Chapter 91 Let’s go head to head!
Su Che looked at the county magistrate who was busy moving around, "What's going on outside the mansion?"
County Magistrate Lu Guan was stunned for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Reporting to the Lord, there are about a hundred young scholars kneeling outside the mansion, and they have been kneeling for a whole day."
Lu Guan did not dare to look down on this unusually young prefect in the slightest.
In just this one day, Su Che handled countless government affairs, and his methods were so experienced that he didn't seem like a young man at all. No matter how difficult the problem was, he could easily resolve it.
No matter what his background is or how much he has accomplished, this ability alone is enough to make Lu Guan admire him!
Are there really geniuses in this world who are born with knowledge?
Lu Guan had been a county magistrate for nearly his entire life, but this was the first time he had seen such a capable young man.
He was really happy that such a powerful governor had come to Nanyang County. He was really fed up with people like Gai Sheng.
Su Che frowned and asked, "Why didn't you tell me? They have been kneeling the whole time, is there any injustice?"
Lu Guan smiled and said, "No, no, my Lord, those young scholars are kneeling outside because they deserve it. They should kneel there."
Su Che didn't respond either.
Lu Guan stroked his beard and continued, "You are busy handling official business today, but you don't know that the Jingzhou Gazette and the Luoyang Gazette have published many articles criticizing you. They believe that you cannot be granted the title of Marquis without military merit, so they are very dissatisfied with you being awarded the title of Marquis of Jishi."
"Song Xueyao, a doctor from Luoyang Imperial College, even wrote an article specifically attacking you and sent it to the Jingzhou Gazette."
"Even the great scholar Ma Rong thinks that you have some talent but no virtue, and that you abuse your power for personal gain and deceive others. You are a fraud and a name seeker. I don't know why this old man dares to say that. Is he getting old and confused? I always feel that what he said is different from what others said..."
Su Che had a subtle expression when he heard this. Ma Rong was a man of great talent and profound knowledge, and he was a well-known scholar of his time. He taught thousands of students. Lu Zhi from Zhuo County and Zheng Xuan from Beihai were both his students.
Such an old fellow had an extremely sharp vision and saw through the problems of Chengjin Money House at a glance. However, he also knew his limits and did not say it directly. Instead, he used this incident to make indirect accusations.
So in Lu Guan's view, what this old guy said seemed to be different from what the others said.
Su Che nodded and said, "Then what?"
Lu Guan continued, "Then this group of brainless young people, after being stirred up by the palace newspaper and being tipped off by the people around them, immediately came outside the palace to yell and curse. As soon as they yelled, they were beaten and scolded by the nearby elders and villagers. Their parents came and slapped them in the face, and then made them kneel at the door for a day and a night before they could leave..."
Su Che was a little amused and helpless when he heard this. He shook his head and did not repay evil with kindness. He went to the door to ask the group of people to get up.
Since they did something wrong, they should be punished and kneel down slowly.
"Show me the newspaper." Su Che said.
"You'd better not look at it, my lord. There's no point in looking at these things. It will only make you angry." Lu Guan said carefully.
"It doesn't matter. I won't be angry about such a small thing. Just let me see how they scold me." Su Che said.
"Well... okay." Lu Guan nodded and turned to get the newspaper.
After a while, Su Che saw the article. The article was written in gorgeous language and explained with reason and evidence why Su Che could not accept the title of Marquis Jishi. It even cursed Su Che at the end.
After reading to the end, Su Che also read out the last sentence: "Why not drown yourself and see if you can be the Marquis of Jishiting?"
Lu Guan, who was standing by, carefully observed Su Che's expression and was very worried that Su Che would be angry.
But what Lu Guan didn't expect was that Su Che was not angry at all, but laughed out loud: "This is too low in aggressiveness."
"Ah?" Lu Guan was stunned for a moment, then asked, "The offensiveness is too low? Lord, what are you doing..."
"What I mean is that this article is not good. How dare it be so aggressive and embarrassing?" Su Che shook his head and sneered It was not aggressive at all and was really embarrassing!
Because Su Che had just taken office, Lu Guan didn't know the Lord's character. When he heard these words, he was stunned.
"I've decided to give them some strength!"
Su Che said something that Lu Guan didn't quite understand, then he spread out a piece of paper, picked up a brush and started writing.
Lu Guan, who was standing by, widened his eyes and was stunned by this scene.
What is the Lord of the Mansion planning to do? Write something in the imperial newspaper to curse at each ?
Isn't this a bit indecent?
But as a lord, it seems a bit bad that he didn't talk back when being scolded.
What is the Lord writing...
Lu Guan leaned over and immediately saw the two words in the title of the article. His pupils shrank sharply, his heart began to beat rapidly, and he subconsciously exclaimed: "This!"
He said cautiously: "Master...is this not good?"
"What's wrong with that? This is a classic quote from Xunzi!" Su Che said calmly without even looking up.
In the title of the article, those two words are very eye-catching, they are - "cheap Confucian"!
The term "vulgar Confucianism" comes from Xunzi's "Against the Twelve Philosophers
The original article is as follows:
Di Tuo wore his cap and bowed his head while performing the sacrifice. Yu walked while Shun hurried. He was a lowly Confucian of the Zhang family.
He straightens his clothes and adjusts his complexion , yet remains silent all day long. He is a lowly Confucian of Zixia's school.
The lazy Confucian is afraid of work, has no sense of shame and only cares about food and drink. He always says that a gentleman does not need to work hard. This is the lowly Confucian of Ziyou's school.
A gentleman is not like that: he is at ease but not lazy, he is hardworking but not servile, he follows the principles and is adaptable to changes, and he does things appropriately. Only then can he be called a sage.
The general meaning of these paragraphs is: Wearing a cumbersome tall hat, speaking respectfully and cautiously, and imitating the ascetic style of Yu and Shun, this is the lowly Confucian of Zi Zhang family.
He is dressed neatly, has a serious expression, and seems to have something in his mouth. He doesn't speak all day. This is the lowly Confucian of Zixia's school.
He is lazy and afraid of things, has no sense of shame, is keen on eating and drinking, and always says: "A gentleman does not need to engage in physical labor." This is a despicable Confucian of Ziyou's school.
However, a true gentleman is not like this. Even if he works hard, he will not slack off or be lazy. He has principles, but is also able to adapt to circumstances and handle various matters properly. This is what a sage is.
Su Che's article titled "Cheap Confucianism" applied the content of "Against the Twelve Philosophers" and criticized those who insulted and slandered Zhang Zhongjing as unworthy of being the Marquis of Jishi as cheap Confucianism!
Su Che then quoted the Book of Rites to explain why Confucius replied to the King of Lu, "I don't know about Confucian clothing."
It is said that people always pay attention to surface decoration and appearance, which is a common problem among lowly Confucian scholars!
Confucians have so many great things to do, so many true thoughts to express, and they should do great things and study great knowledge that benefit the country and the people. However, this group of despicable Confucians are obsessed with trivial details, racking their brains, excluding dissidents, and not focusing on things that benefit the country and the people at all.
This kind of lowly Confucian has always looked down on doctors, farmers, and workers, thinking that these people are lowly and cannot be touched. However, their morals are far inferior to those who, in their opinion, are of lowly status. This is really strange.
Su Che quoted from classics and wrote 3,000 words in one breath before he finished this article "The Lowly Confucian".
After the article was written, the literary spirit soared into the sky and emitted a golden light. Seeing this scene, Lu Guan, who was standing by, widened his eyes in disbelief.
