Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 249 You guys are just lazy

pass!

Everything is working!

I understand now!
At this moment, everyone present suddenly realized the truth and remembered the purpose of Wang Xi's visit.

After such a long preamble, what Wang Xi ultimately wanted to demonstrate was the importance and necessity of Qi mechanics.

First, he proposed that the Tao is the law governing the operation of all things, which is indeed a Taoist idea. The Tao follows nature, and nature is the law governing the operation of all things, so no one argued about it.

Secondly, he proposed that Confucianism and Legalism are based on the Dao. This is actually biased towards Daoism. If this statement is true, it proves that Daoism is the most important. You have land, and what you plant depends on your needs. Without the Dao, Confucianism and Legalism are meaningless.

The Confucianists would certainly be unhappy about this, which is the key point of the debate just now, but if we apply the first argument, it becomes indisputable.

Confucianism and Legalism must also formulate policies based on common sense. Working at sunrise and resting at sunset is a natural law, but it cannot be reversed to stipulate that one should work at sunset and rest at sunrise.

Finally, given this, shouldn't we study the laws governing the operation of all things, since that is the foundation of everything?

He had come to his senses, but he was now at a loss for what to do next.

It sounded very reasonable, with each step linked to the next, and the logic was very meticulous, but how to do it and what the use would be were completely baffling to the officials present.

After seeing this, Zhang Jiuling took the initiative to speak again: "It cannot be denied that what you said makes sense. You were the first to put forward this idea. If this argument is reasonable, then everything the ancients did would be unreasonable, since no one thought this way before."

He used proof by contradiction, which is the most frequently used method in debate.

This argument was first put forward by you; it didn't exist before. If you are right, then everything before was wrong, and fundamentally wrong. How do you explain the peaceful and prosperous times of the past?
Wang Xi thought for a moment before replying, "Take the example of wasteland I just mentioned. Dao is a wasteland, and Confucianism and Legalism determine what to plant on it."

When you don't understand this wasteland, you may not necessarily be unable to grow what you want, but you won't get the best or most desirable fruit.

Moreover, even if you do nothing, the wasteland may still produce fruit, but it won't be able to support too many people.

This is why the national strength of the Central Plains has always been limited, preventing us from pursuing the stars and the sea.

Furthermore, this is why many dynasties lasted only a few decades, while others lasted for hundreds of years, exhibiting extreme instability—all due to a lack of understanding of the Dao.

Upon hearing this, Li Longji's eyes lit up, but he immediately fell into thought again, as did Zhang Shuo.

They were all aware of the limitations of the Central Plains' strength, especially the Tang Dynasty, because the Tang Dynasty's territorial expansion had almost reached the limit of the agricultural economy, and it was already somewhat exhausted.

This forced the establishment of the Jiedushi system; otherwise, it would have been impossible to control the region, and the Central Plains would certainly not have been able to afford it due to the extreme distance.

Conversely, they are also exploring how to further expand their territory based on this foundation.

Yuan Qianyao was also very curious about this, so he asked, "So, if we can realize the Dao, then we can increase the country's strength and explore the stars and the sea?"

"Absolutely."

Wang Xi nodded very firmly.

Li Longji perked up; this was something that hadn't been mentioned last time.

"Is that so?" Yuan Qianyao asked with a smile, "Then tell me about it?"

Wang Xi said, "Whether we are exploring the stars and the sea or going to the mountains and deserts, food is always the key and farming is very important. To produce more food, we need better fertilizer. Take fertilization for example. I think everyone should know that manure can make millet and wheat grow better."

Everyone nodded.

Food was of course the key; all the imperial policies revolved around agriculture.

Wang Xi asked again, "Why?"

Yuan Qianyao asked in astonishment, "What? Why?"

Wang Xi asked, "Why can manure help millet and wheat grow strong?"

Yuan Qianyao said, "Isn't this common sense?"

Wang Xi then asked, "Why is it that only excrement is acceptable, but stones are not? There must be an underlying reason for this."

Everyone was silent for a while.

This is common sense, yet no one has ever asked why.

Who knows why?

Li Yuanhong then said, "You're being unreasonable."

"I am not being unreasonable."

Wang Xi said in a serious tone: "Because if we figure out why this is, then it will be possible to artificially manufacture fertilizers, or to find more fertilizers, so that we can obtain endless fertilizers, and even be able to make corresponding fertilizers for each type of crop."

In this way, there will be bumper harvests every year, how could the country's strength not increase?

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Now that you mention it, that's really impressive!
Li Longji was so excited he almost stood up, and asked impatiently, "Why?"

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "I don't know either."

Li Longji's expression froze.

Are you trying to flirt with me?

Li Yuanhong, both amused and annoyed, said, "Don't you know what you're talking about?"

Wang Xi, however, said matter-of-factly, "If we don't investigate, how will we know why?"

Li Yuanhong was stunned. Was he about to fall into a vicious cycle?
Wang Xi continued, "I am here today only at Uncle Wang's request to explain the importance of Taoist thought and how it can help the Ministry of Works. I do not claim to know everything. Do you elders agree with this?"

Yuan Qianyao nodded and said, "That makes sense, but how do we know that?"

Feces are fertilizer; that's common sense. If you ask why, nobody knows.

It's no exaggeration to say that no one has a clue as to why.

Wang Xi said, "Of course we should explore. How can we know if we don't explore?"

Yuan Qianyao asked, "How do we explore?"

"This junior doesn't know either," Wang Xi shook his head again.

"???"

Yuan Qianyao was speechless for a moment.

You said it, but you know nothing about it when asked. What kind of argument is this?

Many officials are completely speechless.

Wang Xi glanced at them from left to right and said, "Although I don't know the answer or how to explore it, as long as I explore it, I should be able to get the result."

Yuan Qianyao asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Xi said: "Take our aerodynamics as an example. No one has ever thought about why people stand on the ground instead of flying in the air, or why ripe fruits fall down."
Later, through our exploration at the Nameless Academy, we discovered gravity. Once we learned about gravity, we knew that a ship sailing on the water should also be subject to gravity. The fact that it did not sink meant that there was an upward force. Therefore, we concluded that water has buoyancy.

Similarly, using the inclined plane experiment, we proved that the speed at which an object falls is unrelated to its own weight. However, a feather can float in the air, so we hypothesize that there is an upward force around it. This force is different from the visible water, so we call it air force.

Once we understand the characteristics of these forces, we will have the opportunity to be creative, and even to abandon the oxen, horses, and camels.

Yuan Qianyao chuckled and said, "I'm afraid you don't know this either."

"Yes, I don't know either."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Prime Minister Yuan, you are wise. I am still just a child. Why do you all expect us to do this? Why don't you ask yourselves why you don't study it yourselves? You are all the smartest people in our Great Tang Dynasty."

Xu Jin said irritably, "It's all you who's saying this that's why we're asking you, but you can't give us any answers. How can anyone believe that?"

Wang Xi said, “What I said makes sense. The principle is that Confucianism and Legalism are based on the Dao, and the Dao is the law governing the operation of all things. The more you know about the laws governing the operation of all things, the more helpful it is for governance. If this principle is indisputable, then why don’t you all study it?”
For example, in our struggle in the Western Regions, the reason why the Western Regions were unstable was not because our army could not defeat the enemy there, but because the distance was too far and the grain could not be transported there. However, if we could create a substitute for cattle and horses, we could transport the grain there.

As for Tibet, the reason why Tibet caused our Great Tang so much trouble was not because they were too powerful to conquer, but because their terrain was high, and we people from the Central Plains would definitely suffer from acclimatization problems when we went there.

Why not investigate why people experience altitude sickness when they go to higher altitudes? If we understood why, we could find solutions.

Xu Jin said, "According to you, if we understand why birds can fly, then we can fly too? Everyone understands this principle, but the problem is that it's very difficult to understand it clearly."

Wang Xi shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no, I don't think so. I think that you elders are just lazy, or rather, afraid of challenges and difficulties. You only know how to do what you are good at, and you say that what you are not good at is useless, or you suppress it, rather than saying that it is impossible to study."

Silly!

The officials present were all dumbfounded.

It was actually considered lazy by the vulture.

This is simply a great humiliation.

How dare you say that?
Xu Jin said angrily, "What makes you say that?"

Wang Xi said, "Because the facts are right before our eyes! We now understand gravity and buoyancy clearly, and we have also used gravity and buoyancy to improve our ships."

It's important to understand that in the past, ship improvements relied on experience accumulated over decades or even centuries. However, once we understand buoyancy, we can quickly improve ships.

It has now been proven that this is feasible, which is correct, but everyone scoffs at it. Moreover, they certainly won't bother studying those patterns that are still unclear. Isn't this laziness or fear of difficulty?

quiet!
For a moment, the hall was eerily quiet!
Xu Jin and the others looked extremely embarrassed.

That kid is really cunning.

They've trapped us again.

Li Longji looked at the group of officials as if they had eaten excrement. Although he felt disgusted, he couldn't quite describe the feeling and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Wang Maozhong was even more pleased with himself; this brat really does have some tricks up his sleeve.

Zhang slowly began to speak: "It's not that we scoff at it. In fact, we also acknowledge that this knowledge is useful. It's just that officials are generally responsible for formulating policies, rather than being adept at creating them."

Wang Xi said, "Of course I won't let Minister Zhang go to study. Uncle Wang only lets the officials of the Ministry of Works go to study."

".!"

Zhang hesitated for a moment, then said, "But these kinds of skills are usually for craftsmen."

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "But craftsmen never concern themselves with scholarship, while the 'Essential Techniques for the Common People' are all read by officials."

Zhang said he remained silent.

This kid really doesn't give me any face at all!

Wang Xi continued, "However, it is also inappropriate for Uncle Wang to send officials from the Ministry of Works to study at the Nameless Academy. As I just said, the teacher never tells us the answers, but only asks us why and guides us to explore on our own."

Therefore, the teacher truly cannot teach you all, but we are willing to share what we currently know with the Ministry of Works; ultimately, you still have to explore it yourselves.

(End of this chapter)