Outside the north gate of Chengdu, there is a ten-mile long pavilion. Early in the morning, Wen Dang led Shu County officials to wait here early. Although Su Ren was no longer an official, he was included in the emperor's will this time. Su Ren was naturally among the welcoming team.
among.
Who is the angel? Wen Dang did not say. After asking Chang Shi, Chang Shi smiled and said: "This person is incredible. He is a popular person around His Majesty. He is deeply trusted by His Majesty. He is also a great Confucian of our time and is famous all over the world."
Su Ren frowned: "Such an important person was sent, isn't it just to commend Shu County officials?"
Chang Shi smiled and said, "That's natural. Coming to Shu County is just a way. This person is going to Jiangdu. He has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Jiangdu. Tsk! I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."
"The Prime Minister is a high-ranking official, and Jiangdu is the old territory of the Wu Kingdom. It is extremely vast. What's wrong with that? As long as you don't go against the King of Jiangdu, there must be no problem!"
Chang Shi was helpless and glanced at Su Ren: "You! You are still too young and don't understand many things. The so-called Prime Minister is actually a supervisor sent by the imperial court to a feudal country. No matter what the Prime Minister does, there will be no good results. If
If you are colluding with the king, the court will naturally be unhappy. If you try your best to protect the court, what will happen to you while you are in the county? You don’t even know that it is better to put someone under house arrest. If someone is bad, it is not impossible to kill him! "
This was the first time Su Ren had heard of such a thing. I had seen on TV that when a feudal country wanted to rebel, they would kill the people sent by the court to sacrifice the flag, but I didn't expect that the leader of the feudal country would be so arrogant.
It's so easy to kill a prime minister.
"Then you still go? Isn't this looking for death?"
Chang Shi shook his head: "You cannot violate your orders. Since you have eaten from the imperial court, you must be prepared to risk your own life at any time!"
Su Ren smiled: "May I ask, senior brother, have you ever thought about risking your own life in a critical moment?"
Chang Shi was stunned for a moment and stared at Su Ren for a long time. Su Ren was smiling. What he said sounded like a joke, but Su Ren didn't smile very naturally, so Chang Shi understood that Su Ren was laughing at him and laughing at him.
His movements in warm water.
Chang Shi looked ashamed: "Are you talking about Liu Wen and Hou Jian's rebellion?"
Su Ren smiled and nodded.
Chang Shi said: "I was prepared to lose my life that night. As long as Liu Wen and Hou Jian kill you at Laojun Temple, they will immediately lead their troops to the county government. It is difficult to protect the entire Wenshui County with just a few men."
." The more he talked about the common things, the worse his face became, and his whole body seemed to be lost in memories.
"As far as I know, my senior brother seemed to have packed up everything at home that night and was ready to escape at any time. How can this be considered a consciousness that would cost one's life?"
Chang Shi stretched out his hand and patted Su Ren on the head: "You don't understand! Where can you run in this big world? If you could run, those state ministers would have run away long ago. Why do you have to do such a thankless job?
It's fine if you meet a king with no ambitions, but if you meet someone who is ambitious, the problem is quite serious. Death is a minor matter, but being ruined is tragic."
"Therefore, those who are often appointed as prime ministers are those who dare to speak out and advise, and are called critics. Only such people dare to touch the beards of princes and kings, and can risk their lives to maintain the dignity of the court at critical moments. But that's it.
In the end, not many of these people will have a good death. When they arrive in the vassal states, the king will not like them. If they do something, they will be killed. If they don't do something, the court will be suspicious."
"Yuan Ang, you should know, right?" Changshi enjoyed the feeling of teaching Su Ren, because Su Ren behaved very well after being beaten, and stood quietly aside with his hands down, humble and respectful.
Su Ren nodded: "It's the traitor who gave the late emperor a plan to kill Chao Cuo!"
Changshi smiled: "Hahaha, who said that offering a plan to kill Chao Cuo is a traitor? Chao Cuo inappropriately chose to target the King of Wu at an inappropriate time and dragged my big man into the flames of war. Fortunately, your majesty has a discerning eye and knows the pearl first.
He killed Chao Cuo and sent a large army to put an end to the rebellion in the Seven Kingdoms. Yuan An offered a plan to kill Chao Cuo and risked his own life to go to the Kingdom of Wu. Moreover, Yuan An put etiquette first, even daring to offend Zhou Bo when he was sent to the throne.
How can such a person be a traitor?"
Su Ren is a bit messy. From one era to another, he does have different perspectives on the same things.
"People like Yuan An, who are willing to do whatever it takes for the country, were just idle and indifferent blind men when they first became the Prime Minister of Wu. They drank all day long to protect themselves. This shows that the Prime Minister is not that easy to do!
No matter how high-spirited and outspoken the Prime Minister was in the past, as long as he reaches the position of Prime Minister, he will either join in the mischief with the princes and kings, or he will pretend to be stupid and live in ignorance. There is no third way."
"After talking for a long time, who is this angel?" Chang Shi said for a long time, Su Ren became impatient and stretched his neck to look at the distance of the road.
Chang Shi was helpless and said angrily: "Guangchuan master Dong Zhongshu!"
"What?" Su Ren was surprised.
Su Ren may not know it, but when it comes to Dong Zhongshu, Su Ren is very familiar with it. Dong Zhongshu's "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man" has ancient and modern knowledge, and it was the first time to use Confucianism to wrap up the hegemonic concept of governing the country. That is, from this time on.
At the beginning, China's feudal dynasty ushered in a chapter of governing the world with this altered version of Confucianism.
"Is that Dong Zhongshu who presented the "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man" to the emperor?" Su Ren's eyes widened.
"Oh? You actually know "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man"?" Chang Shi looked at Su Ren like a monster.
"Who doesn't know the "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man"? The influence of heaven and man, the divine power of kings; the promotion of Kong's family, the suppression of hundreds of schools; the unification of the Spring and Autumn Period, respecting the king and rejecting the barbarians." As soon as Su Ren's words came out, he immediately aroused the attention of everyone around him.
Sideways glance.
If Chang Shi was talking to Su Ren about the state affairs just now, it was the elder explaining to the younger generation. At this time, Su Ren's summary of "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man" was completely beyond everyone's understanding.
Wen Dang couldn't help but turn his head: "What Zi Heng said is very insightful. I never understood it so thoroughly when I heard "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man"!"
Su Ren smiled awkwardly: "It just happened. In fact, the "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man" may or may not be right. I agree with the connection between heaven and man, and the divine right of kings. Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and the son of Heaven must be the one granted by Heaven.
Your Majesty appoints you to manage the people on behalf of Heaven. Therefore, everyone in the world has different statuses, and the obligations and responsibilities they bear are also different. Only by performing their duties can we obey God's will and calm the people's hearts."
"I also agree with the idea of great unification. As long as the sons and daughters of our Han Dynasty work together, our Han Dynasty can regain its glory. Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, we have eliminated the violence of Qin, retreated from the Western Chu, and established the Han Dynasty. If you look at the map of our Han Dynasty, you will find that
, although the whole world belongs to your Majesty, it is a pity that each prince dominates one area, ranging from three or five counties to several counties. These princes and kings do not care about serving the country and the people, and they are always against the court. Some are wishful thinking and some are disobedient.
If you want the Han Dynasty to be strong and prosperous, the enfeoffment must be eliminated!"
"I think it's too much to overthrow hundreds of schools of thought and only respect Confucianism!" Su Ren was trying to show off, and his words were spitting.
Wen Dang laughed and said: "Why? Confucianism is the code for governing the country. The 'Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules' integrate the great principles of the world. Only Confucianism is the right way to govern the world!"
Su Ren did not speak first, but glanced at everyone. Some nodded and some shook their heads. In today's Han Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Dou followed Huang Lao's teachings, while the newly succeeded Majesty was deeply influenced by Confucianism. The struggle between the two sides
Getting more and more nervous.
"There seems to be something wrong with what the prefect said!" Before Su Ren could speak, someone had already stood up: "Since the founding of the country, I, the great Han Dynasty, have always followed Huang Lao's inaction in governing, making the world rich and the people healthy. Could it be that the prefect has obliterated the Taishou?
Isn’t the meritorious service of our ancestors and the previous emperors successful?”
Wen Dang was made a big red face, and it was difficult to refute for a while.
Su Ren smiled: "What I think is wrong does not mean that we only respect Confucianism, nor do we only respect Taoism. The world is so big that all things exist, and it is difficult for any kind of theory to manage it uniformly. Let's put it this way, Taoism governs by doing nothing, but there are some things
It needs to be restrained, soldiers need to be restrained, dignity and inferiority need to be restrained, inaction is difficult to explain, of course Confucianism cannot be generalized, Confucianism only talks about governing the country, what to do with silkworms? What to do with war? Therefore, it is said that a hundred flowers should let a hundred schools of thought contend.
This is what a country should be like.”
The scene suddenly became deserted, and then everyone started talking. This time, both the people who respected Confucianism and the conservatives who respected Taoism all cast unkind glances at Su Ren. Only the Wen Dang remained silent and looked at Su Ren.
Some people say that Su Ren is treacherous, while others say that Su Ren is talking nonsense. In short, no one agrees with the contention of a hundred schools of thought. It is like a person with vested interests. Suddenly you tell him that all benefits are cancelled, and he needs to fight for what he wants.
At that time, the faces of those people were revealed. Now in the court, the Taoists are supported by the Empress Dowager, and the Confucians are supported by the emperor. People on both sides are already on the same page. If a hundred schools of thought continue to contend, wouldn't it be even more chaotic?
Wen Dang patted Su Ren on the shoulder: "How dare you say that! This is the result only in Shu County. If it were placed elsewhere, who knows what it would be like!"
Su Ren smiled: "I'm just talking, teacher, don't worry."
"Really?" Wen Dang looked at Su Ren's half-smiling face and felt sweaty in his heart.
A group of people were chirping at each other, and a fast horse galloped from the distance of the official road. Behind the horse, a long black line appeared at the end of the official road. The banners and cavalry escorts were majestic and dusty.
Walking slowly and leisurely.
Wen Dang coughed and interrupted everyone's discussion: "Everyone, the angel will be here soon. Everyone should return to their places. Don't make any noise!"
Su Ren quickly turned around and ran to the rear. He was not an official, so he could only stand in the square formation of the people. This time, His Majesty personally issued an order to commend officials at all levels in Shu County. Such honors are rare in thousands of years, and Shu County was well prepared.
As long as there were no problems, all the officials were present, and the city's reputable gentry, merchants, and even the elderly were also invited.
As a leader of merchants, Su Ren stood in the first row. Next to him was a somewhat bloated middle-aged man. It is said that this man's surname was Zhuo. (To be continued)