. Although the differences between Erlu and Zhu Xi are not small, the main premise of the two sides is basically the same, that is, through the improvement of personal cultivation, they can reach the realm of saints. It's just that the two sides have different ways of achieving this goal. Therefore, although the two sides have opposing views, they can still appreciate each other, and even complement each other's strengths.

What really contradicts Zhu Xi's doctrine in terms of ideology, purpose, or concept is actually Chen Liang's utilitarian doctrine.

The most important feature of Chen Liang's doctrine is that it has been applied to the world, so it is fundamentally opposed to Zhu Xi's doctrine of natural reason. As the so-called "gentleman does not speak of profit", when there is a conflict between profit and righteousness, it is necessary to sacrifice profit and take righteousness, which is the most traditional ethics and morality that the scholars of the Song Dynasty and any kind of Confucian doctrine must respect. Therefore, before Chen Liang, no one has ever been able to elevate utilitarianism to a clear position like him, and Chen Liang not only put forward the theory of utilitarianism, but also thoroughly concretized the goal of utilitarianism, that is, ZTE's revenge and the goal of achieving the king's hegemony.

But this concept will naturally be rejected by Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi is not a broad-minded person, and he is not generous enough to deal with things and people, which is far less than Lu Zuqian. And Chen Liang is even more conceited and inspiring. It is said that two people with very different views have no cause to become friends at any point.

And this time, it was Lu Zuqian who threaded the needle from it, and the two of them had some understanding of each other's doctrine and personality. Therefore, when Zhu Xi held the official position of promoting Changping tea and salt on the East Zhejiang Road, and went to Zhejiang to inspect Quzhou and Wuzhou, Chen Liang also made a special trip to the place where Quwu was at the turn of the city and visited Zhu Xi. It became the first time the two met.

This time, the two of them have been talking for more than ten days, and they have a newer and deeper understanding of each other. It also made the two people's impression of each other improve a lot. Zhu Xi found that Chen Liang was not only a temperamental man who was still chivalrous and indulged in wine, but also a scholar with profound knowledge and profound knowledge, and his talent and knowledge were slightly different, and he could discuss problems with him; And Chen Liang also found that Zhu Xi is not the kind of rotten Confucian who can only read and talk about the truth of life as in the legend, but also has the enthusiasm of recovering the lost land and reviving the Great Song Dynasty.

So the two people crossed the lovesickness and established a good personal friendship based on mutual understanding. However, with the deepening of the exchange, the internal ideological differences between the two people have become increasingly prominent, so although the two people did not meet much later, they still carried out many correspondence debates, because the core content of this debate is "Wang Ba" and "Yili", so the debate between the two is also called the debate of "Wang Ba Yili" by later generations.

It wasn't until later that Zhu Xi was dismissed by the imperial court, and then the Jin army invaded the south, Xiaozong was martyred and collapsed, and the Great Song Dynasty was once on the verge of dying, and Chen Liang was recommended by Xin Qiji, became Yang Yan's staff, and devoted himself to the battle of the Great Song Dynasty to restore the country.

After the restoration of the Great Song Dynasty, Chen Liang served as Zhao Chen's attendant and edict in the new imperial court, and also strongly recommended Zhu Xi to Zhao Chen, so that Zhu Xi could also be re-activated by the imperial court, and the two became ministers of the same palace. With the establishment of Zhongshan Academy, the two of them taught and taught in the same academy, and they could meet almost every day, so it was inevitable to debate again.

Zhu Xi's point of view is that the royal road and the domineering, righteousness and profit are essentially different, just like the opposition between the principles of heaven and human desires, only the "royal way" is the right way, only the "righteousness" is in line with the principles of heaven, in order to become a prosperous world, and "domineering" is the evil way, and "profit" is the product of the selfishness of people's desires, and it is not directly respected; Therefore, it is clearly proposed: respect the king and the lowly tyrant, and value righteousness over profit. Chen Liang believes that heavenly principles and human desires are inseparable, morality and deeds are unified, and morality should be seen in deeds, so the royal way is domineering, and righteousness and profit can also be both.

It can be said that the concepts of the two are diametrically opposed, and it is absolutely impossible to reconcile, so the two argued from the last three generations, and even from the Han and Tang dynasties, through historical facts, they all hope to prove that the other party is wrong and they are right.

Zhu Xi listed what Cheng Hao said: "The rule of three generations is also reasonable; The two Han Dynasty and below, all of them take the people who hold the world as their own argument, and said: "I have been sitting like this for thousands of five hundred years, so it is just a matter of making up for the omissions, and time has passed." Although there may not be a well-off in the meantime, the way preached by Yao, Shun, the Three Kings, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius has not been able to walk between heaven and earth for a day. If it is said that the Tao is constant, but it is not possible for people to predict it at the beginning, but this is an eternal thing that is always indestructible. Although he has been evil for thousands of years, he will not be destroyed in the end. ”

According to Zhu Xi's point of view, that is, only the era of the three sages of Yao, Shun, and Yu is completely selfless, and it is the era of royal road that conforms to the principles of heaven, and the emperors of later generations since the Han and Tang dynasties, even if they are emperors like Han Gaozu and Tang Taizong, are only completely out of personal desires, and there is no heavenly reason at all. Therefore, they cannot be regarded as virtuous and meritorious people.

In Chen Liang's view, this point of view is very disagreeable, and he enumerates it: "Since Meng and Xun discussed righteousness and benefit, the Han and Tang Confucians, they failed to understand what they said. The princes of Yiluo in this dynasty analyzed the desires of heaven and people, and the theory of righteousness and benefit of the king was the Ming Dynasty. However, it is said that the three generations ruled the world with Taoism, and the Han and Tang dynasties controlled the world with intelligence, and their arguments were no longer convincing. In modern times, the Confucianism said that the three generations were dedicated to the principles of heaven, and the Han and Tang dynasties were dedicated to the actions of people. For 1,500 years, heaven and earth are also outdated, and people's hearts are also making up for their lives. ”

In this passage, Chen Liang clearly pointed out that since Han Zu and Tang Zong were able to establish a country and spread it for a long time, how could there be no "Tao" in it? That is to say, what is the personal motive, neither can be examined, nor is it necessary to examine, as long as he has really done practical things in governing the country and the country, he is Tao, and such a person can be called a virtuous gentleman.

At this point, Zhu Xi naturally does not agree, he thinks: "I often think that the past and the present are just a reason, and those who go along with it will succeed, and those who go against it will lose." It is not unique to the sages of the ancients, and the so-called heroes and heroes of later generations have not been able to give up this principle and establish achievements. However, the ancient sages had the only skill from the root, so they were able to cling to it, and it was thorough, and all of them were perfect. Later, the so-called heroes did not have this kind of kung fu, but in the field of profit, they did not come out of the head. Those who are virtuous are able to have a secret combination, and according to the number of their scores, they can stand up; However, if it is not perfect, it is just one. ”

What he means is that doing things successfully and being virtuous and reasonable are two different things. Although Han Gaozu and Tang Taizong achieved the merits of the Han and Tang dynasties, their starting point was not out of righteousness, but only to satisfy their own selfish desires, so their motives were not pure, and their behavior was similar to that of thieves in moral nature. And not praiseworthy.

Chen Liang also refuted this, saying: "The so-called miscellaneous tyrant is based on Wang Ye. Those who deal with Confucianism are said to be righteous and kings; The Han and Tang dynasties made it profitable and domineering. One says so, the other does what he does, and although he says it very well, he does not do it evilly. In this way, it is both righteousness and benefit, and the king is used at the same time. As Liang said, it was straight up and down, and only one head was made into an ear. Just like Taizong, it is enough to send him a hero's heart, and he mistook this second, and then broke it off with righteousness, how can he be a hegemon. ”

In other words, Chen Liang believes that the Tao exists according to the behavior of people and cannot be isolated. If you are doing the same thing, what you say is a handout, which is the royal way, and the behavior of the Han and Tang Dynasties is to seek profit and be a king, then according to Zhu Xi's point of view, it is not one thing to say, but another to do. And his own doctrine is consistent, such as Tang Taizong, since he has achieved a heroic career, his small mistakes can be ignored, the so-called royal road, domineering is actually the same thing, and if you succeed in doing things, you are a virtuous gentleman.

Although the two men have been arguing many times, neither of them has been able to convince anyone, but the depth and breadth of this debate has exceeded any previous academic debate. It has also aroused great interest from others, and other scholars have also expressed their opinions and opinions.

Among them, Chen Boliang's summary of both sides is the most incisive, he said: "Success is virtue; When things come to help, it is reasonable, and this Brother Chen said. In this way, three generations of sages have worked in vain. If there is merit, why be virtuous; There are incidental things, why bother to be reasonable, this Zhu Zhangzhi also said. In this way, Han Zu and Tang Zongxian are not far from thieves. If three generations of sages do their work in vain, manpower can be used alone; With Han Zu and Tang Zongxian not far from thieves, it is the mandate of heaven that can be obtained. It is said that manpower can be carried alone, and there is no fearful king in its disadvantages; It is said that the mandate of heaven can be obtained occasionally, and there are covetous ministers under its drawbacks. The two gentlemen are not exempt from being a place of arrogance and rebellion, and they are not safe. ”

This passage is highly generalized, concise and to the point. That is, according to Chen Liang's point of view: as long as things are done successfully, they are naturally virtuous and reasonable; And Zhu Xi's point of view is that doing things successfully and being virtuous and reasonable are two different things. Although Han Gaozu and Tang Taizong achieved the merits of the Han and Tang dynasties, their behavior was similar to that of thieves in moral nature.

At the same time, Chen Fuliang's judgment on the political consequences that may be drawn from Zhu Chen's respective views: according to Chen Liang's theoretical principles, it is very likely that there will be an emperor who has no moral awe at all, that is, "the king without fear"; According to Zhu Xi's theoretical principles, any minister may use the emperor's immoral behavior to abolish the emperor's intentions, and call it "a covetous minister". Therefore, according to the views of the two people, it may produce the disadvantages of "arrogant kings and rebellious ministers".

Naturally, Zhu Xi and Chen Liang disagreed with this comment, because Chen Fuliang's statement only reasoned about the consequences of the two theories from a purely logical point of view, and did not care whether the premise of the two was consistent with the facts, so the two defended it on other occasions.

※※Support original ※ "Song Xiang" in ※※※

"Study the subtlety of righteousness, analyze the similarities and differences between ancient and modern, the original heart is in seconds, more polite in proportion, accumulation as work, self-cultivation as the positive, and the face is full of shame; As for the dignified array, the banner of righteousness, the wind and rain, clouds and thunder come together, the dragon, snake, tiger and leopard change their views and haunt, overthrow the wisdom and courage of the moment, and open up the mind of eternity, such as the so-called coarse lump of the world, those who are full of more than enough and lack of literature claim to be short of a day. ”

When Zhao Chen read this, he couldn't help but praise it repeatedly: "The pen is galloping vertically and horizontally, and the momentum is impassioned, so good." I read the scriptures three times in a row, and I still feel that I am still unfinished. ”

Yang Yan also smiled: "'Tear down the wisdom and courage of the moment, and open up the mind of eternity" Except for Chen Tongfu, who else can make such a heroic and handsome article. ”

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh at the same time.

After Yang Yan became the deputy privy councillor, he was mainly in charge of military affairs, and was always responsible for supervising the training of the army, practicing tactics, and formulating plans for future operations against the Jin State. Of course, Zhao Chen is also very important to the military, so he naturally often recruits Yang Yan into the palace and asks about the situation of the army. However, in addition to talking about government affairs, the two will inevitably talk about the academic debate at Zhongshan Academy.

And what interests Zhao Chen the most in the debate is the debate between Zhu Xi and Chen Liang about "Wang Ba Yili". Of course, from Zhao Chen's heart, he is more inclined to Chen Liang's thoughts. On the one hand, it is because Chen Liang is Yang Yan's friend, and Zhu Xi is Yang Yan's opponent to a certain extent, so in Zhao Chen's heart, he naturally favors Chen Liang.

On the other hand, Zhao Chen felt that Chen Liang's point of view seemed to be more about his stomach. Because Chen Liang's doctrine, fundamentally speaking, is aimed at today's reality, on the issue of "the way of adulthood", Chen Liang adheres to the attitude of applying the world to the world, and develops into a promising theory for the benefit of the people in the world with the mind of ambition in the world.

But despite this, Zhao Chen never publicly expressed his evaluation of various schools to the ministers in the court. Because the academic style of the Great Song Dynasty is more open, but so far, only Wang Anshi's Xinxue and Ercheng Brothers' Luoxue can form a huge influence. However, although these two kinds of scholarship have always been in opposition to each other, and both were once pushed to the status of official academia, these are the result of political roles, not the influence of academia itself.

The combination of academia and politics began with Wang Anshi in the Xining period, and later with the struggle between the old and new parties, Wang Xue and Cheng Xue also became political forces of all parties, and the rise and fall of political forces have been up and down. Whenever the New Party came to power, it would inevitably respect Wang Xue and rebuke Cheng Xue. When the old party was in power, he regarded Cheng Xue as a classic and belittled Wang Xue.