Qin Bingzhong's house is quite deserted.
Although the big red lanterns have been hung and the cleaning has been completed everywhere, there are indeed fewer people.
Qin Bingzhong was a little sad that Qin Chengye hadn't returned, but after reading the letter Qin Chengye had written him, he also felt a little relieved. This grandson had finally grown up. Although he hadn't followed the route he had planned, the letter said that what he had done in Xishan was great, something that made him happy from the bottom of his heart. With this, Qin Bingzhong finally let things go.
"Will you still go to Linjiang Academy after the New Year? I don't think there's any need to go. Just stay in Shangjing. I'll be staying there longer in the future."
Qin Bingzhong thought about it and realized that since his grandson had already gone to Xishan, it would not be appropriate for Qin Ruoxue to be the only one left in the mansion. So he nodded and said, "That's fine. I will stay in Shangjing and contribute to the study of the sacred teachings."
"Brother, how much do you know about the great scholar Wen Xingzhou of the Wu Dynasty?"
Qin Bingzhong was slightly startled. "Wen Xingzhou? He's about my age. He's been to the Yu Dynasty three times in his life. The first time was in Taihe... around the 20th year of Taihe, when we were still young, about your age. He represented the Wu Dynasty in the Yu Dynasty to participate in the Lantingji Lantern Festival Literary Gathering. At that gathering, he composed a poem called 'Qingyu'an, Lantern Festival,' which won him first place in the Lantern Festival Poetry Competition that year, and his name was recorded in the first column of the A-character list of Lantern Festival Poetry and Prose on the Thousand Stele Stone."
"The second time was around the fortieth year of the Taihe era. By then, he had already become world-renowned and was hailed as the foremost figure in the literary world of the Wu Dynasty. This time, he came to the Yu Dynasty for a student exchange. He brought fifty Wu Dynasty students with him and stayed at the Jixia Academy. He also lectured and listened to our teachers' lectures. This time, he stayed longer, about half a year. He, Shangguan Wenxiu, the current Imperial College's chief academic officer, and I became quite familiar with each other. We often drank and talked together. I admired him very much. He had a deep understanding of the sacred teachings. Since he was about twenty years old, he had been spreading and promoting the sacred teachings in the Wu Dynasty and persuaded the then Emperor Wu to establish the sacred teachings as the national learning. The fifty disciples he brought with him that time were all extremely talented and learned. They studied the sacred teachings at the academy for another six months before returning to the Wu Dynasty with him."
"Since then, the spread of sacred learning in the Wu Dynasty has accelerated, and the Wu Dynasty's literary activities have become increasingly prosperous."
"The last time... was during the first year of the Xuanli reign. When our new emperor ascended the throne, Wen Xingzhou led an envoy to offer his congratulations. I had another long conversation with him, and it wasn't a pleasant one because our understanding of the sacred teachings deviated. To be more precise, he believed the sacred teachings were imperfect."
"In short, Wen Xingzhou was undoubtedly a man of great talent. Since our last meeting, I've often reflected on this. This sacred teaching has been passed down for thousands of years, and in fact, great sages in every dynasty have further refined it. Today, sacred teaching advocates governing the world with benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Wen Xingzhou's view is that these benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness... naturally enlighten those who are educated, but they cannot restrain those who are not. This is why there are all kinds of criminals in the world, such as thieves, patricides, and traitors to the king. He proposed that in addition to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, there should also be laws. He interpreted these laws as rules and regulations, using them to measure people's actions and using them to determine the limits of their actions. Then, they should determine the guilt and promote them, so that people will know what they can and cannot do."
Qin Bingzhong said a lot in one breath, and Fu Xiaoguan had a preliminary understanding of Wen Xingzhou through this conversation.
This person... is truly amazing!
He has surpassed the sacred learning of this era and created a brand new situation. If his academic knowledge could be promoted in the Wu Dynasty, then the Wu Dynasty would be the first country in history to shift from rule by man to rule by law.
For Wen Xingzhou personally, he has reached a new height. For the country of Wu Dynasty, it is bound to be at the forefront of other countries!
"Why are you asking Wen Xingzhou?"
"Look, I'm going to the Wu Dynasty Literary Meeting during the Cold Food Festival next year. I heard that Wen Xingzhou is a great scholar of the Wu Dynasty, so I'm sure I'll meet him, so I want to get to know him."
"Oh..." Qin Bingzhong nodded slightly, and after a moment of silence, he said, "If you meet him, please tell him a message for me."
"Brother Qin, please speak."
"Just say... after all these years of thinking, I think he's right. If he has a book, please bring one to me."
…
After a long talk until the evening, it was already dark. Fu Xiaoguan and Dong Shulan said goodbye to Qin Bingzhong and returned to Dong's house.
On the way, Dong Shulan asked about Qin Bingzhong's words, "Since Mr. Qin believes that Wen Xingzhou is right... doesn't this have a huge impact on the Yu Dynasty's sacred learning system?"
"History always moves forward. When history develops to a certain level, this sacred learning needs to progress accordingly. In fact, I also think that Wen Xingzhou's point of view is correct, but... it is still imperfect."
Dong Shulan found it strange. How could you think such a novel idea was imperfect just by listening to it?
"Then what do you think is perfect?"
Fu Xiaoguan laughed. "If I say that the divine right of kings is wrong, will you report me?"
Dong Shulan glared at him. "You're talking nonsense! Your thoughts are very dangerous. Don't tell anyone."
"Oh...I know. So, I don't have the guts to write a book about this."
When they returned to the Dong Mansion, Dong Kangping was already at home. Seeing Fu Xiaoguan and Dong Shulan coming back, he waved to them. The two walked over and sat down below Dong Kangping.
"His Majesty wants you two to complete that task. All the money will be paid to your family through Shulan, not the Ministry of Revenue. However, you can't inject too much money into Shulan's account at once, so your Fu family will have to make the advance payment. You need to have a clear idea of this matter."
Fu Xiaoguan was immediately unhappy. How could you do business like this?
Dong Shulan was confused and looked at her father. Minister Dong briefly explained the matter to Dong Shulan. Dong Shulan was also unhappy. This was a national matter. Why should the Fu family pay for it?
That is a huge sum of money. Not to mention whether the Fu family can afford it, if something goes wrong, wouldn’t the Fu family lose both the wife and the army?
Dong Kangping looked at Fu Xiaoguan, who also looked innocent. "This is the advice you gave to His Majesty. Think about it, if a large amount of money flowed into Shulan's account, someone with ulterior motives would know what was going on. Now, Your Majesty's suggestion is to transfer the money to Shulan's account in batches through Tingmei. No one will notice it then, right?"
What Dong Kangping didn't say was that after arranging the necessary expenses for next year, the national treasury was no longer enough to pay this bill!
This is fucking like shooting oneself in the foot!
Dong Kangping laughed at Fu Xiaoguan's frustrated expression and continued, "After you left, His Majesty summoned the ministers from the six major clans in the court, scolded them severely, and then gave them a carrot as a reward. He scheduled the execution of all the officials found guilty on February 2nd of the following year, and stated that the imperial envoys would be recalled after the court opened."
It seems that Your Majesty has adopted his advice, which is a sign of weakness to the enemy.
"Also, the eldest prince has come to the imperial study."
Fu Xiaoguan frowned and asked, "The eldest prince? What's he doing?"
Dong Kangping nodded. "The eldest prince, Yu Wentian, has a mother named Xue Binglan, the current empress. The empress died of complications during childbirth... The eldest prince has been motherless since childhood. Currently, there's widespread support in the court for Your Majesty to appoint the eldest prince as crown prince. This is partly due to the Xue family's tacit support, and partly because of his background."
"Wait, no, this Xue Binglan is also from the Xue family?"
"Yes, two women from the Xue family married His Majesty. The other one is the Fourth Prince's mother, Concubine An, Xue Bingqing."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded as if he understood something. This Xue family... is indeed full of talented people.
"The eldest prince values martial arts. Because of his frail health in childhood, His Majesty, who hadn't ascended the throne at the time, hired a renowned teacher to teach him the art. It's said he's now a highly skilled martial artist. His visit to the Imperial Study wasn't a big deal; he simply requested Your Majesty's permission to hold a hunting event in the Nanshan Royal Gardens on the second day of the second month. His point is that the world has enjoyed peace for a long time, and while civil service can govern a nation, military power is essential for its security. Therefore, he hopes to invite some talented scholars to participate in this hunt, at least to show them how warriors fight wild beasts, to let them see blood. Only then will they understand the cruelty of war and appreciate the meaning of the warrior's existence."
This is a good idea, and Fu Xiaoguan agrees with it. The Yu Dynasty is now too literary, which has led to the high status of scholars. It is difficult for military men to compete with the scholars in the government. If there is no war, it will be peaceful. But if a war really breaks out, it will be a huge trouble if the scholars lead the war.
He didn't take it to heart. Dong Kangping also told Fu Xiaoguan some things about the government, which benefited Fu Xiaoguan a lot.
Not long after, Dong Xiu De came back excitedly. He walked into the lobby and said happily, "Tianmei's sales broke records today. Even the newly launched soap is almost sold out... Brother-in-law, these perfumes and soaps are rare nowadays. You have to get more."
Fu Xiaoguan felt happy when he was called brother-in-law, because Dong Shangshu's hand trembled and the teacup in his hand almost fell.
"How much does the soap cost?"
"My sister set the price: six taels of silver per piece."
"..." Fu Xiaoguan looked at Dong Shulan, who pursed her lips and smiled, "Didn't you say that? When market demand exceeds supply, the cost of the product does not affect the selling price."
But... the cost of this soap is only five cents, but Dong Shulan dares to sell it for six taels of silver!
However, Fu Xiaoguan agreed with this and said, "You did the right thing. The soap will be delivered continuously in the future."
Then the old lady came and said that dinner was ready and we could go to the dining hall to eat.
Sure enough, there was hot braised lion's head on the table. Fu Xiaoguan was very happy, as it meant that he had finally gained the approval of his mother-in-law.
Dong Yuan was also very happy. The master said that Fu Xiaoguan solved the problem and helped her a lot - this guy is not bad, it seems that she had wronged him before.
Dong Xiu De also liked to eat this braised lion's head. He swallowed his saliva and just as he stretched out his chopsticks, he heard a crisp "pop" sound.
Dong Yuan glared at him and said, "Why are you so anxious? I made this for you, the official!"
Dong Xiu De had a resentful look on his face. Damn it, who is your biological son?
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