The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 486 Qin State, Danger
Chen Jingke had no intention of making things difficult for the candidates, so he gave two questions.

The first question asked them about their views on human rights.

The second question asked them how to be loyal to the emperor under the duality of human rights.

The first question is the core of the Great Harmony thought, and the second question is to express loyalty to the royal family.

After all, this is a royal society, and necessary compromises must be made.

Neither of these two questions is difficult. As long as you have read the World of Great Harmony, you can answer one or two of them.

The problem lies in the depth of the answer.

After the topic was decided, the two discussed some government affairs together before Chen Jingke left the palace and returned home.

As soon as I got home, I saw Fuqing running around the yard with a feather duster, chasing the two brothers Lanchun and Lanbin.

"You two bastards, don't run away, I'm going to beat you to death."

"Master's Wife, Master's Wife, we won't dare to do that again. Please calm down..."

As for what happened...

You can tell by looking at the two mud children lying on the ground covered tightly with mud.

It must be these two guys who are causing trouble for them.

These two brothers were really naughty. They climbed trees to pick birds, went to the river to catch fish, and skipped classes in the academy...

Don't put roof tiles on your house for three days.

It's a real headache, but he never changes despite repeated warnings.

But they are just naughty and will not bully others at will, so no one will really do anything to them.

What's more, Chen Jingke has always felt that it is better for children to be a little naughty.

But since Yuanyuan and Tuantuan were born, his thoughts changed.

These two naughty kids need to be properly educated.

Have you ever seen someone stealing a child and taking him to the academy to show off?

Yes, they did.

It is conceivable how anxious the family was when they found out their child was missing.

Du Tongli has given a death order to the Embroidered Uniform Guards, saying that if they cannot find the person, they will all be killed.

After the child was found, Fuqing beat the two brothers up.

Then Lao Zhu, Zhu Xiongying, Xu Da... beat them up one by one.

Lan Yu was immediately furious, and the two brothers were beaten badly that time.

I couldn't get out of bed for several days and it took me a month to recover from my injuries.

However, it was useless.

Although he didn't dare to steal children anymore, he would take the two children to do bad things whenever he had time.

There is no need to ask about the situation today. He must have taken Yuanyuan and Tuantuan to catch loaches.

The two muddy children sat on the ground, watching their mother chasing and beating their brothers, they were so happy.

While laughing, he clapped his hands.

In other words, he is not very talkative, otherwise he would definitely cheer loudly.

Chen Jingke walked over and tapped one of them on the forehead:
"You two little bastards, still laughing."

When the two children saw him, they immediately shifted their attention, stretched out their little hands, each holding one of his legs, and shouted in a baby voice:

"Daddy, Daddy..."

Chen Jingke looked at his muddy pants: "..."

Forget it. We can’t throw this child away yet. We should be able to keep him after washing him.
-
Yang Pu, Cao Duan and others came out of the academy and made an appointment to get together.

This proposal naturally received everyone's response.

Everyone went to the small town restaurant and asked for a private room.

After they sat down, Wang Gen, who was the most silent, spoke first and said:
"The Marquis of Anping is a true gentleman."

Chen Lian nodded and said, "I often heard people talk about Anping Hou before, and I thought it was just flattery. Today I know that it is well-deserved."

In fact, he heard it from Guangxi Governor Han Guan and others.

He was a talented man at a young age and studied under a famous teacher. Later, as a juren, he served as a teacher in Guilin Prefecture. His talent impressed Han Guan, who appointed him as a guest of honor.

In the Ming Dynasty, anyone who was interested in a career in politics had to talk to someone.

That is Chen Jingke.

Whenever Han Guan and others mentioned Chen Jingke, they used a tone of admiration and praise.

All kinds of compliments were lavished on him as if they were free.

After listening to it so many times, Chen Lian felt it was a bit fake.

Considering Han Guan's status as a founding marquis, he naturally felt that these people were exaggerating too much.

Chen Jingke designed the system of the Ming Dynasty, and countless people have benefited from him.

But countless people also died because of his policies.

It's okay to praise such a person for his talent, or to praise him for his generosity and kindness...that's just awkward flattery.

But when he saw Chen Jingke in person today, he realized that he had been mean-spirited.

Everyone else had the same idea, including Cao Duan.

He was a man of little talent and had always been unwilling to admit defeat in academic matters.

From the Song Dynasty to the present, he only admires Zhu Xi in terms of academic knowledge.

Even if the other party was Xiaoru, he only recognized the other party's knowledge but did not admire him.

Because he believed that materialism overemphasized "things" and was biased.

Why is the change of dynasties a historical trend that has little impact on individuals?
Pure fart.

If Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong were replaced by Emperor Taizong of Tang, could the Northern Song Dynasty be destroyed?
Of course, Cao Duan does not deny the huge influence of major historical trends, but the role played by individuals cannot be ignored.

After all, aren’t the so-called major historical trends created by living people?

Therefore, Cao Duan was proud and confident in academics, and he did not think he was worse than anyone else.

The reason why he is not as good as some people is that he is too young. If he is given another ten years, he will be on par with the predecessors.

But when faced with "The World of Great Harmony", he put away all his pride.

After seeing Chen Jingke in person, he was even more impressed.

I think this is what Confucius meant by a gentleman.

Therefore, in front of Chen Jingke, he always behaved respectfully as a disciple.

The topic of discussion among them naturally revolved around Chen Jingke and "The World of Great Harmony".

Everyone talked about their own understanding and shared their doubts with everyone.

After the exchange, everyone felt that they had gained a lot.

During this period, it is inevitable to use the ideas of other schools of thought and dialectically compare them with the idea of ​​Datong.

Cao Duan said: "Materialism emphasizes things and neglects the mind, while other schools emphasize the mind and neglect things. Both have their advantages and disadvantages."

"The world of Datong attaches equal importance to both the material and spiritual, and finds the balance between the two. It is truly the culmination of Chinese culture."

Yang Pu analyzed it from another perspective:

"Since ancient times, Chinese culture has been based on asking the 'heart'."

"It emphasizes personal moral cultivation, believing that peace will come naturally when people's hearts are in order."

“That is, focus on the inside and ignore the outside.”

"Only the Legalists have explored how to govern a country, while other schools of thought have not said much."

"The Marquis of Anping's idea of ​​universal harmony broke the established rules of his predecessors."

"It explains the country, the people, the law, etc., and points out the way for governance..."

Cao Duan agreed and said, "Brother Mianren, what you said is very good."

"The ancients focused on the inner and neglected the outer. The role of classics is to help us understand the true meaning and grasp the principles."

“So the content is too arbitrary.”

It is said to be free, but in fact it is just fragmented, I talk about whatever comes to my mind.

The previous article was still talking about the importance of learning, and the next article turned to how to be a good person.

Moreover, the purpose of the ancient sages writing books is to help you understand the "truth".

The key is to understand the "truth", not how many books you read.

If you can't understand the truth, it's useless even if you read all the books.

If you can understand the principle behind one article, it doesn't matter whether you read the rest or not.

This has led to a phenomenon where even if a few classics of the ancient sages were missing, it would not have any impact.

"The Great Harmony World of Anping Hou pays more attention to logic, and the whole book is connected."

“Without any one of them, the meaning is incomplete.”

"Not only that, Marquis Anping also systematically sorted out the thoughts of the ancient sages..."

“His broad mind is truly admirable.”

Seeing Cao Duan looking convinced, everyone felt it was a bit weird.

As a future leader in science, how can you praise your opponent like this?

However, they did not think that Cao Duan was going to change his allegiance.

Chen Jingke had previously said publicly that Cao Duan wanted to reform Neo-Confucianism.

He highly praised it and said he would provide help as much as possible.

So everyone knows that Cao Duan did not betray Neo-Confucianism, but was a truly open-minded person.

Even so, recalling the suppression of Neo-Confucianism, everyone still found it very strange. Then everyone talked about current affairs from the perspective of learning.

Each of them made some analysis and explanation based on their own strengths.

Through communication, everyone has a clear understanding of each other's abilities and recognizes each other more.

We chatted until it got dark, and then everyone went their separate ways, agreeing to meet again next time.

The next day, Yang Pu, Yang Rong and others returned to Luoyang City to prepare for the upcoming assessment.
-
While the Ming Dynasty was carrying out its reforms in an orderly manner, the situation in Anxi changed suddenly.

Four and a half months after the Qin State occupied the Anxi Plateau, at the end of September, a piece of information came that shocked Zhu Chong.

Tuotuo lost his mind and died.

Liu Yunniang said with a heavy face: "...Vytautas betrayed the alliance and stabbed him in the back at the critical moment when Tokhtamysh and Timur were fighting."

"Tokhtamysh was caught off guard and his army was defeated. He himself was captured and executed by Timur."

Zhu Chong looked at the information and was stunned for a long time before he recovered and asked:
"What happened? Why did Vytautas betray the alliance, and how did he collude with Timur?"

Liu Yunniang shook her head and replied, "Timur hid this matter very deeply, and our spies didn't hear any news."

Zhu Chong took a deep breath and said, "He must have been on high alert before the incident happened, but now that Tuotuo Mishi is dead, he will definitely not keep the secret anymore."

"Go check it out right away. I want to know exactly what happened."

Liu Yunniang said: "I have sent people to investigate, and the information will be reported back soon."

Zhu Chong nodded, then ordered someone to call Li Fang and others over.

While waiting, he went to the next hall.

In the center of the hall stands a huge sand table, on which is displayed the topography and sphere of influence of the entire Western Region.

After staring at the sand table for a long time, he had a guess about the reason why Vytautas and Timur colluded.

But I'm not sure yet.

Soon Li Fang and others arrived and were shocked to learn the news of Tuotuo Mishi's death.

I thought I would just sit on the mountain and watch the fight between two tigers, but I didn't expect the winner to be decided so quickly.

The key point is that after the great victory, Timur’s next target will definitely be the Qin State.

Li Fang said: "Timur's next target will be either us or the King of Jin..."

Zhu Chong interrupted him and said affirmatively: "It must be us, there is no doubt about it."

Li Fang did not ask why, but followed his words and said:
"That would be troublesome."

Xu Yingxu also looked serious, staring at the sand table and said:

"Timur, the Golden Horde, and Vytautas, the combined forces of the three parties have at least 400,000 troops."

And there were truly 400,000 of them, all elite soldiers who had fought on the battlefield, without any fakery.

With Qin's current national strength, it is absolutely unable to deal with this army.

Everyone's faces became extremely solemn.

At this time, Xu Yingxu seemed to think of something and said:

"Should we send a message to the Persians and Arabs to let them guard against the enemy's surprise attack?"

"It would be best to ask them to draw out their elite forces to assist us in the battle."

Li Fang said: "Of course we have to send a message to them, but... facing this situation, how credible are they?"

"Not just them, but also Mansur. He is a descendant of Mongolia, so we must be on guard against him as well."

Everyone's expressions became more serious.

Faced with Timur's army of 400,000, how much loyalty would be left among these people?
Put yourself in their shoes and think about what would happen if you were in their shoes.

The answer made them even more silent.

Zhu Chong laughed and said, "You still underestimate Timur. He became the overlord of Anxi, so how could he be so easy to deal with?"

Everyone had similar ideas.

Timur had been forced into a corner through various means.

Just wait for the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan to complete their strategic goals and then they can encircle Timur.

Little did they know that Timur easily dealt with Toghtomishi and caught them off guard.

Now they are the ones who are embarrassed.

They had just migrated to the plateau and had not yet gained a firm foothold, and the defense system had not yet been completed.

The tribes that were just conquered have not yet returned...

This is really a combination of internal and external troubles.

Now is the time when Qin is at its most vulnerable, even more vulnerable than when it just arrived in Anxi and faced Timur's 100,000 troops.

At that time, they could move forward and backward freely, and if they couldn't win, they could just drag the fight to the sea.

Now that I have a big family and a big business, there is no way out.

Either withstand this wave or be destroyed.

However, how can we resist this army of 400,000?
Timur truly staged a comeback as a king.

Tang Wei was a little furious and cursed: "Toghtomishi is such a waste. We thought he could fight Timur for a few years."

Zhu Chong said: "Why are you still talking about this now?"

"Prime Minister Li, you must pacify the country and keep the people stable."

Li Fang said: "Yes."

"General Xu, you must prepare your military for the upcoming war."

"Yes."

"Commander Liu, you must keep a close eye on the Persians and Arabs, and don't let go of any signs of trouble."

"As ordered."

As Zhu Chong issued one order after another, everyone's uneasy hearts were finally settled a lot.

I am not afraid of difficulties, but I am afraid of losing my backbone.

At this time, Liu Yunniang asked: "Does Mansur need surveillance?"

Zhu Chong shook his head and said, "No need, I will talk to him in person."

Seeing this, everyone stopped talking.

After that, everyone discussed the response plan and then went their separate ways.

Zhu Chong immediately summoned Mansur and told him in detail the difficulties he was facing.

"Although Timur has not taken any action yet, his next step will definitely be to attack Qin."

"We were once kings and subjects, and you were once a king. I don't want to embarrass anyone."

"Take your people and leave before Timur attacks us."

"He won't do anything to you."

Mansur said sternly: "Why do you say that, Your Majesty? The book of Chinese civilization has long said that we are brothers from the same mother."

"We were separated for various reasons before, but now we are back together again."

"After we joined the Qin State, the king treated us as one family and never discriminated against us."

"How can we betray our brothers and do things that would make our loved ones sad and our enemies happy?"

Zhu Chong said, "I know you are afraid that I am testing you, so I won't explain too much."

"After you leave the palace, find an opportunity to leave and return to your people."

"Whether it is true or not, we will know when the time comes."

Mansur said seriously: "I also know that the king does not believe me, so I will not explain too much."

"Whether it is true or not, Your Majesty will just have to wait and see."

"I, Mansur, will prove everything that was said today."

After saying that, he turned around and strode away.

Looking at his departing back, Zhu Chong sighed.

He admired Mansur, a young man who was brave, diligent, sincere and capable.

It is a rare talent.

Before, he was thinking about training the other party well.

But in this situation, he really can't give the other party too much trust.

He thought about killing Mansur. He couldn't use such a person for his own use, so it would be better to kill him.

But Mansur's prestige among his tribesmen was too high. If he was killed at this time, his tribesmen would definitely betray him.

The Qin State could not withstand such turmoil.

Now we can only bet that he will do as he said and not do anything treacherous.

Don't expect him to help Qin, just don't help Timur.

The news that Timur was about to attack spread quickly, and people throughout the Qin state were in panic.

But as outsiders, the people can only stick together for warmth; this is their only chance to survive.

So even though everyone was panicking, there was no chaos.

Instead, they united more around the Qin Palace and prepared for this battle.

As for the Persians and Arabs, disagreements arose, as expected.

At present, the pro-Qin faction generally has the upper hand.

But it’s hard to say what will happen next.

Just at this time, good news finally came from Liu Yunniang.

She found out the reason for the alliance between Timur and Vytautas.

(End of this chapter)