Chapter 72: Good and Evil

Chapter 72: Positive and Negative
Zhou Mengchen said, "Silly child, once you have seen it, you will know. In fact, after taking this thing, you should leave. It's just that I still have the hope of celebrating my 80th birthday and I hope you can stay."
"I have already accomplished half of my life's achievements, and the rest is on you."
Although Wang Keshou did not understand, he still solemnly took the box.
That night, Wang Keshou read by the light of the lamp, and there was a flickering flame in his eyes. It was unclear whether it reflected the light of the candle or the flame in his heart. Or maybe he saw the light.

So, I couldn't sleep all night.
There were also people who stayed up all night.
But they didn't stay up on purpose.
It's just that when people get older, they tend to have trouble sleeping.
After washing Zhou Mengchen's feet, Li Yunzhen and Zhou Mengchen lay on the bed. Li Yunzhen said, "Do you really value Wang Ke?"

Zhou Mengchen said, "Why do you think I value Wang Keshou?"
Li Yunzhen said, "After so many years, I still don't know you. After so many years, I have organized your manuscripts. Many of them were messy, so I had to rewrite them and then archive them. Only the things in that red box, I never touched them from beginning to end. If they were not important, you wouldn't have hidden them from me. You gave those things to Wang Keshou? Isn't that valuing him?"
Zhou Mengchen smiled lightly and said, "In my life, I can be considered as having disciples all over the world. Named disciples, disciples of the school, and disciples who were later passed down, there must be hundreds or even thousands of them, but I can't remember all of them. And in my life, I have probably had more than 100 disciples, perhaps divided into three groups. The first group, the first wave, refers to those before I achieved success, who hold important positions."
Speaking of this, Zhou Mengchen sighed slightly.
Li Yunzhen said, "They have all passed away for many years. They have also had a good ending. We will go and visit them in a few years too."
The first wave of disciples of Zhou Mengchen was significantly characterized by being of a similar age to Zhou Mengchen. Therefore, although Zhou Mengchen lived to be eighty years old, his disciples rarely lived to be eighty years old, and most of them have passed away.
Only Feng Bao is still here.
I wonder if it's because Feng Bao has no one below him that he has lived longer.
The rest are all gone.
Even Zhou Mengchen said that there were over a hundred direct disciples, but now only a few dozen are still alive.
Time is so ruthless.
Zhou Mengchen paused slightly and said, "Let's not talk about them. The second batch of disciples I trained during my time in power were mostly for political purposes. The most outstanding ones are probably Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue. But these people have their own inheritance, so they are not my disciples from this perspective."
"The third batch, which refers to the disciples I have recruited in the past twenty years since I retired, to be honest, during these past twenty years, I did not put much effort in writing books and teaching my disciples. These disciples are still young and their achievements in the future are uncertain. However, the most outstanding among them are Guan Yingzhen, Xu Guangqi, and Wang Keshou."
"Xu Guangqi will receive my mantle. His ambition is to thrive in the officialdom. In the future, it is not difficult to imagine him becoming the Prime Minister."
"As for Wang Keshou, his life's achievement is uncertain. If he fails, everything will be lost. But if he succeeds, Wang Keshou will be the opposite of ambitious officials like Xu Guangqi."
Zhou Mengchen's heart paused for a moment, secretly thinking, "Perhaps, these two brothers will also fight against each other in the future."
However, Li Yunzhen did not understand what Zhou Mengchen meant by these words. She could only ponder silently over Zhou Mengchen's thoughts, trying to figure out his intentions. Little did she know that the Grand Duke and Imperial Chancellor of Ming, would conspire to overthrow the Ming dynasty in a revolution.
To know, to some extent. The Zhou family can also be considered as a distinguished family of the imperial clan.
Zhou Mengchen estimated it correctly.
If Xu Guangqi accepted Zhou Mengchen's mantle, he would become a great inventor. Many of Zhou Mengchen's theories were implemented by Xu Guangqi, and Xu Guangqi's most famous invention was the internal combustion engine. However, due to the lack of petroleum in the Ming Dynasty, the use of internal combustion engines was hindered for a long time. It was not until several decades later, with the discovery of petroleum in the Nanyang region, that large-scale usage began.
And Guan Yingzhen did not disappoint Zhou Mengchen's expectations. In the late years of the Wanli era, Guan Yingzhen entered the cabinet and took over the internal and external powers on behalf of the cabinet after Wanli's death. Wanli was dominant throughout his life, holding political power from his twenties onwards. However, facing a fate similar to that of Jiajing, his successor was quite ordinary.
This seems like a curse.
The successors of strong monarchs are never as powerful. They are often weak.
In general, if two strong father and son pairs were in power, it would probably result in a tragic version of Emperor Wu of Han and his Crown Prince.
Guan Yingzhen held power over the court for twenty years, serving as the Prime Minister for ten years. Under his leadership, the prosperous era of Wanli was extended for another decade. Furthermore, he spared no effort in winning the Battle of Tianzhu, which secured the survival of the Ming Dynasty.
Officials should be active and decisive, supporting three emperors, guiding the national affairs, and expanding our influence in foreign lands like Tianzhu.
Some even compare Zhou Mengchen, Zhang Juzheng, and Guan Yingzhen as the Three Chief Ministers of Huguang, all of them making great contributions. Guan Yingzhen in particular became the last brilliant figure of the Ming Dynasty.
However, Wang Keshou did not have any military conflict with his official senior brother.
After Zhou Mengchen's 80th birthday, Wang Keshou went to the south and studied for decades. He truly integrated what Zhou Mengchen left him.
When the Little Ice Age came.
The fiscal deficit of the Great Ming Dynasty had reached an unsustainable level.
As a result, an agreement to raise taxes was reached at the national congress.
This caused great public anger and the people of the northwest took up arms.
After Wang Keshou learned the news, he traveled a long distance to the northwest and sought supporters among the rebel army. However, this uprising was soon crushed by the powerful Qing court.
Furthermore, Wang Keshou was captured and brought to Beijing.
As a disciple of Zhou Mengchen, Wang Keshou was one of the well-known scholars in the world. It is truly unbelievable that he participated in the uprising. In addition, many disciples of Zhou Mengchen have been actively involved in the rescue efforts.
Wang Keshou preached in prison and spread his revised Capitalism theory. In the end, he was still subjected to extreme punishment.
However, Wang Keshou's death did not stop the surging revolutionary tide. Instead, countless people revered Wang Keshou as a pioneer. After decades of warfare, the revolutionary army stormed into Beijing and established a new China.
And Zhou Mengchen is regarded as the source of thought for the new China.
During the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng elevated the Qi school to the position of the Imperial Academy. From then on, Zhou Mengchen's position became unshakable. After a great revolution, Zhou Mengchen's astonishing foresight in thought was further confirmed.
It further enhances the reputation of Zhou Mengchen as a saint.
Zhou Mengchen's ancestral tomb has become the Zhou Forest.
However, that's a story for later. Zhou Mengchen is long gone. Now, the first thing Zhou Mengchen has to face is his 80th birthday.
Here it is, the big day of Zhou Mengchen's 80th birthday.