People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

To think that one could refute Gongsun Long in the White Horse Theory is simply overestimating one's own abilities.

Didn't you see that Zou Yan didn't choose to confront Gongsun Long directly? Instead, he acted like a father, ignoring how you used logic to prove that "a white horse is not a horse," and instead used a harmful principle to intimidate you with his power.

If I say you're wrong, you're wrong; if you're not wrong, you're wrong too.

There are reasons why pragmatism prevailed and metaphysics, logic, dialectics, and other disciplines did not develop.

If he were to confront Gongsun Long, Tianming's fat aunt's trick wouldn't work, and Zou Yan's trick wouldn't work either. If he were to use sophistry, he would be asking for trouble, falling into a low position, and would instead be criticized.

Wouldn't it be better to have a few more kids with Jing Ni instead of wasting this time?

Kong Chuan smiled and said, "What are you thinking? In this world, there are almost no people who can surpass Gongsun Long in the art of debate. This kind of thing is useless; no one will take it as seriously as he does."

"I'm just talking to you to relieve my depression."

Cao Ze immediately understood; this was someone complaining.

However, Kong Chuan is right; it is almost impossible to outdo Gongsun Long in the art of debate.

He wanted to use Gongsun Long as a catalyst to help him become famous and renowned throughout the seven kingdoms.

He can't rely solely on his words. Even if he wins, he'll only gain a reputation for being "eloquent," which is useless to him and has many drawbacks.

It seems we need to find another way.

Cao Ze bid farewell to Kong Chuan and arrived at Chunqing Palace.

I'm planning to go to the Hundred Schools Forum at the beginning of the month to watch Gongsun Long's talk show.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

Zhao Qian was greatly annoyed to see Cao Ze enter right on time, which dashed his hopes of using Cao Ze's lateness as an excuse to tattle on him to his father.

“Cao Ze…”

"Hmm?" The Empress Dowager glared at Zhao Qian. "What did you call Mr. Cao Ze?"

Zhao Qian's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately lowered his head, "Hello...Teacher."

Cao Ze greeted him with a smile, "Greetings, Your Highness."

After passing behind the Empress, Cao Ze gently patted her pert and rounded breasts.

The woman couldn't help but shake, and subconsciously licked her slightly dry red lips.

She secretly winked at Cao Ze, her lips moving slightly.

Cao Ze didn't understand lip reading, but he knew without a doubt that the Empress was addicted to it.

"Come on! Read it aloud! Once upon a time, Mencius' mother chose a good neighborhood..."

After Cao Ze had fooled Zhao Qian, he immediately drove Zhao Qian away.

The two are now working together more and more seamlessly.

After the small urn was filled again, Cao Ze leisurely put on his clothes.

The woman lazily asked, "Are you leaving already, sir?"

Cao Ze glanced at the somewhat dirty-looking courtesan and casually said, "It's getting late."

He didn't want to deploy too many heavenly soldiers and generals against the Empress Dowager.

I've already made arrangements with his giant salamander; we'll be going through the back door tonight.

Other things can be wasted, but we should save more of this.

The woman who was in charge of the courtesan was no longer angry, or rather, she had long since lost her former resentful attitude.

"If you're leaving early, then you're leaving early. I need to rest and recuperate these next few days. Whether you want to come over or not is up to you, sir."

Cao Ze smiled faintly, "The Queen needs to take care of her health and exercise a little restraint in order to prolong her life."

He knew that the Empress was already on the verge of kidney deficiency.

He's not bragging, but for an ordinary person like him, to be able to continuously ask for money every day for so long is already quite remarkable and can be considered exceptionally talented.

Furthermore, the Empress Dowager's continuous exploitation of him has already affected his daily cultivation.

As a result, his cultivation was not ideal during this period.

The third of the twelve primary meridians—the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming—is about to be completed, and he also needs to set aside some time to focus on its cultivation.

One's own strength is the most important thing.

Even if the initiator doesn't bring it up, he has to take the initiative to bring it up.

Incidentally, it would be bad to prevent the queen from dying from overwatering.

Cao Ze left the palace half an hour earlier than usual.

Unexpectedly, he encountered Kong Chuan upon entering the palace, and then ran into Gongsun Long as he was leaving.

Just as he was about to slip away and go home early to use the back door with Jingni, Gongsun Long stopped him.

Left with no other choice, Cao Ze bowed and said, "Senior, what a coincidence."

Gongsun Long looked at Cao Ze, scrutinizing him closely.

He clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "I never expected that after so many years away from home, such a capable person as you would appear in Handan. Very good, very good, very good."

“I have read your ‘Three Character Classic’ and ‘Thousand Character Classic’ from the King. They are far superior to those of that old rascal Kong Chuan.”

"There's just one downside: the Three Character Classic was rewritten by Kong Chuan, which is a terrible waste."

Cao Ze grinned. These two were indeed sworn enemies, one a scoundrel and the other an old rascal.

As for the fact that the Three Character Classic was supplemented by Kong Chuan, he didn't care at all.

It's nothing more than an introductory text; he could easily come up with something far superior to the Three Character Classic.

Kong Chuan offered himself up, and in gratitude, helped him write scriptures, for which Kong Chuan was more than happy to accept.

This book was written late, and there are too many allusions and phrases that need to be changed. If someone like him, who is not well-versed in the history of the Spring and Autumn Period, were to revise it, he would be scratching his head in frustration.

Professional tasks should be left to professionals.

Kong Chuan, as a great Confucian scholar of the pre-Qin period, perfected the "Three Character Classic" with remarkable professionalism.

Just as Cao Ze was about to take his leave, Gongsun Long said, "I was just thinking, at the city gate today, that young general said 'Go ahead, leave your horse behind.' Given that young general's inability to understand my words, how could he be so quick-witted? It must have been you who said that to that young general, right?"

Cao Ze made no attempt to hide his feelings and laughed, "Senior has keen insight; I admire you."

Gongsun Long was neither angry nor pleased. He had the air of an old scholar and said seriously, "'White goes, horse stays.' These six words seem separate, but they actually contain the essence of my saying 'A white horse is not a horse.' White is color, and horse is form. The two are not one. White is white, and horse is horse. A white horse is not a horse."

Cao Ze was fine at first, but now he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

It was like an old monk chanting sutras to him.

He decisively chose to change the subject, regardless of whether the white horse was a horse or not.

"I heard that you are going to debate with Senior Kong Chuan at the beginning of next month. I wonder what the debate will be about?"

Gongsun Long chuckled and said, "You little rascal, you want to help that old man find out?"

Cao Ze glanced at Gongsun Long in surprise. He was really shrewd and experienced; he actually had that kind of idea in mind.

Even if we know that Kong Chuan knew the debate topic in advance, it's still better than losing too badly.

Gongsun Long was very pleased that he had seen through Cao Ze's thoughts.

"You don't need to worry about him. That old guy always gets back up from where he fell down."

"Back then, he posed the question of whether human nature is good or evil, and I posed the question of whether a white horse is not a horse or a white horse. I suppose this time it will be the same."

Cao Ze shook his head slightly; Kong Chuan might actually do that.

"You two are truly virtuous."

Gongsun Long chuckled, "Whether it's noble or not, let's put that aside for now."

"I have only one question for you, and I'll see if you agree or not."

"If you agree, I can do three things for you unconditionally."

Chapter 86 Bullshit...

Cao Ze was stunned by Gongsun Long's overly familiar tone.

He and Gongsun Long... don't seem to have any special relationship.

"What is it?"

Gongsun Long asked, "So you've agreed?"

"It's not too late for you to speak first, senior."

Cao Ze was very cautious; these old guys were always shrewd and cunning.

With his kung fu skills being ridiculously high, he didn't want to fall into an unknown pit.

Gongsun Long snorted, "You young people are getting more and more cunning."

"I have a granddaughter named Linglong, who is fourteen years old. My granddaughter keeps talking about you at home. How about you do me a favor?"

Cao Zedun was frightened and shouted thankfully.

He knew it! How could the cunning Gongsun Long so easily help him with three things?

"Well... senior, matters of the heart are all about mutual consent..."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Long shook his head helplessly, "Alright, that's enough, I'm leaving."

He was also very troubled, wondering why his granddaughter had become so fat.

How adorable they were when they left back then!

Cao Ze felt incredibly lucky; thankfully, he had been careful.

If you act decisively, you'll really be wasting your time.

After leaving the palace, Cao Ze secretly arrived at a pharmacy that produced special medicines.

"Shopkeeper, I have a friend who asked me to bring him some clove oil."

The gray-haired pharmacist sized up Cao Ze; his clothes were well-tailored and his attire exquisite.