Chapter 182: Not Seeking One Life, Fighting for Eternity

The vast crowd kept rushing forward.

There are many people with their families, but even with so many people, there is no sense of hustle and bustle. A slightly eerie silence spreads among them, and silence is the majority.

The marshland and rivers are included in the war map, how can the people live happily?

When war breaks out, regardless of victory or defeat, it is always the common people who suffer and torture.

The flashing of swords and the shadows of sabers affect their lives at all times, and their homes, on which they depend for survival, cannot provide them with a peaceful rest. No matter how beautiful the sea is, it has nothing to do with a drop of water or a speck of sand in it.

Every unknown soldier who died on the battlefield represents the grief of a family.

That's part of war.

Fortunately, there are people in this world who can see this.

Mo Qiudu paced at the end of the crowd, with several Moists following him.

After Yangzhou fell, Moqiu chose to retreat to Yuzhou with his people.

Yuzhou is mostly plains, making it more difficult to defend than Yangzhou, but this was something they had to do.

When it is time to withdraw, withdrawing first can still retain some of the people and avoid directly spending all the family assets.

Logically speaking, if we continue to hold out in Yangzhou, we may be able to hold out for a few more months.

But what then?

Why not wait until spring comes and flowers bloom before bringing the war to Yuzhou? It would be better to take the people and retreat to Yuzhou after the autumn harvest and before the winter comes, so that they can still farm next year.

"We need to take advantage of the cold winter to properly resettle the people. With the food from the autumn harvest, there will be no problem getting through to next year. We must resettle them before the cold winter comes."

Mo Qiu said to the several Mohists beside him.

In this era, food is a big problem, but in winter, it is also a huge problem.

In the cold winter, people are killed invisibly.

Some poor families may only have one cotton-padded jacket per person. When the cold winter comes, the whole family can only lie in bed and endure it. Whoever wants to go out has to wear the cotton-padded jacket.

And in the poorer areas, there is probably nothing left, as they were all frozen to death.

"Don't worry, sir. The news of our coming has spread. The imperial court's troops had just defeated the White Lotus Sect and were in urgent need of recuperation. When they heard the news of our coming, they retreated. Yuzhou is very large. The White Lotus Sect and the imperial court have been fighting for many years. There are hundreds of miles of white land, which can be used to resettle the people."

Immediately, a Mohist came over.

"Um."

Mo Qiu nodded, but there was no joy on his rather dark face.

The situation is bad and getting worse.

Beyond Yuzhou is the imperial capital.

Mo Qiu certainly had no feelings for the Dayue royal family, otherwise he would not have killed Emperor Zong Ming.

The problem is that once the Otsuki royal family is destroyed, it will be a clear message to the world that Otsuki has fallen.

The destruction of a country. The destruction of a country means that the order that could be barely maintained is no longer under any constraints.

Everything that had happened before was invalidated, and there were no more shackles on people - this was true for everyone. No one could punish others on behalf of the dignity of a country.

Public order and good customs will become a fantasy, and fists will become the only truth. After all, the country has perished. Who should we listen to? Why should we listen to you?

It is never a good thing to destroy a country before the new kingdom has occupied most of the territory and gained the hearts of the people.

The Otsuki royal family was not important at all. What was important was how many people would take advantage of the news of the country's demise to stir up trouble, claim to be king, and dream of their own Spring and Autumn period? The country, which was barely a fist, was about to fall apart, and even had to fight each other to the death, just to climb the Dragon Pavilion.

Since the foreign enemies have not been eliminated, killing the Otsuki royal family is not a good choice at this time. It's not that the royal family shouldn't die, but it's not possible to abolish the prestige of Otsuki among the people for more than 200 years, or the fear of the national law, so quickly.

What really worries Mo Qiu is not those few ambitious people, but the tragic situation after the complete collapse of order.

This is the fundamental reason why he killed Emperor Zong Ming but did not directly kill the Dayue royal family.

With external enemies surrounding us and internal uprisings everywhere, if the world is without a ruler and order is lost, the situation will probably be even more tragic.

Many things cannot be done for the sake of momentary satisfaction, and the consequences must be considered carefully.

But there will soon be no choice, and he has always seen these problems clearly.

"Giant."

A Mozhe came running over quickly, holding an apple in his hand that had lost a lot of moisture and was dry.

"A fruit farmer asked me to give this to you."

The younger Mozhe came closer and spoke, holding up a dry apple.

“Don’t take the people’s things.”

Mo Qiu took a look and shook his head slightly, "Every stitch and thread should be cherished, and every thread and thread should be cherished. You should return this thing, and you cannot keep it."

"The fruit farmer said that if you hadn't brought people to help defend the city, all the harvest would have been gone. I wanted to thank you in person, but you were too busy and didn't want to cause any trouble. The best fruits that were hidden were all gone."

The young Mozhe licked his lips and said, "It's not me who wants to take it, but he insisted that I send it to you. If you don't take it, he will definitely not eat it."

Mo Qiu thought for a moment, then took the red apple with a dry and wrinkled skin from his disciple's hand, stretched out his hand and felt around his body for a few times, and finally found a few copper coins.

"I'll accept the things, but you have to deliver these copper coins to the person. Let me make it clear, Mohists have their own rules, and even the masters should abide by them. I already know his intentions, and since I haven't refused, he shouldn't refuse either." Mo Qiu said.

The younger Mohist was stunned for a moment, took the copper coin from him, and ran away like the wind.

It didn't take too long for the Mo Zhe to return.

"Big man, he accepted it."

"Well, that's good."

At this time, Mo Qiu looked at the red apple in his big hand, which had lost a lot of moisture and was as big as a baby's fist. He opened his mouth and took a bite, then handed it to the Mo Zhe beside him, "Come, try it."

The other Mohists did not refuse. They took a bite and passed it to the next person. When the apple was passed to the younger Mohist again, he did not open his mouth to take a bite.

"What's wrong?"

Mo Qiu asked.

"Master, I don't quite understand."

He looked at the apple in his hand and scratched his head. "We defended the city for them and saved countless people. It's not an exaggeration to say that we helped thousands of people. Why are you unwilling to accept an apple they gave you, but instead spend your own money? We didn't steal or rob, isn't that what we should do?"

"You're not right."

Mo Qiu immediately shook his head and said, "We are not defending the city for them. Don't put yourself in the position of saving someone. We are not gods or Buddhas, not immortals, nor puppets or clay figures. We don't need to be worshipped by the people, let alone receive incense and offerings. Mohists act only for the moral principles of the world, which are the ten principles of Mohism.

Those who follow the Ten Virtues should follow them; those who violate the Ten Virtues should oppose them. Among the Ten Virtues, is there ever a saying that one should take something from someone without paying for it? And where does the saying "should" come from? "

"this"

The young Mohist lowered his head, not knowing how to answer.

Mo Qiu smiled.

After more than six years, there are only a few Mohists left who had followed him into the military camp and killed Liu Xuanqi, the commander-in-chief of Daqing.

But the number of Mohists did not decrease much.

There are still a steady stream of people rejoining, but compared to the previous teaching by words and deeds, it is always inconvenient to guide the disciples while defending the city.

Now that I have a rare moment of free time, I might as well talk about it.

"The world is made up of individuals, and countless individuals come together to form a collective. In the collective, the division of labor is different because of the different things that individuals are good at, but in the final analysis, it is nothing more than an individual. No matter where you are or what position you are in, one person is not nobler than another, nor is he inferior to another. We should not treat those who are temporarily unable to make changes as inferiors with a condescending attitude, which goes against the original intention of Mohists."

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Mo Qiu said: "You and I should keep this in mind and remind ourselves all the time. If one day, someone takes everything provided for by others for granted, then the world will collapse again."

"Then, as you said, isn't the emperor no different from ordinary people?" the young Mohist asked in surprise.

"What's the difference?"

Mo Qiu asked: "Could it be that the emperor does not have two ears, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth?"

"Can"

The young man frowned, thinking that this statement was very problematic, but he didn't know how to refute it.

"Are you trying to say that the emperor, whose words can decide the life and death of tens of thousands of people and whose thoughts can make hundreds of people enjoy wealth and glory, is the same as the toiling old farmers among the people?"

Mo Qiu saw his confusion and expressed it for him.

“That’s right!”

"That is an extension of what I said before. There is no fundamental difference between people. Everyone gathers their own rights and power together to form a country. Everyone is a part of the country. The emperor is nothing more than a person who temporarily guides this power.

But you must understand that this power does not belong to the emperor, but to the millions of people in the world. The emperor can only exercise this power if they are willing - that is, the so-called will of the people. What is in line with the interests of the vast majority of people in the world is public order and good customs. If someone exercises this power wantonly, he will be despised by millions of people, and that is the time for the country to fall.

We Mohists say that we should promote the benefits of the world and eliminate the harms of the world. We must clearly understand what is beneficial and what is harmful. We should choose the greater benefits and the lesser harms. We should not do any harm, no matter how small, and we should strive for any benefit, no matter how small, because we are part of the world, and our changes will bring new changes.

Mo Qiu said very seriously.

These words seemed a little profound, but not difficult to understand.

The young Mohist thought about it and suddenly realized: "That's how it is, that's how it is!"

It was not until this time that he finally understood what it meant to promote the benefits of the world and eliminate the harm of the world.

Behind this slogan lies the basic principles that Mohists have always followed.

Mo Qiu nodded and continued, "Many people call Mohists knights, but I don't really agree with this title. What is a knight? What does a knight do? What should he do? How can he do it?

A hero is someone who goes beyond the law to uphold public order and morality.

In other words, those who uphold justice, redress grievances, and follow the will of the people without following the law are not what I like. "

"ah?"

Speaking of this, the young Mohist's eyes couldn't help but become a little strange. Is there anyone in the world who is more "lawless" than the giant?

There won't be any country's law that says citizens can kill the emperor in public! As a person who kills the emperor, isn't that the biggest violation of the law and the challenge to authority? It seems natural to be called a knight-errant! "Mohists and knights-errant are not the same. Mohists take the Ten Virtues of Mohism as their foundation. Those who follow the Ten Virtues should follow it, and those who violate the Ten Virtues should oppose it. But knights-errant are different. They act chivalrously and righteously based on public order and good customs. Do you know where the specific difference lies?" Mo Qiu asked.

"ah?"

The young Mohist scratched his head, having the illusion that he was suddenly tested by the teacher in a private school - the key point was that he couldn't answer yet.

Mo Qiu did not embarrass him, and said very seriously and firmly: "Because public order and good customs will change, but the Ten Virtues of Mohism will not."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the Mohists looked at him sideways.

I could feel the giant's unparalleled faith and indomitable determination.

"In an era of eating raw meat and drinking blood, what is public order and good customs? Even now, different customs can be seen everywhere. Public order and good customs that are extremely prosperous in one place may be considered as treasonous in another.

If this is the case, how can public order and good morals be used as a yardstick to measure the world?

If you use this ruler to strike a knife, how can the knife be so sharp that it cannot be blocked?"

Mo Qiu thought of what Gu Dan had said to him in the Gu family courtyard.

Scholars have rulers, warriors have swords.

A ruler should have a measure, and a knife should have a sheath.

The Ten Principles of Mohism are the ruler and knife, measure and sheath that he prepared for the world.

Didn't he know that the difficulty of achieving universal love and non-aggression was simply a road of no return with no end in sight? No, Mo Qiu saw it more clearly than anyone else.

It is precisely because the words of universal love and non-aggression are out of reach, yet point directly to the ultimate, that they are needed as a yardstick to measure human morality.

This ruler is enough to measure eternity!

Public order and good customs can change, laws and morals can also "change with the times", but the Ten Principles of Mohism cannot.

Regardless of whether it is the Big Moon or the Big Sun, thousands of years later, in a brand new country, when the descendants see the Ten Righteousness of Mohism again, they can still use these Ten Righteousness to draw their swords!

I do not seek ease in this life, I strive for eternity.

His country is not Dayue, nor the emperor, but the millions of people living and working under the same sky.

"That's it, that's it!"

The young Mohist clapped his hands and laughed, feeling that many of the doubts in his heart were cleared up, and many of his previously confused thoughts became clear.

The great man is not the Mohist, but the worldly man.

Who in the world can match such a broad mind? ! 　Thanks to book friends: Mo Yuchi gave 10,000 starting coins, Zhang Hanshan gave 1,500 starting coins, book friend 20220219215730579 gave 600 starting coins, superkent gave 500 starting coins, and book friends such as Walking on the Road to Well-off Society, Selenium Thorium Xiaoying, book friend 20230224194347123, Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow Meow, book friend 20220915171551626, Jianli Kuyan, the rich man Li Xiaoer, I am Him, Sanwu Mage, XMX and others gave 100 starting coins.

There are also some rewards that cannot be seen in the backend of Qidian. I'm sorry that the author cannot thank them one by one. Thank you very much for your support. I will try my best to write well, which is the best reward for your support.

Thanks again, and I bow! 　　 　 (End of this chapter)