Simultaneous travel: I am a talented person in all the worlds

Chapter 149: Becoming famous and debating with scholars

"Tsk."

Qin Shi Moyu stood at the end of the side hall, smacked his lips softly, and glanced at the nobles in brocade robes in the hall.

Although his arrival did cause some ripples among this group of princes and nobles, it soon subsided.

This is not a good thing for him.

"As expected, I lack the aura of a protagonist after all. No idiot has come out to confront me." Qin Shi Moyu sighed in his heart.
He had clear goals for attending the banquet this time. If they were ranked by priority, the first was to take the opportunity to make a name for himself, accumulate enough reputation, gather the three paths of craftsman, knight, and saint, and open the Sea of ​​Consciousness Palace; the second was to win the support of King Han An and increase the upper limit of Mohism's development in Han; the third was to delay Han's plan to annex Baiyue and buy himself more time for development.

But fame requires an opportunity, and reputation requires deeds!

If no one provoked him, how could he, Commander Han Mo, pretend to be powerful and slap his face? If he didn't stir up a stir, how could his reputation spread throughout the countries?
But there is not a single fool here.

Guiyi Chamber of Commerce and Han Mo’s forces are not pushovers.

Without the pressure from his superiors, who would have the time to pick on him? At most, they'd spit and curse behind his back to satisfy their own cravings.

"How can I build momentum without any idiots coming to me?" Qin Shimoyu narrowed his eyes, feeling helpless. Although he had people in charge of publicity, it wasn't a good idea to just keep blowing people's horns all day.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this and glanced slightly to the right of the side hall at Marquis Xue Yi.

Bai Yifei's narrow gaze seemed nonchalant, but upon receiving Qin Shimoyu's gaze, it froze slightly. He understood and turned to give someone in the crowd a meaningful look.

The next moment, a sharp voice exploded from the crowd, as if deliberately trying to tear the tranquility in the hall apart.

"Mo Yu, what do you mean?! Today is the King's coronation ceremony, a time for universal celebration, yet you are dressed in such shabby clothes, acting like a servant. Are you deliberately disrespecting the nobles in this hall? Where do you put the dignity of our king?"

The person who spoke squeezed out of the crowd, wearing a purple brocade robe and a jade ring at his waist. He pointed his finger directly at Qin Shi Moyu, his tone filled with a bit of righteous indignation, but his eyes secretly glanced at Ji Wuye, with a hint of seeking credit.

The hall suddenly became quiet, countless eyes focused on it, and whispers surged like a tide.

Ji Wuye narrowed his tiger eyes slightly, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, obviously happy to see someone picking a fight; he stroked his beard lightly with his open mouth, and his eyes looked deeper; Bai Yifei lowered his head slightly to hide the smile at the corner of his lips.

"If I want to be cool, I have to set up the scene myself and arrange for help. I am such a failure as a time traveler."

Qin Shi Moyu muttered to himself, but his expression remained impassive. He slowly raised his head, his gaze calmly meeting the man's, and he spoke slowly, "In etiquette, some value elegance, while others value simplicity. The greatest respect without elegance is like a jade sceptre without polish, or a rich soup without harmony."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Liang, who had been standing next to his grandfather, looked over with a little surprise.

This sentence comes from "The Book of Rites: Ritual Vessels", a famous saying in the Confucian classics, and it was actually spoken by a Mohist!
The dispute between Confucianism and Mohism had lasted for a hundred years. Zhang Liang thought that Mo Yu of the Qin Dynasty would fight back with the Mohist doctrine of frugality, but he never thought that he would fight back with the Confucian Book of Rites.

But after thinking about it, Zhang Liang realized that some people in this era might not recognize Confucius' "reason", but Confucius' "ritual" was recognized by the world. He had learned Zhou's "ritual" and asked Lao Tzu about "ritual".

There may be many among the various schools of thought who do not agree with Confucius' ideas, but when it comes to rituals and music, they almost all directly use Confucius's ideas.

After a pause, Qin Shi Moyu continued calmly: "A gentleman should be ashamed to have clothes without tolerance, tolerance without words, and words without virtue."

"Although I am wearing cloth, my appearance is dignified, my words are respectful, and my heart is sincere. But you blame others for their clothes. It is like seeing the dragon seal and forgetting the standard, or hearing the sound of the tripod and missing the soup. Haven't you heard that 'clothes should not be different, but only what suits them'?" His voice was steady, and every word was clear. There was a hint of indifference in his tone, but it was like a heavy hammer hitting the vital point.

The person who jumped out to cause trouble was carefully selected by Bai Yifei. He was born into a wealthy aristocratic family and only knew how to flatter others. He had no talent or knowledge.

In this era, even nobles may not have read much books. At best, this person can only read and write. In terms of level, he may not be as good as Yan Lingji, who has received a month of cramming teaching.

Qin Shi Moyu had already prepared this silky combo, and he couldn't even refute it, let alone understand it. The hall was completely silent. Many of the nobles and gentry, who were also raised in the imperial court, began to feel their scalps itch, while some of the more learned Confucian scholars were sweating profusely, thankful that their literary youth syndrome wasn't that severe. If they had really been jealous of each other and started a fight, they would have been the ones to suffer the consequences.

"My appearance is sincere in my heart and polite in my appearance. How can I be said to be disrespecting Wang Wei?" Qin Shi Moyu asked the last question.

"Strong...strong talk!" the man managed, but his confidence had already weakened by seven points. He unconsciously stepped back, bumping into someone behind him, which drew a few chuckles. He retreated back into the crowd in shame, glaring at Qin Shi Moyu fiercely, but dared not say another word.

Ji Wuye snorted coldly, clenched his palms, his knuckles crackling, and the anger in his eyes grew stronger.

Things had developed to this point, and he was forced into a corner with no way to retreat.

Everyone is aware of the dispute between Ye Mu and Han Mo.

Before you take action, of course you can say that today is the succession ceremony, give King Han some face, and not cause trouble during the ceremony.

But you took the initiative to provoke trouble, and Commander Han Mo slapped you in the face until it was swollen. If you can't fight back forcefully at this time, you will really become a paper tiger.

Another man walked out from the crowd, wearing a dark blue brocade robe, with slightly gray hair and beard. Ji Wuye's eyes calmed down when he saw this man. This was one of his old team members, one of the dozens of people who originally made up the Night Curtain. There were not many left now, but they were all outstanding people who had his trust.

"Commander Han Mo is quite eloquent, using the Book of Rites to prevaricate. But no matter how much you whitewash it, it can't hide your taint of money!"

He slowly stood in the center of the hall, pointing his finger at Qin Shi Moyu, revealing a bit of the arrogance of an old-fashioned aristocrat, and his tone was mixed with a bit of righteousness:

"Mozi said: 'Those who rely on their own strength live, and those who do not do not live.' The Guiyi Merchants manipulate the market, engaging in the lowly trade of merchants, doing no farming or hard work, yet reaping exorbitant profits and exploiting the people's blood and sweat. Such behavior embodies the teachings of the long-dead master Mozi."

"Commander Han Mo, you are nothing but a profit-seeker in Mozi's guise. You even dare to use Confucianism to speak in such a grand ceremony. You are simply insulting Mozi's reputation!"

As soon as these words were spoken, discussions within the hall erupted. Many nobles nodded in agreement, their gazes filled with a mixture of contempt and relief.

Although merchants are rich, they have always been regarded as inferior by scholars. The main reason is that they can never compete with the Guiyi Chamber of Commerce.

Before the Guiyi Chamber of Commerce, these old nobles made money without doing anything. But after the Guiyi Chamber of Commerce came into being, the lives of the old nobles became difficult.

The Guiyi Chamber of Commerce not only has sources of goods from various countries, but also has skilled craftsmen from the Mohist school behind it. The processed products it produces, whether in terms of quality or price, are enough to kill everyone present!
"That makes sense. How can the Mohists be so profit-driven?"

"This Guiyi Chamber of Commerce is indeed extremely wealthy. How could it possibly resemble Mozi's style?"

"Well said, Commander Han Mo really doesn't look like a Mohist."

The crowd was excited for a while.

However, Qin Shi Moyu just glanced at them lightly, and the few who shouted the loudest quickly shrank their necks and retreated behind the crowd.

Most of them have family businesses that have been squeezed out by the Guiyi Chamber of Commerce. If Qin Shimoyu goes back and cracks down on them, few of them will be able to withstand it.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Ji Wuye's eyes, his palm loosened, and the sneer on the corner of his mouth deepened. He obviously felt that he had finally caught Han Mo's sore spot.

His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking, and the hand stroking his beard paused for a moment.

Qin Shi Moyu, who was being criticized by thousands of people, did not show any change in expression. Thanks to his usual "disguise", otherwise he really would not be able to respond to these words.

(End of this chapter)