The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

At this moment, everyone fell silent. This madman really didn't even spare Dean Li!

If it weren't for Dean Li's magnanimity, Mi Heng would have been gone if it had been someone else!

Mi Heng said, "Dean Li, you are not good at exegesis and textual criticism, and you are not good at debating the classics. Your Confucianism is not as good as that of a child from Jixia."

You just won? Don't be so smug. Your words, though righteous and eloquent, are ultimately just a way to silence all the intellectuals with the phrase "the suffering of the people."

You won? A respectable victory. But you didn't win on Confucianism, you won on sophistry. You forced Wenju to swear an oath in public; how could he dare say that the Confucius family would subjugate foreign tribes?

This situation had already pushed him to the brink. He had no choice but to make the vow, whether he wanted to or not!

Changing the subject, he added:

But you understand agriculture, water conservancy, and military affairs, and you can truly save starving people and stabilize the territory.

However, you value practical matters over literary expression. If the scholars of Jixia Academy had not preserved the classics and literary traditions, the words of the sages would have been lost after the chaos of the world.

It may save lives for a time, but it can hardly ensure the enduring legacy of culture for a thousand years!

Li Changda smiled and nodded in acceptance.

Damn, this guy can really spout nonsense!

If things weren't so bad, I'd want to yell at you, Mi Heng, what have you done now?!

Finally, Mi Heng looked at all the Jixia students present, his attention briefly drawn to the burly men behind Li Chang, but he quickly regained his senses:

"And you students! You all stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed, listening to a few words of scripture interpretation and debate, as if you're drinking honey."

Your teacher was rendered speechless by the question, and you all cheered in unison—how foolish! Did you come to Jixia Academy to seek knowledge and enlightenment, or to watch a monkey show?

Today's debate is nothing but a farce.

Kong Wenju arrived full of arrogance to challenge the school, only to be cornered by the Grand Commander's words: "And you're still cheering? Do you really think you've learned anything valuable?"

Everyone: "..."

What about them?

He's really something, he actually got roasted by Ni Heng! And that was right after Ni Heng had roasted all those big shots!

Bian Rang stepped forward again to summarize and reassure the audience, stabilizing the atmosphere:

"Today's debate is not about whose character is superior or inferior."

Confucius was a man of integrity and literary talent worthy of respect, but unfortunately, he was ambitious but lacked the ability to distinguish between the "way of a scholar to establish himself" and the "way of governing and bringing peace to the people."

Among those present, some are dedicated to preserving cultural traditions, while others are dedicated to saving lives. Each has their strengths and limitations.

The way of the Confucian scholar should be one of inner and outer harmony: to have the wisdom of the sages in one's heart and to have strategies for bringing peace and security to the people in one's hands.

Having only the principles and moral integrity of the classics but lacking the ability to govern the world will lead to empty talk and mislead the people; focusing only on practical military affairs while abandoning cultural traditions and education will result in a chaotic world with no one to carry on the legacy.

Without either one, the path is incomplete!

Kong Rong was agitated when Li Chang questioned him about his integrity; after hearing Bian Rang and Mi Heng's words, his feelings became complicated.

The two did not deny his pride in his integrity and literary talent; in fact, they expressed their respect for him.

The criticisms focused on his governance abilities, his judgment in personnel selection, and his inability to distinguish between theoretical discussions and practical matters, rather than attacking his character and aspirations.

He knew in his heart that this was a fair opinion, not a malicious frame-up.

But the phrase "ambitious but incompetent" will probably stay with him for life!

He believed throughout his life that he possessed the talent to save the world, but the world was in a dark and chaotic state.

When others criticize his character as despicable, Kong Rong can vehemently refute them; but when others acknowledge his ambition and integrity, and only criticize his actions, he lacks the confidence to refute them.

He remained silent for a long time.

Wu Anguo, Taishi Ci, and the disciples of Confucius

Initially overwhelmed with shame and indignation, hearing the affirmation of Kong Yingda's literary talent and integrity brought him some peace. However, when the defeat at Beihai was discussed later, he became somber again.

They cannot deny the fact that the people of Beihai have suffered.

Jia Xu was secretly relieved to have escaped a disaster! No one had even noticed his sneaky arrival!

The students of Jixia Academy pondered this deeply.

A person may possess exceptional moral character and literary talent, yet be inept at governing a region. Great ambition does not necessarily equate to sufficient ability.

A completely new understanding of Confucian scholars' efforts to save the world has emerged.

The debate ended with two trolls. It's a pity that Li Chang didn't actually fight!

He even brought his 'disciples' with him; he was fully prepared!

The students of Jixia Academy also felt that something was missing.

But looking at the obviously over-represented and somewhat familiar 'disciples' behind Li Chang, he felt that nothing was missing.

Kong Rong eventually led his disciples to formally enter the Jixia Academy.

Despite the prestige of being descendants of a sage, the Confucian family was still revered as the head of Confucianism among scholars.

After the debate and oath-taking ceremony in Luoyang, the prestige of the Confucius family as the "benchmark of scholars throughout the land" was ultimately diminished.

It is no longer the grandeur of the Kong family of yesteryear.

Kong Rong was not angry; he wanted to win it back with his own abilities!

Li Chang inadvertently found Taishi Ci, and after learning about Taishi Ci, he inadvertently brought Taishi Ci to Liu Bei.

……

In the past six months, the system of three provinces and six ministries and the three major new policies established by Li Chang have been implemented in the six prefectures of You, Bing, Si, Liang, Ji and Qing.

The magistrates, assistant magistrates, and registrars of various prefectures and counties were gradually replaced by officials directly appointed by the central Ministry of Personnel.

There were scholars from humble backgrounds who came from the Jixia Academy, capable officials who were promoted from low-level positions, and old aristocratic families from Guanzhong and Hanoi.

Prefectures and counties no longer command troops; the judiciary is handled by the Legal Affairs Bureau; and taxes are directly paid to the Ministry of Revenue.

The old practice of "appointing one's own subordinates" was no longer allowed in local areas. Prefectures and counties were not allowed to appoint officials privately. Military, financial and political powers were separated and all were subject to the control of the imperial court!

There are no more regional lords like "governor" and "prefectural general"!

Under heaven, there is only one lord, and that is Liu Bei, the King of Jin.

Power is being centralized upwards, while rules are being pushed downwards.

With this framework in place, government orders flowed much more smoothly from top to bottom!

……

By September, the wheat in the fields was ripe, and the autumn taxes were levied in various prefectures and counties.

In previous years under Yuan Shao's rule, powerful families would symbolically exchange a small amount of grain, which would be enough to cover the cost, and the rest would go into their granaries.

After reporting the land this year, they thought it would be the same as before, only reporting three to five hectares, while keeping the remaining three to five thousand hectares for themselves!

Only ordinary people need to pay taxes on a 50/50 basis!

After the taxes were collected, Yang Biao took the lead in collecting all the taxes reported by the various aristocratic families.

Cui Zhong, the steward of the Cui family of Qinghe, even patted his chest and made a promise to his companions at the table:

"Master Yang is from the same aristocratic family as us; this is just a formality. Whatever amount we report, that's what we'll report. If we really want to be serious, will the Yang family's land really be clean?"

The heads of the various prominent families echoed this sentiment, all feeling that the situation was stable.

Who would have thought that the autumn campaign would begin and then everything would change?

No sooner had Yang Biao left than a row of black-armored soldiers stood at the entrance of the county government, led by none other than the Yamen General Wang Jiang!

The land surveyor, holding a thick stack of land registers, read them aloud in front of the heads of each household, detailing everything:

"In Shijiazhuang, an on-site inspection revealed 2,700 hectares of land unclaimed. Since no one claims them, the Ministry of Revenue will seize them all!"

"Zhoujiabao, after an on-site inspection, revealed that no one had claimed 1,900 hectares of land; the Ministry of Revenue has seized it all!"

After reading it, Wang Jiang drew his sword and slammed it to the ground.

"Wow, what great luck! We've found so many unwanted plots of land, and such good fertile land at that!"