Chapter 712: Does Logical Thinking Matter?

The Forbidden City, the Inner Drill Ground.

Today it has been arranged as an examination hall!

It is the examination and selection ground for the 65th-generation Yansheng Duke!

The Great Ming Hongxing Emperor Zhu Cilang and the Chongzhen Retired Emperor Zhu Youjian sat side by side in a pavilion at the very center of the Inner Drill Ground. On all four sides of the pavilion stretched empty open ground, covered with cinders and divided by wooden fences into a northern and a southern section — the north was a horse-racing field; the south was an archery range.

"Imperial Father, this Yansheng Duke is the paragon of the Confucian school, so he must be selected strictly. If even the direct descendants of the Supreme Sage cannot learn the principles he passed down, then how can anyone else learn them? Therefore your son believes this Yansheng Duke must be chosen by examination. All descendants of the Sage should be made to take the examination, and only the most capable may become Yansheng Duke."

Listening to his son spout nonsense, the Chongzhen Retired Emperor thought to himself: If becoming Yansheng Duke requires an examination, then does becoming emperor require one too? Should we also let the descendants of the Great Ancestor, the Exalted Emperor, take an examination? Pass it and become emperor? Fail it and get nothing?

"Chun Ge'er," Chongzhen asked again, "what exactly should be examined for the Yansheng Duke?"

Zhu Cilang counted on his fingers as he said to Chongzhen: "First, the Six Arts are examined, with emphasis on archery and charioteering, because these two arts are essential for spreading the Way and protecting the Way!"

Chongzhen was taken aback. "What? Spreading the Way and protecting the Way depends on archery and horsemanship?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head. "Of course not. Horsemanship and archery are only the foundation. To become Yansheng Duke, one must pass something even harder."

Chongzhen asked, "What is harder?"

Zhu Cilang said, "The art of archery requires not only skill with the bow, but also skill with the musket and the ability to fire a cannon!"

Chongzhen was stunned. "Ah? Cannons too?"

Zhu Cilang said with a perfectly straight face: "The great philosopher Bismarck of the Western nation of Germany once said: truth lies only within the range of cannon! Therefore, to spread Confucian truth and civilize the barbarians of the four directions, one must first make good use of cannon! As Yansheng Duke, one naturally must know how to fire a cannon!"

Chongzhen sighed, thinking to himself: This Bis-something fellow actually seems to make some sense. We had only truth and no cannon, and that is why Our throne was usurped!

Emperor Zhu continued instructing Chongzhen: "As for the art of charioteering, in the past it meant driving a war chariot, but chariot warfare is no longer in fashion, so now it tests horsemanship and mounted combat. Mounted archery, charging on horseback with a couched lance, slashing with a sword from horseback, and using an eighteen-foot long halberd to counter cavalry — all are skills that must be mastered."

Chongzhen thought to himself: Being your Yansheng Duke is truly not easy. Even We could not do it. We only know a bit of riding and archery.

Chongzhen thought for a moment, then asked, "Besides the Six Arts, what else is examined?"

"There is also the Discourse on the Way!" Zhu Cilang said. "The Discourse on the Way is divided into two kinds: first, the Discourse on the Way of the Sword; second, the Discourse on Doctrine!"

"Discourse on the Way of the Sword?" Chongzhen was taken aback. "A gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists! Discourse on the Way means persuading others with reason. What does swordplay count for?"

"That gentlemen use their mouths and not their fists is not something the Supreme Sage said," Zhu Cilang said, shaking his head. "When the Supreme Sage and his disciples traveled through the states spreading their principles, they never let their swords leave their sides. If the sword never leaves one's side, then naturally one is prepared to use it to cut people down. Therefore the Yansheng Duke should also be proficient in swordsmanship!

Only after the sword discourse comes the discourse on doctrine, which covers only the doctrine of the Supreme Sage, the First Teacher, and does not touch upon the other Confucian worthies."

This was the idea of Wei Zaode, the tutor. Confucianism had developed over so many years and accumulated a huge pile of great Ways and small principles that even Wei Zaode, a top jinshi, could not remember them all — let alone Kong Yinzheng, who only remembered half of the Analects.

So "Teacher Wei" simply adopted a "Confucius-only" policy: only what "Confucius once said" could be used to examine the Yansheng Duke. As for principles spoken by other masters, they should not be used to torment Confucius's descendants. Kong Yinzheng had already had it hard enough these days — so much to learn, so little time, and if he failed to learn it well, his very life might be in danger!

To save his own skin, he truly threw himself into it with everything he had, sleeping only two shichen a day and spending all the remaining time practicing martial arts and studying literature.

What was even more unreasonable was that the martial training had grown elaborate — he even had to learn to fire cannons, with all that talk about truth lying only within cannon range! Only by mastering cannon could he better protect the Way and spread the Way, civilizing the barbarians. What did that mean? Civilize them if possible, and if not, blast them to death with cannon? Was there any justice in that?

But then again, this Kong Yinzheng really did have some talent for cannon. After a few months of study, he could measure distances fairly accurately, calculate firing data, and mix his own propellant charges. Moreover, he had an exceptional gift for mathematics and could use some of the methods Zhu Cilang had written in Ballistics to rapidly compute firing data in his head — not always perfectly precise, but close enough.

It seemed this fellow was not only brawny but also a "science and engineering type," and his literary skills were not bad either. His calligraphy was excellent, and his essays were passable. Though not up to the standard of juren or jinshi, passing the xiucai examination would not be much of a problem for him.

The Six Arts examination was already finished, having taken up most of the morning.

Horse riding, archery, musket shooting, cannon firing, halberd drill, slashing at straw dummies from horseback, thrusting at straw dummies with a halberd from horseback — all passed perfectly!

If he failed to become Yansheng Duke, this fellow could also go take the military jinshi examination or something like that. And the written portion of the Six Arts — including the four arts of "rites," "music," "calligraphy," and "mathematics" — also went extremely well!

All full marks. Wei Zaode truly had the talent of a top jinshi — the results of an examination he set and graded himself were simply perfect. And Kong Yinzheng's memory was not bad either; he could recite all the answers Teacher Wei gave him backwards and forwards. Oh, it wasn't all cheating — the mathematics he did himself, and of course that was also full marks.

But after the Six Arts, there were still the two subjects of "sword discourse" and "doctrine discourse" to be examined!

The sword discourse was easy to examine — it took place on that pavilion in the middle of the drill ground, a structure called the Troop Reviewing Platform. This Troop Reviewing Platform had two platforms, one to the south and one to the north. After finishing the Six Arts, Kong Yinzheng walked up onto the southern platform, clad in armor, long sword in hand, and shouted loudly: "Kong Yinzheng, descendant of the Supreme Sage, the First Teacher, stands here! Who dares discourse on the sword with me!"

Who would dare?

This was directed at the five examiners — Wei Zaode, Qian Qianyi, Zhu Zhiyu, Wang Fuzhi, and Huang Daozhou — and naturally none of them wanted to discourse on the sword with him. Of these five examiners, only Zhu Zhiyu knew martial arts. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen he had been recommended to the Ministry of Rites as "first among those complete in both civil and military talent," but Zhu Zhiyu had not accepted the appointment to office, instead continuing to devote himself to scholarship. He had been thirty-nine then, and now Zhu Zhiyu was already fifty years old — naturally he could not go and compete in martial arts with the young and vigorous Kong Yinzheng.

Seeing that no one dared to discourse on the sword with Kong Yinzheng, Zhu Cilang, seated under the eaves of the southern platform of the Troop Reviewing Platform, said with a smile: "Warrior Kong is the foremost brave man of the Confucian school, so his way of the sword is naturally excellent. As for the discourse on doctrine, do the five examiners have anything they wish to ask?"

"Your Majesty, this subject has a question!"

The one who spoke was Zhu Zhiyu.

"Ask what?" Zhu Cilang said.

"Ask about benevolence! What is benevolence?"

Zhu Cilang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded approvingly. This Zhu Zhiyu was playing along well enough. The core of Confucianism was benevolence. Anyone who had studied Confucianism could speak on it fluently and convincingly.

"Kong Yinzheng, tell us your answer!" Zhu Cilang said with a smile, passing the question to Kong Yinzheng.

Kong Yinzheng pressed his hand on his sword hilt, his eyes blazing, and answered loudly: "Your Majesty, this subject believes: the benevolent man is a brave man with love!"

A brave man with love is benevolence?

That answer was not the standard one!

Zhu Cilang felt somewhat annoyed with Kong Yinzheng. Couldn't you just say "when superiors and inferiors cherish one another, that is benevolence" and be done with it? Why bring up "a brave man with love"?

Zhu Zhiyu had not expected Kong Yinzheng to say such a thing either, and was momentarily stunned. "What is meant by 'a brave man with love'?"

"A brave man is one who subdues others by force!" Kong Yinzheng raised his treasured sword. "To be able to subdue others by force, yet not be cruel, not delight in killing, and to cherish life — that is true benevolence! Therefore the benevolent man must be a brave man, must be fierce and powerful, must be skilled at subduing others by force, must hold a sword in hand and love in heart. To speak of benevolence without courage and strength is not true benevolence, but false benevolence!

The Huainanzi says: Confucius's understanding surpassed that of Chang Hong, and his courage subdued Meng Ben. The Lüshi Chunqiu says: Confucius's strength could lift the gate bar of a city gate. The Book of Rites says: When Confucius practiced archery at the garden of Juexiang, the spectators were like a wall! From this it is clear that the Supreme Sage, the First Teacher, was the foremost brave man of the Confucian school! Only such a brave man is qualified to speak of benevolence!"