A conversation between two old men and a young man lasted for three hours.
To be more precise, most of the conversation was between Emerson and Todd, and Cumberland just coughed to express his dissatisfaction and doubts.
"You are right. The kingdom has only been established for a short period of time, and it does have many shortcomings. I also admit that these are facts." After listening to Earl Emerson's analysis of the monarch and power, Todd nodded.
While saying: "To be honest, I have not been exposed to domestic and foreign affairs in the past, and my only knowledge comes from books."
"No, you misunderstood me. The king should be the one who gives orders. If everything is done personally, then such a kingdom has no future at all. Therefore, you are not wrong about the shortcomings in domestic and foreign affairs. At best, you can only
There's no point in saying it's the right person." Emerson glanced at the nervous Cumberland and continued: "However, in terms of your grasp of power, I think you have some..."
"As for the evil of human nature and the centralization of monarchy that you mentioned, I can only say that I partially agree." Todd said after thinking hard about the political and philosophical theories he had heard during his teaching days.
Emerson raised his eyebrows: "Please tell me."
"Let me talk about the human nature you mentioned first. Generally speaking, there are two views, one is that human nature is inherently good, and the other is that human nature is inherently evil. I personally think that both of these views are a bit biased. People start from birth.
, is almost like a blank sheet of paper, and there is no absolute classification of good and evil. But with the experiences in the process of growing up and the pressure of the real environment, people will gradually tend to be self-interested or altruistic in their thinking."
Emerson chewed Todd's words carefully and asked, "I understand the experience of growing up. What does the pressure of reality mean?"
"Most evil people who prioritize self-interest over altruism as a strategy of action do not meet their basic needs from the perspective of their living environment. These needs include the lowest level of physiological needs, such as food and shelter; and the second level of safety needs.
, such as personal safety and family safety. I want to ask, if we talk to people about dedication and kindness when they are short of food, clothing and life, who will have this awareness? "
Emerson stroked his mustache with his hands and was speechless.
Todd continued: "If the monarch simply regards his subjects as evil and thinks that the only way to treat them is violence and deception, without improving the basic living environment, then the relationship between the king and the people will fall into a vicious cycle until
A revolution changes classes and castes."
"So, what you are saying is that no one is born evil, and those in power should find ways to improve the people's living environment. Only by improving the living environment and satisfying basic needs can the self-interested tendencies of the people be reduced and the sense of national identity enhanced?"
Todd scratched his itchy right arm, nodded and said: "This is the relationship between the monarch and the people, but when it comes to the relationship between countries, the position is completely different. There are many things about this.
I don’t understand it myself, so I won’t discuss it here. Next, I plan to talk about the centralization of monarchy. Count Emerson, I know that you do not agree with my move to decentralize power.”
Emerson smiled: "Looking at the history of all kingdoms, your behavior is indeed unique."
"Then I have a question first - must the king be right?"
Todd's words stunned both Emerson and Cumberland. The latter two looked at each other, not sure what the king meant by these words.
Todd did not wait for their answer, but continued his speech: "I personally believe that in myths, legends, novels and dramas, the kind of omnipotent leader does not exist at all. Think about it, there is a person who
A being who knows astronomy, knows geography, is like the Holy Spirit morally, and is impeccable in strategy. Such a being cannot be called a human being at all. It is a completely deified fictional image."
"Why do such characters exist? It's more because the people or authors use their own preferences, wishes and even dreams to create such characters through rumors, poetry, literature, etc. to satisfy their own spirits.
satisfaction. But what about the actual situation? Kings are also human beings, and they also have a history of growth and learning process. Their personalities, experiences, knowledge and preferences will affect their governing methods and processes. But this kind of mixed with personal emotions
Governance often leads to irrational deviations."
Todd paused for a while, recalling the historical documents he had read: "For example, rulers with military backgrounds often gravitate toward struggle; rulers with literary backgrounds tend to favor culture and influence; some
Rulers who have experience in business or production prefer to adjust the country's future direction to the economy. Can we say that any ruler's line is wrong? No, there is no way to draw a conclusion. We can only say that a certain person is in a specific environment.
It’s just more suitable for this kingdom.”
Emerson looked at King Muxi and suddenly asked: "So, Your Majesty, what type of consul are you?"
Hearing the other party's question, Todd was distracted for a moment, thought for a long time, and finally said with a wry smile: "As a king, I may be more inclined to this line of technology and research."
Emerson nodded as if he understood: "I understand. You studied at San Sidro Monastery for a period of time before. This experience must have affected you."
"Abbey? Ah, actually... forget it, these are not important." Todd waved his hand and brought the topic back to his own thoughts: "I mean, no ruler is perfect, they will also have their own problems.
Corresponding preferences, but the governance of the country needs to involve many fields, politics
, economy, law, people's livelihood, science and technology, military, culture, etc. This requires the king to have absolutely rational emotions and extremely broad knowledge, but in fact, this is impossible. That's why I said that it is necessary for me to
Power is transferred to the subjects, allowing them to help govern the country."
Emerson was thinking about Todd's speech about decentralization and suddenly proposed a hypothesis: "If the king is a wise monarch, he can listen to the opinions of his ministers and modify the kingdom's policies and routes based on their opinions, then in this way
, doesn’t it mean that there is no need to decentralize power? The power is still concentrated in the king, and the ministers only need to be responsible for suggestions and implementation.”
Todd nodded and said: "This is indeed a method you mentioned. In history, there are indeed some wise monarchs who have an overall view of the situation and understand the principle of listening to both sides and believing in darkness. In their hands, the kingdom is indeed prosperous.
, more and more powerful... But have you ever thought about a question? These virtuous kings will eventually die, and their sons will inherit the kingdom. Who can guarantee that this heir will be a virtuous king? Well, assuming that his son is also a virtuous king.
Good king, what about his grandson?"
Emerson sat on the chair, completely stunned.
Todd recalled the decline of countless empires and said with endless emotion: "It may take dozens of generations of efforts to raise a kingdom, but it only takes one foolish king to destroy an empire."
It may take dozens of generations to raise a kingdom, but it only takes one foolish king to destroy an empire.
Emerson repeated King Muxi's words, but what he thought of was the hundreds of years of turmoil in the Silver Ring Kingdom. Thinking of the disintegrated faith, the people who were slaughtered, and the city that was burned down, he burst into tears and burst into tears.
.
Cumberland was a little panicked. He didn't know where his old friend's sudden sadness came from, so he persuaded him: "Emerson, there are some things that are too complicated for me to understand. But the only thing I know is that our king is a
He is a wise monarch, there is no doubt about it."
Emerson wiped his face with his sleeve, nodded and said: "You are right, your Majesty may really be the first monarch in history to ask for restraint of royal power. This is not stupid, this is actually a kind of thing that has never been done before.
of wisdom.”
After the meeting ended, Cumberland took Emerson out of the Knights headquarters.
The latter looked back and saw the tall building in the sun. He took out a wine bottle from his arms and threw it into the grass with his backhand. The earl said to himself: "Just use my old body to gamble again."
.Follow him all the way and try to see if you can really build Muxi into an empire that will never fall!"