Li Shengxian was forty years old. The emperor he had supported had died three years ago, and the last tiny force that was strong enough to oppose him had also disappeared.
Overlooking half of the country, his authority far surpassed that of any emperor in the past hundred years. Under his governance, the country gradually moved from chaos to stability, the power transition in the court was orderly, and the people's grievances in the market were quelled.
The continuous peasant uprisings and millions of disaster victims disappeared, and the prairie fire had burned away the rotten roots.
This was not the result of Li Shengxian's efforts alone. It was more due to the destruction of society by peasant uprisings, the massacre of gentry by common people's armies, and the return of over-concentrated land to the people.
It was also the credit of the holy master who was across the river from him.
It was because of his existence that the noble families in the world were willing to give land to the people and cooperate with the court's work-for-relief and land-for-money policy, instead of holding on to all the good land, even if it was overgrown with weeds and the grain was moldy, and they were unwilling to give it to the people.
Because the common people's army really kills people.
"Father Zhong, what kind of person is the Holy Master?"
The little emperor hugged his thighs.
Li Shengxian glanced sideways with cold eyes, even though this was the emperor, even though this was his own blood.
The old emperor he supported was already over 60 years old, and three of his children died young, and he himself had basically lost his ability to have children. For political reasons, Li Shengxian found a woman with royal blood to replace the prince.
The old emperor's knowledge was somewhat comforting.
At least the descendants still have royal blood.
This is also why Li Shengxian is stronger than Xu He. As a ruler and benefit distributor, he can satisfy everyone. But Xu He can only satisfy most people, but not the few who control the resources.
If it were Xu He, he would definitely kill the emperor, wasting this great cause and bringing himself the infamy of regicide.
Li Shengxian replied: "A madman, a complete madman. Half of the chaos in the world today is caused by him."
"He also wants to be emperor?"
"No, he wants to be a saint. Not an emperor or a general who flatters himself, nor does he want to build a few temples to spread the word to the world, but a saint who realizes universal peace."
Li Shengxian shook his head, then muttered to himself, saying the words from the other side of Jiang that had been circulating for more than ten years.
"The world is for the public, which refers to the position of the Son of Heaven. To be for the public means to give way to others and to pass on the virtues of the saints, not to pass them on privately to descendants, which is to depose Zhu and Jun and use Shun and Yu."
Shun and Yu were compared to saints, but their positions were not passed on to their descendants.
There is no hereditary system for commoner military officer positions. Even if there is too much inheritance after death, a portion of it must be handed over.
Li Shengxian saw the advanced nature of this system at a glance, and it perfectly solved the problem of land annexation. If this system can be implemented continuously, then theoretically there will be no peasant uprisings in the future.
But human hearts are made of flesh and blood, with many emotions and desires.
When it comes to rationality, there are never any ifs.
The little emperor was ignorant.
Li Shengxian looked at the river in the distance and said:
"It's only a matter of time before he loses."
At night, a small boat avoided the continuous alert. The messenger from the other side asked to see Li Shengxian. He brought a letter and an opportunity to break through the natural barrier of the river.
The person whom Li Shengxian personally met was the third in command of the Buyi Army, the general who guarded the entrance to the river. Like other high-ranking officers of the Buyi Army, he was just a boatman at first, and later followed the Holy Master in the rebellion and climbed to a high position.
Like the founding heroes in the past, there is always a group of people from humble origins.
The chief of the Zhenjiang army agreed to surrender to the imperial court on the condition that he be granted the title of king of a different surname and the title of marquis of ten thousand households.
"I can give you the title of King of a different surname and the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, but how do I know that you are not using my tricks to lure the snake into its hole?"
Li Shengxian did not agree immediately. He looked at the other party's rough face and said, "I heard that the Holy Master is wise and the people live and work in peace and contentment. And you should have received his kindness, why did you defect?"
More than a decade ago, this person was just an ordinary citizen, most likely one of the victims fleeing famine.
"Your Excellency, I was indeed saved by the Holy Master, but I am too tired and uncomfortable to be around him. I feel like a pig or a dog!"
There was a hint of resentment in the general's voice.
"Military merit cannot be inherited, nor can it be used for personal gain. I went through life and death just to stand out, but now I am on an equal footing with the common people over there. How can I bear it?"
"Now it's not just me, many people have complaints against the Holy Master. We just need to wait for the Prime Minister to give the order, and we will kill the thief together."
"Big thief?"
When Li Shengxian heard this name, he smiled slightly sarcastically.
"What a thief."
The imperial court's troops were mobilized once again. In just one month, two hundred thousand soldiers were gathered. Such a large-scale troop deployment could naturally not be concealed from the common people.
Eight years later, the two armies stood across the river again, with military flags flying everywhere, war drums beating, and warships lined up on both sides of the river.
Then one day, 50,000 heavily armored elite soldiers of the imperial court crossed the river without any warning under the cover of night, and then rode their horses to break through three river entrances in succession, successfully controlling the natural barrier of the river.
Almost overnight, the balance completely tipped towards the imperial court.
The common people's army was thrown into disarray, and the imperial army took advantage of the victory to pursue and continue to capture cities. The people in the city wanted to resist, but they could not resist the constant surrender of generals.
This time when the court marched south, the greatest weapon it prepared was not those elite soldiers in armor, but 50,000 taels of gold.
Whenever he arrived at a city, he would offer gold, promise official positions, and confer titles of nobility and dukedom.
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