warring states careerist

Chapter 503
The capital of Feiguo.

Where the people gather, there is a din of voices.

The elected sages sat together, and below were the onlookers. A wealthy merchant in silk stood in the center of the venue, and beside him stood a man with a Zheng Guo accent, talking about something.

This person who speaks with a Zheng Guo accent is a student of Deng Xi.

Back then, Deng Xi was a well-known litigator in the state of Zheng, and he had litigated so many civil cases that the people of the state of Zheng only knew Deng Xizi's "bamboo punishment", but not the official "tripod punishment" of the state of Zheng.

Later, Si Chuan came to power and killed Deng Xizi, but he could not reverse the situation that Deng Xizi's "Bamboo Punishment" was passed in Zheng State. He could only admit that Deng Xizi's Bamboo Punishment was the law of Zheng State.

After Deng Xizi's death, there were some disciples from his disciples, who mainly took pride in making a living as litigators, debating with others, and looking for contradictions in various theories.

The person with Zheng Guo accent had lived in Sishang for a period of time, and also participated in the change of Fei Guo.

But he is standing here today, defending the rich businessman wearing silk beside him as a lawyer.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, he showed no fear at all. After saluting, he said slowly, "Sages elected by the people, people of Fei Country, I stand here today, and you all know what I am going to do."

"There must be laws and regulations in the world. Since you believe that the righteousness of the people is the law, and you also believe in the definitions of law, order, crime, and prohibition in the morality of Mohism, then everyone, please listen to me."

"The plaintiff has indeed hoarded goods for odd purchases, and the public has been extremely angry. He has indeed manipulated prices, profited from them, and infringed others. I admit this."

When the rich businessman heard this, he panicked and cursed secretly.

After the Feiguo Incident, the wealthy businessman and some people manipulated prices and hoarded some daily necessities to raise prices for profit.

It's just that the people have already organized, and under the rage, they have strength again, so they broke through the rich businessman's courtyard and captured the rich businessman.

At this moment, the lawyer with a Zheng Guo accent approached the rich businessman, claiming that he could defend him. The rich businessman met straws when he was drowning. At that time, the people were furious. When someone stepped forward, he thanked him again and again, and only said that if the matter was successful, he was willing to thank him with pearls, jade, gold and copper.

After the words of the litigator with a Zheng Guo accent finished, the people also aroused the voices of the people, and many people shouted: "Since you know, why don't you try?"

Under the chaotic scene, someone knocked on the bronze bell, which made the scene settle down.

The litigator with a Zheng Guo accent said loudly: "But, even if he does this, is he guilty?"

"Mozi said: Only harm is not a crime. If there is no prohibition, it is not a crime to cause harm. It is illegal to violate the prohibition."

"I would like to ask, when he is hoarding speculatively, is there a decree saying that hoarding is not allowed? Since there is no saying that hoarding is not allowed, even if he has caused harm, how can he be said to have violated the prohibition, and how can he be punished by law? What about him?"

"He is not guilty. Before the ban was specified, I think his actions are outrageous, but he is not guilty."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhe Yangzi, who had become a "sage", stood up and said: "This statement is absurd. There is no law to stipulate what is said now. The monarch cannot conspire with others to slaughter the people, so is the monarch innocent?"

"Is it wrong for the people to rise up against tyranny? Is it a crime for me to kill the tyrant?"

"After all, you said that harming the innocent is a crime, but breaking the law is a crime. However, before killing the king, there is a decree saying that you must bear the death penalty."

He blushed, as if he hated such speculative hoarding businessmen who harmed the interests of the people.

He kept mentioning that he killed the tyrant with his own hands, and the people shouted, "Zhe Yangzi is right! According to what you say, are we all wrong?"

Facing the surging public opinion, the Zheng Guo litigator glanced at Zhe Yangzi, who had killed a tyrant and turned into a sage, with a smile on his face.

After saluting to the stage and the audience again, he said loudly: "That's not the case, you are doing the right thing. But why is it right? Listen to me."

"Lao Dan said: Man follows heaven and earth, Tao follows nature."

"Mozi said: I have the ambition of heaven, just like a craftsman has rules."

"Tianzhi is nature, and man must follow nature."

"That is to say, they are all convinced that people can use reason to discover the eternal nature, will, and way of heaven. Then, if laws are formulated based on this, the world can be ruled and the world will be greatly benefited. Is this the truth?"

This is the foundation of the entire Mohist theory on law, and it is also the source of the legitimacy of overthrowing the aristocratic rule. No one objects to this.

The litigator with a Zheng Guo accent saw that everyone supported him, and then said: "This kind of law is called the law of nature. The root of the law of nature is the way of heaven and the will of heaven. If it is beneficial to people, it must conform to people's nature of seeking profit. , there is nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Then, there is a big problem with this law of nature."

"I did one thing, even if it is illegal, then I think this law is an evil law, then as long as I think this is an evil law and it is against my personal interests, I don't think this law is correct. Is this the case? Is it possible?"

His words aroused everyone's thinking.

Because it involves everyone's interests, if what he said is right, then he is not guilty of resisting the tyrant.But that businessman is also innocent, and the desire for profit is just in line with human nature, so how can it be a sin?
If what he said was wrong, the businessman could be convicted, but everyone actually committed a crime, because the previous decree did not say that the people were allowed to rebel.

This is a paradox no matter how you look at it.If you admit that you are innocent, then the businessman is innocent; if you admit that the businessman is guilty, you are guilty.

When everyone was speechless, Wei Rang stood up and said, "You are wrong."

"Mozi said: In ancient times, there were hundreds of righteous people, and the world was chaotic. Righteousness is profit. Everyone seeks profit, but everyone seeks harm, because everyone can hurt others for his own self-interest. This is not good for the people of the world below."

"When discussing whether the law is in line with the will of heaven and nature, it is the people of the world, not the individual. I am not guilty of seeking profit, but if I seek profit and hurt the interests of others, it is against nature. To make people in the world is to make people live better, and the people here are everyone, but not someone."

Zheng Guo's litigator saluted Wei Rang and said: "Your words are reasonable. That is to say, you think that part of the law is made by man, and whether the law made by man is right or wrong, good or bad, It is based on whether it is in line with the will of heaven and in line with nature."

"Anything that doesn't comply is a bad law, and you don't have to obey it."

"If it fits, that's good law, and it must be obeyed."

"So, now that I have asked this, is it illegal for Shang Tang to replace Xia and King Wu to defeat Zhou?"

"Although there were no papers and very few records in ancient times, I think Xia Jie and Shang Zhou both enacted laws at that time, and the laws must have stipulated that rebellion is not allowed. This should be correct, right?"

After thinking about it, Wei Rang quickly replied: "Shang Tang and King Wu all violated the law established by man. But the law established by man at that time was not in line with the natural will of heaven and violated the interests of all people in the world, so Shang Tang and King Wu Although it violates the law, it is invalid because the law is not in line with nature."

"Therefore, Shang Tang and King Wu are not guilty. Although Mozi said that breaking the ban is guilty, he said the same thing. The will of heaven is the rule, and the will of heaven is the greatest."

The litigator with a Zheng Guo accent nodded and said: "That's the reason. The highest law in this world is nature and the will of heaven. Then it is the law made by man."

"The decree of the previous monarch did not benefit the people, but also endangered the rights of the people. Therefore, it violated the law of nature. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with overthrowing the tyrant. This is in line with the will of heaven."

"Exactly, Tang Wu revolutionized, the revolution is not guilty."

The eight deafening words were said, but the people present did not have much reaction, they just nodded in agreement.

The originally sullen mood gradually eased as the litigator with a Zheng Guo accent publicly expressed his support for the public.

Zheng Guojian said again: "But, even Mozi, can he know all the will of heaven?"

Wei Rang shook his head and said, "Impossible. For example, the ground under our feet is round, which was previously unknown. For example, why the sun is hot is also impossible to know. No one in the world can say that they know all the will of heaven, and the Mohists are just It gave a way to verify the will of heaven, but it took a long time to know all the ways of nature."

Zheng Guojian said again: "In this way, the natural law needs to be constantly changed according to people's understanding of the will of heaven. Today's incident may be considered by everyone to be in line with the will of heaven, but it may be wrong tomorrow. Is that so?"

"Of course, there are some known things. For example, the Tang and Wu revolutions, the revolution is innocent. As long as tyranny violates the interests of the people and makes the world suffer, then it must be wrong. This is a rule. There are other rules, such as One cannot plunder other people's private property, because the land belongs to nature, and people make the land belong to the laborer through labor, so plundering other people's property is also against the will of nature."

"All the people make the law according to the righteousness, and the law enacted is the law made by man. This law must be based on the will of nature, but it cannot directly follow the will of heaven, is that so?"

When he asked this question, everyone present including Wei Rang nodded and said, "You are right."

The litigator with a Zheng Guo accent bowed to the crowd and the people again, and said, "Then, the problem is very simple."

"First of all, any law must conform to the eternal will of heaven and nature is the best law. Then, the way of nature can be used as the outline of man-made law."

"If we want to make laws, we must separate the constitution and laws."

"The constitution is for nature and the will of heaven. Such as the interests of man, the power of man, the benefit of the world, and the wealth of the world, this is the general outline."

"The law is determined by the people and the righteousness of the people. For example, those who kill people will die, those who hurt others will be punished, and those who steal will be imprisoned and labored. These are the detailed rules."

"You have to understand that the death of the murderer is not due to God's will or nature. It is because the murderer has violated the right to life of the person who was killed. After everyone agrees, he must be executed according to the law."

"Tianzhi didn't say that the murderer died."

"The will of heaven only says that people should live, and that people have the right to life. The law of killing a murderer is beneficial to both humans, in line with the will of heaven, and in line with nature, so this is a good law."

"Only by knowing the most basic will of heaven and the most basic rights of human beings, using rationality, and using the Mohist method of knowledge, to deduce that the murderer dies, can it benefit the right to life of all people in the world."

"Instead of saying, Tianzhi said that the murderer dies. Tianzhi has nothing to say. People are born in the world, and living is the greatest benefit. We are based on this. Using the rationality of saying knowledge, the murderer's death should be the law. .”

The litigator with a Zheng Guo accent finally concluded: "Therefore, Lao Dan said that Dao follows nature, and Mozi said that I have the will of heaven like a craftsman has rules. This is the law of nature."

"And Mozi also said that harming the innocent is a crime, and violating the prohibition is a crime. Those who kill people will die, and those who hurt others will be punished. This is the law of man."

"The laws made by man must be in line with nature. But the words of harming innocence are applicable to the laws made by man. Tang Wu revolution, revolution is not guilty, this is the law applicable to the will of nature."

"Shang Zhou and Xia Jie did not violate the laws of man, but the laws they made violated the will of heaven, so people in the world do not need to abide by their laws. Because nature is greater than man's will, man must be in line with nature, otherwise it can be overturned and changed. .”

"Then, you just stipulated that hoarding is a crime yesterday. This is only a human law, and it is applicable to Mozi's statement that only harm is innocent. However, this person hoarded before yesterday, and before yesterday He has been arrested, so he is innocent."

"However, if you commit it again in the future, it is a crime. Hoarding goods, raising prices, and subverting the market are not related to the constitution, nor are they violating the will of nature. They are just violating the laws made by everyone."

"Therefore, in my opinion, he should be pardoned!"

"Moreover, since nature and the will of heaven are the key link, if the laws made by man are not in line with the will of nature and the will of heaven, they can be changed. The state must not be lawless, and the formulation of laws must be in line with the will of nature and the will of heaven. Therefore, I think it should be First formulate the constitution, and then formulate laws."

"Otherwise, how can we know whether the enacted law violates nature and the will of heaven? There must always be a criterion for making a law, and you can't just say what is sin and what is wrong. Even if the law is a good law , but it also violates the morality of the Mohists. This is like a man who accidentally shot King Zhou of Shang to death when he was hunting. Same, but not at all the same.”

(End of this chapter)