I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 274 Common Concerns

Yuan Feng disliked every word Yuan Shu said and didn't want it to be true, but in Yuan Feng's opinion, every word was true.

If they are not careful, both father and son and the entire Yuan family will face a crisis of life and death.

This was something Yuan Feng could not accept no matter what.

"I was not thoughtful enough before. I only wanted to stabilize the situation. I didn't think about things that happened so far in the future. This was my mistake. But now the situation is like this. If they really do something like this, then Shu, what do you think I should do?"

Yuan Feng directly regarded Yuan Shu as his think tank, hoping to get effective methods from Yuan Shu.

He trusted his son even more than he trusted himself.

Yuan Shu lowered his head and thought for a while.

"Father doesn't want to confront the party members head-on?"

Yuan Feng hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

"In the current situation, the remnants of the eunuchs have not yet been cleared, and the Han Dynasty has not yet stabilized. It is hard to say whether it is right to confront the party members at this moment. Once you confront them, everything you have built before will come to nothing. Shu, no matter what you imagine, as a father, you still want to be a Han minister."

Yuan Shu nodded.

He knew that Yuan Feng did not have the courage or desire to replace Liu and establish himself as an independent official. Even to this point, it was his own push behind him. Without his push behind him, it would have been unlikely for him to reach this point and become a powerful official.

Moreover, before this, when father and son were having a heart-to-heart talk, Yuan Feng also clearly said that - Do you want me to be the King Wen of Zhou?

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

King Wen of Zhou remained a minister of King Shang until his death, and that never changed. Yuan Shu even felt that it was an extraordinary achievement for his father, who grew up in an environment of prosperity, to reach where he is today. If he continued like that, he would not be able to do it.

Looking at Yuan Feng's hesitant expression, Yuan Shu sighed.

"If father doesn't want the situation to reach that point, the best way is to delay the time for this possibility to become a reality, and the best way is to find a new enemy who can become a common threat to everyone."

Yuan Feng frowned.

"A common concern?"

"Yes, a common concern."

Yuan Shu said slowly: "Before, the scholars were able to unite because the eunuchs were too aggressive and powerful, which threatened the foundation of the scholars. Therefore, the scholars even forgot about the dispute between modern and ancient literature and worked together to fight against the eunuchs. This is the reason.

Now the eunuchs are no longer a threat. As long as the remnants are eliminated, there will be no enemies. Once there is no common enemy, some of the previous conflicts will reappear and become the mainstream. This is inevitable.

Where power gathers, interests also gather. Where interests gather, there is no leisure at all. Something happens at every moment, and at every moment, there are people who want to find trouble and gain more benefits for themselves.

Therefore, if my father wants to maintain the current situation temporarily, he has only one choice, which is to find a new enemy who can become a thorn in everyone's side. Moreover, he must be a thorn in everyone's side and must make people feel a major threat. "

Yuan Feng understood what Yuan Shu meant.

"My son, what you mean is that this threat is either a powerful enemy within the Han Dynasty, such as the eunuchs, who are openly opposed to the scholars, or an external enemy, such as the Xiongnu, who can threaten the survival of the Han Dynasty?"

Yuan Shu nodded immediately.

"What father said is very true. Father must either select a target similar to the eunuchs from within the Han Dynasty to be eliminated in the next stage, or he must find a target from outside the Han Dynasty who can attract everyone's attention. Otherwise, Luoyang will soon fall into internal strife.

In essence, our Yuan family is not the royal family. We are just ministers. Ministers can be regents, but they cannot be dictators, let alone rule by overriding the emperor. If this happens, some people will be dissatisfied and some will raise the emperor's banner to oppose. That is not what my father wants to see. " "That's natural..."

Yuan Feng stroked his beard and said slowly, "As a father, I naturally don't want the Yuan family to become thieves who steal the country. If you want to find a bastard like the eunuchs from within, what do you think of this, my son?"

"I have quite a few opinions, but I don't know if my father is willing."

Yuan Shu said, "For example, we let the group of people who insulted the Yuan family and tried to kill them. Now if father wants to take revenge, he can just make them traitors like the eunuchs and win over the party members who have returned and received favors from the Yuan family to completely defeat them.

Or we can start from an academic perspective, pull out the Modern Text School of Confucianism as the one that brings disaster to the country and the people, criticize it thoroughly, and then establish the Ancient Text School of Confucianism or the School of Mind as the new national studies of the Han Dynasty. In this way, we can win over the Ancient Text School of Confucianism and the School of Mind. In this way, we can have a common enemy, right? "

Yuan Feng raised his eyebrows and poked Yuan Shu on the forehead.

"The former is fine, but what does the latter mean? Have you forgotten that our Yuan family is also a well-known family that studies modern literature? Are you going to count the Yuan family as your enemy? Are you going to make me the one who forgets my ancestors? And your Xinxue has just been established, how can it be used as a national study? Even if I am interested, you should wait another thirty or fifty years!"

"No! Father, thirty or fifty years, then I will be buried in the ground soon!"

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "The School of Mind is really good and makes sense. It has been tested in Liangzhuang and is very effective. Next, I plan to build 66 new Liangzhuangs in the territory of the Han Empire, all over the Central Plains. In this way, my father will definitely be able to see the results!
As for Meng's Yi, why should we hold on to that outdated theory of gods and ghosts? Let go of Meng's Yi, and my Xinxue, and the Yuan family will change its sect and start anew. Isn't that good? Keep pace with the times and don't be complacent. Isn't that good too?"

Yuan Feng was frightened when he heard this and reached out and poked Yuan Shu on the forehead.

"Stop talking nonsense! If you really want to do this, wait until your father dies before you do it. When your father is alive, you should behave yourself! If you do this, others will scold you and they will also scold your father for not disciplining you strictly!"

Yuan Shu touched his forehead and sighed.

"Then choose the former?"

"former……"

Yuan Feng pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head.

"The former are mostly famous families of modern culture. If we make enemies with them, wouldn't that be the same as making enemies with more than half of the famous families of modern culture? Moreover, there are many high-ranking officials among them, especially the Yang family. They also have some students and former officials in the world. Their power is not weak. How can it be easy to eliminate them?"

"That's easier than just wiping out the entire Jinwen clan, right?"

Yuan Shu spread his hands and said, "We are only targeting a part of the powerful families. If we can eliminate this part first, wouldn't it be easier to eliminate the rest in the future?"

"Do you really want to wipe out all the noble families?"

Yuan Feng glared and said angrily, "This is something that will shake the foundation of the country! Our ancestors spent many years to establish the current rules, do you really want to break them all? That's a matter of life and death! It concerns the entire Han Dynasty! If we are not careful, the Han Dynasty will collapse! Do you want your father to be a sinner for all eternity?"

"Eliminating some people does not mean annihilating them as a whole."

Yuan Shu shook his head and said, "And it's just from a political perspective, not academic. It's because they once offended the Yuan family, so the Yuan family is taking revenge on them and wants them to pay a heavier price, in order to win over others to join in the fight.

This group of people currently hold many official positions and hold a lot of power. If they can be eliminated, it will not only enhance the Yuan family's prestige and authority, but also free up some official positions for those party members who return to the court. They should be happy."

Yuan Feng was stunned for a moment, and his anger suddenly disappeared.

"This... is this okay? Haven't we already taken a lot of things from them before? We also said that we would let it go and make peace. If we break our oath now, what should we do if someone criticizes us?"

"Who swore?"

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "Did my father swear? Or did my third uncle swear? Or did I swear? To whom did we swear? To the Heaven and Earth? To the Emperors Yan and Huang? Or to the Luo River? Who can prove our oath? We just reached a tacit agreement to stop opposing each other and deal with the eunuchs together. Who swears not to pursue the matter from now on?"

(End of this chapter)