Chapter 1627: One first, two to prosper the country, three to respect!

After hearing what Gu Sansi said, Jing Ren nodded as if he understood, and then asked curiously:

“Teacher, how effective are my father’s reforms? Has he failed to eliminate F?”

Gu Sansi heard this and preached seriously:
“Your Majesty’s measures have had significant effects. The current level of integrity in the court is much higher than during the Great Zhou period. Under the dual supervision of the Coordination Office and the Censorate, many evil spirits have no choice but to put away their thoughts!”

“As for eliminating F-defeat, His Majesty said it is impossible!”

“Your Majesty once said something like this to me, which touched me deeply. People eat grains and cereals, have seven emotions and six desires, have good thoughts, and also have greed. Sometimes, being a TG or an honest official is just a matter of one thought!”

“Just like one day has day and night, human greed is a problem that can never be solved. After day comes night, after night comes day, and the cycle repeats itself until eternity!”

“So when people have emotions, they are bound to have greed, and greed will also lead to corruption, so corruption can never be completely eliminated!”

“As long as people are allowed to be Gs, it will never be possible to eliminate T officials!”

“And sometimes being greedy isn’t a bad thing…”

After hearing this, Jingren was stunned for a moment, then said in disbelief:
“Mr. Gu, what did you just say?”

Seeing Jingren’s reaction, Gu Sansi was not surprised, and immediately preached in a clear and loud voice:
“I say sometimes greed isn’t such a bad thing!”

“Greed is not a bad thing? Mr. Gu, you are right, right?”

Facing Jingren’s question, Gu Sansi smiled slightly and said with some emotion:

“What is greed? Greed and desire!”

“When I first heard this from your Majesty, I had the same reaction as you. How can greed and desire be a good thing? We are all taught to be morally upright and selfless!”

“Being a greedy, lustful, and selfish person is despised by the world! Am I right?”

Jingren became even more confused after hearing this and asked:

“Mr. Gu, what do you want to say? What do you mean?”

“What I mean is very simple, that is, greed and desire will make us progress!”

Hearing this from Gu Sansi, Jingren was shocked and dumbfounded.

At this time, Gu Sansi continued to speak slowly:
“This is the idea proposed by your majesty. Your majesty, why did the earliest humans farm?”

Jingren said without hesitation:
“Because I need to eat!”

“Why do we need to eat?”

“Because I’m hungry! Not eating can kill you!”

“Jingren, this is the crux of the problem. Humans want to eat, so they learn to grow crops. This is greed and desire for food. Am I right?”

Jingren was stunned when he heard this, and said after hesitating for a moment:
“Mr. Gu, what you said seems to make sense!”

“Jingren, if you think about it this way, if all humans at that time were pure-hearted, had no desire for food, were not greedy, and did not want to get more food to fill their stomachs, then why would they bother farming…?”

“Mr. Gu, it seems to be the case, but I still feel something is wrong!”

“Jingren, let me give you a modern example. The looms in factories, the traditional looms, can also weave cloth. Why did the Second Manufacturing Bureau spend so much manpower and resources to improve the looms?”

Jingren thought about it and said without hesitation:
“Because my father ordered Su Junjie to improve the loom!”

Hearing this answer, Gu Sansi’s mouth twitched, but he still patiently continued to ask:

“Then why does Your Majesty like this order?”

“Because the improved loom can weave better cloth and weave faster!”

“So we want the loom to weave better cloth and weave faster, which drives us to improve the loom. Do you think this is greed and desire for cloth? If we are pure-hearted and not greedy for cloth, will we still improve the loom?”

“And those merchants, why do they come out to do business? Why do they leave their hometowns? Isn’t it just to make money? Isn’t this just greed and desire for money?”

Hearing what Gu Sansi said, Jingren’s expression suddenly became conflicted.

At this time, Gu Sansi continued to preach:
“Jingren, there are many T officials in the officialdom, but not all of them are only greedy for money. Some are lustful and like beautiful women. They want to sleep with every one they see. Some are not greedy for money or sex, but they are greedy and like to eat and drink as much as they want with the government’s funds!”

“Some people are greedy for power and want to gain more power. They like the feeling of being surrounded by people. Some people are greedy for fame and are particularly careful about their reputation. They don’t want their reputation to be tarnished in any way!”

“Among these people, those who are greedy for power and fame, we can use their greed and desires to guide them onto the right path and make them do the right thing…”

Upon hearing this, Jingren couldn’t help but ask back:
“Mr. Gu, according to what you said, greed and desire are not bad things, but good things?”

“Jingren, don’t think in black and white. The world we live in is not black and white, it is a colorful world!”

“Jingren, you should understand the principle that too much is as bad as too little. Everything has a limit. If you are within this limit, it may be a good thing, but if it is beyond the limit, then the good thing will become a bad thing!”

‘For example, water is a must for people. If you don’t drink water for one day, you will be thirsty. If you don’t drink water for two or three days, you will die of thirst. But too much water will become a flood, which will also kill you! ‘

“The same is true for greed. If you are within this limit, it may be a boost to your development and make your life better. But if you are beyond this limit, greed may be a sharp blade that takes your life!” “Mr. Gu, how can you control this limit?”

“Jingren, your question is very good. How to control this amount depends on your own practice, your own experience, and your character. Everyone is different, so for everyone, this amount is different!”

“You need to constantly gain insights in your life, and then find your own quantity…”

Jingren was thoughtful after hearing this. After giving Jingren some time to understand, Gu Sansi changed the subject and continued:
“Okay, let’s continue talking about reform!”

“The reforms that His Majesty just made during the Liaoyang period were mainly aimed at solving some of the problems in the Great Zhou G-market, thereby improving the efficiency of the court’s operations, solving the problem of land annexation, and allowing the people to own their own land!”

“As for industry and commerce, His Majesty changed the Great Zhou’s contempt for merchants and began to attach great importance to the development of industry and commerce. His Majesty proposed reducing government intervention and improving the status of merchants to encourage the development of industry and commerce, and historically shouted the slogan of rejuvenating the country through industry and commerce!”

“As for the military, Your Majesty has also strictly reorganized the army, strictly investigated the problems of empty salaries, reselling military equipment, and withholding pensions for soldiers, and then rebuilt military discipline to ensure that every soldier can get the salary they deserve!”

“In addition, Your Majesty has also vigorously developed firearms, giving these craftsmen good treatment and high rewards to increase their enthusiasm for technological innovation, so that they can create excellent firearms such as the Weiyuan Gun, the Red Cannon, and the Grenade!”

“With strict military discipline, sufficient salaries and pensions, and powerful firearms, we have a strong Fengwu Army. With such a strong army and an efficient military system that provides the army with a variety of resources, we have become invincible!”

“It is no exaggeration to say that after Your Majesty started the rebellion in Liaoyang, he led our Daqian army to unify the world in just a few years. The secret lies in reform!”

Hearing what Gu Sansi said, Jingren spoke thoughtfully:

“If Mr. Gu said so, it is precisely because of the reform that we have the current Daqian?”

“Jingren, you can understand it this way! His Majesty said at the beginning that if we don’t reform and change all this, then relying on Liaoyang’s meager manpower and material resources, we will not be able to defeat Shangguan Hongyuan, and we won’t even be able to enter the pass…”

Jingren murmured upon hearing this:

“No wonder Dad values ​​reform so much! That’s why!”

“Jingren, if we regard the reforms carried out by your majesty in Liaoyang as the first stage of reform, then the reforms carried out by your majesty after he became emperor can be regarded as the second stage of reform!”

“The second phase of reform? Is there any difference between the second phase of reform and the first phase of reform?”

“The first phase of reform is to solve the problems left over from the Great Zhou Dynasty. The second phase of reform can be seen as a continuation of the first phase of reform. After all, Daqian has unified the world, and we need to implement these reforms throughout the world!”

“But at the same time, the second phase of reforms also has some new content, which focuses on the future development of Daqian!”

“The first point of these contents is education!”

“Your Majesty has repeatedly emphasized in public that science and technology are the primary productive forces, and how to develop science and technology is to cultivate talents through education, and then let talents promote the development of science and technology!”

“For this reason, Your Majesty has added knowledge of astronomy, geography, humanities, history, agriculture, physics, chemistry, etc. to the Four Books and Five Classics. Your Majesty wants to break the traditional perception that only reading is superior and everything else is inferior. You want to make scientific development deeply rooted in people’s hearts!”

“In order to popularize education, Your Majesty has opened public schools in every prefecture, county, and town in Daqian, so that children can receive free education, free food and accommodation in public schools. In addition, Your Majesty also plans to build 100 libraries in various parts of Daqian. As long as you can read, you can read books and learn knowledge for free in the library!”

“Your Majesty has a great goal, which is to eliminate illiteracy in Daqian in the next 20 to 30 years, so that all the people of Daqian can read and write. Your Majesty regards this goal as a mission entrusted to you by history…”

“The court’s finances have not been good in recent years, but the court’s investment in education has always been increasing. Your Majesty wants to give the children of Daqian a better future and let them grow into useful people!”

“In addition to the issue of education, His Majesty has also changed the policy of isolation from the outside world during the Great Zhou Dynasty and started to encourage foreign maritime trade, encouraging the people of Daqian to go to Southeast Asia and even further afield to do business and discover new continents!”

“This practice also allowed the merchants in Jiangnan to earn a lot of money, and the court also received a lot of tax revenue. Currently, the tax revenue from overseas trade has become an important pillar of the court’s finances. It is precisely because of this income that the court has the confidence to charge relatively low taxes to farmers!”

“At the same time, Your Majesty believes that the future struggle will shift from land to sea. Whoever controls the sea will control the world. Daqian’s future enemies will also change from the northern nomadic peoples of thousands of years to the Westerners on the sea!”

“For this reason, Your Majesty is also vigorously developing the navy and shipbuilding industry, striving to build a competitive navy. On the basis of protecting Daqian’s maritime interests, he will try his best to transfer the pressure caused by the excessive population within Daqian.”

“In addition, Your Majesty has also learned from the Qin Dynasty’s demise in the second generation that benevolence should be the first priority in governing the world!”

“As for benevolent governance, Your Majesty has done a very important thing. That is, Your Majesty has gradually begun to abolish torture such as lingchi and five horses dismembering a body. Your Majesty wants all living beings in the world to feel his benevolence…”

After speaking eloquently, Gu Sansi looked at Jingren and said:
“Jingren, do you remember everything I said?”

Jingren, who was listening attentively, nodded without hesitation and said:

“Remember! Remember! Rectify the administration of officials, distribute the land, develop the country through industry and commerce, reorganize the army, attach importance to education, develop the navy, and rule the world with benevolence!”

Gu Sansi nodded slightly and said:

“You must take notes on all of this. I will test you next time I teach you!”

“Do you still need to take notes? You didn’t even mention that just now!”

“Do I need to tell you this? A good memory is not as good as a bad pen. Jingren, you should have the awareness of independent learning!”

Hearing what Gu Sansi said, Jingren’s expression became a little unhappy, but he soon thought of something and shouted to the outside:

“Liu Tong, do you remember?”

In response to Jingren’s question, a timid voice was heard outside the door.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I have written down everything that Master Gu said!”

Gu Sansi couldn’t help but shook his head when he heard this, and then he told Jingren:
“Jingren, please copy down what Eunuch Liu wrote down for yourself so that you can have a deeper impression of it!”…”