Han officials

Chapter 311 Defying the Ancestors' Decision [4K]

When everyone's eyes were on him, Wei Zhe was honestly quite gratified.

Wei Zhe wasn't afraid of their ambition, but he was afraid that these people wouldn't even have the motivation to pursue sainthood, in which case he would truly be helpless.

It's actually a good thing to have some aspirations; otherwise, these scholars would inevitably fall into emptiness after reaching a certain level.

Having higher spiritual pursuits now makes their lives more fulfilling.

Most importantly, with the goal of becoming a saint hanging high above them, these people are more likely to exercise self-discipline.

It doesn't need to be much; if they can raise the moral standard by one or two tenths, it would be a blessing for all living beings.

After all, for the past two thousand years, scholars have been the ruling class of China for most of the time.

The moral bottom line of this group can truly affect the fate of people all over the world.

Xunzi, in the chapter "Strengthening the State," states:
It is better to guide than to block; blocking leads to overflow, while guiding ensures smooth flow.

Wei Zhe finally understood this common saying.

Because what needs to be channeled in this world is not just floods, but also an excess of human resources.
Keep in mind that it is only the second century AD, and the largest political entity on Earth is probably China.

If the research of later historians is correct, the total population of the Indian subcontinent is only about ten million, and it was fragmented into a number of small countries after the fall of the Mauryan dynasty.

As for the population of ancient Rome, experts say it was 60 million... of course, if they did have that much arable land and high-quality grains comparable to hybrid rice!

However, there was one thing Wei Zhe couldn't understand: as a political entity roughly the same size as the Han Dynasty, why were the population figures for ancient Rome only speculative and lacked concrete historical data?
Even according to the research of European and American historians themselves, ancient Rome rarely conducted population statistics, and it is worth mentioning that they only conducted them once every few decades.

This is quite strange. Didn't ancient Rome need to collect taxes?

It should be noted that since the First Emperor unified the six kingdoms, he had brought the household registration of all regions under his control.

When Liu Bang captured Chang'an, while everyone was scrambling for wealth and beauties, only Xiao He preemptively moved the census data and maps compiled by the Qin Dynasty to the Han army camp. This allowed Liu Bang to have a clear objective in his later campaigns.

Fortunately, Xiao He saved these data back then; otherwise, they would probably have been burned to ashes by Xiang Yu.

Thus, Wei Zhe was unable to find the population data for the twenty-seventh year of the First Emperor's reign in the Luoyang library.

Even though the First Emperor reigned for a long period of 37 years, only the household registration data for that one year has been preserved.

To be honest, when he found those numbers in the library, he felt completely numb from head to toe.

It was a kind of awe and wonder that transcended time and witnessed history!

Perhaps it was the First Emperor who set a good precedent, as both the Former Han Dynasty and the present dynasty have inherited the habit of population statistics.

Moreover, it was a yearly record, and even the core part of the annual data submitted by all the prefectures in the country.

It must be said that compared with the art of governance of ancient Rome, the level of governance in the Han Dynasty was somewhat too advanced.

But that's the problem: the current version of Huaxia is a bit too advanced.

A large human workforce inevitably leads to a large intellectual output, if this can also be measured.

In any case, since the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, there have indeed been more and more intelligent people in the world.

Unable to become officials, these people racked their brains to find a way out.

They might delve into the affairs of ghosts and gods, become obsessed with immortality, or even... research how to rebel!

It is no exaggeration to say that it was with the addition of these wise men that Han Chinese rebellions began to become an art.

From slogans to political programs, and even how to develop and grow stronger, everything now has theoretical support.

Among them, the Taiping Dao is undoubtedly the most comprehensive!

One volume of the "Taiping Jing" and half a volume of the "Dragon-Slaying Techniques".

Tsk tsk, if these Taoist priests were in India or Egypt, they could probably become kings or pharaohs.

It can only be said that "original Taoism" was too radical, resorting to rebellion at the drop of a hat, which was quite frightening.

However, this is both a bad thing and a good thing.

As the saying goes, "It's better to guide than to block!"
Instead of letting these people have nothing better to do than to guide them to do something meaningful.

Creativity is also a force, and although it is extremely difficult to guide, it is ultimately a possibility.

If one smart person can't change society, what about a thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand?
When millions of brilliant minds put their intellect to use, it will be more terrifying than mere brute force!
Perhaps after the Great Wei Empire founded by Wei Zhe is destroyed, the next dynasty will be completely different.

Therefore, both constraints and guidance are important, with the latter being especially important!
Just as Wei Zhe was thinking about how to steer the conversation toward this topic, a young scholar boldly stepped forward.

"Disciple Fufeng Fazheng greets Master!"

Incidentally, Fa Zheng was three years older than Sima Yi, and was exactly nineteen this year.

His family was a prominent clan in Guanzhong, and they wouldn't normally have come to Zhixing Academy to study, but the Fa family was just unlucky.

Fa Zheng's ancestor was named Fa Xiong, who rose through the ranks from a county official to the governor of Nan Commandery.

During the reign of Emperor An of this dynasty, the pirate Zhang Bolu caused chaos in Qingzhou, attacking several coastal counties and causing great harm. Therefore, the court urgently summoned Fa Xiong to be the governor of Qingzhou and mobilized tens of thousands of troops from various counties in You and Ji provinces to suppress the rebellion, and finally defeated Zhang Bolu.

It was from Fa Xiong onwards that the Fa family of Fufeng began to rise to the ranks of the gentry.

Although Fa Xiong's son Fa Zhen did not take up an official post after his death, he actually helped the Fa family of Fufeng rise to a higher level, making them a famous family in Guanzhong.

The reason is simply that Fazhen had made great achievements in classical studies, and was quite accomplished in the classics of various schools of thought and apocryphal texts. He was known for his lofty and refined character and was a rare great Confucian scholar from Guanzhong.

It's not unusual for a clan in Guanxi to produce someone with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), but it's rare to find someone who can produce a great Confucian scholar.

Thus, relying on the foundation accumulated by his grandfather and father, Fa Zhen's son, Fa Yan, was recommended as a "filial and incorrupt official" at a young age, and later became an assistant to the Minister of Works and the Left Supervisor of the Court of Justice. It seemed that he was about to turn his family's foundation into political capital.

Unexpectedly, on the eve of the rise of the Fufeng Fa clan, Fa Yan died in office.

This dealt a heavy blow to the old man Fazhen, who died as early as the fifth year of Zhongping, at the age of eighty-nine.

As a result, Fazheng, a young man in his early twenties, was able to take on the responsibility of supporting the family at such a young age.

However, misfortune never comes singly, as Fufeng County subsequently suffered repeated calamities and wars.

In addition, this year was also a year of severe drought in Guanzhong. So Fa Zheng made a tough decision and had to make a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes: to move his whole family to Yezhou and become a student of Zhixing Academy.

It should be noted that Zhixing Academy is a major center for classical Chinese studies.

For Fazheng, a direct descendant of a great Confucian scholar of the New Text School, to come seeking knowledge from us is tantamount to betraying his family and recognizing a thief as his father.

This matter caused quite a stir in Ye City at the beginning of the year.

However, Fa Zheng's actions greatly pleased many of the great scholars in the academy, who in turn took good care of him.

Seeing him step forward, Sun Yan whispered a few words of explanation to Wei Zhe.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe became interested and immediately smiled faintly:

"If you have any questions, please speak freely!" But the righteous one truly lived up to his reputation as "possessing extraordinary strategies," as he didn't even ask about becoming a saint.

His eyes gleamed, and he said in a deep voice:
"If future generations can cultivate themselves to become sages, then why is there only one Confucius to date?"

Is it that "the present is inferior to the past," or "the past is inferior to the present"?

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Confucian scholars were immediately taken aback.

My slightly agitated brain suddenly felt as if it had been doused with cold water, and I instantly calmed down.

After all, Fazheng is absolutely right!

If Confucian scholars can become sages, then why has no one ever done so?
Even after Confucius, the Confucian school rarely produced any more virtuous people, and there were none like Mencius, Xunzi, or Zengzi.

From this perspective, doesn't it just show that "the present is not as good as the past"?

It is precisely because the younger generation is not as talented as the ancients that each generation is worse than the last.

In this case, isn't the "transformation from mortal to saint" just a delusion?
For a moment, the Confucian scholars looked at Fazheng with great satisfaction.

Such courage and talent immediately made several renowned scholars consider taking him as their last disciple.

At the same time, the Confucian scholars standing nearby couldn't help but worry about Fazheng.

Because his words just now were tantamount to questioning Wei Gong's views, and even had the suspicion of overturning Wei Gong's doctrines.

If we're not careful, such a promising talent might be wasted.

However, before they could even plead for mercy, Wei Zhe unexpectedly smiled and nodded.

"That's right, the fact that you thought of that shows you do have some quick wit."

Wei Zhe was naturally not angry about Fa Zheng's questioning.

After all, if Fazheng doesn't ask this question now, it will be raised by a great scholar of the New Text School of Confucianism in the future.

Now that Fa Zheng has brought it up in public, Wei Zhe feels it is perfectly timed.

After a moment's thought, he explained earnestly:
“The world is vastly different in ancient and modern times, and many things are difficult to judge together.”

"For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, wild people lived outside the cities of the whole country. Their birth, old age, sickness and death were different from those of the people of the country."

“At that time, the savages had no right to serve the king, let alone be educated.”

"However, in today's world, even the son of an old farmer in the countryside has the opportunity to read the books of sages and worthies."

"In this respect, the present is superior to the past!"

"Therefore, it is true that the past is not as good as the present, and it is also true that the present is not as good as the past."

Do you agree with what I've said?

After saying that, Wei Zhe looked at Fa Zheng with a warm smile, showing no sign of anger.

Seeing this, Fa Zheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and admire Wei Zhe's magnanimity.

In fact, his questioning was a gamble on Wei Zhe's magnanimity, a chance to get ahead.

And the way to make Wei Zhe remember him was naturally nothing more profound than questioning him.

Therefore, upon hearing Wei Zhe's words, Fa Zheng immediately bowed respectfully in gratitude and said:

"Thank you for your explanation, sir. I was foolish."

Seeing this, Wei Zhe smiled slightly and continued to explain:
"What do the differences between ancient and modern times have to do with us, really?"

Whether we can become saints depends entirely on our own abilities and has nothing to do with outsiders.

"It should be known that the teachings of Confucius are undoubtedly true. It would be absurd if no one in the later generations of Confucianism could become a sage!"

When he said that, no one reacted at first.

But then, a thought crossed their minds, and everyone present couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

Indeed, whether later generations of Confucian scholars can become sages seems to have no question of whether "the present is inferior to the past" or "the past is inferior to the present," but rather whether the Confucian path is correct!

After all, if the teachings of Confucius are correct, then a second Confucian sage will surely emerge in later generations.

Otherwise, wouldn't this prove that there's something wrong with their Confucian path?
When the scholars present realized this, they all became completely convinced of the path to sainthood.

There's no way around it; this is no longer a matter of personal honor or disgrace, but a question of the survival of faith.

If they do not want their faith to collapse, then they must shoulder the mission of Confucianism and continuously explore the path to sainthood.

In this situation, any questioning of Wei Zhe's theories would be tantamount to questioning their beliefs!

If Wei Zhe's words were merely hypothetical before Fa Zheng's question, then after Fa Zheng's question, Wei Zhe's sermon today has become an ironclad truth.

This is not an exaggeration at all; at least that's what the thousand or so Confucian scholars present thought.

It can be said that through his lectures today, Wei Zhe has already linked his doctrines with the orthodoxy of Confucianism.

After today's remarks were made public, every school of classical Chinese studies would have to kowtow to Wei Zhe.

After all, according to Wei Zhe's theory, classical Confucianism undoubtedly possesses the "path to sainthood".

From now on, it is likely that all ambitious scholars in the world will turn to their lineage of classical Chinese studies.

As for the New Text School of Confucianism?

Without room for advancement, they will eventually lose their competitiveness among scholars.

Unless the New Text School of Confucianism encounters another "Liu Xiu" (a legendary figure known for his brilliant political achievements), and continues to maintain its status as an official school with the support of the imperial court.

Otherwise, the decline of the New Text School of Confucianism would have been an inevitable outcome.

……

After Fazheng sat down, the hall fell into a rare silence.

Perhaps the amount of information received today was too much, as many students were already somewhat dazed.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhe on the stage looked at Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Fa Zheng, and others, and nodded in satisfaction.

With these four people around, he probably doesn't need to worry too much about the future of Zhixing Academy.

Whether it's debating the classics or waging a war of words against the New Text School of Confucianism, these four young people are already capable enough.

Wei Zhe even felt that this lineup was a bit too cruel, since it was practically the top-tier lineup of the new generation.

If those old fogies of the New Text School of Confucianism were in poor health, several of them would probably be driven to their deaths by anger.

(End of this chapter)