Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

In the imperial prison.

Cao Duan, who came to this kind of place for the first time, was led by the jailer and walked in the wall passage that was so narrow that only one person could pass. He couldn't help feeling a little frightened, but when he thought that Kong Xilu was still waiting for him to rescue him, he He forced himself to calm down.

Listening to the screams in his ears, although Cao Duan was calm, he was here, isolated and helpless. At this time, his hands and feet could not help but lose their normal temperature due to nervousness.

This is not to blame for his lack of effort in cultivating his mind. On the contrary, this is the reaction that a thirty-year-old young man should have when he comes to prison.

Death is the only option in all the hardships of the ages, and imperial prison is the closest place to death. How many Neo-Confucian scholars and scholar-officials talk about it beautifully, but when it comes to imperial prison, they are scared to shit even before the execution is carried out? Compared with them, Cao Duan's performance was already quite good.

Before that, Cao Duan had never thought about whether he would one day enter such a terrible place. It was simply a purgatory on earth, and people were tortured every day. Of course, before coming to Nanjing, he was He has not yet entered the official position, and there is no possibility of such an idea.

"Squeak!"

While thinking wildly, an iron door suddenly opened.

Cao Duan looked up and saw two uniformed jailers appearing in front of him. The two jailers were broad-shouldered and round-waisted, and they looked quite mighty and majestic. They had fierce looks on their faces, and they were hard to get along with.

But no matter what, even though the first impression the prison gave him was very bad, he still had to save Kong Xilu.

Two groups of jailers took over the work.

One of the jailors snorted coldly: "Stop talking nonsense and come with us."

"Let's go? Where are you going? Aren't you going to see Mr. Kong?"

Cao Duan was stunned for a moment and asked with a frown.

According to the process he thought, wouldn't entering the imperial edict just mean going directly to see Kong Xilu?

Another jailer sneered: "Of course I'm going to see the commander first. Is there any other way to go? Hurry up, if you delay and annoy the commander, be careful not to lose your head."

Cao Duan suddenly felt bad when he heard the word 'commander' and frowned even more tightly.

Ji Gang's reputation is not very good. He sent people to arrest Kong Xilu. Now he has changed his plan and asked himself to see him. What does it mean?

When the jailer saw this, the horizontal lines on his face were raised. He seemed to be very satisfied with Cao Duan's expression, so he turned his head to lead the way.

It was obviously noon at this moment, but the courtyard where Ji Gang was located was quiet, so quiet that it was almost deathly silent. There was no movement in the entire courtyard except the rustling of leaves in the wind, not even a trace of sound. This made Cao Duan feel even more Something is wrong.

Cao Duan took a deep breath, suppressed the fear and doubts in his heart, and walked towards the center of the courtyard.

The further inside, the darker the environment became, and as Cao Duan got closer, the gloomy psychological atmosphere became stronger, making him feel like he had fallen into an ice cave, with chills running down his spine.

Finally, after walking a few feet further, he stopped.

During the short time that Cao Duan came to Nanjing, he heard many stories about the Jin Yiwei. Their methods were cruel and bloody. Being caught by them often meant certain death, even if your family was prominent or you were in a high position. There was no way to escape, because Jin Yiwei always took people away alive and brought them back dead.

In Cao Duan's imagination, Ji Gang should be a ferocious demon king, wearing iron armor and holding an embroidered spring knife, with a stubble on his face and sinister eyes, looking very scary.

"Mr. Cao, please come in. I'm sorry I can't open the door for you now."

Cao Duan pushed open the door and entered, his eyes resting on a gray figure standing in the center of the room.

This figure is stooped and covered in gray robes. The gray robes wrap the whole person in it, and his "head" seems to be particularly large.

This image was far more terrifying than he imagined.

Just when Cao Duan was about to turn around and walk away, the man in gray robe suddenly turned around.

"Yeah!"

The gray robe fell, and a little girl with a runny nose clapped her hands and smiled stupidly at him. Cao Duan took a closer look and saw that it was the little girl riding on Ji Gang's neck. Ji Gang was bending over and wearing a gray sheet to accompany her. Playful.

Looking at Ji Gang who was taking care of his baby at work, the corner of Cao Duan's mouth twitched.

The Ji Gang in front of him was just an ordinary Shandong man, with a happy face, looking at the girl who was held up high by him with doting eyes.

Are Ming officials already so casual?

Of course it would not be the case in another yamen, but as the direct agency of Jinyiwei, Zhaoyuan is the territory that Ji Gang covers the sky with. Not to mention raising a baby during working hours, no one will care about him even if he does something more extreme.

"Okay, okay, let's go over there to play first. Daddy has business."

Regardless of whether the baby girl understood it or not, Ji Gang put her in the duty bedroom, changed the changing pad familiarly, and then walked out in a pleasant manner.

"Mr. Cao, I'm the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Ji Gang."

"I've met Commander Ji." Cao Duan wanted to continue, but after thinking about it he closed his mouth.

"Is such that."

Ji Gang briefly explained: "Originally, Mr. Cao should go directly to see Duke Kong, but the Imperial Master specially asked me something, so I invited Mr. Cao here first."

"National Preceptor?" Cao Duan was slightly shocked when he heard this.

"Um."

He did not doubt the authenticity of Ji Gang's words. After all, academic status is not the same as temple status. There is no need for a high-level figure like him to lie to someone like him who is not even a minion in the temple, let alone this person. It's not some shady business, why is it necessary to make up lies?

Cao Duan was also a quick thinker, and he guessed the reason for the change of plan after a little thought.

It must be that Jiang Xinghuo is not completely sure who will be admitted to the imperial prison in the end, but his outstanding performance in today's debate arena has attracted the attention of the higher-ups, so Ji Gang will receive him.

After thinking about this, Cao Duan felt relieved for a moment. As long as there were no other changes, his trip to rescue Kong Xilu today would be a little more hopeful.

Ji Gang continued: "This pamphlet was left to you by the Imperial Preceptor. You should read it first. After reading it, go to see Kong Xilu. Then the Imperial Preceptor may come to see you in person."

After speaking, Ji Gang handed over a pamphlet.

"Thank you." Cao Duan thanked him respectfully.

"Okay, then Mr. Cao, please read slowly here. I will take my daughter out first."

When Ji Gang stood up and left, he added: "By the way, if something happens, you can just shout that there is someone at the door of the yard."

Ji Gang and his daughter walked away, the door closed, and the room suddenly fell into silence.

Cao Duan sat on a chair and opened the book in his hand, flipped through a few pages, then frowned and pondered.

This almost essay was very different from the doctrine in his memory.

"From ancient times to the present, no matter which civilization the philosophers are from, they have faced a fundamental choice when choosing their own path: either choose 'materialism' or 'idealism'."

“In this era when everything has not yet been accurately defined, early idealists usually emphasized people’s innate knowledge and believed that the heart is the prerequisite for obtaining all knowledge. That is to say, the source of all knowledge is the potential innate concepts and self-evident principles in human innate reason. .”

"Early materialists, on the other hand, usually emphasized people's acquired experience, despised or even denied the role of the heart in the process of human understanding of the world, and believed that daily life experience was the only source of knowledge."

"Because in this era, there are too many unsolved mysteries for people, both in nature and in the animal world, so even the most rational philosophers can only achieve the goal of 'no words, no words, no words, no words, no strange powers, no words, no words, no words, no strange powers, no words, no words, no words, no words, no strange powers, no words, no words, no words, no power, no gods.' Thus embarking on the path of subjective idealism or objective idealism."

"But in fact, all people's fears come from their ignorance of the world."

Cao Duan continued to read with all his concentration.

Until he discovered that Jiang Xinghuo had only written the beginning of this booklet.

"——What's next!"

When turning the page and seeing only a blank space, even a well-educated man like Cao Duan almost couldn't help cursing.

——————

When Ji Gang sent someone to bring Cao Duan to visit Kong Xilu, Cao Duan still had the contents of the pamphlet in his mind.

There was only one dim yellow light on in the prison area, shining on the wall, reflecting an eerie atmosphere.

"Bang, bang!" The two jailers pushed open the door of the prison area and brought Cao Duan in.

Immediately, they turned around and left, closing the door behind them. This was the territory under Lao Wang's jurisdiction.

Cao Duan stayed alone in the duty room at the head of the cell. He looked around. The place was empty. Apart from tables, chairs and other utensils, there were only some unpacked meals. From the dirty tabletop, it could be seen that this was not a place. Pay attention to people.

Lao Wang walked out of the corridor, greeted him with a smile, and asked, "Are you here to see Mr. Kong?"

"Yes, I'm here at Cao Duan."

Cao Duan reluctantly took his mind away from the contents of the pamphlet and handed it over.

"Just follow me."

Lao Wang made an invitation gesture and led Cao Duan deeper into the corridor. Cao Duan followed him through a long corridor and came to another iron door.

Lao Wang, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and pointed at the iron gate.

"Well, the person you want to see is inside." He opened the door and turned back to Cao Duan.

"Thank you." Cao Duan nodded his thanks and walked towards the back of the iron gate.

When he entered behind the door, a pungent and unpleasant smell suddenly hit his nose. Cao Duan frowned and looked up. He saw that the prison area was facing the sun and the light was good, but the conditions of the cell were But it can't be said to be good.

"Is this where Mr. Kong was imprisoned?"

Cao Duan felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. As a descendant of Yansheng Gong Nanzong, Kong Xilu had a prominent family background and had been honored and favored since childhood. When had he ever suffered like this? But now he is living with the prisoners in the imperial prison, and his situation is completely different.

Cao Duan finally temporarily forgot the hateful booklet in his mind, and the scene when he saw Kong Xilu later emerged.

Perhaps a tortured old man with disheveled hair and skinny bones will appear in front of him, and he will use a very sincere attitude to represent the world's scholars, visit him, and find a way to save him.

"Cough cough. Cough cough cough."

He had just reached the middle of the corridor between the cells on both sides, and before Cao Duan could stand firm, he heard a cough coming from the left side. The cough was hoarse and desolate, which made people moved.

Following the sound of the cough, I saw an old man with a dirty face and shabby clothes leaning half against the edge of the straw pile. There were faintly healed blue and purple scars on his body, which was obviously a result of torture.

At this moment, the old man lowered his head, supported his knees with his arms, and tried his best to stop coughing.

Although he tried his best to suppress it, he still inevitably made a slight cough because his throat was too dry.

Seeing his embarrassed look, Cao Duan felt his nose suddenly sore and almost shed tears, but he held it back in the end.

Cao Duan moved slowly, came to the prisoner's side, looked at the former noble old man, and whispered: "I'm here."

When the man heard this, his body trembled slightly and he raised his head.

Using the sunlight coming from the small window, Cao Duan observed him carefully and found that his forehead was covered with wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy and lifeless, his cheeks were sunken, his lips were purple, and his entire face looked like withered tree bark.

This old man was once very high-spirited and even unique in the world.

"I came late and made you suffer."

Cao Duan choked and said, before he finished speaking, a tear fell down, and then the tears couldn't stop anymore.

Looking at the old man in front of him, Cao Duan really didn't know how to describe his complicated emotions. He was filled with emotion and heartache.

Seeing the tears falling down Cao Duan's face, a big question mark rose in Huang Xin's heart.

Huang Xin searched hard for his memory. Although he had been an official for many years and had many disciples and former officials, Huang Xin was sure that this tall, dark young man was not among the people he knew.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Cao Duan. Maybe Mr. Kong doesn't recognize me, but..."

"Ahem, wait."

Huang Xin was silent for a moment.

"You may have the wrong person."

Cao Duan's tears hung on his eyelids and did not fall for a long time.

"Mr. Kong is on the right, you have to go further in."

"Oh, okay, okay."

Cao Duan hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes and continued to walk forward. Li Zhigang's ridicule came from the other side.

"I told you that the vegetables at noon are salty and I need an extra spoonful of rice, but you don't believe me. What's the matter? You censors can't believe what others say?"

"Cough cough cough"

Cao Duan stopped in the two cell rooms and rekindled his emotions.

He took a deep breath, raised his chest and raised his head, and walked in front of the cell on the left with his head held high, his back straight and straight, like a javelin.

The environment of the cell is relatively narrow and humid, and there is a faint smell of mold and rot in the air. If you look closely, you can see the moss on the ceiling of the cell. There is a wooden table placed in the corner near the cell bed, and the light from the small window is just right. On the table, and in front of the wooden table, a figure was sitting on a small stool with his head lowered, almost curled up in a ball. He didn't know what he was studying, but his back looked a little haggard.

"Kong Gong." Cao Duan called in a low voice.

Hearing the sound, the huddled figure in front of the wooden table trembled slightly, and then slowly turned his head, revealing a face full of excitement and exhaustion.

Yes, excitement and exhaustion appeared on Kong Xilu's face at the same time.

"Perhaps Mr. Kong was holding on to his fatigue and holding on, so he was so excited to see me coming?" Cao Duan thought.

Cao Duan really couldn't cry anymore, so he could only look sad and angry and said, "Mr. Kong, how wronged have you been?"

But Kong Xilu's next words left Cao Duan stunned.

"I have something to talk about, I'm busy."

Cao Duan told the story of the debate competition, saying that he represented the world's Confucian scholars and came to visit him in the imperial prison to rescue him.

After listening to Cao Duan's appeal, Kong Xilu shook his head without hesitation.

"You don't understand. No one will disturb me in the prison. I can concentrate on studying the new way of studying things. This is a very important thing."

"Anyway, I won't go out."

"How could that happen?" Cao Duan asked anxiously, "Could it be that they don't intend to let you out? Are they forcing you to say so?"

Kong Xilu frowned and scolded: "What are you talking about?"

Facing Cao Duan, a stranger who disturbed his research, Kong Xilu was not interested in introducing his research results to him from beginning to end. His time was very precious, so precious that he spent every minute and every second with a certain purpose. In this highly excited state, he continued to devote himself to research, and he couldn't afford to delay Cao Duan here.

"Okay!" Kong Xilu interrupted Cao Duan rudely, "You can go, I said, it's fine for me to stay here."

Cao Duan opened his mouth, finally sighed, turned and left.

Before leaving, Cao Duan took a deep look at Kong Xilu. He didn't recognize the crystal microscope on the table, and he didn't understand what kind of method of investigating objects made Kong Xilu so addicted.

——————

The cell leader Lao Wang opened the outermost door, and Cao Duan walked out of the prison area in frustration.

It only took a short time to go from being full of hope to being disappointed.

His mission to rescue Kong Xilu failed beyond imagination. It was not because he did not work hard, but he went through all kinds of difficulties and dangers to enter the prison and met Kong Xilu, but the other party did not cooperate with him at all, let alone want to be released from prison. .

This made Cao Duan extremely puzzled.

Cao Duan couldn't figure it out and couldn't figure out what went wrong. According to everything he knew, Kong Xilu was invited to give lectures in the Imperial College, and then he was forcibly arrested by the Jin Yiwei and imprisoned in the imperial prison. Logically speaking, as a prisoner, he should have wanted to Is it right to be released from prison? How can I stay here comfortably?

And in Cao Duan's view, Kong Xilu should be eager to go out. After all, Nankong's family business still needs Kong Xilu to support it. If something happens to Kong Xilu, Nankong may also be implicated and even lose his current status. However, things went against his wishes, and Kong Xilu was as determined as if he had eaten a weight.

In any case, Cao Duan's mission is over.

But in Cao Duan's heart, there was deep regret and melancholy, because this time when he came to prison, Cao Duan had a determination that was close to "the wind is rustling, the water is cold, and a strong man will never return once he is gone." , and he is also prepared to be imprisoned or suffer more serious consequences.

But now this result makes Cao Duan feel like his trip was in vain.

"That's all."

Cao Duan smiled bitterly to himself and stepped towards the outside of the prison.

When they arrived, the two bulky jailers didn't know where they were. Cao Duan called several times but no one answered, so he relied on his sense of direction and walked back along the way he came.

However, after walking through a T-junction and going to a door, I found that the door was locked.

Cao Duan had no choice but to go back to the T-intersection and enter another direction to see if he could get out.

There was a dead end in front of this direction, and there were two courtyards on the left and right sides. Only one courtyard door was open. Cao Duan walked in, wanting to ask someone.

However, in this courtyard, there is only a crooked-necked tree standing there alone. Next to the tree is a newly built and painted low wall.

"You came."

A man's voice came from under the tree.

Cao Duan raised his eyes and saw a stone table placed under the shade of a tree with a chessboard on it. Sitting around the chessboard was a young man in a green shirt. He held a teacup in his hand and raised it slightly. She looked up at him with a calm expression.

The sitting posture and expression look very much like Master Ye who opened a martial arts gym and recruited disciples.

Seeing this unfamiliar face, Cao Duan was stunned for a moment, then frowned: "Do you know me?"

The man opposite nodded slightly: "Well, the pamphlet in your hand was written by me."

Hearing this, Cao Duan's heart skipped a beat, and his expression instantly became extremely exciting!

The answer to who gave the pamphlet was obvious - of course it was Jiang Xinghuo.

In other words, the man sitting in front of him, drinking tea and watching chess alone under the shade of a tree, was the legendary banished immortal, the Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty, Jiang Xinghuo!

"I've met the Imperial Master."

"Come and sit, no need to be polite."

Jiang Xinghuo's tone was gentle and calm, with a hint of intimacy.

Cao Duan hesitated for a moment, but finally walked over slowly and sat across from Jiang Xinghuo, trying to avoid eye contact with him for fear of causing misunderstanding.

Cao Duan was a little nervous. Of course, it was not just because the Imperial Master was famous and powerful all over the world. He was a very important figure in the entire Ming Dynasty. In fact, if that was all, he was also talking to the black prime minister Yao Guangxiao. After the debate, it was just that the Imperial Master was now at the center of the temple whirlpool. If he got involved a little bit, ordinary people would end up being shattered to pieces. Cao Duan didn't want to get too involved with him.

Unfortunately, this plan is destined to be shattered now.

Jiang Xinghuo finished the tea in the cup, then picked up the empty teacup beside him and filled it with tea, then handed it to Cao Duan, signaling him to drink tea.

Cao Duan hurriedly took it with both hands, lowered his head and took a sip. He felt that the sweet and rich tea flavor reached his heart, making him feel comfortable all over.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at him with a smile: "How does it taste?"

"The tea is very good."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded, picked up the chess pot again, and poured the black and white pieces into the chess bowl respectively. His movements were skillful, as if he had practiced for a long time every day.

"Master Imperial Master, do you like to talk hand to hand?" Cao Duan was at a loss for words and tried to leave early.

"I like it. I'm on the same level as His Majesty."

"oh."

Cao Duan responded vaguely.

In fact, he didn't know that Zhu Di was famous for being a bad chess player, good at playing and playing chess, although he was not as good as Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, who forgot to sleep and eat. Well, he didn't have the white-robed military god Chen Qingzhi to play chess with him. Yes, he himself is the God of War.

As for Jiang Xinghuo's proficiency, it was purely because the game ended quickly and he had to count and pick up the pieces again.

"Some of Kong Gong's research needs to be done quietly in prison. As for the results of the research, you should be able to see it in Ming Pao soon."

Jiang Xinghuo took the lead and pressed one on Tianyuan.

Cao Duan had never seen this kind of game before, so he sat down in his corner uneasily, and the two of them talked while playing chess.

"The new column to be added to "Ming Pao", about entering Oracle, is this the intention of the National Master?"

"Yes, and there are a lot of things to decipher. What, are you interested?"

Cao Duan remained silent and did not answer.

Seeing that Cao Duan seemed unwilling to participate in this matter, Jiang Xinghuo roughly guessed what he was thinking, stopped talking, and continued to play chess.

Jiang Xinghuo plays chess very quickly, never thinking, and just plays whatever he wants.

After taking a few steps, Cao Duan went from being in awe at the beginning to roughly seeing what level Jiang Xinghuo was in Go.

To be honest, today's experience made Cao Duan feel like he was flying into the sky and then falling down.

The exciting debate competition and witnessing a battle in the air. If all of this was normal, then from the moment he entered the prison gate, everything obviously became abnormal. .

The father-in-law who takes care of his baby at work, the commander of the Imperial Guard, the censor who refused to listen and got caught with food at noon, Kong Xilu who inexplicably refused to be released from prison, and the master of the state who played chess with incredible food.

Cao Duan finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"I read carefully the pamphlet that the Imperial Master asked Commander Ji to give to me."

Jiang Xinghuo continued to play Go as if surrounding a wall, raised his head and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

Cao Duan asked the question that had been buried in his heart for most of the day.

"The three gatekeepers of the arena competition, what they finally took out, the principles of the three righteousnesses, the new theory of mind, and the ancient texts, were they all taught by the national master?"

"yes."

Jiang Xinghuo put his right leg on his left leg and continued to stare at the chessboard.

"The materialism and idealism in the pamphlet, do you think the Confucian scholars today have fallen into the wrong path of idealism?"

"Not the wrong path."

Jiang Xinghuoxin had a son and explained: "Materialism and idealism may seem to you like dividing people into good people and bad people, but are good people and bad people important? Good people seek the Tao and bad people seek the Tao, and those who achieve the Tao must be Good people? They are all for seeking Tao. What is the direct relationship between good and bad nature? Being good is neither a necessary condition nor a sufficient condition for seeking Tao. This is the difference between Laozi and Confucius. Do you understand?"

Cao Duan was thoughtful.

Confucius wanted to seek Tao from a moral perspective, distinguishing between gentlemen and villains, good and evil, while Laozi believed that seeking Tao and morality had nothing to do with each other.

"Since the Imperial Master has put forward a new theory of mind science, and he has studied Lu's mind science very deeply, does the Imperial Master think that the heart can dominate everything? There is nothing outside the mind, nothing outside the mind, and no reason outside the mind. My heart is It is the universe, and the universe is my heart.”

Jiang Xinghuo did not answer him directly, but took a chess piece from his chess bowl and placed two chess pieces, one black and one white, on his side.

"This is the material world, and this is the spiritual world."

"Do you think things in the spiritual world can affect the material world?"

"If you risk a fire to save people, the fire will not burn you because of your kindness, because fire follows the law of cause and effect, but people want to save people and are driven by their conscience. You have a conscience because 'my heart is bright', but this cannot be proven, only the heart Proof, in other words, can only be believed.”

Cao Duan seemed to have realized something. The new theory of mind proposed by Jiang Xinghuo certainly inherited and developed Lu Jiuyuan's theory, but it seemed that Jiang Xinghuo himself did not believe it.

"Of course, I'm not saying that the spiritual world has no effect on the material world." Jiang Xinghuo changed the topic.

"For example, morality does not belong to any part of the material world, but in the entire Ming Dynasty, who can not care about the morality of himself and others in life? In other words, morality must be understood as some kind of rules or commitments for people to act in the material world , otherwise man’s life in the material world will fall into disorder and evil.”

"Then the Imperial Master believes in the role of the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Rules, right?"

To Cao Duan's surprise, Jiang Xinghuo shook his head again and simply said: "Turn the booklet to the last page."

Cao Duan followed his words and turned to a sentence on the last page.

"There are always two, and I am in awe and respect.

The one who is above me is the bright starry sky; the moral law is in my heart. "

Jiang Xinghuo stirred the two chess pieces in his hands and said, "This is the root and crux of the current world."

After that, Jiang Xinghuo separated the two chess pieces completely, one in each hand, and spread them far apart.

"I want to open up the world and divide it into two parts. One part will use scientific methods to study the material world, and the other part will use speculative and realistic methods to study the spiritual world."

"Kong Xilu is doing the former, and do you want to know about the latter?"