There were many ways to destroy a person.
Su She provided one of the most cruel ways.
Xu Fang was once a famous scholar. He was very knowledgeable and well-versed in Confucianism. He was also very good at debating.
Everyone in Linzi knew about Xu Fang's arrogance.
The people he scolded were not just Su She, but also the Jubao Merchants.
From the Crown Prince to the County Governors. From the rich and powerful of Qi to the distant Muchu. He had scolded Emperor Chu.
As long as he could not stand or felt that it was unfair, he would scold.
There was no doubt that he had offended many people, but no one could do anything to him.
Because he was famous.
The word "name" came from the mouth. When the ancients walked at night and could not see each other clearly, they would shout their own name to let the other person know. Hence the word.
Therefore, the meaning of "name" could be extended to praise so that it was widely known.
Xu Fang was highly respected, and his character could be said to be noble.
He came from a poor family. When he was still studying at the Sangu Academy, the dean of the academy secretly changed the ranking of the school's essay competition to curry favor with the rich and powerful. The son of the rich and powerful who was at the bottom of the ranking was pushed down to second place.
This had nothing to do with Xu Fang, because he was first.
But when he found out about this, he tore up the book in anger and swore that he would never be listed with the cheaters.
Many people believed that "each family sweeps the snow in front of their own door, who cares about others?"
And Xu Fang defended the justice of the entire academy.
It was a great sin for a Confucian scholar to destroy a book, and his literary reputation was even about to be abolished.
But the impact of this matter was too great, and it alarmed the prime minister at the time, Yan Ping.
Yan Ping personally asked about it. Later, the entire Sangu Academy was dissolved, and Xu Fang's name spread all over the world.
It was precisely because he was such a famous person that his attack on the Jubao Chamber of Commerce was so immediate. One sentence, "Blockhead," and another, covering his nose with his sleeve, directly hit the Jubao Merchants' reputation to the bottom.
But what did Su She do?
He didn't do anything other than replying to her with a casual sentence.
Seven years had passed, so long that Xu Fang might not even remember that he had scolded the Jubao Merchants. Because he abhorred evil, he had cursed too many people and things. Who were the Jubao Merchants?
Xu Fang spent most of his time in Linzi, but his hometown was in Xinming County, northwest of Qidu. The Xu family was originally a humble family, but because they had produced someone like Xu Fang, they were doing pretty well in the area.
Seven years later, Xu Fang was participating in a scripture debate in Jing.
Meanwhile, the Jubao Merchants' business was getting bigger and bigger. At this time, they had already taken control of about 70% of the businesses in Xu Fang's hometown, Songcheng City of Xinming Prefecture.
Su She gave the order.
In the entire Songcheng, not a single merchant was willing to sell anything to the Xu family.
Daily necessities, rice, oil, and salt were all sold at sky-high prices. They simply couldn't afford it.
The Xu family wrote a letter to Xu Fang, but the letter lingered in the relay station for more than ten days without being sent out.
The Xu family could not hold on any longer. Later on, they even tried begging all the way to Linzi, but everywhere they went, the doors were closed.
The Jubao Merchants would pay one tael of pure gold to any family that refused to give alms. This was known as the "closing payment".
This expenditure alone cost the Jubao Merchants 100,000 taels of gold.
And in exchange for such a huge expenditure —
In peacetime, the entire Xu family starved to death!
From the seventy-three-year-old mother to the wife who took care of the house and the three-year-old son.
No one was spared.
And from the beginning to the end, Su She's people did not lay a finger on the Xu family.
It was only then that the letter from the Xu family miraculously arrived in Xu Fang's hands.
But when Xu Fang rushed back day and night, he was the only one left alive in the Xu family.
He had no way to file a complaint, and no one was willing to stand up for him. He went to the Jubao Merchants in a frenzy, but was easily subdued by them. He didn't even get to see Su She's face.
Su She only left a sentence for him, saying, "People don't kill famous people."
Xu Fang's Taoist heart shattered on the spot, and he disappeared without a trace.
The reason why this matter did not spread was that the Jubao Merchants wanted to cover it up, and the people of Songcheng knew that they were being unjust, so they kept quiet.
Some people questioned why the Xu family starved to death in peacetime because they couldn't buy food.
Could it be that the Jubao Merchants secretly killed them?
Su She once replied, "Maybe it's because it's missing something!"
That sentence, "In my opinion, those who use things to stink people are not as good as the Jubao Merchants!" was still mentioned today, but the person who said it never appeared again.
…
Bringing Xu Fang to an inn that he secretly controlled, the first thing Chung Geng Sheng did was to let him take a bath and change his clothes.
"Isn't it better to be more miserable?" Xu Fang asked.
Jiang Wang glanced at him and understood that this person had never let go of his hatred. When he was living in Yuli Workshop and working with the beggars, all he could think about was how to take revenge.
For this reason, he didn't hesitate to live a more humble life, so that the delayed revenge would be more violent.
"Do you still expect someone to uphold justice for you?" Chung Geng Sheng frowned and said, "I don't want you to act pitiful, I want you to act like a famous scholar, arrogant and proud."
He racked his brains to find Xu Fang, but it wasn't for justice.
The so-called justice couldn't protect Xu Fang back then.
In fact, if the Jubao Merchants hadn't suddenly stabbed him in the back, he wouldn't have thought of this at all. Who Xu Fang was and how pitiful he was, what did it have to do with him?
"I don't understand." Xu Fang asked hoarsely, "What do you want to do?"
Chung Geng Sheng didn't answer, but asked, "Do you have the ability to take revenge? Do you have a plan to defeat the Jubao Merchants? "
Xu Fang was silent.
Even though his face was covered in dirt and no expression could be seen, one could feel his pain.
"Then go take a bath." Chung Geng Sheng said.
Xu Fang turned around and really went to take a bath.
Chung Geng Sheng told him that he only needed to listen to orders. And he had no other choice.
After surviving in Yuli Fang for so many years, the only person who came was Chung Geng Sheng.
As for "respect"?
He didn't need that kind of thing anymore. He only wanted revenge.
In the past, he naturally rose in anger and left with a flick of his sleeves. For a so-called aristocratic family like Chung Geng Sheng, Xu Fang could point at his nose and scold him until he was bleeding.
But all of the past no longer existed.
Now, he was just a son who had lost his mother, a husband who had lost his wife, and a father who had lost his son.
A beggar living on the streets.
An avenger who had no hope of revenge.
…
"Let's go."
Watching Xu Fang leave, Chung Geng Sheng said.
Jiang Wang asked, "It wasn't easy to find him. If you want to do something, shouldn't you hurry up?"
"No matter how much we hurry up, we still need to give him time. He has been lying on the ground for too long and has forgotten how to be a human. "
Chung Geng Sheng opened the window a crack and looked at the sky outside. Then, he closed the window and walked out. "It's almost dawn. Let him rest for the whole day. We'll come again tomorrow. "
Jiang Wang was worried that Xu Fang wouldn't get a promise and would do something stupid, so he asked, "Aren't you going to say something to him?"
Chung Geng Sheng only shook his head. "I believe that he has enough patience."
He still had one more thing to say.
If the current Xu Fang didn't even have this bit of patience, then there would be no value left.
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