In the Western Han Dynasty, although the influence of Confucianism was gradually strengthening, it was the period when Huang Laozhixue flourished and reached its peak. At the same time, this time was the beginning of the change from Inner Taoism to Confucianism. The dominant Taoism and Confucianism were already at a disadvantage in the confrontation on certain issues, and the Confucianism was gradually rising in status and had a certain advantage.

The idea of Confucian unification and the idea that the monarch's power is under the command of heaven naturally aroused great interest among the emperor and the royalists who ruled supremacy. Emperor Jing often used the Confucian courtiers led by Yuan Gusheng to engage in a series of debates with conservative ministers.

This said, Emperor Jing, who was in the early dynasty, had nothing to do, and set up a chair in the side hall of Weiyang Palace, which was the so-called sutra banquet in later generations, and specially let doctors or insightful ministers talk about the history of the scriptures for the emperor.

Liu Che was quite interested in today's topic, so he also attended the hearing. Because according to the emperor's father's pre-disclosure, this time the Confucianism and Taoism should be asked to debate whether the "Tangwu Revolution" was "ordered" or "usurped". Liu Che was excited in his heart, this is the famous "Yuansheng Debate" in later generations, and he should really take a good look.

I have to say that this imperial chair really has a bit of the flavor of the debate in later generations, and the courtiers of the two schools of Confucianism and Taoism are lined up on both sides, sitting with each other's eyes, waiting indifferently for His Majesty the Emperor on the chairman to throw out the topic. As for whether their hearts are as calm as they seem, Liu Che doesn't know.

According to common sense, the crown prince Liu Che was originally supposed to be on the side seat, but Emperor Jing specially set up a slightly smaller table next to the chairman for him. Obviously, Emperor Jing didn't want his precious son to participate in this debate, once Liu Che participated in the debate, no matter which argument was supported, the ministers on the other side would probably have to weigh it secretly, and even dare not speak freely. What's more, as the prince, the future emperor of the Han Dynasty, must maintain a detached attitude and should not get involved in the battle between the factions.

Liu Che admired the careful and cautious attitude of the emperor's father, and the historical Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went into battle in person, stubbornly resisting the conservative forces led by the Empress Dowager Dou, waving the flag and shouting for Confucianism, and almost lost the throne, which was really a reckless move.

When Emperor Jing threw out the issue, the ministers were silent for a moment, carefully considering the language, after all, "revolution" and "usurpation" are extremely sensitive words, and they cannot be discussed at will.

Fortunately, the academic atmosphere in the early Han Dynasty was relatively open, and a little bit of the first-class style of speech during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was faintly restored. ”

Hearing this, Yuan Gusheng, the doctor who was facing him, raised his eyebrows, got up and retorted: "Huang Shizhong's words are wrong. Xia Wei and Yin Xuan were tyrannical and chaotic, and the hearts of the people of the world were submissive to Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou, and King Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou agreed with the wishes of the people of the world and killed Xia Wei and Shang Xuan, and the people of Xia Wei and Shang Xuan refused to serve them and turned their hearts to Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou, and King Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou were forced to become the Son of Heaven, which is not adhering to the mandate of heaven. ”

"The hat is worn, but it must be worn on the head; Shoes are new, but they must be worn underfoot. Why? This is exactly the reason why there is a difference between the top and bottom. Huang Quan shook his head and asked: "Although Xia Wei and Shang Xuan have no way, they are on the throne as monarchs; Although Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou were sage, they were subordinate as courtiers. If the monarch is at fault, and the courtiers cannot directly persuade and correct it to maintain the dignity of the Son of Heaven, but use his fault to kill the monarch and replace him as the king from the south. ”

Yuan Gusheng hesitated for a moment, showed a look of resignation, and asked impassionedly: "If you have to judge right and wrong according to what you said, then it is not right for Emperor Gaozu to replace the Qin Dynasty, that is, the position of the Son of Heaven?" ”

When the ministers in the palace heard this, their faces changed greatly, and they thought that this Yuan Gusheng was dying, and a good debate forced Emperor Gaozu in, isn't it crazy? !

Huang Quan also broke out in a cold sweat, stunned on the spot, and didn't dare to answer.

If he admits that Yuan Gusheng is reasonable, it is equivalent to agreeing with the Confucian sage Mencius about losing the hearts of the people and losing the world, Tang Wu winning the hearts of the people and winning the world, Tang killing is revenge for the people, King Wu is saving the people from fire and water, the monarch is not benevolent and righteous, and the cruelty of the people is just a husband, and the people can be killed. In the future, if the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty has a tyrant and a faint king, should the people also rebel?

If he refuted Yuan Gusheng, it would be tantamount to thinking that Emperor Gaozu's emperor was not coming in the right way, and the Han Dynasty would lose its legitimate surname to rule the world. This kind of remark is really rebellious, even if His Majesty the Emperor does not pursue it, if it is spread, it will be enough for him to be spurned by all the Han magnates.

Emperor Jing frowned inadvertently, then waved his hand, and said lightly: "Eating meat without eating horse liver is not a delicacy of not knowing meat; People who talk about learning don't talk about Shang Tang and whether King Wu of Zhou was succeeded by the mandate of heaven, which is not stupid. ”

Seeing the emperor speak, the ministers secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After the fright, everyone in the hall was a little absent-minded, and Emperor Jing was not very interested, so he hastily ended the imperial chair.

After all the ministers retreated, Emperor Jing looked at the crown prince Liu Che beside him, and asked quietly, "What does the emperor think?" ”

Liu Che smiled lightly and said: "I believe that after this incident, no one will dare to argue in the future whether Shang Tang and King Wu of Zhou were established by the mandate of heaven or exiled to usurp the monarchy." ”

Emperor Jing stretched out his big hand, patted Liu Che's little head lightly, and scolded with a smile: "Don't talk about him left and right, you should understand what I asked." ”

Liu Che scratched his head, knowing that if he didn't tell the truth, the emperor's father would not let him go, so he had to put away his lazy expression and said seriously: "Although the Confucian idea of governing the world is good, most of today's Confucian students are too rigid and seem a little conceited. I think that Confucianism has always been not appreciated by those in power, and seeing that his father and emperor have a hidden intention of reuse, he is quite anxious to perform, and even does not hesitate to belittle the hundreds of schools of thought, especially the study of Huang Lao, which is extremely repulsive, which is really contrary to the original intention of Confucius to be inclusive. ”

Emperor Jing's eyes were full of relief, and he smiled and said: "It is not easy for the emperor to have such insight at a young age. I also wanted to incorporate the essence of Confucian governance into the court, but most of today's Confucian scholars do not know how to behave in the world. This is a solid life, and even the queen mother has been offended, which is really useless. ”

Liu Che knew that what the emperor's father said was the truth, although Yuan Gusheng was a master of Confucianism in the world, he didn't know how to behave in the world, which was really helpless.

As for Yuan Gusheng's offending of Empress Dowager Dou, it is actually very nonsensical.

Empress Dowager Dou, who admired Huang Lao's technique, liked the book "Lao Tzu" and once summoned Yuan Gusheng to ask him how he experienced reading this book.

Yuan Gusheng replied without hesitation: "This is just the remarks of ordinary people. ”

The Queen Mother couldn't help but be a little annoyed, and sneered: "Lao Tzu is a saint, and the writings of saints are so unbearable in your eyes? ”

Yuan Gusheng was silent for a moment, and then replied: "Lao Tzu is not a saint, at most he is a half-saint. ”

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and asked with a gloomy face: "If Lao Tzu is not a saint, then who else dares to call him a saint in ancient and modern times?" ”

"Throughout the ages, the only person who can be called a saint with his knowledge and reasoning is Confucius!" Yuan Gusheng said slowly with a proud look on his face.

Empress Dowager Dou laughed angrily and joked: "Yes, only your Confucian Confucius is a sage, how can Taoist classics compare to your Confucian poems and books that control prisoners?!" ”

Empress Dowager Dou came from a humble background, and she didn't have the opportunity to study when she was young, and she knew that she was only a knowledgeable Yuan Gusheng. In a fit of rage, she ordered someone to throw Yuan Gusheng into the beast pen and let him assassinate the wild boar with his bare hands.

After Emperor Jing heard the news, he didn't dare to disobey the queen mother's decree, but he didn't want Yuan Gusheng to die in vain, so he had to order someone to give him a sharp weapon. Yuan Gusheng had to go down to the beast pen to assassinate the wild boar, but fortunately, he stabbed the wild boar in the heart, and then picked up an old life.

When the Queen Mother found out, she was silent, but there was no reason to punish him again, so she had to give up.

In Liu Che's view, Yuan Gusheng really has a way to die. Such a rotten Confucianism is so angry that even the old queen mother, who advocates the rule of inaction, wants to kill him, and no matter how high his knowledge is, it is impossible to take on the mission of revitalizing Confucianism.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucianism was actually a small school that was not valued by the ruling class. Qin Shi Huang, who unified China, originally wanted to reuse Confucianism, but unfortunately they did not know the current affairs and proposed to restore the feudal system, forcing Qin Shi Huang to kill a large number of Confucian students.

Finally, at the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the style of study was open, and Confucianism gradually improved. The two generations of emperors of Wenjing wanted to strengthen their imperial power and used a large number of Confucian scholars, but they began to sprout again, and before they occupied an absolute dominant position, they began to crowd out other schools. Even the technique of Huang Lao, who made the Han Dynasty a national policy, was extremely depreciated, which was really uninteresting.

Liu Che, as a traverser, would never learn from the historical Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who overthrew the hundred schools and respected Confucianism. Even if it was the fake Confucianism of "Outer Confucianism and Internal Law" tampered with by Dong Zhongshu, after thousands of years of evolution in later generations, Chinese civilization has really become arrogant and conceited. The idea of the Heavenly Empire and the Confucian idea of Confucius being the only saint are absolutely inextricably linked.

If he wanted to blend the essence of Confucianism into the orthodox ideological system of China, Liu Che felt that he had to find his own way. Taixue has been established for more than two years now, and under the auspices of the crown prince Fu Weixuan, there has been a lot of development.

Wei Xuan, who is also a Taixue sacrificial wine, also admires Confucianism, but he is well versed in the way of being a minister, and has always been cautious in his position. He never showed himself in front of the emperor and the queen mother, knowing the male and the female, and did not show the slightest intention of actively forging ahead and changing and innovating.

In the past two years, Wei Juan has only followed the secret instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and has gradually increased the number of Confucian scholars in Taixue. Nowadays, the Confucian practical scholars represented by the young prince Zhao Xuan, Wang Zang and Dr. Taichang Dong Zhongshu have taken up the position of Doctor of Taixue and give regular lectures in Taixue.

"It's also a Confucian student, why is the gap so big?" Liu Che said silently, and at the same time, he also set an unworthy nameplate for an old rotten Confucian like Yuan Gusheng. (To be continued.) )