Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 109: Using your own spear to attack your own shield, where does this vicious plan come from?

In the examination room, Chen Xu thought for half a minute before writing down the answer.

The small-eyed boy opposite did not notice that Chen Xuxin had spread out a piece of paper and had already written something on it.

Question: "There is a dangerous place called Langxi, with thousands of winding valleys. The mountain people are unruly and often plunder the people due to famine. The officials went to suppress it..."

The general meaning is: There is a very dangerous place called Langxi. The mountain people are unwilling to be educated and often come down the mountain to rob the people when food is scarce.

If the government came to deal with it, the mountain people would bring their elderly and children and kneel down and cry in front of the main mountain roads, saying that they were forced into a corner.

If we don't go down the mountain to find a way out, the elderly and children will all freeze to death and starve to death.

The test question is: "If you want to kill them all, you may be afraid of damaging your benevolent government; if you want to appease them, you may worry about encouraging evil.

Now, I want to ask you all: between the two strategies of suppression and appeasement, which one should be given priority?

What a great idea, “Which of the two strategies of suppression and appeasement should be given priority?”
It’s no wonder that the candidates gasped when they first opened the test paper for this kind of questions.

If it weren't for the fact that people are not allowed to make too much noise in the exam room, I'm afraid everyone would have started cursing.

This question is so difficult that for the candidates at this time, it is even more dangerous than the mountain people in the question.

If you focus on "suppression", it is obvious that you are too murderous and too rough, which is not in line with the Confucian idea of ​​"benevolent government".

However, if we only try to be lenient, we will be too weak and incompetent, which is called "tolerating evil". Even if such a policy paper is written, it will probably be of a "low quality".

What should I do?
Chen Xu replied: I have heard that the book “Plan for Public Security” says: “Hunger and cold bite the flesh of the people. It is impossible to make them die by evil means.” This is the fundamental reason why the mountain people gather together and protest.

Although they are barbarians, they are still innocent. If they follow Bai Qi's example of burying his soldiers alive and Xiang Yu's massacre of cities, then "those who rely on force will perish"...

Having written this, Chen Xu recalled the various stories of this world.

Speaking of which, although this world is not any dynasty that Chen Xu knew in his previous life, its cultural ties are in line with those of Blue Star China.

A lot of historical facts seem to be true but are not, and many celebrities and classics also have similarities.

The biggest turning point was the Wei and Jin dynasties.

That era of chaos and confusion among gods and demons left a mark in a history book: "In chaos and madness, gods and men are at odds with each other, and no longer exist."

After that, Taizu of Dali unified the world, swept across the vast wilderness, and established the country to this day.

When I was studying in the county school, although the history before the Wei and Jin Dynasties was not very clear, there was a general outline.

The Master seldom spoke of the history after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, especially the history of his own dynasty. When he did mention it occasionally, he was very secretive.

Therefore, Chen Xu always felt that this world was very mysterious.

It was only recently that County Magistrate Feng read books to him and took him to read history, and he gradually saw the richer side of the world.

The veil is lifted layer by layer, but every time you lift a layer, you will often find that there are more veils underneath.

Chen Xu begins with a classic and then uses famous sayings of ancient sages to relate to the topic.

Then his pen moved quickly and he finished the work in one stroke.

First, it points out that the fundamental reason why mountain people gather together to plunder is poverty, hunger and cold.

This is the ultimate desire for survival. If this fundamental problem cannot be resolved, all subsequent strategies will be nothing but illusions.

This is what is meant by treating the symptoms but not the root cause, or drinking poison to quench thirst.

So, can we kill all the mountain people and eliminate the trouble forever?
Oh, if you really do that, then you are not governing the country and the people. What is the difference between Jie and Zhou?

What’s more, “a tree of ten feet in circumference begins life as a sprout” and “governing a country must follow certain rules, and benefiting the people is the foundation.”

Not all the mountain people are evil, there are also the elderly, the weak, women and children.

"Then, can we be lenient?"

Han Feizi said, "Power can suppress violence, but virtue alone is not enough to stop chaos."

"If the thieves are allowed to go unpunished, the good people will feel wronged!"

Therefore, the law is sacred and inviolable, otherwise how can we rest the souls of the innocent?

Chen Xu wrote: "Now the law of punishment should be made clear: Anyone who kills or robs others must be executed, even if he is eighty years old." ...

Up to this point in the article, although it quotes from classics, expresses its ideas clearly and is full of literary talent.

But it only discusses the topic in detail, but never gets to the root of the problem.

Of course, ordinary students can usually get a good score if they write to this level.

If I continue writing, it will just be a combination of "suppression and appeasement".

Perhaps they each have their own focus, but it is difficult to come up with new ideas.

Chen Xu also wrote: "If we want to maintain long-term peace and stability, we must use beneficial guidance."

Then the article begins by stating the topic and explaining how to solve the fundamental problem of "poverty, hunger, cold and the desire for survival".

Guanzi says: "If it benefits the people, they will come; if it harms them, they will leave."

What other methods can be used to make the unruly mountain people obedient and become submissive citizens?
Of course, it is to ensure that they have enough food and clothing and provide them with benefits.

Chen Xu also wrote: "But benefits should not be granted lightly!"

It is definitely not allowed to give it away casually.

Therefore, they took advantage of the characteristics of the mountains and forests, opened up trading posts on the main roads at the foot of the mountains, gathered merchants, and formed a mutual market.

Merchants were required to exchange salt, tea, cloth, grain and other items with the mountain people for various mountain products.

Chen Xu also mentioned that setting up a market is just the beginning.

After establishing a market, it is even more important to control prices and establish a "price stabilization law" to allow wild delicacies to play out their due value and prevent merchants from arbitrarily setting prices for profit.

After that, another key point of "long-term stability" came.

Chen Xu wrote: "It is advisable to order the first group of people who benefit to report the fierce bandits in the same village. Those who can capture the bandit chief will be given land and exempted from taxes; those who conceal the crime and fail to report it will be punished and the mountains will be closed off..."

Use your spear to pierce your shield.

First guide with benefits, then divide with benefits.

In this way, you can "subdue the enemy without fighting", which is the best of all!

As the pen and ink were put to paper, Chen Xu's heart was slightly moved.

This policy paper can be called "good" or "poisonous". It is both a good policy and a poisonous plan.

If this strategy is really used to subjugate the mountain people, I am afraid that it will cause a lot of blood and gore, and cause many relatives and friends to turn against each other.

However, "kindness cannot command an army." If we are really in such a situation, what else can we do if not do this?
If we just indulge them blindly, we will be doing justice to the fierce bandits in the mountains.

But how can we be fair to the other innocent people who were robbed at the foot of the mountain?
In this world, any kind of peace often comes after brutal fighting.

There may be the saying "He who kills will be killed", but there will inevitably be innocent people who suffer.

But some things have to be done.

I am not a good person, I just do what I can to live my life with a clear conscience.

Chen Xu put down the pen in his hand, his heart trembling slightly, and suddenly he felt that the speed of the flow of the innate Qi in his dantian was slightly accelerating.

However, under the overall suppression of the Juntian Bell, this momentary speed was forbearing, restrained, and suppressed...

Then, it seemed as if something strange was growing, jumping, and sprouting in this kind of forbearance.

Chen Xu closed his eyes slightly, waiting for the ink on the test paper to dry.

At this moment, he seemed to have the greatest patience in his life.

It happened to be a sunny day, and the scorching sun was pouring down from the sky, waving patches of light.

Some of it fell on Chen Xu's face, and some fell on the test paper in front of him with fluent handwriting, illuminating the entire paper as if a thin smoke was rising.

In front of the examination room, Academician Su Quan, who was sitting in the main seat, suddenly had a startle in his heart and opened his eyes.

(End of this chapter)