Wentang

Chapter 155 Who Owns the Power (1)

Yue Shan's main research is ancient Chinese history, and he only knows about some major events in the ancient history of the world.

He only knows how many great empires there were in the early Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Sasanian Dynasty, the Arab Empire that is about to rise, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Lombard Kingdom, the Frankish Kingdom, the Slavs... as for other small countries and forces, he doesn't know much about them. up.

But again, it doesn't have much impact. It's not that he doesn't need to be so detailed in his research. A rough world layout is enough.

"I didn't expect that there are so many countries and forces in the world." Li Shimin said with emotion.

"These I'm talking about are only relatively large forces. There are more small forces that I don't even know. It's up to His Majesty to send people to explore." Yue Shan reminded.

"Haha... these are enough. Today we know that there is a sky beyond the sky... such a great world is the battlefield for heroes to gallop." Li Shimin said boldly:

"I'm very satisfied with your gift, tell me, what can I ask for?"

"Don't worry, I've gained a bit from reading history books recently, and I want to ask the sage for advice." Yue Shan shook his head and said.

"Oh, you want to test me? Let the horse come over." Li Shimin laughed.

"Use copper as a mirror to straighten your clothes, use people as a mirror to reveal gains and losses, and use history as a mirror to know success and failure..." Yue Shan was interrupted by Li Shimin just after speaking.

I saw him clapping his hands and exclaiming: "Using copper as a mirror can straighten clothes, using people as a mirror can reveal gains and losses, and history can be used as a mirror to know success and failure. This is very wonderful."

What else could Yue Shan say, he quickly brought up Li Shimin's famous quotes, it was really the real version of Li Gui who ran into Li Kui.But fortunately, in this world who is Li Kui and who is Li Gui are still two things to say.

"What I want to ask is, saint, what did you read from the history books?"

"This...your question..." Li Shimin frowned slightly, not knowing how to answer.

Yue Shan's question is too big and too general, making people don't know where to answer it.Of course he himself knew that there was a problem with this question, so he smiled and said, "You can just talk about what you think is the biggest gain."

"The biggest gain?" Li Shimin's head started to hurt. This question is also very general.What is the biggest gain?I have gained too much, and many of them are indiscriminate.

But after thinking about it, he finally chose one and said: "The dynasty prospers when the emperor is bright and the ministers are wise, and dies when the emperor is faint and the ministers are dark."

"Where's Wang Mang?" Yue Shan asked.

"Wang Mang is a traitor and traitor, and the great man Huanghuang almost died at his hands." Li Shimin said.

"I agree with the second half of your sentence, but I disagree with the first half. I think he is a reformer who is dedicated to the people, but he is too radical." Yue Shan said in a surprising way.

"Ridiculous." Li Shimin said angrily, "If it wasn't...not because you are the righteous brother of Guanyin's maidservant, I would have killed your head just based on these words."

"It's because the empress is my righteous sister that I said these things to you. If it were someone else, I would definitely keep silent and be my own rich man." Yue Shan smiled lightly.

"You..." Li Shimin got angry and pointed at him for a long time before uttering a sentence: "You are shameless."

"Saint, don't be angry. Didn't I say it just now? I was just discussing it. I don't care if it's right or not." Yue Shan said.

"Okay, then tell me, I'd like to hear what you have to say." Li Shimin sat down angrily and said.

"At the end of the former Han Dynasty, the aristocratic families and the local tyrants firmly controlled the government, and the common people would never have a bright future. Moreover, land annexation was serious, and the rich had thousands of mansions and the poor had no place to stand...The life of the common people was becoming more and more difficult..." Yue Shan described the life of the people in the late Western Han Dynasty. The situation is roughly described.

Li Shimin's stiff face eased, obviously he also agreed with Yue Shan's statement.

"If the situation continues in this way, the big man is not far from subjugation. Wang Mang saw this and proposed reforms. He wanted to redistribute wealth and distribute part of the wealth and land of the rich and nobles to the common people, so that They survived." Yue Shan continued:
"But when he actually did it, he found that there were many difficulties. Even the allies who supported him turned back one after another. So he took the most extreme method, rebellion. He thought that after he became emperor, he would be able to forcefully promote reforms and complete own grand plans."

"It's a pity he failed. Does the saint know why he failed?" Yue Shan asked.

"Rebellious officials and thieves can be punished for everyone." Li Shimin said coldly.

"Heh..." Yue Shan didn't expect him to be able to answer this question at first, so he just chuckled and continued, "Because he offended all the people in power. I'll ask the saint another question. Who are the powerful people in the world?"

"Of course the Son of Heaven." Li Shimin said as a matter of course.

"But it is impossible for the Son of Heaven to manage the vast world by himself, and someone needs to replace the herdsmen for the Son of Heaven. Saint, who do you think was the herdsman for the Son of Heaven at that time?" Yue Shan shook his head and asked again.

"Of course..." Li Shimin wanted to talk about officials in the world, but he swallowed the words again.Because he finally understood what question Yue Shan was asking.

Who are the officials in the world?

"The sage understands? All the officials in the world are proud nobles. How could they support Wang Mang's reforms? So no matter how powerful he is, he can only be defeated." Yue Shan said.

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, and had to admit that what Yue Shan said made sense, but: "What are you trying to tell me by saying this?"

"What I want to say is, from the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to my Tang Dynasty, who are the people who hold the power in the world." Yue Shan said.

"Say." Li Shimin's face suddenly changed, and he stared at Yue Shan for a long time before squeezing out a word between his teeth.

"I divide the dynasties into three stages. The first stage is pre-Qin, the second stage is Han to Sui, and the third stage is my Tang Dynasty." Yue Shan talked eloquently:
"In the pre-Qin period, the power was in the hands of the nobles. The nobles passed on their blood. Their children were born nobles. Whether they were wise or foolish, they could serve as officials and replace the emperor's herdsmen. The children of common people will always be common people, no matter how talented they are. become officials."

"Nobles also monopolize learning. At that time, only nobles could learn characters, and ordinary people had no chance to touch them. This is the truth of the saying that a doctor can't be punished and a common man can't be polite."

"It wasn't until Confucius created the style of private lectures that common people had the opportunity to learn characters. The rule of the aristocracy was finally torn a small hole."

"It was not until Shang Yang's reforms implemented the military merit system that the noble blood system was completely broken. From then on, commoners also had the opportunity to become nobles."

"However, this system was only implemented in Qin State, and the other vassal states still implemented the aristocratic lineage system. Until the first emperor unified the six countries and established the Great Qin, the Qin law was practiced all over the world, and the aristocratic lineage system was completely replaced by the military merit system."

(End of this chapter)