New Shun 1730

When the officials saw that the emperor called Duke Qi's name, all of them were human beings, and they immediately understood what it meant.

Liu Yu could feel that there was something wrong with the emperor's words, not to mention other people who had been immersed in Chinese, Yi-Di, Celestial and other cultures for decades?

Needless to say, Qi Guogong must have gotten angry with the emperor in advance.

The reason why I asked Qi Guogong for questioning was obviously for ulterior motives.

What is the Duke of Qi?

You are a distinguished person, not from the imperial examination. It is normal to be uneducated. If you speak incorrectly, everyone will think you know nothing. Just smile.

He can speak, he can make mistakes, and he can be refuted after he has finished speaking, and no one will think there is anything wrong. You are a noble person, but you know nothing about the justice of the Celestial Empire?

Everyone knows that when Qi Guogong speaks now, he is the emperor's microphone, and it is the emperor who lets it out to test the waters.

As for why he didn’t look for well-educated people or people who came from the imperial examination, the emperor probably thought of it too. No one who came from the imperial examination wanted to get involved in this shit.

Firstly, I don’t believe that the Celestial Kingdom has borders. The whole world is not the king’s territory, and everyone outside of China is barbarian. Secondly, there are some shit that I can’t get involved with. Thirdly, there is misalignment and overlap between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Li Government. Only the borders of the Celestial Kingdom mean that there is diplomacy. Is there any point in diplomacy if there are no borders? The government will do it on its own.

The actor Qi Guogong stood up and thought about it for a while, probably recalling the words he had recited.

After a long while, he spoke in a flurry of tone.

"Isn't it great to see the beginning of heaven and earth? The ocean is made of gold, which is milled, the wood is dried, the earth is stabilized, the fire is blown, the wind is scratched, and the water is wrapped in the heat, and they are nourished and multiplied. , Panhuan Bo Xi is separated and combined, so the virtues are spread without borders and the end is not known. However, those who clear their clans, eliminate their borders, build their positions, and everyone returns to their screen, then Hanyu's achievements are considered to be defensive. Cut. Therefore, the toes of mountain birds are sparse, and the toes of swamp birds are powerful. The power of riding birds is horizontal, and the power of plowing birds is constricted. Water plowing is suitable for the south, and frost plowing is suitable for the north. It is not necessary to tolerate the dispersion and analyze the large number of them. It is also the trend. We can't save each other and avoid the disaster..."

"Therefore, the land of heaven is suitable for all the virtues of Xia. Just like the birds flying on the mountains, their claws are sharp and good at grabbing branches; most of the birds eating fish in the river have webbed feet on their claws."

"When the heaven and the earth were created, the mountains, rivers and rivers were already formed, and they were divided into hot and cold. People in different places have different habits and different virtues."

"The reason why the saint's morality can last long in Middle-earth is because the people in Middle-earth are suitable for the saint's morality."

"The reason why the morality of saints cannot take root in Yi Di is because the people of Yi Di are not suitable for the morality of saints."

"It's like a bird that eats fish in the water and says that flippers are good. This is right. However, it would be unwise to tell a bird in a tree in the mountains that flippers are good."

"That's why the "Book of Changes" says: A saint is in harmony with heaven and earth in his virtues, in harmony with the sun and moon in his brightness, in harmony with the order of the four seasons, and in harmony with ghosts and gods in their good and bad fortunes."

"What does it mean to be in harmony with heaven and earth? That is to say, we must adapt to the different ethnic groups and environments that have been separated since the beginning of heaven and earth. We cannot blindly instill our own morality into those who are not suitable."

I said these words as if I were reciting a text. The translator over there was probably having a headache, but people other than the translator could easily understand him.

In fact, when it comes to this, it is already broken.

What it actually means is that the Celestial Dynasty of Dashun will not pursue those places that are not suitable for the Celestial Empire's morality and forcefully promote moral education. In other words, the whole world is not the land of the Kingdom, and this is correct. But this concept of under heaven is suitable for the morality of Middle-earth.

As for where the boundary is, we don’t need to discuss it for now.

Let’s first resolve the issue of whether there are any boundaries to the Chinese dynasty.

Obviously, judging from the statement "recited" by Qi Guogong, there must be some.

The emperor could not be convinced immediately by Qi Guogong's reasoning. He frowned and said, "My love for you seems to make sense. But do you mean it by yourself, or do the saints and sages have such meaning?"

The Duke of Qi hurriedly said: "This is not the nonsense of the minister himself, but the sages from ancient times have upheld this truth. This is a lesson from history."

"In the time of Confucius, Kuiqiu gathered animals while Xiaobai asked for the three-ridged thatch, and the city Pu pavilion hub was asked for Ergan tunnel. With the decline of the Zhou royal family, Qi Huan Gong and Jin Wen Gong both did what an emperor should do, but Confucius was not worried about this. Why?"

"Because of the rise of King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou, he was still a prince in the morning and became a king in the evening. Following the old system of Tang Yao, Yu Shun, Xia Dynasty, and Shang Dynasty, the world was still the same as before. Confucius knew that the holy way of the world It will not be cut off. As long as China remains, China’s moral culture will continue.”

"On the contrary, when the barbarians were rampant, Confucius was worried that he would have to wear his left skirt in the future. Why is this?"

"Because Confucius knew that his Tao and his righteousness could only be passed down in China. There was no way to pass them on in other places."

"Xunzi said: Follow the Tao but not the king, follow righteousness but not the father, this is the great conduct of a man."

"Confucius's lifelong ambition was to restrain himself, restore etiquette, and promote benevolence. If Confucius believed that it was suitable to restrain himself, restore etiquette, and promote benevolence outside of China, then why did Confucius have to stay in China and not go far away? Isn't it because Did Confucius know that morality suitable for China is not suitable for other places?”

"So Confucius was not shocked when he saw the dominance of Qi Huan and Jin Wen, and the decline of Emperor Zhou. But he was greatly shocked when he saw the Yi and Di invade the Central Plains. This is exactly the reason."

"From the fact that Confucius was not alarmed when he saw Qi Huan and Jin Wen dominating and carrying out the emperor's arrogance in conquest, we can see that Confucius did not care about the emperor of Zhou. This proves that what Confucius cared about was self-denial, restoration of propriety, and the promotion of benevolence. So even the emperor of Zhou did not care. , If other places, such as India and the West, are also suitable for promoting benevolence, Confucius will definitely go west and promote benevolence. "

"For Confucius, the Tao is before the king."

"Because Confucius did not go there, it can be seen that Confucius knew that only China is suitable for benevolence and righteousness."

The ministers thought twice and realized that although this was pure nonsense, it didn't seem easy to refute.

Did Confucius go to India or the West? A few people thought, why don't you let Master go to the moon?

The emperor frowned and said, "But the Celestial Empire should civilize the barbarians. Isn't this also wrong? The barbarians do not need to be educated because they are not suitable for the morality of the Middle Earth?"

Duke Guo of Qi said hurriedly: "That's not the case."

"Of course the four barbarians need to be educated, but not all the barbarians are suitable for the morality of the middle-land. Some barbarians are not suitable for the morality of the middle-land, but they have to be forcibly educated. This is like asking the birds in the forest to grow webbed feet. Same."

"But some Yi Di are suitable for the morality of the Middle Earth because of the environment, mountains and rivers, etc., and they should be educated. It is like letting water birds grow webbed feet."

"As the emperor, you should distinguish what can be taught and what cannot be taught."

"If you can educate but don't educate, this is a dereliction of duty on the part of the Celestial Empire."

“It would be unwise to teach something that cannot be taught rather than to educate.”

"Therefore, the borders of the Celestial Empire should be places that can be educated and adapted to the morality of the Middle-Earth. And those who are not suitable for the morality of the Middle-Earth should be outside the Celestial Empire."

"For example, Japan, Annan, Korea, and Ryukyu are all suitable for the enlightenment of the Celestial Empire. Because of the enlightenment of the Celestial Dynasty, they began to grow from ignorance to adulthood. The country became rich and powerful, and the people's wisdom increased."

"Another example is the Western Regions. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, people were educated there, which proved that people could be educated there."

"As for the Western countries, they have their own morals and their own saints. It can be seen that these people are not suitable for the morality of China. It would be unwise to force education. Besides, they also have their own etiquette and their own Morality also has its own culture, so they are not considered barbarians."

"And like the settlements on some islands, like some small countries without saints and no culture, are they suitable for the morality of China or the morality of the West? This needs to be tried before we can know."

"So I say that it is a failure of the Celestial Empire to educate those who can be educated but not to educate them; it is unwise to educate those who cannot be educated but not to educate them. If the Celestial Empire does not want to be derelict in its duties, it must educate all those who can be educated. , This is the mission of China.”

"However, we don't know which morals are suitable for Middle-earth and can be taught; we also don't know which ones are not and cannot be taught. So what should we do?"

"This requires strong troops. Fight first and then talk about it."

"After the fight, if you find that you can't educate, then you are not within the Celestial Empire, just withdraw your troops; after the fight, eh, if you find that you can be civilized, then you are within the Celestial Empire. If you can educate but don't do it, you would be derelict in your duty."

When Liu Yu heard this, he clicked his tongue in his heart, thinking that imperialist aggression and the division of spheres of influence among major powers can be said to be so fresh and refined...

The emperor just pondered for a moment and then said: "Su Zi said: The Yi and Di cannot be governed in the same way as in China. If you seek great governance, you will inevitably lead to great chaos. The ancestors knew this, so they governed them without governance. To govern them without governance, they governed them deeply. . How to explain this?”

"Replying to your majesty, Su Zi's words have omitted some contents. The ancients wrote a few words, please try to complete them."

"Su Zi said: The barbarians (who are not suitable for the morals of the Chinese people) cannot be treated according to the Chinese rule... The former king knew this, so he did not forcibly educate the barbarian people who were not suitable for the morals of the Chinese people. This is to treat them without treatment. It’s not that we don’t treat it, it’s that we don’t treat it according to the morality of China, and let them choose another morality that suits them. It’s like planting rice in dry fields. How can this not lead to chaos?”

"So, Su Zi's words actually omit the other half. That is, the Yi Di (who are suitable for Chinese morality) must be governed by Chinese governance... The former kings knew the reason and governed them accordingly. Therefore, the Han and Tang Dynasties were With the four counties of Liaodong, Annan, and the Western Regions, Japan was also civilized."

"So, I believe that the Celestial Kingdom has boundaries. The boundaries of the Celestial Kingdom are all places that are suitable for the morality of China."

"However, the boundaries of the Celestial Dynasty are constantly changing. Just like before the Han Dynasty, no one knew that the countries in the Western Regions were also suitable for Chinese morality; before the Tang Dynasty, no one knew that Japan was suitable for Chinese morality."

"The currently known borders are the Chinese mainland, Annan, Japan, Ryukyu, and Korea. So, who knows whether the Yi and Di in other places are suitable for Chinese morality? Or are they not? This requires exploration and Ask and try.”

"If you can't be educated, then throw it outside the Celestial Empire; if you can be civilized, then be within the Celestial Empire."

"When Westerners come to the west, they know that the earth is huge, which is also a good thing for the Celestial Empire. Then they know that there are many barbarians, and maybe some of them are suitable for Chinese morality and can be educated. I think most of the Indians in America are suitable for China. It is not suitable for Western morality.”