In the early days of the Tang Dynasty, although the world was pacified, there were still many bandits, those who robbed the emperor, those who robbed the money bank, and those who robbed less could not be on the local news.
Li Shimin asked everyone, "How can we calm down these bandits?" ”
Li Shimin's men, who had all broken through the sword mountain and the sea of fire, said: "This is not simple? Catch a click one! See if they have more people or more knives! The one also nodded his head in praise: "There are only knives that can't be used, and there are no people who can't be killed!" ”
Li Shimin's eyebrows were all wrinkled together, and it took half a day to speak: "What you are talking about is a way to promote bandits, not a way to stop bandits." ”
Everyone was not convinced, and asked Li Shimin: "What is Your Majesty's best idea?" ”
Li Shimin smiled and said, "I ask you, why do these people want to be bandits?" Seeing that everyone did not squeak, Li Shimin said: "Well, how about you take off your robes, give up your glory and wealth, and become a bandit?" ”
Everyone looked at each other and was dumbfounded, at this time, Li Shimin smiled and said, "That's right!" You have clothes to wear, you have meat to eat, you have wives and children, and of course you don't want to give up these to be thieves. Then you think about it in another way, if those bandits can also eat and wear without worry, and their children and grandchildren are full, will they still be bandits? ”
Everyone suddenly realized, a moment of applause and flew in unison.
Here is a statistic: in the third year of Zhenguan (629 AD), only 29 people were sentenced to death in the whole country. Also this year, the Tang Dynasty had a bumper grain harvest, and a meter bucket was sold for up to four dollars, and even the poorest people could afford it. Everyone has food to eat, who will go to be a bandit? As for the 29 men, none of them sinned because they could not eat.
Li Shimin is a learned man, he must have read a book called "The Theory of The Latent Husband", the author is the Great Thinker of the Eastern Han Dynasty Wang Fu. Wang Fu put forward a very important point of view in the second part of the "Treatise on the Hidden Husband", "The husband is the country, and the rich people are the foundation." ”
In fact, the idea of "rich country before rich people" existed as early as seven or eight hundred years before Wang Fu, and the person who said this was also very famous, that is, Guan Zhong, who assisted Qi Huangong to become the head of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons.
There is a cloud in the "Guan Zi And Governing the Country": "Whoever governs the country must first enrich the people." It is easy to govern when the people are rich, and it is difficult to govern when the people are poor. If you find this sentence a little profound, then quote two famous quotes from the "Pipe" that you must know: "The barn is solid and knows etiquette, and the food and clothing are enough to know honor and disgrace." ”
The quality of a country's citizens is not high, under normal circumstances, it depends on the degree of development of the country, the more developed the country, the higher the degree of civilization. Are they "racially noble"? Of course not, or the words of the pipe: first let the people eat enough, do not worry about three meals a day, and then talk about the problem of civility and courtesy. If you let the people go hungry and talk about civilization and morality, who will listen to you release the cannon?
That's human nature. All those who have successfully governed the country throughout the ages have deeply understood human nature.
There was an emperor in the late Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, that is, Guo Wei, the Taizu of later Zhou, who was not very famous, but his character was very good, and he could not see the suffering of ordinary people. When the latter week was first established, there were many terra nullius that were not planted, and many displaced peasants had no land to plant, and some local officials did not care at all, saying that if there was no race, it would be deserted.
Guo Wei looked down and said, "Not allowing the common people to cultivate the land is equivalent to forcing the people to rebel." Guo Wei not only distributed the borderlands to the people free of charge, but also reduced various taxes.
Guo Wei once said: "What is the difference between profiting the people and the capital state?" This shows that Guo Wei has clearly seen the dialectical relationship between rich people and rich countries, and only when the people are rich can the country be rich.
Guo Wei died early, and his adopted son Chai Rong, who was also a Ming jun, often said: "The common people are our parents, and our parents live a good life, and we should try our best to promote them, not exploit them." The common people have been plundered by you and become poor, and they will rebel next. ”
In the fourth year of Xiande (957), Xijing stayed behind to guard Wu Tingzuo Shangshu, saying: "There is a Yiyang County under the rule of the subject, and the common people often collect gold scraps in the valleys of the county, and ask the imperial court to stop it." ”
Many people in the DPRK and China support Wu Tingzuo's opinion, and ah, the money has been earned by the people, and the government has drunk the northwest wind to go? Chai Rong pondered for a moment and said, "The benefits of mountains, rivers and rivers are originally shared by the common people, and the government cannot enjoy their benefits exclusively." Let the people make money, not only will they not rebel, but they will be closer to the government. ”
Chai Rong also issued a special edict, telling those ordinary people who panned for gold: "You pan for gold at will, and how much you find is yours." Not only that, but the money you earn, the government doesn't want a penny! If anyone dares to rob you of the fruits of your labor, come to the court and make a decision for you! "You can imagine the scene of the crowd cheering at that time, such a good emperor, it is really difficult to find with a lantern!"
But unfortunately, Chai Rong reigned for only more than five years, and when the people heard the news of Chai Rong's death, they all cried into tears.
Looking at all the dynasties and generations in history, all those who know how to benefit the people are prosperous, and those who only know how to plunder the people will certainly not grow up, which corresponds to Wang Fu's point of view in "The Theory of the Hidden Husband": "The husband is the country, and the rich people are the foundation." ”