"What did your Majesty say, 'crabs kneel six times and hold two pincers'?"
"exactly."
"What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Ying Chengyu hesitated for a moment. Even though he and Xunzi were the only two people in the house, he subconsciously covered his mouth with his hands.
He whispered: "Did you write it wrong?"
Xunzi was a little surprised, obviously he didn't expect Ying Chengyu to have such a reply.
After two breaths, he burst out laughing, causing the green-gray soap towel on his head to tremble back and forth and almost fall off.
Ying Chengyu also laughed out loud.
"Even if Cheng Xiu was stupid and wrong, Xunzi wouldn't have to react like that? This is too exaggerated."
"You are not laughing at Your Majesty's stupidity, but you are actually laughing at Your Majesty for returning to his original nature and being unrestrained. I have asked this question to no fewer than dozens of my disciples, and no one has said this."
"If I were to become my teacher, I would not say such things. How can a student dare to speak out against his teacher?"
"No. Qi Jun once praised Qing as his teacher, and Qing served as a wine sacrifice for three times. Everyone in the world thinks that Qing is the most knowledgeable and will never make mistakes. But is this really the case? Even the sage Confucius will make mistakes, and you will naturally do the same."
Xunzi didn't know.
In his previous life, Ying Chengyu had a type of question called reading comprehension. He took out an article and circled a few sentences to ask what was expressed.
The author's personal answer is far different from the standard answer, making it difficult to pass. There is a phenomenon that it is impossible to understand the meaning of the article after reading it.
Ying Chengyu was overwhelmed by this kind of forced elevation and fabricated meaning. This caused his thinking to be very different from that of people at the time, and he did not like to think deeply about things.
"Is this really caused by a clerical error? Xunzi, your clerical error has caused countless people to speculate. Some people say that Xunzi has never seen a crab, and the habits and appearance of crabs are all hearsay. Some people say that Xunzi loved crabs. Wine, but because I was short of money, all the crabs I bought were missing their legs.”
The old man who considered himself a Confucian laughed endlessly and his voice was clear.
"Jixia Academy lives on the coast of the East China Sea. How could you not see the true eyes of crabs? You are short of money, so you can be more diligent and go to the beach to catch some yourself. I think these remarks are immature on the part of the king, but they are You are as cunning as a fox, pretending to be a descendant."
Ying Chengqiao said goodbye to Xunzi with a smile and walked out.
"If Xunzi had time, he might as well change the article "Encouragement to Learning" so that future generations would not waste their brains."
Xunzi sent Ying Chengyu out.
"Now that the article is complete, let it take its course. How did you know that your "Encouragement to Learning" will be passed down for eternity. Could it be that you have been there for eternity?"
Ying Chengyu nodded naturally.
"Cheng Xi is a person two thousand years later who has studied Encouraging Learning. If calculated according to this, Cheng Xi can also be regarded as a student of Xunzi."
Xunzi's smile widened.
"This is not a joke, you are very happy to hear it. If your disciples are all like your Majesty, if you have a dreamy face, you should be able to say that Confucianism was created by you and originated from you."
Watching the king leave, Xunzi closed the door and blew out the three dim candles.
I took off my coat, took off the soap towel, and lay on the bed, but couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
"If my words can really be passed down for eternity, they will not be banned by the king. There will definitely be more than one family in the Jixia Academy. The King of Qin does not regard his subjects as human beings, and the laws of Qin are cruel. Only practicing the law without imparting virtues will ultimately be a disaster. Flowers in the mirror, flowers in the water, moon in the water. I urge the world to learn, and only by teaching without discrimination can a great nation be built. Your Majesty, if you can do this, can you..."
The reason why the old man did not change "Encouragement to Learn" in response to Ying Chengxuan's advice was because the old man deliberately made a mistake. The old man never admitted the clerical error from beginning to end, right?
How could an old man living on the coast of the East China Sea not know what a crab looks like?
If it was really a writing mistake, the old man could immediately change "six" to "eight", which would not be difficult.
The reason why the old man wrote in "Encouragement to Learn" is "The six crabs kneel with two claws." It is to let people who read this article know that he, a highly knowledgeable person, will make mistakes and he also needs to learn.
Everyone who sees the mistake here can come to him, point out his mistake, let him know his mistake, and let him learn from it.
Xunzi hoped that those who read would know that learning is a lifelong matter. There is no end to learning, and there will never be a day when you have finished learning and understanding the world.
Xunzi's first sentence in "Encouraging Learning" clearly states the main purpose.
The gentleman said: You can't stop learning.
Xunzi and Mencius were at odds with each other. One proposed the theory that human nature is evil, and the other proposed the theory that human nature is good.
But in terms of learning, the two people have the same views.
Mencius said: "The trouble for a man is to be a teacher."
On the surface, this sentence says that the problem with people is that they like to be other people’s teachers.
In fact, what is said is that the taboo in self-cultivation is pride and complacency, and being a teacher is an act of complacency.
Because I always like to be other people’s teachers, it means I feel that I already know enough.
This kind of thinking and behavior hinders the further improvement of morality and knowledge.
Xunzi said: "You can't stop learning."
Ying Chengyu, who left Xunzi's residence, walked to another house and stood outside, looking at the bright lights exposed through the window screen, and stopped moving forward.
"Your Majesty has been standing here for a long time, why don't you go inside and talk?"
The owner of the house called loudly, but without opening the door, he welcomed Ying Chengyu into the house like Xunzi.
Ying Chengyu was silent for a moment.
"I'm just taking a walk. I've disturbed the prince's rest. I hope you'll forgive me. I'll leave Xianyang tomorrow. If the prince gets up early, he can ask his servants to take care of him and ride in the same carriage with Cheng Xi."
Turn around and leave without hesitation.
No more sound came from the house, but the candlelight inside it remained brightly lit until daybreak.
In Xianyang City, Guiguzi's house is not the only one that is brightly lit tonight.
In Wang Wan's house, the highly qualified old prime minister was neatly dressed in the court uniform of the previous court.
Outside the door, the bullock cart has been prepared.
When Wang Wan was young, he scorned bullock carts, thinking that they were only used by people who were greedy for pleasure and wanted to be slow and steady.
The old Qin people should ride the carriage and drive all the way as fast as possible.
But now at this age, the old prime minister, who can't adapt to the bumps and bumps, has fallen in love with the ox-cart, which he despised at the beginning. If there is no emergency when traveling, he will give up the horse and take the ox.
The old prime minister was holding the door frame in the hall, watching the driver sitting on the front beam of the oxcart with a whip in one hand, watching the big green ox flicking its tail.
I wanted to go out several times, but never took a step forward.
"Your Majesty must not be asleep yet. Are you waiting for Wan? What are you going to say when Wan enters the palace to meet the Holy Spirit?"
The old prime minister talked to himself, saying words that no one else could hear except himself and the ethereal gods and ghosts of heaven and earth.
I raised my head and looked at the sky. The moon was not very bright and the stars were shining brightly.
The old prime minister thought about the madman who asked the sky to attack him during the wax festival. The hot blood that had cooled down in his veins returned for a limited time, which made him want to ask about the night sky.
Oh my God, can't you see that vertical line?
He looked at the round moon, thinking about the Moon Rabbit and Chang'e who existed on it, and touched his withered lips up and down, but in the end he didn't say a word to the sky.
Decades ago, at this moment, he was already in Zhangtai Palace, making plans next to the proton of Zhao who was not favored by anyone.
If he hadn't gone, Zhao Guozi's carriage would have stopped in front of his house that couldn't be described as simple, but definitely not luxurious either.
Today, even if it is such a big event, there is still an ox cart parked in front of him instead of a horse carriage.
Wang Wan expected to hear the sound of horse hooves tapping and the neighing of horses outside the mansion, but she did not want what she expected to come true.
He just stood in the mansion with such contradictions, hesitating and in a dilemma.
"Master Cheng, you should act insidiously and treacherously, how can you be so like a common man? Since you hid your clumsiness back then, why can't you bear your temper now? You have poked a hole in the sky of Qin..."
The old prime minister turned around and went inside. He was tired of standing.
The bullock cart drove away slowly outside the house, and the green bull returned to the cowshed at a leisurely pace. The driver dropped his whip in confusion and went back to sleep.
Feng family.
Feng Quji, the imperial censor, was sitting in his study, with seven large bright candles lit on the table.
He was holding a wolf-hair brush and writing furiously on bamboo slips.
[Chang'an Jun, Meng, Xi, Bai, Baili, Gongsun, Meng, Wang Wan, Your Majesty...]
These words were written in cursive script and were messy and disorderly. No one except Feng Quji himself could recognize what was written in these words.
The seven large candles not only emit light, but also emit heat.
This soon made Feng Quji's body covered with sweat, making this high-ranking Qin official, who was known as the deputy prime minister privately, out of breath.
Wow~
A bamboo slip was filled with writing, so Feng Quji pulled the bamboo slip to the ground and spread out the next blank bamboo slip.
He still wrote down some handwriting that only he could see clearly. Only he knew what was written. His name and surname continued to be written on the ground.
When the bluestone floor was covered with bamboo slips and his clothes were already stained by smoke, the censor held a writing brush in his right hand, propped his hands on the table and gasped for air.
"What are you going to do, Lord Chang'an? How could your majesty turn a blind eye to this? Is it your majesty's intention or the Meng family's wish to not rescue the city defense army when they are so close..."
The imperial censor, who has been riding on the wall, falling down on which side the wind is strong, has too many questions and too many confusions.
This sudden annihilation of the family made this man who originally planned to protect himself wisely. The imperial censor, who only wanted to add icing on the cake, but did not do anything to help in times of need, felt intense panic in his heart.
He can still be a wallflower, and he can still be on neither side.
And the outcome may be to live in peace, or it may be to the three major aristocratic families.
"It's too fast, it's really too fast. How can anyone act like this? Why can Your Majesty tolerate such people who don't care about the overall situation! Ying Chenglong, Ying Chenglong, Ying Chenglong..."
Feng Quji broke off the brush in his hand and sat on the chair with his eyes blank.
At this moment, he was hesitant.
Fortunately, I declined the banquet from the three major families that day. Fortunately, his son Feng Jie left Xianyang City early and sealed the land. Fortunately, in these days, he did not follow the trend of the nobles to criticize Ying Chengyu, but instead followed Wang Wan's example and remained silent without helping each other.
His intuition told him that Ying Cheng was extremely evil in destroying the three great aristocratic families. He openly violated the laws of Qin and secretly hung a Qin sword over Xianyang City.
Such behavior will result in death.
But in reality, the inaction of the city defense army and the First Emperor's silence until now made him feel that for the first time he could not understand the situation in Xianyang.
"It's impossible that your Majesty doesn't know about this, but you haven't taken any action until now. Does your Majesty want to use the hands of Lord Chang'an to attack aristocratic families? Your Majesty is not afraid of the death of Qin!"
Feng Quji looked ferocious and growled a few words.
His body softened and he fell slumped on the bamboo slips on the ground. He grabbed a bamboo slip and covered his face.
"Your Majesty and the Lord of Chang'an acted openly and secretly, and sang in harmony, hiding it from everyone in the world. Shuzi, Shuzi, we are the right ones. If we had known that the situation of Qin's unification was like this, how could we join Qin as officials? Up to now, I can't do anything even if I want to. I have been waiting for a lifetime, and when it comes to the end, I still have no choice but to wait. If I were buried here, my life would be really ridiculous..."
Meng family.
For the first time, Neishi Mengyi disobeyed his eldest father Meng Ao's order. No matter how much Meng Ao cursed him, he still closed the door of Meng Mansion and refused to let anyone out despite the threat of being expelled from the family tree.
His mother, Zhao Sufeng, had sharp eyes and scolded her repeatedly. Meng Yi, who was usually the most filial, disobeyed her mother's wishes this time and insisted on going her own way. No one in the Meng family was allowed to go out.
The young Nei Shi's hands were empty and he knelt on his knees in front of his father, Meng Ao, and his mother, Zhao Su.
"If my father and mother insist on traveling, please step on Yi's body."
Father, my brother is on an expedition, and he is determined to defend the Meng family.
Many nobles from aristocratic families who attended the banquet that day were all brightly lit tonight, waiting in agony for the arrival of dawn.
Although Ying Chengyu killed the three major aristocratic families in the clear sky and in broad daylight, the sunshine could not give any comfort to the nobles of these aristocratic families who were accustomed to hiding in the dark and making huge profits.
But the life-saving straw they originally wanted to grasp was not the light, but the First Emperor. After dawn, they can enter the palace to meet the First Emperor, where they can express their feelings and express their feelings.
They also went to meet today, and Xianyang Palace was almost broken by the turbulent aristocratic family.
They did not see the First Emperor, only Queen Afang.
The Queen said that the First Emperor was not in the palace, but had gone to Yongdi to pay homage to his ancestors and visit the Queen Mother, and would not be able to return until tomorrow morning.
Although the nobles of the aristocratic families did not know whether this was true or false, they could only listen to it seriously. They did not dare to question the whereabouts of the First Emperor.
The Qin Dynasty was not like later generations. The emperor could not roam around at will and could only live in the palace.
In this era when court meetings were not held every day, the First Emperor, who had the greatest power in the world, had a high degree of freedom and could go wherever he wanted.
The most fearful one is the Baili family.
The Baili family, which had just become related to the Meng family, was proven to be a descendant of Baili Xi. The top family members of the Baili family, who had a long history, were not in Xianyang city that night.
They were afraid that if they stayed in Xianyang City, they would suffer the same fate as the three great families and be exterminated.
The very responsible head of the Baili family, Baili Cheng, did not leave, so he stayed at the Baili family.
He was not used to seeing life and death, but it was him who led the Baili family and the Meng family to establish a relationship, and he could not persuade them to leave Xianyang City.
He sat in the courtyard and waited quietly, no matter whether it was an assassin or dawn.
He is from Lao Qin, and he chose his own path.
Whether it's life or death, he recognizes it.
The darkness gradually fades away, like a brush dipped in ink that is very thick at first and becomes lighter as it goes on.
The first bright light from the sky shone on Baili Cheng's face. The head of the Baili family, who had not slept all night, smiled with relief. He was thankful that the bright light was sunlight and not the light reflected from a sharp blade.
Its daybreak.
