The people of Zheng gathered in the village schools to discuss the government. Ran Ming asked the minister Zichan: “What if we destroy the village schools?” Zichan answered: “Why? People come there morning and evening to discuss whether the government is good or bad. What they approve of, I carry out. What they dislike, I change. They are my teachers.”
“I have heard of reducing resentment by loyalty and goodness. I have not heard of preventing resentment by a show of power.” Stopping the talk, he said, would be like damming a river. A great break would harm many people. Better to let a little water out and to hear their words as medicine. (Zuo Zhuan)