Enlighten the people's wisdom.

When Xia Hongsheng heard these three words speak from Li Shimin, his first reaction was accident and happiness. His second reaction was deep thought.

The so-called enlightenment of people's wisdom actually has two concepts: broad and narrow.

The broad sense of opening up people's wisdom is to revitalize people from the thoughts that have been consolidated in the world of power for a long time, and pursue truth, goodness and beauty that belongs to their own spiritual space. People's wisdom is naturally the wisdom of the whole people. Only when everyone yearns for a kind of beauty and progress can society be pure and self-improvement. To open up people's wisdom, it is to wake up the drowsy everyone and tell them that they may think in this way.

This is actually a very, very difficult process, especially for the people who have been accustomed to obeying for a long time. Over the past thousand years, the concepts accepted by the people have finally been analyzed, and in fact, they are just two words, obeying. Obeying the arrangements of the authoritative, and even their own thoughts and ways of thinking, are also obeying the established direction and methods of the authoritative.

And few people with unique ideas.

Even some new ideas are still re-created and developed in this shackle. Few people break out of this shackle. Most of the ones who jump out are ultimately annihilated because they are contrary to the collective submissive consciousness. Unless another authority breaks the original authority and sets another authority.

From this perspective, even people in the later era in which Xia Hongsheng lived cannot be considered to have truly enlightened the wisdom of the people.

In a narrow sense, the so-called enlightenment of the people is the concept of being ignorant of the people. That is, let the people have knowledge, then wisdom, and then be able to think.

To be more narrow, it is to eliminate illiteracy and so that the people will not be bewitched, deceived or incited by some absurd things.

It is so difficult to really enlighten the people. Even in that era in later generations, it was finally impossible to achieve it. At most, it was only to achieve the narrowest enlightenment of the people and eliminate illiteracy. Even this seems to have to be given some discounts.

Therefore, Xia Hongsheng believed that the enlightenment wisdom that Li Shimin realized at this moment was also just the narrowest level that made people have knowledge. He would not think of Li Shimin's good and bad because of a thunder in the sky; he would not believe in the lies of destiny just because of a few fox calls or a white python.

Xia Hongsheng knew that Li Shimin's starting point was very simple, that is, there was thunder in the sky, and there was a drought and a locust plague. If you tell the officials, he would say that the emperor did something wrong and asked the emperor to issue a self-criticism and correct it. If you tell the students of Jingyang Academy, they would say that thunder in the sky was a natural phenomenon. The locust plague was caused by drought, and the drought was because of the monsoon this year.

Xia Hongsheng also knew that the response of heaven and man was really absurd, but on the other hand, it could also become a constraint on imperial power.

In such a big country and so many people, they all have to obey his orders. This power is too great, and only "Heaven" can make him restrain himself and dare not abuse this power.

So Xia Hongsheng thought for a while and asked, "Forgive me for being brave. Your Majesty, I want to ask Your Majesty first, why do you think you should enlighten the people? If Your Majesty's answer is that once the people are enlightened, no one will believe that the heavens and man will be in response. No matter whether the mountains and earth are collapsed, the rivers are broken, they will no longer be linked to the emperor's actions. Then Your Majesty, you can do whatever you want. If this is the case, I will never mention these three words in the future."

Li Shimin was stunned and frowned. What Xia Hongsheng said was very rude, which reminded him of someone. This person always likes to sing opposite to him, choking him, and citing classics to mock him, making him hinder his hands and feet.

"Xia Qing means..." Li Shimin frowned and asked.

"What I mean is. Although I think the theory of the response of heaven and man is absurd, I also think that it is because of this theory that many emperors can restrain their behavior because they are afraid of God and do whatever they want. I am not talking about Your Majesty. Your Majesty, you are wise and powerful, so naturally you are not listed here." Xia Hongsheng said expressionlessly, but anyone could hear that tone, which is for Li Shimin.

Li Shimin picked his eyes, stared at Xia Hongsheng, and asked, "What do Xia Qing want to say?"

Xia Hongsheng bowed and said, "I want to say that there is a saying in "Xunzi": The king is a boat, and the common people are water. Water carries a boat, and water covers the boat. This is what it means."

Li Shimin paused and said in a deep voice: "I understand what Xia Qing means. Xia Qing is worried that once the people are enlightened and the people have knowledge, they no longer believe that 'the country will suffer a defeat that is unrighteous, and the heaven will first cause disasters to be criticized, without self-reflection, and then it will make strange things to warn them. They will not know how to change, and they will be injured and defeated even. In this way, I will not have to be afraid of 'the sins from heaven', so I will do whatever I want."

Xia Hongsheng nodded: "Your Majesty, you treat me very well. Therefore, although these words are unpleasant, they will even make Your Majesty angry, but I still want your Majesty to know. Although the disasters in nature are not the cause and effect of heaven and man, to be precise, not the cause and effect between heaven and king. However, there are some cause and effect between kings and people. The actions of kings, the causes planted by the kings will not cause the result of ‘God’, but will cause the result of the people. The king makes wise decisions and strives for governance. The people will naturally support and love them. The king is foolish and incompetent, and greedy for pleasure. The people will naturally feel a lot of grievances. The king exempts taxes from a place, and the people will be grateful to the king. The king increases the corvee service in this place, and the people will blame the king. This is the most direct manifestation. So rather than saying ‘the response of heaven and man’, it is better to say ‘everyone is inducing’.”

"Since Xia Qing said that, I will tell Xia Qing clearly." Li Shimin said solemnly: "Wei Qing often listened to what Xia Qing said just now. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. Natural disasters and man-made disasters, I feel sorry for the people, but what are you afraid of? What I fear is that the people do not understand good or bad, and are bewitched by others. I work hard to govern and think carefully about every decision I make, and follow advice like a stream, but some people still criticize me because of a natural disaster. They forget all the benefits in an instant. How sad I feel! I enlighten the people and don't ask much. I only hope that the people in the world can understand right and wrong like academy students, without being provoked, and being disheartened by me!"

Xia Hongsheng nodded and said, "I understand. Your Majesty, there is only one way to follow to enlighten people's wisdom."

"Can you come out?" Li Shimin asked.

"Popular education." Xia Hongsheng replied: "Forced popularization!" (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!