Volume 2: The King's Way Chapter 144 Voltage Reducer
"Mr. Guan, Mr. Bing... Ever since you two came to Jinling, I feel the air here has become much sweeter! Please take a seat!" Bai Tu enthusiastically welcomed Guan Ning and Bing Yuan in the main hall.
The only ones accompanying them at this time were Hua Xin, who had recommended the two of them before and had a good personal relationship with Guan Ning, Kong Rong, who was kind to Bing Yuan, and Taishi Ci, who had "regained" the important position of chief of the guards behind Bai Tu.
However, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan looked at the white map with a somewhat tangled expression...
In fact, several days had passed since the two men came to Jinling, and Taishi Ci had also reported to Bai Tu - when he had just arrived in Liaodong and found Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, the two had a very good impression of Bai Tu.
Moreover, Bing Yuan and Taishi Ci had some friendship. At that time, Liaodong Governor Gongsun Du wanted to capture Bing Yuan's friend Liu Zheng. After Bing Yuan hid Liu Zheng, he entrusted Taishi Ci, who was about to return to Jiangdong, to escort Liu Zheng back to the Central Plains. Moreover, before Bing Yuan fled to Liaodong, he was recommended by Kong Rong to be an official...
In addition to Bai Tu's reputation and promise, even Guan Ning, who had no intention of serving in the chaotic times, also accompanied Taishi Ci back to Jiangdong.
However, halfway through, after the three saw Bai Tu's "let everyone know", although Guan Ning and Bing Yuan did not say anything, their attitude changed significantly... they were no longer as enthusiastic as before!
Bai Tu had anticipated this. Although Guan Ning farmed and studied with his good friend Hua Xin when he was young, and Bing Yuan was born in a poor family and orphaned early, and was not from a noble family, but... both of them were typical Confucian scholars, and their governance skills were all Confucian.
In this way, although Guan Ning and Bing Yuan did not have any personal resentment towards Bai Tu due to their ideological level, to some extent, they had more serious differences than that - they conflicted with Bai Tu in the concept of governing the world.
After all, Confucianism relies on hierarchy and personal relationships to govern the world, especially the latter.
And Bai Tu's "great love" obviously destroyed the "closeness and distance". This... is the beginning of the collapse of rituals and music, right?
Therefore, after arriving in Jinling, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan did not go to see Bai Tu immediately, but chose to look around.
Bai Tu pretended not to know what the two were thinking, and only sent people to deliver condolences and a house in Jinling City...
As true great Confucian scholars, although the two were not as good as the pragmatic Hua Xin in governing the country, they were much better than those corrupt Confucian scholars. They wanted to see with their own eyes whether Jiangdong was a place where rituals and music were in disarray, or a place of peace in troubled times.
After a few days of observation, even though Bai Tu had remained calm and did not take the initiative to meet them, the two could not help but come to see Bai Tu.
"I don't deserve Mr. Bai's praise. Jiangdong has some flaws under Mr. Bai's rule, but it has shown signs of being well governed. This is rare, especially in the current chaos in the world."
"Yes, it was Genju and I who were really enlightened."
Bing Yuan, whose courtesy name is Ju; Guan Ning, whose courtesy name is Youan.
"Oh? Do you have any suggestions?" When Bai Tu saw the two of them bring it up, he immediately realized that the matter was already half done.
It is certain that after these few days of simple travel, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan should be... somewhat satisfied with the current situation in Jiangdong, but also feel very touched!
Given their personalities, if they were completely dissatisfied with Bai Tu's way of governance, they would either leave or build a house and live in seclusion. However, if they were completely satisfied with Bai Tu's way of governance and had no objections at all, they would build a house and live in seclusion, enjoying the land of peace and happiness.
As top scholars and celebrities, their virtues are not entirely based on hype, and they are not "aggressive" personalities.
"This... let's not talk about other things. Youan and I have been traveling together. The people of Jiangdong are indeed rare in the world who can still live and work in peace and contentment. However, I have seen that the Ministry of Justice of the governor's office seems to be... interfering in the trials of the clan law, and has even preached the law in the countryside, seemingly inciting the villagers to resist the clan law. Isn't this inappropriate?" Bing Yuan said with some concern.
Bai Tu had never thought that Wang Lang was so impatient - the matter of bringing criminal law to the countryside was actually being carried out step by step.
Of course, the effects were minimal, but Bing Yuan was able to discover them, which showed his meticulous observation.
"This is wrong. What's wrong with this? If the people can be led, let them be led. If they cannot be led, then we should know it. The move by the Ministry of Justice is in line with the style of ancient sages." Kong Rong suddenly interrupted.
Upon hearing this, Guan Ning and Bing Yuan were first puzzled as to why Kong Rong suddenly "stuttered" and paused in such a strange way. Then... they immediately understood what Kong Rong meant and glared at him - You are such a beautiful woman, why do you treat me like that?
The debate over the punctuation of this sentence can be said to have a long history in later generations, but... in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there would be no debate about it.
After all, Confucius was angry and cursed the State of Jin for its demise because the State of Jin cast a criminal tripod and promulgated the law for the people to see. His understanding of the law was obviously inclined to the "punishment is unknowable, and the power is unfathomable" in Zuo Zhuan.
Confucius's thought is not an isolated case and cannot be distorted by an ambiguous punctuation. As for the debates in later generations, they are nothing more than the reformists' good wishes and... patches on Confucius's thought.
If this statement were brought to the Eastern Han Dynasty, it could be said to be a blatant distortion of the words of the saints. If it were brought to Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, it would be like bullying the two of them for not having read books...
"No one understands the Great Sage Teacher better than me!" Kong Rong said with a radiant face.
Although Bing Yuan was angry, he couldn't get angry with Kong Rong - after all, Kong Rong had done him a favor.
But Guan Ning didn't have so many concerns. He just looked at Hua Xin and said, "Zi Yu! Do you think so too?"
"When it comes to the affairs of the Ministry of Justice, Minister Wang is the professional. As for the interpretation of Confucian classics, Kong Jijiu is much better than me. It's not my place to comment. I just need to do my job in the Ministry of Rites." Hua Xin said leisurely.
Hua Xin would not take the blame for something that was not his own fault. At the same time... Hua Xin obviously did not oppose the reform of the Ministry of Justice - Hua Xin had already discovered that changes were taking place in Jiangdong, so the old customs and practices in all aspects should also be changed.
"Ministry of Rites? The Ministry of Rites is in charge of education. As the helmsman of the Ministry of Rites, we must pay more attention to moral ethics..." Guan Ning has already figured out the basic division of labor among the six ministries.
Without Bai Tu saying anything, the four people below had already started fighting each other.
After a while...
"Ahem." Bai Tu interrupted the argument and attracted the attention of Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, then said, "It seems that Mr. Guan and Mr. Bing are very interested in the affairs of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice. How about this, you two first hold the position of a Grand Master of Rites, and then serve as the 'Chief Clerk' of the two ministries respectively.
This way, we can also communicate better with Hua Department and Wang Department...and the positions in the six departments are all occupied by capable people and there will be frequent rotation. If the two of you have any better ideas, there is no need to worry about them being buried.
If you two don't want to, you can return to your hometown and live in seclusion, waiting for us to create a prosperous era!"
Bai Tu has also discovered that because he, as the head coach, is a die-hard reformist, there are now many radicals in the six departments. Although... Bai Tu doesn't like many things, he doesn't want Jiangdong, which has just got on the right track, to gradually slide towards the extreme side.
Therefore, it is reasonable to hire some old-school scholars to act as pressure reducers.
Of course, the first thing to ensure is that the role of these people is to "weigh the pressure and reduce it" rather than simply "holding back".
Although Guan Ning and Bing Yuan did not share the same ideas with Bai Tu, it was undeniable that they were not stubborn and corrupt scholars. They had all experienced hard times. Even if their lives were not as miserable as those of the barbarians, they still had basic empathy for the common people.
They can also use their reputation to reduce the criticism from other great scholars and serve as a channel for dispelling ...
