Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 47: Gurdjieff's New Book and Troubled Times
In the capital, only veterans like Ge Yong, who were too old and had too many years of experience, could live a carefree life that was so carefree that it angered both humans and gods. The emperor was scolded by the censors, but he scolded whoever he wanted. Most of the civil and military officials in the court dared not speak out. If one or two of his disciples stood up, they would be in big trouble.
The most important thing is that the old man is in good health, but ever since the emperor took power, he has no longer been involved in government affairs. He is indifferent to worldly affairs, loves to eat and have fun, likes to argue with others, and his biggest hobby is mathematics... Who would be bored enough to mess with such a highly respected but somewhat childish old man?
Therefore, when Ge Yong returned to Beijing this time, he met with friends everywhere and boasted that he had accepted a disciple who was proficient in mathematics. For a time, the literati circle in Beijing was in an uproar. Especially the direct disciples who had become university scholars or ministers, they were even more amused. Therefore, Tang Ming and Xie Wanquan, who were embarrassed by Ge Yong and were driven back, were interrogated additionally.
When Zhu Ying sent people to send the traitor Zhu Yu to the Shuntian government office with great fanfare, all kinds of discussions became even louder.
"What's wrong with the future son-in-law of the Duke of Zhao? Although Zhu Jing is a military commander, he has good handwriting and is well educated. He has no objection to me accepting his future son-in-law as my last disciple. Why should others care? I am his disciple, and I am the only one who is happy!"
At this moment, Ge Yong was sitting cross-legged, bragging to his two remaining old friends. He proudly played a letter Zhang Shou had sent him a few days ago: "Look, you didn't solve the questions he sent me last time, did you? The disciple is better than the master, you don't have such a good disciple, so you are jealous of me!"
The other two old men on the side chose to ignore Ge Yong who was showing off, and admired the chrysanthemums , until the old man knocked on the handrail impatiently, and one of the short and fat old men glared at him unhappily.
"Well, you are proud of your good disciple who can beat you, but we all lose. Is that ok? You know that Duke Zhao Zhu Jing is in a mess, but you still wade into the muddy water. Aren't you afraid that your students will get a headache?"
"They have a headache, what does it have to do with me? Besides, didn't I come back from Rongshui Village? I'm giving them face."
As Ge Yong was arguing confidently, a little boy suddenly ran in from outside, holding two books in his hands. When he arrived in front of Ge Yong, the boy first stole a glance at him, then came to the other two, bowed deeply and saluted.
"Sir, Mr. Chu, Mr. Ge's new book is out."
After these words were spoken, the three contemporary masters, who had just been chatting and laughing or arguing with each other, could not help but look at each other in surprise.
Then, the short and fat Mr. Chu angrily scolded, "Old man Ge, you published a new book but you kept it a secret from us. What's the matter? Is it a surprise?"
Ge Yong was stunned for a long time before he yelled angrily: "Bullshit, I published a new book, how come I didn't know it?"
The one who moved faster than the two bickering old men was the tall and thin old man who silently took the two books from the child. He flipped through the books and glanced at them, then his eyes fixed. When he saw that the old man Ge, who was still proud of his appearance, was still glaring at the old man Chu, he suddenly coughed lightly and handed over one of the books.
"Let's take a look first, it's quite interesting."
Upon hearing this, Ge Yong, who had just thought that someone was impersonating him to defraud, immediately snatched the book and began to flip through it quickly. He was a man who could read ten lines at a glance and had a photographic memory. He first flipped through dozens of pages quickly, but then he was stunned and turned the pages back. He read it upside down for a long time, and he couldn't help but frown and ponder.
When Mr. Chu saw his old rival in such a state, he immediately begged the tall and thin old man for the book. After a quick glance, he immediately shouted: "No wonder you, Ge, are hiding it, you are trying to make a bomb! You used to talk about counting sticks all the time, but look at this book, you have already used the numbers from overseas to interpret the arithmetic classics!"
Old man, I am more wronged than Dou E!
Ge Yong was so bitter that he had no words to express his grievances. He wanted to say that the book was not written by him, but he had already seen the long and boring preface written by the printer at the beginning. He didn't know what so-called famous scholar was asked to write it.
He still remembered the names of those printers, who happened to be all dandies studying in Cuiyunjian. He had been like a fool when giving lectures before, but now they were publishing books under his name. How could there be another reason behind this?
It could only be that Zhang Shou, his last disciple whom he accepted on impulse, published a book directly under his name!
Although he hated him to the core and just wanted to scold this young disciple for three days and three nights when he saw him again, he felt proud when Old Man Qi, who was not as annoying as Old Man Chu, praised him sincerely, saying that some of the content he had seen was unique and original.
"Humph, is there any need to explain that? The disciple that I, an old man, have chosen must be a genius in mathematics!"
This time, Mr. Chu was finally shocked: "What? This book was not written by you, but by your last disciple Zhang Shou?"
"Of course, I would never take advantage of my students!" Ge Yong raised his chin, his face unquestionable, "The ones who printed the book are my disciples, and they can never write such a book in their lifetime. If it wasn't my last disciple who wanted to show his filial piety to his teacher and put the book under my name, who else could it be?"
"If that's the case, your student has some real talent...but I can't tell where he copied it from!"
Mr. Chu first praised him, then habitually belittled him. But before he could provoke Old Man Ge's anger, he stood up, snatched the other book from Ge Yong's hand, put it in his arms, and then hugged the two books and ran away. Where was the demeanor of a famous mathematics doctor? When he ran away, Ge Yong was so angry that he cursed twice, and then he snorted with disdain.
"What's the point of you taking it away? I'll go back and ask Zhang Shou for the original manuscript!"
Qi Jingshan, who was watching the two people's antics with a smile, shook his head. This time, he asked Ge Yong and Zhang Shou carefully about their situation. He learned that they were both handsome and elegant, like immortals banished from the earth, and had extraordinary attainments in mathematics. However, they had actually been staying in the countryside and had never come out. He couldn't help but feel even more puzzled.
But just as he was thinking about how to get Ge Yong to summon the person to the capital so that he could meet him, someone came hurriedly from outside again. This time, it was Qi An, the general manager of the Qi Mansion. Before he could even stand still, he quickly reported the news from the Linhai camp.
Upon hearing the warning, the two old men, whose combined age is longer than that of the dynasty, were quite calm. Ge Yong even sarcastically asked with a fake smile, "Has there been another major case recently? So they said it was a camp riot, but in fact it was murder to silence the witnesses?"
But when Qi An said the next sentence, his smiling face froze instantly.
"When the news reached the emperor, he was so angry that he smashed things and then suddenly fainted. Now the empress dowager has ordered the city gates to be closed and summoned many officials to the palace. It is said that she has also sent people to Mr. Ge's house."
"What do you want from me... I have retired a long time ago and stopped caring about government affairs..." Having said that, Ge Yong still stood up immediately with a dark face, but almost at the same time he straightened his back, he suddenly thought of a very important question.
"Once the gates of the capital are closed, it is not certain that troops will be sent out to quell the rebellion. Although there are not many soldiers who escaped from the Linhai camp, they can break up into small groups and run around. Wouldn't it be easy for them to harm the people? If Xiao Yingying stays in the countryside for a while, and the news that the group of playboys are studying with Zhang Shou spreads out, they will definitely be used as targets!"
At this point, Ge Yong took a deep breath, and without even bothering to greet his old friend, he rushed out at the speed of the wind.
The same goes for the Empress Dowager. After all, she had been in charge of government for many years. How could she resort to such a desperate measure when the Emperor suddenly fainted!
Wait, if we don’t seal the city gates and summon the elders and ministers, I’m afraid the Queen Mother will have to come to court first and solve the problem swiftly and decisively…
Alas, if that happens, after the emperor wakes up, he will definitely suspect that his mother is seizing power.
There's really nothing we can do, this happened at a really bad time!
