The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

Chen Heng was not surprised that Baoyu would come to him. What made him strange was that when he saw Baoyu's occasional sentimentality in his words when he mentioned his previous experiences, it was all about things being different and people being different, which made Chen Heng feel subtle.

He had to carefully look at the gem in front of him. On Master Bao's big face, you can see the sadness of his former playmates going their separate ways, the sentimentality over Xue Pan's death, and the pretentious poise and maturity between his brows after being praised by Jia Zheng.

Chen Heng figured it out. Until now, Baoyu still didn't know what kind of political struggle the Jia family was involved in.

Cousin-in-law. Seeing Chen Heng looking at her in a daze, Baoyu subconsciously said enthusiastically. Since returning from Ping'an Prefecture, his attitude towards Chen Heng has changed and he has become more and more respectful.

Chen Heng didn't know the reason, but Baoyu himself understood. After traveling and experiencing things, he realized that Chen Heng's manly demeanor of being true to his words and resolute in his actions was very different from his friends in the past who liked to talk too much.

My father is still at home waiting for your reply. Look, when will it be more convenient for you? Baoyu said very politely. His attitude was more convincing than respectful, acknowledging Chen Heng's efforts to turn the tide.

This brother-in-law of mine is really capable.

Hearing Baoyu's invitation again for Jia Zheng, Chen Heng, who came to his senses, could only shake his head slightly and replied: Baoyu, I'm not hiding anything from you. It's not convenient for me to go to your house now.

Baoyu was shocked when he heard this. He twisted in the opposite position and asked with some confusion: Isn't it inconvenient to move around normally among relatives?

Baoyu obviously didn't hear the implication of Chen Heng's words, just because he didn't know much about his own housework. He didn't even know what Jia She and Jia Lian and his son were doing secretly, so they were still wondering about Chen Heng's reaction.

Noticing Baoyu's confusion, Chen Heng thought for a while and finally said, Just go back and tell your cousin what I said, and he will naturally understand.

Baoyu scratched his head, can he just go back and report it? It can be seen that Chen Heng has no intention of getting up, and Baoyu also knows that he can't persuade him. Baoyu had no choice but to sit with him for a while, waiting for Jia Min to come over and chatting with the elder about home affairs, before Baoyu stood up and left.

When they were leaving, Baoyu looked at Chen Heng who was seeing him off all the way, and suddenly said: I did have some ignorant things in the past, brother-in-law, I hope...

Chen Heng did not expect Baoyu to speculate in this regard, so he could only comfort him and said: You don't have to worry too much. Just convey my words back. My cousin will understand naturally and will never embarrass you.

Baoyu nodded, looked at Chen Heng's calm expression, and suddenly felt uneasy in his heart. He finally understood the benefits of associating with people like Chen Heng. Saying one is one and saying two is two. He never hides anything, which makes him feel very relaxed and happy when getting along with others.

When it's more convenient later, I'll invite you to the garden to listen to the play. How do you like it? Baoyu stepped on a half-horse stool, turned sideways, looked at Chen Heng under the eaves, and cautiously asked.

The latter smiled softly and said calmly: Okay.

Hearing this good word, Baoyu smiled subconsciously. He nodded to the man in green in front of the door and slipped into the carriage.

He was previously afraid that Chen Heng would still have a grudge in his heart because of his past willful behavior. At this moment, when the other party said this, I guess he really didn't take it to heart.

So best, so good. Baoyu even felt much better thinking about it.

As the sound of horse hooves gradually faded away, Chen Heng looked at the deserted street and fell into a brief thought. Liu Xianglian, who appeared out of nowhere, wandered to the other party's side and asked aloud: I think this Second Master Bao still doesn't know anything.

It's not necessarily a bad thing. Chen Heng commented.

Is there really nothing wrong with their family? Liu Xianglian's knowledge was gained through following Chen Heng every day. The angle of looking at the problem is much deeper than Baoyu's.

I heard from my father-in-law last night that Chang'an Jiedushi did not let Shui Rong and others enter the customs. Baoyu took the credit in a daze, so they don't have to worry too much about the safety of their house. Chen Heng did not take all the credit. In the final analysis, the Jia family's ancestors played a role in making this happen.

Hearing this, Liu Xianglian couldn't help but nod her head, showing a bit of sadness. There is both sentimentality about the great changes that have taken place in the family of a childhood friend, and also concern for the safety of the family.

Since returning to the capital, Liu Xianglian has not yet returned to the Liu family. It seems that he also heard a lot of unfavorable rumors about his family in the dark.

I heard... Seeing that Liu Xianglian was about to speak, Chen Heng turned his head slightly and saw the other party under the half-slanting sun. He said worriedly, During the time when the late Emperor was visiting the sky, Prime Minister Dai actually failed to commit suicide and was being imprisoned by His Majesty. …”

Shhh.

Although there were flowers, plants and rockeries covering the left and right sides, Chen Heng still raised his fingers to his lips. Some distance away, outside the corridor, a pair of maids were passing by in a charming voice. Chen Heng shook his head silently, indicating that it was not appropriate to discuss such matters here. Then he took Liu Xianglian and walked into the flower path.

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On the way back home, Baoyu raised the car curtain and looked at the ancient streets of the capital. Perhaps during the state funeral, perhaps there were no such sensual nobles as Xue Pan and Feng Ziying accompanying him. In today's capital, there is less of the excitement that Baoyu likes.

The people continued to live their lives as usual, and the peddlers walked through them carrying poles. Passengers traveling from south to north spoke different hometown dialects as Baoyu passed by. The tone goes from far to near, and from near to far, making people feel subtle emotions.

Baoyu stared at it for a while, then put down the curtain and began to close his eyes and rest. When the servant driving the carriage made an announcement, Baoyu was surprised to realize that he had arrived home.

Quickly passing through the gate and walking lightly down, Baoyu arrived at Jia Zheng's study. After waiting at the door for a while, he heard his father's voice.

Baoyu lifted the curtain and walked into the hall alone. Seeing Jia Zheng standing in front of the open window with his hands behind his hands, he said politely, Dad, brother-in-law, he said it's not convenient for him to come.

Later, Chen Heng's original words were told to Jia Zheng. After listening, the latter was silent for a long time, then waved his hand and said with half interest: I know. Baoyu, you did a good job in this matter.

Baoyu hadn't heard Jia Zheng's praise for a long time, but he heard the helplessness and bitterness in Jia Zheng's tone. Baoyu kept an eye on it and thought of the riddle between Chen Heng and Jia Zheng, so he asked aloud: Dad, what big thing is going to happen at home?

I didn't expect that this stupid son would also be smart one day. Jia Zheng turned his head in surprise, thought for a moment, and said with a smile: If anything happens to our family, you just go to the old lady's place to play. In a few days, your wife will be back. Don't make her angry again. The true harmony between husband and wife is...

Seeing that Jia Zheng was nagging again, Baoyu immediately felt frightened, and heard that Jia Zheng's tone at this moment was very soft. He couldn't help but blink, wondering why his father had changed his personality today.

Go on, go on. The old lady is recovering from a serious illness. Don't let her worry. Say something nice and remember not to disturb the old lady's rest. Jia Zheng waved his hand.

Why do you still treat me like a child? Baoyu showed a sad face. But it was rare for Jia Zheng to be kind to him, so Baoyu had no choice but to say, I'll save it, kid.

After leaving Jia Zheng's study, Baoyu went straight to Rongxi Hall. When Mother Jia saw her precious grandson coming back from outside, she smiled and pulled him to her. Asked Baoyu, how did the things assigned by his father go today?

How could Baoyu lie and just pick out some fun things on the street and use them to make the old lady happy? As people get older, there is no chance of them getting sick or suffering from disasters. Mother Jia knows that as long as her precious grandson is with her, it will be the best panacea.

The two chatted for a while, then Miharu came in to greet the old lady. It is strange to say that to this day, the three spring years are not bad. Except for Jia Yingchun who was delayed due to the affairs of the Sun family's son, she didn't even get married for the remaining two springs. I don't know what kind of hidden secrets there are, or whether the nobles of various families are in danger at this moment.

Baoyu didn't feel suspicious, he just thought about how wonderful it was that his sisters could still have fun like they did when they were children.

A group of juniors gathered around Jia Mu and played around for a long time. When it was time for dinner, Baoyu saw that he had not seen Brother Lian and Sister-in-law Lian yet. He was half surprised and said: The sun really rises in the west. How come our family's clairvoyance and wind ears are so different? I haven’t seen it for a long time.”

Jia's mother liked Baoyu's eloquent mouth and said with a smile: The couple have been busy all day long recently, and they don't know what they are talking about. They have not been seen all day long. Such a big thing happened at your aunt's house, your sister-in-law Feng I don’t even have time to go there.”

Madam, you are really joking. When you are showing off your power like this, my good sister-in-law really didn't go? Baoyu was shocked when he heard this.

That's right. Mother Jia looked at Tanchun aside and said with pity, This girl is still sensible and helped your mother a lot.

... Baoyu didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only look at Tanchun and then stood up to thank his sister for taking care of his family.

Seeing Baoyu's appearance, Tanchun panicked. He hurriedly moved half of his body and muttered: They are all sisters and brothers, why is the second brother? Seeing Baoyu just giggling, Tanchun said helplessly to the old lady, Second brother has grown up after all. Sure enough, The old lady is still far-sighted and knows how to let the second brother go out and experience something.

Old people like to hear compliments given to younger people. It was my granddaughter who said it again, so much so that she didn't even bother to be self-effacing. Jia Mu said cheerfully: I don't expect your brother to be very successful. If you can know some things and learn some skills, when you get married in the future, I will support your natal family and you will have a way out.

After talking, Sanchun had different expressions. Only Baoyu was counting the days until Baochai came back.

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Chen Heng stayed at home for a few days and checked Lin Jue's homework for his father-in-law. He picked a day and handed the Mian Sheng's certificate to the palace. After the morning court one day, Chen Heng was summoned to the palace by Li Zhi for a conversation.

Wei Yinghong is not here today, and only Prince Li Xian is with him. When Chen Heng entered the palace, he saw Li Xian sitting at the top of the throne, and behind him stood Li Jun, who was winking at him.

Chen Heng came forward to greet Li Zhi first, and then informed Li Zhi of his intention. Knowing that this minister still wanted to return to Songjiang, Li Zhi did not say anything to stop him. He just smiled and asked if it was Lin Ruhai's intention or Chen Heng's own intention?

How could he let his father-in-law take such a scapegoat for him? Chen Heng naturally made repeated statements to reveal his feelings. Li Zhi nodded. Maybe he was in a good mood today, so he actually started to test Chen Heng's knowledge.

Today's morning dynasty was lively. You are not a court official now, so you didn't catch up with it. Li Zhi said to Li Jun, Jun'er, come and talk to Mr. Chen, and let Mr. Chen answer the doubts in your heart.

Chen Heng did not dare to hesitate and quickly offered his hands to listen to Li Jun's story. It turns out that in the court this morning, there was a debate between the chief assistant Wei Yinghong and Cao Tingshou. It’s about ‘the law does not punish everyone’.

This question cannot be explained in a few words. Famous scholars and sages of all ages have their own interpretations. But when facing the test questions thrown by superiors in reality, we need to analyze the specific situation in detail, and we must clearly understand where we stand.

This kind of debate is obviously to pave the way for the subsequent disposal of Xungui. Wei Yinghong holds the power of the prime minister, so he should consider the stability of the court. This is the duty of the chief minister, and it is also the tacit approval of the imperial power. There is no need to state his position clearly, it must be a tone of extra-judicial mercy.

Cao Tingshou may not have known the secret, but he was also aware of the turbulent impact on the court after the major case occurred. But he intends to join the cabinet to divide the power of the prime minister. At this critical moment, if he behaves like Wei Yinghong, he will vent his anger on the same nostril. It will inevitably lead to the political implication that the first and second assistants speak with the same voice.

This was definitely unacceptable to Li Zhi, and it was also a situation that Cao Tingshou tried his best to avoid. You see, this is the beauty of politics. Regardless of whether something is right or wrong, everyone must first express their own position.

What's Chen Heng's position? Naturally, he had to follow Wei Yinghong. This is a civil servant leader. As long as Chen Heng does not want to be a lonely minister, he cannot let himself die in front of Wei Yinghong. In addition, Wei Yinghong's views on this matter are indeed the same as his own. Chen Heng naturally wanted to speak up for him.

After a brief debate on legal principles and ethics, Li Juncai nodded in understanding. But looking at the looks on Li Zhi and Li Xian's faces, it was obvious that they understood Chen Heng's true intentions.

Today, everyone in the palace is recognized by Li Zhi. After listening to Chen Heng's words, Li Zhi, who felt that he still had unfinished meaning, did not hide his words. He asked directly: I heard that you mentioned the Four Principles before. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to explain this principle to me.

His Majesty indeed has his own channels for information. Chen Heng exclaimed in his heart and hurriedly stood up and said: I obey the order.

Pause for a moment and slowly collect your thoughts. As his experience continues to increase, Chen Heng has indeed gained some new insights recently. Based on Mao Daqing's actions of saving others, he discussed the explanation of Ethics is the harmony of relatives.

This sentence is the outline of the beginning. The three people here are all well-informed people, so Chen Heng does not need to elaborate too much. Just jumping from ethics to academic theory, Chen Heng spent a lot of time explaining its importance.

During this period of history, Chen Heng quoted the history from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty. Take the First Emperor and Han Gaozu as the two nodes. It explains in turn the magical effects from academic principles to legal principles and governance.

In the past, the Emperor of Qin abolished the feudal system and established counties and counties to gather the power of the world. Only then could he build the Great Wall, conquer Baiyue, open Bashu, and rule the world. The great ancestor Guangxuan made the clan king. Although he initially established the Han Dynasty, it also led to vassals in various places. When Wang Naxian recruited troops and Emperor Wu ascended the throne, rebellions continued, which was a disaster at that time.

After Emperor Wu, he respected Confucianism and dismissed hundreds of schools of thought. This is for the purpose of learning. Your Highness... Chen Heng continued to Li Jun who asked, Our empire has a vast territory and thousands of people. How did Your Highness know that he came to the door? Scholars who seek official positions, which one is better or worse, which one is right or wrong?

Looking at character, talent and learning? Li Jun asked.

As soon as this answer was spoken, Li Zhi and Li Xian frowned. Obviously, he was very dissatisfied with his grandson's enthusiasm for studying.

Chen Heng couldn't reveal too much of his thoughts, so he could only continue to talk: Master, Xunzi and Zhuzi are all well-read poetry and books, and their moral character is high and respectable. Why can't we all follow the same path, but each can argue about the Spring and Autumn Period for hundreds of years?

Li Jun understood. The so-called difficulty of stance and difference of opinion could only be explained in a few words by Chen Heng. He immediately drew inferences and said, Master Chen, you mean to only respect Confucianism for the sake of learning and to pave the way for the governance of the court?

Of course. Chen Heng nodded, People in the world all have different origins and characters, and their talents and learning are better and worse. How to promulgate a set of effective knowledge and laws to form a consensus in the world, so that the court can govern the world? Get twice the result with half the effort.”

In ancient times, people were simple and simple, and transportation was inconvenient. Therefore, the king of Zhou divided the world to make it easier for the small country and the people. However, during the five hundred years of chaos in the Spring and Autumn Period, it can be seen that after the kings were enfeoffed, people's minds changed and they had their own recurrences. It was not the first of its kind. If a person is not a wise man, he will actually be the descendants of future generations who hold power and rebel against themselves.”

Don't test human nature, just like don't test the loyalty of your subordinates at will. Once you open your mouth, it may be a military disaster that shouldn't happen.

Therefore, if you look through the thousands of history books, what is hidden in them all revolves around the word power. In order to avoid local separatism, centralization of power must be increased. The top priority is to increase centralization of power, which involves unified values ​​and unified standards for selecting and appointing talents.

Otherwise, superiors and subordinates will choose to stick to their own opinions on the same matter. If a war of words comes to the central government, and the quarreling documents come and go for months, won't it increase the cost of governance and waste national power in vain?

We all know the meaning of not being speculative, so how can we make officials sent by the imperial court have a clear understanding of common values? This is the reason why Emperor Wu followed Dong Zhongshu's method. It is difficult to teach mediocre people, but it is even harder to control talented people. To govern such a huge empire and tens of millions of people, it is difficult to have a standard and commonality.

Qin Shihuang unified writing and weights and measures to prepare for this. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also prepared for this by deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone.

This is an academic line that can be traced, and it also starts from this academic line. Every unified dynasty has added to this standard. Because centralization and unification are complementary to each other.

After the unification, if you try to mess around with the enfeoffment system, it would be nonsense. It is purely based on ancient national conditions and boasting about the small country and few people at that time. Today's national conditions are that the people are hundreds of times that of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. During the Jiajing and Wanli periods of the Ming Dynasty, the estimated population was as many as 500 million. The pros and cons vary from place to place, and so do people's livelihoods.

How can we overestimate the past and neglect the present and only emphasize the selection of talents and appointment of talents? How to choose, what is a good person, and do not specify the standards.

So the purpose of learning lies in educating and cultivating the harmony of relatives. The people of the south of the Yangtze River have never been to the northwest in this life. How can we persuade them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their country and country because of the dangers in the northwest? Because of the harmony of relatives, even if If you look at the world, it’s all your hometown and old friends.”

Such a conclusion is undoubtedly ahead of its time in an era of excessive pursuit of sage kings and wise masters. Especially when the great scholars of the Han Dynasty were extolling the merits of Han Wu's demotion of the First Emperor, few people understood the profound governance meaning behind the two men.

This requires not only superhuman vision and knowledge, but also a broad mind that looks at ancient and modern times. Afterwards, Chen Heng continued to use Liu Bang’s example as an example. This is the good thing about the scholars who governed the Spring and Autumn Period. Historical allusions are readily available.

Your Highness thinks why Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty continued to add children with the surname Liu after killing queens with different surnames. Is it because he does not understand the difficulties of being a vassal king? Or is it because he loves and trusts future generations?

This question was like a heavy hammer hitting Li Jun's mind directly. In the past, he had been unable to understand the true meaning of reading based on what he read. From this point of view, Liu Bang is afraid that it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, and he lacks enough management talents on hand.

Seeing Li Jun's expression of sudden realization, Chen Heng, under the admiring gazes of Li Zhi and Li Xian, continued: It is because of the lack of a talent selection system that he has no choice but to choose talented people as his relatives, and he does not shy away from others when recruiting talented people. That’s why there are so many chaos in later generations. But is this really the case?”

Five hundred years of chaos in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, how could it be that there were not enough talented people? Disciples from hundreds of schools of thought are still running around the world. The students Huang Laozhi said also stayed with Empress Dowager Dou. But when it comes to governing the world, everyone The public said that the public was right, and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was right. It was difficult to form a consensus among the world, which led to constant disputes between the government and the opposition. This kind of academic chaos was even worse than the partisan disputes between Niu and Li in the Tang Dynasty.

The latter is trapped in the word profit, while the former is stuck in the distinction between mud and school. The latter is chaotic for a while, the former is chaotic for a lifetime. When people's hearts are in chaos, the world will naturally find it difficult to stabilize.

Chen Heng's narration is coming to an end. The first is that the content that follows cannot be explained clearly in the palace. The second is that he himself also needs more life experiences. He must go through thousands of mountains and rivers before he can gain the true knowledge and insights of returning to nature.

When Chen Heng paused for a long time, the atmosphere in Linjing Hall was still in silence for a long time. Li Zhi already had a high opinion of Chen Heng's talent. In fact, as a king, the most talented people he saw were those who compared him with Duke Fan and the Prime Minister.

But compared with these people, Chen Heng's advantages are really too good. This excellence does not lie in reciting poems and writing poems, but in his vision and mind, as well as his analysis and judgment of the current affairs of the court.

Jun'er, you go to Songjiang with Mr. Chen to study. When you finish your studies, you will come back. Li Zhi suddenly said.

How did your Majesty know that I came today to resign and return to Songjiang early? Chen Heng was a little surprised.

Li Jun was also very surprised. He didn't expect that he would still have the day to go out to study in the palace. He immediately said excitedly: My grandson obeys the order.

As soon as Li Xian saw his expression, he said distressedly: I asked you to follow Mr. Chen, so you can study hard in the past. And you can't do anything wrong and be lazy all day long... Xu Shi was worried, and Li Xian warned Chen Heng again, This child has been naughty since he was a child. When Master Chen disciplines him, there is no need to be jealous of my face. A jade is useless if it is not polished. I only hope that Jun'er can learn some real skills from Master Chen!

The two men gave the order together, and Chen Heng did not dare to hesitate and had no choice but to agree.

When Lin left the palace, a little tail was already following behind Chen Heng.

After pondering for two days, I finally explained this chapter clearly. Hahahaha, I swear I will never write a historical article again.