I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 59 The tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn’t stop
People entering the post-Ma Rong era have their own expectations and doubts.

People who are familiar with Yuan Shu are full of expectations. They really want to see to what extent this super prodigy, who is rare in a century, can inherit Ma Rong's mantle, and to what extent he can promote his own knowledge on this basis.

There are also many people who are not familiar with Yuan Shu. For example, Ma Rong’s former disciples, some of whom teach in their hometowns, and some serve as officials in the court and the local areas. They are very confused about the fact that Yuan Shu inherited Ma Rong’s academic status.

But after all, this was announced publicly by Ma Rong before his death, and there were too many witnesses, so no one could question it.

Although some people have doubts in their hearts and even a hint of jealousy, they dare not question anything.

For example, Ma Riti, who was rushing back from Luoyang, was dissatisfied and confused about the fact that his ancestor had passed on his academic status to an outsider, but he did not intend to go against the decision made by his ancestor.

Moreover, he was quite satisfied with the fact that Yuan Shu would mourn Ma Rong in Maoling for three years.

Therefore, after the thatched cottage where Yuan Shu mourned for Ma Rong was completed, he made a special trip to visit Yuan Shu.

At that time, he saw Yuan Shu bring several boxes of bamboo slips and papers into the small thatched cottage, saying that he wanted to study here in depth and further improve his own theories. While inheriting Ma Rong's knowledge, he also wanted to further promote his own insights to a formal position.

Ma Riti had some knowledge of Yuan Shu's theory of awakening conscience and his "Explanation of Mencius". He was amazed at Yuan Shu's academic ability and natural talent. If all this was true, then Ma Riti was really looking forward to Yuan Shu's future prospects.

After all, this is the treasure that our ancestors bet everything on.

Is he really a treasure?
Ma Ritian was not sure.

But he still told Yuan Shu his decision very clearly.

"Although the entire Ma family has doubts about everything the ancestor has told us, and many people are dissatisfied, I still decided to listen to the ancestor's decision. Yuan Jun, in the future, the entire Ma family will not go against your will, and will not go in the opposite direction of you. I promise this."

Yuan Shu looked at Ma Riti with a smile and nodded.

"If that's the case, the tree would like to thank Ma-kun."

Looking at Yuan Shu's amiable appearance and the room full of books, Ma Riti's worries gradually disappeared.

"Although I don't know why the old ancestor trusts you so much, and made such a decision after more than a year of master-disciple relationship, I believe in the old ancestor's vision of people. Yuan Jun, if you need anything in the future, just let Ma know, and Ma will do our best."

"Thank you."

Yuan Shu just responded lightly, without saying much else, but this alone made Ma Riti feel inexplicably relieved.

Ma Riti did not continue to disturb Yuan Shu and left Yuan Shu's thatched cottage. After Ma Rong's funeral was completed, he returned to Luoyang to continue his official duties.

Yuan Shu continued to live a peaceful life.

According to etiquette, during the period of mourning, one cannot eat meat or drink alcohol, participate in any entertainment activities, wear expensive clothes, ride in luxurious vehicles, or have any contact with women.

Everything must be done to the minimum required to maintain vital signs, in order to express filial piety.

Yuan Shu originally totally disagreed with this kind of thing.

But after being in the situation himself, he found that doing so really made him feel better.

Ma Rong's kindness and trust did make him feel suffocated at the beginning. He even felt a little resentful towards Ma Rong, asking why Ma Rong didn't discuss it with him when he gave him all the responsibilities.
However, during the process of mourning, every day spent on rough food and simple living environment allowed Yuan Shu to accumulate the original strength in his heart that was enough to deal with future situations.

Lao Ma, Lao Ma, look at you, how much suffering I have endured for you?
The physical desire for material scarcity and the spiritual gratitude to Ma Rong offset each other, which made Yuan Shu's heart gain unprecedented peace and gave him enough free time to think about his past and future.

Moreover, this tranquility also gave him more suitable conditions to perfect his studies of conscience and improve his entire academic system.

He envisioned that in the future he would lead a new academic trend with his modified version of "Mencius" and conquer the academic world of the Han Dynasty.

He knew that the direction he was heading was not wrong, although it was an untested path. However, Yuan Shu was willing to open up the path that Wang Yangming and Wang Xueyuan had been interrupted and failed to achieve.

Follow your heart, let your conscience drive your actions, connect the past and the future, and embark on a completely new path that is completely different from the development of world history.

With such expectations, Yuan Shu began his three-year mourning period.

Wear linen clothes, eat coarse grains, don't drink alcohol, don't eat meat, don't engage in entertainment activities, and don't show off to others.

Of course, Yuan Shu himself is also growing, so he is very concerned about nutritional balance.

Although he doesn't usually eat meat, he can eat more eggs, drink goat milk, and eat soy products to ensure the intake of protein and other nutrients.

Sometimes when he was craving for meat, he would privately ask Xu Chong to bring some meat to roast.

In order to show that he had a clear conscience, he would not avoid Ma Rong when eating meat. On the contrary, he would roast the meat in front of Ma Rong's tombstone, offer the roasted meat to Ma Rong first, and then eat it himself.

He felt that Ma Rong's spirit in heaven would definitely not blame him, because Ma Rong was also a meat lover.

He really doesn't like alcohol, and it's best not to drink that sour and astringent stuff.

As for public activities, he did not participate. He did participate in the activities and lectures of Yi Xin Society as usual, but he was much more low-key.

He did not meet guests easily. The only people who could see him regularly were Lu Zhi, the Thirteen Guardians and some outstanding members and cadres of the Yi Xin Society.

He retreated behind the scenes and pushed for the formal development of the Yi Xin Society, leaving the front-stage matters to Lu Zhi and the Thirteen Guardians. He then had plenty of free time to read and write books.

He knew very well that although he was approved by Ma Rong to inherit his academic status, academic status could not be widely recognized by just a few words, but required a lot of time and facts to prove.

Even famous and widely recognized masters of the sutras will face challenges from masters of the same level or from newer masters.

Therefore, he calmed down and read Ma Rong's academic notes and Ma's collection of books, looking for words and paragraphs that matched his own thoughts and cited them to support his own views, thus arming his own academic system. Yuan Shu was silent, but the whole world was not silent.

Ma Rong's death had a great impact in the academic world, but not much impact in the political world.

The fact that a young boy like Yuan Shu inherited Ma Rong's academic status was indeed eye-catching and also caused some discussion in Luoyang.

Even Emperor Huan of Han, Liu Zhi, heard about this matter and specially summoned his third uncle Yuan Wei, who was an official in the court, to express his interest in the matter and his envy that the Yuan family had another talented genius who could inherit the family business.

Then, he kept lamenting that he was unlucky because only his daughter survived, and as many sons as he gave birth to died, which really made him very sad.

When Yuan Wei heard him say this, he couldn't help muttering to himself.

Liu Zhi's princes always died young. This was strange, but not abnormal either, because the probability of survival of a baby was indeed not high in those days. However, it was too strange that one was born and another died.

So much so that there were rumors inside and outside the palace.

There is a saying that Liu Zhi's son was killed by some women in the harem because they couldn't bear to see other women having sons.

Of course, Liu Zhi himself had heard these rumors and sent people to investigate, but to no avail.

It's obvious that this kind of thing will not lead to any result.

The harem is the territory of women and eunuchs. If something is really found out, wouldn’t all the women and eunuchs be doomed?
We are all white lotuses, and we must all be white lotuses.

Liu Zhi could only envy and lament, and said that he was very interested in this little prodigy. He planned to call him to the palace to meet him after he finished the mourning period for Ma Rong, and have a talk with him to see who the real prodigy was.

Obviously, neither Liu Zhi nor Yuan Wei knew what it meant to set a goal.

But at this time, even Yuan Shu himself would not care about this matter.

Firstly, he still had three years of mourning.

Secondly, his attention was indeed drawn to other things.

Mainly during the reigns of Emperor Huan of Han and Emperor Ling of Han, the deterrent power of the Han Empire in the Western Regions and the northern border declined greatly. The Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei invaded one after another, causing instability on the border. However, the Han army was constantly held back for various reasons and was exhausted from coping.

Yuan Shu originally thought that he could spend three quiet and undisturbed years and grow up well, but he never expected that something would happen in the first month of his mourning period.

The Qiang people invaded.

The Han-Qiang War began with the reign of Emperor Ming of Han and lasted for a hundred years. It was a cycle of fighting and talking, but there was no end in sight. The treasury of the Eastern Han court was drained of enough money to run horses, and seven or eight Han emperors were killed. Even in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the war was still going on.

And this time, the Qiang people took the initiative to attack and directly reached the Sanfu area.

The Dong Qiang who moved to the Great Wall of Liangzhou and the Xianrong Qiang who lived outside the Great Wall joined forces and dispatched a total of 6,000 cavalry to attack Guanzhong, besiege Xu County, and plunder Yunyang County. The Han army was caught off guard and could not resist, and the two counties suffered.

Xuxu County and Yunyang County are both north of the Jing River, less than 200 miles away from Maoling County. If the cavalry advances quickly, they can arrive in three to five days. It is not even far from Chang'an and is very close to the tombs of the Western Han emperors.

The three prefectures were shocked, officials and civilians were terrified, and they all thought that a disaster was about to happen. There was chaos, so much so that Yuan Shu, who was in mourning and studying, knew about it at the first time.

If the situation wasn't urgent and the county magistrate wasn't incompetent, he really wouldn't want to get involved in this matter, but who could blame him for not being able to avoid it?
Maoling County originally had an almost offline management model of the government. Officials headed by Han Jin were lazy and did not do any real work. The Yi Xin Hui, which Yuan Shu had just set up, was more like a government.

At least he is really doing practical work to help farmers.

Later, after a series of operations led by Yuan Shu and the Yi Xin Society, including surviving the food crisis, the people began to "only know the Yi Xin Society, and not the county magistrate."

Under such circumstances, if there was any major event in Maoling County, even if Yuan Shu did not show up formally, he would definitely know about it, and then ask someone to tell everyone his opinion.

Then, Han Jin continued to act as a rubber stamp, only caring about passing the bill but not making any decisions, making it seem as if Yuan Shu was remotely controlling the county magistrate to rule Maoling County.

Coincidentally, Maoling County is not a big county with a small population. The registered population is just over 20,000. There are really not that many things to do in the entire county, so a makeshift team like the Yi Xin Hui can run the county.

Looking back to the Western Han Dynasty, there were 60,000 households and 280,000 people in Maoling County alone, which was even more populous than Chang'an City. Times have changed, and now, the registered population in the vast land of Youfufeng is less than 100,000, which shows the decline of Guanzhong.

However, this small population also has its advantages, such as less government affairs, less involvement, and a higher tolerance rate. It is very suitable for novices to practice and accumulate experience in local governance without causing any major chaos.

It is precisely because of this that Han Jin, a bad player with a bunch of bugs, can survive in Maoling with his offline government.

After the food crisis, Han Jin became convinced by Yuan Shu and became more aware of the importance of clinging to Yuan Shu. Moreover, Yuan Shu had reorganized the Yi Xin Hui at that time, formalizing and systematizing it, and the people in the General Affairs Department were particularly capable of handling practical matters.

Whether it is the steel industry or the agricultural assistance business, they are all top-notch experts, and their efficiency is much higher than that of the government. Han Jin simply invited Yi Xin Hui to the county government and let them use the county government office to work. While handling their own affairs, they could also handle some matters for the Maoling County Government.

Except for a few clerks who were willing to do something in the entire county government, most people, like Han Jin, acted as rubber stamps, feeling content with doing nothing and leaving all the work to the young men of Yi Xin Hui.

So when the news of the Qiang invasion of Sanfu came, Han Jin's first thought was not to make defensive preparations, but to send someone to inform the Yi Xin Hui and Lu Zhi, who had actually become the acting county magistrate in the county government.

When Lu Zhi learned about this, he was also shocked. He immediately sent someone to deliver the news to Yuan Shu, letting him know and asking him to come to the county government as soon as possible to discuss the matter.

The situation is urgent and time waits for no one. This is a matter of life and death!

Boss, don't keep guarding the tomb, come and do the work!

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PS: It’s not that I don’t want to update, it’s mainly because it hasn’t been put online yet. I’m accumulating manuscripts, and I will definitely update a lot after it’s put online, so don’t stop reading it!!!

(End of this chapter)