Chapter 512: Your Majesty, please punish Lu Bu!

The Wei River Debate ended, but its impact has not diminished.

Many things inside and outside the Han Dynasty court were quietly changing.

The first was the change in the court. Pang Tong first entered the cabinet and took the position of classics librarian, shuttling between cabinet clerks.

The position of classics is not big, but it is not small either, because as long as you enter the cabinet, if there is a vacancy in the position of cabinet minister in the future, you will definitely be filled from the cabinet first.

Therefore, entering the cabinet is the first step to becoming a Grand Secretary.

In addition, Pang Tong’s talents were also outstanding, and he could often come up with unique insights when discussing government affairs with cabinet ministers.

As a result, he gradually gained a firm foothold in the cabinet.

As for Zhuge Liang, he was busy all day long compiling textbooks for the Imperial College. For this purpose, he invited learned scholars from the three schools of Legalism, Confucianism and Mohism to discuss day and night.

This is when the benefits of winning a debate come into play.

Now that everyone understands what the new subject is, they are particularly cooperative in the compilation of teaching materials.

In addition, Zhuge Liang’s fame was there, so after he issued the call, he received responses from all parties.

The lights were on every day in the editing room, and everyone expressed their opinions on classics, history, agriculture, water conservancy, arithmetic, criminal law, etc.

Now the textbook outline has been initially finalized and only needs to be further improved.

In addition, the affairs of the Imperial College, which Guo Jia was in charge of, also progressed smoothly. The first batch of students graduated from the Imperial College and were successfully sent to teach in schools in various places.

Although public schools are currently only offered in counties with more populous populations in each state, this is just the beginning.

And the feedback we have received so far is very good.

Since it is free, many children from ordinary families take the initiative to go to the cram school to attend classes, which was simply unimaginable in the past.

The sound of reading began to echo in every corner of the Han Dynasty.

The seeds of new learning were sown.

As for Xu Shu, although he did not speak much in the debate, he received more attention in the court because of this victory.

He assisted Guo Jia in secretly preparing for the pilot reform of the recommendation system, selecting places where the power of aristocratic families was weak and the people were simple and honest, and privately dealing with key figures in the aristocratic families, explaining the pros and cons of the reform, trying to reduce resistance to future implementation.

The people recommended by Zheng Xuan also entered the Imperial College one after another.

Although Confucianism has many drawbacks, it also has many advantages. Zheng Xuan was right in one of his remarks during the debate.

The essence of Confucianism lies in rectifying people’s minds and improving customs.

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness must never be abandoned.

This is the spirit of a country.

This is also why the Imperial College included Confucianism into the political subject so that students could continue to study.

With the arrival of these great scholars in the Imperial College, the shortage of teaching staff in the College was greatly alleviated.

As a great scholar, he was not only proficient in Confucianism, but also had the ability to apply what he had learned to other areas, and had deep insights into mathematics and criminal law.

Confucian is a teacher.

If you don’t even have profound knowledge, how can you deserve the title of “great scholar”?

Everything is changing quietly, and the future of the Han Dynasty is slowly moving in a new direction.

……

There is no snow this winter, and no one knows when it will fall.

Six months have passed since the Weishui Debate. Another winter is approaching and the weather is getting colder.

If the winter in the Northeast is cold and windy, it feels like a knife blowing on people’s faces.

The winter in Chang’an is bitterly cold. No matter how thick the clothes people wear, they cannot keep out the bone-chilling cold that freezes the heart.

Weiyang Palace, inside the Xuan Chamber.

Liu Xie stood by the window, looking at the sky outside, exhaled a breath of white air, and rubbed his hands.

Upon seeing this, the eunuch standing nearby immediately presented an old hand warmer.

Liu Xie took the hand warmer and his palms soon became warm, as if all the coldness in his body had been dispelled.

“It’s almost January and it still hasn’t snowed. It’s really strange.”

Liu Xie said while looking up at the sky.

Winter is the season when snow disasters occur frequently, and every year the imperial court has to spend a lot of material and financial resources to deal with them.

But this year is a bit strange. Although the weather is cold, not a single snowflake has fallen.

“Your Majesty governs the country wisely, and even the heavens are grateful for your sincerity, so there is no snow this year. This is a reward for your diligence.”

The eunuch next to him immediately offered flattery.

However, Liu Xie just glanced at him indifferently and didn’t take such words to heart at all.

“Xiaozhi, tell the people below to pay more attention and don’t let down your guard.”

“Preparing for snowstorms is related to the safety of countless people, especially in Jizhou. I don’t want to hear the news that hundreds of thousands of people are affected by the disaster.”

Liu Xie said with his back to the people in the Xuan Room.

At this time in the Xuanshi Hall, Fa Zheng, Lu Su and Yang Xiu were all handling government affairs behind their respective small desks.

It is their turn to be on duty today.

Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng stood up from behind the desk, bowed to Liu Xie and said, “Please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will not relax at all and will be ready to deal with the snow disaster at any time!”

Hearing Fa Zheng’s answer, Liu Xie nodded.

Then he remembered something and turned to ask, “Zhongda is sick at home today. Did he catch a cold? Go visit him on my behalf later and bring the imperial physician with you.”

Sima Yi is usually very diligent and basically handles government affairs in the Xuanshi every day, but today he took sick leave and stayed at home.

The Sima Yi of today is different from the Sima Yi in history. He has been loyal and conscientious until now, and even Liu Xie cannot find any fault with him.

So we still need to show the necessary care.

Yang Xiu’s face suddenly became a little embarrassed when he heard this, while Lu Su on the side looked like he wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to.

Only Fa Zheng shook his head helplessly.

Seeing the reactions of the three people, Liu Xie frowned and asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Is Zhongda seriously ill?”

“Uh… Your Majesty, the Minister of the Central Secretariat is not ill.”

Fa Zheng glanced at Lu Su and Yang Xiu, then explained, “Yesterday was the birthday of the Marquis of Loyalty, and Minister Yang invited us to a banquet at his house.”

“During the banquet, a dancer accidentally fell into Sima Zhongshu’s arms, and her silk scarf happened to get caught on his body.”

“We were all drunk at the time and didn’t pay attention. Sima Zhongshu didn’t know about it either, so he returned home and his wife found the scarf…”

Fa Zheng shook his head and sighed, and did not continue speaking.

Liu Xie’s expression also became strange, and he immediately knew what was going on.

Sima Yi was a notoriously henpecked husband, and his wife Zhang Chunhua was even more jealous and cruel.

In history, Sima Yi once pretended to be sick to avoid being summoned by Cao Cao. Once when he was drying books, he encountered a rainstorm. He subconsciously went to collect the books and was caught by a maid.

Zhang Chunhua was worried about the secret being leaked, so she killed the maid with her own hands.

It can be seen that she is not an ordinary woman.

“This time, when Sima Zhongshu returned home, his face was scratched by his wife and he was ashamed to go to court, so he took sick leave and stayed at home.” Lu Su added with a smile.

Yang Xiu, who was standing by, was filled with shame and sighed, “It was all my fault that Sima Zhongshu was harmed. I will make amends to him someday.”

After hearing the whole story, Liu Xie also wanted to laugh.

But he held back and said with a deliberately stern face: “I didn’t expect Sima Yi to deceive the emperor. When he comes to court, I will punish him for deceiving the emperor!”

After he finished speaking, he couldn’t help laughing.

Yang Xiu and his companions couldn’t help laughing.

At this time, the eunuch beside him reminded: “Your Majesty, the time for the court meeting is coming, don’t miss the time.”

Today is the day for court meetings. Although Liu Xie dislikes court meetings and has extended them from the 10th to the 15th, he still has to attend court meetings eventually.

Hearing this, Liu Xiewu’s originally good mood disappeared without a trace and his face instantly fell.

“I feel a little unwell today…”

Before Liu Xie finished speaking, Fa Zheng said sternly, “Your Majesty, you can’t do that. You have already canceled a court meeting once, how can you cancel it again?”

The last court meeting was postponed by the emperor on the grounds of poor health. Today he entered the palace early just to keep an eye on the emperor.

Liu Xie curled his lips upon hearing this, put his hands behind his back, and said sullenly, “Let’s go to court.”

After saying that, he strode out of the room.

Fa Zheng and others hurriedly followed.

……

Chengming Hall.

The golden crow was rising, and the faint morning light shone through the carved window lattices, falling on the majestic court of Chengming Palace, reflecting a golden color.

All officials wore court robes and stood respectfully according to their rank.

Liu Xie sat upright on the dragon throne, his expression dignified yet friendly. He raised his hand slightly and said in a steady and powerful voice: “My Lords, please stand up. Do you have anything important to report at the morning court today?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Jia stepped out first and said in a loud voice: “Your Majesty, by the end of the year, public schools have been established in 110 counties of the Han Dynasty.”

“We will continue to add more next year, and we expect to have them in major counties across the country within five years.”

“In addition, the establishment of junior high schools and universities is also planned, and I will submit a detailed implementation plan next year.”

The purpose of public schools is to popularize education, and popularizing education is to lay the foundation for the reform of the imperial examination system.

According to Liu Xie’s idea, the public school was divided into three parts.

They are primary school, middle school and university.

Primary schools were set up in counties everywhere. After graduating from primary school, students with excellent grades would be admitted to attend middle school in the main capital of a county.

Those who graduate from high school with excellent grades will enter the state universities in the capital cities of each state.

Primary school, middle school and university are all three years in a stage.

You have to pay tuition for university, but elementary and middle schools are free. After graduating from university, you can apply for the Imperial College.

This is a complete process for talent training and selection.

Currently, primary schools are being established. During the process of establishing primary schools, middle schools and universities will also be gradually established.

“Thank you for your hard work, my dear.”

Liu Xie nodded, and looking at Guo Jia’s haggard face, he felt a little distressed.

Guo Jia really worked hard for the reform of the imperial examination system.

I’ll have to ask Hua Tuo to prescribe some tonic medicine for him, otherwise if he continues like this, he might die young.

Zhuge Liang also stepped forward and added, “Your Majesty, the textbooks for the Imperial College and the primary school have also been compiled and handed over to the Metallurgical Bureau for printing.”

Liu Xie was naturally confident that Zhuge Liang was doing things.

After hearing this, he did not ask any more questions.

After the two men finished their reports, other ministers also made their own reports, expressing their opinions on many national affairs such as taxation, law revision, and trade.

For a time, the atmosphere in the court was heated, and the civil servants were discussing heatedly.

However, in this heated discussion, the generals on the side seemed out of place and bored.

Lu Bu was a big and burly man, sleeping against a pillar and even snoring. Although Zhang Liao was standing straight, there was a hint of boredom in his eyes, and he was secretly poking Lu Bu’s butt with the tablet in his hand.

Huang Zhong closed his eyes slightly, as if he was resting, and the other generals had a similar expression.

These brave generals who were once powerful on the battlefield can no longer get a word in the frivolous court meetings.

After all, the world was unified, all the rebels were wiped out, and there were no more wars. Their expertise in deploying troops and charging into battle was of no use at this time.

“His Majesty!”

At this moment, an abrupt voice suddenly sounded, interrupting the rhythm of the discussion in the court. Cui Lin stood up and said in a serious manner: “Lord Wen actually dozed off in the court. This is really a breach of etiquette in front of the palace and a disgrace to the dignity of the court!”

Cui Lin was the Palace Censor, who had the power to monitor the misconduct of all officials.

Dozing off in the court was of course not allowed.

The eyes of all the ministers in the hall were instantly focused on Lu Bu. Lu Bu’s snoring stopped immediately, and he opened his eyes sleepily with a confused look on his face.

“What?”

Cui Lin looked at him with displeasure and said, “Lord Wen, this is the court, not a place to sleep.”

“How can I lose my manners in front of His Majesty?”

Hearing this, Lu Bu rolled his eyes and said impatiently: “You guys are talking about some flowery things here, and I can’t get a word in. What else can I do besides sleeping?”

Listening to these civil officials talking was like listening to the buzzing of flies. He felt his eyelids drooping and was extremely sleepy.

In front of all the officials, Liu Xie couldn’t openly favor Lu Bu, so he could only say: “Lord Wen, it is indeed a bad influence in front of the emperor, be careful next time.”

Lu Bu was a little depressed, and said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Zhang Liao hesitated for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, we are used to fighting on the battlefield. It is difficult for us to participate in the court affairs now.”

For military generals, the battlefield is their world.

The court is indeed not suitable for them.

For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the court. The civil officials all looked dissatisfied when they heard the words, while the military generals felt very aggrieved.

“Wenyuan is right!”

Lu Bu stepped forward and said loudly: “Your Majesty, since it is difficult for me to interfere in the affairs of the court, I beg Your Majesty to allow me to be excused from attending the court!”

“It also saves me from being disrespectful in front of the emperor and being criticized!”

These words were obviously meant to stab Cui Lin.

Cui Lin’s face turned ugly when he heard this, and he said angrily: “The court meeting is a place to discuss national affairs! As a minister, how can I not attend the court?”

“Even if Lord Wen has made outstanding contributions, he should not be so disrespectful to the court!”

“Your Majesty, I ask that Duke Wen be punished!”

Cui Lin was quite stubborn. He dared to curse Ma Chao and the King of Goguryeo in the face, so why would he be afraid of offending Lu Bu?
If he really died because of offending Lu Bu, he would be able to go down in history!

(End of this chapter)