"It's simply lawless! Is Henan Prefecture still under the rule of the Tang Dynasty? Is it still under my rule? A bunch of bastards who have a family but no country, no king and no father, they are extremely domineering!"
In the imperial study room of Wude Palace, Li Chengqian shouted loudly and was furious.
First, the news came back that the Hedong Salt Pond had resumed production and updated the salt production technology. The court was shocked. Li Chengqian almost celebrated with several important ministers. Such a perfect recovery of the ownership rights of the Hedong Salt Pond and the elimination of hidden dangers made the Hedong family obey. , which made a good start for the central government to suppress the various factions.
Private agreements are not worth mentioning. Anyway, the poor families and common people at this stage cannot pose a threat to the aristocratic families on the road of imperial examinations. It is better to use this as a concession to the Hedong aristocratic family, and both sides get what they need.
As for whether the children from Hedong will flood the court because of this... it is not a big problem. If there are no children from Hedong, there will be children from Shandong and Jiangnan. They are all children of aristocratic families, and everyone is the same.
However, when Xu Jingzong's superstition arrived from Luoyang, Li Chengqian became furious.
Li Ji shook his head, sighed, and remained silent.
It has been a long-standing pattern that aristocratic families control local governance. The situation in government can be said to be "the center governs the clan, and the clan governs the people." The role of the aristocratic families is extremely important. However, the Luoyang family not only openly resisted the imperial decrees, but even instigated and instigated the peasants and common people to confront the central government, but they rarely did so and were of extremely bad nature.
But what if he is furious?
A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. In the final analysis, the implementation of central government decrees still depends on the aristocratic families in various places. Without their support, central government decrees are just a piece of waste paper...
You can't just raise a butcher's knife to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, right?
Fang Jun had to compromise with the Hedong family despite his tough tactics in Yanchi, Hedong. You can know the serious consequences once force is used...
Liu Jie said in a deep voice: "Nowadays, many people have lost their land and live dependent on the aristocratic families. If the aristocratic families lose their land again, I don't know how many people will live in poverty and starve. Therefore, the matter of measuring the land has already touched the aristocratic families." The bottom line of the clan, how could they not fight back? Fortunately, Xu Shangshu kept calm and did not make a big move. Otherwise, the whole of Henan would have been completely corrupted. In the opinion of the humble ministers, this decree is still debatable, and at least its implementation should be suspended. Otherwise, the impact will be too bad and it will be destabilizing. Jiangshan Sheji.”
Ma Zhou disagreed: "If you change your course when you encounter setbacks, if things go on like this, where is the authority of the central government? You cannot retreat when you encounter difficulties. Since the Henan family dares to resist the central government's orders so rampantly and arbitrarily, treating angels as if they are nothing, then they should use stronger measures To fight back will definitely dampen his arrogance.”
Liu Ji asked: "What is the wise opinion of Ma Shizhong?"
Ma Zhoudao: "The 'Three Law Division' is now in Yanchi, Hedong, a hundred miles away. It can be ordered to return to Luoyang immediately, continue the previous review, and deter the officials of Henan Prefecture."
"What if Henan officials resign collectively? Since they dare to instigate farmers to fight against the central government, they will naturally do anything."
"They don't dare. Just from the fact that they encouraged the farmers to stand up and all of them stayed aside, it can be seen that they also have scruples. Once they resign collectively, they will blatantly defy the central government and the imperial power. If they lose their morality, they will lose their hearts. When the time comes, the whole world will criticize and slander them, and they will not be able to bear it.”
"What if you allow yourself to be scrutinized and then plead guilty? You don't dare to resign, but you will be dismissed from office after pleading guilty, right?"
"Then His Majesty will issue an imperial edict that all officials who have been 'redeemed' will never be used again after being deposed! The 'redeemed' system has long been a loophole manipulated by the family members. Sooner or later, it will be deposed. It is better to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of it once and for all."
Liu Jie was furious: "Are you crazy? Do you know that once such an imperial edict is promulgated, it will cause even greater turmoil?"
"Redemption" is an ancient system that allows officials of a certain rank and status to redeem themselves with fines after committing crimes, and then they can also be qualified to serve as officials, but they have to be demoted or hired without pay.
This is the privilege of aristocratic families.
Once this privilege is banned, all the aristocratic families in the world will suffer losses, and the obstruction they will encounter can be imagined.
Ma Zhou said firmly: "The whole world is not the king's land, and the shores of the land are not the king's ministers. Your Majesty has the world in his mouth, and he has a word for it. Anyone who dares to disobey the imperial edict should be punished as treason! The central government governs the world, and not only must Show it with benevolence, and more importantly, declare it with authority. A center without dignity is regarded as a clay body by the people of the world, and it will be smashed to pieces without any scruples sooner or later. "
At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the aristocratic families not only built the framework of the entire empire, but also maintained the operation of the entire empire, and played the most important role. However, time has changed, and now the aristocratic families have become an obstacle to the development and progress of the empire, and even vaguely threaten the long-term peace and stability of the empire, so they must be suppressed and weakened at all costs.
However, as the cornerstone of the empire, the aristocratic families have unparalleled influence, and no one dares to act rashly. Even the wise and powerful Emperor Taizong can only take action slowly and fearfully.
But what Fang Jun did in Yanchi in Hedong made people understand the weakness of the aristocratic families - when the imperial power is concentrated and the center is strong, the so-called aristocratic families will find it difficult to shake and will be timid.
This is very exciting. It is time to strike while the iron is hot and forge ahead with determination. How can we go against the grain and rest on our laurels?
In his view, Liu Jie, the prime minister, only engaged in cliques and political struggles, and was completely useless in governing the country and the world.
Liu Jie turned to Li Chengqian and said in a sincere tone: "Your Majesty, please don't listen to such nonsense. The world's stability is hard-won. This is the time to win over all the noble families in the world and make them the strongest cornerstone of your Majesty's imperial power. How can we be so harsh?" Isn’t it the way of a benevolent king to suppress someone and not allow him to recuperate?”
He has always been uncomfortable with radicals like Fang Jun and Ma Zhou. These people only know how to forge ahead and pioneer and innovate. They seem to be famous officials in the world and have made great contributions to the country. In fact, they do not understand the way of political change and compromise at all. What are the benefits of violent attacks that sharply intensify conflicts and pit the central government and local governments against each other?
Have you forgotten the two rebellions and mutinies that His Majesty encountered when he first came to the throne?
It is right to suppress the clan and cut off its power, but this path must be taken slowly and persistently, rather than "seizing the day and night" as Fang Jun calls it...
Li Chengqian looked indifferent, but he was in a dilemma and felt that both of them were justified, so he looked at Li Ji: "What do you think, Duke Ying?"
Li Ji sighed secretly, "His Majesty is good at everything, but being so lackadaisical is not the quality of a wise king. However, no one is perfect. How can there be a perfect king with good character, clear advance and retreat, and good decision-making?"
"I think that according to Ma Shizhong's words, we can tell the world to outlaw the system of 'punishment and redemption'. Law is the basis for the country to rule all peoples. For this reason, it must at least be formally 'fair and just', and let All people in the world see that "princes who break the law are guilty of the same crime as the common people." As long as everyone follows the law, why worry about the world being unstable? ”
Since ancient times, every dynasty and every generation has formulated laws that claim to be "fair and just", but has there ever been a true sense of "fair and just" in the world? In the final analysis, the law was enacted just to better rule the people.
But at the very least, all people in the world must think that the essence of the law is to demonstrate fairness. Only in this way can everyone abide by the law, so that behavior can be regulated and speech can be restricted. However, a system such as "punishment and redemption" blatantly breaks the law. The fairness of the law makes it a matter of course that "a doctor cannot be punished" and naturally gives a certain class privileges that are not within the scope of the law.
As long as class exists, privileges cannot be eliminated, but the fewer privileges and the more fair and just the law seems, the stronger the country will be.
Li Chengqian happily accepted the advice: "In this case, I will ask my disciples to draft an edict to abolish the system of 'punishment and redemption', and inform the world, so that everyone in the world can feel my determination to treat everyone equally, and also demonstrate the justice of the law."
He is not good at making decisions, but when people around him prompt him to make up his mind, he can readily accept advice and follow it.
Due to his personality, he lacks the domineering spirit of "I am the only one", has soft ears, and lacks self-persistence.
That's a bad thing, but it's also a good thing.
Emperors with "righteous ideas" tend to go their own way and refuse to listen to advice. They seldom make mistakes, but once they make a mistake, it is a big mistake that shakes the foundation of the country. They often refuse to listen to advice and do not correct their mistakes even if they know they are wrong. For example, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty...< br>
Liu Ji remained silent, feeling deeply alone and helpless. In particular, his political disagreements made him deeply worried.
In his view, blindly adhering to established laws is naturally inappropriate, but changing and abolishing the foundations on which the country was founded one by one is also a mistake that is greedy for success. Governing the world depends on the word "stability", and wanting "stability" ", we must compromise in the political game.
There is no turning around, no compromise, just blindly pioneering and enterprising will inevitably touch the interests of the aristocratic families. Without the support of the aristocratic families, the cornerstone of the empire will be lost. Wouldn't it lead to chaos in the world?
It is correct to suppress the valve, but it is a big mistake to cut off the valve...
However, this did not dampen his belief, but instead strengthened his fighting spirit.
Immediately, the servant Ma Zhou considered the sentences, drafted the edict, and circulated it to everyone.
The issuance of government decrees should have been drafted by the Menxia Province and reviewed by the Zhongshu Ministry. Under normal circumstances, such a government order that deprived the privileges of aristocratic families would not be approved by the Zhongshu Province. Even if the Menxia Province had the emperor's approval to issue it, it would definitely be issued. quilt Zhongshu Province refutes it, but now that Zhongshu Ling Liu Ji is present, it is impossible to do anything against the emperor's will, so there is no way to refute it. After Liu Ji nodded, it was handed over to the actual controller of Shangshu Province, Shangshu Zuopu. Shooting Li Ji was awarded to the world.
A decree abolishing the privilege of "penalty and redemption" quickly went through the prescribed procedures in the imperial study room, and became a formal imperial decree, which was promulgated throughout the world.
In the process of issuing this decree, Henan Prefecture was the first to bear the brunt, and someone specially rushed to deliver it to Luoyang...*****