He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

"This... The sage taught us to restore the rites. The chaos in the world is because the rites of the past have been destroyed. As long as we restrain ourselves and restore the rites, everything will return to the right track." The Confucian scholars looked dejected and stammered.

"Hey, I think he's right! From now on, we should all be polite when we meet. If everyone in the world is polite, there will be no more injustices, and everyone will live in harmony. Wouldn't that be wonderful? We can keep talking to those who don't want to listen until they realize their mistake."

One of the men, who was fairly good-looking, suddenly spoke up in support of them. At first, the scholars thought he had convinced them and were about to leave, but what he said next made them furious.

"When the Xiongnu and Wuhuan people move south in the future, we will also go and treat them with courtesy."

If the Xiongnu want to steal our money, we will not only hand it over with both hands, but also ask them if it is enough. If it is not enough, we can even mortgage our sons to them as slaves.

If the Xiongnu want to rape and plunder our wives, we should cheer for them. If they don't please our friends who have come from afar, we can even send our daughters to serve them.

The Xiongnu people want to kill civilians for their amusement. We not only have to guide them, but also help them kill. If they are not satisfied, we have to cut off their heads to make wine vessels for them.

When they've had their fill of killing, and even feel ashamed of it themselves, they'll start learning the words of the sages, and then there will be no more war in the world!

The sarcastic remarks enraged the Confucian scholars. Who didn't know that those foreigners weren't even human? To speak politely to them was like casting pearls before swine! What else could someone who said such a thing be but a traitor?!

"Damn it!!!" The leading Confucian scholar punched the sharp-tongued man in the face. The man's smirk was still on his face when he cried out "Ouch!" and fell to the ground. Several other Confucian scholars followed suit, beating the shills arranged by Lu Wan until they screamed in pain and finally fled in terror, covering their heads.

The Confucian scholars were very excited, stretching out their arms and cheering loudly, feeling that they had protected their beliefs through force. However, these people did not see that in front of the disheveled figures was the smile of the mastermind behind the plan.

The smile was somewhat forced, as it aggravated the pain from the wounds on his face. The one who had suffered the most, the sharp-tongued one, secretly thought to himself, "I've taken so many blows to the face this time; I should at least get a raise on my compensation."

Anyone who has ever argued knows that whoever strikes first is the one who breaks the defense first. The result of this tavern duel also began to spread everywhere under the instigation of some people. From noble families to common people in Qingzhou, everyone knew that Zheng Xuan's disciple had debated with someone and, after losing the debate, resorted to violence.

Before this, Zheng Xuan had always been regarded as a moral exemplar and a spiritual leader for many. Although this incident did not directly affect Zheng Xuan, it did raise questions in people's minds: what kind of words could have caused Kang Cheng Gong's disciple to lose his composure so much that he abandoned all manners and started a full-blown fight?

The Confucian scholars who had assaulted the man didn't take it seriously at first, but they realized something was wrong when public opinion started to escalate, and they hurriedly ran to their teacher Zheng Xuan to apologize.

Zheng Xuan did not punish them immediately, but said gently, "It is understandable for young people to act impulsively. Moreover, the other party said such rebellious words. It is right for you to teach him a lesson. However, you should have argued with the other party first before proposing a duel to beat them up, instead of attacking without saying a word."

"You should have been confined for a few days, but since you won, copying the Book of Rites three times will suffice."

Zheng Xuan did this only to appease his disciples; a small, appropriate punishment could calm them down. The fault certainly didn't lie with his disciples. First, a group of people of unknown origin appeared, then they deliberately provoked his disciples into attacking, and after the beating, they vanished without a trace. The next day, the story was circulating throughout the major cities of Qingzhou; it was clear someone was behind it.

Zheng Xuan not only guessed that someone was causing trouble, but he was also certain that it was someone from Yanzhou or Xuzhou. At present, war is raging everywhere, and only Cao Cao and Liu Bei are in a state of peace. It is most likely that these two are behind this.

Liu Bei himself had met him, and he seemed honest enough not to be the kind of person who would do such a thing. If it was someone from Xuzhou who did it, it was most likely a scheme devised by one of Liu Bei's strategists. Cao Cao was also a possibility; he was a man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Zheng Xuan vaguely guessed who was behind this, but now was not the time to think about that. The most important thing now was the new doctrines coming from Xuzhou.

Zheng Xuan could not stand idly by and watch such heretical doctrines wreak havoc on the world. Han Fei's theories seemed reasonable at first glance, but in reality, they placed the monarch in a completely uncontrollable position. If this person could exercise self-control, it would be fine, but the fear was that another bastard like Qin Er Shi would emerge.

Moreover, Legalist thought is too idealistic and utilitarian, demanding extremely strict laws and absolutely fair enforcement. A society created in this way lacks flexibility and is prone to disintegration in the event of a major upheaval.

Zheng Xuan didn't care whether anyone wanted to harm him; he only cared whether people were truly moving in the right direction.

Since this strange thing originated from Xuzhou, I'll head there.

"Prepare the car, we're going to Xiapi. I need to go and give a lecture."

None of the disciples raised any objections, and they immediately began packing their luggage.

--------

Yuan Tan, the governor of Qingzhou, was also greatly surprised upon hearing this. His father, Yuan Shao, had always wanted to invite Zheng Xuan to Ye City, but Zheng Xuan had completely ignored him. Now, suddenly hearing that this stubborn old man was going to Xuzhou, Yuan Tan could only respect his wishes and offer his blessings. But if you were to expect Yuan Tan to help his father with his worries, you'd be dreaming.

Yuan Tan now had a more pressing matter to attend to: transporting the mulberry paper he had to Hebei for sale. The wealthy families, upon seeing such fine paper, were obsessed, frantically writing to him asking if he had any more, and if so, they wanted it all.

Ship after ship of paper was transported to Jizhou, but it was far from enough to satisfy the appetites of those powerful families. Even his aloof father began to write to him to inquire if there was any extra paper he could have.

Grain was continuously loaded onto ships in the north and headed towards Xuzhou. Xuzhou either stored the grain in warehouses or sent it directly to the military farms.

An economic corridor thus connected Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou. Xuzhou provided goods, Qingzhou provided transit, and Jizhou provided the market—a world where no one was harmed was achieved!

However, there was one group of people who were a bit strange: the Taishan heroes who acted as local tyrants in Langya.

Why do people from Xuzhou go to such great lengths to buy grain to take back home?