Shusun Tong is gone anyway. This great scholar with a flexible moral bottom line left this prosperous age with some improvement, full of regrets and expectations.
Shusun Tong changed his family several times, was good at flattery, and could even make up allusions for the king. He was obviously an authentic Confucian, but he did things that were completely contrary to moral concepts, and even treated Liu Bang, Liu Ying, and Liu Chang.
Everyone suspected that he had secretly joined the Legalist school of magic, and he was flattering to the extreme.
He didn't care at all and didn't value his own reputation. After gaining the emperor's trust through various "villain" methods, he became very determined, formulated etiquette for the big man, and strictly followed the etiquette he formulated. It is said that he was greedy and fearful.
He wanted to die, but before his righteousness, he dared to explain his funeral affairs and went to confront Empress Lu. When Liu Bang wanted to depose Liu Ying and establish Ruyi, Shusun Tong was the first to stand up and dissuade him, and even threatened him with death.
He said: "If you insist on abolishing the crown prince and establishing a new crown prince, then I will ask to die in front of you."
He spent his whole life fighting for Confucianism. When Confucianism had no status and Lu Ru offended Emperor Gao to death, he reserved the last candle for Confucianism and gave Confucianism a chance to rise again.
Some people say that he "does not stick to trivial matters for the sake of great righteousness, and is a Han Confucian!"
Some people say of him: "He is a villain who confuses the king and causes the ancient rituals to be lost."
Whether he was a Confucian or a villain, this complicated old Confucian scholar still left.
Shusun Tong's disciples told Liu Chang that Shusun Tong had been seriously ill three years ago, but he had always gritted his teeth and even dragged his sick body to Yan State, where he established two
The county schools then went to the State of Qi and established four county schools in the State of Qi. They were originally planning to go to South Vietnam, but by the time they reached the State of Changsha, they could no longer bear the burden.
To be honest, Liu Chang was not close to his uncle Sun Tong. For a long time, Liu Chang looked down on him. He even raised a dog in the Tang Dynasty and named him Tong. But as he grew older, he became more and more dissatisfied with his uncle.
Sun Tong is full of fighting spirit and never hides it
For his own purpose, he would not find reasons for his previous actions, and openly said that he was a person who flattered the villain. Liu Chang still had some respect. When Shusun Tong did enlightenment for Liu Chang, he also let him
Liu Chang saw his fighting spirit.
Looking at Shusun Tong, who was lying quietly and accepting the kneeling worship of his disciples, Liu Chang gave his own evaluation, "The Confucianism of the Han Dynasty is the real one."
When Shusun Tong sent someone to invite Liu Chang to come, Liu Chang never thought it would be like this. He thought Shusun Tong was going to tell him again that he had established several more county schools and had something new with Lu Jia.
idea.
Liu Chang sighed, looking lonely.
Shusun Tong was not very popular among Confucianists. After the news of his death came out, only a few great Confucian scholars came to worship him. Except for the disciples of his own sect, only a few great Confucian scholars came to worship him.
There was only one Fu Qiu Bo and Lu Jia, which made Liu Chang a little unbelievable.
Lu Jia was the first to arrive. When he saw Shusun Tong's body, he was silent for a long time. He knelt down in front of Shusun Tong and whispered for a long time. Liu Chang and the others were far away, and there was no
I heard clearly what he was saying, but when Lu Jia came back, he said very seriously: "Your Majesty, I hope you can leave this matter to me to continue handling it."
Liu Chang originally had the same idea, but now no one except Lu Jia can take over the matter of enlightenment.
Fuqiubo is also a good candidate. He has trained countless disciples over the years. But the problem is that the biggest difference between Fuqiubo and Shusun Tong is that Fuqiubo is more focused on knowledge. His knowledge is very deep, but really
Whatever he wants to do, his practical ability is far inferior to that of Shusun Tong. He can be a teacher in Taixue and a great Confucian sage in the field of poetry, but he is unable to shoulder such an important task.
Lu Jia is a talented person who can be a lobbyist, write articles, manage state affairs, and engage in learning. He is a top talent in all aspects. He is definitely the most suitable person to be an enlightenment person.
Liu Chang asked Lu Lu to help Shusun Tong's disciples arrange the funeral arrangements. He also had one more thing to do, which was to pursue the title. Shusun Tong had never fought in a war, so he did not have a marquis, and he was one of the few who did not have a title.
As an important minister of the Han Dynasty, Liu Chang decided to posthumously title him Marquis of Xue according to his old place of origin, and give him the treatment he deserved as a founding minister.
Naturally, the ministers in the DPRK would not object to the posthumous title given to a dead person.
What Liu Chang didn't expect was that Shusun Tong's death even alarmed his mother. Empress Lu was unable to go there in person because of her old age, but she sent someone to take her place instead, as a way to see the Confucian monk off.
The matter of enlightenment naturally fell on Lu Jia. Shusun Tong's disciples, like Shusun Tong, had no resistance. The emperor said whatever he said. Under the influence of Shusun Tong, these disciples of his disciples
One sect has initially possessed some of the characteristics of Legalism, Huang Lao, and Mohism. They are obedient, value weapons, and know how to adapt. Because of the large changes, they have also become an alternative among Confucianists, but Liu Chang likes them quite a lot.
They could be willing to be teachers at the front, or serve in Shang Fang Mansion, or even volunteer to serve as soldiers in the Northern and Southern armies. In the same vein, they did not care about reputation and did practical things. This was something that Confucian scholars from other schools would never do.
"Father...the city is very lively these days."
Liu An took a bite of meat and said vaguely.
Liu Chang was stunned and then asked: "Did you steal my car?"
Liu An was stunned for a moment. He even forgot to chew the meat in his mouth and froze on the spot. Then he slowly looked at Cao Shu, with the word "help" written all over his face.
Cao Shu scolded with a straight face: "Are you allowed to steal the emperor's car? This is a capital crime for transgression!"
"Didn't my father also steal from my uncle back then..."
"I borrowed that!"
"Then can I also borrow it?"
"You are stealing!"
Liu An's face was full of grievances, but Liu Chang didn't care about overstepping or not overstepping. He asked: "What happened in the city again?"
"Many Confucian scholars have come, saying they are here to pay homage to Marquis Xue Su, from Qi, Zhao, Liang... Anyway, there are them everywhere... The teacher has not been in class these days, saying they are here to pay homage to those Confucian students.
We were quarreling and exchanging knowledge."
"Did Wang Sheng win?"
"If I lose, I will be beaten so badly that my nose will be bruised and my face will be swollen. I will not dare to come to Tianlu Pavilion anymore."
Liu Chang suddenly grinned and asked curiously: "Are they fighting?"
Liu An nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. The father and son came together and Liu An said excitedly: "Father, do you know the wine shop at the south gate? Just outside that wine shop, they are still debating.
An old man, I heard that he came from Qi State, and together with my master, he had defeated eight of Huang Lao's people... He even clamored to argue with the Legalists, but the Legalists didn't come!"
"Those from Qi... All those from Qi are very good at fighting. Have you seen his swordsmanship clearly?"
"I don't know either. I didn't dare to go up and take a look... My master said these people have ulterior motives..."
Liu Chang nodded and said with a sneer: "Your master is right, these people have ulterior motives. When Uncle Sun Gong passed away, none of them came to visit, only Fu Qiu Bo and Lu Jia came. Now
But they come in droves... If they come here and don't worship properly, they want to cause trouble for other schools. They definitely have ulterior motives!"
Liu An narrowed his eyes and said: "Father, I think these people are here just to seek fame. In this case, why not let Zhidu drive them all out of Chang'an!"
Liu Chang was angry and said unhappily: "An, the king can be strong, but he must not fail to listen to advice and cannot tolerate others. People always make mistakes. If you don't let others speak, how can you correct them?
What? What you hear now are all good words and words that flatter you. In this way, you will be confused and cannot see the real situation clearly! You should listen to different opinions more and don't dismiss others just because you hate them.
Get kicked out!"
Liu An's face was full of disdain, "Father, these people have bad intentions. They came to Chang'an to cause trouble. If we don't drive them out now, do we have to wait until they cause trouble?"
"Shu Zi! If you beat these people out indiscriminately, do you know how the world will talk about you?"
"Father, don't worry! We can resume the crime of gossiping, and then we will kill anyone who dares to gossip..."
Liu Chang looked at Shuzi in front of him complicatedly for a long time, and then looked at Cao Shu.
"Listen to what this Shuzi said! Are you trying to imitate King Zhou Li?! How could a wise man like me have such a son? All his words and deeds are like those of a mother!"
Cao Shu also frowned and said seriously: "An! Is this the behavior of a wise king? Listen to your father!"
Liu Chang looked at Liu An seriously and said, "I don't like Confucianism, but when Confucian scholars come, I will ask people to open the palace gate to welcome them. Why can't you follow suit?"
"But the palace order doesn't listen to me at all?"
"Shut up!"
"Even if you want to ride a horse, you must first feed the horse. The right combination of strength and softness is the correct principle. You must imitate those wise kings, such as Zhou Wu, Qi Wei, and Qin Xiao, but you cannot be King Li! Do you understand?
"
"Oh...then what does father say we should do?"
"Just ignore them... Anyway, if they make a big fuss, the Legalists they have been looking for will come out to argue with them, so don't worry about it at all."
Things really developed as Liu Chang expected. When these Confucians who suddenly came and Huang Lao were involved in a war, the descendants of the Legalists came. Unfortunately, it was Zhang Shizhi who came, and he blocked the road with these people.
, these people were taken away for reasons such as fighting and hurting others...
However, not long after Zhang Shizhi took them away, Fuqiu Bo appeared in front of Liu Chang.
"Your Majesty, there is no malicious intent among the various factions in debating with each other. They are all for the purpose of studying knowledge. How can we arrest them just because of this?"
Fu Qiu Bo came to plead helplessly. Fu Qiu Bo was not the first to plead, but he was the only one who was not directly kicked away by Liu Chang.
After all, Liu Chang liked this old man quite a lot. Fu Qiu Bo was the number one official in Chang'an. When Liu Chang was the king of the Tang Dynasty, Fu Qiu Bo praised him in all kinds of ways. He believed that the Tang King was a truly wise king. For Liu Chang and Liu Chang,
Leaders from many schools of thought have crossed the line and written many articles praising Liu Chang's merits.
While the celebrities were insinuating that Liu Chang was militaristic and privately provoking war with the Xiongnu, Fu Qiubo believed that Liu Chang had solved a century-old worry for the Han Dynasty.
While the celebrities believed that Liu Chang could not listen to advice and was an arbitrary tyrant, Fuqiu Bo believed that Liu Chang would not be easily deceived and had his own views on things.
When everyone thought that Liu Chang was tyrannical and unloving of the people, Fuqiu Bo cited Liu Chang's many benevolent policies as examples and said, "Throughout the ages, there has never been a man who loved the people as much as your majesty today."
Why do today's disciples of Taixue admire Liu Chang so much? As the leader of Taixue, Fu Qiubo has made a lot of contributions. Although he is not good at doing things, he is very knowledgeable. He analyzed Liu Chang's story according to the words of the sage.
He even came up with a set of theories about his behavior. He was the first to put forward the term "Sage of Heaven" because he felt that the emperor's merits could be called a sage.
Liu Chang has always thought that this old man is very good, has good vision, is sincere, and always likes to tell the truth.
Liu Chang looked at Fu Qiu Bo and asked, "Since this is a normal debate, why do we need to take action?"
"The weather is hot, it is inevitable..."
"What are they debating?"
Fu Qiu Bo replied: "They are debating whether King Tang and King Wu committed regicide and usurped the throne."
"What?!"
Liu Chang's eyes widened and he cursed: "You fellow disciples are so lawless, how dare you say that Tang Wu is treasonous?! I have known for a long time that these Confucian scholars will not stop, and as a disciple of Huang Lao, I will not let these people go.
!I want to punish them for my teacher Gai Gong!"
Fu Qiubo said: "Your Majesty, it was Mr. Huang who said it... We believe that Tang Wu is adhering to the destiny of heaven."
"What? These Huang Lao thieves! I am Xunzi's successor, how can I tolerate these Huang Lao talking nonsense here?! I will punish these people on behalf of my ancestor today!"
Fuqiubo chuckled, "Size up the situation, use hundreds of schools of thought for your own use, don't be obsessed with their academics, but use suitable ideas in the right place to govern the world. Your Majesty, this is the behavior of a wise king! Many people
It is just the pursuit of knowledge itself, quarreling over some unimportant things, but not knowing that the true meaning of these academics is to govern the country, and His Majesty is not deeply involved in academic research, but he can quote these ideas everywhere."
"Your Majesty used Huang Lao's ideas to make the people relaxed and not to press hard on the people. He used Confucian ideas to lighten corvee and reduce taxes and exempt land taxes. He used Legalist ideas to punish traitors and Mohist ideas to create more peace.
Good machinery...this is what the Holy Emperor should do!!"
Liu Chang was stunned and stood up for a long time before he stood up and said, "Come on, come on, come on, please take a seat!"
"Just because of you, let those Confucian scholars go free!"
"Please stay and talk to me more."
Fu Qiubo looked at Liu Chang in front of him, sighed, and said: "Your Majesty, you have really suffered a lot for the sake of this world... Your Majesty had no intention of being the emperor, but now he is imprisoned in Chang'an, busy with trivial matters all day long.
Unfortunately, when Emperor Gao passed away, His Majesty was just a child and shouldered a heavy burden too early. They all said that His Majesty liked to listen to flattery. In fact, this was just because His Majesty wanted to be recognized by more people..."
"Your Majesty, you are a truly wise king. A wise king does not listen to what they say, but goes to see places... I have been to many places. In these years, the Han Dynasty has undergone earth-shaking changes. Now in
Big man, in which county did people starve to death?
It would alarm the county. At that time, even half the county's people were starved to death, and they were not surprised... His Majesty allowed the common people of the Han Dynasty to eat and prevent them from being bullied. This was already the biggest problem.
The merit...is unmatched by any merit."
Liu Chang suddenly laughed.
"If you weren't too old, I should have kept you as a doctor!"
"Those Confucian scholars suddenly came to Chang'an and took the initiative to argue with Mr. Huang. Does Mr. Fuqiu know their intentions?"
"I came here for enlightenment."
"They looked down on Shusun Tong, but they valued what he was doing. They all thought this was a good opportunity to develop their own school. Previously they were jealous that Shusun Tong got such a good job, so they refused to cooperate. Now Shusun
Tong is gone, they are all here to grab this position."
"Their debates are actually to show their strength and attack other schools of thought so that His Majesty can take them seriously..."
Liu Chang looked at Fu Qiu Bo in surprise and asked, "Then you still want to intercede for them?"
"Your Majesty, although they may have bad ideas, they can all contribute to the cause of enlightenment... They have many disciples and a large collection of books. Their influence in various sects is not weaker than Shusun Tong. Your Majesty, you can temporarily
Ignore their ideas and let their people do things for you. This is just like studying. You don't have to pursue profound knowledge, as long as it is easy to use, isn't it?"
"Hahahaha, you are right!"
"Lu Lu! Reward a hundred golds! Give me beautiful clothes!"
.......
Mr. Huang and the Confucian sages gathered in the Houde Hall. They just came out of Tingwei and came here without stopping. They sat on both sides separately. They looked at each other with hostility in their eyes. Anyway, they were not convinced.
, In these years, Huang Lao has gradually lost his exclusive status as a sect. The main reason is that some people have stopped taking over. Among the founding ministers, Xiao He, Cao Shen, Zhang Liang, etc. can all belong to Huang Lao's school.
Therefore, during those days, Huang Lao could be said to be a self-centered academic school. However, after them, the style of painting in the court began to slowly change. Huang Lao's status was not guaranteed. Now that Legalism has risen again, Huang Lao also
It’s not that there is no future, after all, the current prince is a disciple of Mr. Huang.
But the problem is that the prince is still too young, and as for the current emperor, no one can tell what school he belongs to.
After Shusun Tong helped the Confucians regain their breath, they rose again and began to challenge Huang Lao's position.
When Liu Chang appeared, both Huang Lao and Confucian people stood up to pay their respects.
Liu Chang sat down coldly and said: "I heard that you were debating in the city. I was also very interested. I specially invited you here to ask some questions. I have learned knowledge from many schools and can debate with you.
!”
"Which one is Huang Sheng?"
"Yes!"
"You said Tang Wu rebelled? What's the truth?"
Huang Sheng said calmly: "I heard that although the hat is old, it must be worn on the head; although the shoes are new, they must be worn on the feet. Why? This is the reason why there is a difference between up and down."
"I heard that although Xia Jie and Shang Zhou were immoral, they were in the upper position as monarchs. Although Shang Tang and Zhou Wu were sages, they were in lower positions as ministers."
"When the monarch makes a mistake, the ministers cannot directly advise and correct it to maintain the dignity of the emperor. Instead, they use the fault to kill the monarch and replace him as the king in the south. What is this but regicide and usurpation of the throne?"
Liu Chang shook his head and said disdainfully: "I heard that the destiny of heaven belongs to the virtuous people. Jie and Zhou have no virtue, and the destiny of heaven belongs to Tang and Wu. Xia Jie made a net to catch all the birds and hung it on all sides.
Then he said to the sky, I hope all birds
All animals could get into this net. Tang was very angry and said: Only people like you want to catch all the birds and animals, so he removed the three sides of the net, leaving only one side, and told others,
Even if you are treating birds and beasts, you must have a kind heart!"
"This is proof that Xia Jie was immoral and Shang Tang was virtuous!"
Several Huang Lao and Confucian people were looking at Liu Chang with blank expressions at this moment. This allusion is a bit wrong. Is Xia Jie just free to go hunting birds with Shang Tang?
Fu Qiu Bo immediately stood up and said: "Your Majesty's intention is to compare the farmer who wants to kill all the birds and beasts with Jie. Jie is greedy and wants to take all the treasures in the world for his own use.
Yaotai is specially used for appreciation, but Shang Tang is not like this. He has a benevolent heart and will not greedily plunder the world's things..."
Everyone suddenly realized, oh, that’s what it meant.
Liu Chang continued: "The same principle applies to King Zhou and King Wu. I heard that people who are favored by God can behave differently. If King Wu is not favored by God, how can he lift the Nine Cauldrons?"
Huang Sheng couldn't help it anymore, "Your Majesty, I have never heard of King Wu of Zhou..."
Fu Qiubo interrupted him and said: "When Dayu divided the world into nine states, he ordered the nine states to contribute bronze and cast nine tripods to symbolize the nine states. Your Majesty used the nine tripods as a metaphor to win King Wu and win the world!"
Huang Sheng closed his mouth helplessly.
Liu Chang suddenly became even more excited, my full talent finally had a place to show off!!
"What's more, when Shang Tang and King Wu attacked Jie and Zhou, the whole world responded to them. They abolished the law and agreed with the three elders that those who killed people would be put to death, and those who injured or stole would be compensated for the corresponding crimes and punishments...
The common people use it..."
Huang Sheng couldn't sit still at all, "Forget the previous one, Your Majesty, you are a bit..."
Fuqiu Bo stood up again and reprimanded severely: "Your Majesty is treating Shang Tang, King Wu, and Emperor Gao as virtuous people. You said that Shang Tang and King Wu rebelled. What your Majesty means is that Emperor Gao also rebelled? He
Don’t you have destiny? Emperor Gao overthrew the tyrannical Qin State according to the wishes of the people of the world. Isn’t this wrong!?!”
Huang Sheng was stunned and speechless.
Liu Chang shook his head in disappointment, "I have studied the classics for decades, but I can't find anyone who can argue with me."