What happened next? "
"Next, the Dongying people were defeated …"
"Uh …"
Ning Yi smiled and waved his arm. "… After the Dongying people were defeated, don't forget that there are still so many bad guys in the West. Their research on Geomancy has already reached a very impressive level. As for China … the remnants of the Confucian school, which has existed for three thousand years, have been weak for a hundred years. As a result, there is still a huge gap between us and them in terms of Geomancy. As I said before, if you fall behind, you will be beaten. They still wander around your door every day, threatening you, asking you to give up this benefit, that benefit. "
"But on our side, at that time, we already had a strong will that surpassed everything. We had the spiritual power to twist the whole of China into a rope. At that time, even if you were still hungry, if you had the last steamed bun in your hand, you would want to give it to your comrades to eat. Imagine, such an army appeared at that time. And the West's research was a hundred years more advanced than ours. Steel planes flew in the sky, steel chariots ran on the ground, and the bombs they fired could blow up an entire street … "
"Huaxia … and the strongest Western country broke out in a war …"
Ning Yi looked at the night and paused slightly. Watermelon frowned and said, "Defeated?"
"No, that was … in that period of human history, humans used spiritual power to fill the gap between material things for the last time. They beat back the West. At that time, Huaxia, which had been beaten for 120 years, was valued by many Western countries for the first time, and won a stable space for development. "
As they moved forward, Watermelon smiled and said, "Then, unified the world, for a long time?"
"Then …" Ning Yi also smiled. "Then, they continued to move forward. They have experienced too much humiliation and have been beaten for more than a hundred years. It was not until here that they finally found a way. They saw that by educating and reforming everyone, making everyone noble and caring for others, they could actually achieve such a great deed. Ah Gua, if it were you, what would you do? "
Watermelon looked at him.
"They would continue to go deeper. They used their spiritual will to fill the foundation of material things, and then … they wanted to complete the spiritual transformation of the whole society when material things were not enough, directly crossing the material barriers and entering the final Great Unity society."
"Spiritual transformation … how to change …"
"Through classroom education and practical education."
"…" Watermelon didn't know what to say. Ning Yi looked ahead and spoke.
"… They finally came to a conclusion. When the material foundation was not satisfied, it was difficult for humans to cross the spiritual chasm. If they want to achieve equality for everyone and a Great Harmony where everyone's spirit is incomparably noble, they first have to go back and create a material foundation, educational foundation, cultural foundation … "
At this point, Ning Yi finally quieted down. Watermelon thought for a moment. "What does a noble spirit have to do with material things?"
"It's like when I'm full, I'll choose to do something good. I'll want to be a good person. If I don't have enough to eat, I probably won't be a good person anymore. "
"Doesn't that mean that the poor have a good heart? Is that kind of person really a good person?"
"What is a really good person, Agua? How could there be a truly good person? Humans are just humans. They have their own desires and their own weaknesses. It's desires that produce needs, and it's needs that drive the creation of today's world. It's just that everyone lives in this world. Some desires will hurt others, and we say that this is wrong. Some desires are beneficial to the majority, and we call them ideals. You're lazy and want to be an official. This is called desire. You study hard and work hard to become an official. This is an ideal. "
Ning Yi smiled. "Although material things can't really make people good, they can solve some of the problems. If they can solve some of the problems, of course, it's a good part. Education can also solve some of the problems. Then, they threw away more than 3,000 years of culture, and they have to build their own culture. Everything can solve some of the problems. Once everything is done, perhaps one day in the future, they will have the qualifications to challenge that ultimate goal again … "
"… Their previous challenge." Watermelon wanted to say something but stopped. "How did they come to this conclusion? What about their challenge? "
"Agua, a story is just a story." Ning Yi patted her head. "The real question is, in these stages that I've seen, what is the core law that really dominates the emergence of each change? From the Westernization Movement, to the reform, from the old warlords, to the new warlords, to the elite government, and then to the people's government, what is the core in between? " He paused. "This core is called the social consensus, or the group subconscious."
"This kind of social consensus isn't just a superficial consensus. Instead, it's a combination of all the people in society. There might be more scholars, more officials, and fewer peasants. Add up their views of the world and calculate an average. This will determine the appearance of a society. "
"Of course, in the beginning, the proportion of ordinary people who don't study is very small. But as time goes on, their weight can't be ignored. We're talking about the 300 years of the Qing Dynasty. Suddenly being beaten, everyone will start thinking, what to do? At this time, when the Westernization Movement is proposed, everyone thinks it makes sense, and this change is accepted by the public. "
"If they continue to be beaten, it means that the change is not enough. When everyone's thoughts are added up and accepted that this is not enough, there will be a reform. At this time, if you say that we don't want the emperor … it will not be able to form a social consensus. "
"Only when they continue to be beaten, not wanting the emperor becomes the social consensus. Then, the old warlords become the consensus, and the warlords need to learn foreign ideas and technology, slowly becoming the consensus. Our cultural system is clearly incompatible with Physics. After being beaten up for so long, it has become a consensus that we need to slowly destroy this cultural system. After the establishment of the elite government, everyone opened their eyes. The world's best became officials. At that time, the social consensus felt that this was enough, so they kept fishing, and it became a consensus. "
"When the elite government can't continue, and the people have no way to live, everyone comes to a consensus that they need to be more outstanding, more honest, and more disciplined … Such a social consensus will deeply affect a group of people. They will agree with these ideas deep in their hearts, and only then will they be able to do such things. Only then will they be able to give a steamed bun to others when they are hungry. This is the social consensus that has been created after a hundred years of humiliation. It is something that everyone feels should be done from the bottom of their hearts. "
"After a hundred and twenty years, the enemy has finally been defeated, and the foreign enemy is gone. This consensus continues according to inertia, but at this time, everyone still doesn't have much to eat. You are hungry, and there is a steamed bun in front of you. Do you want to give it to your companions, or do you want to bring it back to your children? "
"When this question falls on hundreds of millions of people, you will find that during the most difficult times, everyone will feel that such 'nobleness' is necessary. But when the situation gets better, some people will feel that it is not necessary. What if they still want to maintain such nobility? Through better materials, better education, and better culture, they might be able to make up for it. "
"Ah Gua, you don't have to care about these farmers outside today. Just look at those scholars, the officials beside you, and my students. Think about it, what is the social consensus today? Equality for everyone? Most people in this society haven't even formed a consensus to 'let farmers learn to read'. Even the consensus of not having an emperor, I have already taken a few steps forward, let alone … the consensus of Old Ox? "
"Without such a consensus, Chen Shanjun can't really create such an official. Just like the construction of the courts in the Huaxia Army, we set up the laws, and through strict procedures, let everyone do things according to these laws. When there is a problem in society, no matter if you are rich or poor, the laws and procedures you face are the same. This way, you can try to be more equal, but where is the social consensus? The poor can't understand these inhumane laws. They yearn for the judgment of a just and just person. So even if there are repeated orders to open classes to educate them, and the roving law enforcement team outside, many times they still have the urge to be just and just, to throw aside the laws, or to deal with it harshly, or to let it go. "
"There is nothing bad about the judgment," Watermelon muttered.
"It's not bad. It has to be slowly explored and slowly worn in." Ning Yi smiled, and then drew a circle around the entire night sky. "This world, there are so many people, and it seems that they are not connected, and the world has nothing to do with them, but the entire world is still connected to them in the end. The appearance of a society's political system can be one step ahead, or one step behind, but it is very difficult to make a huge leap. "
"It's like being an official. Everyone says that they hate corrupt officials, but if your uncle becomes an official, do you think that he should be incomparably clean? Or do you think that he should help his family a little? The thoughts in the minds of the masses will determine the appearance of this world. Let's say that everyone has taken a big step forward today. You are a commoner, and when something happens, would your first reaction be to find some connections to help, or would you want to directly ask the judicial authorities to do things according to the law? The appearance of society is in the average of these thoughts, fluctuating up and down. "
"I can hold hundreds of meetings in the Huaxia government every year, desperately telling them that they have to be incorruptible, but these meetings can't really defeat or change the consensus in people's hearts. The consensus in the entire society's subconscious is determined by culture. "
They turned around the long street in front of them and turned towards a secluded square. There was already a small river next to it, and flower boats sailed past on the river, reflecting the sparkling waves. The two walked quietly for a while, and Watermelon said, "No wonder you asked Takeshi … to write those things …"
"Only culture can penetrate deep into the subconscious." Ning Yi's smile was complicated and tired. "If you want everyone to be equal, you have to let people's lives be full of stories about equality. If we want to tell others about the sins of the world, we have to let them discuss about the emperor's fatuity and incompetence. Of course, it is not so simple on the whole, but here is the big head … We can drag this society forward a step. Every step forward, we have to lay a good foundation in everyone's heart. After one step is taken, it is possible to go to the next step. Otherwise, if you take one more step, they will pull you back. "
"Chen Shanjun's Old Ox can bring a lot of experience about equality … For example, at the beginning, he was rough in dividing the land because there were our soldiers to support him. What if there was no Huaxia army, this behemoth, as a prerequisite? Wouldn't it take a longer time to create a better public opinion? He has been managing Old Ox's Head for two years. In the beginning, he talked about equality. However, when he encountered all kinds of problems, he would constantly increase his theories and opinions. Regardless of whether he could make it or not, all of these would become the foundation for him to move forward … "
"But if you let me do it, Agua, you think too highly of me. I can't walk because I am afraid of the subconscious in everyone's heart. Once you walk too fast, they will hold you back. Even if they don't know it, they will kill you … "
"All day long … what are you thinking about."
Watermelon reached out to stroke his eyebrows. Ning Yi smiled and said, "So, it is not that I haven't seen it before."
"In your story, to achieve Great Harmony, I am afraid it will take a few hundred years, right?"
"I am afraid it will be …"
"Will they carry out the next challenge? What was it like at that time? "
"I can't see the later part clearly …"
"Can't you make up a story more complete …"
"So, I really saw it. It's not like I made it up. If you don't believe me, then forget it …"
"You said it so convincingly. Of course, I believe you."
Ning Yi looked at her, and Watermelon blinked her big watery eyes.
"Forget it. Oh right, you said that the Westernization Movement is disgusting. What's going on?"
"It's very disgusting!"
The two chatted and laughed as they walked forward. When they reached an intersection in front of them, the lights were lit up again. There were pedestrians on the road. Watermelon suddenly saw someone, and pulled Ning Yi along as they walked forward quietly. Then, the couple hid behind an alley and poked their heads out to peep in front of them.
"Who is it?" Ning Yi said with a frown as he leaned on his wife's shoulder.
"A bad guy in the city. Look, that old man, called Guan Shanhai. He brought a woman … Big Y-Demon … These few days, he often said bad things about us in the news."
Ning Yi curled his lips. "That's enough. Don't you care about face? Right now, there are thousands of bad guys in Chengdu. I opened the door and let them in. Which one of them is worthy of my attention? You pulled me to peep at him. If he finds out, he will brag about it for the rest of his life. Let's go. It's shameful to look at him. "
"It's not like that." Watermelon waved her hand. "This afternoon, Ning Ji asked Hou Yuanyong to investigate this old thing. Someone mentioned it. I don't know why, but I just happened to meet … the old thing offended my son …"
"En?" Ning Yi frowned and looked a few more times from behind Watermelon. "Okay, what offended? With that old man's physique, if he really offended him, the second son would have cut him into pieces … No, do you think the second son would do that?"
"I don't know," Watermelon said. "Xiaoji is quite obedient."
"Ai, forget it. An old man visiting a prostitute. What's there to see? I'll go back and find someone to investigate. Let's go. "
"You can't investigate. I trained Xiaoji. He's very powerful. He secretly looked for Xiaohou. If you make a big fuss, he will know that he is exposed. He will say that we have been monitoring him all day. "
"What you said makes sense. He knows to secretly look for someone. This is to avoid our surveillance. Obviously, he has a guilty conscience … Should we really send someone to follow him?" As she said so, she couldn't help but look over there. Then, she felt that it was beneath her status. "Let's go. You won't be able to see anything."
"I'll come over in the middle of the night and kill him. One look and I know he's not a good person. "
"You can't do this … Let's go."
"Don't pull me, I …"
Rip —
Under the moonlight, Guan Shanhai brought the woman into a large house. The couple stood in a remote alley and looked at each other unhappily.
"How can you be like this? Tearing your own woman's clothes outside. What's there to be proud of when others see it …"
"I said let's go, let's go. Your God-like Husband has spoken. You should just ignore it … This old thing, I'll ask someone to catch him and pour chili water on him …"
Watermelon stretched out his hands to hit him. Ning Yi also raised his hands to fight back. The two swung their hands like windmills in the dark alley and hit each other, heading home.
This night was full of sparks. Watermelon's low mood because of Old Cow Head was slightly relieved after Ning Yi's "nonsense interruption." After returning, the couple looked at some things. Someone sent a secret report to Watermelon. It was Qian Luoning's report on Old Cow Head's condition.
They had stumbled all the way here. No one knew if Old Cow Head could persist. But for Ning Yi, everything in Chengdu was important. Just as he had said on the street, thousands of enemies were rushing into the city. The Hua Xia army seemed to be responding mechanically, but there was a lot of work going on inside.
Watermelon recalled all the things her husband had said before. Although it sounded like a fantasy story, she knew that Ning Yi would not speak without thinking. She grabbed a pen and paper, and after a moment of hesitation, she began to write the words "OO Movement" on the paper.
She really did not want to write the first two words. Ning Yi was too bad. He was talking nonsense on such a serious matter.
After the "OO Movement," it was "Reform," "Old Warlords," "New Warlords," and so on. Relying on her memory, she wrote down these words. Again and again, she thought about the "world" that Ning Yi had mentioned.
Was this the step he had seen? Was this road really so long and difficult? Was it because he did not dare to easily consider success, so he allowed Old Cow Head to split? So he treated all explorations as experiments?
More than a hundred years of humiliation and exploration, constantly looking for a path, constantly failing, and constantly summarizing experience and modifying the path, had never been absolutely correct. If she was in such a world, how would she feel? Would she work hard or despair?
She could still remember the excitement when she heard Ning Yi speak about equality on the streets of Hangzhou. When Ning Yi killed the king and rebelled, she thought that the day was not far away. After more than a decade, she felt more and more clearly every day that her husband defined the success of his career on the scale of a hundred years or a thousand years.
Life was so short …
There were two kinds of people in our society. They were either stubborn people who felt that they had found the truth and wanted to kill themselves on the truth. Or they were discouraged by something and started to give up on themselves. When writing about modern times, a group of people was extremely sensitive. This was because in many people's hearts, there was darkness here and there. However, what I saw was the path of this nation that kept moving forward while stumbling. Before reaching the end, nothing was necessarily right. However, without this process, we would not be able to reach anywhere.
There were purer things in the first 30 years, but there were some thresholds that could not be crossed. The next 30 years were about summarizing experience before moving forward. Without the stumbling and summarizing of the first 30 years, there would not be the choices and achievements of the last 30 years. If you could look at the problem from this perspective, you would realize that we were still moving forward in the ideals and karma of the past.
This was the reason why I wrote this book. I grew up reading Lu Xun's books. What many people don't learn is that Lu Xun attacked people's deep-rooted bad habits to make them better, not to make things worse. If Lu Xun could reach where he is today, of course he would attack some things, but his attacks were for the sake of making things better. With his wisdom, when he saw so many people feeling inferior all day long and constantly complaining, I think he would also praise some of those things. This is where my understanding of Lu Xun is different from many people.
Some people would speculate with an inferiority complex that I wrote these to pass the censorship. In fact, I could make a lot of money by writing anything else. If I really did not want to write, I could just not write it. There was no need to go through this trouble. Therefore, it was better to have a more open mind.
(End of this chapter)
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