Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 493 Big News
On the way from Jingzhou to Yangzhou, Qin Mi heard a big news...
Wang Su, a doctor of the Ministry of Rites of the State of Chu, discovered a site near Jiangling that contained a manuscript engraved by Confucius himself!
Everyone knows that Confucius visited the capital of Chu, Yingdu, which is now Jiangling City, but... why did he leave his manuscripts behind? And why did he design a "relic" that is properly protected and waiting for future generations to open it?
Is this a custom of the pre-Qin Chu State or a Confucian calculation?
In short, this archaeological excavation, which seems inexplicable to insiders, discovered Confucius' manuscripts.
If that was all, it wouldn't be considered big news. Even if there were doubts, at most they would just murmur behind the scenes, wondering if the King of Chu wanted "auspicious signs"...
However, shocking "operations" followed one after another. In Confucius' manuscripts, there were clear records of Confucian theories analyzed from another perspective.
After reading it, I found that the meaning of "Confucius" in this manuscript is clearly to explain "the benevolent love others" and "keep pace with the times"...
The term "a benevolent person loves others" was proposed and extended by Mencius at this time. In the early days, Baixue was also based on Mencius's name. Ever since Bai Tu wrote "When man is born, his nature is good", he has been regarded as a great Confucian scholar of Mencius' school.
But later on, Baixue became more and more biased, and was even criticized by some Confucian scholars...
However, the manuscripts of Confucius discovered now clearly say that Confucius also recognized the idea of "people-oriented" during his lifetime, but was restricted by the times, so he proposed a doctrine with courtesy and benevolence as the core.
At the same time, Confucius also believed that as long as Confucian scholars of later generations could uphold the "people-oriented" attitude, they would be able to trace back to the origins and better inherit Confucianism.
After Qin Mi learned this piece of news, he was stunned - Old Confucian scholar, do you have too many question marks?
The reaction that accompanies this is naturally anger...
Unlike Wang Su’s academic fraud in history, this time it doesn’t take more than a thousand years to be discovered. After all... it seems too fake, and the purpose is too clear.
It’s almost as if I had written a sentence directly on the cover: The King of Chu is right. Seeing you pseudo-Confucians bashing the King of Chu, I, the teacher of three thousand disciples, the founder of Confucianism, old Confucius, who has been lying in wait for seven or eight hundred years, can’t help but come out to be a fan of the King of Chu!
I don't believe you...
"Does the State of Chu really want to use this to disrupt the foundation of Confucianism and Taoism?" Qin Mi angrily questioned Ni Heng after hearing the news.
Generally speaking, Qin Mi was a conservative gentleman who emphasized morality in words.
A friend once asked him to borrow The Strategies of the Warring States. Nowadays, except for the State of Chu, knowledge monopoly is very serious everywhere. Reading books mainly depends on borrowing. If you can borrow books, you are the best friend! If you don’t lend it, it is normal.
However, Qin Mi's reason for rejecting the other party was very noble. Not only did he refuse to lend it, but he also educated his friend not to read those things that were all conspiracies and calculations of the diplomats. When Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals, he did not refer to those miscellaneous books that did not conform to the etiquette system, so he should not read them...
However, judging from the historical records of Qin Mi's diplomatic missions and welcoming envoys, he was clearly a sharp-tongued person, and a complete "strategist"!
In response to Qin Mi's question, Ni Heng still drooped his eyelids and glanced at him and said, "Mr. Qin, please be careful with your words! I think this ancient document makes a lot of sense. Confucius is indeed a sage who knows how to adapt to the times. In the pre-Qin period, he proposed theories that were applicable to the pre-Qin period. However, as long as the fundamentals do not change, future generations will continue to adapt to the times!
Just like the Meng School that came after him, just like the Bai School of my Great Chu…
Moreover, most of the doctors in the Ministry of Rites of our Great Chu have already recognized the authenticity of the document. Later, colleagues in the Ministry of Works will also analyze it based on the years of storage of the items. It really cannot be fake!
"Your Excellency's empty denial of the research results of our Great Chu, is it a slip of the tongue or is there some other intention? Is it your own opinion or that of the Lord of Shu?" Ni Heng asked directly.
How could he feel guilty? Ni Heng was extremely confident about this - he didn't know whether the ruins were real or fake, but since it "coincided" with the Baitu, Ni Heng firmly believed that it was real, especially since the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works also endorsed it one after another, which was a clear signal.
Instead, Qin Mi was choked by Ni Heng and was speechless...
Although the Ministry of Rites' "Foreign Affairs Office" responsible for foreign affairs and the "Moral Education Office" responsible for the revision of ideological and academic works are different departments, they both belong to the Ministry of Rites!
If Qin Mi dared to oppose the authenticity of the ancient documents endorsed by the Ministry of Rites, would he still want to negotiate peace?
What's more, judging from the current situation, this is not just the Ministry of Rites's business, but the entire Chu State is pushing this matter!
"Your Excellency...you are too polite. I am just having an academic debate, an academic debate." After taking a deep breath, Qin Mi decided to put official business first.
After completing the final task and returning to Yizhou , it won’t be too late to write a book to set the record straight after I resign from my official position!
However, no matter what Qin Mi thought, or what the "Qin Mis" outside the Chu State thought, the Confucius manuscripts excavated by Wang Su became the basis for vindicating Baixue...or in other words, it became the theoretical basis for Confucianism to get closer to Baixue.
The branch of Confucianism that Wang Su forcibly opened up was also called "Wangxue", and it quickly gained ground among the scholars of the Chu State.
The success rate was even higher than Bai Tu had originally expected!
Before this, Bai Tu thought there would be a fierce battle in the field of thought. After all, Confucianism had a solid foundation in the Han Dynasty, and Bai Tu had been criticized before...
However, by changing his way of thinking, Bai Tu understood the reason why things were going so smoothly in Chu - Confucianism was good at serving the rulers, and now the situation in Chu was stable and its national fortunes were growing. The former Baizhou Mu and General Bai were not absolute rulers, but could only be said to be the ruling class, while His Majesty the King of Chu was already a stable ruler.
Therefore, for the Confucian scholars of Chu State, supporting Wang Su's "Wangxue" was not only "for the sake of Chu State" but also "for the sake of Confucianism."
The State of Chu is now destined to take "Bai Xue" as its core. This is not only a matter of the personal preference of the King of Chu, but the core of Bai Xue, which can enable the workshopization to proceed naturally.
Confucianism that insists on "retro" will not be able to make any progress in the State of Chu, so the adaptability of Confucian scholars will also come into play at this time - no matter whether Wang Su's discovery is true or false, since "Wangxue" can play a role in bringing Confucianism back to the mainstream, then it can be true!
At this time, when facing Bai Tu, Confucianism was no longer conservative and rigid, but... it was a side that took advantage of its strengths and actively got close to the rulers - at least that was the case with the Confucian scholars in Chu.
Even Song Zhong, the great scholar from Jingzhou who had a bad relationship with Bai Tu and had feces thrown in front of his door, went to check Wang Su's discovery. At first, Wang Su thought he was here to mess things up, but...
Then Wang Su discovered that Song Zhong was actually very sincere in discussing the "new discovery" with him, and after returning home, he also began to write articles - although he had slight disagreements with Wang Su, he clearly acknowledged that the "new discovery" was true and valid!
In fact, the mentality of the "Song Zhongs" is completely understandable. Even if problems with their authenticity are discovered in the future, it will be a problem of Wang Su and Wangxue, not a problem of Confucianism, let alone their own problem.
Bai Tu also read Song Zhong's article. When he saw some exaggerated passages, he would ask Zhang Chunhua about the meaning of the sentences...
After reading it, Bai Tu didn't care at all about the differences between Song Zhong and Wang Xue. Although he refuted Wang Xue throughout the article, Song Zhong fully accepted the points that were consistent with Bai Xue... no, with Chu Xue!
"Chunhua, help me find someone to summon Shangshu Wang." Bai Tu did not comment on Song Zhong and others' article, but instead asked someone to call Wang Lang.
Zhang Chunhua was no longer surprised by the literary accomplishment of this "former great scholar" and summoned Wang Lang as if there was nothing unusual - after all, there was only one Shangshu with the surname Wang.
Not long after, Wang Lang came in front of Bai Tu, and it could be seen that Wang Lang's hair was becoming increasingly gray.
Firstly, Wang Lang in Cheng Ji’s world is more similar in age to the one in the novel, already in his fifties, and secondly… it is also the result of his torment for the affairs of the Ministry of Justice.
Not only did the Ministry of Justice offend people, but the new policies were also extremely complicated. Wang Lang was probably the one who received the most criticisms among all the officials, both inside and outside the court!
As soon as he saw the white map, Wang Lang instinctively began to report on several major cases that had recently caused him to be criticized, and the revision of several laws...
Bai Tu first stopped Wang Lang and asked him to sit down, then said sincerely: "Thank you for your hard work over the years, Mr. Wang."
Wang Lang was stunned when he heard this. He first thought that Bai Tu wanted him to resign, and he felt anxious... but also a little secretly happy!
But then Wang Lang realized that if the Minister of Justice was to be replaced, it would not happen without any warning, and this made him even more confused.
"Ziyong has been in Jingzhou and hasn't come back for almost a year..." Bai Tu talked about Wang Su again.
"Your Majesty! Has something happened to my son?" Wang Lang became anxious when he heard this, and thought that Wang Su had an accident, so Bai Tu was so polite.
Wang Su is Wang Lang's eldest son. Although Wang Su is older , but... for Wang Lang, he is not a late-born child, but at least he is a pioneer in late childbearing.
"No, Ziyong is doing well in Jingzhou. I will always remember the contributions of Mr. and son Wang to the State of Chu!" Bai Tu said.
Wang Lang was also slow to react and was still somewhat confused. There had been no breakthrough progress on either his or his son's side, and everything was proceeding step by step. Why did the king suddenly bring it up so seriously?
"When Ziyong's eldest daughter was born, he was in Jingzhou and hasn't been able to see her, right?" Bai Tu changed the subject.
"Ziyong is at the age when he should start his career. It is his duty to share the country's worries." Wang Lang said with some pride.
Although he hadn't reacted yet, it was true that Bai Tu was praising Wang Su - when it came to his son, Lu Kang was always envious and jealous of him, and Old Wang felt that he could be a little more arrogant.
On the contrary, Zhang Chunhua, who was present nearby, guessed what Bai Tu meant!
