Chapter 262: Follow the old ways, and catch up with the new

The world's academy.

Twenty-five years after the Xia Dynasty, this academy prepared for discussion was not abandoned because of the end of the grand event. On the contrary, it is still fulfilling its mission.

However, it is no longer possible to find discussions or such a huge collision of ideas as that triggered by that heavyweight event.

But Xun Ke stayed here and became the chief academic officer of the Imperial Academy.

Countless students who believed in his ideas came from thousands of miles away to study under him.

The number of people following him is already greater than that of the Mohists, and he has become a powerful figure.

In order to distinguish them from the Mohists, people gave them a new name, Confucianism.

Xun Ke's disciples called themselves Confucian scholars, and their unique school of thought should be called Confucianism or Confucianism.

From the 25th year of the Xia Dynasty to the 34th year of the Xia Dynasty, another nine years had passed. Confucianism was already able to compete with Mohism, and even had more supporters among the people.

The benefits of establishing private schools and academies have become apparent in recent years.

A steady stream of students came to the Tianxia Academy to listen to Xun Ke's teachings. The academy was also constantly expanding to accept opinions from all over the world.

After Gu Dan completed "Shennong's Herbal Classic", he came here to see how far Xun Ke had come.

Even though he had never been too concerned about court affairs, the fact that Emperor Xia sent people to recruit Xun Ke twice but was rejected by Xun Ke had spread throughout the court and the country.

Many people felt that Confucianism was ready to compete with Mohism. Even Emperor Xia supported it, otherwise he would not have invited them one after another.

Now that two years have passed since the last invitation, it’s time for the third one, right? Everyone thought so.

So Gu Dan came.

So many years have passed, and his soul has become stronger. The fourth petal of the thirty-six-petal lotus in the White Lotus Visualization Diagram is already stirring, and his spiritual consciousness is enough to cover an area of ​​ten feet in radius.

As the years go by, his strength has actually been growing steadily, and today, he is no longer the same as before.

It's just that his martial power, which was already invincible in the world, had no chance to be used to further improve it. The accumulation of small advances allowed his foundation to continue to increase, but it had not yet grown to the point of qualitative change.

Now is the time to bide one's time and hide one's strength.

But there are still obvious benefits to improving strength.

For example, Gu Dan can feel the blood and energy of others just by a glance, and it will be of no use even if the master deliberately hides it.

Gu Dan just took a quick stroll around the Tianxia Academy, feeling the thickness of the qi and blood in the human body, and then he found Xun Ke.

At this time, Xun Ke was sitting upright at his desk, writing with great concentration.

Gu Dan walked over quietly without being noticed.

Xun Ke was looking at the white rice paper in front of him, his eyes filled with thousands of waves.

Finally, the hand holding the pen fell down.

"A gentleman says: learning should never stop. Blue is derived from indigo, but it is bluer than indigo. Ice is made of water, but it is colder than water. A piece of wood is straight as a rope, and when it is bent into a wheel, its curve is in the same direction as a circle. Even if it is dry and hard and can no longer stand straight, it is because it has been bent. Therefore, wood becomes straight when it is tied with a rope, and metal becomes sharp when it is sharpened. A gentleman is well-educated and examines himself every day, so he will be wise and will not make mistakes.

Therefore, if you do not climb a high mountain, you will not know how high the sky is; if you do not stand by a deep stream, you will not know how thick the earth is; if you do not listen to the words of the ancient kings, you will not know how great learning is.

Xun Ke kept writing.

He has definitely not been wasting time these years.

He organized his thoughts and turned them into essays, and has written quite a few of them, analyzing his own ideas in detail for people around the world to appreciate.

Rather than building up his own power, it would be more accurate to say that he was organizing what he had learned and sharpening the sword before it was unsheathed.

What I write today seems to be no different from before.

But the meaning has become somewhat different.

"When soil accumulates to form a mountain, wind and rain arise; when water accumulates to form an abyss, dragons are born; when good deeds accumulate to form virtue, the gods are content and the sage's heart is ready. Therefore, without the accumulation of small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; without the accumulation of small streams, one cannot form a river or sea. A good horse cannot reach ten steps in one leap; a slow horse can travel ten miles in ten days, and the key is perseverance. If you give up halfway, rotten wood will not break; if you keep carving, gold and stone can be carved. The earthworm has no sharp claws and teeth, and no strong muscles and bones, but it eats dust from above and drinks water from the Yellow Spring, and its mind is focused. The crab has six legs and two claws, and it has no place to rest except in the holes of snakes and eels, and its mind is impatient."

The pen is like a swimming dragon.

As the ink-filled words fell on the rice paper, Xun Ke's expression became more determined.

Gu Dan watched from the side, with mixed emotions floating in his heart.

The last time he saw Xun Ke writing furiously, Xun Ke was secretly writing short stories at night to vent his anger.

This time, the content is written by the same person, but it is very different.

What kind of waves and discussions will this great article cause once it is published?

The most thought-provoking parts are the first two sentences.

Green is derived from indigo, but it is greener than indigo; ice is made of water, but it is colder than water.

This certainly means that there are always newcomers to catch up with and that the younger generation should not underestimate themselves, but some people will certainly understand it as the Confucianists starting to counterattack against the Mohists and that the time has come for the Confucians to surpass the Mohists.

The development of things is certainly inevitable, but the replacement of the country's blood is also of paramount importance.

Thirty-four years have passed, and most of the people who benefited from the Mohist school have become old. Today, Mo Qiu has truly become a sage imprinted in people's hearts. When the new generation mentions him, he no longer seems like a living person, but more like an immortal god sent by heaven, without flesh and blood, and is put on the shelf, where people can only admire him.

As for Mohism, many people have the attitude of admiring it but keeping their distance from it.

True idealists are definitely a minority among the minority.

What's more, times have changed. How can the living conditions in the Xia Dynasty today be compared to before?

When Gu Dan traveled among the people, he found that ordinary farmers dared to eat meat once every ten days or half a month - in the past, that was something they would only be willing to eat during the Chinese New Year.

With the improvement of living conditions and the absence of the hardships of poverty, many people have never really been hungry in their lives. Naturally, they do not understand how the Ten Principles of Mohism, which are so strict that they are "brain-sick", can still be maintained today.

Everyone is living a good life, but the Mohists are still shouting about not being extravagant and not enjoying themselves. They are simply going against the people of the world.

As the Xia Dynasty became more and more prosperous, the number of Mohists did not increase, but began to decrease, and now there are only about 3,000 left.

Of course, part of the reason was that the Mohists were getting old, but another part was the reality that people living in the Xia Dynasty were no longer so fond of Mohism.

When the majority of people in a country live better than the Mohists, is there any need for the Mohists to exist? It is good to help the weak and suppress the strong.

But now, the Mohists seem a little "weak".

This weakness is not in strength, but in treatment.

This is an issue that must be considered.

When the Xia Dynasty was first established, even with the aid and compensation from the four countries, the people did not live very well. The Mohists shared the hardships with them at that time. When the people saw that they lived a hard life and that the Mohists were even poorer than them, they naturally won the hearts of the people. The Mohists also became a role model for people all over the world and were highly respected.

However, now that the Xia Dynasty had become wealthy and prosperous, the Mohist school was still using the same old stuff and could no longer attract others to join it - some people even felt that the Mohist school was being unnecessary, looking for trouble and trying to show off its self-righteousness.

The growth of an organization certainly depends on individual choices, but it also has to pay attention to changes in the environment.

The Xia Dynasty had reached a point where it urgently needed new ideas to replace the conservative Mohist school.

If we say that in the 20th year of the Xia Dynasty, when Gu Dan mentioned this matter to Qin Lisheng, the Mohist School still had a chance to change its course and direction, then by now, when Confucianism has become dominant, many people's tolerance for the Mohist School has almost come to an end.

The Mohist school is still the same Mohist school, but the Xia Dynasty is no longer the original Xia Dynasty.

The people are no longer the original group of people who directly benefited from the Mohist School and were given hope.

Gu Dan saw everything clearly. He had given Qin Lisheng advice more than ten years in advance. During that grand discussion, Zhuang Sheng pointed out the most core issue.

The Mohists pursued the public good too much, completely obliterating their personal desires and treating themselves with extremely strict requirements. This is inhumane. Even if the Mohists could do it, how could they demand the same of the entire world?

Gu Dan watched the Mohist school develop and grow step by step until it eventually became the state religion.

I also witnessed the gradual decline of Mohism. Mohism did nothing wrong, it was just... no longer appropriate.

If Mohism continues to dominate the mainstream, it will affect the development of the Xia Dynasty.

Xun Ke must have seen this and decided to start his own business, right? Looking at Xun Ke who was still writing furiously, Gu thought worriedly.

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He gave Qin Li a chance to win, and so did Xun Ke give Mohism a chance.

Four years ago, Wang Mang invited Xun Ke to return.

Two years ago, Wang Mang invited him again.

Xun Ke refused all the offers, but it was not as if he was trying to please them.

On the one hand, he was indeed not well prepared at that time, but on the other hand, he hoped that the Mohist School would make some changes in this final period of time.

However, no.

Qin Lisheng was determined, and so was Mohism.

Then we can only let the world choose.

When the last stroke was made, Xun Ke's face was full of determination.

After thinking for a long time, he wrote a name for this great article.

"Encouraging Learning".

After returning the pen and ink to their original places, Xun Ke was about to stretch his body when the corner of his eye finally caught sight of a man in a green robe standing in front of the table like a ghost.

"Mr. Gu."

Xun Ke came to his senses and quickly stood up and saluted.

“It’s really well written.”

Gu Dan laughed and pointed at the wet ink on the rice paper, "Compared to the past, your skills are much better."

Xun Ke's face rarely turned red for a moment. Decades of hard work in cultivating his qi made him waver a little when he thought back to when Gu Dan caught him secretly writing slanderous stories behind his back to vent his anger.

"Mr. Gu, you came to see me, what do you want to discuss?"

Xun Ke pretended not to hear and abruptly changed the subject.

“Yes, indeed.”

Gu Dan said, "The Shennong Herbal Classic has been compiled, but no matter how good the book is, it needs people to read and use it. Now that you are as famous as Qin Lisheng, I would like to trouble you to spread the word. At least people should know about this."

"No problem, Xiaoying told me everything, don't worry."

Xun Ke nodded and agreed without any hesitation.

His wife Xiaoying has become the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau in recent years.

Moreover, he was in charge of thousands of people - all of them were women, but they did not receive officials' salaries. They were barely affiliated with the Imperial Medical Service and were mainly responsible for delivering babies and taking care of them.

Similar to a combination of "midwife" and "wet nurse" as commonly known in the folks, Gu Dan's imagination kept Xiaoying busy for more than ten years.

In addition, Gong Shangguo also found a number of medicinal fields suitable for growing medicinal herbs. Although it is not possible to directly supply the entire Xia Dynasty, everything has made a good start and only needs to be implemented.

As long as the court discovers the benefits of doing so, it will continue to implement it spontaneously even if Gu Dan is not here.

But everything is difficult at the beginning. If Gu Dan hadn't taken the lead, this matter wouldn't even have started.

Gu Dan has also put in a lot of effort, so naturally he must do his best to strive to have a medical clinic in every part of the Xia Dynasty within 30 years to protect the health of the people everywhere.

"Okay, I'll leave it to you then."

Gu Dan did not stay here for long. Xun Ke was no longer alone, and he had quite a number of disciples, whose time was much more valuable than that of an "idler" like him.

After leaving the Tianxia Academy, Gu Dan went directly to a shabby room in the imperial capital.

As expected, Gu Dan met the person he wanted to see here.

Gong Shangguo.

However, Gong Shangguo is no longer the handsome, elegant and arrogant young man in Gu Dan's memory.

Gong Shangguo, who was sitting at the desk reading official documents, had almost all of his originally enviable jet-black black hair turned silver. Occasionally, there was a hint of black hidden in it, but it required careful searching. His sword-like eyebrows and aggressive eyes had now lost the sharpness of his youth, and instead he looked amiable at first glance.

The slightly loose skin makes this handsome man who once looked like a banished immortal less sharp and more gentle, but one can still vaguely see his handsome figure in his youth.

Over the years, many familiar people have gone on to achieve great things and become famous.

However, he, who co-founded the Mohist School with Mo Qiu in the past, is somewhat "unknown".

Gong Shangguo does not create problems, he is only responsible for solving them and doing practical things.

If Wang Mang had a left-hand and a right-hand man, that person was neither Xu Wanrong, the mistress of the harem, nor Qin Lisheng, the imperial teacher of the Xia Dynasty, but the person in front of him.

Those who are good at fighting may not have great achievements, and the same is true for Gong Shangguo.

"cough."

Gu Dan coughed lightly, waking up Gong Shangguo who was reading official documents.

Hearing the voice, Gong Shangguo raised his head and saw Gu Dan at a glance.

He seemed a little dazed.

After a moment, he said, "How did you find the time to come to see me? You look so young!"

(End of this chapter)