I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 50 Ma Rong "entrusts his son to others"

Yuan Shu didn't care about Ma Rong's teasing.

If Mencius could live, then Confucius could live too.

If Confucius were alive, would he kill himself first?

"Mencius is dead and will not come back to life. Even if he was to be killed, it should be Dong Zhongshu who should be killed first, followed by Liu Xiang, Jia Kui and others. They were the first to do it. I am just repeating what others have said. When it comes to annotations, I am far inferior to my predecessors."

"In my opinion, you are not much worse."

Ma Rong shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Mencius' original intention was to emphasize benevolence and righteousness. Although he was a little too concerned about the importance of benevolence and righteousness, your annotation is equivalent to encouraging students to doubt the books of the ancient sages. To be honest, this would be considered treason."

"Whether it's treason or compliance, Mencius will never come to trouble me."

Yuan Shu spread his hands and said with a smile: "Without the master here, how will others view me? Besides, Mencius itself is not a classic, and few people study it. As long as I win in the end, then my annotations on Mencius will be the original intention of Master Meng. If he is unhappy, I will apologize to him after I die."

Ma Rong rolled his eyes.

"You are not afraid of heaven, earth, living people, or dead people. You are not only a saint, but also a devil!"

Yuan Shu chuckled.

"The Devil of Chaos is not bad either. It is better than watching the world go down in flames. Teacher, what do you think of my comment? What are my plans?"

"What else can I say, old man?"

Ma Rong smiled bitterly and said, "Modern text scholars respect Confucius, while ancient text scholars respect Duke Zhou, trying to suppress Confucius with Duke Zhou. And you go one step further and directly respect Yu Shun. Are you trying to use Yu Shun to suppress Duke Zhou and Confucius?"

"Of course, they are allowed to use the sages to support the occasion, but I am not allowed to?"

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "Moreover, what Mencius said about Yu Shun's actions is indeed very consistent with my idea of awakening the conscience. It is really wonderful to use him to represent me and achieve the study of awakening the conscience."

Ma Rong also laughed helplessly for a while.

Then, Ma Rong put away his smile and looked at Yuan Shu seriously.

"Shu, if you insist on doing this, you will definitely become enemies with many people in the future. They will spare no effort to attack you and regard what you have learned as heresy. Even if you are from the Yuan family, it will be useless."

"Isn't it better this way?"

Yuan Shu said solemnly: "What I have done is comparable to a reform. Those corrupt and decadent people will naturally hate me. Why should I be afraid? It would be better if they all jumped out and opposed me openly. Then I could wipe them out and rebuild the spirit of scholars."

Ma Rong couldn't help being moved.

"Reform... these two words mean a lot of lives will be lost. Shu, are you really that determined?"

"If you don't have determination, why bother taking this path?"

Yuan Shu nodded and said, "If we don't let those insects' heads roll, the whole world will have to roll their heads for their stupidity, so let's just let those insects' heads roll."

"……………………"

Ma Rong was silent for a long time again.

Then he seemed to realize something, sighed deeply, and laughed bitterly.

"Is it a good thing or a bad thing to accept you as my disciple and treat you as my top student?"

“It must be a good thing.”

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "Teacher, your contribution to this generation will benefit future generations!"

"I'll take that as a good thing."

Ma Rong picked up the bamboo slips of Yuan Shu's annotations on Mencius, flipped through them for a while, and said slowly: "I will have someone spread the word that I admire your "Mencius Interpretation" very much. I will help you in the end, but the rest of the way and the technique are up to you to figure out."

"teacher!"

Yuan Shu was really touched this time.

Although Ma Rong had a bad reputation in the outside world, his care and support for Yuan Shu were genuine, and Yuan Shu was very touched by this kindness.

Just as he was feeling moved, Ma Rong suddenly grinned and winked at Yuan Shu.

"I have helped you so much. When you become a sage, you must take good care of Ma."

"…………"

Yuan Shu suddenly felt that his overwhelming emotion instantly turned into cholesterol...

"Teacher, this..."

"I will not embarrass you. If you really violate the law, I will deal with you accordingly."

Ma Rong said with a smile: "But if the Ma family has a talented young man, you must not forget to help him, just like I helped you, and take care of him a little. After all, I am not a selfless person!"

Looking at his shameless look like a child, Yuan Shu was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"Teacher, you look just like those unreasonable little kids."

"It's like this when people get old. It's like this when you get old. Anyway, you must agree to be my master!"

"Okay, okay, I promise, I promise!"

Yuan Shu nodded helplessly: "But I have to be frank. I will not let go of those who oppose me and do unscrupulous things. I will deal with them as they should be dealt with. I will not show any leniency just because they are the descendants of Ma Fubo and you."

"I can't tolerate bastards either. It's up to you."

Ma Rong smiled and said, "The rest, I will leave it to you. Whether the Ma family can survive and prosper in the future depends on your luck."

Yuan Shu smiled and nodded, but suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Teacher, this may be my illusion. Why do I feel like you are... entrusting your orphan to me?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Rong nodded repeatedly as if it was a matter of course.

"My teacher is already 88 years old. It wouldn't be strange if he died at any time. Even if I entrusted my son to my care, is that wrong?"

"My last name is not Ma. Your sons and grandchildren are older than me. You wouldn't entrust your child to me, right? And the teacher is still alive. Why would you be in such a hurry to entrust your child to me?"

Yuan Shu held Ma Rong's hand and said, "Teacher, you have always been in good health. Have a good rest and take your medicine on time. Next spring, we can go for an outing in the wild together." Hearing this, Ma Rong's eyes revealed a hint of desire and yearning.

"Outing, all right, all right. I haven't gone outing for a long time..."

"So, teachers must take medicine on time and take good care of their health."

Yuan Shu patted Ma Rong's increasingly withered hands as if he was comforting a sick baby who refused to take bitter medicine.

Later, Yuan Shu left Ma Rong's bedroom and gave some instructions to Ma De, Ma Rong's personal servant who was waiting outside the door.

"Uncle De, remember to make sure the teacher takes medicine on time. If anything happens, send someone to tell me immediately."

"Ok."

Ma De nodded and watched Yuan Shu leave Ma Rong's bedroom.

After Yuan Shu left, Ma De entered the room.

"My dear, Mr. Yuan has left."

"Well, go and call them all over."

"My dear, this..."

"Call them all!"

"Here."

Ma De shook his head, sighed, and according to Ma Rong's instructions, he called several adult male members of the Ma clan who were in charge of the family business and remained in the clan territory to his bedside.

After all the people arrived, Ma Rong asked them to sit down together and listen to him.

"I know my own body very well. It is getting worse day by day and I may die at any time. I am old, 88 years old. Even if I die, it is not something worth being sad about. But before I die, I always have some things that worry me. If I don't deal with these things well, I will die with regrets.

These years, I have spent a lot because I like luxury. Of course, you have contributed to this. Without you running the business, I would not have such a luxurious life. I remember this in my heart, so before I die, I want to leave a way out for you.

The current situation in the world is becoming increasingly chaotic. I am very afraid that there will be a big chaos in the future. By then, my Ma family will find it difficult to cope with it and may be in danger of overthrow. After I die, the only person you can rely on and trust is Yuan Shu. "

Several adult members of the tribe looked at each other, their faces filled with surprise.

"Don't be surprised. I'm 88 years old. What kind of people have I not seen? What kind of things have I not experienced? Although Yuan Shu is still young now, he will surely achieve great things when he grows up. Only by following his footsteps can the Ma family continue.

Over the years, you have done many things that are not in compliance with the laws of the country, both overtly and covertly. I know all about this, but I didn't say anything. I had my own selfish motives, so I feel very guilty. After I die, you should stop those activities that are not in compliance with the rules and don't do them anymore.

Then, regarding the land industry, maintain it at the current scale and never expand it even an inch. Stop all acquisitions or other means and maintain the status quo. Treat servants and tenants with tolerance and kindness, and do not bully or do evil.

When dealing with the children in the family, you must strictly discipline them and never allow them to break the law. Otherwise, if you cause trouble and endanger the inheritance of the Ma family, you will be the sinners of the family, and I will not let you go even if I become a ghost!"

Ma Rong said a lot and felt very tired. He took a few breaths and continued to speak.

“Yuan Shu has promised me that he will take care of Ma in the future. You should also remember that if you encounter something you cannot handle, you must find Yuan Shu. Only he can help you, but he is a person who hates evil, so you should be more honest and do your job.

Over the years, I have dragged my tired and aging body to teach my disciples and pass on knowledge. The purpose is, first, to pass on my own knowledge, and second, to make good connections and leave one or two or three ways out for future generations. If you encounter danger, someone will remember my kindness and help you.

This is the last thing I can do for you. It is also a small reward for your support of this extravagant old man for so many years. I hope you can reflect on yourselves, exercise self-discipline, remember my instructions, and don't forget them. Then I will be at ease."

Several tribesmen found it difficult to accept this fact and tried to comfort Ma Rong, asking him to take good care of himself and not to say such unlucky words, but Ma Rong just shook his head.

"I know my own body well. I just want you to remember to obey the law, live your life in a responsible manner, and seek out Yuan Shu when you are in danger. Remember these sixteen words and don't forget them. Can you do it?"

Ma Rong stared at them with wide eyes.

Several people looked at each other, and finally had no choice but to bow to Ma Rong collectively.

"I will never forget your teachings."

"now it's right……"

Ma Rong breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand.

"Go, go, do what you should do, and live your life to the fullest..."

Ma Rong didn't say anything more, just closed his eyes and rested.

Several adult members of the tribe left Ma Rong's bedroom and walked out the door, but they still found it difficult to accept Ma Rong's "last words" which came so suddenly.

But whether they can accept it or not, time will not stop.

At the end of November, a heavy snow fell. On the second day of the snow, when Yuan Shu and Lu Zhi were making the final revisions to "Mencius Interpretation", news came from Luoyang.

Li Ying, the former governor of Henan who was imprisoned for dereliction of duty and disobeying imperial orders, gave out his "accomplices" in prison. Surprisingly, these accomplices were all children of eunuchs or people related to eunuchs.

The eunuchs were worried that Li Ying would lose his mind and accuse everyone, and thus implicate them as well, causing Emperor Huan to know some things that he should not know, thus causing them to suffer the same fate as the five marquises in the past. So they began to soften their attitude and no longer demanded the execution of Li Ying and others.

At the same time, a series of officials who sympathized with the "party members" and were headed by Dou Wu, the great-great-grandson of Grand Marshal Dou Rong, the father of Empress Dou of Emperor Huan, a famous scholar in Guanxi and the captain of the city gate, also wrote to the emperor requesting him not to kill these "party members", believing that this would be against the harmony of heaven.

The eunuchs softened their attitude, a group of third-party officials headed by Dou Wu sympathized with them, and Li Ying and his followers and colleagues tried their best to rescue them. Faced with tremendous pressure, Emperor Huan was unable to arbitrarily order the killing of all these party members.

But he didn't want to admit defeat and let go of this "rebel" who challenged his power so easily. He still wanted to struggle.

So the situation in Luoyang remained at a stalemate.

It didn't get better, but it didn't get worse either. It seemed that this major political turmoil had no possibility of continuing to ferment. Everything was changing for the better.

After Yuan Shu learned all this, he knew that the first Party and Faction Persecution was almost over.

Emperor Huan, Liu Zhi, still had some political skills. The first Party and Faction Persecution did not affect too many people, nor did it hurt the foundation of the scholars, nor did it fundamentally change the scholars' views on the Eastern Han Empire.

And some of his political measures also effectively delayed the collapse of the Eastern Han Empire, such as the implementation of the Three Mutual Laws.

For the Eastern Han Empire, this was a rare emergency brake on its downhill road.

Unfortunately, Emperor Huan Liu Zhi, who stepped on the brakes, did not have much time left.

Yuan Shu no longer paid attention to what happened in Luoyang, but took the opportunity to publicly present his work "Mencius Interpretation" to the members of Yi Xin Hui and Ma's disciples for the first time.

Ma Rong also spread the word at a very appropriate time, expressing that he greatly appreciated Yuan Shu's interpretation of "Mencius", which was equivalent to publicly endorsing Yuan Shu with his own reputation.

(End of this chapter)