Anshi's reform measures, such as the Qingmiao Law, the Exemption from Military Service Law, and the Shiyi Law.

The manifesto denounced this large-scale policy change as being too radical, disrupting the established political and economic order and throwing national governance into chaos.

The actions of the Yuanyou Old Party were not intended to correct their mistakes, but were purely a form of party aggression.

During the period when the old party was in power, it vigorously excluded members of the new party within the court and demoted officials who supported the reform.

They drew lines according to their own political positions, forming clear party divisions and seriously damaging the political ecology of the court.

This made the political struggle within the court increasingly fierce, making it difficult to form a stable and effective decision-making mechanism.

This approach would shake the border defense, and the old party adopted an extremely weak policy on border issues such as Western Xia.

They advocated the return of part of the Western Xia lands occupied during the reform period. This move was believed to have damaged the border security and national dignity of the Song Dynasty, weakened the Song Dynasty's military advantage in the border areas, and might cause instability in the border areas!

Yang Shi and You Zuo looked at each other.

This manifesto captures the essence of a manifesto, and its structure is like the deployment of troops, with three routes advancing simultaneously to encircle and suppress the enemy at all levels!

The rhetoric is like a sword unsheathed, and the contrast and parallelism go straight to the point.

The historical perspective is like a clear mirror hanging high, revealing the essence of party struggles.

The key is that it awakens the empathy of the world through the weeping of scholars, which can be regarded as a textbook-level example of political manifesto!

The person who wrote this manifesto is extremely talented. No wonder Wen Yanbo was so angry that he vomited blood after reading it!

You Zuo said with emotion: "I don't know who wrote this, it's so well written!"

Yang Shi chuckled and said, "It was probably created by the Six Masters of the Su Sect. As for who it was, guess who it was?"

You Zuo smiled when he heard this and said, "Can you tell me how [Gao's head was hung in the East Market, Sima Guang dug up his grave and whipped his corpse, Wen Yanbo's entire clan was exterminated, and Lü Dafang was tortured to death to thank the world?

When the edict arrives, life and death will be decided quickly! 】 If someone says this, I guess..."

"Ruanchuan Bridge!"

"Ruan Duyuan!"

Two people spoke at the same time, one called out the character and the other called out the name, but they were both the same person.

They suddenly burst into laughter, which immediately attracted people outside the store to look in, and the two of them quickly stopped laughing.

Yang Shi whispered: "Brother You, I want to go to Mizhi!"

You Zuo smiled and nodded, "Well, let's go together. It's really boring to be a useless official.

Ha, the gentleman is indeed a gentleman. Since the scholars in the court are insects, he will not hang out with them and will go directly to Mizhi!

Let's go together and overthrow these insects together!"

Both of them saw the heat in each other's eyes.

Rebellion, rebellion is good!

If scholars don't rebel, then they have wasted their time studying!
You Zuo patted Yang Shi's shoulder and said, "We should not stay here for long. Let's go to Mizhi as soon as possible to see what's going on there."

The two paid the bill and left the town under the cover of night.

They rode on their horses, galloping through the darkness, while the stars shone brightly in the northwest.

ps: The manifesto has been published, you can take a look at it.

(End of this chapter)