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

Chapter 258 Martyrdom
The lanterns hanging everywhere in the Prime Minister's residence were lit, gradually merging into patches of red. From a distance, those patches of red contrasted against the boundless white sky, making the eaves of the houses seem to float in mid-air amidst the red below and white above.

In the study, Zhang Tang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

If His Majesty had not sought restoration, he would likely have already reported to Weiyang Palace and taken action against the residences of Princess Dou and Princess Pingyang.

Now, I fear that disturbing the two princesses' residences would alarm His Majesty, causing the restoration to end and affecting His Majesty's ascension to the throne.

"Completely irresponsible and insatiably greedy."

Gongsun Hong gave Zhang Tang his assessment, then looked at his three disciples and warned, "Don't follow his example!"

To put it simply, the goal is to help the emperor ascend the throne quickly, and then, as someone who has followed the emperor, receive a generous reward.

This is greed.

During this process, anything that might interfere with His Majesty's reckless actions should not be done, or should be postponed.

They remain indifferent until the order from above is issued.

This is without burden.

Another point is that Zhang Tang, who came from a family of cruel officials, lacked the foresight to see the bigger picture and was completely unaware that once the restoration movement began, it would not be swayed by individual will or actions.

In this regard, even Zhang Tang, the Imperial Censor and one of the Three Dukes, was not as good as his newly recruited disciples Mozi, Huo Guang, and Chen Mo.

However, this is not only Zhang Tang's limitation, but also the limitation of many legal officials. They wholeheartedly "cultivate" their own small plot of land, and they can do very well in that, but they are inferior in other areas.

Mozi recalled the old master's evaluation of qualified legal officials on the way down the mountain when he accompanied him.

“Those who serve as legal officials should have the heart to sacrifice for the cause.”

People like Wu Qi of Chu and Shang Yang of Qin paid the ultimate price with their lives during that era of reform and strengthening.

Mozi Mo had a "sharp mind" and could clearly sense that Zhang Tang had no intention of dying for his cause. Even if he thought of it from time to time, he would be afraid of it.

Zhang Tang, who went to great lengths to implicate his relatives and had countless lives on his hands, was not radical enough.

Not a legitimate legal official.

Huo Guang's feelings towards his "senior brother" were simple: he was blindly devoted to his superiors and self-interest, putting his superiors before himself, and had lost his true self.

Legalist scholars often had their own opinions.

For example, Shang Yang resolutely advocated "burning books and clarifying laws" and "appointing officials to govern the law as teachers of the world." Han Feizi advocated that "in the country of an enlightened ruler, there are no written records, but the law is the teaching; there are no words of the former kings, but officials are the teachers." Although the ideas of the Legalist sages were not far apart—the so-called "appointing officials to govern the law," "no written records," and "no words of the former kings"—the essence of which was to abolish and liquidate cultural classics and moral teachings, especially the Confucian values ​​of "rites, music, poetry, and books" and "benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, and brotherly love," thereby realizing the Legalist proposition of "using law as the teaching"—Shang Yang and Han Feizi had a clear stance and distinct banner; they stood there as defenders of the Legalist "rule of law."

Zhang Tang may be a representative of the current legal officials of the court, but with this mindset, he could never become a great sage of Legalism throughout his life.

Chen Mo felt that Zhang Tang had "gone astray." Zhang Tang had studied law since childhood, and the Zhang family had been a family of lawyers for generations. However, Zhang Tang's father was not a famous Legalist scholar, and the Zhang family did not have any family tradition of learning; it was purely "wild fox Zen."

Zhang Tang was simply gifted. After entering officialdom, his studies and career progressed, which led to his current position. He did have a period where he studied under the Prime Minister, but once you've gone astray, it's not so easy to straighten it out.

Although the Chen family and Chen Mo did not know much about Legalism, they were familiar with the three main elements of Legalist thought: "law," "method," and "power."

One aspect of this "technique" is based on Shen Buhai, a "lowly minister of Zheng" who served as prime minister to King Zhao of Han during the mid-Warring States period. This "technique" refers to the schemes by which rulers manipulate their ministers, the subtle ways in which loyalty and treachery are discerned without being overtly obvious, and the unpredictable yet accurate calculations of rewards and punishments.

His second "law" was modeled after Shang Yang, who was a contemporary of Shen Buhai. His unique political strategy was to implement laws with severe punishments and generous rewards, so that those who obeyed the law would receive no reward and those who violated the law would be punished without exception.

Their third type of "power" was based on Shen Dao, a man from Zhao who was a contemporary of Mencius. The so-called power was authority. This faction wanted to expand and concentrate the authority of the court in the hands of the ruler, making him an object of intimidation in order to suppress his subjects.

Throughout history, only Han Fei has been able to embrace and consider all aspects of Legalism, hence it is said that he brought together the greatest achievements of Legalism.

Zhang Tang seemed to possess all three layers of thought, yet he remained at a superficial level. He combined his own insights and experiences with his actions, but lacked the ability to establish his own school of thought. This resulted in an awkward situation where he could "make no progress" in both his thinking and his career.

This is due to insufficient family education and the lack of guidance from renowned teachers in one's youth. Like a large tree, it may appear prosperous, but it has lost the possibility of growing into a towering tree.

Faced with his "teacher's" disappointment and his "third junior brother's" scrutinizing gaze, Zhang Tang felt extremely ashamed and indignant.

Not everyone is like Mozi, a descendant of the Great Sage, naturally intelligent and favored by the powerful Mohist school among the Hundred Schools of Thought. Nor is everyone like Huo Guang, a precocious and self-taught genius who, in his ignorance, suddenly became the half-brother of the Grand Marshal of the Han Dynasty, and after going to the battlefield with him, obtained the 18th rank of the twenty ranks of military merit in the Han Dynasty, just one step away from the Marquis of Guannei and only two steps away from the Marquis. As for Chen Mo, born into nobility, if his father hadn't lost the family's hereditary title, Chen Mo would already be the Marquis of Qu Ni, a great meritorious official of the Han Dynasty.

What about him?

My father was once the magistrate of Chang'an, but in the eyes of the Mohists, the Grand General and Grand Marshal's government, and the meritorious families, he was probably no different from the turtles in the moat of Chang'an.

He climbed up step by step, using knowledge as a means of advancement. What other options did he have?

At this moment, Zhang Tang was misunderstood and looked down upon by his "noble junior brothers". He wanted to retort, "You are arrogant and you are amazing!"

However, how could he lower himself to argue with his junior brothers who were teenagers and young men, like children?

Gongsun Hong could see Zhang Tang's suppressed emotions. He sighed and said, "Go kill people. Start with the residences of Princess Dou and Princess Pingyang. Then pay attention to officials who have recently been sent out of the capital to take up their posts. Don't worry too much about the Imperial Censors; just ambush and kill them on their way to their new posts. I don't need to teach you how to fake a robbery and murder. This will solve the problem of a large number of officials from powerful families in the court. As for wealthy merchants, those who haven't become national tycoons, have the local soldiers disguise themselves as bandits and plunder their homes, kill them, and confiscate their property. As for wandering knights and thieves, those who haven't stopped or repented after the court lifted the land ban are no ordinary wandering knights and thieves. Have the local government offices coordinate with each other and organize ten times the number of troops to wipe them out. Wherever you find wandering knights and thieves, kill them there. If you find them in the mountains, hack them to death in the mountains. If you find them in the plains, shoot them like hedgehogs..."

(End of this chapter)