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Qin Mu founded the country and emphasized that he inherited the legal system of the First Emperor. So, do you also want to inherit the Legalist ideology of governing the country
This is actually what Huang Daozhou wanted to ask.
Everyone at the imperial lecture held their breath and waited for Qin Mu's answer.
Even Liu Rushi, who was not involved in the matter, couldn't help but secretly worry for Qin Mu. If this problem was not handled properly, it might at best cause the ministers to become alienated, and at worst it might cause chaos in the world.
Qin Mu picked up the tea, took a sip, and said slowly: "I have studied the Four Books and Five Classics since I was young, but I have not had a deep understanding of Shang Yang's theory. It happens that all the wise men are here today. Who can explain to me why Shang Yang's method can make Qin surpass the six countries?"
Qin Mu's answer was a little subtle, and at first it made people feel relieved, but at the end it made people feel nervous again.
"Your Majesty, Shang Yang's harsh laws are actually the way to destruction. Your Majesty, please don't listen to them." Huang Daozhou answered very straightforwardly, "Moral education is what a ruler should be responsible for for a long time. Promoting virtuous politics and practicing benevolent governance are the foundation of a country!"
"Editor Huang is right. I will accept your praise in public!" Qin Mu's attitude was humble and his words were sincere, which made Huang Daozhou and others very happy.
But Qin Mu still did not forget to ask the original question: "However, can the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, and Emperor Zhenguan be considered benevolent and benevolent? Can Mr. Huang explain this to me?"
After a roundabout way, we are back to this question that is enough to make great scholars like Huang Daozhou hit their heads against the wall. You didn't answer me before, so I have no choice but to ask again.
In Chinese history, the two most praised prosperous periods were both achieved through the Taoist policy of non-action. So, isn't it unreasonable to simply promote Confucianism and advocate virtuous governance
Of course. As a master of Confucianism, Huang Daozhou would never be stumped by such a question;
After a brief pause, he bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, during the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the Huang-Lao school of thought was used, and the country was peaceful, punishment was rarely used, and criminals were rare. The people worked hard on farming, and their food and clothing were abundant. This is true.
However, Wen and Jing blindly implemented the policy of inaction. They did not value the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and did not practice benevolence and education, which eventually led to the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, led by King Wu Liu Bi. The achievements of Wen and Jing for decades of governance were destroyed in an instant. Your Majesty should take this as a warning! "
Huang Daozhou's words made the ministers present nod their heads frequently, and even Qin Mu expressed his approval.
If you think about it carefully, Qin used the Legalists. It made Qin's national power surpass the six kingdoms, and eventually conquered the world, but success and failure were both due to Xiao He. The harsh laws of the Legalists eventually led to the rapid demise of the powerful Qin.
The Han Dynasty learned the lesson of the fall of the Qin Dynasty and did the opposite, implementing the policy of non-intervention, which made the country quickly recover and become prosperous and strong.
However, Wen and Jing always emphasized the rule of inaction and indulged the local princes, which led to the vicious growth of their power. This eventually led to the massive Rebellion of the Seven Princes.
These things made the rulers of the Han Dynasty feel that it was not feasible to rule the country by relying on Legalism or Taoism.
Therefore, the rulers of the Han Dynasty had to introduce Confucianism to strengthen their rule by using Confucian ideas of respecting the king and expelling the barbarians and emphasizing the moral principles and ethics between the ruler and his subjects and between his sons.
Taoism actually also has the ideas of benevolence and virtue. The difference between Taoism and Confucianism actually lies in the two concepts of "inaction" and "action".
Is "inaction" better or "action" better? Even though the mainstream society has advocated Confucianism as the only doctrine, the debate on this issue has never stopped.
There is also the debate between Legalism and Confucianism, which has actually never stopped.
The rulers always emphasized benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and condemned the harsh laws of the pre-Qin period as the way to the country's destruction. However, in actual governance, relying solely on Confucian benevolence, righteousness, and morality would not work, and they had to rely on the Legalist system of law to govern.
Since the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism has indeed been the undisputed mainstream ideology. However, in the rule of successive dynasties, the mainstream ideology that really worked was the Legalist thought that played a guiding role during the Qin Dynasty.
Thus, the ideological form of "Confucianism on the outside and Legalism on the inside" was formed, that is, Confucianism was talked about, but it was Legalism that really worked.
Confucianism is used to deceive the common people and for propaganda purposes, while Legalism plays a practical role in governance.
The dominance of the Legalists was formed during the founding and establishment of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was the initial stage of the political system, and the old Qin was relatively honest and did not know how to use beautiful words to cover up the essence of political rule, so that the harsh side of the rule of law was fully exposed in the sun, which frightened the people.
After experiencing many painful lessons, they had become much more mature by the Western Han Dynasty and understood the benefits of "saying one thing and doing another."
Therefore, Confucianism advocates benevolent government and the kingly way, while Legalism practices dictatorship and hegemony.
This routine of Confucianism on the outside and law on the inside has been followed by all dynasties, and Qin Mu knew all this. Including the so-called democracy in the West in later generations, it is also dressed in the cloak of democracy and practiced the rule of law.
But the problem now is that there is too much emphasis on Confucianism, especially the ideas of Zhu Xi and Cheng Yixue, which have imprisoned human nature. The disadvantages of Confucianism far outweigh the advantages.
On the one hand, Qin Mu hoped to centralize power through Confucianism and strengthen the foundation of his rule. On the other hand, he wanted to remove the "hypocritical and empty" side of Confucianism, so that there would be fewer hypocritical literati in society who "talk a thousand words but have no plan in their hearts". He wanted to guide the whole society in the direction of materialism that emphasizes practice and seeks truth from facts.
This is a very contradictory thing, and it is really hard to strike the right balance.
Therefore, he really wanted to seek advice today, hoping to listen to the debates of various ideological elites at the imperial lecture, so that he could sort out and integrate the opinions of various schools to come up with a governing ideology that suits the current actual situation.
Qin Mu said to the crowd, "Since I ascended the throne, I have been worrying about how to govern the country! The fall of the Ming Dynasty has proved that Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi's Neo-Confucianism are not the fundamental way to govern the country. I want to find a way to govern the country to bring peace to the people of the world. Do you have any good ideas to offer?"
Wang Fuzhi immediately said: "Your Majesty, the way to govern a country is to be lenient to the people and strict to the officials."
His words are always so brief but powerful.
This sentence apparently avoids the dispute between Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism, but fundamentally, the so-called leniency in nurturing the people is the Taoist's policy of inaction, while strictness in governing officials is the Legalist's idea of rule of law.
Qin Mu then asked, "Mr. Wang, could you elaborate on this for me?"
"Your Majesty, looking back at the fall of dynasties, the root cause is that the people are living in poverty. The hardship of the people is mostly due to the oppression and plunder of corrupt officials. Therefore, I believe that the way to govern a country should be to be lenient to support the people and strict to govern the officials.
The monarch should treat the people by abolishing harsh laws, emphasizing moral education, and lightening punishments, so as to nourish the people's livelihood with lenient policies. If you want to nourish the people, the key is to strictly govern the officials. Only when the officials are strictly governed, the officials dare not bend the law, and the people can live in peace and the social order can be well maintained. "
Wang Fuzhi's idea of governing the country was probably due to his observation of the political corruption in the late Ming Dynasty, the lack of laws and discipline, the factions of scholars and officials, the criticism of the government, the attacks on traitors and dissidents, and the manipulation of the government. He believed that he was in a moral high ground and could do whatever he wanted, causing the whole society to fall into a lot of contradictions, so he came up with the idea of "strictly governing officials".
This kind of thinking actually weakens the role of Confucianism.
Taoism was used to govern the people, Legalism was used to govern the officials, and the policy of divide and rule was adopted. The role of Confucianism was not particularly emphasized.
This would of course lead to a strong rebuttal, and Liu Zongzhou immediately said: "Your Majesty, Confucius said: The ruler should treat his subjects with courtesy, and the subjects should serve the ruler with loyalty. Mencius also said: If the ruler treats his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their own heart and soul; if the ruler treats his subjects as dogs and horses, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their fellow countrymen; if the ruler treats his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their enemy.
Your Majesty, it is true that the way to govern a country lies in governing officials. However, if the monarch treats his subjects with harsh punishments and cruel laws, the subjects will be trembling in fear all day long, as if treading on thin ice. How can he expect them to be loyal to the monarch and govern the people
Moreover, when Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty first established the country, he used harsh laws to govern officials. Officials who embezzled more than 60 taels of silver were beheaded and displayed to the public, or even skinned and stuffed with straw. The severity of the punishment was unprecedented, but the effect was minimal... "
"Huang Bianxiu's words are wrong!" Wang Fuzhi immediately refuted strongly, "During the Hongwu period, officials were law-abiding, clean and caring for the people. The rivers and seas were peaceful and the people were happy. At that time, there was a folk song: The mountain market is clear, the mountain birds are singing. Merchants travel, farmers work. The old clay pot is full of cold wine, and the clamor is not heard.
Taking Guangdong as an example, there were 52 honest officials in Guangdong at that time, most of whom were known for their integrity. For example, Zhao Yi, the county magistrate of Haifeng, "founded the county and was the most hardworking and honest."
Dongguan County Magistrate Lu Bing'an served for 19 years, and his integrity was not easy to come by. When he left office, he did not accept money from the people, but only poems. He expressed his aspirations in a poem: "Since ancient times, people have valued people for not being greedy. Today, I am poor but my pockets are full of poems. I have lived in the county for 19 years, and fortunately, I have not made any mistakes. All these are enough to explain the atmosphere of the officialdom after the Hongwu period, why did Mr. Huang turn a blind eye to it?"
"What Huang Xueshi said is a generalization. During the Hongwu period, ministers went to court every day and said goodbye to their wives as if they were parting forever. No one knew whether they could go home in the evening after going to court in the morning.
Such harsh governance of officials is full of harshness. Of course, it can have a significant deterrent effect. However, who among the wise men is willing to serve as an official in the court, loyally serve the emperor, and be kind to the people
Don't you see what kind of ministers Hongwu left for Jianwen? Once the Prince of Yan rebelled, how many people in the court could handle the affairs? If you had not lost your benevolence and virtue, and if you had your capable ministers and good generals, how could the Prince of Yan dare to raise an army? "
"However, the corruption of officials in the late Ming Dynasty eventually led to the fall of the country. Don't you see that? There is nothing wrong with Hongwu's strict governance of officials. The ministers were trembling with fear when they came to court, not because of his strict governance of officials, but because Hongwu was ungrateful and acted like a traitor. How can they be confused
Governing a country is to govern its officials. When the officials are in good order, the country is peaceful and the people are safe. When the officials are corrupt, the country is ruined and the family is ruined. This is an eternal truth!"
Huang Daozhou was so excited that he spoke fluently and in one breath. He obviously did not notice that he had violated a taboo. The word "牧" appeared in his words, which was a crime of great disrespect.
At that time, Liu Rushi glanced at him secretly, but Qin Mu pretended not to hear it. He didn't want to interrupt everyone's discussion with this sinner at this time.
Wang Fuzhi was a gentleman, and he did not use this to attack Huang Daozhou, but instead refuted it more sharply.
Should we "treat ministers with courtesy" or "govern officials strictly"? For this question, there was another heated debate in the imperial lecture, and many people joined in!
During this time, Qin Mu spoke very little.
If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his country.
As a monarch, at this time, you must never make your opinions clear in advance, so as not to bring trouble upon yourself.
What you need to do is to be an honest judge, wait for everyone to debate, and then make a judgment based on the facts.
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ps: It's the 5th, have the monthly subscription tickets come out? I have to check a lot of information to write these, it's tiring, can you encourage me and vote for me!
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.(To be continued..)
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