A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 197 The Western Hunt
The mountains are cold and the wind is cool at the end of the day.

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Confucius's hometown was still shrouded in endless night.

Qufu, the ancient capital of the State of Lu, has always been the "sacred capital" that Confucian scholars dream of. "There is a hill in the city of Lu, which stretches for seven or eight miles."

But this morning, it seems the descendants of the sage had to say goodbye.

Since Confucius's death, the political propositions of Confucianism have never been able to be developed. Especially after Mencius, this school of thought seemed to have exhausted itself, and its spirit of striving for official careers and being determined to govern the world greatly diminished. Gradually, it devoted itself to scholarship and teaching.

Indeed, this helpless restraint led Confucianism to unexpectedly discover the true "wisdom of human life".

Confucianism quickly developed into the most flourishing school of thought in the world, with private schools run by famous Confucian scholars in every prefecture and county, and its disciples were spread all over the world.

At the same time, the Kong family has maintained a stable lineage and flourished, and to this day, the Kong family has reached its twelfth generation.

The direct line of this lineage is: Confucius, Kong Li (Boyu), Kong Ji (Zisi), Kong Bai (Zishang), Kong Qiu (Zijia), Kong Ji (Zijing), Kong Chuan (Zigao), Zishen, Kong Fu (Ziyu), Kong Zhong, Kong Wu, and Kong Yannian.

Apart from Zishen, the eighth generation descendant, who served as the prime minister of the State of Wei during the late Warring States period for a few years, the rest of them devoted themselves to scholarship.

If we were to describe Confucius and the Confucius family, we would say, "Confucius did not hold the position of a feudal lord, yet he was also called the head of the family because he was a sage who led the way in education, and there were wise and virtuous people in every generation, hence the name 'head of the family.'"

Confucius and his descendants never held the rank of earl or marquis, yet they were called the family of the most sages. This can only be attributed to the fact that having many disciples is a good thing.

Seizing the right to speak and monopolizing the right to interpret... The leader of the Mohist school called it "violent learning" in the field of scholarship, and he was absolutely right.

Unfortunately, the tyranny of learning could not withstand the tyranny of power. Under the decree of the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars throughout the land were forced to "share the credit."

Before the imperial decrees crumbled in the capital, relying on the remaining prestige of the sage family, the current patriarch of the Kong family, Kong Yannian, the current ancestor of the Kong family, after several discussions with the clan elders, made a decision that went against the ancestors' wishes.

"Abandon the capital and flee west!"

Countless members of the Kong family looked bewildered and were at the mercy of others. Kong Yannian also removed his attire as the clan leader and the sacrificial lord, wearing a coarse cloth short coat and a simple hairstyle. Behind him, Kong Anguo, the current literary champion, was dressed similarly and looked dejected.

"Uncle, there's no need to blame yourself."

Kong Yannian sighed and said helplessly, "My brother has done his best, but the Lord is a man of extraordinary talent. It is not a fault of our army, but the fate of our clan."

During the court discussions among the princes and ministers, Er Kuan almost completely erased the eternal achievements of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, as well as the emperor's military prowess and virtues, and used the "shared merit system" to corner the crown prince and his ministers.

No one expected that the ruler would be so clever as to create a groundbreaking countermeasure against the "shared destiny system".

You share my success, and I share your fate.

People then realized that the space for intellectual debate is just as vast as that for war, and that one can fight one's own battles while the other fights his own, thus infinitely expanding the battlefield in the struggle.

The statement "anti-Confucianism, not anti-Confucianism" alone justifies the calamity Confucianism has suffered.

This has little to do with who caused the calamity. Even without Er Kuan, there would have been Zhao Kuan, Qian Kuan... It was just a matter of time, depending on the ruler's attitude towards Confucianism. It was thanks to Er Kuan's urgent reminder that the Kong family had the time to leisurely move westward.

Kong Anguo shook his head and said, "I'm not upset about the past. I'm wondering if His Majesty is really the way out for Confucianism?"

The Emperor's power is immense, and Your Majesty is trapped in Nanyang. Firstly, even with the full support of Confucian scholars, can Your Majesty complete the restoration?

If not, wouldn't the situation of Confucianism worsen if they continued to provoke the ruler?

Secondly, even if Confucianism helps Your Majesty achieve restoration, but the Emperor's power or even his life is gone, given Your Majesty's wicked nature, to what extent would Confucianism have to go to satisfy Your Majesty?
Can Confucianism, which only sings praises to the emperor, still be considered a school of thought?
Kong Yannian was silent for a long time before saying, "My Confucianism is already like this, how much worse can it get? Uncle, the past glory of my Confucianism proves one thing: history is written by the victors. Even our most sage ancestors did not win every battle. More importantly, they had the courage to stand up again after repeated failures, as well as the wisdom of us, their descendants."

"Shao Zhengmao can die, and so can the current ruler. As long as we defeat the ruler, we can leave the rest to the wisdom of future generations."

Even our ancestor Confucius killed for knowledge and status, so why should they consider the consequences of siding with His Majesty, the life or death of knowledge, the benefits or harm to the country, the fortune or misfortune of the people, etc.? They just did it first and thought about it later.

First, help His Majesty restore the throne; then, abolish the position of Crown Prince of the Supreme Ruler; then, cut off the possibility of the Supreme Ruler inheriting the empire; finally, pass on the wisdom of future Confucian scholars.

A struggle flashed in Kong Anguo's eyes. "To be honest, I don't want Confucianism to become like that."

After Confucius passed away, Confucianism suffered repeated failures, and the Confucian scholars who remained in the world became less pure, like ink being added to clear water. He did not want Confucianism to eventually become a "great dye vat," a tool for monarchs to control the common people.

"Uncle, it's too late."

Kong Yannian fully acknowledged his uncle's naiveté, but was helpless. "Confucianism is not limited to our Kong family. There are hundreds of different schools of thought among Confucianists today. Even if our Kong family were to perish, we could neither change the present situation nor the future."

There is too much "ink" in Confucianism. From ancient times, there has been more ink than water in a vat. The vat has long been formed. The Confucius family did not flatter the emperor's will and become a tool for the monarch to rule the common people. The Mencius family, the Yan family, and many other branches of Confucianism were willing to do so.

Why didn't the Confucius family do it? To save others, you must first save yourself!

“Yan Nian, you’re right.” Kong Anguo nodded silently.

How much did our sage ancestors care about? How could that be? My ancestors are not me, and I am not an ancestor. In this turbulent world, it is already a great difficulty to preserve the family. As for other things, we can think about them after we have established ourselves.

Therefore, Mencius said in "Jin Xin Shang": "When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven."

Could the teachings of the Sage be wrong?

The Kong family packed dozens of cartloads of gold, silver, valuables, rare books, food, and water. When Kong Yannian turned around again, he saw his uncle boarding the mule cart and finally felt relieved.

As dawn broke, a light rain began to fall in Qufu. The Kong family's caravan, disguised as a merchant caravan, was the first to leave the city. As they passed by the people and horses entering the city, Kong Yannian and Kong Anguo both had a feeling that they were people seeking revenge from the Hundred Families.

The Confucius family has never let the other schools of thought off the hook, and now the other schools of thought don't want to let the Confucius family off the hook either. When will this cycle of revenge end?

With a long sigh, the Kong family's caravan sped up, daring not to take the wide, flat straight road, but following the winding, rugged mountain path without stopping, heading towards Nanyang.

(End of this chapter)