On the other hand, in order to avoid the argument that "Romulus was also Korean" in the future, we must find a way to explain the issue of obtaining legitimacy.
This is also the second half of the difficulties faced by Yongzheng's thinking, and it is also the most important part.
Compared with other civilizations, one of the main characteristics of the Central Plains people is their strong organizational capabilities brought about by long-term disasters and wars. To survive the threat, everyone must organize in a more rigorous and efficient manner, transfer more power to the group, and obey the orders from above.
The characteristics of the Central Plains civilization come largely from this. The various praises or criticisms given by people in later generations basically revolve around this point.
Some people call this sociological precocity, but after meeting other civilizations in this circle, Guo Kang felt that a more appropriate term is "excessive militarization" - compared with other civilizations, this is the most outstanding characteristic of the Central Plains people. The improvement of social organizations and related theories was just a means to serve the military, so it developed accordingly.
The reality is, not to mention various disasters. According to statistics and calculations by later generations, there have been more than 10,000 wars in human history, one-third of which were fought by the civilization of the Central Plains. This is the environment they live in.
Probably with the subsequent development of technology and the maturity of various organizational methods, future generations gradually no longer need to be so "crazy". Throughout the Central Plains civilization, the degree of militarization is actually declining.
At the time of Guo Kang, someone had excavated the ruins of the Shang Dynasty and discovered a strange phenomenon: their houses were very small, and the stoves were not enough for a family to cook. After investigation and calculation, people discovered that these houses were not originally intended for families.
In that era, adult men and women lived separately. Even after they got married and had children, the children stayed with their mothers. Many men were gathered together specifically, probably in response to military requirements.
To put it simply, it is similar to the situation of the Spartans. However, the Spartans only had one city-state, and it is not known how large the business scale was and whether others followed suit.
But there is one thing. If these people see the appearance of their descendants, they will most likely feel that they are too weak and have no faith and spirit of the Central Plains people...
In such a highly militarized group, the power of the commander is greater and more stable than in other civilizations. To use an ancient Roman analogy, this civilization is in a state of war all year round, so those in power are usually military dictators.
And this will bring about a problem, that is, people cannot always make the right choice that is beneficial to the group. Power and responsibility always correspond: the powerful power to do nothing and integrate all resources to fight disasters corresponds to the unlimited obligation to do nothing and take responsibility for everything.
Usually, the commander can directly reject objections based on the overall situation, or even use forceful means to suppress other voices and require everyone to contribute to the goal. Because wars and floods cannot be postponed, important time points often pass quickly, and there is no time for everyone to game and discuss. Moreover, the stakes involved are so great that other demands can be compromised.
Ximen Bao said when he was controlling floods, "The people can be successful, but they cannot start with worries." Although the people were dissatisfied with Ximen Bao's drive, they still completed the water conservancy construction under the mandatory requirements of the rules. In the end, he found that it was indeed beneficial, and no one criticized him anymore, nor did they think that his words were contempt for him. This is how the entire system has operated for a long time, and people have been taught to obey the rules and contribute to the collective good.
But on the other hand, in the face of war and floods, any decision-making mistakes are fatal. Moreover, there is often no time to discuss and change. At the same time, because the power of decision-makers is highly concentrated, all misjudgments will be magnified and lead to serious consequences. Therefore, once a serious problem arises for the decision-maker, he needs to be eliminated as quickly as possible, and this most efficient way is often achieved through physical elimination.
Whether it was Lord Xinling rescuing Zhao, or Xiang Yu going all out, in order to seize military power, they all resorted to directly killing the original generals. But later, these stories were passed down as good stories. The logic is naturally not difficult to analyze.
Therefore, to outsiders, the operation of the Central Plains regime may seem very cruel. The control is very strict at ordinary times, but if something goes wrong, swords will flash and swords will flash.
This kind of characteristics cannot be judged by simple "good" or "bad". Because human society, like nature, often cannot define "advanced" and "backward" and can only be measured by "adaptation." Since other methods cannot adapt to the Yellow River, this is the only way...
The political philosophy of the Central Plains also reflects these two aspects.
For example, the most typical Confucianism actually has two parts. Just as Confucius always emphasized social relationships in pairs, top-down and bottom-up relationships also coexist.
On the one hand, the theory advocates that everyone should abide by the rules and act within the constraints of etiquette; on the other hand, it also constantly emphasizes that people whose abilities do not meet the requirements should quickly leave their positions of power.
In Confucius's time, this expression was relatively mild, limited to the requirements of the nobility, large and small, and did not involve the top and bottom of society.
By the time of Mencius, as the scope of "scholars" further expanded, there were requirements for ordinary people; correspondingly, the scope of ability assessment was also expanded to include monarchs, and the theory of "killing one man" came into being, requiring violent elimination. Unqualified ruler.
Later rulers would of course only want one or the other. This can be directly seen from the evolution of ancient classics.
Later generations have unearthed Confucian slips from Chu State during the Warring States Period and compared them with the same passages in "The Book of Rites of Great Dai: Zeng Zi established Filial Piety". It was found that the slips said "a gentleman's filial piety is the function of love", while the documents handed down from ancient times said "loyalty is the function". Filial piety is one of the most basic moral requirements and the basis of several ritual systems. As a result, the basic definition has been changed.
In the following text, the slip lists six requirements for the king, ministers, father, son, brother, and brother. However, in the handed down documents, the obligations to the king, father, and brother have been deleted, leaving only three Already. Similarly, in the slips, the entire sentence "Filial piety without admonishment will not lead to filial piety" is missing.
But the problem is that Zhongyuan philosophy pays great attention to practicality and is not a theological system constructed out of thin air. These theories are descriptions of objective reality. Deleting them does not mean that the demand will disappear. The ancients mocked and said: "Shandong was in chaos before it was cold, and Liu Xiang didn't study." This kind of behavior did not make any dynasty fall even later...
(End of chapter)
