"Mr. Guan, Mr. Bing... Since you two came to Jinling, I feel that the air here has become much sweeter! Come and take a seat!" Bai Tu enthusiastically welcomed Guan Ning and Bing Yuan in the middle hall.
The only people accompanying them at this time were Hua Xin, who had recommended the two of them before, and who had a good personal relationship with Guan Ning, Kong Rong, who had a grudge against Bing Yuan, and Tai Shi, who had "taken back" the important post of Su Wei Commander after Bai Tu's death.
Kindness.
However, when Guan Ning and Bing Yuan looked at Bai Tu, their expressions were a little tangled...
In fact, several days have passed since the two came to Jinling. Taishi Ci also reported to Bai Tu that when he first arrived in Liaodong and found Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, the two of them had a good impression of Bai Tu.
Moreover, Bing Yuan and Tai Shi Ci still had some friendship. Gongsun Du, the governor of Liaodong, wanted to arrest Bing Yuan's friend Liu Zheng. After Bing Yuan hid Liu Zheng, he entrusted Tai Shi Ci, who was returning to Jiangdong, to escort Liu Zheng back to the Central Plains.
Before Bing Yuan fled Liaodong, he was recommended by Kong Rong to serve as an official...
Coupled with Bai Tu's reputation and promise, even Guan Ning, who had no intention of becoming an official in troubled times, accompanied Tai Shi Ci back to Jiangdong.
However, midway through, after the three of them saw Bai Tu's "Xian Shi Zhi Wen", although Guan Ning and Bing Yuan didn't say anything, their attitudes changed significantly... they were no longer as eager as before!
Bai Tu had already expected this. Although Guan Ning farmed and studied with his friend Hua Xin when he was young, and Bing Yuan also had a poor family and was orphaned at an early age, so he was not from a noble family by calculation, but... both of them were also from a noble family.
He is a typical great Confucian, and his governance skills are all those of Confucianism.
In this way, although Guan Ning and Bing Yuan's ideological realm does not have any personal resentment towards Bai Tu, to some extent, there are more serious differences than that - in terms of the philosophy of governing the world, and Bai Tu
There is a conflict.
After all, Confucianism relies on hierarchy and intimacy to govern the world, and the latter is especially important.
And Bai Tu's "great love" obviously destroyed the "closeness". This...is the beginning of the collapse of rituals and music, right?
That's why Guan Ning and Bing Yuan did not come to see Bai Tu immediately after arriving in Jinling, but chose to look around.
Bai Tu also pretended that he didn't know what the two of them were thinking, so he just sent someone to send condolences and a house in Jinling City...
As true Confucian scholars, although the two were far inferior to the pragmatic Hua Xin in terms of governing the world, they were still much better than those corrupt Confucian scholars. They wanted to see with their own eyes whether Jiangdong was a place where rituals had collapsed and music had collapsed, or whether it was a pure land in troubled times.
After several days of observation, even though Bai Tu had remained calm and did not take the initiative to see them, the two of them could not help but come to see Bai Tu.
"Don't be fooled by Mr. Bai's praise. Although Jiangdong had... flaws under Mr. Bai's rule, it already had the appearance of governing the world, which is extremely rare in today's chaotic world."
"That's right, it was an eye-opener for me and Genju."
Bing Yuan, whose courtesy name is Root Ju; Guan Ning, whose courtesy name is You'an.
"Oh? I wonder if you two can give me some advice?" Seeing the two of them mention it, Bai Tu immediately understood that this was already half done.
It can be believed that after their brief tour these days, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan should be...somewhat satisfied with the current situation in Jiangdong, but they also have a lot to worry about!
Based on their personalities, if they are completely dissatisfied with Bai Tu's governance methods, they will either walk away or live in seclusion. If they are completely satisfied with Bai Tu's governance methods and have no objection at all, they will even marry and live in seclusion.
Enjoy the land of peace.
As top Confucian scholars, their virtues are not all based on hype, and they are not "enterprising" personalities.
"This... Apart from this, I traveled with Youan. The people of Jiangdong are indeed the rare people in the world who can still live and work in peace and contentment. However, I saw that the Criminal Department of the Prefectural Mufu seemed to be... interfering in the trial of the patriarchal clan, even in the countryside.
Preaching the law is suspected of encouraging the villagers to resist the patriarchal clan. Isn't this inappropriate?" Bing Yuan said with some worry.
Bai Tu had never thought that Wang Lang would be so impatient - the issue of sending criminal law to the countryside was already being done step by step.
Of course, there were very few effects, but Bing Yuan was able to discover it, which can be considered a careful observation.
"This statement is wrong. What's wrong with it? If the people can do it, let it be done; if they can't do it, just know it. This move by the Ministry of Punishment shows the demeanor of a sage." Kong Rong suddenly interrupted.
When Guan Ning and Bing Yuan heard this, they first wondered why Kong Rong suddenly "stuttered" and paused so strangely, and then... they immediately understood what Kong Rong meant, and then glared angrily - Qing Ben, a beautiful lady, how can you abandon your face?
The debate over the fragmentation of this sentence can be said to have been around for a long time in later generations, but... in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there could not have been a debate.
After all, Confucius angrily cursed the Jin State for its destruction because the Jin State built a torture cauldron and promulgated the laws for the people to see. His understanding of the law was obviously inclined to Zuo Zhuan.
"If the punishment cannot be known, the power cannot be measured."
Confucius' thought is not an isolated example, and it cannot be distorted by an ambiguous sentence. As for the debates in later generations, they are just the good wishes and... patches of the reformists' thoughts on Confucius' thought.
If this was said to the Eastern Han Dynasty, it could be said that it was a blatant tampering with the words of a saint. If it was said in front of Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, it would feel like bullying them for not having read...
"No one understands the Holy Master better than me!" Kong Rong said with a bright light on his face.
Although Bing Yuan was angry in his heart, he could not get angry with Kong Rong - after all, Kong Rong was kind to him.
However, Guan Ning didn't have so many scruples. He looked directly at Hua Xin and said, "Ziyu! Do you think so too?"
"On the affairs of the Ministry of Punishment, Wang Sibu is the professional one. As for the interpretation of Confucian classics, Confucius Jijiu is much better than me. It's not for me to interrupt. I just need to do a good job in the Ministry of Etiquette." Hua Xin said leisurely.
.
Hua Xin will not take the blame if it is not his own fault. At the same time...Hua Xin obviously does not object to the reform of the Ministry of Punishment. Hua Xin has discovered the changes that are taking place in Jiangdong, so the old habits in all aspects should also be changed.
.
"The Ministry of Rites? The Ministry of Rites is responsible for education. For the Ministry of Rites to be at the helm, it must pay more attention to moral conduct..." Guan Ning has already figured out the basic division of labor among the six departments.
Without Bai Tu opening his mouth, the following four people were already "catching each other to fight".
After a while...
"Ahem." Bai Tu interrupted the argument among several people, attracted the attention of Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, and said: "It seems that Mr. Guan and Mr. Bing are very interested in the affairs of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment. How about that?
In this way, the two of them first held the position of chief priest in the Ministry of Etiquette, and then took on the position of 'master book' of the two ministries respectively.
In this way, we can better communicate with the Hua Division and the Wang Division... Moreover, the positions of the six divisions are occupied by capable people and will be rotated frequently. If the two of you have any better ideas, you don't have to worry about being buried.
.
If you two are unwilling, you can go back to the countryside to live in seclusion and wait for us to create a prosperous age!"
Bai Tu has also discovered that because he, as the coach, is a die-hard reformist, there are now many radicals in the six divisions. Although... Bai Tu doesn't like many things, he doesn't want Jiangdong, who has just been on the right track, to gradually slide to the extreme.
one side.
Therefore, it is appropriate to hire some old-school scholars to serve as voltage regulators.
Of course, the first thing to ensure is that the role of these people is to "weigh and reduce pressure" rather than simply "holding back".
Although Guan Ning and Bing Yuan do not get along with Bai Tu's ideals, it is undeniable that they are not stubborn corrupt scholars, and they have lived through hard times. Even if they are not as hard as the wild people, they have the same basic empathy for the common people.
But there is a heart.
We can also use the reputation of the two to reduce criticism from other great scholars and serve as a channel to channel opposing opinions...