I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 113 Replacement?
Wang Lang opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but no words came out.

He didn't know what to say.

Or he had to admit that Yuan Shu was right.

After hesitating for a while, Wang Lang looked at Yuan Shu and asked, "So, how do you want to use the School of Mind to save the situation?"

"You don't know how I run the Yi Xin Society, nor how I run the Conscience Farm. What I wrote in the book has already been put into practice, and has achieved very good results."

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "There are some things that I just said, but you won't understand them very well. If you see them with your own eyes and experience them yourself, you will understand. However, you are a disciple of the Yang family. If you are willing, you can join the Yi Xin Society and see how we do things."

Wang Lang suddenly became curious.

"Isshinkai and Conscience Farm? Can I...can I join the Isshinkai?"

Yuan Shu nodded.

"Of course you can. As long as you apply and pass our interview, you can join. But I'm afraid your master won't agree so easily. Your teacher probably hopes that you can refute me, but you didn't argue with me. How are you going to explain this to your teacher?"

Wang Lang took a deep breath.

"I will tell the truth. I will ask the teacher for permission. You are right. Just saying it doesn't mean anything. We should put it into practice to make sure whether it is true. Mr. Yuan, thank you for clearing up my doubts. I know what to do next."

After saying this, Wang Lang stood up, bowed deeply to Yuan Shu, and then said goodbye.

Wang Lang didn't care how people who were paying attention to this "debate" viewed this matter.

His conversation with Yuan Shu took place in front of many people. The two did not debate, but Wang Lang was asking Yuan Shu for advice.

The onlookers were very confused. The Yang disciples who came with Wang Lang and had high hopes for him as the only one to make it to the finals were also dumbfounded. They didn't know why Wang Lang didn't argue with Yuan Shu, but instead asked for advice like a disciple.

What is he doing?
Didn’t he know that after he left, this duel would be equivalent to Yuan Shu’s complete victory?

None of them refuted Yuan Shu!
Forty-six elites, forty-six rising stars in Luoyang’s academic community, were wiped out just like that!
These forty-six people who once enjoyed great fame and status in Luoyang were defeated like this!

The reputation of New Text Confucianism was only a hair's breadth away from complete collapse.

Cheng Li and Wei Jia looked at each other, and without caring about anything else, they took the lead in cheering and congratulating Yuan Shu for his victory. With their lead, soon the congratulations of the Xinxue disciples rose one after another, and further led to the celebrations of the onlookers.

Cheng Li and others stepped forward and surrounded Yuan Shu, offering him their sincere congratulations. The "megaphones" scattered around also waved the flags with the words "To Conscience" written on them, leading the surrounding onlookers to cheer together.

The entire debate arena was filled with thunderous cheers and applause. Everyone was cheering and celebrating loudly. It seemed that the victory was not only for Yuan Shu and his school, but also for everyone present.

So the next step was a matter of course - to apply to join the Isshinkai wave.

It was also from this moment that the number of people who identified with and supported the School of Mind for the first time outweighed the number of people who doubted and denied it.

Yuan Shu was naturally happy, but he was not carried away by his joy. He remained alert and vigilant because the most important battle had not yet arrived.

Those who want to join the Yi Xin Hui now do not necessarily join because they recognize and believe in the School of Mind, so he will certainly not accept everyone into the Yi Xin Hui.

So he still required his disciples to interview applicants. Only those who passed the interview could join, while those who failed would be rejected.

However, it does not mean that if you cannot join the Yi Xin Hui, you will be excluded from this large group by Yuan Shu. The Yi Xin Hui has a certain entry threshold, but basically any student in Luoyang City is eligible to worship Yuan Shu as a teacher and become a disciple.

They could first join Yuan's group of disciples, and then after further understanding the concepts and ideals of Xinxue through teaching, consider whether to join Yixinhui.

"The current victory is still not the final victory. You must be alert and not be blindly optimistic!"

Yuan Shu declared this during an internal summary meeting.

Although Yuan Shu was so vigilant and restrained, in the eyes of other forces, this was undoubtedly a glorious victory, which basically declared Yuan Shu the winner in this public opinion storm.

Cai Yong thought so even without others saying anything. He skipped work many times to watch Yuan Shu's lectures and debates. He was impressed by Yuan Shu's strong academic ability and debating skills, and he respected his abundant knowledge reserves.

Ma Ritian is similar.

If he had doubts and regrets about Ma Rong's decision before, he now has no such emotions at all, and has even become a fan of Yuan Shu.

For this, Cai Yong often laughed at him.

"Uncle Weng, didn't you always say that Ma was very dangerous? Do you still think Ma is dangerous now?"

Ma Ritian seemed helpless about this.

"Okay, Bo Ji, stop making fun of me. How could I know before this that Yuan Shu was so eloquent? I've never been with him!"

"I can only say that you are far less discerning than your ancestors."

Cai Yong smiled and said, "I seem to have seen the day when everyone in Luoyang City studies the philosophy of mind and researches the unity of conscience and knowledge and action. But before that, I think there will be many people who will be unhappy about it and want to prevent this day from coming." Ma Riti looked at Cai Yong.

"Bo Ji, what do you mean?"

"Han Zong's defeat has probably made Master Yuan realize the decline of official learning. I'm afraid that at this moment, Master Yuan has already thought about replacing him, right?"

"Replace it?!"

Cai Yong's words shocked Ma Riti.

"Bo Ji, the Modern Text School has been the official school for more than a hundred years. If it were to change, wouldn't it be too shocking?"

"But if no one who studies official learning can rival Master Yuan, Uncle Weng, do you think people in the world will continue to believe in modern Confucian classics?"

Cai Yong shook his head and said, "The School of Mind is ultimately developed from the learning of saints, and it is not some heretical doctrine. In the past, the study of ancient classics was considered a pseudo-learning, but now there are so many people studying it, aren't they?"

Ma Riti was silent for a while and then raised his own question.

"Bo Ji, do you think that all the great men, including Yang Gong, will be defeated by Yuan Shu this time?"

"I don't dare say that."

Cai Yong blinked at Ma Riti and said, "But I always feel that it would be quite interesting if there could be such a day."

Ma Ritian was stunned.

"You... I didn't know you were such a person who wanted the world to be in chaos!"

"Well now you know, hahahahahahaha!"

Cai Yong laughed heartily.

But the reason why he was so cheerful was nothing more than that his interests were not harmed. Just like now, the eunuchs were happily watching everything happening outside in the palace.

They all expected Yuan Shu to go one step further and defeat all those people in the official schools, and maybe even reach out to the official schools to grab related benefits later.

Those who have no interest in it or can benefit from it are so happy!

But for those with relevant interests, this may not be the case.

For example, Yang Ci, after learning the news of the disastrous defeat, turned pale and almost fell to the ground.

He inquired in detail about the defeat and learned that the only person who made it to the finals was his disciple Wang Lang. However, Wang Lang did not choose to debate, but instead asked Yuan Shu for advice like a student.

This fact made Yang Ci extremely angry.

He clearly made it to the finals but did not fight with Yuan Shu. Instead, he asked Yuan Shu questions. With such an attitude, where would he save his face as a teacher?
Even if Yang Ci could ignore his own face, after this disastrous defeat, unless he took the initiative to step down, who could he find to represent him in the debate with Yuan Shu?
What if I end up being defeated like Han Zong? What should I do then?

So he found Wang Lang, made him kneel down, and severely questioned Wang Lang, asking him why he did not debate the scriptures but instead asked for advice?
Are you planning to betray your master? !

Wang Lang did not show any sign of panic.

He bowed deeply to Yang Ci.

"I did not do this intentionally, but I knew that I was no match for Yuan Jun. If I debated with him, I would definitely lose miserably, so I did not choose to debate with him."

"Mr. Yuan? You respect him!"

Yang Ci said angrily, "Jing Xing! You are the disciple that I look forward to the most. I wanted to take you as my top student, but you disappoint me so much! Are you worthy of my teachings?!"

Wang Lang still looked indifferent.

"Teacher, I am studying with you not to become your disciple, but to learn the teachings of the saints, to follow in the footsteps of the saints, to ascend to the throne of the emperor, to share his worries, and to restore peace to the world."

Yang Ci's face froze, obviously he didn't expect Wang Lang to say such a thing.

But as a teacher, how can I tolerate such remarks?
"So, didn't you learn these skills from me? Didn't you learn the skills to govern the world? Or do you think Yuan Shu is more qualified to teach you than me?"

Wang Lang bowed again.

"Teacher, I don't think so. I just think that listening to both sides will lead to enlightenment, while listening to only one side will lead to ignorance. There are many people in the world who study the classics because of this principle. I am curious and want to know what the School of Mind is."

"So you know what Xinxue is?"

Yang Ci sneered, "Do you think Yuan Shu's learning is more sophisticated than yours? Or do you think Mencius is more sophisticated than the Book of History? Or do you think the Yuan family is more powerful than the Yang family, and you can't wait to throw yourself into the arms of the Yuan family?!"

(End of this chapter)