Chapter 31 I’m afraid that Pei Gong will not be the king of Qin
“The Legalists impose severe punishments, on the one hand, to frighten those who may break the law, and on the other hand, to intimidate the people, in an attempt to frighten the people with cruel punishment. Making the people more compliant makes it easier to govern. "
"It is equivalent to creating a cage full of thorns and only allowing the people to live according to their rules."
"For a certain period of time, people are afraid of the pain of stings and can tolerate living in cages. But as the thorns in the cages become sharper and sharper, the range of activities that people can move in the cages becomes smaller and smaller, and they are often stabbed. Will they be willing to endure the pain? ”
“At that time, no matter how severe the punishment is, it will not deter the people in the cage. It will only make the people in the cage not afraid of the pain caused by the thorns. To break the cage.”
Li Nian talked about the Han Dynasty again, "When the Emperor of the Han Dynasty first entered Guanzhong, he only made a three-part agreement with the people of Guanzhong: murderers will die, and those who hurt others and steal will be punished! In addition, all the complicated laws and harsh laws of the Qin Dynasty were abolished. No need!”
“As soon as these three articles come out, Guanzhong The people were very happy and supported Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty one after another. "
"Historical Records. The Chronicles of Emperor Gaozu" records: "The three chapters of the law are as follows: those who kill people will die, and those who hurt others and steal will be exempted from the Qin Dynasty. Law. All the officials are blocked as before. The reason why I am here is that I am an old man. To get rid of the harm, there is no need to be afraid of violence! Therefore, I will return to the army and wait for the princes to come and restrain them. '
I sent people to go to the counties and villages with the Qin officials to inform them. The people of Qin were overjoyed and offered cattle, sheep, wine and food to the soldiers. But Pei Gong refused and said, "There is a lot of grain in the warehouse." It’s not a lack, and I don’t want to waste people. I am very happy, but I am afraid that Pei Gong will not be the king of Qin.”
When these words came out, Ying Zheng looked a little ugly, but he didn’t expect that even the old Qin people would be punished by the laws of the Qin Dynasty. So unwelcome, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty stole the hearts and minds of the old Qin people with just three chapters of agreement.
Especially the sentence "I am afraid that Pei Gong will not be the king of Qin" is like a knife stabbing Ying Zheng in the heart.
Although the emperor of the Han Dynasty had already passed away when he entered Guanzhong, he was not governing the Qin Dynasty, and the laws of Qin may have been modified and were not what they are now, but the Qin Dynasty was his country after all, and it was he who allowed the Qin Dynasty to perish. Kings are his descendants.
"The "Historical Records" written by Tai Shigong is not very objective. Your Majesty, just listen to it and don't take it too seriously."
I also know that the sentence "I am afraid that Pei Gong will not be the king of Qin" is too heartbreaking. Li Nian comforted Ying Zheng before continuing: "The punishment is too severe. It is advisable, but the punishment is not too light. Too light will not deter those who may break the law, especially businessmen."
"Businessmen pursue profits when they think that the benefits they receive are higher than the risks they bear. At times, they are more likely to break the law than ordinary people.”
"Too light cannot protect those who abide by the law. For example, if someone robs others and is not severely punished, but only receives a small penalty, is that fair to those who accumulate property honestly? In the long run, who will earn property through hard work? It's not as good as ”
“Therefore, the law must be maintained at an appropriate level, neither too strict nor too light. It is necessary to make those who violate the law feel pain, to alert those who have not violated the law, and to prevent those who violate the law from jumping over the wall and committing greater disasters. Of course, some crimes cannot be forgiven, such as rebellion and murder. ”
"The most important thing I said to guide the people to 'obey the law' is to make the people feel the benefits of the law! During the time of Duke Xiao, Qin's laws were recognized by the old Qin people. Even if they can see the benefits of Qin Law to them, the good impression brought by Qin Law has gradually been worn away, and naturally only fear and disgust are left."
"The benefits of the law are like to farmers. Let them have a stable farming environment without having to worry about being robbed of their land today or their houses tomorrow. For example, merchants will not be made things difficult by officials when doing business, nor will they be skilled in the industry. When businessmen encounter robbers, or when they buy fake goods from merchants, the law can seek justice for them and make the merchants pay the price."
"Those who feel the law can do so. After these benefits, people will take the initiative to abide by and maintain the law. After all, except for a few people, most people still want to live in peace and stability.”
"'Observing the law and obeying the law' is also conducive to 'patriotism and loyalty to the emperor.' Your Majesty can incorporate 'patriotism and loyalty to the emperor' into the law. It is illegal to not be patriotic and loyal to the emperor." Ying Zheng has recovered from "I am afraid that Pei Gong will not be the king of Qin." , His eyes lit up when he heard this. If nothing else is said, this can be done completely. Anyone who is not loyal to Da Qin and whoever is not loyal to me is breaking the law.
After listening to what Li Nian said, Ying Zheng felt that there was indeed some truth in it, but it was just empty talk and talk about truth. What should be done specifically?
Ying Zheng asked eagerly: "In your opinion, how should we guide the people?"
Li Nian keenly noticed what Ying Zheng called him. Judging from the title, the First Emperor His impression of him was pretty good, but Li Nian was not too happy. Instead, he calmly warned himself in his heart:
Li Nian, Li Nian, don’t get carried away just because the First Emperor treats you well for a moment. The First Emperor is also a king and a tiger that can eat people. Even if he treats you well now, he might turn against you and be ruthless the next moment. Don’t Treat emperors as ordinary people.
The most ruthless emperor's family, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger!
Faced with a being who controls his life and death, Li Nian feels that he should be in awe and not treat the king as a fool. He cannot think that he is superior to the king because he comes from later generations.
Even though the First Emperor seemed to trust him very much now, how could an emperor like the First Emperor trust others so easily?
According to Li Nian's own estimation, the First Emperor only trusts him by 30% at most. Once he makes paper, grows potatoes, and allows the First Emperor to experience it, trust will only increase.
Li Nian took a deep breath, calmed down his thoughts, and said: "Back to the king, I want to guide the people. I think we need to do two things: first, the government should take the initiative to guide, and the officials should be the king, the ministers of the Qin Dynasty, and officials from various places; the second is to enlighten the people's wisdom. ”
Hearing “enlighten people’s wisdom”, Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes calmly.
Because in Legalist theory, the people cannot be too smart. The people only need to act according to the king's command and do not need to have so many ideas.
The people are stupid and easy to control!
Li Niandao: "I said that the government should take the initiative to guide, not only to allow the people to develop in the direction desired by the king, such as guiding the people to 'love the country, be loyal to the king, and abide by the law', but also to prevent people from conspiring to harm and lead the people into Crossroads.”
"If someone is dissatisfied with the king and the Qin Dynasty and wants to incite the people to revolt, they will continue to spread all kinds of rumors to the people that are detrimental to the Qin Dynasty. At first, the people may not believe it, but as time goes by, no one comes out to correct the rumors. The king thinks it will What happened? "
Ying Zheng thought of the story in "Warring States Policy" Allusion, he replied: "Three people become tigers!"
Li Niandao: "That's it. Although the Six Kingdoms are destroyed now, many nobles of the Six Kingdoms still exist and still have prestige among the people of the Six Kingdoms. If They created rumors about the Great King and Great Qin..."
Hearing this, a cold light flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes.
(End of this chapter)