Chapter 338

On the third afternoon, it was the final day of the debate competition.

When Li Ye and the others arrived at the debate final venue, Qin Yongsheng suddenly asked Li Ye in a low voice: "Li Ye, haven't you slept well these past two days? Should you take a quick nap while there's still time?"

Li Ye replied in surprise: "No, I haven't. Where did you get the idea I didn't sleep well?"

Qin Yongsheng glanced at Li Ye and said: "You don't look tired, but I just get the feeling you're worn out."

"You're just stating the obvious," Li Ye said, half-angry, half-laughing. "Try hosting several batches of enthusiastic compatriots every day while you guys sleep up top and I'm down here chatting about feelings—wouldn't you be exhausted?"

Over these past few days, overseas compatriots had never stopped coming to the hotel, and most could call out Li Ye's name, turning him into a mascot that Team Leader Zhou kept dragging out for appearances.

"I wish I could be tired too, but nobody comes to me!" Qiao Dapeng pouted, putting on a pitiful expression. "I'd love to receive those compatriots' warmth, especially from kind old grandfathers bringing beautiful granddaughters and piles of gifts."

"Get lost~! Are you all rabbits? Haven't I shared anything good with you? I'm gonna flip out if you keep this up!"

"Hahahaha~"

The group burst into laughter, dissolving the pre-competition tension.

Over these days, Li Ye and the others had indeed received many gifts, but most were just ordinary fruits and snacks, all long since digested.

As for generous cases like Fu Guiru's, they were unique—everyone was speculating about who exactly she was.

Li Ye also wanted to know about her, but Pei Wencong hadn't replied yet; he figured private detectives weren't the FBI, able to dig up someone's background in minutes.

When the final began, Li Ye spotted Wu Jinyuan in the audience, and her half-sentence echoed in his ear again.

"The debate—no problem."

It really did seem no problem.

The two teams in the final were Peking University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong; the debate topic was: "Confucian thought can coexist with other cultures."

At first glance, the topic seemed harmless, since Confucian thought was quite prevalent in Lijiapo, and Li Ye remembered that in the original timeline, later debate competitions had indeed featured topics on Confucian thought versus Western influences.

But when Li Ye and the others learned this topic, they took it very seriously, with extreme caution.

Especially against the opposition, they prepared multiple counter-strategies.

Because if Confucian thought couldn't coexist with other cultures, wouldn't it be twisted—or even exploited by those with ulterior motives?

The negotiations between mainland China and Britain weren't even finished yet! If you say they can't coexist, does that mean it's black or white—that the East must crush the West?

So Li Ye and the others prepared: if they drew the opposition side, they'd argue that Confucian thought doesn't merely coexist with other cultures, but shares common ground with them, capable of integration and mutual complementation.

But when it came time to draw the affirmative or negative side, something unexpected happened.

Peking University drew the affirmative side; The Chinese University of Hong Kong drew the negative side.

How could you even debate this?

Hong Kong has always boasted itself as a model of "East-West fusion"—now you're saying these two cultural ideas can't coexist?

That's great! Are you planning to strip away all Western influences and restore the orthodox ancestral culture?

Come on, how could that possibly demonstrate the generosity and inclusiveness of our great Huaxia Empire?

But once the debate began, The Chinese University of Hong Kong didn't surrender or lose heart—they unveiled a Taiji Yin-Yang diagram and proposed the argument of "mutual rise and fall" to actively counter Peking University.

Still, the fact that Confucian thought could coexist with other cultural ideas remained unquestioned.

But when Hong Kong's third debater, He Qiusheng, began his rebuttal summary, the tone suddenly veered off course.

"Throughout history, every successful cultural ideology has had strong aggressiveness: the Western Crusades, eight in total, arose precisely from clashes of belief.

In our East, there was once a glorious era of the Hundred Schools of Thought—Daoist, Mohist, Legalist, Agrarian—each with its strengths—yet in the end, only Confucianism was elevated above all others.

Even during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Confucian thought spread north and south, suppressing, swallowing, and ultimately digesting all other regional cultures."

"So when two ideologies coexist, it's not because of inherent peace or goodwill, but because of a balance of power—like the Yin and Yang in the Taiji diagram."

He Qiusheng suddenly turned to Li Ye and said: "For example, the third affirmative debater, this young writer, detailed the expansion and setbacks of Confucian thought in his novel, 'The North Wind Soars.'"

"In 'The North Wind Soars,' it's clearly recorded that after Japan's defeat in the Bai Chuan River battle, Confucian thought infiltrated Japan and ultimately fully absorbed it into the Confucian cultural sphere."

But the Battle of Talas described in 'The North Wind Soars' had a different outcome: due to the Tang Dynasty's defeat at Talas, Confucian thought's westward expansion was forced to halt."

Li Ye: "..."

【So this is what they mean by knowing yourself and knowing your enemy—you've turned my sharpest blade into your opening move?】

Listening to He Qiusheng's fluent rhetoric, Li Ye truly admired his clever argumentation.

To say Confucian thought nearly crushed and unified all other cultures in East Asia? That's absolutely true.

To say ideology directly correlates with power? That's also damn reasonable.

But why must you emphasize Confucianism's aggressiveness? How can you say such things?

【Are you pushing the Confucian Threat Theory? Or the China Threat Theory?】

Our Confucian thought values benevolence above all—can't you focus on just a few flaws? First learn Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin!

In the early 1980s, if someone had promoted the Huaxia Threat Theory, hardly anyone would've believed it—but Hong Kongers might, given how close they are to the mainland and how far from Britain.

"Now, the third affirmative debater will deliver his rebuttal summary."

Li Ye stood up, bowed slightly, and gestured to the audience.

"First, I must emphasize Confucian thought's contributions to world civilization and science."

"According to the 'Chronology of Major Scientific Discoveries in World Natural Science,' before the 16th century, about 300 inventions significantly influenced human life—175 of them were invented by Huaxia people."

"These major inventions and discoveries kept Huaxia's agriculture, textile, metallurgy, and handicraft technologies at the world's leading level for centuries."

"Confucianism also left behind numerous world-renowned scientific texts, such as 'Kao Gong Ji' and 'Tiangong Kaiwu.'"

Li Ye spoke slowly, but every word was clear and forceful.

After finishing his summary of Confucian thought's contributions, he added: "Also, the argument promoted by the third negative debater using my novel is entirely wrong.

Confucian thought took root everywhere not through aggression, but precisely because of its advancement."

"Whether in Japan or the northern peninsula, for long periods they continuously sent envoys to Tang China to bring back Huaxia's advanced ideas and technologies."

"Confucian thought significantly raised productivity across vast regions—a historical fact documented in multiple written records."

Moreover, this cultural and technological export was almost always free—Huaxia never charged fees or demanded compensation for these technologies spreading abroad.

"So Confucian thought is not aggression—it's attraction."

Li Ye paused for several seconds, speaking with absolute calm: "We cannot determine how other civilizations behave, but Confucian thought is peaceful, filled with goodwill, and willing to accept other superior cultural ideas."

"..."

Two seconds after Li Ye finished speaking, applause began around him—and grew louder, persistent and unceasing.

Li Ye's speech was calm and unemotional, lacking strong emotional intensity, yet it consistently hammered one point: you all voluntarily embraced Confucian thought—and you all benefited.

In the subsequent free debate, The Chinese University of Hong Kong grew noticeably more aggressive, citing several regional civilizations that vanished due to Huaxia's historical dominance, hoping to prove Confucian thought had strong exclusivity.

But Peking University's team changed tactics, calmly stating: "This is progress—these civilizations perished due to their own flaws.

Had they been truly excellent and advanced, they would have coexisted with Confucian thought to this day."

The more calmly Peking University responded, the more fiercely Hong Kong attacked—back and forth, brilliantly intense.

But neither team realized what the audience felt: Peking University's aura of royal authority was growing stronger, now unshakable.

The more fiercely Hong Kong's debaters pursued victory, the more they failed to disturb Peking University's tranquil, enduring, vast-as-water Confucian demeanor.

This has happened countless times in Huaxia's history: the more you rush, the more I remain humble; I'm so humble—how can you still call me evil? How can you still say I'm denying you space to live?

Only when you stop rushing, when you become refined and elegant, does the Confucian scholar reluctantly put down his book and pull out a long, sharp blade from beneath his clean, neat scholar's robe.

"Just bear with me! My blade is swift, it won't hurt—once I cut you... you'll be one of us."

How could Confucian thought have spread over twenty thousand li north and south if it were merely a polite gentleman?