blogombal Page 2631
Page 2631
At this point, a more prestigious sage must lead, and the leaders of all tribes must listen to him.
These wise men were the feudal lords, and their territories were the states.
But the feudal lords made the wars larger, and they needed more prestigious and wise leaders to lead them.
The Emperor is born!
The following content elaborates on the feudal system.
It further discusses why the feudal system was replaced by the prefecture-county system, and argues that the feudal system treated the state as private property, while the Qin Dynasty created the prefecture-county system where the world was shared by all.
Liu Zongyuan also said that these changes were not the intention of any sage, but rather the result of the natural evolution of the general trend.
After Zhang Liangyou finished reciting the article, Wei Liangchen said, "His Majesty generally agrees with Liu Zongyuan's views and has even made revisions and additions."
"In the southwest and northeast, there are still many barbarian tribes."
"They ate raw meat and drank blood, and practiced slash-and-burn agriculture because they had not been educated."
"Their lives were much the same as those of ancient China."
"Man fought with wild beasts and learned to make bows, arrows and spears."
"In the struggle against nature, humans learned to make fire for warmth, to wear clothes to keep warm, to build water conservancy projects, and to cultivate and raise livestock."
"With a larger population, there needs to be a leader. Otherwise, it will be difficult to quell internal strife and resist foreign invasions."
"And so came tribal chiefs, and many tribes had great chiefs."
"The Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor, along with Chi You, were the great leaders at that time!"
"The great leaders fought each other and constantly annexed other tribes, and thus the Chinese civilization came into being. This led to the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties!"
"The Zhou Dynasty divided the land and established feudal states."
"Many feudal lords were located in barbarian lands, and they conquered and educated the barbarians."
"Then the Eastern Yi, Western Rong, Southern Man, and Northern Di all assimilated into the Xia people."
"As the feudal lords gradually rose in power, the Zhou emperor's authority waned, leading to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods..."
This kind of fundamental knowledge, which is hundreds of years in the future, is still very novel and unique at this time, and most people present listened very carefully.
Wei Liangchen bowed to the north, saying, "The current Holy Emperor is well-versed in the workings of heaven and earth."
"These are all things that the Emperor said at the Imperial Lectures."
"Throughout history, it was always the great Confucian scholars who lectured the emperors. But in our Great Ming Dynasty, it was the emperors who lectured the great Confucian scholars."
Suddenly, Wei Liangchen pointed to a scholar beside him: "If the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor had annexed the Chi You tribe, would Chi You have obediently followed orders?"
"No," the scholar replied.
Wei Liangchen then asked, "How was the Chi You tribe annexed?"
The scholar said, "Conquest."
“Indeed, conquest,” Wei Liangchen said. “Whether it is the Yanhuang conquering Chiyou or the feudal lords assimilating the barbarians, they must first rely on military conquest.”
"We defeated the foreign race and subdued them."
“Go and educate them, and turn the barbarians into the Chinese.”
"So, initially, China was only a small corner of the world, but now it has the whole world."
Wei Liangchen then pointed to another scholar: "What do we rely on to win a war?"
The scholar replied, "We have wise ministers who strategize and brave generals who charge into battle."
Wei Liangchen shook his head: "We need all of these, but money and grain are even more important."
"Only with money and provisions can we feed the soldiers and build excellent weapons and armor."
"Why did Tong Guan suffer a major defeat in his campaign against the Liao Dynasty during the Former Song Dynasty? Because he lacked money and food."
"If the soldiers are not paid enough, how can they have any morale? They even have to set out in a hurry, and their weapons and armor are not complete."
"Then where will the money and provisions come from?" Wei Liangchen asked another scholar.
The scholar said, "It comes from taxes."
“Indeed, taxes,” Wei Liangchen said. “His Majesty once told his ministers that in the time of the Yellow Emperor, when all crafts were just established, they even used wooden farming tools. Copper was scarce and could only be used to make ritual objects. Farming was also done without proper methods, and the harvest was meager.”
"At that time, we couldn't collect much tax, nor could we support a large army. It was mostly tribal nobles who had given up their jobs to lead a group of people who still needed to farm the land to fight wars."
"Later, bronze tools became more widespread and could be used to make agricultural implements, and farming methods became more sophisticated."
"As the harvested grain increased, so did the army that could be supported. As a result, more and more regional lords and feudal lords rose to power, enabling the Zhou emperor to rule the world."
"Later, iron tools came into being. With iron farm implements, we could cultivate more solid land."
"Ten, twenty, or thirty people would cultivate a plot of fertile land using bronze farm tools. This is the well-field system."
"If a family of three to five uses iron farm tools, they can cultivate a piece of fertile land."
"Then there would be no need for the well-field system."
Chapter 3589 Xunzi's Theory of Human Nature's Evil
"The same population can cultivate more land."
"With ample funds and provisions, the feudal lords could conscript soldiers to wage war. That was the Warring States period!"
The scholars were dumbfounded.
The historical knowledge they had learned was merely an eye-opener, since Liu Zongyuan had similar views.
However, using copper and iron, agriculture, and taxes to explain the evolution of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties is unprecedented in ancient times.
While my values were severely challenged, upon closer examination, they seemed to make some sense.
Wei Liangchen continued, "Given Qin Shi Huang's tyranny in conquering the six states, why did Liu Zongyuan say that he created a world for all?"
"Because the Zhou Dynasty was a feudal system with layers of feudal lords and high officials, everyone was private, and the Zhou emperor was unable to collect money and taxes."
“If a natural disaster occurs anywhere, the other feudal lords will not provide assistance, and the Zhou emperor will not have the funds or grain to provide relief.”
"The Qin Dynasty implemented the prefecture-county system, which enabled Qin Shi Huang to unify the collection of money and grain."
"The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system. Although it initially enfeoffed prefectures and kingdoms, how could this system last long given the prevailing trend?"
"In the end, the Han dynasty eliminated the vassal kings through the policy of granting them favors. It was only through the unified mobilization of troops by Emperor Wu and Emperor Xuan that the might of the Han dynasty was demonstrated."
"The feudal lords were gone, but powerful and influential families emerged. As a result, large clans migrated during the Han Dynasty and settled around the mausoleum."
“The powerful and influential families gradually became uncontrollable; they seized land, concealed populations, and evaded taxes and corvée labor.”
"The state had no money or grain to collect, and the people had no place to stand, which led to the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty."
"During the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, aristocratic families became powerful clans. They built fortified villages, controlled the population, owned vast tracts of land, and produced generations of high-ranking officials who controlled the government, making them like states within a state."
"The Sui and Tang dynasties established the country based on the land tax and labor service system. However, the five major clans and seven powerful families took the lead in annexing land, which led to the corruption of the land tax and labor service system and its collapse."
"The imperial court was unable to support the army, which led to the establishment of military governors and triggered the An Lushan Rebellion."
"This calamity continued into the Five Dynasties period. Although the Former Song Dynasty unified the country, it was never able to recover the Yan and Yun regions."
Where did the redundant officials, soldiers, and expenses in the Song Dynasty come from?
"The problem of redundant officials is rampant with favoritism. A prime minister can bestow favors upon several of his descendants, and a prefect can also bestow favors upon several more of his descendants."
"A duke can bestow favors upon several of his descendants, and a county marquis can bestow favors upon several more of his descendants."
"Even on the emperor's birthday, if the prefect sends his son to the capital to offer congratulations, that son can be granted an official position through imperial favor!"
"Is the excessive number of soldiers due to the need for war? The imperial court's taxes are increasing daily, powerful clans are annexing countless properties, and the number of displaced people is growing."
"We could only keep recruiting refugees into the local militia, and eventually the national army numbered a million!"
"From Fan Zhongyan to Wang Anshi, and even that treacherous minister Cai Jing, why did they keep insisting on reforms?"
"It boils down to two words: money and supplies!"
"A scholar asked me, why does the Ming Dynasty suppress the Yimen? Let me take the Chen family of Yimen in Jiangzhou as an example."
"They built academies and clinics so that all members of the clan could afford to study and receive medical treatment."
“In years of natural disasters, relief will be provided to the local people, and even people from other families can survive.”
"This is indeed commendable, worthy of the name of the Righteous Clan. But where did they get the money? Where did they get the food?"
“They took advantage of their wealth to seize land and turn fellow villagers from other families into customers.”
"They themselves were exempted from corvée labor. They even concealed their land and population, making it difficult for the government to collect taxes."
"In order to meet their targets, local officials had no choice but to increase the taxes levied on other local residents."
"This led to more farmers going bankrupt and selling their land, which the Chen family of Jiangzhou took the opportunity to acquire."
"This makes it more difficult for the government to collect taxes, and the taxes for people from other clans in the area are even heavier!"
“When the Song Dynasty split up the Chen family, they only had 47 farmlands left in five counties.”
"But just a century later, their landholdings had recovered to more than 200."
"Where did these land properties come from? By enriching themselves at the expense of the public and by oppressing outsiders."
"If all the powerful clans in the land followed this righteous path, how would the imperial court collect taxes?"
"How heavy should the taxes be for the remaining small households and ordinary people?"
"If another Fang La and another Zhong Xiang were to appear, where would the imperial court find the funds and provisions to send troops to suppress them? I fear the chaos of the Five Dynasties period might return!"
"Now, do you understand why the imperial court is suppressing the Yi Clan?"
The question was raised by Zhang Liangyou. He stood up, bowed respectfully, and said, "Thank you for your teachings, sir. I now understand the meaning behind it."
One by one, hundreds of students stood up and bowed to Wei Liangchen.
Some of the remaining people did not agree with this reasoning.
In particular, regarding their historical accounts, they believed that the chaos during the Han and Tang dynasties was not caused by land annexation, but by the machinations of incompetent rulers and treacherous officials.
Some people didn't react much, simply because they were sitting too far away and couldn't hear what Wei Liangchen was saying...
Wei Liangchen said, "His Majesty has already written down these principles in 'On History,' and is currently entrusting them to scholars of the Hanlin Academy for polishing."
"It is highly likely that policy essay questions will be tested in the imperial examinations in the future!"
Did you have to take the imperial examination?
The scholars, who had originally intended to refute the viewpoint, suddenly fell silent.
Zhang Liangyou quickly asked, "Does 'On History' only appear in policy essay questions?"
Wei Liangchen explained, "The essay questions on 'On History' are sometimes on the test and sometimes not; you only need to study them thoroughly."
Chapter 3590 The Struggle for Literary Lineage
"However, after passing the imperial examination and before being appointed to a substantive official position, one must take the special examination at the Ministry of Personnel. 'Essays on History' is a required subject in this examination!"
Upon hearing this, the scholars quickly kept it in mind.
The Jinshi degree holders of the Ming Dynasty were divided into three classes: First Class, Second Class, and Third Class.
After completing their internships at the central government, those ranked first and second class could be directly granted official positions.
The top three scholars, who accounted for 70% of the total number of successful candidates, had to take the Ministry of Personnel's special examination before being appointed to official positions, and their specific posts were assigned based on their exam results.
Therefore, the scope of the exam questions is also very important.
Subjects such as astronomy, geography, physics, agriculture, water conservancy, disaster relief, and law will soon be removed from the imperial examinations and transferred to the Ministry of Personnel's examinations.
Only mathematics remained, and it was still a required subject in the imperial examinations.
This approach was not Zhao Yuan's compromise with traditional Confucian scholars, but rather an effort to take care of the vast number of impoverished scholars.
Educational resources were already unevenly distributed in ancient times, and the rate of education普及率 (penetration rate) at this time was far lower than that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Therefore, the examination content should not include too much "miscellaneous learning," otherwise it would be a disaster for poor scholars, and the sons of wealthy families would inevitably monopolize the imperial examinations by relying on "miscellaneous learning."
However, one item must be retained to promote the development of natural sciences, so mathematics became the retained item.
For impoverished scholars, mathematics was easier to master than physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geography.