Chapter 822 Luo Xianzhi's Theory of Grain Reform
"In the third year of Wei's Zhengshi reign and the sixth year of Yan's Dacheng reign, Wei and Yan fought in Hedong. The Wei army was defeated, and Yan occupied Hedong and looked towards Guanzhong."
"In the third year of Wei's Zhengshi reign and the fourth year of Liang's Tiantong reign, Wei and Liang fought at Yique. Liang broke through the pass and entered Luoyang. In the autumn of the fourth year of Tiantong reign, Liang entered Luoyang and issued an edict to the prefectures and counties in all directions. The Wei garrison surrendered to Yan, Han, and Liang. Heluo was in chaos for a while, and Liang was unable to control it."
"In the fourth year of Liang Tiantong and the fifth year of Han Dazheng, Han attacked Xu and Yu and held their ground at Huai and Si. Dead bodies blocked the water. The Han army attacked more fiercely and the Liang army suffered several defeats. In September, the Han emperor collapsed. There was an uproar and the Han army retreated."
…
In the Huai and Si areas, Xiao Yan and Luo Xianzhi inspected the battlefield where the battle had just ended. Xiao Yan's face was full of solemnity.
Looking at the rather dilapidated land, Xiao Yan sighed in a deep voice: "The Han Kingdom is really well-trained in military and generals. The three states have such elite troops."
Luo Xianzhi's face also looked a little ugly. Since the establishment of the Han Dynasty, this was the first time that the Han Dynasty concentrated all its strength to launch a war against a country. The strength was indeed extremely strong, which was a bit beyond their expectations.
If Liu Chen had not died suddenly, the Han army would have been unstable and Xuzhou would have suffered a great defeat. Fortunately, God was on the side of Liang, and Xiao Yan quickly led his troops back. After weighing the pros and cons, the Han army chose to retreat. After all, the emperor was dead.
Luo Xianzhi said slowly: "If Han State lets go and fights Yan State, the odds of winning or losing are probably fifty-fifty. Your Majesty must not take most of the troops away next time. You must leave enough troops to defend Huai and Si."
Xiao Yan nodded and said, "But Han has no chance. Yan has seized Hedong and its strength has completely crushed us. I thought Yan would take advantage of the situation to attack Guanzhong, but I didn't expect Yan to retreat. It seems that they will seize Jizhou first.
This time we attacked Heluo a little too late and failed to complete our mission. We must not allow any accidents to happen in order to seize all the land south of the Yellow River, otherwise we will be doomed.”
After hearing what Xiao Yan said, Luo Xianzhi pondered and said, "Your Majesty, a few days ago you said that Wei suffered too much loss in Hedong, and even Guanzhong was in danger. Murong Ke was a famous general of the time, why did he choose to withdraw so quickly?
This shows that the news brought back by the spies, that Jicheng issued a golden order to Murong Ke, asking him to withdraw his troops, was true, and this showed that the conflicts in the Yan State were quite serious.
We can continue our spies, bribe the powerful people in Yan State, and kill Murong Ke. Then Yan State will surely be in trouble."
The conspirators' response to Murong Ke was exactly the same. It was too difficult to defeat a war god like Murong Ke on the battlefield. It was easier to kill him politically. No matter how strong a general was on the battlefield, he could not defend against the cold arrows behind his back.
As they walked, Xiao Yan asked, "Lingxiu, how can Daliang become stronger in a short period of time? I don't want to see results in ten or eight years, I'd rather see results in two or three years."
This attack by the Han State made Xiao Yan feel a deep sense of crisis. In comparison, the strength of the Liang State was still a little weaker than that of the Han State. If he wanted to attack the Han State's homeland in the future, it would be difficult just because of the food supply problem.
Luo Xianzhi was silent for a moment, and then said, "Yes."
Xiao Yan suddenly looked at Luo Xianzhi. He was just asking casually, but he never expected that there actually was a way?
…
How strong is a country?
In this era, the standard is actually very simple: having more food and mobilizing more people, that's all.
What was the path taken by the Qin Legalists, or Shang Yang?
That is to completely control every citizen from the grassroots level, implement the farming and warfare system, break up all organizations, completely atomize the people, block all other upward channels, and leave only the path of war.
But military titles come with many privileges. If there are too many privileges, people will not want to fight for their lives. This is human nature.
Eight out of ten people who go to the battlefield die.
No one wants to go to war if they can avoid it. Even farming is much better than going to the battlefield.
In this world, there are only two kinds of people who will fight hard on the battlefield. The first kind is the person who has nothing, and the second kind is the person with faith.
There are too few people with faith, and the vast majority are the first type.
The extremely clever Shang Yang found a patch for the military merit title system, which was to use complicated laws to deprive these titles. The Qin people took the titles while committing crimes to offset them with military merit, thus maintaining the number of military merit titles.
Fighting for a lifetime, still a white-collar worker when returning, everything seems like a dream, it is simply a perfect system.
No one uses this system anymore.
After entering the era of autocratic monarchy, the dynastic empire became a system. Any changes in one place would affect the entire country. Things like peasant uprisings came onto the stage of history, and almost every major event was initiated by these peasants.
They may be ignorant, may have historical limitations, and may not be able to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to them by history, but they are truly the destroyers of the old world, the ones who smash the chains of the old world, the great embodiment of the people, the surging waves, and the majestic mountains.
The fault lies with me.
This is not a humble statement, but a reality. Don't say that the crimes of grassroots officials cannot be blamed on the emperor. They were chosen by the emperor in the first place, so why shouldn't we blame the emperor?
But as a top politician, Luo Xianzhi could naturally see that Shang Yang's approach was just too extreme, but it was essentially useful.
The essence of a strong country lies in the fact that the country controls more resources!
No matter what system it is, the country that controls more resources will be stronger, and the country that can mobilize more resources will win.
There are two ways to do this.
The first one is naturally the right way, which is to develop the national strength step by step, increase the country's population, and increase the country's wealth. In this way, the country's strength will be improved, but this method usually takes a very long time.
Xiao Yan said that he wanted to make Liang State stronger in two or three years, but this method would definitely not work.
The method used by the State of Yan to capture the Hu people from the deep mountains and forests can also be classified into this category. According to Mencius, this is a typical kingly way.
The king practices the kingly way and then attracts people from other countries to come.
Although the Hu people were reluctant to go to Yan State at first, after entering Yan State, they did not want to leave. This should be considered the kingly way.
If this time-consuming method is not feasible, then the second method must be used.
In fact, the second method has been implemented by the Liang State since Luo Youzhi, which is to suppress the aristocratic families.
The population of a country is limited. If the wealthy and powerful families have more resources in their hands, then the country will have less. The country will have to bear more responsibilities, and if it cannot control enough resources, it will naturally be unfair.
Luo Youzhi and Luo Xianzhi have been suppressing the aristocratic families all the time. Luo Xianzhi has taken severe actions against them. Otherwise, Xiao Yan would not have been able to have so many troops to go on the expedition this time.
But now Xiao Yan needs more, but the suppression of the aristocratic families has reached almost the point now, and he can only proceed slowly in the future, otherwise it will arouse widespread opposition and even unrest.
Once unrest occurs, no matter who wins or loses, Liang State as a whole will definitely suffer a great defeat.
The resistance of these aristocratic families is not just the resistance of useless literati. They will even lead the people of a county to start a rebellion, and the whole Liang State may be filled with war.
…
Luo Xianzhi knew that he had to carry out a new round of reforms. This reform was not to solve future problems, but to strengthen the strength of the Liang court.
In the palace.
Luo Xianzhi handed a thick stack of documents to Xiao Yan and said, "Your Majesty, there is a total amount of wealth in the world. If the state wants more, the people will have less. The so-called reform is nothing more than plundering the wealth of the people to fill the treasury.
Among them are the wealthiest groups in Daliang. Your Majesty, please choose one and I will formulate a policy to plunder their wealth."
Luo Xianzhi's words were very blunt, without any concealment at all. Xiao Yan began to doubt his life after hearing them, as if what he was holding in his hands were not documents but human lives.
He couldn't help but ask Luo Xianzhi: "Lingxiu, isn't this competing with the people for profit? Will you really support me?"
Xiao Yan knew the Luo family's rules of conduct. He knew that they would not do such a thing as competing with the people for profit.
Luo Xianzhi said calmly: “Your Majesty, this is not competing with the people for profit.
If there were no ministers, the only way to achieve your majesty's goal would be to levy taxes on the people."
Xiao Yan interrupted Luo Xianzhi and said, "Qingyun once told me that my Jiangzuo is harsh and cannot raise taxes on the people. I have always kept this in mind and will never raise taxes on the people. Lingxiu can rest assured."
Luo Xianzhi nodded and said, "I know that Your Majesty will not raise taxes directly on the people, but Your Majesty raises taxes on the rich, and in the end it is still raising taxes on the people. No matter whether you raise taxes on the powerful, in the end these taxes will be imposed on the people. This is an immutable law.
There is only so much land, and the land can only produce so much food and fodder. There is only so much population, and only so many people can be used.
The amount of money in the world is constant.
Your Majesty wants more, and the rich and powerful don’t want less, so the common people will have less, that’s the truth.”
Xiao Yan was shocked and asked, "Aren't the people in dire straits now?"
Luo Xianzhi shook his head, and then said proudly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. The so-called famous prime minister in ancient times, what is a famous prime minister, is to be able to maximize the country's strength, so that the interests of the people will not suffer greater losses.
Let me give you an example.
If there is one stone of grain in the world, the country has four dou, the rich have three dou, and the common people have three dou, then the country can probably be maintained.
If the country has two dou, the rich have seven dou, and the common people have one dou, then the country will be ruined and even the gods will not be able to save it.
Now my country in Daliang is relatively normal.
Reform means taking away one bushel of grain from the rich. According to normal development, the rich will take away one bushel of grain, or even two bushels of grain from the people, leaving the people with only one bushel.
The situation became that the country had five dou, the rich had four dou, and the common people had one dou. On the surface the country had become stronger, but in reality the people could no longer survive. If the country's five dou were used to build palaces and for enjoyment, then the reform would have enriched the national treasury but killed the country.
Such people are incompetent.”
Xiao Yan broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this example. This theory was the first time he had felt the danger of reform so directly. "Doesn't this mean that if there is no prime minister to lead the reform, it would be better not to reform at all?"
Luo Xianzhi nodded in agreement as a matter of course: "One is a slow death, the other is a quick death. It is very dangerous for mediocre people to be at the top of the country. Moreover, I believe that no dynasty can survive by relying on reforms. That is impossible.
For example, there are many people in the Xiao royal family who are enclosing land. I have talked to Your Majesty about this, but Your Majesty remains indifferent. "
Xiao Yan felt a little embarrassed and smiled awkwardly. The most similar point between Luo Xianzhi and Luo Youzhi was that when facing the country, they sometimes spoke without giving face to him as the emperor.
Seeing this, Luo Xianzhi stopped talking about this matter and continued with what he had said before: "I am in charge of the reform, but I cannot prevent the rich from robbing the people. That is impossible to do. Unless I sit in Jianye and know the affairs of Liang in a short time, I can only try my best to restrain those officials.
But this step of restraint is very crucial. I have previously investigated the administration of officials and obtained a group of capable officials. I will send governors and embroidered-robed envoys to each state, county, and county to supervise the reformed officials in various places.
After the national treasury is full, there is still a crucial step, which is to directly feed back to the people. This will form a closed loop, using the money of the powerful and the people's money to give to the people, which can boost the country's reputation and strengthen the country's control over the world.
This kind of control is what your majesty wants.
More food and more people to control."
Just by listening to Luo Xianzhi's words, Xiao Yan already felt a sense of beauty.
Yes.
Listening to Luo Xianzhi's reform policies made him feel beautiful, with a kind of round beauty similar to that of Taoist Tai Chi, and an insight into the Tao. Although Luo Xianzhi was not old, he already had his own way in governing.
Luo Xianzhi did not show any sign of satisfaction as he silently calculated what needed to be done. This was not an easy task as any reform that was rolled out across the country would require unimaginable amounts of energy.
He looked at Xiao Yan with some anticipation. On the document, there was another group that was easier to deal with. If Xiao Yan chose that group, things would be much simpler.
Xiao Yan looked at the document, reading it bit by bit, then paused, and looked at it again in disbelief. He looked at Luo Xianzhi and asked in a hoarse voice: "Lingxiu, did you write this wrong?"
Luo Xianzhi looked over calmly, then shook his head and said, "Of course it's correct. I have written down the royal family on it, so why wouldn't I dare to write about this?"
Xiao Yan seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
He looked at the document in his hand and felt it weighed a thousand pounds.
What appeared in front of him was simple, but to him it was like thunder rolling in the sky. It was actually a Buddhist temple or a Taoist temple.
The Taoist temple doesn’t matter.
But the Buddhist temple!
Everyone in the world knows that he loves Buddhism, but Luo Xianzhi actually wants him to attack Buddhism!
(End of this chapter)
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