Obviously, Gong Chenliang wasn't grieving that it was his father's mistake that led to all this. He was simply heartbroken that his country had produced such a harmful cancer. For his own selfish interests, he had destroyed an innocent woman's family.
So when Luo Junchuan pointed out everything, Gong Chenliang found it hard to accept.
"My father is simply continuing the way of governing the country passed down by our ancestors. How could there be any mistakes?"
"What if your ancestors were wrong? Have you ever considered that the rules your ancestors established were actually designed to enslave the people? And those high-ranking officials who indulged in wine and women were the ones they wanted to consolidate their power. So they banded together to exploit the people."
"Impossible! You're talking nonsense!"
"Then tell me, tell me, is this official unprecedented and unparalleled, the only official in the history of the world to have committed such evil?"
Gong Chenliang turned his head away when asked by Luo Junchuan, and his neck turned red with anger.
But after thinking about it carefully, what Luo Junchuan said seemed to be correct. There had been many such officials before, but this was the first time he had seen one.
"Just think about it. If you were an ordinary person, you would have to endure so much suffering just to survive. From birth, you would have lived in poverty, and if you were unlucky, you might even be abandoned. When you grew up a little, you would work in the fields and help your family with whatever you could. When you were older, if you were lucky, you would be sent to school, but if not, you would just continue to help with housework. When you reached the right age, you would have to set up your own home and pay your own taxes."
"Do you...know what kind of taxes you're going to have to pay?
First, you had to pay a per capita tax annually, 120 coins per person, equivalent to the average income from one mu of land. There were also other taxes like the charity granary tax, agricultural tool tax, ox-hide, tendon, and horn tax, import tax, silkworm and salt tax, koji tax, and market tax. The tax burden alone was suffocating. Not to mention natural disasters and man-made disasters. At that time, selling grain didn't bring much money, but you had to pay the taxes even if you had to sell everything you had.
Gong Chenliang gradually became silent and lowered his head.
"You don't have to be too sad. I brought you out here to show sympathy for the people. Do you think this is just a simple act of sympathy? We need to find the problem and then solve it. Isn't it better to find it now? Why be sad?"
Seeing that his little boy looked uncomfortable, Luo Junchuan walked up to him, rubbed his hair and comforted him.
"You don't have to comfort me, I know everything. But I just feel uncomfortable." Gong Chenliang answered sullenly.
"I know you feel bad, but you have to face it bravely. Okay, now tell me if there is anything you want to change?" Luo Junchuan looked at him expectantly. The teachings he had given these days should be effective.
"Change? Kill that official...?"
Luo Junchuan was so angry that he almost fell backwards. He tried very hard to remind himself: This is his own son, he owes him! He owes him!
Luo Junchuan tried hard to close his eyes and put his hand on his temple: "Kill him? Do you know that if you kill this official, there will be thousands and thousands more officials to come. Can you kill them all?!"
Gong Chenliang remained silent, secretly retorting in his heart: At least killing one less means one less person, and one day they will all be killed!
"You can't burn all the weeds; they'll grow again in the spring breeze. This kind of officials has become commonplace in your dynasty. Don't even think about whether you can kill them all. If you kill just a few more, you'll face resistance from all the officials.
By then, I’m afraid you won’t even be able to sit firmly on the throne of the emperor.”
"What should we do then?"
"It's easy. We can solve it at the source."
“Solve it at the source?”
"Well, change the country's system and solve the problem at the source. Do you still remember what Fu Renliang gave you before?"
"I remember, but are you crazy?! Wouldn't I die faster that way?"
Gong Chenliang certainly remembered what Fu Renliang had taught him, but he felt that although those things were good, they were somewhat impractical to actually put into practice.
It's like... a paradise on earth, where everyone climbs up through their own efforts, the people are the masters of their own destiny, there are no high-ranking officials, and no big landlords.
"You think you have a lot of power now? Isn't most of the power still in my hands?" Luo Junchuan was a little shy when talking about this, but he continued: "You don't need to worry about this matter. I have great power. I will do this."
"Are you crazy? Do you think you have too much power? This will infringe upon the rights of all the families. They won't let you go and will unite to bring you down!"
"Little Emperor, this is not your business. Just learn how to be a good emperor and how to love your people like your own children!"
Gong Chenliang looked at Luo Junchuan with complicated eyes. Since he was looking for death, he would not stop him.
Luo Junchuan took Gong Chenliang for a walk around the village. They saw the small landlord who relied on his brother-in-law's second aunt's third aunt's sister's nephew's nephew's brother-in-law, who was the county magistrate, forcing people to give him their things. They saw a county magistrate coming to the village in a rage to marry his 48th wife. They saw the poor people who had nowhere to complain. They saw the hungry, skinny children scavenging for food in the garbage dump of a wealthy family. They saw those who struggled to make a living sighing...
As he walked along, Gong Chenliang realized that this seemed to be another world that he could not touch, a real world. The world he had seen before was created for him by someone with great effort.
Luo Junchuan said that he would take care of everything, but until they left, they did not see any movement from Luo Junchuan.
Gong Chenliang shook his head. He guessed he was scared too!
It’s not his fault. Everyone has to plan for themselves, so it’s understandable that he escaped temporarily.
In a blink of an eye, eight days passed, and the so-called "local customs and folkways" were almost seen. Several letters came from the court asking them to go back and deal with affairs quickly. They said that the victims in the drought-stricken areas had written a letter to express their gratitude to Gong Chenliang for opening warehouses to provide disaster relief and digging canals.
So, the two decided to go back.
"Grandma, we are leaving. Thank you for your care during this period. These things are for you. Please keep them well." Luo Junchuan took out a handful of banknotes from his arms like a magic trick.
The old woman waved her hands repeatedly. "I only took you in for a few nights. How can I bear such a generous gift? Besides, you helped me repair the house and left me so much food. I am already very satisfied and grateful!"
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