A Bold Idea (Continued)

Si Ming looked at Xiao Xuan and said, "However, given my master's ambition, I'm afraid he won't be content to remain hidden in the pond forever."

This is a paradox: a true dragon can manage a small country well, and if it settles down, it can govern the small country into a heavenly kingdom on earth. However, a true dragon also yearns for a wider world. A small pond cannot hold it, but once it jumps into a wider river or sea, the dragon's might is not enough to cover every corner.

Of course, there was an even bigger problem before that: small countries can't raise true dragons, and Xiao Xuan's situation can only be described as a special case over thousands of years.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuan chuckled but did not reply.

Si Ming took it as tacit agreement and continued, "Even Mohist cannot remain pure forever; they too can be corrupted. There have been instances of betrayal against Mohism in history."

Xiao Xuan's smile faded, "There is no such thing as betraying the Mohist school in this world. Once you join the Mohist School, you either become Mohist or a Mohist ghost; there is no third option."

Si Ming thought back and realized that was indeed the case; he had confused the histories of the two sides.

In the past, Mozi's disciple Sheng Chuo betrayed the Mohist School righteousness. When he served under Xiang Ziniu invaded the territory of Lu State three times, and Sheng Chuo followed him all three times because he valued fame and fortune more than benevolence and righteousness. Mozi had no choice but to send another disciple Gao Sunzi, to ask Xiang Sheng Chuo to dismiss Xiang Ziniu and not let him serve as an official. Xiang Ziniu, fearing the power of the Mohist School, agreed. Afterwards, Mozi announced that Sheng Chuo would be expelled from the Mohist ranks.

To deal with traitors who betrayed the Mohist School, the Mozi on Earth could only punish them by depriving them of their merits and removing them from the school. But the Mozi on the Sea Continent was much simpler: he simply took his sword and beheaded the traitor.

The Mohist School advocated universal love and non-aggression, and sympathized with the common people. As a result, many people believe that the Mohist School were benevolent and compassionate, and that they were a saintly organization. This perception is undoubtedly wrong. Just look at the chapter on defending cities in the Mohist Canon. It frequently involves beheadings. The military discipline is clearly written, and it even includes punishments such as exterminating three generations of a family, hanging, and dismemberment. Reading the whole book, it is comparable to the tyranny of Jie and Zhou.

For example, if the enemy uses fire to attack and your own house is on fire, soldiers cannot go to save it on their own. Otherwise, the Mohist will turn around and kill you. They will not allow you to disrupt the morale of the army.

The Mohist defend their cities not through clever strategies, but through strict military discipline and strong organization. The Mohist team is the same; don't think that the Mohist School discipline is just for show. Especially in this world with extraordinary martial prowess, as long as the chosen Grandmaster is not Māra in disguise, the discipline can be passed down from generation to generation, maintaining the purity of the team.

Xiao Xuan said, "The problem of bureaucrats is deeply entrenched and difficult to change. Even if we clean them all out, we still can't correct the prevailing atmosphere because people's perception of bureaucrats is already fixed. For example, if someone becomes an official and is incorruptible, his family will ask him, 'Why can't you become rich and powerful even though you're an official?' 'Why don't you seek benefits for your relatives and friends?' 'Everyone else does it, why don't you do it?' 'Are you stupid?'"

Besides family, there are also colleagues, because the officialdom has developed a culture where bad money drives out good. For example, if everyone else takes a cut of a sum of money, even the leaders, and you don't, then they will exclude you, suppress you, and leave you no way out. Once you take it, once you take that step, it's hard to turn back.

Even if a sage were to be resurrected, he would be powerless against these bureaucrats, unable and without any means to reform them. Therefore, I do not intend to reform them, but rather to replace them with the Mohist.

In people's minds, Mohist are the epitome of poverty, enduring extreme hardship. Although this perception is wrong, it doesn't prevent me from using this point. For example, holding banquets is now a necessary procedure. When officials attend banquets, no one will make a fuss about it. But Mohist attend banquets, it is considered extravagant and wasteful, violating the principle of 'frugality,' and they must be held accountable.

When someone becomes an official, relatives and friends will press him about why he didn't become wealthy and powerful, but they won't ask a Mohist the same question. This is the established impression; everyone knows that if you want wealth and power, don't become Mohist.

Si Ming revealed a thoughtful expression. Using preconceived notions to deal with preconceived notions was indeed a good idea. In his previous life, there was no organization with a good reputation like the Mohist School. All political parties and organizations were corrupted by power and money, becoming as black as crows. Perhaps there were honest individuals, but no honest organizations.

At present, the bureaucratic class in Su State has not deteriorated to the point of no return. In Si Ming's previous life, when people heard that someone was an honest official, their first thought was to question it, and their second thought was that this person must be incompetent and a mediocre official. Some people even shouted that they would rather have a corrupt official than an honest one, because corrupt officials can still take money and do things, while honest officials cannot do things.

In fact, whether an official is honest or corrupt has no direct relation to his ability to get things done. However, the fact that the atmosphere has deteriorated to this point is the result of the efforts of many people with ulterior motives. As a result, when it was revealed that a certain bureau chief was arrested for embezzling five million yuan, people shouted that he was an honest official and must have been attacked by his political enemies.

This is truly a deeply entrenched problem, beyond redemption.

However, a good idea doesn't guarantee smooth implementation. Si Ming shook his head and said, "If letting the Mohist govern could solve the problem of corruption, why doesn't the Su State do that? In the end, there are too few Mohist. There's only one out of every five hundred. Even if they were all put into the government, it wouldn't be enough. Not to mention, some Mohist aren't suitable to be administrative personnel."

The reason why there were few officials in ancient countries was that clerks were not included in the official count. Clerks were not officials and were not included in the government's fiscal expenditure. However, officials had to rely on a large number of clerks to do their work. In many cases, officials had to pay the salaries of clerks out of their own pockets. This is also why it was impossible for officials in ancient times not to be corrupt. If you were not corrupt, you could not afford to support so many clerks. Without enough clerks, the government's policies could not be implemented.

In modern times, officials and bureaucrats are collectively referred to as civil servants, and this ratio is quite high. In the United America, it is 1:12, in Japan it is 1:28, and in China, including those in public institutions, it is about 1:30. If temporary workers are included, the number may be even higher. However, temporary workers are not unique to China; they are common in other countries as well. China is simply adopting their practices.

"The Mystic Earth Country is small and sparsely populated, so it can fill its government agencies by absorbing Mohist from the Su State. However, once its territory expands and its population increases, there will eventually be a shortage of Mohist. If it wants to increase the number of Mohist, it can only lower the requirements. But if the requirements are lowered, the Mohist will become mixed, and it will fall into a vicious cycle of Gresham's Law."

In the past, the Su State did not choose to lower the requirements for becoming Mohist. Although this preserved the purity of the Mohist group, it also relinquished the power to govern the country. From then on, the Mohist were only responsible for the realm of thought and culture. If it weren't for the extraordinary military power in this world, they might have been squeezed out of even this realm.

Xiao Xuan smiled and said, "I have already considered this issue. I plan to set a rule to create a ceiling for all non- Mohist. For example, the top position in a local government can only be held by Mohist, and non- Mohist can never hold the highest-level administrative positions. We will use this ceiling to block them. If they want to climb up, they must become Mohist. Once they become Mohist, they will be bound by the laws and regulations of the Mohist School. Of course, the specific position restrictions are still under discussion and have not been finalized yet."

Si Ming was taken aback by Xiao Xuan's audacious idea; even as a transmigrator, he hadn't had such a wild imagination.

The Mohist have very high moral standards. Even the laws of the Su State include a note explaining what kind of punishment Mohist would receive for committing the same crime, and in most cases, the punishment would be more severe. Becoming Mohist can bring fame, the trust of others, and stronger constraints.

Reputation and trust are illusory and originate from the Mohist group, having nothing to do with the individual. Now, Xiao Xuan has added a personal benefit: becoming Mohist allows him to climb higher in the officialdom, and there are also implicit benefits to rising faster. After all, it is definitely easier for the top leader to accumulate political achievements than for other positions.

As a result, some people will inevitably try to become Mohist for this political benefit. However, becoming Mohist means being shackled and having to say goodbye to a life of luxury and debauchery. In any case, Mohist School judge by actions, not intentions. As long as you abide by the rules of Mohist School for your entire life, you are a qualified Mohist. Whether you are a hidden ambitious person or not is not important.

For example, you can shout the slogan "Let the rich get rich first and then help the poor get rich later," but the premise is that you and your family must become the poorer ones. This is the moral principle of the Mohist.

Xiao Xuan used this rule to forcefully separate a good life from a higher political status, telling others that one cannot have both fish and bear's paw, and can only choose one.

Si Ming's mouth went dry for a moment. "But, but if that happens, those officials who are unwilling to give up their comfortable lives and want to climb higher will definitely unite to deal with the Mohist who is in charge, and even try to undermine him."

Xiao Xuan said indifferently, "It's a matter of ability. Even without this rule, there's no shortage of infighting in officialdom. Being sidelined only shows a lack of ability. If you can't even win one faction over another, there's no point in taking on such a difficult task."

Si Ming scratched his head, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He had never been in officialdom and had no relevant experience, so he didn't know what kind of countermeasures those bureaucrats would take. But from the perspective of ordinary people, they would naturally welcome this policy with open arms. After all, the vast majority of people don't have a relative in an official position, and even from the perspective of most civil servants, it seems there is no reason to oppose it.

To say that civil servants are all like parents to their children would be a different story. Those civil servants who work themselves to the bone at the grassroots level would definitely disagree. They live in the envious eyes of others, unable to complain about their hardships. Without connections or background, they can only rise two ranks at most in their entire lives. Whose position is the top leader, and what does it have to do with them?

Conversely, for those who have no background or connections but are ambitious, becoming Mohist might be a good way to break through their limitations. Not everyone enjoys pleasure; there are many who only care about political achievements, refuse bribes, and avoid any behavior that might tarnish their reputation, all while dreaming of a meteoric rise to power.

Xiao Xuan's methods sound somewhat naive and wishful thinking, but they seem feasible. In any case, given Si Ming's political acumen, he cannot predict future developments. However, from the perspective of those "victims," if they cannot come up with a way to resist this policy, then the final choice is to overthrow it.

Throughout history, the only examples we can learn from are the phrase "the regime ends with the death of its leader."

However, this approach is feasible on Earth. Even if the other party has high prestige and cannot be confronted directly, one can choose to endure and wait until the other party dies before launching an attack. But in a world with extraordinary martial arts, this method is difficult to implement. Just as those officials disliked the existence of the Heaven's Will Palace, they were still powerless against it.

Even if we're comparing lifespans, Xiao Xuan, as a Nascent Spirit Transformation, could live at least another hundred years. Moreover, after cultivating the "Supreme Plain Decay True Scripture" and breaking through the limitations of a mortal body, even Si Ming doesn't know how long he can live. Perhaps the grandsons of his political enemies will have died of old age while Xiao Xuan is still alive and kicking on the stage.

"Your ideas are amazing. I can't imagine what the future will hold. But as a Chinese citizen, I also look forward to a strong nation, peaceful times, and stability in all directions. I hope that we can truly usher in a day of peace, prosperity, and a golden age. If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask, Master Uncle."

Si Ming sincerely admires people who have both lofty ideals and strong execution capabilities.

Xiao Xuan smiled and said, "Now that you've become a member of the Heaven's Will Palace, your ability to grow up safely is the greatest help you can give me."

The two chatted for a while longer until Si Ming noticed that the fox spirit Hu Xinyue was showing an impatient expression that said, "Hurry up and leave!" He immediately realized that there was still a lot of official business waiting for his master to handle, so he said goodbye.

Before seeing them off, Xiao Xuan thought for a moment and then said, "You must be careful of the Holy Maiden."

"Saintess Tu Wangyue? Is there something wrong with her?"

Si Ming recalled the incident but couldn't find anything wrong with the other party. During the election at the Heaven's Will Palace, the other party had even spoken up for him, and his words and actions were all fair.

Xiao Xuan said in a deep voice, "I suspect that she may have played a dishonorable role in the reason why I was framed and imprisoned back then."