Lord Yuan

Chapter 3 Yuan Shao's Ambition

The Yuan family's mansion in Runan County was brightly lit and bustling with people.

In the Han Dynasty, filial piety seemed to have become the primary criterion for judging a person's moral character. Filial piety was the first to promote filial piety.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the orthodox Confucian sectarian thoughts began to occupy the mainstream values ​​​​in society. The era when hundreds of schools of thought competed to resonate with each other disappeared with the dismissal of hundreds of schools of thought by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the exclusive respect of Confucianism. The most basic requirements in Confucianism It is filial piety, and this gradually formed the policy of governing the world with filial piety.

Throughout the posthumous titles of the emperors of the Han Dynasty, most of them had the word "filial piety" in them. For example, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty Liu Heng was called Emperor Xiaowen, and Emperor Wu was given the posthumous title of Emperor Xiaowu.

And this kind of filial piety is not only unique to the royal family, but also to aristocratic families, poor families, and common people.

As the saying goes, be filial to relatives, so loyalty can be transferred to the king. Therefore, if you seek loyal ministers, you must follow the door of filial sons.

Only when a person fulfills his filial piety in the family can he be loyal to the court.

Although in the late Han Dynasty, with the collapse of court order, it gradually became ineffective, there were still many people who were willing to carry forward filial piety.

after all.

If this path is used properly, you will become famous and be appreciated by your superiors.

In the Yuan Mansion, the funeral had already begun, and the servants, wrapped in a layer of plain cloth, shuttled between the front hall and the backyard from time to time.

"Where is the origin now?"

A stalwart middle-aged man with a serious smile and an expression of calmness and self-reliance between his brows was Yuan Shao's biological father, Yuan Feng.

Strictly speaking, this funeral can be without anyone, but Yuan Shao cannot be missing.

In theory, this sister-in-law, who has been a widow for a long time, actually has no relationship with the Yuan family except her second son Yuan Shaoshang, who has a mother-son relationship in the clan.

After raising her all her life but not being able to see her son lying beside the bed when he died, this widowed sister-in-law felt a little sad deep down in her heart.

"It's been three hours since I came to report from Tan Mala. I had an argument with an untouchable at the border of Runan before, which delayed my trip." Yuan Shu and Yuan Gongjiu appeared quietly from the backyard.

If you don't comment on the various strange behaviors of the Highway General, just by looking at his appearance, anyone would say that he is majestic and heroic.

In fact, before he went to Luoyang to join the job, Yuan Shu was working as a green forest knight. He liked to rob the poor and give to the rich, and he never tired of it. The knights in Runan would more or less know this man who was obviously a noble man. But instead of going to school or studying scriptures and annotations, he chose to be a knight-errant.

So much so that when the locals heard the news about Yuan Shu, they turned into birds and beasts and fled in all directions.

The reputation of the tough guy on the road is not for nothing.

Although Yuan Shu would hide himself as much as possible every time he acted, he might not be able to recognize his father even if he was standing in front of him.

But now in Runan County, a consensus has been reached silently. Whenever a knight-errant incident occurs, it will be uniformly attributed to Yuan Gongdao, the son of the Yuan family, even if he is arranging funeral arrangements in the Yuan Mansion at this time.

"After all, I am a commoner, so why bother with a pariah? I don't know that there are big things to do in the house. It is really humiliating to the family."

Yuan Shu hid aside, with several strong men standing behind him. They were all local nobles whom he had known during his knight-errant days. Like him, he did not like scriptures and preferred to focus on his knight-errant heroics.

"Father, in my opinion, it is better to just let the second son go back and become a county magistrate in that small county government. If the provincial one comes back, he will be spurned by others and insult the Yuan family's reputation."

Yuan Feng shook his head. He knew very well that the third child was like a needle to a wheat awn when he touched the second child. Even if Yuan Shao had adopted him, he was still not welcomed by the third child. That was all on weekdays. Today, this was the case. He was a little unhappy because he had to be in trouble at the critical moment.

"Gao Dao, go and pay homage to your aunt. Don't be an eyesore here." Yuan Feng waved his hand impatiently, and even the young master from the aristocratic family beside Yuan Shu pretended not to notice and drove them away.

As for what Yuan Shu said, Yuan Shao had an argument with an untouchable on the road. In his opinion, it was completely false. Based on his understanding of Yuan Shao, even though he was a commoner, Yuan Shao had always been virtuous since he was a child and had never done anything wrong. When things go beyond the ancestral system, his treatment of others is even more refreshing.

Third child, why do you have so much hatred for second child?

Yuan Feng really couldn't understand that the two people who were obviously brothers were jealous like enemies every time they met.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao was generous and did not argue with him.

It is precisely because of this that Yuan Feng actually prefers Yuan Shao, who is steady and upright in his heart.

Alas, it's a pity that he is a bastard.

The Yuan Mansion was bustling with people, and everyone looked tacitly sad.

Outside Yuan Mansion.

Yuan Shao, who was galloping along the official road without any delay, also immediately arrived at the gate of Yuan Mansion.

outside the gate.

The neighing sound of carriages kept coming, and hundreds of carriages had completely occupied the main road. Yuan Shao wanted to drive the carriages forward but was helpless.

"Master, don't be anxious, I'll call for someone." Uncle Fu stopped lingering and walked quickly to the house.

After a while, a loud voice sounded.

"Master Shao is here!"

The guests stopped and looked sideways. Everyone wanted to look at the door to see what the Yuan family's legitimate son looked like, what his demeanor was, and how he behaved.

"Hmph, my aunt has been dead for more than three days and is coming back today. I really don't know how this slave has the nerve to stay here." Yuan Shu spat and pulled the young master beside him to complain.

"I heard that your brother is working abroad. Maybe he is too busy with his duties." Someone tried to smooth things over for him.

"Fart, what kind of bullshit brother, he is just a slave of my Yuan family. If my father hadn't adopted him, how would the Yuan family still have him." Yuan Shu got more and more angry as he thought about it.

Originally, his status was still firmly suppressing him. If there was no accident, Yuan Shao might have to live under him for the rest of his life, unable to turn over.

He thought this would be the end of his life. The eldest brother, Yuan Ji, didn't like the power in the family, and just wanted to inherit his father's title in peace and contentment for the rest of his life. The legitimate son of the Yuan family fell on him as a matter of course.The man smiled, but glanced at Yuan Feng who didn't seem to be paying attention. Then he said, "Don't you plan to let Yuan Taipu pave the road to take up a post in Luoyang?"

Yuan Shu, who was at odds with each other, immediately changed his expression when he heard this, and said angrily: "What's so good about being an official? You have no freedom and have to be managed by a bunch of people. It's far less comfortable than being in the Ranger Village."

After speaking, he raised his head and took a sip of wine, and sighed: "Father has said this countless times, and I have used various excuses to explain it away, but this time my father's attitude is a little different."

"In addition, that short-sighted domestic slave actually went to work abroad before me. Although he was a small county magistrate, he fulfilled my father's wish. Moreover, I also heard that he governed the Puyang County. It’s not bad, those untouchables are willing to listen to his instructions. I really don’t know what this bitch slave has sorcery, but his father who is able to charm him also praises him."

The person Yuan Shu was talking to was from a local aristocratic family. Although they were not as prominent as the Yuan family, their ancestors did have high-ranking officials, but as time went by, none of the descendants reached the heights of their ancestors.

Otherwise, Yuan Shu is so arrogant and arrogant, in his eyes, the ordinary family is just a little bit higher than the untouchables.

Hearing that Yuan Shu was also envious of Yuan Shao, this man became even more interested in Yuan Shao and cast his eyes towards the door intentionally or unintentionally.

Outside the mansion, Yuan Shao returned to his mansion, but he had to queue up and squeeze in little by little. He couldn't help but sigh and said with emotion: "No matter what era we are in, pursuing power and wealth is always an eternal truth."

Power, the more Yuan Shao lived in such an era, the more profound he became about it. If it were a different family, it would not be such a grand occasion.

Yuan Shao didn't wait for anyone to come to the house, so he got off the carriage, dressed in plain clothes, with a heavy face. He stopped every step, knelt down, kowtowed, stood up, took one step, stopped, and started again and again.

The endless main road is stuck here and cannot move. There are countless people entering Yuan's mansion, and there are still many people who have not passed through the gate of the mansion.

At this time, they were looking at Yuan Shao who was almost kneeling on the ground with confusion. Gradually, more and more people were surrounding them, and they were completely surrounded, leaving only a long and narrow path.

Yuan Shao just moved forward step by step like an ascetic.

The crowd was very lively, and many people started talking. Some sharp-eyed people recognized that the person was Yuan Shao, the legitimate son of the Yuan family, and then they understood the reason.

"Yuan Benchu ​​has always had a good reputation. I heard that he was appreciated by his servant when he was young. It was just because of his status as a concubine and the fact that he was adopted. When I saw him today, it was really like this. He fulfilled his filial piety so well with his younger brother. In comparison, it’s really a world of difference.”

"Shh, keep your voice down. This is the Yuan Mansion. Don't talk about it. We'll just wait and see what the Young Master of the Yuan family has planned."

Someone warned me that this was the Yuan family's residence after all, so be careful of misfortune coming from your mouth.

Of course Yuan Shao heard it, but he turned a blind eye and continued to carry out his actions as if there was no one else around, so that the team in front of the mansion gradually dispersed in unison, leaving a lane exclusively for Yuan Shao, who was fulfilling his filial duty.

"What's Yuan Benchu ​​doing?" Xu Jing looked at ease among the crowd.

He was born in Pingyu, Runan, and he was indeed a powerful family in the local area. He was famous for knowing people when he was young. Even people from as far away as Luoyang Court came to Runan from time to time and wanted to meet him. Xu Jing On the contrary, he is free and easy-going and takes things as he comes.

His younger brother devoted himself to his duties and rarely spoke out, but he was always very precise when he spoke.

In addition, the reputation of the Yuedan Commentary founded by the two brothers was even greater. For a time, there was an endless stream of scholars from the Runan area, rushing to attend the meeting first, just to get the comment at the beginning of the month.

After this series of magical operations, the Xu family in Runan was also greatly affected.

The Xu family lineage to which brothers Xu Jing and Xu Zhen belonged had also produced high-ranking officials at the three-gong level. If they were not involved in the party's imprisonment, they might be able to gain some influence from the Yuan family.

Now, thanks to Xu Jing and Xu Su, the two brothers were lucky enough to join the ranks of the first-class families in Runan, but it did not last long. If they wanted to stay in such a high position, they always needed Luoyang Court to have prominent officials of their own lineage.

Today I learned that the Yuan family was holding a funeral. Although the two brothers Xu Jing didn't get along very well on weekdays, they still came together on such a big matter and both came to visit.

Yuan Shao, who was silent with his head lowered, heard someone shouting, so he stopped and slowly raised his head, his face was sad and his eyes were dull.

"What's the matter?" He didn't know that the two people standing in front of him were the Xu Jing brothers, so he just asked softly in a low tone.

"Nothing, I just saw that Brother Benchu's filial piety moved heaven and earth, and he was extremely pious, so he felt inspired. I didn't expect that there would be someone like Brother Benchu ​​in the Han Dynasty today." Xu Jing cupped his hands slightly.

Facing Yuan Shao, his proud expression disappeared in an instant.

The Xu family has no power to intimidate the Yuan family, and now they are being forced by the elders of the family to pay homage to Yuan Shao's mother.

What he said is not false. When the Han Dynasty was founded, it was true that filial piety was used to govern the world. However, with the passage of time, Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, Guangwu Zhongxing, and foreign relatives took power. Various behaviors have led to the fact that filial piety is no longer the foundation.

But in fact, the imperial court has gradually given up on this measure. Officials with more than 36 dan can even replace that rule with a day and a month, but those high-ranking officials only need [-] days to continue to shine in their posts.

Naturally, people like Yuan Shao cannot experience what it means to exchange the sun for the moon, so the two brothers Xu Jing were surprised and surprised by Yuan Shao's behavior.

After all, not everyone would have the courage to crawl forward and kowtow in front of countless people, not to mention that in the late Han Dynasty when filial piety collapsed, his behavior caused countless people to start to reflect on themselves.

Compared with Yuan Shao's behavior, his original way of treating his parents as a filial piety was completely worth mentioning. For a while, the people around him booed one after another.

"When my mother dies, shouldn't it be natural and natural for a child to do so? Although I am not talented, I know that it is not easy to be a mother, and it is difficult to be an elder."

Yuan Shao is neither humble nor arrogant. Even if the voices around him are getting louder and louder, he just follows his heart.

"What's more, before my mother passed away, I couldn't stay with her to see her for the last time. It's my fault as a son. This pain is nothing compared to the pain my mother suffered before she left."

"I just hope that my mother can eat well and drink well during this journey. I can't ask for anything more. If I think about it in the future, I won't have any regrets."

Xu Jing's face was moved, even if he was of such a nature, he was feeling emotions from the bottom of his heart at this moment.

In a declining world, some people can still use this gesture to remind the world that filial piety has not been lost, only the human heart has been lost.

He tugged at the corner of Xu Na's clothes next to him and told him his feelings.

Everyone was moved by this, with a little sadness in their expressions. They looked at Yuan Shao, who was wrapped in plain clothes, stopped and kowtowed, not bothering at all, and did not feel that it was an insult to the family, and they suddenly felt a sense of respect.

"A domestic slave is still a domestic slave after all! Wouldn't this kind of behavior bring shame to me, Mrs. Yuan?"

(End of this chapter)