Chapter 30: Loyal to the country, obedient to the law
Hearing this, Ying Zheng looked at Li Nian, and he actually had an idea: If all the countries in the world were turned into the land of our Great Qin, would it be possible? Confucianism governs the country?
But now, Li Nian unintentionally refuted his idea: Unless there is only one country in the world, Da Qin, and there will never be any foreign enemies, otherwise ruling the country with Confucianism and law will eventually become a disaster.
Can Yingzheng guarantee that there will never be foreign enemies?
Ying Zheng feels that he cannot guarantee that, even if he wipes out all the countries in the world and unifies the world during his lifetime, who knows what will happen to future generations?
He can only control it as long as he is here!
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng decided to ask Li Nian that question tonight.
Li Nian didn't know this and continued: "Since we can't govern the country by the law that fools the people, and we can't let the people do nothing, we can only guide them."
Thinking of the public knowledge of later generations. Li Nian solemnly said to Ying Zheng: "The guidance of the people is very important. Your Majesty, you must not underestimate it. The direction of the people's hearts has a great impact on the country and the nation. A great person." People once said, 'If we don't occupy the high ground of public opinion, the enemy will occupy it'!"
"Let's take the Qin Dynasty as an example. When the emperor of the Han Dynasty entered Guanzhong, the Qin people did not resist but surrendered. , because they no longer care about Da Qin. Of course, this is because Da Qin has disappointed the people of Lao Qin, but it is also related to Da Qin not guiding them correctly and making Lao Qin people care about Da Qin. "
"If the people of the Old Qin Dynasty realized that the Great Qin was one with them, that both would suffer losses and prosper together, would they still be so unresisting?"
"The Old Qin people did not feel that they and the Great Qin were one. This was how we lived in Da Qin, and this is how we lived when the King of Han came. Maybe it will be easier to live, so what's wrong with surrendering to the King of Han?"
Ying Zheng and Meng Yi thought about it, and it was indeed true that giving one's life is not selling. Since they are all selling, it is better to find someone with a higher price. Yes, don't hang me on a crooked tree.
Li Niandao: "The most basic and important point in guiding the people is to be 'patriotic and loyal to the emperor'. Patriotism means loving the Qin Dynasty, and loyalty to the emperor means being loyal to the king."
"Not only must we emphasize Be patriotic and loyal to the emperor, and let the people know why We must be patriotic and loyal to our king, so that they understand what country is, how to be patriotic, and what the meaning of patriotism is. We must make people understand that without a country, there is no home. Without a country, a family will not have a good life and will be bullied by outsiders, so they must serve the country. Protect the Qin Dynasty!”
"The same is true for loyalty to the king. We must let the people know that only the king can lead the Qin Dynasty to prosperity and let them live a good life. They can't live without the king."
Although there was a country in this era, there was no heavy family. The idea of a country is important, so talents from various countries can run around. If you are not happy in this country, then go to another country.
For example, Shang Yang was from Wei, Zhang Yi was from Wei, Li Si was from Chu, and Fan Ju was also from Wei.
Ying Zheng was keenly aware of the benefits of "patriotism and loyalty to the emperor" as Li Nian said, but he also discovered its problems.
If this method of "patriotism and loyalty to the emperor" is implemented, how should Zhang Yi and others who were accepted by Da Qin before be explained? How can Great Qin accept talents from other countries?
Hearing Ying Zheng's question, Li Nian smiled and reminded: "Your Majesty, Qin, Wei, Yan, Zhao, Han, Chu, Qi, although the country names are different and the kings are different, they are all China."
Ying Zheng understood instantly and exclaimed "Wonderful!" in his heart. Then he could just change the concept. If Da Qin was replaced by Hua Xia, everything would naturally be explained.
Zhang Yi, Fan Ju and others did not betray their mother country and join the Qin Dynasty, but they were just the normal flow of talents within the Chinese clan. They could not bear to see the Chinese countries attack each other, so they joined the Qin Dynasty in order to calm down the troubled times. When guiding the people of the original Six Kingdoms, they can also change their loyalty to Da Qin to loyalty to China. Being loyal to Da Qin may still be a little awkward, but being loyal to China is not so much.
Anyway, now only Da Qin is left in the world. In a sense, Da Qin is China. Both sides have achieved satisfactory results. Congratulations! Congratulations!
Ying Zheng even thought of using this method to punish those nobles of the six countries who were unwilling to give up. The nobles of the six countries who incited rebellion could be considered as deliberately provoking civil strife in China, hoping to plunge China into troubled times again.
"As for attracting non-Chinese talents, that is because China is powerful and beautiful, far ahead of other countries, and everyone has a heart for good and beauty, so why not?"
Da Qin accepts The problem of non-Chinese talents has also been solved. Our Great Qin is strong, beautiful, and civilized, so non-Chinese talents come to seek refuge because they yearn for beautiful and powerful things. This is human nature and should be understood.
Li Nian continued: "After 'Patriotism and Loyalty to the Emperor', the people should be guided to 'obey the law'. As the saying goes, 'There is no rule without rules.' The same is true for people. If there is no law, everyone will do whatever they want. I kill people today, you set fire tomorrow, the world What kind of chaos will it lead to? ”
“Therefore, people’s behavior must be restrained by laws, and people must not be allowed to do whatever they want. People must understand what can and cannot be done, and what the consequences will be if they violate the law. .”
"Legalists have done a good job in terms of the consequences of breaking the law, but the ultimate purpose of the existence of the law is not to punish those who have broken the law."
Ying Zheng continued: "It is to To deter those who might break the law? ”
Li Nian nodded and said: "That's true, but the legal punishment is too harsh, and sometimes it has the opposite effect. For example, after a person commits a crime that does not require a severe punishment, But when he was going to be severely punished according to Qin law, the king used What will he do?”
After just a moment’s thought, Ying Zheng understood what Li Nian meant and said: “Either accept the punishment, or refuse the punishment and commit a more serious crime, but in Da Qin, few people think that He will only accept punishment!”
Li Niandao: "Your Majesty, I understand that the law of Qin has the law of sitting together. If the prisoner does not want to harm his relatives and friends, he will take the initiative to be punished. But if this person commits a crime, even if he takes the initiative to be punished, he cannot avoid sitting together with his relatives and friends? ”
"In most cases, as the king said, they will take the initiative to be tortured, but what if someone does not want to be tortured at a certain moment, like the people under the original six kingdoms!"
Ying Zheng fell into deep thought, Li Nian The situation mentioned is very likely to happen.
The people of Old Qin may have gotten used to it under Legalist rule for hundreds of years, but the people of the Six Kingdoms may not have gotten used to it.
He didn't know that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, recorded in "Historical Records", rose up like this, fearing severe punishment under Qin's laws. Anyway, he would die anyway, so it was better to rebel.
Of course, from the records of Qin Slips in Yunmengsuihudi, Qin's laws are not so strict, which is inconsistent with the records in "Historical Records", but it may be that after Hu Hai came to power, Qin's laws became more stringent. There is high pressure, or there is something wrong with the enforcer of Qin Law.
Li Nian believed that it was most likely that Qin Lu would become more oppressive after Hu Hai came to power. This guy didn't look like a human being, not to mention Zhao Gao, a red deer. Two anthropomorphic beasts joining forces would not be able to do anything. strange!
But it is true that the Qin laws are strict and cruel. The content of the Qin slips in Yunmengsuihudi only gives it a little more warmth. It cannot be said that the Qin laws are no problem. Otherwise, why would they be changed in the Han Dynasty?
The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, borrowed many things from the Qin Dynasty, and absorbed many lessons from the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, for more than four hundred years, the Han Dynasty had to touch the Qin Dynasty's butt to cross the river!
(End of this chapter)