The fence that Zhao Yun and his men had built before was long gone, replaced by a ten-foot-high earthen wall.
There is an arch standing on every city wall, and there are many passers-by walking inside and outside.
If this place was just like a small town before, now it is a city at all!
Entering from the south gate, the houses on both sides of the street are all in order, with merchants and vendors shouting and shouting, and there are children, chickens and dogs running around, making it a lively scene.
It was not until the deepest point that He Yan saw the attic he had built, and the houses built by Cao Pi, Cao Jie and others were also located on the left and right to guard it.
"Who did this...?"
Just as He Yan was looking at the pavilion, a child ran out.
When he saw He Yan, his eyes were a little excited and a little shy. He just pointed at He Yan and kept shouting: "He, He, He..."
"What? What? Call me daddy!"
He Yan dismounted unceremoniously and carried Deng Ai on his shoulders: "Where is your mother?"
After being picked up, Deng Ai touched He Yan's face: "Here, inside."
Then Deng Ai thought of something and hurriedly said: "Hey, he, don't, don't do bad things to my mother, mother!"
"Look what you said! What is a bad thing?"
He Yan strode through the corridors and saw Deng's mother leaning against a pillar with her sleeves rolled up and needle and thread in hand, sewing something.
Seeing that Mother Deng didn't notice him, He Yan quietly covered Deng Ai's mouth, sneaked behind Mother Deng, and then held her in his arms with lightning speed.
"who!"
Mother Deng was shocked when she was suddenly attacked. It wasn't until she saw He Yan's face that her tense body softened, and she just let He Yan cling to her body.
"Why did you come back so suddenly? Didn't you say hello in advance?"
Mother Deng, who had just turned 20, was at her most charming and charming. She blushed and hid in He Yan's arms: "Let me know in advance so that I can prepare meals for you."
"No, it's you who eats it."
He Yan originally wanted to move forward and bite Mother Deng's earlobe, but Mother Deng seemed to suddenly think of something and hurriedly left He Yan's arms, constantly signaling with her eyes.
"Woo?"
He Yan, who was ruined by his good deeds, looked up and found a man sitting in front of the window on the second floor, looking at He Yan with interest.
"Brother Changwen?"
Chen Qun saw that He Yan finally found him and walked downstairs: "I disturbed the love between Marquis Shen and his wife."
As soon as these words came out, Mother Deng's face turned even redder. She glanced at He Yan with an angry look, and then quickly lowered her head.
Deng Ai looked at He Yan with contempt, as if to say, "I've reminded you, who told you not to listen..."
He Yan saw Chen Qun there and looked at Chen Qun suspiciously, as if he was doubting Chen Qun's motive for appearing here.
"Yulang, Master Chen is now Ai's teacher. He comes to teach Ai how to read every day."
Deng Ai’s teacher?
Chen Qun also came forward at this time: "To be honest, when I came to visit Marquis Shen before, Marquis Shen had already gone to Guandu with Captain Cao, but I missed it by chance."
"On that day, I discovered that your son is very smart. Although he stutters, his mind is quick, so I started to consider him as a disciple."
Deng Ai is like a hidden jade. As long as you can understand it patiently, you will discover his extraordinary nature sooner or later.
Chen Qun was naturally a patient person. After he noticed Deng Ai's extraordinary talent, he also became interested in talents and decided to accept Deng Ai as his disciple.
"Later, I stayed here and helped Marquis Shen renovate the manor. It was a bit presumptuous."
He Yan was quite dumbfounded: "Emotions are the work of Brother Changwen? Who can build a city directly? That's it."
"Since Brother Changwen is willing to accept this boy as his disciple, it is naturally his blessing."
He Yan touched Deng Ai Yuanyuan's head and said, "Yingchuan Chen's training is ancient classical classics, which emphasizes governing the world through scriptures. You must study hard with your teacher."
Deng Ai was a little anxious when he heard this, and Chen Qun also said: "Marquis Shen, I only taught him the science of enlightenment, and there is no essential meaning in the scriptures."
This made He Yan a little confused: "Why is this?"
"The ancient texts and modern texts are no longer in line with the etiquette and laws of the world, and are no longer useful for governing the world."
He Yan looked at Chen Qun in surprise, obviously not expecting that the head of the Yingchuan Chen family would be so extreme, even a little... treasonous?
The study of Confucian classics, like that of the Han Dynasty, has been going on for four hundred years. At this time, to say that the study of Confucian classics is not in line with etiquette and law is not to say that the Han Dynasty is hopeless?
"Why does Lord Shen look at me with such strange eyes?"
"Is it possible that Marquis Shen thought that this study of Confucian classics could bring order to things?"
He Yan shook his head: "It's just that I didn't expect Brother Changwen to say it so suddenly. I was really not prepared at all."
After all, Chen Qun was Xun Yu's son-in-law, and his grandfather Chen Shi was a meritorious official of four counties, five governors of Yuzhou, and six governors of three counties. He was a proper filial son of the Han Dynasty. It is really surprising to say these words.
"When a gentleman wants to change, someone must find a way out for everyone."
Chen Qun stepped forward and said, "I had no clue at first, but after seeing Lord Shen's arrangement, I had some ideas. I wonder if Lord Shen is free tonight? Why don't we go to the mansion to talk about it?"
"Forget it today, there is a family dinner at Sikong Mansion, and I promised my mother to go back."
Seeing Chen Qun's eagerness to sleep with him, He Yan sensed something was wrong.
What on earth is this Chen Qun trying to do?
After hearing this, Chen Qun naturally didn't mind waiting another day, so he postponed the date of meeting by one day.
After Chen Qun left, He Yan immediately stepped forward and hugged Mother Deng: "Let's go! Come into the house!"
"It's still daytime..."
"What happened during the day? Let's go!"
"Ai is still here..."
"Deng Ai! If you are sensible, just go out and play by yourself!"
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The next day, He Yan set off from Sikong Mansion, prepared gifts and came to Chen Qun's house.
Because Chen Ji, Chen Qun's father, passed away less than three years ago, the whole house looked simple.
In the quiet and empty hall, Chen Qun had been waiting for a long time. When he saw He Yan coming, he actually stepped forward to greet him.
"Marquis Shen."
"Brother Changwen."
He Yan handed over the gift in his hand: "Brother Changwen left in a hurry yesterday and didn't give me the reward for helping to repair his residence. These are worthless items. I hope you don't dislike them."
Having said that, there were several egg-sized sea beads in the basket in He Yan's hand, each one worth more than a hundred gold.
Chen Qun did not refuse. As the saying goes, the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water. If it was a polite refusal, it would not be the behavior of a person like him.
"It seems that Marquis Shen has gained a lot from this expedition."
“It’s true that the rewards are great, but the pressure is also quite high.”
He Yan sighed: "Especially the recent rumors in Xuchang City, the family members in Sikong Mansion all look at me differently and dare not get close to me, let alone outsiders."
"How do you say this?"
"Brother Changwen, haven't you heard any rumors about me?"
"The rumors are false, but the achievements are not false."
Chen Qun and He Yan sat cross-legged: "Is it possible that Marquis Shen is planning to hide his clumsiness inside at such a young age?"
"If you really want to hide your clumsiness, then I will just go look for food and grass in Guandu this time."
He Yan does not regret what he did.
When those hungry soldiers, wounded soldiers, and prisoners appeared in front of him, He Yan never hesitated.
"Then why are you so worried afterwards?"
He Yan was a little confused when he heard Chen Qun's question.
"I heard... Sikong conferred the title of Lieutenant of Jia Yao on Marquis Shen?"
"Indeed."
However, Chen Qun did not congratulate He Yan. Instead, he sneered: "I don't know when, but this man of great merit has to compromise. This is really strange."
He Yan looked around and lowered his voice to Chen Qun: "Brother Changwen...are you dissatisfied with Sikong?"
"No."
Chen Qun stared at He Yan: "Sikong's behavior is in line with the rules in the eyes of the world."
"But if it conforms to the rules in the eyes of the world, is it necessarily correct?"
He Yan heard Chen Qun's words and felt that this great talent who could formulate the "Nine-grade Zhongzheng System" in the future already wanted to do something at this time.
"I understand, Brother Changwen is not here to enlighten me, but to draw me into his group."
Chen Qun seemed to want to get something from He Yan.
"Now that Marquis Shen has spoken out, I will no longer hide it."
When Chen Qun saw that He Yan was a sensible person, he also opened the skylight and spoke frankly——
"In today's world, rituals and music have collapsed, and the so-called Confucian classics to govern the world is even more nonsense."
"Many Confucian scholars read through ancient books, trying to find a way out from the scriptures of sages."
"As a father, Ding You, he also consulted the scriptures, trying to find a way out of the world based on the principles of saints."
"Have you found Brother Changwen?"
"Found it."
"Whose classic is it?"
"The sage Mencius."
When He Yan heard this name, he couldn't help but be a little stunned: "Why him?"
"The people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important, and the king is the most important!"
Only then did He Yan know how the "Nine-grade Zhongzheng System" formulated by Chen Qun in later generations was fiddled with.
Are emotions learned from Mencius?
It is true that Mencius had the people-oriented thought of "the people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important", but at the same time, Mencius also had a set of strict hierarchical governance ideas such as "those who work hard govern others, and those who work hard govern others."
Therefore, "the people are the most precious" in the previous sentence refers not only to the working people, but also to the "hardworking people" like Chen Qun.
It has to be said that as long as Mencius's set is slightly modified, it is almost entirely beneficial to the family. It is no wonder that Chen Qun chose Mencius as the medicine to save the world.
If we add the two propositions of "the king of law" and "benevolent government must start from the economic world", it will almost completely take politics, law, and finance out of the hands of the imperial power, and unify them under the name of the aristocratic family.
.
Obviously, what Chen Qun realized from Mencius should be to strengthen the family and then cut off the flesh and blood of the imperial power to save the world.
The problem is...
"Brother Changwen, you come to me for such a big matter?"