Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 667 Mr. Mu Yi
After hearing what Qiao Zhen said, Yang Yuan's doubts deepened.

As the daughter of the Guo family, Guo Yuxiu doesn't need to take the imperial examination.

Even if she wanted to participate, why didn't the Jinzhou local government allow her to sign up?

Given the Guo family's influence in the local area, Jinzhou is like the Guo family's. Unless it is prohibited by law, is there any need for the Jinzhou local government to offend the Guo family?

Thinking of this, Yang Yuan followed Qiao Zhen back to his signing room and humbly asked him for advice.

Qiao Zhen was very upset. She had said something unintentionally and she didn't know what kind of trouble it would cause.

Qiao Zhen had no choice but to speak cautiously and carefully about what he felt was acceptable.

After Jingkang, the Western Army of the Song Dynasty had begun to decline compared to before, but the power of the tiger remained undiminished, and gradually three major forces were formed, namely the Wu family, the Yang family, and the Guo family.

Today, the Wu family has the largest territory, almost covering the western road of Lizhou, and has the strongest power, resisting in front of Lintao.

Therefore, now the Wu family is facing Daxia in the west and Jin Kingdom in the north at the same time.

The Yang family and the Guo family jointly controlled the Lizhou East Road and faced the Jin people in the north side by side.

Marshal Guo has been dead for more than ten years. When he died, his descendants were still young and did not have the qualifications and prestige to command his troops.

Due to the environment in which the Western Army is located, the Western Army only respects the strong.

If you cannot demonstrate abilities commensurate with your status, then no matter who you are, you will never be recognized and obeyed by the Western Army soldiers.

As a result, the successor to the lord of Jinzhou would be Guo Hao's capable general Wen Xuanchen.

The Guo family members are still in the army, continuing to grow and gain experience. After all, they are descendants of the old master and are well taken care of and have never been suppressed.

After more than ten years of growth, the Guo family members gradually became more capable and began to aspire to take back the position of Lord of Jinzhou.

But at this time, General Wen seemed reluctant to let go.

At the same time, for the Guo family's children, whoever can get it back will obviously be the future head of the Guo family, so there are also struggles within the Guo family.

Qiao Zhen stopped there, was vague for a while, and then smiled and said: "Qiao was once the deputy transport envoy of Yizhou (Chengdu), so I have heard a little about their affairs, but this is all I know, hehe..."

Although Qiao Zhen was vague in her explanation, Yang Yuan was able to imagine the complex situation in the southwest region, and he also anticipated that the purpose of Miss Guo's participation in the imperial examination might not be that simple.

Are they going to play the Song Dynasty version of "The Female Prince Consort"?

But the female prince consort took the imperial examination in order to marry her sweetheart. What was Guo Yuxiu's purpose in taking the imperial examination?
Now that he's here and has owed someone a favor, Yang Yuan can't just walk away.

So, that night Yang Yuan had a banquet with his colleagues and old friends in Lin'an Prefecture.

When the banquet was over, the moon was already high in the sky and the night was deep.

Luxi was pregnant now, and it was not appropriate to disturb her sleep, so Yang Yuan walked to Li Shishi's place.

When Li Shishi saw Yang Yuan, she smiled and said, "You just came two days ago, why are you here again today?"

Yang Yuan said: "Yang knows how to repay a favor. It's impossible for him to 'throw the matchmaker over the wall after the newlyweds have gotten into bed'."

Li Shishi laughed and spat at him: "Erlang is such a beast that he even drags the matchmaker to bed."

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Mrs. Li, you are a matchmaker, so it is natural that you will be in danger. You should have been prepared for this."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, and then Li Shishi said, "You smell like alcohol. I'll go make you a pot of new tea."

"Go!"

Yang Yuan slapped Li Shishi on her plump buttocks, then took Yang Sheng'er's little hand and taught him how to take his first steps.

The two of them coaxed Sheng'er to play for a while, then asked Chen Erniang and the maid to take Sheng'er to bed. The two of them sat opposite each other in front of the window, drinking tea and chatting.

Shishi smiled and said, "I heard that there is a girl from Sichuan and Shaanxi who wants to take the imperial examination?"

"Did you hear that too?"

"How could I not have heard of it? This unprecedented incident has spread all over the place."

"Even though she wants to take the exam, she may not be able to pass it. Does she really think that she can pass the exam just by wanting to? But if it were you..."

When Yang Yuan said this, he suddenly felt excited. If he could find a way to open this loophole through Guo Yuxiu and relax this policy, perhaps he could let Shishi take the exam.

Shishi smiled and said, "If it were in the past, I would really want to take the exam and become the top scholar. But now, why take the exam?"

Yes, why do we need to take the test? There must be a purpose, right? So what is Guo Yuxiu's purpose?

Seeing Yang Yuan deep in thought, Shishi asked, "Why, are you worried?"

Yang Yuan shook his head and said, "You don't know, because Miss Guo is going to take the imperial examination, it has caused a big disturbance."

Yang Yuan told Li Shishi about the battle between the two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the debate among the great scholars of Lin'an.

Li Shishi said: "In our dynasty, Confucianism now has three major schools: Luo School, Shu School, and New School. Each school is further divided into several sects. Their teachings are mixed, each integrating Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Each has its own strengths and none of them is systematic.

I think they can’t argue for anything now, and only when one of their academic disciplines is more rigorous and complete in the future will they have a chance to dominate.”

History is really as Li Shishi said. Emperor Xiaozong hated Neo-Confucianism and once labeled it as pseudo-learning, but he failed to prevent its resurgence.

With the continuous improvement of great Neo-Confucian scholars such as Zhu Xi, it finally became popular and has since become the dominant school of thought.

Only Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind later became a school of its own and a new color in the world of Neo-Confucianism.

Psychology?

Yang Yuan thought of Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind and couldn't help but tell Shishi about it.

Naturally, Yang Yuan's knowledge was shallow. What he said were just some essential keys of the main philosophical thoughts of the School of Mind summarized by later generations, without sufficient reasoning.

But what kind of person is Li Shishi? Once she knows the key points of psychology, she can naturally break them down into details and deduce various theoretical evidence.

This is like a debate competition held in college, where the debaters on both sides may not necessarily agree with the argument given to them.

But since he was assigned to be the debater on this side, he could also speak clearly and convincingly on this point.

What's more, with Li Shishi's personality and thoughts, the academic study of mind could easily win her approval.

When Li Shishi heard what Yang Yuan said, she was immediately stunned by her beauty.

"Is this... what Jiro is thinking?"

"Uh..." Yang Yuan couldn't say that this would be the academic achievement of the second saint recognized after Confucius in the future.

The world has become like this now, and we don’t know whether there will still be such a person in the future.

So Yang Yuan said vaguely: "I... sometimes have random thoughts, but I am busy with official duties and really don't have time to study it in detail."

After hearing this, Li Shishi's eyes became wet.

She leaned softly in Yang Yuan's arms and said in a gentle voice, "Erlang is really amazing. I am really convinced by him."

Yang Yuan racked his brains and told her everything he could think of. Shishi was thirsty for knowledge, but Yang Yuan had nothing in his mind.

After hearing this, Yang Yuan, who was feeling guilty, grabbed Shishi and used another amazing thing to satisfy her thirst for knowledge.

Shishi mumbled something and soon gave up the idea of ​​continuing to ask because she was already full.

...The next day was the day for the Lin'an "release test" to be held.

Guo Yuxiu, a female candidate who attracted much attention from both the government and the public, successfully took part in the "liberation test".

In order to deal with this candidate, the Imperial Examination Hall opened a separate inspection channel for her and brought two female prison guards from the Lin'an Prison to inspect her and her examination equipment.

Inside the Imperial Examination Hall, at the end of a row of cells, a new shed was built, slightly separated from the other row of cells.

This was to prevent her from being too close to the male candidate when she was going to the toilet, which would be indecent for both of them.

The four guards arranged by Yang Yuan followed Guo Yuxiu closely.

Seeing that the four men were staring at him very closely and that he had a separate examination channel which was too far away from other candidates, Guo Yuxiu gave up the idea of ​​protesting his innocence in public and entered the examination room obediently.

In fact, she was also a little curious and wanted to know whether she could pass the imperial examination.

The test lasted for three days, and on the second day, the great scholar Peng Dingfeng invited famous scholars from all over the world to discuss philosophy at the Songdu Academy.

Mr. Peng Da is a representative of the Yongjia School.

The Yongjia School, also known as the "Utilitarian School," believed that what fills the universe is "things," and that Tao exists in things themselves;
Therefore, the Yongjia School advocated utilitarianism and opposed empty talk about nature and life, which was opposite to the Neo-Confucian study of nature and life.

Scholars from Shu School, Neo-Confucianism, New School and other schools also participated. At this time, Confucianism was flourishing with various schools of thought contending with each other.

But generally speaking, at this time, the theory of "applying knowledge to the world" still prevailed and had a wider market than the overly empty and pretentious Neo-Confucianism.

Many scholars from the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy also came to attend the lectures and listen to the great scholars’ discussions in person.

Among the students of the Imperial College, there was a young man who had not yet reached adulthood. His surname was Lu and his name was Jiuyuan.

At this time, the major academic schools, as Li Shishi said, were not yet complete and somewhat messy and chaotic, but they were barely able to form a system.

However, this young man named Lu Jiuyuan always felt a little bit itchy when listening to the great scholars discussing philosophy.

He has his own understanding, but his understanding seems more complicated and superficial compared to those great scholars whose theories have gradually become systematic.

Moreover, he was too young and his academic theories were immature, so he did not dare to stand up and express his thoughts in front of these teachers and seniors.

He was thinking and secretly criticizing some academic ideas in his mind when he suddenly heard someone say, "Chinese academic thought reached its peak in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty when nine schools of thought emerged.

By the Qin and Han dynasties, the three schools of Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism, as well as the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin dynasties, were merely the extension of their roots..."

The voice was very clear and didn't seem loud, but the many scholars sitting inside and outside the academy could hear it clearly.

Everyone looked up and saw a "man" in moon-white Taoist robes sitting at the end of the corridor, wearing a "miti" on his head that covered his head.

"He" seemed to have been listening to the great scholar's lecture for a long time. At this time, he spoke freely, commenting on the strengths and weaknesses of various schools of thought one by one. Then, he changed the subject and brought up Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind.

"Conscience", "Unity of knowledge and action"...

Lu Jiuyuan listened to every word and felt that every word hit a sore spot. He was so excited that he almost wanted to dance with joy.

Isn't this just scratching his itch?
The School of Mind was originally founded by Mr. Lu Jiuyuan of Xiangshan. When it came to Wang Yangming, he inherited Mr. Xiangshan's School of Mind and carried it forward.

Now, the founder of the School of Mind, listening to the thoughts on the School of Mind that were developed on the basis of his own School of Mind, of course, feels that every word speaks to his heart.

"He" stopped talking halfway, slightly lifted the "mirror" and drank tea to moisten his mouth. At that time, all the great scholars in the hall came out one after another and stood in front of "him".

Mr. Peng bowed respectfully. Seeing that he was wearing a veil on his head, he obviously didn't want others to recognize his appearance. However, he still asked unwillingly, "May I ask your name, sir?"

"My surname is Mu and my given name is Yi." The man returned the greeting with a clear voice, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

Mr. Peng Da said: "Mr. Mu's teachings are thought-provoking. Would you please come to the classroom to give a lecture?"

Mr. Mu thought about it, put the teacup on the tea tray beside him, stood up and walked to the hall.

Lu Jiuyuan hurriedly stood up, walked quickly forward, picked up the tea tray before Mr. Mu's servant, and followed behind respectfully.

He wanted to listen carefully to this gentleman's knowledge from close up, and he wanted to take Mr. Mu as his teacher!
When Li Shishi was a young girl, she interacted and discussed academic matters with countless great scholars of the time in Bianliang.

Now that she is surrounded by many great scholars and in a high position, she is not at all panicked.

She elaborated on the theories she heard from Yang Yuan last night and added her own understanding.

Even if the scholars in the hall did not agree with her theories, they had to admit that her academic work was indeed a complete system with its own logic and was extremely convincing.

A great scholar could not help but ask: "Mr. Mu's academic work is thought-provoking, but I have never heard of it. I wonder if it is your own research and where it comes from?"

Under the "Mi Li", Li Shishi smiled slightly and said frankly: "It originated from Shuxue, based on Shuxue, and has developed a little bit."

Erlang said that the current emperor is a big fan of Shuxue, so of course this knowledge must be attached to Shuxue.

The great scholars and students of the Shu School who were present were immediately filled with pride upon hearing this.

Part of Wang Anshi's new learning is similar to "Xinxue", and it also incorporates some content of the materialist view of nature. In other words, it is just a little more radical than Xinxue.

However, in terms of the degree of opposition, the New Learning and the School of Mind are two brothers, competing with the School of Principle. Naturally, they immediately regarded this "Mr. Mu" as one of their own.

After all, the origin of today's dispute is the criticism of Shu School and New School on Neo-Confucianism, which is also Confucianism but which they think is too unorthodox.

Of course, if this academic discipline has nothing to do with Shuxue at all, it would be impossible to gain the recognition of these great scholars by forcing it to be associated with it.

However, the School of Mind does have a very close relationship with the School of Shu.

After Wang Yangming carried forward the "Xinxue" inherited from Lu Jiuyuan, people in the Ming Dynasty at that time had already determined that Yangming's Xinxue originated from Shuxue.

Their original words were "the blood will revive".

Many important topics in the School of Mind, such as theory of human nature, ontology, and theory of self-cultivation, all inherit and develop the views of Su Shi's Shu School.

The "shorthand writer" sent by the official Zhao Yuan sat in the corner, writing rapidly and taking notes non-stop.

Fortunately, Li Shishi had mastered the "Zhelong Gong". Although she did not raise her voice deliberately, every word she spoke was clear and melodious, and everyone inside and outside could hear it clearly.

Li Shishi talked eloquently, and Lu Jiu felt as if he were in spring breeze.

After Li Shishi had explained her academic ideas clearly, several great scholars at the table could not wait to ask about her origin, name, and family background.

Li Shishi said: "I am just having an academic exchange with you. As for my identity, I don't want anyone to know it yet."

Immediately, a Shu scholar asked, "Tomorrow Mr. Ye Bixian will hold a lecture at Wansong Academy, inviting famous scholars from all over the world to discuss academics, explain the essence of things, and find the truth by distinguishing similarities and differences. Will you attend tomorrow?"

Li Shishi tilted her head and thought about it secretly.

Scholars and Confucian scholars such as Lu Jiuyuan who wanted to admire his knowledge suddenly became a little nervous.

Li Shishi thought, the child has been weaned, and the business affairs are also managed very well by the managers, so I don’t need to worry about it. I will go to Wansong Academy tomorrow to help Erlang and play the drums, which is not a big deal.

So, he nodded slightly: "Okay."

Upon hearing this, many of the great scholars present, except those who studied the Neo-Confucian school, were delighted.

Shishi stood up, nodded slightly to Lu Jiuyuan who was serving tea, and bowed to all the great scholars: "Gentlemen, goodbye."

Lu Jiuyuan had no time to stop her, thinking that he could listen to this gentleman's lectures on knowledge again at Wansong Academy tomorrow, and would have the opportunity to become his disciple then, so he quickly performed the etiquette of a disciple and respectfully followed the other great scholars to escort her out of the academy.

PS: I will code tomorrow's work in the afternoon and go out for drinks in the evening, hehe~
(End of this chapter)