Daqin: Compared with his sons, Ying Zheng is jealous

【After discovering that he had nothing to teach Prince Fusu, Xu Zi decided to give him a final test.】

【I want to see how Prince Fusu understands"Agricultural Thought"】

【And from Prince Fusu's understanding of"Nongjia Thought", we can look forward to what kind of future the Nongjia may have in the hands of Prince Fusu, or in Daqin.】

【So Xu Zi found a sunny day and officially began to test Prince Fusu.】

【In addition to the teacher and the student, there was another observer in this examination: Qin King Ying Zheng.】

【After all, in a sense, this is also the day when Prince Fusu completed his study of the words of"Nongjia"】.

【King Qin Ying Zheng naturally wanted to see what Prince Fusu had learned and gained from following Nongzi in the past six months.】

【"What did the farmer say?"】

【Xu Zi sat upright in front of Prince Fusu and asked in a deep voice:】

【Prince Fusu also answered in a clear voice:"First, the wise man works with the people to farm and eat, and governs with them."】

【"Second, the market is not two-faced, and there is no falsehood in the country"】

【"Third, follow the will of the people and be loyal to the people"】

【"Fourth, to be cautious and provide relief for famines and disasters"】

【"Fifth, agriculture is the basis and commerce is the end"】

【Hearing Prince Fusu's highly accurate and concise summary of the peasants' thoughts, Xu Zi also smiled.】

【Then, Xu Zi asked with an expectant look in his eyes:"Do you think what the farmers said is the right way to govern the country?"】

【However, Crown Prince Fusu shook his head and said,"No! At least not all!"】

【Xu Zi's face froze, and then he stopped smiling, frowned, and asked,"What did Nong Jia say that is not the right way to govern a country?"】

【Prince Fusu did not give Xu Zi, his teacher, any face and said directly:"First, the wise man works with the people to farm and eat, and it is not right to rule by eating with the people."】

【Xu Zi's face darkened when he heard this, and he vaguely remembered some unpleasant things.】

【Then Xu Zi said in a deep voice:"A wise monarch works with the people to farm, earns his own living, cooks his own meals in the morning and evening, and manages state affairs at the same time. How can this not be the right way to govern a country?"】

【Hearing Master Xu's words, Prince Fusu also said solemnly:"Then may I ask Master Xu, a person has limited time and energy in a day, and can handle limited things."】

【"So when state affairs are busy and farming cannot be postponed, which of the two is more important?"】

【"If you choose to govern the country, you will violate the farming season."】

【"If the farming season is violated and the monarch is required to farm and be self-sufficient,"】

【"Then the monarch's fate would be a poor harvest due to violating the farming season, and he would eventually starve to death!"】

【"If you give up state affairs and choose to farm in accordance with the farming season"】

【"Among the state affairs that have been put aside, there may be tens of thousands of ordinary people involved in sudden natural disasters or man-made disasters, and they urgently need the monarch to deal with and respond to them."】

【"However, in order to avoid violating the farming season and starving himself, the king chose to farm. In the end, thousands of people would die or be injured because the king did not handle state affairs in a timely manner."】

【"Please tell me, Master Xu, how should I choose between these two?"】

【Xu Zi frowned even more, and after a long while he replied:"Your Majesty can temporarily hand over the busy state affairs to other wise ministers to handle."】

【In this way, the monarch will not delay state affairs, nor will he violate the farming season. He will have enough time to farm and be self-sufficient.】

【"Could it be that in Master Xu's eyes, only wise monarchs need to farm with the common people and support themselves, while other civil officials and military generals do not need to farm with the common people and support themselves?"】

【"Could it be that the farmers' idea of 'the wise men work together with the people to farm and eat, and govern together with the people' only applies to the monarch of a country, and does not include other civil and military officials?"】

【Prince Fusu raised his small sword-like eyebrows and said】

【Xu Zi immediately shook his head and said,"Of course not. The monarch needs to farm with the people and earn his living. The other civil officials and military officers also need to farm with the people and earn their living.¨｀ "】

【However, as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Xu Zi thought to himself that his answer was wrong. He knew what Prince Fusu would say next without even looking.】

【As expected, Prince Fusu immediately asked:"If civil officials and military generals also need to farm with the common people and earn their own living, then the monarch will leave state affairs to them to handle."】

【"Wouldn't this go against their farming season, causing them to have a poor harvest the following year and eventually starve to death?"】

【"Or is it that the agricultural way of governing a country is to let the self-sufficient and self-reliant monarch and ministers starve to death in the end, rather than handle state affairs concerning the people properly?"】

【"If this is the case, doesn't Master Xu think that this is too harsh and unfair to the monarch and ministers who are willing to practice the agricultural way of governing the country and be self-sufficient and self-reliant?"】

【Xu Zi immediately shook his head:"The way for farmers to govern the country is naturally not like this."】

【"It is possible to handle state affairs and maintain farming at the same time!"】

【Hearing this, Crown Prince Fusu also laughed and said,"Can you really have both fish and bear's paw?"】

【"My father would hold court meetings for one to two hours every day to discuss various matters, and review various memorials weighing hundreds of pounds every night, and would not rest until late at night."】

【"Master Xu was busy with farming from morning till night every day, and he hardly had any free time."】

【"Under such circumstances, is it really possible to handle state affairs and not interfere with farming?"】

【"Even if it's possible for one day or two days, is it possible to persist forever?"】

【"If Master Xu really believes that it is possible to handle state affairs and not violate farming at the same time, then my father is here, and I can ask my father to let Master Xu handle state affairs for a few days."】

【"Master Xu can see if he still has time and energy to farm the fields after dealing with these state affairs."】

【At the end, Prince Fusu's eyes flashed with eagerness to try.】

【King Ying Zheng of Qin, who was standing by, did not expect the topic to be about him, but he did not like the saying of the farmers that"the wise man works with the people to farm and eat, and governs with them."】

【If Xu Zi really believed that he could handle state affairs and not interfere with farming at the same time, then he would not mind letting Xu Zi experience how heavy the state affairs of the Qin Dynasty were.】

【Hearing what Prince Fusu said, Xu Zi's face froze.】

【If the affairs of state of the Qin Dynasty were really as busy as Prince Fusu said, and even King Ying Zheng of Qin had to review hundreds of kilograms of memorials every day,】

【Then, no matter how reluctant he was to admit it, he had to admit that handling state affairs and not violating farming were not compatible.】

【At least after he finishes farming, he won't have the time and energy to deal with so many state affairs.】

【So Xu Zi immediately changed the subject and said,"The wise man works together with the people to farm and eat, and governs with the people. This is essentially against the monarch's unearned gains."】

【"As a monarch, one should understand that the people's food is hard to come by. One should not set up warehouses to store the people's rice, nor should one set up treasuries to accumulate the people's wealth."】

【"This is an act of harming the people to support oneself, and this is not what a wise monarch does!"】

【Facing Xu Zi's change of subject, Crown Prince Fusu continued to argue:"The monarch's unearned gains will be discussed later."】

【"Let's first talk about what Master Xu mentioned later:"There should be no warehouses to store rice and grain, and there should be no treasuries to accumulate wealth.""】

【"If the monarch of a country does not set up warehouses to store rice and grain, and does not set up treasuries to accumulate wealth and goods,"】

【"Then I would like to ask Master Xu, if we encounter natural disasters or man-made disasters such as famine, who will save us?"】

【"If the number of people suffering from famine reaches tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, who can save them?"】

【"Can we just rely on the people to save themselves and each other?"】

【"Can it really be saved this way?"】

【Xu Zi fell silent and did not answer.】

【As a farmer, Xu Zi knows better than anyone how helpless ordinary people are in the face of natural and man-made disasters.】

【That is why he opposed the monarch to gain without working, and required the monarch to be self-sufficient and not to set up granaries and warehouses to store rice and accumulate wealth.】

【To put it bluntly, it is to hope that the monarch can exploit the people less, so that the people can save more and have more ability to resist unexpected risks such as natural disasters and man-made disasters, so that they can survive better.】

【Prince Fusu asked himself and answered:"Faced with this kind of natural disaster and man-made calamity, the people can't save themselves or each other by themselves!"】

【"Only by relying on a country, an extremely powerful country, can we be able to help tens of thousands of people, or even hundreds of thousands of people, so that they can survive such natural disasters and man-made disasters."】

【"But the country does not have such ability out of thin air, and the food and clothing provided to the people do not come out of thin air."】

【"It is a way for a country to store excess rice and grain in warehouses during good years and accumulate more wealth in the treasury, so that when faced with major natural disasters or man-made disasters, the country will be able to rescue the people."】

【"If the granaries and government treasuries were used only for the benefit of the monarch, then, as Master Xu said, they would be a way of oppressing the people in order to support themselves."】

【"However, if the money from the granaries and government treasuries is ultimately used to support the people, how can it be said that the government is exploiting the people in order to support itself?"】

【"In the final analysis, whether the granaries and government treasuries are a burden to the people or a favor to the people depends on whether they are used for public or private purposes, for the emperor or for the people."】

【"Master Xu, does what I say make sense?"】

【Xu Zi was silent for a long time before he nodded:"If the granaries and government treasuries are used for the benefit of the people, then it is indeed a love for the people."】

【"But how much of the granaries and government treasuries can actually be used to benefit the people?"】

【"If the money is used on the monarch more than on the people, then the granaries and government treasuries will do more harm than good to the people!"】

【Prince Fusu also nodded and said,"Master Xu is right, but this involves the question of the monarch's wisdom, and has nothing to do with the granaries and government treasuries themselves."】

【"Just like a knife, it can kill people or save people. But whether it is saving people or killing people, it is the problem of the person holding the knife, not the knife."】

【"｀ ~ Just because a knife holder kills someone with a knife, we cannot simply and crudely judge that the existence of a knife is a bad thing for people."】

【"Instead, laws and other means should be established to deter and restrain knife-wielding people from causing harm."】

【"In the same way, when faced with the behavior that granaries and government warehouses may be used more for private purposes than for public purposes, we can also impose relevant restrictions and constraints on the use of granaries and government warehouses through laws and other means."】

【After listening to the words of Crown Prince Fusu, Xu Zi was silent for a moment before he spoke:"Then what is your different opinion on the monarch's unearned gains?"】

【The implication is that he agrees with Prince Fusu's rebuttal about"granaries and government warehouses".】

【Crown Prince Fusu, who received Master Xu's approval, also smiled and continued,"Speaking of gaining something without working, it depends on how you, Master Xu, define 'work'?"】

【"Only by going to the fields to cultivate can it be considered as"labor".’？"】

【"Only by weaving by yourself can it be considered as"labor".’？"】

【"Or maybe only doing the work of hundreds of craftsmen personally can be considered as"labor"’？"】

【"Or being a general, a commander, or a soldier, fighting on the battlefield, defending the country, can also be considered"labor".’？"】

【"Or maybe someone like my father who reviews hundreds of kilograms of memorials every day can also be considered a"laborer".’？"】

【"If only those who actually farm, weave, or do the work of various craftsmen can be considered to be truly"laboring", then the monarch is indeed gaining without working."】

【"However, behind the monarch's"getting something for nothing", he actually handled thousands of state affairs that were closely related to the people of the world, allowing the people of the world to farm, weave, and do their craft with peace of mind!】

【"And can such a monarch really be said to have gained something for nothing?"】

【Xu Zi's face darkened, and he said in an unhappy tone:"Are you going to tell me about Mencius's 'laboring the mind'?’、‘Labor's set?"】

【Regarding the peasants' opposition to the monarch's unearned gains, the peasants had a debate with Mencius in the past.】

【To be precise, it was his disciple Chen Xiang who debated with Mencius on his behalf.】

【At that time Mencius said:"Then how can we govern the world by farming alone?"】

【"There are big people's affairs and small people's affairs"】

【"Moreover, one person has all the skills of hundreds of craftsmen. If one must make them himself before using them, he will be leading the world."】

【"Therefore, it is said: Some work with their minds, while others work with their hands. Those who work with their minds rule others, while those who work with their hands are ruled by others; those who are ruled by others eat others, while those who rule others eat others; this is the universal principle of the world."】

【To put it bluntly, some people work with their minds, and some people work with their hands; those who work with their minds govern others, and those who work with their hands are governed; those who are governed support others, and those who govern others are supported by others!】

【This view that the rule of those who work with their minds over those who work with their hands is reasonable, and that the monarch should be supported by the people as a matter of course, made Xu Zi extremely angry when he heard Chen Xiang retell it later.】

【This is because he was not present at the time, otherwise he would have stripped Mencius of his clothes and taken away his food, leaving him without clothes and food!】

【So that Mencius can see whether those who work with their hands will die without those who work with their minds, or those who work with their minds will die without those who work with their hands!】

【This is also why Xu Zi opposed the monarch's unearned gains and demanded that the wise men work together with the people to farm and eat, and govern together with the people.】

【It is because he feels that the phenomenon of"those who work with their minds rule others, those who work with their hands are ruled by others; those who are ruled by others eat others, and those who rule others are eaten by others" is wrong!】

【At least the so-called intellectual workers should not take it for granted when facing such manual workers!】

【Those who work with their hands can also work with their minds, but those who work with their minds and are high up, can they really work with their hands?】

【If not, then why do those who work hard with their brains have such a condescending and self-righteous attitude!】

【So they established the Farmers' House. They required wise men to farm and eat with the people, and govern with the people. They opposed the monarchs who gained without working, and required the monarchs to follow the will of the people, be loyal to the people, be cautious when hungry, and provide relief from disasters, and put the people and agriculture first!】

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They want to let the world hear the voice of the people! 】.: @u_229757