Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5025: In the Examination Room
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and even the Qin and Han Dynasties, Confucianism was just a small branch among the "Hundred Schools of Thought". Although it was outstanding, it was far from the momentum it has today. However, Confucianism at that time produced many sages and factions, and its various thoughts were unprecedented.

Why did Emperor Wu of Han “abolished all schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone”?
In addition to the core Confucianism of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness", which are more suitable for ruling the world, the influence of Confucianism is too far-reaching, and the Confucian classics are known to the world.

However, ever since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty promoted Confucianism to the throne of "number one in the world", Confucianism has only been concerned with maintaining this position, and has no longer been innovative. It has gone from bad to worse. Today, it only knows how to please the king, how to stabilize society, and how to fool the people...

The so-called "great Confucian scholars" are nothing more than following the wisdom of their predecessors. They are able to collect and compile previous Confucian doctrines, and then they can proudly call themselves "teachers of Confucian scholars". How foolish and absurd is this?
When Kong Yingda heard Fang Jun's words about why future Confucians might "castrate themselves" in order to please the rulers and ensure their dominant position, he was horrified and sweaty.

He knew the core ideas of Confucianism too well, and knew that Fang Jun's words were not alarmist at all, and that such a situation was very likely to occur.

By then, I am afraid that Confucianism will no longer be the most prominent school of thought among the "Hundred Schools of Thought", respected and admired by countless people and then devoted to it, but will become the shame of China, and be hated and despised.

Kong Yingda held the teacup, feeling anxious and serious, "I wonder why Erlang is teaching me?"

Fang Jun laughed and said, "Master Kong, are you trying to embarrass me? You are a great scholar and a teacher to the world. If this statement gets out, I will be despised by the world!"

Kong Yingda said sternly: "There are only four of us here, how could these words spread?"

Fang Jun drank tea and looked at Xu Jingzong with a smile.

Xu Jingzong: “…”

Kong Yingda ignored his resentful look and looked at Fang Jun with burning eyes.

Fang Jun put down his teacup and said calmly, "It's actually very simple. Just create an enemy for yourself. The evolution of theories and the progress of society are all transformed in competition. Only competition is the driving force for continuous progress. A single dominant company will only lead to complacency."

Kong Yingda thought for a moment, then said, "Competitors... are they what you call 'science'?"

"Exactly!"

Fang Jun was very excited and tried to persuade the great scholar of the time: "Confucianism and science seem to be two parallel lines that do not intersect, but in fact they are one inside and one outside, complementing each other. Confucianism focuses on self-cultivation, with 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness' as its core, and emphasizes 'loyalty and filial piety'. Science is in the universe, affecting the operation of the universe all the time, exploring the laws of heaven and earth, and talking about 'nature'! There is no intersection between the two, but they can work together internally and externally, and achieve unity between man and nature. If we can work together and make progress together, why worry about the prosperity of the empire and the prosperity of the world?"

Kong Yingda pondered for a moment, then reacted and smiled helplessly, "Everyone knows that you, Fang Er, are the number one scientist in the world today? You have bewitched me and asked me to personally support science to become a rival to Confucianism. Do you really think that I am old and confused?"

Fang Jun also smiled, tapped the table and said, "Just tell me whether 'science' needs to progress, and if it progresses, will it be beneficial to the empire and to the people of the world?"

"Of course there is."

Kong Yingda was a man of high moral character, and he would never lie: "Doesn't that further prove that 'science' has a bright future? If Confucianism is overthrown by science one day, wouldn't I become a sinner of Confucianism?"

It is a good thing to personally support a competitor and force Confucianism to abandon its "comfort zone" and continue to evolve and change in the competition.

But if Confucianism is killed by its supported rivals, that would not be a good thing...

After all, Kong Yingda wanted to see Confucianism evolve rather than destroy itself on the road to evolution.

He wanted to be a contributor to Confucianism, not a sinner of Confucianism...

"Master Kong is worrying too much!"

Fang Jun put away his smile and said seriously: "Confucianism has developed to this day and has absorbed the essence of Buddhism and Taoism. It has been deeply integrated into the bones and blood of China and has become the backbone of Chinese civilization. How can it be conquered by foreign enemies? The enemy of Confucianism is never outside, but within itself! It is not Buddhism, Taoism, and even less science, but complacency, lack of ambition, and self-castration! Even if science develops and progresses again, discovering and proving that the sun is a ball, the moon is a ball, and even the earth is a ball, who would think that 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, filial piety, and brotherhood' is wrong? Who would say that 'the people are more important than the king' is wrong? Who would say that 'the benevolent love others' and 'self-control and restoration of propriety' are wrong?"

Confucianism is not dregs, but the essence of the Chinese nation.

Confucian sages have long seen through human nature and understood the rules of the universe. Although they do not talk about science, they allow human nature and the way of heaven to coexist harmoniously, and use themselves to follow the laws of the operation of heaven and earth.

The essence of human nature has long been seen through.

In order to cater to the rule of the king and ensure their own interests, Confucian scholars in later generations were unable to innovate and stand at the level of the predecessors. So they could only find another way, castrate themselves, and take the crooked path of "preserving the laws of nature and eliminating human desires."

In fact, "preserve the principles of heaven and eliminate human desires" is not wrong. What is wrong is those who misinterpret its meaning and go astray...

Kong Yingda's face was tangled. He thought for a long time before he slowly exhaled: "This matter is serious. I need to consider it carefully and discuss it with others."

He recognized "science".

He had studied and understood the knowledge in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, and he deeply understood that these were the best strategies for governing the empire. Confucianism could govern people, but it was difficult to govern the world. Building roads and water conservancy projects, surveying mountains and rivers, building guns, cannons, and ships, breeding good varieties, and cultivating millet... These things were not possible with the Analects, the Book of Changes, the Book of History, and the Zuo Zhuan...

Only "science" will do.

It is a system that is completely different from Confucianism. Although it cannot be said to be diametrically opposed, it is also a system that does not interfere with Confucianism and will not cause a devastating blow to the foundation of Confucianism.

No matter how prosperous "science" is, it is only external. Everyone needs Confucianism to cultivate themselves.

It might be a good idea to create an enemy that won't cause fatal damage to oneself, so as to motivate oneself to strive for strength and progress...

……

Helps digestion after meals.

The temperature is very high today. Walking inside the government office, I saw candidates sweating profusely in the official residences that were set up as examination halls. Li Anqi asked, "Can you provide some ice cubes and cold water to cool down the candidates? Such a hot environment will inevitably make them restless and affect their performance. Some weak candidates may even faint because of this."

Fang Jun shook his head: "Absolutely not. Compared to the candidates not being able to perform normally or even getting sick, strictly eliminating cheating is the top priority."

If we dare to let people in and out now, some powerful people will take this opportunity to cheat. Throughout history, doing honest work may be as difficult as ascending to heaven, but favoritism and fraud are always more difficult than the other. As long as there is a slight gap, someone will take advantage of it, and it is impossible to guard against it.

Li Anqi suddenly realized and said in fear: "It was my negligence!"

The examinee fainted, which was his own problem and had nothing to do with him as the deputy examiner. However, if cheating occurred, Kong Yingda, Fang Jun, Xu Jingzong and even he would be blamed. Those three had deep foundations and were deeply trusted by His Majesty, so they might be punished lightly and given a severe warning. However, he, the county magistrate for ten thousand years, might have to take the blame and be pushed out to serve as a warning to others...

Kong Yingda looked worried: "It's only June and the temperature is so high. We might have a severe drought this year."

Passing by the door of an official residence, Fang Jun looked inside from the open window. Several examinees were concentrating on answering questions. One of them was probably not very good at the math questions on the test paper and was scratching his head anxiously...

Fang Jun smiled, feeling very happy, and said casually: "Master Kong, don't worry. In recent years, Guanzhong has built water conservancy projects, dredged ditches, and set up a large number of water wheels. The resistance to drought is unprecedented in ancient times. Even severe droughts can be alleviated. It can't be that our years of hard work and countless investments of money have been in vain, right?"

Kong Yingda also laughed, and looked around the examination halls, his worries slightly reduced: "If we say that in the past there may have been officials who cared about water conservancy and hard construction, they were no less than today, but if we say that the investment was huge, it is indeed unprecedented in ancient times!"

Roads, water conservancy, city defense... The construction of such infrastructure certainly requires the attention of the whole country and the diligence and hard work of officials, but the most important thing is the investment of real money.

Paving a road or building a water conservancy project requires a large number of laborers to be dispatched by the government. These laborers live on the construction site, and the court is responsible for their food and accommodation. If they don't eat well, they won't have the energy to work. If they eat well, a lot of grain and meat will be consumed. The construction period can easily take months or even years. How can the country afford it?
However, the treasury of the Tang Dynasty was much more abundant than in any previous dynasty.

The continuous bumper harvests, and the collection of commercial taxes alone, are a historical sin. Such heavy commercial taxes were not imposed by exhausting the resources or exploiting the people, but were obtained on the basis of vigorously developing commerce. Nowadays, not only is domestic commerce extremely prosperous, but maritime trade is also unprecedented in history. The abundance of materials and the richness of tax revenues have given the Tang Dynasty the confidence to invest unprecedented amounts of money and silk, setting off a climax in infrastructure construction.

Who doesn't know that if roads and water conservancy projects are well built, the country will become rich and the people will become strong?
But the country must have money to invest, and it cannot harm the daily lives of the people...

What a glorious era.

Xu Jingzong said: "Officials in the past were not only ashamed to talk about profit, but also often said the absurd theory that 'the wealth of the world is constant, and if the state takes more, the people will get less'. By the end of this year, I will write to Your Majesty and order the Ministry of Civil Affairs to conduct a detailed survey across the country to count the amount of wealth among the people and the amount of money in the national treasury!"