Chapter 292: Xunzi, a new way to control the people
Since the third son led the Meng family and a group of 50,000 cavalrymen who were not affiliated with the Qin army and did not receive any salary left Shangjun.
Shangjun entered a period of rapid development, with rapid changes and reforms underway.
"Han Zi, why do you want to cancel the towers? Shangjun is fine, the soldiers fighting on the frontier don't have the heart to do so. But in Longxi, Yunzhong and other counties, the towers are the foundation for maintaining stability, and they are what people are thinking about. How can they be cancelled?"
Crown Prince Ying Fusu was holding Han Feizi's latest handwritten document written on paper and asked in confusion.
Han Fei spread out the paper, picked up the pen, and wrote instead of speaking.
[The five pests are the dangers and disasters of a country. Most of what they do is not beneficial to the country . Sacrificing women's beauty feeds the evil thoughts of the five pests, which is extremely stupid...]
The next day, eighteen fast horses galloped from the big city of Shangjun to the six counties of Jiuyuan, Yunzhong, Taiyuan, Longxi, Beidi, Yanmen, etc., with three horses in each county to report the news.
…
It was a dark night, but in one of the rooms of Lord Chang'an's mansion there were three candles lit, the light of which was as small as soybeans.
The slightly bright candlelight could not fully illuminate the small wooden house.
Although the non-dazzling light is only enough for people to walk on the ground without bumping into the corner of the table or bench, it is enough for the two elderly people who are chatting in the house at night.
A lamp was placed on the only shabby wooden table in the hut, and a person was sitting next to the table, his face clearly visible.
He wore a blue-gray soap scarf on his head to cover all his white hair. Except for two gray mustaches on his lips and a small tuft on his chin.
His eyebrows are wide and short, with a slightly long distance between them. Just looking at his eyebrows makes him seem a little dull, or to put it nicely, honest.
But as long as you look down at his eyes, those eyes that become more and more lively with age, revealing a slightly sharp spirit, which should be on the face of a military giant, you can overturn the previous impression by at least half.
Because the spirit revealed in his eyes is so strong, you can tell that he is proud by looking at his eyes.
Honest and strong-willed.
Two temperaments that should not appear at the same time fall on such a person, but they are unexpectedly harmonious and there is no sense of contradiction.
"You and I have never been on speaking terms, so why did you come to my humble abode?"
The old man held the book and turned a page. He spoke softly without looking at the old man in black who was sitting on the bed uninvited.
There were no candles placed at either the head or the end of the bed, so the face of the old man in black could not be seen clearly unless one looked closely.
One can only tell from the outline of his broad body that when he was young he must have been a strong man who could not be approached by three or five people.
The old man in black laughed loudly, not caring at all about being looked down upon, and said with a loud laugh: "I went to the toilet in the middle of the night, and saw that the light was on here at Xunzi's place, so I came to check it out."
Xunzi, a native of Zhao, considered himself a great Confucian scholar.
If the world knew that Xunzi was still alive, it would be like a thunderclap that shook the world.
In the past, the Jixia Academy in Qi State recruited the best talents in the world, with the chief academy master.
Many great masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought, such as Mencius, who proposed the theory of human nature, Zou Yan, the founder of the Yin-Yang School, Shen Dao, the founder of the Legalist School of Action, Shen Buhai, the founder of the Legalist School of Art, all came from the Jixia Academy.
From its founding to its demise, the Jixia Academy has always been the highest institution of learning in the world. If its status is easy to understand, it is equivalent to the merger of the top ten universities in the country, and the Jijiu is the president.
Xunzi served as the chief academic officer of the Jixia Academy three times.
It can be said that by the end of the Warring States Period, all those who had studied at the Jixia Academy were students of Xunzi.
At that time, the Jixia Academy was even given another name, called Xunzi Academy.
Han Fei, the author of "Han Feizi", was the idol of the First Emperor.
Li Si, the most valuable person in the Qin Empire, was the Prime Minister in charge of all affairs.
Zhang Cang, a scientist and mathematician from the Western Han Dynasty who loved to cultivate immortality.
These three great men were all students taught by Xunzi, and they were the most outstanding ones.
Xunzi studied under the great Mohist scholar Song Yan, who was known at the time as Songzi.
Xunzi, who believed that he had inherited the will of Confucius, severely criticized traditional Confucianism, which may have been influenced by Mohism.
An interesting thing happened in the school of thought at the end of the Warring States Period: two orthodox Confucianists emerged with diametrically opposed ideas.
Traditional Confucianism sneered at the great scholar Xunzi, believing him to be a heretic.
Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism are all mortal enemies. You are a scholar of Mohism and Song Yan, and you taught two great legalists, Han Fei and Li Si, and you call yourself a Confucian?
Xunzi, who is now jokingly called the founder of New Confucianism, never acknowledged the word "new". He always claimed that he was the one who inherited Confucius' will, and that the so-called traditional Confucianism was the one who distorted Confucius' original intention.
Mozi originally learned from Confucianism, and he founded Mohism because he disagreed with your tampering with Confucian classics. If Confucius were still alive, he would also be eclectic and would not reject the theories of Legalism and Mohism like you pseudo-Confucians.
This ideological dispute came to an end only when the Qin Empire trampled upon the Qi palace, Xunzi disappeared, and the Jixia Academy became a thing of the past.
Without Xunzi, the great Confucian scholar who always claimed to be orthodox Confucianism, his students were basically ashamed to call themselves Confucian scholars. They believed that they were inheriting Xunzi's thoughts rather than Confucian thoughts.
Just like Han Fei and Li Si, they considered themselves to be members of the Legalist School when Xunzi was still alive.
Xunzi's disciples have no good feelings towards Confucianism, which is regarded as orthodox by most people today, let alone consider themselves Confucian scholars.
They don't believe in Confucius, they believe in Xunzi.
Xunzi's disappearance was basically equivalent to death in that chaotic era.
These disciples blamed the Qin State for Xunzi's death, so few of them went to serve the Qin State. Instead, they either returned home or traveled around the rivers, lakes, seas, and famous mountains and rivers.
If these people knew that Xunzi was still alive and well in Xianyang City, they would rush in and destroy the Chang'an Palace, which was like a small Xianyang Palace.
Xunzi, who enjoyed a great reputation throughout the world, still ignored the old man in black.
He said casually, "Now that you have seen it, go back. You are not welcome in your place."
"Not even a word?" The old man in black leaned back, laughed, and said, "Xunzi, who single-handedly refuted all the Confucian scholars in the world, how could he be so afraid of me that he dared not even say a few words?"
Xunzi just laughed and was not angry.
"You are a man of sharp tongues and sharp tongues. Even if Deng Xi, Hui Shi, and Gongsun Long were resurrected, they would find it difficult to argue with you. It is ridiculous for a Confucian scholar like me not to talk to you."
The old man in black, whose face could not be seen clearly, let out a clear laugh, lay on his back on Xunzi's bed and stopped talking.
Xunzi heard the noise and saw the old man in black moving out of the corner of his eye. He frowned and slammed the "Spring and Autumn Annals" in his hand onto the table, causing quite a noise.
"I don't want to fight with you. If you don't leave, don't blame me for bullying you."
The old man in black did not stand up.
"Don't be so stingy. Your Majesty must look for you and me today. I am here to accompany you. Why does Your Majesty have to travel to two places?"
Xunzi had an angry look on his face, and his turban was shaking slightly due to the blows of his angry hair.
"Your Majesty is looking for me, but not for you. Let's go."
"Did you not hear what the Lord did today? He openly killed the three great families of Meng, Xi and Bai in front of the court. This move shocked even me. It is in line with my opinion."
"Ridiculous! Your way is the way of the troubled times. What does your Majesty do have to do with you? He is kindhearted but tyrannical. Although he is close to what you are talking about, there is a world of difference between them!"
"Almost, almost. Although you call yourself a great Confucian scholar, you are definitely not a Confucian scholar. As the saying goes, Heaven created the people, not for the sake of the monarch. Heaven established the monarch for the sake of the people. Therefore, in ancient times, the division of lands and the establishment of countries were not just to honor the princes. The division of official positions and the distribution of titles and salaries were not just to honor the officials. Xunzi's words are deeply in my heart."
Xunzi looked unhappy because the words used by the old man in black to refute him came from his mouth.
Xunzi believed that the emergence of the people was not to create value for the king, but the emergence of the king was for the people. For example, the establishment of a country through fiefdoms and high positions and generous salaries were not to make the princes and literati into another class, but to better serve the people.
This is completely contrary to the current mainstream values. If this idea is to be realized, it will inevitably cause great unrest. And unrest is what the old man in black likes the most.
You, Xunzi, always say that your philosophy is different from mine and that my philosophy is the philosophy of troubled times.
But isn't your theory to create a chaotic world? What's the difference between you and me?
The old man in black waited for a long time but did not hear Xunzi's reply, nor did he hear Xunzi stand up.
He said leisurely: "Your Majesty has changed from benevolence to tyranny, you and I should be excited. What the world needs is a thunderbolt, not a drizzle, let's wait together."
Xunzi took a deep breath, stood up and said in a deep voice: "I don't want to argue with you. I want to wait for the Lord. Go back to your house!"
The old man in black turned around and saw that Xunzi was about to demonstrate the six arts of a gentleman, so he immediately stood up and left.
Before leaving, he left a message: "Teacher, I have a piece of advice for you. When you completely abandon Confucianism, when you can establish your own school, Xunzi is not necessarily inferior to Confucius."
After closing the door, Xunzi sat back at the desk, picked up the "Spring and Autumn Annals" that was turned upside down on the desk and continued reading.
The candlelight flickered, the old man's face was honest and vigorous, he waited quietly.
A few years ago, the old man sneered when he heard the words equality, freedom and democracy from a young and energetic man.
The old man didn't believe that a young man who grew up in a royal family would speak for the common people. He just had eyes for his disciples.
But when the young man had a detailed and in-depth conversation with him, he said that the abolition of slavery was imminent, that the will of the people was the way out for the future, and that education should be emphasized from an early age so that everyone in the world could enter officialdom.
He said that the law should be the lowest standard of the empire to rectify and guide the people's thoughts, and that people with high moral standards should be rewarded to correctly establish the concept of national style, etc. The old man could no longer sit still.
It would take an ordinary person several years to compile these words before the theory can be perfected and unified. The old man began to trust the young man.
He promised the young man that if what he said was true, he could help him.
The old man knew very well that if he wanted to realize his idea that the king should serve the people and the people should not be slaves to the king, this must be implemented by the nobles in this world, and they must be great nobles.
Because the people were oppressed too harshly, they were ignorant and stupid, and the nobles suppressed the people so much.
But how could a wise noble help the old man realize his ideals? Would he be destroying his own bowl and rebelling against himself? From the moment the old man's ideals were perfected, they were the most absurd joke.
Therefore, as long as there was a slight possibility that this joke could come true, the old man would not give up. So when the Jixia Academy was destroyed, the old man came to the Chang'an Jun Mansion.
But because the old man only had initial trust in the young man, he did not bring his disciples with him.
The old man settled down in the Chang'an Jun Mansion and became a retainer nicknamed "Teacher". Just like he had done for decades, he waited silently.
Just like tonight.
…
How could this boy have the idea of canceling the tower? Isn't he the one who loves it the most? The First Emperor continued to read the letter with doubts.
[I know I can't convince you, so I won't tell you the reason, you won't listen anyway. I'll just say one thing, if you don't ban the tower and add the crime of obscenity to the Qin law, I won't let you enter the family tree, anyway the family tree is in my hands.]
"You bastard!"
The First Emperor was so angry that he tore the entire piece of letter with such force that he almost tore it in half.
Whether or not one can be included in the family tree is a very big deal in this era, and even the most arrogant Emperor Qin Shi Huang was not immune to it.
As an emperor, he could engrave his name on the names of all the Qin kings.
But without knowing the royal genealogy, he could not write his name in it.
The reason why the Ying clan has always stood behind Ying Chengjiao is that this family tree played a very important role.
After cursing for a while, the First Emperor continued to read on with a grim face.
[I have announced to the world that paper is not allowed. My brother, please do not use bamboo slips in the future. They are too heavy, tiring to carry and uncomfortable to look at. Of course, it is up to you, my brother, to do it or not . After all, I am not the one who approves the memorials.]
[One last thing. If you want the people of the world to be as loyal to you as the veterans have been to me, do as I say. Incorporate medical care into the official system of the Qin Empire. All doctors in the world will be paid by the state, and the people will receive free medical treatment. Start with Guanzhong.]
[My brother, if you don't know how to operate, you can listen to Xia Wuqie's words. If the national treasury can't afford this part of the money, you can ask me. I can't let my brother do things for nothing. The reason is very complicated. I know you don't want to hear it and can't listen to it, so I won't tell you. My brother, take care and make fewer babies. ]
Crash~
The First Emperor was so angry that he crumpled the letter into a ball, stood up and roared loudly in the Zhangtai Palace.
"Why don't you write it down? Why don't I like it? Is this what you call the will of the people? Tell me! Since it is before me, why don't you tell me clearly? You just walked away and threatened me. Do you really think that Qin can't survive without you?"
Before what happened today, the First Emperor didn't care at all about Ying Chengjiao's so-called public opinion.
What's the point of those fools' thoughts? What consequences can they bring to the Qin Dynasty?
And when those old soldiers fought to the death to protect Ying Chengjiao, something that was not driven by fame or fortune happened right in front of the First Emperor, and the First Emperor was very interested in this matter.
The First Emperor speculated that this might be what Ying Chengjiao meant by winning the hearts of the people.
The Legalists allowed the First Emperor to mobilize the Qin people like tigers and wolves to seize the world by relying on their fearlessness and bravery.
However, Ying Chengjiao did not use the Legalists' utilitarian policies, but still made these veteran soldiers fearless and brave. The First Emperor was very curious about this new way of controlling the people.
Let the people of the world act according to your will as easily as moving your arm, and no king can refuse.
