The second debate was between Sage Ceng from the Confucian school and Li Si from the school of formations. Sage Ceng Can was much stronger than Li Si and would be able to defeat Li Si within a day.
However, the debate had just started and the two of them were locked in battle. Li Si was once the Prime Minister of the Qin Kingdom and the entire country was in his hands. After the Qin Kingdom submitted to the Huaxia Kingdom, he began to seriously study the Huaxia Kingdom's system. Some of the conclusions he came up with made many people admire him.
The topic of their debate was whether gambling houses should be completely stopped. This topic had been discussed countless times in the Huaxia Kingdom's Parliament, but there had been no conclusion.
A Saint's insight surpassed everyone else's. They could calculate the impact of an absolute on the future based on your every word. Therefore, when debating with a Saint, the slightest mistake could lead to failure. Furthermore, Saint Ceng Can was no ordinary Saint.
Li Si's thoughts were sharp. At the beginning, the topic involved all aspects of the country's development. Sage Ceng Can had to analyze carefully before giving an answer, but Li Si was actually ahead of Sage Ceng Can.
However, after a day, Li Si was starting to lose. His mental power could not compare to the Sage's and was defeated by Sage Ceng Can's debate.
Sage Ceng Can advocated for guidance. The entertainment methods of the people could not keep up with the development of society and could not be suppressed. Recreational gambling should be relaxed. The country's management should educate and punish people who gambled. The core was to enrich the entertainment methods of the people.
Li Si believed that people who gambled had too much free time and should be caught doing voluntary work. Those who did not change would be punished as if they had committed a crime. Recreational gambling could only be done at home and could not be done in public. Otherwise, they would be severely punished.
By the afternoon of the second day, Li Si only had half of his petals left. However, he was still unwilling to admit defeat. Sage Ceng Can had more than ten petals than him. If there were no bigger ones, Li Si would definitely lose.
On the third day, the two of them did not stop fighting. As the area involved was very wide, even a Saint's spiritual energy had been exhausted. Li Si's spiritual energy had been exhausted to the limit. After Hua Kai was at a disadvantage in another confrontation with Li Si, he took half of Li Si's petals. Li Si bowed to Saint Ceng Can and admitted defeat.
The last battle was the one that many people paid attention to the most. It was the Novel Sage Cao Zirui against the Confucian School's Sage Meng.
As Hua Kai's eldest disciple, Cao Zirui was the only one who could maintain a complete victory of the Novelist school. Everyone had high hopes.
Meng Sheng was also one of the most important figures in the Confucian School. Although he had just become a Saint, his influence in the Confucian School was second only to Kong Sheng.
From the very beginning, the two of them did not probe each other. Instead, they launched a fierce attack on each other. Cao Zirui repeated Hua Kai's classic remarks, which Meng Sheng had never heard of before. He needed to think deeply before he could answer, and it was obvious that he was under a lot of pressure.
The two of them had been evenly matched for a day, but everyone could see that Meng Sheng was more exhausted. On the third day, Cao Zirui changed the topic to the relationship between the country and the people, which he was better at. This time, Meng Sheng began to lose. On the afternoon of the second day, Cao Zirui had gained a great advantage. Seeing this, Meng Sheng admitted defeat to Cao Zirui.
Thus, the three people who had maintained a clean record had been announced. However, everyone was still discussing their rankings.
On the 9th of October, which was the day before the National Day, the Academy of Philosophers announced the top 20 rankings. This was not much different from what everyone had expected. Next, the Huaxia Parliament would hold a three-day voting period. Everyone could vote for the person they recognized the most. In the end, the Huaxia Parliament would rank the scholars according to their points.
The rankings given by the Academy of Philosophers.
Sage Ceng Can was ranked first, Cao Zirui was ranked second, and Sage Laozi was ranked third. Everyone felt that it was natural for a quasi-sage to be ranked second.
Everyone saw the results of the three people's last match. Cao Zirui used two days to defeat Meng Sheng with a great advantage, and Meng Sheng defeated Kong Sheng.
Meng Sheng, who was ranked fourth, made everyone believe in him. His strength was very outstanding among all the Sages.
Li Si was ranked fifth, Guan Sheng was ranked sixth, Hua Chenwen was ranked seventh, the Yin-Yang Sage was ranked eighth, the Confucian Kong Sheng was ranked ninth, Hua Kai's disciple Yan Nanfei was ranked tenth, the Mohist Sage was ranked eleventh, and Yan Sheng was ranked sixteenth.
Yan Sheng was ranked sixteenth because he was the only Sage who had lost all three matches.
Even so, three of the top ten Confucian scholars were ranked first. Sage Ceng Can was very likely to become the head of the scholars in the world.
The top twenty Confucian scholars were ranked seventh, the Legalists were ranked fourth, the Novelists were ranked third, the Daoists were ranked second, the Mohist was ranked first, the Yin-Yang School was ranked first, the Military School was ranked first, and the Famous School was ranked first.
The rankings of Huaxia's scholars quickly spread throughout the entire country. Even the people of Java Island and Immortal Island Prefecture had given their votes to the local newspapers or officials. They could send the results to Xia City.
On the night of the 12th of October, all the results were tabulated. On the 13th, the results would be announced.
The Hundred Schools Debate this time determined the future development of all the schools in Huaxia. Therefore, all the scholars in the world attached great importance to it. The Confucians, Legalists, Military School, and Yin-Yang School were very happy with the results of this debate.
The Novelists, Mohist, Miscellaneous School, and Farmer School were not very satisfied.
Although the Novelists only had one quasi-sage participating in the debate, they had the most people in Huaxia. Everyone said that they had failed to live up to Hua Kai's expectations.
The Mohist was kicked out of the four major schools. Their numbers were only below the Novelists, and their influence was not much less than the Confucians. However, only Mo Zi was ranked eleventh.
The Farmer School and Miscellaneous School were the major academic schools in the Central Plains. In the end, none of them entered the finals.
When Hua Kai arrived at the Academy of the Hundred Schools on the morning of the 13th, he saw that there were even more spectators than when the debate was at its most intense. The records of the Academy of the Hundred Schools' debate over the past few days had spread throughout Huaxia. Many people were impatient to witness this world-class debate. The Three Pavilions and Three Academies in Huaxia had already purchased a set of books to study the students. Many departments had already placed emphasis on learning the content of the debate. This was something that Hua Kai had mentioned in the [Family's Secret Realm].
Hua Kai stood on the high platform. In front of him were the 20 debaters who had entered the finals, including Sage Zeng Can. They were waiting for the results of the competition with the spectators below the stage. Hua Kai took out a piece of paper and placed it in front of everyone. He then turned to look at the spectators below the stage.
Today, the number of spectators in the Academy of the Hundred Schools had exceeded 400,000. This was even more than the total population of many important cities. Waves of cheers came from the spectators below the stage. They were celebrating this sacred ceremony.
"As the role models of the world's scholars, the 20 of you are the winners of this debate. Not only do you need to be strong, but you also need to put the people and the country in your heart at all times.
Only by being recognized by the people of the world can you show the success of a scholar and prove that you have used your knowledge in the right place.
From the end of the debate to the end of the vote count yesterday evening, all levels of government and newspapers in Huaxia had received a total of 142.31 million votes. This also showed the importance and expectations of the people of Huaxia for this debate.
Among them, Hua Chengwen was ranked first with 48.12 million votes, Kong Sheng was ranked second with 40.39 million votes, and Cao Zirui was ranked third with 37.72 million votes.
According to the rankings and points of the 20 of you, I now announce that the Confucian scholar, Ceng Sheng, has been conferred as the number one scholar in Huaxia and is rewarded with the immortal tool [Xuanling Tower].
The novelist, Cao Zirui, has been conferred the title of the number two scholar in Huaxia and is rewarded with the immortal tool [Heavenly Sword].
The Taoist scholar, Laozi, has been conferred the title of the number three scholar in Huaxia and is rewarded with the immortal tool [Ninth Heaven Cauldron].
… "
Hua Kai announced from the top, and everyone below opened their mouths wide!
The Sacred Lord had actually rewarded with an immortal tool, which had the effect of evolving heaven and earth. With an immortal tool, one would become a powerhouse in the Gold Core Realm.
Hua Chengwen's ranking rose from the seventh to the fifth, Kong Sheng rose from the ninth to the seventh, and Mo Sheng rose from the eleventh to the tenth.
There was no change in the rankings of the remaining people. Hua Kai rewarded the third place with a beginner immortal tool, the fourth to sixth place with a superb spirit treasure, the seventh to tenth place with a high-level spirit treasure, and the eleventh to twentieth place with a mid-level spirit treasure.
The rewards were very rich, and more importantly, the 20 of them had become the role models of the world's scholars.
In addition, the 21st to 50th place also had spirit treasures and spirit pills as rewards. All the people with results had gained a lot.
After Hua Kai's announcement, there was a cheer under the stage. Hua Kai signaled everyone to stop, and suddenly the entire Academy of the Hundred Schools became silent.
"The education of the hundred schools of thought in Huaxia has always been a problem for the country.
I'll be frank, the Hundred Schools of Thought have always been a challenger to the royal power. Someone once told me that we should learn from Emperor Qin and ban academic dissemination. "
When Hua Kai said this, many people couldn't help but feel afraid. They were most afraid that Hua Kai would do this.
"But we all know that academic dissemination is the key to human development. If academic dissemination is banned, human beings will be bound. The people's thoughts will be restricted, and what happiness will there be?
Therefore, I have always encouraged the dissemination of academic ideas, built a large number of academies in Huaxia, and let the Hundred Schools of Thought establish their own newspapers. They can speak freely, and I have never punished them for any inappropriate remarks. "
When Hua Kai said this, everyone was relieved. They were still waiting for the Hundred Schools of Thought to lead the human race to the next glory. The development of the Hundred Schools of Thought in Huaxia had surpassed any time in history.
"I've decided to establish the Society of Thought in Huaxia. Everyone can apply to join the Society of Thought. Every member will receive a subsidy of more than ten gold every month. Tycoons can receive a hundred gold, and saints can receive a daughter.
In addition, the Society of Thought is at the same level as the Three Pavilions of Huaxia. The 20 of you will be the first senators of the Society of Thought. Sage Zeng Can will be the head of the senate. The senators will receive a subsidy of 100,000 yuan every year, and the head of the senate will receive 200,000 yuan. All of this money will be provided by the royal family. "