Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 998 Don't ask about the future

  How should people live?

  What kind of posture should I die in?

  Everyone has more or less explored the mysteries of life.

  However, every civilization, every class, and every individual has a different meaning and understanding of life.

  Some people are born as God's servants, thinking about returning to the kingdom of heaven after death.

  Some people try to live forever, so that their bodies will not die.

  Some people yearn for wealth and are willing to be buried under a golden coffin.

  However, there is a group of people who worship their ancestors.

  They recorded the deeds of their ancestors one by one, and passed them down from generation to generation. Therefore, this became 'history' and 'learning'.

  Every character in the "history" has become a "sage" and a "sage".

  The so-called learning, its essence, is the learning of sages and sages.

  They praised the way of sages and sages as the most noble knowledge in the world.

   Unfortunately, this has created countless rotten scholars.

  Things should not be like this. The pedantic people have learned the knowledge, which makes the knowledge rotten.

But in this knowledge, there is an ultimate code hidden. This code has been imprinted in the bones of every schoolchild since the scholars started babbling and reciting the "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classics". .

   Maybe many people

   I have forgotten how people admired saints and sages when I was a child.

In the process of chasing fame and fortune, I gradually forgot the deeds of those heroes and Confucians, but deep down in my heart, it started from the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, to Zhou Gong, then to Confucius and Mencius, to Dou Yujun, to Ban Chao. , Zhang Qian, to Zu Ti, Heng Wen, Xie An, and even Tai Zu Gao Emperor's deeds, but they will be awakened at any time.

  So, if you want to answer this question, for Confucianists, they probably say that they should be virtuous in life and holy in death.

  The one who secures the world, makes great contributions, and builds a great cause is a virtuous person.

  Open the world's learning, promote the holy learning, and extend the reputation of the four directions as holy.

   This is something that remains unchanged in the bones.

   is the ultimate goal pursued by all scholars, if it can be born from this, happy! If you can die because of this, you will have no regrets in death!

  Under this ultimate goal, whether it is Neo-Confucianism or New Learning, there is no difference in essence. The only difference between them is that their paths toward the goal are different.

  The way of Confucius and Mencius is the way to transcend the ordinary and become holy, but some people have lost their ambitions halfway, and have gradually returned to mediocrity, and have slowly become slaves to sensuality.

  Tears flowed down from the corners of Liu Jie's eyes. He hid on the sofa, whimpering and crying like a child.

  The periodical in my hand has been soaked with tears.

In this periodical, each and every word seems to be whipping his heart, calling in his ears again and again: "Do you still remember the pure self back then, and the young man who swore to be a hero back then? "

  He is no longer a teenager.

  He has reached his thirties.

  At this moment, like a young man, he couldn't contain himself from crying silently.

Look at yourself now, buried in the copybook, copying and writing, complacent about being an imperial scholar; making progress, thinking that I have surpassed all my peers, and has a bright future; when I was in a school, I was still studying His fencing and riding and shooting methods are now increasingly unfamiliar due to his busy schedule; what he thinks about every day is the relationship between people and the intrigue in the officialdom; when he opened his eyes, he was thinking of an unfinished article, What a beautiful ending; when I close my eyes, I think about the length of the family that my wife is nagging in my ear.

  But...what about my original ambition?

   Now, the flesh has come back to life, where is the past?

  Close your eyes tightly, but you can't contain the majesty of tears.

   So Liu Jie clenched his fists, and finally tore the journal to pieces.

  Liu Mansion...arrived.

  The comfort of the new house can make even the pickiest person unable to pick a single thorn.

  Liu Jie entered the mansion and saw the lights in the study, he knew that his father had also been on duty.

  So, as in the past, he rushed to the study first.

   Sure enough, my father was quietly reading a book as usual.

Liu Jie's eyes seemed a little swollen, but the tears had long since disappeared. The sky outside was dim, and the candlelight in the study shone on his face, leaving a haze, which covered up many expressions on his face .

   "Meet my father." Liu Jie remained cautious in front of this loving father.

  Liu Jian put down the book, and he nodded in satisfaction, his eyes full of satisfaction.

  Liu Jian is very satisfied with his current life.

  I am deeply trusted by His Majesty, and I am the chief assistant of the cabinet, and my son has also made great progress. This is a fame that many people cannot envy.

  He loves this life and is proud of it.

   "You look bad?" Liu Jian said with a smile.

   "Perhaps I'm a little tired recently." Liu Jie replied flatly.

   Liu Jian said: "You are still young, you must know the reason why you will not worry about no firewood if you keep the green hills."

   "Yes." Liu Jie replied: "The son follows his father's teachings."

"You, you are just too honest." Liu Jian smiled when he saw Liu Jie pursing his lips. Seeing his son by his side, he couldn't help but feel warm in his heart, and wanted to say some heartfelt words: "Sometimes, when the old man Thinking, if you have a bit of intelligence like your master's, you will be truly reassured as a father, and your official career is dangerous."

   "Father." Liu Jie turned a deaf ear to this, and suddenly his eyes turned red again, wanting to say something.

   But when the words came to his lips, he tried his best to hold back.

Liu Jian continued to smile and said: "Look, you are here again. You have to be anxious with the old man when you mentioned your master. The old man didn't slander him today. Hey, ordinary people say that girls are outgoing, but in our Liu Jian Home, the man also turned his elbow outward."

Liu Jian quickly comforted: "Okay, okay, admit it for my father, how could you be where you are today without your master, he has the grace of rebuilding you, this point, my father usually doesn't say it, but in my heart, But I do remember that our Liu family is not a ungrateful person. So, you have to remember this kindness and keep it in your heart at all times. As for the old man, receiving his kindness, my heart...is very warm, looking for Some days, the old man went to his house in person..."

  Liu Jian seemed very happy, visiting the door, this feeling can not be unfamiliar.

  Although doing so may cause some Qingliu doubts, but I, Liu Jian, have been in the cabinet for more than ten years, and I still care about this?

   Know how to repay your kindness.

   "Do you have something on your mind?" Seeing Liu Jie's silence for a long time, Liu Jian realized Liu Jie's abnormality.

  Liu Jie shook his head and said: "No, it's just that my father mentioned Shigong, and it's just a little sentimental."

  Liu Jian was happy, he could understand the feelings of his son, who was a sentimental person just like himself.

He then changed the topic: "Come on, let me tell you an interesting thing. Have you read the front page of the Quest journal? That article on the campaign against the West is really brilliant, and it must not be written by your master." , that pen is as sharp as a knife, but it looks like your mentor, that Wang Boan, haha... But come to think of it, this is still your master's idea, your master is really good at making plans, oh, his father is going to conquer the West , he began to agitate everywhere, wishing that the whole world would follow his father to Huangjinzhou. Look, how powerful this guy is advocating. , What is extraordinary, what is holy. Look at his thoughts, dark, really dark, scholars are also human, seeking fame, what to rely on, after all, it is still an imperial examination, but the article makes people hold a three-foot sword, sail thousands of miles, and wield the sword Xixing, tell me, is the person who said this still a human being? Oh, he held his head and hid in the arms of Her Royal Highness, saying that his head hurts, but he fooled the hot-blooded scholar, ah...don't be so tense Face, my father didn't mean to slander your master, this is just a joke, once the search periodical comes out, there are also princes from various ministries in the cabinet, their mouths are crooked, who doesn't know what he has in mind."

  Liu Jie remained silent and did not say a word.

   "It's just a matter of deceiving some scholars who don't know much about the world. What's the use of these scholars going to Huangjinzhou? It's easy to say, but it's so difficult..."

   "Father, I feel a little unwell." Liu Jie finally opened his mouth.

  Liu Jian had no choice but to say: "That's it, I'm confused for my father, well, you should go and rest earlier."

"yes."

  Liu Jie bowed, turned around, and walked slowly towards the darkness outside the study, his body gradually disappearing into the darkness.

  Looking at the leaving figure, Liu Jian shook his head, thinking about his son who is serious and sullen every day. Immediately, he laughed again, took the "Search Journal" on the desk, lowered his head, and began to recite softly again, the more he read, the more he felt that Fang Jifan was so hardworking, how many poor scholars would be trapped by this guy, but Fortunately, anyone with insight will not be deceived by him.

  ...

   Kuai Ma has sent the order to Guiyang.

  Pingxihou Fang Jinglong accepted the order, all the officials in Pingxihou Xingyuan were in an uproar.

  Going out to sea to open up borders to the west, it is said that there has been a decree and it has been conveyed to various guards.

  The soldiers of the various guards cheered endlessly.

  Although people leave their homeland, they are like falling leaves.

  But military households, they really can’t live anymore.

  The deeds of those sailors and sailors who went to sea have already become legends one after another, and they are sung among the military households. How many people yearn in their hearts to be like them, to make a fortune and become the best in the world.

But for Pingxihou, this is nothing less than a catastrophe. Pingxihou's town in Guizhou is already too expensive, why take this risk and go to thousands of miles away, if there is something good or bad on the way, he will lose his life instead It's better to enjoy endless wealth in Guiyang.

  Fang Jinglong thanked the grace, held the imperial decree in his hand, exhaled a breath, and said: "Please report back to Your Majesty, I pack my bags, and will soon enter Beijing and go to sea at any time."

  His eyes were piercing, and his words were decisive, leaving no room for bargaining.

  (end of this chapter)