Zhao Jiu, frivolous and reckless, barged into the Prime Minister's home as if he were drunk... actually, it's hard to say "as if," because he had indeed had a few cups of 'Lanqiao Fengyue' with Han Shizhong and the others before barging in.

From this perspective, it was indeed a case of causing trouble after drinking.

Of course, turning back to the present, except for a few who genuinely didn't understand, everyone realized that today's Zhao Emperor, seemingly casually strolling by at the year's end, actually had serious matters to discuss with Prime Minister Lü, and the matter seemed to be of considerable importance.

Hesitating for a moment, Lü Benzhong finally decided to offer a reminder before his father could speak: "My old poems have brought laughter to Your Majesty."

"What's there to laugh at?" Zhao Jiu brushed the table in front of him and replied easily. "Back then, the country was shattered and the family destroyed. Seeing that no one north of the Yangtze River had any hope of survival, your father was also disheartened by the events of the Jingkang Incident, resigned from his post, and prepared to spend his remaining years in the south. You were ordered to set out from your old home in Shouzhou to establish a business in Liuzhou, seeing no future for yourself in this life, and that your family's generations of high officials were about to be ruined in one fell swoop. With such desolation in your heart, it's only natural to have such verses."

Lü Haowen then realized that the absurd words spoken by the Emperor had a source, and were related to his son, the entire Lü family, and even the darkest period of the entire nation... it's just that his son wrote too many poems on weekdays, and he hadn't paid attention to them.

But this further confirmed that this Emperor had come prepared.

"Back then, I didn't know of Your Majesty's divine might; how could I have imagined today?" Lü Benzhong replied helplessly from below. "Today, I returned to the old residence in Tokyo, and family and friends gathered for poetry at the New Year's festival. Thinking of my state of mind back then, it's truly laughable..."

"This is one time, that is another."

Zhao Jiu shook his head, but found a pot of 'Lanqiao Fengyue' warming in a water bath on the stove behind him, as well as several clean cups. He took advantage of the situation to bring them over, poured himself a cup, and spoke as he drank. "Today's entertainment is not a pretense, but was the despairing state of mind back then false? It's just that one or two of those poems seem somewhat amusing now. It's like your Lü family's first Prime Minister, Duke Xu of the State of Guo, Lü Mengzheng, didn't he study in a broken kiln when he failed to become the top scholar? How could he have imagined that the Lü family would have four prime ministers in five generations starting with him? People say that the Mei Blossom Han family in this dynasty is like the Yuan family of Runan in the Later Han Dynasty. If that's the case, isn't your Lü family as prominent as the Yang family of Hongnong?"

It was cold in the courtyard in winter, but Lü Benzhong was sweating profusely for a moment. Hearing these piercing words, even the mild and steady Lü Haowen couldn't sit still any longer and had to rise and bow:

"The family's prominence all relies on the grace bestowed by the nation..."

"Let's not talk about these things." Zhao Jiu looked somewhat bored at the vegetarian meal in front of him and simply continued drinking. "Fate and destiny... it's none of My business if your family is four generations of three dukes, or even nine generations of three dukes, and shares the fate of the nation. The reason We, ruler and subject, have today is not because of those things... Back then, I fell into a well and was seriously injured, and even couldn't recognize past acquaintances for a while, so I was taken advantage of by the rebellious thief Kang Lü and trapped in the Mingdao Palace. If it weren't for Prime Minister Lü, Prime Minister Zhang, and Zhengfu, I would have hardly escaped... Right?"

Everyone else held their breath, and Lü Haowen sighed slightly, while Yang Yizhong, another party involved, lowered his head and remained silent.

"And at that time, I remember that Prime Minister Lü had already submitted a memorial requesting to go south, probably wanting to spend his remaining years in Lingnan. But because I happened to be injured, he reluctantly stayed to observe." Zhao Jiu took a few more sips, looking down at the sundries on the table with increasing emotion. "So, when it comes to a person's achievements, we must not only talk about a锥处囊中, 脱颖而出 [zhuī chǔ náng zhōng, tuō yǐng ér chū - an awl in a bag, standing out], but also about fate and destiny..."

"People like the deceased Prime Minister Zong and the living Li Yanxian can be considered heroes who arise in response to the times, like stars appearing in the dark night, waiting for a prairie fire, or like pillars in the middle of a rushing flood, standing firm in the face of difficulty... Such people earn their own fame and fortune. Even if they encounter a dim-witted ruler, they may not have fame and fortune, but they will have posthumous fame."

"Then there are people like the Prince of Yan'an and Prime Minister Xu, who are physically unable to hold on. They have both talent and timely actions, as well as serendipitous opportunities, so they are three points stronger than Li Yanxian and Prime Minister Zong, enjoying wealth in life and leaving a name in history... They deserve it too."

Hearing this, Han Shizhong straightened his chest slightly, but seeing that the atmosphere was not right, he had to slightly contract his stomach and pretend to look up at the scenery.

"But there are also people, like Me, like you, Prime Minister Lü, and even the late Prime Minister Wang..."

Speaking to this point, Zhao Jiu drained his cup, held the empty cup, and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "According to Me, the three of us actually have neither outstanding talent nor extraordinary courage. We were just forced by the situation to a position, and then looked around, with no one to replace us and no one to rely on. But we also couldn't abandon basic conscience and morality to do disgraceful things, so we勉强 [miǎn qiǎng - barely] supported each other and barely survived... Prime Minister Lü, do you understand what I mean?"

"Your subject dares not agree. Your Majesty is divinely martial; everyone in the country knows it..." Lü Haowen cupped his hands and lowered his head.

"What kind of 'divine might' do I have? Others may not know, but don't you know?" Zhao Jiu held the wine cup and almost collapsed with laughter. "And what I want to say is not that you are incompetent, nor that I am lonely and helpless, but that, no matter what, you, I, and those like Prime Minister Wang have long shared honor and disgrace in life and death. Because no matter what, to put it bluntly, the Emperor who created this situation is Me, the chief of all provinces is you, and the Privy Council is Prime Minister Wang... The two rivers have not yet been recovered, and they are already saying that the country has been revitalized. Even if it is truly revitalized, who is the master of this revitalization if not Me? And who is the number one meritorious official of this revitalization if not you, Lü Haowen? What's the use of you declining again?"

Lü Haowen was about to speak, but Zhao Emperor suddenly pressed the wine cup on the table, preventing him from continuing to ask: "And to bring the conversation back, if one day We lose as easily as the Western Chu, Former Jin, and Later Tang, or if We stop moving forward and settle for complacency, then I will be reduced to a laughingstock for eternity, and wouldn't you, Lü Haowen, also be a laughingstock for eternity? Prime Minister Lü, your Lü family sharing the fate of the nation is bullshit in My eyes, but the fact that you and I, ruler and subject, share glory and loss is an ironclad fact that cannot be deviated from or distorted by what you or I think... Last year, I asked you once at the foot of Mount Shaoshi. At the beginning of the year, I had both the intention of entrusting the country to you and a gambling spirit with you before the Yiyou Gate. Having returned victorious in the autumn, you advised Me to slow down, and I have slowed down for several months. Now it is already December; do you want Me to slow down until next year?!"

Speaking to the end, Zhao Jiu had no smile left. Lü Haowen knew that he was prepared to be honest with this Emperor, so he slowly saluted, lowered his head, and responded: "Your Majesty, your subject requests a private audience!"

Zhao Jiu nodded and slightly raised his hand to the right.

Immediately, the Prince of Yan'an Han Shizhong and below, the various commanders, generals, and attendants rose, saluted, and then hurriedly left. On the other side, the Lü family's relatives and friends also bowed their heads and retreated.

"Lü Benzhong, stay." Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke. "If your father cannot do it today, it may be up to you, his son, to do it."

Lü Benzhong was startled, but he could only turn around and stand on the empty space between the Emperor and his father, dozens of steps away, with his hands clasped and his head bowed in silence.

Seeing that only three people remained in the entire backyard, Lü Haowen helplessly responded: "Your Majesty, this son of mine was born early, and he has encountered so many things by chance, but he hasn't officially taken office even though he is over forty years old. What use is there in keeping him?"

"What I want is the Lü family's scholarship, which has a place in moral philosophy, and your identity as Prime Minister. After all, he is the eldest son of you, Prime Minister Lü, and the heir to the Lü family's scholarship, right? If you don't do it, I will let him do it in your name." Zhao Jiu continued to pour wine and respond. "Prime Minister Lü, sit down... Let's talk slowly today... It's your turn."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lü Haowen turned around and sat behind a table, sighed a few times, and then said, "Your subject understands Your Majesty's intentions, and also knows the importance of this matter... During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, a hundred schools of thought contended. The Former Han Dynasty exclusively honored Confucianism, and the Later Han Dynasty had Old Text and New Text. In this dynasty, the theory of the interaction between heaven and man and the cycle of the five elements has almost been abandoned. Everyone wants to find a new path to achieve the Great Dao... Academic matters seem like empty talk, but they have always been fundamental national affairs. Whether or not there is a formal doctrine officially revered makes a difference between doing things with half the effort and doing things with twice the effort."

Zhao Jiu poured wine and drank continuously.

"Your Majesty." At this point, Lü Haowen looked at Zhao Jiu seriously and responded, "As Your Majesty said, We, ruler and subject, have experienced so much, I dare not say whether it is one and two and two and one, but if Your Majesty has such a request, your subject should do his best. Moreover, Your Majesty has long had this intention; your subject has known it since last year at the foot of Mount Shaoshi..."

"Then why did you pretend to be deaf and mute?"

"The reason your subject pretended to be deaf had two things: It's because your subject still has a few difficulties here..."

"Do you also think that the New Party misled the country?" Zhao Jiu held his cup and sneered. "New Learning misled the country? Do you want Me to say those words? What misled the country was the two Emperors captured in the north, especially the Taishang Daojun Emperor. As early as the Jingkang Incident, you avoided speaking directly about the fact that the collapse of the world was actually his doing, and because there were decades of partisan strife between the New and Old Parties, you took the opportunity to point at Cai Jing and throw all the responsibility for the collapse of the country onto the New Party, New Learning, and even Wang Anshi... There's a saying that I still dare to say now... It's too shameless!"

Lü Benzhong, seeing this scene for the first time, felt his heart churn. Lü Haowen, however, became even more mild: "Actually, as for what New Party and Old Party, New Learning and Old Learning are, your subject has long ceased to care about past frustrations and grievances, and at least will not use such private matters to argue with Your Majesty..."

"I knew that I could trust Prime Minister Lü." Zhao Jiu was pleased and quickly poured wine, then raised his glass and sighed. "Actually, how could I not know that more than half of the actual effects of those New Laws are bad, and that later, when Cai Jing and those people controlled the New Party and the court, eight out of ten New Laws were bad... But the problem is that, no matter what, Wang Anshi's initial intention of reform must be affirmed! When things are not working, we must demand change! Sitting and waiting for death is resolutely unacceptable! This is the fundamental reason why I insist on maintaining New Learning!"

"Your Majesty." Lü Haowen waited for the other to finish speaking before continuing helplessly, "The reason your subject has never agreed with Your Majesty on this matter is not to say that I cannot change course for Your Majesty in governance, but to say that among the New Learning of King Shu (Wang Anshi), there are inherent shortcomings. This concerns the sacred learning of the sages, and your subject dares not violate the heavenly principles to do so... Doing so is no different from abandoning the country and surrendering to the Jin!"

Zhao Jiu immediately took another sip and then sighed... Of course, he understood what the other party meant, which was to say that, in the eyes of someone like Lü Haowen, who belonged to a branch of moral philosophy, New Learning was ultimately a doctrine with huge and obvious errors, and asking him to promote this thing was as absurd as a later government forcing a scientist to promote the Flat Earth theory.

However, after sighing, Zhao Emperor shook his head, but instead of getting angry, he laughed: "We talked about this matter at the foot of Mount Shaoshi. I seem to remember that there was something wrong with the heavenly principles and morality?"

"It's not wrong, it's a lack." Lü Haowen explained helplessly. "To let Your Majesty know, King Shu's (Wang Anshi) own learning and morality are impeccable, but even he cannot investigate the fundamental nature of heaven and man... There are two major deficiencies in New Learning: one is the discourse on the universe and all things, that is, what is the so-called heavenly principle, and New Learning does not mention it at all! The other is what is the interaction between heavenly principle and man, and how man obtains heavenly principle; he does not mention it either! Although Daoism and Buddhism are not perfect, Daoism has said that heavenly principle is nothingness, and Buddhism has said that heavenly principle is emptiness... And We, and others of moral philosophy and Daoism, are called moral philosophy and Daoism because we are striving to seek a theory of heavenly principle that belongs to Confucianism!"

Zhao Jiu continued to pour wine and drink, as if to embolden himself, but he was already somewhat drunk: "In other words, New Learning is now just missing a foundation compared to Buddhism and Daoism? Compared to moral philosophy or Daoism, it is simply missing half a foundation?"

Lü Haowen finally lost his composure: "Your Majesty, is half a foundation missing not enough? How many great Confucian scholars have spent their entire lives studying tirelessly, with generations of people in several factions studying non-stop, only to find this half a foundation..."

"And it's just that laughable 'qi' (氣)!" Zhao Jiu raised his glass again, his ridicule unbearable.

"Your Majesty!" Lü Haowen rose and said seriously, "Hu Anguo's 'qi' certainly has obvious omissions, but he dared to take this step, and it was also after decades of hard work. How can it be laughable?!"

"I was wrong; I shouldn't have been so frivolous." Zhao Jiu put down his wine cup, leaned back in his seat, and looked at the sky. "Actually, to be honest with Prime Minister Lü, I have been studying Hu Anguo's 'qi' hard these days... and I have gained quite a bit of insight."

Lü Haowen frowned slightly: "Does Your Majesty want to connect Hu Anguo's qi with King Shu's New Learning? Forgive my bluntness, but it's better to learn from Buddhism's emptiness."

"I would rather use 'qi' than 'emptiness'!" Zhao Jiu retorted coldly to his Prime Minister. "Does Prime Minister Lü think that I am talking nonsense when I tell you to eat more meat and less vegetables?"

"Your Majesty," Lü Haowen suppressed some emotion and advised, "Your subject knows that Your Majesty detests Buddhism, but that is the problem of Buddhism, and it has nothing to do with the doctrine, just like in Your Majesty's eyes, it is Cai Jing who is bad, not New Learning... This is not the same thing! Moreover, Buddhism is indeed one step further here, and even Hu Anguo's 'qi' has not borrowed from Buddhism and Daoism?"

"I'm just making a comparison. Actually, My original intention in coming here today is precisely to have you, Prime Minister Lü, come forward and complete this heavenly principle (worldview) for Me, and then sew it onto the utilitarianism of New Learning, right?" Zhao Jiu was also obviously impatient.

But as soon as these words came out, not to mention that Lü Benzhong in the distance tasted bitterness in his mouth, even Lü Haowen, who had a good disposition, finally became exasperated: "Your Majesty! If I could complete this heavenly principle (a Confucian worldview) for you face to face, I would have become a saint long ago!"

"That's hard to say." Zhao Jiu quickly poured another cup of Lanqiao Fengyue and then raised his cup to the sky. "To My mind, the weather is extremely good today, with the yin and yang interacting, which is a good time to understand the heavenly principles... Maybe We, ruler and subject, can complete this heavenly principle, and then you, Lü Haowen, can use it to sew up New Learning, and truly become a saint!"

"Your Majesty is drunk!" Lü Haowen flung his sleeves in indignation.

"The Grand Historian said, 'To investigate the relationship between heaven and man, to understand the changes of ancient and modern times, and to form a school of thought.'" Zhao Jiu was already five parts drunk, but he ignored everything and sighed at the sky. "Zhuangzi said, 'To judge the beauty of heaven and earth, and to analyze the principles of all things.' Mr. Hengqu said, 'To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to bring peace for all generations...' Furthermore, there are Qu Yuan's 'Heavenly Questions,' with one hundred and seventy-two questions. I have thought about it for a long time and already know very well that the theory of heavenly principles must exist! With it, My driving Confucian officials will be twice as effective, and without it, My driving Confucian officials will be half as effective!"

Lü Haowen glanced at his son Lü Benzhong. The father and son looked at each other and sighed... The meaning was very clear: this Emperor was drunk; Lü Haowen had said these words to the Emperor himself before.

"To My mind, Hu Anguo's biggest problem is that he regards everything as 'qi,' but he doesn't know that his qi is too broad and should be divided into two parts: one is principle, and the other is matter." Zhao Jiu kept talking to the sky, the white air from his mouth constantly dissipating, but constantly涌出 [yǒng chū - welling up] again. "Therefore, We have to change it like this: The so-called heavenly principle is, firstly, the principle of heaven (the basic laws of the universe's operation), and secondly, the origin of heaven (the material that constitutes the universe, which can be atoms)... Things and principles are not the same thing; We have to first separate matter from the concept of heavenly principle... Prime Minister Lü, you say, am I right?"

Don't you know, Lü Haowen and Lü Benzhong were stunned, and actually felt that this Emperor's drunken talk was quite perceptive, and even had a little connection with the theories of the Cheng brothers, Buddhism, and moral philosophy.

"Then may I ask Your Majesty..." Lü Haowen, almost helplessly, decided to perfunctorily respond, anyway, if he pursued it, this Emperor would definitely enter a dead end like those moral philosophers and Daoists. "Since we are talking about Qu Yuan's 'Heavenly Questions,' then your subject dares to ask His Majesty a few questions, borrowing from 'Heavenly Questions'... If this is the case, 'Before the formation of the above and below, how could one examine them?' (Before heaven and earth had a shape, what was the universe like?)"

"Naturally, the principle of heaven existed first (first there were basic laws of the universe's operation), converging into the Taiji (the origin of the universe)." Zhao Jiu's face was flushed, and he answered calmly.

Lü Haowen didn't care; anyway, it was just the initial setting, so he could say whatever he wanted. Therefore, this Prime Minister just nodded and continued to perfunctorily ask: "In the darkness and obscurity, who could explore it to the end? The appearance was only vague; how could one recognize it?"

"The Taiji suddenly gave birth to yin and yang (the Big Bang), and within yin and yang, the origin of heaven was born (atoms gradually formed after the Big Bang)." Zhao Jiu looked at the sky and blurted out. This was a replacement of nouns that he had been organizing for two or three months. "Once the origin of heaven appeared, it followed the principle of heaven, and then all things were born (atoms formed various substances). All things also followed the principle of heaven and were naturally clear and discernible."

Lü Haowen pondered slightly and roughly determined that this logic was currently passable, so he continued to perfunctorily ask: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty's words have already spoken of the first few questions of 'Heavenly Questions.' Then may I ask Your Majesty, since all things have been born and yin and yang have been understood... what is the purpose of brightness and darkness?"

"The origin of heaven gives birth to all things. Among all things, there are extremely yang things that take yang and receive yin, forming a sphere, which is the sun; there are extremely yin things, which are also spherical, which is the earth, taking yin and receiving yang... The earth rotates on its own and is attracted by the sun to revolve around the sun, and brightness and darkness arise naturally." Zhao Jiu blurted out, but he was a little nervous, as if he was afraid that his second-rate level would not be able to achieve logical self-consistency. "Actually, these things can be verified slowly in the future... It's always better than Buddhism's major worlds and minor worlds... I know that Prime Minister Lü's questions are not actually here."

Lü Benzhong's eyes were dazed, and he was obviously confused by the spherical sun, the spherical earth, and the self-rotation and revolution.

However, his father Lü Haowen, upon hearing Zhao Jiu's words, sighed and abandoned his thoughts on these two spheres, directly entering the key: "Then may I ask Your Majesty, how can the Dao of Heaven or the principle of heaven (the basic laws of the universe's operation, truth) be reflected in people? How can people obtain the principle of heaven?"

"The human body is originally a thing," Zhao Jiu knew that he had come to the key, but he bit the bullet and answered, "The thing carries the heavenly principle."

"According to this," Lü Haowen finally smiled. "All things should carry the heavenly principle, right?"

"That is exactly the meaning!" Zhao Jiu threw down the empty cup in his hand and slapped the table in response. "Therefore, we must investigate things to obtain knowledge, investigate all things to glimpse the heavenly principle!"

Lü Haowen opened his mouth to speak, but he was a little dazed for a moment, because it sounded like he had really connected people, things, and heavenly principle? And the reason why he was able to connect them was precisely because Zhao Emperor had initially divided Hu Anguo's vague qi into heavenly principle and all things, stripping all things from the original chaotic concept of heavenly principle.

Lü Haowen was speechless. He didn't speak for a long time and was more cautious and serious: "Your Majesty... if this is the case, then a person is also a thing and also carries the heavenly principle. Then what about a person's morality? Why do some people not follow morality?"

"Morality is probably because people are born with desires, and desires naturally follow the heavenly principle. However, people are the most intelligent of all things, turning against the natural order, and it is unstable, so sometimes it will have excessive desires or too shallow desires. This violates the heavenly principle, and at this time, we must investigate things to obtain knowledge, fundamentally understand what the heavenly principle is, and then guide desires. This is the so-called lost learning of the past sages, so we must follow human desires and distinguish the heavenly principle..." Zhao Jiu stubbornly spouted a bunch of nonsense, but the more he said, the more afraid he became. "Actually, I don't know how this person himself does it, but Prime Minister Lü, I've been talking for a long time, it's always a little better than Hu Anguo's qi, right? Tell me, can it be connected with New Learning? I think it should be possible, right?"

Zhao Emperor's words already had a sense of entreaty, and Lü Haowen was stunned and silent, standing there with his hands clasped for a long time, wanting to speak several times, but ultimately unable to speak.

Moreover, he had been with this Emperor for so long. How could he not know where this Emperor's level of Confucianism was? It must be true that the other party had temporarily 'studied' these months... But the problem was that the 'heavenly principle' that had been 'studied' out seemed to be logical? It seemed to be a hard connection of people and heavenly principle? And this thing of following human desires and distinguishing heavenly principle, even though this Emperor had already run out of words, seemed to have a little bit of a feeling, and it was also勉强 [miǎn qiǎng - barely] related to the utilitarian doctrine?

There must be a lot of loopholes in the heavenly principle that Zhao Emperor had cobbled together. There was no doubt about that.

But the problem was that this thing of the principle of heaven carrying the object of heaven, and then people investigating things to obtain knowledge to pursue the connection to heavenly principle, seemed to be much stronger than Hu Anguo and other trendy moral philosophers and Daoists... And what made Lü Haowen even more unacceptable was that he, Lü Haowen, was also a moral philosopher and Daoist for decades, and his level on heavenly principle was not as good as Hu Anguo's. In the end, this Emperor, who had studied for two months, came up with something (although not necessarily recognized) that he couldn't come up with for most of his life. What was that all about?

"How did Your Majesty think of these things?" Lü Haowen was silent, but his son Lü Benzhong couldn't bear it anymore and suddenly asked.

"I came up with it by investigating things to obtain knowledge." Zhao Jiu answered forcefully, with a mouthful of alcohol, and then eagerly looked at Lü Haowen to change the topic. "Prime Minister Lü, the 'heavenly principle' that We and your father and son have completed today is this one. Tell Me, are you willing to sew it on for Me? For this thing, I have done My best and worked very hard!"

Lü Haowen stared blankly at Zhao Emperor, whose mouth was full of alcohol, and was still unable to accept it... He could not accept his attitude towards heavenly principles.

"If you are unwilling, then it will be Lü Benzhong!" Zhao Jiu finally lost his temper completely. "If he is also unwilling, then it will be your second son Lü Youzhong! If your whole family is unwilling, I will directly imprison you at home, and then issue an article in the court bulletin in your name to talk about this heavenly principle! You father and son have to be a saint whether you want to or not!"

"Your subject is willing." After the final ultimatum came out, Lü Haowen finally opened his mouth tremblingly after half a day. "But if the real heavenly principle is investigated, Your Majesty must allow your subject to change it..."

Zhao Jiu was relieved and was about to stand up and shake hands with his old partner, but he didn't expect that as soon as he stood up, he felt dizzy... Moreover, Zhao Emperor had really drunk too much of this courage-inducing wine today.