From Chief to Ball

"I want you to be slaves."

Ze didn't fly into a rage, and said with a smile, "Then this glass of wine will be my farewell. I stay in Onozawa, I think I'm pretty tough, and I won't bend my knees. If I die, Onozawa will still be the same. I guess Jixia's thoughts Even though you are a person on the island, I didn’t expect you to speak so directly.”

Chen Jian did not raise his glass, but asked instead: "Could it be that you don't work on the island? Don't fish? Don't hunt? Don't plant millet? The island is bitter, so it may not be as good as when you were slaves, right? At least you When you were slaves, the master was reluctant to let you die, the living ones were worth a few urns of corn, and the dead ones would be thrown away."

Ze snorted, "That's different. At least in Onozawa, I'm a human, not a dog. It's like..."

He thought about it for a long time, but he didn't know the word freedom, which was too abstract and forward-looking, but he described it: "It's like a fish in a water bubble in winter. It’s better to take it away, and it’s up to you whether you die or not, not others.”

Chen Jian laughed for a while listening to this metaphor, and Ze was a little stunned when he laughed. Chen Jian asked: "Since you said that you are a human being in Onozawa, what is a human?"

Ze scratched his head, his head was a little convoluted, and he couldn't think of an answer, so he said, "What is a human being? You carnivores and slaves are human beings.

Chen Jian said loudly: "I heard that you were originally a member of a small clan, and you were captured as a slave. When you were in the clan, your clan had no slaves, so naturally there was no master. Then if you don't appear When masters and slaves, are we not human?"

Ze got up and said, "Forgive me for being stupid. I don't know what a human being is, and I don't want to know what a human being is. But it's absolutely impossible for Jixia to want us to be slaves."

Chen Jian nodded and said: "Forget it, let me ask you again. Then you said that you need to eat every day, wear clothes in winter, and warm yourself by the fire when it is cold. Hunger, cold, and desire to do all kinds of things force you to plant and hunt. It is not enough to quit. Yes. Doesn’t it mean that the living people are actually slaves?”

"Jixia's words are reasonable. You don't need to work, you can eat and wear clothes. I heard people in the city say that there is a vast sea in Dongyi. If you want to see the sea, you can go. And we If you want to see the sea, you must first be a slave to cold, hunger, and desire. Even if you have this heart, you will have to work all your life, and you will never be able to see it."

He is also an extremely intelligent person. Thinking of Chen Jian's previous question, he suddenly smiled and said, "I thought of Ji Xia's question just now, what is a human being?"

"Please say."

"I knew I wanted to go to the sea, and then I did it, and I did it. This is different from cattle, horses and animals. At this time, I am a human being, because cattle and horses don't know what to do after mating. But I want to go The premise of watching the sea is that I have to eat enough and wear warm clothes before I can think about these things. What do you want to do, and how can you know what a person is? Generally speaking, a person who eats meat and has a slave is a person, but a slave is not a person. But this person is not the person Ji Xia asked, because it is not necessary to see the sea. , Maybe if you want to do something else, then people are different, people here are like cows with different horns, so I said I don’t know what a person is.”

Chen Jian couldn't stop laughing, clapped his hands and praised: "Let's say it's like this for the time being, but now it seems that you are slaves, cattle and horses in Onozawa just like you are in the city. Because you have to work all day no matter where you are. Only then can you fill your belly and warm your body, it is no different from cattle and horses, unless one day you only need to work for a little time to be fed and clothed, then you will be considered as detached from animals, and you will be able to figure out what it is to be a human, right?"

"Since that is the case, you are slaves now. I make you slaves again, but it doesn't change at all. Why do you refuse immediately? As you said, you think fish in water bubbles instead of clay pots are The people you think are all dead, but you prefer to freeze to death in water bubbles rather than being cut open and cooked in clay pots. That's what you want, right? That's what you want to be Simple, right?"

Ze cleaned up for a long time, made sure he was straightened out, nodded and said: "Yes. As Jixia said, we are still slaves now, but the master is our own cold and hungry. But we would rather be this kind of slaves than go to the that kind of slave."

Chen Jian raised his jue and said, "Then this glass of wine is not a farewell wine. How do you know that I am not asking you to be my master but my own slave? This is what you want, right?"

Ze nodded and raised the bronze jue and said, "Yes. If Jixia said so, this kind of slave can be made. I want to be a real person, but it's just a delusion. The person Jixia thinks of is not the same as the person I think of."

"Wonderful, you said earlier that you just wanted to be this kind of 'person', so why should I bother? Yuqianer, blow the whistle and let Ze see something."

Yu Qian'er got up, took out the pottery whistle and blew a few times, the distant whistle sounded together, Ze turned his head in surprise, and saw two more sailboats on the lake, and the unfolded sails were carrying the boats Speeding across the water in a posture that surprised him, there were several people standing on the boat, holding spears, shouting in unison in response to the sound of the whistle, and they seemed to be competing with the pines and waves.

Although Ze didn't recognize sailing boats, he knew that he might not be safe on the island with this thing. It's not like the single trees in those cities could be safe after hiding in the lake...

His complexion changed, and he asked in surprise, "Ji Xia, what does this mean?"

"It's nothing interesting. During the winter solstice last year, all the clans gathered in Sucheng. After the leaders gathered together, they respectfully told their ancestors to make an oath to seal the land of Onoze and the ten miles around it in Xiacheng. Then, in Onoze, you can occupy Xiacheng. Land, you are just living here, this land belongs to Xiacheng. Moreover, Xiacheng has the ability to take back the land, and you only have a few thousand people. How is it compared to Xirong? I defeated Xirong with a thousand people. Wan, you've been in Onozawa for a long time, I'm afraid you haven't heard this rumor yet?"

Ze looked at the sailboat and the soldiers beside Chen Jianjian, and understood that Xiacheng might be very different from those cities in the past. Although he didn't really believe that thousands of people broke through [-], he was a little scared in his heart after all. There are dozens of such ships, how can the people on my island stop them?

When he was flustered, Chen Jian smiled again: "I am not a good person. I just thought, just arrest you as the kind of slaves you think. Maybe I will run away and resist, smash the tools I smelted with great difficulty, kill my people, and let other slaves run away too, don’t you think so?”

Ze nodded stubbornly and said: "Yes. It's good that Ji Xia knows, even if I die, there will always be people who know that there is another way to live besides being a slave, and they will not be at ease farming in the fields. Unless we are all killed But, Ji Xia, even though our people are not as good as your warriors, if we die ten times, we can always get one back, right?"

Chen Jian clapped his hands and said, "That's a good point! I've thought of it a long time ago. It's not worthwhile to arrest you as slaves. Let you not pay any taxes on Xiacheng's land. It's not good. Let you pay taxes, you guys Nothing but crackling fish and shrimp. Right?"

Ze was completely dumbfounded, so he could only nod his head and say, "Yes. Why don't you just ignore it."

Chen Jian shook his head and said, "I don't care. Since I am the leader of this territory, how can I not care? I just asked you about people. It seems that you accept what you think of as 'people' and are very satisfied." .In that case, I figured out a way to make you both what you call a 'human' and what I call a slave."

"Well, we are both satisfied. You are very satisfied. After all, you think people are like this, so you would not resist, right? Besides, the land, tools, seeds and so on are mine. I don't have any strength, I have to work if I want to eat, and I work harder than when I was a 'slave' before. You can't resist like this, can you? If you want to resist like this, I can only use sentences Xia Cheng said that you are making progress, so I can only dispatch soldiers to wipe you out."

Ze had already calmed down at this time, after careful consideration, he knew that he was definitely not Xia Cheng's opponent, and Ji Xia had already talked to him frankly, and he had never heard someone speak so clearly, although It sounds ugly but the facts are very reasonable. I definitely won’t feel disgusted because of the ugly sound. Instead, I want to be grateful. Some things that I have been thinking about seem to be much clearer at once.

So he raised the bronze jue and laughed loudly: "If Ji Xia really has such a way, we are willing to be this kind of 'slaves' and we will not resist. We just ask Ji Xia to keep his oath."

Chen Jian also raised his title and said: "Shou, absolutely. I will not catch you back and use a whip to guard the rope and become slaves. I will keep this promise. But I heard that you are quite famous in Dayeze, and everyone is convinced. Even a pinch of salt is shared equally by everyone. I admire this. However, this rule will change in the future. If someone does work for me, the salt, sugar, grain, etc. I give him will be that person. Yes, you are not allowed to take away the things that others have taken after working hard."

Ze Lang said: "I can make an oath, this is absolutely possible. In the past, the salt goods were divided equally because the income was very small. If I can get it by working for Ji Xia, how can I take other people's money and distribute it? Since then I don't care about the goods and food you get here through hard work. I can swear in front of everyone, including the people in Onozawa. What Jixia wants to swear is that we will not attack us if we don't resist, but on the island of Onozawa Jixia can't take care of things, there are still some corn fields, lotus root and water chestnuts on the island, Jixia doesn't like it either, we donate clams and pearls every year, just ask Jixia to give us a place to live, we will never do that Things that endanger Xia City."

Chen Jian drank the wine and laughed loudly: "It's easy to say, I am the one who keeps my promises the most. Yu Qianer, prepare to read the oath for Ze to listen to."

Chapter 52 Successor Education

After reading the oath according to the script, Ze did not agree immediately, but said that he would go back and discuss with everyone before making a decision. Chen Jian generously gave ten days.

After the reed went away, everyone in Xia City sat around Chen Jianjian and asked in puzzlement, "Ji Xia, this is the end? How do you ensure that these people are obedient? Especially this leader named Ze, who has killed The master led people away, he... can he accept these things?"

Chen Jian firmly said: "Of course. If he is for himself, I have given him the island, he should be able to distinguish between his own and everyone's. With my support, he will do it for himself and for his own." Bloodline will agree."

"If he is really a single-minded person like Ji Song, and he is really for the group of slaves in Dayeze, then he will still agree that they need food, clothing, salt and medicine, and they can't beat us. The ending he didn't expect, fulfilled his long-cherished wish - if he just wanted to be a 'human'."

"Selfish, selfless, my conditions are the best. The biggest problem among them is: this group of people, like Ze, think that there is too little difference between human beings and slaves, and more people just want to survive. I said this The land belongs to Xiacheng, and it is under the jurisdiction of the leaders of Xiacheng, do you think it is reasonable?"

A group of people nodded logically and said: "Of course it is reasonable. This was decided during the clan gathering."

Chen Jian chuckled and said, "That's right. You all think it's reasonable, and of course they also think it's reasonable. Many of them think it's unreasonable because the master is too harsh. The most they can think of is going back to the era when the ruthless people lived in groups and lived in public property. But now most people have accepted the idea that the land is privately owned and the land belongs to the city. If they step over this hurdle in their hearts, they will still feel embarrassed in the end. Unless someone asks me: Why do you say that this land is yours? Even if I'm not afraid if someone asks me, they can't argue with me."

"Lian Ze didn't question me, let alone those people. They will only be grateful for my various vows, and will not resist for a while-you see, I gave them a human identity and a small piece of land to settle down. They are still grateful for collecting taxes on their land—unless one day someone thinks that this land should not be mine but everyone’s, then when he resists, he will be a little bit more aggressive, and he will not hesitate in his heart. Unfortunately not."

He spoke vigorously, looked at the people sitting around and asked: "I have been talking about it for a long time, you have to keep it in your heart. You will all be the rulers of the city in the future, so you must keep your heads clear. It is reasonable to say that it is yours, and it is also reasonable to say that it is not yours, but as a ruler, you cannot ponder whether it is reasonable or not based on pure reason, you have to consider which rationality is useful to you and which rationality is not useful to you.”

Red Fish rubbed his head for a long time and asked: "I kind of understand, after all, I was a slave. It's just that according to what you say, there is no absolutely reasonable thing in this world?"

"No, the grass is green, the flowers are red, the sun is hot and the snow is cold, this is absolutely reasonable. But like the land, the land is mine, and I can only give the slaves a little to eat when they work, They will starve to death without my land. If the land is mine and unreasonable, then the slaves should ask, why did I take most of the food? It turns out that the clan did not say that the land is private ?”

"So, what we have to do is to make the slaves believe in one thing: the land belongs to the master, which is reasonable and natural, and it must be passed down from generation to generation. On the premise that this matter is reasonable, they Their resistance is wrong, their inner morality will torture them, and their resistance will be less. If there is no such reasonable premise, not only will they not feel guilty for their resistance, but on the contrary they will feel that those who do not resist are fools. How can this work? ?”

"You will all be people who want land in the future, so you have a firm heart. If we are slaves, you have to believe that it is reasonable for the land to be owned by the public; but if we are not, then you have to believe that it is reasonable for the land to be privately owned. You have to convince the slaves and peasants. If you don’t believe it yourself, how can you let others believe it? Not only do you have to believe it yourself, but you also have to pass these words on to your descendants so that they can understand, do you remember?”

A group of people agreed in unison. In fact, these words need not be said. Over time, they will subtly and naturally become a way of thinking. The purpose of Chen Jian’s words is the opposite. I hope this group of people will leave these words to future generations. There will always be someone who betrays their own ass and waits until the need for words to backfire as they wish.

Yu Qian'er covered her mouth and snickered there. Seeing her brother's serious face, she had to hold back and asked, "Brother, Ze is quite prestigious among the fugitive slaves. After he goes back, the fugitive slaves still gather together. Do you know what to do?" He also said that no matter what happened on their island... I always feel bad."

"There's nothing wrong with it. It's not a matter of scarcity but inequality. He used to live on the island. He had all his food and clothing on the island. If he didn't get together, he would starve to death. Now we can give them food in exchange. This is the big head. He doesn't care. With this allocation, after a long time, the reputation may still be there, but in the end no one listens to him. Those who come out to work will think: I can work with Xia Cheng and I can eat and clothe myself, so why should I listen to you? ? Not much, if half of the people think so, Ohnozawa is over.”

"Besides, I sealed the island to him. If he has selfish intentions, he will naturally be alienated from everyone. If he has no selfish intentions, we will publicize that the island was given to Ze instead of all the fugitive slaves. He is such a shit He had to bring it if he didn’t want to. He thought he was fair and selfless, and accepted this island for the final resting place of all escaped slaves, but look at how many people on the island believed that he was not for himself, haha.”

"You don't have to worry about this. I have my own way to turn this hard rock into a pile of loose sand. It is estimated that Ze will come in ten days. Let's take a boat to the Onozawa to see if there is any place suitable for building a city. Waterfowl here There are many fish and shrimps everywhere. There must be small islands full of gulls and herons. There must be guano and saltpeter on the island. Moreover, the water rises every year and the silt accumulates. It is a good land. This is a fertile land. Drafting the river is much stronger."

Everyone looked up at the vast and deserted Onozawa, looked at the birds who were not afraid of people, and thought of the thorns and thorns a few years ago, they had a bit of pride, and shouted at the vast lake. .

Pulling on the sails, Chen Jian headed the boat independently, leaving 30 people to pile up firewood by the lake, set off smoke during the day and light up the fire at night, to make a lighthouse.

The lotus leaves reflect the sky, the buds are not red, the reeds are overgrown and cattails are swaying gently, and fish and shrimps are often seen under the broken water waves. If you can find a small island to settle down, build more ships in this new city, and you will turn against your current allies in the future. , is also enough to protect itself.

There is a waterway leading directly to the big river. There is a bend in the big river within a hundred miles. Chen Jian has been thinking about finding an opportunity to lead someone to blow up the embankment to make the big river break straight. But it is just a plan, and there is no rush. Anyway, there are not many tribes on the south bank There is no manpower development for the time being.

Just, where to settle down?