Chapter 278: Hundreds of Disputes Just as Tian Ze thought. There were many outstanding people among the various schools of thought, and they soon discovered the loopholes in the rules of this debate. Fierce competition broke out from the very beginning. Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism and other schools that are ranked at the top are currently in their heyday, so they are naturally hostile and resisted by the schools ranked at the bottom. Therefore, while the backward schools were forming alliances with each other, the leading schools were in a relatively embarrassing situation. Should we form an alliance and with whom should we form an alliance? For example, Confucianism and Legalism would never dare to form an alliance. The reason is very simple. Confucianism comes first and Legalism comes second. If the two form an alliance, the disciples of Legalism will definitely secretly hold back Confucianism. Then there is the Mohist school, which was also isolated because the role of the Mohist artisan technique in development was too obvious, so the other schools were naturally wary of it. In this situation, farmers and generalists, who are neither ahead nor behind, are quite popular. After all, when it comes to development, farming is unavoidable, and the most comprehensive is generalist. During the first five days of the journey, various schools of thought were testing each other and constantly studying the various possibilities of the five-member group representing their own school.
In addition to considering the interests, the strengths of the school, and the abilities of the scholars, one must also consider the compatibility and cooperation between the scholars. The elders of the various schools of thought were almost sleepless day and night in their research. After arriving in Cangping County, people from hundreds of families quickly dispersed to understand the situation and inquire about the news. Cangping County has been temporarily closed because of the debate, and no one from the various schools of thought is allowed to enter except for the five representatives of each school. The schools that had already selected their representatives early on quickly began to organize personnel to enter the county to understand the situation of each village. The schools that were further behind even formed alliances to share information with each other. The remaining schools that had not yet made a decision had to quickly select candidates to participate. As expected, the leading schools of thought, such as Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism, went their separate ways. Because they really don't believe that other schools of thought will fall behind, they can only make this choice after weighing the pros and cons to ensure safety. Moreover, they have a solid foundation and are confident that they will not lose even if they fight alone. After all, since the Confucians directly sent out the all-rounder Zhuge Liang, and the Legalists and Mohists were all proficient in all fields, it didn't matter much if they lacked assistance from other families. Representatives of these schools went deep into the fields and conducted investigations in various villages. For example, the earlier schools of thought, such as Confucianism and Legalism, naturally examined those villages that were most suitable for development, while some later schools of thought were consciously avoiding risks and examining those villages that were not suitable for development and seemed ordinary but had development potential. The rest of the disciples of these schools were also busy. They went to the surrounding areas of Cangping County and other places connected with it, gathered information through various channels, and then reported to the representatives who came out of the county regularly. The various schools of thought have used various means to the extreme within the scope permitted by the rules, which opened the eyes of Tian Ze and others. Each representative of the Hundred Schools of Thought was followed by two minor officials of clean backgrounds who recorded their deeds and submitted daily summaries. "The quality of these clerks is really good." Looking at the clerks who followed the scholars closely with paper and pen, and studied and recorded seriously even though their faces looked a little haggard, Tian Ze praised. "These are all heroes carefully selected by Zibu and Gongren from our jurisdiction. Not only do they have clean backgrounds, but they are also extremely talented and young, which is the time when they are most malleable." Jia Xu smacked his lips. "Letting them follow, in addition to recording, is also a way of learning. As long as they pay some attention and learn a little bit, the future of these minor officials will be limitless." You have to know that all those who can be the representatives of the Hundred Schools of Thought are outstanding talents. Apart from the evil genius like Zhuge Liang, most of them are the backbone of the school in their prime. They almost represent the pinnacle of the practical school in the academic world.
These petty officials are not lacking in talent, but in foundation. If they can spend this month seriously, the experience they learn from it will be enough to enable them to achieve a qualitative transformation. "Yes! Only when you stand high can you see far!" Tian Ze exclaimed. Many times, opportunities and choices are much more important than hard work. Many of the minor officials under Tian Ze's rule did a very good job, but in fact they were not promoted as quickly as some of the clerks of the county chief officials. This was the reason. As an official, vision and thinking are often crucial, while hard work and diligence are actually secondary. While Tian Ze was wandering around his jurisdiction, he saw a lot and gradually discovered the rationale behind many things. From a development perspective, an official who works diligently and loves the people may not necessarily be a good official. Standing in Tian Ze's position, what is needed is not an official who is diligent and loves the people, but an official who can drive local development. Of course, it would be great if both can be taken into account, but unfortunately, there are too few officials who can do this. "My lord, aren't you afraid that these people from the hundreds of families will cheat? If they want to speed up the development of the village, they can use many tricks." Tian Feng said. The so-called development evaluation criteria are nothing more than those, and these people from aristocratic families can completely influence the results by covert means such as manipulating the prices of the external environment, without making a sound. "If the means are too obvious, they will naturally be removed directly. But if the impact is small and difficult to detect, they will just do it." Tian Ze said lightly. “This is also a reflection of strength to some extent.” "As I said before, there is no absolute fairness. Master Lu and I have created a relatively fair environment. The rest depends on them." "When they leave the Central Plains in the future, they can only rely on themselves. Will I supplement them just because they are not as profound as you in Confucianism?" "That is impossible." "Weakness is the original sin." Tian Ze never denied the legitimacy of inheriting the legacy of his ancestors. Just like aristocratic families, many of them became such families because their ancestors worked hard and made outstanding contributions to the people of the world. But this kind of legacy needs to be kept within limits. There is no absolute answer to the question of why three generations of hard work lose to ten years of study, because there are too many things involved and the key lies in balance. Other people's ancestors made outstanding contributions and sacrificed a lot. Shouldn't they bless the younger generations? Others have studied hard for ten years, made arduous efforts, and possessed extraordinary talents. Shouldn't they be able to succeed? There is no right or wrong between the two. The key lies in the balance of resource allocation and competition opportunities. Tian Ze is trying to ensure a relatively fair environment for all the schools, but he does not prevent them from playing to their strengths and taking some relatively reasonable off-the-board tactics. This kind of competition, within the framework of certain rules, should be carried out at all costs. They will encounter the same situation when they leave the Central Plains in the future. (End of this chapter)