hsntnovel Chapter 1991 Human nature is evil
Chapter 1991 Human nature is evil
The strength of a country is inseparable from wealth, and Li Shen fully demonstrated the power of capital.
With his own strength, he instigated a war, launched a commercial attack on ignorant small countries, and used interests to drive small countries to consume big countries.
Although the Tang Dynasty was powerful with strong soldiers and horses, Tubo was not weak after it completed its unification.
If the Tang Dynasty attacks Tubo, it will also have to pay a price.
Li Shen's move to create division was indeed a brilliant move.
Regardless of success or failure, Li Shen did not suffer any major loss.
"Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty. I will learn from your instruction." Wang Xuance cooperated very well.
"This is not really a teaching, it's just my own realization." Li Shen put away his smile and said with emotion.
I don't know how many people died before coming up with this method. I finally became that evil dragon.
"By the way, I remembered something. How is Li Zhi doing recently? Has the Liu family's case been judged?" Li Shen suddenly remembered this matter.
It's been almost a month now, and I haven't heard any news since they said they would check it out.
"Your Highness, the case is under trial," Wang Xuance replied.
"It's still under trial? The evidence is irrefutable, and the case will be decided according to the law. Could it be that Li Zhi, that little bastard, is still trying to abuse his power for personal gain?
That would be great if that were the case.”
But Li Shen didn't think that Li Zhi, that little scoundrel, would dare to show favoritism at this time. Even if he did it for Li Shimin to see, he would still sacrifice his own relatives for the sake of justice.
“Your Highness, it’s not that Prince Jin is corrupt and partial, but the case is still under investigation, some evidence has not been thoroughly investigated, and some of the stolen money is missing.
Two county magistrates had their property confiscated and were exiled. Among the seven county magistrates, five had been tried, three had been beheaded and their property confiscated, and two had been exiled to Lingnan.
The remaining three provincial governors and two county magistrates are still under trial.
I have received information that the evidence against the three governors is incomplete and somewhat inconsistent with our investigation."
Wang Xuance reported the results of the handling.
"Oh? The evidence is incomplete? Haha, it seems they got the news pretty quickly." Li Shen didn't need to think that someone must have tipped off those governors and asked them to destroy the evidence.
The person who leaked the information could be Li Zhi or an official from the Liu family.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The evidence we provided is very complete and there is no falsehood in it. As long as the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple investigate carefully, they will definitely get to the bottom of it. It's just a matter of time.
Although the three governors tried to conceal their actions, many people still knew about it. No matter how powerful his Liu family was, they could not stop the people from talking.
The crimes committed by these three people are punishable by death at the very least, and in more serious cases, their property will be confiscated.”
Wang Xuance understood the law better than Li Shen. He had already figured out this matter. Most of the twelve people impeached this time were sentenced to death, and the rest would be exiled thousands of miles away.
The blow that Prince Ji's Mansion dealt to the Liu family this time was extremely fatal. It could also be said to be a heavy blow. The three provincial governors, the leaders of the region, might be transferred back to the central government at any time.
As a result, he was killed alive in Prince Ji's Mansion.
There were also seven county magistrates who were much more comparable to town mayors in later generations, or at least the top leaders of county-level cities, but they were also pulled down by King Li Ji.
This time, the Liu family suffered heavy losses.
"Haha, this is great. We should clean up the bureaucracy and restore peace and order to our Tang Dynasty. If the court cannot make decisions for the people, it means that the court is incompetent.
If the people do not support the court, our Tang Dynasty will be in danger." Li Shen smiled lightly, finally there was something happy.
"Your Highness is right. After experiencing this incident, I have also gained a lot of insights." Wang Xuance nodded.
"Oh? Tell me what you think?" Li Shen immediately became interested.
Wang Xuance thought for a moment, organized his words and said:
"Your Majesty, I have been an official for many years. In the early Zhenguan period, the government was clean and honest, and there were very few corrupt officials.
But with the rise of our Tang Dynasty, in the past decade or so, the people have become prosperous, the number of merchants has increased, and the imperial treasury has also had a surplus.
Every year, the amount of funds allocated by the imperial court gradually increased to build water conservancy projects, clear river silt, build bridges and roads, and provide relief to disaster victims.
But what comes with it is that corruption also increases.
All of this has started in the past decade. In the face of money, human nature is exposed.”
Wang Xuance's face was full of emotion. He had thought about this question for a long time. Why is it different now than before?
"You mean it's my fault? I made the treasury abundant, the merchants increased, and the people rich, but I didn't let the officials embezzle."
Li Shen's expression was a little strange. Is he talking about me?
How come everything has something to do with me?
"Your Highness has misunderstood. I am not saying that it is Your Highness's fault. After much thought, I finally figured out why the government was so clean and honest during the early Zhenguan period."
Wang Xuance hurried to explain.
"Why?" Li Shen was also very curious. According to his understanding, although there was corruption during the Zhenguan period, the officials were indeed honest officials, and many of the corrupt officials were meritorious officials who deliberately made mistakes.
So he also wanted to hear what Wang Xuance’s summary was?
"poverty."
"What?"
Wang Xuance uttered a word, but Li Shen didn't understand it.
"Your Majesty, it's because we are poor and have no money." Wang Xuance explained again. "Your Majesty, I think about it carefully. Since the founding of the country, we have been influenced by the Sui Dynasty.
The treasury is empty, the people are living in poverty, and the prince has also said that there is a lot of work to be done.
The imperial court was not wealthy at that time, and the only thing left in the national treasury was the grain left over from the former Sui Dynasty.
The people could not live and work in peace and contentment, even food and clothing were a problem. At that time, there were natural disasters every year, and no one knows how many people died.
The imperial court wanted to provide relief, but was unable to do so.
At that time, most of the officials in the world came from aristocratic families. They were well-informed and would never tarnish their reputation for a few grains.
But now the imperial treasury is well-stocked, so it is naturally generous. Various grants are made to local governments, and each time a huge sum of money is allocated.
This makes many people unable to resist the temptation and give rise to evil thoughts. "
After Wang Xuance's words, Li Shen fell into deep thought.
He felt that what Wang Xuance said made sense, it turned out that history was so similar.
There is a devil living in everyone's heart. Just as Xunzi said, when you are hungry, you want to eat; when you are cold, you want to be warm. Human nature is evil, and those who are good are fake.
Han Feizi also said that human nature is evil and needs to be restrained by strict laws.
If there were no strict legal and ritual constraints, and people were allowed to release the devil in their hearts, the world would become a hell, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva would never be able to come out.
People will become people who burn, kill, rob, and commit all kinds of evil, taking killing for fun, and slaughtering the elderly, children, and are worse than pigs and dogs.
"Xuan Ce, you are indeed very intelligent and quick-witted. You can think of the essence of things, which is rare.
Then I ask you, in your opinion, how should we deal with it?"
(The math on the previous sheet was wrong, I have corrected it. Please don’t insult my PE teacher, although I have forgotten his name.)