Chapter 208: Refutation of the Scholars, the Rare Huai Shu Regarding the rituals for offering sacrifices to heaven, in fact, it is clearly stated in the "Book of Rites": the emperor offers sacrifices to heaven and earth, the princes offer sacrifices to the altar of grain, and the officials offer sacrifices to the five sacrifices. This kind of thing is basic knowledge in scripture debate. Even if any student in Jingzhou randomly picks one out, they can recite the entire text. In fact, Song Zhong's answer to the question of what ritual is just now is also basic knowledge and cannot be considered a discussion of scriptures at all. The reasons why Song Zhong was so disdainful were actually quite complicated, the main reason being that he couldn't stand Qin Zhen's behavior. Because he considered himself very knowledgeable, there was a great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan in the north, and Song Zhong should be the chief great Confucian scholar in the south. In his eyes, he, Cai Yong and Zheng Xuan were seniors of the same generation, and Qin Zhen was just a junior. The reason why he was willing to come was for Cai Yong's sake. As a result, Qin Zhen, a junior, dared to be arrogant in front of their seniors, which was disrespectful to the elderly. Afterwards, Li Zhuan stood up to criticize Qin Zhen, but was left speechless.

This was certainly because Li Zhuan was not well-versed in his skills, but Li Zhuan was Song Zhong's apprentice. He was already unhappy with his junior Qin Zhen, and when he saw him refuting his own disciple, he became even more unhappy. That's why his words just now sounded like he was scolding a younger generation. What he didn't expect was that Qin Zhen came up and gave him a big surprise by asking him what the ritual for offering sacrifices to heaven was. Is this issue something that can be discussed in Jingzhou? Not at all! Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Qin Zhen was setting a trap for him. As long as he answered this question, Qin Zhen would further bring up the matter of Liu Biao's usurpation of the throne of heaven! At this point, he had completely lost the opportunity to refute. After all, when Liu Biao was offering sacrifices to heaven, no one dared to persuade them except Han Song. Not persuading him would mean tacit approval of Liu Biao's presumptuous behavior. It obviously doesn't make sense that they didn't catch this rude behavior before, but now they are catching Qin Zhen for being late. Moreover, this incident happened a long time ago, and Qin Zhen, as an outsider, can bring it up casually. They lived in Jingzhou and had to rely on Liu Biao for their survival. If we start an argument with Qin Zhen now, it would be a slap in Liu Biao's face, which would be embarrassing in the future. Therefore, Qin Zhen's mention of this matter now has actually forced him into a dead end! As a great Confucian scholar, Song Zhong could neither say that he did not know the ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven, nor could he directly talk about the ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven. So at this moment, even though he was knowledgeable, he was stuck on the spot and couldn't speak. He could only stare at Qin Zhen with unfriendly eyes without saying a word! However, Qin Zhen smiled slightly when he saw this, turned around and bowed to Liu Biao and said: "It seems that today's debate must have made the teachers quite tired!" "Master Song is too tired to reply." "Well, since the Master doesn't want to say anything, I will answer for him!" After saying this, he turned around and smiled at everyone: "The so-called ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven is the sage king's acceptance of heaven's will, showing that he has taken precedence and dares not take it upon himself."

“So they chose an auspicious day through divination, fasted and purified themselves, sacrificed fat animals, decorated jade tablets and jade discs, and made elaborate offerings to heaven and earth, the five mountains, and the four rivers.” "One is to thank the heaven and earth for their grace, and the other is to tell the emperor that he loves his people." "This is the exclusive domain of the emperor, and no prince can usurp the throne!" "Now I heard that you have reopened the academy in Jingzhou to educate the people. This is the virtue of the governor and the grace of the emperor. It is indeed a great act of kindness!" "But as Confucius said, ritual is used to determine closeness, resolve suspicion, distinguish similarities and differences, and clarify right and wrong." "You are all great scholars. You know the etiquette and should do the right thing. Your late arrival is a small loss of etiquette. Master Song reprimanded you for this." "I only hope that you will not lose your courtesy, so that you cannot determine who is close or distant, who is suspicious or undecided, who are similar or different, or who are right or wrong!" Having said this, he bowed to Song Zhong and said: "If I have offended you in any way, I apologize to you here." "I wonder if the Master can forgive my arrogant behavior just now?" His words smoothly turned the topic back. Not only did he not expose Liu Biao's shortcomings as Song Zhong had expected, but he actually praised Liu Biao. While praising Liu Biao, he also secretly warned everyone in front of him to obey the king's orders and admitted his disrespectful behavior. It is just like leaving a way out for others so that they can meet again in the future. When the great scholars in the hall saw this, they all nodded secretly, thinking that although Qin Zhen was crazy, he had good character. Although Song Zhong had been forced into a corner with no way to retreat, he still took a step back to save Song Zhong's face, which was indeed commendable. When Song Zhong saw this, he had a complicated expression, thinking that he had lived for decades but was not as open-minded as Qin Zhen. Others dare to admit their own impolite behavior, but does he dare to admit his mistake of not admonishing Liu Biao? While thinking, he looked at Qin Zhen again and found that he was much more pleasing to the eye than before. Seeing him bow and apologize, he stroked his beard and sighed: "Cai Zhonglang accepted a good disciple. From this perspective, I was wrong just now!" "But why are you so late today? If you don't explain clearly, it will be difficult to pass this test!" As the saying goes, give a peach in return for a plum. Qin Zhen did not kill him, so he should not continue to make trouble. He gave Qin Zhen a chance to explain. Qin Zhen's goal was to ease the atmosphere. When he saw Song Zhong asking, he smiled and said: "I dare to let Master Song know that although I have no virtue or talent, I have received the kindness of my teacher and always respect my teacher." "Although I am here as an envoy, I know how to follow the rules and customs." "It is a courtesy to exchange gifts. Knowing that you are here, I have prepared some small gifts for you." "Unexpectedly, the time was too short. I shouldn't have kept you all waiting for so long!" As soon as he said this, the hatred that Liu Biao had just brought upon himself was instantly eliminated. After hearing that the other party was not late on purpose but came to prepare gifts, the scholars no longer felt resentful. This is not being rude or arrogant, it's clearly that he was too polite and misjudged the time. In this case, it is not Qin Zhen's fault that he arrived late, but Liu Biao's fault for not being well prepared!

After hearing this explanation, the great scholar Song Zhong nodded: "If that's the case, it's not in vain that your master has passed on all the family traditions to you!" "My words just now were a bit extreme. If they were inappropriate and insulting to your teacher, I hope you won't be offended!" This was the case with the great Confucian scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty. No matter how talented or knowledgeable they were, they were at least practical. Qin Zhen apologized to him, and he realized that his words were too harsh, so he apologized to Qin Zhen as well. Seeing this, Qin Zhen shook his head and said with a smile: "It's okay, sir, you don't want to see me humiliating your master, I'm grateful for your advice!" When the two men acted like this, all the Confucian scholars nodded in approval. However, just as Song Zhong had resolved the issue, another person stood up and said: "I heard that you once studied under Master Cai and received all his teachings. I wonder what classics you studied?" Qin Zhen listened, turned his head and saw that the person who stood up was a middle-aged man. He was too lazy to ask his name, and just said: "A corrupt scholar who only picks out sentences from books, how can he build a country and establish affairs?" "My teacher Mr. Cai moved to Jianghai and Wuhui for twelve years for state affairs, and he never talked about governing by law!" "I only know to worry about state affairs, and sigh day and night. I have never been taught the meaning of sentences and readings, but only the meaning of the sages." "You know that I have inherited the true teachings from my master, so why are you asking me about such trivial matters?" The man was Qi Wukai, also a scholar. Upon hearing this, he frowned and remained silent. But he didn't say anything, Yingrong was dissatisfied, stroked his beard and asked: "I find it difficult to agree with what you said. Although Cai Zhonglang is known to the world for his wholehearted devotion to the country, he never said that classics and scriptures are minor matters." "If you are proficient in one classic, you can be admitted as a doctor. Who among us students does not rely on classics to establish ourselves? If we do not study classics, how can we establish ourselves?" "You say this is a minor path, but don't you know what the major path is?" Qin Zhen listened, turned around and saw that he was old and sitting in the first seat. He knew that it was Yingrong who asked the question, so he smiled and said: "If we follow the Master's words, then Confucianism will be hard to flourish, and our country will decline!" "It should be known that there are differences between Confucian scholars, namely, gentlemen and villains. Gentlemen Confucian scholars are loyal to the emperor and love the country, uphold justice and hate evil, and strive to benefit their time and leave their names for posterity." "As for the petty Confucian scholars, they only care about carving insects, specializing in calligraphy, writing poems in their youth, and studying classics in their old age." "Sir, you said that without studying the classics, one cannot establish oneself. May I ask which classics did Laozi study? Which classics did Confucius study? Which classics did Mozi study?" "They are all founders of their own schools. I dare not compare myself to them. However, the reason why the words of the saints and sages can become classics is that they benefit the world and educate the people." "As for us, we should follow the heart of the sages, first pay attention to state affairs, and then study the classics, so that we can start and open up, and promote the teachings of the sages." "If one only knows how to study the classics and repeat what others say, then a sage like this will never succeed in learning. If we are like this, our learning will be in vain!" "So I say that studying the classics is a minor path, while governing the country is a major path. I wonder what you think, sir?" When Yingrong heard this, she frowned and didn't know how to refute. While he was thinking, Xie Gai stood up and sneered: "But I don't know if Cai Zhonglang likes to write fu. Isn't he a master of calligraphy and writing fu in his youth?" "From what you said, you are like the Confucianism of Mr. Cai. Could it be that you are also the Confucianism of a villain?"

Seeing that he was attacking Cai Yong directly, Qin Zhen waved his feather fan and said: "I don't want to hear what you said, sir. Writing poetry is an elegant activity to express one's feelings." "In ancient times, people composed songs about events, which were called poetry and prose. We learn poetry to cultivate our sentiments, and it is also one of the six arts." "The petty Confucian scholars I'm talking about are those corrupt scholars who complain without any reason." "Why don't you listen to others and insist on involving my teacher?" "Could it be that you just took it for granted and considered yourself a lowly scholar?" "This is not a good thing to say. It is not an answer to a question that you should ask. Please do not say anything more!" Xie Gai was scolded by him and his face turned red and he was very angry. But if he was asked to refute it, he was unable to do so. Because the topic of today's discussion is not the meaning of the scriptures, but a simple debate. What is being compared is not who has done the most in-depth research, but who is more eloquent. These great scholars can give long speeches in debates, but when it comes to eloquence, they are no match for Qin Zhen! For a moment, everyone except Song Zhong was speechless after Qin Zhen's argument. Seeing this, Liu Biao frowned and thought to himself, weren't these great scholars very eloquent in the past? How come I was suppressed like this by a brat today! Thinking this in his heart, and seeing that Qin Zhen was not afraid of anyone coming, he was afraid that he could not suppress Qin Zhen, so he opened his mouth and said: "Well, today is a banquet, not a learning meeting, so there is no need for you to argue about who is superior and who is inferior." "It's already late, everyone please take your seats quickly, we are going to start the banquet!" Liu Biao's words immediately eased the atmosphere on the scene. After debating for a whole day, everyone was naturally very hungry. Older people like Song Zhong were fine, but the young people were already starving, and they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they saw that the banquet was finally starting. However, at this moment, Qin Zhen stood up and said to Liu Biao with a smile: "Wait a minute, sir. Before we start the banquet, I have something else to ask you!" Liu Biao had also been hungry for a day. Seeing that Qin Zhen wanted to talk, he thought he was going to ask for troops, so he raised his hand and said: "At today's banquet, you should enjoy yourself and not talk about state affairs!" "If you have anything to say, we can discuss it tomorrow." At this point, he admits that he has lost half the battle, but if you, Qin Zhen, want to send troops, we can talk about it tomorrow. However, Qin Zhen shook his head and laughed when he heard it: "Your Excellency has misunderstood. What I am talking about now is that I have not yet presented the gift!" "To express our army's gratitude, I have brought some small gifts this time, and I also have gifts for you gentlemen." "Before the banquet begins, I would like to present my gift first!" Seeing that Qin Zhen wanted to give a gift, Liu Biao laughed and said: "Why are you so polite, Xuande? Well, this is just a token of your appreciation." "Since there are gifts from you gentlemen, Zixuan can take them and have a look!" He didn't have high expectations for this gift. After all, it was just some valuable items.

He had plenty of these things in Jingzhou, so it was just a formality at most. But as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen turned around and winked at Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang stood up and hurried out of the hall. After a while, more than a dozen servants came into the hall carrying seven or eight boxes. Seeing this, Qin Zhen walked over to the boxes, opened one and said: "This is produced in Huainan. I would like to give it to you as a gift to reward you for your heroic act of sending troops!" As he spoke, he took out a silk-wrapped booklet and placed it in front of Liu Bian. Liu Biao thought it would be gold, silver and jewelry, but he didn't expect it to be some pamphlets. Looking at the two words "Book of Poetry" written in flying white script on the exquisite packaging, he murmured: "The Book of Songs? What is this?" As he was speaking, he opened the book and took a breath. Inside was a piece of paper as white as snowflakes, with words from the Book of Songs written on it. The same goes for the next page, which even has text on the back! In other words, this booklet contains the content of an entire Book of Songs! After flipping through the pages twice, he held the book in surprise: "As thin as a cicada's wing and as white as snow, it is truly a rare object!" What surprised him even more was that, except for the words on the pages, there were no mistakes, omissions or corrections at all, and the handwriting was neat and clear at a glance! How is this done? At this moment, Liu Biao was so confused that he even forgot his purpose of shutting Qin Zhen's mouth. Seeing him like this, Qin Zhen smiled without showing any emotion. As the saying goes, one should be grateful when receiving favors, and one should be soft-hearted when receiving favors. He just didn't believe that after giving these gifts, people still had the nerve to argue with him! (End of this chapter)