Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 541: The First Shot

The prime minister of the country was beaten in the street and his nose was almost broken, which really angered the emperor.

It is said that when the emperor heard about this, he became furious and ordered the Dragon Guards to take the man away from the Shuntian Prefecture Prison. He vowed to find out who was behind the man and kill all nine generations of his clan.

Regardless of whether the rumor of killing nine generations of a clan is true or not, the fact that the Dragon Guards’ cavalry were searching the entire city for the criminal cannot be false.

Those who were originally gloating over other people's misfortune, let alone gathering to protest or sit in front of the palace gate, immediately ran back home trembling with fear and dared not stay outside, for fear that they would say something wrong and be caught by the Dragon Guards and taken to the Imperial Prison.

"The Prime Minister asked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to plead with His Majesty, and only then was the man spared from death and even released back home..."

Ergou is worthy of being the gossipy one in Rongguo Mansion, he can find out any news.

Of course, this should also be what Zhou Jiong did on purpose.

"The Prime Minister also sent a message to me. He said that Third Master must not get involved in this matter. The Prime Minister has his own plans."

Needless to say, Mr. Zhou is planning to make a big move with this, but no one knows to what extent he is going to do it.

"This is really too much! The Grand Master is already seventy years old, and he has to suffer such a sudden disaster..."

The person who was most indignant about this matter in Rongguo Mansion was not Jia Cong, but Baoyu, who had little interaction with him.

This is also Master Bao's nature. How could Master Bao not be angry when someone bullied an elderly man in his seventies, an old man who has worked hard for the country and the people!
Before anyone entered the yard, angry curses reached the ears of Jia Cong and Daiyu.

The two looked at each other and both smiled.

"You don't know. After the imperial physician returned from the prime minister's residence, he said that the prime minister was dizzy and couldn't even eat. Several senior officials in the Imperial Hospital said that the prime minister's spirit was damaged and it was not known whether he could recover. Tell me, the prime minister served the country and the people, but he had to suffer such a disaster. The officials couldn't even find the real culprit behind the scenes. If this is not dereliction of duty, what is it?"

Sure enough, when Baoyu walked into the yard, the first thing he did was to complain to Jia Cong.

After scolding those "dereliction of duty" officials, Master Bao's anger finally subsided a little. He bowed to the two and said, "Brother Cong, Sister Lin... Sister-in-law... Forget it, I'll just call you Sister Lin to get used to it."

"It's just a name, you can call me whatever you want, cousin."

Daiyu would not feel estranged from Baoyu because of their address, after all, they were relatives who grew up together.

She poured a cup of tea for Baoyu, who sat down angrily, and gave Jia Cong a look.

Jia Cong understood immediately and said, "Second Brother Bao, I originally asked you to come back because I wanted to ask you for help with something, but now it seems that this matter is in line with your wishes."

"Oh? Brother Cong, tell me, is it about the matter of the great husband?"

Baoyu is indeed a man of insight. As long as he is willing to think about it, there is nothing that can stump him.

Jia Cong praised him, and then explained: "Second Brother Bao also knows about the matter of Lord Zhou. It's not that the officials can't find the person behind the scenes, but the person behind the scenes, whether it's Your Majesty or Lord Zhou, can't find a suitable way to deal with it for a while..."

Ok?
Baoyu suddenly remembered the biggest incident in the past few days and was a little bit unbelievable.

"You mean, those scholars are behind this man?"

Jia Cong nodded and replied in all seriousness: "To be precise, it is the scholars who are dissatisfied with Lord Zhou's intention to re-interpret the classics of the saints!"

Snapped!
Baoyu slapped the stone table fiercely, not caring about the pain in his palm, and said fiercely: "This is too much! As the leader of Confucianism, you have reinterpreted the classics to correct the original source, but they actually want to destroy the future of our literature and Taoism for their own selfish interests..."

Having said that, Baoyu stood up and was about to leave.

Jia Cong grabbed him and asked, "What are you going to do, Brother Bao?"

"What else can we do? Of course we have to go to the palace to see the emperor! Shouldn't such lawless people be arrested?"

Baoyu's face showed both indignation and confusion.

He stared at Jia Cong suspiciously and asked, "It is said that the Grand Master and you have a close relationship, and you are usually a person who does not tolerate any sand in your eyes. You are actually indifferent to what happened today. This is not right!"

"As expected of Brother Bao, your insight is incredible!"

Jia Cong gave Baoyu a thumbs up, and Daiyu on the side also laughed and said that her cousin had good eyesight.

Daiyu winked playfully and said to Jia Cong, "You'd better explain it to your cousin, so as not to make any mistakes."

"Okay... Brother Bao, please sit down and I will explain it to you slowly."

There are some things that are better left to Baoyu to do. After all, people who are familiar with Baoyu know his temperament well.

If you were to ask who in the world is the most contemptuous and disgusted with contemporary Neo-Confucianism, I'm afraid that Master Bao from the Rongguo Mansion would be the answer that many people would be able to come up with.

Baoyu had long ago expressed his opposition to certain contemporary Neo-Confucian viewpoints and outdated conventions and customs in newspapers, and even questioned the interpretation of certain Confucian classics.

But the responses he got were either ridicule or direct debate with him.

Thanks to his special status, as he was both a relative of the royal family and a young boy, those great scholars, although quite dissatisfied with his unorthodoxy, would not force him too much.

If it were Xu Jin's age or some old Confucian scholar, he would have been hanged and burned to death by those people long ago.

"Second Brother Bao, you have to understand that this matter is not just a court struggle, its essence is a struggle of faith. You should have heard of the sectarian struggles in the West..."

When Baoyu suddenly heard Jia Cong's question, he was startled and couldn't help shivering.

As overseas events spread to the Central Plains in recent years, he had heard a lot of stories about religious struggles in the West.

There are too many people burned to death by the church!
"So, don't underestimate this matter. This is a fuse, and a raging fire is about to ignite. This will be a life-and-death war. If you win, the beautiful world in Brother Bao's heart will come. If you lose, the darkness you can imagine will rule this world for hundreds or even thousands of years!"

……

Baoyu sat in the duty room of the News Department, staring blankly at the dark clouds in the sky outside the window.

It is going to rain!

"Cong Ge'er once said that some people were chased and killed by a group of people who thought they were righteous just because they said the earth was round."

"Isn't this talking about me?"

Alas...it turns out that the person who holds the truth is lonely!
Baoyu picked up the pen and wrote a line on the paper.

"Reason is what exists in desire. Everything is done out of desire. Without desire, there is no action. Desire leads to action. Action leads to the ultimate and irreversible state, which is called reason. Without desire and action, how can there be reason?"

The circulation of Beijing Evening News is so large that it covers almost every class in Beijing.

With the in-depth implementation of compulsory education, students in public schools often take a penny newspaper with them when they go home.

In particular, the "Beijing Evening News" not only contains the promulgation of the country's laws and decrees, but also magical legendary stories and great debates that are initiated at any time.

Today's second edition once again published Master Yihong's article. The article has more than a thousand words, and the whole article can be summed up in four words - ethics and morals are cannibalistic.

Then, from the etiquette of eating people, it extends to this etiquette, is it the etiquette advocated by the saints...

Although Master Yihong did not elaborate on the sage's etiquette in his article, anyone who has read books knows that the sage's words were spoken thousands of years ago.

As for what the sage's words really meant, people had already carefully dressed them up according to their own ideas and transformed them into a "graceful" girl.

Baoyu's shot went straight to people's hearts.

In fact, with the coming of a prosperous era, the cultural spirit of Daxia soared, and people of insight had long questioned the current Neo-Confucianism.

The long-accumulated dissatisfaction has been waiting for an opportunity.

Baoyu's article was the turning point. In just one night, it caused a huge uproar in the capital, making the capital turbulent and even affecting the court.

"Cun Zhou, your son is too bold!"

Minister of Rites Lu Yang immediately found Jia Zheng's duty room and said in a distressed and cryptic way: "The Prime Minister is still recovering from his injuries. The court can't stand too much shock now. Go back and persuade your son not to stir up trouble again."

In the past, Master Zheng would have rushed back home to get the big stick and Baoyu, but today, not only did he not agree to Lu Yang's words, but he retorted: "Why does the Grand Master say this about my son? The ancients said that the Lord of Mang understands human nature and doubts, so the ministers are untrustworthy and do their own things. Now my son has a question and wants to get an answer in the newspaper. What's wrong with that?"

"This……"

Lu Yang was unable to answer Jia Zheng's question, because even Confucius said, "One who is quick to learn and does not feel ashamed to ask questions from those who are inferior to him is called a scholar."

Jia Baoyu did not openly attack Neo-Confucianism in the newspaper, but only asked whether the etiquette advocated by Neo-Confucianism today is the same as the etiquette originally proposed by the saints...

On the contrary, the followers of Neo-Confucianism, as if their ancestors' graves had been dug up, ran to the Ministry of Rites in the early morning with newspapers in their hands, and insisted that he, the Minister of Rites, close down the News Department and punish Jia Baoyu.

Lu Yang also had a headache. Although he was also a follower of Neo-Confucianism, he was a Neo-Confucianist who used reason.

He really couldn't do such a thing as breaking someone's pen just because he couldn't win the argument.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry, I am also... Oh, forget it, just let him be..."

Lu Yang didn't know how to explain this to Jia Zheng. This matter itself was a mess. Didn't the emperor and the prime minister both compromise and give in to the Neo-Confucian school?
He wanted to leave, but Jia Zheng grabbed his sleeve.

"Grand Master, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I have something to ask you..."

Lu Yang was shocked and turned back with a bitter smile.

But Jia Zheng straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly: "Excuse me, Grand Master, in this dynasty, people are not punished for their words. Can our teachings of the sage way tolerate different opinions? Do you think my son is Shao Zhengmao and want to punish him for the words of the sage?"

……

"The Neo-Confucian tycoons, you have mistaken Brother Bao for Shao Zhengmao and want to kill him as soon as possible!"

An article questioning Neo-Confucianism and ethical ethics seemed to have plunged the entire capital into outrage.

On the way to the News Department, Baoyu's carriage was hit by stones more than ten times and had to return to Rongguo Mansion halfway.

On the contrary, at Prime Minister Zhou's house, the protesting officials who were originally blocking the door shifted their attention and the house enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet.

Jia Cong truly implemented the old man's instructions and did not even leave the house. He let Ergouzi pass on the messages and began to fish in troubled waters.

But it was hard for Baoyu, as Menzi had made more than ten trips in a row, and brought back a thick stack of articles every time.

The great debate has begun!

Daiyu finished reading the article in her hand and smiled bitterly.

"They think they are Confucius and believe that what my cousin said is heresy. They are determined to kill the evil and return to the right path. I don't know how this will end!"

She looked at Jia Cong, who was calm and composed, and secretly kicked his foot lightly.

It is unclear whether it is a good thing or a bad thing to involve Baoyu in this matter. After all, Baoyu is kind-hearted by nature, and if things go wrong, he will be defeated in this war without gunpowder.

However, Daiyu still underestimated Master Bao. At this moment, he was so eager to fight that he wished he could hold his pen and fight him for three days and three nights.

shhhhhh...

The ink was transformed into words, and Baoyu quickly finished writing an article. He blew the ink dry and handed it to Jia Cong.

"Brother Cong, help me check it. If there are no mistakes or omissions, send it to the News Department..."

As he said this, without even raising his head, he frowned and looked at another article that refuted his statement.

“How many copies is this?”

"The seventh one!"

Jia Cong was shocked by Baoyu's fighting ability. Calculated based on an article of more than a thousand words, Baoyu had written a debate article of seven or eight thousand words in less than a day, and each article was full of quotations from classics and meaningful.

When did he remember the saints' scriptures so clearly?
Hasn't he always been disgusted with classics and historical articles?
Jia Cong was shocked when he presented his article, but he saw Baoyu was still browsing and writing furiously. He immediately replied, "Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. You are a marquis of the imperial court, but you have forgotten our family's heritage? In order to fight this battle, I recited the Four Books and Five Classics again last night..."

Wow, Jia Cong could only say that Master Bao was worthy of being Master Bao, his brain was so smart that even ten Jia Congs couldn't match it.

"Without any mistakes or omissions, my cousin's article refutes almost all of that person's views. Moreover, each point is marked with a certain book, and even points out that person's misunderstanding of the words of the saint!"

Daiyu was also well-read, but now she had to ask her maid to move out the books in her home and start comparing them with the notes in Baoyu's articles to check if there were any mistakes.

This search shocked her, as Baoyu actually managed to match every one of his points with the words of a sage in a certain book.

Jia Cong took the article from Daiyu's hand, put it away solemnly, and then asked his personal soldiers to come and deliver it to the News Department on express horse.

"This battle was really exciting!"

Daiyu nodded: "As long as the News Department prints these people's articles together with my cousin's articles, anyone who can understand them will not object."

Baoyu, who had been writing furiously, suddenly raised his head with a serious expression.

He shook his head and said, "Sister Lin still underestimates these people. Even if I invite Confucius to come out, they will ignore the facts and beat Confucius to death, saying that he is a fake!"

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)