Chapter 1281 Metaphysics and Reality
“What do I mean?”
Sima Zhao also sighed, "I don't have a clue. I can only take one step at a time."
At this point, he glanced at Xia Houxuan again, "If I could do something about it, why would Luoyang be like this?"
Even though Xia Houxuan was an outstanding person in self-cultivation, when he heard Sima Zhao's words, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Is it just human words?
You can just say "I swear to live and die with Luoyang"!
On a normal day, when Xia Houxuan heard this, he would get up and leave without hesitation.
At this time, he had to continue sitting here against his will to delay time.
Forced to calm down, but Xia Houxuan said seriously:
"How could your Majesty say this! Now Luoyang is in danger and people's hearts are unstable. If your words are spread, how will the generals and officials in the city feel?"
Hearing this, Sima Zhao seemed to have just reacted, with a touch of shame and gratitude on his face:
“What Taichu said was that I was negligent.”
“Although I have never led an army, I know that those who feel thunder in their chests as flat as a lake can worship the general.”
Xia Houxuan said slowly, "Sages also have human beings and five emotions, but they are able to take care of things but not to things. Therefore, they can transform all things for their own use and teach all people to obey their orders."
"We are determined to achieve great achievements, but we must have our chests hidden in the abyss. How can we show our voices lightly?"
Sima Zhao looked solemn, cupped his hands and said:
“What Tai Chu said is absolutely true. My character is not cultivated enough and I really need to work on it more.”
Then he humbly asked for advice:
"I know that Taichu has mastered the key to metaphysics. He can thunder in front of my eyes without changing his expression. I have admired him for a long time. I wonder why Taichu taught me?"
Isn’t this what Xia Houxuan and others said?
“If you want to get the essence of metaphysics, you must study Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Zhouyi carefully. As the saying goes, the mysteries are more mysterious, and they are the gateway to all kinds of wonderful things..."
Xuan Yuan's theory is based on the theory of "ancestral records of Laozi and Zhuangzi", and "Laozi", "Zhuangzi" and "Book of Changes" are called the "three xuan".
Its rise has extremely profound social factors.
Since Emperor Xiaowu only respected Confucianism, scholars have regarded the study of Confucian classics as their orthodoxy.
The study of Confucian classics focuses on "investigating things, knowing everything, sincerity, upright mind, self-cultivation, ordering the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world."
“From the emperor to the common people, everything is based on self-cultivation.”
The prevalence of Confucian classics has led to the mentality of scholars to govern the country and bring peace to the world. This is very common and true.
It is precisely because of this social mentality that the officials and soldiers of the Early Han Dynasty had feelings about their family and country that transcended the times.
But by the middle and late period of the Later Han Dynasty, politics became extremely corrupt.
After the special disaster of party imprisonment, scholars rushed to remonstrate and submit letters, trying to maintain Confucian orthodoxy and restore the dynasty's principles in their minds.
However, what they received was intensified suppression. The great Confucian scholar who wrote the letter was even forced to death.
The attitude and practices of the imperial court caused a great blow and bruise to the psychology of the scholars.
Disappointments again and again made the scholars gradually alienate from the Later Han Dynasty.
It just so happened that at this time, the powerful landowners had just completed their transformation into a wealthy family.
As a result, the traditional value system began to collapse.
The feelings of family and country gradually disappeared, replaced by the thinking of "valuing life and escaping from the world" - the world is not worth it, I only live for myself.
So, from this point of view, the post-Han Dynasty wall defied everyone except for the inherent selfishness of the wealthy families.
To a certain extent, there is also the element of the Later Han seeking death themselves.
After all, you can’t expect a scholar group that has been politically abused thousands of times to treat you like your first love.
Later, when troubled times came, the scholars intensified their escapism from reality.
It can be said that the rise of metaphysics gave scholars a certain amount of spiritual sustenance in troubled times.
At the same time, it also provides a spiritual world to escape reality.
These days, Luoyang has been experiencing internal and external difficulties, which has put Sima Zhao under tremendous mental pressure.
As the saying goes, once someone shares the pain, the pain is reduced by half.
The arrival of Xia Houxuan, the leader of metaphysics, and his talk about metaphysics made Sima Zhaodun feel like there was a sudden burst of rain after a long drought.
The host and the guest were in a lively conversation and expressed their thoughts directly.
Sima Zhao felt that most of the stress he had accumulated over the past few days had been eliminated at once, and he felt very relaxed.
Until the lanterns came on and Xia Houxuan stood up to say goodbye, Sima Zhao was still reluctant to leave:
“I’ve been quite tired and sleepy these days, and I haven’t felt this relaxed for a long time. Taichu, why don’t you stay tonight and have a long chat with me?”
Xia Houxuan smiled lightly and shook his head:
“Lest someone may misunderstand me, I have no choice but to reject my kindness.”
Misunderstand?
Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment, and then quickly remembered the respective positions of the Sima family and the Xiahou family.
If Taichu stayed overnight and talked with me all night long, once the news got out tomorrow, I don’t know how many associations it would have in people who were interested.
At a certain moment, Sima Zhao even considered forcing Xia Houxuan to stay.
How great it would be if Xiahou Taichu could be allowed to serve the Sima clan!
But in the end he could only sigh a long time.
“Next time Taichu comes over, remember to send someone to tell him in advance, Zhao will sweep the bed and wait for you!”
Xia Houxuan took a deep look at Sima Zhao and nodded: "Definitely next time."
“It’s already past the curfew time outside. Wait a moment, Taichu, and I’ll send someone to **** you back.”
“It’s time to work.”
Sima Zhao personally sent Xia Houxuan out of the mansion, and told his servants to send him there before turning back to the mansion.
The news of Xia Houxuan's visit naturally could not be hidden from Master Sima.
Sima Zhao, who had just sent Xia Houxuan away, was immediately called over by Sima Shi.
“Brother?”
“Well,” Master Sima, who was resting with his eyes closed, heard Sima Zhao approaching and immediately opened his good eye:
“What’s Xia Houxuan doing here?”
Calling him by his name but not by his title shows that Master Sima had deep resentment towards Xiahou Xuan.
Sima Zhao and Xia Houxuan had a very enjoyable conversation, so he tried to say a few nice words in front of his brother:
“Brother, Taichu came here to check on your condition, but I followed my brother’s instructions and told him that you needed to rest, so I didn’t let him see you.”
When Master Sima heard this, he sneered:
"You are right not to let him see me. I don't believe he has such good intentions. In my opinion, I am afraid that the visit is fake and the temptation is real!"
Sima Zhao tried to defend Xiahou Xuan: "Brother, Taichu also brought medicinal materials..."
“Do you think I dare to use the medicinal materials he sent?”
Sima Master naturally didn't have a good tone when he mentioned Xia Houxuan.
But once he became emotionally unstable, his bandaged left eye began to hurt.
Seeing Sima Zhaona again, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to say it, Master Sima finally sighed and swallowed what he was going to say.
“Sir, I know what you want to say and what you want to do in your heart.”
Master Sima tried his best to soften his tone:
"You just have to understand one thing. Even our Lords have not been able to convince Xia Houxuan to let him work for the Sima family. With our abilities, it is even less possible to control this person."
Why doesn’t Sima Zhao understand?
It's just that he had always been under the wings of his family and his elder brother. Even though he knew that political struggles were dangerous, he still couldn't be as ruthless as Sima Shi.
Coupled with the pleasant conversation with Xia Houxuan, Sima Zhao even had a trace of fantasy in his heart:
What if?
Because of his thoughts, he naturally did not dare to tell Master Sima.
Hearing his brother's lesson, Sima Zhao, who had other thoughts, quickly said yes.
After exiting Master Sima's ward, Sima Zhao let out a sigh of relief.
Looking at the night, he felt even more sad.
If we say, the ease with which he talked with Taichu during the day allowed Sima Zhao to temporarily escape the heavy pressure.
Then, Master Sima's words brought him back to the cruel reality.
What made him feel even more cruel was being woken up in the middle of the night:
“Langjun, Erlangjun!”
“What’s the matter?”
Sima Zhao was still dazed and unwilling to open his eyes.
"Something big has happened. There may be something wrong with the Xiahou family!"
"Xiahou clan? What Xiahou clan?"
Sima Zhao, who was sleeping on the couch, was not fully awake yet and could not react for a while.
“Someone from the Xiahou family may have escaped from Luoyang!”
"What!"
Sima Zhao heard clearly this time and sat up suddenly, "Who ran away? Xiahou Taichu?"
“No, they are from the Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Wei families.”
Hearing that it was not Xia Houxuan, Sima Zhao didn't relax, and then immediately raised his voice again.
Xia Houmao and Xia Houwei ran away, that is not a trivial matter!
“Didn’t I ask you to monitor them? Why did they run away! When did they run away?”
There are some spy leaders who came to report:
“It should be before the city gate is closed, mixed with the caravan and followed out of the city..."
Caravan?
Sima Zhao was completely awake and immediately remembered that this was indeed the case.
If you remember correctly, the two caravans leaving the city had orders issued by themselves.
Thinking of this, Sima Zhao couldn't help being shocked and angry. He pushed away the maid who was dressing him and put on his boots indiscriminately.
At the same time, he reached out to tie his belt and started to walk outside. At the same time, he asked:
“Have you sent someone to chase him?”
“Erlangjun, it is Yinshi now, the city gate is closed, and no one can leave the city unless Dalangjun issues an order.”
Sima Zhao, who had only taken two steps, had to stop when he heard this. Only then did he realize that it was still dark outside.
“Yinshi?”
“Exactly.”
Obviously, Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Wei wanted to make such a time difference so that the pursuers could not catch up in time.
If you want to send someone to catch up at this time, you need to inform your brother.
Thinking of my brother’s physical condition…
—
He then glared fiercely at the spy leader, his eyes ready to spit fire:
“How do you do things!”
The spy leader lowered his head and dared not speak.
Seeing his subordinate's appearance, Sima Zhao became even more furious. He picked up the teapot on the table beside him and smashed it:
“Trash! What’s the use of waiting for you!”
The spy leader did not dare to hide and watched helplessly as the teapot fell on him.
Fortunately, the tea has cooled down, and apart from my clothes and quilt being a little wet, I didn’t suffer any damage.
In fact, the secret agent also felt a little aggrieved.
Although the three Xiahou clans cannot freely enter and leave Luoyang City, in the past few years, they have received orders to focus on monitoring Xiahou Xuan and not allow him to leave Luoyang.
As for Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Wei, they were put under surveillance simply because of their surname "Xiahou".
Not to mention that Xiahou Mao has been in and out of the Taifu's house many times in recent years, and was even received by the Taifu.
As for Xia Houwei, he explained things in simple terms and couldn't be more content.
There are many Cao clan members in Luoyang City, and their surveillance level is higher than these two.
Coupled with the chaos in Luoyang these days, the spies are even more exhausted.
The surveillance of Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Wei was naturally relaxed.
Besides, when the caravan from Xiahou Mao's house left the city, it was under the orders of the Taifu's house. Who would not have the foresight to investigate?
The most important thing is that when Xiahou Xuan came to Taifu's house during the day, it was you, the second young master, who personally welcomed him in, and you personally sent him out later.
The key personnel under surveillance have never been out of sight. Who could have expected that something like this would happen?
Just these words, the spy leader would definitely not dare to say them.
Sima Zhao was still angry. He took a few steps back and forth. For a moment, he didn't know whether to tell Master Sima right now.
But soon, he no longer had to hesitate.
Because another servant came to report:
“Erlangjun, Dalangjun, please come over.”
Sima Zhao's heart sank. Knowing that this matter had been known to his brother, he did not dare to neglect and hurriedly went to see Master Sima.
“Brother…”
“Xiahou Mao and Xiahou Wei ran away.”
Master Sima had already sat up under the service of his maid. When he saw Sima Zhao coming, he said this immediately before he could finish his words.
Sima Zhao looked ashamed: "My little brother is incompetent."
“Everything is in chaos in Luoyang, you don’t have much experience, and these two are not important people. It’s no big deal if they run away.”
Sima Shi was much more calm than Sima Zhao, "As long as Xia Houxuan doesn't run away."
Sima Shi’s single eye was shining brightly and he stared at Sima Zhao: “Do you know what we should do now?”
Although he only had one eye, Sima Zhao did not dare to look directly:
“Brother is saying that we should send people to chase him immediately?”
Sima Shi shook his head:
"I have said that Xia Houmao and Xia Houwei have nothing to do with the overall situation. Besides, it is late at night. Even if we send people out of the city, where should we pursue them?"
"Opening the city gate at night will only cause rumors and increase panic, and it will do no good. Your Majesty, I now order you to personally lead people to arrest Xiahou Xuan."
Sima Zhao was shocked: "Brother?!"
Sima Shi’s single eye contained a hint of heat and a hint of twisted excitement:
"Haven't you discovered it by now? Xia Houxuan came here today for another purpose?"
Sima Zhao is just a little inexperienced, but it doesn't mean he doesn't understand anything.
But in his heart, he tried hard not to think about that.
But Sima Shi’s outspokenness finally broke his illusion.
“Go quickly!”
Master Sima raised his voice: "Sir, don't be kind to women!"
PS: Before returning to my hometown, I had been worried about whether my children would have any problems traveling during the peak period of Fuyang. Fortunately, they were safe and sound.
After returning from my hometown, I thought I could breathe a sigh of relief, but I didn’t know that my child started to have a low fever from the next day.
Try not to go to the hospital unless it is 38.5, because there are all children with fevers there, and even the beds are full.
The child has been crying in pain for the past two days, and because he is too young, he cannot easily take medicine. He can only cool down physically and is very anxious.
(End of this chapter)