In the first year of Jianshuo of the Wu dynasty, on the seventeenth of the ninth month, in Qing Prefecture in the northwest, a vote that seemed unimaginable and whimsical was carried out in the city of Qing Prefecture.
No matter how this vote was crowned with praise and described as groundbreaking in later generations, in the northwest at that time, most people actually did not understand the situation. The entire process was roughly like this. First, the Huaxia army met with the Zhong and Zhe families to discuss the process of voting, counting, and notarization. The three families each appointed several local people of virtue and prestige to act as a supervisory group. Then, Takeshi's storytellers carried out a lecture for fifteen days inside and outside Qing Prefecture. Frankly speaking, the process was tedious and boring. The villagers who roughly understood what was going on began to ask the opinions of the elders in the streets and villages.
On the sixteenth day, a small group of the Zhong and Zhe families hurried over and led the villagers from the surrounding areas of Qing Prefecture into the city. After the people gathered, they were each given a slip of paper with their handprints on it. Under everyone's supervision, they were thrown into three boxes with different designs. The whole process lasted for three days, and in the end, it was determined that the total number of votes was 28,732.
Another three days later, the Black Flag Army broke camp and left Qing Prefecture.
The entire matter happened in a clean and efficient manner, without the slightest bit of sloppiness. Until the end of the matter, the world was quiet and desolate. Many people did not know what had happened.
In the entire process of this matter, the Zhong and Zhe families had made a great deal of preparations and backup plans. In their hearts, they were also anticipating all kinds of situations that could occur. On the political stage, the words of important people were never trustworthy. Ning Yi's words were impassioned, but they were beautiful and empty, like dreams. They had never interacted with Ning Yi before. If they were to infer from the information that the scouts had sent back from the marketplace, it could not be considered accurate. But no matter what, while cooperating with this farce, the Zhong and Zhe families had left a great deal of leeway in their hearts.
Did the other side use this "vote" to conceal something? Did they want to sow discord? Did they want to act against us? Did they want to play tricks in the vote so that no matter how everyone voted, the result would be the same?
If these things happened, they would not be surprised at all.
But there was nothing.
After the farce ended, the Zhong family, who was originally in charge of Qing Province, received more than half of the votes. At this time, in order to push the "farce" forward, each of the three parties had allocated a thousand men to Qingzhou City. When the Black Flag Army handed over the various items in the city to Zhong Lie's subordinates and left, Zhong Lie was a little stunned.
What kind of crafty plot was this?
Two peaches to kill three soldiers? Inciting conflict between him and the Zhe Family? Who would use the entire city to sow discord?
Because there wasn't enough food for the winter? Unwilling to take over the mess? Or was it for the convenience of the so-called "trade"? Or were they worried that they would become enemies with him and the Zhe Clan after they had taken over Qing Province? What a joke. An army that had just defeated more than a hundred thousand soldiers of the Western Xia Empire. Even if they wanted to be enemies, who would dare to attack them within a year or two?
Qing Prefecture had changed hands, and Zhe Keqiu was already dumbfounded. It was as if all the ridiculous things that a person had seen in their lifetime had all happened in two or three months. And when they left, Ning Yi also invited the two families to be guests in Yanzhou in the near future, because the other party hoped that the same election would happen in Yanzhou.
Half a month later, the atmosphere in Yanzhou became somber. In order to prevent Ning Yi from using Qing Province as bait to attract the Zhong and Zhe Families to the scene and then capture them in one fell swoop, the representatives of the two families made careful arrangements when they came over. Under the invitation of the Black Flag Army, two troops from the Western Army drove towards the borders of Yanzhou. This time, the emissary from the Western Xia Empire was also sitting at the negotiating table.
Compared to Qing Province, the situation in Yanzhou was a little more complicated. In order to ensure that no matter what happened, the interests of the Black Flag Army in the northwest could be protected, there were many things that everyone needed to discuss. Almost all the participants looked at the Black Flag Army, Ning Yi, Qin Shaoqian, and the others as if they were watching a wastrel squandering his family's wealth. He might really not want to occupy land, he really wanted to give other people the right to choose, he really wanted to do business … These things were very absurd, but the other party was doing it.
During this process, the Western Xia emissaries who came to attend the meeting, such as Lin Houxuan and the others, also looked at everything with an almost desperate attitude. Their hearts were filled with chicken feathers and duck blood, all kinds of mixed feelings. In order to protect the interests of the Western Xia Empire, Lin Houxuan also looked for Ning Yi to sincerely persuade him once, but to no avail.
Ever since the first time he came to the Cang River, the two of them had interacted many times. However, it was only now that he truly felt that under the scholar's gentle and calm exterior, there was actually an incomprehensible craziness.
This person was really a madman, then no one could persuade him …
*****
The west wind swept the ground, and the grass gradually broke.
In the city of Yanzhou, Mao Yishan walked out of the empty courtyard. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but the cold breath of winter had gradually arrived.
The old woman he had been looking after had died a few days ago. During the large-scale vote a few days ago, the old woman could not get out of bed, but after she heard about this matter and understood a little bit, she asked someone to send a note to her home, put her fingerprint on it, and threw it into the box that belonged to the Huaxia army.
However, the fate of the Huaxia army had already been decided.
In Dong Zhiyuan, the monument commemorating the great victory of the Huaxia army here had just been erected not long ago. It stood alone in the wilderness, facing the surrounding withered grass, autumn wind, and decaying scene, as if telling the story of the temporary arrival of peace in this chaos in the northwest.
The Huaxia army was about to return to the Little Cang River, and Yanzhou was once again under the jurisdiction of Zhong Lie. What was different from Qing Prefecture was that, according to the agreed conditions, after three years, there would be another vote in Yanzhou to decide its ownership, and after that, it would be repeated every three years. As for the conditions proposed by Ning Yi, both Zhong Lie and Zhong Lie regarded them as his means of balance, but in the end, they did not reject it. In such a world, who could say for sure what would happen after three years? No matter who obtained this place, there were plenty of ways to go back on their word or cheat after three years.
The army that returned to the mountains brought along more than a thousand newly recruited soldiers, and they only left a team of two hundred soldiers in Yanzhou to supervise the interests of the Little Cang River in the northwest. During this period of peace, all kinds of goods from the south, which were arranged by the members of the Tyrannical Blade Camp, began to pass through the northwest and enter the mountains of the Little Cang River. It seemed like a drop in the bucket, but when added up bit by bit, it made up a lot.
At the same time, the Little Cang River side also began to trade with the Xixia side. The reason why it was so fast was that the first to come to the Little Cang River and express their desire to cooperate with the Black Flag Army was an unexpected force: it was the envoy of Hebei's Tiger King, Tian Hu, who expressed his willingness to cooperate in the hinterland of the Wu dynasty to sell Xixia's blue salt.
The rule of the Wu dynasty north of the Yellow River and south of the Yanmen Pass was no longer firm. The one who took on this important task was the rather famous Zong Ze. He went around to persuade the leaders of some forces to fight for the Wu dynasty. However, in the name of righteousness, a verbal war was still a war. As for the business of selling contraband goods to earn money, it was no longer a taboo for these rising forces.
Since Tian Hu's side had reacted so quickly, it didn't take much thought to know who was the mastermind behind this. Lou Shuwan acted very quickly. The Black Flag Army had just defeated the Xixia people, so she immediately drew up a large number of goods that could be traded between the two sides and handed the list to Ning Yi. By the time Ning Yi gave a positive reply, the food and goods were already on the way.
Lou Shuwan had her reasons for such a fast reaction. Although she was in an important position in Tian Hu's army, she was still a woman and couldn't make a mistake. After the Wu Ruiying killed the king and rebelled, the Green Wood Stronghold became the target of public criticism. Tian Hu's army, which originally had business dealings with them, cut off all contact with them. Lou Shuwan came to the northwest this time to first establish a connection with the Xixia king and then to ruthlessly trick Ning Yi. However, the Xixia king couldn't be counted on, and Ning Yi had clearly become the local snake in the northwest. If she went back with a face full of dirt, the situation would probably become quite embarrassing.
And after Ning Yi occupied the northwest, she could no longer suppress the contact with the surrounding areas. Rather than being taken advantage of by others, she could only make the "best" choice at the time, which was to first express her goodwill to little Canghe. At least in future business dealings, she would have a head start over others.
It was hard to know what kind of feeling such a fast and "correct" decision made in her heart. And when she received the news that the Huaxia army had given up on Qing and Yan, no one knew what kind of feelings she had in her heart and whether she would have a face full of shit for a while.
And in this tenth month, with the participation of the Huaxia army, the green salt from Xixia and the large amount of resources from Tiger King would be carried out for the first time. In a sense, it could be considered a good start.
After the Black Flag Army left, Li Pin went to Dong Zhiyuan and looked at the stone tablet that had been built. After a long silence, he laughed out loud. In the sky full of decay, the laughter sounded like crying.
"I understand, haha, I understand. Ning Liheng is so cruel... "
Tie Tianying, who was beside him, looked at him in confusion. Li Pin laughed for a while and gradually calmed down. He pointed at the stone tablet and poked it a few times.
"He is... raising venomous insects. He has no mercy at all! Originally, he could have saved a lot of people... "
"Master Li." Tie Tianying wanted to say something but stopped. "Don't think about these things anymore..."
"He..." Li Pin pointed at the stone tablet. "There is not enough food in the northwest. Back then, if he divided it according to the number of people, a lot less people would die. If he returned Qing and Yanzhou to Zhong Lie, Zhong Lie would have to accept it. But this winter, the number of people dying of starvation will multiply! Ning Yi let the Zhong family take the blame. The Zhong family has lost most of their power. Where will they get so much food? People will start to fight, and when they fight to the extreme, they will think of his Huaxia army. When that time comes, those who have suffered so much will willingly join his army. "
Tie Tianying hesitated for a moment. "He didn't even take these two places. It is reasonable for him to want a good reputation. Also, will he consider that there are not enough soldiers under his command... "
"Reasonable?" Li Pin laughed. "But did you know that he originally had a way? Even if he took Qing and Yanzhou, he had already started doing business with Xixia and Tian Hu! The things he shipped from the south have also arrived. For at least half a year, no one in the northwest would dare to provoke him. He can let a lot of people live, but it is not enough. After taking two cities, he has food to eat. Is there really no way to recruit soldiers? He wants these people to understand the truth and not be muddle-headed! "
"Constable Tie, do you know?" Li Pin paused. "In his world, there are no neutral parties. Everyone has to find a place to stand. Even these ordinary people who do nothing usually have to know where they stand! Do you know what this world is like? He is deliberately letting people go and forcing them to die! He wants them to die knowing... "
Li Pin's words echoed in the wilderness. Tie Tianying thought for a while. "But if the world is overturned, who can be alone? Lord Li, forgive me for being blunt. If his world is not good, what is your world like? "
Li Pin fell silent and stood there in a daze. After a long time, his gaze moved slightly and he raised his head. "Yes, my world, what is it like …"
He closed his eyes. "Some of Ning Yi's words are right. The Confucian school should change... I should go. Constable Tie... "He tilted his head and looked at Tie Tianying." But... no matter what, I always feel that this world should leave a way for ordinary people to live... "At the end of his words, his voice was as soft as a mosquito. It was so sad that he could not help but moan and pray...
Ning Yi returned to Little Canghe at the end of October. At that time, the temperature had suddenly dropped. Zuo Duanyou, who often debated with him, was also unusually silent. The old man could no longer understand Ning Yi's various actions and decisions in the Northwest, especially the two votes that were like a farce. Ordinary people could only see the craziness of a person, but the old man could see more.
At the beginning of November, the temperature suddenly began to drop. There were already some signs of chaos in the outside world. People only thought that these things were because the Zhong family had suddenly taken over the two regions. In the valley, there were also people who came here, hoping to join the Hua Xia army. Zuo Duanyou occasionally came to discuss with Ning Yi. From Ning Yi's lectures to the young officers, the old man could actually understand some of his intentions.
"... After winning a battle or two, the most frightening thing is to feel that you have survived a disaster and start to enjoy it. If you leave a few thousand people in Qingzhou and Yanzhou, you will soon run into problems. Plus, no matter how powerful a troop of a few thousand people is, it is hard to avoid people having designs on you. If we stay in Yanzhou, as long as those with bad intentions are prepared to defeat three thousand people, they may take the risk and return to Little Canghe. Leaving two hundred people outside, they will not dare to do anything. "
"... Plus, there are many things to do in Qingzhou and Yanzhou. To tidy them up, we will need to spend a lot of time and resources. We can only harvest the seeds after one or two years. We cannot afford to wait. And now, all the things we have earned are in our pockets... You have to appease the emotions of the people in the army. There is no need to worry about the gains and losses of these two regions. After the publicity in Qingzhou and Yanzhou, more and more people will come to us. When that time comes, we will have all the places we want... "
However, the real problem for the old man was not these superficial things.
At the end of November, after a long period of thinking, Zuo Duanyou fell ill. The Zuo family members also came one after another to persuade the old man to go back. On this day in December, the old man sat in a carriage and slowly left the snow-covered Little Canghe. Ning Yi and the others came to see him off. The old man dismissed the people around him and talked to Ning Yi.
"I understand some of the things here," Ye Zichen said. The old man said slowly with a hoarse voice, "The training method is very good. I understand it, but it is useless."
"Hmm..." Ning Yi frowned.
"They... put their lives on the line to fight for themselves. Once they wake up, they are heroes. If there are real heroes, how can there be a place for cowards? The Zuo family can't do this... "
Ning Yi nodded slightly.
"There are many things that I can't understand..."
"Don't think about it. Go back and take care of your grandson."
"Haha …" The old man laughed and waved his hand. "I really want to know if you have any confidence in your heart. They are heroes, but they don't really understand reason. I've told you many times. You can use this to fight, but you can use it to govern the country. What these people know won't work. Do you understand … And that day, you mentioned by chance that you want to use the words' reason, reason, and law '. Ning Yi, do you really think so? "
Snow fell like goose feathers. Ning Yi looked up and was silent for a moment. "I have thought about it. Reason and law must be used. I have thought about the core of governing the country."
The old man closed his eyes. "Using reason and law, you are not allowed to exist in this world..."
"Hmm, old man. But I can be sure that the word 'reason' will be the priority in the future." Ning Yi sat down on the shaft of the carriage and pulled the thick curtain as close as possible. "If you really want to know, I will only say it once. I won't tell anyone else."
"Say it..."
"The core of the problem lies in the people you mentioned. I have awakened their courage. They meet the requirements of war, but they don't meet the requirements of governing the country. That's right. So what kind of people meet the requirements of governing the country? Confucianism talks about a gentleman. In my opinion, the standards that constitute a person are called three views, outlook on life, the world, and values. These three are all very simple things, but the most complicated laws are also among these three. "
The old man listened to him, hugging the quilt and leaning against the carriage. His body had not recovered, and his brain could not keep up with Ning Yi's story. He could only listen. Ning Yi also spoke slowly.
"The so-called outlook on life is to determine where a person wants to go in life and what kind of person they want to become. Just like the Confucians, they set their hearts for the world, set their lives for the people, pass on the teachings of the sages, and establish peace for all ages. Achieving this is good. "The so-called worldview: the world is isolated. The worldview is in each person's heart. What we think the world is like and how we perceive the laws of the world. When one's outlook on life and one's worldview are combined, one's value system is formed. For example, if one thinks that the world is like this, and if one wants to set one's heart for heaven and earth, then what one wants to do will be of value to one's pursuit of life. What others do will not be of value. This kind of positive and negative recognition is called a value system. "
"And in this world, the biggest problem is that one's outlook on life and one's worldview are often contradictory and contradictory."
"You and I have been looking at the world all our lives to understand its laws. After understanding the laws, we know what we can do to make the world a better place. But many people stop at this first step. For example, when those scholars grow up and get used to the darkness of officialdom, they say that the world is like this and they want to be part of it. Such people have the wrong outlook on life. "And some people have the naive idea that the world is like this even in death. Their worldview is wrong. Their outlook on life and worldview is wrong, but their values are definitely wrong. Either this person does not want the world to be a better place, or they want the world to be a better place, but they are deceiving themselves. All the choices these people make are meaningless. "
"For example, the people of Qingzhou and Yanzhou. I said I would give them a choice, but that is not a choice. They don't understand anything. If they are a fool or a bad person, then all their choices are meaningless. I lied to them and said that I believe giving everyone a choice can make the world a better place. It is impossible. The first step for a person to become a real person is to break through the confusion of their outlook on life and worldview. The worldview needs to be objective, and the outlook on life needs to be positive. We need to know how the world works, and at the same time, we need to have ideas to change it for the better. Only such people's choices are effective. "
"And the world is extremely complicated. There are too many things that are confusing and incomprehensible. It is just like doing business and governing a country. Who doesn't want to make money and make the country better? If they do something wrong, they will definitely go bankrupt. The world is cold and heartless, and those who conform to reason will win. "
Ning Yi paused for a moment. "Using the order of reason and law as the core is something very important to the Confucian school. This is because the way of the world is developed from a small country with a small population. The country is big, but there are all kinds of small places and ravines. Using the word" reason "to govern is more beneficial than reason and law. However, at the level of a country, with the development of the past thousand years, the court has always needed the word "reason" first. Don't avoid family, don't avoid arousing suspicion. What is this? This is reason. The word 'reason' is the Great Dao of heaven and earth. The Confucian school says that the ruler is the ruler, the subject is the subject, and the father is the son. What does that mean? The Emperor has to act like the Emperor, the subject has to act like the subject, the father has to act like the father, and the son has to act like the son. If the Emperor does not do a good job, the country will definitely pay the price. There is no luck to speak of. "
"But over the years, human feelings have always been above reason, and there is a trend of it becoming more and more strict. When the Emperor emphasizes human feelings more than reason, the country will be weak. When the subject is more human feelings than reason, the country will also be weak. But why is there no internal problems? Because the demand for human feelings within the country has become increasingly strict, causing the country to become increasingly weak. This is how the country maintains its rule, so it is absolutely impossible to resist foreign aggression. "
"Investigating things will develop. Zuo Gong, you have no confidence in it, but one day, it will change the things you see now by ten times, a hundred times. Investigating things is more cold and objective. It does not allow for human feelings or taking things for granted. The law is the law. Think about a workshop that can increase the manpower by ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times. The person who studies it all talks about human feelings all day long. Sooner or later, he will be confused by human feelings. The person in charge of this matter talks about human feelings, and then the truly useful people will not be able to come up. When something flies up to the sky, as long as there is the slightest mistake, it will fall down. If the person in charge is not strict, then what will happen? "
"The bigger the country, the more it develops, the more urgent the demand for reason. Sooner or later, everyone in this world will be able to read books. They will no longer have to face the yellow soil with their backs to the sky. They will have to speak and become a part of the country. What they should understand is objective reason. Because — — just like Qing Province and Yanzhou, one day, someone will give them the right to be human. But if they do not treat things objectively enough, indulging in their aspirations, taking things for granted, and all kinds of dichotomies, they should not have such power. "
"Zuo Gong, you said that scholars may not necessarily understand reason. This is very true. Today's Confucian scholars have spent their entire lives reading the books of sages, but there are not many who can understand the truth. I can foresee that in the future, when everyone in the world has access to books, there will not be many who can break through the barrier of the unity of the world and outlook on life. They are limited by whether they are intelligent or not, limited by the way knowledge is passed down, and limited by the influence of their daily lives. Whether they are intelligent or not is already determined when they are born, but the inheritance of knowledge can be changed, and the influence of life can also be changed. "
"When this world continues to develop and the ways of the world continue to improve, I assert that one day, the greatest dregs of Confucianism that people will face will be the order of the three words' reason, reason, and law '. An unreasonable person who does not understand reason, who cannot see the objective operation of the world, and who indulges in all kinds of aspirations, his choice will be meaningless. If the core of a country's operation is not reason, but human relations, the country will inevitably face a lot of problems of internal friction. Our roots are in Confucianism, and our biggest problem is also in Confucianism. "
"No matter what kind of people are needed, or what kind of country is needed. That's right, I want to abolish reason, reason, and law, not because I don't care about human relations, but because reason must come first. " Ning Yi tilted his head. "Old man, it may be meaningless for you to ask me these things in a short period of time, but if you want to talk about the future, this is what I see. I may not be able to do it in this lifetime. Perhaps I can lay a foundation and plant a seed, but as for what the future will be, I'm afraid you and I will not be able to see it. Or perhaps, I won't be able to hold on until the Golden Men come south. "
He smiled. "In the past, when Qin Siyuan and the others chatted with me, they always asked me what I thought of Confucianism, but I didn't say it. They sewed and patched, but I couldn't see the results, and in the end, there was no result. I can't see the results of what I want to do, but since I have started, I can only do my best … Farewell. Left Duke, the world is going to be chaotic. Please take care. If one day you can't stay any longer, tell your family to go south. If you live to a hundred years old, perhaps we can meet again in the future. Whether you want to sit and discuss the Dao or quarrel with me, I welcome it. "
He raised his hand and patted the old man's hand. Whether he was extreme or not, Ning Yi was not afraid of anyone, but he respected the wisdom of people and respected those who had wisdom. The old man's eyes trembled, and his gaze was complicated. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he did not say it. Ning Yi jumped off the carriage and called the others over.
The special carriage began to move along the rugged mountain road. Ning Yi waved his hand, knowing that he might never see this old man again. After the carriages went far away, he raised his head, took a deep breath, and turned to walk into the valley.
The Little Cang River had a strange vitality and vigor in this pure white world. The mountains were far away, and the snow was blowing.
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