In troubled times, people are used to seeing such things as dead people.

After the Confucian student, who had been beaten to death by a random fist, was carried away, the scene had calmed down, but the debate had also ended.

"The Tao is different, and there is no conspiracy with each other."

At this point, there is no point in arguing any further.

Although the Confucian student was beaten to death by his classmates, his words were still partially accepted by his fellow disciples.

This is not the time when a hundred schools of thought competed with the court in the hope of gaining the king's favor, at least not in Sishang...... Because the "king" of Sishang has his own morality and his own doctrine, it is even more impossible for him to give up his own doctrine and accept the doctrine of others.

The Confucian scholars are about to leave.

The disciples of the many schools present who were scolded by Na Confucian before his death were silent, and the atmosphere was a little dull.

The Mohists say that righteousness is profit.

Just as the righteousness of the peasant family represents the benefit of the small farmer, then whose profit does the doctrine of other families represent?

The Mohists also said that if you want the righteousness of the world, then the righteousness of the world in the future, which class will be profitable?

If the pursuit of one's own needs is human nature, then what should be the main focus of one's own school of righteousness?

Which side are the doctrines of each school of thought on?

The words of Confucianism before his death were bitterly criticized the righteousness of various schools with the most tragic and unavoidable human needs.

There is a way in the world, and the sergeant hears the way and acts diligently; When the sergeant heard this, if he survived, he died; When the corporal heard this, he laughed.

According to the madness denounced by Confucianism before his death, it seems that each school of thought has its own loopholes and tendencies.

Or, recognize the needs of human nature, develop production to the greatest extent, so that production always closely follows the growth of human demand.

Or, I hope that everyone cultivates their minds, and relies on people's self-cultivation to come up with a complete set of theories: what kind of needs should people have; What kind of needs should people not have.

Or, a combination of both.

There is no fourth way to go.

Many people think, the road on Sishang must be the right one?

Many people from other schools of thought present had doubts in their hearts, and the criteria for judging whether the world is beneficial or not can be summed up as whether production is improved, whether the total wealth of the world is increased, whether the majority of people are profitable, and whether the population is increased......

Judging from the righteousness of the Mo family alone, Sishang has done a good job.

But if you look at it in terms of etiquette and self-cultivation, Sishang has done very poorly.

Moreover, many people of other schools of thought feel that what the Mohists have done is really excessive, such as peeling off too many bloody realities and interests and showing them in front of everyone, including those who they think are ignorant.

For example, if there is something that doesn't need a reason at all, they have to find a reason.

Just like in Sishang's recent law, maintenance and maintenance were regarded as rights and obligations, as an exchange of interests.

This makes many schools of thought uncomfortable, filial piety is a natural principle, why do you have to associate these things with interests?

Interests and utilitarianism are all placed in front of people, and people's needs are identified as human nature.

The output of grain is increasing, the output of cloth is increasing, everyone is seeking profit, and everyone is running for profit, which is today's Sishang.

However, some schools of thought believe that Mohists can solve many practical problems, but it is difficult to solve people's minds.

Some people in the Taoist school feel that the Mohists are using the interests of "the great profit of the world can benefit themselves" and "they are a part of the people of the world" to guide the mentality of the people in Sishang, which can make the world rich in the general direction, but it will make people's hearts empty so that they lose themselves and become slaves of profit.

According to their thoughts, self-cultivation is important.

Knowing that the male is strong, holding on to the feminine and soft, and willing to become the ravine of the world; Knowing the brightness and keeping the darkness, I wish to become the valley of the world.

Everyone is vying to be the first, and they are willing to be the last alone, saying that they will bear the shame of the world; Everyone is pragmatic, and he is willing to keep the void alone, so that he does not make the accumulation appear to be surplus everywhere, like a mountain piled up. He stands and acts, calmly, and laughs at ingenuity for inaction; Everyone asks for blessings, and alone they are willing to compromise and be free. With deep hiding as the foundation, and frugality as the outline, it is said that the hard is easy to destroy, and the sharp is easy to frustrate. Always tolerant of things and never intrude on others.

With such a heart, I am afraid that it is difficult to be adhered to in this Sishang where everyone seeks profit.

Sishang's style is too sharp, but I am afraid that it will be too late and the moon will be full.

If we only use the unity of benefiting the world and benefiting ourselves to educate the people, if this becomes the righteousness of the world in the future, how many people in the world can become people of this true nature?

It is difficult for people with this kind of true temperament to come into being, and everyone seeks profit, even if everyone is rich, it does not seem to be the world they want.

They understood the meaning of the Mo family, and the Mo family called the nobles silverfish, which means that they did not treat things leniently, nor did they never invade others.

At this time, most people in the world still do not have the financial foundation for cultivating their minds, and even the most basic three troubles have not yet been solved.

Therefore, it is necessary to use the "heart of profit" to make everyone who is not qualified to cultivate the mind and cultivate the nature to rebel against the old things and release their desires that have been suppressed by the rituals for hundreds of years.

Overkill must be overdone, only in this way can the hearts of people in the world be inspired to seek profit and a better life, and only then can they stand together with the Mo family to rebel against the entire old world.

But what about after all that?

At this time, it is a system of synonym, equality, and love, and it is consistent to overthrow the hierarchical system and the aristocratic feudal law.

But what happens when it's overthrown?

A world where everyone seeks profit, will it be good? Or is it bad? Or is it chaotic?

When the time comes, what will become of the people of Zhuxia?

Is it introverted, modest, and not tired of things?

Or is it public, wild, and profit-seeking?

Will the world be in chaos? Or will it be cured?

Now they are close to the Mo family, that is because they feel that if they want to achieve the great rule of the world, everyone needs to have the material foundation for cultivating the mind, and in the case of the war in the feudal system, the people are exploited by the nobles and have no surplus, it is impossible to ask everyone to cultivate their minds, so the Mo family's slogan of "seeking profit for the natural pursuit of human nature" is what they support.

But when this step is completed, what will happen to the world?

Is it to satisfy the heart of their own needs, the whole world will never stop, forever go forward until the end, everyone is running for profit, everyone has become a slave of foreign things?

Or once the great rule of the world is achieved, don't go any further, cultivate one's self, so that people don't become slaves of foreign things, and don't be driven by interests to become servants and maids of wealth?

Or is there a unified argument that allows everyone to be busy to meet their own needs, and at the same time not to be burdened by external things and not to be transformed by wealth, to return to the natural simplicity of human beings, to return to the essence, and to return to the basics?

At this moment, no one answers, it seems too far away.

But some people have already begun to think, and the sages of Zhuxia always think too far.

Under the silence for a long time, it was like stagnant water.

There was a long time of stagnant silence, and finally someone rippled.

A man in his forties walked over from the crowd, with elegant manners, who seemed to be from a noble background outside of Sishang, and did not have the deliberate egalitarian temperament of "not enough to tolerate differences and county monarchs" from the top down of Sishang.

Later generations Xunzi once complained about the morality of the Mohists who "regarded equality as a kind of political correctness and forced to ignore any difference in status", but it was enough to feel the atmosphere in Sishang, especially within the Mohists, it was difficult to see the difference in status and hierarchy from the clothing, and most of the people who could participate in the debate at this time in Sishang were either Mohists or foreign taxis dressed as figures.

This person is thin, looks like a perennial reader, has a fair complexion, and should have worked in some place where books are managed all year round and it is difficult to see the sun.

This middle-aged man in his forties walked into the middle of the crowd and said indifferently: "I have a word, please listen quietly." ”

"I am neither Mohist nor Confucian, I don't talk about profit or benevolence, I only talk about my views on many things from a human perspective."

After arguing so far, a person has died, and the sue is really unable to argue. This debate was doomed from the start, because the audience was ordinary people, not princes.

The confessor hoped to use this incident to make a name for himself in the world, but he sadly found that there was no one on the other side who could argue.

For example, Gongzao Metallurgy, when he fought with Lu Yang Gong and defeated Lu Yang Gong Bange, this incident is enough to make Gong Zao Ye famous all over the world, because Lu Yang Gong is a figure who can swing back to the legend of Japan.

If you beat a person who can't make a sword win, I'm afraid that it will be difficult for Gongzaoye to make a name for himself.

The words of Confucius before his death caused everyone who could listen to the debate to be silent and ponder, which made the situation very uncomfortable.

Seeing that the person below was neither a Mo family nor a Confucian, and actually came forward to intervene in the dispute between the two families, the confessor nodded in agreement.

The middle-aged man spoke, but said, "I don't know if you've heard a strange story that he heard from his two masters? ”

"This is a strange story, it's not true, I think you've all heard it, and I've read it in Luoyi."

To borrow the words of Mr. Sai and Mr. Tang Han, there are more stories to tell, in this era when imagination is still limited to material bottlenecks, each of which can make people reverie, and everyone doesn't know which story this middle-aged man tells.

The middle-aged man said slowly: "It is said that there is a country in the extreme east of the ocean. ”

"The people of the country are intelligent, and they created a kind of beast, and named this beast Xiugus."

"This Shugues is the pronunciation of the locals, such as Chu to the tiger. If it is named after the Kyushu Strange Beast, it can probably be called a ramp. ”

"This Shogues, or Monkey, is a slave, or a tool, or it can be called like a carpenter's saw, or a blacksmith's hammer."

"This Xiugus or Qi Pi has no consciousness, but only knows how to obey other people's orders, be diligent, and work tirelessly every day, so that the country is in order."

"Thousands of years later, when the country was destroyed, and Hughgoth was left unattended, he gradually came to his own consciousness. When a tool has a meaning of its own, is it still a tool? Nobody knows. ”

"The surviving people of that country forgot that thousands of years ago Shogoth was just a tool, and when they saw Shogoth, they saw that it was extremely strong and full of mountains, and they thought it was a god."

"That Shugus is not only powerful, but also can enter people's dream brains."

"No one knows that they have been controlled by Shogues, they think that everything they do is their own actions, but they don't know that they have become part of Shogues's physical body."

"Everybody is still human, everybody even thinks they're still their own consciousness, but in fact they've become part of Shogues, and I remember in this story, it's called alienation."

This is a story that was circulated in Sishang, written a long time ago when the story was written, the grammar was changed, and the grammar was spread......

The main purpose is not to tell this terrible story, but to say that there is a kingdom in the far east of the ocean, full of gold, and people are martyred, so as to make up such a demonic story.

The focus is on the gold of the oceans in the Far East, and the secondary focus is on grammar and rhetoric, which is a story of telling.

At this time, people's imagination is no different from that of later generations, but because of grammar, rhetoric, and vocabulary, many of the monsters in the story are either human-faced beasts or crying like babies, which is difficult to describe.

Compared with those strange beasts of mountains and seas that can be seen and touched, this kind of strange beast that can affect people's minds and make people think that what they are controlled and do is their own spontaneous consciousness is more terrifying.

Even if many people have heard such a story, they still have palpitations when they are mentioned by this middle-aged man.

There are also Confucian scholars who shook their heads and said: "The son is silent, and the power is chaotic and the gods are blamed." ”

The middle-aged man who was not Mo Feiru smiled and said: "This is just a strange story, a strange story, but it is just a satire of the world through the strange things." ”

"I just heard the confession talk about the nature of human beings, and I suddenly thought of this story."

"The metaphysical is the Tao, and the metaphysical is the instrument."

"Etiquette? Or is it the Tao? This cannot be discerned. ”

"At the beginning of the creation of the ceremony, it was just a tool, in order to make the world more stable."

"But this tool has been used for a long time, just like the Shogues in the story of the monster, and has a sense of self."

"Many men and women don't know that they have been alienated as part of the rituals."

"My sister-in-law fell into the water, and the man thought to himself, should I save it? Men and women were not allowed to hand over objects, but they forgot that the ritual itself was only a tool for the stability of the world at that time. What is the world, isn't it the thousands of people in the world? Originally, the ritual law used as a tool was to make more people benefit, but now the ritual law itself has changed from a tool to a strange beast like Xiugus and Qiqi, so that people can salute for the sake of etiquette. ”

"When my parents died, I was sad in my heart, I gave up my family business and served filial piety for three years, but I didn't know that etiquette is just a tool, and filial piety is important to my heart."

"Iron tools have appeared, but they still strictly abide by the law of etiquette, thinking that it is a big mistake not to cultivate public land, but not thinking about the difference between cultivating public land and paying taxes on private acres?"

"Many people forget that rituals are just tools, but they regard the form of rituals itself as the ultimate goal, but the tools are only for people's convenience."

"Kong Zhongni founded Confucianism in order to borrow this tool to make the world stable."

"He is also a great sage, don't you know the difference between the instruments and the instruments?"

Many of his disciples and grandchildren regard the ritual as a tool as the ultimate goal, but they no longer know that they are no longer human beings, but have been alienated as part of the ritual law. When someone came forward and said that the ritual was just a tool, they became furious and denounced it as a traitor. ”

"When ritual law is no longer a tool, but becomes an end, the whole world will be devoured by the ritual law, a strange beast of Xiugus, and everyone will become a part of its control, they will no longer be human, they will no longer have a frank nature, and their behavior will be controlled by the ritual law itself."

"Ritual for the sake of etiquette, but not knowing that ritual itself is a tool, and tools are only for people."

When he heard this, he knew in his heart that he shouldn't argue with this person, but he didn't know what school he was from.

When everyone pondered, the middle-aged man said: "After knowing and keeping, return to Pu." Pusan is a tool, and the saint uses it for the official, so the big system is not cut. ”

"If you say that the ritual is a tool, it is like a carpenter's work. A large piece of wood needs to be trimmed with a saw before a planer can be used. It would be unwise to think that a wood that has been modified a lot, but still uses a saw axe instead of a planer, and thinks that it was right to use a saw axe, so it is still correct to use an axe after grooming. ”

"Pu San is a tool, the big system is not cut, everything in the world is universally connected, all of them are self-taught, and those who can find out the truth can probably be called a saint, and the world can be stable."

After saying this, not only the confession, but also the disciples of the various schools present already knew that this person must be from the Taoist school, but they didn't know which branch it was.

This is a very subtle statement, with many different interpretations.

But at this moment, there is only one explanation left.

The sage knew the Tao, so he used the various instruments of the Tao to govern the world.

When the confession heard this, he felt that he should cater to it, and it sounded as if this middle-aged man was speaking for the Mo family in Sishang.

At least, the old man thinks that the ritual law has changed from a "tool" used to govern the world, to a strange beast like Xiugoth or Qiqi in the Zhiwei story, and many people have become "rituals for the sake of etiquette", and have turned into people who are alienated and controlled by the Monkey in the Zhiwei story, but they don't know that everything is their own active consciousness.

However, just as the confession was about to echo it, the old man faced the confession again, and Yun Danfeng said with a light smile: "Since it is said, Pusan is a tool, and the sage uses it for the official, so the big system is not cut." ”

He also said that the metaphysical is the way, and the metaphysical is the instrument. The Tao is invisible, colorless, tasteless, untouchable but ubiquitous, but the metaphysical Tao cannot rule the world, and the world can only be governed according to the metaphysical instrument. It's the same with Tsugami. ”

"Governing the country has to be used as a last resort, but I'm afraid that you Sishang will also have a Xiugus beast like the ritual law."

"You don't have a nobleman of etiquette in Sishang, but you have a new instrument—an official appointed by the sage."

"Shangxian's officials replaced the clan feuds, and the tax income of the clan was replaced by the feudal fields, and the law replaced the ceremonial ...... But it's still a tool. ”

"If this thing awakens one day, I'm afraid it will be the same in the future."

"I hope that your Sishang Mo family can control the strange beast of bureaucrats, and you must always understand that this is just a tool for simplicity, but a tool, and you can't let it turn into a world by itself."

After the old man finished speaking, he didn't wait for others to ask anything more, and bowed slightly to the confessor who was still standing on the stage in a daze, and walked straight out of the crowd.

Not far from the crowd was the place where the oxen and carriages were kept, and the old man turned over and rode onto the back of a cow under the gaze of countless people.

The oxen walked very slowly, not as fast as the horses, but the old man did not care.

In the distance, someone asked in a loud voice: "Sir, dare to ask when the world will be truly governed?" What will happen to the Promised Land? ”

The old man did not look back on the back of the ox, leaving only a burst of afterthoughts.

"People are simple and natural, not tired of things, not controlled by tools. If you want not to rule the world with instruments, you must first rule with instruments; If you want not to be burdened with things, you must first desire all things. ”

"For me, I am not tired of things, but I can cultivate my own body, and I will return to simplicity first."

"If you want to benefit and are tired of all things, you can cultivate the world and return to simplicity."

"Be cautious, be cautious."

The road was long, and the old man rode away on a bull and swam in the world, nowhere to be found, leaving only the warning that made Sishang beware of the official system that replaced the separation of etiquette and law to awaken to Xiugus.

(End of Volume II)