"Dad, I feel like you've become more and more strict over the years. It's just a matter of paying a bill. There are many officials in Beijing who pay for their meals," Fang Chenyu asked.
Fang Zheng snorted, picked up a piece of kidney and put it in his mouth.
"Small matters...small matters at the top can become huge issues at the lower levels. The upper levels set an example for the lower levels. Over the years, the country has improved, and the people have become a little bit richer. So there are more and more extravagant things happening."
"Everyone always says to be prepared for danger in times of peace, but few people can remember it when peace comes. Dad was afraid of poverty in the past. Many big restaurants had swill buckets filled with lumps of meat. Dad felt like a knife was cutting his heart when he saw it."
"People in Beijing have become accustomed to this. They think that they are getting richer and richer. More and more factories are opening outside, and the stock market is rising every year."
"But the country is huge, there are too many poor areas, and there are too many places where government policies are not implemented... In fact, everyone is a frog in a well, and can only see the small piece of land in front of them. It's okay for ordinary people to waste it, but businessmen like you who run factories in the court cannot think like this." Fang Zhengyi said earnestly.
"Over the years, your mother asked me why I didn't eat at home every day, but went out to eat at different restaurants every day and brought home leftovers every day."
"The reason is very simple. Dad is a moral role model for scholars and officials in the world... If I do it, the officials below will follow suit, and the officials will follow suit, and the wealthy will follow suit... If everyone does this, the atmosphere will change, and once the atmosphere changes, consensus and morality can be formed."
"Once a consensus is reached, I can set rules and avoid a lot of unnecessary waste. When you were a child, I often taught you that the power of one person is not as good as that of a group, but the truth is conditional... In some things, your father and I alone can be as powerful as tens of millions of people."
"It's a bad habit for officials not to pay for meals. Wei Qing is not the only one. I just picked him as an example. Factories are being set up all over the country now. You know how difficult it is to turn over funds. Of course, it's okay to miss a few meals, but if you owe money to the factories, countless people may go bankrupt."
"It takes a hundred years for the imperial court to build up its reputation, but it will take less than three months to destroy it."
Fang Chenyu drank a cup and sighed, "Dad, you don't have to put all the pressure on yourself, you have so many people under you..."
Fang Zhengyi smiled slightly and pulled up the hem of his robe.
"When Dad was your age, he was not as successful as you are. All he thought about every day was romance, love, and a life of ease and comfort."
"But later, as I got older and took on more responsibilities, my mentality changed... Now, His Majesty can be said to have fully delegated power to me, and Dad can be said to have the authority of the emperor."
"Do you know what the first thing Dad did when he returned to the court a few years ago?"
"What?"
"The Royal Guards moved into the stock exchange to monitor the stock market. The stock market was a new thing, a gold mine. All the nobles, officials and wealthy people wanted to get a piece of the pie. Once the southern stock exchange opened, it immediately became popular across the country. In just two years, Dad followed the clues and obtained evidence of crimes against most officials in the country. Half of them deserved to be beheaded!"
"But you also know that in the following year, Dad single-handedly oversaw the revision of the Dajing Law, adding and changing more than 30% of the law, reducing the authority of officials and returning power to the people, and establishing property laws and patent laws. All of them were passed in one year without any resistance. Throughout the ages, the most powerful emperors were not as efficient as your father."
"So there is such a thing behind the scenes..." Fang Chenyu's hand that was picking up the food paused in mid-air, and he was so shocked by this top secret of the court that he was speechless.
"Do you know why Dad does this?"
"Why?"
"In order to create a world where the law is respected, only when the law is above everything else can everyone be free from oppression by the powerful and retain their dignity. The law was originally created by the strong as a weapon to plunder the people's wealth, but this weapon also restricts the strong themselves. Dad has exhausted all his efforts just to turn the spearhead to point at the strong."
"This is the only magic weapon for ordinary people to protect themselves, but the people do not understand the law and do not value the law. Dongjiao University was established nationwide, and the scale of the law school is far greater than that of other schools. It is also to make the law deeply rooted in people's hearts and change the old customs."
Fang Zheng smiled.
"There are many people in the court who are dissatisfied with Dad. As vested interests, they think I will stand with them and do not understand what I do. But even so, no one dares to say a word against Dad. They are not afraid of my power, but they can't find any fault with me."
"I basically didn't do anything to the corrupt officials found through the stock market. At most, I punished them with minor punishments and let them go with major punishments. More than 30 officials were fired, and more than 20 of them were recommended by me. There were several laws and regulations made by the upper and lower levels to split the power of the Jinyiwei, and there were also many other laws that restricted my father himself."
"Every knife strikes my hand... Daddy holds all the power, no one in the court dares to say that Daddy is tyrannical and partisan, even the opposition admires me... What is this? This is Kung Fu!"
"Dad doesn't ask for their understanding, but it won't be long before they understand my good intentions. The potential of tens of millions of people across the country has been stimulated. Although the power in their hands has faded, they still have a huge advantage and can get more from this explosion of wealth."
"People often say that capital likes to make quick money, but who doesn't like to make quick money? This is simply nonsense."
"But smart capital and families actually look down on quick money and are extremely cautious about it. You who run factories also know that only by establishing technological barriers can you surpass your peers and reap long-term profits. Capital actually loves this kind of business the most, which is like a trickle, stretching endlessly for a hundred years."
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