The brief fight between the Mo family and the Zhangsun family did not cause much of a stir in Chang 'an. Both sides consciously kept the impact to a minimum. Even Mo Magazine did not report it at all.
But it did not mean that no one knew about it. On the contrary, those who paid close attention to the Mo family all witnessed this clean fight with their own eyes.
In particular, the Mo family's promise of great profits and the phenomenon of thousands of people following them fell into the ears of those who were observant.
"Meton, you are good!" Qin Huaiyu smiled and gave Meton a thumbs-up. Even Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin were overjoyed.
Zhangsun Chong, as the leader of the foppish sons of the civil officials in Chang 'an, was not on good terms with them. This time, he deliberately made things difficult for the Mo family, but he did not expect that Mo Dun would win in just one day.
Meton smiled implicitly. Of course, this kind of thing was not suitable to be discussed on this occasion.
"Understood, understood!" The three nodded repeatedly, but the smile on their faces could not be concealed.
"A gentleman talks about righteousness, a villain talks about profit!"
In the Imperial College, the Imperial College's Academician shook his head as he explained the Analects of Confucius. He quoted the classics and praised the gentleman to the heavens. He firmly trampled on the petty people who only cared about profits. It was as if the gentleman was someone who did not eat the food of mortals. Anyone who talked about money was a petty person who only cared about money.
Under the school.
Meton could not help showing a sarcastic smile. The Confucian school's knowledge was indeed good, but it often kidnapped people's morality.
The Imperial Academician glanced at Meton's smile and suddenly became angry. "Confucius said, 'When three people walk together, there must be a teacher.' I don't know what the Mo family understands this."
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Meton. Everyone knew the source of today's conflict. The Imperial Academician was the most old-fashioned. He was especially angry at Meton's means of using money to bewitch people. Today, he emphasized the Analects of Confucius mainly to admonish Meton. He did not expect that Meton would not appreciate it.
Meton slowly got up helplessly and thought for a while. "Headmaster, may I ask, in the Tang dynasty, how many gentlemen and villains are there?"
"Well, this …" The Imperial Academician was suddenly speechless. There were not many people in the world who could be called gentlemen and villains. But there were many villains, and no one would admit it.
"As far as I know, there are definitely gentlemen and villains, and most of them are ordinary people.... The Mo family believes that love and benefit each other. mutual benefit................. Therefore, I believe that there are two kinds of benefits in the world. One is legitimate benefits, and the other is illegitimate benefits. "
"Legitimate profit is the benefit of living with one's own labor and investment, without harming the interests of others. For a mu of land, the farmer puts in the labor, the landlord invests in the land, and every time there is a harvest, both sides will divide the food according to the agreement. For a commodity, the artisan pays the sweat, the merchant ships it to the outside world, and the people pay the price to obtain benefits.
.. While.............................. "
Meton avoided the dispute between gentlemen and villains. Instead, he explained the dispute between benefits and righteousness in a unique way.
In fact, in the dispute between the Mo family and the Zhangsun family, in this business struggle, all the iron companies recovered their cost. All the profiteers worked hard and made profits. It could be said that they all gained benefits legitimately, and no one suffered a loss. If there was a loss, it would be the Mo family's village. However, although the Mo family's village seemed to suffer a loss, it got the iron, which was like its lifeline, and would not be controlled by others in a short time.
"So everyone should pursue benefits." The Imperial Academician said insidiously.
Morton shook his head and said, "I believe that as long as it's something one has earned through hard work, there's no need to avoid talking about benefits, even if one is a gentleman. Most people in this world are ordinary people who need to feed their families. Everyone wants to live in a big house. Everyone needs money to take care of the elderly and treat the sick. If everyone avoids talking about benefits, that's not realistic at all.
Of course, I believe that all the officials and teachers in the imperial court are gentlemen. After all, if gentlemen value justice over benefits, the imperial court can save a lot of salary every year! "
"Hahaha!"
The whole Classroom Three burst into laughter. In the Han Dynasty, many officials had no rank at all. The rank of an official was divided according to the salary. The provincial governor was 600 shi, the prefect was 2,000 shi, and so on.
Although it was not so obvious in the Tang Dynasty, it was obvious that the higher the rank of an official, the higher the salary. According to the statistics of later generations, the salary of a first-rank official in the Tang Dynasty, including salary, salary, field, and other rewards, was equivalent to a million yuan a year. Even an ordinary seventh-rank official's salary was equivalent to a hundred thousand yuan a year, which was extremely generous.
Most of the students were young. Usually, at this age, what they hated most was not that they were not talented enough, but that they did not have enough money to spend. Especially in a flourishing city like Chang 'an, they spent money like running water.
Especially Qin Huaiyu and the other two, who were laughing so hard that they fell off their horses. They had a deep understanding of the distress of lack of money. Their family education was very strict, and their monthly pocket money was pitiful. In order to make money, they joined Meton's pirate ship.
Although the assets under his name had skyrocketed, he was still close to him because Meton had never given him a bonus. Fortunately, he had a better reputation as a poor rich man.
Without a doubt, the imperial academician returned with a crushing defeat. With his salary in hand, he wanted to get promoted and make a fortune. He talked about valuing profits over justice. After all, he was a teacher in the ivory tower, and was not shameless to that extent.
Soon, this battle for justice and profit spread throughout the Imperial College.
"Legitimate profits, illegitimate profits! Mo Jiazi has the style of Legalism. "The law professor praised.
The Doctor of Law was indeed proficient in the study of law. What Moton had used was indeed legal terminology from later generations. Confucian theories were high and mighty, but they were no match for reality. That was, there was no such thing as gold, and no such thing as a perfect person. How many people in this world could truly be called a gentleman?
"Blinded by greed, bewitching people's hearts!" Liu Yinian, the calligraphy professor, snorted.
He now hated Meton to the bone, so he naturally rejected all of Mo Jiazi's theories.
The law professor laughed and said, "Brother Liu, if you are truly a gentleman, I am willing to take this month's salary for you. How about it? I happen to have my eye on a four-wheeled carriage from the Mo family, and I was just worried that I did not have enough money."
"You …" Liu Yinian was instantly speechless.
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