My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 100 The Strategist of Qingzao Village (Thanks to the Alliance Leader)
In the courtyard, Liu Xuan sat on the ground.

As the weather gets hotter, Liu Xuan no longer wants to preach indoors, so he simply teaches under the shade of the trees in the courtyard.

Li Xuanba sat in front of him, while Li Shimin and Li Yuanji sat to one side.

Although Li Shimin performed exceptionally well and was enthusiastic about answering questions, Liu Xuan did not treat him as a true disciple. The two of them were merely auditors in Liu Xuan's class. If they asked questions during class, Liu Xuan would reprimand them for delaying his instruction. However, if Li Xuanba asked a question, he would patiently answer it.

The distinction between close and distant relationships is very clear.

At first, Li Shimin was a little annoyed with him, but for some reason, the more lessons he took, the more Li Shimin admired him.

This man was under my grandfather's command, but he wasn't overly affectionate towards me. Unlike the weak scholars I had met before, he spoke with a strong and unyielding spirit!
He was exceptionally talented, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and well-versed in ancient and modern topics; he was truly a great scholar!

Even some of Liu Xuan's bad habits were romanticized by Li Shimin as manifestations of being unconventional and unrestrained.

What Liu Xuan said today was even more important.

For some reason, Liu Xuan has been arguing with Mencius lately, and today he is talking about some of Mencius's outrageous doctrines.

Why did Mencius say that the King of Qi needed to share joy with the people in order to govern the country well?

"Mencius has made it very clear: we cannot allow the people to be separated from their fathers and sons, nor can we allow them to be poor. When the people are separated from their fathers and sons and their lives are difficult, they will complain when they see the king listening to music or going hunting. But if the people are doing well, they will praise the king, no matter if he is playing good music or going hunting!"

"The king's hobbies and virtues are secondary; governing the country well and enabling the people to live a good life is the primary task. That is why Mencius said that the King of Qi should share joy with the people and make them happy. This is the essence of governing the country."

"Some rulers either don't understand this principle, or they simply don't want to understand it. They spend millions of people performing corvée labor to build canals connecting the north and south, and they are very proud of this, calling themselves meritorious to the world. They also claim to be simple, not fond of music or hunting. Little do they know that the people don't care about what he likes or dislikes; they only know that they live in poverty and cannot make a living."

"Therefore, Mencius believed that whether a king or a minister, governing a country should prioritize the people, rather than one's own moral cultivation. Of course, this does not mean that one should not pursue morality, but that making the people happy and peaceful is the greatest morality."

Li Xuanba suddenly asked, "Do you believe that morality has different levels?"

"I think so. In ancient times, righteous people did not hesitate to harm their parents and clansmen in order to achieve great things and bring peace to the world. Can we criticize them for being unfilial?"

The more Li Shimin listened, the more he felt it made sense.

Li Xuanba shook his head. "I think what you said earlier is wrong. Making the people live in peace and happiness is certainly a great virtue, but if one does things that are against heaven and reason and is of bad character, then it is difficult to accomplish such a thing. A person who is willing to make the people live in peace and happiness must be a moral person. Moral cultivation and governing a country are not contradictory; they should coexist."

Liu Xuan shook his head, "Emperor Taizu of Han once urinated and defecated in the courtyard of a Confucian scholar's residence, indulging in debauchery in broad daylight and doing many things that were considered immoral at the time."

The two engaged in a serious debate, which Li Shimin found fascinating, while Li Yuanji listened with growing drowsiness.

At first, Liu Xuan still talked about etiquette and legal system, and indirectly described the behavior of the current sage. But recently, he stopped pretending and started to speak in a sarcastic tone, mentioning a certain emperor in a certain way without directly calling him by name. However, Li Shimin felt that according to his way of speaking, that day was not far away.

After Liu Xuan finished teaching today's lesson, he did not rush to leave. He looked at Li Shimin and Li Yuanji and told them that they could leave first.

Li Shimin knew that Li Yuanji had something to say to his younger brother, so he quickly pulled Li Yuanji away.

After the two of them left, Liu Xuan pulled Li Xuanba into the study and closed the door.

The two sat down facing each other, and Liu Xuan looked at Li Xuanba seriously.

“Xuanba, yesterday, several disciples came to visit me and brought some things.”

"Ah."

Li Xuanba nodded, wondering what his teacher was about to say.

Liu Xuan suddenly spoke up: "I clearly remember that when I summoned them, Cheng Xing and a few others were arrested by the officials and forced into labor. But now, they are among the local militia under your command. When I asked them about this, they dared not answer and gave vague answers."

"Xuanba, what exactly is going on?"

Li Xuanba fell silent, unsure how to respond. Liu Xuan tilted his head back, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, and said softly, "Just say whatever you want; I'll believe whatever you say."

"Master, this is what happened. Back then, I was in the city, and I went to the south of the city with my elder brother."

Li Xuanba stopped hiding things and told Liu Xuan the whole story from the beginning. Liu Xuan was more and more astonished as he listened. When he heard that Li Xuanba had tipped off the thieves in advance, allowing them to escape, he gasped in shock.

"All right!"

Liu Xuan quickly got up, carefully walked to the door, looked around again, and then returned to his seat.

He pointed at the disciple in front of him, so angry that his teeth ached.

How could the son of a duke collude with thieves?
He wanted to reprimand him, but the words wouldn't come out. After all, Liu Xuan himself wasn't exactly a loyal minister; his thinking was quite dangerous, which was why he had taught a group of rebels. Many of the things Li Xuanba did later were related to the principles he had taught.

“Master, bringing peace and happiness to the people is the greatest virtue. I just want to help these people survive.”

Li Xuanba added this sentence.

Liu Xuan let out a heavy sigh of relief and began to think seriously, "Is there anyone else who knows about this?"

"Besides Old Man Liu, San Shi, and my fellow disciples, no one else knows."

Liu Xuan clicked his tongue in amazement, "No wonder you asked me about how to get out of the city. No wonder you were always running outside. Now it all makes sense."

Liu Xuan had many questions that he couldn't understand before, but now he had the answers. He cleared his throat and asked in a low voice, "How many people are in your village?"

"Initially there were nearly a thousand people, but now they have absorbed many Tibetans from the mountains, as well as many deceased people from Hebei, so the number is probably in the thousands."

"Several thousand?? Where are they all?"

"Most of them are still deep in the mountains. One is in Buffalo Mountain, where they are rebuilding their camp and preparing for the future."

"Rebuild the camp? Get ready?? What are you planning to do??"

“Master, please don’t worry. I feel that although Xingyang seems to be well-governed at the moment, the spring planting has been severely damaged, and this year’s autumn harvest will definitely be in trouble. Since it’s not appropriate for you to get involved in these matters, I’m going to make more preparations in the mountains. If a large number of people die in the future, I’ll have the people in the mountain village take them away, so that at least they will have a place to live.”

Liu Xuan suddenly realized, and he stroked his beard. For some reason, he felt a surge of excitement. After pondering for a long time, he asked, "So what kind of governance methods do you use in this little village?"

"what?"

Li Xuanba looked completely bewildered. "This... I didn't govern it."

“If the number of people exceeds a thousand, then we need to come up with a corresponding system to govern them. With thousands of people living together, many things will happen. If there is no suitable system and no suitable people to do things, how can they survive? Without rules, many problems will arise. At that time, the government will not even need to intervene; they will destroy themselves!”

Li Xuanba frowned. "Even survival is difficult right now, so I didn't think of these things."

"Confused!"

Liu Xuan cursed a few times, then said seriously, "I originally didn't want to get involved in these matters, but if this matter is exposed, it will definitely implicate many people, especially my students, so I have no choice but to intervene."

"Here's what we've come up with. I have a few good ideas that could be used as a system for managing these bandit groups. You can use them to manage those groups and see how it goes."

As Liu Xuan spoke, a hint of anticipation lingered in his eyes.

P.S.: Many thanks to Detian Duhou for being the leader of the alliance, thank you very much.

Thank you to all the brothers who have subscribed and supported me. I will continue to update vigorously and will never let you down!
Slow pace? I'll just update more frequently!
(End of this chapter)