Chapter 102: Enlightenment

As expected, the Han culture here in Loulan can even be mentioned in the same breath as that within Liangzhou.

The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.

In the end, they were shoulder to shoulder, sweating like rain.

Every debate between Huang Yantai and Liu Zheng drew cheers from the people.

And at this moment.

Inside the Loulan Wanggong.

On a golden couch, a woman of extreme beauty lay on her side; looking at her figure alone, this woman was a rare perfection in this world. The Loulan dress and ornaments she wore only served to make her peerless face appear even more enchanting. Especially her oval face and slightly pointed chin, which displayed the charm of Loulan women to the fullest.

Guliba!

She was the person with the highest status in the royal family of the current Loulan Kingdom, the Queen of the old King, and the biological mother of the Third Prince, Halike. Though she still held the position of Queen, she had been overwhelmed with anxiety these past few days. The Seventh Prince, Hemuti, with the support of the Temple, was making things difficult for her at every turn.

At this moment, hearing the clamor outside, Guliba rose lazily: "What is going on outside, why is it so noisy?"

"Queen, it is Lord Huang debating!"

Guliba's eyes lit up: "Isn't Lord Huang..."

The maid beside her then recounted the events outside in detail.

"A Longyan Scholar?"

Guliba's beautiful eyes brightened: "There is such a thing? Why didn't Halike tell me?"

Perhaps her son could not yet guarantee what decisive role this scholar could play in the internal strife of Loulan. Guliba felt that her son, who had grown up in the Longyan Dynasty, was indeed much more forbearing.

Anyone who could debate with Lord Huang must also be a great talent!

"How is the situation?"

Guliba asked curiously.

The maid replied: "Queen, they are evenly matched."

"What?"

Guliba stood up, her beautiful eyes flashing: "Quick, go quickly! This Hemuti wants to borrow a knife to kill; we must not let him succeed! Assemble the civil and military officials and go there immediately!"

"Yes!"

Guliba's mind became active immediately.

The chessboard, which had looked like a dead end, had been activated by the sudden entry of this Longyan Scholar. Hemuti had always wanted to kill Huang Yantai to sever the roots of this pro-Han faction, but the Queen had never agreed.

Now it seemed another scholar had arrived.

If the two could truly remain deadlocked, this was the perfect time for her to strike. One Lord Huang and one Longyan Scholar would greatly increase her chances of winning!

Of course, the premise was that they must be deadlocked!

At the very least, they must not decide a winner too quickly.

Facing Huang Yantai's aggressive questioning, Liu Zheng was completely unafraid: "Great virtue does not hold office; the Great Dao does not use vessels; great trust does not make promises; great time does not align. Zheng believes that doing New Learning well is great virtue! Virtue lies not in form, but in action!"

"If it were my teacher, it would be so! If it were my teacher, he would not be constrained by this!"

Once these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause again.

Cheers rang out incessantly.

Since you speak of virtue, I will speak to you of great virtue! What is great virtue? Anything worth flaunting or showing off is not great virtue. Great virtue is in the heart, and great virtue is in action. If there were truly a person of great virtue, they would not sneer at my ideals. If my founding of New Learning offended someone's interests or face, causing them to fly into a rage from shame, how could they be worthy of being my teacher? If such a teacher speaks of virtue, then I, Xiang Zheng, have no need to respect him!

These words left Huang Yantai looking shocked.

At such a young age, his eloquence was so remarkable. And what shocked Huang Yantai even more was that this young master not only spoke pearls of wisdom, but every sentence was full of heresy, yet it left you speechless and unable to refute, because he had reason and evidence!

So at this moment, he was somewhat shocked.

What kind of teacher could train such a student?

Such a heretical person?

Huang Yantai smiled again: "Young Master's New Learning is heretical and not tolerated by the ancestral laws. How do you think it should be implemented?"

Liu Zheng replied: "The governance of the world lies in talent; the cultivation of the world's talent lies in education; those who hold the office of education are the teachers and scholars; those who promote education to the people are the officials of the counties and prefectures; and the foundation of education lies in schools."

"Therefore, Zheng believes that schools must come first!"

"Good!"

Huang Yantai could not help but cheer for him once more.

This young man gave him more and more surprises!

That's right!

The reason why the level of education was generally low in this era was precisely because schools were not popularized. Was it that the imperial court had no money to run schools? That was not the case. This was another kind of policy to keep the people ignorant. In this era, those with knowledge were the elite, and the elite naturally controlled most of the social resources. Once they controlled them, they naturally did not want the poor to come and share the spoils.

Liu Zheng's mention of counties and schools pointed directly to the drawbacks of those in power, which was thought-provoking; everyone was moved by it.

Therefore...

Scholar-Farmer-Artisan-Merchant.

Liu Zheng even suspected that these ancient imperial courts deliberately placing "Farmer" in second place was itself a strategy to keep the people ignorant. You farm, so you just keep farming, relying on heaven for food, and you still have to pay me taxes. Farm honestly; your son will farm, and your grandson will farm. Generations will farm, so don't even think about learning anything. In reality, the life of a farmer was not as prosperous as that of a merchant.

This was the "common people" the imperial court wanted!

To put it bluntly, what they wanted was a group of pigs and dogs to feed them. Why popularize education? To let them understand reason and then rebel?

Absolutely not!

Therefore, Liu Zheng's mention of schools struck directly at Huang Yantai's heart, almost bringing him to tears.

"So, Young Master, how do you think Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism compare to your New Learning?"

"They are inferior!"

"..."

The two's debate was brilliant and varied.

The bystanders were even more excited.

This Huang Yantai was naturally a great talent of the age. Unexpectedly, this young Master Xiang was also a person of brilliant talent, actually playing steadily against Huang Yantai, which was quite remarkable. Moreover, this young man had a sharp tongue, and every time he spoke, he made people feel a sudden sense of enlightenment, as if waking from a dream.

Huang Yantai also wore an excited expression.

If I must die, then so be it; to have met such an opponent is the greatest consolation of my life.

"What does the young master's New Learning say?"

Liu Zheng smiled and said: "It lies in schools, in education, in universal values, and in studying early; by focusing on essence and specialization, learning becomes second nature, no different from the natural order!"

Huang Yantai became even more agitated and stood up directly this time: "But in today's world, thought is shackled and local governments do nothing; how can one form such habits?"

Liu Zheng chuckled: "The so-called habituation lies in enlightenment."

"Enlightenment, enlightenment..."

Huang Yantai gasped, his disheveled appearance looking even more frantic: "Young master, teach me!"

The entire crowd was in an uproar.

Once these words were out, it was equivalent to admitting defeat. This dignified Huang Yantai was actually bowing his head to a young man? Who could have imagined this scene before them? Seventh Prince Hemuti was even more furious and barked: "Drag him away!"

According to today's agreement, once he admitted defeat, Huang Yantai could not escape death.

"Wait!"

Liu Zheng was startled. Just as he spoke, unexpectedly, a procession emerged grandly from the Wanggong, and a woman's voice followed. When the crowd saw her, they knelt down one after another, shouting "Her Majesty the Queen."

The Queen?

Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that she had finally decided to come out. In this short time of contact, his favor for Huang Yantai had greatly increased; he must not be killed by Hemuti. Crucially, if he could survive, he would certainly be of great help to the Queen and the Third Prince. And her appearing at this moment was also quite timely.

A flash of unwillingness crossed Hemuti's eyes, and he also knelt down.

Queen Reguli walked over slowly and said indifferently: "How is Master Huang?"

Hemuti said indignantly: "Your Majesty, this traitor Huang is merely a fame-seeking hypocrite. To actually lose to a young man—such a piece of trash has deceived our Loulan for forty years, enjoying high office and generous salary. Why should he not be killed?"

Some people echoed his sentiments.

But more people shook their heads one after another.

Among the civil and military officials, there were even more who pleaded for Huang Yantai.

"Lost?"

Reguli looked at Liu Zheng with surprise.

Liu Zheng also took a deep breath and hurriedly bowed, not daring to meet her gaze. The beauty of this woman was such that one could not tell she already had a sixteen-year-old son; she was not much different from Zheng Yueru. Moreover, she possessed not only grace and nobility but also the charm of a mature woman.

Huang Yantai laughed calmly: "If I lost, I lost; if I die, I die. I, Huang, accept it!"

"But in the future, Master Xiang's talent must not be ignored!"

A man who had studied education for forty years knew that if Liu Zheng's methods were truly implemented in one place, there was no doubt that the civilization, technology, and manufacturing of that place would begin to soar.

Therefore, he did not know Liu Zheng's identity, only that he came from the Longyan Dynasty.

However, the corrupt system of the Longyang Dynasty absolutely left no room for him to display his talents. Thus, he suggested that the Queen keep this person to inherit his mantle!

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng was taken aback: "Absolutely not! Your Majesty, Master Huang is well-read and a great talent of the age; Xiang Zheng admires him immensely! I won by taking advantage of a loophole, not by true talent."

The crowd echoed his sentiments.

Hemuti grew anxious and raged: "The traitor Huang is selling out the country and colluding with the enemy; he cannot be forgiven!"

Liu Zheng looked at him coldly: "Master Huang disregarded his own life to recommend me for service, acting entirely for the sake of Loulan. Where is the suspicion of selling out the country? This is nonsense!"

"Ridiculous, does recommending you count as a merit?"

Hemuti laughed wildly.

Liu Zheng smiled faintly: "Summer insects cannot speak of ice. The path of debate between Master Huang and me is the path to Loulan's prosperity! If my enlightenment primers were to spread within Loulan, and the hearts of the people were won over, we wouldn't even need that Temple!"

"What?"

"You..."

"How dare you speak so brazenly!"

"Do you dare to blaspheme the gods?"

The crowd changed color one after another, pointing angrily at Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng smiled faintly. He had observed over the past few days that the Temple within Loulan had not yet developed into something as massive as the world's third-largest religion in later ages, and even some basic theoretical doctrines had not yet been perfected.

For now, it was just a sect feeling its way across the river.

What did he have to fear?

Ignoring the angry curses of the crowd, the Queen looked at Liu Zheng with burning eyes: "Master Xiang, are these words true?"

Once the Queen said this, Hemuti's expression changed drastically.

Could it be that the Queen intended to openly break with the Temple? Otherwise, she should not have asked this question in public.

Huang Yantai also looked at Liu Zheng with excitement. Unlike others who cared about political situations, Huang Yantai was very simple; he only wanted to know what the enlightenment primers that Liu Zheng claimed could change the landscape of education looked like.

Liu Zheng laughed and waved his hand.

"Bring me a brush!"

【Author's Note】

I've had a cold for the past few days and haven't been able to add more chapters, so I can only manage to hold on with two chapters... I hope everyone will continue to support me.