"How can a country be made up of the noble and the lowly?" Zhang Liang whispered.
Ji Heng said calmly: "The fight between Shuxiang and Zichan actually kicked off the debate over whether the world should be governed by virtue or by law."
"And Shuxiang's rebuttal at that time was eloquent."
"At that time, both Shuxiang and Zichan were well-known virtuous officials in the world and had a good personal relationship. Therefore, after Zichan cast the execution letter, Shuxiang immediately sent someone to send a letter to Zichan to express his strong protest."
"The letter was eventually written down."
"In the letter, my uncle said: I originally had high hopes for you, but you have disappointed me very much. In ancient times, the holy kings did not publish laws, but discussed each matter on a case-by-case basis, and the nobles decided on the application of the law according to the specific situation, because they were afraid People are disputing.”
"Even so, the Holy King was still worried that he could not control the people, so he used righteousness, propriety, trust, benevolence, etc. to restrain them, set up high officials with generous salaries to induce them to obey, and used severe punishments to scare them."
"This is still not enough."
"There must also be a sage and sage monarch, a perceptive official, a loyal and honest elder, and a kind and wise master, so that the people can obey the orders and avoid trouble."
"Once the people know the content of the law, they will no longer be afraid of us nobles and managers. They will start to take chances and disobey management, and will cite the law to argue with us. This situation is absolutely unacceptable."
"There was chaos in the Xia Dynasty and the "Yu Xing" was written, there was chaos in the Shang Dynasty and the "Tang Xing" was written, and there was chaos in the Zhou Dynasty and the "Nine Punishments" were written. These three laws are all products of the troubled times."
"Now, as the prime minister of Zheng, you have reformed land taxation, formulated three laws, and cast them on the cauldron to make them public. You want to make the people obey. Isn't it just a fool's errand?"
"The Book of Songs says that King Wen made all nations in the four directions submit to him with virtue. Where is the law mentioned?"
"Once the people know the basis of the dispute, they will abandon etiquette and cite the law, even if it is some petty profit or trivial matter, they will argue endlessly. As a result, chaos began to breed, bribery began to prevail, and under your governance, Zheng Guo must will be defeated."
Ji Heng briefly described the contents of his uncle's letter.
Zhang Liang was thoughtful.
From this letter written by Uncle Xiang to Zichan, he probably heard three meanings.
First, laws are not good things; they are the product of troubled times. A good society should be governed by holding high the banner of morality.
Second, promulgating the law damages the ruling privileges of the nobility. The nobility can no longer judge cases based on so-called morality as before, and can no longer discuss matters one by one, but must deal with them in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Third, it increases the difficulty for officials. People will abandon etiquette and cite the law, argue with the law, and even take advantage of loopholes in the law.
Therefore, Shuxiang believed that Zichan's casting of punishment books was a way to make trouble.
immediately.
Zhang Liang also reacted.
The reason why Ji Heng talked about "Zi Chan cast a punishment book" was actually to use it as a metaphor for the present.
Uncle Xiang spoke eloquently, but in fact he was arguing for the nobles. However, the historical facts did not go as Uncle Xiang expected. As Zichan began to cast punishment books, more and more princes began to make their own codes public. Even the state of Jin, where Shu Xiang lived, built a punishment tripod twenty or thirty years after Zichan cast the punishment book, which can be said to have slapped Shu Xiang's face hard.
Zichan's casting of punishment books was the general trend, and in Ji Heng's eyes, Qin's reform was also the general trend.
Ji Heng said expressionlessly: "One year after Zichan came to power, that is, when Zheng Guo's reform was just beginning, there was great resistance in the world. There was a song circulating in the society, which seemed to be 'Forcing me to collect my good clothes. At home, if you check my fields left and right, whoever wants to kill Zichan, I will definitely participate!'"
"And when Zichan came to power for three years, the song changed."
"It became, 'My family has children, and Zi Chan comes to educate and enlighten them; my family has fields, and Zi Chan can increase production. If Zi Chan dies, who can be as good as him?'"
"Zi Chan was in power for a total of 21 years. Zheng Guo was in great control and the country's power changed from weak to strong."
"The people of the country praise him, and the princes obey him."
"Today's Qin is just like the Zheng State when it first reformed. It is subject to controversy and criticism in the world, and is not recognized by the people. But who dares to predict that in a few years, the world will not praise Qin? Will it not be exciting? happy?"
"The general trend of the world is vast and powerful."
"If you go with it, you will prosper; if you go against it, you will perish!"
"In your eyes, Qin is going against the trend, but in my eyes, Qin is following the trend."
"Just like Uncle Xiang, you are going against the trend. In the end, in the face of the general trend of the world, Zhang Liang, you will eventually return to the right path, and you will eventually choose to follow the trend, but you will have to wait until you fully wake up."
At the same time, Ji Heng thought to himself: "This is also the choice you made in history."
It's just that Zhang Liang obviously won't turn around yet.
Ji Heng continued: "To be honest, the reason why Shu Xiang resisted like this is to protect his own class."
"The State of Zheng is the place where the Four Wars were fought. This also means that the State of Zheng is a place with frequent business exchanges. This also makes the State of Zheng's business very developed. In such a country, a new class naturally rises. This The class can be called powerful, or it can be called landlords, and the rise of other forces will naturally weaken the momentum of the original patriarchal nobles."
"However, the nobility had discretionary power over the criminal law, so they could suppress and exploit merchants and emerging landowners at will."
"But as a result, commercial agriculture will be affected, and national taxes and rents will be significantly reduced."
"Therefore, continuing to enforce the secret law will actually harm the country and benefit the nobility."
"It's bad for the country."
"It was at this time that Zichan announced the law."
"It restricted the privileges of the nobility and promoted the development of Zheng's agriculture and commerce."
"The significance of Zichan's 'casting tripod' is to avoid the old vague and arbitrary methods of controlling people's behavior, weaken the past ruling privileges of the nobility, enable the common people to rely on the law to safeguard their rights, and weaken the aristocracy's autocracy rule."
"This will inevitably lead to strong protests and dissatisfaction from the nobles."
"But this is just the beginning."
"As more and more princes began to follow suit, eventually even Confucius couldn't sit still and launched a severe attack on Zhao Yang of Jin who built a punishment tripod."
"Confucius said: The Jin State has abandoned its laws and may be destroyed."
"At that time, the Jin State strictly abided by the laws established by Uncle Tang. The people respected the nobles, and the nobles managed the people, and the nobles and the humble were in order. Therefore, Duke Wen of Jin was able to become the leader of the princes alliance."
"Today's Jin State has abandoned this law and built a Xingding. The people live according to the regulations of the Xingding. They no longer fear and respect the nobles. Aren't the jobs of us nobles going to be ruined?"
"How can the noble and the lowly be disordered and serve as a country?"
"The overreactions of Shu Xiang, Confucius and others are actually the same as those of the nobles of the Six Kingdoms today. They are all worried that Qin's changes will affect their own interests, and Qin's changes will have a greater impact on the nobles because Qin does not approve it. In the old aristocratic system, once Qin's changes are completely completed, the aristocrats will eventually lose their privileges completely and become ordinary people. Such a strong gap will naturally arouse strong fear among the aristocrats of the six countries."
"so."
"Whether you are Zhang Liang or any other noble."
"They talk grandly about restoring the country, but in fact they are just trying to preserve their aristocratic privileges."
"What you are doing is never for the so-called 'country'!"
"It's all for yourself!"
"The general situation in the world is vast. Since the Zhou Dynasty, there has been a trend of change in the world. With the reform of the princes and the prosperity of various schools of thought, the world's ideological trends have long been permeated. However, the nobles still refuse to give up their power. But with you Zhang Liangzhi If you are smart, how can you really not see the general trend of the world?"
"Since Zichan cast the punishment book, the autocratic privileges of the nobility have been greatly weakened. With the advancement of the reform, the world's ancient Shilu Shiqing has been completely abolished. It is precisely because of this that you, the Zhang family, can live in harmony for generations. Otherwise, in this world Under Lu Shiqing's old structure, how could you, Zhang, have any chance of becoming the leader of the court?"
"Since Shang Yang's reform, the power of the nobles has been further weakened and suppressed."
“Mobility across classes has never been greater.”
"But after all, it was only limited to Qin. It only damaged the etiquette of the nobility and did not completely shake the foundation of the nobility. Moreover, as Qin unified the world and its own attitude wavered, the nobility actually had a tendency to rise. However, if it is allowed to The reform of the Qin system will completely shake the foundation of the nobility, and in the future the nobility may be like Shilu Shiqing, completely reduced to the smoke of history."
"So you want to stop it."
"As vested interests, you want to prevent your privileges from being deprived. I can actually understand it. But throughout history, the abolition of the Shilu Shiqing system in the world has killed and injured too many people, and it has taken too long. If it is an aristocratic system, It still exists in the world, and it may be more difficult to erase than the Shilu Shiqing system, and it will require more blood and tears."
"In terms of historical trends."
"It is inevitable that the nobility will withdraw from the stage of history."
"Because Qin wins!"
"The reason why Qin was able to defeat six countries with one country was that Qin mobilized the enthusiasm of the lower class and gave the people at the bottom the opportunity to rise to the upper class. This is also the general trend, but the aristocratic system has existed for too long and is deeply rooted in the world. He also controls the world's mouth and has a huge voice. It is difficult to imagine how difficult it is to completely eliminate it and establish a new system."
"It's just that the general trend is like this, how can it be changed by human power?"
"In the end, it's just a few twists and turns, a few struggles, and a few more blood and tears in the world."
"But the world has been suffering for too long."
"I want to end this farce early for the world."
"Let the world get back on track as soon as possible."
"So I won't let anyone stop the process, not you, nor anyone else, so I hate dealing with people like you, because too many of you are for personal gain and don't care about the life and death of the world at all. I Although he is equally cold and ruthless, at least he still has a little conscience in his heart and knows where his future lies."
"I put you in here just to argue with you."
"Just wanted to tell you something."
"Wrong direction."
"The more knowledge there is, the more serious harm it will cause to the world."
"The changes that Qin is promoting now are the paths that the world is destined to take in the future."
"This is also the general trend of the world for hundreds of years and thousands of years."
"unstoppable!"
"Your obstruction will only cause more casualties."
"It doesn't make any sense either."
(End of chapter)
