Chapter 118 Killing Move

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked was not because of anything else, but because he was the smartest person.

Just think about it, a young boy who could not read or write and had nothing, conquered the world in less than twenty years. In the process, he also learned how to read and write, learned how to train and lead troops, and even through his life experiences, he founded a dynasty, which lasted for three hundred years.

For a person like this, his IQ must be terrifying.

There may be many criticisms of the national policies initiated by Zhu Yuanzhang in later generations, but one thing is undeniable: Zhu Yuanzhang's starting point was so low that it exceeded the limit of all dynasties in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, and it can be said to be the limit since the existence of human beings.

Many of his national policies that were criticized were, in essence, the result of his experience gained during his life growth.

But it is precisely because of his extremely terrifying wisdom and his ability to learn knowledge beyond that of ordinary people.

Even though many scholars are still confused and chewing over Deng Qianqiu's words, Zhu Yuanzhang has already grasped the essence of Deng Qianqiu's words.

Deng Qianqiu was not a good teacher, and his explanations might not have been as profound and easy to understand, but this was enough for Zhu Yuanzhang.

The smarter a person is, the more shocked he is.

Zhu Yuanzhang tried hard to recall his life experiences, and at this time, he repeatedly compared Deng Qianqiu's words in his mind.

Countless thoughts came to his mind, and Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously asked: "How can we increase the country's fortune and how can we increase the country's luck?"

This statement was even more shocking.

Everyone looked surprised.

Is that something you can ask?

The people who study the most seriously here are none other than the captains and clerks in the centurions' offices, because they need to eat.

When the captain asked what Captain Deng had said, he couldn't answer and was afraid that he would be beaten to death.

They all looked straight ahead, so they didn't notice Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance.

Now following the sound, many people's faces suddenly changed. Isn't this...

They trembled with fear. Captain Deng's lecture was enough to make them nervous, but who knew that there were even more important people mixed in the crowd.

Some scholars were also studying seriously, of course, there were also many people like Song Yan who still sneered at it.

Deng Qianqiu looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a smile, just waiting for you to ask.

Deng Qianqiu, who had been prepared, said calmly: "There is a saying that goes, 'See the essence through the problem.' Since ancient times, many scholars have been pursuing this answer, so there are countless answers, such as just sticking to the rites and laws. This is simply a joke. The rites and laws are the superstructure, which is built on the stability of the world. Once this soil is lost, who cares about the rites and laws? It's all bullshit."

Song Yan was almost fuming with anger.

Wen Yuanji was numb, he just copied subconsciously, good, good, this time the etiquette is also finished. Very good, Deng Baihu is Deng Baihu, later, won't he say that benevolence, righteousness, integrity and shame are also bullshit?
Deng Qianqiu continued, "Some even say that as long as we implement benevolent governance, that's bullshit. What is benevolent governance? How do we determine it? It's nothing but empty talk. The so-called benevolence, in fact, has been fake since the beginning. It doesn't exist at all."

Wen Yuanji suddenly felt a rush of blood to his head, and his mind was completely empty. At this moment, he almost couldn't breathe, and he managed to hold on without falling down.

After hearing this, Song Yan and the other scholars looked extremely unhappy, as if they were about to faint.

Song Yan clenched his fist and said, "You are a heretic and you are spreading rumors to confuse the public!"

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said to Song Yan: "Look, this is where you are wrong."

Song Yan asked angrily: "What's wrong?"

Deng Qianqiu said calmly, "I came here with good intentions to teach you. It's fine if you come, but whether you like it or not, you should respect others. If Confucius were alive, he would definitely tell you that one of the three of us can be my teacher. But you took my good intentions for granted and actually accused me of being a heretic and misleading people. Can I say you are unjust?"

After a pause, he continued, "Look at how young I am, only thirteen or fourteen years old. I only said a few words, but you got so angry and kept inciting people to denounce me. I ask you, is this unkind?"

"It can be seen from this that you are an unkind and unjust person, am I right?"

Song Yan was even more furious. He had never seen anyone use his age as an excuse. It was so shameless!
Deng Qianqiu said, "But I don't think it's right to say that. I can't label you as an unkind and unjust person just because you refuted me. That's too cruel. Maybe you are just a person of temperament, so some nonsense comes out of your mouth."

Song Yan said with a stern face, "Whether I am kind or not, you don't need to make a fuss about it."

Deng Qianqiu clapped his hands and laughed: "Hahahaha... You see, this is the problem. Why do I say that benevolence and righteousness are bullshit? This is not to call benevolence and righteousness bullshit, but... once we use benevolence and righteousness as the standard for weighing everything, everyone will find that everyone can be benevolent and righteous, but everyone is unkind and unjust. Why is this? Because benevolence and righteousness themselves have no standard for judging. The same behavior, when judged by different people, will have completely different results. Then... this can easily lead to some so-called "sages" mastering the standard for judging benevolence and righteousness and causing chaos in the world. In fact, this is what Zhuangzi said, as long as the sages are alive, the thieves will not stop. Don't you think I'm right?"

Song Yan: "You..." Deng Qianqiu pressed his hand: "It's not that this kind of false moral standard is unnecessary. But if we use so-called benevolence as the criterion for judging all matters, then there will inevitably be big problems. Now, let's get back to the topic and return to the question just now."

Wen Yuanji finally recovered and was sweating profusely. He found that the back of his collar was soaked. He continued to take notes absent-mindedly, but he felt like he was being publicly executed.

I shouldn't have reconciled with Deng Qianqiu, my God.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened with great interest, but when he got back to the point, his heart sank. Damn it, after talking for so long, it seemed like he had gone off topic and hadn't even answered his question yet!

Deng Qianqiu remembered the main topic at this time, so he said: "In my opinion, there is only one way to maintain the country's destiny! That is: to continuously develop productivity. There is no other way. In this world, no one can compare to Wang Mang in the Han Dynasty in terms of profound knowledge, and no one can compare to Wang Mang in terms of moral preaching. However, such a person usurped the throne, and within a few years, the world was in chaos. It was precisely because he only focused on the so-called preaching and the so-called restoration of Zhou rituals. He ignored productivity."

"Let me ask you, if a person has food and drink, will he think of rebellion? If a person lives a prosperous life, he must be the natural defender of this system. Therefore, the essence of a country's destiny is nothing more than production, continuous production, and continuous satisfaction of the people of the world. As for other benevolence, morality, propriety, justice, integrity and shame, these are customs agreed upon by the people at different levels of life."

Just now, when Deng Qianqiu talked about the relationship between commodities and currency, he mentioned productivity. Zhu Yuanzhang had no intuitive concept of this thing, but now... he was suddenly shocked.

He thought that Deng Qianqiu would talk about some profound truth, but who knew that Deng Qianqiu would put it in a way that couldn't be simpler: production determines everything.

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a trance for a moment, and he couldn't help but start comparing it with his life experiences.

After this comparison, everything made sense.

At the beginning, let alone the rule of the Tartars, even if this evil spirit was ruling the world wantonly, at the beginning... if his parents had not starved to death, he would still have two meals a day, how could he have ended up like this today?
It was like an epiphany.

Everything is clear now.

The moment he figured it out, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart was stirred, and he suddenly began to have a strange idea.

In fact... this is clearly the simplest truth, but why does he often ignore this point when thinking?

It seems... after ruling the country and becoming emperor, mentioning such things has become something difficult to talk about.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang was full of thoughts, but he suddenly turned back and whispered to Xu Da: "Go out and tell them to quickly summon the adult princes, the King of Qin, the King of Jin, the King of Yan, and the King of Zhou."

Xu Da was stunned and whispered, "Your Majesty, isn't the King of Qin in Fengyang?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said without hesitation: "Then let him go back to the capital."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was not likely to question, Xu Da nodded, hurried out, and after instructing the people outside, he came back.

At this time, Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "That's all for today. If you still want to hear more, come back in three days. Oh...right..."

Having said that, Deng Qianqiu looked at Wen Yuanji.

Wen Yuanji's face turned pale, and he silently said in his heart: "You can't see me, you can't see me, I hide, I hide, hey...all the rebellious people will not commit any crime, and the evil spirits will retreat!"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Mr. Wen Yuanji..."

Wen Yuanji had a sad face and asked, "Why did you call me by my full name?"

"Ahem... Captain Deng... I'm here." He was groaning in his heart, biting the word "I'm here" tightly, as if to say, I'm on duty, this is my job.

Deng Qianqiu asked: "Have you recorded everything?"

Wen Yuanji took a deep breath and said, "Remember this."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Then please sign your name. I will ask someone to make a few copies and send them to be printed later."

Wen Yuanji's eyes almost went dark, and he said unwillingly, "Do you want a signature?"

"You wrote this down, so of course you have to sign your name." Deng Qianqiu looked at him straight in the face and said solemnly, "You've worked so hard for so long, I can't let you down."

"Hurry up and sign!" Deng Qianqiu shouted.

"Oh, OK." After Deng Qianqiu's shout, Wen Yuanji became obedient. He didn't say another word and hurriedly signed his crooked name with his left hand.

…………

Today is Monday, and many authors of new books are going to compete, so I have to recommend a book called "I Don't Cheat, I Tell Fortune", which is quite interesting.

(End of this chapter)