Three Kingdoms

"The people cannot govern themselves. If the people can govern themselves, what will be the temples?" Zheng Xuan frowned, waved his arms, and emphasized his tone, "Temple management, building roads and bridges, opening canals and mining, all need to be regulated. How can we leave it to the people themselves?" If the people were to govern themselves, they would only be engaged in farming and weaving! How can its county still be capable? Is his country strong? Without the law of the temple, there will definitely be no kindness among the people! 』

"Huang Lao's theory that the people should take care of themselves in the hope of great governance is a fallacy! What a fallacy! Zheng Xuan said very seriously, "What the people do is out of selfishness!" However, the great prince of the world will definitely harm the small and selfish! For example, if there is a great victory on the battlefield, there will be casualties among the soldiers. If we talk about it privately, the people will not advance for fear of casualties and fear that their wives will not be able to support them. How can we win? 』

"Corvees, taxes, wars, etc., how can the common people do it?" Zheng Xuan continued, "What did the people in ancient times earn in one day, is it comparable to today?" Why? The court has its inherent disadvantages, but don't give up eating because of choking! Taoism and law are certainly true, but people’s self-government is not! 』

Zheng Xuan said it very seriously.

He was not angry or quibbling, but he was really discussing with Sima Hui.

Because that's what he thinks.

In Zheng Xuan's early academic thoughts, he believed that there was a god, and he also recognized the theory of the emperor. This can be seen in his annotations to "Shang Shu" before coming to Chang'an. Moreover, Zheng Xuan also believed that the five elements should have five materials, and then there are the sun, moon, five stars, etc., and if there is some political incompetence, the gods will be angry. When the gods are angry, the five materials will lose their use.

Obviously, this is a logic that seems to make sense, but is not reasonable.

Even elementary school students in later generations would be able to point out the errors in this logic, but for people in the Han Dynasty, it was very popular, because this theory of the induction of heaven and man has been used for three to four hundred years. Think about it, it only took a few years for later academic circles to occupy the top position in the academy, control the mouthpiece, collude to exclude others, blatantly fake and hype each other up, and then control the Han Dynasty for three to four hundred years. What should the Confucian disciples of the Han Dynasty look like? ?

This kind of divine connection in the Han Dynasty was originally just to promote the divine right of kings and deify the emperor. If the monarch's behavior conforms to the will of the gods, various blessings and talismans will be sent down from heaven to show prosperity. On the contrary, if the monarch makes mistakes, heaven will Various disasters will be sent down as a warning. It is further deduced from this that the life and death, nobleness, wealth, misfortune, and fortune of all people are determined by the destiny of heaven, so they should respect the destiny of heaven and obey feudal rule.

This is actually a bit of a backsliding.

Liu Bang finally wrested the power away from the old aristocrats with "noble" blood, but his grandson got another telepathy from heaven and man, and then gave it back step by step...

However, after Zheng Xuan arrived in Chang'an, he began to re-examine some of his previous annotations on scriptures because of the debates and justifications of serious interpretations. He began to get rid of the original theory of the induction of heaven and man, and gradually moved from idealism to materialism.

Zheng Xuan gradually began to emphasize people's subjective initiative, saying that as long as they follow orderly arrangements and act in accordance with objective laws, good results can be obtained, and he no longer places special emphasis on auspicious things.

This change was due to changes in Zheng Xuan's political stance.

Zheng Xuan was originally conservative and orthodox in his political stance. He believed that the feudal system was reasonable, eternal, and in line with God's will. Therefore, he actively maintained the centralized system of feudal rule and opposed local separatist forces. Therefore, Zheng Xuan was He disliked Yuan Shao very much and also disliked Cao Cao.

But now, although Zheng Xuan also opposes the local separatist forces, he also realizes that not all local separatist forces harm the people and are the root of troubled times...

Especially after Fei Qian achieved stability in Guanzhong, he did not attack Shandong on a large scale, but still obeyed the emperor. Although Zheng Xuan also understood that this was only superficial compliance, it was enough to make Zheng Xuan very gratified.

Because Zheng Xuan fundamentally agreed with the Han Dynasty. He believed that as a minister, you must possess at least one of the three virtues, loyalty, justice and courage, but not all. If you have none, you are not qualified to be a minister at all. Therefore, in Zheng Xuan's theory of overall matters, although the part of prophecy has now been eliminated, and matters such as gods and auspiciousness are no longer emphasized, Zheng Xuan still believes that in dealing with the relationship between monarch and ministers, governing the people and other systems, it is necessary to strictly abide by the hierarchical order. It can bring about political stability, good weather and peace of the country and the people.

As for Sima Hui, he thinks Fei Qian is doing very well now.

The political system recognized by Sima Hui was completely different from that of Zheng Xuan.

To put it simply, Sima Hui believed that the court was too far away from the local area. The responsibility of the court was only to manage the officials in various places, but it should not formulate some useless policies to tie the hands of the states and counties.

And from a certain perspective, the court in the Han Dynasty was indeed not very well done...

"Temple... Okay, since Zheng Gong said temple, let's talk about temple..." Sima Hui stroked his beard and said, "In the past, the filial emperor died, and Emperor Chong was still in his infancy. What is the purpose of temple?" Please ask the Queen Mother to come to court. What is the Queen Mother doing? The imperial edict was issued to Ji, together with the Taifu and the Taiwei, to record the affairs of the ministers. He hoped to be in a high position and have power in the court, but he was extravagant and violent. After Emperor Xiaochong died again, he hoped to establish Emperor Zhi. The emperor is young but smart, he knows that Ji is arrogant, he tastes the officials in the court, looks at Ji and speaks harshly, but what do the ministers in the court do? Haha, if you allow yourself to be domineering, the emperor will collapse. 』

"Later, when Emperor Xiaohuan came to the throne, he came to visit the eunuchs and traveled far away from Qingliu. Why? Emperor Xiaozhi is a lesson learned from the past! Sima Hui sneered and said, "If in a time of filial piety, there are ministers in the court who have the courage to do their jobs and eliminate violence and bring down evil, how can the eunuchs in the future cause trouble?" He is domineering and cruel, but eunuchs can get rid of him, but why can't Qingliu do it? After Emperor Xiaohuan, the imperial strife became more intense, and everyone was thinking about their own selfish desires, and it was difficult to maintain a public heart. What good are these temples? 』

At the beginning, Emperor Zhi of the Han Dynasty still counted on his courtiers. He publicly stated that he would draw a clear line with Liang Ji and reprimanded Liang Ji in court. As a person who was evaluated as "few but smart", of course it was impossible for him to be ignorant of the quarrel with Liang Ji. The consequences of falling out, so Emperor Han Zhi most likely knew the consequences but did it anyway.

So who gave Han Zhi Emperor the courage?

It's definitely not Miss Liang, it's naturally the demagogues behind this incident, those ministers in the court who claim to be clean.

This is like those intellectuals in later generations who received state salaries and enjoyed high treatment. After the curtain on their buttocks was lifted, they changed from being called beasts to calling them money beasts. Emperor Zhi of the Han Dynasty also believed very much in these high-ranking ministers. But what did these people do for Emperor Han Zhi in the end?

These people did nothing during Emperor Han Zhi's lifetime and nothing after his death.

After the death of Emperor Zhi of the Han Dynasty, they were divided into two groups when discussing the candidate for the new emperor. One group was Liang Ji who wanted to make Li Wuhou Liu Zhi the emperor, and the other group was Li Gu, Hu Guang, Zhao Jie, Dahonglu Du Qiao and others who wanted to make him emperor. He established Liu Lian, the king of Qinghe, as emperor. As a result, Liang Ji just dismissed Li Gu and easily made Liu Zhi the emperor. This was Emperor Huan of Han.

Therefore, Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty later did not follow the route of Qingliu ministers at all, just like those rat shit public officials in later generations ruined the originally good pot of porridge.

If the trust between the monarch and his ministers is lost, what good role can it play in the temple?

Liu Zhi finally relied on the eunuchs to launch a coup, killed Liang Ji, and eliminated his party members. Then starting from Emperor Huan, he entered the era of eunuchs in power.

As for the ultimate consequence of the eunuchs' rule, Sima Hui does not need to say more, it is the current war...

Therefore, Sima Hui believed that a mediocre court was worse than no one at all. A powerful and intelligent local prince like Fei Qian could do better than a mediocre court, as evidenced by the three assistants of Chang'an. The court, or the emperor, can just be a mascot, don't give random orders. It only needs to be well controlled, just like the prime ministers of various feudal states. The prince is in name, and the prime minister is in reality.

Of course, the system envisioned by Sima Hui also has problems...

"No!" No! Zheng Xuan shook his head and said, "This is a fallacy." The chaos in the temple is caused by the poor selection of ministers. If Qiao Qi is in the hall, he will be able to manage more than the three assistants in Guanzhong. If the temple is neglected, the place will be heavy, and in the long run it will lead to chaos, just like the Seven Kingdoms. At that time, the world will be full of vassals and giant clans, and the laws will be confused. If the country is not in a state, the world will be overthrown! 』

"No, no!" Sima Hui also shook his head and said, "What I discussed is to determine the future strategy." It is established that there will be no war, let alone the troubles of the Seven Kingdoms. What's more, even if there are giant sects, what is there to fear like what happened in Lantian, Lian County? 』

"It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous..."

"Wrong, wrong..."

The two old men argued from day to night, and then they finally stopped. They drank water and ate in silence, both thinking about each other's words and their own arguments. Then they fell asleep separately and washed up the next morning. After eating the preserved meat, the two started a new round of argument.

Perhaps it was because neither side could directly determine the outcome of the temple dispute, so the two quickly moved on to argue about differences in other aspects.

Such as the law.

Zheng Xuan said that strict laws are needed, more detailed and complete, and no one can violate the law, even the monarch. The monarch should take the lead in obeying the law, so as to ensure the effective implementation of the law.

Sima Hui believed that education must be given first before the law is implemented, and more opportunities for correction must be given, and moral standards must be established in the countryside. This can solve most problems and reduce the burden on local administration. legal pressure.

Zheng Xuan expressed the need to increase the publicity of the law and increase the number of officials responsible for the law, so that there will be broader justice.

Sima Hui said that too many officials would increase the burden on the people and that the publicity of the law should be reduced, because the law is the lowest bottom line. What's the glory in promoting the bottom line all day long? Therefore, what is needed is to increase moral guidance, so as to improve the standards of the people.

Zheng Xuan said that law is an important way to resolve conflicts between people. A good law can guide people to be more kind and afraid of doing evil. However, Sima Hui felt that since conflicts easily arise between people, they should directly Solving the root causes of conflicts, while strengthening the law only treats the symptoms but not the root cause, it will increasingly lead the public to see if there are any loopholes in the law that can be exploited...

So the two people had a violent quarrel.

Zheng Xuan is somewhat biased towards the Yuzhong faction.

In Zheng Xuan's concept, ministers must be loyal to their monarch, no matter whether the monarch is good or bad.

Sima Hui is the opposite.

Sima Hui's concept is actually a bit like that of later generations. The salary given by the boss determines the level of loyalty.

In fact, the Confucian concept of monarch and ministers, especially during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, did not include absolute loyalty and obedience, but emphasized that monarchs and ministers have their own obligations and must respect each other. "The king treats his ministers with courtesy, and the ministers serve the king with loyalty." If the king does not respect his ministers, then the ministers do not need to be loyal to the king. Although the king is noble, he must accept restraints. If the monarch acts contrary to the constraints, the minister can also terminate the relationship between monarch and minister and disobey his own monarch.

Later, people like Mencius and Xunzi were even more extreme, especially Mencius, who directly said that if the king does not treat you as a human being, treat him as an enemy. Xunzi also said that the king and his ministers have different responsibilities, regardless of Everyone is very important and must fulfill their responsibilities.

Therefore, the Confucian scholars in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were really not submissive. If the monarch broke his promise or did something evil, the Confucian scholars would scold him in the mild case, or draw his sword against him in the serious case.

As for complete submission to the monarch, that is a legalist matter.

Therefore, many people say that Dong Zhongshu is a literary thief. This is generally because of this incident, because he not only stole things and took possessions from the Legalist Yin and Yang family as his own, but also lost the strong bones of the original Confucian scholar, leaving him with a thief spirit. .

The Han Dynasty was the last glory of the bloody Confucian scholars. After the Tang Dynasty, civil and military affairs were basically separated. There were only some so-called "romantic talents" who held fans and sang in restaurants with singers in their arms. By the time of the Song Dynasty, they were even more There are some unruly Confucian scholars who "kneel down to whoever has the bigger fist" and even drag others to kneel with them.

Therefore, generally speaking, Zheng Xuan belongs to the concept of monarch and minister after being influenced by Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty, while Sima Hui still maintains the definition of loyalty in the early Han Dynasty, or the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

It was when Zheng Xuan and Sima Hui were arguing about issues related to the loyalty of the emperor and his ministers that Fei Qian came.

When the two people were arguing on the first day, neither the Sima family nor Zheng Xuan's disciples paid much attention to it. After all, academic arguments were common. At Qinglong Temple, there was no argument that day. Everyone was blushing and thick-necked. There are people who cannot be persuaded by words or who can be persuaded by physical means.

But as the argument between the two deepened, the scope involved became wider and wider, which alarmed Fei Qian.

When Fei Qian arrived, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

Zheng Xuan and Sima Hui both seemed to have seen Fei Qian, but they seemed not to have seen him either. The two old men cited scriptures, refuted each other's arguments, and elaborated on their own ideas...

"Have you written down what the Second Master said?" Are there any omissions? Fei Qian asked Guoyuan, "Where's the drinking water?" Is the food ready? Is the doctor ready? 』

There was a slight sweat on Guoyuan's head, "Most of today's discussion has been written down, but yesterday's discussion has not been recorded... Food and water are available in the village, but the doctor..."

Guoyuan was quite scared.

But he was not afraid of facing Fei Qian.

As a disciple of Zheng Xuan, Guoyuan did not expect that things would turn into the current situation.

The ideological differences between Zheng Xuan and Sima Hui are not just one-word differences in ancient and modern texts, but also differences in specific matters of governance, including laws, systems, etc. When discussing the previous serious discussions, The two of them also have differences on which scriptures to choose, but the differences are not very obvious. After all, the important scriptures are those few scriptures. They were handed down from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and there is a context that can be traced.

But when it comes to the current solution, the differences naturally become larger...

Different readings of the words in the same scripture have different understandings, not to mention that it can be said that there are ideological differences between schools like Zheng Xuan and Sima Hui, and it affects the whole body.

At first, Guoyuan only wanted to use Sima Hui's power to invite Zheng Xuan out of seclusion, but he did not expect that after inviting him out, he would fall into a more troublesome situation.

Zheng Xuan is old and his body is weak. This is something that everyone knows. Although there is Chang'an Baiyi Medical Center, the Baiyi Medical Center cannot withstand the erosion of time. The aging of the body is irreversible, so Guoyuan is afraid that Zheng Xuan is in seclusion. Something went wrong.

But now Guoyuan realizes that there will be more problems after he is released, because even young people, let alone old people, may not be able to persist in such high-intensity arguments and violent brainstorms...

What if, what if, Guoyuan didn't dare to think about it, so he was very scared.

Looking at Guoyuan, Fei Qian was indeed a little angry.

Fei Qian took a breath, waved his hand, and told Guo Yuan to go back to the hall and take charge of recording, and not to worry about other things.

"Send someone to the Hundred Medical Center quickly to see if Dr. Hua is here and ask him to come. If Hua Tuo is not here, let Dr. Zhang come first..." Fei Qian looked at Guoyuan's records and said, He ordered.

This incident was indeed somewhat beyond Fei Qian's expectations. But the matter has come to this, and it may not be a good thing to forcibly interrupt the two old men.

Fei Qian's original idea was to debate bit by bit through the Qinglong Temple lecture, and then determine who lost and who won, and whose ideas were more in line with social needs. However, Pang Shanmin, who was originally the spokesperson of Huang Lao, was in trouble because of Pang Degong's urgent need. Rushed back.

Pang Tong will leave quietly soon. Even if Pang Tong does not leave, as an important adviser to Fei Qian, Pang Tong is not suitable to go out to compete in person. This will make other people think that Fei Qian is hiding in Qinglong Temple to serve as a platform and referee. Become a player next time...

So in terms of Huang-Lao School, only Sima Hui is left.

Maybe it's because the person who could have come forward to defend Mr. Huang has left, maybe it's because the news about Mr. Pang De has also made Sima Hui feel urgent, maybe it's some other reason, anyway, these two old people feel that the long-term pain is not as good as the short-term pain... Well , anyway, that’s pretty much what it meant, so they naturally came together and started fighting hand to hand.

Fei Qian quickly read through the record of the debate between the two people, then pulled out the remarks about the court and the local area, and said: "I will not list the discussions involving the emperor, the court, etc., and copy the rest. I passed it on to You Zhengping in Qinglong Temple and asked him to preach. 』

Mi Heng is a big loudspeaker, with an innate gathering effect, so through him he will quickly spread the content of the two people's argument. In this way, those who are still talking about words in Qinglong Temple will be Attract, then divert, ultimately generating bigger and more debates…

"In addition, increase the number of patrols and soldiers in Qinglong Temple," Fei Qian continued to order, "strengthen inspections in various places in Sanfu, Chang'an... Also, let the bookshop prepare paper plates and start printing at any time..."

Fei Qian sighed slightly. In later generations, he would have done some live broadcasting, but now he could only make do with it.

The most worrying thing now is the health of the two old people, especially Zheng Xuan.

After a long period of accumulation, Qinglong Temple's Great Theory of True Explanation has finally reached its most ferocious stage. I hope the two old men can hold on...