01
More than 1,900 years ago, on a day in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, Linjing County, Anding County, Eastern Han Dynasty (now Zhenyuan County, Gansu Province), the sky was cloudless, the wind and the sun were beautiful.
"Wow, wow, wow..." With a loud and urgent cry, a large local family surnamed Li ushered in the only male among the juniors. According to the etiquette of "young names and crown characters", three months later, when it was time to name the child, the grandparents and fathers sat around the kang and meditated. The child's father was complacent and put forward several plans, but they were not approved by the grandparents, and he went outside depressedly, looked up, and was a vast expanse. The word "Gong" suddenly came to mind. "Li Ke, Li Gong," he said loudly into the room. It just so happens that the word "恂" interprets the Li family's family motto of deference and honesty. Everyone applauded.
Li Ke has been intelligent and studious since childhood, and is a "child of other people's families" used by neighbors to educate their children. By the time the "crown (coming-of-age) ceremony" was held at the age of twenty, he had already grown into a handsome young man, with a burly body, a sword eyebrow and starry eyes, a nose like a hanging gall, and a strong temperament. He took the word "Shuying" from the two poems of "September Shu (shú) Tho ("Book of Poetry , July") and "Huai Huan Yan Zhi Hua Ying ("Chu Ci Yuanyou")," and vowed to regain the glory of the family. A few years later, he not only gained fame, but also was given the title of Marquis of Ochre Pavilion. The two most powerful historical books of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Dongguan Han Ji and the Later Han Dynasty, have been successively passed down for him. Why did he become a textbook inspirational figure? This has to start with his history of struggle.
The Records of the Eastern Han Dynasty (vol. 16 and Chuan 11) records that "Li Ke was bereaved by his parents, and for six years he bowed to the soil tree cypress and lived under the tomb. "Mound, that is, a high and large grave." In ancient times, people were divided into "three, six, nine and so on", and the tombs were also divided into high and low, and only nobles could build such luxurious tombs, and ordinary people could only return to simple earthen tombs. The word "Tsukasa" exposes Li Ke's illustrious noble lineage. But the good times were not long, he was not yet an adult, his parents were dead, his family was in decline, and he had to be strong alone.
In that era, when readers wanted to be angry and strong, there were only two "right paths" to follow, one was to "learn and excel" (to be an official), and the other was to "brush away external affairs" (retreat). For Li Ke, the heavy school style left by his parents is better than the family wealth. He firmly believed that knowledge changed his destiny, and was committed to "practicing the Ming Scriptures" (proficient in scriptures and correct conduct), and forged ahead. The path of his counterattack on life can be roughly divided into "three steps": the first step is to run a school and establish a doctrine and educate the township; the second step is to enter the organs and accumulate thick and thin hair; the third step is to take charge of the local government and make meritorious achievements.
The Eastern Han Dynasty had a low threshold for private study, and there were many of them, but high-quality schooling was still a technical task with a high difficulty coefficient, especially like the private study founded by Li Ke, which focused on the study of the Five Classics, which was a high-end professor of Confucian classics, which can be described as rare. He was familiar with the "Four Books and Five Classics", especially good at poetry, focusing on teaching "Korean Poetry". In terms of professional standards alone, he is a proper master of scripture, full of educational feelings, allowing him to bring his own light and magnetic field. He set up private schools not to make a fortune, the quality of education is no less than that of official studies, and the fees are not high, and he often accepts the admission of cold students who cannot afford to pay tuition fees free of charge, with hundreds of graduates (full-time students) and hundreds of bibliographic students (only registered in the name and not enrolled in the school).
Private studies are bursting, although there are factors of "favorable time and place", but it is mainly due to Li Ke's unique ingenuity and insight. On the one hand, the teaching materials he selected were good. He introduced "Han Poems" into the classroom and was very popular with students. It was a monograph on the Book of Poetry compiled by the Great Confucian Han Infant of the Western Han Dynasty, "speculating on the meaning of the "Poetry (Jing)", quoting "Spring and Autumn" or ancient events", both "attacking Xun (Zi)" and "Honoring Meng (Zi)", so that the views of the two schools of view of the most fierce internal struggle within Confucianism tended to unify, and made ideological preparations for Emperor Wu of han to "depose hundreds of families and respect Confucianism alone", and was established by Emperor Wen of Han as "doctor" (official study), together with "Lu Shi" and "Qi Shi" and called the Western Han "Three Family Poems" and "You Sheng (Xing) in the Eastern Han Dynasty". On the other hand, his teaching methods are good. He talks funny, the class is serious and tense, but he does not lose unity and liveliness. He learned "Han Poems" from a young age, was familiar with the allusions in the book, never prepared a lecture script, changed the past according to the script, paid attention to interactive communication, encouraged students to actively participate in the discussion, a bit similar to the current "MBA" case teaching, so that people at the time were refreshed.
"It is easy for a teacher to meet, but a teacher is difficult to encounter, and I am willing to be around and provide sprinkling." Students who have the heart to learn value Li Ke precisely because he is a rare teacher. He is kind and gentle, has a generous personality, and is a teacher, but he is never high, rich or poor, rich or poor, he treats all people equally, there is no difference between master and subordinate, and he mingles with students. He has a kind heart, sympathizes with the people at the bottom in his heart, does not take labor as a shame, usually does not want students to bring tea and pour water, and does not scold students for corporal punishment, and returns to the "old business" after offending the powerful and dismissing the officials, still working with the students and relying on himself. He was as vicious as a vendetta, and dared to say "no" to the bad habits of education, which was a clear stream in the education circles at that time. Those bookworms who are everywhere "not diligent in their bodies and do not distinguish between grains" but put "those who work hard to govern people, and those who work hard rule people" on their lips, which makes him disdainful. If he lived in the present moment, he would certainly hate the oppressive behavior of some professors in order to call students to do private work.
With the strong humanistic spirit and real talent and practical learning in his bones, Li Ke's reputation became more and more popular, coupled with his "filial piety" behavior, he became a well-known "net red" teacher, which was well received by the people in Linjing and surrounding areas, and some famous and powerful officials and nobles also began to recommend him to the imperial court.
02
"Maxima is often there, but Bó Lè is not."
The sigh of Han Yu's "Horse Saying" has entangled the world for a thousand years. The eunuchs of the Eastern Han Dynasty alternated dictatorships, and from time to time they were haunted by "black smoke miasma", but on the whole, it was still a righteous dynasty of "national Qing talents and nobles". Li Ke was obviously lucky, this "moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic" all-round development of the thousand-mile horse, in his youth met the first Bole in his life - Li Hong.
Speaking of Li Hong, people in the system must be full of envy and jealousy. This Yingchuan native (around present-day central Henan Province) and was a taishou of Anding Commandery, who was diligent and dedicated, and had a good reputation for his political achievements. His greatest strength is that he has a strong ability to know people and things, and he has a very good set of talents. He had always heard that Li Ke was famous and outstanding, and after many investigations, he was indeed worthy of the name, so he tried to defy the public opinion and hired him to temporarily act as Gong Cao (equivalent to the current organization minister), holding the real power of official performance inspection and reward and punishment appointment and dismissal. At the same time, Li Ke was also summoned by the gongfu of Liangzhou (梁州, in modern Wuwei, Gansu Province) as a servant. This post has a high gold content, as the "provincial group selection and transfer student" of the Eastern Han Dynasty at that time, he suddenly entered the provincial government compound and became a staff member around the "no. 1 chief" assassin, and the future was unlimited.
Seeing that the "salted fish turned over", a sudden situation stopped in front of Li Ke - Li Hong unfortunately died of illness. In ancient times, after the death of the Lord, the subordinate officials were required to serve the Lord at the funeral. Although Li Ke only verbally agreed to Li Hong's summons, he had not really become a subordinate official, and he could not be mourned at all, not to mention that There was still Liangzhou engaged in this beautiful job waiting?! However, he thought about it instead, and when the grace of the dripping water was repaid by the spring, he resolutely decided to "resign from the official position" and personally escorted Li Hong's coffin back to his hometown for burial, and then "left (built) the tomb and held the funeral for three years."
Again, the old saying, "It's gold, it's always going to shine." Li Ke's actions have aroused the special attention of Huan Yu, a vice-state-level high-ranking cadre in charge of the nation's indoctrination work. After the funeral, Huan Yu extended an olive branch and recruited Li Ke into the state ministry. At this time, although Li Ke was too old to be confused, he really started his career as a civil servant and started a little late, but fortunately, the starting point was high, the progress was fast, and he was also a late success in the official field.
It was particularly fortunate that Li Ke met Huan Yu, a good teacher. Huan Yu is a very remarkable person. In the early days, he was appointed as a servant of Shangshu by Emperor Zhang of Han, and as Shangshu's right-hand man, he was responsible for prison proceedings and was in charge of life and death. He was fair and upright, handled things meticulously and fairly, did not have a little bit of the domineering and arbitrary nature of the real power figures, and was quite affirmed by the central decision-making level, and was immediately sent down to nanyang (present-day Nanyang, Henan Province), a large population county, to be "gilded", and during the term of taishou, he managed well and achieved remarkable political achievements, and was later promoted to situ and an official residence. "The master leads you through the door, and the practice looks at the individual." The studious and enterprising Li Ke worked next to this able minister, learned a lot of things, accumulated rich experience in governing the country, and laid a solid foundation for him to embark on important leadership positions in the future.
In order to further strengthen the rule of officials, Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, restored three sets of supervision institutions, such as shi yutai, si li colonel, and zhou shi shi, of which fifteen people were set up to guard the good and evil of hundreds of officials and political gains and losses. The requirements for the selection of the imperial history are very strict, the political standard is the first, and the hardcore political character and the professional proficiency can be improved. Li Ke was a man of integrity and conscientious work, was repeatedly praised by his superiors, and was also favored by the supreme leader Emperor Zhangdi of Han, and was immediately appointed as a servant of the imperial history, often under orders to go to prefectures and counties, or to investigate and handle major cases, or to supervise army building, or to patrol social customs, all of which completed their tasks brilliantly and were well known in the government and the public.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the frontiers of the Eastern Han Dynasty have been full of wolf smoke, fighting, killing, and killing, not to mention the loss of money and wealth, and it is of no use. By the time of Emperor Zhangdi of Han, the situation was more complicated and severe, and ethnic contradictions were becoming increasingly prominent. So he decided to "combine grace and power" and sent envoys to Youzhou (present-day Beijing, Hebei, northern Liaoning, and northwestern Korea) to appease the minorities, but the selection of envoys briefly made him hesitant. Above the court, "big old and rough" and "related households" abound, and either there is courage or no courage. "Where is the comrade who is wise and courageous?" Raise your hand and take a look! At this time, someone recommended Li Ke of the Imperial Palace.
Emperor Han Zhangdi looked at this few capable ministers in his eyes, remembered it in his heart, and always thought of letting him have the opportunity to stand alone, but his position was not high, he was entrusted with heavy responsibilities, I was afraid that it would be difficult to convince the public, and now the opportunity came, and he immediately made a decision - "Accurate playing!" ”
Li Ke gladly accepted the imperial edict and marched north with a high song. Youzhou ancient belongs to the Northern Di region, the land is sparsely populated, the jurisdiction belongs to many ethnic minority gathering places, some tribes do not cultivate or cultivate, the economy and culture are very backward. In order not to fail in his mission, he did his homework while walking, and often carried out micro-service private visits despite the dissuasion of his subordinates. The frontier masses seem to be strong and brave, but most of them understand the great righteousness, and seeing Li Ke's gentleness and elegance, they quickly recognized his identity. Li Ke stopped hiding and pinching, and was invited to talk to them about wine. Relations have become closer, work is naturally handy, and the state's ethnic policy and measures to benefit the people have been widely publicized among the masses. Li Ke quickly became familiar with the local customs and customs. He also recorded the mountains, fields, villages, and tribal gathering points he passed, and drew them into charts, totaling more than 100 volumes. Fortunately, at that time, the eunuch Cai Lun improved the art of papermaking, and if it was recorded in Jian Mu, the cost was high, the weight was too large, and it could not be transported at all.
"True is the power to govern the country and the country!" After returning to the dynasty, Emperor Zhang of Han read the chapters and atlases presented by Li Ke and admired them endlessly. The imperial court did not know much about Youzhou before, but now the topography and the people's production and living conditions there have jumped out of the paper. If these "weapons of the state" come in handy, the imperial court will strengthen the actual control of the frontier, just around the corner. Emperor Zhang of Han repeatedly publicly praised Li Ke for his outstanding ability and meritorious service.
The wind blew hard, and the rock could not stop it. Li Ke's appointment to Yanzhou (兖州, in present-day southwestern Shandong and eastern Henan) was also a matter of course. (Boatman's fourth)