The Emperor Shun Zhishi

Chapter 64
Little Star believes that a good political system is to stimulate people's creativity, so that a society can produce the most wealth at the least cost.The advantage of a democratic society is that it eliminates the hierarchy of privileges, eliminates the solidification of classes, and leads to the mutual tolerance and penetration of various classes, thus making this society vibrant.Once a society has vitality, this society will produce a large number of scientists, artists and engineers.

Therefore, in Xiao Xingxing's eyes, the restructuring must first eliminate the privilege hierarchy and the phenomenon of class solidification.It's just that the ideal is beautiful, but the reality is skinny.As a modern person, Xiao Xingxing is undoubtedly advanced in terms of political ideals, but because he is too idealistic, his political ideas could not be implemented in ancient times.It would take at least half a year to promulgate even a decree affecting a tribe.What's more, although China has more than 200 tribes, large and small, there are very few connections between tribes.Most people live in self-sufficient tribes. Due to low productivity, lack of surplus products, and infrequent commodity exchange, a commodity economy cannot be produced.Without a commodity economy, it would be difficult to produce the superstructure of the market.At this time, he discovered that in this era, the will to form a country has not yet been formed. The fundamental reason is that the commodity economy has not developed, and the most fundamental reason is the existence of a privileged class. As a result, any reform will be opposed by vested interest groups.

Although Little Star has a set of advanced restructuring ideas, it cannot be implemented and will only become empty talk.He realized that he might have made a political mistake, imposing an idealized social system on China, which had backward productivity.He thought of Emperor Yao. After all, Emperor Yao was the best politician of this era, and he had achieved quite high achievements in politics before.With his own doubts, Little Xingxing came to Emperor Yao's official residence to visit Emperor Yao, just like Confucius visited Lao Tzu 800 years later.

Emperor Yao knew that Shun was a man of accomplishment and wisdom, and that some of his ideas were very creative, but he did not know that these genius ideas came from a modern person 300 years later.However, as a modern person, Xiao Xingxing's political thinking seems too idealistic for the Chinese 300 years ago.

The two people are not like a younger generation discussing political issues with their predecessors, but rather like a collision of different political ideas in two time and space.Little Xingxing cut to the chase and asked an important political question.

"Dijun, do you think there are some problems in China's current politics?"

"It's not a few, it's a lot of problems."

"What's the biggest problem?"

"Government orders do not come out of Pingyang, each tribe acts independently, and each leader has absolute power in his own tribe."

"Then do you agree with my reform?"

Emperor Yao looked at Shun, smiled, and shook his head slowly.Emperor Yao's expression made Little Xingxing very surprised. Since Little Xingxing's restructuring is to eliminate the privileged class, and it is also the main problem of the current Huaxia Alliance recognized by Emperor Yao, then he should not object to Little Xingxing's restructuring.

"I know that you have a lot of confusion in your heart. In the long run, your reform is beneficial to the Huaxia Alliance. But politics has never been seen in the long run. The success of the reform actually has a lot to do with the wishes of the people. Seeking profit It is human nature to avoid harm, but people never look at problems for a long time, especially ordinary people, they only know three meals a day. Other than that, most people don’t think about it. What’s more , the greatest enemy of man is laziness, and the successful practices of the past have a great guiding effect on the future, and are even regarded as truths, and it is basically impossible for these people to understand these principles.”

"Then what should we do?"

"Everything has a difference in priority, and the same is true for restructuring. In the long run, restructuring is beneficial, but in the short term, it is harmful if the people cannot accept it. Then remove those funds that the people are unwilling to accept. However, it does not mean that the system should not be reformed." Instead, it is necessary to modify the habits that urgently need to be changed. I think that reform can be done in another way. The biggest obstacle to reform now is the leaders of the various tribes. In the short term, it is impossible for them to decentralize their power. Why not Let them participate in political reform, just choose the smartest among them to enter your ruling management. As long as you persuade these people, then they will naturally spread among their tribes. Through decades of changing customs , change the inherent habits, when the time comes, you don’t need to abolish the privileges of these leaders, the common people will ask you to change the system, so you follow the trend. Just like the stars in the sky, govern with virtue, avoid like the North Star, and live in their places. Star Arch."

Hearing Emperor Yao's explanation, Little Xingxing slapped his thighs excitedly, realizing his superficiality in politics.Although, he is a modern person 300 years later and has rich historical and political knowledge, but that is just a theory, and when it is applied to reality, the theory cannot be copied.The reason why Xiao Xingxing’s restructuring failed is that he understood the environment in which the restructuring took place as an ideal state, which was static and rigid, but the ideal state never existed in reality. Every period of history has its own characteristics and various contingencies.This leads to different practical activities for the same political reform in different eras.Emperor Yao understood this truth, but little Xing Xing did not.Thinking of this, Little Xingxing felt sincere admiration for Emperor Yao. He was worthy of being a wise emperor in ancient China, not someone who deceived the world and stole his name.

"Does the emperor know what talents Huaxia has today?"

"The widow heard that the Gaoyang family has eight Kais, and the Gaoxin family has eight yuan. These eight Kais are eight talents from the Gaoyang family. They have different talents and specialties. They are Cang Shu, 隤敳, Jiji, Dalin, Longjiang, Tingjian, Zhongrong, and Shuda respectively have the eight talents of Qi, Sheng, Guang, Yuan, Ming, Yun, Benevolence, and sincerity. The eight elements are Bofen, Zhongkan, Shu Xian, Ji Zhong, Bo Hu, Zhong Xiong, Shu Bao, and Ji Li have the eight virtues of loyalty, su, communist, Yi, Xuan, kindness, benefit, and respectively. I admired their reputation 20 years ago, I sent people to the Gaoyang clan and Gao Xin clan to invite them to come out of the mountain. But they all refused. I think the people I sent at that time were too arrogant and offended these hermits. I think if you can go out in person, the corporal will get eight With the assistance of Kai and Ba Yuan, not only can the country be stabilized, but it can also harmonize all nations. After the politics is clear, the customs will be changed. The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge, and the reform will be a matter of course."

Listening to Emperor Yao's words, little Xing Xing was overjoyed and had a preliminary political ideal.After returning to the mansion, he bathed and changed clothes, fasted for three days, and then took Houji and a convoy of more than 20 people to walk eastward for three days to Qi, where the Gaoyang family was located.Shun explained his purpose and asked to see Ba ​​Kai.When Emperor Yao sent people to summon Bakai, they were still very young. Now 20 years have passed, they are all living in seclusion in the mountains, talking about metaphysics, and they are very happy.When Shun met them, they were meeting by a river, discussing world affairs.

"Dare to ask, are the eight sages Ba Kai who was summoned by Emperor Yao back then, but did not go to the court to be an official?"

The eight people looked at Shun and saw that he was a noble man, but they didn't know who he was.Most people didn't care much, and still talked about it.Only an older man with white hair walked up to Shun and kept looking at Shun and the people around him.

"Isn't this Hou Ji? I saw it 20 years ago."

When Hou Ji saw the old man, he also recognized him as Long Jiang from the Eight Kais, a virtuous man who could distinguish right from wrong, and hurriedly bowed to salute.

"Houji pays homage to the elders. I haven't seen you for 20 years. The elders are still as handsome as ever. Congratulations."

"I heard that you took up the position of Tian Chou by Emperor Yao's side. In the past few years, the weather in China has been smooth and the people have been healthy. You have really made some achievements."

"Don't dare, the younger generation is just following the fate. If the eight people came out to assist the emperor at that time, I guess I would have nothing to do. This time we are here to find you, and hope that we can invite eight people to come out to assist the emperor and rule the world."

"The eight of us are villagers, how dare we comment on the world. Emperor Yao has a virtuous minister like you, and it is enough. We just have more mouths to eat when we go. Besides, we are all old, and we are about to enter the coffin. Given our age, we didn’t want to become officials back then, and now it’s even more impossible.”

"It is precisely because I am old that I have to become an official. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time."

Little Xingxing said something, which caught Long Jiang's attention. He looked at Little Xingxing, felt that he was extraordinary, and couldn't help frowning.

"Dare to ask, are you?"

"My Xia, Yao Chonghua, used to be the lord of Guirui City. Because of some small contributions, he was ordered by the emperor to take charge of Huaxia."

Long Jiang was also very surprised to see that Shun was so young, and he was always taking pictures of Huaxia.

"Disrespectful disrespect."

Long Jiang and the other two old men quickly took out their knives and cut some pieces of meat for Shun and Houji. They entered the banquet, explained their purpose of coming, and talked about the world with them.Listening to their brilliant remarks, Shun couldn't help sighing that he hated seeing each other late.He invited him out again, but was still rejected.

"Back then, we really wanted to be in the world and do some business. Emperor Yao also sent people to invite us out of the mountain, but we found that there were many villains around Emperor Yao. This shows that although Emperor Yao is wise, he still can't tell right from wrong. We are worried about going to the mountains. When you become an official, you will be envied by villains and unable to display your ambitions. In the end, we still refused Emperor Yao's summons. Now that 20 years have passed, we are already old, and I am afraid that we will not be able to make any contribution to China. If you come here to drink, We welcome, if you still want to invite us out of the mountain, then please come back."

The person who spoke was an old man with a big beard. Hou Ji recognized that it was Shu Da from Eight Kais. He thought he was sincere and well-known in China.Hearing what he said, it seemed that the order to evict the guests was about to be issued. Houji looked at Shun, but he had no intention of leaving, nor did he make any gestures.

Little Xingxing took the knife and cut a small piece of meat. Just as he was about to eat the meat, he saw the handle of the knife was rusted, so he threw the knife aside and said:

"Why do you use such a knife? Since the handle is rusted, why don't you throw it away?"

"What's this called?" A tall man took the knife from Little Xingxing's hand and sharpened it on the stone a few times. The handle of the knife suddenly looked brand new. Why throw it away?"

"Since there is rust on the handle of the knife, it can be reused after being worn off. There are villains in the court. Why don't you drive the villains away and then come out to be officials? You are full of talents, but you are hiding in this mountain. What is the difference between throwing away the knife and letting it rust alone?"

The eight people couldn't help being shocked when they heard what little Xingxing said, and they all looked at each other, thinking that what little Xingxing said seemed to make sense.Long Jiang and the other seven people bowed down in front of Shun.

"The eight of us have all the skills, but we have been hiding in the mountains for 20 years. We think we are the best in the world. If we hadn't met the king today, we would not know how humble we are. The eight of us are willing to use the rest of our lives to assist the king. To benefit the common people will not let the time go to waste.”

Shun helped the eight people up, seeing that he was recognized by the eight people, he couldn't help laughing.After getting Bakai, Shun and Houji came to Youxin tribe again and saw Bayuan.Unlike Bakai, Bayuan did not object to becoming an official, but they had high demands on Shun, especially moral requirements, because they themselves were famous in China for their noble morals.Shun had to convince them of the moral values ​​of China in the future.

Shun's eloquence is not very good, but Xiao Xingxing's eloquence is good, and he has the moral values ​​of human beings in the 21st century.In the Gaoxin tribe, Xiao Xingxing once again showed his excellent eloquence.

"Excuse me, what is goodness?"

This is the question asked by Ji Li in Eight Yuan, who is famous for his benefits.

"Goodness is an action that is acceptable to all."

"If my parents are sick, I am worried that he will be afraid, so I will deceive him that he is not sick. Is this kind of behavior good?"

"Of course it's good."

"Does that mean cheating is good?"

Little Xingxing rolled his eyes and thought: Isn't this the problem Socrates encountered?Fortunately, I have read "Utopia", otherwise I would not have been asked by you.Little Xingxing sorted out her thoughts and continued:
"Goodness is not a fixed concept. It is only called goodness when it is beneficial to people."

"Excuse me, is it beneficial to steal?"

"It's in my own interest."

"Then stealing is good?"

"Stealing is only beneficial to oneself and harmful to others, so it is not good."

"If I distribute the stolen things to others, it will be beneficial to others. Isn't that good?"

"If stealing is beneficial to the whole world, then stealing is good. So there is no fixed concept of goodness, and there is no one thing that is supremely good. The so-called Tao is endless, and goodness is endless. As long as there are human beings living in this world, There will be no ultimate good. So how to define good? We can only look at the results, any behavior that is beneficial to most people is good, and any behavior that is harmful to most people is evil.”

Xiao Xingxing quoted the British utilitarianism in this passage, and described the related concepts of goodness, morality, and justice to Eight Yuan, especially the concept that there is no perfect good, which surprised Eight Yuan. The Chinese people more than 4000 years ago had obviously never heard of the idea of ​​utilitarianism. When they understood the utilitarian thought expounded by Little Xingxing, they were amazed at the wisdom of Little Xingxing.

"I didn't expect Your Majesty to be so wise. I have never heard of such a high opinion. I am willing to go out with you to do the work of a dog and a horse."

The trip went very smoothly. Relying on Xiao Xingxing's eloquence and wisdom, Shun got the talents that Emperor Yao couldn't get in those days - Ba Kai and Ba Yuan.

When Bakai and Bayuan entered Shun's court, Shun began to carry out relatively moderate reforms.He examined the talents of these sixteen people and assigned them to five different departments.Let them set an example, mainly through some of their noble behaviors as a guideline for the Chinese people.

Shun's mother died early, so he didn't feel much family warmth when he was a child, and he was squeezed by his father, stepmother, and younger brother, which made him realize the importance of establishing a harmonious family morality.He asked Bayuan to formulate a set of family ethics in line with China and this era, let Ziqi implement it, and spread the etiquette to the four directions, so that the father is moral, the mother is kind, the elder is friendly, and the younger brother is friendly. Be respectful, be filial to your children, have a harmonious family, and be sincere to your neighbors.

Shun accepted Bakai's suggestion and established a judicial system that was implemented in every tribe.Anyone who is dissatisfied with the internal affairs of the tribe can report to the court.Although this reform did not directly abolish the privileges of the tribal leaders, it gave the tribesmen the power to report on the leaders, which is a huge political progress.

After some mild reforms by Bakai and Bayuan, the court politics was clear, the people were rich, the families were harmonious, the New Deal was implemented smoothly, the world was in great order, and Vientiane was renewed.

Three years after the implementation of the New Deal, the restructuring showed preliminary results, and Shun took the opportunity to advance the reform.When the reform was in full swing, he saw many crises hidden in Huaxia.

Cao Muzi has bad news from Guirui.It turned out that after Xiang became the lord of Guirui and married four noble beauties, he ignored Guirui's affairs all day long, only cared about luxury and enjoyment, and ignored government affairs. Now Guirui is in a mess, and the people complain.Shun knew what Xiang was like, and knew that he was not successful enough to fail. It was a stopgap measure to make him the lord of the Guirui city at the beginning, and it was expected that something went wrong now.He decided to send Zhong Rong and Shu Da of Bakaizhong to investigate Guirui. On the surface, he assisted Xiang in managing Guirui, but in fact, he deprived Xiang of his power and made Xiang just a nominal city lord.

China has become rich and healthy, and the people are naturally happy, but Que Li is not very happy.The prosperity of the country proves Shun's virtuousness, which Queli cannot accept anyway.

"Husband, the new policy has been implemented for three years, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, showing a scene of peace. Doesn't this prove that Shun is a wise man? We must do something. If we wait a few more years, once Chonghua regains the hearts of the people, we will do it again. It will be difficult to overthrow him."

"Ma'am, what do you mean?"

Que Li rolled his eyes and had an idea in his mind.

"You must be ruthless. You can't destroy Chonghua, at least you can mess up Chao Gang, otherwise you will lose the emperor's seat in the future."

Speaking of Queli, he let out a burst of horns, and the three-legged crow flew in front of Queli.

"What is the master's order?"

"Hurry up and tell Gong Gong and You Miao that I need people now, and the more the better, all males over the age of 13 and under 40 will get two out of three and go to Danshui City, and it must be completed within half a year. "

"According to the master."

The three-legged crow flapped its wings and flew towards the northwest.

(End of this chapter)