Alien Knights

A conversation between two old men and a young man lasted for three hours.

To be more precise, most of the time was the conversation between Emerson and Todd, and Cumberland just coughed to express his dissatisfaction and doubts.

"You're right. The kingdom has been established for a short period of time, and there are indeed many disadvantages. I also admit that these are facts." Listening to Earl Emerson's analysis of the monarch and power, Todd nodded and said: "To be honest, I have never been in touch with internal and foreign affairs in the past. The only knowledge I have is from books."

"No, you misunderstood me. The king should be the one who gives orders. If everything is done by himself, then such a kingdom has no future at all. Therefore, you are not wrong in terms of domestic and foreign affairs. At best, you can only say that you are useless." Emerson glanced at the nervous Cumberland and continued: "However, in terms of grasping power, I think you have some..."

"As for the evil of human nature and the centralization of the monarchy you mentioned, I can only say that I partially agree." Todd said desperately recalling the political and philosophical theories he had heard during his teaching, and after thinking hard.

Emerson raised his eyebrows: "Please tell me."

"Let me talk about the human nature you mentioned. Generally speaking, there are generally two views. One is that human nature is inherently good, and the other is that human nature is inherently evil. I personally think that these two views are somewhat biased. From birth, a person is almost a blank sheet of paper, and there is no absolute classification of good and evil. But with the encounters in the growth process and the pressure of the real environment, the thinking will gradually be biased toward self-interest or altruism."

Emerson chewed on Todd's speech carefully, and asked, "I understand the experience of growing up. What does the pressure of reality mean?"

"Most of the "evil people" who regard "selfishness above altruism" as their action strategy have not met their basic needs from the perspective of their living environment. These needs include the lowest level of physiological needs, such as food and shelter; and the second level of security needs, such as personal safety and family safety. Let me ask, who would have the awareness to talk about dedication and kindness when people are short of food and clothing and their lives are in danger?"

Emerson stroked his two mustaches with his hands, groaning silently.

Todd continued: "If the monarch simply regards the subjects as evil, and thinks that the only way to treat them is violence and deceit, instead of improving the basic living environment. Then the relationship between the king and the people will fall into a vicious circle until a revolution changes the class and hierarchy."

"So, you mean that no one is inherently evil, and those in power should try to improve the living environment of the people. Only by improving the living environment and satisfying basic needs can the citizens' self-interested tendencies be reduced and the sense of national identity enhanced?"

Todd scratched his itchy right arm, nodded and said: "This is the relationship between the monarch and the people, but when it comes to the relationship between countries, the position is completely different. There are many things about this that I don't understand myself, so I won't talk about it here. Next, I plan to talk about the centralization of power by the monarch. Earl Emerson, I know that you don't agree with my move to decentralize power."

Emerson smiled: "Looking at the history of all the kingdoms, your actions are indeed unique."

"Then I have a question first—is the king necessarily right?"

Emerson and Cumberland were taken aback by Todd's words. The latter two looked at each other, not knowing what the king meant.

Todd did not wait for their answer, but continued his speech: "I personally think that in myths and legends, novels and dramas, that kind of omnipotent leader does not exist at all. Think about it, there is a person who knows astronomy and geography, is like a holy spirit morally, and is impeccable in strategy. Such an existence can no longer be called a human being. This is a deified fictional image."

"Why does this kind of character exist? It's more because the people or the author use their own preferences, wishes, or even dreams to shape this character through rumors, poetry, literature, etc., to satisfy their own spiritual satisfaction. But what about the actual situation? Kings are also human beings, and they also have a history of growth and a learning process. Their personalities, experiences, knowledge, and preferences will affect their methods and processes of governing. But this kind of rule mixed with personal emotions often leads to irrational deviations."

Todd paused for a while, recalling the historical texts he had read: "For example, rulers who were born in the military often gravitated towards struggle; rulers who were born in literature tended to be more cultural and influential; rulers who had experience in business or production hoped to adjust the country's future direction to the economy. Can we say that any ruler's line is wrong? No, there is no way to draw conclusions at all. We can only say that a certain person is more suitable for this kingdom under certain circumstances."

Emerson looked at King Muxi and suddenly asked, "So, Your Majesty, what type of consul do you belong to?"

Hearing the other party's question, Todd lost his mind for a moment, thought for a long time, and finally said with a wry smile: "As a king, I may be more inclined to the route of technology and research."

Emerson nodded half-understood: "I see, you studied in the San Sidro Monastery for a while, and this experience must have affected you."

"A monastery? Ah, in fact... forget it, these are not important." Todd waved his hand and brought the topic back to his own train of thought: "I mean, no ruler is perfect, and they will have corresponding preferences, but the governance of a country needs to involve many fields, such as politics, economy, law, people's livelihood, technology, military, culture, etc. This requires the king to have absolutely rational emotions and extremely broad knowledge, but in fact, this is impossible. So, I said, I need to transfer part of the power to the subjects and let them Help govern the country."

Emerson thought about Todd's speech on the separation of powers, and suddenly put forward a hypothesis: "If the king is a wise monarch, he can listen to the opinions of his subjects and modify the kingdom's policies and routes according to their opinions. Then, wouldn't there be no need for separation of powers? Power is still concentrated on the king, and the ministers only need to be responsible for making suggestions and implementing them."

Todd nodded: "What you said is indeed a way. In history, there will be some wise monarchs. They have the overall view of the overall situation. They know how to listen to the principles of brightness and trust. In their hands, the kingdom is indeed steady and stronger ... But have you thought about a question? What about a man? Okay, assuming his son is also a good king, what about his grandson? "

Emerson sat on the chair, completely stunned.

Todd recalled the decline and fall of countless empires, and said in a tone of endless emotion: "It may take dozens of generations of hard work to raise a kingdom, but to destroy an empire, only one stupid king is enough."

"It may take dozens of generations of efforts to raise a kingdom, but to destroy an empire, only one foolish king is enough."

Emerson repeated King Muxi's words, but what he thought of was the hundreds of years of ups and downs in the Silver Ring Kingdom. When he thought of the disintegrated faith, the people who were slaughtered, and the city that was burned, he burst into tears and couldn't make a sound.

Cumberland was a little flustered. He didn't know where his old friend's sudden sadness came from. He persuaded him: "Emerson, there are some things that are too complicated for me to understand. But the only thing I know is that our king is a wise monarch. There is no doubt about it."

Emerson wiped his face with his sleeve, nodded and said, "You're right. Your Majesty may indeed be the first monarch in ancient times to demand that the king's power be restrained. This is not stupid, it is actually a kind of wisdom that has never been seen before."

At the end of the meeting, Cumberland took Emerson out of the headquarters of the Knights.

The latter glanced back. The tall building under the sun took out a wine bottle from his arms and threw it into the grass with his backhand. The earl said to himself: "Just use my old body to gamble again. Follow him along the way and try to see if you can really build Muxi into an unfallen empire!"