On the fifth day of October, the sun was shining brightly. This was the big day for Wan Lei to open a church for the first time and accept disciples. In addition to Kuai Fu's son Kuai Xiang, there were also Zhou Zikang, Zhou Tianzhen's second son, Zhao Quanbing, Zhao Quanjie's younger brother, and the granddaughter of Congressman Li Hanyang. Tang Saier, Liu Ziyang, nephew of Liu Liangfa, the current magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture.
Among these five disciples, one girl is from Baoding Prefecture, the three boys except Kuai Xiang are all from Beiping City, Zhou Zikang and Zhao Quanbing are from the military, Liu Ziyang is from the official, and all groups have been selected. Therefore, In addition to the parents of these people, representatives from all parties attended the apprenticeship ceremony.
Moreover, some patriarchs of "rich families" were secretly angry because their nephews did not win the election, blaming their descendants for not living up to expectations. After all, they are not fools. They know that being Wan Lei's apprentice means that they have half a leg to step on. Golden Avenue. With Wan Lei's support, these disciples' future career will definitely be smooth. They are envious and jealous.
"One bow to the master, three kowtows." The high-pitched voice of the praise officer fell back in the lobby. A altar above the lobby was filled with sacrifices, and in front of it were hung more than a dozen portraits of ancient sages, dating from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Among the hundreds of schools of thought, there are Confucius from the Confucian school, Lao Tzu from the Taoist school, Mozi from the Mohist school, Han Feizi from the Legalist school, Sun Tzu from the military strategist, Bian Que from the medical school, etc., and the top one is Lao Tzu from the Taoist school.
The five little guys kowtowed three times in front of the dozens of portraits, and the salute officer sang and shouted again: "I will pay my respects to the master again, kowtow, and offer the tea in turn."
Wan Lei sat on the Taishi chair and received the bows from the five students in a serious manner. Since becoming a disciple is a major event in life, even more solemn than a wedding, kneeling can show solemnity. After bowing, the five students The little guys brought a cup of tea one by one and presented it to them. Wan Lei took a symbolic sip and then gave each of them a small steel plate with the four words "Essentials for the World and Benefiting the People" engraved on it and engraved below. There is a series of numbers as the number.
"Everyone, from today on, you are my disciples. I have high expectations and requirements for my disciples." Wan Lei glanced at the four men and one woman standing in front of him, cupped his hands at the portrait behind him, and then asked He said: "Do you have any doubts in your heart as to why you have to worship so many great teachers? Why not just worship Confucius?"
The five people nodded in unison, and everyone watching the ceremony also looked at Wan Lei with puzzled faces. In their eyes, Confucius was the most holy teacher. It is also a custom to worship Confucius before becoming a teacher. Now even Laozi, grandson and others are worshiped. This was really the first time they met.
"I would like to ask you now, what is the purpose of studying?" Wan Lei asked again.
The five people below looked at me, and I looked at you, and finally their eyes fell on the small steel plate in their hands, and they all replied in unison: "Benefiting the world and benefiting the people."
"Yes, it is to manage the world and benefit the people. The people in the portrait are all sages from more than a thousand years ago. Whether they advocate Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, or military medicine, agriculture, and business, they all have the same goal: to manage the world and benefit the people. The knowledge they left behind is worthy of admiration by future generations, and the most admirable thing is the sentiment of managing the world and benefiting the people. As a teacher, I will give each of you an iron plate, which will accompany you throughout your life. It will always remind you: how to study and learn. As humans, I hope you don’t let them gather dust.”
"Sir's teachings are true. Students should keep them in mind and never forget them for a moment." The five people said in unison.
"A one-year plan is better than planting a valley; a ten-year plan is better than trees; a lifelong plan is better than cultivating people. You are young and have good talents. As a teacher, I will provide you with the best education, but I will also train you." Under the strictest management, if anyone can't endure hardships or learn nothing, then don't blame him for being a teacher who is unkind."
"Students dare not live up to their husband's expectations."
"Yes." Wan Lei nodded with satisfaction, "Now go home, pack your things, and move to Wanzhai. Aunt Li has packed your room and classes will start tomorrow. Remember, moving into Wanzhai is My Wan family members should always be polite to others, especially Aunt Li. She has to take care of your food and daily life, which is very hard."
"yes."
At the end of the apprenticeship ceremony, Wan Lei personally sent away the civil and military officials who came to watch the ceremony. In the end, only Tie Xuan stayed. Obviously, he still had something to say to Wan Lei. Wan Lei knew what he wanted to say and waited for them to leave. After that, I invited him to the study room to talk.
"My dear nephew, you are not just accepting a disciple this time." Tie Xuan was not vague and went straight to the topic as soon as he sat down.
"To be honest, Brother Tie, I do have selfish motives for recruiting disciples this time, but I am more worried." Wan Lei said sternly.
"Worried? What are you worried about?" Tie Xuan asked.
"Brother Tie, you are not an outsider, and you have also come from the officialdom. Of course you know the things in the officialdom. Our Peking Army seems to be very united on the surface, but in fact there are already many conflicts internally. I was assassinated not long ago. To put it simply, there has been suspicion on both the civil and military fronts. If I can't control things in the future, then there will be no need to cause chaos." Wan Lei said.
"It is human nature for people to be divided and suspicious of each other. As long as everyone follows the rules and communicates more, nothing will go wrong. Moreover, people are divided, so what does this have to do with you accepting a disciple?" Tie Xuan frowned. Tighter.
"People's hearts are indeed separated from each other. It's impossible for everyone to have the same heart. That's why I accept disciples and try my best to bring everyone's hearts together. Brother Tie, you haven't noticed that the disciples I have accepted are all from There are factions on all sides. In fact, I want to build a platform where everyone can compete fairly. Everyone will focus on cultivating younger generations and spend less energy on internal strife."
"This, is this really possible? Of the five apprentices you have accepted this time, two are from generals. Members of the council do not say anything, but in their hearts they feel that you are partial to the military, which is probably not conducive to unity." Tie Xuan said sternly that this was his original intention of staying. As a representative of the civil power, he was actually also a spokesman.
"Indeed, the first time I recruited a disciple, I was a little partial to the military. But given the current situation, everyone must understand that the morale of the army cannot be ignored. Giving more opportunities to the generals' children is also to inspire the soldiers on the front line and let them see Your own bloodshed and sacrifice are valuable."
"Then, these apprentices of yours, in the future..." Tie Xuan hesitated, but Wan Lei knew what he wanted to ask, so he smiled calmly and said: "I will only help them enter officialdom or shopping malls. As for them in the future, How far they can go depends entirely on their own efforts. And I also said that the emperor takes turns, and no one has the right to appoint a successor. Whoever is more capable and popular will take the throne."
"Oh, that's good. In fact, what the people below are most afraid of is messing up the rules." Tie Xuan finally showed a long-lost smile. In fact, it was not just the people below. Tie Xuan himself was also afraid that Wan Lei would make an internal decision and designate a certain person. Heirs directly squeezed out the opportunities of these "seniors".
"Haha, brother, don't worry. These little guys are young and will have to wait at least forty or fifty years before they are qualified. As for the famous people, it depends on the present day."
"Ah ha, my nephew is right. The number of famous people depends on the current situation. However, we cannot relax the training of the younger generation. I wonder if my nephew will only recruit these five apprentices, or will he recruit them every year?" Tie Xuan's face was clouded. No matter what, because with his own qualifications, there is a high possibility that he will rise to power once or twice in forty or fifty years.
"Of course we recruit every year, ranging from four to eight each year, depending on the situation, but Ning Que is too lazy. In the future, I will use the examination method to select people. Those who can be accepted as my apprentice must at least be prodigies. Of course, I will take appropriate care of the children of the elders, after all, we are all our own people." Wan Lei said with a smile.
"Yes, we are all on our own, and these children are our stars of hope for the future. When I have time in the future, I will definitely come and see these children?"
"Haha, even if you don't come, Brother Tie, I will take them to your house. Not only to your house, but also to the military camp. What we are cultivating are talented people who are both civil and military, both internally and externally. , he is not a literati who can only recite poetry and paint."
"Okay, that's well said. I am one of those teachers who have both civil and military skills and are good at governing the people." Tie Xuan laughed. He is not a fool. He knows what is the way to maintain long-lasting prosperity. I also understand what Wan Lei wants to do.
In fact, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, respecting teachers and teaching has become a Chinese tradition. Especially in the political arena, the teacher-student relationship is often more important than the father-son relationship. If anyone is disrespectful to the teacher who taught him or helped him, That is to deceive one's master and destroy one's ancestors, which is treason and unethical. Such people cannot be tolerated in official circles.
In the political arena, there is never any relationship between ministers and monarchs. You work for me and I give you a salary, which is considered an employment relationship. But the teacher-student relationship is different. It is simply a community of pure interests. Therefore, there have always been countless " "Righteous people" dare to scold the emperor and even dare to rebel, but few dare to take action against their own teachers.
It is precisely because of a pure community of interests that the civil service group developed and expanded in the Ming Dynasty just over ten years after the Ming Dynasty began to recruit scholars. Up and down the court, the Jinshi Party formed powerful and secretive groups in the form of teachers, students, fellow villagers, and fellow students. political alliance.
In these political alliances, fellow villagers will shed tears when they see fellow villagers. It is not easy to be an official thousands of miles away. Of course, those who come from the same place have to take care of each other. They are like classmates in the same year. They won the Jinshi together and entered the officialdom together. They usually look up but never look down. See you, everyone is polite to you.
The closest relationship is between teachers and students. Teachers use their power to support students and help them make progress. When students are bullied, they have to protect them. Students act as pawns and cheer for teachers. When teachers are unlucky, they have to take the blame. .As for loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, it is just a slogan. Only a certain fool can take it seriously. Everyone is loyal to interests.
Although there is no emperor in the system of Beipingxing Province, the officialdom is not much different from that of the Ming Dynasty, because it is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Although Wan Lei is confident that he can change history , but I won’t be arrogant enough to think that I can change the laws of history, let alone change people’s selfish nature.
In fact, there are already several small groups in the current Beiping Province, which can be divided into the officer group mainly composed of military officers and the civilian group mainly composed of civilian officials, as well as the "old forces" mainly composed of Shuntian Prefecture and the Baoding Group. Hejian Laifu's "new forces". Under the coordination of Wan Lei, these small groups can be stable and united for the time being, but the competition among them has become increasingly intensified. In the future, if Wan Lei retreats to the second line, the era of party struggle may begin.
Wan Lei is aware of the dangers of party struggle, but he will not use force to destroy those small groups, because he can suppress them for a while. The only thing he can do is to establish his own small group to integrate or check and balance other groups. Small groups allow each small group to maintain a long-term relationship of competition and cooperation.
And Wan Lei's method of forming a small group is to recruit students, whether they are officials, soldiers, civilians, or academics, as long as they are "elites" that he can like, he will accept them. As these "elites" As a teacher, Wan Lei treats students equally. While imparting knowledge to students, he will also point them to the golden road. At the same time, he also requires students to unite and help each other so that they can go further in officialdom and business.
And this is also a way out for Wan Lei to help him, because the higher the reputation of the student, the higher the reputation and status of his teacher. Tie Xuan is also an old man, and he has long seen through Wan Lei's little plan. , so he also wants to get some light, and if there is a way out, we can all go together.
+++000+++
It was also the fifth day of October, and Jinling City was looking gloomy and gloomy. However, by a pavilion more than ten miles outside Jinling City, a prince wearing a seven-beam crown and a python robe stood there, looking anxiously to the west, as if waiting for someone. Behind the prince were dozens of civil and military officials wearing red official robes, all of whom stood solemnly.
These people were here on the orders of Emperor Jianwen to welcome the Duke of Wei, Xu Huizu, who had returned victoriously. After nearly a month of hard fighting, Xu Huizu led his troops to defeat the rebels and pursued them all the way to Huguang, recovering Ningguo and Anqing. , Wuchang and other prefectures have the potential to be swept away by wind and clouds.
However, Xu Huizu was also unfortunately hit by a stray arrow during the attack on Wuchang. He was injured and could not get out of the firing line. He desperately commanded the soldiers to attack Wuchang. In the end, he conquered the last stronghold of the rebels and captured He Miaoshun and other rebel leaders alive. However, Xu Huizu also The injury worsened and he was bedridden. Emperor Jianwen issued an order to immediately let him return to the court to recuperate.
No, just after noon, a team of thousands of Jinyi guards appeared from far away, carrying a warm sedan, escorted by the Jinyi guards.
"At the end of my visit to His Highness King Gu, Wei Guogong was seriously injured and was resting in bed. He was unable to get up to greet him. Please forgive him." Outside the warm sedan, one of Xu Huizu's close followers came to greet him on his behalf.
"It's okay, it's okay. Wei Guoping has quelled the rebellion and has done great service to the country. Now he is seriously injured. His Majesty is very worried. Please come to the capital to see him quickly so that His Majesty can feel at ease." The prince who was named the King of Valley said this. , but there was still a trace of dissatisfaction in his eyes, flashing past.
"Isn't it just to fight the rebellion and make meritorious service? How dare you be so rude to me? Humph! Sooner or later, let him understand that outsiders are still outsiders. No matter how much merit he makes, he is just a hawk of our Zhu family!"