As the saying goes, no one knows his son better than his father. At the very least, the adoptive father's understanding of his children should be worthy of this sentence. After he finished speaking, Guo Ponu fell silent.
She probably also knew that her behavior was against order and had no effect, so she was no longer in a noisy mood for a while.
The adoptive father continued to reason with Guo Kang.
"You are also a child with a sense of justice, which is a good thing." He said: "Your grandfather told me at the beginning that being able to understand the plight of ordinary people and feel sad and angry for them is an important thing for those in power. This is a valuable quality, and it is more valuable to nobles than to commoners."
"I see here that many Europeans think that nobles have their own set of morals. In fact, this is not the case. Mencius said that people have four basic moral qualities. Among them, sympathy and compassion for the disasters suffered by others are called 'compassion' ’, this is also the beginning of ‘benevolence’.”
"Without this kind of moral character, we would not be able to govern well. Because rulers and civilians are originally in different environments, they have different perspectives on many things, hold different preconceptions, and ultimately have different understandings . If you don’t even have the most basic sympathy for the people, then there will be no way to communicate at all.”
"In this way, no matter what you do, it will definitely fail in the end, because the rulers can no longer understand the intentions of the people. Resentment will accumulate, dissatisfaction will eventually break out, and the dynasty will be over by then."
"Taizong of the Tang Dynasty said that water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. Who among us is as good at fighting as Taizong? How can we be careless about things that he must always be vigilant about." The adoptive father shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, there are many Noble people just don't realize this and don't have self-knowledge. Your grandfather told me this to remind me not to forget these basic principles."
"In some countries on our side, the people are weak and ignorant, so the army is also weak. If they want to keep the people weak and bullyable, they will be destroyed by the enemy; if they want to become strong, they will be overthrown by the powerful people. In the end, it must be all It’s going to end.”
"We here want to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and the same is true. Are our citizens fools?" He reminded: "I dare say that many of them actually have the mentality of Cao GUI. In their eyes, we are the ones who You stupid carnivore."
"Besides, this is not the time of the Spring and Autumn Period. If they really become dissatisfied, the poor among them will become Chen She, but our Roman military force is not as powerful as the strong Qin; the priests among them will become Zhang Jiao, But the prestige of our Rome is not as prominent as that of the Han Dynasty; the scholars among them will become Huang Chao, but the strength of our Rome is not as strong as that of the prosperous Tang Dynasty."
"These three dynasties were the most powerful in the Central Plains, but they were all burned to death because of the anger of ordinary people. Is there a country more powerful than them here? If not, then what? Where does the confidence come from to be more audacious than their rulers?”
"So, I am very happy that you have such thoughts, and I am a father." He told Guo Kang: "Many noble people will forget about it as time goes by, and feel that the family property obtained by their ancestors is taken for granted. Such a family also It's not far from decline. Therefore, it is a blessing for the family to have such a sober child."
"That's good." Guo Ponu directly interrupted: "Dad, your literary talent has improved so quickly! Mom also said you don't read..."
"No, no." The adoptive father quickly waved his hand: "These are all your grandfather's words. I just learned them from others..."
"That's not bad." Guo Ponu was very happy.
Guo Kang was a little embarrassed by what he said. Moreover, what the adoptive father—or rather Mr. Huang said—isn’t actually correct.
In China, this analysis may not be wrong, but in Europe it is hard to say. Those European nobles are not unreasonably arrogant - in many places over there, water just can't capsize...
Moreover, the place where water can least capsize a boat has become the most powerful country in the world in later generations. They used facts to prove that even if the people are cowardly and ignorant, the country can still be strong.
The political philosophy inherited from the Central Plains for more than two thousand years finally failed in the competition with these people.
What Mr. Huang quoted is a typical Confucian theory, and the core idea of Confucianism is "benevolence". If in the end, it is defeated by another civilization that is more benevolent and righteous, it can still be explained. It can be said that the original intention of the sages Confucius and Mencius was correct, but the later people did not learn well and implemented it not as well as outsiders.
But the problem is that the one who defeated them was one of the most brutal forces at that time. It was the kind of existence that even the Ottomans would be amazed by, let alone the Central Plains. But he is the most powerful, so how to explain it? The more brutal you are, the more powerful you are, and the more you like killing people, the better you can establish world order?
Therefore, by the time of Guo Kang, the most outstanding scholars in the world were either British or Russian. As for the great principles of Confucianism, they have been abandoned along with the "Confucian Family Store", and people will scold them if they mention them. The problem here always seems strange when you think about it carefully. One can only suspect that the gaps between different civilizations are so great that they don’t seem to exist in the same world...
Of course, he could only think about this idea by himself. If you really question it like this, the adoptive father's side is nothing. Grandpa will definitely be so angry that he will be whipped...
But the adoptive father said this mainly to explain the truth to him.
"Based on my years of experience, what everyone needs most is not someone to help them fight." He told Guo Kang: "What they really want is a just order. After being beaten, someone can help them beat up the bully. Dun, it’s better for the government to maintain order so that bullies don’t dare to openly beat people in the first place.”
"But order and rules are sometimes also a refuge for evil people."
"Do you think those gangs involved in crime are just brainless reckless men? From my observation, this is not the case." He shook his head: "On the contrary, many gangs are very knowledgeable and are very familiar with the structure and disposal procedures of the government. ——In other words, there must be someone knowledgeable who is providing them with guidance.”
"They have indeed committed crimes, but if you follow the procedures, the process is too long. Those people have various means and use their hands at every link to turn big things into small things, or even nothing. Even if the matter is uproar, the court will All the big shots have personally come forward to put pressure, and the most they can do is hand over a few scapegoats to be punished."
"Compared to those evil people who are only fierce and have no means, this kind of people are more difficult to deal with. They will take advantage of the social order and your sense of justice. This is why I remind you to be careful."
(End of chapter)
