A month passed in the blink of an eye.
The weather is getting colder, and winter seems to come especially early in the capital. The wind blowing on the face is already bitingly cold.
The Li Mansion had already started floor heating under Lin Yixuan's instructions. As a child who grew up in Yunnan, he was not used to the cold weather in Beijing. Even Li Xu became listless.
After reviewing the essays submitted by the students, Li Yaonan would take the children out to play when he had nothing to do, so that they could adapt to the environment in Beijing as quickly as possible.
It was another day of rest. Early in the morning, Li Yaonan took his son to Sihai Bookstore.
On this day, Sihai Bookstore was packed with people. The last time Li Yaonan gave a lecture, there were only about thirty people who came, but today the number has increased by more than twenty times.
Li Xi's eyes widened in surprise, with a look of pride on his little face.
Li Xu curled his lips and smiled. He had always known the charm of his father. His father's knowledge was enough for him to benefit from for the rest of his life.
"Master Li." Some students saw him and greeted him first.
Li Yaonan nodded and smiled, his gentle eyes seemed to be looking at everyone: "The weather is cold, and the lecture will be held soon. You can go and sit down first and warm yourself up in the house." Sihai Book Garden also has floor heating, of course, this is only applicable when someone comes to give a lecture.
The students were immediately touched. Lord Li is such a good man. Some people didn't care. Which great scholar is as humble as him? We have to see if he is truly talented. Who knows if Lord Li is just trying to attract attention? Some people looked disdainful. Their calculating eyes showed that they had bad intentions.
Li Yaonan smiled slightly, taking in the expressions of the crowd, and immediately had an idea in his mind. It was actually within his expectation that someone would come to cause trouble today. The content of his last lecture had offended many honest officials. Some people would begin to reflect, and some would want to retaliate. Today's lesson was the key to his real reputation.
After settling the children, Li Yaonan slowly walked into the classroom. Three young men in luxurious clothes were sitting in the corner on the right side of the classroom. It was obvious that they were the princes who were ordered to leave the palace.
The twelfth prince was a little surprised. He didn't expect Lord Li to be so young. As a prince who had not yet received his duties, he had little contact with ministers in the court. Although he had heard of Li Yaonan's name a long time ago, today was the first time he saw him in person.
The Thirteenth Prince had a bored look on his face, yawning one after another. He felt sleepy before the class even started. If his Twelfth Brother hadn't forced him, he would have slipped out to play. The Thirteenth Prince didn't care at all about becoming a disciple. Anyway, any scholar was not to his taste.
The Sixteenth Prince was secretly delighted. This gentleman was so young, he must not have any ability. The rumors outside must be false. Not only would it not help his twelfth brother to take him as his teacher, it might even ruin him. It was simply God's help to me. My mother said that my father was very dissatisfied with the Crown Prince. As long as I worked harder, I might have a chance to compete for the throne in the future.
The twelfth prince glanced at him indifferently. This sixteenth brother was young but had many thoughts, all of which were corrupted by his mother. How could the throne be so easy to fight for? Didn't he see that several of his elder brothers had gradually lost the emperor's favor
The twelfth prince thought that he should be more obedient and be a wise king. He once fantasized about that supreme position. However, when he saw the crown prince become irritable, his brothers fighting with each other, and his father's increasingly impatient eyes, he backed off.
The twelfth prince admitted that he was afraid. He had no powerful family in law and no ministers to support him. If he did not have self-awareness, he was afraid that he would not live to adulthood.
At this time, the twelfth prince's wish was very small, he just wanted to live in seclusion, and he would never dream that one day he could rule the world. At the same time, he gradually understood why the prince's temper was getting worse and worse. If he was not taught honestly and carefully, he was afraid that he would become like the prince in such a situation.
Li Yaonan sat upright on the podium, and the students below quickly quieted down.
"Okay, in the last lesson we talked about how to be an official. Today I'm going to talk about the theory of factions." Li Yaonan's voice was neither hurried nor slow, and his mellow voice seemed to exude a kind of magic that made people unconsciously want to listen attentively.
Of course, there were exceptions, and some people began to discuss quietly: "Why don't I talk about the way of being an official?"
"Yes, I heard that Lord Li has a different opinion."
"I came here just to learn how to be an official."
"Me too. My father asked me to come to the class. Lord Li's insights are indeed thought-provoking."
"Tsk! Maybe it's just a facade. I dare not say anything."
"What are you talking about?"
"Is there anything wrong with that? When honest officials are not respected, should corrupt officials be praised?"
"you... ... "
"... ..."
The people below were talking at once, and the voices of those making trouble seemed particularly loud.
Li Yaonan smiled faintly, and said calmly, "I am teaching a class. No loud noises are allowed. Those who make trouble will be expelled from the class. I have already said last time that you can ask questions after class. Now please be quiet."
"Why don't you let us speak? I still have many questions about the way of being an official. I beg Lord Li to solve them."
Li Yaonan said calmly, "If you have any questions, please answer them after class. Now is the lecture time. You must respect yourself before others respect you. The last class has been finished. Please don't delay others' learning."
Diao Xiuyong was indignant. His father was an honest official who never embezzled a penny. The family's money was occasionally supplemented by his mother's sewing and embroidery. Why did Lord Li write off his father's hard work with just a few casual words and instead portray him as a person seeking fame? He was not convinced.
However, no matter what he thought in his heart, Li Yaonan's words made sense. He didn't attend the last class, so why should he delay other people's learning progress for them
Those who attended the class last time were secretly delighted, thinking that they had received private instruction from Lord Li, and were once again thankful that they had not been absent.
The twelfth prince secretly remembered that Lord Li used this method of achieving great results with little effort very well.
The Thirteenth Prince was absent-minded and didn't pay any attention to what had just happened.
Only the twelfth prince was happy. Although Lord Li was a third-rank official and did not have much authority, if Lord Ye was giving the lecture, no one would dare to refute him. It was just... ... the twelfth prince was a little embarrassed about how to become Lord Ye's disciple. In recent days, he had visited the scholar's mansion frequently, but it did not seem to have any effect. Perhaps he had to ask his mother to think of a solution. With his uncle's face, he thought Lord Ye would not refuse.
Li Yaonan cleared his throat and said, "The idea of cliques has existed since ancient times. Fortunately, rulers can distinguish between gentlemen and villains. Generally speaking, gentlemen and gentlemen are friends because they share the same principles, and villains and villains are friends because they share the same interests. This is the natural law..."
"However, as of now, the concept of factions has become a way to exclude dissidents and for various forces to unite and fight against each other. In the court, factional struggles are everywhere. During the Wei Dynasty, Liang Tai was a loyal minister, and Shi Gaoyi was also a loyal minister. The two parties had different political views. Although they were both for the court, their attitudes were still far apart. After a long period of arguing, they finally turned into emotional attacks, and the contradiction was out of control. The chaos in the late Wei Dynasty was largely due to the struggle between the two parties. After Liang Tai's death, the Shi Party became the most powerful party at the time, and the court officials of the Liang Party stepped down one after another. The court became chaotic from then on, until Emperor Wen of Wei ascended the throne. In order to resist the Shi Party, Emperor Wen of Wei favored eunuchs, which made the chaotic court even more corrupt and laid the foundation for the country's demise. This is a lesson in history books."
Li Yaonan took a breath, sipped his tea, and continued, "In my opinion, both the Liang Party and the Shi Party are not good officials. Power has confused their minds. In the later period, the dispute between the two parties was no longer a difference in political views, but an attack on each other for the sake of interests."
Many students nodded, looking thoughtful. It's not like someone had talked about factional struggles before, but no one had described it in such detail as Lord Li did.
The last subject that Li Yaonan left behind was Liang Tai. As Shi Gaoyi was extremely powerful, Emperor Wen of Wei feared him and followed him everywhere, while promoting eunuchs to fight against him. However, he did not know that the eunuchs had been in league with Shi Gaoyi. Liang Tai's death made him wise. Many people would think in their hearts that if Lord Liang had not died, Shi Gaoyi would not have dared to cover up everything, and the Wei Dynasty would not have perished.
However, they never thought that if there had been no struggle between the two parties, the court would not have become increasingly chaotic. In the beginning, the two officials, Liang and Shi, were at least wholeheartedly serving the people. But in the later period, the two parties became too powerful to be controlled, and they had no choice but to continue fighting, which accelerated the speed of the Wei Dynasty's demise.
Li Yaonan smiled lightly and dropped a bomb lightly: "Next, let's talk about the Chong'an Incident in the previous dynasty."
The students' faces changed one after another. The Chong'an Incident was a sensitive topic. The Emperor Gaozu of the previous dynasty was the son of a guilty concubine. He was not favored by the emperor since childhood. He joined the army at the age of thirteen and gradually gained the emperor's appreciation. He endured for more than thirty years. After the death of the previous emperor, the new emperor ascended the throne and named the country Chong'an.
Poor Emperor Chong'an, he only sat on the throne for one day. That night, Emperor Gaozu launched a coup, led his troops into the Golden Palace and won a great victory. This coup was known as the Chong'an Rebellion.
The twelfth prince looked cautious. Li Yaonan was truly bold. Knowing that the situation was delicate, he still dared to talk about such a sensitive topic.
The Thirteenth Prince had disappeared long ago. He took advantage of his Twelfth Brother's inattention and sneaked out to play.
The Sixteenth Prince was in high spirits, feeling somewhat gloating in his heart. His Twelfth Brother had such a teacher, and there would definitely be a mess in the future. Even if his brother the Crown Prince was deposed, his Twelfth Brother would not be afraid of him.
The Sixteenth Prince was making his own plan, perhaps he could win over his Twelfth Brother and make him his right-hand man. Although the Sixteenth Prince was young, he had a big heart.
Unfortunately, none of them expected that Li Yaonan's topic was sensitive, and not only did his words not violate any taboos, they even implicitly echoed the emperor's intentions.
But think about it, if Li Yaonan was really a fool, how could he be valued by the emperor without any ability
The twelfth prince admired him from the bottom of his heart and unknowingly identified with this teacher. He thought that Lord Li's lectures were unconventional and were never some boring things written down. There were many things worth learning.
Li Yaonan's words were sharp. Whether he gave examples or made metaphors, he was talking about the disadvantages of factions. He thought that officials in the court only needed to be loyal to the emperor. What do you want to do by forming factions? He analyzed the harm of factions word by word, and his words were full of respect and loyalty to the emperor.
After this class, surprisingly, no one made trouble. It was a joke. Mr. Li was talking about the struggle between cliques. If you raised objections, were you trying to form cliques or what? Unless he didn't want to live anymore.
Even Diao Xiuyong just now did not deliberately find fault. Li Yaonan made it very clear that the way to be an official is to be loyal to the emperor. At this time, Lord Li's reputation is at its peak, and the students' minds are all focused on cliques. If he brings up the way to be an official, he will seem out of place and will instead be disliked.
The author has something to say: Thank you, I plan to finish it next week, and there will be a sequel. o(n_n)o
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