Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 261 Theories and Hopes
"Fearless?"

Sheng Changquan frowned, somewhat confused about what Mr. Zhuang meant.

"Scholar, what exactly do you mean by 'fearlessness'?"

Sheng Changquan shook his head and admitted, "This student doesn't understand!"

"Heh, you don't understand?"

Mr. Zhuang leisurely poured another glass of wine on the table, a half-smile on his face: "Changquan, let me ask you a question!"

What do you think of the current imperial court?

"And what about the current government?"

Instead of stating his answer directly, Mr. Zhuang asked two other seemingly plausible but ultimately ambiguous questions.

Upon hearing these two questions, Sheng Changquan's eyelids immediately twitched!
His lips moved slightly, and then he spoke softly.

His voice was soft, but his tone was firm, as if he were speaking from the heart.

"That would be excellent!"

Sheng Changquan calmly sang a hymn of praise: "The court is full of talented people, and all the officials are also highly capable, possessing the spirit of ancient sages. They are incorruptible and truly rare and outstanding figures!"

"Their character and demeanor are truly admirable!"

A "sincere" look appeared in Sheng Changquan's eyes: "Needless to say, the world is peaceful and prosperous today, and the people are all well-fed and clothed, enjoying the pleasures of rural life!"

"This world is a time of peace and prosperity, and the current emperor can be considered a wise and capable ruler!"

"and……"

"hehe!"

"alright, alright!"

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly and glanced sideways at Sheng Changquan, interrupting Sheng Changquan's next string of compliments.

The old gentleman first stopped Sheng Changquan's "flattery," then pondered for a while before leisurely speaking: "Changquan, don't even think about fooling me!"

"I have been teaching you for four years now, how could I not see what you are thinking?"

Sheng Changquan started attending Mr. Zhuang's classes when he was three years old. In fact, his early education was completed jointly by Sheng Changbai and Mr. Zhuang. In fact, Sheng Changquan's current knowledge was basically taught by Mr. Zhuang.

Of course, aside from those things from my previous life.

At this moment, Old Master Zhuang's expression turned solemn. He suddenly turned his head and looked at Sheng Changquan earnestly, saying, "Changquan, if you truly believe that this is a peaceful and prosperous era, then you wouldn't be practicing archery and horsemanship!"

Mr. Zhuang pointed and looked at the bulging muscles on Sheng Changquan's body, making a pointed remark.

"Scholar, the students practice martial arts not because..."

Sheng Changquan opened his mouth to explain himself, but unexpectedly...

"Oh, no need!"

Old Master Zhuang waved his hand slightly, insisting that he had seen through Sheng Changquan's thoughts: "I know your situation and understand your reason for hiding your talents!"

Old Master Zhuang thought that Sheng Changquan denied it because of his status as an illegitimate son, which made it inconvenient for him to stay in the Sheng family. So he comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, after you get the title of Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), I will take you to travel all over the world. At that time, you can unleash your true nature and speak freely!"

"However, Changquan, I must say, you do have a very good eye!"

"He can actually see through the flaws in the court at a glance and understand the current situation of internal and external troubles!"

After "enlightening" his own student, Mr. Zhuang's expression became melancholy, as if he had a great deal of sorrow in his heart!
"In fact, even I, an old man, have only just begun to understand a few of its nuances after observing it for decades!"

Old Master Zhuang pointed his finger in the air, as if he were surveying the world and manipulating events: "The troubles of the world today lie not only in the struggle for the throne among the princes in the palace, but also in the worries of the Northern Liang!"

"Not only in the north, but even the southern border is somewhat unstable!"

Mr. Zhuang pointed out the state of affairs and wrote passionately: "It's a pity that the officials in the court are all concerned with protecting the interests of the powerful, unwilling to expose this illusion, and only concerned with maintaining this false appearance of prosperity!"

"Didn't they consider that if this flaw were exposed one day, wouldn't the world be plunged into war again?"

"If one does not dedicate oneself for the greater good, how can one be considered to have the virtues of the sages?"

"These despicable people actually hold high positions, it's truly..."

Seeing that Mr. Zhuang was starting to expand on his martial arts skills, especially after he said those things, Sheng Changquan immediately knew when to back down. He quietly took a step back and forcibly swallowed the words he was about to say.

Heaven help me, Sheng Changquan's reason for learning martial arts was not actually to join the army and defend the country.

Actually, his initial goal was very simple: he wanted to learn martial arts to protect himself.

On the one hand, he didn't want to become a weak and effeminate man who couldn't even kill a chicken, so as to avoid being powerless to resist the dirty tricks of the Sheng family's inner quarters. On the other hand, he just wanted to have a strong body so that he wouldn't be "harmed" by the rudimentary medical technology of this era!
Although the medical practices of this world are quite wondrous, they are still inferior to those of later generations overall, after all, the level of technology has not yet reached that level.

Besides this, another reason why Sheng Changquan practiced martial arts was because he had a little-known dream.

After all, who in their past life didn't dream of wearing a white robe and carrying a sword, riding a horse and roaming the martial world?

In short, whatever Sheng Changquan's intentions may have been, it was absolutely impossible for him to have the same idea that Mr. Zhuang thought—to serve the country and its people and aspire to join the army.

……

Mr. Zhuang was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he talked for a long time until his mouth felt dry. Only then did he reluctantly touch his mouth and stop.

"Changquan!"

Mr. Zhuang turned around, picked up the glass of wine on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.

Of course, for the old gentleman, this glass of wine was merely a slight moistening of his throat. He licked his dry lips and looked at Sheng Changquan, who had a somewhat strange expression beside him.

"Actually, besides this reason, I have another piece of evidence!"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and gave another reason!
"Ok?"

Sheng Changquan's heart skipped a beat!
"hehe!"

"Changquan, you may not have realized it yourself, but your past articles, although written with utmost respect and without the slightest transgression, actually have a different flavor inside."

Mr. Zhuang was somewhat pleased with himself, feeling that he had figured out Sheng Changquan.

"is it?"

Upon hearing Mr. Zhuang's words, Sheng Changquan immediately frowned.

"Could it be that there is something wrong with me?"

Sheng Changquan asked himself honestly, and he did indeed have a kind of lofty and arrogant contempt for the court of this era.

However, it wasn't the kind of "How can I bow and scrape before the powerful and wealthy?" that Li Bai felt after his talents were not recognized, but rather a sense of looking down upon others that he inherently possessed.

Moreover, he doesn't look down on just one or two people or things. In the words of the senior disciple Duan Shui Liu, he's not targeting just one or two individuals.

—What he wanted to say was to everyone, whether they are alive or not!

"pedant!"

Sheng Changquan pondered this in his heart for a long time, but he still didn't quite understand.

"Scholar, I truly cannot recall what was wrong with this. Please enlighten me!"

Sheng Changquan still couldn't recall the flaws in his article, so he simply asked him directly.

After all, if there was something wrong with his article, it would be no small matter! Sheng Changquan was prepared to remember this lesson, correct it, and keep it in mind so that he would not be caught in this situation and accused of disrespecting imperial authority when he entered officialdom in the future.

"No! No! No!"

There's actually nothing wrong with your article!

Upon seeing Sheng Changquan ask this question, Mr. Zhuang immediately shook his head.

"no problem?"

"Then may I ask why the scholar would say that the student's writing has 'a different flavor'?"

Sheng Changquan felt increasingly uneasy!

"Could it be that Mr. Zhuang is joking with me?"

Sheng Changquan thought to himself, "Or is he just saying it casually, trying to trick me?"

"hehe!"

Just as Sheng Changquan was racking his brains trying to figure things out, Mr. Zhuang finally spoke up and explained his reasons.

"Changquan, stop thinking nonsense!"

"Actually, if I hadn't read your article and knew you well, I wouldn't have noticed the problem here!"

Mr. Zhuang took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sheng Changquan.

"Changquan, take a look for yourself. This is your 'On the Extinction of Qian'. It carries considerable weight, and some of its contents are quite remarkable!"

Sheng Changquan took the thing handed over by Mr. Zhuang and looked at it carefully!
"what?"

"Scholar, isn't this the essay I wrote last time, 'On the Extinction of Qian'?"

Why did you keep it?

Sheng Changquan could see clearly that this piece of paper was indeed his own original writing, and it was also a homework assignment he had specially written at the request of Mr. Zhuang.

"But scholar, what exactly is going on here?"

At this moment, Sheng Changquan was preoccupied with his own weaknesses and couldn't care less about anything else.

"hehe!"

Mr. Zhuang remained calm and composed: "It's very simple, it's because of your article!"

"Or rather, none of your past articles have ever contained the idea that imperial power is supreme!"

"Ok?"

"Scholar, what do you mean by this?"

Sheng Changquan looked at Mr. Zhuang, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "I remember, this..."

"No!"

Old Master Zhuang waved his hand and explained, "Changquan, you must understand, I am talking about imperial power, not the emperor's authority!"

"Although your articles are full of 'respect' for the emperor, you have never once said that imperial power is the only right!"

"This is especially true in your treatise, 'On the Extinction of Qian'!"

"I never expected that you would propose that the people are more important than the ruler!"

Mr. Zhuang looked delighted!

Then, he also recited Sheng Changquan's "On the Destruction of Qian" with a swaying head: "The destruction of Qian was not due to inferior military strength, poor strategy, or unfavorable timing, but rather to the weakness of the people's hearts!"

"Where the people's hearts lie, there the emperor's sword will be pointed. The ruler and the people are like a boat on water; water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

"it is good!"

"This sentence is enough to make one drink a whole cup of wine!"

When he mentioned this particular sentence, Mr. Zhuang became extremely agitated, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably as if he were having an epileptic seizure. Fortunately, Sheng Changquan reacted quickly and stepped forward to support him.

Otherwise, this old man would probably have suffered a setback!
"Scholar, you'd better watch yourself!"

Sheng Changquan explained with a wry smile, "Scholar, didn't you criticize the student before, saying that the student's remarks were inappropriate and a kind of heresy?"

"Why do you look like this now, sir?"

It turns out that when Mr. Zhuang was explaining his lessons to all the students, he told everyone that Sheng Changquan's "On the Destruction of Qian" was an extremely poor article!

Its theme is wrong, its content is inappropriate, and it's a complete "wrong path"!
Of course, this "heretical and unorthodox" assessment was given by Mr. Zhuang in front of everyone, but in reality, he was just protecting Sheng Changquan.

After making his evaluation, Mr. Zhuang confiscated Sheng Changquan's article and put it in his sleeve. It was because of this that Sheng Changquan's article was never seen by anyone.

"Ugh!"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan's question, Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but sigh.

"Changquan, you still don't understand how cruel the struggles between these schools of thought can be!"

Following Sheng Changquan's arm, Mr. Zhuang carefully sat back down in the pavilion and explained, "Right now, the mainstream of Confucianism and Taoism is Neo-Confucianism, which emphasizes the proper relationships between ruler and subject, father and son, and it is extremely intolerant of other doctrines!"

"Not to mention your idea that 'the people are more important than the ruler'!"

Sheng Changquan remained silent.

In fact, Sheng Changquan was not unaware of what Mr. Zhuang said. As far as he knew, the current mainstream of Confucianism and Taoism—Neo-Confucianism—was actually a doctrine that cooperated with feudal rulers to consolidate their power and enslave the people.

Although it has many merits, it also has great drawbacks and can lead to the destruction of humanity.

The Neo-Confucianism of today is similar to the Cheng-Zhu school of thought of the past, which emphasizes "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires". In this world, this school of thought is like a solid stone, which is quite solid but also very easy to bump into.

"Scholar, don't you think my idea is wrong?"

Sheng Changquan lowered his eyes and asked softly.

"Wrong? Wrong about what?"

At that moment, Mr. Zhuang's eyes inexplicably shone with a light more dazzling than the stars!
"Changquan, you must adhere to your principles and thoroughly perfect your doctrine. I have a feeling that this doctrine is the true essence of Confucianism!"

At this moment, Mr. Zhuang was so excited that he forgot to refer to himself and simply used "I" instead.

"If I weren't so old and short of time, I would definitely work with you to perfect this theory!"

Mr. Zhuang was extremely excited!
"Scholar, please calm down!"

Seeing that Mr. Zhuang was so excited that he could hardly breathe, Sheng Changquan quickly reassured him, "I will listen to you and will definitely perfect this theory. Please don't worry!"

"Ok!"

Seeing that Sheng Changquan's guarantee seemed genuine, Mr. Zhuang finally felt relieved.

"Changquan, you must remember, you must perfect it completely!"

"Because it is the true way to govern a country!"

……

(End of this chapter)