Chapter 460: Having a Sword and Not Using It vs. Not Having a Sword to Use Is Two Different Things
“Sit, come over and sit.”
Confucius seemed to have something to say, gesturing toward the seat opposite him.
Li Mo walked over and sat cross-legged.
Opportunities to discuss with Confucius were rare.
“Where are you from?”
As soon as he sat down, Confucius got straight to the point.
“I come from Qin…”
Li Mo intended to say he was from the Qin State.
But halfway through, he abruptly stopped.
Because, technically speaking, he wasn’t from this era.
“Never mind, never mind. Let’s skip that. Why don’t you tell me about the current state of affairs in the world?”
Just as he hesitated, Confucius assumed he had some unspeakable secret.
He waved his hand calmly, choosing not to pursue the topic further.
“Now there’s unity under heaven.”
Li Mo also dropped the subject and replied.
“Oh? Unified?”
Confucius looked a bit surprised, “How did that happen?”
In his time, there was constant strife among the states, and the feudal lords vied for power.
No lord would submit to another, leading to frequent skirmishes.
Confucius traveled through various states, promoting his ideals and teachings.
He hoped to persuade the rulers to adopt “moral governance” or “ritual governance” as their methods of ruling.
His ultimate goal was to achieve the great harmony where everyone respected and loved one another.
In such a world, the elderly would receive their due end, the strong would be employed,
Children would find warmth and care,
And the lonely or disabled would have support.
Men and women would find their rightful places.
There would be no deception or thieves,
People would not pick up lost items, and doors would not be locked at night.
There would be trust and mutual harmony, with the wise and capable being selected to serve.
The way of the great would prevail, and the world would be for the common good.
But unfortunately, he never realized his dream of a harmonious world before he died.
“War!”
Li Mo answered with a single word.
“To stop conflict through war, rather than through ritual and morality?”
Confucius was slightly taken aback, a hint of disappointment flashing across his face.
What he desired most was a harmonious society—
Where everyone was humble and polite, possessing excellent morals.
Not to quell disputes by violence.
“That’s not it.”
Li Mo shook his head: “Moral and ritual governance can run a country, but they can’t ensure peace.”
While Confucius’ philosophy could elevate the moral standards of the citizens, it couldn’t quell external threats.
When someone is raising their fist to hit you, you can’t just say, “Let’s reason this out,” can you?
If others were willing to reason with you, would they even hit you?
“What then is the way to ensure peace?”
Confucius asked calmly.
Although Li Mo had denied his philosophy, he remained composed.
“Strong armies, rich citizens, and deterrence through power.
If you want to build a nation and ensure peace, your military strength must be robust.
You need to intimidate external threats with your might.
There’s a saying: ‘While others store grain, I store weapons; neighbors are my granary.’
No matter how well your country develops, how rich it becomes, or how advanced the citizens’ thoughts are, what does it matter?
Without a strong military foundation and backing, it’ll just be a fattening pig.
People become the knife, while I become the fish on the chopping block.
In the end, you’ll have no power to resist and will only be slaughtered!
Confucius frowned deeply, shaking his head repeatedly: “Crude.”
Li Mo didn’t bother to argue.
“I mean, having a sword but not using it is different from not having a sword to use at all. During your travels, weren’t you carrying a sword?”
He didn’t believe that in such chaotic times, Confucius traveled through so many states without ever drawing his sword.
What would he do when encountering bandits?
Did he really just reason with them to make them leave?
Confucius’s expression changed, and he laughed heartily: “What a fine point—having a sword but not using it is different from not having one at all.”
In his earlier days, he indeed had a sword but never used it.
However!
It certainly had served as a deterrent.
Just imagine, if 3,000 Great Han soldiers drew their swords and surrounded you, would you dare to rob them?
So, Li Mo’s words left him speechless.
After all, he was a sage.
Every action and word adhered to the way of a gentleman.
A gentleman is frank and upright.
What has been done has been done; what hasn’t been done has not.
There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.
Confucius then asked, “Now tell me, which state has brought an end to the chaos, and what is it like now?”
In his time, the strongest were Qi, Chu, and Jin.
If there was any state capable of unifying the world, it should be one of these.
But Li Mo’s answer surprised him even more.
“The Qin State.”
“Qin State? How so?”
Confucius appeared somewhat astonished.
The royalty of Qin started out as caretakers of horses for the Zhou Son of Heaven.
During the reign of King Xiao of Zhou, Lord Da Luo occupied 犬丘.
The second son, Feizi, ruled for fifty years.
He managed horses in the area between the Qian and Wei rivers.
The Son of Heaven of Zhou was pleased with his horse-rearing skills and rewarded him with a parcel of land.
The ancestors of Qin began rising from this granted land.
Later, after defeating the Western Tribes and capturing 犬丘, the Son of Heaven rewarded them again.
After a century of arduous efforts,
The ancestors of Qin weathered storms and cleared thorns, gradually adapting to the harsh environment of the western frontier, growing in power day by day until they dominated the Western Tribes.
Because the founder of the Qin State originated from the northwest frontier people,
In the eyes of the Central Plains citizens, the western Qin was a land of tigers and wolves, incapable of understanding Zhou rites and norms.
This is one reason Confucius didn’t travel to Qin during his jaunts.
Because Qin didn’t care for him!
But now, an unruly land that disregarded etiquette had unified the decades of turmoil in the Central Plains!
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