Chapter 913 Luo Su Talks about Enfeoffment
In Lingtian Pavilion, when Luo Xuanchen learned that Luo Su wanted to implement feudalism again, he was shocked, and then immediately recalled why Luo Su looked at him with pity when he proposed the imperial examination system.
The rise of feudalism and the rise of the imperial examination system were in extreme conflict.
In the end, the imperial examination system must have been replaced by a stable civil government that suppressed everything. This cannot be simply explained by a national policy that values civil over military.
Even if we do not advocate emphasizing culture over military affairs, culture is still the first choice for most people, even most nobles.
A brief comparison will reveal the advantage of literature over martial arts.
The upper limit is obviously higher, and one can be promoted all the way to Prime Minister.
There is no danger to life, no need to fight, and no need to worry about dying on the battlefield at any time.
You don't need to go to a bitter and cold place to garrison and make meritorious deeds, you can stay in the colorful world of Central Plains.
The inheritance of a military family is also unstable and relies too much on talent. Moreover, war is a zero-sum game. Those with stronger talents take everything, and failure means death. The political arena is not like this. It can accommodate more people, and even if there is a temporary failure, there is a chance to start over.
The Shandong gentry, the Jiangnan gentry and other aristocratic families have proved with their own personal experiences the importance of passing down poetry and books from generation to generation. Those prominent figures on the battlefield have turned to ashes, but they are still alive.
Needless to say, in the subconscious of almost everyone, talent refers to poetry, song, and governing the country, rather than marching and fighting wars.
This was the case even in such a martial Tang Dynasty. External expansion had always been stagnant, so the civil officials would inevitably suppress the military officials easily. This was an objective fact that could not be changed by human will.
Moreover, civilian government is better than military government, so in a big country, civilian government is the ultimate outcome.
Luo Xuanchen, or rather the Luo family, certainly knew all this.
Those who can fight against the civil officials are not the military officers who have been promoted in the same way. When there are no large-scale wars in the future, especially when the king's control over the army declines, he will trust the civil officials who will not rebel more, and the military officers will definitely be suppressed.
Those who could fight against the civil servants were the hereditary aristocrats, or in other words, this group of people were fighting against the civil servants who came out of the imperial examination system.
The nobles took a different path.
The civil servants in the imperial examinations did not rely on blood inheritance, but the aristocrats did. During the early Zhou Dynasty, those hereditary aristocrats were deprived of their privileges by the scholars during the reform, and the hereditary system of aristocracy was abolished. In the end, the aristocrats and scholars with military merit became the protagonists of the era.
The imperial examination is the ultimate kind of scholar. Those who can pass it are great, and those who fail don’t even have the qualifications to be on the stage. This is the imperial examination!
A system with the broadest sources and the best ability to select talents, a system that is better than all previous official selection systems, a most fair system, a system that only evaluates talent and not other factors. Any country that wants stable inheritance is destined to take this path.
Even Luo Su would touch Luo Xuanchen's head and say, "The imperial examination system will be passed down through the ages. Advanced things will eventually spread across the land of Zhuxia and shine with their brilliance."
Luo Xuanchen said with some difficulty: "But it is about to face a blow. As you said, even if I am right, it will collide with your plan, and I am wrong because it is inappropriate."
Luo Xuanchen's voice was very low. Luo Su had taught him before, which enabled him to make an accurate judgment about the Tang Dynasty.
That was the social environment of the Tang Dynasty. The economic foundation had completely begun to transition to the common people, and common people could enter the political arena. It was not like the Han Dynasty, which had white-robed ministers on the surface but was actually a commoner society in aristocratic society.
Instead, common people participated in politics on a large scale from the central to the local level, obtained opportunities to serve in government that were almost the same as those of the nobles, and did not suffer political discrimination.
There was nothing wrong with his judgment, especially with the emergence of woodblock printing and the reduction in the cost of paper, which made the situation mature both economically and politically.
According to the normal development of history, it is enough to seize the political power that belongs to the common people step by step. Just like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period for hundreds of years, the result is doomed, that is, the common people with a surge of talents will beat the aristocracy to a pulp.
Just like the scholar class in the past beat the nobles and officials to a pulp.
But Luo Su showed up.
He wants to open the fiefdom.
What does opening a fiefdom mean?
open up.
There is a difference between pioneering outside and founding a country in the Central Plains. Simply giving bribes will not do.
In a place where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, if it is impossible to form an extremely close community of interests, then those who go out together will definitely not mind changing the boss.
In other words, in that kind of environment, it is just a dream to want to play with centralization, because anyone who goes out will definitely demand land and population.
And in fact, they don't need to ask for it actively, because the leaders who go out will "actively" give it on their own. After all, there is not only one person going out. If you don't give it, they will naturally find someone who is willing to give it to conquer the world together.
In this situation, a large number of real nobles will emerge. At the top is the king, and then layer by layer, all of them are nobles with their own lands. They will be granted fiefs and establish kingdoms, and that's all.
Luo Xuanchen didn't even need to guess, he knew that the ancestor would definitely choose this method, because this method is the fastest to develop.
This is called land grabbing. Wherever you conquer, it is yours. It can maximize the passion for fighting.
But the final result was the creation of a large number of noble aristocrats.
The existence of these nobles will seriously hinder the advancement of the imperial examinations. After all, the emperor cannot leave these nobles outside, and he will definitely recall some of them in the future.
Otherwise, two or three generations won’t know each other.
Now Emperor Li Shimin is marrying his sister and daughter to meritorious officials, and there is no telling how many such marriages there will be in the future.
Those people would occupy all the official positions in the Tang Dynasty. When Luo Xuanchen thought about that scene, he felt a chill down his spine.
He couldn't help but ask, "Ancestor, is there any other way? It took so many years to achieve the current results. If we go back a thousand years, wouldn't it be too costly?"
After hearing this, Luo Su was silent for a moment and then asked, "When I advised the emperor to enfeoff King Yan Ke to Mobei, did you ever think that there would be bloodshed in the future?"
Luo Xuanchen was speechless, and then whispered: "No one is more wise than you, of course you know it."
Luo Su let out a long sigh and said, "Yes, I know, but I still have to do this. You have been the prime minister for many years, dismissed twice and reinstated twice, but you still haven't figured out one thing.
Remember, never try to have the best of both worlds.
There is no such thing as having the best of both worlds in this world, and any policy will lead to a bad outcome in the future.
I know the disadvantages of feudalism better than anyone else, but I also know the advantages of feudalism better than anyone else. When I decide to do something, I will no longer consider its impact.
That's just worrying about nothing.
Enfeoffment is such a thing. The world is constantly moving forward. I say that the imperial examination system you proposed is destined to shine. It is destined.
But it was not inevitable that the Xia states would gain enough land.
It was not destined that the family would have enough foundation to sustain itself for many years to come.
Let me give you an example.
In front of you, there is a piece of gold. If you get it, you will get extremely considerable wealth. It is here, it will not move, waiting for you.
On the other side, there is another piece of gold that is constantly tumbling, but you must chase it immediately, otherwise it will fall off the cliff and you will never find it again.
What would you choose? "
Luo Xuanchen said in a deep voice: "I will chase the rolling piece of gold, and after catching it, I will go back and get the previous piece of gold.
My dear, I understand what you mean.
Enfeoffment requires the right time, right place, and right people, and now the Tang Dynasty has shown you this right time, right place, and right people, so you would rather sacrifice other things to roll out the curtain of enfeoffment."
Luo Su paced in Lingtian Pavilion, sighing slightly: "I came to the Tang Dynasty to serve as the national teacher. Promoting the division of fiefdoms is one of my greatest missions. I traveled around the world just for this day. The Tang Dynasty did not let me down. After successively solving the problems of Dong Turks and Xi Yan, I knew that the time was ripe.
So I advised the emperor to send King Ke of Yan to Mobei. The purpose is not only to make the Mobei tribes sinicized, but also to stabilize Mobei and not disturb the future plans.
More than ten years ago, I sent Xuanzang to the Western Regions, and I am quite satisfied with the result now.
How much luck and fortune can our Luo family leverage from this?
Must be a lot.
We need more foundation and more luck to continue to deepen our presence in Li Tang. Our share of Li Tang's founding has basically been used up.
The foundation given to you for your promotion to Duke is not enough.
I guess that as the Tang Dynasty continues to flourish, as long as we can participate in it, we will be able to gain a lot of luck and fortune.
The Tang Dynasty has become more glorious, even surpassing the Han Dynasty, and our Luo family has also become glorious. Isn't this a win-win situation?"
Luo Su never forgot one of his great goals when he came into the world, which was to replenish the Luo family's depleted fortune and luck, so his plans were often aimed at seizing fortune points.
This was the case when Luo Xuanxing was asked to help King Ke of Yan, when Luo Xuanzang was asked to go to the Western Regions, and now when he was preparing to grant fiefs on a large scale.
In the process of helping the Tang Dynasty expand its influence and become more prosperous, he also gained benefits for the Luo family. This benefit was not ordinary fame and fortune, but supernatural luck that others could not understand.
Luo Xuanchen has served as the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty for quite some time, and over the years the Luo family no longer has the same sense of crisis as before. For a moment, they were unable to react. The Luo family is still in a period of lack of luck points.
Only the ancestor Luo Su still remembers this incident. It can be said that the Luo family has done a very good job of integrating into the Tang Dynasty, better than Luo Su had imagined.
(End of this chapter)
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