I'm really not doing business

Chapter 594: The Master Doesn’t Ask About Horses

The Ming dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and the same was true for the Qing Dynasty.

However, there was a very filial son in the Qing Dynasty, the fifteenth son of Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Jiaqing. On the day of Qianlong's death, Emperor Jiaqing gave Qianlong a temple name, Gaozong.

This temple name was a huge insult to Qianlong, who attached great importance to his reputation after his death. Qianlong had fought wars all his life and called himself the "Ten Perfect Man". The person he looked down upon the most was the Gaozong, especially the Song Gaozong Zhao Gou. Qianlong's evaluation of Zhao Gou was just one sentence: "He claims to be the one who restored the country, how despicable!"

Qianlong's disdain for Zhao Gou was written all over his face, but his eldest son Jiaqing gave his own father such a temple name.

Among all the emperors of different dynasties, with the exception of Emperor Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty who brought about the Wu Ding Restoration, the later emperors were not very good. For example, Emperor Gaozong of Han, Liu Shi, was once pointed out by Emperor Xuan of Han as the one who caused chaos in the Han Dynasty, and he was also the crown prince. This Emperor Gaozong of the Han Dynasty was even called the founder of the Han Dynasty.

Hou Jing killed Xiao Gang and gave Xiao Gang, the leader of a fallen country, the title of Emperor Gaozong.

The title of Gaozong has never been considered a good title in all dynasties, and Emperor Qianlong himself disliked Zhao Gou very much.

Jiaqing, the eldest son, knew all of this very well. However, after Qianlong's death, he issued five imperial edicts in succession, giving him the temple name Gaozong.

Qianlong loved fame. For the sake of a good reputation, he even summoned the military ministers before his death and told them that although he was the Ten-Perfect Man, after ten thousand years, they should be called the emperor.

A special meeting was held, and he first declared himself to be the Ten-Perfect Old Man, and he also specifically mentioned the matter of the temple name. Qianlong's purpose of wanting to be called the ancestor was almost stated explicitly, and even a three-year-old child could see it.

Given the chaotic state of the Qing dynasty's temple names, it was easy for them to give Qianlong the title of ancestor.

But Jiaqing was not so good. When a minister reported to the emperor, he asked if the temple name Gaozong was too hurtful to him. Emperor Jiaqing almost picked up the inkstone and yelled, "You hurt your mother's head!"

Emperor Jiaqing’s public response was: My father has given me instructions, and although I wish to honor him with all my heart, I dare not disobey his will.

He just pretended to be confused. As long as Emperor Qianlong didn't say it clearly before his death, Emperor Jiaqing would just pretend to be confused and get away with it.

Qianlong spent his entire life seeking fame, but in the end he was given the temple name of Gaozong. The reason why Emperor Jiaqing was so resentful was actually because he was a "child emperor" for several years, and the child emperor was even worse than the crown prince. Above him was the powerful emperor who acted domineeringly, and below him was the emperor Heshen who controlled the government. Jiaqing was a disgusting child emperor.

Zhu Yijun did not have much opinion or dissatisfaction about the disappearance of the previous emperor. The reason why Emperor Longqing disappeared was that he knew he could not save the Ming Dynasty, so he handed the task over to capable people. Unfortunately, some people were not trustworthy enough. Gao Gong was in a high position, and the Jin Party did not remove any of them, and they were not even willing to pretend to do so.

Therefore, when the Ministry of Works proposed to completely renovate the previous emperor's mausoleum, Zhu Yijun also agreed.

"Isn't 100,000 silver too little?" Zhu Yijun asked the Ministry of Works for his opinion. What he meant was whether to increase it a little, because it was a little too little. The unit of measurement for the mausoleum of the late emperor was increased from 500,000 to 600,000.

"Enough, enough." Wang Daokun waved his hands and said, "This still includes the loss of more than ten thousand silver coins."

The treasury expenditure includes reasonable losses, which are not necessarily caused by corruption of the officials in charge, but are normal losses. It is the same for all construction projects. No one can guess what will happen. It is possible that a building may suddenly collapse while under construction.

Wang Daokun explained that the 100,000 silver coins were enough to reinforce the underground and rebuild and expand the above-ground buildings because the mausoleum of the previous emperor was relatively small in scale.

If this money is not spent now, it will have to be spent in the future. During the Tianqi period, a total of 130 million silver coins were spent on the two renovations of the Ming Zhaoling Mausoleum. The ground was also expanded once before the Emperor Longqing's mausoleum was completely repaired.

"Well, since we are not short of money, that's fine." Zhu Yijun said with a little disappointment.

Everyone has deeply felt the change in His Majesty. Money is piling up in the palace, and His Majesty is under a lot of pressure.

Without any savings, one would have to worry about food. However, the mountains of silver were also a headache. The Ming Dynasty had a very clear discussion on the nature of silver. Because the Ming Dynasty was short of silver and relied on external imports, all this silver was produced by the people and exchanged with foreign countries. It was the people's hard work.

The silver is piling up and not circulating. Your Majesty is no different from those landlords who bury their silver in pig pens.

The discussion on liquidity in Ming Dynasty's financial affairs was extremely in-depth, and Zhu Yijun's treasury had a mountain of silver, which made him the landlords he despised the most.

"Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand. I heard yesterday that there was a burglary in the palace the day before yesterday, and seven bottles of wine were lost from the imperial wine room." Zhang Juzheng looked at the emperor and asked with a puzzled look on his face.

It's already the twelfth year of Wanli's reign, and breaking into the palace can still happen. Isn't this a bit of an underestimation of the Imperial Guards and the inner factory guards?
The court officials suddenly became alert. A palace invasion had happened again! This was a major event among major events.

"Feng Daban has already reported it yesterday. It's not a big deal, so I won't bother the officials." Zhu Yijun answered Zhang Juzheng's question. The news that someone stole the wine was specially told to Zhang Juzheng's confidants You Qi and You Shouli by Zhu Yijun, who asked Feng Bao's adopted son Xu Jue. Otherwise, the outer court would not know about it.

"It wasn't the Tonghe Palace that was robbed, it was the Imperial Palace." Zhu Yijun briefly explained the case.

The person who stole the wine had been caught. After Zhu Yijun asked for details, he sent him to Liaodong to open up wasteland. If you say he was released, he was sent to Liaodong, which was exile; if you say he was exiled, the inner court also gave him five silver coins as travel expenses, lent him six silver coins as resettlement expenses, and gave him a cloak to keep out the cold.

The exile was due to the law, but Zhu Yijun gave him travel expenses, lent him money to settle down, and gave him a cloak, all of which were out of his compassion for the people.

The man who stole the wine was a poor laborer, not a habitual thief. A habitual offender steals things, not seeks death. From the moment he entered the palace, he was targeted by the imperial guards, mainly to see what he was going to do. If he was going to assassinate the king, they would follow the clues and catch the daring guy, but in the end, he was just stealing wine.

"This man worked as a boatman outside Chaoyang Gate. He was living from day to day, toiling all day, and could only earn a few copper coins to survive. However, he was injured a few days ago and could no longer do hard labor. He had heard that Guojiao was extremely valuable, so he had the idea of ​​going to the Imperial Wine Room. He pretended to be a Caihuying and entered the palace. He was caught after he left the palace and stole the wine."

"But this guy doesn't even recognize the bottles of Guojiao." Zhu Yijun explained why this man wanted to enter the palace to steal.

It wasn't a conspiracy, nor was it to find out the truth. It was just because he was injured and couldn't go to work, and he had no money, so he took the risk.

"Your Majesty is a man of great virtue and benevolence. This is a sign of the revival of the Ming Dynasty. When a benevolent emperor ascends to the throne, how can the world not prosper?" Wan Shihe immediately took the lead in flattering him. His Majesty's action not only ensured the seriousness of the law, but also took care of the poor and laboring people.

The imperial palace was like a sieve, and Zhu Yijun knew it well. During the entire Wanli period, there were twelve recorded cases of breaking into the palace, from Wang Jinglong assassinating the prince to Zhang Cha entering the palace with a wooden stick and beating the prince with a stick, a total of twelve times.

Among them were those who broke into the palace to steal wine, vegetables, meat, and oil, some who spied on the emperor's daily life, some who had no place to seek justice and had to go into the palace to be covered in blood, and some who were hanged at the Huangji Gate because of injustice. The most outrageous case was that eunuchs went to brothels to drink and not pay, and prostitutes disguised themselves and entered the palace to pay for the wine. This matter was even written in the court bulletin and became known to the world.

He said: According to the official report, a woman dressed as a man was caught in the palace. After questioning, it was found that the eunuch had been hiding from the woman for a long time and had been hiding from the money for the night's sex. So he pretended to be dressed up and broke into the palace to look for her.

Emperor Wanli was too lazy to even care about the beating of the crown prince. If the court officials had not made such a fuss, there would not even be an imperial decree to investigate. He would just read the message but not reply to it. The palace-breaking incidents happened repeatedly.
The Wanli Emperor, who hid in the harem and smoked opium, was not just a simple case of dereliction of duty.

"I live in Tonghe Palace now. Zhao Tishuai and Feng Daban also focus their main attention on Tonghe Palace, so this palace is naturally as messy as a vegetable market. Since some people are curious, we might as well let them in. Three taels of silver per person can take a simple tour, and ten taels of silver per person can pull a carriage into the palace for a tour. The Qianqing Palace can also be visited." Zhu Yijun thought of buying tickets again.

"In addition, I will set up a special imperial farm in the palace. You must buy a souvenir when you enter the palace, whether it is calligraphy or painting, or a plaque with a talisman. You must buy one when you go out. Each one is not expensive, ranging from ten to fifty taels of silver. If you don't buy one, you can stay and be a eunuch."

The emperor carefully selected fine items, and anyone who entered the palace could buy them. They were required to buy them, and the main strategy was to force purchases.

The routes are divided into different levels. The more money you pay, the more things you can see. These are Zhu Yijun's business plans.

The eunuchs can make this money, but why can't Zhu Yijun? ! The palace is his property! Not only does he want to make money, he has even made a business plan. The Taoist is good at drawing talismans and has invented many talismans for imperial use, including those for home security, exorcism, begging for children, and so on. He just sells them.

When the court officials heard this, all of them turned pale!
"Your Majesty, the country is now getting richer and richer. If the treasury is short of money, how about increasing the price of gold and silver?" Grand Tutor Wang Guoguang said loudly, "Your Majesty, if you really want to do this, I can only resign."

If the emperor really sells tickets to the palace, Wang Guoguang will have to find a rope to hang the Huangji Gate faster. His Majesty can afford to lose this person, but Wang Guoguang cannot.

In order to make His Majesty take back this absurd idea, Wang Guoguang was even willing to give His Majesty some more money and increase His Majesty's pocket money, so that His Majesty would not have to think about this! His Majesty doesn't want the face of the Celestial Empire, but the court officials do!

"I am not short of money." Zhu Yijun said with certainty: "Wanting to make money and not being short of money are not contradictory. You still have to pay for incense to enter Mount Tai."

"Alright, alright, General Hai, I get it, I get it. I won't sell it."

As soon as Zhu Yijun saw that Hai Rui was about to speak, he immediately stopped the subject. Hai Rui had never lost the courage to contradict the emperor, and it was obvious that Hai Rui was already gathering strength, but Zhu Yijun did not give Hai Rui this opportunity.

Hai Rui stood up and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, this is extremely inappropriate. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty sold official positions in the West Garden, which resulted in rotten wood being officials in the temple and beasts eating salaries between the steps of the palace. As a result, people with wolves' hearts and dogs' behavior are in power, and servile people are in power. The country has no backbone and righteousness, and the world is in danger in an instant. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty forged the sword of rejuvenation to show his ambition, but what he did was perverse and the government collapsed."

The weather in the first month of the year was very cold, and Zhu Yijun was already sweating profusely. He immediately said, "What Hai Zongxian said is right. I understand. Feng Daban, we must strictly enforce the palace ban."

"I obey your order." Feng Bao also disagreed, saying that the palace was not short of money.

Hai Rui was not like the lowly Confucian scholars who liked to exaggerate things. He even supported many of His Majesty's unorthodox behaviors. What he meant was that the imperial palace was a public property, almost the same as the official titles in the Han Dynasty, and charging admission was a bit too advanced.

Minister of War Zeng Xingwu was a little restless. He held the memorial and said with a very serious face: "Your Majesty, Zhennan Pass has sent a letter, asking the country to have mercy and stop buying their rice." Zhu Yijun took the memorial and read it for a long time. After putting it down, he said: "It's very interesting that the Mo, Ruan and Li families can actually reach an agreement and sign this letter. It shows that they are all full of resistance from top to bottom. They are always consistent in the matter of making friends with neighbors."

"What's even more interesting about this letter is why they didn't restrict their powerful and wealthy subordinates from selling grain, but instead asked the Ming Dynasty not to buy grain? Don't they want to? In my opinion, they simply can't do it."

The emperor looked at the problem from a slightly different angle than the Ming court officials. Zhu Yijun put himself in their shoes and discovered the biggest problem in this country's book. In the eyes of these three heads of families, persuading the Ming to issue a ban was easier than persuading the powerful and wealthy under their command.

Forcing powerful and wealthy people not to sell grain to the Ming Dynasty will not only fail to stop them from undermining the Ming Dynasty, but will also lead to resistance.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zeng Xingwu was quite moved. This letter arrived in his hands last night. He thought about many strategies to deal with it before he considered the key points of the contradiction in it. But Your Majesty only read it once and completely understood the key.

This is talent.

"I know." Zhu Yijun did not read the letter but did not reply, nor did he reply randomly. Instead, he said "I know" without any clue. What does "I know" mean? The rulers and ministers of Annan can figure it out for themselves. It is roughly equivalent to one word: Oh.

The court officials of the Ming Dynasty have a deep understanding of these four words. Your Majesty's meaning is very clear. I have been informed of your request, but the Ming Dynasty has its own national conditions and cannot make adjustments to its maritime trade policy. Please resolve the contradictions on your own. This is an act of free trade, and I will not interfere excessively.

"I think that in order to solve the Annan issue once and for all, it is better to completely transform it into counties." Zeng Xingwu was a conservative. The most distinctive feature of conservatives is to follow the laws established by their ancestors. Emperor Chengzu Wen once did this.

"Isn't the southwest fighting Toungoo? There's no rush." ​​Zhu Yijun agreed with Zeng Xingwu's opinion, but since Toungoo was already waging war, it was not convenient to fight on two fronts.

When Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty personally led an expedition to Tumu Fortress, the Ming Dynasty was suppressing the uprisings of Deng Maoqi and Ye Zongliu in the southeast, and conquering Luchuan in the southwest. This was a three-front war, which could easily lead to the dispersion of military forces. After that, the Ming Dynasty had been trying its best to avoid fighting on two or three fronts. The rebellion of the Tang Dynasty and the Japanese invasion during the Jiajing period were also forced upon it.

"His Royal Highness Prince De of the Imperial Academy of Sciences has reported that 4,000 32-horsepower steam engines can be produced this year. Your Majesty, Womagang and Shengzhou Coal Bureaus need iron horses to transport coal for import." Wang Chonggu sat up straight and talked about the important matter of steam engine distribution this year.

"The Southern Court also needs iron horses, mainly for weaving and shipbuilding. Wang Ci Fu, how about splitting them in half?" Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Chonggu with a bad face and said.

"The import of gold, silver, copper, iron and coal from Shengzhou and Womagang is extremely important. It is the key to the convection of coal and silver, and also the key to the kingship of Suiyuan. Yuanfu, Nan Ya has a lot of water power, but what's the use of so many iron horses?" Wang Chonggu did not want to conflict with Zhang Juzheng, but he had to fight for the distribution of this iron horse.

When the court officials saw that Wang Chonggu and Zhang Juzheng were arguing again, they all remained silent and even shrank back. The last time they argued over the distribution of steam engines, they quarreled so loudly that no one dared to speak loudly.

Good things are not circulated. Even the thirty-two iron horses are still being tested. They have already been distributed.

"Stop!" Zhu Yijun immediately interrupted the two and said loudly, "Stop arguing. Half for each of us. That's it!"

Zhu Yijun likes to watch the fun, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't watch this kind of fun. There are so many fun events throughout the year, and there is no shortage of this kind of fun. If these two people start quarreling, it will be a bit too dangerous. Once the people below think that there is going to be a decisive battle, the disaster of party and faction will immediately appear in the court of the Ming Dynasty.

This is unfair. Suiyuan needs more cavalry. If it is distributed according to demand, Suiyuan will get the lion's share. But Zhu Yijun has no better way. The water-balancing master Shen Shixing has practiced a truth throughout his life: no matter how good a water-balancing master is, he cannot balance a bowl of water evenly. If he keeps balancing it, he will only spill the whole bowl of water.

Wang Chonggu sighed, bowed his head with a hint of helplessness and said, "I obey your order."

His Majesty had already stood up to take sides, what could Wang Chonggu say? He could only use his strength to squeeze out some of the animal power to make up for the trouble caused by the lack of iron horses. According to Wang Chonggu's understanding of the Chidao, the iron horse with 36 horsepower was already very useful. Although it was expensive, it could pull a lot.

"Your Majesty, there is a kind of porters in Mount Emei who carry a bare shoulder pole with heavy loads hanging on both ends. These porters are called Bangbangjun or Bangbanggong."

Minister of Rites Wan Shihe could not hide his anger and said angrily: "Since the 19th year of Jiajing, porters at the foot of Mount Emei have started to raise mules. Mules can pull more and save more manpower. This was a method set up by the then magistrate Cui Jiong, who only wanted to relieve the suffering of the people."

"In September of the 11th year of the Wanli reign, a group of scholars who were out for an outing saw that mules were working hard to transport goods, so they went to the Emei County government office to file a complaint. The county magistrate, Zhao Wenchang, was confused and afraid to argue, so he ordered that donkeys should not be raised. As a result, materials going up the mountain could only be transported by manpower!"

"Wait... let me sort it out." Zhu Yijun was a little confused. He tentatively said, "No, are these scholars sick? Other people's mules are used to pull goods, but these mules that can't pull goods are useless. Isn't their fate to be slaughtered?"

"You feel sorry for the animals, but not for the people? And this Zhao Wenchang, if he can do it, do it. If he can't, get out and go home. It's not too late for him to learn how to grow sweet potatoes now."

"That's true." Wan Shihe said with a complicated expression, "The Analects of Confucius, Xiangdang, Chapter 17: The stable burned. When the Master left the court, he asked, "Did anyone get hurt?" He didn't ask about the horse."

"There was a fire at the Master's house, and the stables were burned down. When the Master came home after the court session, the first thing he asked was, "Are there any people injured?" He did not ask if the horses were damaged. The Master did not dislike horses, but he loved people so much that he did not have time to ask about horses. People are more precious than animals, and it should be so! In a hurry, the saint's true love is especially evident!"

"Are these people who are making trouble out of nothing Confucian scholars?"

Wan Shihe was talking about the Analects of Confucius and his fellow villagers, and about rites and laws.

This is the discussion in feudal ethics about which is more noble and which is less noble, humans or animals. Humans are more noble and animals are less noble.

Later generations all acted according to this standard. This was also the reason why the scholars did not dare to say a word when Zhu Yijun was liquidating the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou. The Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou indulged its subordinates and made people serve as dog funerals. This was the betrayal of Confucius. If the Yanshenggong Mansion does not take the sage's teachings seriously, then is there any need for the Yanshenggong Mansion to exist?
Afterwards, Your Majesty established Nan Kong as the official in charge of worshipping Confucius, which made the Confucian scholars even less opposed.

For the first time, Zhu Yijun felt that feudal ethics also had their merits, and that a little feudalism was much better than this kind of hypocritical kindness.

Song Rendong's kindness is not hypocritical, but naive and false. He is willing to believe that good things will happen.

But these scholars are not like Song Rendong. They are hypocritically kind. They don’t care about the mule at all. What they care about is the satisfaction of being able to have a say in everything.

"Zhao Wenchang, he is an official appointed by the imperial court, why should he be afraid of the clamor and opinion of the scholars! Who can control him? He is not afraid of my punishment, but he is afraid of the opinion of the scholars, right? Am I the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, or is the opinion the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Yijun's face was solemn and his tone became unfriendly.

This involves a question, who can call the wind and rain in the Ming Dynasty? As the emperor, Zhu Yijun has only one position! In the Ming Dynasty, only the emperor can call the wind and rain!
In a small way, this is because Zhao Wenchang is incompetent and cowardly. In a big way, this is because the power of the Ming emperor is challenged. How long has it been said that the people are the foundation of the country, and a country will be stable if the foundation is solid? How long has it been said that we should care for the hard work of the common people?

This Zhao Wenchang, the word "imperial court" is not even in his mind!

Zhang Juzheng felt a darkness before his eyes. Now there was one bad news and one good news. The bad news was that Your Majesty had learned the methods of the despicable Confucian scholars. The good news was that he had learned all of them.

This is exactly the same method used by the despicable Confucian scholars to impeach Grand Marshal Tan Lun for coughing, making a mountain out of a molehill.

"Zhao Wenchang should be dismissed immediately, and Emei County should be ordered to resume the old practice of raising mules without delay. As for this group of scholars who stir up public opinion, if they have any meritorious service, they should be dismissed. If they have no meritorious service, they will not be allowed to take the imperial examinations for life. This is equivalent to committing a crime. If they are still criticized, their three generations will not be allowed to take the imperial examinations, and their five generations will not be allowed to enter the government."

"Aren't they worried about the mules? From the time the imperial edict arrives in Emei County, the period will be five years. These scholars are all working as porters in Emei Mountain. If anyone escapes, their family will be implicated as well." Zhu Yijun chose to strike hard.

The punishments included dismissal, restoration of mule-drawn goods, removal of scholars from their official titles, prohibition from taking examinations, five years of hard labor as porters in the mountains, and punishment for escape.

Zhu Yijun was still dissatisfied and said: "Nonsense! It's fine that you don't have a respectful heart towards the country. When you were studying, you kept the teachings of the saints in mind, but you wouldn't do such a thing!"

"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites know."

Shen Li and Liang Menglong looked at each other, stood up, bowed their heads and said, "I obey your order."

It is really difficult to plead for mercy in this matter, because the entire discussion between Wan Shihe and Your Majesty was based on the teachings of sages and Confucius' Analects, and they were used as the basis for punishment.

Are these scholars right, or is Confucius right?
The court discussion continued. The Ministry of Works reported the second sea trial of the Feiyun. The route of this trial remained unchanged, mainly to test the effectiveness of the new propeller. The Ministry of Justice reported the Spring Thunder Operation, which focused on cracking down on brokers, especially those who used the names of the various ministers to cheat people.
The Ministry of Revenue reported on various matters related to spring ploughing, as well as reports from various places on the progress in abolishing the slave system. Except for Guizhou and Guangxi, the two capitals and sixteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, as well as Suiyuan, Gansu, and Liaodong, had all completed the abolition of the slave system. The law no longer recognized the legality of indentureship.

After the court session, Zhu Yijun studied in detail the story of the Master not asking about horses. Only then did he realize that the belief that animals are more valuable than humans was prevalent in the pre-Qin period. It was also because of the story of the Master not asking about horses that the consensus that humans are more valuable than animals was gradually formed.

"The mule is not stupid. When it is really too tired to walk, it will just lie down somewhere. It won't move if you hit it hard, and if you hit it too hard, the mule will kick you from behind and make you dizzy and even die. That mule is the ancestor of the stick worker's family. The worker doesn't even have time to feel sorry for the mule, so how could he tire the mule to death?" Zhu Yijun commented on this incident, only humans would drink coffee to drain out the last bit of their energy.

These scholars are just a bunch of idiots. They feel sorry for the mules and the air, but they don’t feel sorry for the people who are struggling to survive at the bottom of society.

The previous uproar in the capital over the scholars' criticism of the coal smoke in the Western Hills was also a similar kind of hypocrisy and kindness. The scholars did not care about the problem of heating in the winter at all, because no matter how cold it was, they would not be frozen, and only the common people would be frozen to death, so they could point fingers so unscrupulously.

"Use the Ministry of Rites to compile the "Compilation of Philosophers" as soon as possible. If Confucius knew that contemporary Confucian scholars have become like this, he would be so angry that he would come back to life." Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial and said helplessly.

As soon as this decree was announced, it immediately aroused heated discussions. Then, these officials had a lot to say but couldn't say a word. There was no other way, as Lord Wan explained the problem very clearly.

The Master did not ask about horses, and believed that people were more valuable than animals. If we want to speak up for these scholars and Zhao Wenchang, we must first oppose Confucius's idea.

It is too difficult to ask the critics to prove that Confucius is wrong. They don't even have the ability to engage in a battle with Wan Shihe, let alone win an argument with him.

(End of this chapter)