I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 21 Changing the World
It seemed that Lao Ma was really enlightened, but Yuan Shu was still unclear as to what he had realized.

But this is no longer important.

He has already obtained the most important thing he wanted. His status as Ma's senior disciple will provide him with crucial help in the future.

From this moment on, there would be no more obstacles to what he wanted to do.

Even his age is no longer an obstacle.

The recognition from Grand Master Ma Rong was enough to help him withstand the rumors and suspicions from the outside world.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shu felt that everything in front of him suddenly became clear, as if Wang Yangming had realized the great way of heaven and earth in Longchang and became a saint instantly. There was no more confusion in his heart.

However, having no confusion in one's heart is one thing, and having more lust is another.

Yuan Shu turned his gaze to the three little beauties.

Xiuxiu looked shy, but her eyes were full of affection and she seemed a little excited.

The other two seemed a little nervous, clutching their collars with both hands, not knowing what Yuan Shu would tell them.

Yuan Shu slowly walked towards Xiuxiu, reached out and held Xiuxiu's hand, then pulled Xiuxiu into his arms in front of the other two and gave her a tight hug.

"I said I would bring you here, and I would take you away in the future, and you would follow me for the rest of your life. How about that? You don't doubt it anymore, right?"

"I have always believed in you, Yuan Lang..."

Xiuxiu was startled at first, then her face flushed, she was overjoyed, her voice was soft and thin, she snuggled in Yuan Shu's arms and looked up at him, her eyes full of affection that was about to overflow.

The other two stared at the scene in a daze, obviously greatly surprised.

Yuan Shu hugged Xiuxiu and smiled at them.

"We have a mutual understanding and have made an agreement long ago. Now I am just fulfilling it. I can't help myself, but you will get used to it soon. By the way, from now on, you two will listen to Xiuxiu's orders. My food, clothing, shelter and transportation will all be left to you."

After saying that, Yuan Shu lowered his head again and whispered in Xiuxiu's ear: "Just be my housekeeper first, don't bully others, if I find out that you bully others, I will definitely kick your ass hard."

When Xiuxiu heard this, her whole body tensed up and she just said "hmm" and nothing else.

In the days that followed, Yuan Shu lived a shameless life.

If his body was not temporarily unable to support his unreasonable desires, this small dormitory would probably have been engulfed in flames.

Despite this, with Xiuxiu's care, whose heart was completely tied to him, he lived a life of luxury like a master.

Xiuxiu is not a professional in needlework or housework, but in singing and dancing. She has a graceful figure, and is very good at singing and dancing. She can also do massage, so she is definitely a good servant.

As for the two young girls, they are a pair of sisters. The elder one is called Chunlian and the younger one is called Qiutong. Both of them are born in the Ma family. The elder one is fourteen and the younger one is twelve. They specialize in needlework and housework and are good at it.

As a result, Yuan Shu's living standard made a qualitative leap.

Not that it wasn't good before.

Before, many things were done by him and Xu Chong together.

Chopping wood, boiling water and warming goat milk, Xu Chong put all his strength to good use.

When he had nothing to do, Yuan Shu would use a clay pot to cook some bacon rice or something, and the two of them would enjoy it together, and their life was pretty decent.

His cheap father Yuan Feng was embarrassed to take too much care of him, so he might let him bring some servants with him, and he had to take care of his daily meals and life by himself.

Now that there is someone to serve them, Chunlian and Qiutong are good at cooking. Although the dishes are just stews, they are quite delicate.

However, compared to the leap in living standards, what makes Yuan Shu happiest is obviously the leap in reputation and status.

Ma Rong soon officially announced the news that Yuan Shu had become Ma's top disciple. The announcement of this news did shock many people, but it did not cause much waves.

When Yuan Shu was becoming famous, some people predicted that he would become the next disciple of Ma.

After the struggle was over and the seventeen disciples who had made mistakes were driven away, everyone was convinced that with Yuan Shu's merits and abilities, it was only a matter of time before he became a top disciple.

So the disciples and students began to talk about it, saying that Yuan Shu became Ma's top student at the age of only ten, and with such talent and ability, he would definitely achieve great success in the future.

They all thought, if they don’t hug the thigh now, when will they do so?
Originally, Yuan Shu's status among Ma's disciples was very high. Now everyone had sufficient reasons to get closer to Yuan Shu, so Yuan Shu's small dormitory also experienced a lot of hustle and bustle.

The students and some disciples who came to pay their respects to Yuan Shu almost trampled down the threshold of his dormitory.

So Yuan Shu had to devote some of his energy to socializing, and at the same time spread the word to the outside world that Ma Rong had allowed him to teach the course on his behalf, so he would find a time to make a formal appearance to everyone later, and asked everyone to support him.

There is nothing to say about that. He is clearly a disciple of the Ma family, and he is invincible in the Ma family through his own abilities. His ability is there, and now is not the time to discuss his age.

It was only after Yuan Shu himself told Lu Zhi what was happening outside that he knew about it.

It took him three days to recover from the fever, and he then had to stay in bed for nearly half a month before he recovered.

In other words, Yuan Shu took better care of Lu Zhi, and Lu Zhi himself was in good health, so he managed to get through it.

There were no antibiotics or other medicines these days, and a cold could be fatal if not treated properly. The fact that Lu Zhi was able to survive only showed that his immune system was quite strong.

And after this illness, he came to his senses.

He himself was indeed not the type of person who was going to study things to gain knowledge. He did not have such a good comprehension ability. Instead of realizing the truth, he fell ill and almost died.

So he reflected deeply. "It seems that what Mr. Yuan said is right. Studying things may not necessarily lead to knowledge. Even if it can lead to knowledge, if one dies from illness, it will not be worth the loss. This method is difficult to promote... cough cough cough cough... ouch..."

Sitting on the hospital bed, drinking the hot soup brought to him by Yuan Shu, Lu Zhi felt moved and ashamed.

"Thank you for your care these days, Mr. Yuan. I will always remember this kindness."

"You and I are from the same sect, why should you care?"

Yuan Shu shook his head and smiled, "It is enough to make Mr. Lu understand that conscience cannot be satisfied by external things. As Yuan said, conscience is in people's hearts. It only depends on whether people are willing to abide by their conscience and how to turn their conscience into actions that match it. This is the key point."

"Yes, I have figured it out these days."

Lu Zhi nodded as he drank his soup, saying, "Conscience does exist in people's hearts. It just depends on how we act on it. Mr. Yuan, you are now a disciple of the Ma family, and you will also teach students on behalf of the master. Do you have any better ideas?"

"What do you think, Mr. Lu?"

"Why don't you organize and expand your theories, and then teach ancient classics while giving lectures yourself?"

Lu Zhi seemed to have thought about this matter, and said seriously: "The doctrine of the unity of conscience and knowledge and action is so wonderful that I should not be the only one who has heard it. Yuan Jun, didn't you say that if you want to save the world from disaster, you have to become a saint?"

"indeed so."

Yuan Shu smiled and looked at Lu Zhi: "Mr. Lu, are you willing to recognize me?"

"You are only ten years old, but you have already realized this. I am sixteen years older than you, but I was still confused. Now that I have awakened, how can I have any other ideas?"

Lu Zhi sighed and said, "Mr. Yuan, you are right. Most of the scholars today have no spiritual foundation. They are only obsessed with material desires. Therefore, the morals of the world are declining and people's hearts are no longer the same. I have studied hard for many years and read a lot of books, but I have not found a solution. But you have found it.

If you really have the ambition to become a saint and save the country and the people, then I am willing to help you with all my strength, carry forward your thoughts and ideas, let more people know about them, and turn them into a new doctrine to reshape the spirit of scholars! Thinking of this, my heart is already full of motivation! "

Lu Zhi finished his hot soup, put the bowl aside, reached out and grabbed Yuan Shu's hand.

"In the past, I didn't know how to realize my dream, but Yuan Jun, you pointed out a way for me. Even if this road is full of thorns now, I am willing to work with you to cut through the thorns and open up this road. Yuan Jun, what do you think?"

Yuan Shu was overjoyed.

He immediately covered Lu Zhi's hand with his other hand.

"Although I have the ambition to open up a new path, my own strength alone is far from enough. Mr. Lu is loyal and upright, upright, knowledgeable, and capable of both civil and military affairs. If you are willing to help me, I will be honored! The Han Dynasty will be honored! The world will be honored!"

Lu Zhi was wearing four tall hats in a row, and he suddenly felt a little dazed and laughed out loud.

In the next few days, while he was recuperating, he held Yuan Shu and would not let him go. From morning to night, he talked with him about matters related to conscience and the unity of knowledge and action.

How to make people aware of their conscience, how to make people willing to act in accordance with their conscience, how to uphold their conscience under external pressure, and how to deal with the questions and criticisms that may be encountered.

A brand-new doctrine needs to consist of a lot of content. Conscience and unity of knowledge and action are the essence and the main theme of this doctrine. But in addition to these, enough content is needed to support a new world view and construct a set of practical methodology.

We need to make people understand, make people follow suit, make people see the results, make them accept it from the bottom of their hearts, and then promote it as a universal worldview.

It is by no means easy to open up a new path, reshape people's spiritual foundation, and rebuild the path to ideals in a society where ideals have collapsed and materialism is rampant.

Lu Zhi was a man of solid learning, and he quoted from classics and told Yuan Shu everything he had thought about during those days of studying things and during his convalescence.

For example, Lu Zhi felt that the three words "zhi conscience" contained too much content, which was a typical example of profound meaning in a few words. They also included the unity of knowledge and action, which was also a typical example of profound meaning in a few words. In order to avoid ambiguity in the process of transmission, they should be interpreted very thoroughly and clearly.

He further felt that both following one's conscience and integrating knowledge and action were about personal cultivation and were about people re-establishing their inner spirit and ideas. If it were limited to this, it would be a form of self-cultivation and would have little to do with real politics.

He strongly suggested that Yuan Shu apply these contents to real politics, find a point of identification that everyone can accept, and become a master of his own school.

In this regard, Lu Zhi's initial suggestion was to build a school of common understanding regarding politics, people's livelihood, and the future of the country, that is, while everyone can become a sage, how can they transform this devastated real world?

Personal cultivation and character are fine, but what about the country?
Each of the various schools of thought had its own theory on state politics, and if Yuan Shu wanted to establish a new discipline, he also needed a relevant theory.

Lu Zhi earnestly suggested that Yuan Shu contribute to this discipline and really establish this discipline.

In response to this, Yuan Shu pondered for a long time and gave his own answer.

“At first, I didn’t think too much about it, because I felt that if people’s spirits were not established, there would be no talk of reshaping society. But after hearing what Mr. Lu said, I think it makes sense. We need to have both small and big goals.

The ideas of various schools of thought were based on the society at that time. They observed the social problems at that time and came up with solutions to the problems. They created their own theories, attracted disciples, and further tried to realize their own ideas. We should also be based on the present. "

"Stay in the present... then..."

Lu Zhi said slowly, "The relatives of the emperor are in power, the eunuchs are in chaos, corrupt officials are rampant in the localities, the officials and the powerful are colluding with each other, oppressing the good, annexing the land, and controlling the selection and appointment of officials. The people who are selected as filial and honest are all relatives, so that those who are good at scheming are given high positions and generous salaries, while those who are dedicated to the country are buried in the countryside. These are all problems."

Yuan Shu nodded.

"In this case, let's propose special solutions to these problems, blend them together, make them our philosophy, and then see how to solve these problems through the way of conscience and the unity of knowledge and action, so as to form a complete set of doctrines."

"That's it!"

Lu Zhi was very excited, his eyes were shining, as if all the pain in his body had disappeared, and there was only one thought in his mind.

change the world.

One night in October of the eighth year of Yan Xi, a 26-year-old young man and a 10-year-old child were excitedly discussing the grand ideal of changing the world in a small dormitory.

(End of this chapter)