I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 22 Yuan’s righteousness
Two people whose combined ages are less than 40 years old are discussing how to change the world.

At first glance, this seems hilarious.

But think about it, if we don’t allow young people to change the world, who else can change the world?

Ultraman?
Sorry, but the Giant of Light does not interfere in human affairs.

Therefore, Yuan Shu and Lu Zhi were very serious.

Based on what he knew and learned, Yuan Shu divided the social problems he observed in the late Eastern Han Dynasty into two aspects: politics and economy, and believed that all problems cannot be considered apart from these two aspects.

He told Lu Zhi that social economy can shake the foundation of politics, and political power can in turn affect social economy. The two interact with each other, and all social problems cannot be discussed without considering the two.

As for today's society, it is obvious that political power has a greater influence, and all issues cannot be discussed without considering politics, otherwise there will be no results.

For example, when it comes to the issue of eunuchs disrupting politics, they should focus on the political aspects.

Politically, they must realize that the existence of eunuchs is inevitable, and it is unrealistic to eliminate eunuchs alone without considering other issues.

Yuan Shu talked freely about what he had learned.

"The existence of eunuchs can actually be traced back to the ancient times before the Qin Dynasty, because at that time, all officials were retainers of the monarch. State affairs were the monarch's family affairs, and those who managed these affairs were also retainers of the monarch.

For example, the prime minister was originally the steward of an aristocratic family in the pre-Qin period. In the three ancient dynasties, the most important thing for an aristocratic family was sacrifice, which required the slaughter of cattle, sheep and other livestock. This was the origin of the position of the steward. Later, all the work of managing the household on behalf of the emperor and the ministers was handed over to the steward.

During the Qin Dynasty, feudalism was changed to counties, and families were transformed into countries. All aristocratic feudal territories were abolished. Only one aristocracy was passed down, and that was the royal family. This country was the emperor's home. Since it was a home, the emperor's steward became the prime minister of the country.

Including the prime minister, many officials who were originally only responsible for the emperor's family affairs became high-ranking officials in charge of state affairs. With so many things to do in state affairs, how could they spare the time to take care of the emperor's family affairs? As a result, there were a series of [zhong] officials represented by the Chief Censor.

But there were not enough eunuchs, and slaves were always needed to handle the sundries and small matters. How could the educated officials be willing to do these menial tasks? Eunuchs came into being. The officials only wanted to be high above and did not want to serve the emperor personally, so they gradually distanced themselves from the emperor.

The people who served the emperor became eunuchs. The more they served and the closer they were to the emperor, the more trust they gained. When they gained the emperor's trust, the officials lost their trust. As a result, when the emperor lost trust in the officials, the first helpers he thought of would be the eunuchs who lived with him day and night and knew him well.

Listening to Yuan Shu's clear explanation of the origin and inevitability of eunuchs, Lu Zhi was deeply impressed.

"I never thought that Mr. Yuan not only had a deep understanding of the classics, but was also so proficient in history books!"

“If you don’t read history books, you won’t understand the gains and losses of past dynasties. If you don’t learn the lessons of rise and fall, you will inevitably make the same mistakes again. So reading history is necessary.”

Yuan Shu shook his head and said, "It is really wrong for scholars today to read the classics more and neglect history."

"indeed so."

Lu Zhi nodded, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said excitedly: "If that's the case, then the new knowledge can include one point, that is, both classics and history are equally important. We must read both classics and history, and neither is indispensable!"

"Very good! Very good!"

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "Mr. Lu is right! I agree!"

So the two reached the first consensus of the new school.

In addition, Lu Zhi also had a further understanding of the inevitability of the existence of eunuchs.

"Eunuchs are bound to exist and they are bound to be trusted by the emperor. Once the emperor has a conflict with his ministers, he will inevitably use eunuchs to target them. Doesn't this mean that eunuchs' disorderly politics is inevitable?"

Yuan Shu nodded.

"Fundamentally speaking, the prime minister is the head of the court, and the emperor is the leader of the country, but the emperor has almost unlimited power, which restricts the prime minister's actions in every way. It is inevitable that conflicts will arise between them, and the intervention of eunuchs is also inevitable."

"What should I do?"

Lu Zhi frowned and said, "This is a dead end. There must be conflicts between the emperor and the prime minister. If we want to eliminate the eunuch problem, we must either dismiss the prime minister or..."

"Depose the emperor?"

Yuan Shu took up Lu Zhi's words and asked with a smile, "Is this what Mr. Lu meant?"

Lu Zhi was horrified and waved his hands repeatedly, almost giving the French salute.

"No, no, please don't misunderstand me, Yuan Jun. I didn't say that. I would never dare to say that!"

"But that's the truth."

Yuan Shu chuckled: "And I think that just dismissing the prime minister is useless. Without the prime minister, the emperor will face all the officials directly. Will there be no conflicts between them? Once something happens, the eunuchs will still intervene and touch the power. This is inevitable, unless..."

"unless?"

Lu Zhi's eyes widened, and he stretched out his hand to cover Yuan Shu's mouth: "Mr. Yuan, please be careful with your words! This is not something you can talk about casually!"

Yuan Shu nodded, and Lu Zhi took his hand away.

"But if we don't discuss this issue, how can we deal with the eunuchs' disorderly politics?"

"This……"

Lu Zhi scratched his head and cheeks, looking depressed. After a while, he sighed and said, "Let's put it aside for now and talk about the issue of the monopoly of power by foreign relatives."

"That's nothing."

Yuan Shu waved his hand and said, "It's too easy to solve the problem of maternal relatives. As long as we stipulate that the queen must be from a commoner family, a small family, and have no male relatives of the same generation, the problem of maternal relatives will be solved."

"A commoner's home? A small family?"

Lu Zhi frowned and said, "How can this be possible? How can a great emperor marry a small family? Isn't this...too inappropriate?"

"But if we choose a rich and powerful family, the queen herself must have a strong family background."

Yuan Shu spread his hands and said, "The more powerful the family, the stronger the power of the wife's family. Once the emperor dies in his prime, the prince is young, and the empress dowager assists in the administration, the monopoly of power by the foreign relatives is inevitable. If you want to solve this problem, just choose a woman from a small family, and there will be no problem. The wife's family from a small family cannot be considered a foreign relative at all."

"Then... isn't there a bigger problem?"

Lu Zhi frowned and said, "According to what Yuan Jun said, if the emperor dies young, the crown prince is young, and the queen mother governs the country without the support of her family, then she can only..."

"eunuch."

Yuan Shu nodded and said, "No matter how many times you go around, you still can't avoid the eunuchs, and you still can't avoid the emperor. Mr. Lu, do you feel bored?"

Lu Zhi closed his eyes and sighed.

"These issues may seem independent, but if you look into them in detail, you will find that they are actually interconnected. No wonder reforms have always been met with so much resistance!"

"That's right, that's right."

Yuan Shu nodded repeatedly: "I also thought about this level, and then I realized that these problems we can see are just superficial, and the deeper problems are the real problems. However, these problems are obviously not something we can solve at this time... I am afraid they cannot be solved even after another thousand years."

Lu Zhi thought about it over and over but could not find a solution. Thinking deeply about it, he even felt terrified and unbelievable, so he could only take another step back.

"Then let's talk about finances?"

"Of course. Everything needs money, and running a country needs money even more. Without money, nothing can be done. Therefore, finance is the top priority of the country."

Yuan Shu said slowly, "One of the major problems facing the Han Dynasty today is that there is not enough money. Why is there not enough money? Tax revenue is not coming in, and it is getting less and less. My father and my uncle were both officials in the court. I heard them talk about the court's difficulties in spending and the fact that income was not enough to cover expenditures, especially the problem of not being able to collect taxes."

"This... is a really big problem."

Lu Zhi said: "If the tax revenue does not come up, the court will have no money to use and will not be able to do anything. However... from what I have seen in the local areas for many years, most of the cases are tax collectors levying heavy taxes and extorting money from the people. There are many cases where families have been ruined because of paying taxes. With such brutality, aren't the taxes enough?"

"No matter how much you have, it can never satisfy people's material desires."

Yuan Shu said helplessly: "Exorbitant taxes and levies are like draining the pond to catch all the fish. They squeeze out the property of the common people and force them to sell their children and land, becoming refugees who do not work and do not pay taxes. And who gets the land? Corrupt officials and local tyrants.

These people are colluding with each other, and some of them are evading taxes. Local tax collectors are also related to them, so how can they seriously collect their taxes? Those who can collect less and less, and those who can't collect more and more are getting richer. How can the tax source of the court not be exhausted?"

"Did your father talk about these things? In the past, I only heard that the Yuan family of Runan lived a luxurious life. I didn't expect that your father would be so concerned about the country and the people?"

Lu Zhi obviously thought that this was what Yuan Feng told Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu was stunned for a moment, thinking about the living standard and pomp of his cheap father in his memory...

It is no exaggeration to say that the Yuan family's wealth and living standards behind closed doors are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

The level of competition for wealth between Shi Chong and Wang Kai was just playing house in the eyes of his cheap dad. Things like washing pots with sugar water and paving roads with brocade were no different from clowns in the eyes of the Yuan family.

Do you know what rich means?
You're still washing the pot with sugar water, aren't you afraid of attracting ants?
But as a son, Yuan Shu was too embarrassed to say bad things about his cheap father, so he could only pull the corners of his mouth and smile dryly to hide his embarrassment.

As vested interests, how could they not know the problem?
But how could they harm their own interests?

The Yuan family owned extensive land and farmland in the local area, and many of the side branches ran shops and were involved in the salt and iron business. They were not only wealthy enough to rival a country, but they could easily rival three or five large counties in the Central Plains. The family's living standard exceeded that of the nobles, and this was clearly recorded in the history books.

So where do all these things come from?

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu divided their family business into two and each established a force in Huainan and Hebei. At their peak, two-thirds of the world's prime land was controlled by the two brothers. How did they get such a solid family foundation?

Everyone is clear in their hearts.

On the one hand, they are making a lot of money, and on the other hand, they are pretending to be concerned about the country and the people. They want this and that, and they are almost like the landlords and scholars in the late Ming Dynasty...

"Let's not talk about my family, this is why the court has no money, so what should we do?"

Yuan Shu changed the subject, and Lu Zhi naturally followed.

"Increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, on the one hand we should allow tillers to own their land, and on the other hand we should curb the extravagance of the nobles."

"Well, these are two very good plans." Yuan Shu nodded: "Then where should we start? How should we act?"

Lu Zhi opened his mouth and smiled.

"Mr. Yuan, I am older than you, but I am only 26 years old and have never participated in politics. How can I give you any suggestions?"

"Yeah, hahahahaha..."

"Hahahahaha..."

The two smiled at each other, and it was unclear whether it was a happy smile or a self-deprecating smile.

In short, Lu Zhi realized that Yuan Shu's thinking was very quick and sharp. He could see the root of many problems at a glance, but it was precisely these root problems that were difficult to solve.

If we really want to solve it, it would be like a rebellion.

But if you rebel, you will lose your head.

But if these problems are not resolved, we will have to watch the Han Dynasty collapse. How can this be accepted?

Lu Zhi, who was full of loyalty to the emperor, was extremely conflicted.

In fact, Yuan Shu had been entangled in conflicts and contradictions before. He himself had conflicts too. But after this discussion with Lu Zhi, some of his ideas suddenly changed.

"Mr. Lu, some things are unavoidable, but since ancient times, if you want to accomplish something, you must have a righteous cause. When we act, whether we succeed or not, first of all, we need a righteous cause."

"Great justice..."

When Lu Zhi heard Yuan Shu say this, he also nodded: "If the teacher has no name, then the words will not flow. What Yuan Shu said makes sense, then, where is the righteousness of our generation?"

"When the great way is practiced, the world will be shared by all!"

Yuan Shu said loudly: "This is the highest ideal that all Confucian scholars have pursued since the pre-Qin period. If this is not righteousness, then what is righteousness?"

"When the great way is practiced, the world is for all..."

Lu Zhi felt somewhat dazed when he heard Yuan Shu say this.

After a while, his eyes became firm.

"Mr. Yuan is right. Only when the world is for the public good can the world be prosperous. If the world is partial to one's own interests, even if it is strong, it will collapse. The world is for the public good, which is the highest righteousness!"

"So, the world belongs to all, and that is the righteousness of our generation!"

Yuan Shu held Lu Zhi's hand and said, "It has never been wrong to make the world a public good. We made mistakes in the past because we took the wrong path to make the world a public good! Now, what we need to do is to find the right path and restart the journey to make the world a public good!"

"good!"

Lu Zhi's eyes lit up, and he said happily: "This is exactly what scholars like me should do. We study the books of sages so hard, but if we don't follow the teachings of sages, what else can we do?"

Yuan Shu nodded heavily.

"That's right! That's right! This is our highest ideal, this is the foundation of our lives. The world is for all, how can it not be right?"

"Great!"

Lu Zhi was very excited. He held Yuan Shu's hand and laughed uncontrollably, sweeping away his previous confusion and dejection.

He felt the importance of justice and integrity.

When great virtue is practiced, the world is shared by all. This statement should never be made in vain and should never be merely spoken.

If you move forward with this goal in mind, everything will be upright and no one can question you!

Yuan Shu looked at the excited Lu Zhi and smiled.

"Mr. Lu, let us follow our conscience. From now on, the world is for all. This is our conscience. For this conscience, even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will go."

"To the conscience..."

Lu Zhi was in a trance for a moment, and his eyes became firm: "Mr. Yuan is right! With such a conscience, even if there are thousands of difficulties and dangers, we will not stop moving forward!"

The importance of righteousness and justice is fully demonstrated at this moment.

By establishing an absolutely correct and righteous cause, you are standing on a moral high ground. If others want to attack you, they must first climb this high ground.

However, this high ground is already covered with fortifications built by Yuan Shu. Even if they climb up, can they break through it?

How can I allow you to be so presumptuous on my high ground?

Once the high ground is erected, defensive fortifications must also be built one after another.

Things involving imperial power were still too sensitive for the time being, so Yuan Shu and Lu Zhi tacitly agreed not to mention them for the time being, but instead discussed some other things to contribute to the theoretical system of the new school.

Starting from the pursuit of conscience and the unity of knowledge and action, we should first complete personal practice from an individual perspective and then expand it to the whole society.

As the saying goes, if you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world. Anyone who does not act according to his conscience is a complete pauper in spirit.

A pauper must first "improve himself", and then he will be qualified to help the world.

Starting from this, we take the pursuit of conscience as the way to solve the problem of "poverty" and the unity of knowledge and action as the highest goal of "achievement".

Those who live by conscience are successful. Only by becoming successful can they pay attention to social issues.

Material wealth is not wealth, spiritual wealth is the real "wealth".

They want to establish the pursuit of spiritual wealth within the school and criticize the social phenomenon of rampant materialism.

Individuals must recognize where their conscience lies, analyze their hearts, look directly at their inner poverty and the flood of desires, reflect on themselves, make changes, stand on their conscience, and abandon past wrong behaviors.

During this stage, Yuan Shu also put forward some constructive ideas.

He first systematically expounded these ideas on the first day of November in the eighth year of Yan Xi when he went out on behalf of Ma Rong to help impart knowledge to his students.

As a "disciple of Ma" who had already become famous and had a certain reputation, it was natural for Yuan Shu to teach the other students on behalf of Ma Rong. Although he was indeed very young, he was indeed a talented person.

Confucius said that if three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher. When Yuan Shu went out to give lectures on behalf of Ma Rong, not only did no one oppose it, but many people supported and looked forward to it.

Whether they are his disciples or students, there are a group of people who admire him very much and are very optimistic about this.

Among his disciples, Zhao Jun and Deng Ying from Nanyang County, Luo Yi from Guiyang County in Jingzhou, and Zhang Jie from Shu County in Yizhou all welcomed this and tried their best to build momentum for Yuan Shu.

Among his disciples, Dou Yun from Jingzhao, who was closest to Yuan Shu and the most appreciated, and Wei Jia from Bohai County in Jizhou, who were the most staunch supporters of Yuan Shu.

In addition to these two people, there are six people who respect Yuan Shu the most and have the strongest ability to take action, including Su Chu and Ma Ran from Hongnong County, Shao Yuan and Lian Da from Jingzhao, Yu Chou from Qinghe State in Jizhou, and Dai Hua from Donglai County in Qingzhou.

These nine disciples were closest to Yuan Shu and were most familiar with each other, so they jumped up and down to help organize and cooperated with the four disciples to build momentum for Yuan Shu, becoming something like "fan leaders" among Yuan Shu's fan group.

To Yuan Shu, these thirteen people together were just like the Thirteen Guardians around him, very interesting.

And to be honest, it feels quite special to officially start imparting knowledge.

A person sits at the very top, surrounded by a large group of people, just like the moon surrounded by stars, looking up at him with eyes full of admiration and longing. That feeling is really quite refreshing.

At the beginning of this class, Yuan Shu certainly did not say anything of his own, but taught them Ma Rong's courses step by step, including Zuo Zhuan and the ancient text Book of Documents, and taught the relevant chapters and interpretations, in an orderly manner, without any mistakes and impeccable.

After those shocking debates, few people would refute Yuan Shu on matters of Confucian classics, so everyone just listened to what he said.

Because the pace of the lecture was relatively fast, there was still plenty of time after the scheduled course was completed, so Yuan Shu began to organize his thoughts and prepare for his first meaningful lecture.

"The knowledge of the ancient saints is profound and extensive, and every word is a pearl, and every word is profound and meaningful. This is why we need to study rigorously and carefully. However, I would like to ask you a question, that is, why do you come to study?"

Yuan Shu suddenly asked this question and everyone was stunned and didn't react for a while.

Zhao Jun from Nanyang was the first among Ma's disciples to develop a liking for Yuan Shu. He was the first to respond to Yuan Shu's question and stood up.

"The purpose of studying is to pursue the teachings of the saints and sages, to bask in their legacy, and to bring glory to the land of China."

Shao Yuan from Jingzhao also reacted, stood up and spoke loudly.

"The purpose of studying is to learn how to govern a country and maintain peace, to assist the king, and to bring peace to the world."

Dai Hua from Donglai stood up right after him.

"The purpose of studying is to shoulder the responsibility of serving the people of the world, to root out the treacherous and corrupt, and to crush the bandits. Only in this way can we live up to the teachings of our ancestors."

With a few people taking the lead, more and more people stood up one after another to express their ambitions. Without exception, they all had grand ideals, and no one said that they were studying for the purpose of promotion.

Yuan Shu was very dissatisfied with this.

"You guys, I'm not the master. I'm the master's disciple just like you. This is just a simple question, but you all say high-sounding words. I don't deny that some people are sincere, but is there no one who thinks that studying is for the purpose of becoming an official?"

The scene that was full of passion just now suddenly became quiet, and many people showed surprised expressions on their faces.

"Even if you don't say it, I know in my heart that many of you have traveled thousands of miles to study and have gone through many difficulties before becoming Ma's disciples. Don't you have the slightest thought of doing it for your own benefit?"

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "I don't believe it. Everyone has selfish desires. Even saints make mistakes, not to mention ordinary people. In my opinion, it is normal for you to want to study and pursue a career in government. It's not surprising at all.

After working hard to study, many people still have to live a hard life with only coarse food. Have you ever thought about being rich and enjoying a luxurious life in the future? Master was born into a wealthy family and lives a luxurious life. Have you never envied him? To be honest, even I am jealous!
I am from the Yuan family of Runan, a family of high status, and I am envious of them, let alone you. So, even if you are telling lies, you cannot make them sound so high-sounding, as it is easy for people to see through them. So, let me say that the purpose of our study can be summed up in four words: to become a saint. "

(End of this chapter)