As a Hanlin scholar who is good at all subjects, if Fang Yun asked a question, Ou Mo would either answer it with trickery or try to cover up his mistake to avoid damaging his literary talent. Fang Yun had no way to deal with him.
The "covering one's ears and stealing the bell" of the eclectic school, the "changing sides between Qin and Chu" of the diplomats, and the "all is fair in war" of the military strategists all have extremely special powers. As long as one has a strong enough will, and speaks differently to different people, it is difficult to be seen through.
Fang Yun shouted loudly, leaving Ou Mo speechless.
Fang Yun and ordinary scholars are unable to see through or fight back against the tactics of the miscellaneous schools, but the power of the saints cannot be deceived. Once Fang Yun presses forward step by step and seizes any loophole, it will be enough to put Ou Mo to death.
Although teaching the holy way is important, the Patriarch Saint is only a half-saint after all, and there is no way he can compete with Fang Yun, a Jinshi, for the holy way. Once the Patriarch Saint disregards his dignity and competes personally, it means that other half-saints can also take action personally, and a large number of scholars in Qing Kingdom will gradually abandon the Patriarch Saint.
After all, the strength of the Eclectic School is lower than that of the Confucianists, the Military Strategists, the Mohists, the Legalists and other schools.
Without the patriarch to show up, the clan could not openly compete with Fang Yun for the holy way of enlightenment, so they used the power of the King of Qing to seal off the Fang family library, but now it has given Fang Yun an excuse.
Fang Yun directly accused Ou Mo of a crime. Unless the patriarch himself admitted that he had competed with Fang Yun for the holy way, Ou Mo would definitely be convicted.
Suddenly, the left prime minister Liu Shan said, "Minister of Personnel Ou Mo has made rude remarks and lies. He should be severely punished, but Jing State is in need of talents. He will be fined for one year and allowed to make meritorious contributions. If he commits bad deeds again within three years, he will be demoted one level!"
Ou Mo immediately bowed and said, "I am sorry for the offense. I hope the Duke of Zhenguo will forgive me. The fifth harm is just my unfounded talk. The Duke of Zhenguo is loyal to the emperor and the country, selfless and without any selfish desires. Today's literary war with Qing Kingdom has nothing to do with the closure of the library."
Fang Yun already knew the ways of the Za family. Even if he failed, he would always bite back and make a disgusting move.
Fang Yun snorted coldly and said, "I originally wanted to fight Xiangzhou with words. I just couldn't find the opportunity. Today, I learned that Qing Kingdom actually sealed my library. The hatred between my family and the country arose, which made me make up my mind. But Minister Ou was fair-minded. He knew that it would cause public resentment, but he still completely denied the recovery of the territory."
Ou Mo said loudly: "I am not against recovering the territory, but I am against recovering the territory when the barbarians are about to move south! Everyone, for the sake of an unimportant state, we will lose the assistance of Qing Kingdom, face the counterattack of Qing Kingdom, disperse manpower and material resources, and increase internal friction among the human race. These are the four harms. Can't you stop your willful actions?"
Fang Yun said: "There are four harms in retaking Xiangzhou. It seems reasonable, but it is actually absurd!"
"Please give me instructions, Duke Zhenguo!" Ou Mo bowed.
"First, the so-called aid from Qing is just empty talk. The Holy Academy and Mohist School can provide weapons, Wu can provide horses, Shu can provide cotton cloth, and Qing can barely provide food and grass. How much food and grass can Qing provide? If we can obtain Xiangzhou and wait for the harvest in September, the food and grass that Xiangzhou provides to Jing will be several times more than the aid from Qing!"
Ou Mo immediately counterattacked: "What about the 100,000 reinforcements sent by Qing Kingdom?"
"Reinforcements? According to the rules of the Holy Academy, how dare Qing not send reinforcements? Moreover, Qing has evil ambitions. When Cao Man cooperated with Liangjie Mountain to attack Wu and Jing, the Qing army put up a little resistance. How could they fight bloody battles? I'm afraid that the Qing reinforcements will just sit on the sidelines and wait for Jing to be defeated before taking over!"
The Minister of War said: "Fang Xusheng's words make sense. Wu and Qing are both enemies of our Jing. When the barbarians go south, Wu will certainly go all out, and Qing will never really provide full assistance. The so-called Qing assistance is just a pie in the sky!"
The military strategist Hanlin spoke, and Ou Mo could not refute.
Fang Yun continued, "Secondly, Qing's counterattack is just a bluff. Don't forget that Qing is not the kingdom of the Zong family alone! The noble families of Qing will definitely not allow Qing to engage in a war of words against our Jing at this moment. Moreover, if Qing engages in a war of words, we can report to the Holy Court and postpone the war of words until after the decisive battle with Cao Man."
"Fang Xusheng, the families of Qing Kingdom hate you to the core. If we start a war against our country, the families will definitely agree."
Cai He chuckled and said, "Minister Ou is joking. A few days ago, Mr. Xun... no, now we can call him the acting head of the Xun family. He once ordered that Fang Xusheng should not be provoked. How could he instigate Qing to fight against my Jing country? What's more, there are also children of noble families in Qing who were saved by Fang Yun at Shengxu, Denglongtai or Jinshi Hunting Ground. They will never be ungrateful."
Chen Jing suddenly said, "Before entering Fengtian Hall, I have received news that the government of Xizhou, where the Xun family is located, has already checked and found that there is nothing wrong with the Fang family library and it can be opened."
"really?"
“That’s a good thing!”
"As expected of Mr. Xun, your demeanor is different!"
"This is the mind of a sub-saint family!"
Many officials praised the Xun family on the surface, but in fact they knew in their hearts that it was nothing more than that the Xun family had gone too far last year, and Mr. Xun made up for it in this way. The key point was that Fang Yun had shocked Xun Ziyi, who personally helped Fang Yun threaten the Dragon Saint of the West Sea. The Xun family could not give face to anyone, but they could not not give face to Xun Ziyi.
If Xunzi were to decide to purge the family, the Xun family's reputation would be ruined.
Other sub-sages cannot do this, but Xunzi can definitely do it.
Ou Mo shut up this time. Now that the Zong family and the King of Qing insist on fighting back, it is very likely to cause confrontation among the Qing family, which would be more serious than the loss of Xiangzhou.
"The so-called third harm, the dispersion of manpower, is even more absurd. Don't forget that if Xiangzhou is seized this year, the number of students, scholars, juren and jinshi admitted to the county, prefectural, state and metropolitan examinations of Jingguo will increase significantly! What's more, most of the county magistrates of the eighty counties in Xiangzhou will be vacant, which means that the number of jinshi participating in the palace examination of Jingguo will increase by at least fifty out of thin air! And this year, anyone who enters the palace examination will be able to enter Xuehai! There will be an extra fifty jinshi in Xuehai. Is this a dispersion of manpower, or is it to increase the national strength of Jingguo?"
"Fang Xusheng is right!" Everyone echoed. Ou Mo's so-called third harm became a joke.
Ou Mo said stubbornly: "Every advantage has its disadvantages. Transferring important officials to Xiangzhou is not good for Jingguo."
Fang Yun suddenly said: "Minister Ou is right! If I cannot defeat Xiangzhou by force, everything will remain the same. If we can recapture Xiangzhou, then the officials going to Xiangzhou will not need the Ministry of Personnel to worry about it, and officials from the Ministry of Personnel can be directly transferred from the Academy of Literature or the army to avoid dispersing them!"
"You..." Ou Mo was horrified. The officials from the Zuo Xiang and King Kang's parties looked at each other, unable to express their grievances in words.
Left Prime Minister Liu Shan glanced at Fang Yun, then slowly looked away, the white hair at his temples becoming more and more eye-catching.
Ji Zhibai frowned, Fang Yun’s words were too harsh.
Many officials looked at Fang Yun with surprise and joy. They never thought that this young Fang Xusheng was not only extremely talented, but also had extremely keen insights into state affairs. This tactic of taking advantage of the opponent's strategy and removing the fuel from the fire was perfect.
Once Xiangzhou is recovered, a major purge will inevitably be launched, and by then countless powerful official positions in Xiangzhou will be vacant!
The Left Prime Minister Party and the Kang Wang Party are unable to interfere, and the growth of the other party means that the strength of the two factions will be greatly reduced again! (To be continued...)