"Meng Yi, you can make it clear, what is the golden mean?"

The First Emperor asked.

Meng Yi explained: "There is a saying in the Analects: the golden mean is virtue, and it is the most important, the so-called golden mean, compromise. ”

"The foundation of the country lies in the people, the morality of the people, the will of the people, the foundation of the people, the prosperity of the people and the strength of the country, the poverty of the people and the decline of the country, the so-called foundation of the country, is so."

The long-term peace and stability of a country will always be the people, Xun Zi said: The boat of the people is water, the water carries the boat, and the boat can also be overturned, which confirms this truth.

The legal system can restrain a person and correct his wrong behavior by coercive means, however, there are advantages and disadvantages, the law is a means, but not an end, he is restrictive, but it cannot really make people feel comfortable and submit.

The First Emperor and the others were still confused when they heard it, and asked, "What is the reason why you are discussing the people with me?" ”

"Your Majesty, the foundation of the people, if you want to rule the world, you should appease the people, rule the world with benevolence, supplement it with the rule of law, combine rigidity and softness, and combine yin and yang, so that it can be called the golden mean."

The real golden mean is not about dealing with people, and some people may scoff at it and disdain it, but when applied to politics, it can be regarded as a trade-off.

Throughout the thousand-year history of China, no dynasty has been able to maintain long-term peace and stability according to a single system.

There are hundreds of schools, each of which has its own culture, taking its essence and removing its dross, which reflects the golden mean.

Since ancient times, the sages have left a good name for thousands of years, and the evil ones have left a stench for thousands of years.

The benevolent government advocated by Confucianism has been flaunted for generations, while Legalism is the adjudicator, upholding the justice of heaven and earth, and correcting the wrongs of the world by forceful means.

Benevolent government is indispensable, and law is indispensable, and only the integration of the two can be called the avenue.

After Meng Yi finished explaining, the First Emperor listened very carefully, and Feng Quji also deeply understood, as Meng Yi said, benevolent government and law are both means and indispensable.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Meng Shangqing said is very true." Feng Qujian couldn't help it and said a good word for him.

"The law is a means, but not an end, Qin's strict laws make the people dare not break the law, however, the people are afraid of it, but their hearts are not convinced, and they live on thin ice all day long, and over time, new incidents will eventually break out." Meng Yi said.

said that the debate competition was good, but it became a place for the court to discuss politics.

Lu Xian saw that Meng Yi had robbed him of the limelight again, and he was very unhappy, so he also came to the central government to refute Meng Yi's words, and said: "The minister thinks that Meng Shangqing is too worried, and the minister can't agree with his views." ”

"Oh? Then you should hear it! ”

"The minister thinks that what Shangqing said is really an exaggeration of Confucianism and belittlement of Legalism, since the Shang Dynasty changed the law, the law has been greatly promoted, the national strength is getting stronger and stronger, the people are rich and the country is strong, this is a thing for all to see, but now, Shangqing denies the law and restores Confucianism, which is actually bringing the empire into the endless abyss." Lu Xian made strong arguments and gave Meng Yi'an a rebellious hat, although he didn't say it explicitly, but this is the implication.

Meng Yi was not panicked, he replied unhurriedly: "What Lu Gongzi said is wrong, Shang Ying's legal system, although it is true, but if you generalize, it is an exaggeration. ”

"Really? So what did you say I was wrong with? ”

Meng Yi raised two fingers and said: "There are two wrongs, one is that although the Shang Dynasty reform is the study of law, it is not the most fundamental reason for enhancing national strength. ”

"The two, you don't know how to change in time, isn't today's Qin State the original Qin State? Now that the country is strong, Your Majesty has made a thousand achievements and created an immortal imperial cause, dare to ask who can do it? ! However, if you follow the ancient road and follow the way of the future generations with the law of your ancestors, you will undoubtedly seek your own death. ”

"Nonsense, how could the old ancestor's approach be wrong?"

"If a person is not a sage, who can be infallible?!" Meng Yi asked rhetorically, "Let me ask you, if there is a cliff ahead, take a step forward and break your bones, take a step back and open the sky, I don't know why you are advancing and retreating?" ”

Lu Xiangang wanted to answer, but after being interrupted by Meng Yi, he said: "If it is the ancestor who goes forward, and it is your own decision to go back, how should you choose?" ”

"I choose ......"

Lu Xiangang wanted to say that he wanted him to choose to retreat, but he still stopped, if he chose to retreat, it would not be equivalent to lifting a stone and hitting his own feet, so he still said that he would follow the words of his ancestors, but then he chose the latter, which was a slap in the face.

But knowing that there is a cliff ahead, and still want to jump down, that is not persistence, but stupidity.

The First Emperor laughed secretly, Meng Yi this kid dug a hole for him, if he answered back, it means that he denied his own point of view, if he didn't answer, he said that he didn't follow the words of his ancestors, all in all, no matter how he answered, the result was beneficial to Meng Yi.

Lu Xian was in a dilemma, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

Seeing that he didn't know what to say, Meng Yi continued: "I have already said that you don't know how to change at the right time, Shang Ying changes the law, strengthens the country and enriches the people, and worries about the outside; And now that the next unification, the six countries have been eliminated, the internal troubles are inside, and the situation has changed, do we still have to follow the ancient road? The rules are dead, people are alive, and the living will not be suffocated by urine, you know what I mean. ”

I have to say that what Meng Yi said is reasonable, everything is conformist, self-contained, and will only say that he will bring about his own destruction.

In the Warring States Period, Confucianism may not be in line with the era of strife, but if it is unified today, the situation is stable, and Confucianism comes in handy.

What Meng Yi said also negates the study of law, but the middle way of the two, and the two kinds of learning complement each other and are indispensable, so that it is the real way of government and the golden mean.

"Lu Gongzi only knows how to blindly read to death, read dead books, but he doesn't know how to use them flexibly, and Zhao Kuo, who talks on paper, may have a fight." Meng Yi deliberately mocked.

Zhao Kuo is the laughing stock of the world, and now Meng Yi is comparing Zhao Kuo with him, he is simply laughing at him.

"You...... Actually compared me to Zhao Kuo? ”

"In my opinion, there is no difference between you and Zhao Kuo at all, both of you are equally stupid." Meng Yi said indifferently.

"Meng Yi, this is a court debate, you insulted me, where did you put Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty is a Ming Jun, I naturally keep it in my heart from time to time, but you, since you say that I insulted you, you can refute my erroneous views with practical actions and prove that you are not stupid." Meng Yi said.

Lu Xian wanted to speak, but was interrupted again, Meng Yi said playfully: "It's better like this, I'll come up with a question, if Lu Gongzi can answer it, I will apologize for the insult you just now, if you don't answer it, it means that you are really stupid." ”

Lu Xian thought for a while, and didn't rush to answer, with his understanding of Meng Yi, this kid must be doing something famous, and said, "I won't fall for you?" ”

"Are you scared?!"

"Of course not."

If you are not afraid, why don't you dare to answer? Rest assured, above the sacred court, I will not have those strange questions. Meng Yi said.

Lu Xian felt that his words were reasonable, he didn't dare to ask some weird questions in the court, since it wasn't weird questions, then he wasn't afraid.

"Okay, I'll go down and tell me your problem." Lu Xian said.

From the moment Lu Xian agreed, the First Emperor felt that Lu Xian had fallen into his trap.

"This stinky boy, it's obviously a debate competition, but it's like this." The First Emperor said in his heart.

However, he had already acquiesced, anyway, the drunkard didn't mean to drink, and the First Emperor had already got the answer he wanted.

As Meng Yi said, if you want the long-term peace and stability of the country, you need to carry out reforms, but I didn't expect that I, a seeker of law, would change my way of governing for many years because of a kid's words.

"My question is simple, you listen."

When Meng Yi spoke, not only Lu Xian but also others listened very seriously.

"There were a hundred gold coins on the table. A, B, and C put forward their own plans for dividing the gold coins in order. After A proposes his own plan to divide the gold coins, the three of them vote together, and if the number of people who agree does not exceed half, A will be beheaded. After that, B proposes his own plan for dividing the gold coins, and the remaining two vote. If no more than half of the people agree, B will be beheaded. ”

(PS: This problem is one of the most famous problems in game theory, if you are interested, you can pay attention to game theory, if you find it troublesome, you can Baidu Sanji and the prisoner's dilemma.) ）

After Meng Yi finished the question, he asked, "If you are A, how should you allocate these hundred gold coins to be the optimal solution?" ”

After asking the question, everyone, including Lu Xian, fell into deep thought, and I have to say that this is a difficult problem.

As Meng Yi said in the question, if the distribution is uneven, it will be difficult for the three of them to reach an agreement, so everyone in the court fell into deep thought.

However, everyone's first impression is to think about how to make the three people get a fair and just distribution, but the difficulty lies in the amount of money.

If A has more money, then B and C will not be satisfied, and in the same way, no matter how it is distributed, the other two will not be satisfied.

As a result, everyone is stuck in this loop, and it's hard to really jump out, but instead they ignore the other conditions in the stem.

At this time, Meng Yi said: "I'll give you a stick of incense time to consider, if you can't answer the time of a stick of incense, you lose." ”

……

The time of a stick of incense has passed in a blink of an eye, and during this period, many people have been thinking about this question, but there has never been an answer, and Lu Xian is of course no exception.

Meng Yi knew that he hadn't figured it out, so he still asked, "Young Master Lu, tell me your answer." ”