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

Chapter 493: Disaster of the Aristocratic Family
Looking at the nearly insane Changsun Wuji, Chen Ruohan remained silent for a long time.

He still remembered the Changsun Wuji from many years ago, the Changsun Wuji who was silent but could think of the people of the world and stand by their side.

In fact, this time Chen Ruohan and Li Shimin thought of many people, but none of them thought in the direction of Changsun Wuji.

They believed that Chang Sun Wuji would not betray them, would not betray the people of the world, and would not betray the fruits of victory they had built over the years.
Chen Ruohan let out a long sigh. Perhaps people’s hearts are really fickle.

Changsun Wuji still changed. He became such a person, a person who completely betrayed their ideals.

Chen Ruohan simply said, "I didn't expect that you would think like this."

He smiled, with a hint of sadness in his laughter: "In fact, even if your majesty and I succeed in our ideas, successfully wipe out the old aristocratic power group, successfully nationalize the land again, and successfully put "science" on the right track, it will not affect the existence of the aristocratic families and the aristocratic forces."

"Rather, aristocratic families and nobles shouldn't rely on their so-called bloodline to pass on power and wealth, right?"

Chen Ruohan looked at Changsun Wuji and said, "How much land does the Chen family occupy? How much power does the Chen family occupy?"

"During these thousands of years, the Chen family did not occupy too many interests, nor did they hold too much power. Sometimes, there was no one from the Chen family in the court, and some of the Chen family's disciples did not even reach an official position above the third rank."

"Hasn't something like this ever happened before?"

He looked at Changsun Wuji and said, "Assistant Engine, tell me honestly, has this kind of thing never happened before?"

Chen Ruohan calmly expressed his inner helplessness: "This has happened before, and not just once."

"Has Chen ever been dormant?"

"Of course there are."

"The Chen family is dormant in all aspects. Sometimes, people all over the world even forget the existence of the Chen family during its dormancy. But has the Chen family disappeared?"

"No."

Chen Ruohan looked at Zhangsun Wuji: "There are also Zhao, Qin, the three Lius, Cao, and Zhang."

"These families that are descended from the ancient royal family do not control much power. It can even be said that the Qin family and the Zhao family combined do not have as many officials in the court as your Changsun family."

"The 'wealth' they possess is not huge. It can only be said to be what a normal family can have."

"But they are still the most first-class family in the world. Even the Five Surnames and Seven Nobles today will put them at the front when arranging the family tree - the Three Emperors and Seven Nobles. They are a huge family second only to the Zhang, Kong and Chen families."

"And Kong family."

Chen Ruohan's voice continued to fall into Changsun Wuji's ears bit by bit: "Don't you know how much the Kong family relies on you, Changsun Wuji? Even if you Changsun family can't learn from the Kong family, can't you learn from other great families?"

"Relying on poetry and books to pass down the family, relying on a portion of hidden wealth to pass down the family, appearing when the descendants are striving for success, and lurking again when the descendants are not striving for success, isn't this a good way of inheritance?"

Chen Ruohan looked at Changsun Wuji and said, "This way of inheritance is of course good, but it has one downside."

His eyes looked into Changsun Wuji's eyes, and his voice was soft, like the sound of autumn wind sweeping through the leaves on the ground.

"The bad thing is that this way of inheritance is too hard."

“This way of inheritance is too normal.”

“This way of inheritance has lasted too long.”

"If there are enemies of the Changsun family in this world, I think you, Fuji, must be the most determined one among them. Otherwise, such an excellent inheritance method - at most it needs some restrictions, why are you unwilling to let the Changsun family learn it?"

"With this inheritance method, the Wang family and the Xie family have relied on him to pass on their legacy to the present day. The Wang family is still one of the Five Surnames and Seven Famous Clan, while the Xie family is spread in secret and is still the top family - just a little bit behind the seven big families."

"But how long has the Xie family been passed down? How long have the other five surnames and seven aristocrats, except for the Wang family, been passed down?"

"Long-lasting nobility and short-lived glory."

Chen Ruohan stood up, straightened his clothes, and then looked at Changsun Wuji and said, "Long-term nobility and short-term glory, I don't understand why you would choose short-term glory. You only think about the current wealth and madness, but never consider the long-term future of the Changsun family."

"This isn't your level."

"You met me today, and I came to admonish you, but I did not come here for myself, but for the friendship between you and His Majesty for many years. This friendship makes His Majesty very reluctant to see what is happening now."

"But it's an auxiliary machine."

As Chen Ruohan walked outside, he turned back and said softly with a gloomy look, "But Fu Ji, after I saw you, I realized that you didn't just go astray for a short time as Your Majesty thought."

"You have never walked the same path as me and Your Majesty."

He smiled faintly: "You are on the same path as Gao Shilian and the others. You seem to be standing from our perspective and the perspective of the people, but in fact you are just wearing a hypocritical cloak."

"Assisted Machine, the friendship between you and me ends here."

After saying this, Chen Ruohan did not stay and walked out of Changsun Wuji's mansion.

The sky was gray, making people feel inexplicably anxious and lonely. Chen Ruohan raised his head, looked at the birds flying in the gray sky, and sighed softly.

Then he turned and walked towards the palace.

He thought that Li Shimin needed to know what happened today.

He needs to know about Changsun Wuji.

After Chen Ruohan left, Changsun Wuji sat there dejectedly, with a look of confusion and helplessness on his face.

In fact, has Changsun Wuji ever considered what Chen Ruohan said and the method he proposed?

Of course I have considered it.

but.
That method is too hard and too difficult.

Who can guarantee that there won’t be a prodigal son in their family? Although this way of inheritance can last for a long time, it is also very fragile. Who can predict what the world will become?

If everyone else simply relies on bloodline to pass on wealth, but they still stick to it, how long can that persistence last?

This is what Changsun Wuji is worried about.

And he knew that his worries would definitely become a reality - perhaps.

Taiji Hall
After listening to Chen Ruohan's retelling, Li Shimin and Empress Changsun both had a hint of pain in their eyes. They never imagined that the truth of the matter would be so cruel.

Li Shimin even couldn't believe it.

Compared to the fact that Changsun Wuji had never walked the same path with him, he was actually more inclined to believe that Changsun Wuji had betrayed him now. After all, this would prove that they were not "sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams" in the past. But what a pity, what a pity.

Changsun Wuji was such a person. It is undeniable that he never walked on the same path as Li Shimin.

Li Shimin sighed deeply and said, "Forget it. Since Auxiliary Engine has never been of the same mind as me, then I don't need to worry about him. Anyway, we still have to do what we should do."

Having said this, he seemed to have remembered something, with a hint of a smile on his face.

"By the way, have you been to Cheng Qian's place?"

"I've seen him make progress in his studies recently, so it won't be a disgrace to you to be his teacher."

Speaking of Li Chengqian, Li Shimin's tired and lonely mood seemed to have improved a little.

Chen Ruohan raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have never been there, but now that you mentioned it, I am interested."

"What book is Cheng Qian reading recently?"

what book?

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Li Shimin laughed and said, "What other books can my son read? Of course, they are the books I read when I was an elementary school student."

He looked at Chen Ruohan and hinted, "It is the books left by the Wansui Emperor. In this way, even if you and I are reduced to ashes, there will be someone who can take over our class a hundred years later."

Probably the happiest thing in a person's life is that he or she has someone to succeed him or her.

For example, the current Li Shimin, and the previous Chen Ruohan.

Chen Ruohan exhaled slowly, then looked at Li Shimin and said, "Okay, I'll go to the East Palace and take a look later."

Li Chengqian was not young anymore, so Li Shimin appointed him as the crown prince very early on and did not give anyone else a chance - and he also told his other children very clearly.

The throne will belong to Li Chengqian in the future, but he will not treat them unfairly.

They will have everything they should have, and they should not dream of things they shouldn't have.

It was at this time that Li Shimin actually had some vague understanding of his father's choice back then, but he was still unwilling, or unnecessary, to forgive Li Yuan.

Because he is different from Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was too partial to the eldest brother, and even wanted to treat him as the boss's nourishment - whether it was the title earned by his own ability or other things, he wanted to give them to the eldest brother, and had no fatherly mercy on himself.

But he is different.

He was the one who conquered the country with his own hands, so naturally he had to establish a stable inheritance system - the primogeniture system was a nearly perfect system.

As long as this system is supplemented with some things to form a concept close to the "separation of powers", the Tang Dynasty can be passed down for a long time.

Yes.

Just as the First Emperor wanted his dynasty to be passed down through the ages, Li Shimin also wanted his Tang Dynasty to be passed down forever.

In Li Shimin's initial conception, although the emperor, the Chen family, and the "court" could not check and balance each other, the Tang Dynasty could continue to exist without any one of them.

When the emperor was incompetent, the power of the Chen family and the "court" could sideline the emperor, allowing him to only enjoy the wealth and glory that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty should have, but not be able to control this huge empire and act tyrannically.

Without the support of the "court", or when the previous emperor was incompetent and the next emperor was "wise", with the power of the Chen family and the emperor, both could easily snatch it back from the court.

As for whether Chen would change his mind?
Instead of thinking about this possibility, it is better to think about when God will directly bring down the punishment of destruction.

So far, Li Shimin is not very satisfied with the "reform" of the court, but this kind of system reform cannot be completed overnight, so it must be done slowly and slowly.

Only by taking it slow could he complete the division of power in the court without alarming the officials.

He was very satisfied with the current system of three provinces and six ministries, but Li Shimin always felt that something was missing.

It is an institution similar to the "Shangshu Tai" in the Han Dynasty. Today's "Shangshu Sheng" seems to have the same name as the Shangshu Tai back then, but in fact there are many differences.

Li Shimin gradually came up with ideas.

If the Shangshu Tai is gone, just build another one.

But it can no longer be called Shangshu Tai. Perhaps a different name would be more appropriate.

What's it called?
Li Shimin fell into thought.

East Palace
Li Chengqian sat in the palace, looking at the book in his hands, with a thoughtful look on his face.

In fact, in Li Chengqian's view, these "ideas" are indeed good ideas and are indeed somewhat advanced, but after being transformed by his father, there is no problem at all with these ideas.

As for my uncle's disagreement?
Li Chengqian sighed deeply. He was very sorry about this, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Life must go on.

"Big brother."

"What are you reading?"

Li Zhi was lying on the table beside him, yawning slightly, with a slightly tired look on his face, and he looked a little exhausted.

But there was a hint of "cleverness" and "wisdom" in those dark eyes. To Li Chengqian, Li Zhi was his beloved younger brother, but to Li Zhi,
Li Chengqian is more of a "Crown Prince".

Li Chengqian smiled and waved, asking Li Zhi to lie down beside him, and the two of them read the books in their hands together.

Outside the East Palace

Looking at this scene of brothers being friendly and respectful to each other, Chen Ruohan nodded slightly to show his satisfaction. For Chen, the stability of the royal family is the most important thing at the moment, and nothing else matters.

Zhen Wang Mansion
Chen Yu looked at Chen Ruohan who came in from outside with a surprised look on his face: "Father, you look like you have encountered something good, what happened?"

Chen Ruohan smiled and told Chen Yu everything he saw in the Taiji Hall today, and then said with emotion: "In this way, within two generations of emperors, the national policy of the Tang Dynasty will not be shaken, and you and I can concentrate on doing this matter."

"The scourge of the aristocratic families that has lasted for hundreds of years is finally coming to an end."

PS: I found that there is a problem with the plan. According to the current rhythm and plot, there probably won’t be so many chapters QAQ. I’ll just write one step at a time.

(End of this chapter)