Chapter 515: Schools compete and seek cooperation

Chapter 515: Schools compete and seek cooperation

A careful observation revealed that, unlike other common room layouts in the South, this room still retained the traditional desk format. The neatly arranged desks, pens, inkstones, paper, and paintings and calligraphy hanging on the walls all revealed an ancient and elegant atmosphere.

After everyone took their seats, an old man with white hair sat in the main seat. He had a kind face, but his eyes were shining with wisdom. This old man was Master Xu of the Mohist School. He was highly respected and admired by many people.

Master Xu cleared his throat and spoke first: "I am deeply honored that you have taken the trouble to gather here with me." His voice was low and powerful, echoing in the quiet room.

All of the people present here are from the Hundred Schools of Thought. However, times have changed and the Hundred Schools of Thought are no longer as prosperous as they were during the Warring States Period. In this turbulent era, the princes of various places are only concerned with recruiting soldiers, strengthening their own strength, and constantly increasing taxes to enrich the military pay and the treasury. The princes have no time to care about the various ideas and policy propositions for governing the country advocated by the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Although the disciples of the Hundred Schools tried their best to dissuade the princes from such actions, they often achieved little results. After all, in the face of survival and development, words such as benevolence, righteousness, and morality seemed so pale and powerless.

However, the situation was slightly different under Gao Yao. Due to the presence of the Four Elders of Shangshan, who had great influence in the literati circle, Gao Yao finally decided to open the southern border and adopt a relatively relaxed and moderate governance strategy after their joint discussions and suggestions. He allowed people from various families to officially enter the southern border.

This does not mean that Gao Yao had completely refused to allow all the people from the Hundred Families to enter his territory. In fact, he only prohibited the people from the Hundred Families from entering the Southern Territory. Moreover, he strictly prohibited those people from the Hundred Families who did not have permission from opening schools or building gathering places in the Southern Territory.

Looking back at the entire history, Gao Yao knows the reason better than anyone else. In the past dynasties, it was not the ordinary people who caused the dynasty to fall and society to fall into chaos, but on the contrary, it was the scholars who were well-read. Because they were knowledgeable and active in thinking, their desires also expanded, and they naturally wanted more and more things.

As a result, the danger of such people increased day by day. For this reason, since the Han Dynasty, for a long period of time, most civilians were illiterate and had no chance to read and understand. This was done to a greater extent to facilitate the rulers to effectively manage the country and the people.

After all, the rulers do not need everyone to know how to govern the country, otherwise who would be willing to work in the fields? Moreover, even the imperial examination system, which was highly respected in later generations, played a restrictive role to a certain extent. By setting strict examination standards and selection processes, a large number of talents were brought under the control of the ruling class, thus ensuring the stable inheritance of power and the maintenance of social order.

Taking the imperial examination became the only way for them to realize their ambitions. To successfully pass the imperial examination, they had to study the prescribed books in depth. The content of these books was often limited to the education and inculcation of ideas such as loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, as well as the study of various poems and songs. In this way, the literati seemed to be imprisoned in this cage constructed by thoughts, and it was difficult for them to break free and fly freely.

In fact, this phenomenon precisely reflects the purpose of the imperial examination system. After all, in this world, the so-called absolute fairness is an illusion.

Although there is an academy opened by the Four Haos of Shangshan in the southern border, Gao Yao is still the one who truly has the decision-making power and leadership. Whether it is the arrangement of teaching content or which knowledge should be taught as the focus, it all depends on Gao Yao's wishes and decisions.

At first, even if people from the Hundred Schools showed up in the South Territory, they were not allowed to hold any kind of gathering, let alone open a place dedicated to a particular school for public use. But now the situation has changed, Gao Yao has allowed such behavior. So, people from the Hundred Schools gathered together and began to discuss how to seek more rights and development space.

In short, this situation actually reflects the dissatisfaction of these people with Gao Yao. Gao Yao would grant official positions to anyone who graduated from the academy run by the Four Haos of Shangshan without hesitation; when people from the Hundred Families came to seek refuge, Gao Yao required them to go through many levels and strict assessments before they had the chance to be officially appointed as officials. Such differential treatment naturally made these children of the Hundred Families feel resentful.

When the Qin Dynasty was still in existence, the most respected schools of thought were the Legalists, the Military Strategists, the Agriculturalists, the Confucians, the Yin-Yangists, and the Guiguzi School, etc. They all made indelible contributions to the prosperity of the country during the long history of the Qin Dynasty.

Among them, the Legalists were the most prominent. Their doctrines advocated strict laws and severe punishments, and ruled the country by law, which had a profound impact on the political system of the Qin Dynasty. The Militaryists relied on their outstanding military strategies and tactical ideas to help the Qin Dynasty expand its territory and dominate the world. The Agriculturalists focused on the research and promotion of agricultural production technology, laying a solid foundation for the economic development of the Qin Dynasty. The Confucians have attracted much attention because of their wide followers and strong social influence, but they are slightly inferior to the other schools in terms of actual governance. As for the Yin-Yang School and the Guigu School, they also have their own strengths and play an important role in different fields.

However, as time went on, except for Confucianism, which was able to continue and maintain a certain influence due to its profound cultural heritage and a large group of followers, and Legalism, which took root in the court because Li Si became a guest of honor of Qin Shihuang, the rest of the various schools of thought gradually declined after the formal establishment of the Qin Dynasty, and some even disappeared. Now facing the unfair treatment of Gao Yao, the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the originally weak disciples of the Hundred Schools of Thought has become more and more intense.

There were hundreds of schools of thought during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to incomplete statistics, there were nearly 200 schools of thought during its heyday! Each of these schools had its own characteristics. Some were large in scale, with dozens or even hundreds of formal disciples, plus thousands of informal disciples; however, there were also relatively small schools, with only a handful of people. Regardless of the size, each school had its own unique ideas and wisdom, trying to stand out in this era of turbulent thought.

The rise and fall of a school of thought does not depend entirely on the number of people, but more on its own "hard power". Some schools, despite having many disciples, eventually decline and eventually die out due to reasons such as lack of depth in their doctrines or inconsistency with social development trends.