"At the same time, it is also to make Great Han prosperous and strong!"
"Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with our Great Han governing through filial piety. But if the Former Emperors knew, down in the Yellow Springs, that the people were mired in war and the nation was battered by wind and rain, would they want their descendants to disregard reality, blindly cling to old institutions, and turn a blind eye to the people's suffering?"
"The Former Emperors aspired to make Great Han flourish and let its people live and work in peace. Everything we do is to achieve that goal. How does that amount to opposing the Former Emperors?"
Zhuge Liang's words were fierce, his speech thunderous enough to awaken the deaf, and he hurled every sweeping accusation Wang Lang had leveled straight back at him.
But he was not finished. Fixing Wang Lang with a piercing gaze, he raised his voice:
"Wang Jingyan! For all your learning in poetry and the classics, you disregard the facts at this moment and twist reason with specious arguments, ignoring the people to preserve old institutions. Do you feel no shame?"
"We seek only to make Great Han flourish, and our consciences are clear! You, on the other hand, fill your mouth with benevolence, righteousness, and morality, yet obstruct reform and harm the nation and its people! How do you have the face to pontificate here?"
Wang Lang's face flushed crimson, veins bulging on his forehead. He was clearly struggling to withstand Zhuge Liang's fierce onslaught.
Yet he forced himself to hold his ground, gritting his teeth as he retorted, "Hmph! Those are merely excuses for your own defiance of the classics and betrayal of the Way!"
"The Former Emperors labored conscientiously, educating the masses through Confucian teachings, and thus brought