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

Chapter 489: Paper Expensive in Chang'an
Chen Yu said without any hesitation: "Yes, I think Qu Leng is wrong."

He just sat there and said this sentence and this judgment very calmly, which was enough to have a fatal judgment on a person.

Does Chen Yu only represent himself?

No, he never represented just himself, but the Chen family.

When Chen Yu said that Qu Leng was wrong, it meant that Chen felt that Qu Leng was wrong, which also represented another layer of meaning - Chen did not approve of Qu Leng's behavior, nor did he approve of people who behaved the same way as Qu Leng.

This was a "warning" to the imperial court and the Chen family.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

Qu Leng was the "chicken" that was killed, and the disciples and former officials within the Chen family and the ministers in the court were the monkeys that were frightened.

One person in the crowd had a look of despair on his face. This person was a servant of the "Qu Mansion". He came to listen to the lecture today and accidentally heard the evaluation of his own son, so he wanted to listen carefully. What's more, he wanted to hear positive comments about "Qu Leng" from Chen Yu.

And now, the evaluation has indeed been heard.

But it's not positive.
this.
The people around were in an uproar, and everyone was expressing their confusion. No one understood why Chen Yu felt that Qu Leng had done something wrong. After all, in the public's mind, Qu Leng was already a good official - and Fang Xuanling, who had originally decided to have Qu Leng rated as "Ding", was the representative of a "cruel official" and someone without humanity.

Even Fang Xuanling himself asked in confusion: "Why?"

Chen Yu sighed slowly, then looked at everyone, then at Fang Xuanling and said, "I know that Mr. Fang and even the general public think that what Qu Leng did was right. After all, in your hearts, the most important thing is not the people - but your own official authority and dignity."

"There are two mistakes in Qu Leng's behavior."

"First, he shouldn't move the food and fodder prepared for defending the border wars and military operations without permission, even if it's only for a short period of time - because things in this world are unpredictable, and no one dares to predict what will happen in the next moment."

Chen Yu asked in return: "What if he moves the food and there is an emergency at the border and he needs to mobilize soldiers and food?"

"The army does not move, but the food and fodder must go first."

"Although the Western Regions were devastated during the previous dynasty and the Qin and Han dynasties, there are still several huge empires further west where the Xiongnu fled. If the armies of these countries invade the Tang Dynasty, what should we do?"

"Even if there is no large army attacking, these grains and fodders are provided to the soldiers. Can they be moved without permission?"

Chen Yu's expression was filled with a bit of disdain: "It's just like the silver specially prepared for a certain matter. Who knows what great use this silver will have? Can it be moved without the permission of the superiors?"

"What's more, this incident did cause serious consequences."

He looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "If I remember correctly, this amount of grain and grass was allocated to Lin Province because Lin Province was experimenting with growing a certain grain crop brought from overseas."

"And Qu Leng's behavior directly caused disaster to the people of Lin Province, because the new grain crop experiment was not very successful - but fortunately, at that time, Scholar Fang and His Majesty made a decision to allocate some grain from Chencang to temporarily postpone the emergency measures."

"The second mistake was to act without permission. This was like a general on the battlefield who was not subject to military orders. Does the Tang Dynasty have no laws? Or does the Tang Dynasty have no rules?"

"Perhaps some people always think that human life is of paramount importance and that human life is more important than laws and rules. But in fact, this matter is not to the extent that we have to break the rules or even destroy this rule to get through it."

“If there is no precedent, it will not work.”

"It's an old saying and one of the unspoken rules that people accept."

"At that time, our ancestor Chen Ye refused the Duke of Qin Mu's offer to confer titles directly on his two children, Chen Shen, because it violated precedent. With this precedent, it would be easy for people to do the same thing in the future."

"Chen does not want to set a 'precedent' for others to follow the rules because of him."

Chen Yu sighed, "In the last years of the Great Yu Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, forced the emperor to abdicate and plotted rebellion, and the Wansui Emperor died that night. No one can determine the truth of the matter, so even if the Wansui Emperor wrote a letter in his own handwriting to endorse Yang Jian, there are still some people who accuse Yang Jian of regicide."

"I believe that such accusations will not disappear in the long course of history."

"And the biggest disadvantage of this matter is that it sets a precedent, a precedent for rebelling against one's superiors and treason. A precedent that a minister who holds great power and military power can commit treason."

"So later in the late Sui Dynasty, General Yu Wenzhi, under the pressure of Yang Guang, also chose to rebel."

"When Yang Jian first rebelled, the soldiers were somewhat worried and nervous - this can be seen from the fact that Zhongsun and others fled afterwards and even started a war at the end of the Sui Dynasty."

"When General Yu Wenzhi forced the emperor to abdicate the throne the second time, the soldiers were only excited because they knew that if they succeeded in their rebellion, countless benefits would be waiting for them - they had already given up their so-called faith and loyalty."

“That’s the importance of precedent.”

"And today, the incident of Qu Leng moving other granaries to provide relief to the victims has been exposed. If this is not stopped or even severely punished, there will be countless incidents of moving granaries and silver in the future."

"General Qu Leng's case is not so bad. He was doing it for the local disaster victims and the common people. His starting point was good. But what if someone deliberately creates a disaster in the future in order to move food and silver, or for corruption?"

"After all, the victims were like a swarm of bees, and no one dared to say for sure how much food and fodder had been moved - even if some of the officials were corrupt, no one would be able to discover it."

Chen Yu spoke softly about what he had seen and heard, as well as his views on the matter. At this time, the common people in Chang'an City, as well as the powerful and wealthy, no longer regarded him as a person who relied on the Chen family's reputation to become famous throughout the world.

Instead, treat it as a real bachelor!

A learned man!

After Fang Xuanling heard Chen Yu's words, countless thoughts surged in his mind. Finally, he stood up and slowly saluted Chen Yu. This was not an admission of defeat, but a gesture of gratitude.

"When the assessment of Qu Lengding and others was decided, everyone in the world blamed Fang. In fact, Fang himself also felt that there was something wrong with the matter and that he had done something wrong, so he has been depressed for all these years."

"Today, I received guidance from Mr. Chen, and my mind was suddenly enlightened."

Fang Xuanling's expression was very respectful, and the way he addressed Chen Yu had changed to "Mr. Chen", which was a respectful title for a well-educated person!

However, some people in the crowd were dissatisfied. Some of them were local people who had received kindness from Qu Leng at that time, and the other part were Qu's disciples. Among them, a young man walked out with an unconvinced look on his face.

"If the situation were reversed, what would Mr. Chen do?"

"Mr. Qu Leng is not like Mr. Chen, who has a clan that is famous all over the world. At that time, Mr. Qu was just a small prefect. What could he do? Where could he get the food to help the victims?"

"Are we just going to watch the people starve to death?"

"Please give me some advice, Mr. Chen." Although he called him "Mr. Chen", his eyes were full of dissatisfaction. He looked at Chen Yu, and anger and provocation could be seen in his eyes. He was indeed provoking Chen Yu.

But Chen Yu didn't care.

It is normal to have conflicts and provocations over such "orthodoxy" and "ideas".

Is it possible to stop everyone in the world from speaking and make them listen to Chen?

It's just a joke.

He looked directly at the young man and said softly, "Even if I don't have the reputation of the Chen family, nor the disciples and former officials, I can still find food to relieve the disaster."

Chen Yu's voice was dull: "You all forgot one thing, the rules and laws that I just emphasized. I even said just now that you can break the rules, but you can't break the most important rules just for your own reputation when there are better options."

"The dedicated granary is the bottom line. It cannot be easily moved, or even absolutely moved. Otherwise, there will be endless consequences."

At this point, he smiled dumbly: "At that time, weren't there a group of huge granaries? Why didn't we move those?"

Chen Yu's expression turned cold and stern: "Whether it is the Qin Law, the Han Law, or even the laws of the previous dynasty or the Tang Law of the present Tang Dynasty, it is illegal to raise the prices of basic survival items crazily during a disaster!"

"Of course, those people can say that their price increases are not skyrocketing, or that this is a rule that has existed since ancient times - but they are unreasonable, so what can you say to them?"

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"If it were me, I would be the governor and command the troops. I would immediately mobilize all the soldiers I can to at least ensure my own safety. At the same time, I would write to His Majesty and request that the soldiers stationed in the surrounding areas be mobilized to guard the governor!"

"And then kill the chicken to scare the monkey!"

"The three grain vendors who raised their prices the most will be exterminated!"

"Behead them with lightning speed, and then use their stored grain to provide disaster relief for the court, and then order the rest of the merchants to provide grain for disaster relief!"

"Not taking it?"

"If you don't take it, I'll kill you!"

At this moment, Chen Yu changed from a refined scholar into a ruthless murderer and even a cruel official.

There was a solemnity like thunder in his eyes.

"This is my way!"

"Why is Qu Leng unwilling to do this? Because he is afraid that if he does this, he will become a cruel official. So in his mind, his reputation is more important than the rules of the court and the laws of the Tang Dynasty!"

"He is just a mere trader, and he dares not kill or touch a trader who does not follow the rules. But he dares to challenge the laws of the imperial court!"

"Doesn't this mean that he puts himself and the merchants above the rules of the court?"

"How dare such a person call himself an honest and good official?"

"In my opinion, he is just a hypocrite."

Chen Yu's comments shocked and silenced everyone present.

Chen Yu continued speaking, as if he meant something: "Whether it's merchants, so-called big landlords, or powerful people, if they follow the rules, respect the rules, and behave well, they will be like any ordinary citizen in the Tang Dynasty and will not be discriminated against. But if these people dare to break the rules or even break the law because of their wealth..."

He smiled slightly, and his smile was filled with the taste of blood.

"Then these people are nothing but pigs waiting to be slaughtered!"

"When they cross the line, we just slaughter them and bleed them!"

"There are many people in this world who want to replace them!"

"The Tang Dynasty lacks everything, but it has no shortage of people who want to enjoy wealth and glory! It has no shortage of businessmen! It has no shortage of dignitaries!"

Chen Yu said coldly: "If they are willing to be decent, then give them some respect. If they are not willing to be decent."

"Then let them see what decency is!"

There was a long silence.

After a long time, endless and excited shouts that seemed to burst out from the void spread throughout the Imperial College!
Even Fang Xuanling could sense the sharpness in Chen Yu. He looked at Chen Yu and said softly, "Is this what 'seeking truth' means? I understand."

Fang Xuanling also understood why Chen Yu did not want to wipe out Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism and many other schools of thought, because as a new school of thought, "Scientists and Realists" must have a long-term shortcoming.

It's like a perfect mechanism, which can still operate without a "core" somewhere, but will not have any emotion - just like a painting, which can still be very beautiful even without an "inscription", but will always be missing some feeling.

That's what a realist is like.

The thoughts of realists are cold and aim at the best "results", but in this process, realists will inevitably lose some "emotions" and "moral" bottom line, so realistic thoughts cannot replace any school of thought.

A realist who possesses Confucianism, Mohism and Legalism is the most complete realist.

This is why the "realists" have a core idea called "borrowing", and this is also the reason why "borrowing" can be "borrowing".

Because of the principle of taking what is available, we can directly use many thoughts from Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, etc. and embed them in the core to make realism complete; because other thoughts are needed to fill the shortcomings of realism, we have the principle of taking what is available.

They complement each other, just like the mortise and tenon structure.

Perfect.

Fang Xuanling had no more regrets, he stood up and admitted defeat.

"Today Fang lost."

He smiled and said, "From today on, paper will be expensive in Chang'an."

(End of this chapter)