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On that day, the Daqin Times published a special edition, which was transmitted by telegram and published simultaneously in Beijing, Xijing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Changsha and other places.
Such a big fuss must have important news, at least that's what everyone who was vying to buy the Daqin Times thought.
However, when everyone bought this special edition, they were surprised to find that it only contained two stories about sheep, and they were published in a colloquial form that was easy to understand.
The first story is: There was a group of sheep living on each of the two grasslands. The sheep on the western grassland had no natural enemies, and they lived a carefree life. They ate green grass every day and slept comfortably after being full. However, not long after, the sheep on the western grassland fell ill one after another, and in the end, none of them were spared and all died of the illness.
The sheep on the eastern grassland were chased by a wolf every day because there was a wolf lurking nearby. The weak and sick sheep were always eaten by the wolf first. Over time, the sheep on the eastern grassland were able to stay healthy and reproduce from generation to generation.
This first story is very simple and short.
The second story is a bit longer:
The gods placed two flocks of sheep on the grassland, one in the south and one in the north. The gods also found two natural enemies for the sheep, one was a lion and the other was a wolf.
The immortal said to the sheep: "If you want a wolf, I will give you one and let it bite you as it pleases. If you want a lion, I will give you two and you can choose between them and change them at any time."
The sheep in the south thought that lions were much more ferocious than wolves, so they decided to get a wolf. So they asked for a wolf.
The sheep in the north thought, although lions are much more ferocious than wolves, we have the right to choose, so we should take lions. So they asked for two lions.
After the wolf entered the flock of sheep in the south, it began to eat the sheep. Wolves are small in size and have a small appetite. It eats a rabbit for several days, so the flock of sheep is only hunted once every few days.
The sheep in the north chose a lion, and the other one stayed with the immortal. After the lion entered the sheep flock, it also began to eat sheep. Lions are not only more ferocious than wolves, but also have an amazing appetite, eating a sheep every day.
The sheep were being hunted every day and were terrified. The sheep quickly asked the gods to replace the lion. Unexpectedly, the lion that the gods kept had not eaten and was extremely hungry. It pounced on the sheep and bit them more fiercely than the previous lion. The sheep were running for their lives all day and night, and they could hardly eat grass.
The sheep in the south were glad that they had chosen the right natural enemy. They also laughed at the sheep in the north for being short-sighted. The sheep in the north regretted their decision and complained to the gods, asking for a different natural enemy, a wolf.
The immortal said: "Once the natural enemy is determined, it cannot be changed and must be with you for generations. Your only right is to choose between the two lions."
The sheep in the north had to keep replacing the two lions. But the two lions were equally ferocious, and no matter which one they replaced, the sheep in the south would be much more miserable. So they simply stopped replacing them, letting one lion grow fat and strong while the other became skinny and hungry. When they saw that the skinny lion was about to starve to death, they asked the gods to replace it with another one.
After a long period of hunger, the skinny lion slowly realized a truth: although he was extremely ferocious and could not defeat a hundred sheep, his fate was controlled by the sheep. The sheep could send him back to God at any time, leaving him to suffer from hunger and even starve to death. After understanding this truth, the skinny lion became very polite to the sheep, only eating dead and sick sheep and not eating any healthy sheep.
The sheep were overjoyed, and some of the lambs suggested that they should just keep the thin lion and not the fat lion. An old ram reminded them: "The thin lion is so kind to us because he is afraid that we will send him back to the gods to starve. If the fat lion starves to death, we will have no choice and the thin lion will soon return to its ferocious nature." The sheep thought the old sheep was right, and in order to prevent the other lion from starving to death, they quickly replaced it.
The lion, who was originally fat and strong, was now starving to the point of being skin and bones, and he also realized that his fate was controlled by the sheep. In order to stay on the grassland longer, he tried his best to please the sheep. The lion that was sent to God was so sad that he shed tears. After experiencing many hardships, the sheep in the north finally lived a free life.
The situation of the sheep in the south became more and more miserable. Because the wolf had no competitors and the sheep could not replace it, it acted recklessly, biting dozens of sheep to death every day. The wolf no longer ate sheep meat, but only drank the blood in the sheep's heart. It also did not allow the sheep to bleat, and would bite to death any sheep that bleated. The sheep in the south could only lament in their hearts: If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off with two lions.
The prestigious Daqin Times went to great lengths to publish special editions in various places at the same time. It was just to publish these two stories, with no other content. This inevitably caused an uproar in the world.
People didn't understand what was going on and couldn't help but talk about it.
Especially the scholars of the world. The current debate between Confucianism and Legalism is in full swing, and the world is in a state of panic. At this juncture, the "Daqin Times" specially published these two stories in an extra edition, which was not accidental, so everyone was thinking about these two stories anyway.
The next day, the Daqin Times published its main edition simultaneously in various places, and published a signed article by Hanlin scholar Wang Fuzhi.
From the first story, Wang Fuzhi talked about the truth that people are born in adversity and die in comfort. No matter whether it is a country or an idea, if it has no natural enemies and lives in comfort for a long time, it will gradually decay and die.
The same goes for Confucianism. We must dare to accept the challenges of other doctrines in order to constantly improve and enhance ourselves.
The second story reminds us that it is important to keep our options open.
Confucianism may be the best, but it cannot be used to condemn Legalism.
We should not let a certain academic discipline feel that it is the only one and there is no alternative. For the chooser, this can give itself a chance to survive. For the chosen, it can encourage it to constantly improve itself, thus making this thought better.
Then, Wang Fuzhi took the example of the eight-part essay of the Ming Dynasty. After the eight-part essay was set as the only standard for the imperial examination, scholars lost other options when writing essays and could only write in the format of the eight-part essay. The final result was that the scholars' thoughts became increasingly rigid, and they copied each other, and the articles they produced were rotten.
In addition, Confucianism was the only religious school throughout the ages. So why was it that every three or two hundred years, bureaucratic corruption and rampant graft would still occur, ultimately leading to the people being unable to settle down, officials failing to enforce the law, rebellions arising everywhere, and countless lives being lost
The conclusion is that respecting Confucianism alone and rejecting other schools of thought will cause Confucians to become corrupt and even lose the ability to maintain the bottom line of society.
Wang Fuzhi's article quoted classics, cited facts, and explained the truth. It was thousands of words long and eloquent. Without a doubt, it was like a heavy explosion thrown into the crowd, instantly arousing a fierce reaction.
It was precisely because he knew that this move would surely cause a huge uproar that Wang Fuzhi seemed to have difficulty in taking a step when he accepted Qin Mu's summons to leave Jianjia Palace.
Qin Mu's idea is very simple. Aren't you arguing about emphasizing law over Confucianism? I am just muddying the waters. In addition, this truth is not just for scholars to see, but more importantly, it is for millions of ordinary people to hear.
He was telling the people clearly that although Confucianism is good, it is not your only choice. You must remember that if there is no other choice, Confucianism can become extremely cruel and eat your flesh and peel off your skin.
Only by retaining other options can Confucianism become better, society become healthier, and the rights and interests of ordinary people be better protected.
Of course, it was not enough to just rely on the publicity of the Great Qin Times to awaken the people, so Qin Mu had a second plan. That was to mobilize business owners, such as Xu Yongshun, and the chambers of commerce in various provinces. Their business warehouses were everywhere, infiltrating all walks of life and every corner. In addition, with Ye Bushou's powerful information dissemination capabilities, they would vigorously publicize to ordinary people, and finally use the public opinion offensive of the lower-class people to force those scholars.
This was a big battle that Qin Mu could not afford to lose, so the counterattack he launched was so powerful and unparalleled.
Through these two stories, the emperor was compared to a god by the people of the world, while Confucianism and Legalism were compared to two lions respectively, and the people became the flock of sheep.
Dear lambs, please keep your right to choose. That is your life-saving grass, don't throw it away. (To be continued...)
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