People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

The young goalkeeper was clearly confused.

"I don't care if it's a white horse or a horse, if you don't get off, I'll turn it into a dead horse!"

Gongsun Long roared, "Let's see who dares to kill my white horse!"

Clang—

The young goalkeeper drew his sword. "Would you like to test the sharpness of my precious sword?"

Gongsun Long also drew his sword, his beard and hair standing on end, his white robe fluttering even without wind.

"My sword has never been weak!"

Jingni whispered in Cao Ze's ear, "He is very strong, at least a grandmaster."

Cao Ze was not surprised, after all, he was recognized by the masters as the third generation, and becoming a grandmaster was a basic requirement.

Otherwise, with that mouth of his, he would have been hacked to death long ago.

However, compared to the famous families led by Gongsun Linglong in later generations, this patriarch was really tough, daring to draw his sword at the city gate.

They have status and ability; I'm so envious!

It is perfect as a catalyst for his fame spreading throughout the seven kingdoms.

Brother Donkey let out a bray, stomped his hooves a few times, and looked at Gongsun Long's white horse with great excitement.

Cao Ze suddenly realized that this was a mare, probably the first breeder of the famous breeder, Ta Xue.

He is indeed very handsome and a good match for his donkey brother.

He whispered next to Brother Donkey's ear, "Don't worry, Brother Donkey, I'll keep you safe. Just wait patiently for a while."

The donkey stomped its hooves even more excitedly and brayed incessantly.

This made the tense atmosphere at the city gate somewhat strange.

The young officer at the city gate clearly recognized Cao Ze but dared not lose his temper.

But Gongsun Long wasn't going to mince words: "Young man over there, keep your donkey under control!"

Cao Ze stroked the donkey's fur and said with a smile, "This is not a blue donkey, this is a donkey. It's not a blue donkey."

Gongsun Long was taken aback, then laughed three times, "Well said! A white horse is not a horse, and a donkey is not a blue donkey! My return to Handan this time was indeed the right choice!"

"Old man! Get off your horse now!"

The young gatekeeper shouted, and a dozen soldiers surrounded him with spears.

"This is a white horse!"

Gongsun Long was brimming with energy. He had returned to his hometown of Handan to prove his theories.

He would never compromise in the slightest on his principles or the path he pursued.

Cao Ze did not believe that Gongsun Long was engaging in sophistry; it was clearly a philosophical question.

This is a classic example of unclear expression in logic, belonging to the problem of particularities. In essence, it is about the relationship between universal things and specific things, that is, inclusion and being included.

Similarly, he would not belittle or ridicule a great man who, two thousand years ago, before the development of conceptual science and logic, and before the emergence of metaphysics and epistemology, had already proposed the dialectic of "a white horse is not a horse".

At least, as the granddaddy of trolls, he would probably be utterly humiliated by Gongsun Long in terms of verbal sparring and physical prowess.

However, encountering a master of verbal sparring stirred up his argumentative tendencies, and he still wanted to give it a try.

then……

Cao Ze muttered something to the young general.

Then, the young gatekeeper shouted at Gongsun Long, "Since it's a white horse, let it pass by, and leave the horse behind!"

Gongsun Long, who had just been 'an old man indulging in youthful exuberance,' was stunned.

After thinking about it for a moment, I realized this guy was trying to skin his dog, Ta Xue!

"Since you acknowledge that this is a white horse, I will dismount!"

Gongsun Long dismounted readily, surprising Cao Ze and the young general.

Just as the young general guarding the city was about to send someone to capture Gongsun Long, Cao Ze coughed lightly, stopping the young general.

"Junior Cao Ze greets Senior Gongsun Long."

Gongsun Long was not an arrogant person; on the contrary, he was very polite, reasonable, and forceful.

"Cao Ze? The Cao Ze from the Six States Theory? Hmm, well written. He seems more like a strategist than Gongsun Yan's two disciples. A direct disciple of Guiguzi, serving as a guard in Qin. How shameful."

Cao Ze knew that Gongsun Long was talking about Gai Nie, but he didn't know what the relationship was between Gongsun Long and Gongsun Yan. Surely they weren't brothers.

Gongsun Long greeted Cao Ze and then led the white horse towards the palace.

He was going to see the King of Zhao, intending to lecture in Handan and debate with the various schools of thought in the world to clarify the doctrines he had learned.

Gather your breath and attain the status of a Grandmaster!

The young general approached Cao Ze, somewhat nervously asking, "Is he Gongsun Long?"

Cao Ze nodded. "That's right."

The young general's face changed. "I'm doomed. If the king finds out, he'll surely behead me."

Gongsun Long was a native of Handan.

Not only was he a retainer of Zhao Sheng, the Prime Minister of Zhao, but he was also the head of a famous family and was received and valued by three Kings of Zhao.

Let alone riding a horse into the city, even riding freely within the city wouldn't be a problem.

"It's alright, Senior Gongsun Long won't hold it against you."

Cao Ze comforted the young general, "Not to mention, I'm here to keep you from losing your head."

As a goalkeeper, Cao Ze believed that the young general's position was crucial.

The reason Lü Buwei was able to escape Handan with Ying Yiren was because the gatekeeper, Shangshangshangshangshang, cooperated well. He didn't mind lending a hand whenever trouble arose.

The young man said gratefully, "Thank you very much, Mr. Cao Ze. I wish Mr. Cao Ze all the best in winning the heart of his beloved!"

Cao Ze opened his mouth as if to explain, but ultimately swallowed his words.

After Li Zuoche returns to Handan, we must find a dark place and put a burlap sack over his head.

He leisurely drove his donkey home, pondering how to bring his white horse wife home for the donkey.

As a symbol of Gongsun Long's theories of solidity and whiteness, white horse, etc., it would be extremely difficult to steal Ta Xue from him and breed it with his donkey brother to produce a mule.

But it's worth a try, right?

Cao Ze took Jing Ni and her daughter, along with Li Wu, home.

He glanced at the sky; it was still early, so he strolled leisurely toward the palace.

These past few days, he's become addicted to advocating for it and insists that he increase the intensity.

He wasn't worried about whether he could handle it, but rather about the health of the Empress Dowager as an ordinary person.

If you keep playing so aggressively, he could easily ruin you.

I need to be careful; the Empress Dowager can't die in the next year or two.

We need to use it sparingly and work slowly.

As Cao Ze approached the palace, he happened to run into Kong Chuan, who looked gloomy, as he came out of the palace.

"Mr. Zigao," Cao Ze bowed respectfully.

Kong Chuan looked at Cao Ze and paused.

"Young friend Cao Ze, are you going to the palace?"

Cao Ze nodded and casually asked, "Why did you come out so early today, Mr. Zigao?"

He knew that Kong Chuan had recently been lecturing Zhao Yan on the Confucianism of Zisi, and Zhao Yan seemed to be very interested in Confucianism.

Kong Chuan moved a few steps to the side, away from the front of the palace gate, and gestured for Cao Ze to come over.

"You know the famous calligrapher Gongsun Long, right?"

"I know, I ran into you at the city gate not long ago."

“Back then, Lord Pingyuan, Zhao Sheng, was fond of the debates of the School of Names, and Gongsun Long was once his retainer. Ten years ago, I traveled through Handan and debated with Lord Pingyuan about ‘hardness and whiteness’ at his gate.”

Kong Chuan said somewhat helplessly, "Although I tried to reason with him, that fellow was too eloquent and I had no way to respond."

"However, Lord Pingyuan is a man of reason and logic. He knows that my reason is superior to my words, while Gongsun Long's words are superior to his reason. In this battle of words, my defeat is not unjust."

"From this point on, Gongsun Long's name became known throughout the world. However..."

"When Zou Yan, a scholar of Yin-Yang philosophy, was sent as an envoy to the State of Zhao on behalf of the State of Qi, Gongsun Long, full of ambition, wanted to debate with Zou Yan on the 'white horse is not a horse' argument."

Instead of responding to the argument, Zou Zi criticized Gongsun Long, arguing that he "used flowery language to deceive, embellished words to entice, and clever analogies to sway others," which was detrimental to the great principles. From then on, Lord Pingyuan distanced himself from Gongsun Long.

"But Gongsun Long was so angry that he declared, 'Truth cannot be true without debate,' and left Handan to travel around the states."

"Isn't it ridiculous? Truth is truth, why bother arguing about it?"

"Now ten years have passed, and he seems to have made great progress in the art of debating and combining, and has returned to his hometown of Zhao from Hangu Pass in Qin."

"Who would have thought that he would meet me in the palace and immediately challenge me to a rebuttal."

"The King of Zhao was very interested in this and set the beginning of the month for a debate on the topic at the Hundred Schools Forum."

"I can't refuse even if I want to; Gongsun Long has ulterior motives."

Chapter 85 Cao Ze's cultivation was not ideal.

Cao Ze thought to himself, "So it's an old acquaintance meeting again. No wonder they're so envious."

"Then... Mr. Zigao wants me to..."

Cao Ze was a little uneasy. Could it be that Kong Chuan wanted him to help him confront the patriarch of trolls on the spot?

Gongsun Long, who held the argument that "a white horse is not a horse," could be said to be invincible from the start.

Because... in Gongsun Long's context, a white horse is indeed not a horse.

The word "非" is really too subtle.