Chapter 214 Gods, Buddhas, Immortals and Saints
After finishing a bowl of fried noodles, Chen Gu walked slowly on the street, accompanied by Bai Yunqing, and several guards followed him about a meter behind.

"It's not easy for ordinary people to survive!" Chen Gu sighed as he looked at the bustling people on the streets.

Bai Yunqing thought about it and said with a wry smile: "In life, few people can live an easy life. It's just that everyone has their own sufferings."

"That's true, but no matter how hard it is, people have to survive first. It doesn't matter if it's a little hard, there has to be hope. Otherwise, once people get desperate, they will do something, and no one can predict what they will do.

For example, things like the bones of nobles being trampled on the streets and the heads of the powerful being hung at the gates are very likely to happen again.

In fact, it seems that this kind of thing has happened since Huang Chao. Every time there is a chaos in the world, although ordinary people are definitely the ones who die the most, the powerful and wealthy are not much better off.

You said that Li Shimin had already said that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Why didn't later generations learn from this lesson?

History always repeats itself in cycles. At the beginning of a dynasty, it is always full of vigor and ambition, followed by a period of prosperity. But after that, it often takes a sharp turn for the worse, and then another round of chaos falls on the world.

Everyone knows that the chaos in the world is caused by the powerful annexing land and leaving the common people with no way to survive, but human greed and selfishness will always lead people to rush down a dead end from which there is no return. "

Bai Yunqing sighed and said, "When the situation is set, there is no way for one person to reverse it. In that situation, if you don't fight for it, others will fight for it. When chaos comes, you will probably become a fish on the chopping board."

Chen Gu nodded. It was indeed true. Everyone was arguing about it, so how could you be the only one to be included?

“So, we should put an end to the annexation of land from the beginning, directly take the land back to the court, and then distribute it equally to the people.

In this way, even if there is not enough land to go around due to population growth, everyone will know what is going on. Since there is not enough land to go around, we can just find a way to solve it!" Chen Gu said with a smile.

Bai Yunqing asked in astonishment: "Can the problem of too many people and too little land be solved?"

"Why can't it be solved?" Chen Gu raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Since everyone knows the problem, there are too many people and too little land, why not just solve the problem?

If there are too many people, then we should find ways to reduce the population; if there is too little land, then we should find ways to increase the land. There does not seem to be a conflict between reducing the population and increasing the land, and they can even be done at the same time.

What a simple solution! "

Bai Yunqing was stunned when he heard this, but when he thought about it, it was indeed true. When there are many people and little land, launching a foreign war is a natural thing to do.

"This is not in line with the way of a saint!" Bai Yunqing thought for a while and said.

"Saint?!" Chen Jue couldn't help but smile and asked, "Who do you think is the most powerful among gods, Buddhas, immortals, and saints?"

"This~!" Bai Yunqing was speechless for a moment.

"I've heard a story. It is said that after Sakyamuni went into the mountains and practiced hard for eight years, he suddenly realized the truth. He then pointed to the sky with one hand and to the earth with the other, and said: 'I am the only one who is supreme in heaven and on earth.' Do you think the 'I' in Sakyamuni refers to himself or to the Buddha?" asked Chen Gu.

Chen Gu himself had forgotten where he heard this story, but because of the answer, he remembered the story firmly.

"This~!" Bai Yunqing frowned and thought for a while, then replied: "I am stupid and don't know!" "Man, the 'Wu' in Sakyamuni refers to man. He went into the mountains for eight years and comprehended all things in the world. Finally, he came to the conclusion that man is the most respected existence in this world!" said Chen Gu.

"And the so-called saint is just a human being. As a human being, he will definitely have joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. When he has joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, he will be swayed by his own emotions, which will lead to some wrong judgments.

In other words, no one can be perfect and will definitely make mistakes, even saints. There will always be some great people in history who can serve as our role models.

There are many things we can learn from them, but it is impossible for us to learn everything from a person, even if that person is a saint.

Everything should be adapted to local conditions and times. If the teachings of the sages could truly last forever, then China should not have suffered any suffering, let alone such endless suffering.

The reason why dynasties keep changing, with a change of dynasty occurring every two or three hundred years at most, can only mean that the way of the saints is wrong, at least some of it is wrong. "Chen Gu said.

Bai Yunqing frowned and asked, "What does the leader think is right?"

"I don't know, but I know that if I'm wrong, I have to admit it and correct it. So, even if I make a mistake 10,000 times, it doesn't matter. I just have to correct it. But if I just blindly worship the way of the saints, even if the saints are right 99% of the time, one mistake that is not corrected is enough to overturn everything!"

Chen Gu thought for a moment and continued, "Just like these vendors in front of us, it is not easy for them to survive, so we should naturally open up the market and allow them to set up stalls to earn some profits to supplement their family income.

But we can't just sit there and do nothing, otherwise they will occupy the streets and block traffic. But we can't just drive them away, otherwise we will inevitably face their opposition.

Moreover, the existence of these small stalls shows that there is a demand in the market, so we cannot simply ban them outright.”

"What does the leader mean?" Bai Yunqing asked.

Chen Gu raised his eyebrows and said, “It’s not what I meant, but you should solve this problem. Municipal administration is within your jurisdiction.

The needs of the people need to be met, traffic must be unobstructed, and so many small vendors cannot be allowed to lose their livelihoods.

As for what needs to be done, you have to come up with a solution.

Remember, as the head of a province, every decree of yours will be imitated and implemented by the prefectures, counties, and even every town below. A small mistake may very likely cause countless people to suffer.

So, you must be careful."

Bai Yunqing smiled bitterly and said, "I will come up with a solution that satisfies both sides, but can the provincial government officials increase the number of quotas as appropriate?"

"I don't disagree with you increasing the number of staff, right?" Chen Gu was a little surprised and said, "You can decide how many people you need. Just remember to file with the Organization Department when the time comes. You can also consider the salary as appropriate."

Bai Yunqing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that. It would be great if there were more people.

(End of this chapter)