Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

The old man from Biyong once told him that when expressing his views, he could be praised or scorned, but he could never be ignored!

Therefore, when you speak, you must be able to grab people's attention with your first words!

Gao Zhao had a deep understanding of this. In his previous life, when he read novels, there were some authors who started with pure white scenes, hooking up a bunch of old perverts with just the first sentence!

Of course, you can't talk about things like "snow-white" in this kind of situation; no one except Emperor Huizong would like to hear that...

So he spoke his mind: everyone here is a bunch of trash!

The hall erupted in uproar; everyone was astonished!

The students of the Imperial Academy below the stage began to discuss and criticize Gao Zhao for being arrogant.

Qin Hui and his acquaintances were filled with worry. Offending two schools of scholars at once would surely anger the emperor!

The ten students on the stage turned around and looked at him, all with unfriendly eyes, including Chen Dong!

Friendship is friendship, and reason is reason; they should not be confused!

Gao Qiu's face was bitter; the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally died!

I knew this kid was going to cause trouble, and sure enough, he was. I just didn't expect him to be so inconsiderate of the situation!

Across from him, Cai Jing still looked drowsy, having long been unfazed by such outrageous remarks!

Emperor Huizong smiled, clearly intrigued. He nodded slightly and said with a hint of mischief, "Oh, I didn't expect you to have any other brilliant ideas. Why don't you tell me?"

Gao Zhao's expression turned solemn, his gaze sweeping over the ten students on the stage without yielding an inch. He then bowed to Emperor Huizong and said, "This student, Gao Zhao, dares to offer his opinion!"

The Book of Changes states: "Profit is the harmony of righteousness! Therefore, the two are originally one. If there is no profit, how can there be righteousness? Those people separate righteousness and profit. Whether they value righteousness over profit or advocate for both, it is all fallacy!"

"In my view, righteousness lies not outside of utilitarianism, but above all achievements. Success and accomplishment are righteousness itself, and the common good of all people is the greatest righteousness of the world! Righteousness and profit are inseparable and in harmony..."

Righteousness and profit should go hand in hand!

In a short moment, the vast Dunhua Hall fell into a deathly silence. The discussions ceased abruptly, and nearly a thousand students and officials froze on the spot, even instinctively holding their breath.

The only sound left in the room was Gao Zhao's eloquent speech!

Those who initially thought Gao Zhao was just making grand pronouncements to gain attention were surprised to find that he actually had some talent!

Cai Jing, who was sitting below the emperor and pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed, suddenly trembled and opened his eyes wide. His eyes were full of shock as he stared at Gao Zhao. Then, his gaze suddenly shifted to Gao Qiu, and anger surged within him!

However, Gao Qiu was also stunned and stood there dumbfounded. He didn't even notice Cai Jing's gaze. He just looked coldly at Gao Zhao, his hands trembling involuntarily.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Emperor Huizong of Tang, sitting in the chairman's seat, quickly recovered. He glanced at Cai Jing and then at Gao Qiu, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The ten students on stage didn't have much to say; their first reaction to Gao Zhao's unorthodox words was to retort.

"Absurd! Your words are completely distorting the truth! As Master Yichuan said, 'If you act out of righteousness, you will end up with profit; if you act out of profit, you will end up with righteousness. Righteousness is for the public good, and profit is for private gain. The two are inherently distinct; how can they be confused?"

The original meaning of the Book of Changes is that interests must conform to morality, and that morality should restrain selfish desires. It is morality that governs interests! But you say that morality and interests are in harmony and that morality arises from interests, thus elevating human desires and self-interest above the principles of heaven and benevolence.

If this continues, and people all equate righteousness with profit, with officials chasing after wealth and commoners solely focused on profit, wouldn't all the principles of propriety, law, and order collapse?

"Empty talk of utilitarianism, suppressing one's true self, is heresy; it's purely a novel approach to attract attention!"

"Benevolence and righteousness are the fundamental principles and the right path; food, clothing, and wealth are merely secondary matters. One must uphold morality first, and only then can one discuss making a living. If one cannot distinguish between righteousness and profit, and regards profit as practicing benevolence, then merchants who exploit and officials who prey on others can all use the excuse of saving the world and bringing peace to the people, and there will be no shame left in the world!"

The four old-fashioned students immediately retorted, their words sharp and merciless!

As soon as this was said, the other faction of the New Learning also launched an attack on Gao Zhao.

"We follow the teachings of Jinggong and advocate that education and finance should be carried out separately. We should cultivate our minds for righteousness and enrich the country for profit. The two should follow their own paths, go hand in hand without conflict, and not interfere with each other."

But you insist on mixing righteousness and profit together, merging them into one!

Governing a country requires laws and regulations, self-cultivation requires etiquette and moral instruction, and financial management requires rules and regulations; these are fundamentally two separate administrative tasks. If they are all confused, and utilitarianism is directly equated with morality, wouldn't the court be exempt from upholding the law when reforming taxes and developing new sources of revenue?

"Your Excellency has misinterpreted the scriptures! The former kings managed finances by taking only what was appropriate and in accordance with propriety, upholding righteousness first and then promoting profit."

Profit is used in governing a country, while righteousness is the foundation of one's character; they can be practiced together, but they cannot be merged into one.

"If what you say is true, then anything that benefits all people is righteous, and increasing taxes to fill the national treasury is also morally just? Such sophistry is clearly a distortion of the scriptures!"

……

The two sides launched successive attacks, aggressive and pressing, which shocked all the students in the hall. Qin Hui and others were even more worried about Gao Zhao.

However, Gao Zhao remained unfazed. His exuberant nature kicked in, and regardless of who you were, he immediately rolled up his sleeves and shouted, "Quiet! Let me handle them one by one!"

He pointed at Chen Chaolao and shouted, "Let me ask you, if Yu had no merit, how could he have established the six ministries? If Qian had no advantage, how could he possess the four virtues?"

Chen Chao paused for a moment, then pointed to another person and said, "Let me ask you again, the current government is building nursing homes, charitable institutions, and orphanages to ensure that the widowed and orphaned have something to live on, medical care when sick, and proper burial when dead! Can this be called benevolence and righteousness?"

The student choked, speechless. How could he dare refuse such a thing? The officials were sitting right there!

Gao Zhao glanced at the group and said with his head held high, "Therefore, without any meritorious deeds to save the world, empty talk about benevolence and righteousness is useless! As Guanzi said, 'When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame.'"

In times of famine and cold, even if the great principles of sages are preached every day, the people will find it difficult to abide by the rules of propriety.

Private desires should naturally be restrained by etiquette and law, but we cannot deny the eternal public good of saving the world and bringing peace to the people just because we are wary of selfishness!

After finishing his rebuke, Gao Zhao turned to Chen Dong and the others, raising his voice, "Let me ask you again: the benevolence and righteousness of self-cultivation and the financial management of governing the country are essentially the same thing. Why force them to be separated into two separate policies?"

"The imperial court's reduction of taxes and levies, and its pacification of displaced people, allowing them to live and work in peace and contentment, is both beneficial and righteous; why should it be implemented separately?"

"If righteousness and profit are always separated and go hand in hand, officials will be perfunctory in both, spouting benevolence and righteousness while pursuing wealth in governance; they will verbally uphold etiquette while secretly chasing personal gain. Are there few officials like this nowadays?"

The group was stumped by Gao Zhao's series of questions. These were problems that the court was facing, and they were not something that could be answered in a few words.

Before anyone could react, Gao Zhao, like a victor, delivered a concluding speech to the emperor.

"Where public interest lies, morality lies; where achievements are made, one upholds one's true heart. Righteousness is not separate from profit, nor is profit inferior to benevolence and righteousness; the two are seamlessly integrated—this is the harmony of righteousness and profit!"

"If one day I can accomplish the affairs of the king and the world, I will naturally win fame both before and after my death! This is also a case of righteousness and benefit being in harmony!"

"Hehe..." Zhao Ji chuckled, clapping his hands in praise, "Well said! What a perfect example of righteousness and profit working together!"

Gao Zhao was overjoyed, feeling that his eloquence in debating with the Confucian scholars must have deeply impressed this foolish emperor.

However, he did not notice that Gao Qiu's face was stiff and he was covered in cold sweat.