Chapter 45: Great Harmony All Under Heaven

Outside the room where Liu Xie was locked up, several guards stood respectfully before Zhang Da.

"You lot keep watch outside the door! No one is allowed to enter without my command!" Zhang Da glared fiercely and said, "If even a whisper of this leaks out, none of your heads will stay on your shoulders! Did you hear me?"

"Understood!" the guards replied respectfully.

"Bearded, come in with me." Zhang Da called out the scar-faced man.

"Eldest Brother, hehe, what are your orders?"

Zhang Da glanced at the sycophantic scar-faced man and said, "We'll talk inside."

Then the scar-faced man scurried over to Zhang Da, bowed, and opened the door. "Eldest Brother, after you!"

"Little brother? Do you find my face familiar?" Zhang Da looked at Liu Xie and smiled, though the smile looked somewhat nauseating.

Looking at him, Liu Xie felt a wave of nausea.

To be honest, Liu Xie had vaguely sensed before that these guards and this Zhang Da were definitely connected. Now it seemed his guess was correct. Moreover, Liu Xie felt that Zhang Da was not the mastermind; there must be others pulling the strings behind the scenes.

"Isn't this the watch-dog from the city gate?" At this point, Liu Xie naturally wasn't going to give him any pleasant expressions.

Hearing the undisguised mockery in Liu Xie's words, even Zhang Da's thick skin couldn't help but turn anger into rage. But the moment he thought about how this pitiful boy was about to die, how he would bring money with him upon his death, and how he himself would receive a promotion, Zhang Da's anger vanished, replaced instead by a smug sense of petty triumph.

"Go ahead and curse, curse all you want. No matter how you curse, you are in my hands now. What use is there in cursing me?"

Liu Xie watched his smug, petty face and couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Zhang Da didn't get angry at this expression; in his eyes, Liu Xie was already a dead man.

Liu Xie didn't look at him either, simply closing his eyes to rest and gather his thoughts.

Seeing this demeanor, Zhang Da actually grew interested in the young man. He turned and instructed the scar-faced man who had followed them in, "Go tell the back kitchen to prepare some wine and food for me!"

"Understood!"

Seeing this, Liu Xie glanced at him, wondering what Zhang Da was plotting in his mind. Then he ignored him, his thoughts drifting to another matter entirely.

This trip to Yuzhang Commandery had taught Liu Xie a profound lesson: the root of the problem with local officials lay, fundamentally, in the selection of officials.

In the late Eastern Han dynasty, muddled rulers and erroneous governance caused state affairs to deteriorate daily. The dominance and corruption of imperial in-laws and eunuchs only exacerbated the corruption in official selection.

Liu Xie remembered that in his past life, the *Book of Later Han*—specifically the "Biography of Liang Ji"—contained such records: "Liang Ji's entire clan had seven marquesses, three empresses, six imperial concubines, two grand generals; seven women and daughters whose fiefs granted them the title of Lady, three who married princesses, and fifty-and-seven others who served as ministers, generals, commandery governors, or colonels." When Liang Ji fell, "dozens of public ministers, colonels, commandery inspectors, and holders of two-thousand-shiki salaries implicated with him died; over three hundred former officials and clients were dismissed, leaving the imperial court nearly empty."

Liu Xie couldn't help but sigh.

His mood right now was extremely complicated. As a transmigrator, he could foresee everything that could possibly happen now, but precisely because he could foresee all of this, it made him understand one thing very clearly. It was a principle one should understand from studying history: not only must one learn to use history as a mirror, but one must also know that human beings cannot act against the heavens; complying with the historical trend of development is the most correct course of action.

The Han Dynasty's fate had run out, and his own desperate struggle was merely acting against heaven. Liu Xie knew very well what he was doing right now.

Yet, Liu Xie was simply unwilling to resign himself to fate. He did not believe in destiny, nor did he believe in the heavens.

"Come, have a couple of drinks with me?" Zhang Da said, casting a sideways glance at Liu Xie.

Hearing these words, Liu Xie opened his eyes, a flash of strange emotion crossing his gaze. What was the meaning of this?

"Untie him."

A trace of puzzlement flashed across the scar-faced man's face, but he still scurried over to untie Liu Xie and even handed him a straw seating mat.

Zhang Da placed two wine cups in front of the two men, then picked up a wine vessel and poured some wine into the cups.

Noticing Liu Xie's gaze, Zhang Da picked up his cup, drank it down in one gulp, and showed the bottom of the cup to prove the wine was poison-free. Then he refilled his own cup.

He didn't speak, and Liu Xie didn't speak either.

Liu Xie picked up his cup and carefully examined the wine from a millennium ago. To be honest, it lacked the fragrance of later generations' liquor; a careful sip revealed a very faint alcohol taste, replaced mostly by a sweetness. This was something Liu Xie could accept.

Thus the two sat, cup for cup, neither uttering a word.

"Do you think someone like me is utterly contemptible?" Zhang Da suddenly blurted out, leaving Liu Xie somewhat stunned.

Meeting Zhang Da's direct, unblinking gaze, Liu Xie pondered for a moment and replied, "I don't think so."

Hearing this, Zhang Da was visibly startled. "Oh? Why?"

Liu Xie said, "We are all trying to make a living, all trying to stay alive. To survive, whatever one does carries no distinction of high or low, noble or base."

"So you're saying I was right to tie you up?"

"Of course you were wrong," Liu Xie said earnestly. "No matter how difficult things are, one should not victimize others."

Hearing this, Zhang Da's interest was clearly piqued. "In this day and age, what peace could one possibly hope for?"

"You remember Ah Si, the one who follows me?"

"I remember."

"You probably also know how he was driven to this state?" Zhang Da looked at Liu Xie and sneered, "Pushed to this by the official authorities, his family ruined. In this world, what are you lecturing me about?"

Hearing this, Liu Xie couldn't help but sigh, a complex expression surfacing on his face. "What is wrong is not you lot; what is wrong is this world. What is wrong are those who hold power."

Hearing these words, Zhang Da was stunned. "You mean the government?"

Liu Xie remained silent. He picked up his wine cup, drained it in one gulp, and slowly recited a classic text:

"When the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all; men of virtue and ability are chosen, and trustworthiness and harmony are cultivated. Therefore, people do not only care for their own parents, nor do they only treat their own children as children. Provision is made for the aged to the end of their days, employment for the able-bodied, and the means of growing up for the young. The widowed, the lonely, the orphaned, the disabled, and the sick are all cared for. Men have their proper work, and women have their homes. They hate to see goods lying wasted on the ground, yet do not hoard them for themselves; they dislike not exerting their strength, yet do not work solely for their own benefit. Thus, selfish scheming is repressed and finds no way to arise, and robbers, thieves, and rebellious villains do not come into being. As a result, outer doors do not need to be locked—this is called the Great Harmony."

Hearing this, a look of confusion crossed Zhang Da's face; obviously, he didn't understand. "I haven't read many books, I don't understand what you're talking about."

Liu Xie patiently explained, "When the Great Way is practiced, the world belongs to everyone. People with high morals and capability are selected, sincerity is valued, and harmony is nurtured. Thus, people do not merely support their own parents or nurture only their own offspring. The elderly are enabled to live out their natural lives, the strong-bodied can contribute to society, young children have a place to grow up healthily, and the widowers, widows, orphans, childless elders, and disabled all receive society's support. Men have their duties, and women have their destinations. As for wealth, people loathe seeing it discarded on the ground, yet they do not necessarily hoard it for themselves; people are willing to exhaust their strength for the public good, rather than plotting for private gain. Therefore, treacherous plots do not occur, and theft, rebellion, and harm do not happen. Thus, gates do not even need to be closed—this is called an ideal society. This is the Great Harmony of the world."

After listening to the explanation, Zhang Da fell into a reverie about the harmonious society described in Liu Xie's words.

"Then tell me, in this world of ours, how can it ever become the Great Harmony you speak of?"

Hearing this, Liu Xie sank into contemplation once again. "That is ultimately nothing more than an ideal. An ideal society... is simply impossible to achieve."

In the end, Liu Xie could only shake his head with a bitter smile.

A flash of disappointment crossed Zhang Da's eyes. Then he smiled helplessly as well, looking at Liu Xie's youthful age, understanding that this remained a monumental problem even for him.

*Sigh*, is this world really beyond saving?

"Do you know what the second half of what I just recited was?"

"Oh? What is it?"