Chapter 33: Great Scholar in Wuzhong
"Just take this flood disaster as an example. If the prefectural governor's office and the Ministry of Ceremonies had not planned ahead and made proper arrangements afterwards, not to mention Wu County, the entire Nanzhou would have been greatly shaken. I don't know how many people would have been displaced, or even their families would have been destroyed."
"In the eyes of these ignorant people, they only see the so-called hidden immortal of Wujun. This is simply absurd!"
The one who spoke was one of the young students.
She had a jade hairpin on her head, and was dressed in a Confucian robe with a light green gauze dress on the outside. Her face was radiant, and she looked elegant yet a little proud.
He has a good appearance and a good temperament.
As soon as he said this, the others nodded in agreement.
At the table of the elders, a middle-aged scholar with a black beard was looking at an old man with a long beard sitting at the main seat and apologetically said, "Sir, your visit to the capital this time must be like a great roc spreading its wings and a hidden dragon emerging from the abyss. We should have informed all the elders and celebrities in the county to come together to see you off."
"I heard that from the top of the Yanbo Tower, you can see the vast Huai River, which is magnificent and spectacular. This is where the name of this building comes from. It is right for you to say farewell there."
"Now you have to be here with the common people, which really disturbs Mr. Dongyang's peace."
The old man with a long beard waved his hand and said with a smile: "I am a poor man. I have already spent all my wealth to entertain you all here. How can I dare to go to such a place to spend money? "
"We have wine and food, distinguished friends to drink with, and talented young people present. That's enough, that's enough."
The black-bearded scholar opened his mouth to speak, and wanted to say that he should be the one to invite, but knowing the old man's temper, if he dared to say that, the old man would probably get up and leave.
He happened to hear the student next to him talking nonsense, and couldn't help but blame him: "Wen Qing, what you said just now was too extreme."
He said unhappily, "Mr. Dongyang is going to Yujing to take up his post. It is a time for him to rise to prominence. We are here to see him off. Why are you making such a fuss and making others laugh?"
"Teacher's teachings, students should remember them."
The young student quickly stood up and saluted.
His name is Xu Wenqing. He is a student of Bailu College and one of the best among them.
The talent and pride in his mind are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Of course, it is not so easy to admit mistakes.
When he said this, his eyes were also light and proud. He bowed and said seriously: "It's just that I think that this kind of foolish man's argument has been very popular in recent days and is getting more and more intense."
"Even now in the market, when ordinary people encounter trouble, most of them only know to pray to the gods. If this continues, disasters will continue and the harm will be widespread."
"Students are worried and angry, and they can't help but express themselves."
Except for a few elderly scholars, all the people present were teachers at Bailu Academy.
The rest of the people were his classmates, and most of them had similar interests.
A classmate who was familiar with him said, "Brother Xu is right. It's not just now, and it's not just in Wu County."
"In today's world, Buddhism and Taoism are prevalent, and there are endless people seeking immortality and the way. Not only do they not think about achieving academic success and serving the country, they even abandon their families and their lives just to seek those illusory things."
Someone else added, "Not only the Buddhists and Taoists, but also those ignorant people like Fa, Mo, Yin and Yang, who have learned but no skills, do not follow the right path, do not talk about benevolence and righteousness, and use all kinds of heresies to deceive the world. Their influence is even worse than that of Buddhism and Taoism."
"These are fine. Although they have embarked on an evil path, they can still be called scholars after all. Those crude warriors can actually call themselves masters of family virtues, openly call themselves military strategists, and even stand on the same level as our Confucian sages in the court. What virtue and ability do they have?"
"Yes, yes! If you ask me, the Holy Emperor is wise, he should abolish all other schools of thought and respect only Confucianism."
"With all the wise men in our Confucian school, the world will be governed by propriety, and the people will be educated with benevolence and righteousness. If everyone in the world knows propriety and righteousness and treats others with benevolence, why should we worry that the world will not be governed and the great country will not prosper?"
The students became more and more excited as they talked, but the topic had already deviated from its original direction.
The older scholars had different expressions on their faces.
Most of them nodded, stroked their beards and praised highly.
But two of them looked at each other and shook their heads secretly.
One of them is the old man with a long beard.
He was dressed in a simple green robe, with a long beard hanging down to his chest and a dignified demeanor. He was the protagonist of this farewell banquet, the former principal of Bailu Academy, Li Dongyang.
He is a literary giant in Nanzhou and a world-renowned scholar.
The other one had sparse hair, an ancient appearance and looked a little old. His name was Dai Yougong, and he was also a famous scholar as famous as Li Dongyang.
The black-bearded scholar noticed the expressions of the two men and hurriedly shouted, "Enough!"
"You are just students from a small academy. How dare you talk about the great principles and discuss the great affairs of the country?"
All the students fell silent immediately.
The black-bearded scholar smiled at Li and Dai and said, "Although Wenqing's words are a bit extreme, they do make some sense."
"Those so-called holy places of immortals, although they pride themselves on being above the ordinary and self-admiring, are also considered to be unlearned but with some skills. They also send many of their disciples into the secular world to serve the country in the Heavenly Monitoring Division."
"Now that Daji is facing internal and external troubles, Your Majesty is working hard to govern the country. It is time to recruit talents. If the hidden immortal of Wu County is really as the people say, he has such great abilities, he should step forward."
"Otherwise, even if you have great powers, you are just a dead tree or a piece of stone. What benefit can you bring to the country? What benefit can you bring to the people? You are not worthy of being worshipped by all the people."
The black-bearded scholar was named Zhu Yuanhao, and he was a doctor at Bailu Academy.
Xu Wenqing was his favorite disciple. He did not want to see Xu Wenqing lose face in front of a great scholar like Li Dongyang, so his words were full of protective intent.
Of course, this is indeed his opinion.
It is not directed at the so-called hermit immortal of Wu County, but he disapproves of all the so-called hermit masters and immortals from the world, and thinks that their abilities are in vain.
Zhu Yuanhao stopped talking and changed the subject: "But today is Mr. Dongyang's farewell banquet, so it's better not to talk about such a disappointing thing."
"Your Majesty invited Mr. Dongyang three times, but he refused each time. Today, he finally responded to the call. From now on, he will rise to the top and realize his ambitions. It is truly a case of waiting for the clouds to clear and seeing the blue sky. Congratulations."
Li Dongyang stroked his beard and smiled, "What do you mean by rising to the sky? It's just a candle in the wind, emitting a little residual heat."
"I am an old man, and I have no intention of getting involved in this muddy water. I just want to educate people and write books on Bailu Rock. However, the current situation is turbulent and there is unrest everywhere. I really can't sit still."
Zhu Yuanhao said regretfully, "It's just that without Mr. Dongyang in charge, Wu County will be in trouble in the future."
"Recently, foreign tribes have been making frequent movements. Wu County is bordered by the Yue tribes to the south. There are demons causing troubles, and those restless mobs are gathering to cause chaos, using the names of various evil gods to do illegal things."
"In the distance, the magistrate of Shannan colluded with the mountain barbarians to rebel, and recently, demons slaughtered Shanyin. I heard that just last month, a Liujiazhuang outside the city gathered thousands of rioters and openly confronted the government."
He sighed and said worriedly, "I don't know how chaotic things will get in the future."
Dai Yougong, who had sparse hair, smiled and said, "To govern the country and bring peace to the world, there are dignitaries in the court, as well as wise men and scholars like Mr. Dongyang."
"In the future, there will be rising talents like Wen Qing, so we old idlers won't have to worry too much."
He raised the cup in his hand and said, "Come on, everyone, let's drink this cup together to see Mr. Dongyang off."
“Hahaha, let’s drink this cup together!”
Everyone raised their glasses.
After drinking a cup, Zhu Yuanhao smiled and turned around and said, "Wenqing, you are known as the best poet in Wuzhong."
"Mr. Dongyang is about to leave Wu and go to Beijing. Do you have any good works to give him?"
