Chapter 474: What is the Dao?

With a loud shout, following the morning bells and evening drums of Wangbei Academy, the sound reverberated through the mountains, causing one's eardrums to ache.

This effect was undoubtedly explosive, further utilizing the terrain and acoustic amplification to project a powerful sense of intimidation.

The few people following Liu Zheng all looked at each other, their hearts filled with worry.

This had only just begun, yet the Academy already held the upper hand in terms of momentum.

Liu Zheng, however, smiled slightly and continued to look up at the stairs that reached into the clouds.

His footsteps paused slightly.

"If the world were to practice universal love, loving others as one loves oneself, would there still be those who are unfilial? If one views their father, brothers, and ruler as their own self, how could they be unfilial? Would there still be those who are unkind?

Would there still be high officials who disturb each other's houses, or feudal lords who attack each other's states? If one views another's house as their own, who would disturb it? If one views another's state as their own, who would attack it? Therefore, the high officials disturbing houses and feudal lords attacking states would cease to exist. If the world were to practice universal love, state would not attack state, house would not disturb house, thieves and robbers would cease to exist, and rulers, subjects, fathers, and sons would all be filial and kind; if this were so, the world would be well-governed.

Therefore, for those who take governing the world as their duty, how can they not forbid evil and encourage love! Thus, if the world practices universal love, it is well-governed; if they practice mutual hatred, it is in chaos."

"Prefect Liu, what do you think?"

This passage was eloquent and flowing, with a tone that rose and fell with cadence.

In reality, the core was only one sentence: "If the world practices universal love, it is well-governed; if they practice mutual hatred, it is in chaos."

And this was the core ideology of Mozi and the Mohist School: Universal Love and Non-Aggression!

With Universal Love and Non-Aggression, naturally, there must also be Non-Offense!

These words not only expounded that this Wangbei Academy revered the Mohist School and rose to prominence relying on the "Mohist Canon," but they also rebuked the ugly act of Liu Zheng bombarding the Academy.

Liu Zheng listened and smiled slightly.

The Mohist School...

In his understanding, they had always just been a group of fellows with a very serious romantic sentiment. Let them govern a country? That was certainly not very realistic. The development of Mohist thought paid special attention to the enlightenment of logical concepts. Therefore, the Mohist School was adept at preaching; not only were they adept at preaching, but they also placed special emphasis on the initiative of "forcefully persuading others."

Liu Zheng greatly admired the Mohist School's development and contributions in Engineering.

However, he felt that the Mohist School was very extreme and lacked tolerance.

It was too void, too ethereal, and too extreme; even the love of the Mohist School reached the level of the Buddha cutting his flesh to feed the eagle, yet there was no religious organizational structure to support it. This also led to the Mohist school of thought directly disintegrating after Mozi died.

At this moment, was Wangbei Academy not the same?

The first person's questioning was just as difficult.

Others looked over one after another.

Situ Kong also continued to wear a smile, waiting for Liu Zheng's answer.

After all, in any era, the ideology of the Mohist School was incomparably romantic, incomparably attractive, and incomparably logical, making it difficult for people to refute.

Liu Zheng chuckled and replied: "Governance lies in the Dao, not in the sage. Sir, what do you think the Dao is?"

He shouted loudly.

The sound echoed in the surroundings as well.

Situ Kong's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

The person who had questioned him remained silent for a long time.

A very simple sentence.

It left people speechless directly.

You said so much messy stuff, what is the use?

I am just asking you this one sentence: in governing the world, is it the method that is important, or your so-called sage? The 'Dao' here is not the Dao of Taoism, but reason and method! Is a systematic set of governing principles more important, or is the sage you are waiting for more important?

Those with a long history always need a distinct, defensible, and evolving theory; even theories have a need for innovation.

And compared to that, what can the so-called sage do?

Moreover, what the Mohist School craves is for the entire society to be composed of sages... is that possible? If everyone is a sage, who should the machine of the state listen to?

"Bravo!"

"Well said!"

After a brief silence, cheers rang out in the mountains.

Liu Zheng did not start from Confucianism, nor did he start from Taoism, otherwise, he would have fallen into the other party's linguistic trap.

The first step was already this difficult.

Liu Zheng could not help but take a deep breath.

He waited for a moment, but there was no further sound.

He looked back at Situ Kong, who smiled and nodded slightly, signaling him to continue forward.

Well then...

It seems not everyone will initiate a debate. Otherwise, he would surely be exhausted to death here today.

When he reached the seventh step, a clear whistle sounded once again.

"Prefect Liu, you revere the Great Dao; what do you think the Heavenly Way, the King's Way, the Human Way, and the Dao are?"

Good fellow.

This was another major topic.

"Xie Chan..."

Xie Ling stared fixedly at these three characters, his whole person lost in deep thought.

This was a letter Liu Zheng had written to Xie Chan. Because of the uncertainty of sending letters by pigeon in ancient times, one generally needed to write three letters and send them at different time intervals; in this way, one could largely avoid natural predators, and at least one letter would always fall into the recipient's hands.

At this moment, the one they had intercepted was one of these.

The content Liu Zheng wrote in the letter was not much; he just greeted Xie Chan, asked if she felt accustomed to Liangzhou, and so on, and then, incidentally, comforted Xie Chan, who had just lost her parents, telling her to rest well in Longyan for a period of time.

It seemed like a very ordinary letter, but Xie Ling felt that the matter was not simple.

For one, they had been intercepting this Prefect Liu's letters for a long time. He rarely wrote letters to a woman in a private capacity; this was the first time.

Second, the surname "Xie" in the Longyan Dynasty is the surname of the imperial family. Even if one is not of the imperial family, one can still be connected to it.

Third, this woman comes from the Western Regions, and she is the Great General of the Western Regions Construction Corps... This status, combined with the fact that her parents are both dead, and looking at that sentence, "The choice of history, General Xie should face it calmly..."

What kind of person could be linked to the grand subject of history?

Suddenly.

Xie Ling shuddered.

Xie Xuan of the Dayuan Kingdom?

Xie Xuan, Xie Chan...

My god!

A dazzling light suddenly erupted from his eyes.

Is this Xie Xuan's daughter?

The dignified Great General of the Western Regions Construction Corps is actually Xie Xuan's daughter? Not only that, but she led troops and forced her own parents to their deaths?

The amount of information in these matters is too great; he needs to digest it properly.

"Something is wrong, something is wrong..."

"Quick, quick, quick! Send this matter with the utmost urgency to Jinghua. Remember, do not use carrier pigeons; send it by fast horse, and deliver it to my Empress Mother for her to decide!"

"Yes!"

Another grand subject.

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly.

Heavenly Way, King's Way, Human Way.

Heavenly Way.

It belongs to the category of ancient Zhongguo philosophy. Its literal meaning is the law of the movement of the heavens. Because people's interpretations of the heavens differ, their understanding of the Heavenly Way also differs. The Heavenly Way is often contrasted with the Human Way; the Human Way generally refers to the norms or laws of human behavior. Most ancient Zhongguo philosophers believed that the Heavenly Way and the Human Way are consistent, taking the Heavenly Way as the foundation. Some philosophers argued that the Heavenly Way is an objective natural law, and that the heavens and humanity do not interfere with each other.

The term "King's Way" first appeared in the teachings of Mencius. The theory of the King's Way and its realization are two major contents in the ideological system of Confucius, namely benevolence and ritual. Mencius inherited more of the "benevolence" theory from Confucius's teachings.

However, at this moment, these three "Ways" placed here, simply put, are adding responsibilities to Liu Zheng's answer from just now.

The Heavenly Way is the rule of heaven and earth. The King's Way is the way for a monarch to govern a country. The Human Way should be that of the common people (the monarch is an existence higher than the common people).

You just asked, what kind of Way is the Way?

Now I ask you in return.

What kind of Way is the Way!

This is only the seventh step...

【Author's Note】

Writing one chapter took over two hours... It's too hard for me.