"If they let go, with a bang, the Wu dynasty, this country … will all be gone."
In the room, Ning Yi made a "bang" gesture. Li Pin frowned. "How can that be?"
Ning Yi was silent for a moment. "Brother Li, have you ever thought about why the Confucian school has been repeating the words of merchants pursuing profit for thousands of years?"
"Isn't it natural for the saints to advocate virtue and oppose selfish pursuits?"
"Part of it is true." Ning Yi nodded. "But the other part is that the study of merchants is not conducive to governance. In short, it's not easy to manage. For a person's entire life, you can farm in a mountain village. It's not a big deal. You can follow the ways of your ancestors, get married, have children, and be buried in the mountains when you die. But one day, you entered the county and saw all those colorful things. Another day, you entered the provincial capital and saw even more things that you couldn't react to. It was as if you saw that piece of clothing. If you wanted it, you had to think of a way to get it … How greedy …
Ning Yi smiled. "Of course, in most cases, you'll work honestly to earn the money to buy clothes. But once you have desires, you'll always find a loophole. Brother Li, do you think it's easier to manage a farmer who faces the yellow soil with his back to the sky, or a person who already has desires in his heart? Brother Li, how many of our tens of millions of people can really be managed by the rule of law of our dynasty? How many of them have actually lived peacefully like this for their entire lives? How many more desires will there be for the development of commerce? "
"This is actually a very interesting system. Since the beginning of the Hundred Schools of Thought, there has been a debate between the rule of law and the rule of virtue. The rule of law should have the upper hand, but all this time, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui, Tang … If you slowly look back, you'll discover one thing: how many people can the rule of law of the past control? Heh … In fact, most people rely on self-awareness. The people are simple and honest. A small village with its own set of rules is enough. If the current Jiangning was in the hands of the Qin dynasty, Brother Li, how long do you think it could be managed peacefully with the laws and methods of that time? Maybe the Qin Dynasty is very strict, but Jiangning … There are too many smart people, and there are too many loopholes to exploit … "
"The Confucian school is a very grand thing. It has thousands of years of development. Brother Li, it wasn't until the Wu dynasty that people discovered the benefits of being a merchant. If we let go of the merchants, then the benefits that will roll in are definitely not something that people only know about today. Tao Zhugong's example was right there. However, for the past thousand years, the entire world had been suppressing business. They had seen the consequences of the underlying reason. Our ability to rule the law … can't keep up. "
"It's the same for our dynasty. * * * * * *." Ning Yi tapped his forehead. "The more desires people have, the more unpredictable their behavior will be. The more they will be tempted, the more they will pursue benefits, and the more they will take advantage of any loopholes. Our court does not restrain commerce, there are benefits, but the civil officials are greedy, the military officials are afraid of death, the people are poor and weak, the officers and soldiers muddle along, how can we know that this is not the consequence of this sweetness? Actually … at least part of the reason must be accounted for. "
Li Pin's eyes widened, and he stood there in a daze. At this moment, he didn't even have the mood to ask about the meaning of words like "* * * *". Just the part he could understand was enough to shock him. After a long while, he finally said, "Liheng's words … are you saying that the merchants' pursuit of profit is the main culprit behind the weakening of our Wu dynasty?"
"No." Ning Yi took a sip of tea. "It's definitely not like that. This is a kind of development. Our dynasty has a foundation, and the rule of law is developing along with the merchants. This in itself is a process of mutual promotion. It can only be said that many things haven't been able to keep up. This is very troublesome, too complicated … To solve the current problems of the Wu dynasty and then focus on the merchants and currency, hoping that the country will intervene in the economy, doubling or tripling the annual income, making the country rich and the people strong, and then solving all the problems is impossible. We can't just focus on it after tasting the sweetness of commerce. If we continue to develop, the entire balance will tilt even more. This is too abnormal. Sooner or later, something will happen … "
Ning Yi shook his head. Li Pin thought for a long time. "Then, where does Liheng think we should focus on if we want to find the crux?"
"If we really want to do it, I don't know. But if we just treat it as a joke and don't take responsibility, heh …" Ning Yi laughed. "Why not start with the Confucian school?"
"The Confucian school … Could Liheng be referring to the current redundant officials?" Li Pin thought about it and laughed. "In the past, I often chatted with people, and they said that the root of our dynasty's problems might lie in the fact that there are too many scholars and officials. This is a big problem, but … if we want to solve this problem, I'm afraid it'll be even more difficult than commerce …"
"What if I say … it's not too many, but too few?"
"Ah?"
Li Pin blinked, a look of confusion on her face. Ning Yi turned his head and gestured in the direction of the classroom.
"Brother Li, what do you think those scholars can do in the future once they're educated?"
"With Liheng's teaching method, he not only teaches them knowledge, but also the way to see things and make decisions. It shouldn't be a problem for a few of them to become good officials in the future."
Li Pin spoke seriously. Ning Yi sat there and couldn't help but laugh. Then, he took a sip of tea and clapped his hands. Li Pin asked doubtfully, "What does Liheng think they can do?"
"Among them, Su Wenyi can probably be a small official. His grades aren't good, but his personality is the happiest. He's good at socializing with people. As for the others … I actually treat them like shopkeepers or assistants. Of course, if they have the opportunity to become officials after they've studied, they can also give it a try. After all, being an official is good …"
Ning Yi counted on his fingers, "Official salary, salary, salary, official salary, spring and winter clothing, personal clothing and food, tea and wine, cooking ingredients, firewood, livestock feed. In this day and age, when one becomes an official, clothing, food, housing, transportation, family and personal expenses are all covered by the state. The state will also distribute several pieces of fertile land. The work is easy, there's no punishment for scholar-officials, and there's no punishment for crimes. After three years of hard work, as long as you don't make any big mistakes, you can be promoted. Who doesn't want to be an official … "
Li Pin was silent for a while, "Liheng actually said that these scholars can only be shopkeepers?"
"It's not that they can only be, but that they're suitable. Most of them are dull and honest, and it's difficult for them to become officials. As an official, it's important to judge the situation and interact with people. If you add the ability and ambition, you can become a good official. De Xin knows when to advance and retreat, has the ability and ambition, and has the ability to weigh the pros and cons. They can be good officials, but most of them can't. These things aren't simple. "
Ning Yi shook his head, "Enrich the people and strengthen the army. Next is the selection of scholars. The selection of scholars can be done by professionals, so why can't we open some specialized schools? There's no need to be stingy with their skills. We can arrange for people to learn carpentry, iron smelting, cooking, management — in other words, to be shopkeepers. Most importantly, we can arrange for people to learn military strategy, water conservancy, mining … "
Li Pin was obviously puzzled and didn't agree with this, "If there's money to study, who would be willing to learn these?"
"This is where the problem lies. It's good to be an official. Those who have the opportunity to study all rush to become an official. There's a thousand grains of millet in books, and a house of gold in books. But … why are there so many redundant officials now? In ancient times, only a small group of people had the opportunity to study. There weren't many literate people. Knowledge has to be passed down, and the country needs them to govern. It's easy to get a thousand gold coins, but it's hard to find a scholar. Therefore, scholars only exist in the highest group, because there aren't many of them. To establish a will for heaven and earth, to establish a life for the people, to pass on the teachings of the saints, to establish peace for all ages, it's too busy … "
"But now? It's been thousands of years, and the world has been developing … For example, there are many things waiting for people to do in the world. There's one thing that's the most important, and we do it first. But now, in De Xin, there are already many people doing this. I'm not talking about Confucianism, but about being an official. Why can't some people do other things? After reading, they'll think. Now that the floods have reached such a level, if there's someone to study water conservancy and organize a set of theories for future generations to study and research, if these people don't study other things and only study water conservancy, and Confucianism is only used for self-cultivation, would there still be such a flood every year? "
"With someone for a specific purpose, the efficiency of everything can be increased, and there will be fewer detours. For example, in the past, when mothers taught their daughters how to weave, those peasant women would use a machine to slowly weave at home. Some were fast, some were slow, and the quality was uneven. Now, there are workshops that hire female workers to work. There are people who teach them how to use the machine and what tricks there are to make it faster. There are also people who are considering how to modify the loom. One person can play the role of several people before. The quality is unified, and the efficiency is several times higher. If the efficiency of everything can be several times higher, then what would the current Wu dynasty be like? Wouldn't it be as easy as turning over a hand to strengthen the army? "
"Of course, this is just a joke. The difficulty is so great that you can't imagine it. You say there are too many Confucian scholars, but I say there are too few people who can study. If there's really someone for a specific purpose, then there really are too few. As you said, those who have the ability to go to school won't learn the knowledge of these merchants and craftsmen. Confucianism also won't do this kind of thing that's like letting go of its status. However, since it's already saturated and there are too many, if this Wu dynasty really wants to take a step forward, perhaps they can only consider doing it from here. For example, they can gradually build up public opinion and first focus on military strategy, water conservancy, and other urgent projects to resist external pressure and ensure the people's livelihood. When everyone doesn't have to suffer so much and more people can study, then they can consider someone for a specific purpose. This isn't like those inflexible strategies to strengthen the army. Once their status rises, there will naturally be people who understand to think and do it. Now that other things have no status, of course everyone can only study … "
The inside and outside of the room were quiet. Li Pin lowered her head in thought, and the siblings squatting outside the room propped their chins on their hands, somewhat vexed. Ning Yi brought the teapot over and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Confucianism is a very grand system. Apart from cultivating one's moral character, it is also the study of managing people and weighing the relationships between people. There are hundreds of thousands of students and so many officials. On an invisible level, the tens of millions of people in the country are all weighed and controlled by it. Especially in our dynasty, the number of redundant officials has clearly exceeded the impact of the various doctrines of Buddhism and Daoism. After a slight change in the rules of the game, it not only balances the interests of these many officials, but it can also continuously expand, causing many students to throw themselves at it one after another. After ten years of bitter study, they become famous throughout the world in a single day. It's almost a perfect balance …"
He took a deep breath of the tea. "I very much admire this kind of study. Regardless of its merits or demerits, being able to record something that some people have lived in a certain place in a certain form can be called art. Confucianism is definitely the greatest and most exquisite of the many arts throughout the ages. Such a large piece of land, so many people, and in such an extreme and harmonious way, they are unified under the rules of a game. Thousands of years of wisdom, I look up to it … "
He raised his cup and clinked it with Li Pin's. "It's a coincidence. You and I, let's have a taste."
The tea's fragrance had actually faded, but Li Pin was still thinking. At this time, she stood up, took two steps back, and bowed deeply. Ning Yi had no choice but to stand up.
"I still haven't figured out many of what Liheng said. However, in terms of what I have figured out, Liheng is far better than me. You should accept my bow for this matter."
"It's just a joke." Ning Yi returned the bow and then smiled. "If it weren't for the fact that the dynasty does not punish people for their words, and that you and I are insignificant at this time, I wouldn't dare to say this to you … It's just a joke, just a casual chat …"
*****
Do you believe that it's already past midnight? I believe it anyway ^ _ ^
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