"Yes, sir, I understand." The family member agreed and turned to walk outside.
In an inn in the capital, three people were talking about Han Yu.
Sitting at the head of the table was Song Yingsheng, to his left was Song Yingxing, and to his right was Zhang Yu. Tea and snacks were placed on the table, but none of the three seemed to be in the mood to eat or drink.
"Things are a little too weird." Zhang Yu said with a frown.
"Han Yu is the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. Why would he send a letter here and invite us to his house? When will we be able to catch the Prime Minister's eye?"
At this point, Zhang Yu laughed self-deprecatingly, "He's a great Neo-Confucian scholar and the face of the Donglin Party."
Song Yingsheng glanced at Zhang Yu and said calmly, "I think it's related to what happened last time. If we get involved in something like this, we might be in danger. It's really hard to survive in the capital."
After hearing what his eldest brother said, Song Yingxing said with a sad face, "It's all my fault. I got you two implicated. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I just wanted to strengthen my resolve, but who could have imagined it would become such a big deal."
Zhang Yu put down the teacup in his hand, glanced at Song Yingxing, and said with a smile: "This matter is not your fault. You just went to look for them. We were just lucky and happened to be involved. It seems dangerous, but it may not be a bad opportunity for us."
Looking up at Zhang Yu, Song Yingxing asked excitedly, "What do you mean?"
"Among the four cabinet scholars, Han Yu was a Neo-Confucianist, Xu Guangqi was a Neo-Confucianist, and Huang Kexun was also a Neo-Confucianist, but they've now switched to advocating Xunzi. So, everyone has a representative. Among them is Sun Chengzong, your majesty's teacher, also a Neo-Confucianist, representing the Donglin Academy. Perhaps the connection isn't that deep, but it's a fact."
"Have you noticed one thing? Among the four people, three represent one side respectively, and only two of them are the same, that is Sun Chengzong and Han Yu. In this case, doesn't one person seem redundant? Sun Chengzong is your majesty's teacher, who do you think will leave?" Zhang Yu asked the two brothers.
Seeing both men looking at him, Zhang Yu confidently said, "It's definitely Han Yu who's leaving. The reason he's allowed to stay in the cabinet is simply because Your Majesty wants to use him to balance the cabinet. After all, the recent incident was too serious, so he was kept for a while, but it seems he's no longer needed now."
"That's why Huang Kezun revered Xunzi. This is called seeking a way out. He saw Xu Guangqi's future. If nothing unexpected happened, after Han Yu left, Xu Guangqi would be the first minister of the cabinet. In terms of position, Xu Guangqi was the second minister of the cabinet, the next in line. In terms of seniority, he controlled the Ministry of Revenue and was deeply trusted by His Majesty. He also had the support of the Minister of Rites, Shen Tingyun."
"Neither Sun Chengzong nor Huang Kezun could compete with Xu Guangqi. So now the question is, will they be willing to accept this? Having reached that point, who would be willing to accept this?
Song Yingxing looked at Zhang Yu and said helplessly, "We brothers are not good at this, so don't keep us in suspense. Just say what you want to say."
"It's simple. They need to find a new approach." Zhang Yu smiled and said, "After all, if Your Majesty can accept Li Zhi's teachings, then Xunzi will naturally have no problem. So Huang Kexun chose Xunzi. This way, he appears to be unique and can also win over a group of people."
"Look at the current situation. Although many people oppose Huang Kezun, there are also people who support him. Among these people, some think that what Huang Kezun says makes sense, while others are simply speculating. Even so, Huang Kezun has achieved his goal. He has become a new force in the court, instead of being ignored and able to be replaced at any time like before."
"In this case, two people will be nervous: Sun Chengzong and Han Yu. However, Sun Chengzong is not too worried. He controls the Ministry of War and only needs to do something to demonstrate his influence."
"On the contrary, it is Han Yu, the chief minister of the cabinet. Once Huang Kexun and Xu Guangqi decide the winner, it will be time for him, Han Yu, to step down. Even without Xu Guangqi and the others deciding the winner, Han Yu will have to pack up and leave. If Han Yu is willing, it's fine. He can return to his hometown safely with the preferential treatment given by Your Majesty; but what if he is not willing?" Zhang Yu stood up, his eyes revealing excitement.
Seeing that the two brothers didn't say anything, Zhang Yu was not discouraged and didn't seem to care that no one supported him.
He continued, "If Han Yu was willing and didn't care about all this, he should have left last time. Why is he being stigmatized now? You have to know that those Neo-Confucianists and the Donglin Party didn't treat him well. How could he be so willing to give up the position of Prime Minister that he had sacrificed so much to obtain?"
"So in this situation, what should Han Yu do?" Zhang Yu glanced at the two brothers.
This time he didn't continue talking, but chose to sit down, pick up the teacup and take a sip, waiting for the two brothers' reaction.
Song Yingxing raised his head at this time and said slowly: "Is he going to do something too?"
"Of course he has to do something, otherwise he'll just be waiting for death." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "Judging from the current situation in the court, Han Yu needs to choose a new school of thought, otherwise he will be doomed."
"If he continues to cling to Neo-Confucianism, then he's likely doomed. After all, Neo-Confucianism is based on the teachings of Mencius, whether they admit it or not. Xunzi's teachings are the exact opposite of Mencius'. If the court were to use Xunzi, Neo-Confucianism would be greatly weakened."
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