The sun hangs high in the sky, spreading warm sunshine. A rose bush beside the flower bed has opened, attracting various butterflies to fly.
Unknowingly, summer came quietly. The chill has gone away, the warm breeze is blowing, and it's getting hotter every day.
Wang Xiaolie felt a little bored. I think a lot, but very little can be understood by others. Sometimes, I feel like I am a lonely traveler in this world. There is only one direction to travel, no friends, no partners.
This time is dangerous. People who are not firm in their thinking will slowly lose their faith and become like the dust. People say that life has rubbed off the edges and become smoother day by day, which means they mature. Others become irritable and feel that they have no confidant in the world. The whole world is turbid and I am alone pure; the whole world is drunk and I am alone awake. How can I be covered with the dust of the world with my bright white color!
For Wang Xiaolie, as the leader of a team, he cannot lose his faith or become cunning. He must always maintain his sharp edges and not be annoying. You cannot think of yourself as aloof and independent of the world. No matter whether the world is pure or turbid, no matter whether people are drunk or sober, he has to float in the world of mortals and always maintain a clear understanding.
After a long time, Wang Xiaolie said: "In the past two or three years, the army has been reorganized, and the civil affairs have also had important work to do. At this time, the Jinlu are like wolves and tigers, and they can invade the south at any time. Everything must be centered on war. It makes sense. As the economy develops and society advances, we need to be able to provide more money, food, and soldiers for the war. I describe these as an increase in war potential, and war mobilization capabilities must also keep up."
Chen Qiudao looked at Chen Yuyi and said, "Excuse me, Zhenfu. All of this has its own laws. As long as we do things seriously and do not disturb the people, everything will be fine. If there is a war, of course there will be more money and food. More soldiers. If troubles often occur and the people cannot get rest, how can they get better?"
Looking at Chen Qiudao and Chen Yuyi, Wang Xiaolie said: "It is indeed right to not cause trouble and rest with the people. However, does this rest with the people mean that the people have a rest, or does it mean that the officials have a rest? Not causing trouble does not mean not doing nothing, and more importantly It’s not lazy politics! Councilor, we can’t be the same as before. Look at this country, half of it is ruined; look at this world, the people are driven out like chickens and dogs! In less than ten years, the registered permanent residence in the Central Plains has been reduced by half, leaving thousands of miles uninhabited! As a ruler, how can we face this? To all the people in the world! If we cannot rise up, drive out the golden captives externally, nurture the people internally, and stabilize the world, will this official be able to do a safe job?"
Seeing Chen Qiudao and Chen Yuyi lowering their heads together, they looked ashamed. Wang Xiaolie suddenly laughed: "In the affairs of the world, the public is justified, and the mother-in-law is justified. They all have their own reasons. Which truth is right cannot be explained clearly. As officials, we must understand that from Tang Ji to In the Five Dynasties, the world has changed. Zhu Wen's White Horse Post killed more than thirty ministers in the court, and all the noble families in the world were wiped out. Today's world is no longer a world of noble families. The world has changed, and of course the way to govern the world is Changes are also needed. In the past, the court did not care about many things, and the nobles took care of them. Now that the court does not care, it can only feed the local powerful. Do we expect the local powerful to provide money and food to support the court in the war against the Jin Dynasty? "
Chen Qiudao said: "What Zhenfu said makes sense. But most officials are at a loss as to what to do."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I will tell you a few general principles, and you can consider the details. The first is officials. I have two requirements for officials. First, the salary given to them must be generous and enable them to live a prosperous life. In any case, both officials and officials are outstanding talents selected from the people. Excellent talents should not live in poverty. Secondly, supervision must be strict and must not be a formality and let them have their hands in political affairs."
There was a saying in the past life that high salary fosters integrity. Wang Xiaolie's current request is somewhat similar to this, but it is not. Strictly speaking, high salary cannot support integrity. Whether an official is honest or not is related to his or her income, but it does not depend on it. Just like the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, his income was high enough, but there was a lot of corruption. To keep officials clean, the most important thing is supervision. If supervision is not strict, or if there is impunity for guilty, high salary cannot maintain integrity.
Wang Xiaolie emphasized that officials should have high incomes, not to maintain integrity, but to ensure that officials are all outstanding talents. After all, outstanding talents should have higher income and a better life. Let them have enough food and clothing so that they can work with peace of mind. To keep officials honest, the main means is supervision. Supervision is stricter and more extensive than before, and officials will be punished if problems are discovered.
There is a saying in the past life. European and American countries have good systems. If you choose anyone, even a dog, to be an official, the country can be governed in an orderly manner. History has shown that this statement is nonsense. If you cannot select outstanding talents to govern the country and serve as officials, the entire country will sink. An excellent system is first reflected in the selection of officials, and secondly in the supervision of officials. If selection and supervision are not done well, there will be problems in the country's politics. How can the country be in order if there are political problems?
Similar to this, there is another saying. The country wants the rule of law, not the rule of men. The more rule of law and less rule of men, the more progressive the country will be. Politics is the politics of people and requires both the rule of law and the rule of men. If the rule of law excludes the rule of men, it is nothing more than transferring part of the state power from the hands of officials to the hands of another part of the people. In fact, a country needs both the rule of law and the rule of men, and neither can be neglected.
Normal national politics should first use various means, including high salaries and generous benefits, to attract outstanding talents to serve as officials. Secondly, there must be strong and strict supervision to supervise officials. Both are indispensable. Normal politics requires both the rule of law and restraint on officials. There must also be human governance, and officials must make correct judgments and not be bound by the system. Both are equally indispensable.
Gu Yan Wang Xiaolie said: "If you have excellent officials, you must do things correctly. Only excellent talents can get things done by following the correct method. What is the correct method? Frankly speaking, clearly listing one, two and three is just a matter of It is definitely not the right way to do this and not to do that. There is no universal truth when it comes to doing things. Instead, we should use theory as a guide in practice, make plans, and guide what to do. In actually doing things In the process, the theory is inevitably not completely correct, and the plan is not completely executable. At this time, based on the experience in practice, the plan is revised and the theory is revised. Only by repeating this process can a thing be truly completed. When it is completed, The theory after revision may be completely different from the theory when the plan was made. It doesn't matter, difference is different. The theory is meant for revision."
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie sighed secretly. My own statement, in the eyes of some people, becomes revisionism. This doctrine, that doctrine, this theory and that theory were very lively at a certain time. This is human civilization exploring its own path, which is not surprising. These theories are a summary of history and a look forward to the future. Every theory has more or less correct parts, and also has shortcomings. For different civilizations, perhaps this theory is more correct for this civilization, while that theory is more correct for another civilization.
As a civilization, we must understand something. Theories borrowed from other civilizations must be combined with one's own practice, and their beneficial elements must be critically absorbed in practice and their unsuitable parts discarded.
Human development is a practice, not a theoretical representation. The role of theory is to choose an appropriate entry point in practice and provide certain guidance for practice. Different civilizations, different groups of people, even different places, different times, the process of practice is different. The theory revised through practice may also be different.
In his previous life, Wang Xiaolie could not realize this. At that time, I was like a child who left the village after graduating from elementary school. If you feel that you have knowledge and can study in a more advanced school, what else can be difficult for you in this world? Now, Wang Xiaolie just wants to say that I was full of enthusiasm at that time, but I came back with an empty bag.
When the cannons of the great powers opened the door to China during the Opium War, the Chinese were at a loss and at the same time eager to learn from the West. Not only study their natural sciences, but also their social sciences. Both natural sciences and social sciences have achieved great results. However, more than a hundred years have passed, and although great achievements have been made in both natural sciences and social sciences, there is always a lack of cutting-edge results. Even if there are Chinese people who have made great contributions, they were made while they were foreigners.
Why? There are many opinions, but Wang Xiaolie thinks they are all wrong. But when I let myself speak, I feel like I can’t say it.
But now I understand that it is not right to say it. Whatever can be said clearly is wrong.
Why does China lag behind the West? This issue is not just about national self-esteem. In fact, it is of great significance to civilization, not just Chinese civilization, but all civilizations in the world. Because China’s history is so long and glorious. All other civilizations in the world are inferior to China in terms of history. How could such a splendid civilization fall so far behind?
This backwardness cannot be caused by one reason. There are many reasons that are intertwined to form a systematic backwardness. If we want to trace its origins, we must start from the Song Dynasty. Why is it not working militarily? Why did the foreign war fail? Why were they ruled by aliens?
Being ruled by aliens is by no means irrelevant as some people think, but will drag down the progress of the entire civilization. The Song Dynasty was destroyed once, and the Ming Dynasty was destroyed again. The damage caused to Chinese civilization has been greatly underestimated by future generations.
The steam engine was not invented by the Chinese. If the industrial revolution did not happen in China first, what does it matter? As long as you like learning and are good at learning, how far can you fall behind? The core problem of China's backwardness is when China stops learning.
Chinese people have always been good at learning and never afraid of changing themselves. In the earliest days, Chinese people sat on the floor and wore wide robes and long sleeves. Starting from King Wuling of Zhao, he rode and shot in various costumes. By the Song Dynasty, the habit of sitting on the floor had become less common, and arrow-sleeved clothing was very common. How did the impression of Chinese civilization as backward and conservative come to be? At what time did which reason play a major role?
Thinking of this, Wang Xiaolie looked up at the sun in the sky and narrowed his eyes slightly. This question is actually not explained clearly.
