37Chapter 37: Correct the family tradition and eliminate the source of purgation! This is the foundation of the family inheritance
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Why?
Because, from the experience passed down over thousands of years in Huaxia, to establish a Millennium Family, several conditions must be met.
Either one must be revered by the emperor as the founder of a certain ideology, and then be relatively "flexible" oneself—to put it bluntly, a bit "shameless"; or one must pass down a "religious" ideology, with continuous sects and continuous families.
Or... one must be able to pass down a righteous family tradition, coupled with "heaven's protection" in every generation, allowing talent to emerge continuously.
Only these three types of families can achieve the accumulation of family heritage and pass it down for a thousand years.
The representative of the first type is the family of "Kong Qiu," Kong Zhongni; Confucianism was revered as the orthodox mainstream ideology during Emperor Wu of Han's reign, subsequently becoming the main ideological vein of Huaxia.
Regardless of whether later Confucian thought was still Confucius's original idea, as long as Confucianism exists for a day, "Yan Sheng Gong" must be honored.
This is destined to be unchangeable.
Therefore, the Yan Sheng Gong family has been able to continue its lineage even thousands of years later.
Of course, this involved some "flexible operations," such as generations of submitting surrender documents.
The representative of the second type is the "Zhang family"; on one hand, the Zhang family connected their surname with "Jade Emperor," or Heaven, claiming that Heaven's reincarnated name was "Zhang Bainian"; on the other hand, the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain, the ancestral home of Taoism, is also one of the most revered Heavenly Masters in Taoism.
With both combined, the Zhang family has also been passed down for a thousand years.
The third type is more difficult to achieve, as no one can guarantee that their family will produce talented individuals in every generation—but a righteous family tradition can truly allow a family to be passed down for a thousand years.
An example is the "Qian family"; the most prominent modern representative of the Qian family is the famous scientist Qian Xuesen—but in fact, few people know how complex this family's network of relationships truly is.
Let me give a simple example.
Jin Yong.
Qian Xuesen is Jin Yong's brother-in-law (cousin's husband).
Another example: Jiang Baili.
Who is Jiang Baili? He is Mr. Qian Xuesen's father-in-law, and also the principal of the Baoding Army Officer Academy during the Xinhai Revolution, Yuan Shikai's first-class presidential advisor, and Li Yuanhong's presidential consultant.
His ancestry can be traced back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Naturally, it has been passed down for thousands of years to the present day.
At its root, the reason why it has been able to be passed down to modern times and produce a large number of great figures is precisely because of "righteous family tradition."
Therefore, Chen An absolutely cannot be left unpunished.
This is also why Chen Xi, on his deathbed, specifically instructed Chen Yun, not mentioning anyone else, not even his eldest son, but only mentioning the need to deal with Chen An.
For the Chen family to be passed down for a thousand years, the condition of "talent" has already been resolved; after all, Chen Cheng can descend and control, and with Chen Cheng's familiarity with history, how could there not be a continuous emergence of talent?
Then there is only one condition left.
A righteous family tradition!
Chen Xi looked at the scene in the distance, a solemn expression in his brows.
How will Chen Yun deal with Chen An?
He is his fourth uncle after all!
Inside the Chen family ancestral home, the other Chen family disciples also watched this scene; they, of course, knew that Chen An had done many wrong things, but they all thought that Chen An was Chen Xi's fourth son and should not be punished.
Isn't that what the powerful and noble families in Chang'an City do?
What they didn't know was that when they thought this way, in fact, thoughts like "greed, desire," which are enough to destroy a family, had already entangled the Chen family!
Chen Yun stood upright; he looked at Chen An, who was tied up and kneeling on the ground, and spoke in a clear, cold voice.
"That's right, you are indeed my fourth uncle."
"But..."
Chen Yun's brows were cold: "But today, I am not dealing with you as Chen Yun, but as the Chen Family Head!"
His brows were like lightning, and his voice was cold: "The many crimes you have committed, whether it be encroaching on Qian Shou's fertile land, forcibly seizing commoners' daughters, or accepting bribes, leading to the people of Guandu suffering, all of these are grave crimes!"
Chen Yun picked up a bamboo slip, his voice carrying seriousness and authority.
The others, seeing this bamboo slip, all knelt on the ground; this was the Chen Family Motto left by Chen Xi!
To see it was like seeing the ancestors!
"According to the Chen Family Motto, the laws violated by Chen An shall be punished with extreme penalty."
"However, the family motto also states that the Chen family's laws cannot override the laws of the imperial court, and some of the crimes committed by Chen An also violated the laws of the Great Han!"
"Therefore, actions that do not violate the laws of the Great Han but violate the Chen Family Motto shall be dealt with according to the Chen Family Motto; actions that violate both the laws of the Great Han and the Chen Family Motto shall be handed over to the imperial court and dealt with according to the laws of the Great Han!"
As soon as Chen Yun's voice fell, a commotion erupted in front of the ancestral hall.
What? Hand him over to the imperial court for punishment?
Even Chen Yun's third uncle, Chen Zhen, hesitated; he looked at Chen Yun and said, "Yun... Family Head, if he is handed over to the imperial court for punishment, will it affect the Chen family's... reputation?"
"No noble family's disciple has ever been handed over to the imperial court after violating the law; they are always dealt with privately."
"Moreover, Chen An is father's biological son; is it appropriate to hand him over to the imperial court...?"
Chen Zhen did not oppose punishing Chen An, as this was also an order left by his father, and he also knew that for the Chen family to be passed down for a thousand years, they must abide by the imperial court's laws.
But... it was a bit damaging to the Chen family's face.
Chen Yun chuckled softly; he looked at the people present, who had various expressions: "Do you all think so too?"
No one present spoke.
Chen Yun was quite disappointed: "How can the Chen Family Motto override the imperial court?!"
"If the law is violated, then action must be taken according to the law! Only the imperial court has the authority to exercise such legal matters! Is my Chen family some kind of criminal family?"
"How can there be people like you who do not regard the imperial court's laws?"
He waved his hand: "No more talk!"
"Chen San!"
A soldier next to him stepped forward: "Here, sir."
Chen Yun looked at him and said: "Execute Chen An according to the family motto, thirty lashes! Then expel him from the Chen family! Remove his name from the family register!"
"Then hand him over to the Guandu Prefect, fully disclose his crimes, and provide all his evidence, stating that this person is no longer a member of the Chen family, and order him to deal with him according to the law in my capacity as Lang Zhong Ling and Neili of the Prime Minister's Office!"
After Chen San received the order, he pressed Chen An down outside the ancestral hall and carried out the Chen Family Motto.
Everyone... watched as Chen An was whipped until his skin was torn and flesh exposed, in extreme pain, but still left with his life and a breath.
A warning bell rang in everyone's ears.
.... .....
Inside the room
Chen Yun looked at Chen Xi in front of him and said softly: "Chen Xi, do you understand why your father insisted on sending your Uncle An to the imperial court to be dealt with according to the imperial court's laws?"
PS: First update. Currently 5 chapters in arrears, because I've been working almost 10,000 words a day for about ten consecutive days for the debut, my body can't take it anymore. So I'll rest for these two days~ Today and tomorrow will be normal updates with no extra chapters, and I'll add more the day after tomorrow.