Chapter 29 Huang-Lao Doctrine
The entire Pepper House seemed to have fallen into endless silence at that moment.
Liu Chang raised his head and stared at his mother, while Empress Lu lowered her head and also stared at him.
Empress Lu had never seen such an urgent and serious expression on Liu Chang's face. On this day, she realized for the first time that her son seemed to have grown up and was no longer the silly boy who knew nothing. However, she seemed to realize it a little late.
Facing Liu Chang's aggressive gaze, Empress Lu did not feel the slightest bit uneasy or nervous. She was as calm as before.
"Han Xin sent someone to tell me."
"How can he send people into the palace without my father's order?"
"That's probably someone from the Kuai Che faction."
"I don't believe he would publicize such a thing."
"good."
Empress Lü said, not knowing whether she admitted Liu Chang's guess or praised Liu Chang's growth. In short, she did not give Liu Chang a chance to continue questioning, and turned to leave the Pepper Room. Before leaving, she said calmly: "Your father has gone to the war. In the next few days, you should not go to Han Xin's house again."
"Why?!"
"That bastard named Kuai wants to instigate Master to rebel? Is that right?!"
"None of this has anything to do with you."
"He is my teacher!"
"He's just using you. Remember what I taught you?"
"If you want to ask for something from someone, you should first give it to them..."
"Oh, you think you know everything? You think you've grown up? No stranger would be nice to you for no reason... Everyone has their own thoughts and deliberately approaches people who are useful to them. When they are done using them, they kick them away and look for someone else. This is the way it is for everyone, and this is how the world is."
Liu Chang sat alone in the Pepper Room, with two palace maids guarding the door of the hall and not allowing anyone to enter or leave.
Liu Chang sat quietly on the bed. Rarely, he did not make a fuss. He just remained silent. He frowned, his thoughts were in a mess. He could not figure out anything and felt at a loss.
…
Han Xin slowly put down the bamboo slips and couldn't help but look outside the door.
There was no one outside the door, no one in sight.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door. Han Xin curled his lips and hurriedly picked up the bamboo slips again.
"My king! What a happy event!"
When Kuai Che excitedly rushed into Han Xin's inner room, he saw a hint of disappointment on Han Xin's face. After a moment, that expression disappeared, as if everything was just Kuai Che's illusion. Kuai Che was stunned for a moment, then quickly said: "Liu Bang has left."
"He took away all the troops around Chang'an, and even the generals in the court followed him. Not a single one was left behind!"
In order to deal with Chen Xi, Liu Bang decided to call upon some ordinary generals to go into battle. So he randomly picked a few names among the generals, including Fan Kuai, Xiahou Ying, Chen Ping, Zhao Yao, Guan Ying, Jin Xu, Cao Shen and so on.
Liu Bang said that I made the selection randomly.
After thinking for three days and three nights, he still couldn't figure out how Chen Xi dared to rebel? He was a tough guy, fighting in many battles and rarely losing, but among those who attacked him, any number of them could beat his head off, let alone if they all came together.
This was not long after the founding of the country, and these founding generals were not dead yet.
They were looking forward to military achievements that would allow them to be promoted to higher titles all day long, but since the country was founded, the world was peaceful and there was no chance.
Just when they were all holding back their anger, their old friend Chen Xi brought them warmth and care. These fierce men suddenly had a target and heads to chop off, and they were so excited that they cheered.
We all know that the Qin Dynasty had a military merit system, and of course the Han Dynasty also had it, with twenty levels. However, according to the old rules, although there is no difference in the same titles, there is a "big" difference in the appointment of officials. Don't ask, I didn't copy it!
Liu Bang finally left, and Kuai Che felt that the opportunity to do great things had finally come.
Chang'an is now an empty city. As long as we start an uprising, we will surely succeed!
Han Xin listened to Kuai Che excitedly describing his plan: to pass on a false imperial edict to pardon criminals and slaves serving in various government offices, and mobilize them to attack Empress Lü and the crown prince.
This was Kuai Che's plan. The follow-up had not yet been determined. Was it to kill the queen and the prince, or to control them and continue to write edicts in their names to gather troops ? He did not say, and Han Xin did not ask.
For some reason, Han Xin looked a little absent-minded, glancing outside the door from time to time.
Faced with Kuai Che's plan, Han Xin just nodded in trance.
"My lord, when shall we start?"
"Liu Bang hasn't left too far, let's wait a little longer."
"You! Alas..."
…
In the Tianlu Pavilion, Liu Chang sat at the last seat in a depressed mood, his chin supported by his hands, and he was distracted as usual.
But today he was really too quiet and looked very unusual.
Without Liu Chang's noise, even the teacher became a little happier. This "desireless" teacher, who usually taught just to meet time, spoke eloquently on this day. On a whim, he even talked about a lot of things outside the textbook, including some analysis of Zhuangzi's thoughts.
Liu Chang obviously didn't understand all this, but Liu Heng and others studied even more seriously.
During the break, Liu Hui was the first to come over.
"What's wrong? Did you get beaten again?"
"No."
"Why are you so depressed? Do you want to come back with me later?"
"My mother won't let me go anywhere else."
Hearing this, Liu Hui did not dare to say more. He was really afraid of Empress Lu, and this fear was different from that of Liu Chang. Liu Chang was afraid of being beaten, but he was afraid of... cough... The second person who came over was Liu Ruyi. He smiled slyly, sat next to Liu Chang, and pushed him with his shoulder, "What's wrong? General Liu, did you lose to Bai Qi?"
Facing Liu Ruyi, Liu Chang did not get angry. He just sat there blankly, looking even more lonely.
"Hey, I asked to go to war again and again, and my father was so happy that he gave me his favorite horse. Do you want to go with me to see it?"
"can not go."
Liu Heng soon came over.
"If you encounter any difficulties, don't be discouraged, just find a way to solve it."
Liu Heng didn't ask him what happened, but just gave his advice.
After the class was over, the brothers looked at Liu Chang a few times, and then left without disturbing him.
Liu Chang still sat here, not wanting to leave. Because if he left here, he would have to go back to the Pepper Room. His mother would not allow him to go anywhere except the Tianlu Pavilion. The Pepper Room was empty, with nothing in it. Liu Chang liked to be lively, and sitting here, at least he could see people coming and going.
The teacher sat in the upper seat, not even looking at Liu Chang, and just lowered his head to flip through the book.
This teacher seemed to be forced to teach the princes. He was just perfunctory in his work on weekdays. His greatest interest was reading. He spent the whole day in the royal library. It was said that he chose this classroom location himself just to read more books.
Liu Chang and his teacher sat alone in Tianlu Pavilion without disturbing each other.
Time passed by like this. Every day, Liu Chang was sent to Tianlu Pavilion early in the morning, and then he would stay here for a very long time. Most of the time, he always kept his head down, and no one knew what he was thinking about.
Perhaps the teacher couldn't stand being stared at while he was studying, or perhaps he couldn't stand Liu Chang's dejected look, so finally, one day, the teacher sat down in front of Liu Chang helplessly.
"Why don't you go back?"
"I don't want to go back."
Liu Chang said weakly, in fact, he had studied with this teacher for a long time, but unlike Han Xin, he didn't even know the teacher's name. He only knew that he studied Huang-Lao school of thought, and seemed to be a very famous person, who was recommended by Liu Fei and came from Qi.
"What's troubling you?"
"Teacher...someone told me that this world is very selfish. Between people, there is only use and being used. There is no other thing. Do you think this is right?"
“Nonsense!”
The teacher suddenly started to curse.
Liu Chang was stunned for a moment, and added: "This is what my mother said."
"That's nonsense too!"
Liu Chang was really surprised now. Even his father wouldn't dare to say that to his mother.
The teacher thought for a moment before asking, "You have studied Huang-Lao doctrine with me for such a long time, so you probably know what Huang-Lao doctrine emphasizes, right?"
“It’s…it’s that…that…”
“Govern by doing nothing.”
"Yes, that's right, it's governing by doing nothing."
"Then do you know what is ruling by doing nothing?"
"Nothing?"
The teacher was choked up, he clenched his fists , then immediately released them: Laozi treats Huang-Lao, you must keep a calm mind, don’t get angry, don’t get angry… He thought for a moment, changed his mind, and said seriously: “We believe that the world is emotionless, but people are emotional. People are not good, nor are they bad. It depends on how you treat others.”
"If you treat others sincerely, you will definitely receive sincerity in return. If you approach others with the intention of taking advantage of them, they will treat you the same way."
"This is actually the same as governing a country. If you educate the people with benevolence and righteousness, the people will repay you in the same way. If you rule the people with cruelty and tyranny, they will use the same means to deal with you."
"If you believe that the world is selfish, then the world is selfish. If you believe that the world has emotions, then the world has emotions."
"The world is the same, but it is different for everyone. If someone views the world with kindness , the world will reward him with infinite kindness. If someone views the world with malice, all he will see is infinite evil..."
"Using benevolent means to educate the people, let them love each other, and not use war to deepen mutual hatred... Isn't this a good thing?"
Liu Chang's eyes widened, and he suddenly came to his senses and asked, "Universal love? Non-aggression? Isn't this the doctrine of Mohism? Teacher, aren't you a Taoist?"
"Well, my Taoist school was established the earliest, and the Mohist school just plagiarized my Taoist teachings."
Note: The Huang-Lao school of thought at the end of the Warring States period was based on Taoist thought and adopted the views of Yin-Yang, Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, etc. There were Yin-Yang school's cosmology, Confucianism's benevolent government, Mohism's universal love, and technological innovation, etc. It can be said to be a hodgepodge, but it was quite suitable for that era.
