The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 687 Lian Bi
Cao Qi watched the other person leave coldly, then turned and walked to Guo Ping's side.

Guo Ping pursed his lips and spoke reluctantly.

"Father Zhong."

Although Cao Qi is much older than Guo Ping, they studied together under Wang Su in the past and were very good friends. They always chased each other and had a lot of fun.

As a result, when I grew up a little, I found that the two of them were only a few years apart in age, but a generation apart.

Cao Qi was Cao Mao's younger brother, and Guo Ping was Cao Mao's adopted son.

According to etiquette, we can no longer get along as we did in the past.

Cao Qi laughed and said, "Get up now. Don't be so reluctant. I just helped you!"

"I don't think Wang Jun would dare to attack us."

"Don't think that just because you have your father's support, they won't dare to attack you. If they want to punish you, they have plenty of ways to do it. I guarantee that His Majesty will be speechless."

"Be careful in the future. Everyone in this family is petty."

Cao Qi complained a few words, then called the people around him to them and introduced them to them.

"This man is called Shu Ji Neng, he is my best friend, from Liangzhou."

Guo Ping couldn't help but look at this man again.

This name is very strange.

Sounds like Xianbei people.

But judging from his appearance and clothing, he was no different from the people in the Central Plains. Shu Ji Neng greeted Guo Ping with a smile and spoke fluent elegant Chinese.

Cao Qi pointed at another person and said, "This man is called Liu Hong, the son of the former General Liu Gong, who was in charge of the Northern Frontier."

Guo Ping looked at the two brothers.

Both of them were tall and strong, looking very majestic, standing on Cao Qi's left and right.

Cao Qi led them away from here and walked to the opposite side of the platform. This place was very close to the platform and there were soldiers watching over it. Ordinary people could not get close. This was a place where only the chief priests or important ministers could sit.

Cao Qi brought them here.

As the King of Donghai, Cao Qi is naturally qualified to sit here, and Guo Ping and others can also follow him to sit down.

When he saw Cao Qi, Pan Yue's attitude became even more enthusiastic.

Just as they were talking, a group of people came from a distance. The two people in the lead chuckled and returned the greetings to the surrounding scholars. Even Cao Qi and others hurriedly stood up.

One of those two people is Qiao Zhou, who has recently become famous in Luoyang.

The other is Xun Yi, a master of Confucian classics.

The two of them were walking in front, talking and laughing. At this moment, Guo Ping and Chen Zhi looked at each other and understood who was helping Qiao Zhou behind the scenes.

After Qiao Zhou greeted everyone, he sat on the high platform.

Based on Qiao Zhou's own reputation, it would be difficult for him to organize such a big event in the Imperial College, but with the help of the Xun family, there would be no problem.

Qiao Zhou was not good at conversation, so he chose to get straight to the point and talked about the classics.

Qiao Zhou was well versed in the Six Classics, and he had one more book than those who were being tested, but at this moment, the one he was explaining to everyone was actually "Xunzi".

"Heaven's ways are constant; they do not exist for the sake of Yao, nor do they perish for the sake of Jie. If you respond to them with order, good luck will come; if you respond to them with chaos, disaster will come."

Qiao Zhou started with "On Heaven". After each paragraph, he would give his own comments, combine it with some major events that happened in the world, and then talk about how it is related to the present.

"Back in the Later Han Dynasty, local people held annual sacrifices and never forgot to perform Nuo opera every spring. Yet, why did unrest still break out across the country?"

"Some say it was because the emperor at the time was unvirtuous and chose the wrong people, so heaven sent down all sorts of disasters. But were these disasters unique to their time? Were they not there before them?"

"Disasters are also happening in various places now, but are the ministers in the court not wise enough? Is Your Majesty not wise enough?"

Qiao Zhou began his explanation.

At this moment, the scholars were stunned and everyone was whispering.

By this time, the idea of the connection between heaven and man had already been deeply rooted in people's minds, to the point where almost everyone believed it.

Feudal fatalism has reached its extreme. In fact, just recently, Qiao Zhou himself was a member of feudal fatalism, but the emperor was not, and therefore, Qiao Zhou was not one either.

The last person who clamored to break the feudal fatalism was Zhong Changtong, a minister of Cao Wei.

This person wrote "Changyan". In his work, he put forward the idea of basing everything on human affairs, believing that heaven is nature, without will and purpose, and everything depends on human efforts.

But he was born too early and lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, so his thoughts were considered arrogant and he himself was labeled as a madman.

If he had been born a hundred years later, no one would say this about him.

Take Qiao Zhou's remarks today, for example. If they were made fifty years ago, someone would probably have stood up and scolded him, saying that he was ignorant of fate and should be taken out and punished.

But now, there are all kinds of ideas and opinions, and people are much more receptive than before. Therefore, when the scholars heard Qiao Zhou's words, although they were surprised, they were able to listen to them.

Qiao Zhou spoke like this for half an hour, and finally someone stood up to question him.

"Duke Qiao didn't know the Mandate of Heaven. No wonder Shu was destroyed. If there was no Mandate of Heaven, Duke Qiao could have explained why Shu was destroyed? And why was Wei able to unify the country?"

The famous scholar who stood up was a wise man in the Imperial Academy.

This person's name is Sun Yan. He is a heavyweight in the entire Imperial Academy. His teacher is Zheng Xuan.

Just based on this point, he can beat all the famous scholars in the Imperial College.

He and Wang Su had always been at odds. In the Zheng Wang War, he had always stood on the side of his teacher and opposed Wang Su.

Wang Su hated him very much, so he used the Holy Testimony Theory to deal with him. During the fight between the two, Sun Yan was defeated by Wang Su.

Even so, it was still very impressive.

He is considered the most representative person in Zhengxue today.

His proposition is the absolute fatalism inherited from Zheng Xuan.

They believed that imperial power was something extremely sacred, and that the emperor represented heaven, so they had to obey the emperor absolutely. This was the will of heaven, and disobeying would result in very serious consequences.

The phrases such as "If the king wants his subjects to die" that often appear in later generations are what they advocated.

But in fact, early Confucianism did not all hold such views.

Qiao Zhou's words were obviously inconsistent with the views of Sun Yan and others, so Sun Yan was the first to come forward to refute them.

Sun Yan himself also taught many disciples, including the famous Xiongnu scholar Liu Xuan, who was also Zheng Xuan's disciple!
Sun Yan's question was also very sharp.

Qiao Zhou, however, was not at all panicked. He replied, "Shu was destroyed because of its weakness, unable to match the power of Wei. Wei prospered because of its wise emperor, dedicated ministers, and brave generals."

“What nonsense!!!”

Sun Yan was furious.

Xun Yi stood up and asked, "Does Lord Sun think that the current emperor is not wise? That the ministers haven't put in enough effort? That the generals haven't made any contribution, and that the unification was achieved simply because of destiny?"

"Xun Yi, your words are bringing disaster to the world!"

"I'm not saying that Your Majesty is unwise or that your ministers are unvirtuous. The reason they are like this is because of destiny!"

Guo Ping and Chen Zhi sat quietly below, listening to their quarrel.

Neither of them dared to say anything more.

At this moment, a familiar voice was suddenly heard.

"I think it's not destiny, it's man-made!"

"When the king is wise and his ministers are virtuous, the country will prosper. When the king is unvirtuous, the country will perish. This has been the truth since ancient times. The reason why the world can prosper today is because of ministers like me."

When everyone looked, they found that Zhong Hui had appeared in the crowd without them noticing.

That’s right, there’s no way he wouldn’t come to such a lively gathering of celebrities.

No matter how busy he is, he will still come and show his face.

Zhong Hui's involvement made the situation even more chaotic.

Next, it was the duel between Qiao Zhou and many famous scholars. Qiao Zhou was not good at speaking, but fortunately, there were many famous scholars willing to help him.

The two sides debated like this for more than an hour, but neither side won.

It is a pity that Wang Su has passed away. If he were still alive, people like Sun Yan would not have the chance to speak for so long. They would have died long ago after being so engrossed in his words.

Guo Ping and Chen Zhi listened for a long time. Later, when the younger scholars began to take over the debate from their elders, they could no longer bear to listen.

Qiao Zhou's visit this time was obviously just to warm up the atmosphere and put forward this proposal first, without expecting to convince everyone in one go.

Several people stood up and quietly left.

As soon as they reached the door, soldiers stopped them.

Then they were brought before a man.

Zhong Hui was looking at them with a smile, his eyes fixed on Xiahou Zhan and Pan Yue.

"Lian Bi is here, why are you leaving without even coming to see me?"

Everyone hurriedly saluted.

Zhong Hui asked them to follow him and walk outside.

Pan Yue couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Zhong, aren't you going to stay and continue listening?"

"These debates should be treated as entertainment, not obsession. We should focus on the bigger picture. What's the point of them getting together all day and just arguing?"

Zhong Hui suddenly asked, "What do you think of today's debate?"

Pan Yue was the first to answer, "I feel that all of you are extremely learned. Qiao Gong's words today reminded me of Chang Yan, a book I have read before and have some understanding of."

He said a lot of things, and it was obvious that Pan Yue quite agreed with what Qiao Zhou said.

Maybe it was just because Zhong Hui seemed to agree with what he said.

However, he did speak clearly and fluently, much more so than Qiao Zhou, and at least he was not restrained.

Zhong Huizhi nodded, "Not bad, not bad."

Xiahou Zhan came next. He seemed much calmer. "I am not very knowledgeable. Although I have heard a lot, I don't feel anything."

Zhong Hui smiled and said, "You are honest! Not bad, not bad."

Chen Zhi then said: "Like Xia Houjun, I haven't gained much."

"Humph, you are so ignorant!!!"

(End of this chapter)