"This junior came with my mentor this time because he wants to ask Mr. Liu for advice on how to govern the world. I hope Mr. Liu will not hesitate to teach me."
Liu Xingzhai's face immediately turned ugly when he heard that he was talking about the art of governing the world.
"Ding Gong, you and I have been arguing about this political theory for decades. What is there to argue about now? You brought this young man here today because you want him to challenge me? Or do you think you can't be convinced? I found such a young man to argue with me and humiliate me?"
Bai Dinggong seemed to have guessed that Liu Xingzhai would have a misunderstanding, so he waved his hand and said calmly: "It's just a dispute between you and me over ideas. Privately, let alone the friendship between you and me, we are classmates. Even if we are strangers, we are both for the same cause." In this world, people are searching for the way to peace, and there is no such thing as a challenge, let alone a humiliation. Xing Zhai, you are overthinking it."
Liu Xingzhai's attitude was as expected by Shao Xi, so he said calmly: "Mr. Liu indeed misunderstood. This junior is not here to argue with Mr. Liu about right and wrong, but rather If there is anything I don’t understand, I would like to ask Mr. Liu to explain it to me, Mr. Liu, would you like to give me some advice?”
Liu Xingzhai frowned and said with a slightly angry expression, "If you don't study hard with your husband, why are you asking me for advice? Do you think your husband's teachings are wrong?"
"That's why I have to ask Mr. Liu for advice."
Shao Xi's answer made Liu Xingzhai stunned on the spot. He turned to look at Bai Dinggong, but saw that his expression was calm. This made Liu Xingzhai confused. He thought, "Which song did the teacher and student come to sing today?"
"Oh? Then you should tell me first, what do you think is wrong with your husband's teachings?"
"The younger generation feels that there is nothing wrong with the ambitions and goals of my mentor. I hope that one day the world will be virtuous, and everyone can receive good teachings. Everyone knows benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and trust. This is not a bad thing. Only when people can live in harmony can they coexist harmoniously. It is the ultimate pursuit in this world.”
"What's wrong with this?"
"This requires a long and arduous process. During this process, there will be no virtue or morality, and the majority of people will be ignorant and mentally ill. If someone makes a mistake and is surrounded by ignorant people, no one will correct the mistake in time. At this time, we must There must be a way to make those who make mistakes know that they will pay the price after making mistakes, and only by correcting their mistakes can they not be punished.”
"I have long said that most of the people in this world are ignorant people, and good words and advice have little effect. The most effective way is to formulate rules and regulations to restrain them. Only with rules can people obey themselves. Everyone in the world is selfish. How is it possible for people like us to restrain themselves? Only by formulating clear rules of rewards and punishments can we force people to do the right things in accordance with the principle of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages."
Shao Xi saw that Liu Wenzhai had settled on his topic, so he continued what Liu Wenzhai said: "Sir, it is absolutely true. There is no rule without rules. There should be rules for everything, otherwise the world will be in chaos."
Seeing that Shao Xi agreed with his point of view, Liu Xingzhai's expression softened a lot.
"So I have long said that the idea of ruling the world with virtue is a pedantic idea. How many people in this world talk about benevolence and morality, but are full of male thieves and female prostitutes? Therefore, this idea of ruling the world with virtue is simply misleading in our opinion. My children are like maggots causing harm to the world."
"Then Sir, you think people can be immoral, but they can't abide by the law, right?"
"That's it. As long as there are rules and regulations, no matter whether they are virtuous or not, they must act within the regulations. If they can all follow the laws, what's the difference between virtuous and non-virtuous people?"
Shao Xi smiled, "Since Sir has mentioned this, I would like to ask Sir, are cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs virtuous?"
Liu Xingzhai was puzzled by Shao Xi's question and replied: "The cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs are all beasts, how can they be virtuous? Do you still have to ask?"
"So sir, you consider yourself a virtuous person?"
"Those of us who study are naturally virtuous, but how many people in the world have read?"
"Okay, then, according to what you said before, as long as there are laws and regulations, moral and non-virtuous people will be treated equally without distinction. I would like to ask, sir, have you compared yourself with the cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs? "
When Liu Xingzhai was asked this question, his face turned ugly again. Wouldn't he be insulting himself by comparing himself to an animal?
"How can humans and animals be compared? What do animals know about morality?"
"But animals are all ignorant and unvirtuous! Since you have put both the virtuous and the unvirtuous under the law, what is the difference between humans and animals? Or maybe you regard everyone else as an animal." Yes? I don’t think so?"
Liu Xingzhai was a little confused by Shao Xi's questions.
"I just said that there are very few educated people in this world, so there must be many ignorant and immoral people. That's why we need to govern by laws. Virtuous people will naturally restrain themselves. There is no contradiction even if they are placed under the laws. .”
"Oh? Sir, you just mentioned that people who have read books know how to restrain themselves and are virtuous people. I don't think so. Those rebellious officials, thieves, and polite scum have also read books. How can they be so virtuous? Those who are honest, simple, and abide by the law have also read books. Dutiful peasants, although they have never read books, are simple and kind, how can they not be virtuous?"
"this……"
"Also what Mr. just said, people who have read books are virtuous, so the younger generation would like to ask, where do the virtues of these scholars come from? Isn't it caused by the influence and spread of morality and virtue? Then, How can it be pedantic for the younger generation's mentor to spread morality to the world and persuade people to be kind? How can he cause harm to the world like maggots?"
Liu Xingzhai was really a little dumbfounded by the question. Although Shao Xi seemed to be quibbling, he had to admit that there was some truth in what he said. But for so many years, is it wrong for me to advocate ruling the world by law? If there is no measure, wouldn't the world be in chaos?
"But you can't deny the inevitable truth of the existence of laws. If the world cannot be governed, there will be chaos. Only the existence of laws can stabilize the world. However, the so-called morality in your mouth cannot do this. Don't you deny it?"
Shao Xi smiled slyly and said, "No, I deny it."
This answer almost made Liu Xingzhai choke. It was too straightforward and didn't save him any face.
"Look at where the governance of the world today does not require the existence of laws and regulations? If according to you, all relies on moral self-restraint, wouldn't it mean that bandits are rampant and the people are in dire straits?"
"Junior, I would like to ask you sir again, who made the laws that govern the world you mentioned? Who is enforcing them?"
"Of course it was jointly formulated by the current Holy Emperor, hundreds of officials in the court, and the wise people in this world, and then implemented by officials at all levels in the court and localities. What's wrong with this?"
"Then hypothetical, junior is just hypothetical. The people who formulate and implement the laws are all unscrupulous people. The formulation and execution of the laws are out of selfishness and only for personal gain. Then the enacted laws and execution What will be the consequences of such a law?"
Liu Xingzhai seemed to understand something all of a sudden, and murmured...
"Harsh government, tyranny, false public benefit for personal gain, corruption and bribery, forming cliques for personal gain, and engaging in malpractice for personal gain..."
"That's right! Laws can restrain the unscrupulous, but the laws themselves must be moral; those who have the power to formulate laws and enforce them must be moral, otherwise the laws will become a tool for some people to do evil. That is Like real maggots, they are causing harm to the world."
Liu Xingzhai couldn't help but sigh deeply and said: "You are right. If the people who make the rules have impure motives, then there will be problems with the rules themselves. Therefore, no matter what kind of laws are made, in the final analysis, they are inseparable from the word morality. If there is no morality, the law itself will lose the meaning of existence, and may even be harmful rather than beneficial. It seems that my original idea of 'no distinction between relatives and strangers, no distinction between high and low, and a break with the law' was too empty and ideal!"
Shao Xi saw that his words had an effect, and it was time to strike while the iron was hot.
"The younger generation feels that there is no perfect way to govern the world. Everything in the world is changing all the time, so how can it be fixed by one method? No matter which family's words are spoken, there must be truth, and there will definitely be biases and shortcomings. For example, my mentor Although the idea and ambition of ruling the world by virtue is a good one, it is very difficult to realize it. If you want to educate the people of the world and pass it on from generation to generation, how can it be achieved overnight? Therefore, in this process, there is a need for laws and regulations. Existence. In the same way, although the ideal of the predecessors to rule the world by law can be quickly effective in the short term, without moral guidance, the law will one day become deviant, and will eventually violate the original intention of the teacher and lead to destruction. "
After hearing these words, Liu Xingzhai felt something in his heart and couldn't help but ask: "Young man, if you follow your words, wouldn't there be no effective way to govern the world? If there is no thought that can If we guide the behavior of the people in the world, wouldn’t this world be in chaos? Without rules and regulations, wouldn’t the people of this world really be like animals?”
At this time, Bai Dinggong, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, finally spoke.
"Xingzhai, when I first heard Shao Xi's words, I was as shocked as you, and even hesitant. But the young man's ideas are beyond our understanding. He compared the thoughts of all the schools in the world to human fingers. Only all the fingers hold Only by joining together can we realize our ideal of governing the world and truly realize the great unity of the world."
Liu Xingzhai was shocked by Bai Dinggong's words again, and couldn't help but ask: "Ding Gong, you mean that we should all give up our original ideas, integrate with each other, cooperate with each other, and rule the world by sharing the laws of the world, but is this like this?"
"Yes, now that I think about it carefully, although you and I care about the common people in the world, it is inevitable that our ideas are biased and even a little stubborn. We have always believed that our theories are effective, but we have never thought that there are actually many biases and shortcomings. What we are missing is exactly what we have always opposed, so I am here to explore and discuss effective theories with you, in order to create a real way to govern the world."
Liu Xingzhai finally nodded and said, "Yes, we should abandon our obsessions and stop sticking to our own positions. Instead, we should truly explore an idea that can benefit the world from the perspective of all people in the world."
