Chapter 888 0883 [Merger Issue]

Hearing that Governor Wei was going to answer questions and resolve doubts, scholars gathered around.

And they called their friends and the news spread further and further.

When it reached Leitang Academy, it had become Governor Wei was going to give a lecture here to clarify the meaning!

Wei Liangchen chose a small mound, and the scholars sat on the ground with him as the center. Row after row, circle after circle, people squeezed and sat down in turn, forming many irregular concentric circles.

Not long after, the children of the Hong family also heard the news and rushed over, and continued to sit at the outermost edge to listen to the lecture.

Even the patriarch and elders of the Hong family came.

Wei Liangchen stood on the mound, waiting quietly for a long time, and finally asked: "Has anyone read Liu Hedong's "Feudalism"? Those who have read it, please raise your right hand."

This is a relatively obscure article, but dozens of people raised their hands.

Wei Liangchen asked again: "Who can recite "Feudalism"?

All arms were put down, no one could recite it.

If you don't take the imperial examination, why recite this thing? Spending time reading it several times is the limit.

Wei Liangchen was well prepared. He took out a piece of paper and said to Zhang Liangyou who was sitting in front of him: "You come and read it."

"Yes!"

Zhang Liangyou stood up and took the article and read it aloud: "Does the heaven and earth really have no beginning? I don't know. Does human beings really have a beginning? I don't know. Then which is closer? I say: the beginning is closer. Who knows it? It is clear from feudalism..."

The main idea of ​​the article is as follows:

Is there an initial stage in nature? I don't know. Does human beings have an initial stage? I don't know either. I think there should be.

In ancient times, humans coexisted with all things. There were thorns and wild beasts in groups, eating raw meat and drinking blood.

Humans do not have sharp teeth and claws like wild beasts, nor feathers to resist the cold. Humans can only survive with the help of external objects. But resources are limited, which leads to conflicts. In order to mediate disputes and calm down conflicts, wise men who can distinguish right from wrong must lead.

Gradually, there were rulers, criminal laws, and political orders.

As more and more people gathered, they formed tribes, and there were tribes outside the tribes. The scale of the fights between each other became larger, so armies and wars appeared.

At this time, more prestigious wise men must be led, and the leaders of each tribe listened to him.

Such wise men were the princes, and their territories were the states.

But the princes made the scale of the war larger, and more prestigious wise men were needed to lead.

The Son of Heaven was born!

The following content is a detailed explanation of the feudal system. It also discusses why the feudal system was replaced by the county system, and believes that the feudal system is based on the country for private use, while the Qin Dynasty created the county system for the public use of the world.

Liu Zongyuan also said that these changes were not the intention of any saint, but the result of the natural evolution of the general trend.

After Zhang Liangyou finished reading the article, Wei Liangchen said: "Your Majesty generally agrees with Liu Zongyuan's views, and has also made revisions and additions."

"There are still many barbarian tribes in the southwest and northeast. They eat raw meat and drink blood, and use knives to cultivate land and use fire because they have not been educated. Their lives are similar to those of ancient China."

"People fought with wild beasts and learned to make bows and arrows and spears. People fought against nature and learned to make fires to keep warm, learned to wear clothes to keep warm, learned to build water conservancy projects, and learned to farm and raise livestock."

"As the number of people increases, there must be a leader. Otherwise, it will be difficult to quell internal disputes, otherwise it will be difficult to resist foreign invasions. Disturbance. So there were tribal leaders, and many tribes had great leaders. Emperors Yan and Huang, and Chiyou, were the great leaders at that time!"

"The great leaders fought each other and constantly annexed foreign tribes, and then there was China. There were Xia, Shang and Zhou!"

"The Zhou Dynasty divided the land and divided the borders, and the princes ruled the country. Many princes were located in the land of barbarians, and they conquered and educated the barbarians. Then the Dongyi, Xirong, Nanman and Beidi were all assimilated into the Xia. "

"The princes gradually rose to power, and the power of the Zhou emperor fell, and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period appeared..."

This basic knowledge hundreds of years later was still very novel and unique at this time, and most people present listened very seriously.

Wei Liangchen bowed to the north and said, "The current emperor is well versed in the creation of heaven and earth. These are what the emperor said at the imperial lectures. In all dynasties, great scholars lectured to the emperor. But in my Ming Dynasty, the emperor lectures to great scholars."

Suddenly, Wei Liangchen pointed to a scholar next to him and said, "If the two emperors Yan and Huang annexed Chiyou's tribe, would Chiyou be obedient?"

"No." The scholar replied.

Wei Liangchen asked again: "How was Chiyou's tribe annexed?"

The scholar said: "Conquest."

"Yes, conquest," Wei Liangchen said, "whether it was Yanhuang annexing Chiyou or the princes assimilating the barbarians, they had to rely on military conquest first. Defeat the foreigners and subdue them. Then educate them and turn the barbarians into Chinese. So at first China only had a corner, but now it has a wide world."

Wei Liangchen pointed to another scholar: "What do you rely on to win the war?"

The scholar replied: "There are wise ministers who plan and strategize, and there are brave generals who charge into battle."

Wei Liangchen shook his head: "All these are necessary, but more important is money and food. Only with money and food can we feed the soldiers of the three armies and build sophisticated weapons and armor. Why did Tong Guan fail in the Liao Dynasty in the early Song Dynasty? Because of lack of money and food. The soldiers were not paid enough, so how could they have any morale? Even the troops were sent out in a hurry and the weapons and armor were not complete."

"Then where does the money and food come from?" Wei Liangchen asked another scholar.

The scholar said: "It comes from taxes."

"Yes, taxes," Wei Liangchen said, "His Majesty once told the ministers. During the Yan and Huang Dynasties, hundreds of industries were first established, and even wooden farm tools were used. Copper was scarce and could only be used to make ritual utensils, and farming was not allowed. The harvest was very small. At that time, they could not collect much taxes and could not support many troops. They were all out-of-work tribal nobles who led a group of people who still needed to farm. "

"Later, bronze became more popular and could be used to make farm tools, and farming methods became more mature. More and more food was harvested, and more and more troops could be supported. As a result, more and more Fangbo princes emerged, The emperor of Zhou was able to rule the world."

"Later, iron tools came into existence. With farm tools made of iron, harder soil could be cultivated."

"Ten, twenty, or thirty people use copper farm tools to cultivate a fertile field. This is the well field system."

"If a family of three or five can cultivate a fertile field using iron farm tools, then there is no need for the existence of the well-field system. The same population can cultivate more land. If the princes have enough money and food, then the extra population can be recruited Fighting. This is the Warring States period!”

The scholars were dumbfounded.

The previous historical knowledge only made their eyes shine. After all, Liu Zongyuan had similar views.

But now it is unheard of since ancient times to explain the evolution of Xia, Shang and Zhou in terms of copper, iron, farming, and taxation.

While the three views are strongly impacted, it seems to make sense if you think about it carefully.

Wei Liangchen continued: "Qin destroyed six kingdoms with the cruelty of Qin Shihuang, why did Liu Zongyuan say that he created the world as a public institution? Because the Zhou Dynasty was feudal at all levels, from princes to officials, everyone was private, and the emperor of Zhou could not collect money, food, or taxes. Once there is a natural disaster, other princes will not help, and the Emperor of Zhou will not be able to provide money or food for relief. "

"The Qin Dynasty implemented a system of prefectures and counties, and Qin Shihuang could uniformly levy money and food. The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and although it was divided into prefectures and states at first, how could the general trend last long? In the end, the princes and kings were exterminated. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty unified the levy, and then the war was launched Dahan Tianwei."

"The princes are gone, but there are powerful families. Therefore, in the Han Dynasty, large families migrated and settled in mausoleums."

"The aristocratic families became increasingly uncontrollable. They annexed land, hid the population, and evaded taxes and servitude. The country had no money and food to collect, and the people had no place to stand. This led to the chaos in the late Han Dynasty."

"In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, aristocratic families became powerful families. They built forts, controlled the population, and connected the fields. They had ministers for many generations and controlled the government, just like a country within a country."

"In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the country was founded on the system of land equalization. The five surnames and Qiwang took the lead in annexing land. The land equalization system was corrupted and the land rent system collapsed. The imperial court could not support the army, so Jiedushi was appointed, which triggered the Anshi Rebellion. This disaster continued into the Five Dynasties and the former Song Dynasty. Although they were unified, they could never regain Yanyun."

“Where did the redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses of the Song Dynasty come from?”

"Redundant officials are the source of overflowing favor. A prime minister can favor a few descendants, and a magistrate can favor a few descendants. A duke can favor a few descendants, and a county prince can favor a few descendants. Even On the emperor's birthday, the governor sent his son to the capital to celebrate his birthday. This son can also be an official with kindness! "

"Is the redundant army because of the need to fight? The imperial court's taxation is getting heavier, the big families are annexing countless people, and the number of refugees is increasing. They can only continue to recruit refugees as Xiang troops, and in the end there are millions of troops in the country!"

"From Duke Fan Wenzheng, to Duke Wang Jing, and even the treacherous minister Cai Jing. Why do you always have to change the law?"

"Just two words: money and food!"

"Some scholars asked me why the Ming Dynasty suppressed Yimen? Let's take the Chen family of Yimen in Jiangzhou as an example."

"They built academies and medical halls so that everyone in the tribe can afford to study and get medical treatment. In years of natural disasters, they will also provide relief to the village, so that even people with foreign surnames can survive. This is indeed commendable and worthy of the name of Yimen. . But where do they get the money? Where do they get the food?”

"They used their wealth to annex land and turn fellow villagers and foreigners into customers. They themselves were exempted from corvee. They even hid the population of the land, making it difficult for the government to collect taxes."

"In order to pay taxes, local officials could only levy additional taxes on other local people. This caused more farmers to go bankrupt and sell their land, and the Chen family in Jiangzhou took the opportunity to annex. This made it more difficult for the government to collect taxes, and local people with foreign surnames were taxed more heavily!"

"The Chen family was split up in the former Song Dynasty, and they only had 47 properties in five counties. But just a hundred years later, their properties had returned to more than 200. How did these properties come from? They relied on harming the public, enriching private interests, and suppressing foreign surnames."

"If all the big families in the world practice Yimen, how can the imperial court collect taxes? How heavy will the taxes be for the remaining small households and people?"

"When the time comes, if there is another Fang La and another Zhong Xiang, how can the court still have the money and food to send troops to suppress it? I'm afraid that the troubled times of the Five Dynasties will return!"

"Now, do you understand why the imperial court wants to suppress Yimen?"

This question was raised by Zhang Liangyou. He stood up and bowed: "Thank you sir for your teaching. I already know the truth."

One after another, hundreds of students stood up and bowed to Wei Liangchen.

Some of the remaining people do not agree with this. Especially in their explanation of history, they believed that the troubled times of the Han and Tang Dynasties were not caused by land annexation, but because of the troubles of foolish emperors and treacherous ministers.

There were also some who didn't respond simply because they were sitting too far away and couldn't hear clearly what Wei Liangchen was talking about...

Wei Liangchen said: "Your Majesty has written this theory into the "On History" and is handing it over to scholars from the Hanlin Academy for polishing. In the future, policy topics in the imperial examination will most likely be tested!"