Chương 672: Father-Son Teaching Moment

Today they buy ten acres, tomorrow they devour a hundred acres, and the day after tomorrow they even buy up the neighboring village.

They had official titles and privileges, and were exempt from taxes and corvée labor, so the taxes and corvée labor were all borne by the remaining self-cultivating farmers.

Self-employed farmers already cultivate a small plot of land, but taxes are getting heavier and heavier. What if they can't pay their taxes in a year of drought or flood?

Their only options were to sell their land and become tenant farmers for landlords, or simply run away and become vagrants.

The number of refugees kept increasing until they couldn't even get enough to eat. Since they figured they would die either by starving or by rebelling, they decided to rebel.

Huang Chao, the Red Turban Army... they may have different names, but they were all just ordinary people who couldn't survive.

"Once a rebellion breaks out, the world descends into chaos, the old dynasty collapses, a new dynasty is established, and the land is redistributed and the people are allowed to recuperate..."

He emphasized the circle with the tip of his pen.

"Look, it's come full circle. This is the fate that no dynasty in that world could escape. It's like a serious illness; it can be suppressed in the early stages, but no one can save it in the later stages."

Liu Chen stared at the paper with circles drawn on it, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

He used to read history books and only knew about the rise and fall of dynasties and the alternation of order and chaos. His grandfather told him that "those who lose the hearts of the people lose the world" and that he should practice benevolent governance.

But when his father started dismantling it, he suddenly realized that it wasn't a matter of "benevolence" or "lack of benevolence"... Even if the emperor wanted to practice benevolent governance, the people below would gradually seize the land and eventually reach that point.

"You think 'the emperor is the boat, the people are the water' is just a metaphor?" Liu Ce chuckled.

"In that world, it's a physical phenomenon. The people are the water, and the emperor is the boat. If the water is too little, the boat will run aground; if the water boils, the boat will capsize. All the emperors of every dynasty wanted to control the water, but the vast majority... halfway through, they were either swayed by the civil service, betrayed by the emperor's relatives and eunuchs, or even caught in both. In the process of trying to control the water, they sank themselves first."

He put down his pen, leaned back, and began to explain the history of that parallel world to his son.

He didn't just recite history books verbatim; he spoke in plain language, like recounting the rise and fall of Old Wang's family in the next village, occasionally adding a bit of吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical remarks), leaving Liu Chen completely bewildered.

"Let's start with the Jin Dynasty... The powerful clans, such as Wang, Xie, Huan, and Yu, each controlled half of the country, and the emperor was just a figurehead. Why? Because of the Nine-Rank System, which stipulated that 'the upper ranks had no poor families, and the lower ranks had no powerful clans.'"

The powerful clans not only seized land, but also the qualifications to hold official positions. All the officials were their family members. The emperor didn't even have any of his own people. How could he play his game? If the emperor wanted to do something, the powerful clans wouldn't agree, and he couldn't get anything done.

This dynasty was rotten to the core. The Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties that followed were all just toys in the hands of powerful clans. They changed emperors but didn't change the fundamental problems; they couldn't last more than a few decades before collapsing.

Liu Chen nodded.

He knew this; his grandfather had said something similar... but not so bluntly... So the emperor was just a figurehead? What's the point of being an emperor then?

"Speaking of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Sui emperors were clever. They reformed the equal-field system and created the imperial examination system... The Tang emperors were also clever. They improved the imperial examination system... The Sui and Tang dynasties allowed people from humble backgrounds to become officials. The emperors finally had people under their control and didn't have to depend on the powerful clans. The imperial examination system was indeed a great invention.

It was a powerful tool for undermining powerful clans, more effective than any sword or spear."

Liu Ce raised a finger, then changed the subject, "But guess what? What did the imperial examination test? The Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and prose. The officials who passed the exam could write beautiful essays, but they couldn't do accounting, they couldn't manage waterways, they couldn't solve cases, and they could only spout 'Confucius said' and 'The Book of Poetry said,' but they couldn't do anything without books."

What's even more interesting is that... children from poor families who passed the imperial examinations and became officials, after serving for a few years and making money, would start buying land, hiring tutors for their children, and having their descendants take the imperial examinations. After several generations, their families would become powerful landlords again.

See, we've come full circle back to the issue of land annexation. After the Tang Dynasty came the rebellions of the regional military governors. After the An Lushan Rebellion, the three towns of Hebei levied their own taxes, raised their own armies, and appointed their own officials; the emperor had no control over them.

The entire dynasty, like someone with half a body paralyzed, held on for over a hundred years before finally collapsing.

Upon hearing this, Liu Chen couldn't help but interject, his brows furrowing into a knot:

"Father, is there no way to deal with those regional military governors? Can't the imperial court send troops to fight them?"

"Difficult." Liu Ce shook his head, tapping his fingers on the table.

"The regional military governors have soldiers, food, and territory; they are like local emperors. If you attack them, they will fight you to the death, and even if you win, it will deplete your national strength. If you don't attack them, they will slowly grow stronger and eventually turn on you."

What is the best solution? It is for the imperial court to have a stronger army, more money, and smoother transportation... For example, the railways we are building now can transport troops and grain ten times faster. If a regional warlord dares to rebel, the imperial army can arrive at his doorstep in just a few days, and he will have no chance to grow powerful.

But in that world there were no railways; troop movements and food supplies relied entirely on human labor and horses, and by the time they arrived at their destinations, half a year had passed—by then, the supplies were too late.

The young man nodded thoughtfully, then silently made a mental note: Transportation and military strength are key to suppressing the warlords; neither can be lacking.

"Let's talk about Song."

When Liu Ce mentioned the Song Dynasty, his tone was somewhat complicated, as if he were talking about a wealthy but sickly relative.

"The Song Dynasty was truly rich, with thriving commerce and advanced handicrafts. It was incredibly wealthy; its national treasury could buy half the country. But the Song Dynasty's soldiers were truly cowardly; they couldn't defeat anyone. Why? Because the founding emperor was put on the throne by his subordinates, so what he feared most in his life was military rebellion."

He orchestrated the "releasing military power over a cup of wine," seizing all the power from military generals, elevating the status of civil officials and suppressing the status of military generals, and establishing a system of "co-governance with scholar-officials." Sounds good, right? In reality, it meant the civil official group had a tight grip on imperial power. Want to implement reforms?

One official attempted reforms, but every measure threatened the interests of the scholar-officials, leading to widespread opposition from the entire court. With the emperor's death, all the new laws were abolished, and all the effort was in vain.

Want to fight? Civil officials were sent to supervise the army, and military generals didn't even have the authority to deploy troops. They had to fight according to battle formations provided by the court; it would be a miracle if they won. And in the end? They were destroyed by the Mongols. Such a wealthy dynasty, gone just like that.

Liu Chen frowned as he listened. In his previous studies, he thought that a prosperous and civilized society meant a golden age, but he never imagined that excessive civil administration could also ruin a country.

If the military generals are weak, who will guard the nation's borders?

"Then... can't we have a better balance between academic and martial arts skills?"

"It's difficult," Liu Ce sighed.

"Emperors are always afraid of military generals rebelling, since they hold military power and can rebel at any time. So they would rather have civil officials become powerful than let military generals take power. But it's even more troublesome when civil officials become powerful... They represent the interests of landlords and powerful families, and they are not on the same page as the emperor at all."

The emperor wanted to collect taxes and implement reforms, but they were the ones who blocked him, claiming it was "competing with the people for profit," but in reality, they were afraid of touching their own purse strings. Think about it, they themselves were large landowners; would they let you touch their land?

He continued speaking, his tone becoming more and more casual, like chatting about everyday things. When he got excited, he even took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.