Mythical Three Kingdoms

Although Chen Xi would occasionally look down on historical figures, he rarely despises those ancient thinkers and the developmental course of classical science.

In the previous era, namely the Pre-Qin period, Chen Xi truly wished to glimpse its entirety. However, history is history, and he can only understand the brilliance of that era’s wisdom through classic books.

If the era after the Pre-Qin period was one of pursuing schools of thought, followed by gradually falling behind, then before the Pre-Qin period, it was an era of pursuing the ideas of various schools of thought.

Can you imagine that in an era of famine and hardship, someone proposed the ultimate state of socialism? In that era, someone introduced the concept of Utopia, and soon after, others developed anti-Utopian ideas, even building a complete theoretical framework on that basis.

Moreover, if you verify this theoretical framework from various perspectives, there are actually no issues at all, ”Sacrifice a tiny bit to benefit the world, do not agree; dedicate the whole world to one’s own being, do not take,” I ask you, are you convinced? Human rights and freedom completely covered.

The ancient thinkers and philosophers, those before the Pre-Qin period, could practically be equated with monsters. It’s an exaggeration to say that the foundation of over two thousand years of Chinese culture was formed in that era, including written language, literature, idioms, proverbs, and so forth, which were essentially established during the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

The so-called era of great contention was not just about contending for the nation, but also for the thoughts of the various masters and their theories. After hundreds of years of competition and collision, if it started as sparks of wisdom, by the end, those sparks could roast skewers.

Afterwards, the Confucian School unified the other schools, completely overshadowing all theories, and such spectacles were never seen again. Without that deep foundation, the Confucian scholars had no rivals.

In the past, the Confucian School stressed the Six Arts, becoming generals while mounted, and chancellors while dismounted. In the end, they gradually succumbed to the times, turning into mere pedantic scholars.

Without the constraint and cultivation in moral thoughts provided by rites and music for Confucian scholars, without the physical strengthening and training provided by archery mastery, losing the rigor and meticulousness of numerology, only the book knowledge remained.

If future Confucian scholars in such a situation could keep up with the times, it would truly be a miracle.

Therefore, the existence of the Hundred Schools of Thought is necessary, and the rivalry and struggle between various schools continually enhance a country’s foundation.

Although the Hundred Schools of Thought’s rivalry would inevitably become a warfare between aristocratic families, with the schools offering ideas and families providing money, people, and schools, eventually forming a model akin to academic hegemony, the benefits the Han Empire could gain make it worth a try, in Chen Xi’s view.

Anyway, the Hundred Schools are still weak chickens now, not to mention academic hegemony, they are nearly being suppressed to death by the Confucian School. Some schools might even need secret support from Chen Xi to survive, otherwise, they might perish before emerging successful.

Although schools, once the dominant Confucian School is toppled, can regenerate even from the corpse, the problem is some schools have even lost their foundational ideas, such as Jiran Studies, Yangzi, or Hui Zi Xingming. Over the centuries, the Various Scholars’ Schools have massively declined.

Therefore, Chen Xi’s idea is to nurture them first, even offering some subsidies when necessary, no matter how insignificant or seemingly unpresentable they might be.

It’s like sowing seeds in a garden; strange things will surely grow, but it’s unimportant whether they’re herbs, weeds, or vegetables; the best use can certainly be found.

Perhaps one day a giant tree will grow there, blocking the sunlight or something; if it becomes inconvenient, just chop it down and plant something else. Whether cutting down the tree will collapse the house is up to one’s skill.

After all, the Great Han Dynasty is starving now and needs to plant lots; everything else is mere drizzle.

Xun Yu, Xun You, and others also understood this logic. However, in previous times, the predominance of the Confucian School was challenging to shake, and without absolute assurance, even a Hundred Schools of Thought cloaked in Confucian garb dared not act recklessly.

”Therefore, just handle current affairs well and leave the future for later. Perhaps the situation will be far better than you estimate, or maybe we’ll already be gone by then?” Chen Xi said with a shrug.

The others shook their heads at these words; only Chen Xi could view such matters so openly.

”I wonder how Miao and the others are dealing with the hometown of the Southern Huns?” Xun Yu changed the topic.

”If even such things go awry, I think I wouldn’t dare use him in the future; would you?” Chen Xi said irritably.

”Even so, no one can predict on the battlefield,” Xun Yu nodded but added as a habit.

”If such an easy task encounters trouble, then it’s better not to use him,” Chen Xi said, exasperated, ”Logically, the Southern Huns should number tens of thousands.”

”As far as I know, the Southern Huns have a population around a million, but excluding the old, weak, sick, and incapacitated, only about three hundred thousand are usable,” Jia Xu said, ”Counting the other miscellaneous Huns we captured, plus Sun Bofu and their group of miscellaneous Huns, we’ve captured nearly nine hundred thousand.”