When Liu Bei said these words, both Liu Hong and Zhang Rang were a little surprised.
They did not expect that Liu Bei's evaluation of scholars was no better than theirs.
Liu Hong became more and more interested in Liu Bei.
"Xuande, your views on scholars are beyond my expectation."
"Your Majesty, I have seen so many people all the way from being a weaver of mats and selling shoes to now. I have seen slaves, barbarians, farmers, craftsmen, scholars, officials, and powerful people. I have seen them all, but the scholars are no different. Others are more noble.”
"So, you are planning to help the scholars stop me, but it is for my own sake? Do you hate the scholars?"
"I hate certain scholars very much."
Liu Bei nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I hate certain scholars no less than the eunuchs around Your Majesty."
When Liu Hong heard this, he looked at Zhang Rang and saw the surprised expression on Zhang Rang's face.
"So? You are also a scholar now, but you say you hate scholars?"
Liu Bei shook his head.
"If I don't become a scholar, how can I justifiably stand in front of His Majesty and countermeasures against His Majesty? Just relying on my status as a clan member of the Han Dynasty, I can only be a local tycoon at most. If I don't become a scholar, I won't be able to come here at all. In Luoyang, I have no way to enter the world.
Moreover, if I really want to say it, I don’t hate the scholars as a group, but I hate the villains among them who talk about benevolence, justice and morality, but behind the scenes do all kinds of bad things. But he was full of malice.
But it is not that I have never seen noble scholars. They insist on their own virtues and do not do anything against their will. They are noble in character, support the underachievers, and will sacrifice themselves to protect the underachievers. I have also seen such scholars. "
Liu Hong was silent for a long time, and then looked at Liu Bei.
"When you say this, I feel as if I have never really known scholars. So Xuande, what kind of people are scholars?"
Liu Bei thought for a while.
"Scholars are human beings. There are noble people and despicable people. This group of people is no different from any other group of people. There are both noble people and despicable people. It's just that the scholars control most of the steps for the advancement of the Han people. Therefore, there are fewer noble people and more despicable people, but it is not necessarily true to say that they are all thieves of the country."
"So you think my party policy is wrong?"
Liu Hong locked his sharp eyes on Liu Bei.
Zhang Rang didn't even dare to breathe.
"It's not entirely wrong, but it's also biased."
Liu Bei's answer made Zhang Rang feel a little offended and shocked.
You are brave enough to publicly criticize his behavior in front of the emperor.
Liu Hong stared at Liu Bei and said nothing for a while, but soon he laughed.
"Say in front of me that I did something wrong, Liu Xuande, you are so brave."
"Your Majesty has a question, and I dare not refuse to answer it, nor do I dare to deceive you."
Liu Hong nodded.
"Okay, I don't count your crime of deceiving the emperor. Then tell me, where did I go wrong?"
"Your Majesty should not regard the scholars as a whole, but should find ways to divide and rule them and divide them."
Liu Bei said: "From a broad perspective, the scholars of the Han Dynasty are currently mainly divided into the Jinwen Jing school and the Guwen Jing school. The Jinwen Jing school has fewer people, but has a profound foundation. It often controls high positions and controls most of the people. At the stage of advancement, the Five Classics and Fourteen Schools of Dharma are all Jinwen classics.
The Ancient Classics School has a large number of people, but its foundation is shallow. It is not as deep as the current Classics School, and it started late. Its power and control level are far less than those of the current Literature School. It is faintly suppressed and excluded, so when it comes to treating scholars, At this time, Your Majesty should treat the two separately and treat them differently. "
Liu Hong obviously had never heard of such a strategy.
Of course he knew about the dispute between ancient classics and modern classics, and had a certain understanding of it, but he lacked the means and opportunities to intervene.
Moreover, these days, the ancient classics master and the modern classics master are friends with each other, and their relationship is very warm. It doesn't look like they can provoke a dispute.
Liu Hong was silent, but Zhang Rang took the initiative to speak.
"No matter what school they belong to, they have all offended His Majesty. When Your Majesty appointed us, they slaughtered our disciples, relatives and friends wherever they wanted. Those who worked for Your Majesty were killed by them. They were the first to do it. , which forced us to counterattack!"
"Then it's even more important to divide and conquer."
Liu Bei looked at Zhang Rang and said: "As far as I know, the Ancient Classics School and the Modern Classics School have always been at odds with each other. The reason why there have been signs of merging in recent years is because they were hit too hard by you.
You treat the scholars without distinguishing whether they belong to the Ancient Classics school or the Modern Classics school, and catch them all in one fell swoop. This will only force the two to stick together for warmth, and will not make full use of the conflicts between them to achieve the effect of divide and conquer. You are too rude.
And speaking of fusion, there are many great Confucians who study both Jinwen Jing and Guwen Jing at the same time. However, the Feiyue family, which has a large number of disciples and former officials, are all the inheritance families of Jinwen Jing. The so-called fusion is just a pretense. Discord. "
Zhang Rang opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Isn't it still the same now? There are still scholars who come close to us and are driven by us, and there are still dogs biting dogs among the scholars. What's the matter? different?"
"That's because they are afraid of your power, and doing so cannot truly divide the scholars, but can only accelerate the convergence of ancient classics and modern classics. The core interest of scholars is not whether to submit to you, but how to advance. "
Liu Bei said: "You don't need to make various accusations against the scholars. You only need to change one of the fourteen schools of the Five Classics, Jinwen Jingxue, to Guwen Jingxue. Then you can watch the show and see the relationship between the scholars. How dog eats dog.
Most scholars don't care at all about what they learn, read, or inherit. They only care about the advancement that classic family law brings them. If the advancement is gone, they will go crazy and become truly angry. This is the key to being a scholar. "
"It's not simple."
Liu Hong's eyes lit up and he said: "I once ordered the academic officials to establish the Stone Scripture, clarify the different characters of the orthodox scriptures, and unify the Five Classics, but the obstacles are too great and it is difficult to implement it. Although the Stone Scripture is completed now, it has no effect at all. ."
"Of course we can't use His Majesty's name."
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Your Majesty's intention of doing this is too obvious, and it will easily be boycotted by the other party. And leaving this kind of thing to the scholars is like asking a cat to take care of the fish. It is useless. , it can also be regarded as a waste of effort.
Since the eunuchs are so lawless, we might as well continue to be lawless and use eunuchs to support the weak Ancient Classics school and attack the strong Modern Classics school. By then, political and cultural disputes will add up, and there will be no need to worry about the split between the Ancient Classics school and the Modern Classics school. ,hostility.
At present, the opposition between the ancient literature school and the modern literature school is not sharp. The main reason is that the implementation of the party's policy has forced the scholars to unite. If the suppression of the party's policy is lost and the imperial court deliberately supports the ancient literature, the situation will immediately different. "
"Really?"
Zhang Rang remained skeptical.
"Are you a scholar or am I a scholar? And I am a member of the Ancient Classics School. My teacher is one of the leaders of the Ancient Classics School. How can I not understand the long-cherished wish of the school? If there is really hope, even if you are eunuchs , the Ancient Classics School will definitely cooperate with you, even if it is not stated clearly."
Liu Bei replied.
Zhang Rang was angry for a while, pointed at Liu Bei and said angrily: "You are really seeking personal gain for yourself, right? If we support the Ancient Classics School, wouldn't you be the one who directly benefits? Wouldn't you be able to reach a high position through Ancient Classics? "
Liu Bei spread his hands.
"The ones who benefit the most are obviously His Majesty and the imperial court. I am just seeking some convenience for myself. Why not?"
Liu Bei looked at Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, am I wrong?"
Liu Hong lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Liu Bei with a smile.
"Everyone wants to make progress, and so does Xuande. If it's really the best of both worlds, why not? I'm not a person who doesn't understand rewards and punishments. I will reward my merits and punish my mistakes. Xuande has made merits, so what's the harm in rewards?"
"Your Majesty is wise."
Liu Bei bowed.
Liu Hong smiled and went up to hold Liu Bei's hand and help him up.
"Don't be in a hurry to make me happy. You have said this, but you have to give me a way to do it. I want people who can do things for me, not people who can only talk but can't do it. Talent can be rewarded for mediocrity, but mediocrity...should be carefully considered."
