Chapter 31: What is a hero?
"Zi Yao is right about what he said. The kingly way of Confucius and Mencius is too grand and too idealistic. That is why Confucianism is not taken seriously by kings. No monarch has ever positioned Confucianism as the basis for governing the country." Xunzi sighed as he looked at all the Confucian disciples.
He absorbed the teachings of hundreds of schools of thought and integrated them into Confucianism. Was it really just for the purpose of academic study?
Not really. At their age and with their knowledge, they have already seen clearly the situation in the world. The confrontation between countries is nearing its end, and unification is unstoppable. It is not only a matter of national strength, but also the demand of people all over the world.
When the countries are unified, the first to be affected is not only the people, but also the hundreds of schools of thought. The contention of the hundreds of schools of thought will become a thing of the past, and when a new dynasty emerges, which of the hundreds of schools of thought will remain? No one knows!
However, Xunzi knew very well that no matter which of the seven countries achieved unification, Confucianism would not be the first choice. Qin and Han focused on law, Zhao and Wei focused on military force, Chu focused on yin and yang, Qi focused on Taoism and Huang-Lao, and Yan was not yet determined. Therefore, Yan made repeated mistakes in the struggle for hegemony among the princes and was not a king.
Among the seven countries, not a single one chose Confucianism. What a irony this is for Confucianism, the most famous school of thought in the world.
As for the Mohist school, Xunzi had no further ideas. This was a school that was independent of itself. If it did not change, it would die out with the process of unification and would be the first school to disappear among the Hundred Schools of Thought.
Therefore, Xunzi has been thinking about ways to change Confucianism, otherwise Confucianism will have no way out.
"Me?" Jin Yao was confused. He actually didn't know the root of the problem with Confucianism. He was just debating for the sake of debate, so he was not affected by the Confucian classics.
"Yes! Ziyao is not only a disciple of Mohism, but also the heir of Mohism's Mobian lineage!" Xunzi smiled and watched Jinyao nod, and finally looked at the Confucian disciples around him, "That's all I have to say, you can do whatever you want!"
"Father?" Fu Nian looked at Tai'a in his hand. Confucian etiquette taught him that one should not receive rewards without merit. If the Fu family was willing to help Xunzi, then there would be no problem for him to take the sword . However, if the Fu family refused, then it would be difficult for him to take the sword.
"Let's wait three days and see if there's anyone from Master Xun's lineage who can still stand on the debate stage!" Fu Hua shook his head slightly, stopping Fu Nian from speaking.
Although the original debate was completely derailed due to Jin Yao's disruption, the debate among hundreds of schools of thought is never just a disturbance on the debate stage. The real competition is still about the strength of each party in private.
"Let's go, you are injured today, so be careful tonight." Xunzi reminded.
The verbal battle is over, and now it is time to compete in strength and power. Even if the verbal battle is invincible, without sufficient strength and power, even if the reform is carried out, it will be insincere and unchanging. Therefore, in the end, it is always a contest of force.
This is also the reason why the Mohists were kicked out of the group chat during the Xuanwei period. At that time, the Mohists were too strong. Even if Taoism and Confucianism joined forces, they might not be the opponents of Mohism. Moreover, Taoism would not take action. One was in Taiyi and the other was in an unknown place. There would be no confrontation of interests, and Taoism would not participate.
"Let's go!" Xiang Fuzi said something to Heguanzi and others, and left the table first.
"Take care!" Gongsun Long and Han Tan said solemnly.
The famous artists are really here to watch the fun, but there are definitely others who will actually take action.
As a prominent school of thought, the three schools of Confucianism all have their own relationships. Therefore, no one knows how many people will act in secret.
"You are not allowed to leave the Jixia Academy tonight!" Xunzi looked at Han Fei with emphasis. He was very confident that Li Si would not run around, but Han Fei was a playboy with a lot of bad friends. No one knew whether he would stay in the Jixia Academy honestly at night and not go out.
"Yes, teacher!" Li Si nodded and pulled Han Fei. He knew very well that the teacher's emphasis on Han Fei was also a reminder for him to hold on to his senior brother.
"Your Majesty, pass the order. There will be a curfew in Linzi within three days!" The Queen also reminded King Jian of Qi that the dispute among the Hundred Schools of Thought was extremely dangerous, and Qi did not want to be involved in the fight between Confucianists. They just needed to wait for the two sides to decide the winner.
King Jian of Qi carefully carried out his mother's words and ordered the city guards of Linzi to impose a curfew. As long as the masters of the hundred schools did not harm innocent people, the city guards would turn a blind eye.
At the gate of Mohist Mountain, Master Xiang brought Jin Yao back to the secret realm.
“You are not allowed to leave the secret realm within three days. If your master has not returned after three days, you must activate the Azure Dragon to destroy the secret realm and go to meet General Lian Po. Then go to Handan with him to meet the Six-Fingered Black Knight. With Ling Xu here, he will know your identity. But remember, you can only reveal your identity after you meet the Six-Fingered Black Knight.” Master Xiang warned Jin Yao sternly.
"Is it dangerous?" Jin Yao looked at his teacher.
"It's not just dangerous. Master-level experts will take action, and even some will fall!" Mr. Xiang sighed. He had seen the fights among the Hundred Schools of Thought many times, but none of them was so tragic.
Jin Yao also nodded solemnly. Since the Grandmaster was taking action, they were not qualified to participate and could only wait quietly.
"How did you get your injuries?" Master Xiang then remembered. Looking at Jin Yao's terrifying recovery with the Horizontal Golden Body, it would be difficult for him to have so many scars that have not healed yet. Moreover, some of these scars were caused by weapons that did not look like weapons from the Central Plains.
"Teacher, what do you think a hero is?" Jin Yao did not say anything, but instead asked about the righteousness of the Mohist school.
The Master hesitated. The word "chivalrous" is too big to be explained in a few words. There are two types of chivalrous: the "renxia" and the "haoxia", but the final explanation is that "a capable person who helps those weaker than himself without asking for anything in return is a chivalrous person."
"Let me teach you one last lesson. When the State of Yan attacked the State of Qi, I followed my teacher to join the war. There were countless starving people on the road. I also asked my teacher what a hero was. The teacher pointed to the refugees on the roadside and said that there are many people in the world who can help refugees, including nobles, scholars, and our Mohist school." Master Xiang recalled.
"At that time, the Princess of Yan was also among the people who were being rescued. Her chief guard said to her, 'Look at the child. If you are willing to leave food for him and tell him your name and identity, the child will return the favor and die for you in the future.'" said the Master.
"What happened in the end?" Jin Yao asked curiously.
"In the end, in order to repay the Princess of Yan, the young man chose to castrate himself and quietly followed the Princess of Yan." Mr. Xiang sighed.
"At that time, there were still scholars who went to rescue him, and now the other party has become the head of the Confucian Qin State. How do you think he did it?" Mr. Xiang continued and asked in return.
"While the person in charge was rescuing people, he was also promoting himself for his own name!" Jin Yao thought about it and realized that this was the usual practice of scholars. If a scholar wanted to be elected as an official, he had to be famous, and saving the people was enough for them to publicize their own kindness.
"So, can they be called heroes?" Mr. Xiang continued to ask.
Jin Yao shook his head and began to understand the meaning of a hero. One is to help those weaker than oneself with a purpose, and the other is to help those weaker than oneself without asking for anything in return and just following one's heart.
