The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

Jiang Lin's statement, "There is no such 'justice' in the world," was like a needle, precisely puncturing Cheng Yi's arrogant bubble.

The air around them seemed to freeze for a moment, then burst into suppressed whispers.

The Jiangnan students, who had initially been intimidated by the reputation of the great Confucian scholar Cheng Yi, now looked at Jiang Lin with a different gaze. They had thought he was just an arrogant pageboy, but they hadn't expected him to dare to directly confront Cheng Yi and even use the most core concept of "heavenly principles" to satirize him on the spot.

That's incredibly audacious!

Cheng Yi's old face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He had spent his entire life studying Neo-Confucianism and preaching "Heavenly Principles," and was revered as a god wherever he went. He had never suffered such public humiliation.

"You brat! You ignorant brat! You don't know your place!" Cheng Yi was so angry that his cane trembled. "What do you know about the way of the sages? The teachings of the sages are to teach the people to know propriety, to understand shame, and to have reverence! Not like you, whose heart and eyes are filled with nothing but money and scheming! You are teaching people to pursue profit, and you are destroying the foundation of my Great Song Dynasty!"

"Well said!" Jiang Lin was not angry at all; instead, he clapped his hands in praise. However, his smile looked more like a mockery. "Sir, your words were eloquent and righteous. Now, I have a question for you."

He paused, glanced around at the people and merchants who were listening intently, and spoke in a low voice, but clearly throughout the entire greenhouse.

Do you know how much a peck of rice costs in Hangzhou now?

The question fell silent.

Cheng Yi was stunned.

The renowned Neo-Confucian scholars behind him were also stunned.

They spent their entire lives studying in their studies, delving into the principles of "li" (principle) and "qi" (vital energy), "xin" (mind) and "xing" (nature), and the struggle between "tianli" (heavenly principles) and "renyu" (human desires).

Rice price?

What kind of question is this? Is this something that people who explore the path of sages should be concerned with? Shouldn't this be something that ordinary people and peddlers would bother with?

Cheng Yi's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word. How could he know the price of rice? He only knew his salary and the amount of rewards from the imperial court.

Seeing Cheng Yi's speechless and embarrassed expression, Jiang Lin's smile widened.

He knows exactly what's going on. When debating with this kind of old scholar, you must never fall into their logical traps. If you talk to him about "heavenly principles," he can quote scriptures and talk for three days and three nights, leaving you completely confused, and in the end, he'll accuse you of "not understanding the sages."

The best way to deal with them is to pull them down from their ivory towers and into the mud, and then hit them in the face with the most realistic and concrete problems.

"It seems the old man is unaware." Jiang Lin slowly stood up, walked to the front of the crowd, and pointed to the migrant artisans who had just received their wages and whose faces were beaming with joy.

"Then let me tell you. A month ago, due to a natural disaster, tens of thousands of refugees flooded into Hangzhou. At that time, the price of rice changed every day, rising from 100 wen per dou to 300 wen per dou! It was even higher on the black market! These people, with their families in tow, sold their children and even resorted to cannibalism, just to get a bite to eat."

Jiang Lin's voice suddenly rose, carrying a chill: "Old sir, where were you back then? Could your vast knowledge of sages and your 'human ethics' conjure up even a single grain of rice for them to eat? Could you provide them with a garment to cover themselves in the cold wind?"

"cannot!"

Before Cheng Yi could answer, a man in the crowd who had received his wages shouted loudly with red eyes.

He held up the heavy string of copper coins in his hand, his voice hoarse: "If it weren't for Lord Su and Jiang Shanchang establishing this Jingshi Academy and implementing this work-for-relief program, my whole family would have starved to death in some corner long ago! We don't understand any grand principles; we just know that whoever feeds us is a living bodhisattva!"

"Yes! Jiang Shanchang is right!"

"When there's no food to eat, what's the point of talking about morality and shame!"

"We only recognize Lord Su and Chief Jiang!"

In an instant, the crowd was agitated. Those refugees who had once struggled on the brink of death now became Jiang Lin's strongest support. Their voices, when combined, were like resounding slaps to the faces of Cheng Yi and those renowned Neo-Confucian scholars.

Su Shi stood aside, watching this scene, and felt an unprecedented surge of emotion welling up in his heart.

He used to think that scholars should be indulging in romance and exploring profound knowledge. But during his time with Jiang Lin, he witnessed firsthand how those so-called "ingenious skills" and "the stench of money in the marketplace" transformed more than three thousand displaced people into hardworking craftsmen, and how they turned a silted-up muddy pond into the picturesque Su Causeway it is today.

It turns out that the true path of sages is not in books, but in these bowls of steaming white steamed buns and in these smiling faces brimming with hope.

Zhao Lingjun watched Jiang Lin's retreating figure, her eyes sparkling.

Having grown up in the palace, she was used to the empty rhetoric of ministers and their heated arguments over the so-called "orthodox tradition." But she had never seen anyone like Jiang Lin, who directly questioned a great Confucian scholar about the people's livelihood.

Simple, brutal, but terrifyingly effective.

Cheng Yi, overwhelmed by the shouts of the people, turned pale and swayed slightly. A disciple behind him quickly stepped forward to support him and angrily rebuked Jiang Lin, "Outrageous! You are inciting the ignorant masses and opposing the sages! The rise and fall of rice prices are regulated by the court's laws; what does it have to do with the ways of the sages?"

"Hahaha, what a fine 'What does this have to do with the Way of the Sage'!" Jiang Lin seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Your Way of the Sage is just floating in the heavens, indifferent to the lives of people? Your 'Way' is just letting people starve while they fantasize about some vague and ethereal 'principle'?"

Jiang Lin's smile vanished, his gaze sharp as lightning, fixed on Cheng Yi's cloudy yet resentful eyes.

"Let me tell you, the principles of our Jing Shi Academy are very simple!"

That is, "When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame!"

"We teach mathematics so that people can do the math and avoid being exploited by unscrupulous merchants and corrupt officials! It's so they can calculate how much manpower and resources are needed to build an irrigation canal, and how many acres of land can be spared from drought!"

"We teach agriculture and sericulture to improve rice varieties and research fertilizers, so that each acre can yield more grain, and so that people all over the world can have enough to eat!"

"We teach the study of things so that we can produce stronger cement, build dikes that will stand for a thousand years, and protect people from floods!"

Jiang Lin spoke each word with a booming voice.

"These things, in your eyes, are 'strange skills and frivolous tricks,' or 'vulgar money-grubbing.' But in my eyes, this is true governance and benefiting the people! This is the foundation that allows the Great Song Dynasty to become prosperous and strong, and to stand firm forever!"

He pointed at Cheng Yi and questioned him bluntly:

"Old sir, tell me now, which is more sagacious: your 'natural law' that makes people go hungry to cultivate their character, or my 'principle' that makes people well-fed and clothed before discussing etiquette and righteousness?"

"You!" Cheng Yi felt a tightness in his chest from Jiang Lin's words, and almost couldn't catch his breath.

He wanted to refute, but found himself at a loss for words.

Does he really want him to say that it's better to let the people starve than to pursue fame and fortune? He wouldn't even believe that himself!

Jiang Lin looked at his flushed face and sneered inwardly.

Trying to play the cultural route with me? I'll just use a dimensional reduction attack on you and crush you with my focus on people's livelihood!

He turned around and said loudly to the entire audience, "Today, Mr. Cheng has traveled a long way to discuss philosophy with our Jingshi Academy. Talk is cheap; let's have a contest in front of the people of Hangzhou!"

"Our Jingshi Academy, in just one month, dredged 100,000 cubic meters of silt, built a three-mile-long dike, resettled 3,121 displaced people, created over a hundred shops for Hangzhou, and attracted nearly 100,000 strings of cash in investment! This is our 'Way'!"

Jiang Lin's gaze locked onto Cheng Yi once again.

"Now, let's invite Mr. Cheng to tell everyone what his 'Neo-Confucianism' can do for the people of Hangzhou?"