A man in his twenties or thirty, who looked like a scholar, appeared in the study.
His back was straight, his face was a little thin, but his eyes were very bright.
"I am Li Zhi, your student, and I am honored to meet Marquis Jianye." Li Zhi clasped his fists.
Fang Zhengyi was eating his midnight snack, and without even looking up, he said, "You call yourself the county magistrate, so why aren't you wearing your official uniform? And why are you here to see me at night? The gatekeeper has already asked you to leave, but you're still pestering me outside. This is not the behavior of a gentleman."
Li Zhi straightened his back and said calmly, "To be honest, I was forced to do this."
"In fact, the Marquis of Jianye has met a student before. I wonder if the Marquis still remembers it?"
"Hmm?" Fang Zheng looked at him carefully from head to toe, "When have we met before?"
"At the Marquis' birthday party, you called a deer a horse, and your students scolded you."
Fang Zhengyi's eyes lit up as he suddenly recalled it.
There was such a person at the beginning! He also ran away with a group of people.
Such courageous people are rare.
"So it's you!" Fang Zheng was in a good mood and asked with a half-smile, "Why, are you here to apologize to me this time?"
Li Zhi nodded, "Yes, I wanted to apologize. Later I learned that the people who called a deer a horse were punished to some extent, so I thought it might be a trap set by the Marquis of Jianye. I was surprised at first, because the Marquis should not be the kind of person who distorts the facts for personal gain, but if it was a trap set to identify officials, it would be much more reasonable."
This guy is really good at flattering people!
Fang Zhengyi was very happy: "Not bad, not bad! You are a teachable boy. I accept your apology. I was impressed by your demeanor back then. The court is in need of talents like you. Do you need me to write a letter of recommendation for you?"
Li Zhi shook his head slowly: "Thank you for your kindness, Lord. I don't need it."
"Hmm?" Fang Zhengyi became more interested. "Then what do you want? You can't just come here to apologize."
Li Zhi said: "I want to tell you my experience, sir. I wonder if you are interested."
"Speak! You're welcome."
"Yes." Li Zhi took a deep breath. "I am thirty-three years old this year. My family has inherited poetry and literature, and I have been in a wealthy family since I was a child. But my father was always troubled by me. I was naughty and free-spirited by nature, and I was a heretic. I didn't believe in saints, gods, and Buddhas, and I didn't know the teachings of the Five Classics. It was not until I was twenty-six that my family fell into poverty and I was forced to take the imperial examination to get an official position."
"Uh..." Fang Zheng's expression gradually became strange.
What kind of gifted child is this? He is unwilling to study and is a heretic. Because his family has no money, he has no choice but to take the exam to become an official.
You talk like you're joking!
Li Zhi was already lost in his memories, and continued, "When I first entered the officialdom, I saw how dark it was. Although the local counties are not as dark as the capital, they are darker than the capital. It is common for officials to make profits and harm the people. When officials break the law, they protect each other. Once the storm is over, they act as usual. I can't resist these forces and I am often plotted against."
"Later, news from the capital city came to the county one after another. The students became very interested and began to collect newspapers from the capital city. After a long time, they suddenly realized that the capital city far away had undergone unimaginable changes. At the same time, they could no longer tolerate the behavior of the county officials, so they decided to give up their official positions and go to the capital city to see for themselves."
"On the way to Beijing, I heard and saw more and more about what the Marquis of Jianye did, such as improving the status of merchants and opening a girls' school... All of these made me admire him deeply. Although I have never met the Marquis, in my heart it seems as if I have known him for several years."
Li Zhi said, sighing, "But the first thing I did when I arrived in the capital was to hear about the Marquis' birthday party, so I shamelessly sneaked in. I didn't expect to misunderstand the Marquis, and I felt ashamed afterwards."
He spoke with great emotion, and Fang Zhengyi became more and more impatient.
This guy gave him the feeling that he was trying to get close to him.
I am a modern soul, you can feel that you have known me for several years, who gave you the courage to say such things?
This guy must be trying to build relationships and curry favor with people in a roundabout way, and his level is not low.
Fang Zheng tapped the desk and said casually, "And then?"
Li Zhi simply ignored his reaction and continued, "Then I started to wander around Beijing and Taoyuan County to learn about the local conditions. As of today, I have almost spent all my money and have no choice but to return home."
"Come here! Give him twenty taels of silver and send him away!"
"Wait a minute!" Li Zhi hurriedly stopped him, "I am not here to ask for money. I have something important to discuss with you, my Lord."
Fang Zheng waved his hand to drive away the servant who had already entered the room, and looked at his watch: "I'll give you another ten minutes."
Li Zhi did not hesitate and spoke very quickly: "I have been a rebellious student since I was young. I have never understood why men are superior to women in this world, and why the people are divided into scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. In the eyes of students, everyone should be equal."
"Why should the words of the saints be above everyone else? Seeking benefits and avoiding harm is what everyone wants. Eating and dressing are human ethics and physics. There are too many dogmas and too many restrictions in this world. The Four Books and Five Classics are nothing but invisible cages."
"I thought the world would never change, until I got to know the Marquis. What the Marquis did has changed the overall situation of the world. Women can study, merchants don't have to be inferior to others, and evil officials don't dare to bully the people. Although Dajing is vast, this trend does not completely cover the four regions of Dajing."
“But one day, the future can be reached.”
The corner of Fang Zheng's eyes kept twitching. This kid's words were so damn shocking.
Although the economy is developing rapidly and people's minds have become more open-minded, no one dares to shout out such words so loudly.
Even he didn't dare to shout and could only do things indirectly and in a roundabout way.
Maybe this guy is really not that close, he really has advanced ideas and a soul that transcends the times.
"Before, students have always thought so." Li Zhi said, "But later, after students conducted in-depth research, they found that there are major hidden dangers."
"Too many things are concentrated on the Marquis alone. The Marquis controls the Jinyiwei, controls Dongjiao University, and mediates in the officialdom. But if the Marquis is gone one day, won't these things return again?"
"What do you want to say?"
"What the students want to say is that everything cannot be tied to one person, otherwise sooner or later everything will be ruined."
"You're looking for death!" Fang Zheng roared and slammed the table, causing the dishes on the table to fall all over the place.
The soup spilled everywhere.
This kid is no longer just a heretic, he's simply looking for death.
He doesn't care what Li Zhi says about him, but what does it mean that everything cannot be dependent on one person? This is directly firing at the emperor!
It’s okay to be open-minded, but don’t be too radical!
Li Zhi kept silent and looked at Fang Zhengyi, waiting for a response.
Fang Zhengyi said coldly: "I can pretend that you have never been here. Go away and don't try to kill yourself here."
.....
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