Chapter 46: Reasoning Together

"Oh? What is it?"

Liu Xie glanced at him, then slowly said,

"Now that the Great Way has become hidden, the world is possessed by families. Each treats only their own kin as kin, and only their own children as children. Wealth and labor are used for oneself, and rulers pass power through generations as a ritual.

City walls and moats are built for defense, and ritual and righteousness are established as the code.

They are used to rectify the relationship between ruler and subject, to deepen the bond between father and son, to harmonize brothers, to reconcile husband and wife, to set up institutions, to establish villages and fields, to value the brave and wise, and to claim achievements for oneself.

Therefore, schemes are devised on this account, and wars arise from this. Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, King Cheng, and the Duke of Zhou are the chosen ones from this.

None of these six gentlemen failed to be cautious regarding ritual.

They used it to manifest righteousness, to examine trustworthiness, to expose faults, to honor benevolence and discourse on yielding, and to show the people established norms.

If anyone fails to follow this, those in power shall be removed, and the multitude shall regard them as a calamity. This is called the Lesser Prosperity."

"Do not understand?"

Seeing Zhang Da's puzzled expression, Liu Xie smiled and said,

"Now the Great Way has vanished, and the world belongs to the noble families.

People cherish only their own parents, love only their own children, strive for wealth and put forth effort solely for themselves, and emperors and feudal lords take the transmission of power from father to son or brother to brother as the rule of propriety.

Ritual and righteousness serve as the standard, used to correct the relationship between ruler and subject, to make the bond between father and son profound, to make the relationship between brothers harmonious, to make the connection between husband and wife compatible, to establish institutions through propriety, to register households, to regard the brave and resourceful as virtuous according to ritual, and to view oneself as having merit.

Consequently, deceitful thoughts are born from this, and the turmoil of war erupts.

Use ritual and righteousness to guide people to follow fixed norms. If there are those who do not follow this, those in office will be dismissed, and the common people will regard this as a disaster.

This may be called a minor tranquility."

Liu Xie took a sip of wine to moisten his throat and added,

"This is it, the Lesser Prosperity."

Hearing this, a flash of light could not help but cross Zhang Da's eyes, and he said with admiration,

"It seems you have read quite a few books."

Liu Xie merely smiled, offering no explanation. To him, this was child's play; these were classics he had read to tatters in his past life.

Such knowledge came to him effortlessly.

"This is the Confucian discourse on governing the world. Although it has many imperfections, there is much in it that can be absorbed and utilized."

"Goods are despised if they are cast away upon the ground: goods refer to all grain and all supplies; despised means an unwillingness; and cast away means to squander, waste, or lose.

One must not squander grain, nor waste supplies.

It seems that families with a surplus of grain should not cast it into the great sea nor burn it with fire; that would be a heinous waste of natural resources, and retribution will surely follow in the future.

One need not hoard them for oneself: when there are supplies, they should be exchanged with one another. There is no need to keep things secret for oneself, holding rare commodities in anticipation of a high price.

Even less should one manipulate or monopolize; rather, there should be barter and fair exchange. What one person lacks, another has, and they can be exchanged. It benefits oneself and others—what a joy!

If one is unwilling to do this, that is the act of casting goods upon the ground and hoarding them for oneself.

In all matters, one should not plan merely for oneself, but consider all living beings.

One must possess the spirit of sacrificing oneself for others; this is the fundamental principle of being a human being."

As Liu Xie sat there discoursing eloquently on grand themes, Zhang Da listened with surprising earnestness.

"The world belongs to the public: no one contends, no one is greedy, no one desires, no one is selfish, no one pursues personal gain, and naturally everything is fair and unselfish.

If this degree can be attained, that is the world belonging to the public.

Words match actions, and actions match words, with no deceptive behavior.

There must be harmony between people, harmony between households, and harmony between nations.

Everyone speaks of morality and justice rather than advantage and harm, and naturally there are no wars."

Hearing this, Zhang Da could not help but ask,

"Then why should a person not treat only their own kin as kin? Only with one's own relatives can one truly place trust!"

Liu Xie calmly and leisurely took a cup of wine and continued,

"Therefore, people do not treat only their own kin as kin: because of such unselfishness, everyone loves and cares for one another.

Not only do they show filial piety to their own parents, but they also extend it to the parents of others.

'Making it so that the elderly have a proper end' means well-equipped nursing homes to properly care for the elderly, making them happy and allowing them to enjoy their twilight years."

Liu Xie continued unhurriedly,

"If everyone's life is stable and they have sufficient food and clothing, theft will naturally vanish. People only revolt because of famine, which drives them to a state where life is unbearable, nine out of ten homes are empty, people are displaced, and suffering is indescribable. As the saying goes, the victors become lords and marquises, while the defeated become bandits—mere outlaws.

If everyone has a job and everyone has food to eat, rebellious outlaws will naturally be eliminated!"

"In this way, the world can be unified!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Da dropped directly to his knees and exclaimed with great excitement,

"Young master, what brilliant talent!"

At this moment, Zhang Da looked at the Liu Xie before him with a complex expression.

This conversation had made Zhang Da admire Liu Xie with absolute and utter devotion.

Initially, his opinion of Liu Xie was not high; he had viewed him merely as an inexperienced, naive brat.

Yet now, the youth he had consistently underestimated actually possessed world-shaking, extraordinary talent.

At that very moment, Zhang Da suddenly understood why that person cared so deeply about Liu Xie.

Then, as if having made a decision, his gaze grew calm.

Zhang Da glanced casually at the scarred-face man nearby, then stood up, pulled him aside,

and handing him a small package, whispered instructions,

"Later, when I tell you to pour the wine, switch the pot to the mandarin duck pot, and put this thing inside."

The scarred-face man looked at him in surprise, but quickly recovered; after all, they had done plenty of such things before, and he was well accustomed to it.

The scarred-face man gave a low assent, then followed Zhang Da back to Liu Xie and slowly sat down.

Liu Xie was still immersed in his own words and had completely failed to notice the movement between Zhang Da and the scarred-face man.

Zhang Da picked up the wine pot to pour, then feigned a look of surprise.

"Is this pot of wine finished already?"

Liu Xie snapped back to reality. Engrossed in his own monologue, he hadn't paid attention to how much he had drunk.

He was still marveling at his own alcohol tolerance, having shared two pots of wine with Zhang Da without the slightest hint of intoxication.

"Go on, fetch another pot of wine."

Zhang Da commanded, and the scarred-face man nearby promptly took the pot and hurried off eagerly to fetch the wine.

Before long, the scarred-face man returned carrying a pot of wine and respectfully handed it to Zhang Da.

Zhang Da picked up the pot, solemnly poured a cup for Liu Xie, and then poured one for himself.

What Liu Xie failed to see, however, was that Zhang Da had given the wine pot a subtle shake while pouring.

Although the pot remained the same, the wine poured from it was no longer the same.

Zhang Da picked up his cup with a radiant smile and said to Liu Xie,

"Drinking with the young master today has benefited me immensely. Once the young master pays the ransom in the future, I will surely send you safely back! I wish the young master a brilliant future!"

With that, Zhang Da raised his cup and drained it in a single gulp.

Seeing this, though somewhat displeased with the man, Liu Xie nevertheless raised his cup and drank it down in deference to his attitude.