Chapter 176: Investigate Things to Gain Knowledge, Verify to Seek Truth

"I don't know either."

Under the expectant eyes of everyone, Lin Chen said these words calmly.

"Huh?!" Zhang Zhiping's usually calm expression showed surprise for the first time.

"Then why did you just say so well that I believe it!" Xiao Wu and others even opened their eyes.

Facing everyone's surprise, Lin Chen just smiled softly:

"Although I can't give you a road to heaven, I can give you a little way forward."

"I hope you can give me some advice, sir!" Zhang Zhiping had a look of awe on his face, and he quickly saluted with his hands raised, as if listening.

"Since the world cannot change but people's hearts. If we want to achieve peace for all eternity, I think there are two ways."

"First, it is to use something that cannot lie to restrain people's hearts."

"Second, people should no longer lie to each other."

Lin Chen said slowly.

"Something that can't deceive people?" The middle-aged man pondered at the side, "I have been traveling in the world for many years. My eyes can deceive people, my ears can deceive people, and people can deceive people even more. Is there anything that can't deceive people?"

"Even the classics of sages will have some defects due to the passage of time, and thus lose their meaning. Moreover, due to different annotators, they will bring in other people's opinions..." Zhang Zhiping also pondered, "Not to mention the differences between people. People don’t lie to each other, it’s almost impossible.”

Lin Chen had a smile on his face and said softly: "It is true that everything in this world can lie, but I think there is one thing that cannot."

Um?

Zhang Zhiping and the middle-aged man looked at each other, then clasped their fists and said, "I hope you can give me some advice, sir!"

"Before that, I want to ask a question first, what is five plus seven?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen did not answer directly, but asked with a smile on his face.

"I know, it's equal to two!" Before anyone could answer, Xiao Wu, who finally found a chance to interrupt, raised his hand.

Um? !

"Look, you guys, five fingers, plus seven, doesn't the number of each finger equal to..." Looking at everyone's eyes, Xiao Wu's voice gradually became lower, and his whole body became frightened. .

"Our kid is stupid, I hope you don't mind, sir." The middle-aged man resisted the urge to hit and apologized quickly.

Zhang Zhiping on the side pondered for a moment and said thoughtfully: "Sir, what you said is arithmetic?"

"That's right, arithmetic is also called mathematics by me. I don't think this thing can deceive people." Lin Chen said word by word.

"Mathematics? This is impossible!" Zhang Zhiping shook his head when he heard this. "The tax revenue recorded in the accounting books of the imperial court every year is at most the income of one state in the past. It is obviously impossible."

"The numbers on the ledger are accurate, but tax revenue has been decreasing year by year. This is obviously false. How can it be said that mathematics cannot deceive people?"

When Lin Chen heard this, he was not angry and asked instead: "What if we add in the taxes taken away by corrupt officials and powerful landlords, does it match the output of the land?"

"This..." Zhang Zhiping was obviously stunned.

If you think about it this way, it seems that there is no problem.

"So it's never mathematics that's deceptive. It's that someone concealed key data." Lin Chen shook his head, and then continued, "But if our society can strictly follow mathematics."

"One third of each person's output is handed over to the dynasty, and seven points are used for oneself. Three thirds of each person's output is used for personal use. Each point has a clear discrepancy, and it is turned into open and transparent data for us to observe."

"The output and consumption of the entire society have been turned into numerical control, open and transparent, and distributed according to the prescribed mathematical analysis to those who create value according to their work. Will this mean there is no oppression and no exploitation? "

"But numbers are controlled by people after all. Since they are controlled by people, then they can manipulate them. In this case, is it still a failure?" Zhang Zhiping quickly caught the loophole.

"But what if the person in control is not a person?"

"Sir... what does this mean?" Zhang Zhiping asked in surprise.

"What do you think would happen if our social morality came not from words, but from numbers? What if those who control social data and are responsible for law enforcement are not human beings with their emotions and changing hearts, but are like the law of heaven? What do you think will happen to something cold and heartless?"

Zhang Zhiping was stunned for a moment.

"It doesn't matter if it's moral or something as cold and ruthless as the law of heaven. They won't have selfish motives, and naturally they won't be biased."

"In addition to what they need for their own survival, they will turn society's output into data and distribute it fairly to everyone according to mathematics. As long as the data does not go through human hands and there are strong law enforcement means, then if the data does not match up, it will be Implement sanctions. And law enforcement officers have no emotions, so they will naturally not hold back. They exploit each other layer by layer, and behaviors that harm the public and benefit private interests will be curbed. This..."

The more Zhang Zhiping thought about it, the more he felt that Lin Chen's words seemed to make sense.

While he was analyzing, the eyes of the middle-aged man and others on the side became brighter and brighter.

Most of them were forced to collect several rounds of taxes by powerful landlords and corrupt officials who made false accounts.

For them, they just want to pay their taxes and live peacefully. This method makes them feel unstoppable.

"But how can this be done?" After thinking about this clearly, Zhang Zhiping sighed, "And I think using mathematics to manage society is not a little less... humane?"

"So I considered the second method, that is, people will not lie to each other." Lin Chen said with a smile.

"I hope you can give me some advice, sir." Zhang Zhiping arched his hands and pretended to listen again.

He understood that every word and every method Lin Chen said was not aimless or boastful, but had the possibility of bringing peace to the world, so he naturally did not dare to miss a word.

"What kind of people do you think will not lie?" Lin Chen asked first.

"Gentlemen with noble character, they speak every word worthy of their own heart, and they will not lie." Zhang Zhiping said solemnly.

The gentleman he mentioned is a real gentleman, not a self-proclaimed villain.

"Then if everyone is a gentleman and everyone is upright, do you think people will still lie to each other?"

"This is impossible..." Zhang Zhiping's face flashed with surprise, and he spoke again, but the next moment, he closed his mouth.

To make everyone like a gentleman, not cheat each other, and be upright, so that the world can be united, isn't this the ultimate goal of the ancient sages in creating morality?

"But now the world is in decline, and people's hearts are not as good as before. How can we restore the prosperity of the ancient times and make the customs simple?" Thinking of this, Zhang Zhiping sighed.

"That's not necessarily true. Just like a child who has received a good education and grew up in a kind environment, no matter how bad he becomes, he can have his own bottom line."

"If we can inject qualities such as kindness, simplicity, and sincerity into everyone's mind, then no matter how bad his future is, he will not become an unforgivable bad person. Isn't this a method?"

In short, it is the ideological stamp.

Using the means of ideological stamp, we can inject good qualities such as kindness, upwardness, and honesty into everyone's mind, so as to completely change the atmosphere of the entire society, so that everyone can communicate with each other, work together, and create a prosperous world!

"How can this be done?" Faced with this almost impossible thing, Zhang Zhiping uttered a murmur.

Whether it is to control society with mathematics or to infuse good thoughts into people's hearts, these are simply impossible to do under the current situation.

Is it possible that this eternal peace will never be possible? No matter how hard we try and how much blood we shed, all we get is a reincarnation of three hundred years?

Just when Zhang Zhiming felt a little desperate, he suddenly saw Lin Chen's smiling face.

Then, he seemed to understand something, his face was solemn, he quickly stood up, and then knelt on the ground.

"I hope you can teach us the way to save the world!"

The middle-aged man and others saw this and knelt down one after another.

"I hope you can teach us the way to save the world!"

Xiao Wu looked at it and was a little reluctant, but after hesitating for a moment, he still knelt down.

Seeing this, Lin Chen's face was not moved at all, but he waved his sleeves, and everyone felt a huge force to lift him up.

"Why do you have to act like this? Haven't you heard that the great way of the world is obtained step by step by yourself? How can you ask for it from others?"

"Look at the ancient sages who traveled around the six countries, saw the cruelty of the law, the incompetence of the monarch, and the obsession with interests. Finally, after thinking and verifying again and again, they finally understood the key to moral restraint of the human heart."

"Since then, Confucianism was founded and spread throughout the world, establishing the spiritual core of civilization in one fell swoop. Since then, it has been long-lasting and endless!"

"Even the sages have sought the way through hardships. Do you think it is a "You can get this great road to heaven with just one sentence? Isn't it ridiculous!"

"Only if you practice the great road in this world can you understand whether it is correct or not!"

"Investigate things to gain knowledge, and verify to seek the way! You don't even have to experiment yourself, and you just easily put your hopes on others?"

"You must know that in this world, only the way is used to seek, not to take shortcuts!"

"Investigate things to gain knowledge, and verify to seek the way. In this world, only the way is sought!"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiping stood up and murmured, his eyes brighter and brighter.

How can you think this road is not feasible without even doing it yourself?

In the ancient times when etiquette collapsed and wars were rampant, saints and sages could risk their lives to travel around the world to build great roads and leave a good reputation for generations.

Then today, why can't I continue the ambitions of the sages and try to find my own way?

"Sir, you are right. How can we know if it is possible without trying?" Zhang Zhiping bowed again and said respectfully, "I hope you can let me follow you and listen to your teachings from time to time, so as to find a way to bring peace to the world."

When three people walk together, there must be one who is my teacher.

Although you are older, your knowledge and ideas are deeper than mine, so I naturally recognize you as my teacher.

"Haha, no need! My way is not peace, and if we are on different paths, we cannot make plans together!" Lin Chen laughed and rejected his request, then said, "But if you really want to find a way to peace, maybe you can go to Jiangling to have a look."

"Why is that?" Everyone was stunned when they heard this.

Lin Chen smiled lightly and did not reply, but stood up: "The rain has stopped, I should go, I hope to see you again in the future."

Just when everyone didn't react, Lin Chen jumped and walked out of the temple gate.

"Sir, wait!" Zhang Zhiping and others were stunned and hurriedly chased after him.

When I opened the temple door, I saw that the clouds had cleared and the moon was bright. There was no one in front of the temple, as if everything just now was an illusion.

"This!"

A cry of surprise woke up Zhang Zhiping and others. Looking back, they saw a man in black pointing at an empty space, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

Everyone was shocked because the place he pointed to was exactly where the young man in white had just started a fire.

There were burning flames, hay all over the ground, and half-burned firewood, but now all of this has disappeared, leaving only a small empty space.

"Immortal!" Everyone knelt down, thinking it was an immortal, and exclaimed.

Only two people were still standing on the field, with the bright moon in the sky reflected in their eyes, as bright as stars.

One was Zhang Zhiping, the former prime minister of Daqian, and the other was a black-clothed boy called Xiaowu.

"To know by studying things, to seek the truth by practicing, as long as everyone's heart is kind, can we have eternal peace..."

"What does arithmetic have to do with the master..."

The cool breeze after the rain passed through the long forest and brushed across the faces of the two people.

Many times, the turning point of history often happens in an inadvertent little thing, in an inconspicuous place, and the people who experienced it at the time often don't notice it.

Only many years later, when people look back on history, they will suddenly realize that it was at this moment that the world changed.

So who knows, in this ancient temple, the scene where they met the young man in white like a dream, will it become a famous turning point in history in the future?

We are all creating history, and no one knows whether they will become a person in history.

So sometimes, thinking about it, it is quite exciting.

——

Hundreds of years later, when future generations read historical records, they accidentally found a broken ancient book, which clearly wrote a past.

[Wild History]

In the late Qian Qian period and the beginning of the Xia Dynasty, the Confucian sages and the Taiping Dao master met a strange man in the wilderness.

His white clothes were whiter than snow, he was as graceful as a swimming dragon, and he looked like an immortal.

The two were fascinated by him, so they talked with him and found that he knew astronomy, geography, and changes in ancient and modern times, and they couldn't help but admire him.

During the conversation, the strange man sighed: "The changes throughout the ages are nothing but human hearts!"

The two were shocked and stood up and bowed down, asking for the way to peace.

The strange man smiled and said: "Investigate things to gain knowledge, and verify to seek the truth. Since ancient times, we have only heard of the sages seeking the truth. How can we get the truth from others? You should be strong."

The two begged again and again, and the strange man pointed to the south: "There is purple air in the southeast, covering Yunmeng Lake."

Then it dispersed with the wind. When everyone saw it, they thought that the ancient sages and true immortals came to the world to guide all living beings. They bowed to the ground and worshiped, and then went down to Jiangling.

In July, the hottest time, on a midsummer night, there was a purple star moving, shining in the middle of the sky, and then the star fell into the lake, shocking the world.

The changes throughout the ages have been born since then, because there is a law from heaven, descending to the world!