Chapter 18

"Those people aren’t worth talking to!" Zhang Hao said indifferently, seemingly unconcerned.

"They are either some bookish fools or hypocrites with honeyed words and treacherous hearts, or corrupt and dirty scoundrels. Even if there are some truly upright people, there’s no need to argue with them."

Zhang Hao spoke with great magnanimity, but in reality, he simply had no way to deal with them. The scholar-gentry controlled the discourse, and even the most powerful eunuchs were helpless against this. Because of this discourse, the idea that anyone associated with eunuchs was no good was considered a truth.

Kill people over this? With Zhang Hao’s current power, could he even do that? Since there was no way, he could only ignore it and pretend to be magnanimous.

"Haha, Zigao, your analysis is very reasonable. Although there are some omissions, those people are indeed like that," Xi Zhicai said in surprise.

"Eunuchs already have a bad reputation. Especially a few days ago, when Zhang Jun, a Langzhong, was arrested and killed in prison for his petition criticizing the eunuchs' misrule, public sentiment was inflamed. Since there’s no way to deal with the eunuchs, people like you, Zigao, suffer."

"Fish in the pond suffer too," Zhang Hao smiled, not having heard about Zhang Jun’s incident.

"These fools died without any regret. They didn’t know how to choose their methods of struggle. In the end, the conflict between eunuchs and the scholar-gentry is about power and profit. To say that the scholar-gentry’s goals are noble is pure nonsense. The mansions of Zhang Rang and others exceed regulations, and the Yuan family and other powerful clans are no better. Many officials who joined the eunuchs committed all sorts of crimes, but other officials from the scholar-gentry were not much cleaner."

"It’s just that a group of people control the discourse and wash themselves clean. Outsiders believe it, and they probably believe it themselves."

"There’s no black and white in this world, just methods of struggle. Some fools believe it deeply."

Zhang Hao said coldly, having no good feelings towards those who manipulate discourse. They spoke righteously, but their private actions were far from clean, much like the so-called 'pure stream' people in later times.

Xi Zhicai blinked in confusion, never expecting Zhang Hao to think this way. It felt a bit strange, and he had never heard such talk before, but upon careful thought, he found it hard to refute.

"Those hypocrites who ignore their own filth and only see others’ dirt are more detestable than scoundrels. The assets of those powerful scholar-gentry families, where do they come from?" Zhang Hao added, not yet satisfied.

Apart from anger, Zhang Hao said this to make a deep impression on Xi Zhicai. Even without an official position, he knew the chances were slim. But since there was a chance, he had to try to get closer to Xi Zhicai and see if he could recruit him.

"Haha, Zigao, that’s refreshing! No one else has said these things, and even if they understood, they wouldn’t dare to say them. As you said, they control the discourse. More importantly, whether you want to be an official or gain fame, the court is now divided into two factions, and people must choose one. Even without choosing, they are already divided into camps."

Xi Zhicai suddenly drank a cup of wine and said with emotion.

"Is the situation in the court related to balance? The Western powers divide power for balance, and the imperial art of the Han dynasty is also about balance."

"The current situation in the Han dynasty has nothing to do with balance! How can the emperor control power without the eunuchs? He ascended the throne unexpectedly, and power has always been in the hands of the scholar-gentry. Who else can he use besides the eunuchs? The imperial relatives? I doubt the emperor trusts them. I heard he’s not very satisfied with the eldest prince!" Zhang Hao directly expressed his views.

"You’re right, it all comes down to power," Xi Zhicai said, somewhat dispirited.

"Zigao, if you say these things, everyone will want to attack you. They won’t care about the facts. Most people will try to refute and condemn you for power and reputation. The mainstream view now is that all the problems are caused by the eunuchs."

Xi Zhicai smiled.

"So what? I wanted to be an official but didn’t become one, so why should I care about my reputation?" Zhang Hao said lightly, regardless of his true thoughts.

"All the problems are caused by the eunuchs? Even if the Ten Attendants have immense power, the majority of officials in the court are still from the scholar-gentry. The Han dynasty has been plagued by natural disasters and human calamities, and it’s already in a critical condition. This isn’t caused by the eunuchs. The problem is systemic, and the main culprits are the powerful scholar-gentry families and the landed gentry. The eunuchs, no matter how greedy, can’t drag down such a large country."

Xi Zhicai’s eyes were no longer drunk, and he looked at Zhang Hao with a bright gaze.

"Your views are very unique. They should hear them. So, Zigao, what do you think? When you talked about the overseas parliament, what did you think of it? Can it really serve as a check?"

"The Western system isn’t necessarily better. After all, the concepts and geography are different. The key is to have checks on power and increase the cost of wrongdoing. In the West, supervision is still largely the responsibility of the nobility, so it’s still the same thing."

"Most importantly, the people need to have the awareness to protect their own rights, which involves the issue of enlightenment. Now, most knowledge is monopolized by the scholar-gentry class. The common people are mostly ignorant and can only be manipulated by the scholar-gentry and the poor."

Zhang Hao thought for a moment and said slowly.

Xi Zhicai pondered carefully.

The two talked for a long time, and Xi Zhicai only left when it was dark. At first, he only drank, but later, he was so engrossed in Zhang Hao’s words that he forgot about the alcohol. He even asked for paper and pen to record some of Zhang Hao’s views.

Watching Xi Zhicai’s figure disappear into the night, Zhang Hao’s gaze was deep. He wondered if his efforts to showcase these advanced views would be useful.

Zhang Hao clearly didn’t need Xi Zhicai’s simple admiration; he needed others to serve him. But this was uncontrollable. Even showing a time portal wouldn’t guarantee anything.

After all, Xi Zhicai’s situation was completely different from Huang Zhong’s.

At this point, Zhang Hao was considering whether to quickly negotiate with some major merchants and leave to build a base, or stay longer to see if he could recruit some famous people through Xi Zhicai!

In the middle of the night, Xi Zhicai hurriedly entered a courtyard and called out loudly as soon as he entered.

A middle-aged man with a square face and neat clothing walked out of the room, frowning at the alcohol on Xi Zhicai’s breath.

"Zhicai, I don’t know what to say to you! You are talented, but your demeanor is disliked by others. How can this go on? Do you really want to waste your talent? And if you dressed neatly, you would feel better yourself, right?"

"Enough, Yuanhao, just let me be. I’m more comfortable this way. As for demeanor, those who judge people by it, I disdain. You, Yuanhao, are neat, but you resigned from your post, didn’t you? Isn’t that also a waste of talent?" Xi Zhicai argued.

Others didn’t know that the upright Tian Yuanhao and the carefree Xi Zhicai were such good friends. In fact, when they first met, they disliked each other, but they gradually became friends through arguments.

This time, Xi Zhicai came to Luoyang to visit friends and stayed at Tian Feng’s house.

"This is different. You, sigh, forget it. I don’t want to argue with you anymore." Tian Feng said helplessly, smelling the strong alcohol on Xi Zhicai. He asked,

"Didn’t you really go to see that treacherous person? No matter if they are from overseas or not, if they collude with eunuchs, they are no good. Zhicai, think about your reputation."

"Heh, Yuanhao, you’re wrong this time. Although I don’t think like you, I went there just to get some wine. But what I saw surprised me greatly. You won’t believe what kind of person he is. I learned a lot this time," Xi Zhicai said excitedly.

"Come, let’s go inside. I’ll show you something. These are some of his words that I painstakingly copied. Take a look. I was quite shocked today."

Tian Feng became interested. He knew Xi Zhicai’s talent well, and this made him even more surprised. He couldn’t stand his disgust for Zhang Hao and entered the room, lit the oil lamp, and quickly read through the content Xi Zhicai had copied.

He frowned, sneered, and pondered deeply. When Tian Feng finished reading after half an hour, he was dazed and wanted to ask Xi Zhicai about the situation, but found that Xi Zhicai had already fallen asleep. Tian Feng frowned, and with his cultivation, he should have left at this point.

But Tian Feng was unwilling. Many of the contents on the paper were unheard of, and upon careful thought, some made sense while others puzzled him. He wanted to know more. Without hesitation, he apologized in his heart and woke Xi Zhicai up, asking him questions despite his complaints.

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