"How do you govern the country? The answer is: for the talented people, they should be promoted without exception according to the order of rank! For the immoral and incompetent people, they should be dismissed immediately without leaving a moment! For the culprits, they can be killed immediately without education! For
Ordinary people should be educated and influenced without relying on administrative means."
!”
"What you said is really ridiculous!"
"Now if you select talents based on reputation, then the ministers will betray the monarch and work closely with the subordinates! If you recommend officials based on their connections with cronies, then the people will be committed to collaborating with the party instead of acting in accordance with the law. Based on false reputations
If rewards and punishments are based on slanderous rumors, then people who like rewards but hate punishment will abandon their statutory responsibilities, play personal tricks, and shield and exploit each other!"
Han Fei ignored Xunzi's anger and continued: "You said that the country should be governed by moral gentlemen. These moral gentlemen only have false reputations. I have never seen anyone like my teacher.
What about the second one! All the other gentlemen I have seen have no practical talents and like to use false reputations to win rewards from the king!"
"The Zhao State that I know, Zhao State had teachers, Lord Xinling, Lord Xinping, Yu Qing, Dong Chengzi and others. Which one of them is not what you call a gentleman?"
"Therefore, a sage monarch uses the legal system to select talents, and does not employ people according to his own wishes. He evaluates the merits of his ministers according to the legal system, and does not rely on his own subjective speculation. Talented people cannot be buried, and bad people cannot cover up their bad deeds, and they have only a false reputation.
If those who have been slandered are not removed from office, then the monarch will be able to clearly distinguish the merits and demerits of his ministers, and the country will be easy to govern, so the monarch can just act in accordance with the law!"
Xunzi snorted coldly, and then said: "It is precisely because of Zhao Guo's affairs that I say this."
"For those who come with good suggestions, treat them with courtesy! For those who come with ill intentions, treat them with punishment! If these two situations can be distinguished, then the wise and the incompetent will
People without virtue will not mix together, and right and wrong will not be confused. Talented people and people without talent and virtue will not mix, then talents will come! If there is no confusion between right and wrong, then the country will be governed
!”
Gongsun Long shook his head and said: "What you said is wrong. Xunzi said that a country should be governed by moral gentlemen, while Han Fei said that a country should be governed by the rule of law. This is what we call the concept of governing a country."
"King relies on" classification, what should the king rely on to govern the country, the truth I know is: appointing reputable and moral gentlemen and promoting talented officials through the system, there is no conflict. The purpose of these two things is to make
When the country is strong, there will be no contradiction between them."
"These are things that can be separated from each other. The king can appoint talented gentlemen to carry out this task. In this way, one becomes the concept of the king employing people, and the other becomes the concept of the country selecting talents? Are they separated from each other? That's it.
There is no need to denigrate each other, we can do both at the same time."
Zhao Kuo shook his head and said: "Mozi said: For example, if you want to increase the number of people in a country who are good at shooting and guarding, you must make them rich and make them noble? Respect them and praise them. After that, the country will have people who are good at shooting and guarding.
It has increased. If the king wants to increase the number of talented people in the country who can govern the country, then he must respect the talented people. Education is the foundation. Education can cultivate more talented people."
"The King of Qin exempted his disciples from paying taxes and labor and cultivated many officials. Therefore, the root of the official system still lies in the emphasis on officials and education."
"Xunzi said that benevolent and righteous gentlemen should be appointed to official positions? Then we can talk about the definition of benevolent and righteous gentlemen. Zilu said: Duke Huan of Qi killed the young master Jiu, and Zhao Hu committed suicide to die, but Guan Zhong did not die. Guan Zhong cannot be regarded as benevolent.
Human, right? Confucius said: Duke Huan convened many alliance meetings among the princes without using force, it was all Guan Zhong's effort. This is his benevolence! This is his benevolence!"
"A person with benevolence and righteousness is not necessarily a moral person. Benevolence and righteousness are reflected in his actions. Take myself as an example. Everyone in the world says that I am a benevolent and righteous gentleman. However, I have not been able to eliminate wars in the world, nor can I defeat them like Guan Zhong.
Hu people, it seems that Li Mu is the one who is more truly benevolent and righteous than me! I don’t know if the benevolent and righteous moral gentleman that Xunzi said is what Confucius said.”
"If this is the case, what Han Fei said about treating ministers without favoritism according to the system and promoting those with political achievements is the same thing as what Xunzi said."
"Zhuangzi said: When the world is in chaos, the sages cannot understand clearly and the moral standards cannot be unified. Most of the scholars in the world are biased and self-righteous. Just like the ears, mouth, and nose all have their own perceptual functions, but they cannot be used by each other. Just like
The skills of all schools of thought are the same, they all have their own strengths and are useful from time to time. Even so, they are incomplete and not universal, and they are people who see the problem in a one-sided way. The theories of each school are not necessarily hostile to each other. If they can be used in common with each other, future generations will not
It will be like what Zhuangzi said, and you will no longer be able to see the true road."
The King of Qin sat obediently on the ground and watched the four great scholars arguing in front of him. Xunzi emphasized benevolent government. When a king governs a country, he appoints moral and talented people. Han Fei, on the other hand, advocates more of the rule of law.
He hopes to stipulate all things through laws instead of relying on sages. Wu Chengjun's talent and learning are really admirable. He seems to be proficient in the doctrines of hundreds of schools of thought, and always uses the doctrines of Mozi, Confucius, Zhuangzi and other schools to teach them.
debate.
As for Gongsun Long, King Qin didn't understand what he was talking about...but he seemed to be very powerful.
"Take the current state of Qin as an example."
The reason for the system...but let me point out the shortcomings, that is, there are no Confucians in Qin State. The ability of Confucianists lies in benevolence and righteousness. Blind force can only destroy the cities and soldiers of other countries, but it cannot make them truly follow.
"
"Strict and harsh systems can only make the people follow them for benefit. When Qin cannot provide such benefits, even the people under Qin's rule will rise up to resist him. This is the reason why there is no benevolent government. If it can
Let the people respect and love their monarch and their country from the bottom of their hearts, then even when the country is in the most danger, what these people want to do is to protect him, not to overthrow him."
"So I think Qin can implement a system of benevolence and righteousness in the countries it defeats, and weaken its own harsh and harsh system..."
Han Fei thought for a moment and then said: "What you said makes sense, but what I don't agree with is that the system you are talking about is constantly improving. Qin's current system is the most suitable for one to rule the world.
system. If this system is changed, Qin will no longer be able to deal with other countries. Without its powerful system, the people will no longer want to fight for Qin. So what is the use of the benevolent government you mentioned? Qin
The most powerful thing about our country is that it has no Confucian scholars!"
"Actually, what both of you said makes sense."
Zhao Kuo said: "Xunzi is right. Blind power will force the people to rebel. We should treat the people of all countries gently, reduce harsh laws, and reduce some severe punishments... What Han Fei said is also good,
Qin’s military merit system is the foundation of Qin’s strength. If this is changed in order to implement a system of benevolence and righteousness, Qin will definitely not be as strong as before, and wars will continue.”
"So, the current system is a wartime system. In times of peace, we can use benevolent governance to make people everywhere understand the preciousness of peace, stop them complaining, let them enjoy the benefits, and value them.
Give them a prosperous life."
"Zizi said: There are four principles for governing the world: first, loyalty and benevolence, second, impartiality and selflessness, third, appointing talents, and fourth, establishing laws and regulations. If the laws are followed, wealth will be abundant, and if talents are appointed, there will be more success.
Selflessness is the basis for gathering hundreds of wisdom for one's own use, and loyalty and benevolence are the qualities that parents must have... Keeping Qin at a distance, the king is benevolent and the ministers are selfless, able to appoint talented people, and use the most suitable laws to govern Qin."
King Qin grinned stupidly.
The four people chatted until night, until the stars filled the sky and warriors were standing around holding torches. Only then did Zhao Kuo realize that they were all a little thirsty. King Qin immediately ordered some food and wine to be brought to everyone.
After filling their stomachs and drinking some wine, they seemed to be still full of ideas. They had not talked like this for a long time. Xunzi had never found anyone with whom he could argue.
Only now did Han Fei have the prototype of his own theory.
Gongsun Long had just stepped out of the path of sophistry and began to use debate as his own tool to think about the principles of governing the country.
And Zhao Kuo, in that worried and melancholy mood, had never debated the governance of the country with others so freely. This time, he put aside his emotions and talked rationally with everyone about how Qin should become more powerful.
Powerful. The four of them were very happy, but the happiest thing was King Qin who was watching them debate. This time the debate made King Qin gain a lot. He finally understood why King Zhao liked to collect talents so much.
King Zhao suddenly sighed.
"If Uncle Fan were here...this debate would be even more exciting."
Lu Buwei, Cai Ze, and Li Si in the distance were standing on tiptoes, trying to see what King Qin and the others were talking about. King Qin did not take them with him, and they did not hear what they were talking about.
He just saw Han Fei pointing at Xunzi and shouting something, seeing Xunzi waving his sleeves, almost spitting in Zhao Kuo's face, and seeing Zhao Kuo facing the three of them, stretching out his hand to point at something.
This made them very curious, and they really wanted to go there, but without King Qin's order, Cai Ze couldn't go there. Although Lu Buwei was curious, he didn't dare to get close. As for Li Si, Xunzi didn't call him, so he naturally
He couldn't get close. He was just waiting. Suddenly, Cai Ze saw several officials walking down, rubbing their hands and holding thick bamboo slips. Cai Ze hurriedly asked: "What did they say?"
The officials smiled bitterly and lifted the bamboo slips in their hands.
"Come, show me."
As Cai Ze was the Prime Minister, the officials naturally did not dare to say anything, so they gave him the bamboo slips, which Cai Ze opened.
"Han Feizi said: If you hear what you don't know and say it, it is unwise. If you know it but don't speak, it is unfaithful. If you are unfaithful, you should die. If you speak inappropriately, you should die. Although I am willing to say everything I heard, only the king can decide
His crime... When I heard about it, I said: Those who attack rule with chaos will perish; those who attack justice with evil will perish; and those who attack obedience with counterattack will perish..."
"Xunzi said: The punishment is correct, the gold and tin are beautiful, the craftsmanship is skillful, and the fire is all available. There is no need to do anything wrong when cutting the punishment. However, if you don't peel it off and sharpen it, you can't break the rope..."
"Gongsun Longzi said: Two have one, but two have no one. Two have a right? Two have no right... Violence will lead to rulers and ministers fighting, and there will be two minds. Those with two minds will be confused and unclear, and it is not a right move..."
"Wu Chengzi said: In the past, when Zhou was the emperor, he would lead the world with millions of armored soldiers. He drank from the Qi River on the left and the Huan River on the right. When the Qi River was exhausted and the Huan River stopped flowing, he was in trouble with King Wu of Zhou. King Wu sent Su Jia
Three thousand, fighting for one day, and destroying Zhou's country, killing his body..."
Cai Ze's eyes widened and he let Lu Buwei take the bamboo slips from his hand. Li Si and Lu Buwei got together and looked at it seriously. Lu Buwei couldn't help but shook his head and said: "There is such a talented person here."
The State of Qin, the State of Qin must become strong...I must recruit people to edit these people's words so that future generations can benefit from them..." Li Si squinted his eyes and looked at Han Fei's
The more I read those words, the more surprised I became.
Han Fei had many ideas that coincided with his, and were even more mature than he thought.
This will undoubtedly make him a little frustrated.
They rested one night in Taoshan and continued on their way the next day. Xianyang was in front of them, and King Qin got on the oxcart again. Four great sages were sitting on the oxcart. King Qin's attitude became more and more humble, even towards Han Fei.
, he didn’t dare to be rude anymore. Sitting on the bullock cart, he couldn’t help but ask about Qin’s laws. Sure enough, everyone sat on the bullock cart and started arguing again. Li Si and others would rather not ride in the cart.
, they rode horses and followed around the bullock carts, listening to their debate.
It’s a pain to the officials who record their words and deeds.
Everyone expressed great approval for Qin's laws. Xunzi believed that the laws were too harsh and some crimes should be reduced, but Han Feizi believed that the laws were not comprehensive enough and could involve more aspects, while Zhao Kuo
He simply said that the law should be used to limit the monarch's power. King Qin immediately changed his color. When Zhao Kuo spoke about the destruction that a faint king could bring to the country, he gave examples one by one and said that restricting the king with laws was a way to protect the king.
When the inheritance of the ancestors could not be destroyed, King Qin couldn't help but nod.
Gongsun Long believed that the law should be clearly explained and classified in more detail without any self-contradiction or gaps. He pointed out several gaps in Qin's laws, such as the Qin law's definition of intentional homicide and unintentional homicide.
There is no precise concept, and there is no precise standard for being kidnapped to commit evil. Although the Qin State has a crime of abetting, it is against underage children.
For King Qin, the journey also became a kind of enjoyment.
What he is thinking about now is how to retain these people, and what kind of titles should be given to them.
In the Qin State, except for the King of Qin, everyone has a title.
Zhao Kuo is the Wu Chengjun of the Qin State, and he is already considered a 19th-level nobleman and a Marquis of Guannei...while several others have no titles.
ps: Recently, there are always people here who criticize King Zhou and ask me not to slander him...Brother, the "History of the Shang Dynasty" has been revised. You can go and read it to increase your knowledge. Don't listen to other people's nonsense.
Everyone agrees. Everyone should believe in historical data and not those folk historians.
Although I am a poor student, I was born in a major. Many teachers and classmates are engaged in archeology and chronological history. In some of the papers they published on the reasons for the demise of the Shang Dynasty, I did not see anyone advocating the achievements of King Zhou.
