Confucianism says that a gentleman makes friends but does not form cliques, yet most intellectuals form factions for personal gain.
Confucianism speaks of loyalty, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust. Yet when foreign enemies attack, the first to defect to the enemy are the Confucians. The ones betraying trust and abandoning their wives and children are also intellectuals.
"The core real utility of Confucianism is that the nobles hold the shackles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust, putting these shackles on the common people to make them dogma for the masses. Meanwhile, 'I' leap out from outside the dogma; when everyone else adheres, but I do not, I can seize the opportunity to gain benefits. This is the way of kings, the core of Confucianism." Zhang Chen stroked the scripture of Chen Sanliang, only now realizing how precious these Confucian teachings truly were.
