Du Shu understood this clearly. He knew that the matter had been questioned by His Majesty and it was impossible to let it go lightly. It would be better for Yuan Kan to give up such thoughts while he was in prison.
After looking at Yuan Kan, Du Shu shook his head slightly, then turned and left.
But at this moment, Du Shu raised his right hand a little higher, with his sleeves facing Yuan Kan, and gently made an "eight" gesture.
Gao Rou and Du Shu left one after another, and the jailers holding torches also left together. The imperial prison fell into extreme silence, with only faint light from the oil lamps in the corridor.
Zhuge Dan, Yuan Kan and Xu Yun simply took the wrong path, but they were not stupid at all.
The three of them looked at each other, and were now thinking about the meaning of Du Shu's gesture just now.
After a moment, Xu Yun exclaimed in a low voice: "Eight Discussions! Du Wubo must be talking about the Eight Discussions!"
Zhuge Dan and Yuan Kan looked over at the same time.
Zhuge Dan first asked: "Eight Proposals? Are they the Eight Proposals that Liu Shao and Liu Kong proposed when they were revising the law?"
Xu Yun nodded: "That's right! Now among the three of us, if we follow the Eight Discussions, Gong Ran's father, Yuan Gong, was once the Imperial Censor and a national hero! Only Gong Ran can escape death!"
After Xu Yun finished speaking, before the other two could react, he immediately bowed to Yuan Kan and said, "Gong Ran, please save me! I'm already in prison, otherwise I'll die!"
Yuan Kan remained silent, but Zhuge Dan started talking beside him: "Are they the eight discussions: discussing relatives, discussing old acquaintances, discussing the virtuous, discussing the capable, discussing merits, discussing the noble, discussing diligence, and discussing guests? If we discuss it seriously, it can be said that it meets the category of 'discussing merits'."
After saying this, Zhuge Dan laughed at himself, turned around and lay down on the straw in the cell, closing his eyes and curling up with his hands behind his back.
Xu Yun was a Lang of the Ministry of Selection, and was considered Yuan Kan's deputy, so there was still a possibility that he would push the matter onto Yuan Kan.
As for Zhuge Dan and Yuan Kan, they were successors and predecessors, and he could not shirk any responsibility in any way!
Yuan Kan was silent for a long time, then sighed: "Shi Zong, you and I are friends and subordinates. If the 'Eight Proposals' can be implemented, why wouldn't I be willing to take the blame on myself and save you?"
"But whether these 'Eight Proposals' will come to fruition or not is not something I can control."
Xu Yun said earnestly, "For now, this is the only way. It is a critical time for revising the law. If I mention this to the court judge, he will definitely consider it!"
Yuan Kan nodded silently. Although he was willing to take the blame for Xu Yun's crime, he turned away like Zhuge Dan and never wanted to look at Xu Yun again.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Cao Rui called Sima Yi, Wei Zhen, Xin Pi and Chen Jiao, and prepared to set off for Chongwen Temple in the south of Luoyang City.
On this trip, Cao Rui did not bring any ceremonial guards. He just let his Huben lead the way while he and his ministers rode on horseback.
To go to Chongwen Temple, you must pass through the long street in front of the Imperial College.
From the beginning to the end of the street, dozens of Imperial College stone scriptures stand by the wall, and in front of almost every stone scripture there are students carefully copying them.
Cao Rui smiled and looked at Sima Yi: "How wonderful! Next month we will be selecting students for the Imperial Academy. Sikong, help me think about how to select them?"
Sima Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, are you asking me how to assess the Imperial College students?"
Cao Rui nodded slightly.
Sima Yi said, "Your Majesty, I remember that in the early days, there was no need to examine the Xiaolian. But during the reign of Emperor Shun of the Former Han Dynasty, the Minister of the Chancellery Zuo Xiong ordered an examination for Xiaolian, which was called 'the students are tested on the family rules, and the clerks are tested on the memorials.'"
"The students of the Imperial College are mainly studying the classics and have no experience as clerks in prefectures and counties. If there is to be an assessment, it should focus on the classics."
Cao Rui shook his head and said, "The Imperial Academy teaches the meaning of the classics, so of course it is necessary to examine the meaning of the classics. Otherwise, wouldn't it be like punishing people for not teaching?"
"But we can't just examine the meaning of the scriptures, otherwise we'll end up selecting a bunch of PhDs and nerds, and that would be terrible!"
Sima Yi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, why not test policy essays? It can be combined with classics, current affairs, and practical work, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone."
Cao Rui agreed, "What Sikong said is very much to my liking! Why don't you come up with some questions first, and I'll choose two or three from them?"
"There's still more than half a month left, so there's no need to rush."
Sima Yi bowed and responded: "I accept your order. I will give you five questions, and Your Majesty will choose from them."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Five questions are a bit too few, Sikong, just give ten questions!"
While the two were talking, the emperor's troops had arrived at Chongwen Temple.
A group of brave soldiers had already gone to Chongwen Temple to deliver the message, and Cao Zhi was already standing outside the door to greet them.
Seeing Cao Zhi standing outside the door and saluting, Cao Rui dismounted and walked forward, looked at Cao Zhi and said, "Uncle, there is no need to be polite! I haven't been to Chongwen Temple for a long time. Today, I happened to have the urge to come and see you, uncle."
"Why is the uncle the only one here? Where are Doctor Gaotang and Doctor Wu?"
Cao Zhi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Dr. Gaotang is in the palace's secretariat every day, and only comes to Chongwenguan occasionally. Doctor Wu has not been in good health recently, so he is only working at home."
"How is Doctor Wu's health?" Cao Rui asked with a frown.
Cao Zhi shook his head lightly and sighed: "I heard him say that he has been feeling weak all over recently, and often has pain in his chest and abdomen." "Why didn't you tell me about this Wu Zhi?" Cao Rui turned around and looked at Xin Pi: "Minister Xin will ask the imperial physician to help Doctor Wu diagnose his illness later, and then go to his house to visit him for me."
Xin Pi accepted the order, but he began to miss Liu Ye unconsciously. When Liu Ye was around, he was the one who did almost all the trivial things.
Cao Zhi followed the emperor, and the group of people slowly walked into the Chongwen Temple.
Cao Rui looked around and asked, "Where is Uncle He Ping? Why don't I see him?"
Cao Zhi shook his head and said, "I don't know. When Dr. Gaotang and Dr. Wu were not here, I was only focused on translating the scriptures and didn't care about anything else."
Cao Rui walked forward and opened the door, his expression becoming increasingly grim: "He Yan is not here. Bi Gui, Deng Yang, Li Sheng, Ding Mi, Li Feng, why are these five not here?"
"It's already noon, where have all these people gone? Aren't these five Chongwenguan scholars all recommended by He Yan?"
Cao Zhi bowed his hands, still unaware.
Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhi with a hint of disdain. Are you trying to avoid suspicion or just ignore it? It's right to ignore government affairs, but why don't you even care about your subordinates in Chongwen Temple?
Cao Rui turned his head and glanced at Xin Pi. Xin Pi understood and then whispered a few words to Dian Man, the captain of the Tiger Guards who led the team today.
A moment later, a team of ten cavalrymen galloped out and headed towards He Yan's home in the city.
Cao Rui couldn't just sit there doing nothing in Chongwen Temple just to wait for He Yan, so he asked Cao Zhi, "How is the translation of the Book of Songs by my uncle going? It's been almost half a year."
Cao Zhi replied: "Your Majesty, if we only translate in a popular way, the speed is of course fast. However, there are often places that need to be studied or considered, and there are also comparisons and corrections of different versions, and time is spent on these."
"I and my subordinates have already translated the 160 chapters of Feng and the 105 chapters of Ya. Of the 40 chapters of Song, we have already translated the poem Hao Tian You Cheng Ming."
Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "There are three hundred poems, all of which are pure and innocent. I can only memorize a few dozen of them. But this one is very short, with only seven lines, and I still know it."
"'King Cheng dares not rest on his laurels, and is always vigilant and cautious'. I am also like King Cheng!"
Cao Zhi cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Your Majesty, comparing yourself to King Cheng is indeed appropriate."
Cao Rui laughed loudly, and Sima Yi, Wei Zhen, Xin Pi, Chen Jiao and others in the hall also nodded and smiled.
This is actually related to an anecdote from the Wei Dynasty.
In the 24th year of Jian'an, after Guan Yu's death, Sun Quan wrote to Cao Cao, suggesting that Cao Cao become emperor and replace the Han Dynasty.
Cao Cao showed Sun Quan's letter to all his ministers, saying, "If the Mandate of Heaven is with me, I will be the King Wen of Zhou."
King Wen of Zhou established the foundation and cut off the wings of the Shang Dynasty, and King Wu of Zhou inherited his father's ambition and used military force to replace the Shang Dynasty. The King Cheng mentioned in the poem "Hao Tian You Cheng Ming" is the son of King Wu Ji Fa.
Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, just like King Wen, King Wu and King Cheng, are in harmony with the Book of Songs.
While Cao Rui was leading four ministers to discuss literary matters in Chongwen Temple, the tiger guards he sent out were not idle either.
When Dian Man arrived at He Yan's house, he found Bi Gui, Deng Yang, Li Sheng, Ding Mi and Li Feng were all there, all of them looking sleepy and listless.
He hurriedly stuffed a few people into the carriage, called He Yan's family over and questioned them in detail, and then brought the six people over together.
When this group of people arrived at Chongwen Temple, the emperor was still chatting about "Deer Singing" with Cao Zhi. Cao Zhi was also very interested in telling the emperor about the scene in Yexia when he, the late emperor, Wang Can, Chen Lin and others drank and wrote poetry together.
But this rare relaxing moment between uncle and nephew suddenly fell to a freezing point when He Yan and others were brought into the hall.
When Cao Rui heard that these people were found in He Yan's house, his expression gradually turned cold.
Cao Zhi beside them was also surprised, thinking that they had also been drinking all night.
Sima Yi turned his head and looked at the emperor. Cao Rui nodded slightly. Sima Yi then stood up and asked questions on behalf of the emperor.
In this hall, apart from the emperor, Sima Yi is the most senior official. If he doesn't ask, who else can he wait for to come forward? Cao Zhi?
Sima Yi coughed lightly and said, "He Yan, why are you and the other five gathered at your house? The court stipulates that all government offices must be inspected at the end of the Mao hour and before the Chen hour. Why didn't you come on time?"
Although He Yan looked like he was still half asleep, he still bowed to the emperor and Sima Yi with a smile on his face and said, "Your Majesty, I am late for the banquet at my colleagues' house. Please forgive me."
Dian Man, who was standing at the door, looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
The emperor sat in the hall without saying anything, but Sima Yi's eagle eyes noticed it and looked at the man: "Captain Dian, what do you want to say?"
Dian was wearing armor, so he just bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I learned from Mr. He's house that they took something called 'Five Stone Powder' at night. I took a sample of it and brought it with me."
Sima Yi walked forward, took a small piece of powder wrapped in silk from Dian Man's hand, and took a look at it with a frown.
Before Sima Yi could say anything, Cao Rui hooked his finger with a gloomy face and took the item from Sima Yi. (End of this chapter)
