Chapter 318: Establishing the Princes and Enfeoffing Relatives as Kings
Ji Zhao's gaze was drawn here. He has always been interested in the changes of these famous historical figures. It was like a large-scale experiment. How much influence can external factors such as birth, environment, and culture have on people?
Especially Jia Yi, who said, "Why? Because benevolence and righteousness are not practiced, and the situation of attack and defense is different!"
It was truly eye-opening and had a profound impact on Ji Zhao.
In the mansion of Marquis Dong'a, the family servants took Luo Chen and Jia Yi to meet Luo Xin.
Jia Yi followed Luo Chen into the quiet room and saw that the room was also very simple, but he no longer dared to guess the value of the items inside.
Sitting in the room was a slightly older man with a few wrinkles on his face and his temples were completely white. He was staring at Jia Yi with sharp eyes. He was meticulous and neat in his entire body, wearing a black robe, and looked very majestic.
Jia Yi knew that this must be Luo Xin, the most powerful prime minister in the world, who, according to the Emperor Xiaohui's will, carried the emperor's back and acted on the emperor's behalf.
"Your humble servant pays respect to the Prime Minister."
Jia Yi bowed and saluted. Luo Xin put down the bamboo slips in his hand, looked him over, and asked, "Are you Jia Yi? The Marquis of Shouguang said that you have the talent to assist the king. Do you have any memorials to present to me today?"
Jia Yi was both surprised and delighted. He did not expect that Shouguang Hou would think so highly of him. His talent as a king's assistant was basically equivalent to that of one of the three highest officials. However, he was worried that he would not be able to pass the test of the prime minister for the time being. Once he left a bad impression, he would have no chance of realizing his ambitions during the next few years as the prime minister.
Jia Yi took out two bamboo slips from his sleeves. Luo Xin took one and placed the other on the table. He slowly unfolded it, and a few large characters jumped into his eyes. "A Memorial to Establish the Princes?"
Luo Xin only saw the name and knew what it was about without even reading the content.
After all, he is the prime minister who has held power for decades, and he knows better than anyone else what are the problems of this huge dynasty.
After reading sentence by sentence from the beginning, after only a few sentences, Luo Xin couldn't help but look at Jia Yi in front of him.
Regardless of the level of this political commentary, the literary level of this article is extremely high, and it even makes Luo Xin feel like he is reading the articles of Zhuangzi and Mencius in the past.
Regardless of the level of the various schools of thought, even if one does not agree with the principles in the articles of Zhuangzi and Mencius, they are still vast, unrestrained, and majestic to read.
The same words are naturally spiritual in the hands of these two people. This is the terrifying thing about natural talent.
Jia Yi of today is also such a person. His articles are full of passion and his reasoning is very strong. People like Jia Yi will definitely be appreciated by dignitaries. What hinders him are always other aspects, such as the general situation.
"You are indeed worthy of being the descendant of the Meng family. Your articles have the elegance of the former Sage Meng."
A look of pride emerged on Jia Yi's face. When he was studying in the school, he was praised by his teachers for his writing skills, saying that he had the style of a master. Now the regent prime minister also praised him in the same way. How could Jia Yi not be proud?
In this era, being similar to one's ancestors, fathers, or teachers was either an insult or a high compliment. Considering Mencius' status in Confucianism, this was truly a high recognition for Jia Yi.
"Establish many vassal states to reduce their power!"
Luo Xin recited slowly, with no expression on his face, and not even a trace of fluctuation in his eyes.
When Jia Yi saw this, he felt a chill in his heart. This was different from what he had imagined.
When he came to see Luo Xin, he knew that the Prime Minister must be aware of what he had written in the letter today, and might even have the same idea.
But it is precisely because of this that one's abilities are more evident.
He believed that the Prime Minister must want to weaken the princes, but why didn't he have even the slightest appreciation now?
Just now, the Prime Minister clearly praised his writing, but now he didn't make any comments on his political commentary.
This is really too terrible!
His wish was not to be a scholar, but he had learned a lot of practical knowledge in order to realize his ambitions.
Luo Xin finally raised his head from Jia Yi's article and said, "I don't think these few words can fully express your thoughts. Now you can continue to add to them."
Jia Yi suppressed his anxiety and said aloud, "When Emperor Gaozu established his rule over the country, he learned the lesson of the fall of the Qin Dynasty and conferred titles on his meritorious officials and relatives.
Later, kings of other surnames were executed one after another. Emperor Gao believed that the world was still in chaos, so he appointed Liu clan members as kings to guard the four directions.
This is indeed the necessary path at the beginning of the founding of a country. For several decades, the world was indeed stable. However, times have changed. Is there any unchanging way for the world?
The King of Su is like the sky, the highest and the most holy.
The feudal system, rituals, music, and clan system established thousands of years ago will all collapse one day.
Emperor Gao was appointed by Heaven. Within a few years, he ascended the throne from a commoner. He was indeed a man of heaven, but compared with Duke Zhao, it is difficult to determine who was superior. Could he be compared with King Su?
The system of King Su could protect the Zhou royal family for hundreds of years, while the system of Emperor Gao could only protect the Han royal family for decades. This is a fact that no one can change.
Moreover, the feudal system in the past was really too extreme. Emperor Fusu only granted fiefs at key passes and big cities, but Emperor Gaozu directly granted fiefs to entire large countries, especially the three kingdoms of Zhao and Chu, which were even able to resist the imperial court.
Is it really possible to protect the Han Dynasty's country and its people?
Is it really beneficial to the world?
This is a scourge to the world!
If this evil is not eliminated, once there is someone in the court or among the princes who loses his mind, war will surely break out.
The land of Zhuxia, which had just been stable for a few decades, will once again be filled with refugees.
Moreover, I believe that after decades of living in luxury, these princes have become corrupt and degenerate too quickly, and the probability of some princes becoming confused is very high.
If the imperial court does not clear their heads in time, the consequences will be unpredictable.
The many princes were established to weaken their power.
Just like the King of Qi in the past, the State of Qi was very powerful and Emperor Gao was extremely wary of him.
But after the Duke of Qi took the initiative to resign and was divided into more than a dozen marquises, the voices in Qi suddenly dropped, and Emperor Gao no longer asked about Qi's affairs.
This is exactly why when a person's power weakens, he will start to think and feel fear.
Once they think about it, they will realize that they cannot fight against the imperial court, and they will be able to stabilize the world without bloodshed.”
Luo Xin did not comment, and then asked: "Then do all the princes follow the laws of Qi?"
Jia Yi shook his head and said, "Of course not. The title of Duke of Qi was granted specially. The title of a prince is a title of the Han Dynasty. Moreover, a relative of the clan is a prince. To directly deprive him of his title of a marquis is a way to bring disaster.
We should first split the kingdom and grant each of them the title of prince, and then when the kingdom is reduced to the size of a county, we can gradually seize it and make it a complete marquisate. "
Luo Xinwen glanced at Jia Yi and asked, "Will you not keep the title of king for me?"
Jia Yi hesitated for a moment, then said firmly: "No!"
Luo Xinyan said softly: "It is indeed possible to proceed according to your idea. We must weaken the power of the princes and implement the parallel development of counties and marquisates within the reach of the imperial army.
Your judgment is not wrong, but if that's all, you can only be called a temporary talent, not a talent that can assist the king.
There is a reason why I have not taken action against the princes for so many years. If you cannot find the reason, then these are just empty talk and cannot be implemented.”
The threat posed by the princes to the imperial court was not only seen by Jia Yi. In fact, high-ranking officials in the imperial court such as Luo Xin were very clear about it. As for the method of establishing many princes to weaken their power, Luo Xin and others could also think of it.
The fact that Jia Yi was able to come up with solutions based on these indeed demonstrated his ability, but it was not enough. If simply splitting up the vassal states could bring peace to the world, Luo Xin would have done it long ago despite the pressure.
He is still able to lead troops and quell rebellions, and with Han Xin in the court, it is not difficult to defeat the vassal kingdoms, but Luo Xin has endured it for so many years.
Jia Yi heard this and said, "What the Prime Minister said is very true. The princes are related to the country and cannot be moved lightly. However, I insist on establishing many princes, especially the big countries such as Zhao, Chu, and Wu."
Seeing that Jia Yi did not change his mind because of his words, Luo Xin finally laughed. He picked up another scroll on the table and said with a smile: "I guess this scroll contains another policy for the princes, right?"
Jia Yi bowed deeply and said, "The great prime minister is extremely wise and has the ability to predict the future. This is right."
Luo Xin slowly unfolded it, and at the beginning there were also a few large characters - "A Memorial to Confer a Relative as King"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
