Chapter 153 Goodbye Hu Wenlang

The lights are just coming on in the study of Simin Mansion.

At this time, Grand Minister Dong Xingshu had just finished a busy day of government affairs and had some free time to teach his son.

Of course this was the custom in the past.

Now that Zhou Tieyi has emerged in Tianjin, even Dong Xingshu, the leader of Confucianism, has to devote some of his efforts.

He looked at his son and asked, "What has he done these past two days?"

Although the matter of Mei Qingchen was considered a halftime break, it ended with the Emperor winning one round and the Confucians losing one round. The Confucians lost the official position of Tianjing Guard, allowing the Empress to escape. The Emperor began to formally practice Taoism yesterday.

But this delicate balance in the court could be broken at any time.

Now the Confucians are unwilling to fight with the emperor anymore, not because the emperor won a round.

But it’s because the Emperor of Daxia has become weaker!
When the Emperor of Great Xia started to practice Taoism, it was equivalent to cutting himself with a knife. If Confucianism continued to fight with the Emperor of Great Xia at this time, it would only weaken the foundation of the entire Great Xia.

Dong Xingshu knew very well that there was more to the world than just matters in the court.

The Emperor of Daxia also knew this very well, so he was prepared to fight but not to break.

First, he ceded power for three years to various schools of thought, among which Confucianism was the main target.

Then let the Queen of Heaven take charge of the government, transfer power to Buddhism, and at the same time check and balance Confucianism.

Finally, he invited the Lord of Daming Palace into the palace to preach, and then checked the Queen Mother and Buddhism.

It is so interconnected that it embodies the Taoist wisdom of "knowing the masculine and keeping the feminine".

Now that he himself is weakened, as long as Confucianism is not ready for its own saint to come into the world and does not want Daxia to collapse faster, it will give in to the emperor.

But Confucians cannot touch the emperor, but they can touch the people around him.

Zhou Tieyi, the favorite minister and jester, is the target set up by the emperor to attract Confucianists!
But Zhou Tieyi's methods were so brilliant, so brilliant that Dong Xingshu had to face up to this opponent.

"He asked people to set up a chamber of commerce. He asked Wang Mingyi, a disciple of Che Wenyuan, to go and take a look at the Tai Academy."

Dong Xiu De answered solemnly.

"Wang Mingyi?"

Dong Xiu De thought about Wang Mingyi's matter, and there was only one thing he could say.

"I heard that before Senior Brother Che Wenyuan passed away, he wanted to play another game with Zhou Tieyi, and he also said that his disciple Wang Mingyi would win this game ten years later!"

Dong Xingshu had never met this junior, but he was able to be Che Wenyuan's apprentice, and now he was valued by the Imperial Academy's chief priest, and was considered qualified to be Zhou Tieyi's opponent, so he deserved to meet him. "Find an opportunity and invite this student to come to the mansion so I can meet him."

"Yes."

Dong Xingshu then asked, "What are you going to do about the lightning strike on the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"

This kind of thing cannot be handled by the court, and the countryside needs to contribute.

Dong Xiu De said respectfully, "When a demon appears in a country, thunder will fall from the sky."

This is the favorite trick of the Confucian school of thought on the correspondence between heaven and man. Although this trick is old, it has been tried and tested.

Dong Xingshu thought seriously for a moment. If he couldn't touch the emperor, then touching the people around him and clearing out the emperor's court would be the best counterattack. He nodded and said, "We need solid evidence to do both."

He has long passed the level of stirring up public opinion. Public opinion can be utilized, but the means must be aboveboard so that future generations can stand up to scrutiny.

Dong Xiude smiled, "The Zhou family has been raising soldiers for so many years, how could they be innocent? I have asked someone to investigate, and in a few months, there will be solid evidence."

Dong Xingshu thought about it again. Although this approach was not amazing, it was a moderate approach, which was suitable for the current situation in the government and the opposition. It would avoid being too intense and causing unnecessary variables.

"Alright."

······
Suzaku City, Qingyifang.

There was a knock on the door of the Hu family's house. "Here I come!"

Concubine Mo went to open the door and saw Zhou Tieyi and his brother carrying wine and food.

So he smiled and said, "I just didn't know what to eat tonight, and the Zhou brothers came just in time."

After that, she shouted to the courtyard, "Wen Lang, the Zhou brothers are here, please put two more chairs."

Zhou Tieyi smiled, handed the food box to Mo Fei, and asked her to arrange the dishes.

Entering the patio, everything was the same as before.

It was getting dark late in the day, and even without electric lights, strands of golden-red sunlight could shine through the roof corners and fall into the yard, making it bright and transparent.

In the square patio, there was a table, two chairs, and two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

On the table there were stir-fried bacon, stewed sour radish and duck soup, cold-mixed shredded vegetables, and soft braised pork with preserved vegetables.

"You will enjoy happiness."

Zhou Tiege was the first to laugh, and took two chairs from Hu Wenlang and placed them in front of himself and his brother.

“Is this what you call happiness?”

Hu Wenlang laughed and scolded, "Do you really think I have never eaten at your rich family's banquet?"

Zhou Tiege smiled and said quickly, "I have been really busy recently and have not had time to treat you to a meal. If the situation in the court had not been temporarily settled, my brother would not even let me go out!"

In front of Hu Wenlang, he did not hide the fact that Zhou Tieyi was the one in charge.

Hu Wenlang nodded slightly. He didn't care about the meal, but he cared about the reason why the Zhou brothers came to see him today.

So I asked tentatively, "Are you here to urge me to submit my manuscript?"

Zhou Tieyi remained calm. This Hu Wenlang was a man who would rarely be confused.

He just happened to see Concubine Mo coming over with dishes, and he quickly stood up to help pass the plates.

I didn’t buy any expensive dishes, just home-cooked dishes like braised beef.

After putting the plates away, Zhou Tieyi spoke, "Eat first, then we'll talk business."

Hu Wenlang was not only his subordinate, but also his brother's close friend. So when he first came on stage, he could not use his power to overwhelm him. He had to talk about friendship and feelings. After the meal, he could talk about the rest.

Hu Wenlang had a suspicious look on his face. He thought that this person was being too attentive for no reason. He was either a traitor or a thief!
The last time Zhou Tieyi came to his house, he followed his brother. Hu Wenlang just treated him as his brother's younger brother. Zhou Tieyi didn't say much, he just listened carefully and asked questions seriously.

Hu Wenlang didn't care at all.

But after the night before last, the more he thought about Zhou Tieyi's expression at that time, the more his hair stood on end.

He really couldn't believe that such a calm person would dare to kill great scholars and wipe out an entire family in Tianjing, a place of great virtue!

This kind of cunning is really hard to fathom.

At the dinner table, Zhou Tiege talked about the stories of Sunset Pass, and Hu Wenlang also talked about his experiences during his travels. During the conversation, he tried to find out the purpose of Zhou Tieyi's visit today in a roundabout way.

However, he failed to get any words out of him as Zhou Tieyi blocked his words calmly.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

A few men set up a low table nearby, boiled some tea, and sat cross-legged on mats.

Princess Mo was not annoyed. She cleaned the table and listened to the story with her ears pricked up.

As long as there were stories to listen to, she was happy. That was how she was tricked down the mountain by Hu Wenlang. And when Zhou Tieyi came today, she had a premonition that there would be a good story to listen to.

(End of this chapter)