The summer sun shone down on the city walls of Sword Gate Pass. There was an endless stream of tourists. In addition to the merchants who were the most numerous before the war, there were also many swordsmen and scholars mixed in with them. The young scholars walked forward with a feeling of vigor, and the middle-aged and old Confucian scholars observed everything with a cautious gaze. Because the repair of the city tower had not been completed, there were still some traces of the flames of war left in some places. From time to time, people would stop to watch and discuss.
The Huaxia Army originally had the attitude of watching casually. But later on, the gathering of the crowd affected the road, so they had to come out from time to time to drive people away.
"Maintain order! Go forward. There are many places you can see along the way to Chengdu … "
Ning Yi and Zuo Xiuquan looked down from a mountain not far away.
"… What do you think of the new emperor's decision, Mister Ning?"
Zuo Xiuquan asked. Ning Yi smiled, "What does the Zuo Family think? Will you follow or not? "
"As Mister Ning said, the new emperor is strong. Judging from his actions, he has the determination to win by cutting off all means of retreat. It makes people feel impassioned and moved. However, the reason why people like to cut off all means of retreat is because there are too few people who can do it. Judging from the situation today, the Zuo Family is not optimistic about this reform … "
Ning Yi looked at him. Zuo Xiuquan paused, "… But the Zuo Family will follow."
Ning Yi smiled, "That's not strange. Zuo Duanyou is really good at managing his family …"
"Before my uncle passed away, he said that Mister Ning is open-minded. You can talk about some things openly. The new emperor's ability, temperament, and aptitude are far better than the previous emperors. It's a pity that the Wu dynasty took over too late. But since he has succeeded the throne, the Zuo Family will follow him no matter what the situation is. "
Zuo Xiuquan cupped his hands in obeisance and spoke sincerely. Ning Yi nodded, "The logic of the reform is valid … The new emperor ascends the throne and wins over all parties. It seems that he will immediately inherit the legitimate power, but what happens after that? Today, I can clearly see the upper limit of tinkering. Struggling at death's door for a few years, facing those idiots in Lin 'an, Wu Qimei and Liu Guangshi who are eager to make trouble, you can defeat them and kill them, but soon after, you will die. You can't defeat Female Immortal, you can't defeat me … Frankly speaking, I'm afraid that in the future, you won't even be able to defeat that woman in Jin Land. If you don't reform, you will die … But you know the problem of reform. "
Ning Yi looked over. "This isn't a matter of whether a few families support it or not. If it's in business, it's a matter of the entire game's framework and talent development system not being compatible. For the past two hundred years, the Wu dynasty has been operating under the framework of 'ruling the world with the scholar-officials'. Your talent training is in line with this theory in countless details. Today, the Wu Dynasty is on the brink of destruction. It's not that people like you who are in power don't have the resolve to contribute to the Wu Dynasty. The Zuo Clan will follow you, and there are also many great scholars and knowledgeable people who will go bankrupt to fight for the country. However, what about the people below you?
"Over a relatively long period of time, those who follow Jun Wu will have to consciously give more, but receive less. Mr. Zuo, people in the upper echelons like you have a sense of mission. You don't want money or anything in return, but just the Zuo family alone affects thousands of scholars and hundreds of thousands of people who eat with you directly or indirectly. When it comes to them, it's related to their daily necessities. For the Emperor, you can break your family's wealth and you still won't starve, but they will. "
"As this goes on for a long time, people will see the difference in the middle more clearly. Those who go to Lin 'an can become superior because they have a little connection. Why can't you? In the past, you could cheat and play tricks. Why is the law so strict today that' officials don't talk to people '? Then, they will start to look for the reason. It's because you've affected the foundation of the country that led to this result. Everyone will start to say that this can't be done … Most people in this world are such animals. Most of the time, everyone is making up reasons for their own goals and not doing certain things after recognizing the reason. There are only a few people who can really judge things as they are. "
"The Zuo Family may be the most determined family to stand with the young emperor in this reform, but two-thirds of your power will become resistance in this reform. This resistance can't even be seen or touched. It manifests in every lazy, tired, complaining, and every time you burn a stick of incense … This is the situation of the Zuo Family. Even if an old man in a big family expresses his support for the emperor, his family and the part of us who don't want to be tossed around will still turn into a quagmire and hinder the reform in all aspects."
"This is the problem with every reform."
There was a bustling crowd in the distance. When Ning Yi said this, the two of them were silent for a moment. Zuo Xiuquan said, "In this way, the root of reform still lies in the people's hearts. Li Pin's New Confucianism and His Majesty's Jiangnan School of Martial Arts are not wrong. "
"Many problems are not in the concept, but in the degree." Ning Yi laughed. "I once heard a joke. Someone asked an old farmer, 'If the country is in trouble today, if you have two big mansions, would you be willing to donate one to the imperial court?' The old farmer happily replied," Yes. What if you have a million taels of silver? Would he donate? The old farmer said yes. Then he asked if he had two cows, would he donate one? The old farmer shook his head and said no. He asked why … I really have two cows. "
Zuo Xiuquan was stunned and laughed.
"Today, the Wu dynasty is in danger. You ask the world if they want reform. Everyone says yes. If you are asked to wear one less piece of clothing, I don't know what people will say about reform. What if you want them to eat less? Will they still want reform? Some say yes, some say no, but the truly complicated part is that many people will say your method of reform is wrong while saying you want reform. There is truth and falsehood in this … how many people can the young emperor make give up their own interests to support reform, and how many interests can he make people give up? This is the core of the problem. "
Ning Yi looked at the crowd below and paused for a moment. "Actually, all of you know what I'm talking about."
"I just don't know how Sir Ning would act if you were in my shoes."
"Haha … look, you've also revealed your dagger."
"With Sir Ning's cultivation, if you don't want to talk, we probably won't be able to get anything out of you. It's just that when you and Uncle discussed the Dao in the past, you said what you liked the most was people's unyielding and unyielding attitude in difficult situations. From last year until now, perhaps the Fuzhou court's actions could enter Sir Ning's discerning eyes. "
Zuo Xiuquan's words were sincere. He didn't use these words to provoke him or hide anything. Rather, he seemed magnanimous and open-minded. Ning Yi glanced at him, not angry.
"… Sir Zuo, the only thing that can oppose an already cyclical and mature ecosystem is another ecosystem."
Zuo Xiuquan frowned. "What is … a cyclical and mature ecosystem?"
"To make a simple example, in today's Wu dynasty, the idea that the Son of Heaven wants to rule the world together with the scholar-officials has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. There is a complete set of matching theories to support it. In a village, when the adults give birth to children, even if the children don't study, in the process of growing up, they will continue to receive bits and pieces of these ideas. When they grow up, when they hear the theory of 'ruling the world together with the scholar-officials', they will also feel that it's natural. A mature, cyclical ecosystem lies in its ability to operate on its own and constantly reproduce. "
"The Confucian system used in today's Wu dynasty is highly self-contained. 'Ruling the world together with the scholar-officials' is of course only a part of it. But if you want to change it to respecting the king and suppressing the barbarians, saying that imperial power is not good and that it's better to centralize it, you must first cultivate people who truly believe in this theory. Then, you must use them to cultivate even more people, allowing it to naturally circulate like water."
"In today's Fuzhou, looking at the actions, the young Emperor's initial train of thought was certainly correct. Using the new Confucianism to respect the king and suppress the barbarians, preparing for the centralization of power. Using the Jiangnan Martial Equipment Academy to unify the control of the military, turning the leaders into the Son of Heaven's disciples … On one hand, because the power of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers is temporarily concentrated in his hands, no one can oppose him. On the other hand, because everyone was just slaughtered by the Female Zhenren, everyone pondered the pain and temporarily agreed to the idea of reform. Thus, they began the first step."
"But next, is the height of Li Pin's theory enough to support a cyclic, self-contained system of respecting the king and suppressing the barbarians? Is the Jiangnan Martial Equipment Academy's ideology of loyalty to the monarch rigid indoctrination, or does it truly possess unparalleled persuasiveness? What you need is a mature theory, a mature way of saying, to defeat the idea of 'ruling the world together' that is actually more mature. Only when these ideas form a solid cycle within a small scope at present can you truly take the first step. Today, the court issued an order that everyone must love their country, but no one will listen. "
"The formation of a theory requires a lot of questions, a lot of accumulation, and a lot of conflict of thinking. Of course, since you asked me today, I do have some things here that can be provided to Fuzhou."
Zuo Xiuquan narrowed his eyes and saw Ning Yi's gaze look over with a faint smile. The feeling in his heart gradually became strange. Both sides were silent for a moment, but he still sighed in his heart and couldn't help but say, "What?"
He saw Ning Yi spread his hands. "For example, the first idea I can recommend to the other side is the people's livelihood and civil rights of the 'Four Peoples'. It can be changed, for example, into one: human rights."
"Mr. Ning, you are …"
Zuo Xiuquan couldn't help but open his mouth. With a sincere expression, Ning Yi pressed his palm down. "Listen to me."
Zuo Xiuquan didn't really want to listen …
…
"… I used to tell people that in our history, from ancient times to the present, almost all the reforms in the court were the same party against the different party. A group of privileged classes formed a group, and a political problem became the focus. What should we do? We unite with other ministers and persuade the emperor to defeat the problem that needs to be defeated. But the problem in the middle is that once you can defeat the previous interest group, the innovators you gather will inevitably become a new interest group. "
"… Any interest system or group will automatically protect their own interests. This is not something that can be changed by the will of an individual. That is why we see a dynasty in a cycle of chaos for hundreds of years. When a interest system appears, another one will defeat it, and then another one will defeat the previous one. Sometimes it will temporarily alleviate the problem, but the most critical problem will continue to accumulate and become more serious. After two or three hundred years, some problems can no longer be reformed, and the dynasty will begin to disintegrate. From governance to chaos, it will become inevitable … "
"… To defeat an interest system, you can only become a bigger interest system. To solve a problem, you will become the problem yourself … Is it possible to change the simplest rules of the game? In the past, we couldn't do it, but it may not be possible today. We can see that in the past political games, the people were never taken into consideration. Even if someone said it was for the people, the people couldn't tell who was good and who was bad. They couldn't participate in the struggle. Even if they did participate, both sides can casually say some big principles to deceive them, and their choice will be irrelevant …"
"… But today, we are trying to take civil rights into consideration. If the people can be more rational, their choice will be clearer. Although they don't have a large share, they will definitely have some. For example, the interest group that we are going against today, their power is ten, and your power is only nine. In the past, you need at least eleven power to defeat them, and the interest group that has eleven power will have eleven power in the future … "
"… Today is different. Millions upon millions of citizens can listen to you. Of course, due to their stupidity, they can only produce twenty percent of their power at the beginning. However, if you make a promise to them, you can temporarily borrow twenty percent of their power to defeat the opposing interest groups. After defeating them, you will be the privileged class, and you will get ninety percent of the benefits. But at least you have to fulfill part of your promise, and twenty percent or at least ten percent of the benefits will return to the people. This is the power of the people, and this is the possibility of changing the rules of the game. "
Ning Yi's fingers pointed in the air a few times, and his eyes were solemn.
"… Today, Junwu of Fuzhou is going against the entire Wu dynasty's scholar-officials. He is going against their thinking and their theories. Mr. Zuo, you can't do anything with the passion of some rational, hot-blooded, and great scholars. The power of resistance is like a quagmire, and it will be reflected from all sides. So the only way is to pull the people in. "
"… But the stupid people are useless. If they are easily deceived, the opposing scholar-officials can easily incite them. If we want them to participate in political calculations and have a controllable tendency, they have to have a certain ability to distinguish and know where their own interests lie … They couldn't do it in the past, but it's different today. Today, we have the Theory of Things, and we have technological progress. We can start making more paper, and we can open more classes …"
"… These classes don't need to be too in-depth, and they don't need to be trained to be great scholars like you. They only need to know a little bit of the language, and they only need to understand what human rights are. Let them understand their rights, and let them understand that everyone is equal. Junwu can tell them that I, the emperor of the Wu dynasty, will lead them to achieve all of this. Then, he can win over a force that no one has ever thought of before."
"… In fact, Li Pin has been doing this subconsciously for two years. He started a newspaper, and he tried his best to write in the vernacular. Why? He wanted to win over more people from the lower class, those who could only read or even liked to listen to stories in restaurants and teahouses. He realized this, but what I'm going to tell you is a complete enlightenment movement. Stuff most of the people that the scholar-officials didn't win over into literacy classes and night classes, and tell them that the essence of the world is that everyone is equal, and then deal with the emperor's identity and explanation … "
"… Then, you'll be able to coerce the people and launch a counterattack against the landowning households. At that time, the so-called 'ruling the world together' that seems to have been accumulating for two hundred years will become a minor problem … This is the only possibility that you have a chance of winning today …"
Zuo Xiuquan looked at Ning Yi. When he heard the words' four people ', he thought that Ning Yi was trying to be clever, and he listened with a guarded and amused heart. But now, he couldn't help but look serious. His eyebrows were almost knitted together, and his expression unconsciously became a little scary.
Opposite him, Ning Yi's expression was calm and serious, sincere and direct, and he spoke with confidence and assurance … The sun shone down from the sky.
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