Ji Tang

Chapter 788 What is the people?
The two of them were walking on the school grounds, surrounded by soldiers in training. They were chattering constantly, like a piece of mighty and majestic music.

Ji Song stopped in front of a soldier. Under the soldier's nervous gaze, he adjusted his non-standard posture, then adjusted his armor, patted his shoulder, smiled, and left.

"I also want to teach well in the academy, but His Majesty won't let me!"

"You have also seen that whenever I have a little free time, His Majesty starts roaring like an evil dragon, as if I, Ji Song, have done something outrageous. I just want to teach, and that requires His Majesty's consent!"

"I have seen through it all. I will never have any free time until Your Majesty squeezes me out."

Kong Yingda laughed loudly and said: "You, this is how you dare to arrange His Majesty like this, what if you try it with someone else?"

"Your Majesty is just cherishing his talents. Where do you think your Majesty's capable ministers and generals came from? They were all snatched away. Fighting all the way, collecting all the way, he gathered these people together and formed his own team."

"His Majesty once joked with us that if you had been older, he would have tied you to his side even if he was kidding. It was very difficult to find a talent who could coordinate logistics and be versatile. Many people were trying to catch up. , some of them can’t even read a few Chinese characters.”

"If you are here, he will definitely be much more relaxed. When the time comes, he will fight in the front and you will collect food and grass in the back. How happy will that be?"

Ji Song also laughed when he heard this, and said mischievously: "That would disappoint Your Majesty. I was still a mud boy wearing crotchless pants back then. I can't let a little brat who wets the bed become the rear army commander, right?"

Kong Yingda pointed at Ji Song and shook his head with a bitter smile. He really didn't know what to say.

"Alas, what happened back then is still before us, but I have grown old, and you have grown from a heroic young man to an important minister of our Tang Dynasty. Time flies, and the tree is still like this, how embarrassing it is!"

The two of them walked out of the camp unknowingly. At this time, there were many people outside.But he didn't come over, he just bowed to them and then started to pester the soldiers guarding the gate.

Ji Song burst into laughter, pointed at the common people and said to Kong Yingda: "If anyone says that the common people are ignorant again, I will slap him to death with a big mouth."

When Old Man Kong saw this scene, he sighed with emotion: "Since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. The ancients have never deceived me!"

"Although the common people have little knowledge, have not read many books, and are not even literate, they have their own wisdom for survival, and they have a strong sense of balance in their hearts. But they are always much better than some scholars when it comes to big matters of right and wrong."

"They seem very weak, but whether it is the Yellow Turban Uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the beggar army during the Wuhu period of chaos in China, or the insurrectionary army of the previous dynasty, these are all living examples."

"The earth is turned upside down, dragons and snakes rise from the land, and the color of the dynasty changes in one day. It is respectable, awe-inspiring, and even more pitiful!"

Ji Song didn't expect Old Man Kong to say such words, but why...
As if he saw the confusion in Ji Song's eyes, he smiled and said, "Are you wondering why we still implement strategies to fool the people since everyone understands the truth?"

"Yeah, what's the point of this? Isn't it contradictory to rely on them at the same time to guard against it?"

Thinking about the countries from the pre-Qin period to the later dynasties, they all seemed to be weakening the people.

The ruling methods of past dynasties kept flashing in Ji Song's mind. It was not difficult to see that the bravery of the people of the Central Plains was slowly disappearing. This was by no means an accident. "Min, what is min?"

Kong Yingda pointed at the people and said, "Are they people?"

"Is not it?"

"Yes and no!"

Kong Yingda said: "In the pre-Qin period, the people referred to the citizens, those free people who had their own land and free status. Their personal rights would be protected by the law. And those slaves, wild people, and even defeated and captured soldiers, They are not considered citizens."

"Although there are more of them, they don't represent anything. The scholar-bureaucrats, small lords, ministers and officials, and those who pay taxes to the princes are the people. The others are all wild people and have no protection. At that time, even serving as a soldier was compulsory. They are nationals, others are not eligible.”

"Later, a hundred schools of thought contended, and various ideas emerged frequently, among which Confucianism and Mohism were the prominent schools of thought. Confucianism taught without distinction, and gave many lower-class nobles, or lonely nobles, businessmen, traffickers, tourists, and citizens a path to upward promotion. Mohism At the lowest level, that is, ordinary citizens enjoyed great appeal. They were knowledgeable and taught them the writing and knowledge that could only be learned by the nobles before. This triggered the chaos of the Warring States, until the First Emperor unified the nine states."

Ji Song listened with rapt attention. Very few people share this knowledge with others. It can be said that this is all learned at home. If you are not a close relative or nephew, no one will tell you.

"The emperor of the Han Dynasty was born as a pavilion chief. His low background meant that most of the founding heroes around him were from lower-class backgrounds. This broke many of the barriers in the pre-Qin period. Their promotion in status made them and their All the family and friends are proudly benefiting. This has improved the status of a large number of people from lower backgrounds, and a big gap has been opened up for the country’s upward path.”

"But that's often the case. When the beneficiary makes a profit, they want to get greater benefits. They even hope that their children and grandchildren will continue to benefit and enjoy the convenience brought by this status."

"So, they began to set up obstacles for people at the bottom to rise. The emergence of filial piety, integrity, scholar, and recommendation system inevitably narrowed the country's rising channels to a circle. People who have no connections and no status in their ancestors, It’s hard to achieve high status.”

"It's human nature, it's inevitable."

"The current Five Surnames and Seven Hopes were basically formed in which period. Some are descendants of nobles from the pre-Qin period, and some are descendants of noble princes from the early Han Dynasty."

He looked at Ji Song and said with a smile: "So, what do you mean by the people now?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention it. You, the Ji family, are descendants of the princes from the pre-Qin period. Don't tell me that you didn't benefit from the family knowledge you snatched back from Longyou?"

Ji Song was a little confused. He suddenly realized that the word 'people' is very broad. Many times the superiors think that you are the people, then you are the people. If you are not, you are not.

And the people who have always been in this category are precisely the descendants of the nobles who have been passed down!

No matter who the emperor is, they will always fight to the death, even if they were suppressed or even oppressed in the early days of the founding of the country.But as long as they are in peacetime, they can always rise quickly by relying on the legacy of their ancestors, and even develop to be more powerful than before.

He is the beneficiary now, and it can be predicted that Ji will continue to benefit from what he left behind in the future.

And for those who have no family heritage, except for the proud sons of a few eras, it is really difficult for them to make a real identity transition.
(End of this chapter)