The debate did not end there, as others, including Fusu, were still interested in the story.
Wang Ben interrupted and asked:
"Lieutenant General, if farmers are good for growing flowers and Confucianism is good for raising deer, then is Legalism good for wolves?"
Shen Bing nodded and replied:
"Maybe so."
The reason why Shen Bing answered this way was because Legalism was indeed beneficial to war.
But the word "may" is used in front of it because "ruling the country by legalism" and modern "ruling the country by law" are two different things.
At this time, Legalists emphasized "law", "skill" and "power".
Law is the formulation of laws and even the implementation of legal education.
Technique is to use the law to manage the nobles, the army, and the people. It probably means that law enforcement must be strict.
Momentum is to establish prestige and implement it thoroughly so that everyone will submit to the law, which means that all violations will be punished.
These are correct.
The problem is that Legalism emphasizes that it is the monarch, the ruling class, who establishes all this.
The ruling class has absolute legislative, administrative, and judicial power without any doubt, and even the thoughts of the people must be restricted. Everything should serve the ruling class under legal regulations.
So the ruling class is above the law and can change it however they want and play whatever they want.
Many people think that the Qin Dynasty was a country ruled by law... But in fact, just a comparison will show that it was actually a complete monarchical centralization, where people ruled the country, which was the opposite of a country ruled by law.
on the other hand.
It was during this period that Legalism was too one-sided, thinking that only Legalism was enough, and that all other schools were demagogues and should be banned and disbanded.
Fortunately, Ying Zheng at this time only partially listened to and adopted Legalist ideas.
From a modern point of view this is certainly wrong.
Because besides the law, there is something called ethics.
Moral norms are the default standards of good and evil that have gradually formed in human society. What is good and what is bad must be followed consciously. Although it is not illegal, it is immoral and condemned by society.
Moral norms and laws are complementary to each other and work together to promote each other.
If all the provisions were stipulated as laws and implemented, then the legislative, administrative, judicial and other institutions would be at least several times larger. The country would still be in chaos if the prisons were full of prisoners.
On the contrary, if society forms a good moral code under the guidance of the state, legal institutions will be much less troublesome and can achieve twice the result with half the effort.
A considerable part of our country's moral norms comes from the "morality of benevolence and righteousness" of Confucianism, and legal thought is influenced by Legalism.
In other words, Confucianism and Legalism can actually coexist and complement each other and promote each other.
In countries that do not have non-Confucian circles, their moral standards are often based on theology, that is, using illusory gods to judge good and bad... If you do bad things, you will go to hell, if you do good things, you will go to heaven.
This is one of the reasons why most Chinese people are atheists.
Because compared to the ethereal theology of other countries, China has developed over thousands of years of Confucianism and Chinese culture, which is much more mature and concrete. It has the deeds and warnings of great men as the standard for judging good and evil, and has gradually formed A sound set of ethics.
Then why do we need theology?
As the most populous country in the world, modern China has become one of the most secure and safe countries in the world even though the rule of law is relatively weak, which illustrates this point.
Of course the ancients did not know this. At this time, the Legalists only knew how to restrain the people with one-sided suppression such as bad laws, heavy punishment, and the use of punishment to stop punishment... The reason why the Qin State collapsed in just more than ten years was partly because of this. reason.
As a son of an aristocrat, Wang Ben had studied the laws of Qin and aligned himself with the Legalists, so he asked this question.
The atmosphere in this tent is really strange at this time:
Xu Ying represents the farmer.
Fusu represents Confucianism.
Wang Ben represents Legalism.
As for Yang Duan and the veteran, no one believes more in "Fist".
So this discussion is a bit like several theories colliding and debating here.
Wang Ben then said:
"Then, as the deputy general said, if the method is used to the extreme, that is, the wolf is too ferocious, wouldn't it be like the deputy general said that the battle is 'over'?"
Shen Bing shook his head and said:
"Although Legalism is good for wolves, it is not wolves, because it is also good for deer and flowers."
"There are also disadvantages."
"As the saying goes, 'Without rules, there is no circle.' Laws are rules, and they can be used for wolves, deer, and flowers."
"The most important thing is to use the law properly. If it is used improperly, it is a bad law, otherwise it is a good law."
Wang Benqi said:
"May I ask the deputy general, what is an evil law and what is a good law?"
Shen Bing replied:
"If there are many deer and few flowers, then taxation is a bad law."
"If there are few deer and many flowers, then taxation is a good practice."
Everyone couldn't help but nodded.
If flowers represent food, then taxation is a means of increasing or decreasing food.
Therefore, when there is less food output due to local disasters, it is natural to lower the tax rate.
This also made Wang Ben very useful, because his method of taking sides seemed to go beyond ignoring the three and became a means of regulating social relations.
Fusu thought for a while and then asked:
"What the deputy general said before about adapting to the situation is also what he meant?"
Shen Bing nodded and said:
"What the young master said is absolutely true."
"If the wolf is too ferocious, we should restrain the wolf rather than exploit it."
"Otherwise, the world will be in chaos and the people will have no life."
"The same is true for deer and flowers."
“Too much or too little of any link will cause a series of backlash and lead to disaster.”
"That's why we can't just talk about benevolence and morality."
"Just as the young master said at the beginning, if there are too many deer and the young master still protects the deer in the name of benevolence and righteousness, he is actually harming the deer."
Fusu was so convinced by these words that he even believed in what Chunyu Yue taught him. Chunyu Yue taught Fusu one-sided benevolence and righteousness. It seems that as long as there is the word "benevolence and righteousness" There is no need to fight, the world will come to you from all directions.
If anyone wants to argue with Fusu or Chun Yuyue at this moment, I'm afraid it won't take long for them to get sidetracked by a lot of "nonsense".
But Shen Bing used this logically rigorous and easy-to-understand story to explain the truth clearly, making it impossible for them to get around it even if they wanted to.
So Yang Duanhe bowed his hands to Fusu and said:
"If you have no objections, sir, we will continue to promote rice pounding by waterwheels and exchange rice pounding for farmland..."
Fusu nodded and replied:
"That's exactly what it should be."
After getting out of the tent, Yang Duanhe secretly praised Shen Bing:
"The lieutenant-general's words are no weaker than those in marching combat."
"I convinced the young master in just a few strokes. You must know that the young master is notoriously stubborn. Even the king sometimes has no choice but to do anything to him."
"To be defeated by the deputy general this time is really an eye-opener for me."
Shen Bing could only smile bitterly in response.
If Fusu has this kind of character, it's really not a good thing.