Chapter 83: This one is the only one, not that one!

When the First Emperor heard this, he seemed to understand something, but he felt that he had not fully grasped it.

The scholar continued, "Old sir, although the old laws of the Qin Dynasty were designed to prevent illegal behavior, the excessively heavy punishments actually dampened people's enthusiasm."

"Now the new law stipulates that those who fight will be imprisoned for ten days to half a month, depending on the severity of the case, and fined five hundred coins."

"Those who cause minor or serious injuries to others will be punished separately. As for those who see injustice on the road, the new law will no longer punish indifferent passers-by, but will reward those who are brave enough to do something righteous."

"Do you understand the difference?" the scholar's words were powerful.

“Those who do what is right are rewarded instead of punished.”

This idea was like a bolt from the blue, refreshing to the First Emperor.

Compared with his previous rule that "if you see someone doing something but don't help, you are guilty of the same crime", this is obviously more humane and takes into account the enthusiasm and actual ability of the people.

Indeed, from a legal perspective alone, the new law is indeed more reasonable than the old one.

The First Emperor nodded slightly and said, "This new law is quite interesting, but was it revised by you, Excellency?"

As a Confucian scholar, how could you modify the laws of my Legalism?"

Dong Zhongshu smiled modestly, shook his head and replied: "How can I have such talent to revise the new law? All of this is the work of the Thirteenth Master."

"Your talent is enough to surpass all the civil and military officials in the court."

These words shocked Ying Zheng. It was that rebellious son again!

He originally thought that the boy could only tinker with some Mohist mechanical techniques and create some strange things, but he didn't expect that he could even get involved in the law.

Regardless of whether he has real talent or not, just the change in the law may really come in handy.

Ying Zheng thought to himself: If he was good at inventions, he could have been sent to the Ministry of Works for training.

Now it seems that if you understand the law, you may have more job options to choose from.

However, no matter how talented he is, he will inevitably suffer physical pain and spend several years in prison. I will consider this matter after I have vented my anger.

Although the new law was slightly better than the old one, Ying Zheng was unwilling to give in easily.

He questioned: "No matter how superior the new law is, it is still based on the ideological foundation of my Legalism. What does this have to do with the Confucian concept of governing a country?"

This question hits the nail on the head. After all, both the new and old laws originated from the Legalist thought and seem to have no direct connection with Confucianism.

However, this seemingly unanswerable key question still failed to stump Dong Zhongshu.

"Old sir, you have a keen eye. Every time you ask a question, you get to the heart of the matter."

"I am fortunate to meet you today. Let me explain the deep meaning of this in detail."

"Have you ever heard that the general principle of the New Deal is called 'Abolish all schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone'?"

Ying Zheng snorted coldly, and that voice was full of historical memories.

"Of course I've heard of it. When I first heard the name, I was so angry that I almost smashed the table to pieces."

Thinking back to the past, I hated Confucianism to the core because of its book burning and burying of scholars. Now, when I hear my son advocating the supremacy of Confucianism, how can I not be furious?

Dong Zhongshu still maintained his calm smile: "It's good to have heard it."

He went on to say: "The old gentleman may have mistakenly thought that 'rejecting all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone' meant completely eliminating other schools of thought and governing the country solely by Confucianism."

A trace of doubt flashed across Ying Zheng's eyes at this moment: "Hmm? Isn't that the case?" Dong Zhongshu smiled slightly and continued to explain: "Of course not."

"This name was actually created intentionally by the young master to confuse those who don't know the truth."

"The so-called 'rejecting all schools of thought' does not mean abandoning all the ideas of the various schools of thought."

"The young master once said that each of the hundred schools has its own merits."

"For example, the rigorous legal system of the Legalists, the scientific research spirit of the Mohists, the etiquette and education of the Confucians, the people-oriented thinking of the Agriculturalists, the strategic wisdom of the Military Strategists, etc. Each school has its own unique contribution that cannot be erased."

"And the new policy formulated by the young master is to absorb the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought, take Confucianism as the leading factor, integrate the ideas of Legalism, and extract the essence of other schools to build a new comprehensive ideological system - New Confucianism."

“That’s why it’s called ‘Confucianism as the only doctrine’.”

Dong Zhongshu emphasized, "After the new policy is implemented, a unified new trend of thought will be formed in the Qin Empire."

"In this way, whether it is the survivors of the six kingdoms or the various schools of thought, as time goes by, they will gradually forget the disputes and disagreements of the past and only agree with the core ideas of our Great Qin."

"Young Master also mentioned that this is ideological unity. Only by achieving this can our Great Qin truly unify the six countries!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap exploding in the heart of the First Emperor!

It turns out that this is the meaning of "abolishing all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone"!
By drawing on the essence of all schools of thought, integrating Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism and Agriculture, establishing the core ideology of the Qin Dynasty, and then reaching a high degree of consensus at the conscious level, allowing the survivors of the six kingdoms to gradually fade away the ideology of the hundreds of schools of thought and remember the core ideas of the Qin Dynasty, this is the true cause of unification!

At this moment, Ying Zheng's heart was in turmoil, as if his three views had been overturned!
This unique strategy for governing the country is exactly what he has been thinking about day and night and dreaming of!

Why is it so difficult to eradicate the remnants of the six kingdoms? The root cause lies in the conflict of ideas and the failure to clean up the depths of thought.

And this extraordinary plan proposed by Xiao Shisan can actually achieve true unity at the level of ideology and consciousness!

Absolutely amazing!
Ying Zheng stood there in a daze, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

Putting unification aside, just talking about promoting the development of the Qin Dynasty, such ideological strategies will surely play a huge role!

The reason why the theories of the Hundred Schools of Thought have been passed down for a long time is that each of them has its own strengths.

Although there are many redundant and even erroneous parts, the essence of many theories is undoubtedly a dazzling treasure.

However, even for a school like the Mohist school, the craftsmanship of its craftsmen is top-notch!
If we could extract the essence of all the academic thoughts from the hundreds of schools of thought and integrate them into the governance of our Great Qin, wouldn’t every field of our empire be able to shine brightly?

In this way, the prosperity of the country will come naturally.

Why haven't I thought of such a wonderful method?

Little Thirteen brought me two unexpected surprises today!

"Well, it's not bad."

Ying Zheng's heart was filled with excited emotions, and the circulation of his true energy accelerated. In a trance, his state of mind seemed to be breaking through the grandmaster realm, and his cultivation improved a lot in an instant.

At this moment, his thoughts flowed like a rushing river, and suddenly he became clear.

However, behind this wonderful method, it is extremely difficult to implement.

He asked anxiously: "Such a good strategy is indeed excellent, but the hundreds of schools of thought have their own merits, and the fields they cover are complex and disorderly. How can we accurately select the advantages that are suitable for our Great Qin and put them into practice?"

This question is indeed quite profound.

(End of this chapter)