I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 147 "Righteous Citizens"

Faced with such an embarrassing situation, most officials in the court did not want to investigate the matter further.

They certainly didn't think that the dignity of Liu Hong, who was still a minor, was really that important.

Therefore, even if the remaining 30% of people want to stir up trouble, even if they want to criticize the Yuan family, make some preconceived associations about their actions, and doubt their motives, it is meaningless.

They could no longer form the same crazy and united attacking momentum as before.

Not to mention that not everyone among these 30% wants to be an enemy of Yuan Shu and the Yuan family, and not everyone wants to really delve into the issue of "buying people's hearts". They don't think they can get away with it if this issue becomes a big deal.

Compared with the previous example of the Yuan family raising it high and then letting it go gently, if someone launches an attack on Yuan Shu again, they don’t think that the Yuan family will continue to tolerate it.

Last time, only Han Zong was disgraced. If it happens again this time, it will definitely not be just Han Zong who will be disgraced.

At least that "eloquent" Yuan Wei would definitely not let them get away with it.

Yuan Wei did not notice at first that this matter involved so many people and that so many officials in the court were related to this matter.

When he realized it, he immediately understood that this was not a danger, but rather a great opportunity to expand the influence of Yuan Shu and the Yuan family.

After thinking it through, Yuan Kui not only did not avoid suspicion on this matter, not only did he not think that this was a political mistake of Yuan Shu, but he also used this matter to spread it in the court, and with a look of deep sorrow, he made unparalleled accusations to the court officials and eunuchs -

Yuan Shu was just a young boy, but he was so concerned about the country and the people. He was not an official, but he shouldered the responsibilities of an official and saved the people from dire straits. In comparison, those of us in high positions are just sitting there doing nothing.
In the face of natural disasters, not only did they fail to come up with a response strategy quickly, but they instead blamed each other and passed the buck, thus missing out on great opportunities.

Sitting back and watching 300,000 people outside the city fall into danger, I don't know how many lives will be lost and how many people will criticize the emperor.

Now someone has stepped forward to help them make up for their mistakes and shouldered the responsibility that should not have been borne by him. Not only do people not feel grateful, they are actually pursuing Yuan Shu's responsibility!

How do you have the nerve to say such things?

How can you have the nerve to do such a thing?

There is no need to ask whether you have conscience or not, it is time to ask whether you have humanity!

When has it been?

Still care about this kind of thing?
If we sit back and do nothing about this matter, it will lead to the mass deaths of residents outside the city. The weather is hot now, and with too many people dead, the bodies will certainly be difficult to deal with. By then, the bodies will rot and the stench will be overwhelming. Wouldn't the imperial capital become a stinking city?
What’s even more terrible is that if a plague breaks out, who among us can escape?
I don’t even know how I died!

All you dignitaries, please cut open your stomachs, take out your hearts that are filled with filth and filth, wash them, and tidy them up!
Yuan Wei did not avoid suspicion. He made a scene in the court and scolded the court officials, which caused a great impact on the Luoyang court.

At the same time, it also set the tone for this matter.

Therefore, with most officials involved and caught in a dilemma, after Yuan Wei's extraordinary actions, the eunuch group that controlled the young Liu Hong had no way to hold Yuan Shu responsible for the matter, nor could they accuse Yuan Shu of buying people's hearts and minds.

They were unable to get any benefits from the Yuan family as they had originally planned, so they could only swallow the bitter pill, follow the court's direction, and do what they should do.

Soon, Liu Hong issued an imperial decree to open the gates of Luoyang and let the victims outside the city take refuge in the city. He also ordered relevant officials to set up porridge stalls so that the victims could fill their stomachs and avoid starving to death.

In addition, the bodies of the victims must be collected as soon as possible to avoid large-scale decomposition of the bodies of the victims which may lead to unpredictable consequences.

Finally, Cao Jie, Wang Fu and others submitted a memorial to Liu Hong very reluctantly.

They suggested that the emperor issue an edict to commend the "righteous citizen" Yuan Shu, praise Yuan Shu's achievements, and make it widely known, in order to restore his own reputation and retain the last bit of face by acknowledging Yuan Shu's actions.

Word spread quickly.

Yuan Shu's actions were officially recognized as a "righteous act" and were praised by the emperor, who believed that Yuan Shu was "supporting the country" and "being loyal to the emperor and loving the people" and was worthy of praise.

Because of his background, Yuan Shu's "righteous act" was officially recognized. Instead of being criticized, doubted or suspected, he received a lot of praise and reputation.

In a short time, the reputation of the "righteous man" Yuan Shu spread again in the streets and alleys of Luoyang City. It can be said that everyone knew about it. Not only officials like Ma Riti and Cai Yong knew about it, but even ordinary people knew that there was a great man named Yuan Shu who was doing good deeds and saving lives.

The news that Yuan Shu generously saved countless lives spread like wildfire to every household in Luoyang.

The news spread to the entire Du family compound in the southeast corner of Luoyang.

Du Yue, the little maid who went out to buy food with the old woman who was in charge of taking care of Du Ning, brought the news back to the Du family villa, and Du Ning, who was reading "On Knowing and Doing" with great interest in the villa, also knew about it.

"My lady, Master Yuan is truly an extraordinary figure. Now the whole city of Luoyang is saying that Master Yuan is saving people outside the city. He has saved tens of thousands of people. Even the emperor knows about it and has issued an edict to praise Master Yuan, saying that he is a righteous man!"

"I didn't expect that Mr. Yuan, who was born in such a high position, has such a kind heart. He is really different from those dandy boys who only care about cockfighting and running around. It seems that my lady will not be bullied in the future and will have a good life in the future."

Du Yue told Du Ning the news with a smile.

After hearing this, Du Ning put down the bamboo slips in his hand and was very curious about it.

"Saved tens of thousands of people? Is that true? Could he save so many people by himself?"

Du Yue nodded.

"I heard that Master Yuan asked his disciples to go out together. Doesn't Master Yuan have more than 10,000 disciples? They all went out together, so they saved so many people. The government didn't save people before, but Master Yuan went to save people. Master Yuan is really a good person."

Du Ning thought about it.

"How much money will it cost to save so many people?"

"This...I don't know..."

"Let more than 10,000 people help. They need food and drink, which costs a lot of money. Saving tens of thousands of people... let's say 50,000. Even if 50,000 people only eat porridge every day, they still need a lot of food, which costs another amount of money. But food and drink means 60,000 mouths to feed every day. Master Yuan pays for the food and drink of 60,000 people by himself? Could it be that he is as rich as a country?"

Du Ning stretched out her fingers, raised them one by one, and said slowly: "Unless it was the decision made by the Yuan family, and then let Master Yuan execute it, in order to make Master Yuan gain more fame, then this makes sense."

Du Yue blinked, obviously surprised.

"So, this is fake?"

"Not necessarily."

Du Ning thought for a moment and said, "But I can't understand why the Yuan family would get involved in such a thing? If it happened in other places, it would be fine, but this is Luoyang. There are not only dignitaries but also the emperor. The court did nothing, but the Yuan family rushed to save people. Is this to compete with the emperor for fame? Would the Yuan family do such a thing?"

Du Yue was very surprised, but she didn't fully understand what Du Ning was talking about.

She is still quite young, so she can only answer the parts she can understand.

"Competing with the emperor for fame? Madam, that's not possible, right? The world is so big, who dares to compete with the emperor for something?"

"How dare the Yuan family? Aren't they already robbing?"

Du Ning said slowly, "But if this happens, won't the relationship between the Yuan family and the emperor be bad? It will also offend many relevant officials. They just became a family of three officials for four generations, but now they are taking such actions. What exactly do the Yuan family want to do?"

Du Yue was speechless. She could also tell that Du Ning was not asking her a question but talking to herself.

After thinking it over and over again without any clue, Du Ning could only turn his gaze back to the bamboo slips at hand, picked them up, took a look, and saw a sentence in it.

【Knowing but not doing is not knowing. Doing but not knowing will surely bring disaster. Knowing and doing is the right path. Wherever the right path is, I will go even if there are thousands of people.】

This sounds very motivated and inspiring.

But as a young master of a big family, does Yuan Shu really have such good cognition and the righteous desire to support the country?
(End of this chapter)