Chapter 169: Recorded in History
After learning about Dong Zhao's operation, Tian Ze's expression was a little strange. This move really caught the world's aristocratic families and various schools of thought in a dilemma.
It would be fine if the Jixia Academy was just a minor event, but with so many great scholars in charge, if it ranked low, it would really be nailed to the pillar of shame.
"Have anyone from the Yuan family, Yang family, Xun family, and Chen family come?" Tian Ze asked as if he had thought of something.
"They are coming, and quite a lot of them." Zhang Zhao was also speechless.
"Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei didn't have any reaction?"
"As a result, all the major families in the world basically split up, and each chose one of their branches to come to the Jixia Academy. Although they are not the main branch, they all have extremely high academic attainments, and some of them have quite a few members." Zhang Zhao said.
He had never expected that the Jixia Academy, which was originally built to train officials and pass on the teachings of various schools of thought, would actually involve the world's aristocratic families.
"Are all the noble families in the world included?" Tian Ze asked with a little disbelief.
"Almost all of them are on their way. There are also quite a few powerful people with relatively deep backgrounds and many poor students on their way. Moreover..."
"And what?"
"Kong Rong wants to come too."
???
Tian Ze's face was full of questions: "He is no longer the Prime Minister of Beihai?"
"According to intelligence, Yuan Shao seems to be planning to launch a large-scale attack on Qingzhou in the near future. Tao Qian is a little nervous, so..." Zhang Zhao never talks about others behind their backs.
But he was extremely disappointed. After learning enough information, his view of Kong Rong as a descendant of Confucius was completely shattered.
Kong Beihai was truly ambitious but incompetent, relying on flattery, and a stubborn, timid and argumentative person. Zhang Zhao was deeply saddened by the things he did in Beihai.
This kind of person is probably not even suitable to be a clean official. He can only talk big and kill others just because he thinks they are not crying sadly enough for their deceased father. He also rewards the so-called filial thief. It is simply unreasonable.
Beihai has been in great trouble over the years. If Zang Ba had not helped, I am afraid that Kong Beihai might not have been able to hold out until Yuan Shao came to attack. Even those mob of bandits could have taken Beihai.
Tian Ze showed a strange smile: "Come on then. What is the current situation of the Hundred Family Inheritance List? Where does the Kong family of Lu rank?"
"The top three in the Hundred Schools of Inheritance List are Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism. The top three in the Confucian inheritance family list are the Yuan family, the Xun family, and the Yang family. As for the Kong family of Lu, it is ranked tenth."
To be fair, Zhang Zhao also felt that although this assessment was slightly inappropriate in some places, it was still very fair overall.
Dong Zhao and Cai Yong worked on this matter for nearly half a year, and they put in a lot of effort. The evaluation criteria took into account almost all aspects, including theory, practice, influence, etc.
The Jixia Academy built by Tian Ze would naturally not be influenced by the so-called seniority or background. After all, he has enemies all over the world now, so what is there for him to care about?
It is even more impossible for Dong Zhao and Cai Yong, who led this matter, to be involved. Dong Zhao has always been the one who understands Tian Ze's thoughts best, and he did this thing just to stir up trouble, so why should he get involved so much? What's more, the right to judge this matter is in the hands of Cai Yong.
Cai Yong's eyes turned red after witnessing Lu Zhi's rapid rise in status and his almost equal status with other philosophers.
Therefore, after Dong Zhao mentioned this matter, even though he knew that it would involve many conflicts of interest and would arouse hostility from many people, he still resolutely accepted it.
As long as he did this well, he would be remembered in history. All the people in the future would respect him.
He has no desires and only wants to be remembered for all eternity, so it is naturally impossible for him to destroy the city walls himself.
The three parties involved all wanted to make this matter fair, and they were all competent. The gold content of this list was naturally not low, otherwise, even with his and Lu Zhi's endorsement, it would not be accepted by the majority of scholars. Although the Kong family of Lu was the descendant of Confucius, no one would give way to such a matter involving the inheritance of family learning.
You are a descendant of Confucius, I am a descendant of Xunzi, and he is a descendant of Guanxi Confucius. What is the difference? If you have the guts, go to the Lunxue Pavilion and compete to see who is the authentic Confucian.
After hearing the ranking order, Tian Ze smiled slightly: "That's no problem. Kong Beihai is used to being flattered. I don't like mutual flattery here. You have to rely on real ability."
"If he comes here and is refuted by a junior, I'm afraid he won't be able to maintain his arrogance."
There are very few people in this world who are as talented and virtuous as Zhang Zhao, and are truly famous. Many of them have become famous by forming small circles and flattering each other.
Just like Kong Rong and Ni Heng, one praised the other as "Confucius is not dead", and the other praised the other as "Yan Hui is resurrected", which is completely shameless.
The most important thing is that this group of people are incompetent at anything. It would be fine if they had no skills, but they also think highly of themselves. They have been praised so much that they really think they are capable. They always argue and like to belittle others whenever they have nothing to do.
Because of their reputation, resources and qualifications, those who are challenged don't dare to talk back. Even if they cannot win the argument, they can just act like they are incorrigible and unwilling to argue with them, and then leave the situation calmly, and then rely on public opinion to discredit them afterwards.
But Tian Ze would not tolerate these people. The words "Adhere to truth, seek truth from facts" on the stone tablet at the entrance of the Jixia Academy were not hung there for viewing.
Everyone is equal in the academy. If you want to become a teacher in the academy, you must first pass Lu Zhi's test. You can't succeed without real talent.
Lu Zhi's talent is not for show, and he has a strong temper. It is impossible for him to give you a backdoor just because you are famous.
Moreover, with Lu Zhi's current reputation and status almost on par with other philosophers, Kong Rong is really not enough to look up to him.
Even if Kong Rong managed to pass the test by relying on the Confucian theories on paper, it would be a joke if he was refuted by his students during the lecture.
Although the academy requires respect for teachers and elders, students are also encouraged to ask questions.
Being a teacher in the academy is quite stressful. If you are not careful, the original lecture may directly turn into a debate between teacher and students.
Although virtue comes first when it comes to being both virtuous and talented, one will not do well in the academy if he has virtue but no talent.
Tian Ze wanted to see if this "Zhongni is not dead" could become a teacher in the academy and survive. He also wanted to see how the Kong family of Lu, the descendants of Confucius, would react if they could not even keep their place in the top ten of the Confucian inheritance family list.
"Zi Bu, I feel that this list of inheritance of one hundred families is a bit sloppy." Tian Ze suddenly said.
"My Lord, do you think so too?" Zhang Zhao was a little surprised and said, "I have always felt that this kind of ranking is a little unfair to the various schools and inherited families..."
"No, no, no." Tian Ze waved his hand to interrupt Zhang Zhao. "What I mean is that the rankings are always changing, and there is no definition or reward. It's meaningless, and the incentive effect is limited."
"Let's do this. Find a good day and make a final ranking every year. Define the ranking for that year and spread it around the world. Record it on stone and in history books. Make a golden list every ten years and record it on stone."
Seeing Tian Ze eager to try and looking like he was afraid of chaos in the world, Zhang Zhao's cheek twitched slightly: "My lord, is this appropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about that? Only with competition can there be progress. That's it. Following this idea, you can improve it, get some medals and benefits, and spread the word about it." Tian Ze said nonchalantly.
Zhang Zhao sighed deeply: "Yes!"
Watching Tian Ze's graceful departure, Zhang Zhao looked at the scholars around him and couldn't help but show sympathy: "It seems that we still need to find Bo Jigong to perfect this matter, otherwise these guys will go crazy."
(End of this chapter)
