Chapter 17 On the Way (Part 2): On Law
Huh?
Qiu Tang glanced at Cheng Hui discreetly; the usually mature and composed old master Cheng looked dazed. She tilted her head and looked at Zhu Youchuan, the young man who had just been holding a bamboo fan and acting like a dashing gentleman looked astonished.
After the goddess answered Zhu Youchuan, the two of them fell silent. Qiu Tang couldn't understand it, so she looked up at the goddess.
The goddess remained as aloof and sage as ever, unmoved by the impending storm.
Qiu Tang: "???"
What's going on?
A row of question marks appeared above the little girl's head: Was there anything wrong with the two sentences the goddess said?
Of course there's a problem, and a big one at that!
Zhu Youchuan took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He spoke again, asking incredulously, "Why...why would you say that?"
What is a class, and what is class contradiction? "The state is the product of irreconcilable class contradictions." Doesn't this mean that there are states because of irreconcilable class contradictions? But the state... isn't the state?
Zhu Youchuan was stunned. Why did Yu the Great establish the Xia Dynasty in the first place? And why did the succession from Yao to Shun, Shun to Yu, turn into Yu to Qi?
And then there's the law... the legal system.
Indeed, law is a tool; law, Confucianism, and Taoism are all tools—tools for monarchs to govern the country and its people.
But according to the goddess, it doesn't seem like the monarch chose this tool, but rather that the "ruling class" had to use the law to carry out its will and maintain its rule.
It's just that the "law" manifests itself differently in different periods.
Zhu Youchuan felt like his head was about to explode.
He Qinglan wasn't going to let him off the hook yet. "I didn't say that. It was said by a man named Marx. He also said that the army is a political tool for the ruling class to carry out class rule and embodies the will of the ruling class."
The old man, sweating profusely, began, "According to this horse..."
He Qinglan: "Marx."
Cheng Hui continued: "According to this Marx, what kind of army it is, whether it is disciplined or engages in arson, murder, and looting; what kind of law it is, whether it is light taxes or harsh punishments, all depend on what kind of ruling class it is?"
He Qinglan calmly retorted, "Otherwise?"
Cheng Hui and Zhu Youchuan exchanged a glance.
Zhu Youchuan gripped his fan tightly, his brows furrowed. "Then what do you think a good ruling class should be like?"
What kind of wise and benevolent ruler do you envision for a prosperous and peaceful era?
What kind of country do you want to build?
He Qinglan smiled; a smile bloomed on her icy face, like the sunlight of early spring.
“I think you’ve misunderstood the meaning of ‘class’.”
“But this is a bit complicated to explain, and I’m not a professional teacher,” He Qinglan said. “I’ll give you two sets of books in a bit. Once you take them home and read them, you’ll understand everything.”
Zhu Youchuan: "..."
He Qinglan sat up straight. "Let's continue talking about the law."
She asked seriously, "Have you considered the limitations of your Legalist school of thought?"
Zhu Youchuan: "Limitations?"
“That’s right, limitations.” He Qinglan looked at the chat box in her mind’s eye and read it aloud word by word: “First, not everything can be regulated by legal means. For example, people’s thoughts, understanding, and beliefs cannot be regulated by law. We should keep morality as morality and law as law. ‘Law is the minimum standard of morality, and morality is the maximum standard of law.’”
"Secondly, the Legalist theory of 'strengthening the state and weakening the people' failed to recognize the law of the unity of opposites: when the people are so poor that they cannot survive, they will overturn the table and fight for food. At that time, any laws, rewards and punishments will lose their effect, and the country will enter a period of chaos. Naturally, the country's strength will be out of the question."
He Qinglan paused after reading this, "Just like now, if we want to quell the chaos, we need to enrich the people and strengthen the army. Policies that weaken or keep the people ignorant are unacceptable."
"Third, a person with criminal thoughts is not the same as a criminal who commits a crime. The practice of 'using punishment to punish those who have committed crimes' confuses the boundary between crime and non-crime."
Zhu Youchuan: "..."
He wanted to say something, opened his mouth, but didn't know where to begin.
If he couldn't help but want to refute when He Qinglan mentioned the first point, he lost that desire when he heard the second point and began to think about the relationship between the country and its people.
Cheng Hui seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "If people weren't truly desperate to survive, they wouldn't rise up in rebellion."
Whether the people are weakened or punishments are used excessively, as long as the limits of what the people can bear are not crossed, they can silently endure it. Legalism uses this to assist the ruler in enriching the country and strengthening its military. But once that red line is crossed, then…
"Whether we perish now or launch a great campaign, we will still die. Since we are going to die anyway, is it not better to die for our country?" [1]
"The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; in the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world." [2]
He Qinglan nodded, “When the people live in peace and contentment, they will naturally not rise up in rebellion. When the people are prosperous, the country will naturally be rich and the army strong. The two are not contradictory.”
"If the law does not excessively oppress or exploit the people, and it can protect their legitimate rights and interests, then the people will support the law."
"True rule of law is people-centered."
People-oriented.
Zhu Youchuan smiled bitterly, “Goddess, all that I have learned over the past twenty years, my ‘Dao,’ has been overturned by you today.”
He Qinglan denied it, "No, I'm just helping you break down and rebuild."
"The rule of law means that the people are free unless prohibited by law, and that officials are prohibited unless authorized by law. The premise is that the law is greater than rights. If power is greater than the law, then the law is an accomplice of power; if the law is greater than power, then power is a guard of the law."[3]
Upon hearing these two sentences, Zhu Youchuan's heartstrings were touched, and he involuntarily entered a state of enlightenment.
The law is a tool, a sword in the hands of the monarch. He has always only thought about assisting the monarch, so that the monarch can govern the country and the people by law.
But actually, it can be the other way around.
Could he find a way to make the monarch use the law?
Zhu Youchuan's Dao is "Dharma".
He has studied for many years, learning the thoughts of the ancients, reading history books, and he also has his own insights.
The new ideas brought by the goddess shattered his original understanding and helped him establish new values, enabling him to form his own set of legal thought, which guided later students of the Legalist school.
At this moment, however, he didn't have so many thoughts. He was confused by He Qinglan's words about the future, and his mind was filled with conflicting ideas. He wished he could immediately find his Legalist comrades and have a debate that would last for several hours.
He Qinglan appeared calm and composed, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief.
She hadn't studied law or legal history and didn't know how to discuss "law" with Zhu Youchuan, so she typed "When the sea is blue, you'll see whales" in her mind. Coincidentally, the other party had recently met a female lawyer living in a peaceful era and sent her several long paragraphs of text.
Finally, Hailan Shijianjing said: "Don't discuss his 'law' with him; just tell him directly about the limitations of Legalist thought. Then explain to him the legal thought of later generations."
When the Sea Turns Blue, You See a Whale: [If you're worried he'll come after you again, don't worry, I'll send you a set of junior high school politics and history textbooks from Lawyer Jiang's world.]
Lawyer Jiang is such a good person. He was afraid that He Qinglan would mislead that Legalist student, so he used political and historical textbooks to instill correct values in him.
When the sea turns blue, you see a whale: [But how come you're in the mood to talk to him about this? Aren't you always someone who doesn't like to reason and prefers to fight if you disagree?]
He Qinglan replied: "You need to be more patient with your underling; he's my future Minister of Justice."
When the sea is blue, you can see whales: [...]
The next day.
Cheng Hui introduced Zhu Youchuan to the heads of the administrative office, saying, "This is Zhu Youchuan. By order of the goddess, he will be in charge of drafting rules and regulations from today onwards."
Everyone stared curiously at the handsome young man before them.
Zhu Youchuan replied humbly, "My name is Zhu Youchuan. Greetings, everyone."
Everyone greeted him warmly.
Zhu Youchuan said, "Whether it's me and everyone else, the soldiers, or the people of the five counties, we all need to abide by our respective rules and regulations."
"Next, I will first investigate the basic situation of the five counties, and then, based on the results of my investigation, I will draft a first draft. At that time, we will hold a meeting to discuss and revise the first draft. Then, the revised version will be submitted to the Goddess for review."
He thought for a moment, "If anyone has any thoughts during this time, please let me know."
He used several words that no one had heard of before, but that's not important.
Fang Qin said, "The army naturally needs military rules and discipline, and we will cooperate with you on that, but..."
Xiang Yuesheng asked, "What kind of military regulations do you plan to draft?"
Zhu Youchuan smiled and said, "The goddess said that our rules and regulations should be people-oriented."
"For example, soldiers are not allowed to beat or scold civilians, molest or rape civilians, or rob or destroy civilians' property."
"For example, people cannot urinate or defecate anywhere, must wash their hair, bathe, and wash their hands frequently, and must not kill, injure, rob, or steal..."
"For example, the people in the administrative office must not neglect their duties or abuse their power; they must not embezzle or accept bribes, they must not use their power to seek personal gain; and they must not retaliate against the people."
Everyone: "..."
Although everyone knew that the goddess was different from others, she always managed to bring new surprises.
Gu Lanying smiled and nodded, "These are things that everyone should do."
"Posting the notices as soon as possible will let everyone know what they can and cannot do, which will help maintain stability in the five counties," Qian Shiwen nodded in agreement.
Zhao Yong, who was in charge of the accounts, laughed heartily, "Then I'll go back and think about what suggestions I have to make."
Qin Dongkui thought for a moment, "Our embroidery workshop should also have a clear system of rewards and punishments."
Zhu Youchuan raised an eyebrow. "Thank you all for your cooperation. I have my first problem, and I hope you can help me solve it."
Cheng Hui asked, "What trouble?"
Zhu Youchuan said, word by word, "I am missing someone."
Everyone: "..."
They immediately avoided Zhu Youchuan's gaze.
The number of literate people in the five counties is very limited, and they have already been divided up by various places, especially in the work of re-registering the population and household registration, which accounts for almost half.
If Zhu Youchuan demands people now, isn't that like snatching meat from a tiger's mouth?
The workload in each department is already huge. If we distribute the work to other departments, wouldn't that just add more work for ourselves?
Zhu Youchuan's gaze sharpened: "Are you all planning to leave me to do this all by myself?"
The crowd remained silent.
Mo Jingchun resisted the urge to facepalm and said, "How about we find a few in other counties or Anling Prefecture? Anling Prefecture is such a large prefecture, surely we can find a few capable scholars?"
Cheng Hui immediately agreed, "I think it's a good idea. There's no rush to establish rules and regulations anyway." He looked at Zhu Youchuan, "Those few hundred men you brought, if any are usable..."
Zhu Youchuan: "...Okay, I'll go ask."
A note from the author:
----------------------
1. [1] The Biography of Chen She
[2] Slogans of the Yellow Turban Rebellion
[3] I saw someone use this sentence in an article, but I couldn't find the source.
2. [Yunhe Administrative Staff Work Group]
Zhu Youchuan (please call me Legalist Master Zhu): Ahhhhhh, I need someone who is literate and can write!
Zhu Youchuan (please call me Legalist Zhu Zi): You people are despicable. You have no sense of camaraderie or colleagueship. You're ostracizing an outsider like me, aren't you?
Mo Jingchun (head down, writing silently): ...
Qian Shiwen (the first dean of Qinglan Academy): ...
Xiang Yuesheng (studying military strategy diligently): ...
Gu Lanying (future Minister of Publicity): ...
Zhao Yong (a pathetic third-rate accountant): ...
Cheng Hui (who blindly follows the goddess's lead): ...
Zhu Youchuan (please call me Legalist Master Zhu): Well, you really have teamed up to exclude an outsider like me!
You guys don't even want to reply to my messages!
Yun Youning (Who Will Speak for Me): Author, do you remember that our whole family is still on the road? When will we be able to reach Yunhe County?
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