Chapter 32: Failure of Innovation
"The decline of Mohism is also related to this. They only do things but don't talk about them, so they are not well-known. Fewer and fewer disciples want to join the Mohist school." Master Xiang sighed.
The success of Mohist school was due to its chivalry, and its failure was also due to its chivalry.
Because of their chivalry, Mohist scholars are respected wherever they go, but there are very few who are truly willing to become chivalrous.
Master Xiang left the Mo family secret realm, and finally looked back at the secret realm. After hesitating for a moment, the mechanical hand stretched out, and a huge dragon-breaking stone fell down, completely sealing the secret realm.
He knew Jin Yao's character very well. If he didn't put down the Dragon-Breaking Stone, Jin Yao would definitely sneak out and follow him. That would be too dangerous. Mao Sui must be looking for an opportunity to kill Jin Yao to prevent any future trouble.
In the secret realm, Jin Yao also heard the sound of the Dragon-Breaking Stone falling. He felt bitter. He did want to sneak away, but unfortunately Master Xiang knew his character too well. The falling of the Dragon-Breaking Stone cut off his chance of sneaking away.
"I must come back alive!" Jin Yao's eyes turned red unconsciously, and he turned and walked towards the Mohist scriptures. He was too weak now and needed Master Xiang's protection all the time. Only when he became strong could he protect those he wanted to protect.
Linzi was prosperous at night. Although a curfew was imposed, the city was still brightly lit and every household had a lamp on, which was a far cry from other countries of the same period.
The people of Linzi leaned against the windows curiously, wanting to know why the king ordered the implementation of the curfew that had been suspended for decades.
Loud noises suddenly broke out in Linzi City. The flashes of swords and sabers were blurred, but there was no sound of shouting or killing.
In the deserted dark alleys, people appear and disappear, but only a few can walk out of the alleys alive.
The city guards of Linzi watched silently, and even when they saw the men in black walking by, they turned a blind eye.
"Thank you!" The man in black walked out of the dark alley, silently leaving behind a bag of money.
The city guards also knew the rules. They did their jobs for money, cleaned up and repaired the corpses and ruined streets left after the war, and did not ask about the identities of anyone who took action.
"I wonder how many masters will die!" Gongsun Long and Han Tan stood by the window, quietly listening to the fighting in Linzi City, and also prohibited Gongsun Linglong from traveling.
During these three days, all the various sects will restrain their disciples from going out at night, in order to avoid being accidentally injured or mistakenly identified, and causing unnecessary trouble.
In the palace of King Qi, the king and queen were also waiting, waiting for the outcome of the internal Confucian struggle. As for who would win, the king and queen didn't know who they should expect to win.
The conservative faction won, and Qi's position became more stable, but there would not be any changes.
If Xunzi's faction wins, Qi State might undergo earth-shaking changes and re-participate in the world struggle.
Therefore, the Queen did not know what she was expecting. She stood quietly on the Palace of King Qi, looking at the lights in the city.
"We lost!" Outside Linzi City, Xiang Fuzi, holding a broken sword, looked at Xunzi who was also seriously injured, and shook his head helplessly.
He helped Xunzi not only for Jin Yao, but also because of Mohism.
The situations of Confucianism and Mohism are similar. Confucianism needs to change, and Mohism also needs to change.
Therefore, Master Xiang supported Xunzi in reforming Confucianism. Once successful, future reforms of Mohism would also receive support from Confucianism.
It's a pity that the conservative forces were too strong. There were no less than five masters involved, and the masters of the sect and the leaders of a lineage were far superior to Xunzi's faction. In the end, they were defeated, and the backbone of the reform, the masters of the sect and the leaders were almost dead, and there was no one left to make further reforms.
"Defeated!" Xunzi also sighed and took back the broken sword. The neutral faction remained neutral all the time. It was too difficult for them to compete with the huge conservative faction.
"Leave the scriptures and go to Langya. Confucianism still respects you as the master!" The swordsmen around said to Xunzi who was surrounded in the middle.
"Oh..." Xunzi nodded, supported the master and slowly walked back to Linzi City.
"Teacher!" In the Jixia Academy, Han Fei and Li Si saw Xunzi coming back and greeted him nervously.
"Pack up, we lost!" Xunzi said weakly, then returned to his room alone.
"We lost!" Han Fei and Li Si were both shocked. In their eyes, their teacher was so confident and omniscient, but this time, for the first time, they saw endless sadness and helplessness in the teacher's eyes.
"Change is never an easy matter. If one family is like this, what about a country?" Han Fei never forgot the purpose of coming to Jixia to study under Xunzi.
Now, the Confucian reform led by Xunzi himself taught him a real lesson and told him through personal experience how difficult the road of reform is.
Three days passed quickly and slowly .
Xunzi, along with his disciples, took nothing with him and slowly left Linzi in the night, heading eastward to Langya on the seaside.
"Xun Kuang was defeated!" In Linzi City, hundreds of people who came to watch the ceremony knew the outcome of the battle.
Xunzi left behind the position of chief academic officer of the Jixia Academy, and a room full of scriptures. He left quietly and desolately with three or four disciples, wearing a Confucian robe.
Gongsun Long, Han Tan and other giants of the Hundred Schools of Thought stood by the window and saluted solemnly as Xunzi and his party walked away.
There were also important figures from the conservative Confucian faction who personally saw Xunzi off at the city gate, but the ones who really saw him off were the three heads of the neutral faction.
No one spoke, they just bowed silently and stood by the road watching Xunzi leave.
This is also the demeanor of ancient scholars. Even if Xunzi failed, his status in Confucianism would not be low, and would even be higher, because he was a pioneer who truly wanted to make Confucianism better. He just failed, but his achievements will not be erased.
"Master!" Fu Nian held Tai'a in both hands and handed it to Xunzi. If they did not help, Xunzi would be defeated and leave, and they would not be qualified to keep Tai'a.
"I give it to you. I hope to see you become the head of Confucianism in the future!" Xunzi said with a smile.
In this war, both the conservatives and the reformists suffered heavy losses. If Confucianism wants to elect a new leader, it can only be chosen from the neutral faction.
Xunzi was very optimistic about this young man. He thought that if he could get the recognition of the Sword of Power, he might be able to intimidate Confucianism in the future.
"I will definitely live up to your expectations, Master!" Fu Nian nodded earnestly.
Xunzi smiled, took Han Fei, Li Si and other disciples and left Linzi.
"Two against three and countless masters, if it weren't for Master Xiang, they would have been defeated even faster!" Fu Hua sighed.
The other hundreds of schools were not qualified to watch the battle, but they could see clearly that Xunzi's power was still too small, and his backbone force was not as good as that of the conservative school. Although the top masters were invited to be the prime minister of the Mohist school, the conservative school also invited Lord Chu Nan, the giants of the Fangji school, and the Zen school.
