Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 313 Debate? To know but not to act is to not know at all!
"What Master Xu means is..."

Zhang Yunxiu ignored the reactions of others, widened his eyes, and questioned them sharply.

"The farmers and peasant women of this world work hard in the fields every day, enduring the scorching sun. Such suffering is only to be expected."

Why is it that only the gentry and officials can spend their days in their studies indulging in refined pursuits, while the poor can only do dirty and lowly things?
"What dynasty or era is this principle from? And which sage taught it to Master Xu?"

The entire audience erupted in uproar. Xu Jie, didn't you preach Confucianism and Taoism? Didn't you say "the benevolent love others"? What about the poor and needless? If you want the poor and needless to suffer from hunger and cold, then your Confucianism is fundamentally flawed.

"Whether to prioritize agriculture or the people, that is the question."

In a private box, Princess Yongning, Zhu Yaoying, tilted her head and peered through a telescope at every move in the center of the theater, muttering to herself.

The maid Liu Wan'er next to her stamped her feet anxiously: "Oh dear~ Your Highness said that you would watch for a while and I would watch for a while. How can you be so unreasonable? It's my turn to watch now."

Zhu Yaoying glanced at the little maid with disdain: "There's only one servant in the world like you who's always trying to take things from her master."

Despite saying that, Zhu Yaoying still handed the telescope to the little maid.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Liu Wan'er took the binoculars and quickly aimed them at her eyes, looking towards the center of the stage.

Seeing that Xu Jie's face was not very pleasant and Zhang Yunxiu's expression was filled with anger, the little maid couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

"They've won! They've won! Zhang Zhangwei is going to win!"

Zhu Yaoying glanced at the other person helplessly and reminded her.

"This is nothing. Getting Grand Secretary Xu Zisheng to bow down, or persuading all the scholars in the world, is not such an easy thing."

Just as Princess Yongning had predicted, many people in the theater disagreed with Zhang Yunxiu's remarks. The scholars, unable to contain their emotions, loudly rebuked Zhang Yunxiu.

"This is a misinterpretation of the sage's words!"

"Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants each perform their duties; this is an eternal and unchanging principle!"

"According to him, Confucius and Zhu Xi were also wrong?"

However, one person in the crowd was so shocked by the scene that he started to tremble.

The pageboy, Yuan Wenwei, said with a hint of helplessness, "Sir, what is the reason for this? Isn't Zhang Yunxiu just making excuses? He clearly said that agriculture is the foundation, but he insists on twisting it to mean that the people are the foundation. If the common people in the countryside stop farming, wouldn't the world be in chaos?"

Li Zhi was still trembling with excitement, and his eyes were filled with more than just envy when he looked at Zhang Yunxiu. He immediately rebuked him.

"You little brat, what do you know about the principles of the world! The principle is to put the people first, and that's the right thing to do. Putting agriculture first is putting the cart before the horse!"

The Book of Documents says, "The people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is firm, the state is at peace." These scholar-officials, after becoming officials, completely forgot this profound truth!

Zhang Shiyuan is now the one who has truly set things right!

So what if he was Confucius? So what if he was an emperor? Hahaha~ The world belongs to all the people of the world~ Hahaha~
I wish I were the one standing on this stage today, debating with that old scoundrel Xu!

Yuan Wenwei shook his head repeatedly, thinking to himself that he should change his master. If he continued like this, he would not only fail to pass the imperial examinations, but also risk his life!
Xu Jie shook his head repeatedly. He was very good at maintaining his composure, and soon the anger on his face had dissipated. He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but it had the power to penetrate people's hearts.

"Shiyuan's words are indeed biased."

Xu Jie sat upright, like an old gentleman, and surveyed the crowd.

"When Confucius and Mencius traveled to various states, they preached the principle of 'education for all,' and when Zhu Xi set up a school to teach, he spoke of the principle of 'investigating things to extend knowledge.' Neither of them ever said they wanted to exclude farmers. On the contrary, they hoped that everyone in the world could distinguish right from wrong and know etiquette."

Xu Jie's gaze gradually sharpened: "Nowadays, most people in the countryside are illiterate, which leads to their impoverished lives. This is not because the court is unwilling to care for them, but because the court's education has failed to reach them."

If education can be effectively implemented, all problems will be readily solved; how can the blame be placed on the principles themselves?

As he spoke, Xu Jie slowly rose and bowed slightly toward the gentry and scholars, his tone becoming more sincere.

"And the gentry and officials were making efforts to educate the people. They studied in their studies, revised elementary school textbooks, formulated village regulations, and even donated land to establish schools. Were they not using their own strength to fill the gaps in education?!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Xu Jie's words were so inspiring that they stirred the passions of many scholars.

"Master Xu is absolutely right! This is the merit of us scholars!"

"By spreading the teachings of sages to all people, the people will naturally be freed from the torment of labor!"

"This is what the sage meant by 'cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world'!"

"As expected of Xu Zisheng!"

Zhang Xueyan, the Minister of Revenue, was inconspicuous in the crowd, uttering sighs of helplessness.

"After this explanation, the aspirations of scholars throughout the land will likely be significantly stronger in the future, and the resistance to pursuing this path in Xishan will probably be much greater."

Minister of Works Zeng Shengwu said with some concern, "Xu Zisheng is eloquent and has gained a lot of experience. Shiyuan is indeed quick-witted, but he is ultimately too young. Xishan is all about practical matters. This time, it's really..."

Xu Jie delivered a brilliant argument, which was met with unanimous agreement from almost all the scholars present. Zhang Yunxiu had virtually no chance of turning the tide.

“Your Excellency.” Shen Shixing glanced at Zhang Juzheng, as if seeking his help.

The latter sighed softly, focused his gaze on the cucumbers in the fruit plate, and said leisurely.

"I suppose there's another plan." Shen Shixing frowned, unsure whether Zhang Juzheng was referring to his own plan or Zhang Yunxiu's.

"Zhang Shiyuan!!!"

Li Zhi's furious outburst in the crowd suggested a sense of disappointment and frustration.

"Why didn't you use the strategy I gave you? Why did you keep retreating, allowing that old scoundrel to gain the upper hand!"

The pageboy, Yuan Wenwei, looked helpless. He spread his hands and said, "Why do you say this, sir? Is it strange that Zhang Shiyuan lost? You don't actually think he could have won, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi became even angrier, acting as if he didn't care about anything else.

"Don't stop me! I'm going to give Xu Jie a good dressing down! I'll teach him what true new learning and true scientific principles are all about!"

Xu Jie stared at the silent Zhang Yunxiu, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

"Why have you remained silent for so long, Shiyuan? Speak freely. If you still have any questions, I can answer them for you."

These words are undeniably arrogant!

Even many of those present were filled with anger upon hearing this.

Xu Jie meant that the two of them didn't seem to be arguing with each other; rather, it was Zhang Yunxiu who was asking him for advice.

Zhang Yunxiu was already immune to such sarcasm, and he smiled slightly as he spoke.

"Did Master Xu advocate education for all, regardless of social status? Did he advocate the investigation of things to acquire knowledge?"

Xu Jie, with his hands behind his back, said: "This is the principle of sages and saints."

"If this is the principle of sages and saints, then I must ask Master Xu, why have you deviated from the true meaning of investigating things and extending knowledge, and distorted the original intention of the sages and saints' teachings?!"

Zhang Yunxiu's words resonated deeply.

"Has the Confucianism and Taoism you preach ever taught ordinary people how to cultivate their fields well? Has it ever told them how to save themselves in times of disaster? Has it ever told them how to mend a broken loom thread?"

Xu Jie's expression suddenly changed, and anger appeared on his face. His brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Shiyuan, stop making trouble here. Education is about guiding people towards the Way, not teaching them trivial ways of making a living!"

"A low-level business?"

Zhang Yunxiu looked incredulous. He took two steps forward and noticed the flushed faces of the scholars and the ordinary people in the room. Some were angry, some had expectant eyes, and some had their heads down, unable to look.

He spoke with an increasingly determined look in his eyes.

"Does Master Xu know that last year Henan suffered a severe drought? An old scholar, carrying the teachings of your scholars, went to a county under the guise of education to persuade farmers to reciting the 'If everyone is benevolent and righteous, then sweet rain will come,' and made the farmers recite it every day. As a result, more than a dozen people in the village starved to death!"

However, an old farmer in a neighboring village, who had never been to school, relied on his past experience to dig an irrigation canal at the foot of the mountain, bringing in spring water and saving the lives of the villagers!

Xu Jie frowned and said, "Zhang Shiyuan! What exactly are you trying to say!"

"What Master Xu called 'the lowest level' is precisely the principle by which the common people can survive. If we promote agricultural science, the produce of the land will become more abundant. If we make engineering more advanced, tools will be more efficient. Only by thoroughly investigating the principles of things can we make the lives of the common people more prosperous."

Zhang Yunxiu stared intently at Xu Jie, his eyes flashing with an alarming light.

Zhu Xi said that "investigating things to acquire knowledge" means to "exhaustively understand the principles of things," while Yangming's "philosophy of mind" means to "unite knowledge with action."

The old farmer was illiterate, yet he was able to put his knowledge into practice through daily observation, truly putting it into action.

But that scholar, well-versed in poetry and literature, able to recite the sages' teachings fluently, yet knew nothing of true 'investigation of things to attain knowledge'—how laughable!

Xu Jie retorted sharply: "This is an isolated case; it cannot be generalized in a single sentence!"

"To know something but not to act upon it is to truly not know it!"

Zhang Yunxiu said without any politeness.

"He only saw a part of the whole picture!"

"Soliciting nonsense!" Even with his excellent composure, Xu Jie couldn't help but tremble. He had come prepared, but he didn't expect Zhang Yunxiu's angle of rebuttal to be so novel.

In the past, Confucian scholars' lectures were nothing more than revolving around the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections, and they would always mention "Master Zhu" and "Master Yangming." But who would have thought that this young man Zhang Yunxiu would actually involve an illiterate old farmer?

This is not common sense!
However, Xu Jie could not use this as a defense, because he dared not openly criticize ordinary people in front of everyone.

For a moment, the entire theater seemed to fall silent, everyone holding their breath, watching to see what Zhang Yunxiu would say.

Zhang Yunxiu's loud voice echoed throughout the Xishan Theater.

He pressed closer, getting little by little closer to Xu Jie, and said each word carefully.

"Master Yangming said, 'The mind is principle.' What principle did Master Xu hold in his heart? What principle do all the scholars in the world hold in their hearts? Is it fame and fortune, or glory and wealth?"

"When Confucius was starving in Chen, he still gathered wild vegetables with his disciples. He taught his disciples 'benevolence and love for others,' which meant that they should help the world. This is what Master Yangming meant by 'cultivating oneself through practical experience.' But how much of your teachings today follow the teachings of Confucius, Zhu Xi, and Master Yangming?"

"These are all misinterpretations! Scholars would rather compile village regulations from ancient books than go to the fields to see the hardships of farmers, or put themselves in their shoes to imagine what farming is all about."

"Master Xu said that the gentry donating land to set up schools was to make up for the lack of education, but what I saw was that the gentry hoarded goods and speculated on them, taking advantage of the preferential treatment given by the court to almost exploit them!"
The people are displaced, selling their children, and suffering from hunger. Is this the kind of moral education Xu Gong spoke of?!

(End of this chapter)