I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 76 If Yuan Shu was my son
Zhang Jian, Xia Fu, Liu Biao and other famous party members each had their own academic heritage and basic ideals. Before and for quite a long time after they came to Liangzhuang, they were skeptical and wait-and-see about Yuan Shu's philosophy of mind and his Yi Xin Society.

If it weren't for Yuan Feng's strong suggestion and the reality that Yuan Shu was too young to become the target of eunuchs' attention, they would never have thought of seeking refuge with Yuan Shu in the first place.

But everything they saw after arriving surprised and even shocked them.

They always talk about "people of the world", but no one can clearly explain what "people of the world" are like, and they don't really understand the weight of these three words.

But today, just 10,000 or 20,000 people gathered together, and they were already shocked to the point of being speechless.

The cheers, respect and attention of ten or twenty thousand people are enough to make their scalps tingle, so what if it was one hundred thousand people?
What about two hundred thousand people?
Liu Biao, who arrived at Liangzhuang first to hide, had the deepest understanding of Liangzhuang. Despite this, he was also very surprised, not to mention Zhang Jian, who arrived at Liangzhuang last.

He was deeply impressed.

"We usually claim to be the hope of the world, but after seeing this today, I think this son of the Yuan family is the hope of the world, right?"

Xia Fu, who was similar to him, nodded.

"A Liangzhuang has such a great momentum. It is hard to imagine what the scene will be like if more people gather together. Yuan's son is only fifteen years old, but he already has such a high reputation. We all have to rely on him to save our lives. The future is unimaginable..."

Liu Biao also agreed with this.

"It would be great if Yuan Shu was my son."

After Liu Biao said this, Zhang Jian and Xia Fu looked at him with strange eyes.

Liu Biao was 28 years old and Yuan Shu was 15 years old, a difference of 13 years. How could they be considered father and son?
Unless Liu Biao was unruly and insane, doing something immoral with the maidservants at such a young age, it was possible that he could become the father of Yuan Shu, a child of the same age.

But thinking of this, Xia Fu obviously couldn't accept it.

"Jingsheng, you and Yuan Shu are only thirteen years apart, how can you be called father and son? The age difference between him and me is even greater, so it's obvious that I'm more suitable to be his father!"

Liu Biao blinked and suddenly felt very dissatisfied.

"Zizhi, you are only four years older than me. I am not fit to be Yuan Shu's father, so how can you be fit?"

"He's obviously more suitable than you. If you want to be his father, you have to give birth to a child at the age of thirteen. Can you do it? How immoral would that be? Which parent in the world can accept such a child?"

"How is it against morals? In the past, King Wen married Tai Si when he was twelve years old, and gave birth to Bo Yikao when he was thirteen. King Wen was allowed to do so, so why can't I?"

"You are just making up stories. King Wen is King Wen. That was thousands of years ago. It's totally inappropriate to bring it up now!"

"This is what happened. Why is it inappropriate? It's not okay for me at thirteen, but it's okay for you at seventeen? Seventeen-year-olds are still not wearing a crown and are still underage. So it's not immoral?"

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The two of them started arguing with each other, and it was obvious that they were very dissatisfied with the other's desire to be Yuan Shu's father, and neither of them was willing to acknowledge the other's identity as father.

Zhang Jian watched the two people quarreling. He was shocked at first, then helpless, and also found it a little funny.

Compared to him, these two people are still young people. He is already 55 years old and he doesn't know when he will die. There is no point in arguing with young people about such things.

Zhang Jian was the last of the three to arrive at Liangzhuang.

Before that, he had been fleeing for his life, still in shock. It took him a while to recover after arriving at Liangzhuang, and only after his family was sent over for a reunion did he fully come to his senses. It was only four months in total, so his understanding of Liangzhuang was very superficial.

He also knew that this was a very good farm, managed by an organization called Isshinkai.

This organization was founded by Yuan Shu, and is practicing Yuan Shu's philosophy of helping farmers. It is not easy for a non-governmental organization without a formal status to manage this large farm with more than 70,000 people inhabitants in an orderly and harmonious manner.

During this short period of time, Zhang Jian did not visit every corner of Liangzhuang, and his understanding of Liangzhuang was only superficial, but he clearly felt that the people living in Liangzhuang were relatively well-off and had a sense of living and working in peace and contentment.

There was nothing special about the way Yi Xin Hui governed Liang Zhuang. Even the collection of taxes was strictly in accordance with the court rules. However, no one went hungry here and everyone had surplus food, unlike the outside world where there were starving people everywhere.

So a very embarrassing fact came to light——

If taxes were collected strictly in accordance with the court's rules, there would not be refugees and starving people everywhere.

This is because a group of corrupt officials set their own rules outside the court rules to make money, which caused the farmers to go bankrupt and their families to be separated.

Of course, there are obviously other reasons why the farmers in Liangzhuang live such a prosperous life.

For example, members of the Yi Xin Society would help farmers plow the fields and provide guidance on agricultural production techniques during the busy farming season. They would also build water conservancy projects, arrange oxen for farming, and make compost, doing everything they could to help farmers improve production conditions.

They haven't made any improvements in their policies, and there's even a sense of following the old rules and ruling by inaction, and nothing they've done is particularly out of the ordinary.

But when it comes to specific strategies, they are very proactive.

As scholars and literati, they would not be arrogant because of their status. Instead, they would take off their Confucian robes, put on coarse cloth shorts, and go to the fields to help the farmers with farming.

The relationship between the Yi Xin Society members and the farmers was very harmonious, and there was no barrier between them. Zhang Jian saw more than once that the members who were doing farm work were sitting by the fields and chatting and laughing with the farmers.

This situation cannot be seen from the outside.

Xinxue. To the conscience.

The unity of knowledge and action.

Be determined, study hard, be responsible for good, and correct your mistakes.

as well as……

Farming and fighting are conscience.

The academic system created by Yuan Shu himself is being put into practice in this farm, and the results of the practice are obviously very gratifying.

In just two years, the farmers in Liangzhuang were able to get rid of the hunger that always followed them.

If this system can be promoted and implemented in every inch of Han territory, and officials can sit side by side with farmers and chat and laugh like these Yi Xin Hui members, then what would the entire Han Dynasty look like?

Will it still be like it is now, with refugees everywhere and war raging everywhere?

Zhang Jian sighed deeply - this boy Yuan Shu is really not a simple guy.

If only it were my son...

No, the age difference is too big.

Grandson is more appropriate.

Ok.

It would be great if Yuan Shu was my grandson...

Yuan Shu officially returned to Liangzhuang and resumed public activities, and the first stop was to hold a grand banquet.

Under the operation of Cheng Li, Lu Zhi and others, just in time to celebrate the smooth progress of spring ploughing, the entire Liangzhuang worked together to organize an unprecedented and spectacular buffet.

Every household in Liangzhuang participates in the event, and everyone tries to contribute the lion's share. Each household also follows suit and contributes a small share. Any delicious food at home is taken out, and then everyone eats together. It can be regarded as a real version of "having fun together with the people".

Especially drinks.

Because most of the grain needs to be stored, and brewing wine requires a lot of grain, there are not many opportunities to drink in Liangzhuang.

But this time, in order to celebrate, Yixin would take out all the wine in the warehouse and give it to the people in Liangzhuang for free. Everyone in Liangzhuang would drink to their heart's content, which was in line with the occasion.

It was the first time for Zhang Jian and Xia Fu to attend such a large-scale banquet, while it was the second time for Liu Biao.

As the "senior", Liu Biao, who had the most cheerful temperament, happily dragged the two of them around the buffet. Whenever he saw something delicious, he would rush over to eat and enjoy the meal very much.

Zhang Jian and Xia Fu were still very reserved at first, not wanting to lose their dignity, but after a few bowls of wine, they lost their dignity and ate and drank to their heart's content, their eyes gradually becoming blurred.

Yuan Shu found the three people early, toasted them and expressed his greetings.

In order not to attract attention, the four of them did not talk much in public and quickly separated to have fun on their own.

After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Jian was too tired to walk. He could only sit down at a table, took a few breaths, and looked at Xia Fu, who was also a little tired, and couldn't help laughing.

"I've been busy for two and a half years. Zizhi, this is the most satisfying meal and the most satisfying drink I've had in the past two and a half years. It's so comfortable..."

Xia Fu was also quite touched.

"Mr. Zhang has worked hard, but I am fine. However, this is the first time I have seen such a grand and joyous banquet. So many people, so much food, so much wine, it is the ultimate happiness on earth!"

The two men laughed and talked for a while. Liu Biao, who was a little weak from drinking, staggered over and collapsed beside them. He used Xia Fu's body as a pillow and laughed while leaning against her.

"It's great! It's great! Zizhi, Mr. Zhang, drink this cup to the full! Drink this cup to the full!!"

As he spoke, Liu Biao raised the wine glass in his hand and put it to his mouth. After a long time without drinking anything, he realized that the glass was already empty. Xia Fu and Zhang Jian beside him could not help laughing.

After laughing for a while, Zhang Jian looked around and sighed.

"I never thought that there is such a paradise on the land of the Han Dynasty, where scholars serve the country and keep their integrity, the common people live and work in peace and contentment, the elderly are well cared for, and the young are supported. If I didn't know what the outside world is like, I would really think that the world has been brought together, hahaha..."

Zhang Jian smiled somewhat bitterly.

Liu Biao gradually came to his senses and looked at Xia Fu. Both of them were silent for a while.

Because of the deep hatred between Zhang Jian and Hou Lan, Hou Lan paid special attention to hunting down Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian fled all the way, and Hou Lan sent people to chase him all the way. Any family that had taken Zhang Jian in would be killed immediately if they were discovered and reported.

Many large families in counties and prefectures had their families exterminated because they had taken in Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian fled, leaving a trail of blood behind him, and more than a dozen of his relatives and friends were killed.

In the end, Zhang Jian had no choice but to flee into the deep mountains and forests, where he staged an Eastern Han Dynasty version of wilderness survival, living by picking berries and hunting small wild animals, like a savage.

After more than two years of such negotiations, Yuan Feng finally sent people to Donglai County to find Zhang Jian, who was at the end of his rope and emaciated. Using a trick of reverse thinking, he sent Zhang Jian back along the way he came to Maoling in Youfufeng and handed him over to Yuan Shu for protection, thus allowing him to escape Hou Lan's pursuit.

(End of this chapter)