The green mountains are vast, the mist and rain are misty, the mountains are undulating like dragons, the rivers are rushing like ribbons, and in the distance only the misty silhouette of Xianyang Palace is left. In the past, the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and strong men swept beyond the Great Wall. All the gold and iron horses in the smoke and dust of history were washed away by the rain.
Only the glorious Tang Dynasty and thousands of miles of rivers and mountains are left.
At the moment when the dragon gate was separated, the era belonging to His Majesty Li Er had come to an end.
It was at this moment that an era that should not have appeared in this time and space slowly began to unfold.
The river of history has forked and followed a completely different path, flowing mightily and never to return.
…
In front of the Dragon Gate, Li Chengqian and a group of princes, princesses and the late emperor's concubines knelt on the ground, crying loudly and heartbreakingly. There were countless people who fainted, and there was a cloud of sadness.
Li Xiaogong and Li Yuanjia looked at each other and waved their hands to order hundreds of servants who came randomly. The palace maid stepped forward and helped the crying people up. Li Xiaogong said in a deep voice: "The late emperor is buried in the sky. The sun and the moon are without light, and the whole sky is empty."
We are all grieving together, but the enthronement ceremony will be held later, so I would like to ask you to express your condolences and not delay the important event, otherwise the late emperor’s spirit in heaven will also blame us.”
But the sound of crying still continued.
Some people grieve over the funeral of the late emperor, and will never be able to see each other again. Some people live by relying on the late emperor. From then on, they are either trapped in the harem or practicing in the royal temple. They are lonely and desolate, and it is difficult to control themselves.
Some people even just show off, with tears streaming down their faces, but they don’t think so in their hearts...
There are all kinds of things in life.
After another delay of nearly half an hour, all the royal relatives stopped sobbing and sobbed, walked down the mountain from Zhaoling, got into their cars, and headed back to Chang'an City along the same route.
At this time, Chang'an City's flags were fluttering and gongs and drums were ringing. It was completely different from the previous gloomy and gloomy atmosphere. Although the "Hundred Cavalry" and the Forbidden Army, and Jingzhao Prefecture patrols still blocked all the streets, they did not prohibit people from going out, especially those adjacent to Zhuque.
In every corner of the street, people gathered in large numbers in front of the gates. When they saw the prince entering the city in a chariot from the Mingde Gate, they couldn't help but make a loud noise.
The cries of "Long live the new emperor" and "Long live the prince" are endless.
Although the people love His Majesty Li Er more, times have changed after all. Prince Li Chengqian's reputation of "kindness" and "forgiveness" has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even if he is worse than His Majesty Li Er, the people can accept it if he settles for the second best.
Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty is strong and prosperous, and all industries are prosperous. If there is a king who loves the people like a son, everyone's good life will be stable.
On the contrary, if we meet a king who is ambitious and extortionate, that will be everyone's tragedy...
For ordinary people, they don't care about dominating the world and surrendering all the barbarians. No matter how great the reputation is, it belongs to the king and the ministers in the temple. The suffering is still the common people in Guizhou. Those glorious things in the history books shocked the ancients.
Every word of Shuo Jin's achievements is watered with the blood of the common people and built with bones.
The common people don't quite understand what family, country and world are, as long as they can live peacefully...
By the time Li Chengqian returned to Wude Hall, it was already the end of time.
Since I left the city early in the morning, I was already hungry after a hard day's work, so I gave a banquet to all the princes and ministers, and they ate in Wude Hall and the side hall on one side. After the ministers had eaten, they left in a hurry, or
Either they go back to their respective government offices to prepare for the enthronement ceremony tomorrow, or some older people simply go home to take a rest, their bones are almost falling apart...
Li Chengqian called Li Ji, Li Xiaogong and Fang Jun to the back hall. After bathing and changing clothes, they came out to meet each other.
The monarch and his ministers sat on their knees on the mat in front of the window. The autumn rain was gurgling outside the window. The rainwater condensed on the leaves of the flower trees, rolled down, and splashed into the soil.
Moist and cool air blows in from the window, and a pot of hot tea is filled with mist. Fang Jun holds the pot and pours tea.
Li Chengqian picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, but hesitated for a while and said nothing.
The other three people looked at each other, and they were all a little confused. Li Xiaogong then asked: "I wonder what your Highness's orders are?"
Li Chengqian pondered for a while, and then slowly said: "In the past few days, I have often thought about it. King Wu of Zhou divided the eight hundred princes, and finally unified China and laid the foundation for the eight hundred years of the Zhou Dynasty. It stands to reason that Qin Shihuang unified the political power and implemented the system of prefectures and counties. The top and bottom are united, the inside and outside are one, but the second generation is dead... Which of these enfeoffments and counties is better and worse?"
The three of them were a little surprised, how could they mention this?
When I thought about the emperor, I realized that the Crown Prince was probably under a lot of pressure from the random promises made by the King of Jin. He was afraid that the civil and military officials in the DPRK and China would be attracted by the reward offered by the "feudal side", so he also wanted to ascend the throne. After that, he divided the world among himself.
Li Ji frowned and said: "The so-called general trend of the world is like a mighty river, moving forward in an indomitable way. The feudal system was adapted to local conditions in ancient times, so it created the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years. By the time of Qin, it was not long before the six kingdoms were conquered. , had not been fully domesticated, and the First Emperor went on a military rampage, attacking Baiyue in the south, rejecting the Xiongnu in the north, repairing Afang, and building the Great Wall. In just over ten years, the country's power was exhausted. As a result, wars were everywhere, and the heirs died. But His Highness cannot think of enfeoffment because of this. The system is more superior than the system of prefectures and counties. Even the late emperor once rewarded the meritorious officials and divided the world, but in the end he had to stop it due to various reasons. I hope that your highness will not have any whims and lay the foundation for chaos in the country. "
The implication is that political systems are constantly improving over time. They have fallen behind and the eliminated systems can never be applied again. Only by constantly introducing new ones and gradually improving them can we have a system more suitable for governing the world.
Li Xiaogong also advised: "The emperor of the Han Dynasty killed the White Snake to rule the world, and also imitated the ancient times and divided the clans into feudal vassals. As a result, a 'Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms' was created. Although it was quickly put down, it laid many hidden dangers. In the end, he relied on the 'Tianfa Order' Only then did the disaster of the sects and vassals be eliminated. The Sima family usurped the Wei Dynasty, and due to the lack of military power of the Cao Wei clan, the artifacts were lost. Before that, they were also the great sect kings. This was the reason why the "Eight Kings Rebellion" came later, which disrupted the foundation of the Jin Dynasty... …Your Highness, times have changed and the enfeoffment system can no longer become an imperial policy.”
After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, when His Majesty Li Er ascended the throne, he wanted to reward the meritorious officials and establish a vassal world, but was persuaded by Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others, and finally withdrew his order.
Later generations had a word to describe this kind of thing: reversing the course of history...
Seeing that his thoughts were blocked, Li Chengqian felt a little depressed and subconsciously looked at Fang Jun. Although he only mentioned a few words, he thought that with the tacit understanding between him and Fang Jun, the latter could understand his thoughts and support them.
Fang Jun happened to raise his head and looked at Li Chengqian. When he saw the other person's gaze, his heart moved. He lowered his head and thought about it, and felt that he should understand the reason why Li Chengqian mentioned the enfeoffment system so abruptly.
Fortunately, he had thought deeply about this topic and tried to analyze the deeper things in it.
After Li Ji and Li Xiaogong poured tea, Fang Jun considered it and said: "What Yinggong said is good: adapt to local conditions. The moon waxes and wanes, the tides rise and fall. There is nothing perfect in the world, let alone one that can run through. It is a system that has not needed to be changed through the ages. Whether a certain system can strengthen the country only depends on whether it is adapted to local conditions."
After a pause, his thoughts became smoother, and he started to talk eloquently: "King Wu conquered Zhou and established the Zhou Dynasty, enfeoffed eight hundred princes, and continued the state for eight hundred years. Why? It should be noted that at that time, transportation, economy, military, etc. were extremely backward. , these vassal states are spread all over the world, and many places are simply desolate and barbaric lands, with barren land and sparse population. These vassal states are not so much feudal as they are reclaiming wasteland for the emperor of Zhou... And this is the point. The vassal states have There is almost endless land to cultivate. As the territory expands, the population gradually increases, and wealth skyrockets, naturally they are willing to respect the Emperor of Zhou as their co-owner. Who is willing to rebel? A trip to the capital may take several years... "
It was obviously the first time for the other three people to hear such an argument. After careful consideration, they couldn't help but nod their heads.
For those vassal states, instead of rebelling, they must cling tightly to the lap of Emperor Zhou in order to get more support from the central government and better develop and build their own feudal states.
Li Jicai thought quickly, drew inferences from one example, and said: "By the time of the Warring States Period, all the land that could be cultivated had been cultivated, and there was no room for leisurely expansion between countries. Under collision and friction, long-term melee was inevitable."
Fang Jun smiled and said: "There is no wiser person than a heroic man!"
Li Ji glanced at him, snorted and ignored him.
Li Chengqian asked: "Then when the Han Dynasty divided the world, why did it lead to internal disasters?"
Fang Jundao: "For the Emperor of Zhou, the territory he can actually control is not very large. When he enfeoffs the princes, he actually enfeoffs them to the outside and screen the central part of the vassal state. However, when Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty enfeoffs the clan, he enfeoffs it to the inside. The so-called vassal central part plays the role of the enfeoffment." It didn't go unnoticed at all. Instead, it formed a pattern of "how can one allow others to snore on the side of the couch?" Back then, Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and other poor families dared to say, "Princes, generals, Xiangning, do you have the guts?" What's more, the kings of the clan passed down by the great ancestor? The same was true for the Jin Dynasty. Civil strife was really understandable."
Li Ji frowned in thought and did not interrupt.
Li Xiaogong said: "According to you, the defeat of the Han and Jin Dynasties was due to the enfeoffment within, rather than the problem of the enfeoffment system itself?"