Reform Through Labor No. 31

  Things in this world are often like dreams, and everything experienced is like a dream scene. Only when the dream is over can one clearly realize whether these things are real or just a dream. Therefore, to understand whether it's a dream or not, pain is produced.

  Su Ning is now indeed somewhat suspicious of whether he is a butterfly or Zhuang Zhou, because when he pinches his thigh, he can't feel any pain! This is a very serious problem, either he's paralyzed from the waist down, or he's dreaming.

  The state of Zhuangzi is indeed elegant, waking up from a dream and feeling happy, even doubting whether he himself is human. He often thinks he's a fish, a bird, or a tree, such a state is truly elegant! Later generations commented that Laozi's realm is not as good as Zhuangzi's, Laozi doesn't want to be without action, but uses the name of being without action to achieve the reality of having action. Zhuangzi is the true Daoist, understanding the natural principles of Daoism and transcending the mundane world, to the point where he can't even tell whether he's a butterfly or a human.

  "Three bright, three bright, it hurts so much! It hurts so much! Let go quickly!"

  What's this noise?

  Su Ning turned his head and suddenly saw Chang Sun Chong's big face close to his own, his facial expression twisted, his entire face flushed red, as if he had experienced some kind of painful thing! Let go? What does that mean? Did Chang Sun Chong also appear in his dream? Would he also turn into a butterfly?

  "Second goods, how are you also in my dream?" Su Ning said expressionlessly. Chang Sun Chong asked with a painful face: "San Ming, what dream? You didn't sleep well last night? Ah, hurry up and let go, my leg hurts!" Su Ning lowered his head to look, and suddenly became embarrassed, his hand was actually pinching Chang Sun Chong's thigh...

  It's no wonder I didn't feel any pain. Suning relaxed his hand and put it back on his own leg, twisting it with force...

  "Ahh!!!"

  Su Ning finally confirmed that he was a human, not a butterfly, and would not transform into a butterfly to reenact the legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The intense pain brought him back to his senses, and afterwards, he couldn't help but lament that his endurance was still lacking. After all, he was only going to be taken to Chang'an to meet the great Emperor Taizong of Tang, so why did he have such a confused feeling about whether he was a butterfly or a human?

  This morning, the imperial envoy arrived early, still a dead eunuch, reading out Li Er's sacred decree in a gloomy and strange tone, which was an order for the army to withdraw. The victory of the army had already been known by Li Er, who was extremely happy and insisted on heavily rewarding the meritorious generals and soldiers. He also ordered Li Jing and other high-ranking generals, as well as Su Ning, Su Lie, and Changsun Chong, the three great contributors, to enter the palace for an audience with His Majesty, who personally granted them rewards.

  Su Ning was suddenly stunned, he himself had to see Li Er, he himself had to see Tang Taizong, he himself had to see Li Shimin! Li Shimin! Li Shimin! Li Shimin!

  Stumbling back to the tent, Suning began to suspect whether he was a butterfly or human. All of this came too suddenly, and it was too overwhelming. Suning hadn't even prepared himself before it happened. But this wasn't an unusual occurrence either. What about Ge Dage? He was eating hot pot and singing songs when he fell into the water with a splash, and when he woke up, he had become a thief.

  Besides, Suning also had a barbecue feast for over 30,000 people of Tujia ethnic group.

  "It's good that you've come to your senses on your own, otherwise Lao would have had to slap you awake. You're also like this when the Yin Mountain was burned down, and when Jili was trampled underfoot, and even when Jili's uncle was killed and blood splattered onto your head, but as soon as you hear that you're going to meet the Emperor, you become like this?"

  Su Ning raised his head to see Li Jing sitting beside him, speaking to him, and Li Shimin standing in front of him, looking at him. Alright, the two big shots were paying so much attention to him, Su Ning indeed felt a warmth in his heart: "As for what Huren thinks, there are only two strategies, one is to let him live, and the other is to let him die; it's very simple. However, when dealing with people from the Great Tang, I couldn't help but feel anxious, especially Your Majesty. To say that I'm not excited would be a lie, I indeed have some trepidation in my heart."

  Li Shimin smiled slightly: "That's right! This is what a normal young man should be like. You don't have to worry, His Majesty has a broad mind and can tolerate even past enemies, let alone you, a young hero? His Majesty likes young heroes like you the most. As long as you are loyal to the country, fame and fortune will not be lacking for you. It's just that I didn't quite understand the two strategies you mentioned for dealing with the Hu people. Can you explain them in detail?"

  Su Ning glanced at Li Shimin and then said: "There are two roads, one is to surrender obediently to the control of the Great Tang, become a child of the Great Tang, do hard labor to atone for your crimes, and live; the second road is to become an enemy of the Great Tang, oppose the Great Tang, and die."

  Li Jing and Li Shiming were slightly startled, but Changsun Chong didn't think much of it and asked instead: "Sanming, what do you mean by 'doing hard labor to atone for one's crimes'?"

  Su Ning said: "These barbarians have taken advantage of the chaos in China for many years, invading our country when it was powerless to resist. They have committed countless atrocities and brought immense suffering to the people on the border. From old to young, their hands are stained with the blood of our Tang Dynasty citizens. Can you swallow this hatred and not seek revenge?"

  Chang Sun furrowed his brow: "In the past, I also heard my father mention it. This is indeed very hateful, but we have never had a good solution. The best way is to defeat them and make them surrender."

  Su Ning shook his head: "What's the use of surrendering and paying tribute? These barbarians only recognize swords, if your military strength is stronger than theirs, they will submit, but one day when you decline, they will turn back and bite you fiercely. The Western Jin Dynasty is a lesson! So, for them, the best method is actually to exterminate them all, my master also thinks so, for uncivilized barbarians, the best method is to exterminate them all!"

  At this point, Suning showed a murderous aura. The old man's theory was like that, he deeply hated and resented the Hu people, including the current Hu people - Japanese, Indians, and so on.

  "It's not right, it's not right! Too much killing is an inauspicious sign. As a general, you must never delight in slaughter, or else you will surely bring disaster upon future generations! This time, burning down the Yin Mountain, I can consider it as avenging your family and relatives for the villagers, and forgive you. However, if you continue to kill excessively, even to the point of annihilating everyone, I absolutely will not agree!"

  Su Ning said helplessly, "Uncle, don't worry, I'm still worried that killing so many people will make my hands sore! My point of view is different from my master's. I think killing them would be too cheap for them. Moreover, the repeated killings would be an unforgivable sin for those corrupt Confucians, and their constant accusations would drive me crazy!"

  I also find it ridiculous, when they kill their own people, they don't even blink an eye, but when they kill foreigners, they all become saints. How laughable! Killing foreigners, I have no qualms about it at all. As for killing foreigners, the more the better, the more ruthless you are, the more they will fear you, dread you, and obey your commands, rather than relying on so-called benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and sincerity!

  Regarding the saying that killing too many people will bring retribution, Su Ning thinks that only when you kill your own kind excessively will you suffer retribution. Killing enemies excessively is heroic, for example, Genghis Khan and his ilk were savage and bloodthirsty, but in their era, which was the Mongolian era, how many people did they kill? Didn't Genghis Khan live a good life until he died of old age? Did he suffer retribution? His descendants have become a nation, and the women this old lecher slept with are countless, didn't they also live well?

  As for the prosperity and decline, it is a principle, the trend of world development. The victory of farming nations over barbarian nations is the trend of the world. It's just that China is extremely sad, the Ming Dynasty did not withstand the last madness of the nomadic nation, pulling the Chinese nation into an abyss, until today it still hasn't recovered; so killing more enemies is a good thing, not a bad thing! However, Suning naturally has other ideas.

  "Of course, the sins they have committed cannot be ended with just one sword or one knife. They should pay everything they can to atone for their sins. My Great Tang has corvée labor, and when war breaks out, corvée labor will inevitably become complicated. For the people, the hard-won opportunity for rest and rejuvenation is gone. The population of the Great Tang is sparse, and it is precisely the time when we need to rest and rejuvenate to increase the population. Corvée labor has greatly affected the problem of increasing population and taxation."

  So why don't we solve this problem? The captured prisoners are either killed or released, what a waste! These are all free labor forces! The grassland barbarians are strong and powerful, they are excellent labor forces, these people can be used to replace the common people to undertake corvee, the common people only need to focus on farming, having children, reading books, living, in this way, national peace and prosperity will not be a dream, but will come true.

  We launched the war for the survival of our nation, but after we won, why didn't we take what we should have gotten? We won, their things are ours, and we have the right to enjoy everything they have! Including their people! Especially these prisoners, such as the more than 50,000 captured this time, regardless of whether they are old or female or sick, can be used for corvee labor, which can alleviate the burden on so many civilians.

  Uncle, second goods, think about it. If we win more and more battles in the Great Tang Dynasty, and there are more and more captives, then the number of captives can completely afford all the projects and wars that the Great Tang Dynasty needs to undertake. We can abolish the corvee labor of the Great Tang Dynasty! What kind of merit is this? The people don't have to bear the burden of corvee labor, the people will be grateful to the Great Tang Dynasty, and the dream of the Great Tang Dynasty for ten thousand years is not a dream? If we gain more benefits from war instead of one-sided financial losses, how many people will oppose war?

  Suning finished speaking and felt a bit thirsty, so he picked up his cup and took a sip of water. When he put down the cup, he saw that the three men were all staring at him with the same stunned expression. Probably what he said was beyond their imagination! This is also because the self-importance of the Celestial Empire makes it difficult for these people to understand and accept such ideas. They think this is bullying the weak, but the benefits of doing so are too great! Exemption from corvée labor! What a benevolent government this is! It's enough to shine for all eternity!

  Li Shimin swallowed hard and said: "This method is good, but I'm afraid it's difficult for the imperial court to accept!"

  Su Ning shook his head helplessly: "Of course it's not good to say it bluntly, but we can put it another way!"

  "Put it another way?" The three were curious babies.

  Su Ning nodded: "Yes! In other words, it's called labor reform!"