I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

At night, Webster's private residence in Beique Jiadi was bustling and noisy for a long time, and finally gradually quieted down.

The disciples of the Kong family and the servants of the Kong family who followed Kong Ba to Chang'an City have made all arrangements for their stay, and the village is in good order.

In the main hall of the middle courtyard, there were a total of seven people sitting, all of whom were famous Confucian scholars of the day.

There are still five days left before the debate in Shiqu Pavilion. Many famous scholars from all over the world have arrived in Chang'an one after another, and a debate is getting ready.

Although not everyone can enter Shiqu Pavilion to participate in the debate, being able to come to Chang'an to watch this feat is something that can be bragged in itself.

Shi Yan and Meng Xi are still the backbone among the Confucian scholars. No matter how big the noise they make, even if they cause lives, it will not have an impact on the general trend of the world.

The final outcome of the Shiqu Pavilion debate will still be decided by the people sitting in the hall at this moment.

Sitting at the head of the hall were naturally Kong Ba and Wei Xian. They were the well-deserved core figures of this "opposition".

Sitting on both sides of the hall were Confucian scholars who held the same opinions as them.

Tian Wangsun, a doctor of the Book of Changes, Yan Pengzu, a representative of the Gongyang School, Cai Qianqiu, a representative of the Guliang School, Wei Xuancheng, the youngest son of Wei Xian, and Kong Fu, the eldest son of Kong Ba.

Except for Wei Xuancheng and Kong Fu, who are in their early thirties, the others are all between 45 and [-] years old, which is when they are full of energy.

The debate in Shiquge is a challenge for them, but it is also an opportunity.

If you seize this opportunity, you may not only gain a higher status in the scholarly circles, but also take a step forward in your official career.

Especially Yan Pengzu and Cai Qianqiu, Dr. Gongyang and Dr. Guliang are still vacant, so it stands to reason that they should take over.

After everyone had a simple dinner just now, Wei Xian spent an hour selecting the important contents and recounting to everyone the entire process of arguing with the emperor in the greenhouse hall that day.

Although there have been many rumors in Chang'an City in the past few days, no one knows the full story of what happened in the Greenhouse Palace that day.

Now that Wei Xian explained it in detail, everyone finally got a glimpse of it and saw the key to it.

While Wei Xian was telling the story, the expressions of others kept changing, and from time to time they made "tsk tsk" sounds of admiration.

They did not expect that the debate in the Greenhouse Palace would be so fierce that day, nor did they expect that the emperor would be so resolute in promoting the popular version of the scriptures...

But the most unexpected thing is that the emperor has such a deep understanding of the meaning of Confucian classics, and he can easily quote Confucian classics.

Deep down in their hearts, the Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty looked down upon the emperors of the past dynasties.

The reason is very simple. Although the previous emperors were all wise emperors, their attainments in Confucianism were not very high.

Take Emperor Taizu Gao as an example. Although he created the foundation of the Han Dynasty, he was just a pavilion chief and would definitely not be able to rule the classics.

When Emperor Gao first came to the throne, he was quite disrespectful towards Confucian scholars, and even did the ridiculous thing of defecating in front of a Confucian scholar.

Now, when I heard that today's emperor is proficient in Confucian classics, I felt doubtful at first, and then I couldn't understand it.

Since the emperor is proficient in Confucianism, he should be moderate and observe etiquette, but why does he act so irrationally?
"Mr. Wei Ge, is there someone behind the county magistrate to give advice, such as Taixue Ling Wang Shi, or Gong Sui?" Yan Pengzu, who looked a bit bitter, asked in disbelief.

"I think the same thing as Mr. Yan. The county magistrate has not yet reached the age of being crowned. How can he have such profound Confucian attainments? He must have been guided by an expert." The chubby Cai Qianqiu agreed.

Yan Pengzu and Cai Qianqiu belong to the Gongyang School and the Guliang School respectively. They are both prominent scholars in Confucianism today, and they are at a critical moment of fighting with each other.

Usually in Chang'an City, they would often break out debates, and their disciples would always provoke each other to debate scriptures.

But now, the two of them stood together hand in hand without anyone's persuasion. They responded to each other like classmates and had a very tacit understanding.

After all, their current "enemy" is the emperor in Weiyang Palace - Yan Pengzu and Cai Qianqiu have "grievances" against the emperor.

On the one hand, because the former "Gongyang" doctor Yan Gongsun and "Guliang" doctor Hu Chang were imprisoned by the emperor a few months ago, and then failed to recover, the strength of the school was greatly damaged.

On the other hand, the emperor's delay in appointing Yan Pengzu and Cai Qianqiu as doctoral officers prevented them from entering official careers.

In addition, they often heard people mention that the county magistrate did not like to read "Gu Liang Zhuan" and "Gongyang Zhuan", but instead gave many courtiers "Zuo Shi Zhuan".

This makes them feel even more in danger.

Could it be that the emperor wanted to abolish the official scholarly status of "Gu Liang Zhuan" and "Gongyang Zhuan" and instead establish "Zuo Shi Zhuan" as an official scholar?Under this "new and old hatred", it is normal for them to have criticism and resentment towards the emperor.

"That day, I suddenly made a remonstrance to the county magistrate, but the magistrate responded fluently without any hesitation. It didn't look like he had been prepared in advance."

"Furthermore, when I looked at Gong Sui and Wang Shi, they also looked surprised at that time. Apparently, they had never thought that the county magistrate was so familiar with Jing Yi."

"Furthermore, even if there is guidance from an expert, the fact that the county official is able to learn and sell now is enough to show that the county official has great talent."

Wei Xian shook his head and said slowly. Although he also thought that the emperor's words and deeds were a bit crazy, he still highly recognized the emperor's talents.

"Mr. Wei Ge, from what you said, is it possible that this county magistrate is stronger than our most outstanding disciples?"

"But no matter how strong he is, can he be better than a few of Tian Gong's disciples?" Cai Qianqiu said even more provocatively.

"Haha, gentlemen, don't say that the old man was scared out of his wits by the county magistrate. In the old man's opinion, the county magistrate is talented enough to be appointed as a doctor." Wei Xian said with a smile.

As soon as Wei Xian finished saying this, Tian Gongsun, the current doctoral officer, and Cai Qianqiu, Yan Pengzu, the appointed doctoral officer, looked a little confused on their faces.

Especially Cai Qianqiu and Yan Pengzu, the angry expressions on their faces were even more expressive.

The emperor has not yet been crowned, but his talents and learning can be compared with those of them who are 50 to [-] years old?

This really makes them look a little incompetent. How can they be allowed to take it calmly?

But it was Wei Xian who said this. Even if they were dissatisfied, they did not dare to refute it directly.

"Xuancheng, you used to be Sizhi of Menxia Temple and lived with the county magistrate day and night. What do you think of the magistrate?" Wei Xian asked his son.

Since that day, Wei Xian and Wei Xuancheng made an agreement to "make their own bets" in front of Menxia Temple, and they have never discussed government affairs together.

Wei Xian asked Wei Xuancheng to come today not because of the relationship between father and son, but because of the relationship between teacher and student.

The matter of ruling on the prevailing version of the Confucian Classics was related to the life and death of the Confucian community, and Wei Xuancheng also had to contribute.

This matter has gone beyond one family, so Wei Xian thinks it is not part of the bet between father and son.

"The county official is a talented man and loves reading very much. He spends at least two hours every day copying scriptures and is never allowed to be disturbed by others."

Wei Xuancheng did not express his opinion, but only shared the details of his observations.

At this moment, after the Weishi father and his son explained together, no one in the hall wanted to question it anymore. They had to admit that the emperor was indeed somewhat talented.

As a result, everyone turned their attention to Kong Ba. After dinner, the backbone remained silent and remained silent with his eyes closed.

If Kong Ba hadn't picked up the teacup to drink tea from time to time, others would have thought he had fallen asleep.

Perhaps because he found the hall suddenly silent, Kong Ba finally opened his eyes under the gaze of everyone.

His eyes were calm and seemed dissatisfied.

Finally, he still spoke.

"The imperial examination system, the academic system, papermaking, printing, and the popular version of Confucian classics... How could the county magistrate come up with these things if he didn't have some talent and learning?"

"There are also the great theories of 'Hundred schools of thought merge to form a unique Confucianism' and 'Administration of the world for practical purposes'. If Wang Shi and Gong Sui had come up with it, they would have been put in high regard by the late emperor."

After Kong Ba finished speaking, even though Yan Pengzu, Cai Qianqiu and others were still disdainful, they restrained themselves a lot.

"Mr. Kong, what should we do? We can't just admit defeat to the county magistrate and let him be his prey, right?" Yan Pengzu said with indignation, his mean expression even more obvious.

"What kind of person is the county magistrate? Let's put it aside for now. Wei Gong, I have something I don't understand, and I would like to ask Wei Gong for advice." Kong Ba asked Wei Xian.

"Ci Ru just asks, I will tell you everything I know!" Wei Xian replied quickly.

"Why are only these people here today, why don't Xia Housheng, Hou Cang and others come?" Kong Ba, who was much younger than these two people, asked by calling them by their first names. (End of chapter)