I just stayed yesterday, and today I have an invitation. Yang Fan took Sun Yi and Li Yuhuan to meet the duke who had been hereditary for hundreds of years, the Duke of Yansheng. In all dynasties, in order to maintain their dominance, Confucianism ruled the world, and for the philosopher Confucius, it can be said that he put on the halo of God. For the posthumous sealing of Confucius's descendants, since the Song Dynasty, I have not heard of it. Yan Shenggong, hereditary replacement, in this generation, passed to Kong Yanzhi, almost more than sixty generations. It is estimated that from ancient times to the present, no family has been able to have this glory.

Speaking of which, the political status of the Kong family is actually not much different from Yang Fan. It's nothing more than that the bureaucrats respect you, but they are not afraid of you. After all, you have no power in your hands and no money in your pocket. Of course, this no money means that they don't have the money they want.

"Sir, isn't the Yansheng Mansion in Qufu? How can it be in Dengzhou? Sun Yi asked puzzled. Yang Fan stuffed a piece of freshly demolded pastry into his mouth, still warm, without losing the lubricating taste, and said: "People are worried about the country and the people, since Dengzhou was recovered, they have been living in Dengzhou for a long time to appease the people. Yesterday, I heard that we brought millions of wheat grains, just to solve the urgent need, so I invited us to go and get together. ”

The ancient trees of Xinyuan are verdant, and the creepers on the corner of the wall enjoy the coolness brought by autumn, and it will not be long before they will wither and wither in the twilight of autumn. The garden is quiet and elegant, Yang Fan and his party arrived, the door opened slightly, the housekeeper took Yang Fan and a few people into the garden slowly, and saw a flower field in the courtyard, the man leaned over to weed, and made the dragon claw chrysanthemum in the flower field refreshing and refreshing, and the claws stood in a forest.

Seeing Yang Fan and a few people coming, the man raised his head, raised his eyebrows with a hint of pleasure, quickly dusted his hands, and stepped out of the flower field, "Let Ling Hebo smile." I have heard the name of Uncle Ling He for a long time, and when I see it today, he is really a young talent, and his reputation is well deserved. ”

Yang Fan smiled: "Where, where." Yan Sheng Gong smiled. If you have no talent and no virtue in the future, how dare you worry about the Holy Father. ”

"Come, come, please." Kong Yanzhi invited the three of them to sit in the house. After all, Dengzhou has experienced this difficulty, spring plowing and summer sowing have been affected, and now millions of stone grain are in the warehouse, not only making up for the shortcomings, but also greatly surplus, he is also very happy. "The lord went to sea this time, have you ever been smooth?"

"Tosheng Shangfu, a qiēshun lì." Yang Fan said with a smile, "Yan Shenggong cares about the world, and he really deserves to be a saint Deyan and an example of Confucian scholars in the world." ”

"Where, where." Kong Yanzhi said, "Although we are the descendants of Confucius, we are also beyond the reach of the virtue of our ancestors, how dare we call ourselves Yan Sheng?" It's you, my lord, when you were downstairs in the Xianju, you reprimanded Confucianism and arithmetic, which was really a bit shocking. ”

Yang Fan was stunned, feeling that this Confucian descendant was waiting for him here. Originally, he wanted to discuss it with us, so he raised his eyebrows, pretended not to hear, and drank tea by himself. Kong Yanzhi squinted, cleared his throat, and said: "Confucianism and scriptures have been developed to this day, and they have been inherited for thousands of years. ”

said that this was the case, and it was clear that Yang Fan wanted to be ugly. Yang Fan couldn't keep silent anymore, so he smiled and said: "Yan Shenggong misunderstood, and he didn't mean to belittle Confucianism. The reason why he argued with others that day was just that the angry young people in the capital ridiculed arithmetic, which made the young generation of people who studied arithmetic ugly. It's just a satire on him, and it really doesn't mean to belittle Confucianism. ”

Kong Yanzhi's face softened slightly, and he asked again: "That lord does not take the test to gain fame and serve the imperial court, but wants to be willing to degenerate, be a businessman to show the face of the saint, and let the people of the world laugh at the saint and sage, why is this?" ”

"I don't know how to make eight strands, I don't know how to make four books and five classics, how can I get fame?"

As soon as these words came out, Kong Yanzhi was a little speechless. This imperial examination is the ancestral system set by Taizu, but the imperial examination, how to achieve the office. He picked up the cup of tea on the table, took a few sips, and said no more. You can't persuade other lords to study and make art again.

In terms of talent, the song of Qinyuan Chun Emperor is so magnificent that even he feels magnificent, comparable to Su Xin, that is, Su Xin and Su Xin do not have that kind of domineering spirit. In terms of character, the morality of the three money, the soup kitchen under the overpass, and the refugees going to sea to the present day with millions of stones of grain and grass are returned, which can be described as great benevolence and great virtue, and compared with the small benevolence and small virtue of those who cultivate their virtues and talk about Swen, it is even more noble. Speaking of leading troops, Da Linghe fought a battle, raised his eyebrows, and was even more handsome. It's a pity that such an all-round genius can't make art, so he won't be a master.

"Yan Shenggong, I don't know if you think that the development of Confucianism to this day, compared with the time of the ancestor Confucius, is it good and poor?" Yang Fan threw this topic directly to Kong Yanzhi. Kong Yanzhi, who was still reminiscing about the topic of craftsmanship just now, was stunned, thought for a moment, and said: "The master's learning, we are like a high mountain, and we can only look at it. It can be said that the continuous development of Confucianism is also chasing the footsteps of his old man, which is certainly incomparable. ”

"In the next fight, dare to ask Confucius if he has ever said that the text must be eight shares, and the article is an explanation?"

"The text must be eight shares, and the article is an explanation? What do you mean by this? Kong Yanzhi asked puzzled. Yang Fan said with a smile: "In today's imperial examination, all texts must be written in eight strands, and all statements must not be separated from the meaning of the scriptures, isn't it that the text must be eight strands, and the article is an explanation?" What else is the use of such an article? ”

"Hmph. According to the meaning of the lord, how should this fuss be done? ”

Yang Fan knew that this was an excellent opportunity, and in the hearts of Confucian scholars, Yan Shenggong definitely had a certain status. Nowadays, the court is **, the officials are mediocre, and even the imperial examination is full of water. At this time, a fresh blood is urgently needed to wash away this decaying imperial court. Then the reform of the imperial examination is inevitable, and the Baguwen cannot be said to harm people, but it is certain that it restricts people. Now is the best time to emancipate this mind, and the ideological trend at the end of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be more enlightened and broader than that of the next 100 years. It is not enough to open up the ideological trend, and if the imperial examination system for scholars is not changed, it is still empty talk.

"I don't read much in the next book, but I also know that since the beginning of Han Yu, the decline of eight generations of literature has been practical, and it has been used by the world. Liu Hedong and Ouyang Wenzhong are all advocates of ancient literature. Why do you have to turn back history when you come to our dynasty, and why do you need eight strands of literature for the imperial examination? Moreover, since Zhu Cheng's science, Confucianism has gone to the extreme, and it is difficult to restore the original intention of Confucius. ”

These words are all fascinated by the authorities and bystanders, Kong Yanzhi pondered for a long time, and couldn't say why.