Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

"Didn't Marquis say, 'Establish the heart for heaven and earth, establish destiny for the people, continue the lost learning for the past sages, and create peace for all generations'? What I, a student, want to do now is precisely this kind of thing."

Fang Zheng couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "Why does Marquis laugh? Am I wrong?"

Fang Zheng stopped laughing and said, "I laugh at your ignorance. Do you know why this official said those words?"

"Wasn't it from the heart?"

"Of course not. Back then, when this Marquis first entered the court, it was just to gain favor, a casual remark."

"......"

Fang Zheng said unhurriedly, "Since you believe in equality for all, how can you say these nonsense that I said? 'Establish destiny for the people,' by what right do you help them establish it? Can't they establish it themselves? You look down on sages, yet you want to inherit their lost learning. Isn't this a contradiction? You hang righteousness on your lips, but in reality, you belittle all living beings. I see that what you truly want in your heart is just to ride on the heads of others."

Li Zhi immediately took two steps back, his face somewhat unsightly.

It seemed like there was a contradiction!

But weren't these the words that Jianye Marquis himself said? Was he slapping his own face?

After pondering for a moment, Li Zhi said, "Marquis is right, but that's not what I meant. What I want to say is that all men are created equal, but the people of the world are unenlightened. I want to spread this idea throughout the world. In time, the general trend of the world will be in the hands of the people, rather than being decided by one person, leading to disaster."

He really wasn't finished!

Fang Zheng said angrily, "Ridiculous! Self-righteous! There are so many elites in the court, who isn't smarter than you? Do only you understand how to govern a country?"

"I think they are indeed not as smart as me."

Damn! He's a contrarian!

Fang Zheng said exasperatedly, "Adding them all up, they're still smarter than you, right? Where do you get such confidence!"

"When I open a history book, I see that most of it is about making mistakes."

"......"

"Marquis, if you just want to persuade me, then there's no need. I am naturally free and undisciplined, and I hate being disciplined and lectured. Let's part ways here."

Before Fang Zheng could react, Li Zhi raised his foot and left again!

"Stop!"

Fang Zheng shouted loudly, and Li Zhi stopped again, staring at Fang Zheng intently.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he said, "Marquis has called me back several times. Is it because you actually agree with what I said, but you have to oppose it because of your status?"

"Don't speak..." Fang Zheng rubbed his brow, looking like he had a headache.

This guy was smart enough, but also stubborn to the extreme. If he had said these words in front of someone else, he would have been dragged to the execution ground long ago to feed the dogs.

Now, no matter what, he absolutely couldn't let him leave; he had to keep him here.

After pondering for a long time, Fang Zheng said, "Li Zhi, this Marquis doesn't agree with you. The things you said, if spread to the outside world, will only bring disaster and ridicule."

"On the streets, construction sites, and taverns of the capital, there are countless ordinary people discussing how to govern the country, and many of them are right. Is there any essential difference between you and these people? Those grand and impractical words are meaningless. True strongmen only care about the details."

"Besides a simple idea, you don't have a complete and tested theory to put into practice, yet you妄图 build castles in the air. There is nothing more absurd in the world than this."

"You must be unconvinced in your heart, right? Fine, you say you admire freedom, then tell me, what is freedom?"

Li Zhi said without hesitation, "Self-determination, no longer being bound."

"Absurd!" Fang Zheng said bluntly, "Then what's the difference between that and a beast? Even less than a beast!"

"So-called freedom is the right to do anything that does not harm others. The boundary of others' freedom is the boundary of my freedom."

"What is harmful, what is harmless? How to divide the boundaries of individual and collective rights? Have you thought about it? If you haven't figured this out, then how dare you be so bold as to say that everything cannot be tied to one person?"

Boundaries of individual and collective rights?

Li Zhi froze in place, countless complex thoughts flooding into his mind.

Indeed, Fang Zheng was right about one thing: he really didn't have a complete theory.

He only had a rough idea, but not speaking it out, not putting it into practice, always gave him an impulse that drove him crazy.

The four words 'boundaries of individual and collective rights' were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.

If he couldn't figure out this question, his ideas would never amount to anything.

Seeing him fall into contemplation, Fang Zheng took the opportunity to say, "The world is now prosperous, and your heretical ideas can only confuse people's hearts."

"Leading half a step is advanced; leading three steps becomes a martyr. Eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time."

Hearing this, Li Zhi quickly came back to his senses and said in surprise, "I knew that Jianye Marquis agreed with my ideas, otherwise, why would you say this?"

"No, I don't agree!" Fang Zheng said with a straight face, "However, what you said is not entirely without merit. Cycles of order and chaos, dynastic changes, mostly fail due to fatuous emperors and treacherous ministers. If you want to break the pattern, you must take advantage of the chaos to restrain their hands."

"But this is not applicable to today's wise emperors and virtuous ministers governing the world. What you want to change is essentially a dead end, so it's better to slowly research and perfect your theory and leave it for future generations."

"If you are willing, I can let you go to Taoyuan County and arrange a house for you. This Marquis will send someone to your hometown to verify your situation.

"If the situation is true, you can stay in the county and study peacefully. When you have results, bring them back to this Marquis. If this Marquis thinks they are qualified, you can be allowed to enter Dongjiao University. If your theory can conquer people's hearts at Dongda, this Marquis can guarantee to bring it to the court for discussion. What do you think?"

"Marquis is really willing to bring what I said and thought to the court?" Li Zhi said in surprise.

He knew how outrageous the things he said were, but he didn't expect Fang Zheng to be willing to help him like this.

"This Marquis has no false words! If there are no problems, you should go home first. Come to the Zhenfu Division tomorrow to find me, and I will arrange for someone to send you to Taoyuan County. But remember, you can study on your own, but you can't go out and talk nonsense to others without my permission, otherwise, don't blame me for turning ruthless!"

"This student thanks Marquis for his kindness!" Li Zhi solemnly bowed.

Now that things have come to this, there's no need to be stubborn. What Jianye Marquis said is right... The key is that he has to focus on studying the boundaries of individual and collective rights. There shouldn't be a better place than Taoyuan County.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng also breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally persuaded this stubborn guy.

Go study it. This thing is enough for you to study for decades, and it can be used as a theoretical reserve for future generations.

Li Zhi was about to leave when he suddenly seemed to remember something and said with some disappointment, "Marquis, I have another question. Cycles of order and chaos, is it really necessary to wait until the world is in chaos and the people are in deep trouble before there is a chance to break it?"

"With Marquis's unparalleled talent, is there really no way to transition from prosperity?"

"Yes."

"What!?" Li Zhi's eyes lit up, staring at Fang Zheng with anticipation.

Fang Zheng hesitated in place, and after a long time, he finally uttered the answer.

"Love."

......

Outside the Princess Mansion, Li Zhi held the two ingots of silver that Fang Zheng had stuffed into his hand, staring blankly at the sky.

This conversation tonight was truly rewarding.

Most importantly, he had found a new direction!

However, he couldn't figure out the final answer that Jianye Marquis had said.

Love... what problems can love solve?

The nebulae in the sky changed, and after an unknown amount of time, a silly smile appeared on Li Zhi's face.

"Jianye Marquis... is so perverted..."

......