My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 432 Ce Question
Being summoned by Liu Rong in such a targeted manner - especially summoning them one by one, a group of top candidates including Zheng Dangshi were naturally confused and uneasy at this moment.

On the contrary, Gongsun Hong, who was summoned first, looked calm and composed, as if he was sure that Liu Rong would not blame everyone for their direct advice in the examination room.

As for Liu Rong?

——Even though he originally wanted to scare these "young talents" a little, he did not keep a stern face in front of Gongsun Hong, an unusual candidate in his fifties.

He raised his head with a half-smile, motioning Gongsun Hong to take a seat;

After taking another sip of tea calmly, Liu Rong raised the test paper with advice written on it that Gongsun Hong had just presented to him.

"Back then, when Emperor Taizong was on his deathbed, you resigned from your position as the Doctor of Poetry and returned to your hometown to study. I was still just a young boy."

"When Emperor Taizong appointed you as a doctor, my father, the former Emperor Xiaojing, was only eight or nine years old."

"Ah~"

"Time has passed, and things have changed..."

"—— Jia Yi died early, Chao Cuo died;"

"Even the late emperor passed away in his prime, leaving me alone in my youth to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the world..."

Holding Gongsun Hong's letter of advice to him to "let him off the hook", Liu Rong spoke in an inexplicably calm manner as he recalled the past with Gongsun Hong.

Before Liu Rong finished speaking, Gongsun Hong also sighed with emotion, and then shook his head repeatedly with a half self-deprecating and half bitter smile.

Liu Rong is right.

Times have changed and the world has changed.

When Gongsun Hong was a child, he heard from some important figures that the Emperor Taizu Gao had passed away.

When he was young, he heard the news of Emperor Xiaohui's death being read out on a notice outside the gate of the county government office.

Gongsun Hong was dismissed from his post for a crime and had to make a living by herding pigs. During the time when he was herding pigs and studying, the former and latter emperors also died an untimely death.

Empress Dowager Lü passed away more than 30 years ago, but she did not forget to leave behind the Lü Rebellion for the Han Dynasty.

That year, Gongsun Hong had just come of age.

That year, the twenty-year-old Gongsun Hong, who was self-taught, successfully "graduated" from the pig farm - after completing his studies, he entered the court and became a doctor!

Once upon a time, Gongsun Hong was a pig herder, but he could still learn classics and become a doctor. This story is also a positive example for parents all over the world to encourage their children to study hard and make progress.

But today, looking back on the past;
Gongsun Hong can only sigh and lament bitterly about his past, especially the memories of the past thirty years or so from his successful twenties to the present when he has returned to the imperial court.

——Jia Yi, the master of Spring and Autumn Annals, died of depression during the reign of Emperor Taizong;

Later, Chao Cuo, a doctor of the Book of Documents, who used the guise of a Confucian to cover up his legal nature and sneaked into the prince's palace under the guise of a Confucian, and was finally able to "follow the emperor in the palace". However, he had become an abandoned son of the late Emperor Jing during the massive rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu in the third year of the previous emperor's reign.

There was also Yuan Ang, the senior official of the time;

Zhang Shizhi, the Minister of Justice;
General Zhang Wu, Prime Minister Zhang Cang, Imperial Censor Shentu Jia...

Etc., etc.

There is not a single old friend left now.

The only people who made Gongsun Hong feel familiar and feel fortunate that there were still people in the court that he could recognize were precisely the ones who were once the least favored by Gongsun Hong: Li Ji, Marquis of Quzhou, and Han Tuidang, Marquis of Gonggao.

This feeling is really strange.

At the age of 20, he served as a doctor of poetry at the level of 2,000 stones, and worked with Emperor Taizong Liu Heng, Prime Minister Chen Ping, Zhou Bo, Guan Ying, Zhang Cang, Imperial Censor Shentu Jia, Court Justice Zhang Shizhi, and Shaofu Cen Mai.
When he was in his fifties and almost sixty years old, he returned to court, but the person sitting on the throne had become the eldest grandson of Emperor Taizong.

Prime Minister Liu She - a villain that Gongsun Hong still despises;

Imperial Censor Dou Ying - a lucky relative who could not even hold a 1,000-stone official position in the past;

There is also the Chief Justice Zhao Yu, who is a cruel official and cannot be compared with the former Zhang Shizhi.

The military, in particular, has become a playground for villains like Li Ji, Han Tuidang, and a group of young boys like Cheng Buzhi and Zhidu.

——It’s like a new era in the future, a person who has been in a coma for many years suddenly comes from the 2025s and s when the country was in trouble to when the country is developing rapidly and changing with each passing day!
Gongsun Hong felt that the world had changed too much;

So big that I can’t keep up with the pace of this era…

"When I left the capital, I went to Changling to pay my respects to the Duke of Tianhe, Zizhuang.

"I don't know now..."

After hearing what Gongsun Hong meant, Liu Rong just sighed and shook his head.

"In the first year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, Tian Zizhuang died of illness in his own residence."

"The late emperor respected Duke Zhuang's talent and gave him funeral lamps, coffins and other funeral supplies."

"Later, he sent Feng Chang to the palace, wanting to ask his son to come to the court and become a doctor of Yijing at the rank of 2,000 stone."

"But his son declined, saying: My late father gave me a message before his death: The Tian family's Yijing lineage does not enter the court, does not serve as an official, and does not accept salary..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Rong and Gongsun Hong - a young emperor in his early twenties, and an old scholar in his sixties, began to sigh to each other from a distance across an imperial desk and several imperial steps.

As mentioned in the previous article: The Six Classics of Confucianism: Poetry, Book of History, Rites, Music, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals;
The most scarce among them are those who can study the Book of Changes - especially top talents who have mastered it comprehensively.

Tian He and Tian Zizhuang were roughly the most top masters of the Book of Changes during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.

By the way, this 'Duke Zizhuang' mentioned by Tian He and Liu Rong was also a person of great origin.

——Tian He was a member of the royal family of Tian Qi, one of the Seven Kingdoms in the Warring States Period. He was also the sixth generation successor of the Book of Changes passed down by Confucius!

And he is the type who can follow the clues and sort out the inheritance from generation to generation!
Around 500 BC, during the reign of King Jing of Zhou, Confucius taught the Book of Changes to Shang Zhai, a man from Lu.

Later, Shang Zhai passed on the Book of Changes to Jiao Ziyong, a man from Lu who was good at correcting mistakes.

Jiao Ci was passed down to a man from Jiangdong in the State of Chu named Zhuanzigong.

The story of the 馮臂传 was told to Zhou Chouzi of Yan—Zhou Zijia;

Zhou Chouzi passed it on to Sun Yu of Dongwu—Sun Zicheng;

The biography of Sun Yu and Tian He - Tian Zizhuang.

As a member of the royal family of Tian Qi, Tian He's academic career was smooth sailing - apart from concentrating on his studies, he did not have to worry about anything else.

Unfortunately, as Qin unified the world, the six states in Guandong, including Tian's Qi State, were all annexed by Qin. Tian He's leisure life of studying as a royal family member came to an end.

When the First Emperor came to power and issued the "Book Burning Order", the "Book of Changes" represented by Tian He also faced an unprecedented huge crisis.

In the end, thanks to the concerted efforts of the entire Yin-Yang School, the "Book of Changes" passed down by Tianzizhuang was able to escape the disaster by virtue of its classification as "divination" and was successfully passed down.

——The First Emperor’s “Book Burning Order”: Books on medicine, divination, and tree planting are not among the banned books.

In order to survive that dark period, Tian He's "Book of Changes" had to be classified as "divination" by the entire Chinese academic community, and thus became a shield for charlatans and scammers to flaunt themselves.

Later, when the Han Dynasty was in power, Emperor Taizu Liu Bang established the mausoleum town system and moved many heroes from all over the world to Guanzhong.

Tian He and Tian Zizhuang, along with a large family of the Tian Qi royal family, were forced to move to Changling Town of Emperor Taizu Liu Bang, and settled down there.

In fact, Tian He and Tian Zizhuang were distant relatives of the Tian family of Changling, the maternal relative of Liu Che, the current King of Jiaodong. However, after being forced to move to Changling, the Tian family chose to go into business, while Tian Zizhuang separated himself and found a secluded courtyard to live alone, continuing to concentrate on his studies.

Emperor Taizu Liu Bang was eager to recruit talented people and sent people to recruit them again and again, but the final result was the same as the refusal of the Four Elders of Shangshan to recruit them - Tian Zizhuang declined the recruitment on the grounds of "old age and frailty".

Coincidentally, just like the four sages of Shangshan who were unwilling to serve the Han Dynasty but were willing to support Emperor Xiaohui, Tianzizhuang of Changling also accepted the apprenticeship ceremony from Liu Ying, the then crown prince and later Emperor Xiaohui...

Later, during the reign of Emperor Xiaohui, and during the reigns of Emperor Shao before and after Empress Dowager Lu came to power, Tian Zizhuang devoted himself to studying in his own small courtyard and taught disciples.

When Emperor Taizong succeeded to the throne, Gongsun Hong and a group of young talents including Jia Yi, Chao Cuo and Yuan Ang entered the court. Tianzizhuang in Changling became a rare place for Gongsun Hong to make friends regardless of age difference.

——Gongsun Hong respected this old gentleman very much, who had been famous throughout the world for his mastery of the Book of Changes since the Qin Dynasty.

To some extent, Gongsun Hong could even be regarded as Tian Zizhuang's "unnamed disciple" - after all, Gongsun Hong had once asked him questions about the Book of Changes.

This time when he entered the court, he knew that the old friend would most likely not live to be a hundred years old, so Gongsun Hong had been forcing himself not to think about it or to inquire about it.

Until this moment, when he talked about the past with Liu Rong, Gongsun Hong finally couldn't hold back and asked, and got the answer that Gongsun Hong had expected but never dared to face...

"Duke Zizhuang~"

"Ugh……"

...

"I still remember that Duke Zhuang had a favorite student named Ding Kuan?"

Hearing this, Liu Rong nodded slightly: "Yes."

"Ding Kuan from Liang is the only direct disciple of Duke Zhuang."

"In the third year of Emperor Taizong's reign, Ding Kuan completed his studies and was sent to Guandong by Duke Zhuang to further his studies."

"Ding Kuan went east through Hangu Pass and stopped at Suiyang, the capital of Liang, where he studied the ancient Zhou Chronicles from Zhou Wangsun."

"——In the first year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign, Duke Zizhuang passed away, and Ding Kuan came from afar to attend the funeral. I, on behalf of my father, also went to offer condolences and met Ding Kuan once."

...

"After the Wu-Chu Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, Ding Kuan volunteered to be a general to help King Xiao of Liang defend Suiyang. He was called General Ding and made many achievements."

"During this year's imperial examination, I sent someone to ask Ding Kuan: Do you have any disciples who are both virtuous and talented and willing to come to Chang'an to help with the grand examination?"

"Ding Kuan thanked him and said: My master left a will that the Tian family's Yijing lineage should not enter the court, serve as an official, or accept salary..."

At this point, Liu Rong and Gongsun Hong sighed again.

——As the most practical and cherished of the Six Confucian Classics, why are talents in the Book of Changes so scarce?
The answer is that almost without exception, all those who study the Book of Changes are pursuing the ultimate mystery of the universe.

They do divination and fortune-telling;
They observed the stars and made calculations.

Even today, the most famous "astrologer" in the world, Sima Jizu, the master of divination and the master of Yijing, is like a mysterious dragon that is hard to find. He runs around all year round and cannot be found at all.

What are you doing for him?

Chasing stars.

Chasing the movement of stars, observing, recording, and measuring...

For such a group of astronomers and theologians, becoming an official in the court?
Do you work in a fixed place all year round?

Don't even think about it!

If this group of lunatics could find a poorly trained scrap every ten or twenty years and bring him to Chang'an to be an astrologer, Liu Rong would have to thank his ancestors for eight generations...

"When you were a doctor, I was still young, but in Chang'an and in the court, you are considered an old friend."

"Today's questioning will not involve anything else - it will focus on the great evils of our Han family. Please speak freely."

After a round of greetings and sighs, Liu Rong finally brought the topic back to the main topic.

——Question!
To put it in terms that are more understandable to future generations, it is an interview.

As for the previous time when Gongsun Hong and others took the examination papers and made suggestions?

Liu Rong expressed his happiness.

Liu Rong was very happy that someone, especially a candidate who had not yet entered the court and had no power at all, dared to write a letter of advice to him using the test paper in the imperial examination.

Especially this time, Liu Rong deliberately exposed a flaw to see the reactions of these candidates.

The final result made Liu Rong very satisfied.

At the moment, if it were other young people, such as Zheng Dangshi and Zhufu Yan, Liu Rong might have used both kindness and force to scare the young people a little.

But for Gongsun Hong, it is completely unnecessary.

——It is estimated that Gongsun Hong knew the purpose of Liu Rong's actions from the beginning to the end;
Submitting the letter of advice obediently was just a way to cooperate with Liu Rong's performance.

What follows is the real highlight of today’s palace examination.

Liu Rong will also test the quality of the candidates with questions unique to this era.

Of course;
There were nearly a thousand candidates, and Liu Rong couldn't meet them all.

Therefore, it is enough to meet these dozens of outstanding people who are likely to be talented and have great achievements in the future...

"Ah……"

"It is as the rumors say;"

"Your Majesty, you are really resolute and swift..."

As soon as Liu Rong asked the question, Gongsun Hong was stunned.

After a moment, he shook his head with tears and laughter, and like a friend, he jokingly teased Liu Rong's straightforward approach.

In the blink of an eye, Gongsun Hong's kind and benevolent temperament, like that of an old grandfather next door, disappeared without a trace.

Instead, there was a solemnity and dignity that Liu Rong had never seen before, which made him instinctively straighten his back and tighten his face.

"This is my humble opinion."

"The Han dynasty's current bad policies include three internal and three external ones."

"——Inside, the first is the division of the clans, the second is the chaotic administration, and the third is the heavy taxes and levies."

"Outside, the first are the northern barbarians, the Xiongnu, and the second are the Baiyue in southern Lingnan;"

"Then, it's Northeast Korea..."

These powerful words marked the beginning of this epic strategic debate.

Gongsun Hong's political wisdom was gradually fully revealed to Liu Rong as these seemingly ordinary "questions" that everyone knew and could answer were raised...

(End of this chapter)