pappabearbooks Chapter 29 Does the righteous attract much help?
Chapter 29 Does the righteous attract much help?
Qinghe Academy.
Lu Wang sat in his office, holding a book in his hands, and could faintly hear the sounds of students reading in the school.
Not only did he not find it noisy, but he also felt more at peace.
"My father."
Xiao Si's voice made Lu Wang pause in his book-turning hand, and he asked, "What is it?"
"Zhou, the scholar from Youyang, has returned and is requesting an audience."
"Let him in."
Xiao Si withdrew upon hearing this, and a moment later Zhou An entered.
"This student has met with the Instructor!"
Zhou An smiled and bowed, saying, "It's been a long time. How is your health, Instructor?"
"I'm fine."
Lu Wang sized up Zhou An, smiling as he stroked his beard: "You look much more energetic now. It seems you've made quite a bit of progress in Jinling."
Zhou An previously gave people a sense of composure that was beyond his years, but Lu Wang felt that Zhou An's composure was also somewhat out of place.
He always felt that Zhou An lacked the vigor that young people should have.
This time when I came back, I was completely different in terms of my energy and spirit.
"There have been some gains."
Zhou An waved the things he was carrying and laughed, "The instructor wouldn't expect me to speak like this, would he?"
"Come and sit down!"
Lu Wang got up and walked to the soft couch next to him. After sitting down, he pointed to the seat opposite him.
Zhou An didn't stand on ceremony. He stepped forward, placed the things he was carrying on the low table, and sat down.
"This is a gift that Hai Xuezheng asked his students to bring to the Instructor. This jar contains tea that the students roasted in Jinling. It tastes much better than the wild tea here in Youyang. Instructor, please try it later."
"Try it now!"
Lu Wang immediately instructed his servant to boil some water and bring it over. He had finished the tea that Zhou An had given him two months ago.
Having grown accustomed to roasted tea leaves, I found it difficult to swallow tea made with tea powder.
Looking at the thick bamboo tube on the table, sealed with sealing wax, his expression was somewhat complicated. He remained silent for a moment before picking up the bamboo tube and opening it.
Inside was a scroll. Lu Wang took out the scroll, untied the rope, and unrolled it.
Upon seeing the above content, he was stunned for a long time, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.
Zhou An was curious, but he didn't dare to peek out. His eyes scanned the back of the painting, and he could only tell that it looked like a painting.
"Watch it if you want!"
Lu Wang placed the painting on the table.
Zhou An looked down and saw that the drawing depicted a mountain, the slope of which had been leveled.
Two people, an elderly man and a young man, were standing in the leveled area, arguing about something.
Zhou An looked at the painting for a while and then understood its meaning.
This should depict the story of Yu Gong moving mountains. The old man is Yu Gong, and the young man should be Yu Gong's son.
The two were arguing about moving the mountain. Yu Gong's son wanted to give up, but Yu Gong wanted to continue.
The mountain in the painting symbolizes reform, and the father and son, Yu Gong, are both Lu Wang.
This is asking Lu Wang whether he wants to continue or give up.
"Did you understand?" Lu Wang asked.
Zhou An snapped out of his daze and said, "This student doesn't know if my guess is correct."
"You should know about my past experiences, right?"
"I know some things, but not in great detail."
Lu Wang sighed and asked, "What do you think of Prime Minister Fan's new policies back then?"
"The new policy involves too much, and students don't know where to begin."
"Then tell me why you think the new law will fail."
Upon hearing this, Zhou An pondered for a moment and said, "Mencius said: 'Those who follow the Way receive much help; those who stray from the Way receive little help.' I believe this statement is not entirely correct."
Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han dynasty and Yang Jian's seizure of the Northern Zhou dynasty were both acts of treason, yet both succeeded.
The student believes that to accomplish something, you need to make many friends and few enemies. Only in this way can you succeed!
Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han dynasty is a good example; he was able to succeed at first and establish the Xin dynasty.
However, he was too hasty. Before consolidating his power, he was eager to solve the long-standing problems left over from the Han Dynasty, which led to his rapid downfall.
In contrast, Yang Jian only began to target the old nobles of Northern Zhou after consolidating his power.
There is no doubt that Zhu Yuanzhang killed the most meritorious officials in history, and many people believe that Liu Bang was second only to Zhu Yuanzhang.
But in reality, Yang Jian was second only to Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, he seized power through a coup, and his meritorious officials were different from those of the founding heroes of other dynasties.
They were originally powerful figures in the court, and they only supported Yang Jian because of his various promises.
Therefore, some people believe that Yang Jian did not kill meritorious officials, but rather it was a strategy.
But regardless, he only took action against those people after he seized power with their support.
"That's right, you make a lot of sense!"
Lu Wang said with a complicated expression, "Ever since the failure of the new law, I have been thinking about this issue. The failure of the new law was not due to the new law itself, but because it shook the interests of too many people, which naturally led to a lot of opposition."
Even if we do it again, the result will be the same.
You say you'll minimize the number of enemies, but to solve the deep-seated problems within the court, you'll need to offend most people; there's simply no other way!
Zhou An could sense the pessimism in Lu Wang's tone, and perhaps it was this pessimism that made Lu Wang feel despair.
"Actually, some students don't quite understand why it's necessary to solve all the long-standing problems at once?"
Zhou An said, "Can't we address some of the more deeply ingrained problems that don't face much resistance first?"
This question has always puzzled him greatly. If reform is likened to conquering the world, then stockpiling grain and delaying the proclamation of kingship is just basic operation, isn't it?
Building high walls, stockpiling grain, and delaying the declaration of kingship were not development strategies unique to Zhu Yuanzhang.
This has been the practice almost every time in history when the world was in chaos and feudal lords vied for supremacy.
The goal of all the feudal lords was to unify the world, which is common knowledge. But why did no one immediately declare himself emperor after raising an army?
The truth is simple: knowing is one thing, doing is another.
If he doesn't declare himself emperor directly, there's still room for adjustment later; once he does, there's no room for that.
Similarly, even if the emperor wanted to solve some problems, the court officials knew that the emperor wanted to address the long-standing problems in the court.
However, as long as their interests are not threatened, most people will not react too strongly.
If you directly raise the banner of reform, the meaning will be completely different.
The problems of the Great Zhou Dynasty are well known, and they are nothing more than the three redundancies.
The officials were definitely not going to agree to this, because it was directed at them.
These officials weren't stupid. As long as their own interests weren't threatened, they would actually be happy to see the court improve.
This is like a termite that clings to a big tree, hoping that the tree will grow lush and leafy so that they can cling to it for longer.
"Things aren't that simple."
Lu Wang shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Many things are interconnected, and if no one stops these deep-seated problems, what's the point of solving them?"
The most important thing is to solve it step by step. The government doesn't have that time, and neither do any other people.
Zhou An understood what Lu Wang meant; it was simply about the continuity of policy.
Solving problems piecemeal would take too long.
If the emperor dies, or if the core members of the reformist faction reach retirement age, all their previous efforts may be in vain.
But Zhou An still didn't quite agree; he figured he could divide and win people over, and bring them in batches.
Even if it ultimately failed to resolve all the deep-seated problems, it at least alleviated the court's issues.
It's better than failing and getting nothing in return.