Chapter 331 Even a common man can be a teacher for generations
In Jiangzhou, at the Temple of Confucius, the square was packed with people.
Between the high platform where the clay statue of Confucius stands and the red-lacquered double doors, the crowd of scholars, like a tide, spontaneously parted to form a path.
The dense crowd on both sides of the road turned their heads to watch the figure in the white fox fur coat walking towards the red-lacquered double doors without looking back.
“Prefect Ouyang”.
In the silent square, the round-faced youth who had been the first to ask a question suddenly shouted.
Ignoring countless gazes and the indignant look of disbelief directed at Yue Zi'ang, whose face was ashen and who seemed to regard him as a traitor, he mustered his courage and asked loudly:
"What do you think we should do now?"
It used honorifics.
Ouyang Rong paused, turned around, and met the expectant, confused, or excited gazes of the young scholars.
Xie Lingjiang and Yan Liulang also stopped. The two were closest to Ouyang Rong. They glanced to the side and saw that the young man in the white fox fur coat in front of them had a complicated and hesitant expression, and his mouth was slightly open.
It seems I have a thousand words to say to these passionate young scholars.
Finally, Xie Lingjiang and the others only saw him close his mouth, purse his lips, and then utter eight words with a chuckle:
Study hard and make progress every day.
The crowd reacted with surprise, silence, or thoughtful contemplation.
Ouyang Rong and his entourage left the Temple of the Sage Confucius.
Behind the top-floor window of a tall building not far from the Temple of the Sage Confucius.
A cold-faced woman in a crimson palace dress and with painted lips slowly withdrew her gaze.
Having arrived early and listened attentively for a long time, a hint of hesitation flashed in her eyes.
Miaozhen turned her head and waved.
The palace maids standing on either side handed over the booklet and the red brush again.
Miaozhen scribbled a few notes in the booklet, gave a soft hum, and, her palace dress trailing on the ground, left the high building…
"Miss, stop looking, everyone has left with Miss Xie."
Across from the temple, in a narrow alley lined with newly sprouting willow branches, a girl's clear voice drifted from a carriage that had been quiet for a long time.
The curtain on the side window of the carriage, which had been partially lifted, suddenly fell back down and returned to its original position.
Immediately following was another indifferent, cold voice clearing its throat:
"He's not even looking at me. He's just spacing out out of boredom. Cai Shou, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth off!"
Inside the carriage, Cai Shou curiously observed her young mistress's impatient expression.
Although Li Guo'er is now the youngest daughter of the Prince of Xunyang and a princess of the royal family, the chubby-faced maid who has been with her since childhood still habitually calls her "Miss," just like when they were in Longcheng.
"Why did Miss suddenly have the driver stop halfway and wait for so long? Wasn't she just looking for Young Master Ouyang? She couldn't have stopped by the roadside just to daydream, could she? Is it wrong for Miss to daydream on the road?"
Cai Shou asked with a puzzled look on her face, then sighed:
"Oh dear, we were supposed to go to Mount Kuanglu to attend the Xilu Gathering, but we're going to be late. We definitely won't make it before noon."
Li Guo'er's expression remained unchanged, but her voice grew louder:
"I came here because I heard there would be some excitement to watch, and I thought Yue Zi'ang would make Ouyang Lianghan suffer. But Yue Zi'ang is useless. He can't win against Ouyang Lianghan in words, and his ability to adapt to changing situations is far inferior to his. Naturally, I find it boring."
"So, is it wrong for me to be bored and daydream? You sharp-tongued little maid, how dare you try to tell your master what to do? Do you want a beating?"
"No, this servant wouldn't dare."
Cai Shou shrank back, stuck out her tongue, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice:
"So that's why Miss valued that Young Master Yue so much before, even though Young Master Ouyang is an acquaintance in Longcheng, she still sided with him."
Li Guo'er turned her face away, remained quiet for a while, then pouted: "What else can I do? I'll just follow your example and support whoever is the most handsome?"
Cai Shou stuck out her tongue and whispered:
"Miss, did Young Master Ouyang accidentally offend you a while ago? Does he want to see him make a fool of himself?"
"No," Li Guo'er denied immediately, then paused and added, "Is it wrong to just dislike handsome guys?"
"Well, Miss is truly an extraordinary woman, not judging by appearance. Who knows, she might become a legendary figure someday..."
Cai Shou praised him with some surprise, but halfway through, Li Guo'er added:
"I hate ugliness too."
"..."
Before long, the chubby-faced maid, whose little head had been fried and was now malfunctioning, left the carriage to instruct the coachman to change course.
The carriage under the willow tree slowly started moving and left the alley.
Inside the quiet carriage, Li Guo'er, head bowed, held the cat, her back to the slowly receding Temple of Confucius and the crowd of scholars. Her jade-like hand gently stroked the cat's neck fur, as she pondered a rather strange and uplifting blessing:
“Study hard...make progress every day...Ouyang Lianghan, where are you trying to ‘go’ in?”
She bit her lip, lost in thought, for a moment, then suddenly imitated her great-grandfather, whom she had only ever seen in a portrait:
"All the heroes of the world are now in my grasp."
...
The number of people who witnessed the lively scene at the Temple of the Sage Confucius in the morning was far more than just Miaozhen and Liguo'er.
It also includes the sharp-faced butler that Wang Lengran specially sent to see Ouyang Rong make a fool of himself.
This warm and considerate Prefect Wang even arranged for a group of soldiers to wait in the alley next door.
He eagerly awaited the imagined scene of the audacious, solitary man being attacked by a mob of angry scholars at the slightest provocation, preparing to deal with his disheveled state.
It would be fine if it were even more intense, ideally another Liuzhou massacre, but with the one bleeding being the Prefect of Jiangzhou, that would be more interesting.
However, the news that the sharp-faced butler rushed back with made Wang Lengran, who had been looking forward to it all morning, feel a pang of unease. Not only were his plans dashed, but he paced back and forth in the lobby for a moment, frowning.
Wang Lengran, whose political instincts were as sharp as a dog's, sensed something was wrong and his face grew anxious.
In the next few days.
The response from the Jiangzhou scholars was even greater than Wang Lengran had imagined.
It made his heart feel both cold and jealous.
There were stories passed down by word of mouth among the scholars who attended the meeting, stories compiled into books by those with a keen eye, and stories shared between friends among the scholars.
The public dialogue between Ouyang Lianghan, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, and the scholars of Jiangzhou Academy at the Temple of the Sage Confucius spread widely throughout Xunyang City.
Then it spread throughout the Jiangzhou literati community, then to several surrounding states, then to the Taoist communities of Jiangnan, and finally from south to north...
Perhaps it's because Ouyang Lianghan himself has a top-tier reputation as a virtuous gentleman, that any unusual move he makes becomes a topic of conversation, especially since he's stepped into the hottest trend right now.
It's also possible that local governments have been holding back for too long during this wave of criticism from young scholars regarding the Tian Shu statue and its construction, and are harboring resentment. Both publicly and privately, they want to use the Jiangzhou case to quell the uproar among scholars in Fushun. Thus, they intentionally or unintentionally fueled the flames and helped spread the words of Ouyang Lianghan, the Prefect of Jiangzhou...
In less than a month, the news spread throughout the scholarly community, sparking heated and widespread discussion among scholars.
The corresponding handwritten transcripts of the dialogue between Ouyang Rong and the scholars of Jiangzhou at the Temple of Heaven were widely circulated in literary circles in both the north and south.
Some people support it, while others oppose it.
Several prefectural governors and military commanders publicly spoke in support of Ouyang Lianghan, quoting "study hard and make progress every day" no less than ten times.
Some local officials followed suit, imitating the example of the Jiangzhou Temple of Sages, and engaged in debates with angry young scholars inside the temple to gain fame...
There are many more examples.
Of course, many scholars shared the same attitude as Yue Zi'ang and spoke out fiercely against Ouyang Lianghan.
However, these heated debates in Shilin spread the story of the dialogue at the Jiangzhou Temple even further and for a longer period of time, making it the focus of public opinion in early spring.
A single word can become the law of the world; even an ordinary person can be a teacher for generations.
Ouyang Rong also helplessly became what he had previously called a certain kind of opinion leader.
As the first to take the plunge, his calm and sharp demeanor in the face of danger at the temple made him stand out from the crowd of local officials in various states who were like ostriches burying their heads in the sand.
These events naturally attracted the close attention of the Great Zhou court, which was far away in Luoyang, the capital.
In the capital city, the ministers who were mostly conservative and leaned towards the establishment privately expressed their praise for the matter.
It was rare for a highly respected, elderly, and taciturn gentleman in purple robes to speak.
"Liang Han, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, was a man of strong character and intelligence, with outstanding economic talents, integrity and high moral character. He was a renowned scholar and a rare talent in Jiangnan."
An elderly man made a public comment at a birthday banquet, and his words quickly spread throughout the city, becoming a popular topic of conversation.
Night, Shangyang Palace.
The main hall, with its plaque inscribed "Guanfeng," is grand, imposing, clean, and solemn.
Eighteen candles, each as thick as a baby's arm, hung from a tray on the pillars of the palace, casting the shadows of a group of red-robed astronomers slowly retreating onto the gold-brick-paved ground.
The main hall was empty again, with only the echo of fingers gently tapping on the gold-inlaid jade armrests.
On the dragon throne at the head of the main hall, Empress Wei Zhao of the Great Zhou Dynasty sat high up, her white hair under the crown meticulously combed.
She tapped her fingers on the armrest, her eyes lowered as she gazed at the booklet in her hand that had been sent all the way from Jiangzhou.
"What a bold argument about boats and water! This kid has quite the nerve... Ha, striving for improvement every day, huh? Interesting..."
A barely perceptible smile appeared on the old woman in the dragon robe's lips.
A moment later, the rhythmic tapping in front of the dragon throne abruptly stopped.
She turned and said:
"Rong Zhen."
"exist."
There were palace servants hidden inside the main hall. A cold and aloof young girl emerged from the shadows behind a pillar, wearing the same crimson palace dress as Miaozhen.
However, compared to the palace ladies in Jiangzhou, the palace girls were much smaller and more delicate. In her youthful years, she was also a court lady serving the emperor.
The old woman in the dragon robe gave a few instructions without even lifting her eyelids.
The aloof girl named Rongzhen immediately left and went to the Imperial Study in the Ziwei Palace that very night to retrieve a long-sealed memorial and present it to the Emperor.
Immediately, like a nobody, it retreated into the darkness behind the pillars of the palace, making no sound.
Empress Wei Zhao picked up the memorial and glanced at it with her eyes lowered.
The man's handwriting on the memorial was elegant and unrestrained, a lengthy document of thousands of words, calculating a rather daunting amount for her.
Why do you like to calculate accounts, just like the old man?
After a moment, Empress Wei Zhao slowly put down the memorial, rested her chin on the back of her hand, and revealed a thoughtful expression on her aged face with loose nasolabial folds.
After a moment, she suddenly said:
"Rongzhen, make a copy of this memorial, omit the name, and send it to the Council of State Affairs for discussion. Then draft an imperial edict and submit it."
"Yes, sage."
In the darkness behind the pillars of the main hall, a cold, aloof young woman in palace attire lay prostrate on the hard, cold floor, receiving the imperial decree.
While copying this ordinary memorial, which she found rambling and uninspired, she glanced at the four-character name and then ignored it...
The next morning, at the meeting of the Council of State Affairs, which was absent from Master Di's presence...
The officials, curious, noticed that a favored female official in colorful robes had delivered an unsigned memorial to the Emperor, and they all passed it around for him to read...
In the afternoon, the Council of State Affairs drafted a brand-new edict and sent it back to the Emperor's desk in the palace.
Empress Wei Zhao reviewed it and circled it with a vermilion brush.
The following day, an imperial edict was issued, proclaiming it to the court and making it known to the world.
Regarding the deadline for collecting the "Ode to Virtue Bronze" and the construction period for the Four Directions Buddha statues, each prefecture in the country granted an extension of three to six months, depending on the circumstances.
At the same time, the imperial edict slightly relaxed the construction specifications for the Great Zhou Praise Heavenly Pivot and the Four Directions Buddha statues, and appropriately reduced the budget...
The release of these new regulations has sparked heated discussions.
For a time, the slight change in the Empress's attitude and her unpredictable mind surprised most of the court officials and local officials.
At the morning court assembly in the Ziwei Palace that day,
The two kings of the Wei family remained expressionless.
The purple-robed gentlemen glanced out of the corner of their eyes at the unmoving figure of the old woman in dragon robes above them.
They exchanged glances silently and then lowered their heads.
...
Luoyang, night.
Located in Jishanfang, adjacent to the south bank of the Luo River, is the residence of a prime minister.
The study light was still on. The elderly and hunched-over Master Di, dressed in casual clothes, sat at the table, squinting as he repeatedly perused a handwritten manuscript that had been widely circulated in Luoyang.
There was also a middle-aged official in scarlet robes in the study; he was Shen Xisheng, the Imperial Censor.
Shen Xisheng sat on a wooden chair in front of his desk, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and quietly recounted the latest imperial edict on the Empress's change of attitude, as well as the general reactions of the two Wei princes and the officials of the court.
Master Di bowed his head and hunched over his desk, it was unclear whether he had listened at all.
Shen Xisheng could only continue speaking with the help of the fat old man's occasional soft "hmm" sounds.
After an incense stick had burned, he finished speaking about the affairs of the court and fell silent.
Seeing that the teacher still did not react, he glanced at the familiar, widely circulated handwritten manuscript in the teacher's hand.
"Brother Xie's outstanding disciple has been making headlines again lately."
Shen Xisheng smiled and recounted some of the opinions other important figures in the court had about Ouyang Lianghan, then asked with great interest:
"Master, what do you think?"
Master Di glanced at a strange contraption called an abacus on the table and commented:
"Not doing their proper job."
After a pause, the fat old man nodded slightly: "But it was timely."
Shen Xisheng paused slightly, pondered the first four words, and a hint of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
Di Fuzi did not explain.
A short while later, Shen Xisheng left with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
After everyone left, the study became quiet.
Master Di reached for an abacus, skillfully manipulated it with his fingers, and then shook his head.
This is a small gift that someone asked their mentor to give them; it appears to be made from bamboo that the mentor split by hand.
He recently took leave from work and is studying this thing in his spare time, which is a bit of a waste of time.
"Even I, an old man, have become idle and neglect my duties."
The old man added, sighed, got up, and silently went into the inner room.
The next day, in the Phoenix Pavilion within the Ziwei Palace.
"Master...Master."
"Um."
After recuperating from illness for many days, Master Di, dressed in a neat and crisp official robe and carrying an abacus, passed by the surprised and greeting officials of Fengge Pavilion and approached the solemn hall he had not seen for more than a month.
As usual, he walked to a seat by the window, sat down, and used his sleeve to wipe the thin layer of dust off the table, tidying up the mountain of documents.
The officials of Fengge either glanced at the scene or spread the news among themselves.
The fat old man picked up an official document, glanced at it, and frowned, "It's going to cost money again."
He casually placed a brand-new abacus, which he had just picked up, on the old wooden table in front of him, which was piled with documents detailing the annual taxes and the state treasury's balance of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The news of Di Fuzi's return from leave spread throughout all the government offices in the palace that very morning, causing astonishment both inside and outside the court.
In the evening, before the end of the day's duties at the Phoenix Pavilion, the Emperor's imperial carriage arrived at the pavilion's entrance as scheduled. Her Majesty the Empress personally extended her regards to the elder statesmen and bestowed upon them generous gifts.
Outside the Phoenix Pavilion, the Emperor inquired about the Emperor's well-being, and the old minister responded with deep emotion.
For a time, in everyone's eyes, the relationship between the emperor and his ministers seemed to have returned to normal, and the harmony between them was evident.
The tension that had been building for months in Luoyang finally eased a little...
(End of this chapter)
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