Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 100: Debate (Part )
He Bo was very curious about the underage Shang Jun in front of him.

He once again invited Wei Yang to come to his side and sit opposite him.

He Bo said, "I just listened to your debate with my friend. Although you are young, you already have some ideas about governing a country. So I am a little confused about your proposition. I would like to ask you to explain the deep meaning of it to me."

Wei Yang supported his knees with his hands, leaned back slightly, and looked somewhat proud.

Young people attach great importance to their own opinions and hope to attract the attention of others.

The fact that He Bo had doubts also showed that the other party had indeed listened to what he said.

Wei Yang was somewhat happy about this.

"Go ahead!" he told He Bo.

So He Bo asked him, "When making a decree, how can we ensure that it is a good one?"

"A wise ruler and his ministers will consider the state's situation and issue appropriate decrees."

“But what if the people do not approve of the decree and do not trust it after it is issued?”

"Whip him with a whip!" Wei Yang reiterated what he had just said.

Then He Bo rolled up his sleeves and showed his fists, "If I beat you up now, will you change your mind and obey me?"

Wei Yang did not speak immediately. He just looked back at the number of his servants, and then looked at He Bo and the other four.

After confirming that he had more people, he straightened his chest and said, "You can't do anything to me!"

"Because my power is greater than yours!"

"Oh, is it so?"

He Bo waved to Ji Wu.

Ji Wu immediately stood up, ripped open his clothes, and revealed his muscular chest.

He rushed to several of Wei Yang's servants, stretched out his hands, grabbed them, and subdued them in an instant.

Wei Yang stared at this scene with wide eyes and said in surprise, "How can this be possible!"

Then he turned around and looked at He Bo, who had not yet made a move, and showed a look of panic, worried that the other party would really rush up and hit him.

He Bo was very proud. "Are you allowed to beat others but not others to beat you?"

Wei Yang was still stubborn, "…The ruler governs the country and the power he commands is the soldiers. How can he personally go up and fight with others?"

"But the army is also made up of people. Won't the common people spontaneously unite and form a team to resist your whipping?"

Wei Yang puffed up his face in anger, "This is because the common people cannot understand the good intentions of the monarch, so they are resisting!"

"If they knew, they wouldn't resist!"

He Bo burst into laughter, pointed at him and said, "Look, look!"

"The kid is going to cheat!"

"My friend said before that we should reason with the people so that they can serve better, but you said it was unnecessary!"

“Now that you find yourself in danger of being resisted and beaten by the people, you have to go and reason with them!”

Wei Yang's face turned red and he waved his arms, but he didn't know what to say.

He Bo stroked his beard and looked at the young Shang Jun in front of him, feeling deeply moved that the great legalist recorded in history actually had such a moment.

Maybe it was because of what he experienced after he went to Hedong in Wei State.

After all, the Wei State is in quite a mess now:
Wei Houji's body eventually aged and he no longer had the spirit he once had.

However, he had not yet appointed a crown prince, and recently he had become superstitious about ghosts and gods, often summoning shamans and priests to ask them if they had any method to make people immortal.

They even sent people to the Zhangshui River Basin, hoping to offer sacrifices in the most famous and popular temple in Ye County.

But Ximen Bao's wife had moved here and was in very good health.

The villagers of Ye County missed Ximen Bao's kindness and respected her very much.

Then, the messenger was scolded by Ximen Bao's wife and her men, "My beloved is already serving the gods, does the king want to ask for his opinion?"

Wei Hou Ji was unhappy about this, but the older he got, the more he feared the unpredictable methods of ghosts and gods, so he did not retaliate.

After all, if you judge God by yourself,

He was indeed worried that Ximen Bao would slander him in front of the ghosts and gods and thus persecute him.

Therefore, he could only send people to various places in Shanxi to look for the legendary ghosts and gods, hoping to prolong his life.

Such an approach,
Not only did the political situation in Wei stagnate, but people's hearts also became restless. His two sons were already on the verge of a fight, seeking the throne that would inevitably be vacant after their father's death.

If Wei Yang went there at this time, he would have to face all this chaos.

Young people are easily influenced by the outside world. What if Wei Yang was stimulated by such turmoil and became gloomy and even more violent?
"In my opinion, you shouldn't rush to Hedong."

"It's rare for you to go out, but you don't want to take a good look at the scenery in this world, but just go to a prosperous place like Anyi. Aren't you afraid that when the Marquis of Wei asks you if you know anything about Wei, you will find that you know nothing about it?"

Wei Yang was still stubborn. "I have extensive knowledge and strong understanding. I can learn a lot by walking and looking along the way!"

"What a bird you see!"

"Eat two more bowls of rice and you'll be fine!"

After suppressing Wei Yang's servants, Ji Wu returned and made violent remarks against him.

Wei Yang glared at him angrily, but looking at his strong physique, he was worried that the other party might catch him too.

So he didn't argue.

He Bo called Ji Wu back and said to Wei Yang, "The Eastern Commandery of Wei State is more stable than Hexi and Hedong."

"If you want to understand the people's livelihood and national conditions, you must go to the countryside."

"If the people refuse to obey orders and your whip cannot completely suppress them, then the same thing happened to King Dao of Chu and Wu Qi and his ministers, and you will suffer the same fate!"

"You don't want this, do you?"

He Bo thought of the hellish joke of "Shang Yang knowing the horsepower" in later generations, then looked at the young and intact Wei Yang in front of him, and finally couldn't help laughing.

then,

He then returned with his dead men.

Wei Yang stayed where he was, deep in thought, not knowing what he was thinking about.

"Gongsun..."

The servant who was beaten for no apparent reason asked cautiously, "Where are we going next?"

Wei Yang pursed his lips and finally said reluctantly, "Let's go to Feicheng."

"I plan to stay here for a while."

It just so happened that these days were the time when the villagers in Feicheng were doing spring farming.

During this period, Wei Yang also went out of the city to take a look.

He observed in silence for a while, then asked an old farmer.

“How was the harvest last year?”

The old farmer said happily, "Thanks to the protection of the gods, we harvested a lot of grain last year and the year before last!"

Then he sighed again, "It's a pity that the grain harvest is too much, and the taxes are also too much."

"I thought that since the harvests in recent years were good, I could store more food and rest for a while, but I didn't expect that I would still have to go out to farm."

The old farmer's words were full of complaints.

His original intention was to vent his dissatisfaction to others, and if he could gain others' approval, he would feel better.

But then I heard Wei Yang say, "If the country collects more taxes, it will become richer and stronger and can do more things."

The old farmer immediately got angry and glared at me, "What does the country's wealth have to do with me?"

"Those nobles want to get rich, why can't they let me live a good life?"

"I thought you were a good person just now, but it turns out you are so mean!"

The old farmer raised the hoe in his hand to express his dissatisfaction with Wei Yang.

If the country is rich, and the collected taxes are used for people's livelihood, such as building more canals and raising more oxen, they will not complain so much.

But Feicheng had several good harvests and the tax revenue increased, which only made the nobles' houses more luxurious and their clothes more exquisite.

The villagers saw this, how could they not be angry?
The servants rushed forward to protect Gongsun, but the old farmer thought that the other party was going to bully him by relying on their numbers, so he called his nephews and nieces who were working in the fields nearby, and even the women who delivered meals.

The whole family started using hoes to attack Wei Yang, forcing him to run away.

The ghosts and gods that are invisible to mortals were watching the fun from the side and were amused to the point of laughing.

(End of this chapter)