Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 215 If you want to make money, you have to kneel down!

The crown prince could not refuse the books bestowed by the Duke of Zhou, which were presented to him by scholars of the ancient literature school, such as Zheng Xuan!

I cannot refuse the gift from the Duke of Zhou!
Moreover, the Crown Prince specially changed into a formal imperial robe and bowed to the several scrolls of "The Book of Rites: The Chapter on Abdication" beside Zheng Xuan, expressing his gratitude for the Duke of Zhou's generous gift.

There is much discussion in the court and among the public that the Crown Prince is destined for greatness, just like the story of Emperor Guangwu!

The reason why the Han Dynasty possessed such great authority in the eyes of many people was because of that man who seemed to be the chosen one of destiny—Emperor Guangwu!

Eight or nine thousand men held off forty-two thousand men with the city of Kunyang. On the eve of the great battle, “a meteor fell into the camp at night, and during the day, clouds like collapsing mountains fell into the camp, but scattered before reaching the ground. The officers and soldiers were all disgusted and subdued,” which greatly damaged the morale of Wang Mang’s army.

Just as the battle was reaching its climax, a sudden storm struck, with "a great thunderstorm, roof tiles flying off, rain pouring down, and the Zhi River overflowing," resulting in a crushing defeat for Mang's army. Soldiers scrambled to escape, and tens of thousands drowned. What else could this be but a stroke of divine intervention?
And what about His Highness the Crown Prince now?

The heavens bestowed sweet rain, and the Duke of Zhou granted a fragment of a book—is this not a sign that Heaven has ordained them?

The Sanhe Gazette immediately launched a full-scale publicity campaign about the matter!

Inside the Grand Commandant's residence, the bedroom was filled with a strong and bitter medicinal aroma. Yang Ci leaned against the sickbed, his thin fingers holding a bamboo scroll from the "Abdication Chapter of the Book of Rites," while the Crown Prince sat on a folding chair beside the bed, holding a bowl of medicinal soup in his hand.

Yang Ci's complexion was slightly rosy today, whether it was because he was happy to see the Crown Prince or because he was feeling better today, he stroked his long beard and laughed, tears welling up in his eyes, and said, "It's been so many years, and these guys still use the same tricks."

"During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, King Gong of Lu demolished the old house of Confucius in order to expand the palace. In the ruins, he found ancient classics such as the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, the Analects, and the Classic of Filial Piety. They did not know how to change their names."

Liu Bian lowered his head slightly, took a sip of the medicine in the bowl, and frowned at the bitter taste. After a moment, he placed the medicine on the cabinet next to him and then handed it to Yang Ci.

Yang Ci gently pushed the bowl away and said with a smile, "It's rare for Your Highness to come and talk to this old man. It's alright to drink this medicine later."

Liu Bian raised an eyebrow. Seeing Yang Ci turn his face away in resistance, he forcefully scooped up a spoonful of medicine and held it to Yang Ci's lips, ignoring Yang Ci's pleading gaze and forcing him to drink it.

"Grand Commandant, don't look at me like that. Anyone who doesn't know better would think I've come to deliver poison." Liu Bian pursed his lips in annoyance, then scooped up a spoonful of medicine and fed it to Yang Ci, saying, "Yang Xiu has come to Yong'an Palace to lodge a complaint with the Emperor, saying that his father-in-law finds the medicine too bitter and hasn't taken it for two days."

Yang Ci swallowed a mouthful of medicine, snorted coldly, and cursed, "Hey, this little brat, he actually complained about his grandfather. It must be that unfilial son's doing. He even used my good grandson as a shield. He really has no shame!"

However, although Yang Ci was cursing his unfilial children and grandchildren, and his cheeks twitched slightly from the bitterness of the medicine, there was a faint smile in his eyes.

Liu Bian did not respond to that sentence. Instead, he took a few grapes from Gao Wang's hand, lightly peeled off the skin with his fingernail, scooped out the grape seeds with a knife, and fed them to Yang Ci.

The sweet taste of the grapes slightly relieved the bitterness in my mouth.

Rose apples can treat weakness of qi and blood, and cough due to lung deficiency, which is just right for Yang Ci to eat. However, among all the officials in the court, Yang Ci is probably the only one who can enjoy such treatment now.

The Crown Prince personally served him medicine and peeled grapes; such was the Emperor's boundless favor that only Yang Ci, relying on his illness, could comfortably accept the Crown Prince's care while lying on his sickbed.

While peeling the skin of another grape, Liu Bian continued the previous topic, saying, "What the old Grand Commandant said earlier, I also think makes sense. Kang Cheng Gong said that Luoyang is the location of the ancient Luoyi, and the Duke of Zhou ruled in Luoyi, so it is only reasonable that there are scattered fragments of the Book of Rites. In my opinion, this method is too crude and full of loopholes."

"It's a bit rough, but what can they do when they're serving His Highness?"

Yang Ci could understand Zheng Xuan and the others' mentality; he would have been just as rough in their shoes.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is a publicity stunt for His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. Those who can't see it don't need to care, but who among the smart people who can see it would dare to point out that this is a forgery?

"That's not just a slap in the face to our classical literature school, that's blatant disrespect for His Highness the Crown Prince and a questioning of His Highness's Mandate of Heaven!" Yang Ci put down the bamboo slips in his hand, his eyes losing some of their playfulness and becoming more serious. He solemnly said, "Your Highness, this matter cannot be taken lightly."

Liu Bian smiled and pointed at Yang Ci with his finger, saying, "Is the old Grand Commandant trying to sow discord between me? But I'm actually falling for it."

Yang Ci couldn't help but stroke his beard and chuckle. He knew that His Highness the Crown Prince could see through his thoughts and even more so his selfish motives.

When nations clash, they at least try to demonstrate benevolence and magnanimity by treating the royal families of enemy nations who are willing to behave themselves well, rather than resorting to ruthless extermination.

After all, the historians really dared to record things!
But academic disputes can be life-or-death, even to the point of destroying the classics of opposing schools of thought, suppressing officials who have entered officialdom by studying the classics of opposing schools of thought, and labeling all the classics of opposing schools of thought as "heretical".

The final result is either assimilation into the faction or complete disappearance.

The most typical example is the Mohist school. During the Warring States period, there was a situation where the Mohists and Confucians were locked in a struggle for supremacy. However, after the Mohists were defeated by the Confucians, they were directly labeled by the Confucians as "strange skills and tricks" and "heretical doctrines," and disappeared from the stage of history.

As for the historians?

The pen of history was in the hands of Confucianists, and the final right of interpretation was also in their hands. Confucius killed Shao Zhengmao, so what if the historians recorded it truthfully?
Therefore, Yang Ci hoped that the Crown Prince could step in and offer some protection to the Modern Text School.

After the Yuan family of Runan went down to see their ancestor Yuan An, the New Text School of Literature completely quieted down.

Perhaps intimidated by the execution of three clans by the Yuan family of Runan, or perhaps because they lacked the power to do so despite their good intentions, the Modern Learning School fell into an unprecedented state of weakness.

The New Text School, which had always followed the path of the upper-class literati, naturally had no power to resist after He Xiu, who was comparable to Zheng Xuan, died, Yuan Kui was killed, and the Grand Commandant himself fell seriously ill. Furthermore, Liu Tao and Liu Kuan were unwilling to fight against the Old Text School.

Liu Bian held Yang Ci's old and withered hand and patted it gently, saying, "I will protect them out of respect for the old Grand Commandant, but they still have to save themselves. My protection can only provide them with an opportunity."

Yang Ci's desire to prevent the demise of the Modern Text School was partly driven by personal motives, but more importantly, it was for the sake of the Crown Prince.

Given the status of the Hongnong Yang clan and the close friendship between Yang Ci and him despite their age difference, the Hongnong Yang clan would naturally not be purged. Even if the Ancient Literature School was unwilling to accept them, they had to acknowledge them for the sake of the Crown Prince.

However, if the New Text School were to perish, no one would be able to suppress the Old Text School.

Even a morally upright person like Zheng Xuan couldn't resist adding some personal interpretations to the "Abdication Chapter" of the Book of Rites when faced with academic disputes. In the future, once the Ancient Literature School completely dominates the court, they might have to point at a deer to make him admit that it was a horse.

Moreover, Liu Bian's strategy regarding the debate between the Old Text and New Text schools was always to prevent any one school from becoming dominant; whoever cooperated more with him, the crown prince, would win his favor.

The Crown Prince's reply to Yang Ci was also very clear: what does it mean to save oneself?

That is, scholars of the New Text School need to be enlightened, to be sensible, and to know how to please the Crown Prince. Otherwise, if they are unwilling to "save themselves," the Crown Prince will naturally not have any desire to help others.

Want to make money without kneeling?

wishful thinking!

Rather than supporting a group of ungrateful and clueless fools, it would be much easier for him to instigate infighting within the classical literature school.

Ultimately, it boils down to this: whoever kneels down gets to make the money!
(End of this chapter)