Li Ran opened his mouth with a look of astonishment on his face, and was speechless for a moment.
He didn't expect that he, who was always good at arguing, would be criticized into silence by this kid.
At this moment of stalemate, I heard Ji Le coming from inside the carriage and asked softly:
"Husband, what's going on?"
Although Ji Le has lost her memory, after Li Ran's careful care during this period, she has become convinced that the man in front of her is the one she has entrusted her whole life to.
This is absolutely untrue, just like her infant child, there is no doubt about it.
Li Ran returned to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and saw Ji Le holding his daughter, he just smiled calmly:
"Le'er, don't worry, nothing will happen..."
Although Ji Le has amnesia, he just cannot remember many things that happened before. He is not really stupid. She was in the car and listened to everything said and done outside. She vaguely guessed something, and after listening to what Sun Wu described before, she also had a somewhat clear understanding of the situation outside.
"Sir, please sit down, Le'er has something to say."
After Li Ran heard what she said, he sat down obediently and listened.
"Presumably these people came to my husband out of admiration, but my husband wanted to abandon them and instead took my mother and daughter to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests, right?"
Li Ran nodded slightly to express his acquiescence. Later, Ji Le looked through the car window and saw the darkness outside, and the people kneeling on the ground begging for their lives.
At this time, Ji Le personally opened the curtain in front of the carriage, looked at Sun Wu, Ye Xu and others who were waiting in front of the carriage, and asked:
"Sun Wu, who are they? Why do they rely so much on your husband?"
"To my wife, these are all refugees who escaped from the Zheng Kingdom. They came to seek refuge because their fields and houses were occupied by the Qing clan, and they could not bear the harsh land taxes and corvee. They could no longer survive. Ye Yi’s!”
After hearing this, Ji Le couldn't help but sigh, and continued to ask:
"Then why did they come to Ye Yi alone? Is there no other place to go?"
When Sun Wu heard this, he clasped his fists and bowed, and continued to speak:
"In reply to Madam, they came here just because they heard that Mr. Ye was in Yeyi. And if there is anyone in this world who can help them, I am afraid that Mr. is the only one in the world!"
After Ji Le heard this, he turned around and looked at Li Ran:
"Husband, what my husband said just now, Le'er heard clearly, and Le'er was also deeply moved. However, a man's ambition should be like the Yangtze River, running eastward to the sea, why bother to be nostalgic for the gentle land? If you are doing it for Le'er , and regardless of these people, even if Leer follows her husband, she will never feel at ease!"
"Le'er, we have been together less and apart over the years, and my husband has indeed taken very little care of you and failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband. As a result, Le'er has suffered so much today. I really can't bear it... …let Leer suffer any further harm…”
"But... if my husband insists on leaving now, and Le'er will get a bad reputation, how will that be similar or different from harming Le'er?!"
Jie Le is still as kind-hearted as ever.
"Since my husband has the ability to settle the people of this area, he should do his best. In this way, Le'er can retire with her husband with peace of mind!"
As the saying goes, "A gentleman values others but despises himself. He puts others before himself."
Faced with Ji Le's heartfelt words, Li Ran felt a little ashamed of himself.
His determination to retire was originally to protect Ji Le. But now Ji Le advised him to give up such thoughts. Li Ran naturally ignored him and just nodded to Ji Le, then stood on the carriage and bowed to everyone:
"Li Ran is not talented. He is so loved by everyone, but he does not want to make progress, but wants to retreat. It is really shameful and shameful... Now that I have received my wife's kind words, I think about it with great regret. Therefore, I, Li Ran, swear here, I will do my best to tide over this difficult time with you all, and I will live up to my kindness!"
As soon as Li Ran said this, the people suddenly burst into cheers. Some were thanking him profusely, some were in tears, and even worse, some were crying and laughing as if they were crazy. Seeing such a situation, Li Ran was also touched a lot, and immediately He ordered people to return and returned to Ye Yi's mansion.
Li Ran first arranged the funeral arrangements, and then called for Sun Wu and Ye Xu. Ye Xu knelt down on the ground and confessed repeatedly:
"I was in a hurry and made rude remarks. I hope my lord will not blame you!"
Li Ran stepped forward, helped Ye Xu up, and comforted:
"Listening to your words, it's like an enlightenment! It's all been wrong before, no one else can blame you."
Ye Xu stood up, bowed his hands, and stood aside to obey orders.
Li Ran sat down in the middle and began to discuss with everyone:
"Nowadays, so many refugees have poured into Ye Yi, and the number of people has increased dramatically. What do you think?"
When Sun Wu heard this, he immediately came out of the queue and replied with clasped fists and a bow:
"Sir, there are a large number of people coming from Zhengyi, and among them are some people who have fled from Chu. The top priority is to consider how to settle them. These people are so mixed that they can easily cause trouble. I'm afraid they are difficult to manage. ah!"
Ye Xu also said:
"Ye Yi has enough land and plenty of grain. Even the wasteland farther out on the outskirts of the city is actually very convenient to cultivate. These are all easy to say, but..."
Li Ran smiled slightly and encouraged Ye Xu to continue talking.
"Just what?"
"It's just that these refugees are large in number and have no restrictions, so conflicts will inevitably arise between them, and most of them are trivial matters. Xu is disturbed by these trivial matters every day and can't live in peace."
"We are all refugees. If we are not careful in dealing with them, we will say that we are treating one favorably and favoring others. Not to mention the conflicts between the local people and the refugees, which are even more difficult to deal with. Even if we all think it is just a bowl of water. Even if it goes well, the refugees will think that they are looked at in a different light!"
Sun Wu nodded, indicating that what Ye Xu said was indeed true, and added:
"But sir, you are still quite prestigious among these refugees. So, if sir, can you come forward in person, or can you suppress them?"
Li Ran pondered for a moment.
"Suppression based on popularity is a way to suppress it, but it can only be suppressed for a while. If time goes by, once the accumulation of public resentment breaks out, it will be far worse than it is now. I'm afraid it will be out of control! In my opinion , the only way to deal with this situation is with the rule of law!”
When Sun Wu heard these words, he couldn't help but frown.
"Rule the people by law?"
Li Ran thought about it for a moment and felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so he just said "hmm" to confirm.
Suddenly, a trace of disappointment appeared on Sun Wu's face.
"Sir, Wu had high hopes for him at the beginning, thinking that he should have the best of both worlds. But to govern the people by law, I am afraid that not only will he punish the people, but he will also be suspected of abusing the people!"
Li Ran also knew that this method was not appropriate in this era.
What's more, for these refugees, they have had enough of being squeezed by the government's "regulations". Therefore, if today, they are still restrained by this or that set of criminal names, it will inevitably make these refugees feel that it does not make any difference whether they flee or not.
Judging from the current situation, Li Ran formulated a set of the most just laws based on his thoughts as a person from the future. It was obviously the most effective method that he could think of at the moment.
Li Ran expressed these thoughts, but Sun Wu didn't take them seriously at all:
"Sir, this is probably a fallacy. Wu heard that the previous Holy Masters all judged crimes by weighing the priorities of matters and never formulated criminal laws because they were worried that if time went by, the people would become fighting."
"As the saying goes, 'Be free with righteousness, correct it with politics, conduct it with etiquette, keep it with faith, serve it with benevolence, establish titles and salaries to encourage them to obey, and impose severe punishments to deter their lewdness.' Even so, I'm afraid they won't be able to do it. The results have been achieved, so the sage teaches them to be loyal, to teach them to practice, to teach them to do things, to make them harmonious, to approach them with respect, to treat them with strength, and to break them with strength!"
When Li Ran heard these words, he looked at Sun Wu with approval.
"Chang Qing's words are really inspiring and thought-provoking!"
When Sun Wu heard this, he was also encouraged and continued:
"After the criminal law is enacted, the people will only consider the key points, and try their best to circumvent the criminal law and develop the habit of not tabooing anything! If this is the case, even if it can achieve results in the early stage, there will definitely be problems in the later stage. It collapsed thousands of miles and fell apart!"
——
Chapter 412_The country is about to perish, and there must be many systems
Li Ran couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.
"It is certainly inappropriate to rule the people by law, but if the legal system is complete enough, maybe it is a solution, right?"
Sun Wu shook his head and said decisively:
"Sun Wu once heard that in all dynasties, all the Jishi (the end of the world) had extremely complete criminal laws. For example, when there was chaos in the Xia Dynasty, "Yu Xing" was written, when there was chaos in the Shang Dynasty, "Tang Xing" was written, and in the Zhou Dynasty there was chaos As "Nine Punishments", the rise of these three criminal laws was at the end of their respective dynasties. Therefore, if you are going to use this method to stabilize the refugees now, I am afraid it is not a good idea!"
"Just like the teacher who taught martial arts before, it was said in "Poetry": 'The virtues of King Wen are punished by rituals, and the sun is calm in all directions.' It is also said: 'The virtues of King Wen are punished by rituals, and all nations are prosperous.' So why do we have to make redundant rules? What about the law? When people know what direction to fight in, they will abandon etiquette, and instead fight to understand every word in the criminal book. If this is the case, there will be more and more cases that violate the law. Get up, and bribery will become more rampant!"
Sun Wu quoted two sentences from the Book of Songs, which respectively mean "Imitate King Wen's morality and seek peace in all directions every day." and "Imitate King Wen's good example, and all nations in the world will be convinced forever."
King Wen of Zhou established rituals and music as a patriarchal system, which is Zhou Rites!
Now that etiquette has collapsed and music has collapsed, Sun Wu insists on this way and speaks so categorically that Li Ran is quite stunned. As the saying goes, "Those who have been separated for three days should be treated with admiration." Sun Wu's words made Li Ran, who had always abided by Zhou etiquette, feel ashamed.
Sun Wu is indeed worthy of being a military sage. With his excellent learning ability, the quality of his Yuan Ting can be seen at a glance, and his astonishing speed of absorption also amazed Li Ran.
Just listen to Sun Wu summarizing at the end:
"Wu once heard the words, 'When a country is about to fall, it must be strengthened.' I'm afraid this is what he said, right?"
Li Ran sighed secretly in his heart, and then said:
"Changqing, what you said is very reasonable. But if it is not the case now, Brother Yu really can't think of any other way. As for the matter of future generations, it is indeed not well thought out, but after all, he is the general of the country. "If a country dies, it will lead to too many systems," or if "too many systems lead to the country's destruction," who can tell clearly the cause and effect?"
"It's certainly not good for a country to be punished with punishment. But if you can cope with the situation before you, it's not a bad thing... If it's like what Chang Qing said, my brother's move is really not worthy of destiny... Then I'm afraid it's not There will be good results.”
Sun Wu said:
"Sir, no matter how difficult it is...if you want to rule the people with the law, you still have to think twice!"
While Li Ran was hesitating, Ye Xu beside him spoke:
"The words of the two lords made Xu think of a strange person! This person is Deng Xi, who is also a member of the Zheng State. When he was in the Zheng State, Dr. Zichan built a punishment cauldron, and Deng Xi followed his own punishment method. With his understanding, he secretly formulated a new and more specific set of punishment books. At that time, many nobles in the Zheng Kingdom hung this new set of punishment books for the convenience of reading. When Dr. Zichan knew about it, he ordered someone to No punishment is allowed! But guess what, two lords?"
Sun Wu couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"What time has this been going on? Stop showing off!"
Ye Xu also smiled:
"Yes! Xu just saw that the atmosphere of the argument between the two lords was a bit tense, so he wanted to try to reconcile it with a few words."
"It is said that after Deng Xi heard about it, since no one was allowed to hang it, Deng Xi encouraged people to erect the punishment book. Then, Dr. Zichan ordered not to erect the punishment book, so he changed the punishment book to be tilted Let it go. In short, Deng Xi's responses are endless and he can always find loopholes in Dr. Zichan's orders."
Li Ran thought about the scene when Dr. Zichan faced this kind of person. He might have stretched out his hand to hold his forehead in pain, and couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head.
Later, Ye Xu continued:
"Deng Xi always tried every means to exploit the loopholes of Dr. Zichan's punishment and targeted him everywhere. Moreover, he also agreed with the people at that time that a set of long clothes would be given to those who studied in large prisons, and a set of long clothes would be given to those who studied in small prisons. A suit of short clothes and trousers was required to be sent to the court. Therefore, there were countless people who sent clothes and trousers to learn prison litigation."
"Under the guidance of Deng Xi, these people also specifically exploited the loopholes in the punishment system of the son-in-law doctor, confusing right and wrong, saying what is right is wrong, and what is wrong is right, so that there is no standard for right and wrong. The standards of right and wrong are constantly changing every day. If you want to get someone out of jail, you can deal with it in the punishment book, and vice versa, if you want to put this person in jail, you can also find the basis in the punishment book!"
Li Ran also felt that this matter was quite ridiculous. This move probably really made Dr. Zichan a little embarrassed.
"and after?"
"Later, because of the existence of this punishment book and Deng Xi's instigation from it, the people of Zheng State became more and more impetuous, and the people of the country were studying the punishment tripod and the punishment book all day long. Naturally, Dr. Zichan could not just sit idly by and ignore this, and later transferred Deng Xi to it. Analyze drove him away and destroyed his criminal documents. Only then did Zheng Guo bring order to the chaos, the people's hearts obeyed again, and the concept of right and wrong returned to the right path."
"After this man was driven out of the state of Zheng by the doctor Zichan, he lived in seclusion in Yeyi. Xu knew his experience and wanted to communicate with him face to face, but he never saw him. He also said that Xu was just a governor, not a real person. Mr. Ye is not qualified to meet him!"
After hearing this, Sun Wu couldn't help but said:
"Hey, this person is aloof and arrogant!"
"Exactly! After this person came to Ye Yi, he lived in solitary confinement. Xu almost forgot about this person. Hearing the two of you arguing here today, he suddenly remembered it. What the lord said actually makes sense. After all, Zi The doctor's punishment had a remarkable effect after Deng Xi left. Ye Yi's situation is actually similar to Zheng Yi's original situation. Therefore, if you want to rule the people by law, it is not impossible."
"But what Ye Gong said makes sense. Just one Deng Xi gave Dr. Zichan such a headache, made the people so impetuous and willing to fight, and messed up the people's minds."
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but remain silent for a long time, and then said:
"Deng Xi, since he has such means, you can have a chat with him and then make a decision!"
But Ye Xu was also a little embarrassed at this time.
"I'm afraid this person is not easy to talk to, and he may not be willing to help us. Maybe we have formulated a criminal law, but this person just followed the law, and we can't even see him..."
"It doesn't matter, let's go talk to him first. This person is so interesting, how can we miss it? Moreover, what he said to you before meant that he wanted to see Mr. Ye. When Chang Qing goes there, he will stop There’s no reason why you can’t see it!”
Li Ran decided to meet Deng Xi first. No matter whether this person would come to help or not, there would be no harm in doing so.
Sun Wu almost had the same idea, so the three of them immediately went to Deng Xi's retreat.
It turns out that the place where Deng Xi lives now is directly among the farmers and barbarians. And the thatched cottage where he lives is also extremely elegant.
Ye Xu stepped forward and knocked on the door, but no one responded. Sun Wu frowned:
"Is it possible that this person is not at home?"
Ye Xu shook his head and said with a bitter smile:
"This person is very weird. Even at home, he has always ignored the knock on the door. Xu felt that this person should be inside."
"Then what should we do? We can't break in, right?"
Of course Sun Wu knew not to break in, but for the moment he seemed to be unable to think of any other good way.
(End of chapter)
