Chapter 100 Responsibility (Part 2)

Zheng Yu knew that his wife had grown up in a big family since she was a child, and her mind was much more complicated than she should be at this age. Women during pregnancy were even more suspicious and paranoid. He quickly said with a smile: "I don't mean that there is any danger to us, but that the time for our country to promote reform is already very limited."

He raised his head and looked at the ceiling and said slowly: "Everyone thinks that the situation in the country is very good. They all think that being born as a saint of two generations has been calmed down. The world has clarified that East Asia is already in its pocket, and the peaceful and prosperous era has come. From then on, it will be a prosperous road... How many people really understand how difficult and dangerous the road we are on is, and how unpredictable the future is."

He paused again and suddenly asked, "Xiaoye, do you know why reforms in history have failed more and fewer successful people? And the stronger the reform, the more miserable the failure?"

"Reform is to break the old customs and harm the interests of many people, so there are always resistance and constraints..." Liu Ziye said softly, "It is not only difficult to start, but it is even more difficult to persevere. Once there is a setback, criticism will immediately occur."

"Yes." Zheng Yu smiled, and was also a little surprised at Liu Ziye's talent and insight. "You are right. To put it bluntly, reform is to break the original interest distribution pattern, and the victim who is the first to be affected is the vested interests under the original interest distribution pattern, so he naturally faces huge resistance. Most reforms can only start when the country does not change, and it must be the highest power of the country who can support it from the perspective of its own safety and survival. This is the reason."

"But then the problem comes out," Zheng Yu took a breath and said slowly, "When the reform has to be reformed, the situation in the country is often very dangerous. In other words, the country is naturally in the process of whereabouts. If it does not reform, it is basically a dead end. Reform may not be able to see results immediately, and it is even more impossible to benefit everyone from beginning to end. For the victims of reform, that is, vested interests in the original pattern, the trend of the country itself is getting worse and worse, so it is easy to find a lot of shells to attack reform and blame all the problems on reform. They can not only manipulate public opinion in the government and opposition, but also incite the people. For most people, what they see is that the days after the reform seem to be worse than before the reform. As for whether it is worse than before the reform, no one can figure it out, or is unwilling to figure it out."

Liu Ziye listened quietly.

"This country has been in a state of chaos for a long time, and it is not difficult to cheer up for a moment. What is difficult is to fundamentally reverse the accumulated diseases over thousands of years. A temporary matter is insufficient to make a fortune, and an internal political struggle may lead to the collapse of the rapidly expanding country. Foreign troubles seem to be calm, but once the European powers come to an end and the Western world reaches a new division of interests, we will have to face the suppression of the entire external world."

"In a huge and complex country like ours, any major reform is an extremely difficult and complex process, which requires high cooperation from the internal and external environment. If we still follow the old path, and still take the excuse of stability overwhelming everything, live a peaceful life, and wait until the national situation goes downward and has to change before reforming, then we can imagine that our reform is likely to be a failure."

"The theory of evolution is also applicable to human society. In this era, society progresses thousands of miles a day, and whoever has more vision and action can get the first step in the national competition. At this time, our reform must be a normal state. We cannot wait until we are at the end of our lives and have to take action again. Instead, we must take the initiative and act decisively. Without the conditions for reform, we will create conditions. My father's generation has been deliberately planning for more than ten years, in order not only to win a national war and regain some territory, but to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the fundamental reform of this country!"

At this time, Liu Ziye was also a little shocked.

Those giants who rose like comets, changed the fate of a nation and had long become legendary, were they planning all this decades ago?

Zheng Yu's voice was not loud, but it seemed like a roar of metal in Liu Ziye's ears.

"To ensure the success of reform, we must boldly implement policies when the country is in the rising period, promote those fundamental and most difficult reforms, and promote reforms in development. We must never be satisfied with the small-scale decoration of the storefront in the best reform window, and put difficult reforms behind. Only by promoting fundamental reforms during the rising period of the country can we maximize the continuous improvement of the overall interests of the people, and have room for both interests in reform, reduce the resistance to reform, and strengthen the confidence of all citizens in reform. This is also repeatedly proven by history:

The great reforms were successful and preserved, often carried out by the supreme rulers when the country was in an upward period. Shang Yang's reforms of Qin seized the time window for the three families to divide Jin. After weakening Qin, Wei moved the capital eastward and turned to war with various countries in Guandong. At this time, Qin had not risen for a long time, and the ruling group was generally enterprising. Although there were minor setbacks, their muscles and bones were not damaged. Instead, they united as one internal unit, so they succeeded. Emperor Wen of Sui established three provinces and six ministries and opened the imperial examination. The reason why he succeeded was to seize the precious opportunity of the prosperity of the country's strength in the early Sui Dynasty."

"History will not give us too many opportunities. My father and his family have been in the country for decades, and the right time, place, people and people have won this national war. Europe, Britain and Germany confront each other, the United States is still in isolationism, the conflicts between the great powers are tense, and my prestige is at its peak in the country, and the people are also high. The middle and upper classes generally have an enterprising spirit. The whole country is ready to move forward with the old and new ones. If we do not seize this crucial ten years to complete the integration within the country and achieve a crucial change, once the great powers complete the seats and advance step by step, then there will be vassal states ready to move, opposition and ambitious people stir up the situation, the government and even the entire upper class are satisfied, and there are great powers who are civil and military guards outside. Where can we still have room to promote these reforms?"

Liu Ziye's head rested on her husband's chest, listened quietly, feeling the slightly rapid heartbeat gradually calmed down, and gently pulled her husband's hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.

Zheng Yu knew what his wife meant, was silent for a moment, gently stroked his wife's round shoulders, and said softly: "Xiaoye, in fact, I can make this decision, and I also want to thank you and our children."

Liu Ziye didn't say anything, but just leaned his head tighter and gently stroked her husband's chest.

"I used to be just a person. What I care most about is actually how to do my next career according to my ideals... If I had been like this all my life, maybe I would have lost myself in the face of successes one by one, and devote myself to creating unprecedented achievements in my life, creating a great empire that is unprecedented, so that everyone can worship me, look up to me, be a god in my life, and be a saint after death."

"But I have you and they... I am your husband and their father. What I want to consider is not only myself, but also you, the next generation, the next generation... Similarly, what I want to consider is not only the current achievements, but also the Chinese people in the future."

"If we still play the same trick of man-ruling and the strong will win, then the kings of the country that have been destroyed in history, the royal family of the previous dynasty, that is, the future fate of our descendants, billions of people will never get rid of the nightmare of the cycle of governance and chaos. With you, I can only truly figure it out. The only one who has the ability and confidence to delegate power is actually me."

"I have prestige, resources, and confidence that after delegating power, I can still maintain the situation. The country is now booming and the national sentiment is high, and the focus has not turned to internal strife... But our descendants... They do not have all this, and the country may have already subsided, and the new bureaucratic group and community of interests are becoming stronger... At that time, no matter they take me as an example, they must be authoritarian and achieve great success. Even if they really want to delegate power, do they have that confidence? If they really let go, can the country really make a smooth transition?"

"The law can restrain us, but it can also protect us. Now, although I have to rely more on my prestige, the imperial property, the imperial guards, and the party and social organizations I have built and controlled to protect myself and you, all this cannot last long. When I am gone, can our descendants still grasp all this firmly?"

"If they are not capable and have great ambitions, what will they bring to this country? If I still insist at this time that the power logic of the strong wins, the success and the king will succeed and the defeat will be created, and the order of the whole family will be revealed one day. What will happen on this land... What just happened in Russia is the future of our country. A once glorious empire fell apart in an instant and blood flowed into a river. Tens of millions of people bleed and sacrificed, and more people worked hard and endured. What is the suffering they experienced?"

"Absolute power ultimately brings only ambition, corruption, arrogance and destruction, and even makes generations of royal families lose their affection and only a cold power struggle. Looking back on history, generations of so-called heroes and their descendants, brothers, fathers, sons, uncles and nephews are often turned against each other. From Hu Hai's killing Fusu to Li Shimin killing his brothers and slaughtering his brothers, his sons fight to the mess, and then Zhao Guangyi's poisonous brothers and killing his brothers, and even his nephews are not spared... Then Zhu Di's Jingnan..."

Liu Ziye's face was pale and he listened quietly.

"My father was the founding king. He did not repeat these mistakes. He only adopted me a son, and I did not disappoint him... But the order of this country must be firmly inherited. As the glue and slasher of the country, the royal family cannot bet on the ones for a generation. Although this sounds a bit awkward, it can be considered from the perspective of the country and nation. Maybe this time I will have two sons, and we will have more in the future... But Xiaoye, do you hope that our sons will repeat the mistakes of their predecessors in the face of absolute power, think about the calculations every day, and fight openly and secretly every day? Do you hope that my ambitious sons and I will play a game of kindness in the face of predecessors every day, but secretly suspicion of each other?"

Liu Ziye was silent for a moment and said softly: "So, you not only let the officials lose their way out, but you also let your descendants lose their way out..."

"Yes, I want to make all the powers in this country have no way out. I can only move forward in the direction and order I set until something I cannot predict appears..." Zheng Yu took a deep breath and said calmly and firmly, "Everything I do is part of the tradition and inheritance of this country in the future, and it is the benchmark for all the powers in the future... The greater my achievements and the higher my prestige, the less these foundations will be shaken."

"But an emperor like me would not have one before, and there would not be another in the future. One generation has the responsibility of another. My father does not want me to be the second person. He is unique in history, and I am the same... I don't need my sons and grandchildren to become emperors like me. They don't need to establish too many achievements, nor do they need to promote so many pioneering reforms. They don't need to face so many dangerous enemies, and plot against all signs that may threaten the fundamental order. They don't need to have too many minds and wisdom that transcends the times. What they want to do is just a detached from specific state affairs, tie themselves and the overall fundamental interests of the country, be able to face the national situation calmly and objectively, stand up and bring everything back to the right track when necessary, and avoid the division of the country..."

"But is that emperor still an emperor?" Liu Ziye said softly, "Don't you want our descendants to be better than the next generation?"

Zheng Yu lowered his head and looked at his wife, feeling the meaning contained in those two gazes, and he realized in his heart.

"I don't need them to be better than me." Zheng Yu said slowly, "I just hope that they have the ability, confidence and courage to shoulder the responsibilities given to them by the times, uphold the justice in their hearts, and fully walk their lives, so that they can live more like a person, rather than a beast."

Liu Ziye nodded slightly and leaned on his broad and strong chest again.

"I will not have too high expectations for them, nor will I put too much pressure on them... The fundamental turning point of social order must be completed in my hands. By their generation, everything has been stabilized. A civilized society that keeps pace with the times and open and confident has been formed. New social organizations can perform their own duties, and all classes can negotiate their respective interests within the legal framework. Law, morality and religion can restrict the individual and group's precepts. Supervised power institutions can operate naturally without strong interference. There are only competitors outside the country, and there are no big enemies to the death..."

"At that time, the emperor was a chore because his power was strongly constrained by law, political traditions and social culture, but he had to be responsible for the overall interests of the country and his every move was supervised by the public. In this position, there was more responsibility... Since it was a chore, it would not attract too much covetousness. And those who were truly willing to sit in that position were naturally more responsible."

"If someone has the ambition to be a real emperor, he must surpass me." Zheng Yu smiled self-deprecatingly, "With my achievements and prestige, as long as I voluntarily give up absolute power, my descendants want to capture power again. In addition to facing everything mentioned above, they must also surpass me, the mountain... The difficulty will be so great that everyone can't retreat."

"It's much harder than surpassing Washington..." Liu Ziye said in a complicated tone.

"Yes, it's much harder... Maybe some of them are better than me in many places, or even much stronger, but there is one thing they can hardly match me: the opportunity."

"I was able to get to this point because I caught up with this unique opportunity. The anxious situation inside and outside, the foundation laid by the older generation for decades of hard work, and the critical moment of the rise of the nation. As long as I can go step by step, such a situation will be difficult to appear again in the future... Even if someone among our descendants wants to follow me, history may not give them such unique opportunity to take this path."

"The foundation of such a future lies in our current efforts: to make good use of the power, resources and prestige in our hands, step by step to promote vital social progress, and create a social order that is no longer based on the rule of man. As an emperor, I will personally dig out the foundation of the imperial power, break the order of hierarchical hierarchy, ceremonial ethics that have been regarded as a golden rule for thousands of years, and rely more on my personal influence and strength to promote and guarantee reforms and stabilize a new social order. By the time my next generation, all they have to do is fulfill the obligations stipulated by the law, and even they can only do this under the restrictions of rules and traditions."

"All this is the responsibility I want to fulfill to the people, and it is also the responsibility I want to fulfill as a special father, to my special children, and to my special husband, to my special wife."

"You have always said that tradition serves reality, not the other way around..." Liu Ziye bit his lip and hesitated for a long time before saying, "What if one day the tradition you left behind begins to become an obstacle to social development? The greater your achievements, the more sacrifices you make, will this obstacle be so great that everyone cannot break through?"

Zheng Yu was silent for a long time and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Maybe there will be such a day...I will never be able to solve all problems, nor will it be possible to grasp everything in the future. I act, but I want to be on the long run and have a clear conscience. My thoughts are to tell me that everything I have done is to correctly fulfill the responsibilities of a country's highest authority, and also fulfill my responsibilities as a husband and father, so I will do it...I don't expect that I can solve all the problems of my descendants.

"Xiaoye, you must believe that as long as we can gradually change the situation where bureaucratic society is overwhelming from the institutional arrangement, gradually promote national enlightenment, give individual nationals freedom of thought, and encourage them to seek knowledge, think and act rationally, then society will have the foundation for continuous progress, and our descendants will definitely surpass us in understanding... If all this becomes an obstacle to the continued progress of society in tens of millions of years, then later generations will naturally solve it."

"I hope there will be one day in the future: some of our descendants come forward to overthrow what I have done today and establish a new order that is more suitable for civilization and progress. At that time, it will prove that everything I have done today is correct and worth it."

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Chapter completed!