Daqin: A buff of incredible comprehension

Zhao Gao: "My lord, my good lord, this is supreme power, how can you easily give it to others?"

"I don't care, it has to be you. Whether you like it or not, you have to do it."

Zhao Chen: "You are cheating, you know that? This is not like your generosity as the greatest emperor of all time." Father.

No, I must find a replacement, otherwise I won’t have a peaceful life in the future.

Zhao Chen began to think.

That’s right, brother is enough!

As this thought flashed through his mind, Zhao Chen's eyes immediately lit up.

"Father, I believe my brother is capable of doing this."

"Him? No, no, he is influenced by Confucianism and is a bit too soft-hearted. If we let him take on such an important task, there will be big problems." Ying Zheng refused decisively.

"Father, don't be impatient. Although my brother is influenced by Confucianism, it is precisely because of this that he is more suitable. Think about it, our Great Qin governs by law. Even if my brother is kind, he will not abuse his power for personal gain. There are many people in the Great Qin watching us.

My brother must maintain the overall interests of the country. In front of the country, everything else is empty talk.

Even if he does something wrong out of kindness at first, it doesn't matter. There will always be someone to remind him and tell him the consequences and impact of doing so.

By then, my brother will naturally be aware of the difference between the benevolence of Confucianism and the benevolence of the rule of law. Then my father will send someone to teach him, and I believe he will understand.

Isn’t this what you most want to see?”

Hearing this, Ying Zheng fell silent.

He carefully considered Zhao Chen's words and felt that they made sense.

Although Fusu is pedantic, as a prince of the Qin Dynasty, he will naturally put the Qin Dynasty first. At that time, he will have no choice but to continue to be merciful.

"it is good!"

Ying Zheng suddenly slammed the table.

Zhao Chen: Oh, I was scared to death.

"Why didn't I think of that? I'll do as you say!"

"Uh-huh!"

I'm sorry, brother. In order for me to live a quiet life, you have to take my place for now!

Fusu: Thank you for your great kindness!

*Continue to ask for flowers and monthly tickets! Ask for flowers and monthly tickets! Ask for flowers and monthly tickets! *

---

"Come on, Chen'er, tell me what you think of the Legalists."

"Ah, do you need to say more? I've already said a lot!"

"How can there be enough time? I'm really interested, you can't spoil my fun, tell me now!"

“This… okay!!”

Zhao Chen was helpless. It seemed that if he didn't explain everything today, his father would never let him go.

“In fact, the progress of Legalist thought is that it can narrow the gap between different classes.

The Legalists proposed the principle that "princes who break the law are subject to the same punishment as common people", which means that everyone should abide by the law and be treated equally!

Shang Yang died because he punished the Crown Prince without mercy. I'm sure Father is aware of this!"

"Father, I have a question.

Did Shang Yang really punish the crown prince, or did he only punish his teacher, Gongzi Qian?

"What difference does it make? Besides, this is the secret of the Qin Dynasty, so stop meddling in its affairs." Ying Zheng said dissatisfiedly.

"If it's the latter, it only means that Shang Yang doesn't dare to offend the king!"

"Nonsense, where did you see these ridiculous things? It's simply slander." Ying Zheng was furious.

This is simply a public smear on the ancestors of the Qin Dynasty! How can this be tolerated!

"Boy, since you know that the Qin Dynasty governs the country by law, you should have read the Qin Law!" Zhao Chen shook his head.

Ying Zheng was speechless and glared at Zhao Chen: You haven't even read the Qin Law, so how can you talk so clearly?

"The original Qin Code clearly stipulated that guardians were responsible for crimes committed by minors. The prince was only nine years old at the time, so someone must have been behind the crime. Shang Yang conducted a rigorous investigation and then dealt with the case according to the law. Prince Qian had requested that his hands be amputated instead of his nose, but Shang Yang firmly disagreed. He said that every law had a corresponding punishment, and no form of flexibility was allowed.

This is the real situation back then, do you understand now?"

"I understand!" Zhao Chen nodded.

Is that really the case? No wonder the Qin Dynasty is becoming increasingly powerful. The benefits of rule of law are obvious!

"The ideas of the various schools of thought inherently intersect and merge; no single school of thought is entirely self-contained. For example, Mencius was a Confucian, but many of his views were similar to those of Mohism, yet he criticized Mohism. This was simply a dispute between schools of thought.

Another example is Xunzi, who, although a Confucian, strongly agreed with the Legalist idea of ​​rule of law. Some people even think that he is not a pure Confucian.

Although Mozi criticized Confucianism, he also inherited some of its ideas, and also had the Legalist concept of governing the country according to law and logical dialectical thinking.

The more pragmatic the philosophers, the more they were able to draw on the strengths of others and integrate the ideas of different schools. Extremely pragmatic schools of thought, such as the School of Diplomacy, the School of Military Strategy, the School of Strategies, and the School of Legalism, were almost all interconnected and borrowed from each other, though they each emphasized certain aspects.

The core idea of ​​Legalism is to govern the country according to law, to enforce the law fairly and impartially, and to make no distinction between high and low. Since the School of Art and the School of Power also adhere to this idea, these two schools also become part of Legalism.

The Legalists were deeply influenced by the Taoist philosophy of Laozi, and particularly identified with the Taoist way of dealing with things. Therefore, all three schools of Legalism highly respected Laozi's political thinking.

All pragmatic philosophers have studied the Taoist art of survival and strategy."

"Chen'er, you really have a deep understanding of these things!"

"Haha, I just study it when I'm bored. During this period, I have consulted Teacher Bei Mingzi about many Taoist classics." Zhao Chen did not mention the matter of the Book Spirit.

"This is something you research when you're bored? What about other people? They haven't done as much as you have in their entire lives."

“Hey, Dad, let’s continue discussing the Legalists!

You've heard of the Legalist Shintoism, right?

"Of course, he was one of the founders of the Legalist school, known as Shenzi."

"Yes, he advocated governing the country according to law, and combined it with Taoist philosophy. He believed that the monarch should rule by inaction, not personally interfering too much in state affairs. He only needed to be good at appointing ministers and letting them perform their duties. Excessive interference by the monarch would demotivate the ministers.

Shen Dao compared the monarch to a dragon, with clouds and mist symbolizing power. Without clouds and mist, a dragon cannot fly and would be no different from an earthworm on the ground. Therefore, he emphasized that the monarch must first consolidate his power and use the law to govern the country.

It can be said that Shen Dao is the Legalist figure closest to Taoist thought. He is actually the inheritor of Taoist Lao Tzu's thought. His governance strategies all follow Lao Tzu's theory and incorporate the concept of governing the country according to law.

He has two ideas that show he is a follower of Taoist thought:

First, they do not promote the virtuous and capable, nor give them high positions;”

Second: Not respecting virtuous officials

Doesn't what Dad said sound a bit ridiculous? "

Ying Zheng nodded.

Indeed, this doesn't seem like a point of view that someone like Shen Zi would put forward.

"However, if you understand it from a Taoist perspective, 'virtuous' is not the same as 'capable'. In Shen Dao's view, 'virtuous ministers' refer to those who have unique insights and are deeply loved by the people.

If there are too many of these people, your authority will be affected, and the people may be more inclined to listen to their opinions rather than the monarch.

Therefore, we should not 'honor the virtuous'.

However, you can rely on "capable ministers." Capable ministers are those who are capable of doing things, who do not think too much about extraneous things, but concentrate on doing their duties.

Shen Dao held the view that "no virtuous ministers should be respected." He believed that although there were many loyal ministers in the world, loyalty did not necessarily mean competence, nor did it necessarily mean that things could be done well.

What is needed to govern a country are capable ministers who should be loyal to their duties rather than simply loyal to the monarch.

Many mediocre people appear loyal to the monarch but are not loyal to their duties.

They may be considering the monarch, but due to their limited abilities, they often make many mistakes in decision-making and even threaten the monarch.

Officials should be loyal to their duties and should not act beyond their authority.

Loyal ministers, believing they are loyal to the monarch, interfere too much, which in turn leads to political chaos.

Therefore, Shen Dao was a Legalist theorist. His theory sounded logical, but in actual implementation, the monarch had absolute power and there was a lack of effective constraints on the monarch's behavior.

In this case, the monarch himself must be very wise and rational.

Once you encounter a foolish monarch, you will face many difficulties.

Therefore, Shen Dao's view has the same problem as the Confucianism's advocacy of loyalty to the emperor, that is, it has too much "rule by man" element.

Shen Dao's ideal model is that the monarch is a very wise leader who has established good laws, everyone acts within the legal framework, and violators are punished regardless of their status.

This will lead to a more stable society, more active participation from the people, and a more harmonious society.”

"I see. No wonder the two propositions proposed by Shen Zi have never been accepted. It seems many people have misunderstood them."

At this moment, Ying Zheng suddenly realized.

"Dad, go make some tea. You've said so much, but you haven't even poured me a cup. My throat is about to smoke. If you don't give me tea, I'm going to tell Mother."

Ying Zheng shook his head helplessly. Why is this kid always so frivolous?

"I'll go right away!"

Zhao Gao put down his pen and went to make tea.

"You little brat, I'm very curious. My other sons were all terrified when they saw me, but you weren't. Aren't you afraid of me?"

"What's there to be afraid of? You're not going to kill me. You're my father. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs."

"Haha, well said. This is exactly why I like you so much. This is how a father and son should get along. I'm very happy that you can do this."

Ying Zheng said with a smile, in fact, he still cares about family affection in his heart.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea."

"Sir, please have some tea."

Zhao Gao poured tea for them both.

Zhao Chen took a bite.

"Why is it so unpalatable? What kind of tea is this?"

"My lord, please forgive me. This is... this is..." Zhao Gao was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and apologized.

"It's okay, Chen'er, you have a really picky mouth."

"Zhao Gao, please get up. I have no intention of blaming you. Bring the tea leaves and boil a pot of water."

"Slave, go now."