Pawn Crossing the River

Although Taoist sects talk about equality, Taoist sects are also deeply influenced by Confucianism. Many people in Taoist sects are still the same as Confucianists in their bones. They are kings and ministers, fathers and sons. Find a father who is strong enough, and then turn those who are inferior to you into sons and grandsons.

This idea has even infiltrated into every habit of life. For example, if someone admires someone very much, but others don't like it, they call him or her "filial son". What's more, some people admire someone to the extreme and call him dad. Even swearing revolves around ethics. In the final analysis, it is just a question of who is whose father.

Going a step further, the Central Plains Dynasty also had the same attitude towards its surrounding vassals. Therefore, the people of the Central Plains liked to regard many vassal states as the sons and grandsons of the Central Plains Dynasty, and quickly gained great satisfaction and pleasure from them. All because of this reason The joy of disordered ethics and generations has been deeply ingrained in his bones. There is even a scale in everyone's heart that weighs ethical gains and losses, which cannot be erased.

Whether it is the Holy Court in the West or the Taoist sect in the East, they still remain in their thoughts, but the teachings of Confucianism have been soaked into the bone marrow and transformed into every word and deed. Even the people in the Central Plains are not aware that their actions and thoughts have been thoroughly understood. Confucianism.

Zhang Yuelu was born in a Taoist family, and what he studied mainly were Taoist classics, not Confucian classics, so the influence he received was far less than that of ordinary people, and he had doubts about Confucianism a long time ago.

She likes the principles of Confucianism very much. It is very good for people to use it as a person. There is nothing she does not agree with. I have to admit that at a certain historical stage, Confucianism was indeed extremely advanced, but it would be very inappropriate if the Confucian method is still used to govern the world.

A Taoist ancestor once said that there is only one half-sage in the world, one saint is the Supreme Taoist Patriarch, and half-sage is the Holy Master. Taishang Taoist Ancestor has "Tao Lun" and "De Lun", which are collectively called the Five Thousand Words of Morality. They have both a view of the world and a view of the universe. The human universe jointly builds a complete world. However, the most sage master only had a view of the world and no view of the universe. Therefore, thousands of years later, Taishang Taozu's ideas and concepts still shine in the world, but Confucianism continues to be criticized.

From this point of view, Confucianism is somewhat inherently deficient.

Confucianism regards the world as one family and national affairs as family affairs. In a family, the most important thing is not right or wrong, but harmony and stability. As the saying goes, it is difficult for upright officials to deal with family affairs. In a family, it is difficult to truly explore Right and wrong are not black and white, they are called the golden mean. However, Confucianism's self-cultivation also advocates being an upright gentleman. The concepts of self-cultivation and the concept of governing the country conflict with each other. The final result is that everyone is forced to be a hypocrite, which is called a downward spiral of people's hearts.

Because of this, the voices within Taoism about de-Confucianism have never stopped, and Confucianism has also realized its own problems. Although Xunqing and Yasheng continued to patch things up, after the Neo-Confucian saints completely Confucianized Confucianism, Tianli Deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the barriers to ethics and education are irreversible, even if later a saint of Xinxue appears, puts forward the concept of the unity of the three religions, liberates the people, and wants to carry out an unprecedented major change in Confucianism and reshape a new world. However, in the end, because the internal resistance was too great and the Neo-Confucian school was deeply rooted, it still came to an end. M..

In other words, Confucianism is not static, but is constantly updated and iterated, absorbing the concepts of Legalism, Taoism, and even blending some Buddhist concepts. Therefore, the Xinxue school can logically propose the unification of the three religions. In a sense, Confucianism has indeed degenerated. The honest Confucianism has long since died in the heap of old paper like its old enemy the Mohist school.

Of course, the same is true for Taoism. Today's Taoism is also the Taoism after the integration of the three religions. Even Taoism is more complex. In addition to Buddhism, Confucianism, and Legalism, it also absorbs Mohism, Yin-Yang, Farmers, etc., precisely because Taoism Despite the complexity, there was not much internal resistance, and it was ultimately successful. This is also the reason why the voice of the unity of the three religions has always been the mainstream of the Taoist sect.

After the Xinxue school failed in its efforts to save the world, the Confucian sect, which was out of date, had no choice but to retreat and leave the world to others.

In other words, the unification of the three religions is the general trend. The dispute between Taoism and Confucianism and the dispute between Taoism and Buddhism is fundamentally about who is the master, and also has the meaning of who is the father. Therefore, this idea of ​​ethical superiority is about It cannot be completely eliminated and will be passed down from generation to generation.

Zhang Yuelu understands this truth, so she does not object to the existence of the Confucian sect, but only opposes the Confucian sect's governance of the world. The last sentence "sitting and discussing Tao" is quite obscure, but it hits a key point of the Confucian sect.

Confucianism emphasizes the order of superiority and inferiority. Asking for advice from those whose status is inferior to one's own is "asking from below." This is the distinction between superior and inferior. Because of the "difference", it is shameful to "ask". How can a standing person ask a kneeling person for advice? Therefore, "not being ashamed to ask" has become a virtue.

Taoism is about equality. Since it is equality, there is no distinction between asking from above and from below. What does asking for advice have to do with shame? Since it doesn't matter, there is no such thing as "shameless".

These Confucian disciples dared to come to trouble Zhang Yuelu. Naturally, they had some real talents and knowledge. They had also studied the debate between Zhang Yuelu and Qin Lingge. There was no hint in Zhang Yuelu's words. Someone immediately retorted: "Now the Holy Emperor is on the throne. , Who in the world doesn’t regard His Majesty as a father? How can a king, father, and ministers not be distinguished in terms of superiority and inferiority? Should a son still be oppressed by his father?”

Zhang Yuelu smiled and said: "Father, king, you must recognize your father before you are willing to accept it. If you recognize your father, you can suppress others with loyalty and filial piety. I want to ask, my surname is Zhang, and His Majesty the Emperor's surname is Qin, how did he become my father? If His Majesty the Emperor If he is really my father, and even the father of all the people in the world, why is it that some people are princesses, but I cannot be a princess? Why are some people clothed in fine clothes, and others are clothed in the clothes of cattle and horses, and eat the food of pigs and dogs? What is this? The truth? You are probably saying that thunder and rain are not caused by God’s grace, right?”

The Confucian scholar's face turned red from suppressing his emotions. He didn't know how to refute, so he could only say loudly: "It's treasonous and unethical, it's treasonous and unethical!"

The smile on Zhang Yuelu's face suddenly faded, and he said coldly: "I don't know that our Taoist disciples only know that there is the 'Master Master of Yin and Yang Gong who surpasses Zijiji Zhenren', but they don't know that there is a Holy Emperor."

The face of a person who was watching from a distance changed slightly, and he sighed: "These losers who have read the books of sages can't do it with their hands, and they can't use their words either."

The attendant next to him joked: "You can't blame them for being useless."

The man's face darkened: "Why aren't they too useless?"

The follower smiled flatteringly and said: "The Great Sage Ancestor looked down on the Confucian masters back then. They read Confucianism's books, and Zhang Yuelu read the Great Sage Ancestor's books. How can he compare to Zhang Yuelu? This is one of them. Call the emperor the Great Master. Rather than the emperor, this was the decision made by the Holy Ancestor back then, which shows that the Holy Ancestor was far-sighted. From these two points, it can be seen that it was not this group of people who lost to Zhang Yuelu, but the Confucian sect that lost to my ancestors of the Li family. Who let it go? Did Zhang Yuelu learn from our Li family?"

The man's face turned from gloomy to clear, and he said happily: "Good slave, you can talk."

Taishang Taoist ancestor’s surname is Li, and Xuansheng’s surname is also Li. The Li family has always called themselves descendants of Taishang Taoist and Xuansheng. They call Taishang Taoist ancestor the Great Saint Ancestor and Xuansheng the Holy Ancestor. Starting from the theory of the resurgence of Taoism in the middle, they are all descendants of saints. Therefore, some people in the Li family have always regarded Taoism as their own private property and Taoism as a private school of the family.

Then the identity of these two people is self-evident.

On the other side, another Confucian scholar said: "Xunqing said: 'Follow righteousness but not the father; follow the way but not the king.' Ya Sheng said: 'The people are the most important, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least.' That's what you said. The shackles are not Confucianism itself, but that you can only see the metaphysical, and your understanding cannot grasp the metaphysical. You do not understand the true meaning and stick to the surface, so you dare to blaspheme the classics."

Zhang Yuelu said calmly: "I don't judge whether these two sages are right or wrong. I only say the word 'equality'. There are inevitable differences between superiors and inferiors, but masters and slaves should not be forcibly divided. Do you know how to write the word 'chen' in oracle bone inscriptions?" ? Submission, like a raised eye, does not dare to look directly. It originally means a servant. Aren't officials the servants of the monarch? Why don't loyalty to the monarch mean being loyal to the master? ? This is the rule of your Confucian sect. If you are willing to be a slave, that is your business. "

"There are only people in our Taoist sect, and people are divided into upper and lower levels. They are nothing more than real people and ordinary people, but they are all people after all. There are no emperors. Only those who have ascended to immortality can add the word 'jun', but no one calls themselves a slave. I don't If you are willing to be a slave, but do not want to recognize others as your father, how can you become a king and a fatherless person? How can you abandon your country and your family because of the so-called "no king and no father"? Do you think that the king and the country are one? Are fatherhood and starting a family the same thing?”

The Confucian scholars all changed their expressions.

Zhang Yuelu shouted coldly: "That's all, get out of the way!"

Confucian scholars do not retreat.

Zhang Yuelu was no longer polite, and the photo paper turned into a three-foot stick, moving straight forward.

Everyone in the Confucian sect felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.

Zhang Yuelu's footsteps became faster and faster, and he passed by the first Confucian scholar in an instant. The paper stick in his hand also hit the Confucian scholar's knees hard, causing him to kneel on one knee.

The Confucian scholar couldn't even see clearly how Zhang Yuelu made his move.

After Zhang Yuelu became a heavenly being, not even Qin Lingge could be her opponent, let alone these ordinary Confucian disciples?

Zhang Yuelu was seen passing through thirteen Confucian disciples, waving the paper stick thirteen times in his hand, and clearing a path among hundreds of people.

Behind Zhang Yuelu, many Confucian disciples turned over and lay on the ground.

On the front line of Zhang Yuelu's advance, there was only the last Confucian scholar left, his face pale and his two limbs trembling.

The three-foot short stick made of white paper was only less than an inch away from his forehead.

Zhang Yuelu did not swing the stick after all. He slowly put away the paper stick and said: "If what I said is wrong, then the Confucian sect should be the master of the world. Why has it become a thing of the past?"

After saying that, Zhang Yuelu walked around the Confucian scholar.

The Confucian scholar sat down on the ground, unable to say a single word in rebuttal.

"Bai Wuyi is a scholar." The young master named Li snorted coldly and turned to leave.

At this moment, Zhang Yuelu suddenly stopped and turned to look in the direction of Mr. Li.

The face of the young man named Li changed slightly.

In an instant, a tiny red dot appeared on his forehead, and blood slowly spread from the red dot. It was as sharp as a needle tip at first, and in the blink of an eye it was as big as a copper coin.

Zhang Yuelu then retracted his gaze and walked towards Yuxu Palace.

Mr. Li stretched out his hand to wipe the blood from his brow, his eyes gloomy.