The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1004: disagree
Chapter 1004 I beg to differ
“Speaking of state affairs, compared to the national policies formulated by Yan, the national policies of our Great Zhou are more beneficial to the people. Yan puts the imperial power first, while Great Zhou puts the people’s livelihood first. For example… after ascending the throne, he does not repair the imperial mausoleum, but saves the money to build schools. Can the Emperor of Great Yan do it?” Bai Qingyu’s voice was unpleasant, but every word was sonorous. “Use you alone… to exchange the vast mountains and rivers of our Great Zhou? The Ninth Prince really thinks highly of himself.”
“The new policy of the Great Zhou Dynasty puts the people first, Yan admits it! Yan admires the Bai family’s love for the people, but my mother, Queen Ji, has tried to establish schools to let the people read on a small scale and found that it is not necessarily a good thing! Shangzi’s five methods of controlling the people… The first one is to fool the people. Once so many people read the books of sages and have their own ideas, how can we control them?”
“Laozi once said that those who were good at practicing Taoism in ancient times did not enlighten the people, but made them stupid. The reason why people are difficult to govern is that they are too smart. Therefore, governing a country with wisdom is a disaster for the country; not governing a country with wisdom is a blessing for the country!” Xiao Rongyan looked at Bai Qingyan, “Whether it is Yan State or Zhou Dynasty, the unification of the world is for world peace. However, if the people learn too much, they will think more and it will be impossible to unify the people’s thoughts… How to unify a country?”
“Take the Great Zhou for example. This time the empress ascended the throne and allowed women to study, take the imperial examinations, and serve as officials. When such a major event happened, the first people to gather at Wude Gate and prepare to die in protest were the students! Fortunately, A Bao convinced the students, but if every time the country implements a new policy in the future… will the emperor have to explain it to the students? Otherwise, they will die in protest, which is too much… What kind of name will A Bao leave in history?”
Xiao Rongyan’s deep eyes became darker and darker. He shook his head: “If you want to rule the people, you have to keep them ignorant. My mother said after practice that one day in the future, everyone in this world… will be able to read, but not now! In this world now, the people don’t need to know too much. As long as they can have enough food and clothing and no war, that is the greatest care the emperor can give to the people.”
Bai Qingyan looked at Xiao Rongyan quietly without interrupting him and listened attentively.
This was also the first time that Bai Qingyu had heard about these things related to the art of ruling. He admitted that the Bai family did have no experience in this area, so he was willing to listen to more from Xiao Rongyan.
“There must be scholars, because such a large country cannot lack capable people to help the emperor govern, but it is absolutely impossible for all the people to read the books of sages!”
Xiao Rongyan did not hide his knowledge. Political tactics and ruling the people were once compulsory courses for the princes of the Murong family. They were the experience of governing the country accumulated by generations of the Murong family. The Bai family had no such experience. It was far from enough to rely solely on a sense of mission to protect the people.
“Let me say something offensive. How many of the Bai Family Army soldiers have ever been educated? It is precisely because there are so many uneducated soldiers in the Bai Family Army that they are relatively easy to control. In addition… the Bai Family Army never forgets their original intention of protecting the people until their death. In addition, there are the Bai Family Army’s military songs, and the Bai Family Army’s generals are determined to protect the people and never retreat!”
Xiao Rongyan tapped his finger on the table and said, “These can be said to be… the ideas that the Bai family has instilled in the Bai family army, so that they take protecting the people as their responsibility and take pride in it!”
After saying this, Xiao Rongyan seemed to feel that something was wrong, and he bowed to Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingyu again: “I am not saying that the Bai family did this on purpose. What I saw… I know that the Bai family has a pure heart, they love and protect the people… They are willing to sacrifice their lives for the people. The battle in Southern Xinjiang brought Yan a shock that he still remembers!”
“What Yan meant was that the Bai family’s unintentional behavior is actually… a method used by the imperial family to control the people.” Xiao Rongyan really admired the Bai family in his heart.
The Bai family’s love for the people is purer than that of the imperial family, and their purpose of wanting to unify the world is also purer than that of the imperial family, just like… Bai Qingyan dared to say that the outcome of the bet was determined by the two countries’ political affairs, but he didn’t dare.
Many of the Bai family’s actions that followed their hearts were actually accidental… They used the art of emperorship, and even though the starting points were different, the methods were the same.
“But if you, Abao, tell these to scholars, how many of them can really do what the Bai family army does? Most of the loyal ones are butchers, and most of the unfaithful ones are scholars. It is not a good thing for ordinary people to read too much!”
“Perhaps Abao will say that the students of the Imperial College of the Great Zhou Dynasty caused trouble this time. Abao thought that you could calm down the riot by appearing in the Imperial College and debating with the students. Did you think that it was because the students were well-educated and sensible?” Xiao Rongyan shook his head and said calmly, “The reason why it was calmed down was not only because of Abao’s attitude of respecting the wise and humble as an emperor, and your character, but more importantly, it was because you set a goal for them, which was to unify the world… You told them to open schools, even girls’ schools, so that both men and women could study, take the imperial examinations, and become officials, in order to win more talents for the unification of the world! Now the whole Great Zhou Dynasty is working hard for this goal! Everything else can give way.”
“But what if, after the world is unified? The people will read more books, have more ideas… Can the court still control them well? If it can’t control them well, then the meaning of unifying the world will be lost. After more disputes… Then there will be people like the Bai family who have charisma and military power to cause chaos, and it will be hard to prevent.”
“Every emperor should care about the people’s livelihood, there is nothing wrong with that!” Xiao Rongyan looked at Bai Qingyan, “We can’t let the people become too strong. If the people are strong… then the country will be weak! The governing philosophy practiced by the Yan State is completely different from what A Bao said: a strong country is built on a strong people!”
Xiao Rongyan said softly, “On the road to becoming an emperor, Abao is still in the exploratory stage. Maybe… I sent too many books left by my mother before, and the unheard-of words of equality in them… influenced you.”
Bai Qingyan listened to Xiao Rongyan’s words before he spoke slowly: “When I first read this chapter of the Tao Te Ching, I thought the same as the Ninth Prince of Dayan that the way to rule the people is to fool the people, but… later I read the entire Tao Te Ching again and again, and tried to understand the great principles in the hearts of the sages. I personally think… the sage Lao Tzu said that those who were good at practicing Taoism in ancient times did not enlighten the people, but made them foolish. The people are difficult to govern because they are too smart. Therefore, governing a country with wisdom is a scourge to the country, and not governing a country with wisdom is a blessing to the country. This sentence… the foolish… refers to simplicity and honesty, and the wise… refers to the art of strategy and deception!”
Bai Qingyan looked at Xiao Rongyan with clear eyes: “It means… the king should not use strategies to govern, but should govern the country in a simple, honest and people-oriented way, which is the blessing of the country! This is in line with Laozi’s advocacy of governing by inaction and teaching without words. In terms of power, it is the principle that things will turn into the opposite when they reach their extremes. Bai Qingyan has been reading Laozi since he was a child, and he still dares not put it down. When implementing new policies, he always gains something from reading it, so… I dare not agree with what the Ninth Prince said.”
The third update, continue to ask for monthly tickets…