Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1643 Speculators
"Why didn't Sanlang say a word today?" Pi Guangye, who came from Hangzhou, grabbed Niu Xiji and asked.

Pi Guangye, from Xiangyang, the son of Pi Rixiu, was a magistrate of the Qian Liu shogunate.After Wu Yue offered his land and surrendered, Pi Guangye got the post of Changshi in Hangzhou and has been an official there.

In Han Yu's system of Taoism, Pi Rixiu was regarded as an important figure, advocating go-getters, determined to "put order out of chaos" and "revival of Confucianism and Taoism."

As for the extent to which the chaos should be corrected, he made it very clear: "Reversing the present is the past."

That is to restore the ancient system, so that "politics returns to Qingming" and "folk customs return to simplicity".

To put it bluntly, under the background of Wufu ruling the country, life of literati is too sad, so they yearn for the ancient times infinitely, hoping to restore the old system.

Of course, their faction can also be subdivided.

Some people just want to simply get out of the bleak situation they are in now.As for whether to restore the ancient ritual system, or how "ancient" the restoration is, it doesn't matter.

Some people want to restore the Confucian orthodoxy in one go.Because in the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism, Taoism, and Huang-Lao theories had a great resurgence, which greatly eroded the interests of Confucianism. These heterogeneous theories must be suppressed and eliminated, so that the whole country can speak with one voice of Confucianism.

Pi Rixiu is such a person.

In "Inviting Han Wengong to Enjoy Taixue Book", it is believed that Han Yu's article "kicks Yang Mo in a barren land, and releases the old in a land where no one is there, so Confucius Dao is majestic and self-righteous."

The translation is that Han Yu's articles have supported the theories of Yang Zhu and Mo Di, and stepped on the ground of Buddhist and Taoist thoughts.

Of course, the Confucian literati in the Tang Dynasty did not have enough imagination.

In their view, "The way of the sage is still a smooth path, and the way of the philosophers is like an oblique path. There is nothing wrong with the path, and there is nothing wrong with the oblique path. However, those who are suitable for a smooth path have bridges, and those who have an oblique path suffer from thorns."

Those who cannot "reject Yang Mo and the Buddha with words" are "sinners of saints".

Well, it's actually okay.

Pi Rixiu, one of the most radical Confucian literati at this time, also admitted that the theories of various schools of thought were useful and could reach the end, but Confucianism was a "smooth path" that was convenient and quick, while schools of thought were "oblique paths". There are many thorns on the road and it is difficult to walk.

It's not domineering enough, and it hasn't become an existence that dominates the rivers and lakes. The tone is tough, but a little weak.

A few hundred years later, the schools of thought will be "crossroads", not the "oblique path" that can also reach the end as admitted by Pi Rixiu, the "key member of the Knights" of Tang Dynasty Confucianism. .

As the son of Pi Rixiu, Pi Guangye, who has a deep family background, was also an aspiring young man in his early years. He was determined to inherit his father's ambition, let Confucianism rule the world, and eliminate all other "heretics". "Monster Records", which seriously deviates from the Dao of Kong Sheng, can only be said to be completely rotten and not firm at all.

Of course, not to mention the second elder brother, Niu Xiji is not someone with a "firm heart".

He was really scared.

Why follow in the footsteps of my uncle and join this school?Careful analysis of the heart, there may be factors that want to make progress, and the other is to see the decline of orthodoxy and want to contribute to Confucianism.

However, he also hit a wall in reality, so he was discouraged.

Pi Guangye wrote "Monster Records", he devoted himself to the Huajian school of poets, and wrote "Huajian Ji" about the grievances between men and women.

Such people are not rare.

After the establishment of the new dynasty, there were fewer people writing Huajianci, and Niu Xiji stopped writing. He began to change his job as a poet of the sympathetic peasant school, caring about the suffering of the people.

The new dynasty gave them hope, but not much hope.

The past 150 years have been really unsatisfactory, and he dare not imagine defeating other theories and respecting Confucianism alone.Today, this old warrior doesn't look like he plays with women every day, but he is indeed a shrewd guy, ruthless enough, and his knife is fast.

Being targeted by him, it is not impossible for the whole family to be exiled to the Western Regions, and his wife and daughter to be imprisoned in Ye Court.

The prince is also a vulgar martial artist, he learns everything from the present, Xiao Gui Cao follows, and the second generation of Daxia can't count on it.

Therefore, his spirit is really not high now, his will is not firm, and he even has a speculative mentality.

Pi and Niu are indeed a pair of crouching dragon and phoenix chicks.

"The tea is so delicious, it should be the Yixing Yangxian tea that the sage likes most, right? I drank bowl after bowl and went to the toilet many times, but I didn't listen to the advice of all the gentlemen." Niu Xiji said.

"Good job Saburo!" Pi Guangye smiled and said, "You still haven't told the truth in front of me?"

Niu Xiji smiled awkwardly, and said, "How is the writing of "Monster Records" going?"

"The five volumes have been completed." Pi Guangye said.

"Are you still writing the sixth volume?"

"I won't write anymore, I want to do something serious."

"How to do business properly?" Niu Xiji asked.

"Have you had lunch today?" Pi Guangye asked back.

"I ate it. Two squid heads and a plate of venison, I almost got stuffed." Niu Xiji said.

"The sage said that the price of squid head in Liaodong and Hebei is cheaper than pork. The common people buy more, and after eating, there will be oil and water in their stomachs, which saves a lot of food. This is a virtuous government, and I deeply believe it." Pi Guangye Said: "I want to go to Liaodong to seek a governor."

"You are catering to your wishes." Niu Xiji glanced at him and said with a smile.

"How do you cater, and what if you don't cater?" Pi Guangye smiled wryly, "I fought with Yang Mo and Shi Lao for 300 years, but we ended up sinking together, and finally let the farmer come back. Do you think this is wrong?"

The peasant family is one of the hundreds of schools in the pre-Qin period. It advocates the governance of the country by virtuous men. They should farm and eat together with the common people, and cook together by themselves.

With the development of the times, the theory of farming has also changed. Gradually, the ruler and the people are not required to farm and cook together, because this is unrealistic.

They began to affirm that the division of labor in society was different, but they demanded that the rulers should restrain their behavior, not to steal and plunder, not to exploit the people too much, and at the same time to pay attention to economy and not to be extravagant.

At this time, they began to become more "academic", and their political color gradually faded. They delved into the meteorological knowledge closely related to agricultural production such as sunlight and rain, and at the same time studied farmland water conservancy to reduce the impact of natural disasters.

In short, more academic, more technocratic.But their binding demands on the rulers have not changed, they are not very popular, and their gradual decline is inevitable.

Of course, whether the so-called peasant family in the Xia Dynasty is the former peasant family is still open to debate, because there is no inheritance relationship between the two.

There are many officials from the Xia Dynasty who were born in agriculture, and they are indeed a force, but they were all supported by Shao Shude. After all, he was the first to advocate breeding, three-crop rotation, and both farming and animal husbandry. It will be mass-produced slowly, and it is not the same as the farmhouse thousands of years ago.

But in the eyes of people like Niu Xiji and Pi Guangye who are very sensitive to the "controversy of orthodoxy", this is a peasant family, or a "new peasant family".It doesn't matter what the name is, you just need to know that they are already a faction that cannot be ignored in the political arena.Moreover, with the fixed number of places for agriculture in the imperial examination, this faction still has a steady stream of new troops. This faction can fight a protracted war with them and must not be ignored.

"Sometimes—" Niu Xiji sighed suddenly, "I hated my former self. I wrote nonsense, and I didn't get acquainted with a few famous prostitutes."

"Haha." Pi Guangye laughed.

Niu Xiji also shook his head and laughed, saying: "Waste time, nothing will be achieved."

I feel even more ashamed when I think that I also suggested that my sons and nephews who can't pass the Jinshi exam should try agricultural science.Digging the corner of the wall and digging on his own head, is that okay?He really wasn't a solid guy.

"As you said—" Niu Xiji said again: "Now that the farmers are back, I want to compare with them. They can plant trees, plow fields, and herd sheep, and I can also educate the people and teach Huafeng. You go to Liaodong , I will go to Anxi and let the sage take a look, our Confucianism is not just for nothing, we can also do things for the country, and what they do is better and more beautiful than them."

"Ambition is not small." Pi Guangye said with a smile: "However, it is not easy to go to the Western Regions. Now everyone knows that saints pay attention to the frontiers, and it is easy to get promoted there, but it is not easy to find real shortages."

"I have my own way." Niu Xiji laughed.

"Let's hear it." Pi Guangye was aroused and asked.

"The book "Zhizhi" has a good reasoning, but the words are too vulgar and straightforward, and they are even more plain than vernacular." Niu Xiji said: "The sage probably needs others to help him polish it. This matter-who else but me .”

"Haha, interesting." Pi Guangye laughed again, and said: "Indeed, with your skills, you can indeed polish it. But be a little restrained, the sage doesn't like people who are too flamboyant, don't be self-defeating."

"I can save this." Niu Xiji said: "Think about what you want, haha, although it's not pleasant, we are much more enlightened than those schoolboys."

"Yi Jing, Zhang Mi and others need to pay attention." Pi Guangye reminded: "They are half warriors, and it is easier to win the favor of saints."

Niu Xiji nodded.

Confucianism is already in decline, and it is still torn apart internally.

The aristocratic family is too flexible, catering to Shangyi, it can be regarded as a faction.

The half-literary and half-military generation is another faction—these people are similar to the so-called frontier school poets back then, and they relied on military merits to get promoted.

In addition, there are also Confucianists who are passionate about mountains and rivers, who are close to Buddhism and Taoism, and even literati who are Buddhism and Taoism themselves, such as the poet monks and poets invited here this time.

There is still a school of literati who like to write poems about joy and sympathy for farmers.

As for those who advocate the restoration of Confucian orthodoxy and rejection of other heretical theories, although they have a loud voice and many supporters, in terms of the total number of people, they do not actually have an advantage.What's more, there are too many weak-willed people among them, including himself.

The internal split is like this, and it can't be monolithic, and it is unanimous to the outside world. No wonder it is called "Cuo Da" by Wufu, alas.

The Hongwenguan conference held by the saint is very meaningful, and it can't change anything anyway to make the old man happy.

The matter of maintaining Confucian orthodoxy has to be done slowly, not in a hurry.

After the two finished talking, they took a short rest and returned to Hongwen Hall.

Han Xie was dozing off, Yan Shenghou was advocating, and the others were divided into factions, like a mob.

Niu Xiji has started to read three chapters of "Zhi Zhi" seriously.

If you don't understand your thoughts well, how can you polish them?

You have to pretend to be a faithful believer in the saint now, follow his train of thought, understand his thoughts, and then write.

This broken meeting is just going through the process, let's end it sooner, anyway, the ending can't be changed.

(End of this chapter)