Chương 470: Enlightenment in the Study

As soon as these people left, the council chamber fell silent, so quiet that you could hear the rustling of the map on the wall in the wind.

Liu Ce rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling like a million bees were buzzing in his head. These guys had been arguing all day, from the Three Departments and Six Ministries system to the imperial examination system, from local systems to military systems, and from laws to taxes. Everyone had their own ideas, and everyone thought they were right. No one would admit defeat to anyone else.

The noise was driving him crazy, but he couldn't leave. If he left, they would stop and wait for him, then come back and continue arguing.

He finally understood: these people weren't waiting for him to make the final decision, they were waiting for him to act as the referee, and whoever won the argument would be credited.

Liu Ce dragged his tired body back to the backyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Cai Yan, Zhang Ning, Zhen Jiang and several others sitting around a stone table waiting for him, with warm porridge and side dishes on the table.

"My husband is back?" Cai Yan hurriedly came forward, took his cloak, and hung it on the rack beside her.

Seeing him rubbing his temples, she said with concern, "You look so tired. You must have been arguing all day, right?"

"you do not say."

Liu Ce sighed, plopped down on the stone bench, and briefly recounted what had happened in the council chamber that day.

"These guys are all like they've been injected with chicken blood, arguing from morning till night, it's driving my head crazy."

Fang Xuanling said the Three Departments and Six Ministries system was the best... Cheng Yu said that there should be strict laws and punishments, and that anyone who embezzled 10, 000 coins should be beheaded. Xu Shu said that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish... Tian Feng said that the imperial examination system was good, and Ju Shou said that a transition was needed... Everyone had their own reasons, and no one would give in.

I sat there listening all day, like I'd been listening to a market all day.

Zhang Ning walked over with a smile, stood behind him, and gently massaged his shoulders.

Her pressure was just right, neither too strong nor too weak, pressing on his aching muscles, making Liu Ce sigh with pleasure.

"You've worked hard, my husband. But this is a good thing, it shows that everyone is truly concerned for the good of this country. If everyone were silent and you had to make all the decisions, that would be troublesome. A hundred schools of thought contending is always better than a thousand voices remaining silent."

"Ning'er is right."

Zhen Jiang brought over a bowl of warm lotus seed porridge, handed it to him, and placed a small spoon on the rim of the bowl.

"Have some porridge to warm yourself up first, don't overwork yourself. Take your time with the system, there's no rush. With so many capable people helping you, you'll definitely come up with the best solution. Look at you, you've even lost weight recently."

Cai Yan sat down beside him and gently massaged his temples.

Her touch was gentle, her fingertips carrying a faint warmth from her body, pressing lightly until Liu Ce's eyelids began to droop.

"My lord, I know you want to establish the best system so that all people in the world can live a good life. But don't be too hasty. One must eat one bite at a time and do one thing at a time. We are all with you."

As Liu Ce drank the warm porridge and felt the tenderness of the people around him, most of his fatigue instantly dissipated.

He smiled, shook hands with Cai Yan and Zhen Jiang, and nodded, saying, "Yes, I know. With you two here, and with Fang Xuanling and the others, there will definitely be no problem."

The group chatted with Liu Ce for a while, talking about everyday things and the children's funny stories.

Liu Ying was chasing butterflies in the yard when she tripped and fell. She got up, dusted herself off, and continued chasing without crying at all.

Liu Yao was even more audacious, snatching Liu Heng's cloth tiger. Liu Heng chased him halfway around the yard, and in the end, they both fell down, hugging each other and crying their eyes out...

The cries of the sixteen newborn babies rose and fell like a symphony.

Liu Ce felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this.

Isn't this what we fought for after eight years of war?

With peace and tranquility in the country and the presence of his wife and children, what more could a husband ask for?

After Liu Ce had rested enough, Cai Yan said softly, "Husband, you've been busy all day, get some rest. There'll be plenty to do tomorrow. Look at you, you have bags under your eyes."

Liu Ce nodded, but instead of returning to his bedroom, he smiled and said, "You guys go to sleep first. I'll go to the study for a while; I still have some things to think about."

Although the ladies felt sorry for him, they also knew his temper, so they could only nod and tell him not to stay up too late.

Zhang Ning added one last thing: "Husband, if you stay up too late, I won't massage your shoulders tomorrow!"

Liu Ce turned around and smiled at her: "Okay, okay, go to sleep early, don't stay up too late."

Then he turned around and strode towards the study.

Cai Yan specially instructed the maid to prepare a pot of hot tea and a plate of snacks in the study, fearing that he might get hungry or cold.

...

Evening, in the study of the Prince of Yan's residence.

The night was deep and all was quiet, except for the occasional sound of the orderly footsteps of the night patrolling soldiers outside the window.

Liu Ce sat alone at his desk, the candlelight flickering gently in the night breeze, casting a long, long shadow of him.

A blank sheet of paper lay on the table, with a pen, ink, and inkstone beside it, but he hadn't written a single word.

At this moment, a blueprint was slowly unfolding in his mind—a blueprint concerning the fate of this nascent dynasty for the next hundred years.

Everyone thought he would be like the founding emperors of past dynasties, bestowing great honors upon his meritorious officials, restoring the old system, and becoming a great emperor who would govern diligently for all time.

History books all say it like this: Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, Xiao He formulated the laws, and Shusun Tong established the rites; Liu Xiu revived the Han Dynasty, and the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai were enfeoffed as marquises and appointed as prime ministers.

Who didn't start a country this way?

Only he knew that it was a dead end.

The lessons of history were etched into his soul like a brand.

The mighty Han and the glorious Tang dynasties, however glorious they were, could not escape the fate of repeating themselves every three hundred years.

The Western Han Dynasty lasted 210 years, the Eastern Han Dynasty 195 years, and the Tang Dynasty 289 years. Three hundred years is like a curse that no one can escape.

Land annexation intensified, aristocratic clans monopolized the court, and warlords became too powerful to control, leading to widespread chaos, a halving of the population, and a complete overhaul.

He could not allow the dynasty he had built to follow the same old path.

We must not emulate Wang Mang.

That time traveler, who also had advanced ideas, attempted to achieve his goal in one step by forcibly implementing public ownership and a planned economy, but ended up dying, his country being destroyed, and his body being torn apart.

Wang Mang's tragedy lies in the fact that his ideas were two thousand years ahead of their time, but his methods couldn't even last two years.

Productive forces determine relations of production; this is an irrefutable truth.

In an era when literacy rates were less than 5%, communication relied entirely on fast horses, and agriculture was still based on oxen, any attempt to simply copy modern systems would only lead to self-destruction.

He was about to embark on a path unprecedented in history—a gradual reform of the imperial system.

Based on the mature framework of ancient centralized government, we gradually grafted in the core of modern governance.

First stabilize the foundation of the nation, then pursue reform.

Over a period of one hundred years, in three phases, this ancient empire was smoothly ferried to the shores of modern civilization.

Liu Ce closed his eyes, and the scene of the first stage clearly appeared before him.