The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 151: Morality is a non-existent stone, the giant admits defeat
"Killing one person benefits the world, killing one person protects the world..." Ying Chengjiao muttered in a low voice, thinking about the difference.

In less than a moment, he figured it out. He looked at Deng Lingxue deeply and said in a deep voice:

“The boy seemed to understand.

“Regardless of whether this behavior is moral or not, as long as it is for the benefit of the people of the world, the great man is willing to do it.

"Is that right?"

Deng Lingxue nodded, confirming Ying Chengjiao's idea, and said:
"It is not in line with morality, but it does not violate morality, so it can be done."

Mohism is indeed not purely moral, but everything Mohists did was for the people.

As long as it can benefit the people, what does it matter if it is not moral? As long as it does not violate morality, it will be fine.

Ying Chengjiao was a little annoyed. Talking with these scholars required careful consideration of every word. Just changing a word or a phrase would completely change the meaning.

He rubbed his temples on both sides to calm himself, wondering the difference between what was immoral and what was not.

After another moment, he still couldn't figure it out, but he finished thinking.

He concluded that there was no difference.

"Why would something that is immoral not violate morality?" Ying Chengjiao asked.

Deng Lingxue explained carefully:

"Killing you is not morally justified.

“But you are a hypocrite, you should be killed, and killing you will be good for the world.

“So it’s not against morality.”

This sentence sounds like it means that anything is allowed unless prohibited by law.

But the law is written in black and white, but morality is not.

So Ying Chengjiao looked like he was asking for advice:

"May I ask, sir, what does morality mean?"

This question is both easy and difficult to answer.

If we really explain the word "morality" in detail, Deng Lingxue can talk about it for a moment and say a thousand words.

But the master saw clearly that the boy in front of him definitely did not want this answer, just like the question about the carriage.

So Deng Lingxue did not choose to answer the boy, but stretched out his hand, signaling the boy to continue speaking and not to waste time.

Ying Chengjiao smiled.

The students of Dengling have once again proved the extraordinary nature of the group of philosophers. The same trap cannot be set twice for the philosophers.

If you want to convince someone, it's no use trying to be clever; you need real talent and knowledge.

"I personally think that there is no morality in this world. When more people live, morality will emerge."

Before the last note fell, the wood saw stopped sawing, the chair leg polishing stopped, the drilling and cutting stopped chiseling...

Their eyes were all focused on Ying Chengjiao's face.

For Mohists, they have been following morality all their lives, but now some people say that there is no morality in this world.

These remarks are absolutely antithetical in Mohism.

Deng Lingxue had a feeling as if he had seen a debater. Such shocking remarks have always been favored by debaters.

It's very curious, but it's useless.

He raised his arms to stop the indignant Mohists who wanted to join the battle, and nodded to Ying Chengjiao who was eager to give it a try:

"Please continue, Lord Chang'an."

Ying Chengjiao looked at the unconvinced Mohists provocatively.

What he said today was specifically directed at Mohism and Mohists, and his intention was to make these Mohists refute it.

But although the expressions of these Mozhe became increasingly ugly and the anger in their eyes became increasingly fierce, none of them spoke a word.

Ying Chengjiao sighed with regret in his heart and was somewhat amazed at Chu Mo's strict management.

No wonder when Mozi was alive, he was able to quell the war and stop Chu from invading Song by himself.

Although Mohism is a school of thought, its organization and obedience are higher than those of the armies of other countries.

Among hundreds of disciplines, only Mohism has its own armed force, which means I will conquer you if you can't.

Ying Chengjiao took one last glance at the Mohists and said, “No longer waiting,

“I don’t need to explain the morality in detail. You must know it better than me.

“But does morality really exist?
"My dear boy, please tell me, if I kill my neighbor, is this moral? Is it against morality?"

Deng Lingxue glanced at Ying Chengjiao, seemed to smile, and said:
"If there is no grudge between you and your neighbor, if your neighbor is not a bad person, if you want to kill your neighbor for no reason, then I think this is not a moral thing to do and it goes against morality."

Ying Chengjiao: “…”

[No need to stack such thick armor, right?]
[I'm still a child, why should I be so defensive?]
He originally wanted to replace the neighbor who was killed with himself and the murderer with Deng Lingxue after Deng Lingxue said that this was not moral.

But Deng Lingxue seemed to know what he was going to say, and stacked armor in advance so that he couldn't say anything afterwards.

Ying Chengjiao was a little depressed and kept silent with his head down.

Deng Lingxue waited patiently and did not rush. He was not in a hurry.

Master Chu Mo, who is used to seeing the sorrows of the world, would have died long ago if he had been impatient.

The boy edited some of his thoughts in his mind, decided not to beat around the bush, and spoke again:
"Morality is your subjective cognition, not an objective existence. Can you understand this principle, great man?"

Deng Lingxue frowned and said:
“It sounds a bit like what Gongsun Long said about Li Jianbai.

“Can I understand it this way?

“I have before me a solid white stone. I cannot tell with my eyes whether it is solid or not, I can only see that it is white.

“You can’t feel the whiteness when you touch it, you can only feel the hardness.

“Morality is my subjective perception.

“I saw the stone and found it was white. Or I touched the stone and felt its hardness.

“Moral objectivity does not exist.

“If I close my eyes, I won’t know that the stone is white, and if I don’t touch it, I won’t feel that the stone is hard.

"Changan-kun is saying that the whiteness and hardness of the stone are separate, right?"

Ying Chengjiao thought about it and felt that this analogy was not quite appropriate, so he said:
“That’s not the case, it has little to do with Li Jianbai.

“There is nothing in front of you, but you imagine there is a stone in front of you.

“Because your imagination was so real and accurate, you took it seriously and really thought there was a stone in front of you, and you told everyone about it.

“Because everyone trusts you, they believe that there is indeed a stone in front of you.

“You raise your hand, say you have picked up the stone, and ask everyone if they have seen it.

“Although you have nothing in your hand, everyone trusts you, so they all say they saw it.

“You describe the beauty of this stone, use all the words to praise it, and ask everyone to protect it together. Everyone believes you, and they also use all the words to praise this stone and protect it with their lives.

"You keep spreading the word about how beautiful this stone is and encourage more people to protect it.

"This stone is morality, and the person who protects this stone is Mohism."

Silence fell.

Afterwards, the Mohists all stood up silently, with murderous intent in their eyes.

Sword Saint Gai Nie felt tremendous pressure and pulled Cheng Ying out three inches.

Bai Wuxia took a step forward, stood in front of Ying Chengjiao, and drew out the Qin sword with his backhand.

Deng Lingxue raised his head, feeling somewhat bewildered, somewhat angry, and somewhat...

In his past and present lives, Ying Chengjiao had never seen so many emotions on a person's face. He couldn't describe what kind of expression it was, but he felt a little uncomfortable and regretted coming to this courtyard.

Some people can be admired even if they are your enemies.

The Sword Master, Bai Wuxia, and a group of Mohists began to confront each other, and the battle was about to break out as their energy was pulling them together.

Sword Saint and Bai Wuxia were waiting for Master Chengjiao's orders.

A group of Mohists are waiting for the master.

Ying Chengjiao is waiting for the master.

He believed that a person who was more trusted by the people than the government would not kill him for what he said today.

"Everyone sit down." This was the first sentence the giant said after coming back to his senses.

The Mohists sat down, but the murderous aura on their bodies did not diminish in the slightest.

They have been acting for justice all their lives and cannot accept the words of a young man.

Morality is a non-existent stone, and those who study Mohism are all deceived.

Such remarks should be punished! Punished!
Deng Lingxue coughed twice, let out a long breath, and said:

“Chang’an Jun said that morality is a non-existent stone, then learn from Chang’an Jun.

"Chang'an Jun encountered thieves robbing a caravan, killed the thieves and saved the caravan. Is this moral?"

Ying Chengjiao asked back:

"A tiger hunted a deer, and the giant killed the tiger and saved the deer. Is this moral?"

“…Morality only exists between people.”

"I raised ten cows for the government, and the tyrant killed all my cows. The government wants to kill me. I killed the tyrant before the government kills me. Is this moral?"

"Xue killed Chang'an Jun, so it is right for Chang'an Jun to seek revenge on Xue."

"If these ten cows are mine, and the master kills my cows, and I have no worries about my life, can I kill the master? Would it be moral if I kill the master?"

"Chang'an Jun can still kill me, because I have damaged Chang'an Jun's property, and this is still a moral obligation."

"You only killed the cow, not the human. Since animals have no morality, why are you talking about morality now?"

"Animals themselves have no moral principles. But the cow that I learned to kill is an animal that belongs to Chang'an Jun. This is how it is connected to humans, and this is how it becomes moral."

"Your explanation is very good. It has enlightened me. Now I believe that you really have a stone in your hand. I will answer your question now. It is my moral duty to kill the thieves and save the caravan."

There was another brief silence, but this time the tension was much less than last time.

The Mohists, who had always harbored murderous intentions towards the young man, fell into deep thought. They discovered that although the young man was talking nonsense, his words were not without purpose.

Soon, they thought of a way to refute the boy's statement.

Deng Lingxue, who was the first to fall into thought, was faster, but he did not speak immediately. He just looked at Master Chengjiao quietly.

The young man smiled and said:

"Why don't you speak, Master?"

Deng Lingxue shook his head and said:
"Chang'an Jun has the demeanor of a debater. He is good at learning but not good at speaking. There is no point in talking any further."

"How can this be meaningless? Do you now believe that morality does not exist?"

“Morality is real.”

"Then please put it in my hand." Ying Chengjiao stretched out his hand.

"I can't learn to do it." Deng Lingxue shook his head.

"Then let me put it another way. Morality cannot be seen or touched. It has no physical form, right?"

Deng Lingxue thought for a moment and said:
"You can say that."

"A woman has so many men. Is this moral?" Ying Chengjiao asked again.

Deng Lingxue thought for a moment and said honestly:

"I know that Chang'an Jun will definitely question me next, so I can't answer this question for now. Please finish your words, Chang'an Jun."

Ying Chengjiao chuckled:
“I heard that in ancient times, people did not live in countries, cities, towns, or villages, but in tribes.

“Everyone knows who their mother is, but not who their father is.

"Now that chastity is a moral obligation, I think women in the tribal era were immoral, right?"

Deng Lingxue was speechless for a moment.

He could deal with this problem, but he wondered if there was a trap behind it, so he started thinking further down.

Ying Chengjiao waited for a moment and then said:

“Sir, there is no need to be so cautious, I will just say it directly.

“Women from the tribal era are the ancestors of all of us, and it is immoral for the great men to say that they were immoral.

"It's not a moral act to discuss our ancestors like this, right?"

Deng Lingxue continued:
"not like this.

"Morality is morality, and immorality is immorality, and it does not change because of the relationship between the person and oneself.

“The idea that a son should not criticize his father is wrong, and Confucianism is wrong.

"Just like a father stealing, which is an immoral act in itself. Can't the son point it out?"

Ying Chengjiao nodded, this was his negligence.

He read too many books and they were too diverse. He would use any knowledge that was beneficial to him, and he was used to quoting the words of ancient sages to convince people.

This trick worked very well in my previous life.

But this life is different.

Many of the ideas of the various philosophers are contradictory and opposing.

Confucius' words can suppress Confucian disciples, but not Mohists, because Mohists do not agree with Confucianism at all.

Those who press ink must use ink science.

Ying Chengjiao reorganized his thoughts and said after thinking for a moment:
"Before Mozi was born, was there morality?"

"Yes. Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang were all sage kings, and everything they did was righteous." Deng Lingxue replied.

“Before Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang, was there morality?”

Deng Lingxue was silent again. He had been silent many times today.

He felt pressure, a pressure that he didn't feel when he was debating with Kong Bin.

The pressure was so great that the only thing that could surpass it was the time I watched Gongsun Long debate with others.

He looked up at the young man and sighed softly, he is indeed a debater.

He could actually answer this question right away, but what about the next question? What about the next question?
Ying Chengjiao said in a deep voice:

"If you don't answer, I'll do it.

“Before Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang, there were Huangdi, Yandi, Zhuanxu, Diku and Suiren, all of whom were also people who conformed to the principles of Mohism.

"I want to ask, before the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, was there still morality?

"If you can't answer this question, does that prove that morality is something that was added later, and not something that has existed since ancient times?
"In the ignorant and unenlightened times, when humans and animals lived together, it was already difficult to survive, so where was the morality?
"If morality itself does not exist, then this kid is saying that morality is a piece of it."

"Please stop talking, Lord Chang'an." Deng Lingxue interrupted Ying Chengjiao for the first time.

Master Chu Mo smiled bitterly:

"Chang'an Jun is a great debater. Among the people I know, only Gongsun Longzi is better than Chang'an Jun.

"If Chang'an Jun wanted an experience of defeating a great scholar of Mohism in debate, then Chang'an Jun has already achieved it."

(End of this chapter)