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

Chapter 212 Being a Clan
"Teacher, I think this is inappropriate!"

King Wuqiu Shou could no longer bear to listen. Forgetting his disrespect before the emperor, he argued, "Your plan failed because of the will of Heaven. You blame one person, yet you cannot change anything, and you want to bury the entire clan. Have you not heard the saying, 'The one who first made funerary figurines will have no descendants?'"

It's one thing to say that one's intelligence is inferior to another's, but to blame everything on others, and then, unable to defeat them, to become enraged and attempt to harm their entire family, is utterly despicable.

Aren't you afraid that such a tactic, which harms your family, will backfire on you?
Isn't this just like what the ancient sage said, "The one who first made funerary figurines, will he have no descendants?"

The Chinese have had a system of funerary sacrifice since ancient times. In the earliest times, living people were even buried with the dead. Later, straw figures, clay figurines, or wooden puppets were gradually used to replace living people. Figurines are one such example.

Confucius opposed the use of funerary figurines for burial, believing that although this practice was an improvement over burying living people alive, it was still essentially treating people like objects, which was an inhumane act and a disregard and cruelty towards life.

Therefore, he said, "The first person to make terracotta figurines for funerary purposes will surely be childless."

Someone like the teacher, who is the first to harm another's family, might just destroy their clan and exterminate their lineage.

Unwise and heartless, King Wuqiu Shou could not believe that his revered teacher had turned out this way.

When the phrase "not as good as Gongsun Hong" reached Dong Zhongshu's ears, it resonated particularly strongly. In terms of scholarship, he was far superior to Gongsun Hong, and in terms of ability, he was not much worse than Gongsun Hong. However, Gongsun Hong's career was soaring, and he rose to the position of Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, was awarded the title of Marquis, and repeatedly gained the trust of the emperor. He was known as the Ancient Chancellor and became the Grand Tutor of Jin. And what about him?
Huddled beneath the dragon's wings, not daring to stray even an inch, for the slightest misstep would plunge him into an abyss, Dong Zhongshu tried to calm himself. Looking at his disciple, he spoke slowly in a calm tone: "Zigan, why haven't you seen through Gongsun Hong's true colors? Since Gongsun Hong entered our hall, all personal grudges and resentments have been dealt with by him at his opportune moment. Ji An, Zhu Fuyan, myself, and other great talents and sages of the world have all been harmed by his distorted learning, flattery, and insidious malice. No matter what means are used against Gongsun Hong, it is not unjust to him."

The reason why Gongsun Hong was able to rise to power was that His Majesty originally intended to impose constraints on imperial power when choosing from the Gongyang school of thought, and Gongsun Hong flattered His Majesty by using his own learning of "Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside" to gain His Majesty's favor.

Even Yuan Gusheng criticized him as "distorting the truth and pandering to the world".

When faced with threats or political enemies, Gongsun Hong was extremely ruthless. He was impeached twice by Ji An. On the surface, Gongsun Hong praised Ji An's loyalty and frankness, but at the critical moment, Gongsun Hong accused Ji An of "slandering the imperial system and the clan." He used the ancestral state to frame Ji An. If it weren't for His Majesty's tolerance, magnanimity, and divine wisdom, not only would Ji An have died, but the entire Ji family would have been wiped out.

Zhu Fu Yan was slandered by Gongsun Hong and was "cooked in five tripods". Dong Zhongshu himself was tricked into going to the extremely dangerous Jiaoxi Kingdom. If it weren't for his quick thinking, he would have died long ago from the various attacks and assassinations by King Liu Duan of Jiaoxi.

When dealing with threats and political enemies, Gongsun Hong would either remain silent or, once he did, strike directly at their Achilles' heel, wiping out their entire clan.

The instigator was not Dong Zhongshu, but Gongsun Hong!
As Liu Che listened to the exchange between Dong Zhongshu and Wuqiu Shouwang, his face darkened with displeasure. It seemed that in the past events, he, as the emperor of the Han Dynasty, had always played a less than honorable role.

One-sided views, indiscriminate killing, absurdity... even occasional leniency and wisdom sound so jarring.

What Wuqiu Shouwang said next completely changed his expression: "Under the rule of the Supreme Ruler, Prime Minister Gongsun has changed!"

Gongsun Hong was indeed cunning and treacherous during Your Majesty's reign, employing tactics such as using others to kill and taking advantage of others' misfortunes. I witnessed these firsthand when I served as an official in the central court.

But with the arrival of the new ruler, Gongsun Hong and even Zhang Tang rarely killed people out of personal grudges anymore. They presented evidence and facts, which was almost impossible for cruel officials, but now it has all happened.

Even though Confucianism had fallen to such a state, Gongsun Hong did not take the opportunity to exterminate those he hated and resented, as well as their families. Instead, he took the opportunity to protect a group of young and pure Confucian scholars, allowing them to do what they could under the Prime Minister's office.

If one word were to describe Gongsun Hong in his current state, "self-respect" would be very fitting.

Be cautious in all matters and keep your valuables safe.

Dong Zhongshu noticed the change in the emperor's expression and became somewhat annoyed and angry. "Would you forgive a murderer for his past crimes just because he has reformed? For the harm he caused you?" Forgiving Gongsun Hong was what Heaven should do; what he wanted to do was send Gongsun Hong to meet Heaven!

"Teacher, the ancient sage took 'forgiveness' as the principle he followed throughout his life..."

"go out!"

Dong Zhongshu interrupted Wuqiu Shouwang, who was about to continue speaking, and pointed to the tent door.

Confucianism talks about "benevolence and forgiveness" in everything, but that's only if the knife hasn't cut you. If the knife is cutting you, then talking about benevolence and forgiveness to yourself is just foolish.

When Dong Zhongshu heard his student telling him, "You must be magnanimous," his blood rushed to his head.

The ancient sage also said, "If you repay evil with good, how will you repay good?"

Seeing the somber faces of His Majesty and his revered teacher, Prince Wuqiu Shou smiled sadly, tears streaming down his face as he bowed and withdrew from the royal tent.

With the troublesome person gone, Dong Zhongshu immediately apologized to Emperor Wu of Han, saying, "It is my fault for not strictly disciplining the disciples."

Liu Che had heard many comparisons between the two generations of rulers, and he had also heard many stories of court officials changing from oranges grown south of the Huai River to trifoliate oranges grown north of it. He kept these in mind and then said, "It's alright, Doctor, please give me your second lecture."

“That is assassination!” Dong Zhongshu said solemnly.

If conspiracies and tricks don't work, then physical elimination is the simplest yet most effective method.

"After Gongsun Hong became one of the Three Dukes, he suppressed the wandering knights of the world many times. Countless knights have suffered under Gongsun for a long time, and if they have any advantage, they will definitely kill Gongsun."

Gongsun Hongfa remained steadfast in his convictions. Upon assuming a high position, he immediately began to purge the unstable elements within the Han Dynasty, especially the wandering knights who broke the law with their martial arts, whom he dealt with with an iron fist.

Even the famous Guo Jie had committed many murders before the amnesty. Although things changed later, his retainers killed someone because of disrespect towards Guo Jie.

According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, Guo Jie should have been released without charge, but on the advice of Gongsun Hong, Guo Jie was executed for the crime of treason.

In recent years, countless wandering knights have been severely punished by Gongsun Hong and Zhang Tang, which makes these self-proclaimed righteous knights feel very aggrieved when they are punished with "a life for a life".

If Your Majesty can offer the wandering knights appropriate incentives, they will surely be eager to assassinate the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty.

How to make it cheap?

"His Majesty will return to Chang'an. It would be advantageous to conceal the assassins under his protection."

"That's it!"

(End of this chapter)