Ying Xiaozheng still ate beef.
The cattle belonged to Meng Wu's family. As the governor of Nanjun, Meng Wu owned many farms in the area, and naturally he also owned many cattle.
The Qin State promoted ox-drawn plowing in Nanjun. The government raised oxen and rented them to farmers at low prices when they needed them for spring plowing.
When there is a time to encourage farming, such as now, the government will provide farmers with oxen for free, but they only need to sign and seal. If something happens to the oxen, they need to work to pay off the debt.
As the governor of a county, Meng Wu did not need to use the public cattle, as he had plenty of his own cattle. Even if Ying Xiaozheng wanted to slaughter ten or eight cattle, let alone eat one, the servants of the Meng family would serve them to him.
If Meng Wu were here and Ying Xiaozheng took the initiative to call him "Uncle Meng", he would definitely give all the oxen to Ying Xiaozheng and spend a huge amount of money to buy new oxen.
Of course, if this happened, Zhu Xiang would tell Meng Wu to get lost, and would still only take away a calf that was enough for him to eat.
Meng Wu seemed to be following the scent. He had clearly gone south, but on the second day after Zhu Xiang arrived at his home, he returned when he was smoking and roasting bamboo shoots in his villa, which had the most bamboo forest.
When he came back, Zhu Xiang's servants were slaughtering his cattle in the kitchen together with his servants.
Ying Xiaozheng also asked him: "Uncle Meng, the cattle I ate were spoils of war that you seized from the Baiyue. They were not oxen for farming, so I did not violate Qin law, right?"
Before Meng Wu could answer, Zhu Xiang said angrily, "Ah, right, right, right, they all belong to Baiyue. They all belong to Baiyue. It was Meng Wu who robbed Baiyue. Mengwu, what are you doing standing there? Come and help me."
Meng Wu, who was completely confused, had just changed his clothes, but they were all covered in dust again.
"What are you doing?" Meng Wu asked while working.
Zhu Xiang said, "Smoked bamboo shoots, let's make braised beef brisket with smoked bamboo shoots for Zheng'er. Braised beef brisket tastes best with smoked bamboo shoots. What would you like to eat?"
Meng Wu said: "Whatever, I can eat anything."
Zhu Xiang smiled evilly and said, "The bamboo worms in the bamboo forest are delicious when fried. Do you want to eat some?"
Meng Wu: “…”
He gave Zhu Xiang a look that said "What do you think?!"
Zhu Xiang laughed.
Zhu Xiang finally decided on three meat dishes on the menu: roast chicken with bamboo shoots, roast beef brisket with smoked bamboo shoots, and stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots.
While making stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots, Zhu Xiang remembered another interesting story related to Su Dongpo.
Su Dongpo told his cousin Wen Tong seriously that mixing bamboo shoots with meat is like a villain bullying a gentleman, and that bamboo shoots should be eaten as vegetarian. Wen Tong was stunned and reflected on his mistake for a long time.
But Su Dongpo himself loved to eat stewed pork with bamboo shoots. He wrote in a poem that after eating stewed pork with bamboo shoots in spring, the taste was "neither vulgar nor thin", elegant and nutritious, and it made him feel very happy.
He finished what he had to say.
However, when many people in ancient times spoke, they probably did not think as much as later recorders. It was normal to make a joke occasionally or just talk nonsense, and it was common for words and actions to conflict.
It’s just that later generations deified them and had to make up a lot of things in their imagination.
For example, what Su Dongpo said to his cousin Wen Tong probably had nothing to do with the situation. He just wanted to criticize his cousin.
If he saw his cousin eating braised vegetarian bamboo shoots, Su Dongpo would probably tell him that he couldn't eat it and that he had to eat bamboo shoots fried with meat. This is what good brothers do.
"Meng Wu, what do you think people outside would say about me when they hear me eating beef stewed with bamboo shoots?" Zhu Xiang said with a smile, "Will they come up with a very elegant excuse for me?"
Meng Wu was chopping his own ornamental bamboo for firewood when he asked, "How should I know?"
Zhu Xiang said, "Please make one up for me. Zheng'er, think about it for your uncle, too."
Ying Xiaozheng threw the bamboo shoots he had picked up into the fire: "What are you thinking about?"
Zhu Xiang said, "If you want to praise my uncle."
Ying Xiaozheng said unhappily: "Don't ask me this, I don't know how to praise people."
Meng Wu sighed and said, "Fresh bamboo shoots are pure air, and beef is turbid air. The turbidity and turbidity merge, just like the harmony of yin and yang. Can it show the health-preserving method of the great sage Zhu Xianggong?"
Ying Xiaozheng paused as he added more wood to the fire, unable to believe it: "Uncle Meng, can you really make up a story?"
Meng Wu smiled and said, "After all, I was once the close attendant of the King of Qin, so I still have some ability to speak."
Ying Xiaozheng was puzzled: "Why can't Meng Tian speak? I have never heard him say anything nice. He is like a dull person, who only knows how to work hard every day."
Meng Wu was puzzled: "That shouldn't be the case. Tian'er is quite eloquent."
Zhu Xiang said: "Maybe he is too tired from work and has no time to talk. When he grows up a little bit, he will be able to balance work and flattery."
Zhu Xiang knew how high Ying Xiaozheng's requirements were. Even if Ying Xiaozheng had slowed down his pace and patiently taught Meng Tian under his persuasion, Meng Tian would have to do his best to keep up. Meng Tian probably didn't have the energy to figure out how to please Ying Xiaozheng.
Given Ying Xiaozheng's personality, if he fails to do his job well and says unnecessary flattering words, it will only backfire.
Meng Wu frowned: "That won't do. Flattery is also the most important job of a servant. I have to teach him a lesson."
While Ying Xiaozheng continued to throw bamboo shoots into the fire, he said, "You said flattery is a job in front of me? Uncle, I am sorry that you have corrupted me."
Zhu Xiang joked, "Why? Isn't flattery a job? Isn't one of the jobs of a servant to make the king happy?"
Ying Xiaozheng: “…” Unable to refute.
Ying Xiaozheng snorted coldly: "Uncle, if you say that, be careful that someone will misunderstand Meng Tian and say that Meng Tian uses his beauty to serve others."
Zhu Xiang almost burned his hand: "Zheng'er, who taught you this?"
Ying Xiaozheng asked, "Do you still need someone to teach you? Aren't there people everywhere?"
Zhu Xiang thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. The high-level officials in the Warring States period were in great chaos.
When it comes to servants who make the king happy, we have to mention the Liu family.
As we all know, almost all the emperors of the Han Dynasty were bisexual. They had a position called "Langzhong" to select good-looking young men from the nobles to serve as attendants in the palace.
This was similar to the position of attendant in the Warring States Period, which was one of the ways for noble children to advance, similar to the imperial guards in Qing Dynasty palace dramas.
However, due to the Han Dynasty emperors' hobbies, "Doctors" were mostly their favorite candidates - they were not forbidden women or pedophiles, but real lovers, and they were willing.
It is said that the Cui family, a top family at the founding of the Tang Dynasty, boasted that their real ancestor, who could be verified by history, seemed to be a "doctor".
Of course, not all "doctors" can be selected by the emperor. The ancestor of the Cui family should be a serious doctor.
Zhu Xiang found this very interesting, so he arbitrarily changed the Han Dynasty into an unknown small country in the Spring and Autumn Period and told it to Ying Xiaozheng and Meng Wu as a joke.
Meng Wu, who not only once served as a close attendant to the King of Qin but also whose son would be the future close attendant to the King of Qin, said he did not want to listen.
Ying Xiaozheng laughed happily, and the bamboo shoots in his hand kept falling into dust.
"Uncle, rest assured, I'm not that kind of person." Ying Xiaozheng laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. His uncle's jokes were always funny. "But it's not uncommon for nobles to get high positions by serving others with their beauty and then protect their descendants. Isn't there a Lord Longyang in Wei?"
Zhu Xiang said: "It seems there is such a person. I heard that this person is quite talented? Is he good at swordsmanship?"
Meng Wu said: "No matter how talented you are, can you compare to Lord Xinling? The King of Wei loves Lord Longyang and alienates Lord Xinling, which is the behavior of a tyrant."
Zhu Xiang was speechless: "Don't compare Xinling Jun with Longyang Jun. If Xinling Jun were here, he would definitely fight you to the death."
Meng Wu piled the chopped wood neatly: "He definitely can't beat me."
Zhu Xiang looked at the firewood pile that Meng Wu had piled up very neatly, which was simply a blessing for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he felt a little itchy.
Ying Xiaozheng was also looking at the pile of firewood. His eyes were dark and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
At this time, the uncle and nephew looked at each other tacitly, and then left the fire at the same time.
Meng Wu: “?”
Meng Wu: “!”
The neatly piled firewood collapsed with a loud bang due to the joint efforts of Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng.
The uncle and nephew showed the same happy expression.
Zhu Xiang said: "When I see something that is stacked very neatly, I just want to knock it down. It feels so good!"
Ying Xiaozheng didn't say anything, but his expression showed that.
Zhu Xiang asked: "Meng Wu, another one?"
Meng Wu raised his fist as big as a casserole: "I'm not going to pile you up!"
Zhu Xiang ran as fast as he could and climbed up the tree in an instant, faster than a monkey. No one knew how he developed such agility.
Meng Wu was so angry that he punched the tree, causing it to shake.
Ying Xiaozheng took over his uncle's position and made fire and smoked bamboo shoots.
He shook his head and sighed. Uncle is really, such a grown man, but he is so childish. Is this the first time that Uncle Meng got so angry that he chased after Uncle and beat him? Why is Uncle so troublesome
Zhu Xiang was arrogant on the tree: "It's not just me who pushed down the pile of bamboos, Zheng'er also had a share. Do you have the guts to beat Zheng'er? You only know how to bully the weak and fear the strong."
Meng Wu sneered: "If a son is not well-educated, it is the fault of his father. Of course I will beat you up!"
Zhu Xiang said: "Then you should go and beat Xia Tong. Go ahead, go to Xianyang and beat Xia Tong."
Meng Wu was so angry that he jumped up and down. Ying Xiaozheng continued to shake his head and sigh.
This chaotic farce ended when Li Mu arrived.
Li Mu came to Nanjun this time not only to pick up Zhu Xiang, who said "If I don't pick him up, he will definitely take Zheng'er to play in Nanjun for a long time and forget about his duties as the governor of Wujun", but also because he knew that Meng Wu was going south and wanted to ask about the situation of the Baiyue tribes south of Nanjun.
In the future, when the Qin army marches south to the land of Baiyue, they will advance comprehensively from east to west and will not just take one route.
At that time, he might be the commander-in-chief of multiple armies, so Li Mu came early to collect information.
Li Mu estimated the time and found that he set out only two days later than Ying Xiaozheng and arrived one and a half days later than Ying Xiaozheng.
After asking for directions, he went straight to Meng Wu's villa where Zhu Xiang was staying and walked in without sending anyone to inform them.
Before Li Mu saw the man, he heard Zhu Xiang's annoying voice. He paused, then quickened his pace. After entering the courtyard, he looked carefully and saw that, as expected, Zhu Xiang had climbed up the tree again. Meng Wu was so angry that he wanted to chop the tree with an axe.
"What's wrong?" Li Mu asked unhappily, "Zhu Xiang, come down!"
Zhu Xiang hugged the tree trunk and said, "If you stop Meng Wu from beating me, I will come down."
Li Mu sighed, "He won't beat you. If he really beats you, can you still survive? Come down, don't teach Zheng'er a bad lesson."
Meng Wu immediately complained: "Li Mu, it's a good opportunity for you to judge for me. I finally built a pile of firewood, but this guy Zhu Xiang brought Zheng'er to push down the pile I just built, and asked me to build another one. Did he lead Zheng'er astray? Should he be beaten?"
Li Mu was puzzled: "That's it? Are you so angry because of this?"
Meng Wu: “…”
The corners of Zhu Xiang's mouth curved upward.
Ying Xiaozheng tried to hold back his laughter, hahahaha, he couldn't help it.
Meng Wu spat on the ground and muttered something cursed.
Li Mu really didn't understand. Was it such a small matter that Meng Wu was so angry? However, he had a high EQ. Seeing that Meng Wu was really angry, he said with a serious face: "Let Zhu Xiang come down and pile up the firewood himself. If you are still not satisfied, how about you push down the firewood pile once?"
Meng Wu said: "Okay!"
Li Mu said, "Did you hear that? Come down."
"I didn't agree." Zhu Xiang muttered, but still climbed down using his hands and feet.
Li Mu watched Zhu Xiang climbing the tree, covered his eyes, and cursed Lin Zhi harshly.
Zhu Xiang's tree-climbing action is almost identical to Lin Zhi's. Was it Lin Zhi who taught Zhu Xiang bad habits
"Come on, Zheng'er, let's pile the firewood together." Zhu Xiang couldn't bear the punishment alone.
Ying Xiaozheng sighed: "Oh."
The uncle and nephew had just pushed the firewood pile and were now playing with "building blocks". They were still smiling and looked very happy.
Meng Wu felt even more depressed.
Is this a punishment
Forget it, what else can he do? Really beat Zhu Xiang? He didn't dare to beat him.
At this time, Meng Wu suddenly understood something in his heart.
Why did Zhu Xiang always escape in an exaggerated manner, trying his best to run to a place where they couldn't beat him
Zhu Xiang must have known in his heart that even if he stood there, his friends would not really do anything to him.
Meng Wu looked at Li Mu.
Li Mu asked: "What?"
Meng Wu lowered his voice and asked, "Zhu Xiang knew we wouldn't beat him up, but he ran away on purpose. Was he trying to give us some face?"
Li Mu asked, "You just found out?"
Meng Wu rubbed his nose and smiled embarrassedly, and the depression in his chest completely disappeared.
Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng piled up the firewood, but Meng Wu was reluctant to push the neatly piled firewood down, so he just let it go.
However, Zhu Xiang quickly pulled out the bottom piece of firewood, and the firewood pile collapsed with a loud bang. He proudly showed off his "exquisite" building block skills.
Meng Wu: “…”
Forget it, it’s enough to get angry about such a trivial thing once.
He's going to have a big meal today!
Li Mu also joined the cooking team.
He was in charge of cutting the beef, and his skills as a butcher were so exquisite that Zhu Xiang's eyelids twitched. He did not dare to ask Li Mu how he learned that.
In fact, if he had asked, he might not be afraid anymore, because Li Mu had learned this skill when he was distributing beef to soldiers in Yanmen County.
"The smoked bamboo shoots smell really good." Ying Xiaozheng sniffed, "Can smoked bamboo shoots be used directly as a snack?"
Zhu Xiang laughed. His housekeeper was really obsessed with food.
"Yes, but it's hard to chew, so it's usually used as a side dish." Zhu Xiang said, "But you can cook some fresh bamboo shoots and mix them cold for you to eat as a snack."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "It's settled! Uncle, when you go back, don't let aunt cook again."
Zhu Xiang said: "Your aunt is a good cook, but she is not in good health and cannot stay in the kitchen for a long time. She will feel chest tightness and shortness of breath. She cooks for you, you should thank her."
Ying Xiaozheng looked aggrieved: "I know, I am grateful. But my aunt listens to Bian Que very much. Bian Que tells her how to eat the most nutritious and healthiest way, and my aunt does it that way. But nutritious and healthy food really doesn't taste good!"
Can it be delicious if it is cooked with less oil and less salt water
I am still young and I want to eat unhealthy food with high oil, salt and sugar content!
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Okay, uncle will persuade her when he returns. Mothers are like this, they will over-care for their children."
Although Ying Xiaozheng's tone was still aggrieved, he had a smug smile on his face: "I know." My aunt loves me the most!
"Li Mu, why did you come to Wujun?" Zhu Xiang poured Li Mu a glass of slightly sour wine brewed from mixed fruits.
Li Mu said, "I'm here to take you and Zheng'er back to Wujun to do some work."
Zhu Xiang: “…”
He turned to Ying Xiaozheng and said, "Zheng'er, don't let Li Mu become the prime minister in the future. If he does, you won't be able to breathe a sigh of relief."
Ying Xiaozheng nodded solemnly with a straight face: "Uncle is right, I will let Uncle Lin be the prime minister!"
Li Mu said: "When the world is unified and needs to recuperate, it is not a bad idea to let Lin Li be the prime minister. He should be the most suitable prime minister to let the world recuperate."
Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng looked at each other.
Zhu Xiang: Li Mu is so boring.
Ying Xiaozheng: Yes, yes.
The two of them were joking and Li Mu was answering seriously, how boring.
Meng Wu observed this scene, deep in thought.
He understood!
How to get rid of Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng's terrible joke? Then take the joke seriously with a straight face.
But if he had the same great concentration as Li Mu, could he remain unmoved by Zhu Xiang's joke attack? Meng Wu was a little unconfident.
Okay, very unconfident.
Meng Wu sighed in his heart. So some people can become generals and ministers, while others can only be deputy generals or county governors.
But it was really nice to cling to someone powerful, and he was still suited to his current life. Let his two sons decide whether to become generals or ministers. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and he believed in his sons.
Bamboo shoots are indeed the best companion to pork, beef, and chicken—and fish may also be suitable. In short, bamboo shoots and meat are the most foolproof way to eat meat.
Ying Xiaozheng poured the broth from the smoked bamboo shoots and beef brisket over the rice, and Lian Xuan drank three bowls of white rice. Li Mu and Meng Wu praised him and said that with such a big appetite, Ying Xiaozheng could be a military general.
Zhu Xiang had only one thought: Zheng'er really demonstrated the proverb "a young boy will eat his father out of poverty" to the fullest.
With Zheng'er's appetite, he will be at least 1.8 meters tall in the future.
Zhu Xiang originally wanted to stay in Nanjun for a while and take a look at the condition of the farmland in Nanjun.
But Li Mu came to arrest him in person, so he could only follow Li Mu back to Wujun, and kept complaining that Li Mu was a "supervisor" along the way.
Li Mu stood at the bow holding a long sword, enjoying the breeze, and ignored Zhu Xiang's words.
Ying Xiaozheng sat on one side of the boat, rolled up his trouser legs, put his bare feet in the water, and sang Chuci loudly.
After being in Chu for so long, Ying Xiaozheng's ears were accustomed to the tune of Chuci, and he sang it out inadvertently, just like the brainwashing songs heard in later generations.
Ying Xiaozheng's Chu dialect was not very standard. Zhu Xiang listened for a long time before he realized that Ying Xiaozheng was singing the lines about the river being turbid and the river being clear written by Qu Yuan when he met the fisherman and the hermit.
However, Qu Yuan denied the fisherman's words and did not agree with the attitude of "going with the flow". I wonder what Zheng'er would think.
The answer is most likely no. Zheng Er is a very stubborn person.
Zhu Xiang thought about it and also wanted to sing a song.
He took out a zither from his luggage, sat cross-legged on the bow, and teased Ying Xiaozheng with Li Bai's "To Li Yong".
"When the great roc rises with the wind, it soars up to ninety thousand miles.
Even if it comes down when the wind dies down, it can still stir up the ocean water.
People always see me as different, and they sneer when they hear my big words.
Xuanfu still fears the younger generation, and a man should not look down on the young. "
Zhu Xiang brought many Confucian scholars from Lu with him this time. They were on other boats, sailing nervously towards Wujun along the river.
On the way, they wanted to communicate with Zhu Xiang, but seeing that Zhu Xiang was busy with chores, they did not want to disturb him.
After arriving in Nanjun, they saw Prince Zheng coming to greet Zhu Xiang from afar. They wanted to communicate with this talented young man, but their status did not allow them to approach.
When Zhu Xiang and Prince Zheng visited Meng Wu, the governor of Nanjun, they were even less allowed to go and were simply arranged to stay in another villa.
Now seeing Zhu Xiang taking out the zither, they all straightened their clothes, wanting to observe the demeanor of this great sage.
Qin is an art that a gentleman must learn. Using Qin to cultivate one's character and wisdom is something that all Confucian gentlemen will do. So some people say that by listening to a Qin song, one can understand the elegant meaning from the strings.
Zhu Xianggong’s music must be the most elegant in the world, right
After Zhu Xiang started singing, they all showed disappointment on their faces.
Zhu Xiang played the zither well and his singing was in tune, but the poem did not follow any rhythm, just like a fisherman shouting on the river.
Didn’t Duke Xiang of Zhu learn the Book of Songs
Not only does this poem have no rhythm at all, but its content is also hilarious. It's like a young man who was ridiculed and got angry, and he even dared to bring up Confucius. It really makes people shake their heads.
But it was Duke Zhu Xiang who sang this poem, so everyone just sighed with regret and didn't think much about it, just because Duke Zhu Xiang sang two lines casually and might have heard them from someone else.
I wonder when Duke Zhu Xiang will show his knowledge and generosity so that we can observe and learn from him. The Lu Confucians thought regretfully.
Li Mu and Ying Xiaozheng looked at Zhu Xiang with their eyes shining.
Especially Ying Xiaozheng, the splash caused by his kick was much bigger.
"Zhu Xiang, although your poem is not rhythmic, the content is good." Li Mu said.
It doesn't rhyme, but the content is good.
Hahahaha! Zhu Xiang laughed heartily.
This is a masterpiece by the great poet Li Bai. It is the motto of almost all middle school students in later generations. This is probably the highest praise it has received in this era.
However, his friends and nephew were still able to accept one or two of his favorite poems, so that Zhu Xiang would not feel too lonely after laughing.
"Yes, the content is good." Zhu Xiang said, "Zheng'er, how is it?"
Ying Xiaozheng asked: "Given to me?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Of course, who among us is young?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "My uncle and teacher are not old either."
He tasted it and said, "When the great roc flies up into the sky, it can soar straight into the clouds. When it falls into the sea, it will turn into a giant kun and smash the waves. Is this referring to Zhuangzi's "Xiao Yao You"? "
Zhu Xiang nodded.
Ying Xiaozheng smiled and said, “If Uncle Lin heard this, he would definitely say that my uncle is his disciple.”
"He has always been shameless." Zhu Xiang said, "How about comparing Zheng'er to Kunpeng?"
"Good!" Ying Xiaozheng kicked the water again, as if imitating the great Kun breaking the waves, "But there is one sentence in my uncle's poem that is wrong."
He was very proud: "Although I am young, no one can look down on me!"
Zhu Xiang and Li Mu couldn't help but laugh, and said in unison: "That's exactly right!"
Amidst the laughter of several people, they returned to Wujun.
After arriving in Wujun, the Lu scholar still had no chance to discuss academic matters with Zhu Xiang.
Summer harvest and summer planting are the most important links in the double-cropping system. How could Zhu Xiang have the time to discuss academic issues with them
Zhu Xiang looked at the slightly high temperature and wondered whether he could plant another season of winter wheat after the late rice this year.
In later times, Wujun could only harvest twice a year, but now the coastal plain of Wenzhou where Dongou is located can harvest three times a year. But now the temperature is high, Wujun may also be able to harvest three times a year.
Zhu Xiang decided to try it on government fields and his own fields first, and if it worked, he would promote it.
The farmers in Wu County, who have just gotten used to farming twice a year, now have to farm and harvest three times a year. I wonder if they will complain.
The Chuyue people have always been lax, and they complained when Zhu Xiang urged them to farm and harvest twice a year. If they were busy once more, they would not have any rest in the winter. I wonder if this will arouse resentment among the people.
Harvesting an extra crop and leaving more food for the family can actually cause resentment among the people. Such an outrageous thing can really happen now.
If it was really difficult to promote it, Zhu Xiang decided to be ruthless and petition the King of Qin to "change the land and people" so that the southerners could go north and the northerners could go south.
Now that the population is sparse, the people of Wu County can hardly starve even if they don't work hard to farm. But it's different for the people in the north. Although the climate is much milder now, their land output is far less than that of the south. In addition, there were wars in the Central Plains, and countless people starved to death.
Only those who are on the verge of starvation know how happy it is to be able to harvest more food as long as they work hard.
Most of the time, they work in the fields all year round, but the food they grow is not enough to fill their stomachs.
The large-scale development of the south in later generations was also a result of the migration of hungry people from the north to the south. This was not only because there were more people, but also because hungry people would be more hardworking.
But if he achieved this, Zhu Xiang would probably become infamous in future generations.
After Zhu Xiang and Ying Xiaozheng shared their thoughts, Ying Xiaozheng rolled his eyes at Zhu Xiang and said, "Uncle, have you forgotten that I am the governor of Wujun? You have no right to do this now. Go and farm your land."
Zhu Xiang pinched Ying Xiaozheng's lips, making them look like little ducks: "Be polite to your uncle."
Ying Xiaozheng struggled to break free from Zhu Xiang's evil hand.
He rubbed his lips, then rushed past Zhu Xiang and out the door to the backyard: "Aunt! Aunt! Uncle bullied me again!"
Zhu Xiang chased after him, scolding him with a smile: "You are so old, yet you complain over such a small matter."
Xue Ji, who was making new clothes for Ying Xiaozheng, put down the embroidery in her hands and was bumped into by Ying Xiaozheng as soon as she walked out the door. She was startled.
When Zhu Xiang saw that Xue Ji was frightened, instead of comforting her, he burst into laughter.
Xue Ji couldn't help but feel ashamed and angry: "Zhu Xiang!"
Zhu Xiang quickly raised his hands in surrender: "I was laughing at Zheng'er for not having eyes and bumping into people while walking, not at you!"
"Ugh!" Ying Xiaozheng turned around.
Zhu Xiang said, "Xue, do you think Zheng'er should be beaten? He is so rude."
Xue Ji hugged Ying Xiaozheng: "You deserve it!"
Ying Xiaozheng said proudly: "Yes!"
Zhu Xiang raised his fist threateningly towards Ying Xiaozheng.
Unfilial son! Wait until your aunt goes back to the weaving workshop to take care of things, and then I'll show you how I'll punish you!
Ying Xiaozheng was not afraid at all.
How else can my uncle discipline me besides nagging me? He is not as good as my aunt, who at least slaps her palms.
The Confucian scholars of Lu continued to wait and wait, but not only did they not get the opportunity to discuss academic matters with Duke Zhu Xiang, they were also sent by Zhu Xiang to the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain to educate the Yue prisoners of war.
Zhu Xiang said, "The Yue people are descendants of Dayu, how can they become barbarians?" Confucius said, "All those who wear my clothes and respect my etiquette are my compatriots. Therefore, as a Confucian disciple, I should educate the Yue people and turn them from barbarians into people of etiquette."
Although the Lu Confucians disagreed with Zhu Xiang's teacher Xunzi on many political views, they were no different from other Confucian followers when it came to education.
Although they had been working on bamboo slips and wooden tablets in Lu, and the disciples they taught were all nobles and scholars, they rarely interacted with common people. But Confucius had 3,000 followers, and there were many common people among the sages. When they were officials, they discriminated against common people, but they did not when they taught.
This is very contradictory. But the behavior of the Lu Confucians is so contradictory.
Normally they would look at farmers with disgust, but when they were asked to teach barbarians, they didn’t even care if they got mud on their bodies.
Wu County was hot, completely different from Xianyang and Lu. Their clothes were not suitable for the local area.
Originally, they would maintain their original clothing even if they fainted from the heat, saying that etiquette must be correct. In order to properly teach the barbarians, they actually took the initiative to improve their robes and crowns to make them more suitable for standing in the sun for a long time to teach students.
There was no paper, pen, bamboo slips or wooden tablets, so we only used tree branches to write on the mud, but they still taught very seriously.
What's more, what they teach is the Qin State Small Seal Script that is now being promoted by King Qin Zhu.
They were obviously Confucian scholars from Lu, and they had already mastered the Qin Dynasty's small seal script and Qin's laws.
They taught students in accordance with their aptitude. They did not directly take out the profound classics, history, and collections. Instead, they mixed some words about morality from the classics, history, and collections, as well as the simple "Qin Law" that common people must know, and re-wrote a set of catchy primers.
It's roughly like "Three Character Classic" and "Thousand Character Classic".
Zhu Xiang originally had some prejudice against the Confucian scholars of Lu because of the evaluations of Xunzi and later generations.
After pretending to be a farmer and observing the Lu Confucianists teaching the Yue prisoners of war several times, Zhu Xiang smiled and sighed.
"Zhu Xiang, ah Zhu Xiang, you've fallen into the old habit of a time traveler again."
Who says that the Confucian scholars of Lu are useless? Who says that the Confucian scholars of Lu are just people who seek fame and reputation
The Confucian scholars of Lu are a group, not a single person. Even if their ideas on scholarship and politics are different from their own, it does not mean that they are "useless villains" or even "useless cannon fodder."
Most people who study in this era are ambitious and determined.
Ying Xiaozheng was also concerned about this group of Lu Confucian scholars.
He saw it many times in his dreams that it was this group of Lu Confucian scholars who caused the most embarrassment to the great Ying Zheng in the dream.
In his heart, Ying Xiaozheng was very disgusted with these Lu Confucians. He already had Xunzi, so why did he need Lu Confucians
He also thought that this group of Lu Confucian scholars were of no practical use except for talking nonsense about fully restoring Zhou rituals.
When he and Zhu Xiang watched the Confucian scholars of Lu abandon their usual rigid dress and etiquette and make concessions to educate the barbarians, he could not describe the feeling in his heart.
If he had not been prejudiced against this group of people, knowing that they might never truly obey him or the State of Qin, he might have had some respect for them, right
When Ying Xiaozheng entered the dream room, he kept chattering to Da Ying Zheng.
"My uncle said that all people and things have multiple sides and need to be viewed dialectically. For example, there is no conflict between rejecting the pedantic side of the Confucian scholars of Lu and praising their virtuous side."
"But I can't do what my uncle said. I hate them, so it's hard for me to praise them, even though I know some of the things they did deserve praise."
Ying Xiaozheng sighed.
"Dialectics, dialectics, my uncle talked about dialectics the most... Another me, can you do it?"
"You seem to be able to. In your memory, you have endured many things that you could not endure. If it were me, I would have turned the table over and quit long ago."
Ying Xiaozheng sighed again, then touched his nose and said embarrassedly: "But you should not overturn the table. Overturning the table means death. I said I couldn't bear it because I knew I didn't need to be patient. My uncle and many elders would cover for me."
Ying Xiaozheng's tone was one of both joy and worry.
He was troubled by the fact that he was spoiled by his elders and was far less mature than the self in his dreams.
In the dream, I should have been the Crown Prince of Qin at this time, initially showing the aura of a dormant dragon, able to hide my joy, anger, sorrow and happiness in my heart without showing it on my face.
And what about yourself
"Forget it, I can't do anything about it. My uncle spoils me so much that I rarely have the chance to be wronged." After worrying for a while, Ying Xiaozheng gave up.
There’s no point in worrying. It’s better to think about what delicious food you’ll ask your uncle to prepare tomorrow.
My uncle has been lazy lately and hasn't cooked for a long time. He has let the cook cook all the meals. I have to think of a way to make my uncle less lazy.
"Let me see how you can endure it again. Learn from it." After giving up his worries and complaints, Ying Xiaozheng continued to study hard. "I must learn to hide my emotions as soon as possible and scare my uncle!"
The cheerful and sunny young boy Ying Xiaozheng clenched his fist and swore.
Ying Xiaozheng continued to study hard, but the big Ying Zheng remained motionless, still like an illusory shadow.
It was not until Ying Xiaozheng left the dream room and the dream was about to be shattered that the shadow turned from virtual to real and became lively.
But before the moving shadow could fully become solid, it returned to nothingness. It was as if someone came in a rage, realized halfway that he couldn't do anything, and went back in a rage.
Of course Ying Xiaozheng knew nothing about all this.
As soon as he got up the next day, he yelled at Zhu Xiang who was washing up, saying that his uncle was too lazy and Zheng'er wanted to have a big meal, completely ignoring the fact that he was already ten years old and had just said that he was a mature Master Qin.
Zhu Xiang responded with a perfunctory “Um, um, ok, ok” and continued to spit out mouthwash.
(End of this chapter)