"…First, imagine a cage for yourself. We are upright, righteous, intelligent, and selfless. Under what circumstances would we inevitably fall…" In the room, Ning Yi spread his hands, "Someone holding a knife to your throat? We won't yield. *Search: [Wan Ben Shen Zhan]* to read excellent literature for free. Evil forces are powerful? We won't yield. Someone tells you the world is bad? We might even slap them in the face. But, imagine, your family needs to eat and drink, they want to take…just a little advantage. Your father-in-law wants a small official position, your brother-in-law wants to run a small business, and so on. They need to survive. Today you want to eat braised pork knuckle from outside, and all around you are countless examples telling you that taking a little bit is okay, because it's hard for those above to investigate… Mr. He, your family also comes from a noble clan, you must understand these things.”

He Wen looked at him. Ning Yi smiled: "These dense, intertwined relationships are a force greater than life and death. But can it really defeat an upright person? No!”

“There's still a way. If I truly pursue uprightness in life, I can turn against my family, I can suppress my desires, I can be unreasonable, I can be rigidly disciplined, even if it's a little uncomfortable. Can't be done? Not necessarily. For thousands of years, Confucianism has produced many scholars who can endure such repression. If we only faced such enemies, people would even see this suffering as a noble part of it. Seemingly difficult, there is actually a narrow path to take. The real difficulties must be even more complex…”

“So I continued to watch, continued to refine these ideas, pursuing a cycle that would trap myself, no matter what, with no hope of escape. Until one day, I discovered something, an objective rule. At that time, I had almost completed this cycle. In this principle, even if I were the most upright and hardworking person, I would inevitably become a corrupt official, a bad person…”

“What principle?” He Wen asked.

Ning Yi's expression was calm, and he tilted his head slightly: "All revolutions in the world are about **partisanship and the suppression of dissent**."

This sentence made He Wen silent for a long time: "What do you mean?"

“Because the world is made up of people.” Ning Yi smiled, his eyes complex, “You can be an official without interacting with your family, without accepting bribes, without giving anyone face. But when you want to do something, who do you rely on? You want to fight bad guys, you need the yamen runners to help you. You want to innovate, you need those above to endorse you, those below to strictly execute. When execution is not smooth, you need trusted assistants to punish them. The world seems complex, but in reality, it’s just various kinds of contests of strength. The strong defeat the weak. So-called good prevailing over evil is always just the beautiful wish of fools and women. The driving force is the essence. Evil prevailing over good is because the power of evil has overcome the power of good. Good prevailing over evil, many people think it’s heaven's will, it’s not. It must be someone who has done something and gathered strength.”

“I can’t agree with this.” He Wen said, “The laws of officialdom, besides **partisanship and the suppression of dissent**, also include checks and balances.”

“Imperial techniques do have such methods.” Ning Yi nodded, “In the court, balancing two or three factions, making them suspicious of each other, one side benefiting means the other side losing. But throughout history, I haven’t seen a truly incorruptible imperial family. The emperor may be selfless, but the imperial family itself must be the largest interest group, otherwise, do you think he can really manipulate all the factions in the palm of his hand?”

He Wen thought for a moment: "A gentleman is sociable but not partisan, a petty man is partisan but not sociable."

“There is also such a saying.” Ning Yi smiled approvingly, “But that is a perfect state. The current situation is that a gentleman who is sociable but not partisan can never defeat a petty man who is partisan but not sociable. Why? Gentlemen gather because they share the same ideals. Petty men form parties because they share the same interests. Ideals can be strange and varied. Gentlemen who gather today may stand on opposite sides tomorrow. Petty men are always together, forming groups, cooperating, and honing their skills. Mr. He, have you seen an assembly line? Workers who have been working together for half a year or a year are more than ten times more efficient than a disorganized crowd. Disciplined soldiers can defeat ten times as many uncoordinated brutes. No amount of passion is useful here."

Ning Yi paused: "In the east of Jinghan 11th year, I was in the Right Prime Minister's mansion, assisting in disaster relief. The big landlords in the disaster area were already united as one. This was the accumulated power of aristocratic families over two hundred years. To curb them, what to do? Introduce landlords and merchants from other places into the disaster area with slogans and interests. In this process, the Right Prime Minister's mansion put pressure on many local officials. In the end, landlords on both sides made a profit, but the large-scale land annexation that would have occurred was curbed to a smaller scale… This is a contest of strength. Without strength, shouting slogans is meaningless. With strength, you take as much as you are higher than others, you lose as much as you are weaker than others. The world is fair and just."

"If the Right Prime Minister's mansion itself had no power, it couldn't even do this kind of alliance. But what about telling these things to the gentlemen? The Prime Minister's mansion shouted slogans of disaster relief, but actually took money. Those who followed the Prime Minister's mansion to work actually made money. We called people to the disaster area, said it was disaster relief, but actually it was selling grain, at a higher price than usual. What to do? Is this doing good? Gentlemen would probably take to the sea on a raft. The dead, the resentful people, would increase by another order of magnitude.”

Ning Yi put his hands together: “Only when the power of good truly overwhelms the power of evil will good prevail over evil appear. **Partisanship and the suppression of dissent**, this is the essence of all revolutions. You want to do things, you have to satisfy your subordinates. In the end, your power becomes greater and greater, you defeat the bad guys, you have to give your subordinates what they want. After that, plus all kinds of temptations, kinfolk you can’t refuse, you can't help but retreat step by step, and finally there’s no retreat. That’s how I became a corrupt official, a bad person. Of course, after long-term observation and improvement, in this process, I saw all kinds of human desires, flaws, and saw some essential undeniable things…”

“So Mr. Ning is called a heart demon?”

“So I ask your disciples, why people like Mr. He cannot escape the circle of Confucianism? Such an outstanding person, only one in the world? He Wen, Qin Si Yuan, Li Pin, Yao Zu Nian, Zuo Duan You…” Ning Yi smiled, “Frankly, I assassinated the emperor, claiming to rebel against Confucianism. Many of these young people are full of contempt for Confucianism. The more outstanding you perform, the more you can show them how big the problem they face is. Problems that various outstanding people have had to face for thousands of years, can be solved with an arrogant heart? That's a joke… I hope they can be humble.”

“Humble…” He Wen smiled, “Mr. Ning, knowing that these problems have been unsolvable for thousands of years, why are you so arrogant, thinking that a complete overthrow can build a new framework? Do you know the consequences of being wrong?"

“The sun is good, Mr. He, let's go out for a walk.” The afternoon sun shone in from outside. Ning Yi spread his hands. After He Wen got up and went out, he walked and said, "I don't know if I'm right, but I know that the path of Confucianism is already wrong, so it has to be changed."

As the two walked out of the door, they saw Ning Xi, Min Chuyi, and others peering from the corridor not far away. Both had martial arts skills and naturally knew that Ning Xi and the other children had been eavesdropping outside—they had been rendered speechless by He Wen in the morning, and in the afternoon, they wanted to hear how Ning Yi would get back at him. Ning Yi patted Ning Xi's head: "Go back and record everything Mr. He said this morning." He dismissed them.

He Wen watched the children go inside before saying, "Confucianism may have problems, but what's wrong with the path, Mr. Ning is absurd."

The two talked and left the house, strolling towards the streets and fields outside. Ning Yi said, "Mr. He, this morning you talked about the *Li Yun* in the *Book of Rites*, talked about Confucius and Lao Tzu, talked about the Great Harmony. Mr. He, do you think Confucius and Lao Tzu are saints, or great men?"

“The Most Sage Master, naturally a saint.”

“I think they should be great men.” Ning Yi smiled and shook his head.

“Then I have to ask, what is a saint, what is a great man?”

"Saints are people sent from heaven, their words are law, teachers of the world for ten thousand generations, existing on a different level from us. What they say is truth, necessarily correct. Great men, on the other hand, are those who are in a world of difficulty, unyielding, seeking a way out with wisdom, and who make great contributions to the development of this world. Mr. He, do you really believe that they are essentially different from us?" Ning Yi finished, shaking his head, "I don't think so, there are no gods or saints, they are just two ordinary people, but they undoubtedly made great explorations."

These things were very difficult for He Wen to respond to. He wanted to sarcastically say "How can you be sure?", but finally just shook his head. Ning Yi had already spoken again: "Lao Tzu and Confucius lived during the Warring States and Spring and Autumn periods, when people were just emerging from a state of primitive ignorance. People began to interact, thoughts began to collide, and the world was in great chaos. At that time, even wheels were not well-made, and writing had just moved away from oracle bones and began to use wooden slips. Facing such a chaotic world, everyone began to look for a path, so there was the contention of a hundred schools of thought, and the survival of the fittest. As for the Zhou and Xia dynasties, and the ancient world before that, there were no written records. People were in chaos, fantasizing that everything was good in the past. Whether it was really good or not is, of course, difficult to say…”

"In the process of finding a path, Lao Tzu and Confucius were naturally outstanding. Before this, there was no writing, and even the legends of the past were not entirely true, so everyone was looking at the world. Lao Tzu wrote the *Tao Te Ching*, and Mr. He mentioned it in class today, and I also like it very much. ‘When the Great Tao is abandoned, then there is benevolence; when benevolence is abandoned, then there is righteousness; when righteousness is abandoned, then there is ritual. Ritual is the thinness of loyalty and trustworthiness and the beginning of chaos.’ Mr. He, you can see that the social state that Lao Tzu most admired, or the state of man, is in accordance with the Great Tao. If it cannot be in accordance with the Great Tao, then seek for virtue. After losing virtue, seek for benevolence. After losing benevolence, seek for righteousness. If there is no righteousness, then you can only seek for ritual. When you seek for ritual, the world will be in great chaos. The ritual at that time was actually equivalent to our current laws. Ritual is what should be done, righteousness is what you yourself agree with. Mr. He, is it okay to roughly explain it like this?”

He Wen thought: “It can also be explained.”

“Lao Tzu’s greatest contribution lies in the fact that, in a society with almost no cultural foundation, he explained what a perfect society is. When the Great Tao is abandoned, then there is benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom emerges, then there is great hypocrisy; when the six family relationships are not harmonious, then there is filial piety and compassion; when the country is in chaos, then there are loyal ministers. This can also echo the abandonment of the Great Tao and the subsequent seeking for virtue. Lao Tzu said the clues of the world turning bad, said the levels of the world, morality, benevolence, righteousness, and ritual. People at that time were willing to believe that in ancient times, people lived in harmony with the Great Tao, carefree. Of course, we…”

Ning Yi smiled: “From ‘The Tao that can be told’ to the end, ‘The Tao of Heaven benefits and does not harm, the Way of the Sage acts without contention’. The *Tao Te Ching* discusses the basic laws of the world. It says the perfect state and also says the state of each level. As long as we reach the Tao, then everything will be fine. But, how exactly do we reach it? If there really was some ancient world where people lived in harmony with the Great Tao, then naturally, all their actions would be within the scope of the Great Tao. How could they have damaged the Great Tao, and then sought for virtue? ‘When the Three Kings ruled the world, the Great Tao of the world gradually departed, so they had no choice but to use wisdom.’ The Great Tao gradually departed, why did the Great Tao depart? Did the Great Tao fall from the sky? Did it get up, and then leave again?"

“Saying this has no other meaning. Lao Tzu is very amazing. He saw perfection and told everyone in the world the basic principles of heaven and earth, so he is a great man. As for Confucius, he found more detailed standards and preliminary methods. He told the world that we should restore the rites of Zhou. The ruler should have the appearance of a ruler, the minister should have the appearance of a minister, the father should have the appearance of a father, the son should have the appearance of a son. As long as this is achieved, the world will naturally operate perfectly. He respected the principles, told people to repay grievances with straightforwardness, and repay virtue with virtue. He learned from the Great Tao everywhere, and finally, at the age of seventy, he could follow his heart's desire without overstepping the bounds.”

"The teachers at that time told you to do this, and also said the basic principles. Why do you want to do this? Because it conforms to the Great Tao. But if you can't do it, that's your problem… Confucius never achieved his ideals in his life. We can only think that at the age of seventy, maybe he had already become open-minded, and he was also an amazing great man."

The group walked through the fields to the river, saw the rushing river water flowing past, the streets in the distance and the waterwheels and workshops in the distance, all conveying the sounds of the secular world.

"This is also Mr. Ning's personal speculation."

“Yes, just my personal speculation, Mr. He can refer to it." Ning Yi didn't care about his response, and tilted his head slightly, "After righteousness is lost, then there is ritual. The world of Lao Tzu and Confucius had already lost righteousness and then had ritual. How to reverse from ritual to righteousness? Everyone thought of various methods, and up to the point where the hundred schools of thought were dismissed and Confucianism was solely revered, a narrow path emerged. It integrated the strengths of many schools and could be operated politically. The ruler should be like a ruler, the minister should be like a minister, the father should be like a father, the son should be like a son, this is very useful. Confucius said this sentence to mean that each person should have his own appearance. The country says this sentence to mean that the minister should be like a minister, the son should be like a son, this can be supervised by people. The upper levels have more room to maneuver, and the lower levels, we have slogans and programs to control them. These are the words of the sages, you don't understand, it doesn't matter, but we are teaching you according to the words of the sages, you just do it."

“No matter how well Lao Tzu describes the perfect state, he has to face the fact that society has actually resorted to ritual. Every generation of Confucian scholars after Confucius and Mencius, wanting to educate the world, has to face the reality that the power of education cannot be popularized. Reality must pass, you can't just take to the sea on a raft if things don't go well, then… you don't understand why you have to do this, you just have to do it. The Confucian family has progressed generation after generation, setting various rules and regulations for ordinary people at the bottom. The rules are getting finer and finer, is that progress? According to expediency, it seems so.”

Ning Yi smiled and shook his head: “Now, before Old Qin died, he annotated the Four Books. Based on his experience of seeing society, he found more detailed rules. According to the great principles of harmony in this world, he explained the details of various aspects that need to be optimized. These principles are valuable, they can make society better, but they face a status quo that cannot be explained to most people. What to do? Let them do it first, Mr. He, the more Confucianism develops, the stricter the management and requirements for the lower levels will only become. Before Old Qin died, he said to lead people's desires and tend towards heavenly principles. He explained the principles clearly, you felt the same way, and doing so would naturally approach heavenly principles. But if it cannot be explained clearly, it will only become preserving heavenly principles and extinguishing human desires. If you can't convince with reason, then force it."

"I don't see anything wrong with that." He Wen said.

“However, this process is actually castrating people’s courage.”

“There will naturally be more and more scholars, and more and more people who understand reason.” He Wen said, “If the coercion of ordinary people is relaxed, and there are no more rules and regulations of etiquette, and private desires run rampant, the world will immediately be in chaos. Is Confucianism's gradual progress not the right path?”

“Naturally a way of thinking.” The two walked along the riverbank. Ning Yi smiled, "Lao Tzu, Confucius, and Mencius thought clearly about one thing more than a thousand years ago, that the spiritual world of people reaching a perfect state has no major connection with material things, and that material things even have an impact on people's perfection. In the process of cultivating people's hearts for the past one or two thousand years, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have ultimately pursued abandoning material desires. The purpose of how society operates is ultimately nothing more than to make people's minds harmonious, so later, Confucianism abandoned ingenious skills, fearing that private desires would disrupt people's hearts. But… Mr. He, don't you have private desires?"

“My realm is naturally not enough.”

“I have them too, and Old Qin also has them.” Ning Yi said, “The wisdom to truly face private desires is not to kill them, but to face them squarely and even control them. Mr. He, I am a person who can be extremely luxurious and pay attention to enjoyment, but I can also be indifferent to it, because I know how my private desires work, and I can use reason to control them. In business, greed can promote economic development, can promote the emergence of many new inventions. The thought of laziness can make us constantly seek efficiency and methods in our work. Wanting to buy a good thing can make us strive to become an excellent person. The fear of death can also make us understand the weight of life. A truly wise person must thoroughly understand private desires, control private desires, and not kill private desires."

"But this is also the highest realm of Confucianism."

“But the path is wrong.” Ning Yi shook his head, looking at the town in front of him: “Suppressing private desires at the bottom of the entire society, emphasizing strict etiquette, the suppression of greed and innovation will naturally become more and more severe. When a country is established, we enter this system and have to form cliques for private gain. The accumulation of people leads to the emergence of powerful families, no matter how much we try to curb them, constantly check and balance them, this process is still irreversible, because the process of curbing is actually the process of cultivating new interest groups. After two or three hundred years, there are more and more contradictions, the power of the aristocratic families becomes more and more solidified, and the castration of the bottom becomes more and more severe. The country perishes and enters the next cycle. Researchers of Confucianism learn from the previous experience, and the aristocratic families appear again. Do you think the progress will be in the methods of breaking up the aristocratic families, or in the methods of castrating the lower-level people in order to suppress public grievances?”

“I think it’s the latter.” Ning Yi said, “The wheel of Confucianism has irreversibly rolled in this direction. If we are looking for a path, of course we have to be sure that it will eventually reach a perfect result. If you act with expediency for a time, and in the end treat expediency as the purpose, then what's the point of playing? Furthermore, there are objective laws of investigating things in the world. My hot air balloon has already gone into the sky, and the iron cannons have come out. If you don't develop these laws, hundreds of years later, foreign races will naturally develop them desperately, driving machines that can fly into the sky and escape into the earth, pushing cannons that can split mountains and collapse cities to knock on your door.”

“Since Mr. Ning has made them, how will future generations abandon them?”

“Because Confucianism seeks harmony and stability, and investigating things is never harmonious and stable. Wanting to be lazy, wanting to make progress, the rampant flow of material desires can promote its development. After I die, you will definitely smash it.”

Ning Yi stood on the river embankment watching the boats, watching the bustle in the town, with his hands on his hips: "Smashing Confucianism is because I can no longer see its future. But, Mr. He, let's talk about the future I imagine. I hope that in the future, all these people in front of us will know the basic laws of how the world works, they can all read, understand reason, and finally become gentlemen, responsible for their own future…”

“As you said, what have those smart people been doing for the past thousand years?” He Wen satirized.

“We talked earlier about the matter of a gentleman being sociable but not partisan.” The wind from the river blew over. Ning Yi tilted his head slightly, “When Old Qin died, there were many crimes, many of which were true, at least forming cliques for private gain must be true. At that time, there were really a lot of people relying on the Right Prime Minister's mansion for food. Old Qin tried his best to make the exchange of benefits walk on the right path, but how could it be possible to be completely clean? There was also the blood of many people on my hands. We tried our best to move them with emotion, but if we were purely gentlemen, then nothing could be done. You may think that we did good things, and the people supported us, but it's not true. The people are the kind of people who, as soon as they hear a little bit of bad news, will execute the other party. Old Qin was later paraded through the streets, and had dung thrown at him. If judged by the standard of a purely good person, being upright and unyielding, not having any private desires, and using completely honest means – he really deserved his punishment.”

“Mr. Ning is actually complaining about the people?”

“I don’t complain about the people, but I analyze them as an objective law.” Ning Yi said, “Throughout history, the political system is usually like this: a few upper-level people try to solve pressing social problems. Some solve them, and some can't succeed even if they want to solve them. In this process, other problems that are not mainly focused on by the upper levels are always solidifying and constantly accumulating negative causes. The country constantly cycles, the negative causes become more and more. You enter the system, unable to do anything. The people below you need to eat, need to buy clothes, want to be a little better, and a little better again. Your interest group may be able to solve some small problems below, but overall, it will still be in the growth of negative causes. Because the process of forming and solidifying interest groups is itself the process of accumulating contradictions.”

“In this process, small interest groups have to maintain their livelihoods, and large interest groups have to fight against other interest groups. When it comes to the emperor or prime minister, some have ambitions and try to resolve these solidified interest groups. The most effective way is to seek a new system, which is reform. There are very few successes, and even those who succeed often die without a burial place. Every generation of the upper levels of power, people of insight, want to work hard to break up the constantly solidifying interest groups, but they will never be able to match the speed at which the other party solidifies due to interests."

“People of insight like Mr. He probably dream that one day, Confucianism will develop to the point where there are enough people of insight, and thus break this cycle. However, as long as the rules of revolution do not change, wanting to revolutionize must accumulate another interest group, then this cycle will never end.”

“If we treat this as a mathematical calculation, I wonder if we can introduce another factor that has never been introduced before, so that they can naturally resolve the negative causes of society, which can only ultimately fall on these ordinary people.” Ning Yi smiled, “Of course, we have to read first.”

“Mr. Ning’s establishment of these paper mills, researching investigating things, is indeed a great undertaking that will last for thousands of years. If it can really enable everyone in the world to have books to read in the future, it will be a feat comparable to that of the sages, but apart from that, I cannot understand.”

“I can give an example, and Mr. He will understand.” Ning Yi pointed to a row of waterwheels in the distance, “For example, Mr. He is very familiar with those paper mills.”

He Wen nodded: "I remember these things in my mind every day. If possible, I would like to pack them in a bag and take them away."

“Papermaking has a lot of pollution. Has Mr. He ever seen the drainage outlets of those paper mills? We cut down several mountains of wood to make paper, and the drainage outlets have been polluted. The water cannot be drunk, and sometimes there will be dead fish.” Ning Yi looked at He Wen, “One day, there will be papermaking workshops with drainage everywhere along this river, and even throughout the world, all the water will be polluted, fish will be dying everywhere, and people will start to get sick after drinking the water…”

“How could that be!” He Wen shouted in a deep voice.

“Just treat it as an example.” Ning Yi smiled, “One day, its pollution is so great, but these factories are the lifeblood of this country. The people come to protest, you are a low-level official, how do you explain the problem to the people?”

He Wen frowned and thought for a long time: “I should tell the truth and explain the reasons in detail…”

“Then your superior will scold you, and even punish you! The people are simple, as long as they know it is because of these factories, they will immediately start putting pressure on these factories, demanding immediate closure. The country has already started preparing solutions, but it takes time. If you tell the truth, the people will immediately start hating these factories, then the government that temporarily does not deal with these factories will naturally become a den of corrupt officials. If one day someone even dies from drinking the water, the people will take to the streets and riot is imminent. In the end, it will be uncontrollable, and you will be the greatest sinner.”

“…Then I can only deceive.”

“Yes, we know that the people are so simple, we will tell them that people die because of other reasons, the water pollution is not serious, and the court is already dealing with it. Everyone must share the difficulties together. Then the court forces these lifelines to rectify quickly, and let these factories get out of the situation quickly before the public grievances boil over. We certainly know that telling the truth is a good thing, but facing such people, telling the truth can only make the results uncontrollable. It is impossible to find out who is specifically at fault, but unless you admit such a law, how can you find the possibility of change?”

Ning Yi looked at the waterwheels: “For example, I saw earlier that the river where this papermaking workshop is located has pollution. I stood up and told people that such a factory will have big problems in the future. At this time, the papermaking workshop is already a major event that benefits the country and the people. We don’t allow any comments that say it is bad to appear. We tell the masses that this guy is a bad guy sent by the Jin Kingdom, who wants to cause trouble. When the people hear that I am a bad guy, of course they will first beat me down. As for whether what I said about problems in the future makes sense, no one will pay attention to it. Furthermore, if I said that these factories will have problems because I invented a relatively better method of papermaking and I want to make a profit, when the people see that I am for the money, of course they will start attacking me again… All of this is the objective attribute of ordinary people.”

“Facing the people with this objective attribute and simple good and evil, if one day, the runners in our government make a mistake and accidentally kill someone, what will happen if you and I are low-level officials in the government and we immediately confess that there is a problem with our runners? If possible, we will first start to smear the person who died, hoping that things will pass. Because we understand the people's minds, if they see a runner with a problem, they may feel that the entire government has problems. Their understanding of the process of events is not specific, but chaotic, not based on reason, but based on emotion… At this stage, they are almost meaningless to the country.”

“But if one day, they make progress, what will happen?” Ning Yi’s eyes softened: “If our people start to understand logic and reason, they know that it is best to be moderate in everything, they can discuss things as they are, and they can analyze things without being deceived. When we face such people, someone says that this paper mill will have problems in the future, and we smear him, but even if he is a bad guy, is it possible that what this person said about the problems with the paper mill is true? At that time, will we still try to solve the problem by smearing people? If the people don't think that all runners are bad guys because of one runner, and they are not easily deceived, even if we say that there is a problem with the dead person, they will still pay attention to the problem of the runners, then will we still use the problem of the deceased to cover up the problem of the runners at the first time?”

“There will be phenomena of perfunctory and irresponsible work in the organs of the court. It’s like Lao Tzu said how to achieve perfection, but as for individuals, we are just ordinary people. We deal with dozens of things every day, the superiors want to ask, and the court requires that there be no problems, then, the principle of the government’s workers in dealing with problems will be to choose the simplest and most affordable method, and just pass the buck, and this phenomenon is not easy to change. If the people start to understand reason, the cost of this perfunctory will continue to increase. At this time, because people are not radical, they will instead choose to confess. The people who understand reason will become a pad that absorbs negative causes, feeding back to the court and actively resolving the solidification of social interests. This process is the so-called people can be autonomous, and also the true meaning of a gentleman being sociable but not partisan."

“Of course, it is not easy to achieve this. You say I complain about the people, I just expect that one day they can understand what kind of society they are in. All revolutions are about **partisanship and the suppression of dissent**. Old Qin was an interest group, and those solidified landlords and Cai Jing were also interest groups. If there is any difference, Cai Jing and his ilk take 90% of the benefits and give 10% to the people, and Old Qin, perhaps took 80% and gave 20%. The people want a great good person who will give them 100% of the benefits, then there is only one way to achieve this."

“We first see clearly the one who gives us 20% and support him, let him replace the 10%, and we take 10% more. Then perhaps there will be someone willing to give us 25%, we support him and replace the former, and then perhaps there will be someone willing to give us 30% appearing, and so on. In this process, there will also be someone who is only willing to give us 20% coming back, deceiving people. People have an obligation to see it clearly and resist it. The world can only be transformed in the transition of one interest group to another. If we want a 100% good person from the beginning, then, misreading the laws of the world, all choices, right or wrong, can only be left to fate, and these choices are meaningless.”

“In this process, a lot of professional knowledge is involved. The people may one day understand reason, but they can never understand everything by themselves. At this time, he needs trustworthy professionals to refer to their statements. These professionals, they can know that they are doing important things, can be proud of their knowledge, and for the sake of seeking the truth, they can exhaust their entire lives, and even face the powerful and die by hitting a pillar, so they can gain the trust of the people. This is called a cultural self-esteem system."

"The people can understand reason, and society can have cultural self-esteem. With these two, the core of democracy can be formed, and the society can cycle back and forth without decaying." Ning Yi looked at He Wen, “This is also why I don't make things difficult for you.”

“…I am afraid you will not reach it.” He Wen looked at it for a moment, and said calmly.

"Then read first." Ning Yi smiled, "Then take the exam."