Seeing Li Nian, Ying Zheng said: "After listening to your words, I think the Confucianism is not bad. The bad things you have mentioned are not too much... "
Ying Zheng's words imply: "After hearing what you said, I find that Confucianism is still quite good for the rule of kings. As for the drawbacks of Confucianism you mentioned, they seem to be minor and acceptable!"
This is a very normal thought from the perspective of Ying Zheng as a ruler, standing as the ruler himself.
Li Nian said: "If there is no country outside, and no one outside of people, Confucianism can indeed be considered acceptable. However, the world is not just the Qin dynasty!"
Ying Zheng furrowed his brow and said, "What do you mean by that?"
Li Nian said: "Yesterday, the minister told the king that there are countries outside Qin, such as the northern Huns and the western Greater Yuezhi. In fact, there are more countries and lands than what Qin knows now, much more than what the king knows. Now it's just that the transportation is not convenient and it's difficult to communicate with each other, so they are separated. But if transportation becomes convenient in the future, what do you think will happen, Your Majesty?"
This is self-evident; it is of course that when two countries meet, the weaker one will most likely suffer from oppression, and even face the threat of national annihilation.
Thinking about this, Ying Zheng furrowed his brow and wondered if there had been such experiences in the history of the land of the Celestial Empire, where it was oppressed by foreign powers, even pushed to the brink of national annihilation. Could it possibly be related to Confucianism?
If this is the case, it's no wonder that Li Nian has shown disdain for Confucianism!
Li Nian said: "With Your Majesty's wisdom, you must have already thought about what will happen. When two countries meet, it's nothing but the strong oppressing the weak."
"In the long history, our Chinese nation has been mostly prosperous, but there have also been a few times when we were weak and suffered humiliation, almost to the point of national extinction."
Although he had guessed, it was still shocking for Ying Zheng to hear Li Nian say this out loud. Although separated from later generations by time, they were all descendants of Yan and Huang with the same blood.
"During those times of weakness, it was caused by various factors, but I believe Confucianism must be one of them; it cannot escape its responsibility!"
This is the true reason why Li Nian dislikes Confucianism. He believes that Confucianism has hindered the progress of Chinese civilization and is one of the reasons for the numerous disasters suffered by China in history.
"If the world were dominated solely by China, the influence of Confucianism might be negligible. However, with numerous countries in existence, it is not just China."
If the world were only China, even if it went through cycles of dynastic change every two or three centuries, it would still be a matter of family disputes, where the flesh rots within the pot. However, the reality is that there is more to the world than just China; sometimes, even our own flesh is stolen by outsiders.
"When other countries progress and develop rapidly, with new things appearing every day, my China is hindered by Confucian thought, stagnating and even regressing."
"When the barbarians of other countries invade our Chinese soil and kill our Chinese people, the Confucian ministers from those countries are yelling about showing mercy, using benevolence and righteousness to transform the bloodthirsty barbarians. How could they know that the barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue, which led to many times when our Chinese people were devastated by the barbarians. Even sometimes, Confucianism willingly defends the barbarians' domination of us, proving that it is legal and reasonable for them to enslave us."
Recalling the actions of some Confucian scholars during the Yuan and Qing dynasties, Li Nian felt so angry that he could not contain his temper. As the most mainstream school of thought in China, they had no trace of bravery or spirit. It was forgivable that they did not call on all Han people to rise up in rebellion, but they even went so far as to fawn over and kowtow to the alien tribes, providing legal justifications for their rule.
"When foreign ships navigate on the vast oceans, looting wealth and occupying land all around the world, we, under the influence of Confucian thought, were still immersed in the dream of the Celestial Empire, ignoring external changes until he country's strong ships and cannons burst open our gates, causing unprecedented humiliation."
Some people claim that there were early signs of capitalism in the Song and Ming dynasties, but in Li Nian's view, as long as Confucianism remains the dominant ideology on this land, it will remain just a sprout and cannot develop into a full-fledged form.
Because it is sure to be suppressed by Confucianism and will never amount to anything significant.
It is incredibly difficult for significant changes to occur spontaneously under the influence of Confucianism.
The society under Confucian etiquette is very stable, and stability means that change is difficult. Even if there are slight changes, they are all within the framework of Confucianism.
The framework is rigid, where can it change to?
Therefore, the heroic figures in Chinese history who wanted to bring about change either became failures or mere mending seamstresses. It was only when they were beaten open their gates by foreign ships with guns and cannons, with a knife at their throats, that they had no choice but to break through the thousand-year prison webbed by Confucianism.
"The minister knows that it is one-sided to attribute all problems to Confucianism, but since Confucianism has influenced China for over two thousand years, it is impossible to be completely unrelated. Therefore, the minister does not want Confucianism to be favored by Your Majesty again, so that it can continue to poison this world of Chinese for another two thousand years, even if the Confucianism of today is not the same as that of the future!"
Ying Zheng was silent for a long time before saying: "I understand your thoughts. Although Confucianism is beneficial to rulers, it hinders the progress of China and prevents it from keeping up with the changes in other countries. If China does not change while other countries do, it will eventually suffer great humiliation."
"And I won't hide it from you. When you said the benefits of Confucianism to the ruler, I was moved by your words as well. But your argument is valid, and choosing Confucianism may indeed make the ruler's governance more stable, but it will cause China to lose its future."
Ying Zheng looked at Li Nian and said: "Although you did not explicitly say what kind of humiliation China suffered in later generations, I can see that the humiliations must have been considerable. With your temperament, there must also be a sense of resentment."
In Ying Zheng's eyes, Li Nian was someone who was timid, greedy for life, fearful of death, enjoyed luxury, and had no grand ambitions. This did not fit his age at all.
But such a person, who just now spoke so passionately, proved that his blood has not cooled.
This is what a youth in his twenties should be like!
Ying Zheng continued: "I have conquered six countries and unified the land. I am both the king of Qin and the master of China. My Qin will never rule with Confucianism!"
After saying this, Ying Zheng would never again use Confucianism. He couldn't control what future kings would do, but at least in his era of ruling the heavens, he would not!
Li Nian stood up and gave Ying Zheng a respectful bow, saying, "The minister is grateful to Your Majesty!"
Ying Zheng said: "And don't be in a hurry to thank me. I called you today not to ask about Confucianism, but rather about your words during your conversation with Su Xu, where you did not acknowledge any of the other schools of thought."
"You should know that Qin is governed by Legalism. However, according to your words, Legalism cannot govern Qin. I want to know the reason behind it."
Confucianism has not yet become a prominent academic school in the world, and Qin does not need to govern with Confucian teachings, so there is time to deal with Confucian matters later. However, Qin is genuinely governing with Legalism.
Knowing that there are problems with governing Qin with Legalism, Ying Zheng naturally wants to understand it as soon as possible.
Hu Hai, Zhao Geng, and others' problems can be put off for a while, but Legalism affects Qin every minute and second.
If Legalism is indeed one of the reasons for the decline and fall of Qin, then every moment that Legalism affects Qin is equivalent to Qin moving one step closer to its doom.
"Your Majesty, the minister is not unsupportive of the hundred schools of thought. The scholars' knowledge is highly respected by the minister, and even Confucianism, which the minister also believes has commendable aspects in guiding people towards virtue and self-cultivation, I just don't acknowledge that it can govern the world well."
