Even after the art festival ended, its aftershocks lingered, but these had nothing to do with Duanmu Ci anymore. His attention was completely drawn to the Mohist school.
He met with members of the Mohist school in a teahouse and they talked for a long time. He learned that although the Mohist school had not disappeared after the Qin and Han dynasties, it was no longer as prosperous as it had been in the Spring and Autumn period. Their attention had turned to the innovation of craftsmanship. Behind each of the Four Great Masters of Ancient China, their influence shone.
Moreover, they invented tools that greatly benefited agriculture, such as the curved plow, spinning wheel, and waterwheel. Then, upholding the spirit of "universal love," they did not use these tools for profit, but quietly promoted them throughout the land, benefiting all people. They then left without a trace, concealing their identities and names, and no one knew of their contributions.
It wasn't until modern times, when they were impacted by industrial civilization, that they finally woke up from their primitive creative ways and began sending their best members to the West to learn advanced science and technology. Many of them later became world-renowned scientists, but no one knew that they were actually members of the Mohist school.
For example, Zhan Tianyou, who is known as "China's first railway pioneer" and built the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, was actually a disciple of the Mohist school. The Mohist school has never given up its mission to benefit the world.
In fact, even the world-renowned Qian Xuesen was one of their members. When Qian Xuesen was stranded in the United States and unable to return, it was the Mohists who painstakingly pulled strings with the government to allow him to return and participate in national reconstruction. Duanmu Ci knew about this, as he was in the United States at the time. He also contributed significantly to this effort, even secretly negotiating with American officials; otherwise, Qian Xuesen wouldn't have been able to return to his homeland so easily.
At the time, Duanmu Ci was unaware that Qian Xuesen was a member of the Mohist school. He acted entirely out of public-spiritedness and enthusiasm for China, after all, it was his homeland of over two thousand years, and he wanted it to prosper. However, due to certain special reasons and historical circumstances, he could not return to contribute, but he was very willing to send those who were willing to return to contribute.
Today, the Mohist school has become entirely a technological institution. Although they still study Mohist classics, they rarely use them anymore. After all, we live in a modern society, not the war-torn, literary society of the past. Some of the Mohist ideas are no longer relevant. Moreover, in today's world, the Mohist school has completely lost any possibility or power to dominate national politics.
Unless one day the world's nuclear superpowers suddenly have a meltdown and launch atomic bombs at each other, turning the entire world into ruins and returning everyone to the classical era, it's absolutely impossible. In fact, even if the latter were to occur, the possibility of the Mohist school rising again is slim, given that modern ideas have already taken root in people's minds.
After decades of research, the Mohist school has actually achieved considerable results. A large portion of these results could even change the world today, at least in terms of daily life. However, the Mohists also have their own concerns, fearing the exposure of their identities, and therefore have never dared to make them public.
Now, the Duanmu family has appeared. The Duanmu family and the Mohist school share a lineage from the Spring and Autumn period, a thousand-year-old friendship. They even joined forces to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, so they are undoubtedly trustworthy. Moreover, the Duanmu family is wealthy, powerful, and inscrutable; they can certainly withstand pressure. Entrusting one's research results to the Duanmu family is absolutely safe. The Duanmu family can also profit from this; everyone gets what they need, and incidentally, the world benefits as a result…
From the Mohists, Duanmu Ci also learned about the fates of those ancient schools of thought: the Military School, the Agricultural School, the School of Names, and the Miscellaneous School had all perished. The Yin-Yang School was merged into the Daoist School, and everyone became Daoist priests. Some of them went east to Japan and became Onmyoji (yin-yang masters) in the East.
The fate of the strategists was the most heartbreaking for Duanmu Ci.
The School of Diplomacy (or strategists) arguably thrived on periods of chaos. Only in turbulent times could they find their place; otherwise, they were relegated to diplomatic posts like the Court of State Ceremonial. At the end of the Three Kingdoms period, when the empire fell to the Sima clan, the School of Diplomacy once again rose to power. Taking advantage of Emperor Hui of Jin's apparent insanity (his famous "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"), they successfully instigated the "War of the Eight Princes," shattering a once-thriving empire.
However, events later changed. The War of the Eight Princes severely weakened the Central Plains, giving neighboring barbarian tribes an opportunity to invade and slaughter Han Chinese, ultimately leading to the tragic "Five Barbarian Invasions." Hundreds of strategists committed suicide on the spot. Their essence was lost, and they faded into obscurity. Later, during the eight years of war, they were massacred after a city fell.
That city was called Nanjing, and from then on, the Zong family was wiped out.
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Soon after, the day of the Japanese prime minister election arrived. With the concerted efforts and sabotage of the imperial family, the Minamoto clan, and the Duanmu clan, the Minamoto clan finally succeeded in ascending to the throne of the prime ministerial family, completing a magnificent comeback and return. The imperial family's prestige was greatly enhanced as a result. As one of the collaborators, the Duanmu family naturally benefited as well. Various businesses flocked to Japan, and with the various conveniences provided by the cabinet, they amassed a fortune.
Meanwhile, the wedding of Wei Yue and Princess Jiazi was held as scheduled at Meiji Shrine. Duanmu Ci, as Wei Yue's close friend, naturally couldn't miss it. He specially took leave to go to Tokyo to give Wei Yue a surprise. Oh, by the way, that kid Aslan also went. He said that Wei Yue had stayed at his house for free last time, which made him lose money, and he had to eat his way back at the wedding banquet.
The wedding gift Duanmu Ci gave Wei Yue was the calligraphy scroll titled "Sixteen Days," which he had promised as payment. This caused Wei Yue to complain bitterly. He felt the scroll was rightfully his, but Duanmu Ci had given it to him as a wedding gift, depriving him of a source of income. He immediately mocked Duanmu Ci, calling him stingy, greedy, and unrighteous.
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