The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 41: Shangjun's Law (Part )

Zhong Cang quickly calmed down and said with a smile: "Young Master always makes amazing remarks. He is truly a genius."

Ying Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Teacher, I wonder where the old lady lives now?"

"Since you have taught me a teacher like me, I would like to visit you in person and listen to your teachings."

Zhong Cang smiled and said, "I have been brought to Xianyang City a few years ago. I dare not tell you how to teach you. If you have time, I will prepare a bed for you and my mother will wait for you to come."

"Okay, it's not easy to meet a wise man. I'll go and bother you in a few days when I'm ready."

"Your Excellency is too kind. It is my honor that you are willing to visit my humble home. I would not be reluctant to accept your presence. You do not need to prepare anything."

"I and your teacher are not shy, but this time we are visiting the old lady, so we must be cautious."

"Teacher, please stop trying to persuade me."

Zhong Cang said nothing more about this matter, and turned to ask Ying Zheng about his studies:
"Sir, how many of the classics I left behind when I left Zhao have I read?"

“I have read it all.”

Zhong Cang nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Is there anything you don't understand?"

Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Of course there are, but I also understand the core principle. All things in the world have different paths but the same destination, it's just one life and one heart."

"First seek life, then seek the heart. When doing anything, consider these two points first, and you will know whether it will succeed or not."

"You are right, sir. We can discuss the details later. It is enough to know the core."

Zhong Cang looked at Ying Zheng and exclaimed, "My Lord, your self-cultivation must have surpassed mine by now."

"Young Master, your divine light is restrained and seemingly ordinary, but in fact, you have already returned to your original nature."

Ying Zheng shook his head: "My disciple has never fought with anyone before, so I don't know how well I have trained."

"But the more I practice, the more I feel that the skills taught by the teacher are profound and extensive. They are not just for building a foundation, but can benefit me for a lifetime."

Zhong Cang laughed: "This skill was learned by me when I was traveling around to study. I met a master who saw that I was eager to learn and taught me by chance."

"This technique takes the way of nature as its teacher, and it can naturally benefit you for the rest of your life."

"It's a pity that I have poor talent and started practicing martial arts too late. Even with such skills, I will never achieve great success."

"Young Master has unparalleled talent in the world. Learning this kind of technique is a match made in heaven. Your future is limitless."

Ying Zheng bowed again: "Teacher, I would like to thank you for teaching me your skills."

Zhong Cang replied: "This is my duty. If I don't do my best, how can I repay the prince for his kindness?"

"I naturally know your talent and character."

"Now that several more experts have joined in teaching, I will not make any more efforts to teach you. From now on, I will concentrate on teaching Prince Qin the law."

"Qin Law is the foundation of the Qin State. With your future prospects, you must learn it and be familiar with it."

"In addition, I have something to say from the bottom of my heart. Today, there are hundreds of schools of thought in the world. Although the most prominent schools of thought are either Confucianism or Mohism, in times of great contention, the law should be given priority. The Qin Dynasty is based on the doctrine of Legalism, and this foundation cannot be easily changed."

"In the world, there is no law that cannot be changed; but when changing the legal system, one must not act too hastily."

"Whether it is Confucianism or Legalism, we can choose its merits and accept them, but we cannot accept them all; even if there are laws that are not suitable for the times, we can slowly modify them, but we must never rashly change the national policy, which will do more harm than good." "My disciples know this principle. Laozi said: Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. When it comes to governing a country, we should be cautious and impatient."

"You are smart, you understand all these principles. I just hope you will always keep them in mind."

"Disciples must obey the teacher's teachings."

"Sir, do you know why, since Lord Shang's reform, the Qin State has leapt from a weak country to the strongest among all the princes in the world?"

Ying Zheng replied: "Shang Jun established the system of military merit and honor, with heavy rewards and heavy punishments. Under the combination of kindness and severity, there will be brave men. If everyone dares to fight, the fighting power will naturally be strong."

"Your Highness is right, but why don't the other vassal states learn from the Qin Dynasty and make the same reforms?"

Zhong Cang then asked: "Shang Jun's law is a dignified way, not a conspiracy way, everything is laid out in the open; since Shang Jun's law can make the country strong, why doesn't anyone learn it?"

Ying Zheng laughed and said, "Because I can't learn it."

"The rest of the vassal states are governed by aristocrats, and their relationships are complicated and intertwined. If the new policies harm the interests of the aristocrats, they will inevitably be difficult to implement."

"The Qin dynasty was weak before. To the east, it was repeatedly suppressed by the Guandong countries. To the west, it was threatened by the Western Rong. The royal family and nobles of the Qin dynasty were all together. The nobles were not dispersed. Relatively speaking, the nobles of the Qin dynasty were not strong. The court could enforce the government's orders. This was the fundamental reason."

Zhong Cang praised: "Young Master, you have hit the nail on the head. No matter how good a system is, it is meaningless if it cannot be implemented."

"Every time a law is changed, it will inevitably harm a lot of people who already have benefits. It is not easy to make them give up these benefits. It involves a lot of people and many people will die. If you are not careful, it may even cause civil unrest in the country. The country will be destroyed before the law is passed."

"Reform is for the purpose of strengthening the country, not for its destruction. Even if we see the country gradually weakening and being gradually eroded, we can do nothing about it."

Ying Zheng jokingly said: "That's right, people can't kill themselves just to cure an illness."

Zhong Cang laughed: "Indeed, sir, do you know the key points of Shangjun's reform?"

Ying Zheng did not hesitate and firmly summarized: "Abolish feudal fiefdoms, set up counties, abolish well-fields, and change fields into fields."

Zhong Cang nodded in approval, with a look of admiration on his face: "That's right, young master is truly a genius! He can always grasp the core of the problem."

He went on to say: "People simply summarize Shang Yang's reforms as a system of military merit and nobility, which is really underestimating Shang Yang."

Zhong Cang sighed deeply: "Shang Jun is truly a genius, rarely seen in ancient and modern times!"

"Is it easy to legislate? We need to be realistic, and the entire set of laws must be interconnected and develop in a benign manner. Otherwise, it will only harm others and ourselves, and mislead the country and the people."

"Otherwise, even if you can force the method, as long as it is not sustainable, it will not succeed. The whole body must be able to circulate healthily on its own, only then will it succeed."

"My lord, you have just said that the prerequisite for reform is to be able to implement the decree."

"And this requires a complete system of officials to operate healthily."

"Because the many noble forces of the Qin Dynasty were not strong at the beginning, and there were not many fiefs, the Qin Dynasty had enough land to use as a foundation."

"The first step Shang Yang took was to unify the weights and measures. Only after the weights and measures were unified could the land system be reformed, the well-field system be abolished, and the fields be opened up."

"Why did you unify all the weights and measures in the Qin Dynasty first? Not only did the weights and measures of the various countries in the world differ, but even the feudal nobles used different weights and measures."

"Everyone knows that standardizing weights and measures is the most convenient, but why do the nobles use different measuring tools? It's just to better exploit the people."

(End of this chapter)