When Jiang Huanchu invited the three princes who had just arrived in the capital and were tired of work, they accepted the invitation. The four princes gathered again and looked at each other with emotion.
More than ten years ago, when King Zhou first ascended the throne, there were still eight hundred princes in the world, led by four major princes, guarding one side.
Donglu, Nanjiang, Xiqi, and Beiyuan, these four vassal states are not only strong in strength, but also surrounded by a group of staunch allies, giving them great power.
Four towns encircled the center, and the foreign enemies Dongyi and Quanrong were advancing and invading the borders. This caused the great merchants to appear prosperous and powerful, but in fact the rule was unstable. As long as the ruler made the slightest mistake in decision-making, he would be taken advantage of immediately.
But now?
In just ten years, what has His Majesty King Zhou done?
It didn't seem like he was doing anything big.
He was not the one who initiated reforms, nor was he the one who initially provided welfare to slaves.
The most commendable thing is that shortly after he ascended the throne, he sent Wucheng King Huang Feihu to lead 100,000 elite troops to destroy Dongyi.
In view of the fact that the high priest of Dongyi attacked and killed King Shou at that time, Dongyi's strength has been greatly reduced after thousands of years of consumption. This will certainly go down in history, but the difficulty is not that great. What is really difficult to solve is the coming and going.
The dog-rong of the wind, that grassland nation is still arrogant to this day.
But obviously there was no big war, but the world has changed!
The three great princes Ji Chang, Chonghou Hu and E Chongyu went all the way to Beijing and passed through major counties and counties. They found that slaves were being emancipated and new laws were being reformed everywhere.
What makes them most heartbroken and unable to breathe is that everything is going more smoothly, everyone is united, and the changes are quickly implemented.
Without comparison, there is no harm. Thinking about how much resistance they suffered when they implemented the reform, why is there such an obvious gap now?
Is it because of the difference between imperial power and princes?
Not really!
The princes are equivalent to kings in their respective fiefdoms, taking possession of life and death, and can do whatever they want.
The reason for the resistance was that it violated the vested interests of the slave owners.
This is also a common problem with political reforms. Just imagine how high Yu's prestige became after he controlled the floods. He still had to kill chickens to scare monkeys to ensure the passage of tax laws, and they were no exception.
And the reason why it is now being implemented so smoothly is due to no other reason than the fact that those who resisted died and surrendered, and the slave-owning class has died out, which ensures the true liberation of slaves.
At this point, the four major princes still don’t understand that the person who wants the most reform and restructuring is none other than His Majesty. He just uses them to sweep away all the obstacles first, and then with thunder and lightning, with the fastest speed, the best
Efficiency and implementation in all directions.
They regretted it.
In fact, everything has a cause and an effect. The fundamental reason is that the princes in the four towns are powerful and have no respect for the central government. They place their status in a position of implicit competition rather than complete obedience.
Otherwise, how could they dare to take the lead in reform if they really obeyed the central government?
It's too late to say anything now.
Even after the slaves and slave owners, the eight hundred princes will not be protected.
The four major princes gathered together for this very reason.
But after much discussion, no one could come up with a good solution.
The number of eight hundred princes seems to be a lot, but in fact there are at least six hundred princes confined to one county. They are princes, no different from slave owners, and their power mainly comes from the slaves under their command and tax revenue.
Now that the slaves have been liberated and the tax system has been reformed, what do they have left?
The remaining princes were the ones who could form troops, but they were all depleted in the recent war.
Looking at the four major princes, Jiang Huanchu had long been dismissed. Ji Chang, Chonghou Hu and E Chongyu suffered heavy casualties in their direct lineage. They had no power to rule and had no strength to fight.
In name only!
In view of this, Jiang Huanchu sighed deeply: "It can't be done. If we don't ask ourselves to be ministers to protect our wealth, I'm afraid our end will be even more miserable than those slave owners..."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Even though I had considered this in my mind, it was still extremely harsh to hear it from the mouth of Jiang Huanchu, the former leader of eight hundred princes.
They are princes!
One country has great power!
Passed down from generation to generation!
Prepare your own army!
Separate one side!
Now you actually want to fight for the glory of the reward?
"What a good Dongbohou, what a good father-in-law, farewell!"
Chonghou Hu and E Chongyu couldn't listen any more, so they stood up and left, but judging from their expressions, it was by no means unshaken.
Ji Chang bowed his hands to Jiang Huanchu, who looked as usual, and left with Ji Fa.
Jiang Huanchu, on the other hand, watched the three princes leave with an extremely complicated expression on his face. He sat at the table and did not move for a long time.
After returning to his residence, Ji Fa, who had been silent all the way, suddenly asked: "Father, have you seen His Majesty's intention a long time ago?"
Ji Chang looked at his most proud son, who had once hoped to inherit the title of Marquis of Xibo, or even go further, and slowly uttered four words: "The general trend is!"
Ji Fa clenched his fists tightly and could no longer hide it. He said bluntly: "Father, the general trend should be with me in Xiqi. With your reputation and the military power of the cavalry battalion, how can you give up and give up? There is also the great power of my grandfather."
Revenge has not been avenged..."
"shut up!"
Ji Chang suddenly shouted low, directly interrupting what Ji Fa was saying, his eyes were solemn, and every wrinkle on his face became deeper and deeper, and he said word by word: "We are ministers, your Majesty is the king, and the king wants me to die.
I have to die!"
Ji Fa wanted to say something more, but Ji Chang's hand was already pressing on his shoulder, as if it was a huge weight.
Ji Fa's breathing became heavier and heavier, and the father and son looked at each other.
After a while, Ji Fa finally avoided looking, lowered his head, and his tears silently fell to the ground.
A man won’t shed tears easily...
Defeated!
Xiqi was defeated!
Not only was it a disastrous defeat, but now it was a life and death crisis.
Ji Fa and Ji Chang knew very well that before Fengming Qishan, there was a sign that the Holy Lord was born, which proved that they in Xiqi had the opportunity to conquer the merchants and replace them.
It's a pity that omens are always omens. If they don't come true, they are not only useless, but can also lead to death.
If His Majesty King Zhou really wanted to annihilate the whole family with such methods, then no one from Ji Chang to his one hundred sons and thousands of people with the surname Ji would be spared.
Ji Chang didn't want to resist, but when he came to his senses, the situation was complete. Even if Xiqi defeated Su Hu, he could not shake the rule of Yin and Shang at all. So from then on, Ji Chang was actually silently cooperating.
Even if his heart bleeds, he must cooperate and exhaust Xiqi's family wealth just to survive.
"Tomorrow I will go to the palace to plead guilty and ask Your Majesty to remove the title of Xibohou. From now on, I, Ji, will always be a merchant minister and will not care about anything else!"
Ji Chang looked at Ji Fa and said again word by word: "Do you understand?"
Ji Fa's shoulders trembled: "I understand!"
Just three words drained all his strength. Ji Fa's face turned gray and he fell to his knees, no longer as high-spirited as before.
There have always been an endless stream of ambitious people, but there are a few who can really stand out. They need the right time, place, and right people, and none of them can be missing!
History books only record those who succeeded, or those who were about to succeed but regretted losing. But most of them did not even have the opportunity to take actual action, and the fire in their hearts was extinguished by the tide of the times.
Ji Fa was once the darling of the times, but now he is lost to everyone and has become an ordinary minister.
The next day, Ji Chang went to the palace to plead guilty. Later generations evaluated it as a key event in the centralization of power, and received a lot of praise. In addition, Ji Chang later taught and educated people and made great contributions. The name of the saint was finally confirmed.
The ten years after the liberation of the slaves was the stage of universal education. In another ten years, the imperial court began to prepare for the imperial examination. After another ten years, when the new generation had fully grown up and the people's wisdom had become enlightened, formal talent selection began.
Step by step, the country's system continued to change. Although new conflicts inevitably broke out while old problems were being solved, the rule was deeply rooted and there was no major turmoil again.
…
…
On the other side, Gu Cheng, who ended the feudal system of slavery and opened a new chapter, came to his ancestral land and stood in front of Jiuding.