Chapter 157: Do you want to be Cao Cao?

Sun Chuanting married a wife and two concubines, but had only two daughters and no sons. Therefore, when he met a young man like Wang Pu who was brave and knowledgeable and had a temper, he seemed particularly fond of him. If he could really recognize Wang Pu as his godson, he could make up for the regret of having no children.

Wang Puzi smiled and said, "It's not impossible to recognize you as your godfather, but..."

Sun Chuanting said anxiously: "But what?"

Wang Pu said: "But you have to get ten red cannons for me."

"Hey, you guys." Sun Chuanting said, "You really know how to open your lions and ask for ten cannons with just one hand?"

Wei Daben's thinking began to be a little unable to keep up. The communication methods between Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu made him difficult to adapt. After all, in this era, communication between people pays great attention to etiquette and methods. The etiquette advocated by Confucianism has been deeply rooted in everyone's hearts. People with status and status pay special attention to pomp.

"Mr. Sun, the prince consort, should the junior official take his leave first?"

Wei Daben really couldn't stand it anymore. The rogue communication methods like Wang Pu and Sun Chuanting made him feel at a loss and even more incomprehensible. He thought it would be better to leave.

Sun Chuanting waved his hand, and Wei Daben left tactfully.

Wei Daben could not understand the bargaining between Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu, but Sun Chuanting enjoyed this unrestrained communication method very much. He and Wang Pu had originally formed a friendship in the prison. At that time, their special identity allowed them to communicate without restraint in a special way.

Now that time has changed, Wang Pu has been restored to his post and has become the quasi-president of the prince, and Sun Chuanting has also become the governor of the five provinces. However, the two still tacitly maintained the way they got along and communicated in the prison. The two actually had little contact, but both of them could feel what kind of person they were.

What's even more terrible is that both of them are very superstitious about their ability to read people.

In fact, Sun Chuanting believed in Yangming's Heart Studies, and he was very dissatisfied with the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues advocated by Confucian Neo-Confucianism and many rules and regulations.

Yangming Mind Studies advocates "the mind is the reason", believing that all moral norms should be cultivated before the heart and then exposed. Confucian Neo-Confucianism advocates "preserving the laws of nature and eliminating human desires", emphasizing the formulation of many moral norms to forcibly restrain people's behavior. Confucian Neo-Confucianism aims to imprison people's thoughts and turn the entire society into a stagnant pool. Yangming Mind Studies advocates self-centeredness, aiming to liberate the mind.

Therefore, it is actually reasonable that Sun Chuanting ignores the etiquette advocated by Confucian Neo-Confucianism.

"Okay." Sun Chuanting nodded, "You call me Dad first, and I will give you ten red cannons."

"Give it a cannon first." Wang Pu said, "and I'll call you again."

Sun Chuanting smiled and said, "The little brat is still like in prison, it's really not changed at all."

Wang Pu also smiled and said, "You are almost the same as you are, you are reluctant to be fooled."

"Then you knelt down and called Dad quickly." Sun Chuanting said. "I have already brought the twelve red cannons, and it should have been transported to the north camp in the city."

Sun Chuanting said it was true. He did bring twelve red cannons when he came to Datong this time, and it was planned to give it to Wang Pu.

Of course, Sun Chuanting gave Wang Pu twelve red cannons to be so simple as accepting him as his godson. Sun Chuanting actually had deeper considerations. To be more vulgar, it was actually to win over Wang Pu!

Although Sun Chuanting is now the governor of five provinces in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, the capital and Shandong, his nominal troops and horses are controlled by him, but he is actually a commander-in-law.

Although Cao Bianjiao and Bai Guangen were condemned by him, these two were confidants trained by Hong Chengchou, and Sun Chuanting was not so easy to command.

The Beijing camp is completely a military force in Long Live, and only Wang Chengen and Gao Qiqian can command it.

Shandong General Liu Zeqing is a personal elite, and the army under his command is also a mob, so it would be better not to say it.

Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, Feng Ruhu and Jiang Xiang can be considered good at fighting, and the four of them have a strong army, but these people are all warlords with self-respecting troops. If they don’t give them enough benefits, they will never obey Sun Chuanting’s condemnation!

Therefore, Sun Chuanting did not have a direct army that really belonged to his own territory. This was very fatal. If he did not have an elite army that was strong enough, it would be difficult for him to control Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong, as fierce as a tiger, and Jiang Xiang, and other arrogant soldiers and generals, would be even more impossible to talk about destroying the bandits.

Sun Chuanting thought of Wang Pu and the elite soldiers of Datong in Wang Pu's hands.

Sun Chuanting finally chose Wang Pu as his confidant, not only because Wang Pu is brave and knowledgeable, brave and resourceful, but also because Wang Pu dares to act, dares to love and hate, but also because Sun Chuanting himself is also a person who dares to act, dares to love and hate.

Therefore, as soon as Jiannu retreated to Liaodong, Sun Chuanting came to Datong with twelve red cannons.

After hearing Sun Chuanting's words, Wang Pu said in surprise: "Old man Sun, are you saying the truth?"

"Of course it's true." Sun Chuanting said, "I know that your firearm battalion is powerful, but it's not possible to have only muskets and no cannons in the firearm battalion. Just as Jiannu left, I brought the cannons to you. Why don't you kneel down and recognize me?"

"Oh." Wang Pu was overjoyed and knelt down in front of Sun Chuanting, saying incoherently, "I am the only one of you, oh no, you are my, you are my real father, dad!"

Not to mention that Sun Chuanting really sent twelve red cannons, even if he didn't have these twelve cannons, it would be a matter of being a famous minister like him as his godfather.

What is it about kneeling down and kowtowing? Just treat it as kneeling down and worshiping the heroic souls of the nation.

"Oh, good son, get up quickly."

Sun Chuanting responded firmly and quickly rushed up to help Wang Pu up.

The corners of Sun Chuanting's eyes were actually a little wet. He thought about having a son for almost thirty years, but today he finally got what he wanted. Although he was not his biological child, it might be considered that he had adopted a young hero like Wang Pu as his adopted son, which was also a smoke from the ancestral grave.

"Dad." Wang Pu helped Sun Chuanting sit down on the chair and asked, "You old man came to Datong this time, so he was specially sent cannons to his son, right?"

"Hmph." Sun Chuanting sneered twice and said, "Do you know that you have caused a big disaster?"

"Creating a trouble?" Wang Pu said disapprovingly, "What trouble did your son cause?"

Sun Chuanting held his finger and said, "You have caused few troubles? First, use food to help the thieves; second, join forces with the thieves in private; third, trade with the thieves in private. Use silo soil to exchange weapons and armor; fourth, abolition of the Datong Guard troops; fifth, imprison the Dai King! With these five stakes, you are not enough to cut the ground even if you have ten or eight heads."

"Dad." Wang Pu shouted, "You are wronged by your son."

Sun Chuanting said: "Why did you wrongly accuse me?"

Wang Pu said: "That's right, my son made all these five pieces, but each piece was for the people of Datong and the country of Ming Dynasty."

Sun Chuanting said: "You still have any reason to say so?"

Wang Pu also pointed his finger and said, "Just let's talk about the first thing, my son uses food to help the thieves. That's because keeping this group of thieves is useful, at least it can restrain Jiannu. Later, it was this group of thieves who helped his son a lot, otherwise Datong would have been out of protection. Dad, are you talking about it? In order to protect the nearly 100,000 people in Datong City, is this worth doing this?"

Sun Chuanting said: "Speak, then say, it depends on what kind of flowers you can say."

Wang Pu said again: "The second and third stakes are the same. I won't say much about the second stake. Let's talk about the fourth stake of the Datong Guard Army. Dad, you have also been the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi. You should know how these Dog Ridi Ge Guard Army are rotten. When Jiannu came, they ran faster than rabbits, but they harmed the people but were even more fierce than tigers. If such a garbage army is not laid off, it would be difficult to tolerate it!"

Sun Chuanting said: "Switch on."

Wang Pu said: "Another about the fifth imprisonment of Dai Wang, that's right. My son did it, but this is to protect Dai Wang, and even more to protect the people of Datong!"

"What?" Sun Chuanting said, "Is it that the King of Dai is to protect him? This matter is new."

Wang Pu said calmly, "Dad, you don't know. If King Dai wants to kill his son, it's okay if his son dies, but his son's firearms are not vegetarians. These guys are either loud horse thieves or veteran soldiers. If his son dies, no one can restrain them. If these people rebel, King Dai will surely die, and the people of Datong will suffer as well."

"It sounds a little reasonable." Sun Chuanting nodded, then changed his mind and said, "But your approach is very problematic. You act so recklessly, despise the court, and are blind to the laws and regulations. Where do you let Master Wansui's face go? Do you want Master Wansui to bow to you?"

"We should use heavy sanctions in troubled times, and extraordinary measures should be taken in extraordinary times." Wang Pu said seriously, "My son may do this a bit recklessly, and may make Long Sui Ye very embarrassed, but as long as the final result is for the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world, there is nothing that cannot be done."

Wang Pu deliberately increased the tone of the people, because he found that in the minds of many knowledgeable scholars, the weight of the people is actually more important than that of the emperor. Wang Pu believes that Sun Chuanting is also an insightful scholar. It is impossible to convince him without elevating the problem to the height of the people in the world.

"Hmph." Sun Chuanting snorted lightly and said, "If it weren't for your heart that you still pretended to be in harmony with the people, and although your behavior was extraordinary, you always put the protection of the people first, just based on the ruthless things you did, I wouldn't have sat here and talked to you."

"Actually, my son was forced." Wang Pu smiled bitterly, "Dad, do you want to hear the truth about your son?"

Sun Chuanting said: "Of course I want to hear it."

Wang Pu said: "The truth about my son is that the Ming Dynasty is the Ming Dynasty for the people of the world, not the Ming Dynasty of the Zhu family. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty can let the people of the Zhu family do it, but they must consider it for the people of the world. If they are unwilling to consider it for the people of the world, then we don't have to listen to their Zhu family."

It seemed a bit abrupt to say this to Sun Chuanting so quickly, but it was not.

Although these words sound so rebellious, they will never be more rebellious than what Wang Pu did. They have done all the work of tyrants and imprisoning the King of Dai, and are still afraid of saying these words to others?

Of course, there is another reason why Wang Pu and Sun Chuanting said this, that is, he felt that Sun Chuanting was not like a corrupt scholar. This guy dared to rob and kill local tyrants and evil gentry while serving as the governor of Shaanxi, which shows that he was not a stubborn person. If he could convince Sun Chuanting, as his status as the governor of the five provinces, he might be able to do something big.

"What do you mean?" Sun Chuanting's face immediately pulled down and asked in a deep voice, "Do you really want to rebel?"

"It's not a rebellion." Wang Pu shook his head, "My son never thought about rebellion. His son just felt that the emperor's power was too great and was too great. It would be fine if he met a sage king. If he met a foolish monarch, the people of the world would suffer. If he didn't talk about it from afar, he would just talk about the Wanli Dynasty."

Sun Chuanting said: "What's wrong with the Wanli Dynasty?"

Wang Pu said: "Dad, you say it with your conscience, is the Wanli New Deal good or bad?"

"Is that need to be said? The Wanli New Deal is of course a great thing that benefits the country and the people."

Wang Pu's question touched the string in Sun Chuanting's heart. Of course, Sun Chuanting supported the Wanli New Deal. He even believed that restoring the Wanli New Deal was the only hope of Zhongxing Ming. He asked Emperor Chongzhen to restore the Wanli New Deal. Unfortunately, he was fiercely opposed by the civil and military officials in the court, and in the end he had to leave it alone.

"It's a good thing," Wang Pudao said, "But it's such a great thing that benefits the country, the people and the land. But Emperor Wanli said it would be abolished. Dad, do you think Emperor Wanli did this right? He knew he was wrong but still had to support him because he was the emperor? As long as the emperor did it, is it also right to be wrong?"

If Sun Chuanting believed in Confucian Neo-Confucianism, he would definitely bring up the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues to refute Wang Pu, but Sun Chuanting believed in Yangming's Heart Studies. He was speechless when Wang Pu asked. Yes, if he could appropriately restrict the emperor's power and let the Wanli New Deal be implemented until today, the Ming Dynasty would be in a completely different situation!

If the people live a prosperous life, who else would rebel?

In that case, the country has sufficient money and food. What is the problem of a mere Jiannu?

Wang Pu continued: "Sage Meng said that the people are the most important, the country is the next, and the king is the least. It can be seen that the people in the world are the first priority. If the emperor's actions endanger the people in the world, then his behavior must be restricted. We must not tolerate the emperor's willful acts unconditionally."

"Son." Sun Chuanting stood up and patted Wang Pu on the shoulder. He said earnestly. "As you said, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Saint Meng tried to restrain the king's power. If we could really adapt to the emperor's power, the Ming Dynasty would never have fallen to this point today. Unfortunately, with your own strength, you will never be able to change such a reality."

"So my son must have an army." Wang Pu said solemnly, "Only with an army can you do what you want to do."

Sun Chuanting said coldly: "Do you want to be Cao Cao?"

Wang Pu said: "Dad, my son hopes that you can be Cao Cao."

"Nonsense." Sun Chuanting said furiously, "I am not a treacherous minister."

"Dad, you were wrong." Wang Pu said, "Cao Cao never usurped the Han Dynasty until his death. He was actually a loyal minister."

"But Cao Cao's son Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty." Sun Chuanting suddenly asked, "Do you want to be Cao Pi?"

"Don't want it." Wang Pu shook his head, "My son does not object to letting the Zhu family continue to be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but firmly opposes the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to continue to have unrestrained power. His son only hopes that the people of the Ming Dynasty can live a good life, and do not be robbed by Jiannu, nor do he have to be poisoned by the thieves."

"Okay, that's all for today." Sun Chuanting said decisively, "I think you have never said anything, and I think you have never heard anything."

Although Sun Chuanting believed in Yangming's study of the mind and disagreed with the "Three Bonds and Five Constant Permanences" pursued by Confucian Neo-Confucianism, it was still not easy to change the deep-rooted concept of "prime power" at once. It would be even more impossible to let him learn from Cao Cao as a warlord with self-respecting troops.
Chapter completed!