96Chapter 96: The Battle of Ideas, Debates of Hundred Schools of Thought
After Dong Zhongshu entered the city of Chang'an, the first thing he did was not to pay a visit to the emperor, but to look for his "allies". In his opinion, he should have allies in the court.
For example...some princes who were naturally excluded.
These people are his allies.
If one wants to compete with the Chen family, then one must gain the attention of the people behind these princes, and thus gain the attention of His Majesty the Emperor. In Dong Zhongshu's view, the two Chens are members of the Chen family, but the Chen family is not the two Chens.
The Chen family would not launch an attack on Confucianism by the entire Chen family just because the ideas of the two Chens were defeated.
So they shamelessly prepared to let Chen's people have a "fair fight" while they secretly went to find external forces.
Li Xucheng was the first person they found.
Who is Li Xucheng?
The uncle of Emperor Wu's third and fourth children, this person represents another force of external relatives. In addition to Li Xucheng, Dong Zhongshu will also come into contact with "Wang Xu", who is the uncle of Emperor Wu's second son.
These two people have one thing in common - they are both uncles of a prince in the harem and represent the "foreign relatives power group."
On the surface, these two people, or the foreign relatives they represent, should not walk together with Dong Zhongshu, but in fact it is just the opposite.
Because the two huge forces of Chen and Wei are actually intertwined and integrated with each other.
One of the core figures of the Wei family's foreign relatives' power group, Marquis of Guanjun Huo Qubing, was a disciple of Chen Yi, a core figure in the Chen family's power group. And Liu Ju, the core figure and the most important figure in the Wei family's foreign relatives' power group, was also a disciple of Chen Rui, the most core figure in the Chen family.
The existence of these two "master, apprentice and disciple" makes the two forces intertwined with each other.
They are being affectionate with each other, so other people should be angry.
For example, the Wang family and the Li family.
Because the harmony between the Wei and Chen families represented the stability and indestructibility of Liu Ju's position as crown prince - they did not necessarily have the desire and ambition to have their nephew ascend the throne, but people are greedy.
With just a little provocation, they will have this idea even if they don't have it in mind yet.
So Li, Wang, and Dong Zhongshu naturally came together, and Lady Wang and Li Jiye behind them also came together.
The only thing is that neither Lady Wang nor Concubine Li were a match for Wei Zifu, and they had no way of posing any threat to Chen through the power of "whispering in the pillow".
Fortunately, they did not have such an intention at first. Their original intention was to get Emperor Wu's consent... "Discussion of Taoism" is pure, and the Chen family cannot interfere with the results of Chen Yi and Chen Yi's discussion of Taoism.
That's all.
.... .....
Dong Zhongshu's residence
Li Xucheng and Wang Xu sat there, looking at Dong Zhongshu with solemn expressions on their faces: "Mr. Dong, we have completed the task you asked us to perform. We hope that you can also complete the task you promised us."
Where should we start if we want to stop the emperor from using Chen?
The first step is to undermine the reputation of the Chen family and let His Majesty the Emperor and the people of the world know that the Chen family is not omnipotent and invincible.
They will also be defeated by others.
Even if this failure was only due to Chen Yi and Chen Yi, two illegitimate sons of the Chen family, even if the field in which they failed was a school of thought that the Chen family was not good at, even if Dong Zhongshu's victory was just a trick - relying on the wisdom of Confucius.
But so what?
If you lose, you lose!
Only the weak will make excuses for failure!
Dong Zhongshu looked at the two people in front of him and nodded slightly, his face extremely arrogant, but in fact, he also had the right to be arrogant: "Don't worry, both of you."
"The two Chens are but young children. How can they possibly rival the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought?"
He stroked his beard with great confidence: "What's more, the Mohists and Huang-Laoists will also participate in this discussion. We will combine forces and eliminate the two Chens first!"
This is their shameless way of fighting - a gang beating!
After hearing what Dong Zhongshu said, Li Xucheng felt relieved. It didn't matter whether he had shame or not. What mattered most was being able to dethrone the Chen family!
"Then I'll leave everything to you, sir!"
.... ....
February 2, the 18th year of Emperor Wu's reign.
morning.
Countless rays of light fell from above, and the bright sun seemed to be imprinting this day in history. Everyone was waiting for this day.
On this day, the Imperial College was already packed with people - not only did the various schools of thought come to discuss philosophy, but even the Emperor himself came!
Yes, His Majesty the Emperor will come in person!
What an honor this is!
When His Majesty the Emperor arrived at the Imperial College and sat on the podium which had been cleared long ago, the atmosphere in the venue reached its peak.
Er Chen came slowly from a distance, still dressed simply. He did not look like he was here to debate, but rather to give a normal lecture. He was not nervous at all, but rather calm and composed.
After the two Chens took their positions, people from the Mohist school, Huang-Lao school, Confucian school, and the School of Names came here.
Originally, this debate only involved people from the three schools of Mohism, Taoism and Confucianism, but later Dong Zhongshu felt that it was not safe, so he invited Gongsun Long, the current head of the famous school, to come.
After all...how can a debate be complete without famous people who are good at talking?
Emperor Wu sat on the high platform, looking down, his eyebrows slightly raised: "The people who came this time... are quite complete."
He shook his head calmly: "It's possible that even when I issue the decree, all of them may not be able to come together in such a complete manner."
Inside the venue.
The Second Chen looked at the crowd and smiled faintly. Chen Yi said softly, "Seventh brother, look at these people. They are nothing but clowns. They have really brought shame to the disciples of the past."
Chen Yi didn't laugh, but simply said indifferently: "The weak always try to use siege to sweep out the strong, but in the end they will be the ones who fail."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dong Zhongshu stepped forward and bowed, "Confucianism, Dong Zhongshu, the core of what you are talking about is 'the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, the interaction between Heaven and Man; nature is the three qualities, virtue is the main and punishment is the auxiliary, all for... great unification!'"
Leader Huang on the side also slowly stepped forward and coughed lightly.
"Inaction leads to action, and action is inaction. Only by governing through inaction can the world achieve peace and tranquility."
"Taoist, Li Mo."
The Mohist disciple stepped forward slowly, his expression humble and polite: "Love each other, Mohism does not attack, frugality and the courtesy of virtuous people will bring peace to the world. With virtuous people as rulers and virtuous people as ministers, the world will be peaceful and tranquil."
"Mohism, respect for the bright."
The last famous master, Gongsun Long, simply smiled faintly: "Famous master, Gongsun Long."
After they finished speaking, they all looked at Er Chen.
"Please advise."
The two Chens looked at each other, laughed, and took a step forward. Their voices were not arrogant, but they made people feel the depth in them.
Their introduction is simple.
There are only six words each.
"Chen Yi of the Guandu Chen family"
"Chen Yi of the Guandu Chen Clan"