After dealing with the village affairs, Kangxi called his sons to his side and asked them, "What are your thoughts on what happened in the village?"
The eldest prince said indignantly, "I believe there must be many such villages, and local officials should be ordered to investigate and verify them..."
The eldest prince wasn't wrong; there's certainly more than one such place, after all, human nature has its commonalities.
However, his thinking was rather one-sided; he only thought about solving the problem superficially without seeing the root cause.
The Crown Prince then spoke up: "What my elder brother said is right. However, our Great Qing is a vast and resource-rich land. If we rely solely on officials to investigate such matters, it will be too much of a waste of energy. I think that perhaps we can add relevant agencies or establish a system to allow the people to monitor and investigate themselves. This is the way to go in the long run."
The Crown Prince added some details to the First Prince's idea, making it more comprehensive than the First Prince's, but he still didn't get to the heart of the matter.
Then several other people added their own ideas to the Crown Prince's statement, such as how to conduct self-monitoring and self-examination, and their ideas were indeed feasible.
Kangxi could not say he was completely satisfied, but he was not disappointed either. Only the eldest prince and the crown prince had been involved in political affairs, and for a short time, they did not see the essence of the problem, so they could not be blamed.
"What you say is quite correct, but there is one thing you haven't mentioned. I ask you, what is the reason that the entire village committed evil deeds?"
The eldest prince said, "This place is located in a remote area, far from towns, and the officials in charge of this area cannot take care of it, which has fostered bad practices."
The Crown Prince said, “This place is isolated. The local villagers are afraid to intermarry with outsiders, which leads to the birth of mentally challenged children who disregard moral principles. This is why the villagers have become so emboldened.”
...
The remaining suggestions were all similar, but none of them provided the answer Kangxi wanted. However, these were indeed problems that needed to be addressed.
Isolated from the outside world, unable to implement government orders, and unable to distinguish right from wrong, this geographical environment allowed a group of people with little wisdom to carry out such shady dealings for more than ten years without being discovered.
Ultimately, there's only one reason: they were too poor. It's all because of poverty.
If this place hadn't been so poor, there wouldn't have been only a few hundred people left, and none of the subsequent events would have occurred.
Although these people were despicable, Kangxi also felt that there was still much he needed to do.
“What you said is all correct, but you didn’t mention the most important point: it’s all caused by poverty. It’s said that poverty breeds wicked people. When people are poor, their lives are not guaranteed, and evil will grow in their hearts. The Analects says that at birth, people are inherently good. This goodness only exists when people have enough to eat and drink. If a person who is about to starve to death sees a meat bun, he won’t care that the meat bun costs money. He only knows that he will starve to death if he doesn’t eat soon. It’s inevitable that he will resort to violence and robbery. These villagers are certainly despicable, but you also need to see why the villagers are like this. See the essence of things. This is what you should see clearly.”
After Kangxi finished speaking, everyone fell into deep thought.
After a while, Kangxi said, "Alright, everyone go back."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave."
After experiencing this incident, Kangxi rested at his residence for half a day before continuing his journey.
That evening, they arrived at a post station, where Youqing finally asked about the village. She had been catching up on sleep during the day, so she was finally more energetic at night.
"You seem to be in a bad mood, still thinking about things in the village?"
Kangxi nodded: "In the past, I was always in the capital. Although I would occasionally go out of the palace incognito for private visits, I only saw such a small area. I was too narrow-minded. I inherited the vast empire from my ancestors, but I have never really looked at it properly or understood it seriously. It is my dereliction of duty."
He's been thinking about this.
While feeling sad, I also realized that I had been too arrogant over the years. I knew that the memorials sent from all over the country had been embellished in every way, but I still couldn't help but believe 30 or 40 percent of them. In reality, I couldn't believe even 10 percent of them.
"This is not your fault."
Youqing had a particularly good understanding of Kangxi. He was diligent in his duties and loved the people. He couldn't be perfect, but he tried his best to be thoughtful and considerate. However, this was his first time governing the country, so it was impossible for him to be thoughtful and considerate in everything.
In feudal society, information and communication were underdeveloped, and government orders were often not carried out effectively. Even if he wanted to solve the problem, such measures, even if they were to be used as a warning to others, would only be a temporary solution and would not address the root cause of the problem.
Besides, even in modern times, there are always a few bad apples in an otherwise clean and honest organization.
"I know. I will come out to see more of the country in the future. Being confined in the capital for too long will make it difficult to see the true nature of this vast land. I was arrogant and ignorant before."
It's clear that Kangxi was provoked by what happened in the village. Indeed, it was quite provocative. Hundreds of people in a village breaking the law without anyone noticing—this was no small matter.
By observing small details, Kangxi was able to gain insight into the state of affairs and social conditions in the Qing Dynasty, which is why he felt considerable pressure.
The Qing Dynasty he governed was not as good as described in his memorials; it was laughable that he thought everything was under his control.
It is not a bad thing that Kangxi was able to realize this; perhaps it is a fortunate thing.
After discussing this matter, Kangxi said to Youqing, "I intend to find another route to Jiangnan."
Youqing didn't quite understand what he meant: "I plan to let the Crown Prince lead the main force, while I will take a small group and take another route."
Are you sure?
There are quite a few uncertainties here.
"I'm certain, are you willing to stay with me?"
Youqing naturally had no objections, but Anle followed suit. After thinking for a moment, and considering the system, she nodded in agreement.
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