Diqin Designer

Chapter 22: Questions about Zhou Li
Li Nian said: "Since Zhou was a country admired by Confucianists, why did Zhou perish?"

Didn’t you say that only you Confucians can govern the world and bring long-term peace and stability? Then why did Zhou, the ideal country of Confucianism, perish?

Zhou was your ideal country, and it must have implemented what you hoped for. According to you, it should have lasted forever and prospered forever, so why was it destroyed?

Either Zhou is not the ideal country of your Confucianism, or your Confucianism has problems and cannot bring long-term peace and stability to the world.

Su Xu never thought that he would be forced to this point by the people he once thought were barbarians. No matter how he answered this question, there would be loopholes.

'What is the origin of this person? He couldn't speak before, is he trying to trick me?'

Su Xu thought secretly and replied: "As long as rituals and music exist, the country will not decline. When rituals and music are destroyed, the country will collapse and perish. Zhou survived because of rituals and music, and perished because of the collapse of rituals and music."

I knew you would answer like this. Li Nian smiled and said, "That is to say, according to Master Su, the Zhou Dynasty perished because some people did not observe the rites. As long as everyone follows the rites of Zhou, Zhou will last forever and prosper forever. It can be seen that the rites of Zhou are a very good thing!"

"Since Zhou Li is so good, why do some people still not abide by it?" Li Nian finally revealed his true colors and released the big move he had been planning for a long time.

He would never be able to win a debate with this Confucian doctor unless he used later generations as a basis, but if he did that, he would not be able to pass the test of the First Emperor.

Without the permission of the First Emperor, Li Nian did not dare to tell anyone that he came from later times, so he had to find another way, and what Li Nian was looking for was the problem of Zhou rituals.

Li Nian did not disappoint. His question immediately put Su Xu in a dilemma.

This question made Su Xu embarrassed because he would not admit that Zhou Li had flaws.

With this condition set, Su Xu would naturally be caught in a dilemma: If one acknowledges that Zhou rituals are flawless, then why would anyone not abide by such perfect rituals?

But if he does not admit that Zhou Li is perfect, it will go against his original intention and subvert the Confucian theory he has learned, because Zhou Li is the key to Confucianism.

Li Nian hit the vital point of Confucianism directly!

Of course, if Su Xu is given time, he will definitely be able to come up with a reasonable explanation, which is also what Confucianists in history did.

Confucianism was not perfect when it was first born. Instead, it had many loopholes. It was later perfected after generations of Confucian scholars gradually filled them up over thousands of years. Various great Confucian scholars annotated the scriptures, interpreting one sentence into hundreds of truths, and there was always one that fits the bill.

Just looking at those annotations, even Confucius and Mencius would be shocked: "Fuck! Can my words be understood in this way? You young people are really good at it!"

However, it is not important whether this is the original intention of Confucius and Mencius. What is important is that the rulers recognize it and can perfect the Confucian theory.

As for Confucius and Mencius, what do they know about Confucian classics?
But at this time, Confucianism had not yet developed into its later form, so Li Nianzhi's question really stumped Su Xu for a moment.

Li Nian did not feel any joy in making Su Xu embarrassed. He was just taking advantage of the future. If they had the same foundation, Su Xu would have hung him up and beaten him.

After a while, Su Xu still hadn't figured out how to answer this question. He looked up at Li Nian and frowned, "Sir, you seem to have a prejudice against my Confucianism?"

The question was not answered, but he felt Li Nian's attitude.

This person doesn't like Confucianism, so he keeps finding fault with it.

But Li Nian would not answer his question directly. He just smiled and said nothing. Su Xu had to change the question: "Sir, which of the hundreds of schools of thought do you think can rule the world?"

Since we don't know why Li Nian dislikes Confucianism, let's try another angle. As long as we know which of the Hundred Schools of Thought Li Nian prefers, it won't be difficult to infer why he dislikes Confucianism. 'Is it Legalism, Mohism, or Taoism?'

Su Xu guessed secretly. In his opinion, the most likely candidate was the Legalists, because the Legalists were the ones that were most valued in the current Qin State. However, the Mohists also had influence in the Qin State, and they were called Qin Mohism.

It’s better not to be Mohism, because Mohism is the mortal enemy of Confucianism!

However, Su Xu did not expect Li Nian's answer: "I think none of the hundreds of schools of thought can rule the world."

This answer shocked Su Xu greatly. He looked at Li Nian in surprise. It turned out that this person did not have any objection to their Confucianism, but he disliked all the schools of thought.

No, this person believes that none of the various schools of thought can rule the world, so what does he think can rule the world?

Curious, Su Xu asked, "How do you think the world should be governed?"

"I think that practical work is the most important thing. Talking is empty, doing is real. If you don't put it into practice, it's useless even if you talk a lot."

Li Nian did not talk about science, investigation of things, and the rule of law, because these will ultimately be used in practice.

"Talk is empty, action is real..."

Su Xu repeated it several times, then smiled and said, "Sir, your words make sense, but I want to know why you don't think that the Legalists, Mohists, and Taoists can govern the country? Can you explain my doubts to me?"

Li Nian just smiled and thought: "How can I tell you these and let you spread them? Wouldn't I lose a lot of points in front of the First Emperor?"

Seeing that Li Nian smiled but didn't answer, Su Xu understood and said, "It was Su who was presumptuous!"

The questions and answers between Li Nian and Su Xu were naturally reported to Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng was attending court and listening to reports from officials when he suddenly received a signal from Meng Yi. Ying Zheng immediately realized that something must have happened to Li Nian again and nodded to Meng Yi.

In the court, Zhao Gao, Li Si and others were completely confused. They had no idea what the two were talking about.

Zhao Gao, in particular, felt inexplicably worried and uneasy. As one of Ying Zheng's closest confidants, he was usually highly trusted by the king, but now the king actually wanted to bypass him for something!

He is different from Li Si. Li Si relied on his real talent and hard work to reach his current position. Although he is also capable, he mainly relies on the king's favor. If he is no longer favored, his status will plummet.

This kind of thing must not be allowed. We must find out what happened recently and why the king wanted to bypass me!
Zhao Gao thought secretly in his heart that Li Si also had doubts, but he was not as worried as Zhao Gao. He just watched quietly from the side without saying a word.

After serving Ying Zheng for all these years, Li Si thought he knew Ying Zheng's temper very well. If the king wanted him to know, he would know it. If the king did not want him to know, it would be better not to peek.

After a while, Meng Yi came in carrying a bag of bamboo slips. His careful posture did not seem like he was carrying bamboo slips, but ten thousand taels of gold.

Meng Yi brought the bamboo slips to Ying Zheng's desk. Ying Zheng opened the bag, took out the bamboo slips and looked through them. The bamboo slips recorded the questions and answers between Li Nian and Su Xu, without missing a word.

Seeing Su Xu asking Li Nian, "Sir, do you know about the Hundred Schools of Thought?", Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows. With his wisdom, how could he not see what the Confucians wanted to do?
When Ying Zheng saw Li Nian embarrass Su Xu with the issue of Zhou rituals, he smiled knowingly. He had similar thoughts. If Zhou rituals were really so good, then why did Zhou perish?
This is also one of the reasons why he does not believe in Confucianism!

Confucianism is good at teaching people, but as for governing a country, Confucius and Mencius had no experience in governing a large country. The highest official Confucius ever held was the Grand Minister of Justice of Lu. Lu was a small country, so how could it dare to talk about governing the world?

(End of this chapter)