Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5103 The World is for All
Li Chengqian was dissatisfied: "Grand Commander, with a golden seal and purple ribbon, is in charge of the military affairs of the whole country... Although it has only been a nominal position since the Qin and Han dynasties, it is also the symbol of the highest position in the military. You resigned from other official positions, but you are interfering in everything. The only official position you have not resigned from is neglecting your duties. It is ridiculous!"

He resigned from the post of "Pushe", but refused to let go of the Ministry of War, and even exerted influence on the Ministry of Palace Affairs and interfered with it, which led to his plan to weaken the Ministry of Shangshu and enhance the Ministry of Zhongshu failing to be fully realized. Liu Li, the prime minister who "commanded all the ministers", was only in name and not in reality, and often came to him to sigh...

Fang Jun smiled and said, "Since Your Majesty thinks that I am lazy, I will go to Hexi later, and perhaps revisit Fuqi City and meet Lu Dongzan. It is time to end the war with Tubo."

Li Chengqian nodded: "The Gar tribe and Luoshui City are both exhausted and at the end of their strength. We cannot allow one of them to be completely defeated. In the absence of the ability to station troops on the plateau, a chaotic and divided Tubo will be most beneficial to the Tang Dynasty."

The art of ruling a country is nothing more than the word "balance", both internally and externally.

It is not a good thing for one company to dominate the world, as that means it will have enemies all over the world.

The most stable approach is to push and pull, support the weak and resist the strong in sensitive areas, so that they can restrain each other and have to rely on the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Today, the situation is irreconcilable. The hatred between the Gar tribe and Tubo is as deep as the sea. It is a life-and-death struggle. There is absolutely no possibility of collusion. When I go, I only need to force the Gar tribe to withdraw their troops from Luoxi City. There will be no peace on the plateau ever again."

Lu Dongzan and Songtsen Gampo, a pair of "wise rulers and capable ministers", have come to this point today. There is no reason for them to "laugh away their grudges", but they cannot get along with each other, and the Tang Dynasty will force them to get along. Although there are still few people on the plateau who respond to the Gar tribe's uprising, there are countless people who secretly favor Lu Dongzan. Even many tribes have dispatched troops to cooperate with Lun Qinling to capture Luoshui City, forcing Songtsen Gampo to abdicate and choose another king to rule Tubo...

Under such circumstances, once Lun Qinling withdrew his troops, Songtsen Gampo, who would be freed up, would certainly massacre those tribesmen who were secretly colluding with Lu Dongzan - although his son was dead, he still had a grandson, so how could the throne of the Zamp be replaced by others?
As his grandson was young and had no authority, he could only kill all the people or tribes that might threaten the position of the Zamp...

With the Gar tribe as a buffer, the Tang Dynasty could sit back and watch the bloody storm on the plateau.

After this battle, Tubo was no longer as united as it once was. No matter how high Songtsen Gampo's prestige or how powerful he was, he could never threaten the Tang Dynasty.

History has inertia, but "national destiny" is mysterious and fleeting. Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan failed to make Tubo strong, so the probability of others "revitalizing Tubo" is extremely low. The Tang Dynasty only needs to accumulate strength and advance steadily. When the time comes, it can conquer Tubo and pacify the plateau.

Without powerful enemies surrounding it anymore, the Tang Dynasty could settle down and develop steadily, completing capital accumulation and political system transformation in the shortest possible time.

What is the foundation for completing the transformation of the country?

People's wisdom is awakened.

"The importance of education is no less than the power of firearms, and no less than the accumulation of wealth. If we can enlighten the people and make everyone know the importance of the country and family, and know why they have to pay taxes, why they have to farm, and why they have to do business, then the whole country will strive forward and the day of great harmony may be expected! Your Majesty should keep your mind and must not be deceived by those corrupt scholars!"

Fang Jun looked earnest and patient, "Your Majesty is doing this to make the Tang Dynasty dominate the world and clear the universe. Don't be confined to the pros and cons of a family. It's okay to use Confucianism as a theory of governance, but if you use it to govern the country, even if the current era is prosperous, the Tang Dynasty will not be able to escape the fate of the dynasty. In just three or two hundred years, it will be buried in the dust and dirt like those Qin bricks and Han tiles. On the contrary, when everyone knows your majesty's grand ambitions and everyone benefits from it, they will naturally enshrine your majesty on the shrine and worship you from generation to generation! Even if the country cannot escape overthrow one day, your majesty's name and the name of the Tang Dynasty will always exist on this land, for thousands of years, and will never be erased."

……

The autumn sun slowly set in the west from the roof of the palace. The last ray of afterglow was blocked by the palace wall, and the entire Taiji Palace fell into darkness.

Fang Jun had left a long time ago, but Li Chengqian was still kneeling on the mat in front of the window, looking at the dim scenery outside the window, but his eyes seemed to be out of focus.

He struggled back and forth in his heart. Everything he knew, learned and saw in his life was mixed and surging, leaving him confused.

Is it really possible to realize the blueprint constructed by Fang Jun?

Li Chengqian didn't know.

But he knew that the worldview he had formed since childhood by studying with those great scholars was in sharp conflict with the prosperous and splendid Tang Dynasty at that time.

Apart from the so-called "Three Dynasties" and various vague legends in history books, there has never been a dynasty as powerful as the present one. Even the Qin and Han dynasties would have been far inferior to it.

The root cause of the current prosperity is not what the Confucian sages preached...

The Dali Temple studies various laws and regulations day after day, and countless new laws are born, using legal rules one by one to tell the world what to do and what not to do. Lines are drawn there, and those who cross them will be punished.

Whether it is the so-called "ruling by doing nothing" in Huang-Lao school of thought or the "rule of virtue" and "rule of ritual" advocated by Confucianism, they are all contrary to this.

But it was these policies, which were widely criticized by Confucianists as "tyranny", that created a prosperous era unprecedented in history...

Which one is strong and which one is weak is clear at a glance.

However, as an emperor, he didn't know what to do.

Whether it is "ruling by inaction", "ruling by virtue" or "ruling by ritual", what is advocated is "the king's power is granted by God". The king is the master of the world and is respected by all the people in the nine provinces.

When all power is concentrated in the hands of the king and the historians, those foolish people can only be ruled obediently. Any disrespectful thoughts will be considered as treason and will be punished by everyone.

But now?

The monarchy was weakened, but the empire remained extremely powerful.

Is it the royal power that restricts the development of the empire?

Is it even true that the reason why dynasties cannot last forever is because of the "supremacy of the monarchy"?

Moreover, although he had been educated in Confucianism since childhood, he knew very well that many Confucian doctrines could not stand up to scrutiny. If he continued to implement the "policy of keeping the people ignorant", it would be fine. "The people can be made to follow it, but not to understand it." However, once the people's wisdom was awakened, he would dissect the Confucian "divine right of kings" and show it to the public. He knew very well what that would mean.

“Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers of different species?”
"The one with the strongest soldiers and horses is the emperor"?
The sound of footsteps behind him woke Li Chengqian from his thoughts. He was shocked to find that it was already dark outside the window and palace lanterns were lit.

Wang De came close and stopped, bowed and whispered, "Your Majesty, it's already twilight hour, shall we serve the meal?"

Although he was puzzled as to why His Majesty had been sitting here since Fang Jun left, he did not dare to ask a single question.

Li Chengqian said "hmm", but then frowned: "Come here, help me up."

My legs are numb from sitting for too long...

Wang De hurried forward, helped Li Chengqian to get up and sit back on a chair beside him, then turned around and went out to serve the meal.

Soon, several eunuchs came in carrying exquisite side dishes and placed them on the table one by one. In addition to a bowl of rice, there was also a small pot of rice wine.

Li Chengqian's paralysis was relieved, and he sat down at the table and had his meal with Wang De serving him.

He swallowed a mouthful of rice, drank a glass of rice wine, and asked, "Has the queen not returned yet?"

Wang De said cautiously, "His Royal Highness has had a poor appetite recently and is a little anorexic. The Queen is worried about the ladies-in-waiting in the Eastern Palace, so she personally instructs the chef to prepare something that is easy to digest and delicious for every meal. It's very hard work."

"Humph!"

Li Chengqian was dissatisfied and put down his chopsticks: "You are the crown prince of the empire, a seven-foot-tall man, but you are so delicate and pretentious. How can you rule the world in the future? You still need your mother to take care of you at such a age. You have no ability to take care of yourself. You are too spoiled."

Wang De trembled and dared not speak.

This is not a topic that a servant like him can comment on...

Fortunately, Li Chengqian only grumbled a few words, picked up his chopsticks to finish his meal, and waved his hand to ask the eunuch to clean up.

Wang De said, "It's getting late. Your Majesty has been busy with government affairs for days. Why don't I help you bathe and go to bed early?"

Li Chengqian pursed his lips, watching the eunuchs pack away the food, then looked at Wang De in front of him, and suddenly sighed, saying with emotion: "In ancient times, have there ever been a king as simple and restrained as me?"

Which emperor in the world doesn’t have a life of luxury and numerous concubines?
But he only had a few side dishes for every meal, and was served by an old servant...

Even so, those ministers and great scholars still clamored every day, asking him to restrain himself and return to the rites, be frugal and simple, be diligent in government affairs, and get up early and go to bed late...

I am the emperor, not a beast of burden!
Suddenly, Li Chengqian came to an understanding - although the literati and officials have always boasted about "the supremacy of imperial power" and "the divine right of the emperor" since ancient times, saying that the emperor is the common ruler of the world and the son of heaven, but how many emperors are there who truly hold the sun and the moon in their hands and whose words are law?
Throughout history, the people who managed the country and ruled the people were the scholars and officials...

As for who the emperor is...how many people care?
When the literati govern the world, aristocratic families are bound to evolve. Even if there are no aristocratic families, it will be another form, but the core will not change.

This world, after all, belongs to those few families.

It is neither the world of the king nor the world of the people.

Perhaps... this is the reason why the dynasty cannot last forever?
A family or a surname places themselves above all other human beings, regards the world as their own property, harms the country for the benefit of their own family - how can they not fail?

The literati only care about the interests of their family and surname, and the same is true for the king.

Only by not pursuing personal gain and regarding the interests of the world as one's own interests can we unite the people from top to bottom, integrate the inside and the outside, and break free from the shackles.

The world belongs to all!