Cao Mao has always wanted to turn Dongtang Banquet into an important tool for him to transform contemporary thought.
Although Zhong Hui comes to run errands for many things nowadays, Cao Mao cannot do nothing.
If he doesn't do anything, he is no longer a holy king in Zhong Hui's eyes.
The consequences will be very serious.
He must do a good job of assisting so that Zhong Hui can continue to assist the Holy King.
The first thing that needs to be solved is the problem of scholars talking. This problem started in the late Han Dynasty. Many party bans were made to silence the scholars in the world. Later, Emperor Wu also didn't like others to be verbose, so he added Great confinement.
After generations of misfortunes, the high-pressure policy of the Sima Shi period finally came into being. The scholars did not dare to speak, and could only stay away from the fight through a passive and evasive attitude, and numb themselves by taking powder and drinking alcohol.
If you want to solve the negative thoughts of taking powder and drinking, you don’t need to order a ban on taking powder and drinking. You just need to create an active and relaxed ideological atmosphere.
Let them speak freely, starting with admonishing the emperor.
Cao Mao doesn't care about these people's insults to him. The more they curse, the better. As the emperor, he has allowed them to write letters freely. What else do you ministers dare to say?
Do you dare to stop them from writing to you?
Do you dare to stop them from seeing you?
And this kind of open-minded atmosphere is definitely not a bad thing for scholars.
Even people like Gao Rou would never dare to raise objections. After all, they are not generals. They can come up because of these scholar-officials. If their policies are not conducive to the scholar-officials, the scholar-officials can also let them down.
Why are the students blocking their residence and scolding them, but they don't dare to come out to arrest them?
The main thing is that their status comes from their reputation, and reputation is given by the scholars. The scholars recognize that you are the moral model in the world. If they all think that you are despicable and unethical, then you have to get out. You He didn't have an army like Sima Division in hand.
The celebrities at the banquet actively cooperated because the emperor's idea was not harmful to them.
Cao Mao said happily: "There are direct ministers in the court and righteous people in the world. Why should I worry about the displeasure of the world?!"
"I have loved classics since I was a child, and I will never block the way of words from wise men!"
Cao Mao first praised everyone in front of him, and then asked: "Everyone, I have something unclear."
"How did the early Han Dynasty lose their virtue?"
"You can speak freely, don't worry!"
This is the time to get to the main topic, which is the so-called academic discussion. Famous scholars all have their own opinions on the immorality of the Han Dynasty. One famous scholar stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the reason why the early Han Dynasty was immoral was because of eunuchs. , there are ten constant attendants in the palace, who confuse the people with their evil words, causing the monarch and his ministers to alienate, and their closeness is harming the people everywhere."
Cao Mao nodded, "It makes sense, but it's not comprehensive enough."
Another famous scholar stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think it was the selling of officials and conferring titles that caused the ancestors of the Han Dynasty to lose their virtue."
"Real talents don't bother to do this, but villains use bribes."
The celebrity was talking eloquently, but the faces of several ministers around him changed. Someone tugged on his sleeve. This celebrity was Pei Kai.
He is particularly good at talking about "Laozi" and "The Book of Changes". He is a famous sage in the world. He was born in the Pei family of Hedong. Well, this man is talented and handsome. Let's just say that Zhong Hui likes him very much.
Pei Kai suddenly reacted and suddenly lost his voice.
There seems to be something wrong with these two things that the celebrities said.
Let’s talk about eunuchs first. Well, Cao Cao’s grandfather Cao Teng was a eunuch. Then we talk about buying officials. Well, Cao Cao’s father Cao Song spent money to buy a Taiwei.
Cao Teng is not bad. After all, although Cao Teng is an eunuch, he does not have a bad reputation, and it is normal to insult eunuchs in the current trend. But if he goes on to talk about buying an official, it means criticizing Sang and Huai.
Cao Mao suddenly laughed and said, "You don't have to be like this. You are right. This is also an important reason for the loss of morality in the early Han Dynasty."
"Any more?"
With Cao Mao's acquiescence, several more celebrities stood up and stated other reasons.
Cao Mao listened to their stories and finally said: "I think the main reason is because Emperor Huan Ling couldn't listen to advice and used party imprisonment to deal with the wise people in the world!"
"We can see the evil policies such as eunuchs, relatives, and selling officials now, but couldn't the ministers at that time see it? It's just because the emperor refused to adopt it."
"If the emperor fails to listen to advice, he will lose his virtue; if the ministers fail to submit remonstrances, they will lose their reputation."
"What do you think?"
Cao Mao was ready for the debate.
As long as they weren't talking about classics, Sima Yan could still understand him. He was the first to nod, acknowledging Cao Mao's statement.
Cao Mao then said: "Emperor Wu killed Bian Rang and Emperor Wen killed Bao Xun. Aren't these similar behaviors?"
Hearing these words, the celebrities were in an uproar.
As a descendant, to evaluate one's ancestors in this way is really inconsistent with the current moral trend.
But they didn't come up to directly insult Cao Mao.
Some of the positive effects played by the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties were probably that it tore a hole in the strong shackles of etiquette. The restraint of etiquette was not as strong as it used to be. After the death of parents, they continued to drink and eat meat. In the Han Dynasty, they would have had their heads chopped off. .
Moreover, the emperor's position in these words was still biased towards scholars like them, so it was not too much.
Cao Mao continued: "To speak out means to be impartial. You can't refuse to speak out because of personal feelings or inferiority. Emperor Wen is my grandfather, but if I were born in front of him, I would definitely stop him from doing such a thing."
"Knowing that the Lord has done something wrong but not daring to persuade him, knowing that the king's behavior is inappropriate but not knowing how to advise him, this is the greatest form of unfilial piety and disloyalty. This is trapping one's Lord and the King into being unkind and only keeping oneself alive. It can be said that I have lost my great virtue because of my petty righteousness!"
"I heard that Xun Yu, the son of Duke Cheng Xun, and Xun Rong, the son of Lord Tinghou of Xiyang, reprimanded Xun Shangshu in person and asked him to correct his mistakes. What do you think of these two people?"
Sima Yan immediately said: "These two people are very filial and loyal!"
"They don't care about their reputation. For the sake of their own lords and the great Wei Dynasty, they don't hesitate to offend their elders and speak out to advise them. Isn't this the most virtuous behavior?"
"They should be role models for the world!"
Many celebrities did not object, and Xun Yi didn't say anything. Of course, they had to admit that their behavior was right.
Cao Mao said to Sima Yan on the side: "You can invite the two of them to the next banquet. I will reward you in person!"
"These two are truly the wise sons of the Xun family!"
Cao Mao evaluated them.
The celebrities suddenly became a little restless.
Next, Cao Mao talked about several similar examples.
This East Hall banquet was still very successful. Even though many people were lost, it was still a good place to make a name for itself. Apart from anything else, His Majesty's conversations with celebrities today will definitely be passed down to future generations.
Everyone is now envious of the two people named Xun. After today's incident, they have become completely famous.
The banquet ended very late, and the celebrities left one after another.
Cao Mao sent everyone away with a smile. Sima Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the emperor beside him with a smile.
"Your Majesty, how was your performance today?"
"Sima Changshi did a good job, but he was a little too deliberate."
"Next time, remember to be more natural and just talk like you normally would."
Cao Mao said with a smile.
Sima Yan couldn't help but said: "Today's banquet in the east hall has benefited the two Xun family boys who have never come. Your Majesty will give you an example next time. You can give an example to your ministers!"
"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that if you stay by my side, you won't have a chance to become famous?"
Sima Yan rubbed his hands, "Anyway, it's done today, they were all deceived by us!"
"Your Majesty, when will the next banquet be held?"
"No rush, no rush, let them do something, and it won't be too late to comment after they finish it."
Cao Mao squinted his eyes and said thoughtfully.
Sima Yan nodded, "Your Majesty, I have something to do there, so I won't stay with you."
"Ah? What's the matter with you?"
"Business! Big business!"
Sima Yan was a little anxious. He just said a few words and left the place in a hurry.
After walking out of the palace, Sima Yan immediately got into the carriage.
"Go to Grand Duke's mansion!"
"ah?"
The driver was stunned, and Sima Yan spoke again: "Go to my eldest father!"
"Well, Master, this is not quite right."
"Go if you are told! Don't say more!"
The driver had no choice but to bring Sima Yan to Sima Fu's mansion. Sima Yan hurriedly got out of the carriage. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw seven or eight people surrounding him, shouting insults.
Sima Yan frowned, and immediately ordered people to separate, clear a path, and quickly walked towards the mansion.
The scholars were very dissatisfied and quarreled with Sima Yan's followers again.
Sima Yan now brings a large number of soldiers with him every time he travels. This is because he is worried that his ministers will do something wrong, but now it comes in handy.
The servants in the mansion probably heard the noise outside.
Someone slowly opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sima Yan outside.
"Open the door quickly, I'm here to meet my great father Zhong!"
"Sima Sanqi, the Grand Master is not in the mansion."
"If you have anything, you can tell me and I will tell the head of the family on your behalf."
Of course Sima Fu was in the mansion, but he had already given orders to his servants not to see anyone, especially not the Sima family.
Sima Yan frowned. He cleared his mind and said loudly, "Then please tell me, Uncle Zhong!"
"As a veteran of the temple, he should be supporting the country and assisting His Majesty, but now he proposes to imprison the Queen Mother and humiliate Your Majesty. It is really shocking! He must correct his mistakes and not tarnish the family's reputation!!"
"Otherwise it would be immoral behavior!"
"I, Sima Yan, will never tolerate such a thing!"
"If I remain indifferent, I am being unkind and disregarding the justice of the world. This is the greatest unfilial piety and the greatest disloyalty!!"
At this moment, the scholars were in an uproar.
