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

Chapter 462 Chen's Heart
Sitting in Liaozhou, he was about to rebel.

It was impossible for Zhongsun Xie to travel thousands of miles to Guandu to meet King An at this time, so the only way was to go to find Chen Linan in Youzhou based on the principle of proximity.

To a certain extent, Chen Linan's attitude can also represent the Chen family's attitude to a certain extent.

After all, they are one.

While Zhongsun Xie was riding at full speed to Youzhou in search of Chen Linan, the excavation of the "Grand Canal" of the Sui Dynasty was still continuing.

Because of the use of "explosives" and the emergence of the "hiring instead of labor" policy, this time did not cause a large-scale peasant uprising, no one accused the emperor of extravagance, and no one tried to assassinate the emperor.

The Sui Dynasty passed through the second year of Daye in peace.

In the third year of Daye, the emperor further displayed his talents on the throne, the imperial examination system was further used, and gradually formed a new practice.

Examination ranks such as "Tongsheng", "Xiucai", "Juren" and "Jinshi" gradually appeared. However, with the advancement of science and technology and the development of culture, the practice of "Tongsheng" and "Xiucai" being able to serve as officials in counties and townships began to disappear.

At the beginning, some counties and towns stopped hiring students as officials. Later, some counties and towns followed suit and stopped using scholars.

Some special counties even raised the slogan of not allowing "juren" to be minor officials, but the development of this county soon slowed down rapidly, so the county quietly withdrew such slogans.

But the talent drain has begun.

For the county, "juren" is indeed a very good academic title.

In the autumn of the third year of Daye, the emperor became interested and decided to add an extra examination after the Jinshi examination. This examination was affiliated with the Jinshi examination. Generally speaking, those who were selected in the previous examination would not fail this examination - at most their ranking might be slightly lower.

That is the examination held in the "Golden Palace", also called the "Palace Examination".

The reason for the palace examination was also very simple - because the emperor discovered a problem.

There are not many people who can serve as examiners in the Sui Dynasty now, and these people have a large number of disciples. Some of them will look at the "handwriting" and writing habits of their disciples at this time, and then rank their disciples at the forefront.

The top two candidates in the second year of Daye were chosen in this way. Their talents were much inferior to the last four candidates in the second class, not to mention the talents of the top four candidates in the second class and the third place.

By the time the emperor finished reading the papers of the third place winner and several other candidates in the second place and discovered the problem, it was too late.

Therefore, the emperor decided to set up the "Palace Examination" in the third year of Daye. This time, he would set the questions himself and mark some of the test papers himself.

This decision ensured the fairness of the "Imperial Examination" to a certain extent.

Because no one knew whose test paper the emperor would correct and whose test paper he would decide to look at.

This uncertainty is the most terrifying thing.

If the emperor were to see a test paper in which the rankings were deliberately changed, then they would have only one outcome - death.

This is the bloody lesson of the second year of Daye.

Although the emperor at that time had no way to change the rankings again - after all, that would reduce the "credibility" of the imperial examination system - the emperor had no means to do anything about it. The people who participated in the ranking changes were all rated as Ding grade in the year-end assessment last year, and were then dismissed.

At the beginning of this year, the teacher of the top two candidates in the imperial examination was found to have embezzled money and was taken to the gate of the vegetable market to be executed. The top two candidates were also placed in an unused government office and they still hold the official positions they were awarded that year.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is no future for these two people.

After all, why offend anyone else but the emperor?

Although their talents can make it into the second class based on their real abilities, once the emperor has a bad impression of you, nothing you say will be of any use.

Daye three years, beginning.

Youzhou
County Magistrate's Office

Chen Linan looked at the person in front of him in surprise, pointed at his nose and said, "Ah? What do you mean?"

"me?"

He wanted to laugh and said, "You ask me, I don't know either."

"You should go to Guandu or Kyoto to ask my father or brother about this matter."

"But what I can tell you is that if I had not received an imperial decree to destroy you and you had not attacked Youzhou, I would definitely not have taken action."

Chen Linan's words were somewhat meaningful, and Zhongsun Xie quickly understood the meaning.

As long as the imperial edict has not arrived in Youzhou, Chen Linan will not have received it.

So how to stop the imperial edict from entering Youzhou?

Intercept on the road from Kyoto to Youzhou.

Chen Linan's meaning was very clear. He didn't want to get involved in these trivial matters, so as long as he didn't take the initiative to provoke them and cleaned up his own mess, he would definitely not do anything unnecessary.

Although this matter was not directly stated or promised, this "tacit consent" has already explained some of Chen's attitudes.

"Zhongsun understands."

Zhongsun Xie exhaled slowly, and then said softly: "A few days ago, the emperor issued an order, asking me to return to Kyoto, saying that he had something important to discuss with me."

"Marquis Lin'an has been at the border of Youzhou for many years. Is there anything you need me to tell your brother about your family? I can bring it to your brother on the way."

Chen Linan patted his head and said, "It's nothing else, but it's not good to send some things through the post station. After all, they are personal things."

"Since County Magistrate Zhongsun is on the way, I'll trouble you."

The wind whistled.

On the carriage, Zhongsun Xie was thinking about Chen Linan's words, and wondering what he would say after meeting Chen's eldest son.

After all, he was not sure whether Chen would help him, nor was he sure whether Chen would mind this matter.

This is, after all, a struggle for imperial power.

But Chen Linan's attitude eased Zhongsun Xie's tension a little. He knew that if Chen didn't want to see him, or was hostile to him, then there was no need for Chen Linan to give him a chance to go to Kyoto to see Chen Ruohan.

This is a good thing.

This shows that Chen's attitude is not firm.

Zhongsun Xie always believed that as long as one is human, he or she will have shortcomings and "price".

Guandu
After Chen Zhan received the letter from Youzhou, he sighed softly.

The movements in Liaozhou were actually within his predictions. After all, the "shadow forces" in Chen's hands, such as the "Taoists", "Embroidered Messenger" and "Black Ice Platform", were much stronger than the "Black Guards".

After all, it is the foundation of several dynasties.

So as early as when Zhongsun Xie appeared in his sight, he knew who "Zhongsun Xie" was and understood why Zhongsun Xie did what he did.

It's just the world.

But Chen Zhan doesn't care about these.

He had not intervened when Yang Jian was trying to seize the throne, so he would not interfere now. At least in his opinion, a war that affected the whole country was necessary. Very necessary.

No matter who wins, there will be a major reshuffle of interest groups.

And when the interest groups were reshuffled, Chen was able to seize the opportunity to tear off a piece of meat from these "old" forces - a piece of meat that originally belonged to the people, and then return this flesh and blood to the people.

After nearly three hundred years of time in Dayu, the "wealth" that was originally scattered among the people has begun to spread to the hands of the powerful, the ruling class, and even the aristocratic families.

This is something that is bound to happen, and it is something that no one can solve.

Unless someone can live for hundreds of years, always control the power of the court, and then make the court do things according to his wishes, and remain energetic and make no mistakes for hundreds of years.

Whenever a mistake occurs, whenever selfishness appears, this tiny "seed" will quickly grow and sprout.

It is impossible that all "errors" occur only once.

As long as it appears for the first time, it will definitely appear a second and third time in the future.

Tao produces one, one produces two, two produces three, and three produces all things.

This sentence not only explains the "Tao", but also all the "things" in the world, naturally including "mistakes" and "selfishness".

How to judge whether a person will make a mistake?
The final verdict can only be made on the day he dies, because he is already dead and can no longer perform any new "actions", so his life is over.

From infinite to finite, it is natural to judge.

The gathering of wealth is actually "land annexation", or in other words, "land annexation" is a kind of representation of the gathering of wealth.

For a long time, this problem could not be solved. It could not be solved.

Capital is not oviparous, nor is it viviparous, but rather it is metamorphosed.

Similarly, the accumulation of wealth is not born from eggs or the womb, but from transformation.

As long as there are people, there will be uncontrolled accumulation of wealth.

There is almost no solution to this problem.

But alas, it’s only “almost”.

Chen has found a solution - it just may be cruel.

That is, when wealth accumulates to a certain level, a major reshuffle is launched, and then participation is made in the new wealth distribution - but not for self-profit. Instead, the group uses its own strength to seize a large portion of the wealth and then distribute it among the people again.

Only Chen can do this, and only Chen will do it.

That’s why the Chen family is the Chen family.

And in every major reshuffle of wealth, the Chen family always had a staunch ally - the emperor at the time.

why?
The emperor also wanted to do this because throwing this piece of flesh and blood to the people would be very beneficial to his rule. At this time, the two of them could be said to be the "forces" that truly controlled the power of the world and stood together, and no one could shake their decision.

Chen Zhan laughed and then looked towards the distance.

So why did the establishment of the Sui Dynasty fail to accomplish this task? Because the way the Sui Dynasty emerged was different from that of other dynasties.

When the Qin State emerged, it smashed the Zhou Dynasty and swept across other countries, completing the reshuffle of wealth through war. Qin was not in the same camp as the other original wealth owners, the "princes".

When the Han Dynasty emerged, it smashed the Qin Dynasty and swept away Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, completing the reshuffle of wealth through war. The ruling class of Han was also not in the same camp as the wealth owners of Qin and Chu.

When Dayu appeared, it shattered the Han Dynasty and swept across Wei and Shu. It also strangled the wealth owners through war, and finally a completely new class emerged.

But the Sui Dynasty was different.

Yang Jian, the founder of the Sui Dynasty, was originally a member of the "Dayu" wealth camp - he was even the huge oligarch himself.

After he builds it, will he do anything with his wealth?

of course not.

Therefore, the establishment of the Sui Dynasty did not actually complete the reshuffle of wealth, or did not complete the class replacement or the replacement of the ruling class - Yang Jian went from being second only to one person to being above ten thousand people, and Dugu Xin was still second only to one person and above ten thousand people. The wealth of Su Wei and others just increased, but it did not pass on to others.

That's the biggest problem.

Chen Zhan placed the letter in his hand on the candle flame, lit it, and then waited with a smile.

He was ready. The knife in Chen's hand had become sharp and powerful, ready to kill those "pigs" who tried to escape, and then spread the blood and flesh among the people again.

In the fourth year of Daye, after three years of construction, the Grand Canal had taken shape.

Yang Guang was very excited about this, and he wanted to start working on solving another problem - the problem in the northern border.

He summoned the imperial edict, urging Zhongsun Xie to return from the northern border as soon as possible, wanting to deal with the uncrowned king of the northern border in Kyoto.

Five years of Daye
On the dragon boat.

The Grand Canal has been opened, and the mighty river water is flowing in the air. Yang Guang stands on the bow, looking at the beautiful scenery around him with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

This is indeed a good thing.

“From now on, the north and the south are connected.”

He looked at Chen Ruohan, Yu Wenzhi and others beside him with a complacent look, with a wanton and ostentatious smile on his face.

Pei Ju stepped forward and congratulated the emperor on his upcoming success.

When the Grand Canal is fully operational, it will be time for the emperor to take action against the southern officialdom. By that time, no one can stop the emperor from fulfilling his wishes.

The fifth year of Daye, spring and summer.

The rain came down in sheets.

On the dragon boat, Yang Guang looked a little gloomy. He looked at Pei Ju, Yu Wenzhi and others and asked, "Has Cheng Tao not come back yet?"

Pei Ju and the others also looked solemn: "Your Majesty, Chen Lingshou has not returned yet."

They took a deep breath: "I'm afraid."

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard in the distance, and Chen Ruohan appeared on the dragon boat, and then walked in front of Yang Guang.

At this time, Chen Ruohan no longer had the "gentle and elegant" temperament of the past. Instead, he became "dignified" and "solemn", like a military general. He looked directly at Yang Guang and said briefly and forcefully: "Your Majesty, Jiangnan is plotting a rebellion."

"Yangzhou is no longer safe now. Your Majesty, please return quickly!"

Jiangnan is plotting rebellion?
Yang Guang's eyes went dark and he almost fainted. Veins on his forehead were throbbing and the familiar rage once again took over his mind.

"Send me troops!"

"I will quell the rebellion myself!"

(End of this chapter)