roccoschili Chapter 547 Xiao Wang
Chapter 547 Xiao Wang
Wang Wen sat opposite Li Chengqian, leaning forward slightly with his hands awkwardly placed on his knees. When he heard the question raised by His Majesty, he felt his head buzzing and his mind went blank in an instant. For a moment he had no idea how to answer.
Before this, he was just an ordinary boy from the countryside. He thought that the ideas he had pondered in the fields and under the oil lamp were just childish thoughts that were not worth mentioning. He never expected that these ideas would arouse such strong interest from His Majesty.
His cheeks flushed crimson instantly, and he lowered his head slightly. With a hint of embarrassment in his voice, he stammered, "Your Majesty, to be honest, these are just some random thoughts I had when I was bored. I'm not sure whether they're right or wrong."
As Wang Wen spoke, he secretly raised his eyes, glanced at Li Chengqian's expression, and then quickly lowered his head.
Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian did not respond immediately. Instead, he reached out and slowly picked up the stack of papers again, gently smoothing out the wrinkles on the papers. With a deep gaze, he read them again word by word.
The handwriting on the paper is crooked, but it carries Wang Wen’s thoughts.
Among these contents, what really touched Li Chengqian deeply was not those seemingly beautiful words such as "everyone is equal", which have long been on the lips of countless people and have become almost a formality.
After all, although these words sound nice, most people just talk about them, and few people can really explore the profound meaning behind them.
What really moved Li Chengqian was Wang Wen’s in-depth thinking on the origin of the concept of “the world belongs to the public” in subsequent chapters.
Wang Wen believes that if the ideal state of "all under heaven for all" is to be truly achieved, those in power must make huge sacrifices that are even unimaginable to ordinary people.
Among them, what he said, “Good fortune and misfortune do not affect relatives and friends”, seems to be a simple sentence, but it contains extremely profound meaning.
In the secular concept, when a person finally gains power, he will naturally think of using this power to promote his relatives and friends so that they can also benefit from it and live a rich and comfortable life together. This seems to be the most normal human nature and has been the way people have been accustomed to for thousands of years.
However, Wang Wen realized from a unique perspective that this seemingly logical behavior actually runs counter to the original intention of "the world belongs to all".
Because once those in power use their power to seek personal gain for their relatives and friends, the distribution of resources will lose fairness and deviate from the track of fairness, justice and equality advocated by "the world belongs to all".
Furthermore, as people grow older and enter their twilight years, out of love and responsibility for their descendants, they often hope to pass on the wealth, status and various resources they have accumulated throughout their lives to their descendants without reservation.
But Wang Wen believes this also contradicts the ideal of "all under heaven for all," as it leads to an intergenerational monopoly of resources, making it difficult for others to obtain equal development opportunities and thus undermining social justice.
In Wang Wen's understanding, "the world belongs to the public" is essentially in conflict with certain inherent desires and tendencies in human nature.
It is natural for human nature to favor and protect relatives and one's own interests, but "the world belongs to all" requires those in power to abandon this preference, put the interests of the people of the world first, and achieve absolute fairness and justice.
This is undoubtedly a huge challenge to human nature. If one wants to truly practice this concept, one must have a selfless mind beyond that of ordinary people.
It was Wang Wen's penetrating and profound thinking that deeply touched Li Chengqian's heart.
During Li Chengqian's many years of political career, he had seen countless people and events and heard too much empty talk, but few people could have such a profound insight into the essence of "the world belongs to the public", that is, to realize this concept, it is inevitable to touch the interests of the upper class.
It is precisely because of this that, for thousands of years, the beautiful slogan “putting people first” has often only remained on people’s lips, becoming empty talk that could never be truly implemented.
After all, in the face of real interests, who would be willing to give up the benefits they have worked hard for to benefit the people of the world?
The resistance faced in this process is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Li Chengqian slowly put down the paper in his hand, his eyes revealing emotion, and his heart could not calm down for a long time.
He looked at Wang Wen.
"What you said is far more than just random thoughts. These are profound and insightful reflections that truly impress me."
Then he leaned forward slightly and asked, "Young man, what's your name?"
"Your Majesty, my name is Wang Wen."
Wang Wen answered truthfully. He straightened his back and unconsciously clenched his hands on his knees, as if this could calm him down.
Li Chengqian nodded slightly, a smile of appreciation on his face. He exclaimed, "Wen, this name is very good! Literature carries the truth and has profound meaning. I hope you can live up to your name and use your talents and knowledge to benefit the people of the world."
After a brief pause, he said affectionately, "Wang Wen, from now on I will call you Little Wang. Please don't mind. This way of addressing you seems more intimate."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" When Wang Wen heard this, he suddenly felt an indescribable feeling of flattery in his heart.
In his imagination, His Majesty should be high above, like the unreachable sun, emitting an awe-inspiring light.
But the Majesty in front of him at this moment was so kind and amiable, like an elder next door, which was completely different from his original imagination. This made him both surprised and a little overwhelmed.
Li Chengqian looked at Wang Wen gently and continued, "From what I've read, your original intention was to hope that the court would reform your hometown and improve the lives of the people there."
"But why was it later changed to include all villages in Datang being renovated at once?"
"You must have your own considerations for this, so why not tell me about it?"
Hearing Li Chengqian's question, Wang Wen frowned slightly and fell into a moment of contemplation.
The dilapidated houses, muddy roads and the faces of the villagers who worked hard but were still in poverty in his hometown emerged in his mind. At the same time, countless villages along the way in the vast land of the Tang Dynasty, which were waiting for improvement like his hometown, also emerged in his mind.
After thinking for a moment, he raised his head.
"Your Majesty, I wonder if the imperial court will only reform my hometown. What about the many other villages in the Tang Dynasty?"
"As fellow citizens of the Tang Dynasty, they also yearn for a good life and deserve the support of the imperial court's policies."
"If we only favor my hometown and ignore other villages, this really goes against the concept of 'the world belongs to all.'"
"In my opinion, if we are going to carry out reforms, it would be better to wait until the court has sufficient financial resources and include all villages in the reform scope so that all people in the world can benefit equally."
At this point, Wang Wen lowered his head slightly, his voice filled with sincerity, "Your Majesty, I naturally hope that my hometown can become better as soon as possible, so that my parents and fellow villagers can live a prosperous life."
"But I can't just take care of my own family and ignore the people in thousands of other villages."
"We are all one family. We should share joys and sorrows and develop together."
Li Chengqian looked at Wang Wen intently, his admiration for the young man's broad mind growing stronger. He then asked, "Little Wang, how old are you this year?"
Wang Wen quickly raised his head and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, I will be of age next year."
"Is that so?" Li Chengqian responded softly. Just as he was about to speak again, a crisp knock on the door suddenly broke the silence in the side hall.
"Your Majesty, the time has come. It's time to go out and meet with other representatives of the people!"
Qin Ruzhao's voice came from outside the door. Qin Ruzhao was in charge of receiving the people from Tibet Road. He had been busy today, patiently listening to the people's requests and recording their expectations.
At this moment, as soon as he finished the tasks at hand, he immediately rushed forward on the orders of Grand Tutor Qi to remind His Majesty to pay attention to the time.
"Ruzhao, you've come at the right time. Come in!" Li Chengqian said loudly.
Qin Ruzhao gently pushed open the door and walked steadily into the hall.
The simple-looking rural youth was having a great time chatting with Li Chengqian. He quickly bowed respectfully to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty!"
"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded slightly. Then, turning his gaze to Wang Wen, a glint in his eyes, he asked, "Little Prince, there's an embassy from the Tang Dynasty that's leaving for India at the beginning of spring."
"I see that you have extraordinary vision and a broad mind. Would you be willing to go with me and bring glory to the Tang Dynasty?"