“That’s human nature!”
After Yun Xiyan left, Fu Xiaoguan said to his son Wu Tianci, "When a person is at his most destitute, all he needs is a bowl of porridge or a steamed bun."
"After he got a bowl of porridge or a steamed bun, he wanted to have a piece of clothing to keep warm."
"After he had clothes to keep out the cold, what he longed for was a house to shelter him from the wind and rain."
"Once he has a house, he will feel that it is too lonely and want to have a wife."
"After he got a wife, he wanted to live a better life and find ways to make some money."
"So, he embarked on a career in business or government."
"His horizons gradually broadened, and he suddenly realized that his house was too small and shabby. He wanted a bigger house, preferably a large one with five courtyards."
"If he were a businessman, he would probably work hard to build his business. If he were an official... he would find that the salary is too low, and by the time he can afford a large house, he would probably be old."
"So, he reached out his hand and got a big house. He hired many servants and domestic servants. He felt that this was the good life he wanted."
"Next, he wanted to climb higher. He felt that this required money, so he reached out again, repeatedly reaching out, to take the money that did not belong to him to satisfy his extravagant lifestyle, to curry favor with high-ranking officials, and worked hard to climb up."
Fu Xiaoguan looked at his son who looked confused and laughed.
"You see, this is human desire."
"This person has long forgotten that his original intention was just to have a bowl of porridge or a steamed bun."
"Then Dad asks you, do you think this desire is right or wrong?"
Wu Tianci thought for a moment and shook his head, "No! This is called greed!"
Fu Xiaoguan also shook his head. "This desire needs to be viewed from two sides."
"People all have various desires. They have the right to pursue their own good lives, and the progress of society is driven by everyone realizing their desires."
"Think about it, merchants are profit-driven. To achieve greater profits, they have two options. The first is, of course, to seek illegal profits, such as smuggling or selling prohibited items to reap huge profits. The second is to improve equipment and processes to increase factory production capacity, reduce product costs, and expand market channels, etc."
"This is the wonderful life they have achieved through their own efforts, even those of several generations. For such people, can you say their desires are insatiable?"
"No, they deserve it."
"But officials cannot have such desires! Because officials in Daxia serve society, they enjoy a monthly salary from the government. Although it is not much, it is enough to support their families."
"This salary allows them to live in a decent house and support their families, but if they have greater needs, the government will allow them to resign and start a business."
"But they extended their hands to merchants and farmers. Instead of serving them, they exploited the fruits of others' labor. Such people are truly greedy."
"Officials like this... just kill them with one blow! Because killing one will make countless people happy!"
This is a vivid lesson.
Fu Xiaoguan talked to Wu Tianci for two hours.
He talked about human nature, human needs, how an emperor should treat the people, how he should treat officials, and so on.
Wu Tianci listened very carefully. There were many principles that he did not quite understand, but he kept them in mind, hoping that he could become a great emperor like his father.
Just as this conversation was about to end, Minister of War Zhuo Bieli walked in.
He glanced at Wu Tianci and bowed to Fu Xiaoguan. "General Bai and the commanders of the six fleets will arrive tomorrow. Former Grand Marshal Yu Wentian is here too. Do you want me to bring him here to meet you?"
"Okay, invite him!"
"Let Lao Bai and the others take a day off tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, we will hold a meeting in the War Department's combat conference room."
"good!"
Zhuo Bieli turned and left. Wu Tianci asked curiously, "Grand Marshal Yu Wentian? Is he very powerful?"
"Well, he's very capable. Dad transferred him back to Kyoto and appointed him as the Minister of War."
"...The Minister of War is not as majestic as the Grand Marshal!"
“Sometimes being too imposing isn’t a good thing.”
This sentence was obviously beyond Wu Tianci's understanding. He looked at Fu Xiaoguan expectantly, but did not wait for his father's explanation.
"He is your aunt's brother, so you can call him uncle."
The eldest lady is the Queen Yu Wenyun. In the harem, Fu Xiaoguan did not set those rules, so the children all called them the eldest lady and the second lady.
"An uncle like Zhuo Donglai?"
"...about the same, a little more distant."
"oh."
The conversation between father and son ended, and a moment later Yu Wentian came to the imperial study.
"You've worked hard all the way here. Come on, come on, sit down!"
Yu Wentian bowed and sat opposite Fu Xiaoguan.
"At the end of last summer, my aunt Yu Shurong came to Xixia Autonomous Prefecture to meet me. I never explained this to you, so I think you have some misunderstandings."
Yu Wentian looked at Fu Xiaoguan, who was concentrating on brewing a pot of new tea.
"I thought you wouldn't misunderstand me, but it seems I was wrong. She came to tell me that she wanted to use the Peacock Nation... to establish a nation within the Peacock Nation. Only by using the power of one nation can we hope to deal with you."
"Of course I didn't agree, because I think the current Daxia is great, much better than the original Yu Dynasty, and my life is also very good. My daughter is very well-behaved, and my wife and I still have a good relationship."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded. "I really didn't misunderstand anything. On the contrary, leaving you in Xixia Autonomous Prefecture would make others think that I misunderstood you."
"Although you control two armies, to be honest, I'm afraid they are more loyal to me."
"It's nothing that Kuchan wants to unify the Peacock Kingdom. If he really does unify the Peacock Kingdom, I would like to meet him. The two countries can even establish diplomatic relations and trade relations. This is not a bad thing for Daxia."
"But the whole thing went wrong because Yu Shurong got involved."
"I don't know if she went to see you on purpose. I just wanted to call you back. I wanted to tell you that you are blessed to be in Chang'an. If you continue to stay in Xixia... you will get into trouble!"
"Yu Shurong is quite ambitious. She started planning around the time when the Yu Dynasty fell. I still had no intention of paying attention to her, but she shouldn't have done one thing... snatching people from the Daxia Science Research Institute. That's her fault."
"So, Yu Shurong must die, but Ku Chan will be fine. I will even provide him with some help."
Only then did Yu Wentian realize what Yu Shurong had done. This aunt... she knew how powerful Fu Xiaoguan was. She was afraid that she would die in that foreign country without a burial place.
If Yu Shurong really succeeds in the Peacock Kingdom, and if she brings the Peacock Kingdom's army to attack, how will he, as the Grand Marshal of Daxia, face it?
So the emperor's recall of me was not a misunderstanding, but a protection.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Are you being polite? Let's go to the Queen's place for a drink later. Wenyun hasn't seen you in years, and she misses you very much!"
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