“Next is Shen Buhai, also known as Shenzi. He was heavily influenced by the political philosophy of Laozi, the founder of Daoism. Shen Buhai strongly supported both the “School of Power” and the “School of Law.”
He also emphasized that the monarch's authority must be firmly established for political decrees to be effectively implemented.
His series of reforms in Han [国] were similar to Shang Yang’s plan: establishing roads and dividing land, abolishing the well-field system, rewarding those who make contributions, employing talented individuals, accumulating national wealth, confiscating private armies from the nobles, and emphasizing weapon manufacturing. Han [国]’s greatest strength was its iron mines. In the previous Bronze Age, iron weapons were considered powerful tools. The nickname “Powerful Han” originated from Shen Buhai’s reforms, which enriched the nation and strengthened its military, deterring other states from attacking.
However, he believed that these two elements were not enough. The key lay in the monarch possessing a strategic mind. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, ministers assassinating monarchs were commonplace.
Therefore, Shen Buhai advised monarchs to never fully trust any ministers. Ministers could be used, but not overly trusted. The monarch should maintain a detached demeanor, making their intentions unclear to the ministers. Only then would the ministers be unable to see through the monarch’s strategies and harbor ulterior motives. This would also reduce the number of sycophants.
Shen Buhai proposed utilizing “techniques” to investigate corrupt officials and make them comply.
Shen Buhai was not the first to play power games. Throughout history, people have used such techniques for self-preservation. These techniques can also be called strategies, but they are primarily used in the political struggles within the court.
If there are methods to control ministers, there must be ways to deceive the monarch. The resulting mutual distrust and competition among officials make court politics incredibly unstable.
Ministers fearing the monarch would inevitably try to deceive them. At the same time, they had to avoid being envied and harmed by other ministers.
For a certain period, Shen Buhai's techniques achieved political clarity, with officials diligently serving the government. But this could not last forever. Some "smarter" officials learned to exploit loopholes and frame their political opponents.
Shen Buhai's teachings were embraced by the Han [国] royal family, who highly valued these methods of controlling ministers. After the death of Han Zhao Hou and Shen Buhai, the old aristocracy of Han [国] restored their power, abandoning Shen Buhai’s emphasis on rule of law. Instead, they indulged in Shen Buhai's "techniques."
The reason why Han [国] could not regain its strength lies in the fact that these "techniques" had become deeply rooted in Han [国]’s court, leaving no room for those with ambition to flourish.
“So, even with Han Fei’s exceptional talent, gathering the strengths of Legalism, he would be ineffective in Han [国]. ”
“That’s definitely true. Han [国] is rotten to the core, from top to bottom. I believe that within a year, Qin will crush Han [国]. It doesn’t matter how strong he is individually.”
“Good, well said. Han [国] is nothing to worry about, hahaha!”
Very good.
Ying Zheng loved Zhao Chen's boldness, which reminded him of himself.
“Next comes Shang Yang from our Qin. You should be familiar with him, father, so I won’t go into detail.”
“I know him well, of course. So, Chen, what do you think was the reason behind Shang Yang’s death?”
“Are you testing me, father? I believe that with Shang Yang’s position at the time, he was fully capable of eliminating all the nobles who opposed him, even the crown prince!
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, powerful ministers often eliminated their rivals and installed puppet monarchs.
Take for example, the Tian clan replacing the Jiang clan to rule Qi, the Zhi, Han, Zhao, and Wei families of Jin dividing the state among themselves, or Qin Xian Gong seizing power through ministers assassinating the previous monarch.
In this era, Shang Yang’s reforms granted noble titles to slaves and commoners, earning him the support of the majority. If he wanted to usurp the throne, it would have been easy.
But he didn't. He chose to die, sending a message to everyone.
That message was “rule of law.” No one could defy the law!
The monarch possesses power, yes, but to win the people’s hearts, they cannot act recklessly. They must rely on proper evidence collection, trials, and sentencing.
Punishing ministers based solely on the monarch's mood is unacceptable.
If a minister commits a crime, they must be punished according to the law.
If a minister makes significant contributions, they should be rewarded based on established legal measures. The monarch cannot arbitrarily reward ministers based on their mood. There must be a defined standard for everything.
This is the only way to gain everyone's trust.
Shang Yang sacrificed his life to instill the concept of rule of law in everyone in Qin, laying the foundation for the powerful Qin we have today.”
Ying Zheng didn’t expect Zhao Chen to have such high regard for Shang Yang, but his words were true. The prosperity of Qin today is largely due to Shang Yang’s contributions.
“Father, think about it. Could Confucianism achieve this?
Under Confucianism, if the monarch is pleased with a meritorious minister, he might generously reward them.
But if, later, someone else makes the same contribution, and the monarch is in a bad mood, they might reward them less.
Similarly, punishment is decided by the monarch's mood. This leads to dissatisfaction among ministers. They might ask, “Why does he get more than me?” or “Why am I being punished like this?”
This is the fundamental difference between rule of law and rule of man.
Of course, Legalism is not perfect. It can only be said that it is suitable for the era of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. It is superior to the political philosophies of Confucianism, Mohism, and Daoism.
After all, the monarch's power is vast, even if they have little actual authority. They must still be the figurehead,
in order to maintain the allegiance of the people.
The laws of Legalism are defined by the monarch and ministers, so at the time, regardless of which philosophy it was, there were no specific constraints on the monarch.
Confucianism used morality to constrain the monarch, stating that if they did not practice benevolent government, they would lose their kingdom;
Mohism used gods and spirits to intimidate the monarch, saying that if they did not love the people, Heaven would punish them;
Daoism used non-competition to warn the monarch, saying that the more they sought, the more likely they were to lose their kingdom;
And Legalism used laws to restrict the monarch, saying that if they violated or ignored the law, they would lose their kingdom.
Father, think about it. Is there a single hard measure among these for punishing monarchs for their mistakes?
No. This leads to a consequence.
The monarch makes mistakes little by little. They might think, “I’m just being a little unrighteous” or “I just broke a single law today.” This kind of behavior might not immediately cause the dynasty to collapse.
However, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Eventually, the monarch's greed will lead to the dynasty’s downfall.
Legalism actually has another weakness. “Law” is inflexible and unchanging.
It emerges through anticipation or the occurrence of prior cases, and then preventive measures are established.
However, there are often things that the “law” does not consider. This is why laws are never perfect and are constantly changing.
Legalism has the advantage of being “changeable based on social conflicts.” Although this is much better than Confucianism’s “unchanging” approach, it still cannot fully address the issue of legal loopholes.
For some people, as long as something isn't explicitly prohibited by law, they can do whatever they want.
This is the flaw in Legalism's “everything according to law.” It places too much reliance on the law and believes that it can solve everything, which is a mistake.
That’s why I said that we need to combine outward Confucianism with inward Legalism, and then complement it with Daoism. Only then can we achieve true balance.
“Good, good, outward Confucianism with inward Legalism, and then complement it with Daoism! Chen, you’re excellent, excellent, hahaha!!”
“Alright, that's about it. I’m going now!”
This time, Zhao Chen didn't give Ying Zheng a chance to react. He vanished from the Zhangtai Palace in a flash.
“That rascal, heh!”
Ying Zheng shook his head helplessly.
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