Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 341 Starting from the Weakness

After a pause, Li Jing sighed: "The ancients said that there are gods standing three feet above your head. To be a man, you must be in awe, the gods, the system, and the law. Only when you are an official can you do things conscientiously and dare not use power for personal gain." The common people dare not commit crimes unless they are in awe.

What is the purpose of your reading?At a small level, it is for the purpose of being an official, and at a high level, it is to serve the country and seek the well-being of the people.But how to serve the country, how to seek the well-being of the people?I think at least one must have the ability to serve the country and the ability to benefit the people, right?Can relying on the Four Books and Five Classics serve the country?Can it benefit the people?
In the past few years, the Eastern Captives repeatedly harassed Ming Dynasty and plundered countless people and money. Can we defeat the Eastern Captives by relying on the Four Books and Five Classics?Can relying on moral education teach them to be law-abiding?

cannot!You have to rely on knives and guns, you have to rely on advancing weapons, you have to rely on soldiers to work hard, and you have to rely on the general's familiarity with the way of using troops.

Since the Tumu Fortress Incident in our Ming Dynasty, civilian officials have started to lead the troops in battle, that is to say, once you become officials, you will have the opportunity to lead troops to fight.

Let me ask you, will you lead troops to fight?
If anyone says he can, I will give you an army right now. If anyone can lead the army to defeat the Eastern Captives, I will immediately make him a general. The fallen soldiers arrived. "

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Jing smiled and said: "Yes, this time you finally have self-knowledge. No one came out and said that they are qualified for this position. In fact, even if you dare to do it, I would not dare to hand over the soldiers to you." You guys, you know, the soldiers, like us, were raised by their parents. I have to be responsible for their lives, and I can't let them die in vain.

I know that you look down on soldiers and think that soldiers are rough and don't understand anything.In fact, you are wrong!Without those soldiers who defended their homes and the country, can you study with peace of mind?
Sun Tzu said: Soldiers, important affairs of the country, the place of death and life, the way of survival and death, must be observed.

The sages paid so much attention to military affairs, how can our descendants take military affairs lightly?The six arts of a gentleman, the number of rites and music, and the number of imperial books, two of which involve military affairs, do you still learn it now? "

Sighing, Li Jing continued: "You all study Confucianism and respect Confucius and Mencius as saints.

Confucius said: A king is like a boat, and a common man is like water. Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it.

Mencius said: The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least.

I don't need to explain what these two sentences mean, do you?

What is the people?What are common people?Those farmers, those craftsmen, and those businessmen are all people, all are common people.

The king is light, and the king is still light, let alone you and me officials, let alone you scholars?
In recent years, there have been severe droughts in the Northwest, and the victims of the disaster have rebelled. How many officials have died where they have passed?How many scholars died?If we don't wake up quickly, it may be our turn one day.

Therefore, even if it is for your own sake, you have to cheer up and learn something useful. Only in this way can you do things well for the people.

Well, it's getting late, the emperor is going to Shanxi for inspection, I have to prepare some things, you go back, think about what I said, even if it's for your own future, you should give up empty talk and learn more useful things . "

Seeing that Li Jing was about to end the meeting, Qian Qianyi was in a hurry, and stepped forward and said, "Governor, wait a minute. I still have a question that I don't understand. Please enlighten me."

Li Jing pondered for a while, then nodded and said: "If you have any questions, please ask."

Qian Qianyi hurriedly said: "The old man heard that when the governor was in Pingyang Mansion, the tax rate was extremely high. The commercial tax reached [-]%, and the land tax reached [-]%. There are complaints from all over the place. The old man wants to ask the governor, does he plan to implement this tax system throughout the country?"

Li Jing smiled suddenly when he heard the words, Li Jing knew that this was the real purpose of Qian Qianyi and others coming here.

In fact, the reason is very simple, because as Li Jing himself said, it is impossible for Daming to recruit a group of illiterate people as officials. In any case, officials of Daming must have a certain level of education.

That is to say, no matter whether Li Jing abolished the stereotyped selection of scholars, or did not take the Four Books and Five Classics exams, most of the officials finally selected had to be scholars.

Although the practical study has harmed some of the interests of these students, the damage is actually not great. The only ones who really lose their chances are the older students who are already in their 50s and [-]s and are still studying the Four Books and Five Classics and stereotyped essays all day long.

These people have been immersed in those things that block people's wisdom all day long, and most of them are already stupid. Coupled with their age, it is impossible for them to return to the stage again. It can be said that these people have basically lost their chance.

But for those students in their thirties, it doesn't matter at all, because they still have a lot of time, so it's a big deal to pretend that they didn't pass the exam this time, and go home and study for another three years.

In short, whatever you want to take the exam, we will learn whatever. There is only one purpose, that is to get fame and become an official.

Why are these people so keen on obtaining fame?Because after gaining fame and fame, the benefits will be great.

The most direct benefit is that after gaining fame, these people will enter the class of scholars. In the future, their relatives and family members will not have to pay grain for farming, and will not have to pay taxes for doing business.After a few years, relying on these privileges alone, you can accumulate a lot of money.

If you can become an official again, the benefits will be even greater. Except for a few people (such as Hai Rui), which official has not done something about using power for personal gain?It is reasonable and legal for a smart official to seek personal gain even if he does not teach the tricks. If you really don’t understand, you can refer to the red envelopes given to the judge by going to court. Please refer to those cases that are reasonably and legally closed. There is still a problem of execution after the sentence is passed), as long as you do this for a few years, it will be difficult for you to become an official and not get rich!
This is the fundamental reason why the ancients were keen on fame and being an official.

In fact, throughout history, the selection of officials in the past dynasties, whether it is recommending talents, promoting filial piety or imperial examinations, the class of scholars is the biggest beneficiary group.

However, the system formulated by Li Jing touched the fundamental interests of the gentry class.

Li Jing also knew that this was what Qian Qianyi and the others were fighting for.

But on this issue, Li Jing will never let go.

Li Jing knew that the people of the country always had the idea of ​​not suffering from poverty but from inequality, but Li Jing also knew that the rich and the poor cannot be equalized. The robbery of the rich can only target those who do not obey the rules and break the law, and those who help the poor The target can only be those who are exploited and oppressed and the poor caused by the unfair system in the past. Those who are poor due to personal reasons are not included in the relief, otherwise the entire country will lose momentum.

Because some people earn a lot of money based on their skills and abilities. If you distribute the money they earn to the poor, are these people still willing to work hard?Poor people feel that they can share the money of the rich, and they are afraid that they will not work hard.

If the people in power in a country do this, the country will basically have no hope. Li Jing will never do such a stupid thing.

What Li Jing wants to do is to give everyone a fair chance. Everyone pays food and taxes, and no one has privileges. This is fairness.Due to historical reasons, many people have more land, and the higher taxes for these people are also for the sake of fairness.

The same is true for different tax rates for businesses. Those with high profits will have higher tax rates, and those with low profits will have lower tax rates. This is also fair.

Li Jing believes that when a fair opportunity arises, whether he can make money and have enough to eat depends on his own ability.In the absence of natural disasters and man-made disasters, if you can’t eat due to personal reasons, such as laziness, then it is your own problem. Li Jing believes that the country should not take care of these people at this time. Such people deserve to starve to death If you starve to death more, the country will be less burdened.

Regarding this theory of fairness, Li Jing actually wanted to tell everyone, but Li Jing knew that with Daming's current situation, it was impossible for everyone to accept this theory.

Especially the gentry class, who have been beneficiaries of the system for thousands of years, how could it be possible to accept such a theory?
To deal with this group of people, we have to start from their weaknesses.

The weakness of this group of people is that they are obviously doing whatever they can for their own selfishness, but they are always sanctimonious, and they like to talk about the truth with people with an appearance of worrying about the country and the people.

Li Jing already knew how to deal with these people, don't you guys like to reason?Then I'll reason with you.

Moreover, Li Jing is very skilled in reasoning, that is, he will never follow the opponent's words. Li Jing likes to ask questions for the opponent to answer, and then lead them into the ditch step by step.

People who have followed Li Jing for many years know Li Jing's methods. People like Shen Zheng, Zhou Hengchen, and Yang Liufeng have learned countless times.

Regarding Li Jing's ability, Yang Liufeng and others admired it when they talked about it in private. They all said that it is best not to argue with Li Jing's point of view, otherwise, wait for Li Jing to ask you questions.

Seeing that Qian Qianyi did not know how to raise the tax issue with Li Jing, these people suddenly became excited, and prepared to see how Li Jing would deal with Qian Qianyi as if they were watching a show.

The expressions of interest on these people naturally couldn't hide from Li Jing's eyes. Li Jing glanced at everyone, and said with a half-smile: "Mr. Qian wants to ask a question about taxation, who will answer it?"

Yang Liufeng laughed when he heard the words: "Hey, Commander is well-versed in the past and present, and his knowledge is far beyond my reach. Let's come, Commander."

Li Jing stretched out two fingers and said with a smile: "Chen Xing, you have flattered me twice today, and I will remember it for you. If you come to meet with me today, if the affairs of the Criminal Department are delayed, look at me How to deal with you."

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter when they heard the words.

"Marshal, during this period of time, the people from the procuratorate are investigating the case. Junyang asked me to help arrest him. I was almost exhausted. I finally took the opportunity to stay with the marshal for a while, so you will spare me. Let me rest for a day." Yang Liufeng said with a bitter face.

Seeing that Yang Liufeng's eyes were slightly sunken, wrinkles had begun to appear at the corners of his eyes, and his face was covered with wind and frost. The handsome young talent in the past seemed to be prematurely aging. Looking at Shen Zheng, Yuan Shu and others, almost everyone With a tired face, Li Jing sighed and said, "You have all worked hard during this time. Follow me, you will suffer a lot!"

Seeing Li Jing's emotion, Yang Liufeng and others were moved, and the scene became much quieter for a while.

(End of this chapter)