Chapter 290

"I hope all students will show their style, show their friendship, and show their level in the upcoming competition..."

The long-prepared First National College Debate Tournament finally opened. Debate teams from more than twenty colleges and universities arrived at Jingda to launch a fierce debate lasting nearly ten days.

Looking at the names on the rostrum that carry enough weight, one knows the degree of importance attached by the relevant departments.

Pei Wencong, who came from afar, also occupied a seat on the rostrum, and his ranking among the guests was not low.

Just yesterday, Pei Wencong donated 300,000 US dollars to Jingda, and Jingda also returned the favor by transferring the film and television copyright of *The Lonely Army of Wangxiang* to the Treading Waves Literature Publishing House for free.

Although donation is donation and copyright is copyright, the amount of money and value cannot be equated, but this undoubtedly gave many people face.

What's more, the school also gave the Lonely Army Literature Society a 30% share in a US dollar + RMB combination mode for the first time, allowing them to improve the creative environment and reward relevant creative personnel.

Isn't this clearly indicating—【Look, our asking price of 300,000 US dollars back then wasn't nonsense, but some people didn't know the goods.】

Li Ye doesn't know how Wu Jinyuan feels, but looking at the red eyes of Li Huaisheng and Yang Yumin, Li Ye suspects that they still couldn't sleep tonight, thinking about things they shouldn't.

Li Huaisheng put his arm around Li Ye's shoulder and whispered, "Brother, after the debate tournament is over later, the brothers will treat you to some foreign food at Old Mo!"

Li Ye said, "Why go so far? The Old Zhao's restaurant at the entrance is not bad! I actually prefer Chinese food more."

Li Huaisheng was stunned and said, "Don't think about saving money for your brother! We brothers don't need to be so polite."

Li Ye curled his lips and said, "How much money can you save in one meal? If you really feel bad, treating me to ten days at Fengzeyuan is also fine."

"Okay, I'll treat you to ten days at Fengzeyuan, it's settled."

"..."

Honest person!

Because there are many participating schools, Jingda prepared several competition venues, conducting multiple competitions within one day, allowing students from various schools to freely choose the schools they like to watch and support.

And from the number of people watching on the spot, it can be seen that the popularity of Qingda, Jingda, and Minda is undoubtedly the highest.

Li Ye was waiting to go on stage in the classroom next to the venue. Li Dayong and Fu Yingjie found him: "Brother, I can't get in. You have to find a way to help me find a seat."

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Didn't you go find Xiaohui? Can't you get in following her?"

Because of Pei Wencong's patriotic behavior, Pei Wenhui has had a lot of face at Jingda recently, so it's impossible not to be able to get into the debate venue.

Li Dayong said awkwardly, "We can't rely on the girl for everything, right..."

【Truly a stubborn donkey who doesn't know the fragrance of soft rice, you deserve to eat grass for a lifetime.】

Li Ye didn't have time. Just as he wanted to find a classmate to take Li Dayong over, he saw Pei Wenhui appear at the door, waving and smiling at Li Dayong's side.

Li Ye patted Li Dayong on the shoulder: "There, don't have so many bad habits in the future. When two people are together, what's yours and what's mine?"

Li Dayong, with his 1.89-meter build, hurriedly went out with his head down and eyes submissive.

Fu Yingjie licked his lips and said to Li Ye: "Is it too late for me to change my words and call you brother now? You also help me find one..."

"Get lost, you're several years older than me!"

Li Ye scolded with a smile and drove Fu Yingjie out. Of course, he also knew that Fu Yingjie was deliberately acting weird. Otherwise, he would use a gentler way, ensuring he wouldn't hurt the heart of a boy who longed for love.

But after Li Ye turned back, he found that Yang Chen, Qin Yongsheng, and others were all looking at him quietly, their eyes full of affection.

Sigh, human hearts are not ancient, social customs are declining, do men still want their faces?

"May I ask the affirmative first debater, you claim that morality appeared before law, what is the factual evidence? As far as I know, in our country's Western Zhou Dynasty, *Zhou Rites·Autumn Palace·Sifa* appeared..."

"..."

"May I ask the affirmative second debater, since morality is the standard for constraining human behavior, how should the country's current severe crackdown on crime be explained?"

"..."

Li Ye looked at the third debater of the Beijing Foreign Studies University, feeling her oppressive language and tone, looking for the opponent's weaknesses to see if there was a chance to break through in one blow.

This third debater is a girl. Li Ye vaguely remembered seeing her once, as if when he bought the Dazhong Temple courtyard house, she came to help Professor Zhang move.

However, at this moment, this girl named He Xue did not have the gentleness and humility when moving,

Her words were extremely fierce, and she would wave her arms at every turn, using actions and tones full of the sense of the times to strengthen and render her aura to suppress her opponents.

According to the rules, He Xue will ask one question each to Jingda's first, second, and fourth debaters.

Her last question was: "If morality can constrain human behavior, then what do we need law for?"

"Clap clap clap~"

Fierce applause erupted at the scene. In the information-blocked '83, this kind of unquestionable questioning could indeed arouse strong resonance from the audience.

Yes! If morality is useful, then what do we need law for? Doesn't the existence of law prove that morality cannot constrain human behavior?

After the applause, according to the debate rules, Li Ye, the affirmative third debater, needs to stand up to make a summary of the debate, and then after the opponent's third debater also makes a summary, it enters the free debate stage.

Li Ye stood up and began to state: "After receiving this debate topic, we first consulted the professors and teachers of our Jingda History Department, and then obtained a conclusion that has been verified—

The emergence of morality stems from human's own sense of shame, as well as the objective needs of clan society to resist the cruel natural environment."

"We humans knew long, long ago that only by uniting and cooperating can we survive and multiply more safely. This requires a standard to constrain everyone's behavior, so various unwritten conventions appeared,

For example, stealing other people's property is bad behavior, beating children is also bad behavior, and grabbing someone else's wife is even worse behavior..."

"Hahahahaha~"

The debate scene was full of laughter. In an era with a super low laugh point, Li Ye's words and deeds could trigger a comedy effect at any time.

Li Ye had to stop stating and wait for the laughter to dissipate before continuing to hit: "Such standards are the earliest prototypes of morality..."

"And the emergence of law is precisely because some people do not abide by the recognized moral models, and punitive constraint regulations were carried out,

Killing and arson are crimes, bullying the weak is a crime, murdering one's husband is a crime... think about it, all these crimes, which one did not violate moral models?"

Several debaters of the Jingda debate team quietly scanned the audience and found that many viewers began to ponder, knowing that Li Ye's statement had an effect.

Come, come, come, everyone use your brains according to what I said, think about it...

As long as you think according to what others say, aren't you being led by the nose?

Li Ye paused for a few seconds, then continued: "Moral constraint is a great achievement nurtured by a nation's thousands of years of civilization. Its coverage is wide, its penetration level is deep, and its impact on society is heavy, far greater than law. Moral constraint can be said to be everywhere,

Everyone, imagine, before you knew what law was, did you already know that you shouldn't steal persimmons in the orchard, and you shouldn't dig sweet potatoes in the fellow villager's house?"

"..."

Many people were stunned because they all felt that they seemed to have broken the law.

"And law has loopholes and defects. For example, two elementary school students encounter an old lady who accidentally fell on the way to school..."

Li Ye paused and endured the conflict in his heart: "Then according to law, the two elementary school students don't need to help the old lady up, but if they don't help, and it's known by the school teacher, what is the consequence?"

"..."

Everyone didn't speak, but everyone understood that these two elementary school students couldn't be rated as Three-Good Students.

"If morality cannot become the standard for constraining human behavior, and only follows the rigid terms of law, then our society will no longer have warmth. Fallen elderly people will have no one to help, injustice will have no one to manage, and if you meet a hooligan, you will scream until your throat breaks and it will be useless..."

"Hahahahaha~"

"Laughing to death! Where did Jingda's third debater come from?"

"Hmm, I suspect he was found from a crosstalk troupe, really quite funny."

Li Ye ended the summary of the debate and sat down.

The teammates of the debate team looked at each other and all thought there was no problem, everything was in the plan.

When receiving the debate topic, Li Ye knew that directly denying "law is the standard for constraint" was impossible. At this moment, the court sentences several bad guys every day, and the basis for the sentence is law.

So everyone's strategy was—if you only follow the law, what will this society become?

If these words were put decades later, it might lead to everyone's contempt. After all, no one sweeps the "snow in front of their own door," so who cares about others?

A thief was electrocuted while stealing, and still had to sue the court for compensation. You talk to me about morality?

But in '83, if you left an old lady on the ground for three hours without helping, the unit could hold a meeting to criticize you, this heartless scum.