Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 320: Human Family
Chen Qiu's return to Guandu was something that had been prepared long ago. He was an old minister during the reign of Emperor Jing and was already very old. He even fell down last year and almost couldn't stand up again.

The growth of age makes people feel the most depressed.

But for the Chen family, aging and death have never been something that makes people uncomfortable.

The unclear mind problem caused by aging can be solved by "Qilin Jade", and death is even simpler. Although Chen's collateral descendants are not clear that "death is not Chen's final destination", Chen is different from other big families. He never has to let these children do anything to maintain Chen's dignity.

As long as you don't break the law or cross the moral line, you can do whatever you want.

Do you like beautiful women? Do you like to take concubines?
no problem.

As long as you don't force the woman to be your concubine, the family will not care - of course, the family will only give you a certain share of money. As for if you don't have the money to support a woman, that depends on your own ability.

There are quite a few people like this among the Chen family, and their methods of supporting their concubines are all kinds of strange.

Some rely on their wives and concubines for a living, some master a skill and then make a living from art, and some live off their parents.

Strange and strange.

But no matter which one it is, they and their concubines understand one thing: they cannot rely on the Chen family's majesty to do evil, let alone do something bad, otherwise the first person to come to them will definitely be the "law enforcers" within the Chen family.

Of course.
Most of the concubines' families rely on Chen's descendants, not to rely on Chen to do evil. After all, Chen's reputation is here. They rely on Chen just to have some relationship with Chen and then seek "fairness."

What is fairness?
No matter where you go, once those people hear that your daughter has married into the Chen family, they will not deliberately target you or make things difficult for you.

This is enough for ordinary people and those businessmen who have been suppressed.

On the tower of Guandu City

Chen Qiu stood there trembling, holding a wooden stick in his hand, and next to him stood the still healthy "Chen Pi".

Logically speaking, Chen Pi is a little older than Chen Qiu, so the one who is trembling at this time should be Chen Pi, at least he shouldn't be so healthy.

But the strange thing is that Chen Pi is much healthier than Chen Qiu.

"Brother, you took the trouble to build such a huge city. What exactly do you want to do?"

Chen Pi frowned with a puzzled look on his face. He didn't understand what Chen Qiu did, just like he didn't understand why Chen Wu Shi was immersed in those books all day long.

Chen Qiu coughed lightly, then looked at the distant sky. People on earth were living in peace and tranquility, and this huge city was being built slowly.

It is almost bigger than Chang'an City.

But only almost.

At this time, the size of Guandu City was similar to that of Chang'an City and could accommodate a lot of people.

Compared with the magnificence of Chang'an City, this city appears more "ancient" or "simple" and majestic. It stands here like a giant, overlooking everything in this world.

“This is the teaching of our ancestors.”

Chen Qiu closed his eyes and said calmly: "In the future, there will be more people living in Guandu City."

His eyes slightly opened, with a sigh on his face: "I don't know what the ancestors are going to do, but I will do my best to do what the ancestors tell me to do."

Are there more people living in Guandu City?
What kind of excuse and reason is this?
Chen Pi still didn't understand.

Chen Qiu pointed to the huge "Chen Clan" in the distance, which occupied almost a quarter of the original Guandu City, and said, "Look, the Chen Clan has only been developed for nearly three hundred years, and it has already occupied a quarter of this city."

“Now that we have the capacity to spare, why not expand?”

He sighed: "The Chen family did not deliberately expel those ordinary people, but almost half of the people living in this city are descendants of the Chen family and those who serve the Chen family!"

Chen Qiu's expression was grim: "Is the Chen family so noble that they actually need a whole city of people to serve them?"

"Is the Chen family so high and mighty that they actually need a city to settle themselves?"

Chen Qiu's voice flashed through Chen Pi's mind like thunder and lightning. With a look of disappointment on his face, he said, "That's why our ancestors asked us to expand Guandu City! They meant to tell us that the Chen family must continue to live with the common people as before!"

"The path of the Chen family has determined that the Chen family is destined to not be able to separate from the common people like other noble families. Since we want to fight for these ordinary people and practice our will, we must not separate from them."

Chen Qiu looked at Chen Pi and asked, "Do you still remember the words in the ancestor's quotations?"

Chen Pi said softly: "Never separate yourself from the people."

Chen Qiu nodded: "Yes, never be separated from the people."

"The Chen family is a family of humans, not gods. Our ancestors exist so that we can become better human beings."

There was a gentle smile on his cheeks: "In the past three hundred years, in countless wars, which one did not have the shadow of Chen?"

"When Wu'an Jun expelled the Xiongnu in the past, a heavy snowstorm buried the Xiongnu's cavalry. Later, when we fought against the barbarians, there were many heavy rains and inexplicable fires. These were all manifestations of our ancestors."

"Such means are like those of gods and immortals!"

"Let's not even talk about these. Just look at this 'Qilin Jade' in my arms and that 'Cold Jade' in your arms. Which one of these is something that can be possessed in this world?"

"If the ancestor wanted to be called a god, would the emperors of the mortal world reject him?"

"A bolt of lightning will fall from the sky, and all emperors will submit to the Chen family! Then the Chen family will be a divine family that can surpass everyone else!"

There was something meaningful in Chen Qiu's voice: "But the ancestors don't want to do this."

"Our ancestors have always told us and the descendants of the Chen family."

"The Chen family is a family of men, not a family of gods."

“The Chen family may have supernatural means, but the Chen family must always have a ‘human’ heart.”

"Our ancestors told us that there are no gods or ghosts in the world. Everything is done by humans."

When Chen Qiu said this, he coughed lightly a few times. His health was already very poor, but he was still very excited at this moment.

A family of people.
This is the reason why the descendants of the Chen family have not been too arrogant until now, because they know that everything they have now is the result of their own hard work, even if it is just because their ancestors gave them some cheats.

But even without these so-called "treasures", would the talents of the Chen family's children disappear? No, it wouldn't.

Because the talents of the Chen family's children are not given by the so-called "attribute numbers", but are the result of their own hard work in studying from childhood to adulthood for decades!
Even if those attribute numbers disappear and become 0, their knowledge is still in their minds.

External things are, after all, external things.

Chen Pi sighed, looked at Chen Qiu beside him and said, "What you said makes sense. I also discovered this problem after returning to Guandu."

"Although the children of the family still talk and live with the common people, they have become somewhat out of touch with reality. Many of them even talk to people who serve the Chen family. Are they the most ordinary common people?"

Those who entered and left the homes of the rich and powerful, even if they were just servants, were no longer ordinary people.

“Expand it.”

Chen Pi closed his eyes: "The emperor today will not stop us. He may be more willing than we are to let Chen continue to expand Guandu City. He may be more willing than we are to let Chen continue to care about the world and the people."

He and Chen Qiu looked at each other and smiled: "After all, if one day we no longer care about the people, perhaps we will be thinking about the position under his buttocks."

Weiyang Palace
When Liu Che received the memorials from Chen Qiu and Chen Pi, he found that they were exactly what they had expected, and his face was filled with excitement.

He tapped his fingers on the table, a smile on his face.

Liu Che turned around and ordered: "Tell the teacher that he can build Guandu City however he wants, and he doesn't need to care about the so-called rules and etiquette."

"The ritual system only stipulates where the rest of the people live. Does it even stipulate a city?"

"No matter how big Guandu City is, I agree. This is my will, not Chen's violation of the rules."

Liu Che considered more than Chen Qiu and Chen Pi.

Chen is now expanding Guandu City, and he is not using money from the court. He can just build it if he wants to.

Even if Chen said now that he wanted to establish a fiefdom in Guandu County, and even incorporate several surrounding cities into Chen's territory to establish the "Chen State", Liu Che would have to accept it.

What's more, now it's just expanding a city, and it's using Chen's own money!
He sighed: "If only all the noble families in the world were as caring as the Chen family, I wouldn't have to worry so much."

Liu Che thought for a moment, then looked at the person beside him and said, "Ask the teacher if Chen's money is enough. The expansion of Guandu City should have been paid for by the court. Now all the money has been paid by Chen, and I feel uneasy."

"No matter how much it costs, the court will pay for half of it."

Only after the envoy in embroidered clothes left did Liu Che close his eyes completely.

It is difficult to be an emperor. It is difficult to be an emperor.

At this time, Liu Che finally understood the meaning of this sentence. He could not let Chen pay all the money, otherwise, wouldn't the city really become Chen's?

As long as he invests, whether it is half or all.

The Guandu City still belongs to the imperial court.

Liu Che was testing whether Chen had the intention to establish a country.

In the third year of Taichu, the news that Chen had built a city had spread throughout the world. People voluntarily came to this magnificent city to help, but Chen would not really use them for free.

Even if the emperor issued an edict stating that those who built Guandu City for the Chen family could serve as "corvée labor."

In this era, everyone had to perform corvée labor and military service, but each family had a fixed "quota". Everyone knew about Chen's kindness, and building a city for Chen would not result in any deaths, at most it would be a little more difficult.

Isn't this better than serving somewhere else?
Therefore, when the emperor's edict was issued, more people flocked to it.

Chen did not use them in vain.

In this era, people who performed corvee labor had to bring their own dry food, or they had to "spend money" to buy dry food.

But this is not the case with Chen.

Chen is in charge of food.

And every three days, everyone can taste a little bit of meat.

Even though it’s just a little bit of meat, it’s already a huge thing for the common people!
What's more, the vegetarian food they eat on weekdays is not bad, and the porridge is so delicious that chopsticks can stand up when inserted into it. Many people who come to serve pray secretly at night, praying that this magnificent city can continue to be built.

They are willing to continue serving here.

They are willing to build a city for the Chen family for their entire lives.

The biggest wish of human beings is to have enough food to eat, especially in this era.

Even in the distant future, there will be many people who will not have enough to eat. It will be more than a decade after the new century before most people will be able to eat enough rice, eat meat, or even start to complain that "this is not nutritious."

The days of the third year of Taichu passed quickly. After Liu Che let Chen Wu Shi serve as an "eunuch" for a short period of time, he directly appointed Chen Wu Shi as prime minister.

At this time, people had already seen through Liu Che's "emperor" nature, so the position of prime minister was no longer so attractive.
In history, Emperor Liu Che's prime ministers were basically "consumables" who were used to take the blame. Even someone who became the prime minister would be really unwilling to do so.

After Chen Wushi became prime minister, he changed some of the policies of the previous Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing and began to implement a "strict" legal system. Although these legal systems were strict, they were not "harsh".

When Chen Wushi personally wielded a long sword and chopped down several children of noble families, the aristocratic families and powerful people finally straightened their rigid minds.

Standing in front of them was the Chen family who established their family by law!

In the past, Chen Ye, the ancestor of the Chen family, could kill the clansmen of Shang Yang, his teacher, his superior, and the main reformer of the Qin State, and even convicted the crown prince of the dynasty. In recent years, he has just restrained his temper and let the people recuperate.
As a result, the atmosphere in Chang'an City suddenly became clear.

Many Qiandu people in Chang'an City felt that their lives had suddenly become much better. They all expressed their feelings that even if the "law" became "strict", it would not hurt them like a tiger, but would make their lives better!

People's attitude towards Legalism is gradually changing.

In the fourth year of Taichu, the crown prince was growing up, and the Grand Marshal, the Military Marshal, and the Military Commandant had already reached middle age.

Pepper House Palace

Wei Zifu looked at Huo Qubing helplessly, holding her forehead and said, "Qubing, why haven't you gotten married yet?"

(End of this chapter)