My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 520 Brainwashing?

But the premise of all this is the social moral value system and a deeper and clearer understanding of the corruption in the bureaucratic system.

Simply put, when an official engages in corrupt practices, it must first be an "immoral" behavior that is not recognized, accepted, and unanimously condemned by universal values.

Then, on the basis of "corruption and immorality", we tighten and raise the standards little by little, so that immorality can gradually move in the direction of illegality.

For example, in ancient China, it was normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines.

But in modern times, although having three wives and four concubines is not illegal, it has been accused of being "romantic" and "lustful" by mainstream values.

When having three wives and four concubines changed from the original norm to an "immoral behavior" that was legal but not recognized by mainstream values, the further development of monogamy, which was guaranteed by the system, came into being.

For example, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was normal for wealthy people to form private armed forces.

But in the feudal period, the formation of armed forces gradually became the power of the official, the government, and a very small number of privileged classes. Ordinary people simply could not own their own private armed forces through legal channels.

In the new era more than two thousand years later, it has gone a step further: no matter who they are, no matter if they have money or power, no matter if they are a privileged class or not - no individual is allowed to own private armed forces!

Armed forces must exist as a tool of the state!
In this transformation process, it also started from the beginning, when everyone kept private soldiers and formed private armies, to this action being despised by mainstream values ​​as "having ulterior motives", and finally to being completely banned at the legal level.

What is the general development process of the problem of corruption among officials?

——According to Liu Rong’s rough judgment, in the ancient Chinese period that was connected with mythology, it was mostly normal for officials to abuse their power for personal gain.

It is so normal that no one thinks that there is anything wrong with officials engaging in corruption and abusing their power for personal gain, or that it is something worthy of being made a fuss about or criticized.

It was during the transition period from a slave society to a feudal society in Chinese civilization that the problem of official corruption began to attract the attention of Chinese civilization.

Because before that, China probably didn't have the concept of "bureaucracy".

It's a slave society!

The social structure is either composed of slave owners who control wealth and population, or slaves of wealth and population.

If a slave owner wanted to manage his wealth, he could simply choose a capable slave from among his own slaves.

If the ruling class wants to notify everyone at all levels, it is simple - just choose a reliable slave owner from among them.

What bureaucrats, officials, and tools of rule - aren't they just slaves in a nicer way?
As for abusing power for personal gain?

I'm sorry, but as a slave owner, my power itself is a private right.

In other words, as the owner of this tribe, or even the country, my desire is public affairs.

There is no "public power" and no "private desire" - the power is mine, the desire is mine, and everything is mine.

I use my own rights to seek benefits for myself, is there anything wrong with that?

joke……

As a slave owner, if I don't use the power in my hands to seek profits, does that mean I have to provide benefits for the slaves under my control?
It's a bit counterintuitive, isn't it?

It was not until the slave society was gradually replaced by the feudal society that the bureaucratic group emerged.

In the social structure of Chinese civilization, a third group emerged in addition to the ruling class and the ruled class: the auxiliary ruling class.

To put it simply, originally, the slave owner had all the power, the slave took on all the responsibilities, and the slave owner directly owned and controlled everything about the slave.

However, in feudal society, the new "slave owners", or rulers, no longer directly ruled the "slaves", that is, the lower-class people.

Between the two, there is an intermediary called the bureaucrat, who rules the lower-class people on behalf of the rulers by relying on the power "lent" to him by the rulers.

Only later did the talk of abusing power for personal gain, corruption and bribery come into being.

But even this is different from what later generations understood, that officials used the state power in their hands to pursue their own private interests.

——The abuse of power for personal gain here is still not an abuse of public power.

Strictly speaking, it is the private rights that originally belonged to the rulers, such as the emperor and the king, that were used by officials to pursue their own interests.

In essence, it is not about using public power for personal gain, but using the private power of others to pursue one's own personal gain.

It may sound a bit confusing, but it is still not difficult to understand.

People in later generations understand corruption, bribery, and abuse of power as officials betraying the trust of the country and the people, using the power granted to them by the country and the people to seek personal gain, and even breaking the law.

In this era, and even in most time intervals of China's feudal dynasties, the corruption of officials was essentially: the private power that originally belonged to the emperor was loaned to the officials;
It should have been used to assist the emperor in ruling the lower classes, but was used by officials to make profits.

The most essential and also the most important difference between the two is that the former lets down the people of the world, the country and the people.

The latter only let down the emperor.

This makes the problem simple.

——Why do people in later generations hate corruption so much, have zero tolerance for corrupt officials, and are extremely enthusiastic about investigating and punishing corrupt officials?
Because in later generations, corrupt officials infringe upon the interests of the people and fail to live up to the public rights granted by the people.

The people hand over power to the bureaucrats, but the bureaucrats do nothing, so the people are naturally furious.

But in the feudal era, not only did the common people not hate corrupt officials so much, even the bureaucratic system itself did not reject them too strongly.

——An official is corrupt and accepts bribes?
——What are you worrying about?
——He has let down the emperor, not you?
——It’s true that the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is…

From this perspective, it can also be said that in the feudal era, there was actually no concept of "public power".

The so-called public power in the feudal era was actually the emperor's private power lent to the bureaucratic class.

The one who eats someone else's food is the shortest one to return; the one who takes someone else's food is the shortest

The emperor has lent you power, so naturally you have to listen to him and be obedient and inferior to him.

But as the saying goes: What you borrow must be returned.

If you do nothing, this borrowed power will be taken back sooner or later.

How to do it?

The bureaucracy came up with a good idea.

- Using all means possible to distort the essence and fact of the power in their hands from "the emperor lending it to the bureaucrats" to "something that officials naturally possess."

In this way, power is no longer lent by the emperor to the bureaucrats, so naturally it does not have to be repaid.

Not only does it not have to be returned, it can even be used to deceive and even oppress the young emperor.

Thus, there is the emperor's mind, and there is the saying "a young ruler makes the country suspicious". The so-called emperor's mind is to let an originally immature and green emperor figure out the twists and turns;
Lest you be fooled by a few words from the bureaucrats and really believe that the power in their hands was imposed on them by heaven since the Big Bang.

Then, based on a clear understanding of objective reality, they coaxed the bureaucratic group: Yes, yes, yes~
OK OK~
You are right~
Go and help me get things done and govern the world well.

Then I kept reminding myself in my heart: You old foxes, there will be a day when I won’t need you anymore!
Therefore, there is also the saying that when the bird is dead, the bow is put away; when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked.

From this perspective, the performance of a young emperor towards maturity can actually be used as a standard.

——When a young king comes to power, he will understand that the power of the bureaucrats is "borrowed" from him, or even stolen from him. This is when he grows up.

When one can think of a way to take back the rights that the bureaucrats have "borrowed" or "robbed" from oneself, and lend them out again within the scope that one can control, then the time will come.

So what does this have to do with bureaucratic corruption and abuse of power for personal gain?
It really does matter.

According to the bureaucrats' instinct to "borrow the power in their hands from the emperor as much as possible and distort it into something they naturally possess", the bureaucrats' behavior of using all their power for personal gain is also based on the fact that the emperor lent power to the bureaucrats, but the bureaucrats betrayed the emperor and used power to seek personal gain;
It has become: Bureaucrats naturally possess power, and can naturally abuse their power for personal gain and engage in corruption and bribery.

In other words, the source of power is the core factor that determines whether the use of power is reasonable and whether the consequences of power are worth pursuing.

For example, a little boy gets his mother's permission to buy an ice cream.

I had diarrhea after eating.

There is nothing much to say. Go to the hospital when you need to, see a doctor when you need to, and take medicine when you need to.

At most, you can be more careful in the future and eat less, or no ice cream at all.

But what if the little boy got permission from his teacher, bought ice cream from the school canteen, and then got diarrhea?

Then just wait and see - there's plenty to see.

The teacher who allowed the little boy to eat ice cream~
A small shop that sells ice cream to little boys~
Even the school, school leaders, and even the ice cream manufacturer may be held accountable by the little boy’s parents!
What's worse: a stranger bought an ice cream for a little boy, causing him to have diarrhea?
That's even more interesting.

Let’s put ice cream and diarrhea aside for now - you still want to make it clear whether your action is for the purpose of child trafficking or molestation.

The same is true.

It seems that it is undoubtedly wrong and bad for bureaucrats to abuse their power for personal gain and engage in corruption, but in fact, it still depends on the source of the power.

If, in the new era of later generations, the power of bureaucrats originates from the state and belongs to public power, it will naturally be despised and scorned by people all over the world.

In the feudal era, the power of bureaucrats originated from the emperor and was the private right of the ruling class.

Therefore, abusing his power for personal gain would actually only make the emperor unhappy.

Colleagues will most likely watch the show in silence, and the lower-class people who are the victims will mostly be angry but not speak out.

On this basis, it would be even more annoying if the rights of bureaucrats were distorted by bureaucrats as "naturally possessed".

——If power has no source, then naturally, there is no need to be accountable to anyone.

If power has no source, it is equivalent to saying that the bureaucrats 'obtained it through their own ability'. Then abusing power for personal gain and engaging in corruption is also equivalent to saying that they are making money through their own ability.

Sounds magical, doesn't it?

It doesn’t seem like the solemn and serious Chinese feudal dynasty, but more like a fantasy world?
If you really think so, then the Han Emperor Liu Rong will tell you: What a coincidence.

The Han Dynasty is now at this stage.

According to the universal values ​​of this era, the source of officials' power has not yet been distorted into "natural possession".

At least most officials are grateful to their superiors or the emperor who appointed them for the fact that they can hold positions of official power.

Moreover, no matter whether an official was transferred by the former Chief Censor, now the Grand Chancellor's Office through official documents, or was selected by the Prime Minister's Office, now the Imperial Household Department, using its privileges, the promoted officials all remembered the emperor's favor of "allowing me to be an official" and "allowing me to be promoted."

From this perspective, the source of power of the bureaucrats in the Han Dynasty can still be barely attributed to the emperor.

This means that in today's Han Dynasty, officials who abuse their power for personal gain and engage in corruption will not be ashamed to face the people of the world, but will only be ashamed to face the emperor.

What should I do?
You can't just not make money because you're too embarrassed to face people, right?

simple.

Since you have to make money, save face and see people, you can just make up for it in other ways.

For example, get the job done.

In this way, when the emperor asks one day, "How did you use the power I gave you to bring boxes of gold home?", I can force out an awkward but polite smile and reply: I do have a little problem of greed for money.

But I have completed everything your Majesty asked me to do, right?
I have mostly used the power that Your Majesty has given me to do what Your Majesty has asked me to do.

Just by the way, be greedy and make some money...

Hey, hey hey…

After this, the emperor lost his temper.

——After all, they really got the job done and didn’t delay important matters.

The emperor, as the source of bureaucratic power, had no complaints about bureaucratic corruption and abuse of power for personal gain. Naturally, it would not make sense for other people to say "the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuchs are".

The people who got beaten up have no problem with it, but how can you, a bystander, have the time to spare...

This situation, this atmosphere, and this cognition did not form overnight.

It was not even formed in recent years, or even in recent decades, around the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

For at least two or three hundred years, whether it was the various countries in the Warring States Period, the Qin Dynasty of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the various princes at the end of the Qin Dynasty, or even the current Han Dynasty - all bureaucrats instinctively identified with this value system.

Just as people are born to suck and born to breathe.

Officials of this era are born to abuse their power for personal gain and engage in corruption.

This has been the case for dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of years.

Until this time, a small slavery case made everyone start thinking.

——It’s like thinking: Why do people need to eat when they are hungry?

——Why do people drink water when they are thirsty?
And: Why do officials have to engage in corruption, bribery, and abuse their power for personal gain?
In the past, everyone did this instinctively, and no one thought about whether it was right or why.

But now, after calming down and thinking about it, this seemingly reasonable thing that only requires following instinct and does not require any consideration has become increasingly subtle.

(End of this chapter)