I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 25 The Black Men's Counterattack

The speed of information dissemination in this era is indeed very slow, but it cannot withstand the large number of people spreading the news, and the density of the crowd is not small.

The place where Ma Rong was located was almost an academic holy land in Guanzhong, gathering the largest number of scholars and well-informed people.

Ma had about 4,000 disciples, and Yuan Shu's lectures were to 500 people. As the saying goes, one person tells ten, and ten people tell a hundred. It is not necessary for them to reach the point where ten people tell a hundred. One person telling ten is enough, and then all Ma's disciples can be covered.

So in just one night, those 500 people basically spread the content of Yuan Shu's lecture to the entire group of more than 4,000 people. After an evening of discussion and fermentation, it began to cause a violent response the next morning.

To conscience.

The unity of knowledge and action.

Be determined, study hard, correct your mistakes, and encourage others to do good.

These things that Yuan Shu extracted, reorganized and summarized from classic articles are not much different from the basic essentials mentioned in the classic articles, but if you look closely, you can taste a different flavor.

Everything he said did not transcend the scope of Confucianism, but when combined together, it can give people a novel feeling.

And this is not just empty talk. They also have a methodology and provide practical ways of doing things. Everything seems so flawless.

Is this the level of performance that a new disciple can deliver when teaching on behalf of the teacher for the first time?

Oh, it’s Yuan Shu.

Not surprising then.

It's not that everyone was really shocked. After all, the fact that Yuan Shu had participated in more than 300 debates in the previous few months without losing had fully proved that he was a real child prodigy with amazing academic ability.

The power of debate has at least eight levels.

Since he is a child prodigy, he cannot be taken lightly.

Although the matter itself is outrageous, when we think of the people who did it, we always inexplicably feel that there is a hint of rationality.

Even so, debate is at least still within the scope of everyone's daily life, but new doctrines, theoretical ideas and methodologies are really a bit unexpected.

This child prodigy is too amazing.

But on the other hand, if he is not so amazing, how can he deserve the title of child prodigy?

Ma's disciples were shocked, but at the same time they found it understandable. It was a little shocking, but at the same time they found it understandable. After such repeated contradictions, Yuan Shu's new theory became basically known to everyone.

Mainly because Confucianism has been silent for too long since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and nothing new has come out for too long - if prophecies and theories of gods and ghosts can be considered new things, then nonsense literature can also be considered a new literature.

As a result, just when everyone was living in a muddle and was about to face a great disaster at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yuan Shu stood up.

To conscience!
Unity of knowledge and action!

The eight-character mantra!

The stuff is in the book "Mencius", but "Mencius" was not a classic in the Eastern Han Dynasty and only a few people paid attention to it. As a result, Yuan Shu took it out and made it into a flag to wave vigorously.

To be honest, these days, Yuan Shu has received more attention than "Mencius", so if you say it is something new, then it is indeed something new.

The key is that Yuan Shu not only proposed new theories, but also put forward practical methods for everyone to evaluate and implement.

Theories can be discussed, but methods can only be put into practice to know whether they are right or wrong. Once you make a mistake, there is a great possibility that you will be ridiculed and everyone’s faith will collapse.

Before Wang Mang took action, Confucian scholars did not know that self-discipline and restoration of rituals were a dead end and that Confucius could be called a big shot.

And the fact that Yuan Shu said all this so bluntly meant that he was well prepared and it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

It is very likely that he had been thinking about this set of theories for some time, and it is even possible that he had obtained Ma Rong's approval. Otherwise, Ma Rong would not have given Yuan Shu the status of a senior disciple and allowed him to go out and lecture on his behalf.

Amid the interweaving of shock and understanding, people gradually developed curiosity, appreciation, admiration, suspicion, questioning and many other emotions. Yuan Shu's study of conscience was highly discussed and gained huge traffic.

It can be said to be the front-page headline in Kansai.

At present, among the entire group of Ma's disciples, only a few still hold a negative view of Yuan Shu, naturally including those disciples who were punished because of Yuan Shu.

Since being punished, the six disciples have had their own thoughts and resentments.

However, compared to the rage and dissatisfaction of Chen Xiu and Guo Qi from Yingchuan and Wang Jun from Beihai, Xu De from Runan, Chen Lei and Wu Shang from Qiao had some self-reflection and felt that what they did was indeed a bit unkind.

The teacher grounded them for ten days instead of kicking them out like he did to those idiots. It was obvious that he had high hopes for them and didn't want to lose them completely.

So when Chen Xiu insisted on taking revenge on Yuan Shu, Guo Qi and Wang Jun agreed, while Xu De, Chen Lei and Wu Shang said they did not want to take revenge.

"In the final analysis, we were the ones who made the mistake first, so the reason we were punished by the teacher was not just Yuan Shu's fault. If we retaliate for this, let alone what the teacher would think, what would the Yuan family think?"

Chen Lei from Qiao shook his head and said, "The power of the Yuan family in Runan is too great. It's not a big deal to just confine him for ten days. There's no need to make things difficult for him. Besides, Yuan Shu is so talented and obviously not easy to deal with. Mr. Chen, I won't get involved." Xu De and Wu Shang also held the same attitude as Chen Lei. They wanted to keep things peaceful and not want to further provoke Ma Rong and Yuan Shu.

Chen Xiuze found Chen Lei's attitude unbelievable.

"You and I are from the same clan, why do you want to boost others' ambitions and destroy your own prestige?"

Chen Lei still shook his head.

"Although you and I are from the same clan, we have long since separated. My family is weak and cannot withstand an attack from the Yuan family. Please show some mercy and let me go."

After saying that, Chen Lei turned and left.

Xu De and Wu Shang had the same attitude and left with Chen Lei without giving Chen Xiu any face.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu became even more furious and scolded Chen Lei for being a coward. Then he turned to Guo Qi and Wang Jun and expressed his opinions.

"Yuan Shu has suddenly gained power, so he must be arrogant and indulgent. Now he has even made treasonous remarks, violating the family rules of our school. We can use this as an excuse to sue Yuan Shu to our teacher and suppress his prestige. How do you think?"

Wang Jun was also annoyed at Yuan Shu's lack of martial ethics. He actually attacked them by surprise, leaving them powerless to fight back. Now that he could retaliate, of course he was willing to do so.

Anyway, his family is far away in Beihai. No matter how long the Yuan family’s hands are, can they reach Beihai?
Guo Qi, who was also from Yingchuan, looked at Chen Lei and the other three who were leaving and had some ideas. After thinking it over again and again, he bowed to Chen Xiu and said goodbye.

"Although I also dislike Yuan Shu very much, the family should be very reluctant to have any disputes between me and the Yuan family. If the news gets back and causes damage to the family, I will not end well. Mr. Chen, please consider the family more when you act."

After Guo Qi finished speaking, he left without looking back.

Chen Xiu and Wang Jun looked at each other in shock, so much so that Wang Jun wanted to back out.

But Chen Xiu was still angry at Yuan Shu's arrogance and lack of respect for him. He was not broad-minded and could not swallow this.

"They are all villains! Lord Wang, how about you and I go together?!"

Chen Xiu stared at Wang Jun with red eyes. Wang Jun was frightened and was afraid that he would be skinned alive if he opposed him here, so he had to nod and agree.

So the two of them began to discuss countermeasures, study their rhetoric, and prepare to launch a sneak attack on Yuan Shu.

After much discussion, the two men felt that it would be unlikely for Ma Rong to defeat Yuan Shu relying on only the two of them. As the saying goes, one can always learn from others, so the two men decided to learn and apply Yuan Shu's fighting style.

The more the merrier!
Can you mobilize the masses?

I can too!
The little black guys targeting Yuan Shu have gathered together!

They came up with their own explanations, accusing Yuan Shu of spreading "heresy" and not abiding by family rules, which was a serious act of usurpation of power. He was not only disrespectful to his teacher Ma Rong, but also to the ancient sages. They said that Yuan Shu was just an arrogant child who deserved to be beaten, criticized, and expelled from the school!

After the seventeen disciples were expelled, some of the disciples also left, but some of the disciples who had originally depended on them stayed.

Some of them came to their senses and admired Yuan Shu, while others were still dissatisfied with Yuan Shu but had to stay in order to continue their studies.

The latter group of people were influenced by the statements of Chen Xiu and Wang Jun, and openly questioned the theory of awakening conscience proposed by Yuan Shu.

To be honest, the terms "learning from a teacher" and "family rules" are not completely without their marketability.

The so-called learning refers to the source of a school of thought. In today's context, it refers to the Five Classics themselves, the Book of Songs, the Book of History, the Book of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

The so-called family rules refer to the fourteen schools of interpretation under the Five Classics system that were officially recognized by the court, namely "Meng's Book of Changes", "Da Xiahou Shangshu", etc.

In the theories of Han Confucian scholarship, the interpretation ideas and thematic arguments of teachers and family traditions cannot be violated, but it is allowed to delete, modify, and add to make it more concise without violating the original intention.

As a result, Chen Xiu and others began to accuse Yuan Shu of violating tradition and wanted to deal with him and deny him.

"In the past, when Emperor Guangwu was in power, Zuo Zhuan was once established as an official school of thought and was an orthodox school of thought. Although it lost its position for a time, emperors of all dynasties attached great importance to Zuo Zhuan, praised it many times, introduced those who studied Zuo Zhuan into the court as officials, and formulated rituals and laws, which shows its importance.

In this way, Zuo's family can be regarded as family law. Yuan Shu studied the family law of Zuo Zhuan and Ma's family. Now he is spreading private learning while teaching family law, misinterpreting the teachings of the ancient sages, and even misleading the public with evil words and making false statements about the way of the world. This is an unforgivable crime!"

The little black guys spread these claims in public and received responses from a small number of disciples, which seemed to have some momentum.

However, Chen Xiu, Wang Jun and others had been high and mighty, detached from the masses for too long, and had not noticed what was happening at the grassroots level among Ma's disciples, nor had they realized that the time had changed.

Before the incident of expelling his disciples, Yuan Shu was a minority with only a small number of die-hard fans and limited influence.

But after the incident of driving away the disciples, Yuan Shu has become the absolute majority in this group, winning the hearts of the people and gathering a large number of ishu who truly support him. He has become the number one idol and the king of traffic in the Ma family school.

Things change over time. To launch an attack on Yuan Shu now is like looking for death.

So the ishu, led by Lu Zhi and the Thirteen Guardians, immediately launched a counterattack, vowing to defend Yuan Shu to the death.

(End of this chapter)