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

Chapter 198 Absolute Saint
It's book-sharing day again.

As the sun set and the lamps were lit, the books that had been drying in the courtyard of the Prime Minister's residence were moved back to Gongsun Hong's study, box by box.

Knowing exactly where to put each book, and when to retrieve which volume and which page to look up, was Gongsun Hong's reading habit for decades.

Before he turned seventy-five, he would enjoy arranging different books in the places he knew best after airing them out each year, doing it himself and never letting a waiter do it for him.

After he turned seventy-six, he stopped doing so, not because he was promoted to the position of Imperial Censor, but because he felt that he was no longer up to the task of moving tens of thousands of volumes of books back to the bookshelves.

Fortunately, the eldest son, Gongsun He, had been observing for many years. When Gongsun Hong was putting the bamboo slips back on the bookshelf, he found that they were almost identical to the ones he had placed. From then on, the eldest son took over this task.

This year, however, he had to arrange these letters himself again. But, being over eighty years old, Gongsun Hong was no longer able to lift heavy objects, so he instructed the servants to arrange the books.

However, the same work often had different annotated versions, and the servant was not very learned, so he could not grasp the essentials. He would put the boxes of books on the empty bookshelf, only to take them down and put them in another place.

Gongsun Hong was neither impatient nor reprimanding, and even personally carried a lamp to light the way for the servant, but the servant could not calm down and sweat kept pouring down his forehead.

"You guys go down."

Since assuming the position of one of the Three Dukes, Zhang Tang, the Imperial Censor, paid his first visit to the residence late at night. He was not at all distant, dismissing the servants and rolling up his sleeves to move and arrange the books with great enthusiasm.

Gongsun Hong, having received no further instructions, stared blankly at the gradually filling bookshelf, lost in thought.

Zhang Tang was a meticulous person. When he was a servant of the Prime Minister's family in the Prime Minister's residence, he paid close attention to the arrangement of the old Prime Minister's books and scrolls. With his photographic memory, even if he had not been to the study for a long time, he still remembered the original positions clearly. Naturally, he would not make any mistakes. His speed was much faster than that of the servants.

Half an hour later, the empty space on the bookshelf was almost filled. Gongsun Hong finally spoke, "Has that box of 'Zhuangzi: Outer Chapters - Opening Chests' been brought out yet?"

"They've moved out."

Without hesitation, Zhang Tang answered, then asked, "Does the Prime Minister wish to see it now?"

"Find Volume Ten."

Upon receiving the instruction, Zhang Tang temporarily put down the book box in his hand, walked to the bookshelf, found the compartment where the scrolls should be, took out a scroll, and prepared to hand it to the Prime Minister.

“I haven’t been able to see at night for three or four years now, so I won’t look anymore. Just read it to me, just those seven sentences: ‘The sage is dead.’” Gongsun Hong waved his hand and said.

Zhang Tang, who was already sweating profusely from overwork, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Three or four years ago, when the old prime minister was appointed prime minister of Baohou in white robes, he realized that he could no longer see in the dark. But he only realized this today.

The emperor, His Majesty, ministers and officials of both the central and foreign dynasties, nobles and relatives, and members of the imperial family probably still don't know this.

The dignified Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty was already old and his eyesight was failing, so he could only attend to state affairs for half a day.

What shocked Zhang Tang even more was that the old prime minister had kept it a secret from everyone.

In his memory, the old prime minister seemed to have never hidden anything. He needed someone to help him walk, and he needed someone to recite his words when he was governing. Even when he was meeting the emperor, the old prime minister's movements were slow.

But why does the old prime minister give off such a powerful feeling?

In a daze, Zhang Tang forgot to look at the book and recited directly: "If the sage is dead, then great thieves will not arise, and the world will be peaceful and without trouble. If the sage does not die, great thieves will not cease. Even if one reveres the sage to govern the world, it is tantamount to revering the thief Zhi..."

Zhang Tang paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Does the old Prime Minister know that the Confucian family, a family of sages, has already fled west?"

The news from Qufu was delivered immediately by the Imperial Censor, and then he rushed to the Prime Minister's residence. Could it be that the old Prime Minister has an even faster source of information?
"I do not know."

Gongsun Hong shook his head, his gray and hazy eyes looking at him. "But I know that if the Xiongnu hadn't been devastated and other tribes hadn't been in decline, it wouldn't have been impossible for the Kong family to have defected."

"And you, the Imperial Censor of the Han Dynasty, it's rare for someone to disregard the Emperor's taboos and come to the Prime Minister's residence late at night. It just so happens that the Kong family is one such example." Zhang Tang sighed deeply. "Old Prime Minister, what should I do?"

The embroidered-clothes official pointed out that the censor had found the Kong family's escape route to the west and also deduced the Kong family's intentions. If he wanted to, he could do many things.

For example, burying the most holy family.

The journey from Qufu to Nanyang is 1,200 li (approximately 600 kilometers), a long and unpredictable one, where many unexpected events can occur.

Instead of answering, Gongsun Hong asked, "Is it appropriate for you to ask me, a Confucian, about what you want to do?"

His words were filled with helplessness.

It's because there are too many people like Zhang Tang among the Crown Prince's courtiers that he dares not die.

If he were dead, Zhang Tang would be asking the Emperor about him tonight.

If they are all intelligent people, with no shortage of methods and excellent character, why do they seem so hesitant when it comes to crucial matters?

Zhang Tang was speechless.

He came here to find out if the old prime minister knew about the Kong family. If he did, did the old prime minister inform the Kong family in advance? If so, what was the old prime minister's attitude towards Confucianism?

In retrospect, his thinking was wrong from the start. He didn't need to care about the old prime minister's thoughts and attitudes toward Confucianism and the Confucius family; he could just do what he wanted.

"wrong again!"

Gongsun Hong's voice rang out again, and an aura of majesty swept over us.

Zhang Tang's breath hitched. Such majesty was often seen when Gongsun Hong served as Imperial Censor, but he had never seen it again after Gongsun Hong became the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty. Moreover, his imposing presence was even greater than before.

This feeling of being a lone boat on a vast ocean made Zhang Tang clearly realize how far he was from the position of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.

Zhang Tang bowed respectfully and said, "Please instruct me, Prime Minister!"

"Do you know why I asked you to read that passage from Zhuangzi?" Gongsun Hong was pleased with his eagerness to learn but dissatisfied with his mind, which had been dulled by the effects of close combat.

"Does the Prime Minister mean that only when the 'sages' die will the norms of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and law established by those sages cease to be used by the Great Way?"

Zhang Tang's mind cleared, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. "Does the Prime Minister support my decision to exterminate the Kong family?"

Gongsun Hong never understood why his kind and tolerant disciple was so belligerent and easily provoked. "Why did you want to exterminate the Confucius family? Thousands of descendants of the sage died, and countless Confucian scholars fought back to the death. Are you so sure you can withstand it?"

"Prime Minister, how can we eradicate the sage without punishing the Confucius family?"

"My question is, why did you exterminate the Confucius family?"

"What does the Prime Minister mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, I was just reminding you that the Mohists had long ago issued a decree to punish the Confucians and the Confucius family for their tyranny, and all the other schools of thought are also full of hatred towards the Confucians and the Confucius family."

Gongsun Hong closed his eyes. "Furthermore, holding the position of one of the Three Dukes represents more than just yourself. You can die, but don't smear the blood on your hands on anyone else, understand?"

(End of this chapter)