New Year's Eve was approaching, and the bustling and festive atmosphere in the capital continued. Before the end of the year, all kinds of people would be busy for a period of time. The summary of the year, the collection of accounts, the prospects for the new year, and the reflection of the past were all things to be done in the coming year. In short, after the busy period, the shops, inns, and government agencies all entered a slightly leisurely period. Even the sudden waves caused by Zhang Jue's murder had also subsided. At the end of the year, people had more reasons to suppress it in their hearts. If there were any problems, they could wait until the beginning of spring.
In short, no matter what, Zhang Jue was dead, the Golden Men had returned to the capital, and it was the New Year … It was just a few days of happiness.
In the Right Minister's residence, the busyness at the beginning had also begun to subside. On the day he received the news of Zhang Jue's death, Qin Siyuan almost fainted, but soon recovered. After all, he was a person who had seen countless storms, and had experienced far more than one or two setbacks in his life. But he was now old, and after the stimulation this time, most of the government affairs were temporarily put aside by his family and a group of aides. If not for the north, there was actually not much of a problem for him not to intervene in many of the country's old affairs. So in the past few days, he took advantage of the atmosphere of the New Year to calm down a little.
Ning Yi and the others often went over to chat with him, and Yao Zunian also rushed over from his home outside the city to check on him. Apart from resting, most of the time he would still be reading a book, sometimes holding a brush and drawing circles. Compared to the busy official business, as a Confucian master, drawing these things could be regarded as a kind of pastime in his spare time, so as long as it did not last too long, people did not say much about him.
As for the matter of Zhang Jue, at least for this period of time, he had kept his mouth shut. Over the past few days, the Imperial Court had been abuzz over this matter. First, Qin Hui had submitted a petition to impeach Wang Anzhong. Then, it had caused a great discussion in the Imperial Court. The final conclusion was that Wang Anzhong had painstakingly endured humiliation to carry out his mission. Of course, he had made some mistakes, but he shouldn't have brought it to light. No one in that position could have made a better decision.
The right and wrong were thus determined. Emperor Zhou Zhe rejected Qin Hui's impeachment, but still decided to transfer Wang Anzhong out of Yan Jing next year, and choose another minister to take charge. In fact, Wang Anzhong was not happy in Yan Jing at the moment. After Zhang Jue's death, Medicine Master Guo once said, "If the Golden Men want Zhang Jue, you will give him to them too?" After that, although Wang Anzhong came to ask for forgiveness, he still felt uncomfortable. His resignation letter was actually already on its way.
This time, Wang Anzhong of the Emperor of Yan of the high position, but he still did not feel good. But in, and the Emperor of Emperor., and the Yan. But when it came to him, Qin Siyuan only said, "Yes, Tai Ming."
'Year, Emperor Emperor Emperor, and, and of, and he, Emperor, of the Emperor of the emperor of the emperor of of of the emperor. "Emperor of of". "Year"., and of of of of of, of, of, of.
"… That year, His Majesty had just succeeded the throne. He was a man of great talent and ambition. As an official, it was rare for us to meet such a wise ruler, so we should do our best to repay him. Wang Qisong, Liang Mengqi, Zuo Duanyou, and I set up the Office of Secret Investigations because Liao had been trading with the Wu dynasty for a hundred years, and had long been assimilated by the extravagance of our dynasty. Although our dynasty was more extravagant, if there was a wise ruler, we might be able to revive. This … was the origin of the Office of Secret Investigations … "
"What happened next, Nian Gong knows most of it. Ji Kun, you have been by my side for many years, so you should understand. But after the Black Water Alliance, I have never told anyone the reason why Duke Zuo cut off our relationship. In fact, I should not have told anyone about this."
"Once we were highly regarded by His Majesty, his grace was unparalleled, and we taught His Majesty how to read and how to be a ruler. His Majesty was intelligent, and understood very quickly. Not long after, he was able to comprehend by analogy, and had many of his own … unique views. After that, he became distant from us. This was not a big deal. Later, when the Liao people went south, we advocated for a fight to the death. At that time, His Majesty had already stopped stirring up trouble in the north. Seeing that the Liao army was moving south, His Majesty … decided to feign civility and negotiate for peace in advance. Zuo Duanyou was a fierce person and advised me that the emperor's orders were not to be obeyed. Although the Liao people moved south quickly, they had a large territory to the north of Bianliang. As long as it dragged on, the rich people in Liao would first oppose this war that would affect their business. He said so, but I could not do so. Under His Majesty's continuous urging, I could only negotiate for peace … You know, Duke Zuo was the one who cut off our relationship … "
"At that time, the reason that outsiders knew … was mainly that the sons of Duke Wang and his family had died tragically for the country, but the deeper reason was not this. Duke Zuo's thinking was similar to that of Liheng. He said treacherous words. He said … His Majesty … had great ambition but little talent. If he had known this earlier, the Office of Secret Investigations would not have done it. We did not have any strength, so we schemed in the dark. If we could not get along with each other, our Wu dynasty would only continue to expose our weaknesses to others. Originally, our country might have been able to continue for many years. At this time, acting like a clown would only be courting death in advance … "
"I could not refute his words. In the end, he stopped a part of the Office of Secret Investigations that he was in charge of. But to me, things had come to this. If I didn't do this, what else could I do? Even if the affairs of the world were extravagant, I could only grit my teeth and endure it. This time, as long as I could get through it, the world would be bright. But now … I'm afraid that he would laugh at me … Haha, clowns jumping on a beam, courting death … "
"After the revival, I knew in my heart that His Majesty weighed the pros and cons. Often, he couldn't help but suppress something else. I was prepared. In the past, in the court, I would occasionally make some mistakes and let him watch. I only hoped that after these, he would help me with other serious matters. This time, I knew that I had offended a lot of people with the disaster relief. I only thought in my heart that if I became the target of public criticism after the disaster relief, His Majesty would take advantage of the situation … He had to ensure the northern expedition. Perhaps with my old bones, I would be able to get through it by luck. But I didn't know that this rise and fall … landed on Zhang Jue's head … "
Perhaps because he was physically and mentally exhausted, there were some meanings in his words that he shouldn't have said under normal circumstances. Fortunately, he was surrounded by several of the most core advisors of the Prime Minister's residence. They were basically tied together with Qin Siyuan's assets. In reality, Qin Siyuan's words were really too gentle. In the intelligence of the Office of Secret Investigations, Ning Yi had already referred to the rules of many government decrees during Jing Han's reign. The Emperor did indeed weigh the pros and cons, but it didn't mean that he really valued the art of weighing the pros and cons. In a sense, at least, Ning Yi felt that he was only playing with the pros and cons.
After ascending to the throne, Zhou Zhe had indeed made a few big moves, including the Office of Secret Investigations. Hua Shigang had also done so. At first, Zhou Zhe continued Hua Shigang's position because there wasn't enough silver to use in state affairs. After the Blackwater Alliance, the silver that was exported abroad was greatly reduced. The peaceful political scene also increased the national treasury's income. But Hua Shigang didn't stop. He had already played to his heart's content. There was no need to give it to others. Alright, then it's my turn to keep it for myself. He used Cai Jing, Wang Ci, and the others to collect valuables everywhere. If anyone complained, he would scold them. This was to suppress them. After being suppressed, he would feel bad and then give them more power.
In the end, Wang Ci and the others were scolded more, and their power increased day by day. The Emperor gained the title of Saint. A few years of training also caused the Censorate, Qingliu, and Yinlu to weigh their words and their ability to figure out the meaning of their superiors was trained to the peak. They had participated in countless memorials, "causing all the officials to be able to speak, and the political scene to be clean", but it didn't hurt the skin of the matter.
If analyzed from a psychological point of view, this was Ning Yi's view. A teenager with an unstable worldview, after receiving a lot of information, thought that he had seen through the world. This Emperor, in essence, didn't believe in anyone. He didn't believe that there was right and wrong in the world. He didn't think that Cai Jing was for the country and the people, and he didn't believe that Qin Siyuan and Li Gang were for the country and the people. From this point of view, everyone only had interests behind their butts. Cai Jing did it for the power of his family and could cover the sky with one hand. Li Gang and Qin Siyuan did it for the sake of leaving their names in history.
In fact, as a ruler, sometimes it wasn't a big mistake to have such thoughts. If one didn't have enough logical ability, it wasn't a big deal to use big reasons for everything. Such a person also had a way to succeed. However … as an Emperor, his ability to withstand pressure was too shallow.
Not long after coming to the capital, Ning Yi already had a rough impression of the current Emperor. Of course, it was hard to say whether it was right or wrong. After all, he wouldn't face the Emperor directly. However, the incident with Zhang Jue really made him feel extremely helpless.
For Qin Siyuan and the others, although they were heartbroken by the incident with Zhang Jue, they weren't very worried. After all, there weren't many Golden Men, and there was still a chance for them to turn things around. Only Ning Yi knew that the Golden Men were most likely going to head south. After this incident, he felt even more regretful.
He was angry at the failure of this matter, but it was already the end of the year, and he couldn't think of anything else. Facing the recuperating Qin Siyuan, of course, he couldn't say anything. He could only greatly adjust the arrangements for Takeshi in his heart … The Emperor was the most powerful. If he was like this, what else could you do …
He often came to the Prime Minister's residence to sit and chat with Qin Siyuan, Yao Zunian, Ji Kun, Wenren Bu 'er, and the others. In his heart, he was thinking about what he had to do. One afternoon, they came to the Prime Minister's residence. After sitting down in the warm study, they chatted for a while. Qin Siyuan smiled and took out some books for them to read. They were probably his writings.
These books, including the Four Books and Five Classics, were handwritten copies by Qin Siyuan. After copying by hand, he wrote many of his own understandings on the side. Ning Yi took a book and casually flipped through it. Qin Siyuan had always been indifferent to praise or disgrace, but when he showed these things to the others, his expression was slightly proud. Yao Zunian and the others looked at it respectfully, but after a moment, they frowned and showed an expression of importance. Ning Yi flipped through it casually. It wasn't that he didn't understand these things, but in his heart, there was an additional thousand years of Confucian inheritance. Everything in the book seemed simple and self-evident to him.
Qin Siyuan lay on the chair and slowly opened his mouth. "These things, I started writing when I retired and stayed at home. I discussed it with Kang Mingyun and the others. Later, I also revised it several times. After I restored it, the revisions and annotations were intermittent, but the revision was the most significant. This is the first time I took it out for everyone to see. "
He closed his eyes, crossed his hands in front of his chest, and lightly tapped his fingers. "In this old man's life, I first established myself as a Confucian scholar. Later on, I did many things that were difficult to conform to the Confucian way. After becoming an official, my path was not as upright as Minister Li's. Objectively speaking, in order to achieve a good result, I was a bit … excessive. Fortunately, this old man has always maintained a bit of a literary reputation, and in the end, I was not criticized too much for this. But these years of reading these Confucian teachings, I have taken an unconventional path. In my heart, there has always been a doubt, or should I say … expectation: If this world is upright, why would I bother to use such schemes … "
"These years, this old man has read and chatted with Duke Nian and some other great Confucians many times. During this period, Liheng claimed that he was not a Confucian, but in some of the principles, he was the most superficial. I remember that Liheng once mentioned to me that in every dynasty, every time it was overthrown, there would often be treacherous people who caused chaos and brought disaster to the country. Han had Dong Zhuo, Tang had An Lushan, Jin had Jia Nanfeng, ceding sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun, and Shi Jingtang. These people were nailed in the history books, reviled and cursed by people. But if Dong Zhuo met Wu of Han, would there still be three kingdoms in chaos? If An Lushan met Li Shimin, would there still be the Mawei incident? If Jia Nanfeng met Sima Yi, how would the eight princes dare to rebel? Because of all these, people of the time thought that treacherous people harmed the country. In reality … like this food shortage, if not for all kinds of insects that were weak to a certain extent, eating away the country, how would outsiders dare to covet this piece of land! "
"This food shortage, in order to reduce the pressure on the court, this old man drank poison to quench thirst. I once encouraged some merchants to secretly manipulate public opinion and submit petitions to lobby for the merchants. Liheng once talked to me about business. If the path of business flourished, how could the current Wu dynasty restrain the expansion of the profit-seeking atmosphere? This time, I can't feel at ease whether it's good or bad, but many people think, or perhaps this old man had no choice but to do so. After thinking about it, these books can be considered my compensation for this matter and for the ruthless schemes I've used these years … "
Ning Yi raised his head … When Qin Siyuan decided to use this method, he had thought that this old man must have gone through a long period of psychological construction before making this decision. Later on, when the court was in the mood to correct the reputation of merchants, Ning Yi also guessed that this old man was behind it. Although Ning Yi was a merchant, in his heart, he had always believed that the profit-seeking, naked capitalist ideology of the later generations was a poison that couldn't be touched at all in this era. He had guessed that Qin Siyuan would definitely have some backup plan, but he hadn't expected that the backup plan would be these books …
What did he want to do … Hmm, he wanted to slightly untie the class of scholars, farmers, merchants, and businessmen, and then set up more detailed and precise standards. This was indeed a train of thought …
This was what Ning Yi speculated as he flipped through the books in his hands. At this moment, he was still thinking about his own plan. He had a lot of praise and approval for the old man's series of actions. In any era, people who did great things were not simple … However, just a moment later, a flash of thought, like a thunderclap, completely blew him out of this train of thought.
"People are ignorant in this era," the old man said. The old man said, "The writings of the sages are also meant to lead people out of this ignorance and create a path for them. For thousands of years, the sages taught people how to see things, how to make choices, and how to make decisions. All the differences were nothing more than shortsightedness and longsightedness. After Zi Gong redeemed people for the State of Lu, he didn't want a reward, thinking that it was noble. But Confucius said that if this kind of nobility was publicized, it would harm the country. Nowadays, we preach to repay evil with good, but Confucius said, how to repay good with good, to repay evil with righteousness, and to repay good with good. In this world, as long as there is a desire, it is often the thief of virtue. What is virtue? The so-called morality, because there is virtue. This Dao, is morality, and is also the reason. This is the path that we can take to make the world better … How should we take this path … "
"At this time, people only care about one person and not a family. Only caring about one family and not a country is the blinding of human selfishness. This is the difference between selfishness and the justice of heaven. The justice of heaven and earth determines how people get along with each other, unite, and become a family and a country. Only by letting go of some selfishness at the right time can the country become stronger and more prosperous. Our research is also to find such a path, to try our best to make the interests of the two into one. According to what Liheng once said, this is the difference between the big self and the small self. "
Qin Siyuan sat on the deck chair with his eyes closed. He raised his head slightly and took a breath.
"And for me, it is to attract people's desires and follow the justice of heaven."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
