My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

Fusu returned to his room.

Chen Mo's words echoed repeatedly in his mind.

"Unity of knowledge and action..."

"Practice makes perfect..."

"No investigation, no right to speak..."

He repeatedly chewed over and digested these words, and the more he digested them, the more shocked he became.

These words, though simple and easy to understand, seem to be truths that directly address the essence of things.

True knowledge necessarily implies action...

True knowledge comes from practice...

"Without investigation, one is not qualified to make a judgment..."

Suddenly, Fusu's thoughts froze.

A painful memory surged into my mind like a cold tide.

Once, the emperor was furious because of the criticisms and "misleading" remarks of some alchemists and Confucian scholars, and ordered their arrest and interrogation.

Upon hearing the news, he immediately wrote a letter of advice.

What did he write in his memorial?

He quoted extensively from classical texts, saying, "All Confucian scholars recite the teachings of Confucius, but Your Majesty strictly enforces the law. I fear the world will be in turmoil."

He earnestly pleaded with his father, the emperor, to be lenient and to use his virtue to influence the people…

At that time, his heart was filled with Confucian ideals of "benevolent governance" and "admonition".

Even though he was demoted, he still retained a bit of pride.

After all, he was demoted for implementing the benevolent governance he believed in and for upholding the Confucianism he believed in.

But looking back now, it just feels so pale, empty, even ridiculous!

Suddenly, Fusu's cheeks became burning hot.

survey?

Did he personally investigate what the arrested Confucian scholars had said?

What did you do?

Is it merely a difference in academic viewpoints, or are there indeed words and deeds that slander the government and mislead the public?

Did he ever go to the streets and listen to the people's opinions on this matter?

Have you ever personally questioned those involved in the case while they were in prison?

No!

None at all!!!

He merely heard the news that "Emperor Qin Shi Huang was going to punish Confucian scholars," and based solely on his own concept of "benevolence" learned from books, he couldn't wait to jump out, stand on the moral high ground, and interfere with his father's decision!

What he called knowledge was completely unrealistic and self-righteous, just as Chen Mo described it!

Thinking of this, Fu Su remembered what Chen Mo had said before: to criticize without any investigation, to be used as a weapon while still being considerate of others. Suddenly, he felt his cheeks burning even more.

He hadn't thought about it this way before, but now that he's thought about it carefully, he realizes it's not.

It seems that he was truly used as a weapon by some people.

Being used as a weapon was bad enough, but what was even more important was that he actually thanked the group of Confucian scholars for telling him about this.

Fortunately, Ying Zheng intended to protect him, demoting him to the border and intending to give him military power.

Thinking of this, Fusu felt deeply ashamed.

"How foolish I was! How... arrogant I was!"

Fusu felt guilty.

Even Fusu himself did not realize that his previous Confucian beliefs were wavering.

At the same time, a new and more solid force is quietly growing from the ashes of shame.

On the other side, Zhu Biao was also repeatedly pondering Chen Mo's words.

"Knowledge and action must be integrated... True knowledge comes from practice... Only through investigation can one have the right to speak..."

He recalled many of his experiences as the crown prince overseeing the state.

He handled countless government affairs and reviewed countless memorials, considering himself diligent and striving for fairness.

He made many decisions based on legal codes, precedents, and reports from officials, combined with his own judgment.

He thought he had achieved "seeing the smallest details".

But at this moment, he began to have deep doubts about himself.

Is what I believe to be knowledge truly true enough?

He recalled a controversy surrounding the reform of the Grand Canal.

He listened to a heated debate among the ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, both sides citing classical texts and providing detailed data.

He ultimately adopted the seemingly safer and more cost-effective solution.

That decision was procedurally sound and logically justifiable.

But did he ever personally visit the Caohe River?

Have you ever asked the boatmen who pull ropes on the canal what their backs look like from being rubbed raw by the ropes?

Have you ever asked the people along the river who sometimes benefited from and sometimes suffered because of the canal transport what their real demands are?

No.

His knowledge was based on documents and oral accounts from officials.

This may not be wrong, but it falls far short of the true knowledge that Chen Mo claimed to have gained from firsthand investigation and practice.

Zhu Biao then thought of his father, the emperor.

Sometimes his father would reject his seemingly perfect plans, which he never understood at the time.

Why did Father Emperor reject such a good plan?

But now he has grasped that slight feeling.

His father came from humble origins and had a deep-seated memory and intuition about the suffering of the common people.

It may seem perfect to them, but in reality, it cannot benefit the people at all; in the end, only the middle group benefits.

Zhu Biao realized that his knowledge and actions were mostly confined to his study and the imperial court.

In other words, he is very good at handling memorials and also very good at dealing with people.

He was adept at maintaining stability and keeping the balance of power in the court.

Zhu Biao spread out a blank sheet of paper, picked up his pen, but didn't put pen to paper for a long time.

The light flickered.

Zhu Biao gently put down his pen, a resolute glint in his eyes.

Finally, he wrote down the words "No investigation, no right to speak" on the paper.

Then he wrote down below.

"From now on, everything must be investigated first; never speak without investigation!"

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment, then added a few more words below.

"Even if I'm extremely busy, I must send several trusted confidants to investigate!"

"We must never be deceived by our subjects!"

Zhu Biao thought about what Chen Mo had said about the various bizarre emperors of the Ming Dynasty in the hospital, and then filled in a few more below.

"We absolutely cannot afford to go decades without attending court!"

"Never become obsessed with women, lest you die from their influence!"

"We must never allow civil servants to become too powerful!"

"We must never act rashly against those who have made great contributions!"

……