The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 352 Do you really want to rebel against the imperial power?
Fang Xiaoru certainly would not forget those two words:
Human rights and exploitation.

At first he didn't quite understand the meaning of these two words, and was wondering why Chen Jingke was so serious about it.

As I traveled to more and more places, I came into contact with all kinds of people.

In particular, he made some progress in materialistic thinking and used it to analyze history.

He finally knew what these two words meant.

You can imagine how shocked he was at that time.

Looking back at Chen Jingke's various policies, he had a deeper understanding.

Therefore, he was completely convinced by Chen Jingke.

However, these two words also became taboos in his heart, and he dared not mention them to anyone.

When Chen Jingke asked this question, he took a deep breath and said:

“Are you going to include these two words in your new book?”

Chen Jingke asked back: "Is it not possible?"

Fang Xiaoru said solemnly: "Do you know the consequences of doing this?"

The emperor is the biggest exploiter. Are you sure you want to include this in your book?

He really wanted to ask loudly, do you really want to go against the imperial power?
Chen Jingke smiled: "It seems that you really understand the meaning of these two words. I am very happy."

Fang Xiaoru didn't want to laugh at all, and even wanted to turn around and leave:
“That’s not worth being happy about.”

Chen Jingke stopped joking and turned serious. He said:

"How could I not know the dangers involved? But there is no need to speak directly or thoroughly about some things."

“It depends on how you do it.”

“My various policies are actually aimed at giving people more human rights and alleviating their exploitation.”

“Aren’t these policies also widely implemented?”

Fang Xiaoru had to admit this, but...

"But these two concepts are still very dangerous and can be easily exploited by those with ulterior motives."

"The most dangerous thing is the awakening of the people... Once everyone in the world understands this truth, you should be able to imagine the consequences."

Chen Jingke thought to himself, I know it too well.

"But even if we don't say it, can we guarantee that no one will understand this truth?"

"Instead of hiding it, we should think about how to strike a balance between the two."

Fang Xiaoru was not optimistic about this and asked, "Can it really be balanced?"

Chen Jingke said: "At least for now, it is possible. The situation you mentioned may occur, but that will be hundreds of years later."

"To be honest, it's hard to say whether the Ming Dynasty would still exist at that time. It's just groundless to worry about this issue."

Fang Xiaoru was stunned for a moment.

First, I didn’t expect that Chen Jingke would dare to say such outrageous words.

Second, I suddenly realized that I seemed to have overthought.

For ordinary people, no great truth is as real as a bowl of rice.

It doesn’t matter who gives them the meal; what matters is that they will be loyal to the one who feeds them.

If we want the people to care about these great principles, we must at least wait until the problem of food and clothing for all is solved.

As the saying goes, when the granaries are full, people will know etiquette.

Is it possible to achieve food and clothing for all people?

At least Fang Xiaoru couldn't imagine how to achieve it.

The Ming Dynasty adopted Chen Jingke's new policies, abolished slavery, and adopted good laws such as equal land distribution, land tax distribution, and the Single Whip System.

The vast majority of people now have a place to live, but food and clothing are still unattainable luxuries.

Even so, it can be regarded as a rare era of great peace in history.

When later generations mentioned this period of history, they at least evaluated it as the Hongwu Reign or the Jianzhang Reign.

As for the whole nation having 'full granaries' and 'adequate food and clothing', I simply cannot even think about it.

So, from this perspective, even if we tell people the concepts of human rights and exploitation, they won’t care.

I guess only rebels would use this as a slogan.

I was simply scared by myself and treated these two words as taboos.

After thinking this through, Fang Xiaoru suddenly became enlightened and said:

"I understand. Jing Ke is still very insightful."

Chen Jingke said, "It's good that you understand. Do you think that His Majesty and the others don't understand this principle?"

"I'm not a fool. I won't joke with my life."

“It is precisely because I solved this problem that I dared to write it into the new book.”

A phased solution is also a solution. As for what the future will be like, we can only trust in the wisdom of future generations.

As long as China can dominate the world, it doesn’t matter how future generations mess around, the meat is already rotten in the pot anyway.

Fang Xiaoru said angrily: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You are deliberately teasing me, right?"

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "I'm not kidding you. Some things need to be figured out by yourself. Other people's explanations will be much less effective."

Fang Xiaoru was not really angry, so he did not dwell on the matter any further and said:
"Tell me, how did you solve this problem?"

Chen Jingke talked about 'the responsibilities and obligations that history has endowed on imperial power', the responsibilities and obligations that history has endowed on the country, and the responsibilities and obligations of imperial power.

The imperial power acts on behalf of heaven, suppresses the powerful and helps the people.

The development of history is the process of centralization of power and the popularization of human rights, etc.

This series of ideas have been discussed in full.

"These ideas have been told to the Emperor and His Majesty before, and have been approved by them."

"Especially the emperor emeritus, he prefers the idea that the imperial power is endowed with a mission by history rather than the idea that the imperial power is God-given."

Fang Xiaoru thought of Zhu Yuanzhang's words "I am originally a commoner from Huaiyou" and couldn't help but praise:
"Your Majesty is truly unique in the history of the world."

He was even more amazed at Chen Jingke's logical thinking.

Whether this logic is correct or not is not the point, but it is indeed a genuine materialistic thought.

"Your understanding of materialism is far better than mine. I am still trying to figure out what materialism is, but you have already applied it to real life."

Chen Jingke was not modest and said with a smile: "I can't be surpassed by a latecomer like you so quickly, haha."

After laughing, Chen Jingke further explained this logic.

Of course, having ideas alone is not enough. Who can't talk about it on paper?
The most important thing is how to put your thoughts into practice.

To put it bluntly, it is a political system set up to target this logic.

This is actually also a kind of thought, the foundation of whether it can exist.

Why is it that the theories of the agricultural school, the Yin-Yang school, the famous school, etc., can never become popular?
Because they only have an incomplete set of ideological logic, if you ask them how to govern the country specifically, they won't be able to give a clear answer.

The reason why schools such as Legalism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Mohism were able to flourish was that they not only possessed complete ideological systems.

A corresponding political system was also constructed based on this ideological system.

Chen Jingke's thoughts naturally also have corresponding political system designs.

"The essence of taxation is the distribution of wealth presided over by the court... It is the simplest and most direct way to implement justice on behalf of heaven."

“It’s just that successive dynasties have not understood this principle, and have often granted tax exemptions to the privileged class, while collecting taxes from the poor.”

"Then the poor get poorer and the rich get richer." "This completely goes against the idea of ​​'acting on behalf of heaven'. Eventually the poor can't survive and will rise up and start all over again."

"The Ming court realized this, so it carried out tax reforms and established a tax inspection department to collect taxes from wealthy people."

"In fact, the imperial examination system divided the quotas according to provinces, which can also be seen as a manifestation of the idea of ​​acting on behalf of heaven."

"These systems, to a certain extent, free up the poor and allow the rich, who have more resources, to bear more responsibilities and obligations."

“It is also a reflection of protecting human rights and reducing their erosion.”

"In this process, the emperor was loved by the people and his rule became more stable."

"The court's financial situation is healthier, and the country can enjoy long-term stability..."

“It’s a win-win situation, so to speak.”

Fang Xiaoru's eyes lit up when he heard this and he nodded repeatedly.

This analysis gave him a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of Chen Jingke's thoughts and reforms.

I admired Chen Jingke even more and became more curious about his ideas.

"Tell me about your new book. What's it about?"

Chen Jingke felt a little thirsty after talking about this. He picked up the cup and took a few sips. He said seriously:
"I want to build a completely new system of thought around the world of great harmony."

Even though he had realized that his new idea was not simple, Fang Xiaoru was shocked:

"Wait... a harmonious world? Do you really think it can be realized?"

When he was still in the Kingdom of Korea, Chen Jingke wrote to him several times asking about his views on the world of great harmony.

At that time, he made a few casual comments and bluntly stated that this was an ideal world imagined by Confucianism.

It is no different from the Pure Land of Buddhism and is simply impossible to achieve.

Confucians themselves only mentioned the governance of the Three Dynasties and never mentioned the world of great harmony.

He thought Chen Jingke was just asking casually, so he didn't take it seriously.

I just found out today that the other party is actually planning to make a fuss about the world of great harmony.

It's incredible.

Chen Jingke knew why he had such doubts, so he said:
“I don’t think a harmonious world is possible.”

Fang Xiaoru asked: "Then why do we need to build an ideological system around it?"

Chen Jingke explained: "My purpose is to set a standard and tell the world what is right and what is wrong."

“All the world needs to do is move in this direction.”

"Having a goal can reduce the number of bad policies."

"Most importantly, I want to use the Great Harmony World to completely get rid of the Confucian idea of ​​respecting heaven and following ancestors."

Confucianism advocates the rule of the Three Dynasties.

The Three Dynasties are Xia, Shang and Zhou, which were dynasties in the past. Confucianism advocates them, so it is destined to be conservative.

The world of great harmony is the future, and with it as our goal, everyone will become open-minded.

Whenever anyone wants to carry out reforms in the future, the first thing that comes to mind is not that the ancestral laws cannot be changed, but whether they conform to the requirements of the Great Harmony Idea.

If the new policy is implemented, it will take us further away from a world of great harmony and everyone will oppose it.

If we are closer to a world of great harmony, everyone will support it.

Hearing this, Fang Xiaoru couldn't help but be shocked again. He didn't expect that he could think of this.

The world of great harmony is also the ideal society envisioned by Confucianism.

This is really a case of treating others the way they do to you. It is the law of nature and retribution will come.

The key is that using Confucianism to refute Confucianism can greatly reduce the resistance of Confucian scholars.

Fang Xiaoru sighed and said, he is indeed worthy of being the greatest genius of all time.

Now he has begun to agree that Chen Jingke's idea of ​​Great Harmony can really be implemented.

Chen Jingke waited for him to digest it before continuing:

"But after all, a harmonious world is an ultimate ideal goal, and it is impossible to achieve."

"The opposition will inevitably attack this point."

"Moreover, a goal that can never be achieved will also make people feel negative and doubt the correctness of the entire idea of ​​universal harmony."

Fang Xiaoru was surprised again: "You have even considered this?"

This kind of foresight is terrifying.

Chen Jingke didn't explain too much, but said: "So, we need to set stage goals."

"That is to say, lower the standards and establish one or more social models that are visible and tangible."

"This can not only deal with attacks from others, but also give those who believe in this doctrine a more precise goal to strive for."

Fang Xiaoru once again praised: "Jing Ke has a far-sighted vision, I admire him... How do you plan to set this interim goal?"

Chen Jingke shook his head and said, "I have some ideas, but I'm not sure if they will work. This is also one of the issues I want to discuss with you."

Fang Xiaoru was cheered up. Is it finally my turn to take action?
"Oh, I wonder what Jing Ke thinks. Let me see if I can give you some suggestions."

Chen Jingke said: "Before talking about this issue, I would like to discuss another theory with you."

Fang Xiaoru said, "You say."

Chen Jingke organized his words and said, "I call this theory the human needs hierarchy theory."

Fang Xiaoru asked doubtfully: "Human...hierarchy of needs theory?"

Chen Jingke explained: "It is the needs of people at different stages... Guanzi's saying that when the granaries are full, people know etiquette, and when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace. This is the same principle."

Fang Xiaoru suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is. Tell me more about it."

Chen Jingke said: "I divide people's needs into five levels."

"The first level is the most basic need for survival. Survival is the greatest instinct of human beings."

“Eating, drinking, breathing, sleeping, etc. can all be included.”

Fang Xiaoru nodded. This principle was very simple and he could understand it easily.

Chen Jingke continued: "After satisfying the most basic survival needs, humans will have security needs."

"I just hope that my body is healthy, my property and my family are safe..."

Fang Xiaoru nodded again. This is the truth: people in troubled times are worse than dogs in peaceful times.

Putting these two together, there is indeed a progressive relationship.

First survive, then pursue safety.

He couldn't help but look forward to what was to come.

"Humans are social animals. They are extremely dependent on their tribes. This is in their nature..."

“So, after safety is met, socialization is needed.”

"To put it simply, we need family and friendship, and we need to participate in human social activities."

"The fourth stage is gaining respect. No one wants to be ignored or abused. Everyone wants to gain the respect of others..."

"The fifth stage is the highest need of human beings, the realization of self-ideal."

"As the ancients said, establishing virtue, making words and performing meritorious deeds are the three immortals."

After he finished speaking, Chen Jingke looked at him and asked, "Brother Fang, do you think this theory of five needs makes sense?"

(End of this chapter)