Li Mu looked at Kong Yingda, who was already sweating on his forehead, and asked with a smile: "Old Kong, if you are not too busy today, you can think about it seriously and answer this question carefully."
Hearing what Li Mu said, all the students present smiled knowingly. Others did not understand the past between Li Mu and Kong Yingda, but they knew it very well. In the past, every time Kong Yingda lost, he would faint on his back just to save face.
', it is excusable once or twice. After all, Kong Yingda is so old, and Li Mu does not save face, but he faints every time. How can it be such a coincidence? He must be pretending to be faint.
After several times, it has become an unspeakable secret of Kong Yingda. Li Mu exposed it to his face, which was even more damaging. He couldn't even faint now. If he fainted now, he would be framed as a fake if it wasn't true.
In front of the students, he lost all dignity.
Even though he was far away, Li Shimin could feel the resentment radiating from Kong Yingda's body, and felt a little pity for him in his heart. Although Kong Yingda was also from a noble family in Shandong, compared to Wei Zheng and others who liked to cause trouble, Kong Yingda was much better. Because of his personality
It was relatively pure. When he was teaching, he thought about, talked about, and focused on teaching matters. As for the things that Wei Zheng and others worried about, he didn't pay much attention to them.
This time, he was squeezed into a corner by Li Mu again. Kong Yingda knew that he could not avoid it, so he decided to fight against him. Even if he couldn't argue, he still had to give it a try. In the end, in his heart, he still loved his ancestors.
There is confidence in this set of Confucian knowledge that has been handed down.
Why?
Since the Han Dynasty, isn’t it the answer to depose hundreds of schools of thought and only respect Confucianism? If other learnings are comparable to Confucianism, why have they all disappeared now?
Therefore Kong Yingda has no fear.
Kong Yingda took a deep breath, stabilized his mind, met Li Mu's gaze, and said: "The situation you mentioned is undeniable. There are laws to deal with such stubborn people. I believe in Confucianism,
It’s not just benevolent government either.”
As if waiting for this sentence, Li Mu smiled casually and said: "Old Kong, you said this, I am embarrassed to argue with you, you are so stupid."
Kong Yingda's eyes widened and he said angrily: "What did you say?!"
"I know what you mean, and you are right. But have you ever thought about it? It is wrong for you to say so. As a ruler, you have implemented benevolent government. In your imagination, you are bathed in your benevolent government.
Under this, the people should burst into tears of gratitude. At this time, if someone goes against you, they are uncivilized people, so you have to punish them... Ha, think about it for yourself, can this be called benevolent government? "
"The so-called benevolence of benevolent government, do you decide it, or do the people decide it? There is a saying that my honey is the other's arsenic. The herdsmen in the north of Saibei live in poverty in the grasslands and deserts. There are fertile fields in the south of the Yangtze River that can be cultivated. If you follow the
Your idea, you would think, why not let this herdsman come to Jiangnan and give him a piece of land to cultivate, wouldn't his life be better?"
Kong Yingda nodded subconsciously and said, "If conditions permit, why not?"
"Ha! What else is there?" Li Mu smiled speechlessly and said: "This is what a nerd says. Have you ever thought about why a herdsman is called a herdsman? Because he can only herd cattle and not farm. Do you think it is right?
He's good. Let him come to Jiangnan to farm. If he doesn't know how to farm, who will he blame if he dies of starvation? If you don't help him, it will be difficult for him to live. At least he can survive. If you help him, he will be killed by you. This
Also called benevolent government?”
Kong Yingda's face turned red. After a few words of exchange, he already knew that he would never be Li Mu's opponent when it came to sophistry. What was even more frightening was that he actually listened to Li Mu's reasoning or examples. This was too much.
It's scary. If we continue to talk like this, wouldn't it subvert the Confucian principles in his heart?
Kong Yingda gritted his teeth and said: "Even if I am wrong, it is because I, Kong Yingda, am not good at studying. I'm sorry, ancestors, but you can't say that Confucianism is wrong!"
Kong Yingda thought that what he would face next would be Li Mu's fierce attack and humiliation, and he was mentally prepared to bear it. But what he didn't expect was that when Li Mu heard what he said, he acted even worse than him.
Be surprised and say: "Lao Kong, what are you thinking about? When have I ever said that Confucianism is wrong? Am I not saying that you are wrong?"
Kong Yingda's face was stunned and he didn't react. Isn't this the same thing?
Li Mu ignored him and said to the students: "Students, after talking for so long, I believe you are a little confused. Just now Kong Jijiu talked about benevolent politics, and I said he was wrong. Through my refutation,
Everyone also knows where he went wrong. You may be thinking now that what Kong Jijiu taught you is pure Confucian benevolence. If this is wrong, wouldn't it be Confucianism and Confucius was wrong?"
"It is a big mistake to think this way!"
"Let's analyze the word benevolent government from the beginning, which we have just mentioned. Confucius never said the word benevolent government. He only said benevolent government, which was added by Mencius. Later generations studied Confucian classics.
People are used to combining Confucius and Mencius and calling them two saints, which leads to confusion, but there are still differences between the two."
"We must clearly realize that although Confucius and Mencius are collectively called the two sages, the main ideas of Confucianism originated from Confucius. Mencius interpreted and carried forward the teachings of Confucius. The difference between Confucius and Mencius is more than a hundred years.
How could Mencius know what Confucius thought without ever meeting him? It's just like today. You have been studying Confucian classics from Confucius offering wine for a long time. We have been together day and night. Have you learned the essence?"
Everyone shook their heads. Kong Yingda's 'theoretical class' was the most difficult to understand among all the classes. People often thought they understood it, only to be told that they understood it wrong. This was extremely annoying and scary.
"Based on this, can I make a bold guess? Regarding the word 'benevolent government', Confucius only wanted to say 'benevolence', and 'government' was added by Mencius due to his own imagination or needs. This is not my random thought.
It is said that Mencius traveled to Liang, Wei, Qi, Song, Teng, Lu and other countries in order to seek official positions and be reused. The word "benevolent government" was uttered by him in a duel with King Hui of Liang!"
The students were thoughtful. Kong Yingda was extremely anxious when he saw this, but he had no choice because he could not give any examples to prove the absurdity of what Li Mu said.
Just when the students were about to be successfully brainwashed, Li Mu suddenly smiled, changed the subject, and said: "Of course, everything I said is just speculation. Maybe Confucius thought about it. What I said was speculation. I
They speculate about Confucius and Mencius, and Mencius speculates about Confucius. Everyone is speculating, and they are not facts that can be seen with the eyes or experienced by the body, so such words cannot be believed."
The students were silent, doubting their own ears. What was this young Zhuluhou saying? He actually said that the teachings of Confucius and Mencius were not trustworthy? This really challenged their values.
Kong Yingda couldn't help but said, "Li Mu, please be careful what you say. Don't rely on your talents to mislead others here. They are all the future leaders of the country, and you can't afford it!"
Li Mu smiled and said: "Old Kong, please don't scare me. I have been ordered to teach, so I have to come, otherwise do you think I am willing to come? I, Li Mu, was born as a commoner in the border town. Half a year ago, I couldn't read a single Chinese character, and I couldn't even read my name. I can’t write it down. The only thing that makes me have all this today is ‘different’. If I think the same as you, how can I stand out? I don’t like to talk about it anyway, since you say so. , then I won’t say anything anymore, I’ll be here today, get out of class is over!”
It's okay if I don't say this, but if I say it, I'll be in trouble.
Regarding Li Mu's origins, Datang Daily has reported it for a long time, and students are all very clear about it. They have seen a lot about his magical powers. He said that everything he achieved was because of his uniqueness.
No, the students subconsciously believed it all.
Needless to say, everyone present is going to hold the title of Duke and Marquis in the future. But who dares to say that they can compete with Li Mu? Who doesn’t want to learn the dragon-slaying skill? When Li Mu is about to leave, Li Chengqian is the first to pounce.
, hugged Li Mu's thigh, not caring about the prince's majesty, and shouted loudly: "Big brother, big brother, they don't listen, I want to hear, didn't my father ask you to teach me and Qingque, you have to
Finished speaking!"
Li Tai also rushed forward, hugged the other thigh, and said: "Big brother, big brother, the emperor is right!"
The others also chatted, completely ignoring Kong Yingda's stop. Li Mu sighed helplessly and said: "Okay, everyone goes back to their seats and listen to me. Anyway, I don't know when the next class will be.
Maybe Your Majesty thinks that I don’t speak well, and if you don’t let me speak anymore, maybe I’ll just try to be a teacher!”
All the students responded loudly and sat back in their seats obediently. Li Mu glanced at Kong Yingda and said: "Old Kong, you might as well listen to the end. If you think what I said is wrong, you can go and report it to His Majesty. It just so happens that I don't either.
I love giving lectures, so I won’t bother you by coming here.”
Kong Yingda was disgraced. He snorted and turned his eyes aside, pretending that he didn't hear it.
Li Mu smiled, ignored him, and continued: "As I said just now, it is unreliable for future generations to speculate on what their predecessors thought. We can think further, and don't say that it is future generations who speculate on their predecessors.
, two people face to face, do you think you can fully understand what he is thinking? "
Seeing all the students looking at each other, Li Mu directly gave the answer, saying: "No! Because between people, whether it is the relationship between father and son or the loyalty of friends, as long as they are not one and the same, they are naturally defensive, and it is impossible for him to let you see through it.
.What a person thinks, only he knows, others are just guessing."
"What I really want to tell you is that when reading, you must bring your own brain. The classics of saints are certainly classics. But the classics of saints are not necessarily correct. How can there be an omniscient and omnipotent person in this world? Everyone makes mistakes.
, Confucius and Mencius were all-knowing and all-powerful, why didn’t they make princes or prime ministers, and why didn’t they establish a dynasty? If they did everything right, why didn’t the people enjoy benevolent government when they were or? Let’s look at the results first, and then we can deduce the reason. This
The reason is very simple, there must be something wrong in their theory."
Kong Yingda breathed thickly from his nostrils. He wanted to say something, but his mind went blank and he really couldn't think of anything to say to refute.
"So as far as benevolent government is concerned, I can take you to try to study why benevolent government cannot be achieved, and why Mencius, who is so powerful, can't do it? Because it itself is impossible."
The students had already held their breath, waiting for Li Mu's eloquent talk, but unexpectedly there was another big breath, and they almost doubled over.
"Why do I say it can't be done? It's a simple truth. Since ancient times, there have been few kings and many people. There is only one king, and with all the ministers and officials, there are only thousands. But the people are like crucian carp crossing the river, thousands of people
Tens of millions. How can a king and thousands of officials come up with a benevolent government that satisfies all the people? For the same government order, some people like it and some people curse it. How can you stop Youyou's mouth?"
"So, we can draw a conclusion. Mencius combined Confucius's idea of 'benevolence' and proposed 'benevolent government'. The reason why he did not implement it himself is that 'benevolent government' is an idealized concept. To achieve benevolent government, you need to be a wise ruler.
, The minister is a wise minister, and the people must be good people who know kindness and righteousness. These three are indispensable. Think about it, if these three are available, why is there any need for benevolent government? It is all benevolent government! The so-called '
'Benevolent government' is just nonsense. The ancient and modern dynasties were prosperous when they had only two of the three. How could there be a time when all three were present?"
"In my opinion, blindly studying the classics of saints is a ridiculous and meaningless thing. The life, environment, rituals, education, etc. of our predecessors are completely different from ours. Even Confucius wanted to study in the state of Lu
He failed to restore the Zhou rites. Now we are going to dig out the words in the classics and apply what happened to our predecessors to what we are encountering now. Is it feasible?"
Li Mu glanced at Kong Yingda and said, "Then some people will have questions after hearing this. If according to what I said, the monarch should not implement benevolent policies?"
"No!"
"As I said before, you can think about it the other way around! Since the monarch wants to implement benevolent government, there will always be people who find fault, so the monarch might as well wait. Waiting does not mean being indifferent, but to understand the people's sentiments and give to the people.
What he needs urgently will have a much better effect than if you implement a so-called benevolent government. To use a saying I often say when doing business, this is called "there is no good business in the rush". Everything must be pragmatic.
.You will all be officials in the future unless something unexpected happens. Remember not to talk about useless nonsense like benevolent government, kindness, generosity, etc. People don’t care about these things. No matter how beautiful you say it, you have to
Get it sorted."
"Just imagine, if there is a famine year, the people are hungry and skinny. If you tell the people about benevolent governance, will the people have time to listen? What they want is food, but other than food, it's all bullshit! You have never seen real people.
Hungry people, if people are hungry and anxious, they will really eat people. If you don't take what I said to you today to heart, you will really encounter this kind of situation in the future, and you will be torn apart when you talk about it.
If you eat it, don’t blame me for not warning you!”