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

Chapter 199 Crouching Dragon
One leaf knows autumn.

Dong Zhongshu gazed at the fluttering catalpa leaves and stretched out his palm, but perhaps due to his illness, the leaves fell before his hand could reach them.

Suddenly, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Teacher, it's getting cold."

Wuqiu Shouwang came over, draped a cloak over Dong Zhongshu, and said softly.

From the day he learned of the content of the Wang Gongting discussion, Dong Zhongshu fell ill and has been unable to rise since.

Seeing his teacher cheer up and go out to enjoy the autumn scenery, Wuqiu Shouwang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Dong Zhongshu remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said, "It's not just that the weather is getting colder."

People's hearts are growing colder.

The efforts of more than ten generations of Confucian scholars finally brought them to a riot of color and beautiful stories, but in the blink of an eye, it all vanished like a bubble.

Like a flash in the pan.

This did more harm to Dong Zhongshu than the long "dark age".

Those who have never seen the light can endure the darkness, but what they cannot endure is the endless darkness that follows a blaze of light.

The colors before Dong Zhongshu's eyes gradually dimmed, leaving only black and white.

"What major events have occurred in the Han Dynasty while I was away?"

"teacher……"

"It's alright, I can handle it."

Wuqiu Shouwang carefully considered his words, trying to find a tactful way of putting it, but found there was no room for tact. He spoke from near to far: "News came from Guangchuan that the clan has suffered 'public annihilation' and many of the teacher's works, such as 'Chunqiu Fanlu' and 'Chunqiu Jueshi Bi', have been lost."

Guangchuan was the hometown of Dong Zhongshu, and the Dong clan was a prominent family in the area. Everyone considered themselves Confucian scholars. Under the Gonggong system, the large Dong clan was destroyed, and even the ancestral hall was not spared. The ancestral tablets of the Dong clan were also smashed and burned.

Not a single tile was left.

Several elders of the Dong clan died of anger on the spot. Other clan members, including Dong Zhongshu's relatives, took refuge in the temple to avoid being left to wander the streets.

"Upon learning of this, His Majesty dispatched an envoy to Guangchuan to arrange food and lodging for the teacher's relatives and clansmen," Wuqiu Shouwang added.

When dealing with trusted confidants, His Majesty is often humane, especially after being trapped in Nanyang. After the Emperor restricted His Majesty's extravagant spending, the two Han princesses, Princess Dou and Princess Pingyang, sent him money and treasures. With nowhere to squander them, His Majesty was more willing to give them away as rewards to win people's hearts.

The effect was good. The five hundred people on the southern tour, along with the people of the nearby counties, gradually came to have a more concrete image of the emperor. At least here, His Majesty's reputation was quite good.

In his great joy, His Majesty changed the name of the place to "Wolonggang" and reported it to the court, which was approved by the Emperor.

The emperor's attitude has now been basically understood by the officials on the southern tour. As long as His Majesty does not squander money on his health, he can bestow rewards as he pleases.

Therefore, while His Majesty ate only flatbread and wild vegetables every day, his subjects often had meat.

This time, in rewarding the Dong clan, His Majesty directly announced that he would cover the food and lodging of the Dong clan from now on. It wasn't that he didn't want to reward them more, but that if he rewarded them too much, the Dong clan would not stay. Dong Zhongshu forced himself to stand up and bowed to the ground in the direction of the imperial tent, saying, "I will remember the Emperor's kindness."

After the ceremony, Wuqiu Shouwang quickly helped him sit down and continued, "Confucian officials in both the central and foreign dynasties are also impoverished under the system of shared merit. As a result, even a high-ranking official in the central court can only fill his stomach by eating more food from the government offices and by taking more food from the government offices to fill the bellies of his wife, children and the elderly. This has become a laughing stock of the world."

This naturally refers to Zhong Dafu Er Kuan. Not only was Er Kuan's entire residence razed to the ground by the enraged members of the Bai family, but the Bai family also sent their members to keep a close watch on him. Anything of value that appeared in Er Kuan's residence would be snatched away immediately... a collective achievement.

As an official of the Han Dynasty, Er Kuan was entitled to a salary, but this money and grain disappeared without passing through Er Kuan's hands, with the tacit approval of the Prime Minister's Office.

In order to avoid starving to death and to avoid begging on the streets, Er Kuan could only rely on the food provided by the government to sustain himself and his family.

Dong Zhongshu harbored no resentment towards his son, knowing that his son was merely the catalyst for the calamity of Confucianism. His son did not commit suicide, not for himself, but for the sake of other Confucian scholars.

Once Erkuan dies, the freed-up members of the Hundred Families will target even more Confucian scholars, for every day they live is a day of atonement.

Where is His Majesty?

"We tried to provide them with food and lodging, but to no avail. In the end, it was Princess Dou and Princess Pingyang who stepped in and took my family into their household as servants, saving them from having to live a life of hardship," Wuqiu Shouwang said sadly.

High-ranking officials in China and North Korea were forced to sell their children, turning them into servants of others, in order to survive.

Things harm their own kind, and the autumn song is also sad.

As fellow Confucian officials, Wuqiu Shouwang was heartbroken upon hearing this, and Dong Zhongshu was speechless for a moment. The fate of Erkuan was not only due to the revenge of the various schools of thought, but also the punishment from the Crown Prince's palace ministers for Erkuan's attempt to erase the Emperor's martial prowess and virtues, as well as the eternal achievements of the Grand General and the Marquis of Champion during the court discussion.

People must be responsible for their actions and words.

In fact, the ruler was very merciful. He did not kill the person who had been deceived and betrayed, which surpasses the kindness of countless monarchs throughout history.

But this kindness was definitely not what a Confucian scholar who valued his reputation wanted. For Er Kuan, his current life was worse than death.

"Confucianism encountered a great era of great strife, with rampant power and human desires. From its founder Confucius, it traveled among the states for hundreds of years. Even during the Qin and Han dynasties, it never found a civilized country to realize its ambitions. The grandeur of the Han dynasty was beyond my comprehension, with its emphasis on both literature and martial arts and the flourishing of a hundred schools of thought."

Dong Zhongshu could never understand why the emperor would rather go to great lengths and exert himself to reshape Chinese thought than let Confucianism, which had "integrated" Chinese thought and was even more conducive to his rule, shine brightly. "However, the Han court advocated force and relied on Legalism and military strategists, while suppressing Confucianism and rarely entrusting it with important tasks."

Although His Majesty has shown me great respect and has made several attempts to promote Confucianism since his ascension to the throne, he has only used our school for governing the people. Now that His Majesty has discarded us like worn-out shoes, it is still difficult to say whether our school can serve as the foundation of the Han Dynasty or even the Chinese nation in the future.

Ultimately, Confucianism is a school of learning that values ​​antiquity and restores propriety, a school of learning that brings peace and prosperity to the country, a school of learning that educates the people, a school of learning that cultivates oneself and regulates one's family, and a school of learning that disciplines oneself and corrects one's conduct. Precisely because of this, it is also a school of learning that was born at the wrong time.

"The times and circumstances dictate that Confucianism will face a long period of decline. We, the followers of Confucianism, must be resilient and able to withstand such neglect. We must emulate the Mohists' diligence and self-discipline in order to revive Confucianism in a prosperous era."

Dong Zhongshu could only attribute all of this to His Majesty, the Supreme Ruler, who was a monarch striving for expansion and placing his hopes on future rulers who would maintain the status quo. Looking at King Wuqiu Shou, he said with a sorrowful expression, "Zi Gan, you must remember the teachings of the sages: 'When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test their will, strain their muscles and bones, starve their body, leave them destitute, and thwart their endeavors, so as to strengthen their resolve and increase their abilities.'"

"Disciple, please remember this!"

Wuqiu Shouwang was deeply moved by his teacher's words. Composing himself, he continued, "By the way, teacher, news has come from the Sage Family that they have fled west to Nanyang with their entire clan..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dong Zhongshu performed a medical miracle, jumping up to interrupt, "What did you say?"

(End of this chapter)