Jinting Han people

Chapter 19 Faith and Righteousness

After hurriedly sending Liu Xian back to Anle Mansion, Chen Shou went to the mansion to visit his student early the next morning.

When he entered, Zhang Ximiao had just finished applying medicine to Liu Xian and was wrapping linen around the wound. Since the wound was on the forehead, Ximiao had to wrap the linen around again and again. When the bandage was finished, Liu Xian looked like a duckweed, as if the wind would blow and his head would fly away with his body.

Seeing Chen Shou coming, Zhang Ximiao quickly stood up and invited him to sit down nearby. He then poured him a bowl of tea and said with a smile, "Sir, why are you here so early? Didn't I tell you yesterday? Don't worry, it's just a minor injury. It will heal in two days."

Chen Shou glanced at the bundle on Liu Xian's head and felt that Xi Miao was being insincere. However, he did not expose her. Instead, he continued to apologize, "Madam, what are you talking about? Bi Ji was an accident caused by me. How can I stay out of it?"

After saying this, he took out a box of Shangdang ginseng he had bought from the West Market as an apology and apologized again, "I have been teaching Bi Ji for such a long time, but I only taught him etiquette and reading, but I forgot to teach him how to behave in society. This is also my inadequacy. I hope Madam will not blame me."

After a brief moment of debating, Xi Miao finally accepted the ginseng. After a few words of advice to Liu Xian, she turned around and went back to tend to the household chores. Chen Shou and Liu Xian were the only two remaining in the room.

As soon as his mother left, Liu Xian sat up from the couch. Unaccustomed to the weight on his head, he swayed a bit. Chen Shou couldn't help but laugh at his disciple's funny appearance, then asked with some concern, "How is it? Does it still hurt?"

Liu Xian grabbed the bandage with his hand, frowned, and said, "It doesn't hurt, just a little itchy."

Chen Shou slapped his hand and scolded him like a father, "Don't scratch! The itch will heal after a while. If you scratch the wound, you'll probably get a scar."

Liu Xian obediently put down his hands, sat up straight, and when he looked up at the teacher, he found that Chen Shou was looking at him with a serious look. Liu Xian quickly lowered his head and realized that the teacher was about to start preaching.

Chen Shou asked him, "Why did you say that yesterday? Don't you know that Sun Hao dares to kill people?"

Liu Xian replied, "I know. The first time he moved here, I saw him trying to kill someone."

"Then why don't you cherish your life and fight him head-on?"

"Because he humiliated me." Liu Xian stared at the teacher with wide eyes. "Not only did he humiliate me, he also humiliated my last name. The first lesson the teacher taught me was not to let my last name down."

Chen Shou was stunned, clearly not expecting Liu Xian's response. Then, his tone softened, he said patiently, "But your teacher also taught you that a gentleman should be cautious in his actions and words, and be willing to be humble to survive. For an ambitious person facing a life-or-death danger, it's not shameful to temporarily endure it in order to practice the righteous path in the future. Han Xin submitted to the humiliation; and Guangwu apologized for Gengshi's killing of his brother. Isn't this the same principle?"

Liu Xian nodded and said, "What the teacher said is true, but it doesn't apply to yesterday."

"Ok?"

"First of all, I don't have any great ambitions yet, and I'm not really a gentleman yet."

This made Chen Shou laugh and cry, but Liu Xian's next words surprised him, "Secondly, what I did yesterday, although dangerous, was not fatal."

"Why do you say that?"

"As the saying goes, 'The first push is strong, the second weakens, and the third is exhaustion.' Sun Hao was already discouraged when he didn't dare burn himself in Jianye. After entering Luoyang, he was repeatedly humiliated by the nobles, which further depressed him. He even wanted to kill the servants at the gate, but the killing intent only lasted a moment. When I saw his eyes yesterday, they were as depressed as autumn grass, without a trace of murderous intent. What was there to be afraid of?"

After these words, Chen Shou felt a bit dazed. His fluent criticism of people, coupled with Liu Xian's undeniable confidence, brought back memories of his glorious military days. Back then, someone had also described him as a hero, with the same confidence and brilliance. But that was so long ago, so long ago that Chen Shou could no longer recall his appearance. But he always remembered that burning end.

He recovered and couldn't help but sigh, "You...don't take things so lightly. We're not saints, and the outcome of many things is unpredictable."

Chen Shou wanted to change the subject and talk about future plans, but Liu Xian interrupted him again and asked:

"Teacher, I have a question in my mind, can you answer it for me?"

Chen Shou looked at the student's serious eyes and felt a pang in his heart, but he suppressed his uneasiness and said patiently, "Go ahead and say it."

As expected, Liu Xian asked, "Why do people die for the sake of sacrifice?"

Liu Xian continued to express his confusion: "Back then, Qu Yuan, disgraced by his lack of a position, drowned himself in the Miluo River; Jing Ke danced at the Yishui River, fearing death to capture and kill the King of Qin; Geng Gong defended the Western Regions with a lone army, ultimately leaving only thirteen men; and when Deng Ai's army reached Chengdu, my grandfather surrendered. My fifth uncle, Liu Chen, even murdered his wife and then himself. And yesterday, Sun Hao said he once considered burning himself to death for his country."

"Why do they do this? My teacher told me that people should cherish their lives, but these people not only don't cherish their lives, they even volunteer to die. I know that they must be like what Mencius said, that what they desire is more important than life, so they sacrifice their lives for righteousness."

"But what exactly is this righteousness? I can't understand why some people are willing to die for righteousness, while others are not. And why are those who sacrifice their lives for righteousness always a minority? Does that mean the majority of people living are unrighteous?"

Liu Xian unleashed a string of questions, speaking quickly and even slurring his words, but Chen Shou understood them perfectly. By the time he finished, Chen Shou had straightened up, his face a look of mixed emotions and relief. Chen Shou sighed inwardly: This kid finally asked this question.

He didn't directly answer Liu Xian's question, but instead asked, "Do you still remember the first time your mother brought you to the thatched cottage to become his disciple?"

"remember."

"When your mother asked me to be your teacher, I refused at first, you remember."

"remember."

"Do you know why I refused?"

"do not know."

"Because I'm afraid of being implicated by you. I'm a remnant of Shu Han, and you're a prince of Shu Han. If we were to be linked, I'd be accused of treason. If I make a wrong move in the future, I wouldn't even have a good ending. Do you understand?"

Liu Xian was silent for a moment, then replied, "I understand."

"Do you know why I agreed again?" "I don't know."

"Because I am indeed a remnant of Shu Han. Back then, my father and I studied, served, and rose through the ranks, all thanks to the kindness of your great-grandfather, grandfather, and Prime Minister Zhuge. If I don't repay them, I'll lose my credibility and the foundation of my life."

"letter?"

"Yes, believe, trust." Chen Shou patiently explained: "Biji, think about it, is your mother good to you?"

"My mother treats me the best."

"Then if you let your mother down, how do you think the world will view you?"

"This……"

Chen Shou said slowly: "Everyone will think... that you don't even care about your mother who loves you the most. You are probably a heartless person." Liu Xian's expression became serious. After thinking for a moment, he nodded seriously.

"At this point, no one will be willing to consider you a friend, and no one will take your promises seriously. Because you don't even care about the people who treat you best, how can you care about others? Then you will be excluded from everyone, and even killed, because you are not worthy of trust."

"Trust, to be more precise, is the ability to trust one another that makes people human. People form a nation. Without trust, it becomes a world of beasts... This is my opinion. While the world of beasts may be filled with extravagance and luxury, living a life of drunkenness and dreams, it is always accompanied by fighting and conflict, and will only lead people to destruction..."

Liu Xian understood and then asked, "So 'faith' is 'righteousness'?"

Chen Shou shook his head, drank a cup of tea, and then slowly said, "Faith and righteousness seem to be similar, but in fact righteousness is higher than faith."

"Trust is certainly important, but you've studied history long enough to understand that in order to achieve a goal, deception and deception are sometimes unavoidable. This is when trust is destroyed, and people begin to fight and kill each other. But if this continues, the world will be reduced to a wasteland. Only righteousness can prevent this."

"why?"

"Because trust is premised on equal giving and receiving, destroying trust means someone takes more than they give. To restore trust after it's been broken, someone must proactively give, sacrificing themselves without expecting anything in return. We call this behavior 'righteousness.'"

"As for those people you mentioned earlier, like Qu Yuan, the Chu royal family was originally corrupt and incompetent, and the people suffered terribly. But after he drowned himself in the Miluo River, although the Chu State continued to decline, it gained a sense of righteousness and restored trust. That's why the saying spread among the people that even if there were only three households left in Chu, it would be Chu that would destroy Qin. In the end, it was indeed the Chu people who destroyed Qin."

At this point, Chen Shou's eyes were extremely serious. He had gradually forgotten Liu Xian's age and was immersed in his own argument. He continued, "So, righteousness is not a promise made by one person to another, but a person's pursuit of an ideal world, a hope for the people of the world. He is like the oil in a lamp after sunset, hoping to burn itself to illuminate the dark room, even if it turns to ashes, he has no regrets. This is what it means to sacrifice one's life for righteousness."

After a moment of silence, Chen Shou looked at Liu Xian again, his eyes softening once more, and asked, "Bi Ji... do you understand?"

"understood."

Seeing Liu Xian nod, Chen Shou still had no intention of ending the conversation. He intended to give Liu Xian a very important piece of advice. After tidying up his words a bit, he continued:
"But I don't want you to go to the extent of 'righteousness'."

"Ah? Why?" Liu Xian felt incredible.

"Many things sound simple, but are actually very difficult to achieve. Sometimes, striving for 'righteousness' not only requires excessive sacrifice, but also lacks understanding and leads to a lack of hope for the future."

"While 'righteousness' doesn't demand reward, the reason people pursue 'righteousness' is ultimately because they hope their ideals can be realized. However, most 'righteousness' is impossible to achieve. Just like your fifth uncle, Liu Chen. Everyone admired his steadfastness, but he was ultimately unable to restore the Han Dynasty. He served no purpose other than to cause regrets in future generations."

"Why couldn't Sun Hao burn himself to death? The reason is the same. He didn't know if his 'righteousness' would move the world, nor would it help the cause of restoring the country. 'Righteousness' is too heavy, too heavy for most people to bear."

"Now, the country is unified, the world is stable, the night is over, there is no 'righteousness' that requires people to sacrifice their lives, all they need to do is live a good life..."

"So, instead of pursuing righteousness, it's better to be a trustworthy person, find a goal you enjoy, and live your life step by step. That's all very well. This is also what you asked earlier: why are those who sacrifice their lives for righteousness always a minority? Because most people only need to have 'faith.'"

The lecture finally came to an end. Liu Xian felt the conversation had been very short, but when he turned around, he saw the sun was already high in the sky, and it would be lunchtime soon.

After some cleaning up, the mansion finally hosted a belated banquet. Liu Xun, Liu Yao, and other members of the mansion's staff, in a rare act of hospitality, all joined together to entertain Chen Shou. Liu Xun, the father, inquired about Liu Xian's current situation. Chen Shou, in turn, praised Liu Xian, describing him as gifted, studious, and able to endure loneliness, much like Yan Hui. For a moment, both host and guest were delighted and filled with joy.

But even as he sang and drank, Liu Xian was still absorbed in the teachings he had just received. His mind was ablaze, and he kept thinking: Without "faith," the world would be in strife; without "righteousness," the world would be plunged into destruction... This realization gave rise to all sorts of fantasies in his young mind. Before him lay the vast expanse of Luoyang plains. In a trance, the wheat ears in the fields crackled in the flames, and in the blink of an eye, they were reduced to a scorched earth. That scorched earth was covered with corpses and will-o'-the-wisp fire.

At this thought, Liu Xian suddenly recalled Wang Fu's relieved face before his death, and the tablet of Liu Chen enshrined in the ancestral hall in the backyard. Then, a new question flooded his mind. Is this world really, as his teacher had said, a world where there's no longer any "righteousness" that demands selfless sacrifice? Will the future truly be filled with peace and tranquility?
He did not have this sense of reality. Although some of his doubts were resolved, new doubts arose and grew bigger and bigger.

While he was thinking, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw that it was his father, Liu Xun. Seeing his son in a daze, he immediately scolded him, saying, "Your teacher has found a new teacher for you. Why don't you thank him quickly?"

New teacher? Liu Xian was startled. He stood up at a loss and cast a blank look at Chen Shou.

Chen Shou smiled, waved his hand and motioned Liu Xian to sit down, saying, "Biji, be careful when you go over there. I've been teaching you for three years, and I don't want others to say I'm misleading my students."

Liu Xian sat down in confusion and asked again, "Over there? Where? Which teacher?"

Chen Shou stroked his beard and said three words with a rather complacent tone: "Little Ruan Gong."

In the Western Jin Dynasty today, only one person can be called Xiao Ruan Gong. In later generations, he was called the last of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

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　　Thanks to book friends 17th's Black Cat and Qiongzhu for their tips~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)