Cai Yong is already in his early sixties, and normally the life expectancy of people in the Han Dynasty is about forty or fifty years old, so people of Cai Yong's age are already long-lived in the Han Dynasty. This old man with a bright head felt very incomprehensible and a little uneasy about Fei Qian's approach to Zuo Ci for a period of time, so he specially asked Fei Qian to talk about it.

It's not that Cai Yong has any intention of defending Confucianism, but he doesn't want Fei Qian to be influenced by the so-called crooked ways and do something that shouldn't be done.

"And why? And what is it? ”

Cai Yong invited Fei Qian to drink tea, and the two of them sat and watched the swaying of the bamboo forest for a while.

Fei Qian put down the tea bowl, was silent for a while, and said: "Confucianism is not Confucianism, Taoism is not Taoism, this is a big disadvantage and ......."

Cai Yong frowned and said, "According to your intentions, Confucianism and Taoism, what should I do?" ”

Fei Qian said: "Confucianism should be the meaning of the poor heaven, and the things of the earth should also be explained. If you are greedy for power and turn black and white upside down, wouldn't it be a retreat from the south to the north and lose the foundation of Confucianism? ”

Confucianism was originally only a religion of learning, but in the Han Dynasty it became a religion of power, which has to be said to be a kind of irony for Confucius, or a special inheritance.

Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has absorbed too many things, sewing one arm into the east and one leg in the west, and finally becoming an abomination of three heads and six arms.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Chinese Zhou Dynasty declined, the princes sat on the throne, and the "Zhou Rites" that maintained the feudal patriarchal hierarchy were greatly damaged, the princes competed for hegemony, and the society was in turmoil. At this time, in order to seek a way out after the fall of the Zhou Dynasty, intellectuals stepped onto the stage of history one after another, put forward their own ideas and solutions, and a hundred schools of thought were formed.

What does the future look like?

No one knows.

How to deal with the old and how to welcome the new, almost all of them have the opinions of hundreds of schools. But in the Han Dynasty, only Taoism and Confucianism remained, the Mohists had basically disappeared, the Legalists were also killed by Confucianism, and the rest of the sects were not in the climate, and some were simply annexed by Confucianism......

"The foundation of Confucianism?" Cai Yong stroked his beard.

"Exactly." Fei Qian replied, "The meaning of Confucianism lies in teaching, and there is no class in teaching, such as Confucius giving Gongsun also." And now, despicable people, pretending to be Confucian, preaching benevolence and virtue, but they are not scholars, and they are not high-ranked, and they dare to ask their masters, what is the original meaning of Confucianism? ”

Cai Yong was silent and sighed.

Strictly speaking, in the Han Dynasty, the merits of Confucianism were greater than the merits.

Because in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, as well as in the era before it, the inheritance of all knowledge was only circulated among the upper class, that is, among the ancient aristocracy, and not to the ordinary people, and Confucius was the first to stand up, not only changed the model of "learning from officials", but even claimed that there is no class of education, regardless of national boundaries and Huayi, as long as you have the heart to learn, you can be enrolled in school.

Confucius's disciples came from different countries such as Lu, Qi, Jin, Song, Chen, Cai, Qin, and Chu, which not only broke the national boundaries at that time, but also broke the division between Yixia and Xia at that time, such as Gongsun Long and Qin Shang, who were regarded as "barbarian states" by the Central Plains. Moreover, Confucius also wanted to teach in the "Nine Yi", which shows how much impact and promotion Confucius's actions had on the education system at that time......

Some of Confucius' disciples came from the aristocratic class, such as Nanguan Jingshu, Sima Niu, and Meng Yizi, but more came from commoner families, such as Yan Hui, Zeng Shen, Min Ziqian, Zhong Gong, Zi Lu, Zi Zhang, Zi Xia, Gongye Chang, Zi Gong, and so on.

From this point of view, in the beginning, Confucianism was for good, and it was the force that promoted the development of the whole society, but with the passage of time, by the time of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism slowly changed its taste.

Of course, Cai Yong knows this in his heart.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, although there was the so-called "depose a hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone", Confucianism did not fully control the imperial court, military finance and other important positions, and still used such as Zhang Tang, Yang Ke, Sang Hongyang, Shangguan Ji and other Legalists who had learned the art of Shen Shang for decades. Yan Yi, who was the famous Confucian at that time, was beheaded for opposing the "Confession Order"; Confucian scholar Di Shan, who opposed fighting with the Xiongnu and advocated peace talks, was sent to the front line by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and was killed by the Huns......

It can be said that during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was just a tool, and there was not much difference and special care from other laws, Taoists, soldiers, and the like.

But then Confucianism was not satisfied with this state and began to stretch out its hand longer and ask for more.

Power is a special thing, and it seems to be the innate belief of the Chinese people, the absolute power of superiority, the power of the shepherd over the sheep, the power of the butcher over the livestock, all the morality and ethics are built on it, and it becomes an extremely violent and bloody collective.

Confucianism was too attached to such power, so Confucianism quickly transformed from an academic sect into a pet lying at the feet of the emperor, showing its claws to all other sects that dared to approach the throne.

At that time, he was still the crown prince and would become the future Emperor of the Han Yuan Dynasty, Liu Zheng, when he was young, he once advised his father Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty: "Your Majesty's punishment is too deep, and it is appropriate to use Confucianism." ”

Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty scolded angrily: "The Han family has its own system, which is supposed to be a tyrant, but why is it purely moral and moral, and Zhou Zhenghu is used?" And the vulgar Confucianism is not up to the time, but it is good that the past is not the present, so that people are dazzled by the name and the truth, and they don't know what to keep, how to appoint! ”

And this Liu Zheng is the historical supporting role of the famous Wang Zhaojun......

It is also strange to say, but when Confucianism is advocated on a large scale, and then Confucianism develops strongly, it corresponds to the decline of the dynasty......

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Lu State implemented the Confucian system, but as a result, the country was not only not strong, but was quickly destroyed.

Before Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism was not practiced, but Huang Lao's doctrine was implemented, and the country gradually developed. In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che used to strengthen the centralization of power in order to deal with the Xiongnu, at this time Confucianism made the ideological and theoretical basis for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and then Confucianism gradually flourished, and with the rise of the Confucian clergy group representing the feudal landlord class, the Han Dynasty gradually declined, until the current chaos......

Later, in the early Tang Dynasty, the nine-grade system was abolished, Confucianism was weakened, and the country became strong again.

In the Song Dynasty, because of the fear of the recurrence of the yellow robe, the suppression of the warriors reached a new height, and the Confucian school took this opportunity to make a comeback, the Legalists and soldiers were weakened, and the state was extremely weak externally, while internally it made every effort to maintain the monarchy, suppress the poor, ignore social changes, and inhibit the development of commerce, economy and trade, in an attempt to return to the ancient small peasant economy. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Confucianism was strengthened, and then there was no more......

The fall of the Song Dynasty can be said to be a classic case of the failure of the Confucian state, and the same is true of the Ming Dynasty, where the Confucian school was strengthened again, so ......

As for the Qing Dynasty, Confucianism was even more distorted in order to cater to the rulers.

Maybe it's all a coincidence.

Of course, Confucianism also has a lot of enthusiastic people, but there are too many groveling, too much water is too cold, and too many excellent people who can do anything for power, after all, it has created all this.

In the bamboo forest, the breeze is gentle, and it should have been a clean and relaxing place, but Cai Yong's current mood does not feel that there is anything easy at all......

"What you mean, you ......also know it," Cai Yong said halfway, then shook his head and sighed, "Confucianism fights for power...... but to live a ......"

In fact, Cai Yong is not wrong, in the early Han Dynasty, when Confucianism had just gained a monopoly and monopoly of power in the fields of thought, culture and education, because Confucianism was extremely afraid that this kind of arbitrary power in the field of people's thinking would be quickly lost, and because they were afraid that there would be a resurgence of a Legalist regime like the "Tyrannical Qin" that killed them back then, the Confucian scholars attacked Legalist thought quite fiercely, and even did not hesitate to cover this kind of struggle to other schools......

Those who clamored at every turn in later generations to take other people's paths, so that others had no way out, must have been in line with the concept of Confucianism at this time in the Han Dynasty.

"So you can kill with pen and ink?" Fei Qian said, "This kind of trick was also taught by Confucius? Confucius did not use pen and ink, at most he only moved his mouth, and killing people with pen and ink was derived and developed by Confucianism in the future.

Cai Yong is a person who is more inclined to ancient scriptures, so Fei Qian is also outspoken. Different from the modern literature and classics, which blends various schools of Tao, law, yin and yang for their own use, Cai Yong pays more attention to the inheritance and development of the original.

Just like Dong Zhongshu, who responded to Emperor Wu's questions three times, used the idea of the five elements of yin and yang and the unity of heaven and man to give full play to Confucianism, and transformed Confucianism into a theological theoretical system with a strong mystical color, which has already mixed the elements of Taoism, Legalism, Yin and Yang, etc., and then achieved his family's words. This kind of academic goal and method of study, which focuses on the theory of righteousness, actually created the style and attitude of the modern Wenjing school, and Confucianism has become more and more mystical and religious.

This is precisely what Cai Yong is not used to.

Cai Yong can tolerate the development of modern literature and classics, and he does not object to some interpretations of modern literature and classics, but he will talk about it with his heart at every turn, and just pull a sentence and say that it contains Confucius's subtle words, and then study it word by word.

So when Fei Qian said that Confucian scholars like to kill people with pen and ink, Cai Yong was also speechless.

There are not a few Confucian scholars who do this.

The most famous is Sima Qian, who in the "Records of the Historians" scolded Shang Ying as "a person with his talent and meanness...... Not only that......, but Qin Shi Huang also spared no effort to smear Qin Shi Huang, directly insulting Qin Shi Huang as a non-human beast, animal and animal demon and tyrant, "The first emperor is a human being, and his nature is rigid and self-serving", "The king of Qin has a greedy heart and a self-exerting wisdom...... First deceit and then benevolence, tyranny is the ...... of the world"

Sima Qian is like this, and other Confucian believers sneer at Liu Che, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty who gave them the exclusive power of education and culture, and often humiliate and vilify them with "Emperor Qin and Han Wu", just because although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty gave these Confucian scholars the right to formulate education and cultural policies, he did not give them the ability to intervene politically at all, so they also held a grudge.

“…… So, Confucian people, how will you deal with it? Cai Yong said.

"It's just going back to the roots. Confucianism is good at teaching, and it is good at teaching. The world's learning is like a vast sea of stars, endless, giving up endless learning, seeking the glory of the eyes, not Confucianism. Fei Qian arched his hand and said, "If Confucianism is here, it will be a thousand generations, and it will never be worry-free!" ”

No matter which dynasty or generation, he will always respect purely academic intellectuals, and as long as he does not participate in political competition, then he is eager to hold him high and serve as a benchmark in the world. No matter whether it is an emperor or a powerful person, no one will say anything if he kills a hundred or a thousand political contenders, but as long as he kills a scholar who purely studies agriculture and mulberry, then everyone will immediately betray his relatives, and even those closest to him will regard him as short-sighted and incompetent, and it is not worth investing in him.

When Cai Yong heard this, he laughed, laughed so much that tears came out, and then shook his head and said, "How easy is it?" Anyway, let you try it......"

Cai Yong doesn't believe that Fei Qian can succeed, but it doesn't matter much, because now Pingyang is already a fief belonging to Fei Qian, in other words, as long as the emperor doesn't speak, then Fei Qian's words are the biggest here in Pingyang, so Fei Qian has some whimsical ideas, if you want to try it, just try it.

And Cai Yong also believes that the real Confucianism should focus on learning, and as for official positions and everything, they are all floating clouds......

But if you want to promote it to the whole day, Cai Yong thinks that it is not very likely.

A person who has mastered power and tasted sweetness is not so easy to let go.

"However, Huang Lao can't be of great use...... Cai Yong smiled, looked at Fei Qian seriously, and said seriously, "Huang Lao is heavy on magic techniques, using Wei Wei, to confuse people's hearts, and make noise for chaos...... The way of peace is a lesson from the past, and we must not prevent it......"

As for how to develop the Confucian church, to be honest, although Cai Yong and Cai are also interested, it is not the most important thing. The important thing is that Cai Yong was worried that Fei Qian was brainwashed by Zuo Ci and bewitched by the so-called gods and ghosts, immortality and other things, so when he heard that Fei Qian was going to reuse Zuo Ci, he hurriedly called Fei Qian......

Naturally, Cai Yong said this very seriously.

Taoism's Huang Laozhixue, in fact, is also like Confucianism, and it has also fallen into power. From the Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty, the Taoist Huang Lao was originally the study of the world, but with the passage of time, it slowly became the so-called "natural way of immortality", some monks mixed the study of Huang Lao with the immortal immortality, ghost and god sacrifice, and the Wei Fu Gong and other arts, and regarded the Yellow Emperor and Lao Tzu as immortals, forming a primitive Taoism.

Fei Qian nodded and said, "Taoist people, now that they are good at ghosts and gods, they are good at ghosts and gods...... The disciple has ordered Zuo Zhenren to recruit Taoist priests, and soon he will go to Yinshan to preach, and use the god of China to cover the ghosts of the Hu people...... The duration of March is ...... after observation"

Cai Yong looked at Fei Qian, and saw that it didn't look like a perfunctory remark, and it didn't mean that Zuo Ci and the others had entered the political circle and preached to Hu Ren, which was not a big deal, so he nodded, and after being silent for a moment, he said, "That's fine...... Listen to your will, if you want not to use Confucianism, and do not need Taoism...... Isn't it someone who wants to use soldiers and law? ”

Since Fei Qian was not bewitched by Zuo Ci, Cai Yong was also relieved, but looking at Fei Qian's attitude, it seemed that he didn't want to let Confucianism take power, and he didn't need Huang Lao's people, so there was only the option of the soldier and the Legalist, but the people of the Soldier and the Legalist family also proved that there were relatively big drawbacks, if Fei Qian had such an idea, Cai Yong also felt that he needed to correct Fei Qian.

Unexpectedly, I heard Fei Qian say: "The people of the military family, attacking and plundering land, are naturally first-class, but it is useless to govern civil affairs...... Legalist people, clear laws and regulations, up and down access is the most useful, but it is also easy to fall into harsh government, inflexible, can be used for a while, can not be used for a lifetime, ......"

"This ...... Thou shalt not use Confucianism, nor thou shalt thou use Taoism, nor thou shalt thou art ...... This ......" Cai Yong was completely confused, looked at Fei Qian and asked, "This ...... To govern agriculture and mulberry, it is necessary to be a servant in the end, where does such a person come from? It must be known that most of the rural heroes are also Confucian......"