Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 271 Arranging a job for Old Deng

Just as Emperor Zhu Chongba was eagerly awaiting the clash between the Northern Sect and the gentry of Zhejiang, Magistrate Yang was sunbathing on a recliner in the Ningyang County government office.

Next to the recliner was the standard four-piece set: a table, a small clay stove, a kettle, and a tea set. The teacup was still filled with Xiaolongtuan tea, which is hard to buy even if you have the money.

Sometimes Chen Zhong felt he couldn't bear to watch.

Let alone a county magistrate of the sixth rank, even a councilor of the second rank or a prime minister of the first rank would treasure a few cakes of Xiaolongtuan as a reward. Who would drink Xiaolongtuan as ordinary tea every day?

What a waste of natural resources!

Magistrate Yang, of course, had no idea what Chen Zhong was thinking. He simply lay on the recliner like a salted fish, making the most of his rare leisure and peace.

In a few days, I will be going to the capital with this damned eunuch.

Then there might be another bloodbath—every single thing I did in Ningyang County was like stabbing the officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty in the heart. Normally I would have stayed in Ningyang County and not done anything, but now that I suddenly want to go to the capital to marry two wives, how can the officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty not make a move?

Thinking of this, Magistrate Yang couldn't help but sigh and say, "Old Chen, what kind of learning do the people of the Duke of Yansheng's mansion have that allows them to be so calm and collected?"

Chen Zhong rolled his eyes and said, "Of course, the Duke Yansheng studied Confucianism."

Magistrate Yang chuckled, took another sip of tea, and then spat out, "What kind of Confucian school teaches them to be so patient?"

Chen Zhong was slightly taken aback and asked, "Don't Confucianism advocate repaying evil with good?"

Magistrate Yang chuckled again and said, "You can just listen to this nonsense and forget about it. Don't take it seriously, or if Confucius finds out, he'll probably slap you to death."

Chen Zhong's face immediately darkened.

"I say, Magistrate Yang, this servant did nothing wrong, did I? Why did Confucius slap this servant to death?"

Magistrate Yang picked up his teacup and gestured to Chen Zhong. After taking a sip, he said, "Just for saying the words 'repay evil with good,' Confucius would probably kill you. Someone once said those four words to Confucius and was beaten up by him."

Upon hearing Magistrate Yang's words, Chen Zhong's expression became incredibly interesting.

then?

Did you, Magistrate Yang, see this with your own eyes?

Seeing Chen Zhong's bewildered expression, Magistrate Yang couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Back then, there was a man named Yuan Xian, a disciple of Confucius. He went up to Confucius and said, 'I can forgive those who hurt me. What do you think, Master?' Then Confucius beat him up, saying, 'If you forgive those who hurt you, how will you treat those who are good to you? Remember, whoever is good to you, you should be good to them. If someone slaps you, you should slap them back twice.'"

Chen Zhong looked at Magistrate Yang with a bewildered expression and asked, "Magistrate Yang, this servant has never been to school, are you trying to fool me?"

Suddenly, the image of Bruce Lee wagging his finger and saying, "I didn't study much, don't try to fool me," came to mind.

This dead eunuch probably can't fight like Bruce Lee, right?

However, it's hard to say. After all, he was a trusted eunuch who followed Zhu Chongba closely, so he should have some real skills.

By the way, it seems that the "Sunflower Manual" was created by the eunuchs in the palace?

After shaking his head slightly to clear his mind of all this nonsense, Magistrate Yang said with a smile, "What I just said is a chapter from the Analects of Confucius, 'Xian Wen.' The so-called 'Xian Wen' refers to Yuan Xian, a disciple of Confucius."

As Magistrate Yang finished speaking, Chen Zhong's expression changed repeatedly.

After a long silence, Chen Zhong suddenly asked, "Lord Yang, what if someone, when teaching students to read, only talks about repaying evil with good, but refuses to talk about how to repay good with good?"

Magistrate Yang frowned slightly and asked, "Who can skip the second half of the lesson? This is not just a simple matter of misleading students; it's about corrupting them."

Who?

Song Lian and those great Confucian scholars.

No, it's not that they don't teach the second half, but rather that they teach the entire section in a very perfunctory way.

However, Chen Zhong ultimately did not reveal the names of Song Lian and the others.

"I just heard Magistrate Yang tell this story of repaying evil with kindness, and it came to mind on a whim."

Chen Zhong chuckled and immediately changed the subject: "Anyway, this servant hasn't read many books and doesn't know what Confucianism should be like. As for whether the Duke of Yansheng's mansion practices Confucianism, this servant is even less sure."

Magistrate Yang grunted in acknowledgment, apologized to Chen Zhong, and then plunged into his study.

Chen Zhong's words just now served as a reminder to Magistrate Yang.

Not everyone has read the Analects.

At that time, the right to interpret the Analects was still in the hands of the Duke Yansheng's mansion and the gentry and scholars.

More importantly, the Duke Yansheng's mansion remained completely silent after being scolded. They neither caused trouble for the scholars in eastern Zhejiang nor came to Ningyang County to seek revenge, which greatly displeased Magistrate Yang.

Playing dead, is that okay?

Although this is a traditional skill passed down through generations of the Duke of Yansheng's family, I, Yang, do not want you to play dead right now, understand?

Then, Magistrate Yang prepared his writing materials and began writing a memorial to Emperor Zhu.

"Yang Jin, the magistrate of Ningyang County under the jurisdiction of the Central Secretariat, submitted a memorial to explain the meaning of the classics, because... the characters were not clear in meaning... during the Han Dynasty, family learning was the way to officialdom, and during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, powerful clans held sway... so he requested that the classics be annotated."

The gist is that in the past, classical texts had few words but many meanings, which led to the phenomenon of family scholars becoming officials during the pre-Han period. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, powerful clans seized the opportunity to become officials, and some even manipulated public opinion by taking advantage of the fact that ordinary people could not understand the classics. Now that you, Zhu Chongba, have become emperor, you should send people to annotate all the classic texts clearly to prevent others from using them to make a fuss.

As for you, Zhu Chongba, sending people to do this, that is your own business, Your Majesty. I am merely offering suggestions and dare not interfere in such a major project as annotating classics.

Once the ink had dried completely, Magistrate Yang was satisfied and sealed the memorial, then had it sent by fast horse to the Ministry of Justice in the capital.

That's great, they've given Old Deng some work again.

As for who Harden will mess with, that's Harden's own business.

Magistrate Yang returned to his recliner with a broad smile, let out a satisfied sigh, took a sip of tea, and said to Chen Zhong with a smile, "Husband Chen, how about we return to the capital a few days later?"

Chen Zhong was slightly taken aback and asked, "Why?"