No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 426 The Master of the Dynasty

“Recently I have been reading history and looking at ancient and modern military books, and I have gained quite a lot of insights and some crude opinions.

"I have a question for my junior sister, who do you think is the true master of the unified dynasty?"

"Emperor."

Xie Ling Jiang Su clenched the red leaves tightly with almost no hesitation.

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

"The royal family that controls the imperial power." She frowned and replied.

Ouyang Rong also shook his head: "That's one of them. What else is there?"

Xie Lingjiang was silent for a while, then released his palm, glanced at the red leaf in his palm, and his eyes fell on the word "Wang Xie".

She looked away, not daring to face his direct gaze:

"There are quite a lot of my tribe, distributed all over the south of the Yangtze River. Last New Year, I went back to my hometown to worship my ancestors. Among the tribesmen gathered, there were not many who were officials in the court, and there were even fewer who were high-ranking officials. Just like my father, he was idle in the countryside. Preaching and teaching does not hold authority, it just makes you famous, and the senior brother knows that..."

He bit his lip and said:

"Uncle Su and senior brother are among them, and they are both considered to have high official positions.

“It is far inferior to those powerful families in the two capitals of Guanzhong, and can only be regarded as an anointed clan.

"Although the Langya Wang family next door to Wuyi Lane has more officials in the court and higher official positions, it is not as good as the former. Moreover, many high-ranking officials in the court are not from aristocratic families. The question of senior brother..."

Ouyang Rong shook his head and interrupted:

"No, these are just appearances. Wang Xie Nenggui is the fifth surname and the seventh king. The reason is not that simple.

"Power is not important, what is really important...is the land.

"The Wang and Xie families, as well as the five surnames and Qiwang from other prominent families in the region, are the largest small group of landlords in Jiangnan and even the world. They are the spokespersons of various landlord groups in the world.

"What the powerful gentry really control is the land, but they also flaunt themselves as the home of Chinese clothes, poems, books and etiquette. Isn't the admiration for women with the five surnames in the Zhou Dynasty the product of this kind of propaganda? The celebrities and elites who came out of the five surnames and seven looks. The high reputation accumulated by the private sector in turn covers up their continued land annexation and rationalizes their exploitation.

"No matter how they are decorated, they are all landowners in essence. It is as simple as that. If the royal family is the largest landowner in the world, then the five surnames and Qiwang are the largest landowners in the world who are not inferior to the royal family.

"In the two capitals of Guan and Long, the families of the powerful, the families of the princes, and even the families of favored relatives, like the Wei family, no matter how high their official positions in the court and how prominent their names are, what's the use? It's just a temporary glory. Land is something that lasts forever.

"As far as the imperial power is concerned, the land in Guanzhong is limited. No matter how the big families who have roots in Guanzhong and the two capitals annex and divide the land, they are still doing it under the eyes of the imperial power. After being dispersed, their size is far less than that of Jiangnan and Hebei. The five surnames and seven hopes of the five major bases such as Shandong and Shandong are where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, far away from the center. How to check and balance?

"As long as there is a large area of ​​land in hand or indirectly controlled, the noble families will continue to cultivate and export elites and even Qi practitioners, and the inheritance will continue. This is the world's landlord group headed by the first five surnames and Qi Wang, which makes the royal family of this dynasty A place of deep fear.

"Except for the Qi Practitioners, the Five Surnames and the Seven Hopes really don't know how to control large armies. They can't compete with the imperial court individually. However, the annexation of land in each dynasty is an unstoppable process. The noble families are constantly growing. This is the imperial power. There is nothing we can do to stop it, not even the arrival of the Eternal Emperor, we can only try our best to postpone it.

"This is also why every dynasty was prosperous when it was first established. However, as time goes by, it becomes more bloated and decadent. It is difficult for the government to pass the decrees and it is difficult for the emperor to do anything... Because as time goes by, land annexation is serious, not only the central government has many disadvantages, but also the central government has many disadvantages. The landowners of all parties are also getting bigger and more entrenched. As one goes and the other goes down, it is naturally difficult for the imperial power to check and balance the landowners. A big landowner like the local emperor like Wu Xing Qi Wang can even secretly cede land to the king if he is dissatisfied. Resist imperial power.”

"But the imperial rulers and the big landowners are not just enemies. Most of the time, they have a cooperative relationship and are allies who jointly govern the world.

"Now let's go back to the original question, who is the master of the feudal unified dynasty?" Ouyang Rong asked himself and answered: "At this stage, it is the imperial power and the noble family."

Xie Lingjiang took a few deep breaths, only to feel the tightness in her chest. She lowered her head and looked at the light but heavy poem red leaves in her hand... The senior brother was right, this is indeed knowledge that cannot be found in books. Unheard knowledge.

Ouyang Rong suddenly chuckled: "The beauty of a unified dynasty lies in the word 'Great Unification'. With such a vast land, how can we break through this management limit when transportation and information transmission technology are so slow? How can we deal with it?" Maintaining unity at low cost?

"The foreign Confucianism and internal law that some emperors are keen to admire is just one of the tools. The real solution is that the central imperial power must also find some people who can manage the world with it and let them help manage the local areas. Only in this way can a great unification be established. Political power, and if a unified dynasty wants to be stable for a long time, it must also share power with elites from all over the dynasty.

"At this stage, what else is more suitable for this role than a noble family with land, popular support, and fame? And throughout the ages, various methods of selecting officials from local areas to the central government have actually served this purpose.

"But there is always a game between the central and local governments. How to balance the contradiction between these people and the imperial power so that they can assist the emperor in governing the world without overturning the entire imperial rule? This is what every emperor has to face. The first question...

"His Majesty in the Luoyang Court selected scholars through the imperial examination and introduced the third force of Hanshi to check and balance the noble families of the Zhou Dynasty. As for the younger junior sister, she felt that there were few people in her family who were in high positions, and the same was true The result after the game reaches a certain equilibrium.

"The same is true for the other five surnames and Qiwang. With fame, women of the five surnames are very popular. They even dismiss the olive branch of marriage between the Li and Wei royal families, but they are expensive but have no power. This is the reason...

"This kind of situation that does not threaten the imperial rule is what His Majesty, and even the previous emperors of Daqian, like to see. Although they are dissatisfied with the arrogance of the five surnames on the surface, face is not important.

"So the noble families and imperial rulers are the real masters behind the unified dynasty."

"It cannot be denied that this model does provide a certain upward path. It is indeed relatively progressive at a certain stage, but the upward path will also be turned around by those who benefit from it and try every means to monopolize it. This was also the case for the northern and southern dynasties in the previous hundreds of years. The reason why there are so many high-grade people is that there are no poor people.”

"The power of the clansmen, who were born in the Southern and Northern Dynasties for hundreds of years, was so powerful that it even survived the changes of dynasties and was passed down to the Daqian and Dazhou dynasties. The Five Surnames and Qiwang are among the strongest and tenacious representatives."

Xie Lingjiang's eyes were full of shock, and he stared blankly at the senior brother who calmly said the treacherous remarks in front of him. Sometimes he opened his mouth wide, wanting to speak, but he didn't know how to refute, so he had to slowly lower his head and look at Hongye.

She didn’t know how long she had been silently, but after digesting all this advanced knowledge, she couldn’t help but raise her head:

"Elder brother, since you are the master behind the scenes, what does it mean to say that the noble clan must perish? Isn't it reincarnation again and again? Even if the dynasty is destroyed, the noble clan can make a comeback."

Ouyang Rong said softly: "If the noble gentry wants to live forever, they can only monopolize the channels for advancement. But monopoly will inevitably bring resistance and suppress most latecomers. Among them, there will inevitably be more progressive ones who will overthrow them."

"Little Junior Sister, looking at the past and present, the group of people who cooperated with the imperial power are not eternal. In the pre-Qin Dynasty, it was the small group of princes who were in this position and helped Emperor Zhou govern the world. But now, standing here The one in the position is a noble family.

"The latter replaced the former at a certain stage in history, and the latter will eventually be replaced by the latter. The lessons learned from the past are clear to our eyes."

Xie Lingjiang immediately asked: "Who are the newcomers?"

Ouyang Rong smiled and said vaguely:

"How do I know... However, judging from the trend, maybe they are the low-income bastards in the eyes of the powerful gentry. Maybe the imperial examination may be a starting point, which can breed a larger elite group, and this group is like Just like the time when the noble families replaced the princes and nobles, they were also relatively progressive, following the tide of history, and replacing the noble families unstoppably."

Ouyang Rong suddenly smiled and pretended not to care:

"Well, it's just a crude opinion from reading history. If a family talks, it will make sense if you listen to it."

Xie Lingjiang looked disappointed, obviously he did not listen to everything the senior brother said, but believed it fully: "Elder brother means, does this definitely happen..."

"If I think..." Ouyang Rong nodded: "It's a matter of time, we can't see it far now, or even..." "Even senior brother will give me a push if he has the chance?" Xie Lingjiang asked: "Because... big brother Senior brother is one of them.”

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Xie Lingjiang lowered his head and thought for a while:

"Actually, I don't quite understand Senior Brother's principles. I just want to know one thing. For most people in the world, is this kind of change good? Or, will tomorrow be a little better like this?"

Ouyang Rong slowly raised his head. This time, Xie Lingjiang heard his unusually firm tone:

"History is a spiral. From the princes to the gentry, and then to the group of people behind, the trend is becoming more and more civilian, and this group is getting bigger and bigger... If the little junior sister looks at it from this perspective, tomorrow will indeed be better. .Actually, it’s like…”

"Like what?"

He suddenly took the red leaf from Xie Lingjiang's hand with the ink words "In the old days, the swallows in front of the Wang Xietang, flew into the homes of ordinary people", he placed it next to the maple leaf on Xie Lingjiang's temples, comparing it with his eyes as if he was talking to himself :

"Like frost leaves turning red in February flowers."

Xie Lingjiang suddenly grabbed Ouyang Rong's palm, took the red leaf, and threw it into the whirlwind of leaves flying in the sky:

"That's enough. Senior brother, go take the path that you firmly believe is right. I will do the same and will always be behind you."

Ouyang Rong was a little moved, and looked at her for a while. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but the crisp sound of "dong dong dong——" suddenly sounded in his ears.

Merit plus one, merit plus one, merit plus one...

"..." Ouyang Rong.

Suddenly I laughed in my heart, it’s really a gift package of merit and experience, right little junior sister?

It seems that he has underestimated the junior sister's ability to understand and digest the new knowledge that shocked the world. She is not that fragile and pessimistic... No need to say more.

Ouyang Rong suddenly scratched Xie Lingjiang's straight nose with his fingers and squinted:

"You should first cross the threshold of being a book reader. Well, I'm so thirsty. I've talked so much with Qiluoli. Have you gained any insights, little junior sister?"

"Well."

Xie Lingjiang subconsciously covered his nose and mouth, raised his head and stared at him for a while, nodded heavily, his eyes as bright as stars:

"I saw...I was angry again. This feeling is the same as when I went to the disaster relief camp on the outskirts of Longcheng to find you. Suddenly I had a direction, and the bottleneck was finally loosened. It felt...it just needed a gentle push."

"That's good."

Ouyang Rong smiled, got on his horse, and stretched out his hand towards her: "Let's go, thank you for reading the book."

Xie Lingjiang rolled up her skirt and got on the horse. Ouyang Rong hugged her, and they held the reins together and galloped away...

Two hours later, it was approaching evening.

Ouyang Rong, Xie Lingjiang, Li Dalang and Qin Ying gathered at the agreed place.

Li Dalang and Miss Qin were talking and laughing, sharing interesting stories about today's hunting with Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang, and they were very interested.

Four people and three horses rushed towards the city gate. Under the golden sunset at dusk, they slowly lined up and passed through the bridge opening of the west city gate. What they faced was the bustling stall market beside the city gate.

Today, there are many pedestrians who have also returned from autumn, and are slowly returning home late, so the merchants and merchants from Xingzifang in the city all come to the only road by the city gate to set up stalls and sell things. Naturally, the business is very good.

Qin Ying, who was riding separately from Li Dalang, glanced from time to time at the red leaves on Jiang's temples that were standing side by side to express gratitude, and couldn't help but praise:

“Sister Xie’s Beginning of Autumn makeup is so beautiful.”

Xie Lingjiang narrowed his eyes and smiled, complaining slightly: "He insists on picking it and doesn't listen to me."

Qin Ying looked envious and shook her head silently.

Ouyang Rong, who was riding a horse and hugging the junior sister in front of him, suddenly touched Li Dalang with his elbow. The latter was stunned for a moment.

"What's wrong Tanlang..."

Li Dalang paused in his words because he saw that Ouyang Rong ignored him and turned his head to look somewhere in the crowd of people on the street.

Among the endless stream of returning people, there was a girl in a shabby red coat holding a bamboo basket. She followed the carriage or horse of a wealthy lady and took the initiative to raise the bamboo basket to present it. In the basket, there were Pieces of fiery red intact sycamore leaves, and a few beautiful folding fans inside.

Ouyang Rong glanced sideways at Miss Qin and signaled to his friend.

Li Dalang reacted immediately, got off his horse, waved and asked:

"How to sell it and how much money?"

Hearing this, the girl in the red coat quickly ran across the middle road with her short legs, without fear of being hit by the crowds of people or carriages.

She was short and came to the side of Ouyang Rong, Li Dalang and Xie Qin. She tried her best to lift the basket with both hands and presented it to the two little girls on horseback who looked either rich or noble.

When the two girls saw this, their eyes lit up.

Qin Ying turned to look at Li Dalang and smiled at him.

Li Dalang also smiled, took out a handful of silver beans from his arms, and wanted to buy them all, but Xie Lingjiang and Qin Ying beside him had already dismounted, and gathered around them together, carefully selecting from the basket.

On the red leaves in the basket, there were many poems and love sentences, either from the Book of Songs or from famous poets in the Zhou Dynasty poetry circle. Xie and Qin looked around the basket curiously, chattering, obviously they could buy them all with a wave of their hands. But I have to pick and choose and choose the best one.

Sure enough, women go shopping not just to buy useless things, but to enjoy the process of selecting things with their besties.

Li Dalang scratched his head in confusion and stood behind to wait with his friend. The latter did not squint as he was used to it.

While Ouyang Rong was waiting boredly, he turned his attention to the girl in the red coat who was quietly holding the basket.

(End of this chapter)