It's quite cold in autumn.
The beautiful scenery where the mountains are red and the forests are dyed has passed, and the busy autumn harvest has also come to an end.
The weather was a bit dull, and the dark clouds covered the sky, making it impossible to see the end.
On both sides of the road, the originally lush leaves have become sparse. When the cold wind blows, the overwhelmed yellow leaves swirl and wither.
The howling north wind swept along the side of the fast horse, bringing a slight chill.
"The endless falling trees are rustling."
Gu Dan looked around with a little emotion.
Along the way, what I saw along the way was not a good situation.
Of course, the big moon at this time was not having a good year.
Even the official roads seemed deserted, with weeds even spreading, not to mention the outside.
The endless uprisings and conquests constantly drained out the country's remaining nutrients. Occasionally I saw some people on the road, but when I saw them, I avoided them like snakes and scorpions, not daring to come up and talk to them.
Anyone who dares to run almost alone at this time is not easy to deal with.
The real fools probably died a few years ago.
Xun Ke followed Gu Dan, also riding a horse, and said with some sadness: "When I first came to the imperial capital, there were several villages here, and there was an endless stream of caravans on the official road. .It has only been a few years, but there is no human habitation left.”
Although the official road has the word "official" in its name, ordinary people are actually allowed to go there, including caravans.
But when an official travels urgently or transports grain money or other matters on the official road, ordinary people must get out of the way immediately, otherwise they will be punished, and the caravan also needs to spend extra money to pass.
Whether the official system is prosperous or not can also give a rough idea of the operating status of a country.
Now that the two of them have arrived in Yuzhou, their luck is not bad. The good news is that they have not encountered any short-sighted bandits or thugs who robbed their homes.
The bad news is that even the people are very few, and those who occasionally see them are frightened and can run faster than rabbits.
The two of them didn't waste too much time on chores, and the wind was blowing on their horse's hooves along the way. Although they didn't travel under the stars and at night, the speed was not slow.
"The imperial court and the White Lotus Congregation have been fighting in the land of Yuzhou for several years. Naturally, there won't be any bustling scenery where people can live and work in peace and contentment. It's good to still be able to see people."
Although Gu Dan had traveled far before, he had already anticipated everything he could see.
A scholar can know the affairs of the world without going out.
He has the channels of Mo Qiu and Lin Xiaoyi to understand the outside world, and of course he can know more things than ordinary people.
For example, he knew very clearly that Otsuki's finances had been unable to support him as early as a few years ago. After drinking poison to quench his thirst again and again, even the wealthy households in the imperial capital were implicated and could not escape.
A reckoning started from the top down, slowly tightening the rope around the neck from the bottom up.
"How can we change this?"
Xun Ke was silent for a long time, and finally asked: "Since Mr. Gu has decided to leave the mountain, has he already had an idea?"
“Uproot it and build it up again.”
Gu Dan said almost ruthlessly: "A country is like an open space, and the royal family is the tallest tree in it. There are also shorter officials and officials beside the tree. The people living in that open space They are weeds, and the rich, powerful, and aristocratic families are like vines. The vines can climb up trees and grow, and everyone grows by sharing the grace and rain from heaven.
But there are only so many nutrients in an open space. Whoever grabs more will inevitably have less for others. When all the nutrients are almost consumed, and even the weeds begin to wither and turn yellow, other big trees will take the opportunity to take root and rob the few remaining nutrients. This is an invasion by a foreign enemy.
Nowadays, the royal family tree is getting old, and officials and bureaucrats have encroached on too much territory that should belong to weeds, let alone letting weeds look for opportunities to turn into vines, or even become a big tree. Nowadays, even the nutrients of the weeds themselves have been almost exhausted, which is why there are successive uprisings. "
Gu Dan's voice was extremely cold as he continued: "The endless falling trees are rustling. Only when those big trees that have intercepted nutrients completely fall down and give back what originally belonged to the world can everything have a chance to stop - this is very simple. reason."
He chose to simplify complex things. He did not say anything about profound theories or difficult knowledge, but only a calm calmness.
Of course, the operation of a country is far from as simple as he said, but when the perspective is raised to the overall situation, the root causes of all this can be attributed to one problem.
Some people take too much, some people take too little, and some people even pay back if they can't get it.
Those who have received more are unwilling to spit it out, those who have received less are dissatisfied, and those who cannot get it or even repay it have no way out. Then it is time for another dynasty change.
Xun Ke thought for a while and then asked: "But how can we ensure that this will not happen? Even if it is the same amount of nutrients, the big tree is destined to absorb it faster than the vines and weeds."
"This is reality, and it is a problem that generations of outstanding people need to consider and face. How to fairly distribute everything that exists in this land to the best of their ability, and give space for weeds to become vines and even pillars. And let the original Big trees will not use their advantages to seize too much space and nutrients from weeds."
Gu Dan said in a deep voice.
This question itself is one of the reasons why he has been struggling for a long time.
Sooner or later, a country will decline due to various reasons, but for normal people, this long timeline will span their lives, but when all of this is turned into numbers-that is, hundreds of Years of time spiral upward, over and over again, and the cycle goes back and forth.
It's just that humans are not grass and trees, so how can they be ruthless?
Seeing everything collapse with his own eyes, and even his friends starting to join in it one after another, Gu Dan was also touched, and it was impossible to really treat everything as numbers.
But he only has more knowledge than people of this era. He cannot solve the final problem, let alone take an unimagined path. He can only put the collapsed world back on track as soon as possible. What happens after that is up to him. Leave it to future generations to do.
Conquering the world is easy, all you need is force.
But it is difficult to defend the world!
He didn't plan to be a nanny, which was why he took Xun Ke with him on this trip.
This child has his own thoughts and a heart that makes peace with the world.
He can help end the troubled times, but he can never do everything personally, and he has no interest in the position of emperor.
Doing his best to remind Xun Ke, this is one of Gu Dan's choices.
Xun Ke fell into silence.
After a long time, Xun Ke suddenly said: "Mr. Gu, do you think the Mohist Ten Principles of Master Mohism are not feasible?"
The ten principles of Mohism are: universal love, non-aggression, respect for the worthy, respect for unity, non-fate, non-happiness, frugal burial, frugal use, understanding ghosts, and heaven's will.
This is the way to govern the world that Mo Qiu chose, and it is also the philosophy pursued by the Mohists. They believe that as long as these ten principles are followed, the world can get better. In fact, Mohists have always done this.
But Gu Dan never talked about the Mohist philosophy in words, and the direction of guidance was mostly coordination and distribution, rather than directly cutting through the mess, or directly applying Mo Qiu's theory, and getting it right in one step.
"Brother Mo's ideas are, of course, very good things."
Gu Dan hesitated for a moment and then said: "But you should be able to understand that no country can develop according to such a set of theories. In other words, the ultimate goal of this set of theories is the world of great harmony, the concept of 'universal love' The most basic requirement of goals is that there is no selfishness.
Not to mention the various more detailed, but inhumane demands that followed. Brother Mo's ideas can be regarded as the end point of a country's ultimate goal, but no country can directly use this set of theories. If you want to accomplish something, you must understand that there is a gap between ideals and reality, and you cannot directly use a theory that reaches the end to deal with imperfect real conditions.
We can always find many reasons for the collapse of a country, such as the hardship of the people, lack of personal ethics, and excessive corruption. But when these things are concrete in reality, they are games and choices again and again.
For example, Emperor Zongming wanted to build the Wanshou Immortal Palace purely for his own selfish desires. But because he is the emperor, no one can really restrict him. So is there a system that can also limit the emperor's rights? At least not completely do whatever you want? Just this one thing and the things involved behind it are enough to make people think hard.
Not to mention how once the emperor's power is really dispersed, how do all parties check and balance it, how do they make the power in the hands of ministers insurmountable, and then create a situation of excessive corruption. These things can affect the whole body. "
Gu Dan didn’t dwell on the details because there were endless details.
He started from the overall situation and reminded Xun Ke, without focusing on one specific point.
As for Mo Qiu's theory, his attitude is: I appreciate it, but I can't use it.
Xun Ke looked at Gu Dan in surprise, never expecting that Mr. Gu still had so many thoughts hidden in his mind, but Gu Dan never talked much about this aspect in the past.
Gu Dan gave him clear directions and outlines, but the deeper details and context required his careful control.
The good news is that he doesn't really agree with Master Mo's ten principles of Mohism, which can be directly implemented in one step. The bad news is that he is still too young and has not thought clearly enough about these issues.
But he is also lucky.
Now there is Master Mo in front of him to protect him from the wind and rain, and now Mr. Gu is willing to go out and take him with him to provide guidance.
He still has a lot of room for growth and a long future.
The horse galloped, leaving all words in the wind.
After walking for a while, Xun Ke suddenly said: "Mr. Gu, not far from here is the village where I lived before. Can you go and have a look?"
"sure."
Gu Dan nodded slightly.
More than six years have passed since Xun Ke entered the imperial capital. It is normal to miss his hometown.
Not long after, under the guidance of Xun Ke, the two came to a village.
Chaoluo looks empty, without any human habitation. Even the fertile fields in front of the door are overgrown with weeds - this is very close to the battle between the White Lotus Sect and the imperial court. The people living here must either join the White Lotus Sect or have to Being dragged into the temple to work as a young man, even if you want to farm the land safely, it is impossible, and you will be robbed before the food is harvested.
Even fertile soil can only be allowed to grow weeds and become a dead ground.
Walking into the village, everything seemed extremely quiet, and even the chirping of birds was almost inaudible.
Xun Ke's eyes swept back and forth between the familiar houses in the past, and the expression on his face seemed to be frozen.
Yuzhou is having a hard time.
This place has experienced floods, droughts, and was hit by the night star, but it is still one of the main battlefields of Dayue.
His former neighbors had already gone their own way to make a living.
The yards of several houses were even covered with knee-high weeds, and there were still traces of fire embers in front of the demolished house doors—it must have been that someone passed by and burned the house doors as firewood.
With ruins and overgrown weeds, the mud and wooden houses cannot withstand the wind and rain for long.
Everything shows that no one has lived here for a long, long time.
Xun Ke had some expectations in his heart, but when he saw all this with his own eyes, his eyes could not help but sparkle a little.
He walked forward in silence and came to a rather large courtyard.
Vaguely, you can see a plaque hanging with a hemp rope hanging in the yard. On the plaque, you can barely make out the word "Akiye". When the wind blows, the plaque gently knocks on the wall, making a reluctant and hoarse sound. moan.
"This was originally a private school. Children from all over the country would come to our village to study and learn literacy. Although it is dilapidated now, our place used to be lively every time we went to the village meeting.
People shopping will come early in the morning when it is still dark to occupy a good position. Adults bring their children here to buy things. The smell of all kinds of cheap food spreads for miles. When there are more people, it is difficult to turn around. some. The most distressing thing at that time was the shoes. There were too many people, and the new shoes I had just put on would be almost impossible to wear if I walked around in the crowd."
Xun Ke walked on the fallen leaves on the ground, his voice was very soft, as if he was immersed in a peaceful dream.
There is rain falling from the sky.
The dark clouds that had been brewing for a long time finally began to show their power.
The icy cold rain falling on the person is an indescribable chill.
After autumn rain and cold, winter is coming again.
Gu Dan walked to his side, reached out and patted Xun Ke on the shoulder.
"It will be fine."
He said.
Xun Ke nodded blankly.
The two of them came to Xun Ke's previous home together. After so many years, the objects in the home were naturally gone. Fortunately, the house was not so damaged that it was completely uninhabitable.
Gu Dan simply used his true energy to kill all the weeds in the yard, while Xun Ke went into the house to tidy up for a while and found the table where he had eaten before. As for the chairs, they were gone.
The two took out the dry food and sat casually under the eaves, watching the rain falling from the sky. Occasionally, the yellow leaves of the trees were weighed down by the heavy rain.
The endless fallen trees are rustling, but these withered and yellow leaves can also be turned into nutrients for the coming spring.
In the silence, amid the rain, Gu Dan's eyes suddenly stopped.
There was a figure that looked like a lonely ghost, walking slowly and almost stiffly through the rainy villages.
There are still living people here.
The author would like to apologize to everyone, the updates in the past few days have been too overwhelming. When the plot is all coming to an end, the author's state is a bit wrong. No matter how I write it, I feel unsatisfied. This tortured feeling is difficult to describe. I am really sorry. I will try my best to update it when this state of affairs passes.
(End of chapter)
