## Chapter 258: Disputation

In late February, Chancellor Zhang Jun hurriedly returned to Kaifeng Prefecture.

It has to be said that the conditions this year were truly indescribable. Something that could have been clarified with a simple phone call ended up requiring a chief minister to personally spend more than a month traveling back and forth.

Of course, conversely, since there were no phones, anyone who wanted to express a view in person had to spend time on the road.

Zhang Jun returned to Tokyo that noon and went straight to see Emperor Zhao at the palace. However, all he learned was that the 'air pressure experiment' at Xuande Tower had been delayed again until tomorrow. According to Grand Official Lan Gui, the Emperor, though aware of the pacification of Dongting Lake, did not know that Chancellor Zhang was returning today and had gone on an incognito visit early in the morning.

For the Emperor to go on an incognito visit was undoubtedly an absurd and frivolous act, and one that should be firmly opposed. However, considering that the Supreme Taoist Emperor enjoyed such visits before being captured in the north... some things were just that way. As long as he took enough guards, one had to hold one's nose and accept it.

Otherwise, did anyone really think they could control an emperor who had personally fought on horseback in an imperial society?

Nevertheless, Zhang Jun did not dare to neglect his duty. He carefully inquired from Grand Official Lan Gui about the Emperor's whereabouts and, relying on his youth and good health, turned around and headed towards the Emperor's current location, the Wuyue Temple.

Now, if Emperor Zhao went to the Wuyue Temple, it might not even count as an incognito visit. Unlike the Great Xiangguo Temple, which could trace its origins back to the Tang Dynasty, the Wuyue Temple was practically Emperor Zhao's private property. It was a Taoist establishment built specifically during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song to conduct Fengshan ceremonies, a counterpart to the Great Xiangguo Temple, located south of the Imperial Academy.

Of course, while the scale and regulations were similar to the Great Xiangguo Temple, everyone knew that their actual influence and business acumen were not on the same level... Firstly, the Wuyue Temple had an illegitimate origin because everyone knew that Emperor Zhenzong's Fengshan ceremony was a farce. Even politicians of Wang Anshi's generation completely abandoned the Han Confucian theory of the interaction between Heaven and man, starting with this Fengshan event. Secondly, although similar in size and not too far apart, the location still made a significant difference. The Great Xiangguo Temple was in the inner city, while the Wuyue Temple was in the outer city, separated by a city wall and the Imperial Academy. Were the land prices of the inner and outer rings the same?

However, perhaps fortune comes from misfortune. Because of its prime location, the Great Xiangguo Temple was quickly requisitioned for military use after Emperor Zhao returned to the old capital. It served as a high-end military armory, an inner-city barracks, and even a reception center for high-ranking generals... In this situation, no matter how delicious the monks' vegetarian meals were, how high-end the location, or how excellent the room service, it was impossible to continue commercial and religious activities.

At this time, due to the actual needs of Tokyo's economic recovery, the Wuyue Temple located south of the Imperial Academy became the most upscale civilian guesthouse in Tokyo... One could only say that by the grace of the Taoist patriarch, the Taoists sat there and did nothing, yet they surpassed the monks.

Don't you see, nowadays, if monks want to debate the plot of *Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons*, they have to rely on Abbot Fahe of the Shaolin Temple branch in the west of the city to take the lead. The Imperial Street has always been the territory of the Wuyue Temple.

Enough with the digression. Although Zhang Jun was not clear about the specific reason for Emperor Zhao's visit to the Wuyue Temple, he could roughly guess some things... It was the best civilian guesthouse in Tokyo, and it was next to the Imperial Academy. Naturally, it was a gathering place for civilian scholars who were not students of the Imperial Academy. And since it was not the time for the imperial examinations, and considering the postponement of the 'air pressure experiment', the people gathered there must be the Taoist philosophers, Neo-Confucianists, or other great Confucian scholars who had come from afar.

Sure enough, Zhang Jun rushed to the Wuyue Temple and, upon entering, found hundreds of scholars and students gathered in front of the main hall. After inquiring, he learned that Yang Shi, a famous Confucian scholar of the time, a direct descendant of the Cheng brothers, and the protagonist of "Chengmen Lixue" (standing in the snow at the Cheng gate), had arrived with his disciples. These people had all come to see Yang Shi.

However, Zhang Deyuan, dressed in purple robes, arrived in a hurry, unable to find Emperor Zhao anywhere. After asking around and being looked at by everyone, he immediately became the center of attention. Many familiar people came to greet him, and even the Taoists of the Wuyue Temple hurriedly came to serve him. Only then did Zhang Jun realize that he had been somewhat rash. Helpless, he had to cup his hands in all directions and then sit on the ground like an ordinary student, putting on an act of being eager to learn and shutting everyone out.

After another noisy moment, an elderly man in his fifties, dressed in plain clothes, came to the pre-arranged cushions in front of the main hall. He did not sit down but simply raised his hand in greeting, and the noisy atmosphere below immediately dissipated:

"Learning is best in stillness. Since everyone has come to seek knowledge, please be quiet. The master will arrive shortly..."

"Isn't that Yang Shi?" Hearing this, Emperor Zhao, sitting behind a window in a side room seventy or eighty steps away, asked a question he shouldn't have asked.

The entourage exchanged glances. Before Yang Yizhong could respond, Lü Benzhong looked blankly and replied, "Your Majesty, Master Guishan (Yang Shi) is almost eighty years old. He was an important official before the Jingkang Incident. When Your Majesty ascended the throne, he once attended to you in Nanjing (Shangqiu). After he went to Nanyang in the second year of Jianyan, I remember my father once recruited him on behalf of the court... How can Your Majesty have forgotten all of this?"

Zhao Jiu smiled wryly and then raised his eyebrows: "To be honest, Juren (Lü Benzhong's courtesy name), I truly forgot many things when I fell into the well that day. I vaguely remembered some later, but I am still somewhat confused."

Lü Benzhong quickly nodded. That matter concerned the secrets of his father's rise to power, and he was unwilling and too lazy to think about it. He directly introduced, through the half-closed window: "To inform Your Majesty, this man is a disciple of Master Guishan (Yang Shi), named Luo Congyan, known as Master Yuzhang. He is also a prominent Neo-Confucian scholar and a great scholar of the Southeast."

Zhao Jiu nodded upon hearing this, but then curiously asked again: "Yang Shi is of such an age, and a direct descendant of the Cheng brothers. Even his disciples are prominent scholars. Shouldn't he be one of the leading figures among the Taoist philosophers and Neo-Confucianists?"

Lü Benzhong immediately smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty's words are spot on. After Guan and Luo (the regions of Guan and Luo, referring to the origin of Neo-Confucianism), Taoist learning is complex, but there is no disagreement about the top two figures at the moment. They are Master Guishan (Yang Shi) and Master Qingshan (Hu Anguo). All the other schools are inferior by three points."

"Then are your father and the Lü family's scholarship also inferior by three points?" Zhao Jiu continued to press. "Didn't they say that your father and Yang Shi are called 'Southern Yang and Northern Lü'?"

Lü Benzhong smiled helplessly: "To be honest, Your Majesty, that's counting the schools... My father inherited the Lü family's scholarship, while Master Guishan inherited the orthodox Luoyang school. But if we measure the Taoist lineage, my father can still be compared to Master Qingshan."

"That's what I thought!"

Zhao Jiu, who had gained a lot of knowledge these days, finally understood completely.

It turned out that the current situation in the academic circles was somewhat like the high-end Xianxia (immortal hero) and Wuxia (martial hero) novels he had read before his transmigration. They had to distinguish between a prestigious sect and a gang, compete for the strength of the sect, and compare the cultivation level of the leader.

Specifically, Taoist learning was like the mainstream prestigious sect (there were many other schools), and Hu Anguo, Yang Shi, and Lü Haowen were undoubtedly the leading figures. In a Wuxia world, they would be like Murong Fu of the South, Qiao Feng of the North, and Kumārajīva. In a Xianxia world, they would be the only three Yuan Shen stage大佬 (Big Boss).

However, Hu Anguo was inferior to Yang Shi in two ways. One was that he had once sought knowledge from Yang Shi and had a semi-teacher-student relationship. The other was that after his level rose, he had the cultivation to establish a sect, but he ultimately did not have time to do so.

As for Lü Haowen, he used the family scholarship as a way to conduct Taoist learning research, which naturally had a certain sect identity bonus, but it was still inferior to Yang Shi's Cheng brothers' Luoyang school.

Therefore, although they were mentioned together in various ways, Yang Shi was actually the true leader of the orthodox path among the three. His cultivation level, sect power, and even age made him the number one person in the existing Taoist learning system.

But such a person, almost eighty years old, still took the trouble to bring his junior brother and disciples to Tokyo. This showed how much Lü Haowen's sudden creation of an original school and his desire to become a sage had provoked everyone.

While speaking and thinking, Master Yuzhang stood up and spoke about some of the new academic achievements that Master Guishan Yang Shi had obtained in the Southeast in recent years. Then he took the initiative to step down, and instead of Master Guishan Yang Shi appearing in person, a young man went up to continue controlling the scene.

"This is Li Tong, known as Master Yanping. He is considered a disciple of Master Guishan and also a disciple of Master Yuzhang... He is the heir to the orthodox Luoyang school." Lü Benzhong took the initiative to introduce.

Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly... After changing his way of thinking, the Emperor immediately understood that Yang Shi and Luo Congyan and Li Tong, the old, middle-aged, and young generations, were the direct descendants of the Cheng brothers of the Luoyang school, i.e., the current leader and the next two appointed leaders.

At this moment, after the slightly younger Li Tong came on stage, he blurted out: "Everyone, I wonder if you are good at *duizi* (antithetical couplets)?"

The people below naturally made a clamorous sound. Antithetical couplets had become popular since the early Song Dynasty and were a common form of entertainment among scholars and students at the time, as well as a way to train in poetry.

Obviously, although Li Tong had gained the title of Master Yanping early on, he was still young and not as rigid as Luo Congyan. Therefore, he took the initiative to stir up the emotions of the onlooking students and scholars:

"Then I'll give you a couplet... What is the opposite of 'Heaven'?"

"Earth!" The response from below was almost instantaneous.

"What is the opposite of 'Rain'?"

"Wind!" The voices below became more uniform, but there was also a hint of mockery because the other party was like coaxing a child, only speaking of the most basic things.

"What is the opposite of 'Mountain'?" Master Yanping ignored the mockery and continued to ask.

"Sea!"

"What is the opposite of 'Mainland'?"

"Sky!"

"What is the opposite of 'The Four Sacred Mountains'?"

"The Three Dukes!"

"What is the opposite of 'Evening Drum'?"

"Morning Bell..."

There was more and more laughter, but at this moment, Li Tong suddenly raised his voice:

"What is the opposite of 'Morality'?"

The atmosphere below suddenly froze... Everyone who came was a scholar. Who didn't know that Master Yanping was waiting for them here? However, since so many people had come, there were naturally mischievous people among them. Perhaps due to some strange mentality, someone immediately smiled and said:

"The opposite of morality is self-interest!"

"Wrong!" Li Tong immediately retorted sternly. "The opposite of morality is the principles of human nature!"

"Get out!" Hearing this, Zhao Jiu suddenly ordered Lü Benzhong in a low voice. "Go out and say 'the opposite is profit'!"

Lü Benzhong swallowed, but he could only immediately shout loudly in the side room: "Why can't morality be the opposite of profit?"

Then, the eldest son of the current Duke, the heir of the Lü family's Taoist learning, ran out from behind the door of the side room amidst everyone's surprise and doubt. He simply stood in front of the window and continued to raise his voice and cup his hands in greeting: "May I ask Master Yanping, why can't morality be the opposite of profit?!"

Li Tong was stunned upon hearing this, and then he cupped his hands respectfully: "So it's the young master of Donglai. Young master, please, may I ask why the young master is so aggressive? I said this because my master is about to speak about morality and human nature, not because I really want to make antithetical couplets!"

Only then did Zhao Jiu learn that Lü Benzhong was also a well-known figure.

"Don't pay attention to him, just continue to ask him, can morality and profit be practiced together?" Zhao Jiu muttered to himself while thinking wildly and whispering directly from behind the window.

"I only ask you, why can't morality and profit be practiced together?" Lü Benzhong braced himself and retorted. "Listening to the way you are setting the tone, could it be that morality and profit are in conflict?"

Li Tong was a famous Confucian scholar, of course, he had words to explain, in fact, since he opened this mouth he wanted to speak, but, before he could speak, someone in the audience laughed coldly:

"The country is lost, the two emperors are captured in the north, empty talk about the principles of human nature, what use is it to the country and the people?"

Li Tong's face turned black, and he looked back, but he couldn't find the person who spoke for a moment. He could only turn his head and ask Lü Benzhong: "Mr. Lü, is this also your meaning?"

Lü Benzhong had long known Emperor Zhao's general ideas these days, and had long been on the pirate ship. He also had some thoughts in his mind, so he immediately gritted his teeth and sneered: "Although this person's words are a bit excessive, they still have some truth... Master Yanping, I ask you, four years ago, the country was almost in danger of being destroyed, and the Emperor was able to restore the old capital. Was it because you were sitting in the back all day discussing the principles of human nature? In my opinion, we scholars should promote a combination of Wang (benevolent rule) and Ba (hegemony), righteousness and profit, so that we can seek the same cause as the Three Dynasties and the Han and Tang Emperors for the Emperor!"

"How can these words be said?" Li Tong's face completely changed. "How can the Han and Tang Emperors be compared with the Three Dynasties? How can hegemony be compared with benevolent rule?"

"Why can't they be compared?" Lü Benzhong was really confused. "It must be known that the Three Dynasties and the Han and Tang Emperors all used righteousness and profit together. It's just that the sages of the Three Dynasties were sages, with outstanding abilities. Their actions were all in accordance with the principles of Heaven, so the Confucian scholars said that they were benevolent rule. And the Han and Tang Emperors were, after all, somewhat lacking in ability. Their actions were not necessarily all in accordance with the principles of Heaven. There were many incorrect things in between, so the Confucian scholars pointed to their achievements and said that this was hegemony... But benevolent rule and hegemony are actually very good. They are all good things and good achievements made by the emperors who worked hard and devoted themselves to righteousness and profit."

"These words are extremely absurd!" Li Tong's face turned black, and he clenched his fists, but he forced himself to wait for the other party to finish speaking before scolding him in the face. "The rule of the Three Dynasties was precisely the achievement of benevolent rule by following the principles of Heaven. When did they ever use the heart of profit and the act of hegemony? And the scale of the Han and Tang Emperors, how could they have ever had anything in accordance with the principles of Heaven? The Han and Tang Emperors were all selfish, all seeking profit..."

Lü Benzhong frowned upon hearing this. He was about to say something again, but he heard the person behind him asking again: "Is he saying that benevolent rule and hegemony are opposed to each other? Is he saying that profit and righteousness are also completely opposed? If you take one, you can't take the other?"

Lü Benzhong could only respond: "Yes."

"And he means that history is sinking downwards generation by generation? The Han and Tang Emperors are not even qualified to be compared with the Three Dynasties? The two are not the same species at all?"

"I don't know what species is, but that's roughly the meaning." Lü Benzhong responded again with his hands tied, already attracting suspicion from many people in the hall.

"Forget it, let's go."

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu only felt completely bored, so he shook his head repeatedly, and then got up by himself, but he didn't wait for Yang Shi to come out. He left the side room with a group of people and walked towards the gate of the Wuyue Temple.

Lü Benzhong didn't say anything more, and followed Zhao Jiu out. Many students and scholars in Tokyo had probably met the Emperor during the question-asking sessions at the Imperial Academy. Not to mention the officials, so at once, everyone rose up in a wave, cupping their hands and saluting, only Li Tong on the steps in front of the hall was momentarily panicked. He probably got a reminder from the students below before he hurried down the steps to salute.

"You may dispense with the formalities." Zhao Jiu felt bored in his heart, he just raised his hand to signal everyone. "Tomorrow, in front of the Xuande Tower, don't forget to join in the fun..."

The Emperor gave an order, and countless guards in soft armor under their clothes rushed up. Most people stopped directly, saying they received the order, but Zhang Jun and several officials who were watching the excitement followed along.

A group of people came to the gate of the Wuyue Temple. The guards surrounded them, and someone went to lead the horses. At this time, an official who followed out reminded carefully: "Your Majesty, Master Guishan is a famous scholar in the world, and also a former important official of the country, and nearly eighty years old. Since we have met in the temple, we should see him."

Zhao Jiu shook his head for a while: "Those who follow different paths cannot make plans together."

The officials who followed out were all in awe - this was probably the first time Emperor Zhao had directly expressed his dissatisfaction with a certain theory in a somewhat public occasion, and this was enough to set off a storm.

Sure enough, the very next moment, one of the officials who followed out, Chen Gongfu, the director of the Imperial Academy, cupped his hands and spoke: "Your Majesty, the Cheng learning is a fallacy to mislead the public. I ask to ban the Cheng learning!"

Zhao Jiu was stunned... He couldn't help but reveal his attitude in advance, and of course he knew that it would attract more opportunists, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly, especially Chen Gongfu, who had always given him a good impression, not like the kind of person who would take advantage of the situation on the spot.

"To be honest with Your Majesty." Chen Gongfu smiled upon seeing this. "When Li Gongxiang (Li Gang) was in power, I wrote a letter in a fit of anger to request the ban of the Luoyang learning, but I don't know if Your Majesty still remembers?"

Only now did Zhao Jiu realize that this was also the person who had ridiculed Taoist learning for 'confining themselves to empty talk of the principles of human nature' before. He immediately understood, so he smiled and asked in front of the Taoist temple gate: "What was said at that time?"

"At that time, I didn't like Master Guishan." Chen Gongfu, dressed in casual clothes, was not afraid of the glares of several officials from Taoist learning on his side. He still smiled and said: "When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, he insisted on resisting the Jin on the one hand, but on the other hand, he submitted a memorial to remove the tea and salt laws... I really don't know why we should reduce taxes when the country is overthrown and we must train soldiers? Therefore, even though I submitted a memorial in Jingkang to request that Wang Shu Wang's memorial tablet be removed quickly and the old party members under the Cheng learning be placed on it, and I was regarded as a Taoist learning master, I still couldn't help but submit another memorial to impeach Master Guishan."

Zhao Jiu smiled even more.

On the other hand, several Taoist learning officials were frightened and quickly cupped their hands: "Your Majesty! The disaster of the party ban must not be repeated!"

Some people gritted their teeth: "Your Majesty, this Chen Gongfu is fickle and cannot be trusted."

After Zhao Jiu finished laughing, he ignored these people, but only said to Chen Gongfu: "What does Chen Qing think?"

"I think it is indeed impossible to really ban it." Chen Gongfu also continued to smile non-stop. "Yuan Sheng (Emperor Qinzong) changed course and used the old party, and Your Majesty stopped the old party from overthrowing the new party. The situation of the monarch and ministers tolerating each other for the sake of the country has finally formed. It should not be easily abandoned, and I cannot really come to the Taoist temple empty-handed in these clothes to make an impeachment..."

Speaking of this, Chen Gongfu suddenly became serious: "Your Majesty, what I want to say is, firstly, the court's formal classics must be determined as soon as possible, otherwise it will be impossible for the people below to do things; secondly, if you want to determine the classics, you must formally debate the classics, otherwise it will not be enough to convince the public; thirdly, the study is a big deal. There is the gradual rise of Cheng learning, the original learning created by Prime Minister Lü, and other schools. There are many people who are not interested in this. If you really want to debate the classics, you are not afraid of any factions, but Your Majesty must first stand up and tell everyone what kind of classics the court wants and what kind of classics it doesn't want. Then naturally there will be what classics there are and what classics there are not..."

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood.

Chen Gongfu's meaning was already so straightforward that it couldn't be more straightforward. He actually represented a large number of pragmatic bureaucrats. This group of people recognized the necessity of classics as a guiding ideology, but they pursued efficiency and practical results even more, so they didn't care about the content of the classics, but only pursued the matter of 'establishing an official doctrine' itself.

For example, during the Jingkang period (when Emperor Qinzong was in power), the situation of the court changing from the new to the old was already very clear and could not be shaken. Chen Gongfu and others hurriedly submitted memorials requesting that Wang Anshi's memorial tablet be thrown down and replaced with those old party members... But this was not because Chen Gongfu was really an old party member. The old party could not have won the first place in the Shangshe, which was equivalent to the top scholar, under the rule of the new party. It was because he saw that the emperor's mind was already made up and the overall situation was set, so he wanted to quickly settle this matter.

Later, in the early years of Jianyan, the overall situation completely collapsed, and nothing was more important than saving one's life. Learning and morality should go wherever they should go, and those Taoist learning masters were still arguing about those broken things, so they would naturally impeach them in turn.

Now, they are not opposing Cheng learning or supporting Lü learning, they just hope that the overall situation will be settled quickly... In a word, they are impatient. As long as they don't come up with a *Ping An Jing* (Scripture of Peace), they will recognize everything. Conversely, this also means that Emperor Zhao's delaying posture has finally taken effect. His actions themselves have the meaning of forcing these centrists to come out and express their opinions.

However, although he understood and was proud of himself, the Emperor just nodded and smiled again: "I know what Chen Qing means, but let's wait for the results in front of the Xuande Tower tomorrow before I announce it!"

Chen Gongfu did not say anything more upon hearing this, and just smiled and stepped back.

At this time, the horses had been led to the front. Zhao Jiu held the reins, but he could not help but say a few more words to Zhang Jun, the chief minister: "Zhang Qing has worked hard all the way... What do you think of this matter?"

Zhang Jun immediately responded: "Your Majesty, I was really moved by this trip... Just like the matter I mentioned in my memorial, seeing that everyone in the world has their own selfishness and their own public mind, and when they collide, they often come to no conclusion. At this time, Your Majesty should indeed put a formal classic on top so that everyone in the world knows what principles to follow to do things, to determine right and wrong, and to resolve conflicts."

This was still emphasizing the importance of establishing an official school and debating the classics... Obviously, he also understood Chen Gongfu's meaning and made a clear statement that 'we will strike wherever the Emperor points'.

Zhao Jiu nodded, got on his horse directly, and then continued to say to Zhang Jun: "Yue Pengju and Qing's memorials were sent separately, and I already know the original reasons there. You did the right thing... And I have already replied to Pengju, only saying 'I have always been relieved by Yue Qing's actions'... Let him not worry about those things."

Zhang Jun quickly cupped his hands and said yes.

"Of course, I have always been relieved by Zhang Qing's handling of affairs." Zhao Jiu continued to smile, and then stopped his horse, wanting to leave.

Zhang De Yuan returned to the capital today, ignoring the fatigue of the journey, and still rushed around. He was just asking for these words. At this time, seeing the Emperor say it in public, he immediately felt comfortable all over and felt that everything was worth it.

"By the way." Since Emperor Zhao got on the horse and was about to leave, he thought of one more thing, and then turned his head to mention to Zhang Jun, "Around the time your and Yue Fei's memorials arrived, Ma Jinglue of Hubei also sent someone to send a memorial..."

Zhang Jun was momentarily at a loss, but he quickly asked, "I am presumptuous, but I don't know what Ma Jinglue said?"

"He said that Yang Yizhong should be executed." Zhao Jiu glanced at Yang Yizhong, who was expressionless and seemed to have adapted, and shook his head even more with a wry smile. "Because he understood from the results of your and Yue Fei's handling of Dongting Lake that Yue Fei had sent a secret memorial before. However, he extended from this and said that this secret memorial system was not benevolent rule, and that Yang Yizhong, as a military general, manipulated this matter, just like stealing power from the vital position, and there was a suspicion of isolating the internal and external civil and military officials, so he should of course be executed."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun felt disgusted, but he directly brushed his sleeves and reminded, "Ma Jinglue is a high-ranking student of the Cheng school, and has his own understanding of benevolent rule and hegemony!"

Zhao Jiu smiled without saying a word, turned around and rode away. Yang Yizhong finally couldn't help but sigh softly, and could only lower his head and follow on horseback.

ps:

I didn't sleep all night, I was crazy... I clearly remember that I saved a piece of information about the Southern Song Dynasty Taoist scholars debating the classics with couplets to explain the principles, but I can't find it no matter what... For this reason, I almost rewatched a lot of things...