Chapter 111 I Want It All
Luo left the palace again. It was not an easy task to reshape a school from the root. He still needed to plan carefully. If he directly split Confucianism now, it would be a loss.
Luo Chang brought his cousin Luo Li to the Luo Kingdom's storage room. As soon as they pushed open the door and walked in, they were hit by a strong smell of grease. This storage room was one of the reasons why the Luo Kingdom Academy could attract countless talents.
Luo Li asked in confusion: "Brother, why did you bring me here? My family is still a member of the royal family. It is not time for us to leave, so we don't need to pass down books."
When a child of a royal family loses his holy mark and leaves home, his master will give him books to keep him company, as well as a large amount of assets.
Hearing this, Luo Chang laughed and scolded: "If you want to go out, go to the ancestral temple and ask to see the ancestors. I believe you will be able to fulfill your wish."
Luo Li chuckled, and Luo Chang said seriously: "I brought you here because my uncle is now planning Confucianism, but this alone is not enough. The kingly way encompasses thousands of things, how can it be summarized by just Confucianism?
The Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tzu in the past is also the kingly way, and even the heavenly way that is more invincible than Confucianism. "
With the foundation of Luo State, it was naturally impossible for it to master only Confucianism. Moreover, although Confucianism was a kind of kingly way, it was not all.
At least the wisdom contained in Lao Tzu's doctrines is not inferior to that of Confucianism. Especially when it comes to governing a country, Lao Tzu's thoughts are profound.
The greatest advantage of Confucianism is that the words in its classics sound so beautiful.
No matter whether it can be achieved or not, it sounds like the right way, just like the sun makes people feel warm.
On the other hand, each of the Legalists' measures were indeed ways to strengthen the country, but they were too unpleasant to the ear, and everyone except the monarch would see them as villains.
Luo Chang came here to look for a key classic. The two walked around two large bookshelves and stopped in front of a large scroll of bamboo slips. He pointed at the densely packed scrolls and said, "Li, do you see those ten volumes? That's one of the origins of the Legalist school!"
Luo Li looked up and saw the words "Guan Zi" written next to the bamboo slips on the bookshelf.
"Brother, is this something written by Guan Zhong in the past?"
Guan Zhong had a great reputation among the various states. He assisted Duke Huan for five years and helped him dominate the world, a feat no other minister had ever achieved. Because Guan Zhong practiced the Legalists in reality and practiced the kingly way in name, both Confucians and Legalists highly respected him.
"Yes, this is the thought of Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi State four hundred years ago. It contains Guan Zhong's thoughts on the prosperity of the country and the deep reasons for various reforms. This is actually one of the sources of the Legalist thought in the academy.
However, the current hegemonic Legalists carried forward Guan Zhong's methods of enhancing the monarch's authority and commanding soldiers and civilians, but completely abandoned Guan Zhong's policies of giving benefits to the people and reconciling contradictions, ultimately creating the current Legalists.
Guan Zhong was originally a descendant of the royal family of Luo State. It is an indisputable fact that his theory originated from King Su. It will be a time for harsh laws and punishments to be used to trample on the Legalists in the future.
The disciples of the Legalists must be in a constant state of anxiety, and at that time, perhaps this set of moderate theories will be needed.
You are the most gifted scholar among the children of the royal family. You should take Guanzi back and study it carefully. Just like your position in Confucianism, you should strive to occupy a place among Guan Zhong's legalists. "
The more Luo Li listened, the brighter his eyes became, and he quickly said, "Don't worry, brother, I will definitely live up to your trust."
…
When Luo Chang was planning the two currently more popular doctrines, Confucianism and Legalism, the State of Qi was calm on the surface, but in fact there were undercurrents beneath the surface.
The impact of Qi's defeat was immeasurable. Those nobles who wanted to restore Duke Huan's hegemony suffered a huge blow. Not only did Qi fail to recover its strength, it also ceded land and paid compensation for losses, especially the cession of the Huaisi area, and Qi lost its bridgehead to the south.
In the Qi Palace, the atmosphere was very tense, with the two groups confronting each other and neither giving in.
The Prime Minister knelt before the Duke of Qi and cried, "My Lord.
Qi was a state granted by King Wu, and was as noble and ancient as Luo. Its predecessor, Duke Huan, was promoted to the rank of Fangbo, received the Nine Gifts, and embarked on the path to becoming a hegemon. What a glorious and brilliant history it was.
The various states of Xia fought a great war and were defeated, with one third of their land ceded. What a humiliating thing it was!
These are the lands that our ancestors fought hard to obtain. Don't you feel angry?
Please go to Linzi City and listen. The anger in the hearts of the Qi people is like boiling magma, and no one knows when it will erupt.
If you don't appease me, you and I will surely die in the palace."
This was exactly what the Duke of Qi was worried about. He also wept and sighed, "Prime Minister, don't I know the danger you are talking about?
But now the situation is so serious, what should I do? "
The Prime Minister wiped his tears and said harshly: "Your Majesty, Qi was defeated because Xue Yuan and others fought poorly and started the war without authorization.
They must be held responsible for the defeat, and killing them all and putting the blame on them would surely ease the mood of the nobles and the people of the country.”
Victory is rewarded, defeat is punished.
This is an iron rule. Qi State suffered such a great defeat, someone must stand up and take the blame. If no one stands up, the monarch must take it.
But this time the blame was too great for the Duke of Qi to bear alone, so the Prime Minister suggested that the senior officials who started the war should bear it.
"Kill Xue Yuan and the others?" Duke Qi was shocked when he heard this: "They have a large number of troops. If we kill them directly, won't it start a civil war in the country?"
Sima also objected, saying, "To the south of Qi are the armies of Qin and Wei. What if the Qin and Wei troops stationed in Huai and Si take the opportunity to attack?
Wei Houqing betrayed the alliance between Qin and Wei, and Qin Bo betrayed the alliance between Qin and Chu. These two countries are both unfaithful and wolves.
Once the country is in turmoil, they will tear up the Luoshui Peace Agreement in an instant, and then it will be a disaster that will overthrow the country. Prime Minister, can you bear this responsibility?"
In the past, Qi had always been in the same league with Luo, so it had basically never broken its alliance. Qi was very wary of the reckless breaking of alliance by Wei and Qin.
Duke Qi hesitated and said, "Prime Minister, now that we don't have the support of the royal family of Luo, I am really unsure. Why don't we send someone to Luo to ask the Marquis of Luo if he has any solution?"
The prime minister was so angry that he almost vomited blood. At this moment of life and death, he had so many concerns. He was really a stupid teammate!
Do you really think Luo Hou wants to see you?
The Prime Minister stood up, grasped the Duke of Qi's arm, and said sternly, "Your Majesty!
You can’t hesitate any longer. You should immediately send a letter to the nobles in the country, saying that Qi was defeated because of your lack of virtue, and invite all loyal ministers to Linzi to discuss the affairs of Qi. "
As he spoke, his eyes were full of murderous intent, staring at the Duke of Qi, as if he would kill you first if you don't agree. The Duke of Qi was terrified and said repeatedly: "Then let's do as the Prime Minister says."
Regardless of whether the Prime Minister of Qi had selfish motives, his judgment of the situation in Qi was very accurate.
The nobles of various countries suffered heavy losses in the war. The nobles of victorious countries such as Chu were able to get compensation, but the nobles of defeated countries such as Qi were in a very miserable situation.
There were many conflicts in the country, especially among some small nobles who wanted to make up for their losses. They directly began to attack neighboring cities. There were also those nobles who had their lands directly ceded and lost their fiefdoms, and they were filled with indignation.
These grievances will eventually be transmitted to Linzi City. This is the inevitable fate of the Lord of the Country.
When the news came from Linzi City, most people did not feel that there was anything wrong because the Duke of Qi had invited all the nobles in the country and his tone was very sincere.
Nearly a hundred nobles from dozens of cities in Qi State brought their retainers to Linzi City.
…
Many years have passed since the time of Confucius, but the prosperity of Confucianism is not only due to the long-term support of the Luo State in the academy, but also because the descendants of Confucius' disciples in the past have indeed produced many wise men.
If one wants to get involved in the future of Confucianism, these people need to be dealt with, especially Confucius' most famous students, who must be included in the list of sages.
In fact, the current leader Duanmu Gong has long been worried about the current situation of Confucianism. He is not a saint like Confucius, and cannot be so indifferent. He cares very much about the status and development of Confucianism.
"Now, in the various countries, those who hold high positions are all experts in military strategy. The world is in chaos. The monarchs of various countries value laws and tactics more than benevolence and virtue. Where should Confucianism go?"
All doctrines exist from the moment they are born to realize political ideals and build the world in one's own mind.
It doesn’t matter if a doctrine is rejected by the monarch of one country, but if all monarchs reject it, how can Confucian scholars remain calm?
"Mr. Duanmu, a few days ago, I saw the original book of Luoyu written by Mr. Luo Ming in the mansion of Mr. You. It also contains annotations by the predecessors of the Luo family and even annotations by Confucius.
I was shocked after reading one volume. These ideas are very consistent with Confucianism, but they are not in our classics. If we can attract this part of the classics, Confucianism will surely be able to develop further. "
There were already descendants of the Luo Kingdom in the room. Upon hearing this, they said, "There are countless secret books in the royal family. Especially since most of the descendants of the royal family are very smart, I'm afraid there are also many annotations of Confucius' books in the royal family, but outsiders don't know about them."
Luo gently threw out another bait, trying to hook the big fish of Confucianism.
…
The foundation accumulated by Luo State was too profound. After suffering an unprecedented defeat, Wu State fell into a state of destruction, Qi State fell into civil strife, and Han State and Zhao State became subservient to Wei State.
On the other hand, the Luo State only lost its political hegemony, but began to wield the cultural stick. Through the lofty status of the Su Wang, the classics with different views of the ancestors of each generation, and the monopoly of the Luo State Academy, it strengthened its influence on various doctrines and ideas at the grassroots level, which enabled the Luo family to gain a transcendent position in the fierce competition between schools of thought. - "The Luo State in the Warring States Period"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
