Zhao Jiu immediately laughed and nodded: "Yes, whoever takes the initiative is responsible, whoever proposes it is responsible for proving it... Yuan Xue was the last to learn but attacked first, so naturally they should prove it... Lu Benzhong."
Following Emperor Zhao's gentle call, Hu Anguo and others turned around in surprise, only to find that there was an extra person behind them. It was none other than Lu Haowen, the old son of Prime Minister Lu who had not been allowed to serve in an official position for decades, and Lu Benzhong, who had a place in the Jiangxi School of Poetry. They were all in awe.
Besides, Lü Benzhong's reputation was actually not very good, mainly because he was implicated in the old party because of his status as the eldest son of the Lü family when he was young, so he was not allowed to enter the officialdom. Therefore, he led a frivolous lifestyle. Moreover, as the natural heir to the Lü family's learning, his achievements in Taoism were far inferior to those of his father. Instead, he spent all day writing poems and lyrics.
In this era of clear contempt, writing poetry and lyrics is ultimately inferior to Taoism. Therefore, even though Lü Benzhong once joked about the concept of Jiangxi Poetry School, inadvertently establishing the first formal poetry school in the history of Chinese poetry and occupying an important position in the history of Chinese culture, it has always been despised.
However, at this moment, in front of this person, anyone who looks down on him would be a fool.
"I am here."
Lu Benzhong bowed and stepped out. It can only be said that although he did not hold an official position, as the eldest son of the Lu family, he naturally had an idle position through favors, just like Hu Anguo who held a position in the government but did not do any work.
"Did you hear what Mr. Hu said?" Zhao Jiu asked with a smile.
"I heard it." For some reason, when Hu Anguo and others looked back, they saw that this man who was obviously well prepared actually had a trembling voice. They didn't know what he was afraid of.
"Mr. Hu and his friends' meaning is very clear. Original learning emphasizes the principle of knowing through investigation of things, unity of knowledge and action, and testing everything through practice..." Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows and smiled, and said some high-sounding things. "Now, let's not talk about anything else. Let's just say that your father mentioned this idea of being as energetic as water, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction among Mr. Hu and others. Prime Minister Lu has worked hard and made great contributions. He has been studying all day recently. I can't disturb you. I can only ask you two questions. Can you and your son prove this thing in practice?"
"Yes." Lu Benzhong answered with gritted teeth, as if he had made some decision.
"How to prove it?" Zhao Jiu laughed even harder. "We have to agree that you have to design an experiment that will convince people. Just like if I can use my ten-odd-mu land to feed hundreds of people in the palace two taels of meat every day, it can be better than proving that the whole Song Dynasty can eat two taels of meat every day."
"Your Majesty, Mr. Qingshan." Lü Benzhong bowed and said, "I have a way to prove that Qi is like water, and to prove that Mr. Qingshan's theory of Qi is wrong!"
"Tell me." As Hu Anguo frowned, Zhao Jiu also spoke sternly.
"Your Excellency, Mr. Qingshan." Lü Benzhong took a long breath and bowed again, but finally pointed at Hu Anguo. "My father explained in the original school that Qi is a substance, like water. As we all know, fish cannot feel it in water, but we know outside the water that water has weight after all. The deeper it is, the heavier it is and the more pressure it has... Therefore, according to the original school, although Qi cannot be seen or touched, it should actually have weight and pressure. It's just that it's difficult for us to measure it in it."
"I understand." Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted. "I remember Mr. Qingshan said that Qi fills the universe and is endless. If Qi has weight and pressure like water, then wouldn't it crush people? So, if practice can prove that Qi has pressure and weight like water, then naturally the original theory is right, and Mr. Hu's is wrong... Is that what you mean?"
"Yes!" Lu Benzhong quickly lowered his head.
"Can you prove it?"
"Yes...yes!" For some reason, Lu Benzhong seemed a little cowardly.
"Mr. Hu, what do you think?" Zhao Jiu glanced at the other party coldly, then smiled at Hu Anguo again.
Hu Anguo thought about it carefully, and then said what he meant: "Your Majesty, the original meaning of the dispute between me and Prime Minister Lu is the relationship between life, morality and external objects, not the pressure of qi. Even if it can be proved that qi has pressure like water, it cannot be said that Prime Minister Lu's original teachings are correct in this regard. The idea of crushing people is a bit absurd... But as your Majesty said, I and most of my fellow Taoists believe that qi fills the universe. If qi really has pressure, then it means that qi has weight. At the very least, it can be shown that some of our thoughts and ideas on the matter of qi are wrong. So in this matter, we are still slightly at a disadvantage after all."
Zhao Jiu nodded hurriedly, then turned to Lv Benzhong and spoke impatiently: "Did Mr. Lu hear that?"
Lu Benzhong also nodded repeatedly, but for some reason his face turned a little pale.
"It will take at least a year for me to dig a fish pond, plant mulberry trees, and raise livestock. It may take three to five years to see results. This is limited by time, so I have no choice but to do so." Zhao Jiu continued to exert pressure. "But how many days will it take for you to prepare the practice of air pressure so that the world can see it clearly? I can wait for one or two months, and Mr. Hu and others will naturally have patience, but if it takes three to five years, not to mention that Mr. Hu and others will think you are playing tricks, even I will not allow it."
Hu Anguo and others were rarely in high spirits... They originally thought that the emperor was extremely partial to Lu Gongxiang and Yuan Xue, and that he had political purposes. But no matter what, if such matters could be restricted to this extent, it was enough to show that the emperor still valued fairness and justice.
As expected, Lu Benzhong was obviously in a state of doubt. After a long while, he nodded heavily and said, "My father is studying hard and it is difficult for him to do this. Please give me a month to borrow craftsmen and manpower to do the work for my father."
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