Zhu Xiang was shocked by Xunzi's words.
In his previous life, Xunzi was the first sage to promote the "theory of women's misfortune". Whenever people on the Internet criticize the practice of putting the blame on concubines for the country's demise, they always mention Xunzi.
Xunzi was the first person to attribute the downfall of King Jie of Xia and King Zhou of Shang to Mei Xi and Daji, and he was also the sage who most hated women in power.
He believed that women must obey their husbands, even if their husbands did something rude; women interfering in politics was the same as actors or incompetent people interfering in politics, and was a symbol of troubled times.
How could such a Xunzi say, "I also hope that day will come in the future"
But Xunzi said this.
After this debate, Xunzi and Zhu Xiang finally resolved their differences. Xunzi once again treated Zhu Xiang as his teacher, checking whether Zhu Xiang had neglected his studies, and asked Zhu Xiang to help sort out the manuscripts he had accumulated over the years since he entered Qin.
Zhu Xiang was shocked again when he was helping Xunzi organize his manuscripts.
Xunzi actually considered changing the "theory of human nature being evil", dividing the extreme "theory of human nature being evil" into "a small number of saints are good by nature" and "most people are evil by nature but to varying degrees", and began to think dialectically.
Seeing Zhu Xiang stunned, Xunzi stretched his neck to take a look at what manuscript Zhu Xiang was reading, his eyes almost popped out.
"What's wrong?" Xunzi asked.
Zhu Xiang said: "Ah, no, that's right."
Xunzi sneered, "Right? Didn't you say before that most children are born blank, with only the survival instinct of animals, and become good or evil due to education? But people have different personalities. There are some who are good no matter how hard the circumstances are, and some who are evil even though they live happily and harmoniously with their parents. Now you say I am right?"
Zhu Xiang argued: "This is similar to what Xunzi said. The uncontrolled survival instinct can also be attributed to evil."
Xunzi took out his ruler and tapped Zhu Xiang's head gently, saying, "Continue to sort it out."
Zhu Xiang didn’t even feel the headache: “Yes!”
Zhu Xiang continued to work while Xunzi sat and drank tea to supervise the work.
While supervising, Xunzi looked at Zhu Xiang's busy figure, his vision gradually blurred, and he began to daydream.
Xunzi knew that Zhu Xiang had noticed that his thoughts had changed significantly since they first met.
He himself did not expect that even when he was old, he would actually overturn his ideas of many years and establish a new set of ideas.
All this was because of the encounter with Zhu Xiang.
After seeing the collapse of rituals and music in the Warring States Period, Xunzi firmly believed that human nature is evil, and that only by establishing a complete and solid class and making everything "orderly" could the people be saved from disaster.
Men are superior to women and women are obedient, which is part of his "orderly social order", just like the order of hierarchy among the king, ministers and common people.
But although this disciple concealed it well, his actions were constantly challenging the foundation of his thinking.
Zhu Xiang said, "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers of different species?" He believed that the difference between kings, princes, generals, and common people was nothing more than family resources. Zhu Xiang treated Xue Ji as an equal at home and often taught her to make decisions on important family matters on her own.
Xunzi originally thought that Zhu Xiang was just naive, and that he would naturally change as he read more books and experienced more things in the future.
Zhu Xiang's volunteering to go on a diplomatic mission to Changping gave him his first shock and made him doubt for the first time whether his theory was impeccable.
Afterwards, Zhu Xiang was imprisoned by King Zhao. Countless common people spontaneously gathered and besieged Handan City at the risk of their lives in an attempt to rescue Zhu Xiang. Xue Ji showed her resolute and courageous side. She first protected her child and hid, and then came to Handan to seek an opportunity to save her husband.
For the first time, Xunzi lowered his gaze from looking down on everyone and looked directly at the common people and women.
What shook him the most was Zhu Xiang himself.
Zhu Xiang was originally a commoner living in a mountain village outside the city. During the Spring and Autumn Period, he was considered a "savage" and had no chance to receive any education.
His parents were both ordinary farmers, and his eldest sister had a bad character.
Xunzi learned from Lin Xiangru that Zhu Xiang learned to read and write only after he became his disciple. Before that, Zhu Xiang only learned a few characters from merchants, and his writing was still incomplete.
Zhu Xiang seemed to be born with knowledge of the truth. His sincere heart would not change because of the betrayal of his family, the persecution of his king, or the wealth and glory of his in-laws.
Xunzi believed that human nature is evil, and even Confucius, whom he admired the most, must have gone through difficult education and trials before becoming a sage.
But what about Zhu Xiang
The more he understood Zhu Xiang, the more confused he became.
Are there really people in this world who are kind by nature
He discussed the theory of human nature with Zhu Xiang, wanting to hear Zhu Xiang's opinion. Zhu Xiang spoke a bunch of theories that sounded like nonsense, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to make sense.
Zhu Xiang said that human nature is chaotic, but some people tend to be good and some tend to be evil, just like when a carriage is moving forward, some start straight and some start to deviate to the left or right. Acquired education is like the reins that correct the direction of the horse.
Xunzi would not change his theory immediately after listening to Zhu Xiang's words, but he was not a stubborn person.
A gentleman said: Learning should never stop.
He will continue to learn even until the last day of his life. So isn't it normal to learn new knowledge and correct wrong cognition
After Xunzi entered Qin, he entered a new environment and re-examined his thoughts from a new perspective and corrected his mistakes.
He still did not fully agree with Zhu Xiang's ideas, but some of his thoughts were indeed subtly changed by Zhu Xiang.
The world that Zhu Xiang desired was indeed better than the world he imagined.
And that world was not just a fantasy, nor was it Zhu Xiang's illusory hope. Even if he himself could not see it, if he continued along the path that Zhu Xiang imagined, his descendants might really see that day.
"Xunzi, it's time for lunch. I'll go cook first and then continue cleaning after lunch."
Zhu Xiang's voice interrupted Xunzi's trance.
Xunzi said indifferently, "Yeah." He originally wanted to tell Zhu Xiang which of his thoughts were changed by Zhu Xiang. But seeing Zhu Xiang's surprised look, he didn't know why he got angry and didn't want to tell Zhu Xiang.
In your eyes, am I, your teacher, a stubborn person? !
snort!
Zhu Xiang had no idea that he had once again provoked the petty-minded Xunzi and would be subjected to a large number of revengeful punishments from Xunzi.
Ever since Zhu Xiang returned to Xianyang, King Qin Zhu has been eagerly looking forward to every meal.
Although Zhu Xiang always said that his cooking skills were not as good as those of the palace chefs, they were just new. Once the palace chefs learned the recipes he taught, they would be able to make better meals than he did.
But Qin Wangzhu disagreed. He thought Zhu Xiang's food was more delicious, even if it was just a bowl of ordinary noodle soup.
King Qin Zhu had been eating heavy-tasting dishes for several days, so today Zhu Xiang prepared a light dish.
He brought some matsutake mushrooms from the south, and planned to use them and ham to make a pot of chicken soup to nourish his elders and friends.
The Matsutake mushrooms and ham slices were slowly stewed with a half-grown hen in a casserole with just a little salt added. The taste was so delicious that Zhu Xiang couldn't help but secretly eat a chicken leg.
When Qin Wangzhu saw the little hen with one leg missing, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Zhu Xiang, if you stole the chicken, just cut it up and bring it to me."
In the casserole that Zhu Xiang was holding was a whole, uncut hen, except for one leg missing, which looked very conspicuous.
Zhu Xiang earnestly argued, "I didn't eat it secretly. I just tasted the chicken to see if it was salty enough."
Zichu said angrily, "I have never seen a chef who would eat a whole chicken leg just to taste the saltiness."
Zhu Xiang said: "You see it now."
Lin Zhi fanned the flames: "Prince, it is useless for you to reprimand him. Zhu Xiang has no sense of shame."
Xunzi immediately took out a ruler and asked Zhu Xiang to answer whether he had a sense of shame.
Qin Wangzhu watched Zhu Xiang being beaten with a smile on his face, then said, "I don't mind, eat as much as you want."
Cai Ze watched this scene silently and felt that he was out of place among this lively group of people.
He sighed and said, "Drink the soup first. The weather is cold, and the chicken soup will not taste good if it gets cold."
After Cai Ze’s reminder, everyone immediately stopped being “funny” and hurried to eat.
Zhu Xiang brought another pot of hen soup.
How could one hen be enough for so many people? He had only eaten one chicken leg in advance, and there were still many chicken legs. Zichu was really stingy and only left him chicken wings in the future.
After listening to Zhu Xiang's complaints and threats, Zichu gave the chicken legs to the King of Qin and Xunzi, took one for himself, and looked at Zhu Xiang with a provocative look.
Excuse me, I am the crown prince of Qin, I have a very high status, you want me to eat chicken wings? No way!
Zhu Xiang sneered. If the King of Qin wasn't here, you wouldn't even be able to eat chicken wings in private!
Qin Wangzhu whispered to Xunzi, "Xunzi, look at the crown prince and Zhu Xiang. They fight with their eyes even when they have a meal. I don't know whether their relationship is good or bad."
Xunzi said slowly: "If the Crown Prince and Zhu Xiang have a bad relationship, it is Zhu Xiang's own fault."
Qin Wangzhu said: "The prince should learn to tolerate Zhu Xiang. He is older than Zhu Xiang, how can he fight with Zhu Xiang?"
Xunzi said: "Zhu Xiang and the crown prince are different from each other. He is so arrogant, he should suffer a loss and learn a lesson."
Qin Wangzhu strongly objected: "How can Zhu Xiang be called arrogant? I think Zhu Xiang is the most well-behaved and considerate."
Xunzi said: "Zhu Xiang is indeed obedient and considerate to the monarch, but he is too arrogant to the prince."
Qin Wangzhu waved his hands and firmly denied the incident. How could two children fighting and quarreling be called arrogant
Cai Ze and Lin Zhi, who were listening attentively to the "debate" between Qin Wangzhu and Xunzi, exchanged glances.
Seeing that the King of Qin doted on Zhu Xiang so much, they felt relieved.
Although King Qin Zhu dealt with many people who slandered Zhu Xiang, they were still worried that these people's words would leave a mark in King Qin Zhu's heart.
Fortunately, it seems that not all monarchs can be made out of three people.
After everyone finished drinking the chicken soup, Zhu Xiang mixed water with the chicken soup and cooked some vegetables and noodles.
The cook who was helping to cook the noodles felt jealous when he saw Qin Wangzhu eating the noodles made from the leftovers with a very satisfied look on his face.
In this world, Changping Jun is probably the only one who dares to give leftovers to the King of Qin and the Crown Prince.
But the King of Qin and the Crown Prince were very satisfied with the meal?! What was so delicious about the noodles cooked in the leftover soup?! The chef couldn't understand.
Every time Qin Wangzhu sighed that his chef's cooking skills were not as good as Zhu Xiang's, the chef could not understand.
When he was helping Chang Ping Jun, he didn't see any difference between Chang Ping Jun's cooking and his. In fact, Chang Ping Jun's control of the heat and knife skills was far inferior to his, and sometimes he would lose his concentration and fry the meat dry or burn the edges of the pancakes.
Changping Jun served the overcooked fried meat and the slightly burnt pancakes to the table, and the King of Qin and the Crown Prince still closed their eyes and praised the deliciousness.
The chef once suspected that Changping Jun had put some delicious seasoning in the dishes that he could not see.
The cook's complaint was accidentally leaked out, and King Qin Zhu was furious and wanted to punish the cook.
Zhu Xiang persuaded him, "He just wants to improve his skills so that His Majesty can eat more delicious food. He is not jealous of me. I did not become Lord Changping by cooking. How could he be jealous of me?"
Only then did King Zhu of Qin let the cook go.
Zhu Xiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Do you really think my cooking skills are better than yours? My cooking skills are not as good as yours. It's just because I am the younger generation of the King of Qin and a friend of the Crown Prince, so they praise my cooking as better than others. It's just like you cook for your parents."
The chef finally realized his mistake.
What had he done wrong to compete with Lord Changping in cooking? Even if Lord Changping could make a tasteless steamed bun, the King of Qin and the Crown Prince would still praise him with their eyes closed.
Can the meals prepared by the cook be the same as those prepared by Lord Changping himself
In order to make up for his mistake, he deliberately revealed his request for advice from Changping Jun, trying to prove that he was not really jealous of Changping Jun, but really wanted to improve his cooking skills.
But after this word spread, it became like Zhu Xiang was showing off his close relationship with the King of Qin and the Crown Prince, and considering himself a member of the King of Qin and the Crown Prince's family.
Soon, someone impeached Zhu Xiang for being arrogant and not knowing the difference between superiors and subordinates.
Qin Wangzhu said calmly: "Showing off? It's just a fact. Why show off? Zhu Xiang is my nephew." Then he had the person who impeached Zhu Xiang taken out and dismissed him from office.
Zichu simply didn't bother to pay attention to those who were trying to sow discord in front of him.
Zhu Xiang did not stay in Xianyang for long and soon had to head south to prepare for the summer harvest in Wujun.
The spring ploughing in Wu County had been arranged in advance when Zhu Xiang left Wu County, but the summer harvest and summer planting were too important, so Zhu Xiang was worried.
Doesn't he seize the time every day to discuss government affairs and academic matters with Zhu Xiang instead of chatting with these people
He had to use his wits to fight these people. After Zhu Xiang left, he would slowly fight them.
At the beginning of spring, Zhu Xiang picked some toon buds, made a meal of toon bud fried chicken for Qin Wangzhu, and then left the Xianyang Palace in Qin Wangzhu's reluctant gaze.
Zichu once again abused his power for personal gain and used the excuse of a business trip to send Zhu Xiang all the way to the Han River ferry.
Before leaving, Zhu Xiang kept reminding Zichu to take care of himself.
Zichu responded good-naturedly: "You should also take care of yourself."
Zhu Xiang rolled up his sleeves, revealing his beautiful muscular lines, and said contemptuously: "You're telling me this?"
Zichu's temper was no longer good: "Go away! Don't come back!"
"That won't do." The boat left the ferry, and Zhu Xiang stood at the bow of the boat, smiling smugly at Zichu, "Next time we'll have a competition to see if you've become even thinner."
Zichu yelled, "Get lost!"
The boat that Zhu Xiang was on gradually disappeared from Zichu's sight.
Zichu used his sleeve to wipe his eyes which were blinded by the wind and sand. When he put down his sleeve, he returned to the scheming Crown Prince of Qin.
It's time for him to settle accounts with those who framed Zhu Xiang.
When Zhu Xiang was on the boat, he was still sorting out Xunzi's books.
Xunzi asked his disciples to make many copies and let Zhu Xiang take one away, asking Zhu Xiang to organize it carefully, read it and write down his understanding.
Xunzi also collected the thoughts of other scholars in the Xianyang Academy and asked Zhu Xiang to read them and write down his understanding, preferably an insulting understanding.
Zhu Xiang was helpless.
Would Xunzi send his insulting article to other scholars after I wrote it? I'd better not do that. I'm not a true Confucian disciple, so I'm really embarrassed to insult others.
At this time, Zhu Xiang forgot that he even scolded Xunzi.
"As expected, they are beginning to pay less attention to practical work and more attention to morality." Zhu Xiang sighed, "For today's scholars, they have already learned the six arts of a gentleman before entering school, so they can indeed learn the courses I set, such as arithmetic, on their own. So it is understandable that the teachers of Xianyang Academy think that correcting morality is more important."
But it was just excusable, and Zhu Xiang did not agree.
This time, Zhu Xiang had a private discussion with the King of Qin and Zichu, expressing his concerns about the training of officials. He also changed the negative example of his later generations who only focused on the classics and were not familiar with common affairs to a small country in the Spring and Autumn Period and told the King of Qin and Zichu about it.
Now many scholars from the East came to Qin. Confucianism was the dominant school of thought in the East, and had overwhelmed Mohism, which had originally coexisted with them, and had almost become the only school of thought.
Therefore, it was inevitable that the Xianyang Academy gradually became dominated by Confucianism.
However, the Qin State was founded on the Legalist doctrine. After unification, it should have absorbed the strengths of all schools of thought rather than allowing any one to dominate.
Qin Wangzhu looked at Zhu Xiang with a very strange look at that time.
Although he knew that everything Zhu Xiang said was for the good of Qin, he really wanted to tell these words to Xunzi. He wondered if Xunzi would expel Zhu Xiang after hearing them.
Zichu looked at his king and father's expression and felt very worried.
The king and father did not doubt Zhu Xiang and would not use some checks and balances. But not using checks and balances did not mean that the king and father did not want to see Zhu Xiang suffer.
The king and his father just wanted to make fun of Zhu Xiang.
But is this kind of joke acceptable? What if Xunzi and Zhu Xiang really turned against each other
Zichu couldn't persuade Qin Wangzhu directly, because Qin Wangzhu hadn't indicated that he was going to file a complaint yet. He could only go back to Cai Ze and Lin Zhi to discuss countermeasures.
Being a crown prince is really exhausting for him. Does it mean that no matter whether the monarch is suspicious of the crown prince or not, the crown prince is born to be hostile to the monarch
Although Qin Wangzhu felt a little bit like making fun of Zhu Xiang, he also seriously considered Zhu Xiang's advice.
This was the first time that the Qin State established the Xianyang Academy, and it was also the first time that scholars from the six states came to the Qin State.
Even though Qin Wangzhu was constantly reflecting on himself, he couldn't help but become complacent and ignored some problems.
The king of Qin should not indulge in the false image of "benevolence" created by Eastern scholars. Every king of Qin is a cold-blooded creature of interests and a dictatorial king.
He should not and cannot be misled by any particular school of thought, neither Legalism nor Confucianism.
The Qin State will unify the world, so naturally it should embrace all the world's theories and integrate them for its own use.
In the process of integration, Qin must adhere to its bottom line. And this bottom line is that both scholars and officials must be used by Qin and make contributions to Qin.
Therefore, paying attention to practical matters is something that the Qin State must adhere to from the past to the future.
Even if King Zhu of Qin did not directly change the curriculum of the Xianyang Academy, he should have changed the subjects for selecting talents from the Xianyang Academy, focusing on laws and agriculture and warfare.
Zhu Xiang originally wanted to suggest that handicrafts and commerce should also be provided as support, but he did not tell Qin Wangzhu in the end, and only told Zichu in private.
When Qin unified the world and did not need to send so many soldiers, it needed to pay more attention to people's livelihood. Commerce and handicrafts were also important aspects of improving people's livelihood.
Zichu said helplessly: "I know. But that was after the Qin unified the world. Do you think I can live to see the Qin unify the world?"
Zichu was only half joking, but Zhu Xiang's face immediately turned bad and he scolded Zichu.
Zichu no longer dared to mention that he would not live to see the Qin Dynasty unify the world, and repeatedly promised that he would be a good "Qin Shi Huang" and let Zheng'er be "Qin Er Shi".
Zhu Xiang suggested: "Qin Er Shi really doesn't sound good. Why don't you just keep the temple name and posthumous title? You are Qin Gaozu, and Zheng'er is Qin Taizong. You see, this name is not bad."
Zichu repeatedly praised Zhu Xiang for his ability to name things, completely ignoring the fact that Gaozu and Taizong had already had this skill since the Shang Dynasty.
Ying Xiaozheng, who was far away in Wujun, shuddered, always feeling that his uncle was saying bad things about him.
After Ying Xiaozheng complained, Xue Ji nodded and said, "If anyone is talking about you, it should only be your uncle."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Right! Uncle is the worst!"
Xue Ji laughed.
Ying Xiaozheng always said bad things about Zhu Xiang, but he also thought of Zhu Xiang once a day and missed her very much.
Although she also missed her lover, she did not think of him several times a day like Zheng'er did.
Xue Ji couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
But when she thought about it carefully, she didn't know who she should be jealous of.
In the end, Xue Ji just held Ying Xiaozheng in her arms, rubbed Ying Xiaozheng's head, and told Ying Xiaozheng that his uncle would be back soon.
Ying Xiaozheng always said stubbornly that he hoped his uncle would stay in Xianyang and not come back.
Xue Ji laughed.
Ying Xiaozheng talks tough but his actions are not tough at all.
When he heard that Zhu Xiang had returned to Wujun, Ying Xiaozheng could no longer sit still and took a boat to Eyi to wait.
Meng Wu really wanted to laugh at Ying Xiaozheng, but he didn't dare.
Although he was on good terms with Zhu Xiang, he did not have a very close relationship with the father and son pair of Crown Prince Zichu and Prince Zheng. Even though he could call Ying Xiaozheng "Zheng'er", after seeing Ying Xiaozheng's many methods in Wujun, he did not dare to act rashly.
At this time Meng Wu admired Li Mu very much. Li Mu now dared to scold Ying Xiaozheng with a stern face, and went to Xue Ji to complain, asking Xue Ji to hit Ying Xiaozheng on the palm of his hand.
Ying Xiaozheng had many complaints about this.
Would his aunt still spank him on the palm after he became the crown prince of Qin? That would be so embarrassing for him.
Only by becoming the King of Qin can I avoid my uncle's nagging and my aunt's slapping on the palm of my hand
Ying Xiaozheng thought about it, and then discovered unhappily that he might be able to avoid being spanked on the palm by his aunt, but with his uncle's audacity, he was afraid that even if he became the King of Qin, his uncle would still nag him when necessary.
My uncle even dares to nag my great-grandfather, so what else can he do
hehe.
Amid Ying Xiaozheng's complaints, Zhu Xiang finally arrived in Eyi.
When he saw Ying Xiaozheng, who had grown a lot taller, at the dock, his eyes lit up and he picked up Ying Xiaozheng and flew around.
Ying Xiaozheng smiled with curved eyebrows and complained: "Uncle, I have grown up, don't treat me like a child."
Zhu Xiang said the same thing: "Yes, Zheng'er has grown up, so we should hold him more often while we can still hold him."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "When I grow up, I will hug my uncle."
Zhu Xiang said, "You'd better carry me on your back. It would be too shocking to see you carrying an old man like me."
Ying Xiaozheng smiled and two shallow dimples appeared on his face.
Zhu Xiang was very pleased. Even though Zheng'er had grown taller, his dimples were still there.
My housekeeper has grown into a beautiful boy with sweet dimples. I am so proud!
Zhu Xiang rested in Eyi for a day. When Ying Xiaozheng took a carriage back to Meng Wu's mansion, he took out a bag of raw garlic from his sleeve and started to eat it.
Zhu Xiang: Well, I’m proud of my handsome boy Qin Shi Huang who loves to chew garlic!
(End of this chapter)