"If there is no causal relationship, of course it is nonsense." Xunzi replied equally calmly, "Not to mention whether his impassioned statement at the beginning was correct, even if he was right, hundreds of schools of thought are arbitrarily discussing national policy. , slandering the emperor, swaying public opinion, forming cliques and conducting military campaigns... How does that have anything to do with the burning of books?"

"Why, it's hard for people in the world to achieve anything if they don't study, and they become beasts that can't speak or think!?"

"It's okay to say that all the scholars have evil intentions, and it's okay to say that the people in Guizhou are blind and foolish. Li Xiangguo can put all the blame on the hundreds of scholars and the people in Guizhou, but what does this have to do with the book?"

To put it simply, Xunzi said that it has nothing to do with the person who is killed by the sword.

Of course there is no problem with this, but it just doesn't make sense here in Ying Zheng's case - because he is the one who really places the blame on the weapons.

Back then, he was able to gather the soldiers of the world and cast them as the Twelve Golden Men. Now it is reasonable and reasonable for him to do the operation of burning books to fool the people - at least it seems reasonable to him.

However, Ying Zheng did not know how to argue with Xunzi directly, so Li Si took over the conversation wisely:

"What Master Xunzi said is certainly reasonable. If a sword hurts someone, the blame lies with the person. If the scholar criticizes the government, the blame naturally also lies with the scholar."

Xunzi repeatedly denounced his relationship with him, so Li Si could not force himself to be shy and call himself his disciple, so he could only call him Master Xunzi.

Li Si continued, "However, the swords are sharp and can hurt people and are useless to the people, so the imperial law prohibits them."

"Similarly, if a thoughtful person reads a sage's book but uses it to criticize the imperial court, then the sage's book will be useless to the people and harmful to the country, so the empire should naturally ban it."

Li Si's principle is also very simple.

As a tool, the sword is naturally innocent, but as a tool that can harm others and is not necessary, it is reasonable for the empire to ban it - although the strength of the empire's ban on soldiers is difficult to describe.

Books are equally innocent as tools, but if people are willing to learn the principles and use them to attack the empire and the emperor, then they should also be banned - but the same goes for reference books such as medicine, divination, and tree planting, which are necessities.

You can't say that people have to read a few "The Analects" before they can continue farming, right?

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As for the need for scholars to govern the country, there is no need to worry.

The imperial court itself will still preserve the world's collection of books, and will naturally use them when necessary.

Speaking of this, Xunzi remained silent.

Reasonable reasoning no longer makes sense.

Li Si forcibly turned books and weapons into "contraband" that was not needed by the people.

Since it is not needed, then it is reasonable to destroy it, right?

But in fact, even if books are really not necessary, can all unnecessary things in the world be destroyed?

Xunzi also felt that the mountains to the west of Songhai were not necessary. Should the empire send people to dig them out?

People can be full by eating. Even if they need meat, there are still chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Shouldn’t we kill all other unused animals?

"Confucius said: It is only in the Spring and Autumn Period that you know that I have sinned against you!"

"But I don't know if you, Li Tonggu, can also say with a clear conscience that you know I have sinned, but the only way is to 'burn the book'!"

After saying that, Xunzi stood up and walked away.

Not only did he not care about Li Si's face, he also didn't care about the emperor's face - the last sentence was addressed to both Li Si and the emperor.

Ying Zheng's expression also changed significantly for the first time, revealing a little darkness.

To put it bluntly, based on Master Xun's behavior of leaving without saying goodbye, Ying Zheng's killing of him was considered in line with etiquette.

Zhang Liang stood up at this time - not only to make peace, but also to avoid anger:

"Uncle Xun is very old. He is often confused and moody. He usually meditates quietly. He may have been too tired today and was rude when he drove without paying attention."

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhang Liang's request for Ying Zheng's forgiveness was very straightforward and effective - Master Xun was old.
Chapter completed!