In Sima Gate, Wei Juan and Zhidu ended a not very pleasant conversation.

According to the temperament of the two and their habits on weekdays, this is probably the only time the two of them communicate, and at the same time, it is also the last private communication.

Regarding the conversation between the two, Tianzi Qi, Liu Sheng, and his son, who stayed in the Xuanshu Palace, naturally didn't know anything.

Or should I say: even if you know, it is difficult for the attention of father and son to be diverted to the conversation between them.

- At this moment, all the attention of Tianzi Qi is focused on the prince who he has set up: Prince Sheng!

And Liu Sheng took a deep breath as soon as Wei Juan and Zhidu left······

"Kiss and hide~"

"Kissing and hiding ······"

After Wei Juan and Zhidu left, only the figures of Tianziqi and Liu Sheng's father and son remained in the huge Xuanshu Palace.

Even the eunuch Ling Chuntuo, who has always been inseparable from the Son of Heaven, walked outside the palace gate with great interest and acted as a doorman.

It was in this long trajectory that the Son of Heaven whispered twice, and finally pulled the scattered thoughts of the father and son back into the Xuanshu Hall in front of him······

"Kissing and hiding, from the Analects;"

"The Analects of Confucius was compiled and compiled by his disciples and grandchildren after his death."

"—If I remember correctly, the Analects is based on Confucius's quotations, supplemented by the narrative of Confucius's experience and evaluation."

In other words, the Analects can also be called 'Confucian Quotations' or 'the source of Confucianism'······"

On the royal couch, the Son of Heaven opened his face and sank like water, and his expression was gloomy;

The tone was full of coldness, and I saw the corner of Tianziqi's eyes narrowing slightly, and on Liu Sheng's slightly uneasy face, he looked carefully for a moment.

Then, he locked his grim gaze on Liu Sheng's eyes.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, do you want to explain?"

"-Could it be that after me, my Han family is going to produce a good Confucian son of heaven?"

"After the story of Emperor Taizu Gao's 'Gaoyang Drunkard', my Han family, is there going to be a Confucian Emperor?!"

Originally, there was a slight banter and sarcasm tone, but in just two sentences, the tone of Tianzi Qi was already filled with undisguised anger!

is the calm demeanor of 'Mount Tai collapsed in front and does not change', and it is also screwed together in this one;

It seems that Liu Sheng didn't say a word right, and this monstrous anger for no reason was about to swallow Liu Sheng in one gulp.

Question: What is the most fatal accusation for the emperor of the Han family, or the prince of the Han family, that is, the 'quasi-son of heaven'?

Answer: Good Confucian.

The origin of this answer is, of course, not explained by a 'Gaoyang drunkard', but a very complex question.

And the complexity of this issue, Liu Sheng, fortunately, knows it in his heart······

"Father's grace."

As soon as the Son of Heaven showed his angry face, Liu Sheng hurriedly spoke, winning a chance for himself to speak.

It was at this moment that Liu Shengqiang 'robbed' the opportunity that allowed Liu Sheng to put all his true thoughts in front of Tianziqi.

And the previous worries of the Son of Heaven gradually dissipated between heaven and earth with Liu Sheng's self-description.

"For the emperor's worries, the sons and daughters also feel the same way."

"——Confucianism, since the patriarch Kongqiu, has always regarded the landlord Haoqiang as the 'people';"

"According to Confucianism, the government should not interfere in local affairs, but should hand over the power to govern the local 'good gentry', that is, the local tyrants."

"Such advocacy has led to the fact that Confucianism has never been valued by any monarch since the patriarch Kongqiu."

"Even Kong Qiu himself has been running around all countries in the world for half his life;"

"Although it is called "traveling around the world", in fact, it is actually seeking officials everywhere, but it has never been recognized and reused."

made a simple opening remark, using 'Confucianism has never been reused' to vaguely express the intention of 'I will not reuse Confucianism', Liu Sheng stopped talking for a while;

With the help of ventilation, he secretly looked at the change in Tianziqi's expression before continuing: "The Confucian advocacy of 'delegating power to the locality' is actually to hand over the rights of the monarch to the local powerful landlords;"

"But my Han family, since Emperor Taizu Gao established the country, has always regarded the local heroes as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh."

"——The system of Lingyi that has been used by Emperor Taizu Gao since the present day is to forcibly move the local 2,000 stone incurable Haoqiang into Guanzhong in the name of 'guarding the soul of the Son of Heaven', and suppress it with the authority of the Son of Heaven."

"And when a man reaches the age of the first master, he must divide his family into separate households, which is also to dismember the local powerful and powerful clans, so as to avoid the powerful landlords from losing their tails and competing with the people for profit."

"Not to mention the national policy of strengthening the foundation and weakening the end, it has always been the goal that my Han family court and the previous emperors have worked hard for."

"All these things are enough to show that the advocacy of Confucianism is contrary to the national policy of our Han family."

"As the saying goes: the Tao is different, and they don't conspire with each other."

"And what my Han family and Confucius said is undoubtedly 'the Tao is different'······"

confidently showed his attitude towards Confucianism, but seeing that Tianzi Qi was still unmoved, Liu Sheng began to count the 'criminal evidence' of Confucianism again.

What attempts to restore the Zhou rite and the Zhou system, especially the 'original sin' such as the Jingtian system, were all placed in front of Tianzi Qi under Liu Sheng's all-round analysis without dead ends.

Even these principled mistakes have been mentioned, and Liu Sheng will naturally not forget the remaining 'little things'.

What, book burning pit Confucian~

Gaoyang drunkard~

After Xiang Yu Wujiang killed himself, he gave Xiang Yu linen and filial piety~

In Taizu Liu Bang sent people to Ludi to ask the Confucian scholars in Ludi for Zhou etiquette in order to formulate the etiquette system of the Han family, but the Confucian scholars in Ludi neglected and so on, all of which were mentioned by Liu Sheng.

But the final reaction of Tianzi Qi made Liu Sheng stunned, and immediately stopped criticizing Confucianism and began to think about himself.

——The focus of Tianziqi is really a bit unexpected by Liu Sheng······

"What kind of virtue is Confucianism, you bastard don't need to tell me!"

"I only want to ask you: Fang Cai, why did you mention 'kissing and hiding' in front of Wei Juan and Zhidu?"

"Don't you know that these four characters are one of the points that Confucianism is proud of!"

"——If I don't issue a ban order, at most two hours, the matter of 'the prince advocating kissing and concealment' will spread throughout Chang'an!"

"Don't you know what that means and what kind of trouble you're going to get for you!! bastard"

The more he talked, the more angry he felt;

In the end, his face was even more angry, and he waved at Liu Sheng irritably.

"Come here!"

"In front of me, explain this matter clearly!"

"-Which chaotic minister and thief bewitched the prince of my Han family and bewitched the mind of you bastard!"

"How dare you run for the art of Confucianism in front of me?!"

"It's against you!!"

···

Regarding Liu Sheng's performance today, Tianziqi is undoubtedly angry to the extreme.

So much so that when Liu Sheng obediently stepped forward and knelt down beside the royal couch in a proper manner, Tianzi Qi still did not forget to get up angrily;

stepped forward, looked down at Liu Sheng in front of him, and stared wide-eyed;

Even under the chin, the beard that was already a little gray couldn't help but tremble slightly!

Seeing Tianziqi's posture, Liu Shengzi had to raise his head obediently.

After thinking about it for a while, he followed the meaning of Tianzi Qi and took over the conversation.

"Erchen, it's not that you're running for the corrupt Confucian;"

"The phrase 'kissing and hiding' is not because the sons and daughters recognize and agree with Kong Qiu's statement."

"But there is really no other way than to do this, Erchen······"

The slightly helpless words made Tianzi Qi annoyed again, and he had a posture of blowing his beard and staring, making it clear that he wanted to investigate to the end.

And under such a resolute attitude of Tianziqi, Liu Sheng thought about it again and again, and finally could only lower his head and present a letter that had obviously just been written a few days ago, a corner of his clothes, to Tianziqi in front of him.

After the Son of Heaven took it in anger, and his eyes roughly swept over the 'letter', Liu Sheng cautiously spoke again, explaining what he had done today.

"This incident made Erchen very distressed."

"——The eldest brother was convicted and entered the court, and he was imprisoned in the lieutenant's mansion, and he didn't see anyone."

"Even the cloth and pen for writing credit, Zhi is unwilling to provide ······ to the eldest brother"

···

"This cloth was torn off the big brother's shirt;"

"The pen and ink were sent to the eldest brother by Wei Qihou through the relationship."

"And what is written in the letter, my father should be able to understand at a glance: what does the eldest brother want to do when he writes this letter······"

The rather helpless tone dispersed the monstrous anger in Tianziqi's heart a little;

lowered his head and looked at the letter written by Liu Rong himself and entrusted to Liu Sheng to hand it over to Tianzi Qi, whose face was still full of anger, and only sank in an instant.

"Hmmm······"

"Hmm······"

Seeing the Son of Heaven pretending to bow his head, and looking back and forth at the letter, Liu Sheng's eyebrows finally brought a touch of helplessness.

Liu Sheng was very sure: Tianzi Qi had already seen Liu Rong's intentions from this letter.

- Widow, you can die!

- But Zhidu, the widow must be buried together!!

And after realizing the purpose that Liu Rong's letter wanted to achieve, it was not so much that Tianziqi was repeatedly consulting this letter, but that Tianziqi was thinking about it.

Consider how to evaluate the letter in your hand.

But what is obvious is this: no matter how much Tianzi Qi whitewashes, the truth cannot be covered up.

And Liu Sheng also has no intention of covering up the truth······

"The father said: A sentence of kissing and hiding is likely to make the sons and daughters be dragged down by the reputation of a 'good Confucian';"

"But why doesn't my father want to think about it: compared to the reputation of this 'good Confucian', the son is actually more afraid of the stigma of 'killing his brother'?"

"- Even if this is not the case, but now in Chang'an, there are still many people who say that I robbed the eldest brother of the throne."

"If the eldest brother dies in the Lieutenant's Mansion and in Chang'an like this, but Erchen doesn't do anything, how will Erchen live in the future?"

···

"My father may say again: If people are rescued, why do you have to mention that sentence of kissing and concealment, why do you have to be so unreasonable?"

"But why doesn't my father want to think about it: if he doesn't mention the words 'kissing and hiding', if he is not unreasonable, what can he do?"

"-reasonable?"

"The truth of the eldest brother's matter, can the son of the minister tell it?"

"The truth of Jiangling Taimiao, is it what Erchen should say?"

"What if this truth is talked about and finally comes to the body of the father, sons?"

"Should you blame your father and your monarch for their mistakes in front of others?"

"I still have to personally point out that my father's remarks are actually a crime that I want to add, and I want to put my own blood, flesh and blood to death???"

A series of questions, even questioning, Liu Sheng's face was only more bitter;

Straightened up slightly, pointed to the letter in Tianzi Qi's hand, and said again: "This letter is not written by the eldest brother in the palace in the last few days; ”

"As early as that day, when Erchen went to the dungeon of the Lieutenant's Mansion, this letter was handed over to Erchen by the eldest brother."

"The eldest brother told his son: After I die, I will give this letter to the imperial grandmother."

"What does this mean?"

"——It means that on that day, if Erchen hadn't taken the eldest brother away and settled down in the Tai Palace, my Han family would probably not have the King of Linjiang at this moment."

"The king of Linjiang is gone, with this letter, Lieutenant Zhidu, naturally it will be gone."

"The eldest brother is gone, even if the son-in-law is not drowned by the spit of hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an, he will at least hide in the palace and dare not go out for three or five years······"

···

"Has my father taken these things into account?"

"When imprisoning the eldest brother in the dungeon of the Lieutenant's Mansion, did my father ever think that his sons would be in a dilemma because of this?"

"- Now, the son of the elder brother will take the eldest brother to the palace, and people say: Although the prince's move is suspected of violating the law, it is also in line with loyalty and filial piety."

"Just now, when the son says the words 'kiss and hide', at most it will make people say: The prince may be a good Confucian prince."

"But if Erchen doesn't do anything and sits back and watches all this happen—sit back and watch his eldest brother die in the Lieutenant's Mansion, what will Erchen face?"

"At that time, can the sons and daughters continue to sit on the throne of the prince under the mouth of the world······"

Like a machine gun, a series of rhetorical questions did not make Tianzi Qi's eyes take his eyes off the letter in his hand.

Staring at the letter in his hand, he thought absentmindedly for a while, and the Son of Heaven finally reacted to something.

"Huh······"

"On the contrary, I preached······

said it indifferently, and turned the letter in his hand upside down, and Tianzi Qi laughed coldly;

Then he turned around and walked slowly back to the couch;

He lowered his head, raised his head, and held the letter above the candle flame, allowing the book written on the corner of his clothes to be swallowed up by the candlelight.

After most of the letter was burned, he casually threw it into the incense burner on the side, and the Son of Heaven finally sat down on the royal couch.

let out a long sigh leisurely, and then didn't raise his head and said, "You shouldn't interfere in this matter." ”

"From Rong to Chang'an, all the way to the death of Linjiang Wang, you shouldn't have taken half a step out of the palace······"

···

"Don't you know why I did this and for whom?"

"I wonder what kind of threat a brother who had the opportunity to become a prince will mean to you in the future?"

"In addition, I originally wanted to take advantage of this incident to deter the princes of the clan a little, so as to clear the resistance of cutting down the feudal clan and weakening the feudal domain."

"-In the end, it is still for Jia Yi's 'son of the kings of Tui'en' to clear the way, and never suffer from the troubles of the clan princes and vassal kings."

"But now, all my plans have been disrupted by you bastard."

"Have you ever thought about that?"

Feeling the obvious warming tone of Tianzi Qi, Liu Sheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart;

But only a moment later, Liu Sheng stiffened his face again and arched his hand slightly to Tianzi Qi.

"These things have been taken into account by the sons."

"The son knows that his father is trying to clear the way for the son;

"I also know that my father wants to use this to deter the princes of the clan."

"But when the teacher was still there, he told Erchen a truth."

When there are so many things in a concentrated position that it is difficult to choose, the wisest thing to do is to think about that as soon as possible.

···

"Take this incident as an example: what my father wants is to deter the princes and princes of the clan and stabilize the position of his sons;"

"But what Erchen has to think about is the life and death of the eldest brother, which is related to Erchen's reputation."

"—It is indeed important to deter the princes of the clan, but it is not without other means;"

"——Stabilizing the storage position is indeed something that the sons need to consider, but it is not an imminent matter."

"And the stigma of 'killing brothers' is really too heavy for today's sons······"

···

"Back then, the first emperor was already the king of the world, and he was still frightened by the sentence 'one foot of cloth, still can be sewn', and all the sons of King Li of Huainan were crowned kings;"

"Even so, the matter of King Huainan Li still greatly damaged the prestige of the first emperor."

"——At that time, the first emperor ruled the world, Weiya Hainai; And Erchen is now just a weak prince. ”

Back then, the first emperor suffered infamy because of the death of his younger brother; And the king of Linjiang is the eldest brother of Erchen. ”

"Considering this, it is difficult for Erchen not to make up his mind to bring the eldest brother from the lieutenant's mansion back to the imperial palace."

"Because the eldest brother is alive, the sons can continue to sit on the throne of the prince;"

"But if the eldest brother dies, the prince of Erchen will no longer have any prestige and prestige to speak of······"

said with a solemn face, and in the end, Liu Sheng finally bent down, changed his kneeling to kneeling, and bowed to the Son of Heaven again.

And Liu Sheng's next words made Tianzi Qi fall into a long period of thought······

"It is true that the Analects record the content of the Analects, but this does not mean that people who agree with the 'intimacy and concealment' prefer Confucian learning."

"- Besides, the sons and daughters don't really agree with the idea of 'kissing and hiding'."

···

"The pros and cons of Confucianism, and even Legalism, Moism, and Huang Lao, my father had taught his sons and ministers earlier."

"——Don't specialize in one technique, don't learn from selfishness, adapt to the place and time, and take what you need."

"These words, Erchen still remember in his heart, and he dare not forget half a word."

"The father doesn't have to worry about his sons, he is a rotten Confucian who only knows how to shake his head and shake his head, but when something happens, he can only 'die of a gentleman and the crown is inevitable'."

"It's just a big brother's business······"

···

"The matter of the eldest brother, son-in-law, I implore my father to think twice."

"No matter what, I shouldn't let my eldest brother die in Chang'an because of this trumped-up crime."

"—I beg my father and the emperor to have mercy on my sons;"

"Erchen, the position of the crown prince, really can't withstand such a big earthquake······"

"Please also ask the emperor, think twice·········"

(End of chapter)