Chapter 1208: Don’t do anything to Z! (Happy Dragon Year to everyone!)
June 5th, Ye Mansion, Yijing

In the Qingzhu Hall, Jingren looked at Gu Sansi who walked into the room, stood up and bowed respectfully, saying:

"Disciple greets the master!"

Gu Sansi nodded slightly and then ordered:

"sit down!"

"Thank you, sir, for the seat..."

According to the established rules, before each class, Gu Sansi would test Jingren on what he had learned before, so this time was no exception. Gu Sansi immediately asked:
"Jingren, let me ask you why Emperor Wu of Han wanted to fight the Xiongnu?"

Because Gu Sansi had talked about this question in the last class, Jingren said without hesitation:

"As a northern nomadic people, the Xiongnu often invaded the border areas of the Han Dynasty, posing a huge threat to the security of the Han Dynasty. Defeating the Xiongnu can maintain the security of the Han Dynasty and eliminate the hidden dangers in the border areas."

"In addition, every time the Xiongnu went south, they would plunder wealth and people, which were the foundation of the Han Dynasty's development. Therefore, the existence of the Xiongnu hindered the development of the Han Dynasty!"

Listening to Jingren reciting here, Gu Sansi reached out to stop him from speaking, then looked at Jingren seriously and said:
"Jingren, you are very good at memorizing books, but don't you have your own thoughts on this issue?"

Facing Mr. Gu's serious question, Jingren blinked and looked a little confused. He hesitated for a moment and said:
"Sir, can't I just memorize what you said?"

Gu Sansi felt a little helpless when he heard this, but he still said seriously:
"The Marshal once said that theory is theory and practice is practice. As a teacher, I agree with this statement. You can't be too dogmatic. You must learn and apply theory to guide practice!"

After saying this, Gu Sansi saw that Jingren seemed to understand but not quite, so he guided Jingren and asked:

“What you just said is about the Han Dynasty. Attacking the Huns maintained the security of the Han Dynasty and protected its population and property. But if you stand from the perspective of Emperor Wu of Han, why do you think he wanted to fight the Huns?”

Jingren asked with some doubt:
"Sir, Emperor Wu of Han is the emperor of the Han Dynasty. Isn't the Han Dynasty him? Isn't he the Han Dynasty?"

"You must not entertain such thoughts!"

"why?"

Gu Sansi was hesitant to speak after hearing this. After organizing his words, he gave up the idea of ​​answering and just touched Jingren's head and said:

"You'll understand when you grow up! Now you just need to know that this is a wrong idea!"

Although he still didn't quite understand what Gu Sansi meant, Jingren nodded obediently and didn't ask any further questions about the matter.

At this time, Gu Sansi also said directly:
"The Han Dynasty advocated filial piety and stressed governing the country with filial piety, which led to the serious situation of female relatives in the Han Dynasty interfering in politics. Figures like Empress Lü and Empress Dowager Dou appeared, which also led to the situation of external relatives interfering in politics. The Lü family, the Dou family, and the Huo family were all in this situation!"

“So in the early days of Emperor Wu of Han’s reign, although he was called the emperor, the real power of the Han Dynasty was not in his hands, but in the hands of his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou. After Empress Dowager Dou passed away, although he took over the government, his prestige in the court was not high, which also made his ruling foundation in the Han Dynasty not solid!”

Although Jingren is not a genius, he is definitely not stupid. Therefore, when he heard Gu Sansi say this, he said without hesitation:
"Sir, do you mean that Emperor Wu of Han attacked the Xiongnu in order to enhance his personal prestige?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Sansi gave Jingren a teachable look, and then spoke again:
"There were many reasons why Emperor Wu of Han attacked the Xiongnu, and this is just one of them..."

"The Marshal once told me that launching a foreign war is the best way to unite the internal forces and divert internal conflicts. It is also the fastest way to achieve results. Winning a foreign war is also the best way to enhance the emperor's personal prestige!"

At this point, Gu Sansi paused and spoke with some emotion:
"Although the Marshal has never passed the imperial examination, he can always say such insightful and thought-provoking words. I really admire him!"

At this time, Jingren also spoke excitedly:

"It turns out that fighting has so many benefits. No wonder my father likes fighting so much, and he would even fight if he had to borrow money!"

As soon as these words came out, Gu Sansi's face changed immediately, and he warned Jingren very seriously:
"Jingren, do you remember the passage from Sun Tzu's Art of War that I asked you to recite before?"

Jingren thought about it and then recited:

"Sun Tzu said, 'War is a matter of great importance to a state, a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction, and one that must be carefully considered!'"

Seeing Jingren recite this sentence, Gu Sansi nodded and then ordered:

"Hands out!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Jingren immediately realized something, and a look of confusion and doubt appeared on his face, but he still obeyed Gu Sansi's order and stretched out his hand. Gu Sansi was not polite at all, and picked up the board and hit Jingren's palm three times.

Gu Sansi hit him very hard these three times, making Jingren grimace in pain. However, compared with the pain, Jingren's face showed more grievance and confusion. In his opinion, he had clearly memorized this sentence, so why did Mr. Gu still hit him with the stick?
Although Jingren did not express his grievances and confusion, Gu Sansi knew what he was thinking and said in a deep voice:
"I've already hit you with the stick, Jingren, don't you understand why I hit you?"

"Jingren is stupid, please give me some advice..."

Seeing Jingren was a little confused, Gu Sansi couldn't help but explain:

"Although I asked you to memorize these things, memorizing is only a process and never the goal. My goal is to let you understand the principles through memorization!" "You have just memorized it. Sun Tzu said that war is a major event for a country, a place of life and death, a way of survival and destruction. It must be carefully considered. War is a major event that determines the rise and fall of a dynasty, and even life and death. When making decisions on such matters, you must be extremely cautious and never act blindly!"

Jingren came to his senses after hearing this, but he still asked with some confusion:
"But sir, you just said that launching a foreign war is the best way to unite the internal forces and divert internal conflicts. Winning a war can enhance the prestige of the emperor!"

Gu Sansi continued to explain:

"War is a double-edged sword. It is a high-risk, high-reward thing. Whether it is internal unity, diverting internal conflicts, or improving the emperor's personal prestige, these are all benefits for the winner. For the losing party, the failure of the war will aggravate internal divisions, expand internal conflicts, and the emperor's personal prestige will also be hit. These are complementary things!"

"Jingren, this is why I'm spanking you. You must remember that forgetting war will lead to danger, loving war will lead to destruction. In history, those who indulge in war have never had a good ending!"

Upon hearing this, Jingren also stood up and bowed respectfully to Gu Sansi and said:

"Thank you for your teachings, sir. I have learned a lot!"

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An hour and a half later, Jingren finished his studies for the day and returned to his mother An Miaoyi's yard. As usual, An Miaoyi asked Jingren about his studies with Gu Sansi today.

Jingren didn't think too much about it. He just told his mother everything Gu Sansi had said today. At the end, he asked his mother the question that Gu Sansi had not answered.

"Isn't the mother emperor the country? Isn't the country the emperor? Why does Mr. Gu say that the two are different?"

"Mom, is what Mr. Gu said right?"

Faced with this somewhat sensitive and sharp question, An Miaoyi was a little speechless for a moment and didn't know how to answer. In the end, she could only say:

"Mother doesn't understand this question. Wait until your father comes back from his southern tour, then go ask him!"

Seeing his mother hesitant to speak, Jingren became even more confused and curious about the answer to this question.

Seeing this, An Miaoyi was unwilling to say anything more on this issue, and directly asked Jingren to go back to the house to read. After Jingren left, An Miaoyi fell into deep thought.

The lessons that Gu Sansi recently gave Jingren about the Han Dynasty were about the founding of the Han Dynasty, the rebellion of Empress Lü, the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, Emperor Wu of Han's crackdown on the Xiongnu, and some things in Emperor Wu of Han's later years. On the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong·····················

But from Jingren's narration, An Miaoyi keenly felt that Gu Sansi seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally instilling some political ideas into Jingren!
And this idea can be summed up in six words - the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics!
In order to instill this idea in Jingren, Gu Sansi told Jingren about the rebellion of Empress Lü, the Empress Dowager Dou's meddling in government affairs, and the story of Emperor Wu of Han killing his mother to establish his son. He also told Jingren about the harm caused by the meddling of foreign relatives such as the Lü family, the Dou family, and the Huo family!
Although what Gu Sansi said was all right, An Miaoyi, Jingren's mother, still felt uncomfortable listening to it. She felt that Gu Sansi seemed to be using his words to refer to her intentionally or unintentionally.

An Miaoyi hadn't reacted before, and had heard Gu Sansi telling Jingren about the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, and asked Jingren to learn from Emperor Jing of Han. But today, when Jingren said that Gu Sansi told him about Emperor Wu of Han's intention to kill his mother and establish his son, An Miaoyi suddenly realized.

An Miaoyi really didn't like Gu Sansi's little tricks, so if Gu Sansi continued to do this, she felt that she had to go to Gu Sansi to have a good talk about this issue.
An Miaoyi hopes to reach some consensus with Gu Sansi on Jingren's education, but if Gu Sansi continues to do his own thing and does such petty tricks, then An Miaoyi may really have to prepare for the worst and change Jingren's teacher!
As for the candidate to replace Gu Sansi, An Miaoyi had already thought of it. Although the other party had been ambiguous and did not give a definite answer, An Miaoyi was very sure that as long as this opportunity was placed in front of that person, that person would definitely not refuse it...
While An Miaoyi was angry about Gu Sansi's teaching and was once again considering changing Jingren's teacher, Ying'er in Murong Qingwu's courtyard couldn't help but frown as she looked at the letter in her hand.

At this time, Aunt Hu hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively:

"Miss Ying'er, do you think you should inform Madam of this news?"

In response to Aunt Hu's question, Ying Er did not answer immediately, but frowned, obviously she was also very conflicted about this question.

As if she had seen Ying Er's dilemma, Madam Hu couldn't help but say:
"Miss Ying'er, I think we must inform Madam about such a serious matter, but Madam is about to give birth. If anything goes wrong because of this, we will be doomed!"

After saying this, Aunt Hu sighed in embarrassment. Seeing this, Ying'er completely understood Aunt Hu's thoughts.

It was obvious that Aunt Hu was also worried, because this incident might cause something to happen to Murong Qingwu, who was about to give birth. However, this matter was of great importance. Although she wanted to hide it, she was worried that Murong Qingwu would blame her afterwards. That's why she secretly found me, wanting to find someone to take the blame together with her.

Thinking of this, Ying'er couldn't help but glare at Madam Hu fiercely, and Madam Hu, knowing that she was in the wrong, lowered her head in embarrassment. She had no way to deal with this matter and was in a dilemma. After thinking about it, she felt that getting Ying'er to help hide it from Murong Qingwu was the best way at the moment!

If Murong Qingwu really blames her in the end, Ying Er will also share the blame...

Although she was very disgusted with Aunt Hu's behavior, Ying Er had to say:
"Let's keep it a secret from Madam for now! I'll find a chance to tell Madam after she gives birth!"

As soon as these words came out, Madam Hu raised her head and said quickly:
"Miss Ying'er, I feel relieved after hearing what you said. Don't worry, I will listen to you!"

Hearing what Aunt Hu said, Ying'er was annoyed and waved her hand. Aunt Hu, who threw the hot potato away, didn't care and immediately bowed and left.

After Nanny Hu left, Ying'er picked up the letter and took another look at it. Her expression became very solemn again, and after a long time she sighed helplessly.

Under normal circumstances, she should have told her wife the important news as soon as possible. However, at this moment, her wife was due to give birth. According to the doctor at the medical school, she would give birth in the next ten days or so. Therefore, if her wife knew the news at this moment, she would be overly worried and no one knew what would happen.

And even if Madam knew the news, it would be difficult for her to change anything as the two places are separated by thousands of miles. She could only be worried and sad about it!
Thinking of this, Ying Er was determined to keep the news secret from Murong Qingwu. After calming down, Ying Er walked out of the room. As soon as she walked out of the room, a maid came over and reported:

"Miss Ying'er, Madam has something to ask you!"

"Okay, I understand. I'll go right away!"

(In the new year, I wish you all good health, good luck, and a healthy and happy Year of the Dragon!)
(End of this chapter)