plumnovel Chapter 15 Taking credit for others' work
Chapter 15 Taking credit for others' work
Suzhou, Yinshan.
The academy where the Fushe Society was located was next to a Catholic church.
"You should make a decision as soon as possible."
"How can the light of a firefly rival the brilliance of the sun and moon?"
Xu Wenjue fiddled with two crickets and said leisurely, "Hiding like this won't work in the end."
"Just like these crickets, they fight and fight, but they're all losers. You only have one life. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about future generations."
Which great Confucian scholar didn't have dozens of family members behind him, including relatives and friends from prominent families, with far-reaching connections?
Although Duke Xu Hongji of Wei and his eldest son Xu Yunjue are not here.
But the Marquis of Lingbi, Tang Guozuo; the Marquis of Linhuai, Li Hongji; the Earl of Xincheng, Zhao Zhilong; the Earl of Chengyi, Liu Kongzhao; and the Earl of Xinjian, Wang Yetai.
Wu Weiye, Qian Qianyi, and Gong Dingzi, the three great families of Jiangzuo, the three spineless cowards, all sat on the same table.
Among them, the Qian and Shen families had tens of thousands of clansmen in Suzhou and Hangzhou, millions of acres of land, thousands of workshops and shops, more than ten clan schools, and the most extensive collection of books in the world.
Chen Yiheng from Qingzhou, Shandong; Qian Longxi from Huating; Liu Zongzhou from Shanyin; Qi Biaojia from Donglin; Huang Zongxi from Yuyao; Chen Zilong from Huating; Wu Weiye from Kunshan; Zhang Cai from Taicang; Wen Zhenheng from Changzhou...
Zheng Zhilong, the General of Fujian, had a younger brother named Zheng Lian and a son named Zheng Sen.
And missionaries of the Ye Sue Society who were protected by local powerful families, such as Martino Martini and Francis Bacon.
There are also descendants of the three pillars of Christianity: Xu Guangqi's only son, Xu Ji, whose Christian name was Job, and Li Zhizao's eldest son, Li Changqiao.
There is also Yang Tingyun's eldest son, whose given name is Ruohan. He and Sichen have a blood feud, a hatred of being heretics, and are irreconcilable enemies.
Wang Changyan, a prominent figure from Qiongzhou, was brought to Nanjing from Guangdong by his ancestor Wang Honghui, who was also the one who brought Matteo Ricci with him.
In addition, there was Prince Fu, Zhu Yousong, who advocated Western learning, and Prince Tang, Zhu Yujian, who had just left the high walls of Fengyang.
Control of finances, provisions, and military strength in the Jiangnan region.
It's almost like everyone's gathered here.
In the south, regardless of whether they were feudal lords, nobles, clans, or wealthy merchants, they were all one entity.
After all, it's about doing business.
No chills.
Fighting and killing are so boring.
Xu Wenjue asked, "What does Johann Adam Schall von Bell mean?"
Missionary Bi Fangji rose, clasped his hands together, and said, "The head of the church said that the distinction between Chinese and barbarians lies only in names and forms; only where the Way resides is where the heart finds peace. The people of Longhua have made their faith clear and have already returned to the Kingdom of Heaven under God's favor, their souls enjoying eternal bliss—this is the Lord's grace. Si Chen is the reincarnation of the Six Heavenly Demon Kings, the demon among demons, and extremely adept at bewitching people's hearts. Stay away from him and do not be deceived."
The group of believers simultaneously touched their foreheads, chests, left and right shoulders with their right hands, made the sign of the cross, and said, "Amen."
The nobles watched coldly from the sidelines.
Scholars and wealthy merchants scoffed at it.
What demon king? Stay away from him.
It's just that you can't do anything about it, it's a kind of psychological victory.
"I don't know anything about heretics or demon kings. Since we agree, that makes things easier." Xu Wenjue shook his head. "You can use the Huai River as the boundary, so that Christianity can also be spared from bloodshed."
"If all else fails, we can even abandon the area north of the Yangtze River."
"This is what everyone agrees on."
Regardless of noble clans or wealthy merchants, only a minority were close to missionaries.
They serve only the greater good.
The missionaries looked around, but surprisingly, not one of them said a word to object.
Xu Wenjue raised his hand. "Let's vote."
Passed unanimously.
"Why is the Duke not here?"
Some people voiced their doubts.
"My father is in charge of the immigration to Yindi, and General Zheng is aware of this as well," Xu Wenjue nodded to Zheng Zhilong.
"Exactly." Zheng Zhilong stroked his beard.
"There's one more thing." Xu Wenjue waved his hand, and ordered someone to bring out a three-legged bronze cauldron.
Even with ten strongmen embracing it, its legs trembled.
Everyone leaned down and saw a troop of Xiaoyong's light cavalry clearly reflected in the water mirror.
"This is what I wanted to tell you all."
"The White Horse Cavalry".
"No wonder they abandoned the area north of the Huai River."
"How much bloodshed can the Heavenly Official alone commit? For every temple we demolish, we can build ten! Let's just consider it a way to keep him happy!"
"Now that we have such a troop of elite cavalry, it's not just about giving up some material wealth."
Throughout history, the powerful and wealthy have loved to worship at temples for three reasons: first, to seek wealth; second, to support their followers, confidants, and outlaws; and third, to harbor filth and corruption.
These people only need to focus on building muscle and living a simple life of chopping people.
This kind of personal dependence means that after being wronged by their master, they can cover their heads and rush into the enemy's house, hack them to death, and shout that they have rid the people of a scourge.
Afterwards, some desperate criminals even took over the case and gave him a lavish funeral.
Then the master can go to the enemy's house to offer condolences, lamenting the untimely death of the man, and take out silver to tell them that he will take care of their wife.
This is a more polite way of putting it.
In reality, it means completely annihilating the opponent.
Marquis Tang Guozuo of Lingbi, Marquis Li Hongji of Linhuai, and Earl Zhao Zhilong of Xincheng sat up straight.
Marquis Chengyi Liu Kongzhao stood up. "What the Third Master means is that this Heavenly Official may still have a large number of Taoist secrets under his control."
Marquis Tang Guozuo of Lingbi knew Si Chen's resume like the back of his hand. The person who knows you best is your enemy.
"This celestial official's birth is crystal clear: a native of Ningyuan, Liaoxi, he moved inland with the army and entered the pass, where he was worshipped by the Duke of Ying and practiced asceticism in a temple. He had little affinity with the six emotions and was all alone. What scriptures did his family study that enabled him to have such a destiny?"
As for Si Chen's banner of being a great and virtuous teacher.
Nobody believes that.
The remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were strictly guarded against by successive dynasties and were eradicated long ago.
It's estimated that we'll have to wait until Si Chen brings out the Yellow Turban Warriors and his ability to turn beans into soldiers.
The skill that established aristocratic families relied on for survival was the study of classics.
Among the four categories of literature—classics, history, philosophy, and literature—the classics represent the highest achievement, offering explanations of the Dao.
To have the right to interpret things properly.
They can generate supernatural powers and master the path of Tao.
Wang Yetai, the Earl of Xinjian, stood up. "I am certain that the Heavenly Official has never mastered the Thirteen Classics, the Four Books, and the Five Chapters."
Yangming's philosophy of mind, which emphasizes the investigation of things and the extension of knowledge, already possesses some genuine supernatural powers and abilities.
After Wang Shengren, the School of Mind branched out into seven schools: the Jiangxi School, the Zhejiang School, the Southern School, the Chu School, the Fujian-Guangdong School, the Northern School, and the Taizhou School. These seven schools are known as the Seven Schools of Wang Shengren.
Having inherited someone else's tradition, one should at least show them some respect.
Wang Yetai, the Earl of Xinjian, naturally has the right to speak.
It's a pity that the historians are not here; they are the true living history.
Xu Wenjue had personally witnessed Si Chen transform into a dragon, so he naturally did not find anything unusual. "Great talents are not easily achieved; divine beings are bestowed by heaven. You should not make wild guesses."
Is it so hard to acknowledge that others are excellent?
They broke through the lingering influence of the past six days; they truly have divine favor.
Even in Jiangnan, there are hierarchical relationships among families.
Xu Ji stood up, his face full of resentment. He thought that the method was probably stolen from somewhere. "If we can find the background of this fellow, a great scholar can discuss it with him clearly."
Wang Yetai, the Earl of Xinjian, sneered, "The Heavenly Official once said that Xu Guangqi compiled the ancestral farming methods into texts and claimed to have created this method, using the power of the government to promote it and appropriating the credit for Heaven's work. I wonder if this is true?"
There is a hierarchy of contempt between plagiarism and originality.
Xu Guangqi's only son, Xu Ji, was speechless.
The missionaries blushed, feeling as if they were about to be called a bunch of pigs.
"You've gone too far."
"Shameless scoundrel, how dare you act so arrogantly here."
"Hit him!"
The scene descended into chaos, with the two men in red robes getting into a physical fight.
"I'll show you what I'm capable of!"
"thief!"
The two groups fought until they were bruised and battered.
This is a specialty of the Ming Dynasty, and you must try it.
Xu Wenjue and his men watched them make a scene, and when they had enough, they stopped.
"Please stop immediately, everyone!" Qian Qianyi quickly stood up. "Don't ruin the harmony between our two families."
As a notorious spineless coward in the Donglin Party, he was most adept at muddying the waters.
That's the quintessential pedantic scholar's behavior.
They only serve themselves and have no principles whatsoever.
Wang Yetai, the Earl of Xinjian, snorted coldly and closed his eyes; he found it dirty.
"Third Master, you be the judge!"
The decision was left to Xu Wenjue.
The Duke of Wei's mansion is all too adept at this kind of thing.
Even without any provocation, intellectuals will stir up trouble from within and without, and sow discord among themselves.
"Hehe." Seeing that the atmosphere was gradually cooling down, Xu Wenjue knew that the time was right. "That's enough. I will personally lead the River Conservancy Governor Huang Xixian, Tianjin Governor Feng Yuanyang, and Military Commissioner Yuan Yuzong to pay their respects."
"One Tianjin governor, one military commissioner, and one waterway commissioner are enough."
"Alright, we'll do as Third Master says."
No one wanted to stay a moment longer; they were simply disgusted by the sight of each other.
"unlucky."
In an instant, it became completely empty.
"Third Master Xu, please wait!"