I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 46: The Terrified Jia Xu

After Jia Xu raised this question, he almost instantly attracted the hatred of most of Yuan Shu's supporters present.

They all felt that this kid from Liangzhou was desperate for fame.

How dare you break this taboo!

Yuan Shu said that he does not read prophecies and does not like the study of prophecies and divinations. He said that the study of prophecies and divinations is a psychedelic thing and a spiritual opium that makes scholars lose their minds and spiritual support. This statement is actually politically incorrect.

However, because the imperial power of the Han Empire was weakening and declining, and the Yuan family was prosperous and powerful, no one really investigated what Yuan Shu said.

As a result, a young man from Liangzhou actually dared to delve into this issue!

People from Liangzhou are indeed reckless!

No wonder the entire court wanted to give up Liangzhou back then!

Barbarians! Barbarians!
Jia Xu didn't seem to notice that he had attracted the hatred of almost all of Yuan Shu's supporters present. He just stared at Yuan Shu, hoping to get an answer from him.

Yuan Shu was not angry about Jia Xu's sharp question. In fact, he thought it was meaningful that Jia Xu asked this question.

Because he helped himself detonate a bomb in advance that would explode at an unknown time, and let the bomb explode in a place where he could still control it, giving himself a warning in advance.

This is a good thing.

So Yuan Shu fell into deep thought.

Seeing Yuan Shu's silence, Jia Xu seemed to think that Yuan Shu could not cope with it. He suddenly became excited and asked Yuan Shu another question.

"I have long heard that Mr. Yuan is unwilling to learn the Book of Changes and dislikes divination because he does not talk about strange things or supernatural things. However, the important affairs of the country are war and sacrifice. Whether it is divination or prophecy, it is all for the purpose of seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster. What do you think of this, Mr. Yuan?"

Seeing that Jia Xu was still asking questions without knowing what was good for him, the Yi Xin Hui members who were watching became even more dissatisfied with Jia Xu. Zhao Jun even rolled up his sleeves and was about to go up and beat him, but was stopped by Lu Zhi.

Zhao Jun was furious.

"Brother Lu, why are you stopping me?"

Lu Zhi shook his head.

"Mr. Yuan has a calm expression and is not panicked. You and I should not be angry for now."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun followed Lu Zhi's gaze and saw Yuan Shu's calm expression.

Although silent, he was not panicked.

After touching his chin twice, Yuan Shu slowly raised his head.

"What Mr. Jia said is indeed reasonable. The most important affairs of a country are war and sacrifice. Divination and prophecy do have their significance. But Mr. Jia, I suddenly thought of a story."

Jia Xu thought he had a sure win, so he smiled and said, "Mr. Yuan, please speak."

Yuan Shu nodded and spoke slowly.

"At first, Duke Xian of Jin wanted to make his beloved Li Ji his principal wife, but many ministers opposed it. Duke Xian had no choice but to order people to use tortoise shells for divination. The result showed unfavorable. Duke Xian was very unhappy, so he ordered the diviner to use yarrow for divination, and the result showed auspicious.

Duke Xian was very happy and decided to use the divination result of yarrow to make Li Ji his wife. However, the diviner advised Duke Xian that the yarrow stalks were short and the tortoise shell divination was long, so it would be better to use the tortoise shell divination. However, Duke Xian did not listen and insisted on using the yarrow divination result and making Li Ji his wife.

Jia Xu blinked.

"What does Yuan Jun mean?"

“Sometimes divination is not God’s will, but man’s will.”

Yuan Shu said slowly: "For the same thing, the divination gave two results, and Duke Xian chose the one that suited his own wishes. So, was the divination based on heaven's will or man's will?"

Jia Xu was stunned.

The onlookers also began to think deeply about this issue.

Yes.

The same thing, two different results, the ruler chose the result he liked, so after all the divination, is it God's will or man's will?

What does heaven mean?
Seeing Jia Xu stunned, Yuan Shu launched another attack.

"Before the Battle of Muye, King Wu ordered a fortuneteller to predict the good or bad luck of the battle. The hexagram showed a very bad omen, so King Wu hesitated. Then Jiang Shang stepped forward and kicked over the hexagram, persuading King Wu to send troops to attack King Zhou. In the end, they won a great victory. Given the wisdom of King Wu and Jiang Shang, why did they do this?"

Jia Xu still didn't know how to answer this question.

Others didn't know how to answer this question either.

If you say that divination is useful, there are indeed many things that are done according to the results of divination.

As for whether divination is useless, many amazing people can indeed ignore the results of divination and do things and achieve success.

Or maybe the result of divination is what the ruler wants.

So is all this God's will or man's will?
This is true for divination and prophecies. After all the calculations, is it God's will or man's will?
Will people really do everything according to the results of divination?
Even if divination indicates that your father must be killed by you, will you still do it?

Yuan Shu did not ask the following question.

Because he knew that at this moment, at this period, this topic could only be discussed here and could not be further explored, otherwise it would really touch upon taboos.

Emperor Huan of Han was more or less capable. If he found out, the Yuan family would probably have to work hard again to get through.

It was obvious that Jia Xu was not very politically savvy. After all, he was still too young. He actually asked such a question, which broke the tacit situation maintained by everyone and forced Yuan Shu to make a big move.

But he was a smart man and reacted quickly.

From his slightly panicked expression, Yuan Shu also read his inner uneasiness.

Hmm, did you finally realize that you shouldn't be asking this question?

Yuan Shu then said with a smile: "Whether divination and prophecy are the will of heaven or man is beyond the judgment of ordinary people like us. We are not knowledgeable enough and have not enough experience to discuss these issues. So, Mr. Jia, let's leave this question aside for now."

Jia Xu was so nervous that he was sweating a little. After hearing what Yuan Shu said, he breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, and nodded.

"What Yuan Jun said makes sense, but Xu is just too self-righteous."

Yuan Shu chuckled and turned the page smoothly, pretending that this had never happened.

Jia Xu obviously didn't have the energy to continue the debate. He was defeated in all three questions raised by Yuan Shu. He was completely helpless. In the end, he admitted defeat to Yuan Shu with a face full of shame and walked away with his face covered. It was obvious that he had suffered a great blow.

Members of Yi Xin Society immediately gathered around to celebrate Yuan Shu's victory in yet another debate. Zhao Jun even told Yuan Shu that he almost couldn't help but beat Jia Xu up.

"What a barbarian from Liangzhou, he is so unreasonable. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely teach him a lesson!"

Yuan Shu just smiled and waved his hand.

"Jia Jun is young and energetic, so it's understandable that he makes mistakes occasionally. We shouldn't be too harsh on him."

Everyone nodded in agreement and praised Yuan Shu for his "tolerance and magnanimity".

At this moment, everyone selectively forgot the fact that Yuan Shu was still a boy, as if Yuan Shu was already a mature man.

As for Jia Xu, no one cared about him anymore, as if he was just an old dog that was driven out of the house by his owner when it rained heavily.

Jia Xu felt very disappointed and depressed, and even thought that there was something wrong with his brain. How could he think of using this matter to challenge Yuan Shu?
At first, he just felt that many people who debated with Yuan Shu did not get to the point. They were simply competing with Yuan Shu in knowledge reserves, quick thinking, and face-to-face bayonet fighting. However, Yuan Shu was a kind of knowledgeable and quick-thinking super debating talent, who was completely invincible.

So far, the most powerful person has only been able to tie with Yuan Shu, but has not been able to defeat Yuan Shu.

After listening to Yuan Shu's lectures several times and debates for a few days, Jia Xu discovered the brilliance of the subject - the study of prophecies and divination.

Why is no one debating this issue with Yuan Shu?
If you don't come, then I will!
I will get the fame that you can't get!
The twenty-year-old Jia Xu was ambitious and had political ambitions, otherwise he would not have traveled thousands of miles from Liangzhou to Luoyang to become an official.

So he rushed forward.

After I rushed in, I realized that everyone is not a fool.

The reason why we don't attack Yuan Shu for this issue is that no one can escape unscathed if we delve deeper into this issue.

If it's not weighed, it weighs less than 300 kilograms. But if it is weighed, it weighs more than 1,000 kilograms.

There was no need for them to offend Yuan Shu over this issue.

To offend Yuan Shu is to offend Jingzhao Yin Yuan Feng, and to offend Yuan Feng is to offend the entire Yuan family - the Runan Yuan family with three generations of officials.

They have disciples and former officials all over the world. If they raise their hands and call for help, there will be many disciples and former officials to help them deal with people. How can a small fry like you go against the legitimate son of the family?
How many lives do you have?
Are all your parents, relatives and friends wholesalers?
A typical eunuch entering the harem - more danger than good.

So Jia Xu was frightened and prepared to return to his temporary residence to pack up his things and run away quickly, as if he had never been there, expecting Yuan Shu to let him go like a fart.

As a result, when he packed up his things and prepared to run away, as soon as he walked out of the room, he saw Yuan Shu standing at the door looking at him with a smile, followed by two strong men.

Jia Xu's heart suddenly rose to his throat.

It's over!

Someone is here to cause trouble!
I almost made them act politically incorrect, and now they have come to my door to beat me up!

Jia Xu assessed his own body and the two strong men behind Yuan Shu and swallowed.

"Yuan Jun...why are you here?"

"What is Jia Jun going to do? Are you leaving so soon? Is there something urgent?"

Seeing Yuan Shu's smile, Jia Xu became more certain that Yuan Shu had come with bad intentions. It would be unlikely for him to get through unscathed today. He decided to see what he could do to get out of this situation at the lowest cost.

So he put down his luggage, faced Yuan Shu, bowed deeply, and performed a great salute.

"Xu was young and impetuous, and had not thought deeply. I offended Yuan Jun and brought him some trouble. This was not Xu's original intention. I hope Yuan Jun will understand. Xu will never mention this matter again. Can you also pretend that it never happened?"

"No."

"........."

Jia Xu swallowed his saliva again and said softly, "Xu will go to Luoyang to serve as a palace official. The court has already issued Xu's official notice. If he does not take up his post for a long time, I am afraid that the court will investigate and something bad will happen."

"I have many relatives serving in the imperial court. A mere official is just a small matter. No one will care if I just say hello."

Yuan Shu stepped forward and said with a smile: "Mr. Jia, you really make me have to deal with you. If I say something wrong and someone with ulterior motives hears it, I'm afraid it won't be easy to pass this test..."

"This...this...Mr. Yuan...I..."

Jia Xu was really panicked.

He now deeply regretted his arrogant behavior and his obsession with fame.

Now, I have offended the son of a super wealthy family, and he is obviously unwilling to let me go. In his eyes, my energy is just the struggle of an ant.

How can this be good?

After a suffocating silence, Jia Xu was about to kneel down and beg for mercy, but Yuan Shu suddenly took a few steps forward, held Jia Xu's hand, and laughed out loud.

"Hahahahahahahaha, hahahahahahaha, please don't disturb me, Mr. Jia. Yuan is not here to seek revenge. I just wanted to tease him, so I put on a show. I hope Mr. Jia is not scared?"

Jia Xu suddenly raised his head and stared at Yuan Shu blankly, and saw that the expression on Yuan Shu's face did not seem fake.

"Mr. Yuan...are you serious?"

"If I really wanted to seek revenge on you, why would I do it in Maoling County?"

Yuan Shu shook his head and smiled, "When you leave the city, I will send someone to follow you and get rid of you without anyone noticing. I will bury your body in the wilderness, and then ask my family to remove your name from the list of Langguan. You will disappear from the face of the earth and I won't have any trouble at all. Isn't that wonderful?"

Jia Xu thought about it carefully and felt that what Yuan Shu said made sense and that such an operation was indeed appropriate.

Then he was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Mr. Yuan, Jia is really..."

Before he could finish his words, Yuan Shu raised his hand in front of his mouth, signaling him to stop talking.

"I said, I'm not here to seek revenge. I just think that Mr. Jia is knowledgeable, quick-witted, and quite eloquent, so I want to make his acquaintance."

"Get acquainted with me?"

Jia Xu was even more surprised.

(End of this chapter)