The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 956 Wei's Plan (Part )

Aristocratic families all pay great attention to the cultivation of family talents. It is no exaggeration to say that the development of a force is to constantly nurture talents so that these talents can eliminate internal friction, unite against external foes, and give full play to their full potential.

The decline and extinction of many families began with a lack of talent, or perhaps talented people within the same family fought against each other and destroyed themselves.

Aristocratic families like the Jingzhao Wei family have a background so deep that it is hard for ordinary people to imagine. How could they be able to compete with the imperial power without some preparation?

From the perspective of outsiders, such a family would hardly decline, but even the most powerful force could be overturned at any time. Even if all the people in the open were lost, they could still rise again after the storm, which was a healthy family.

After Wei Mingshan sat down, Wei Ting told him the situation again. Wei Mingshan was anxious: "Brother, does this mean that the emperor is going to take action against our family again?"

"Ugh"

Wei Dezheng gently stroked his beard, his wise eyes were extremely deep: "It's not that I'm going to do it again, but I've never stopped."

"After the Battle of Dingxiang, Li Shimin began to implement the land policy of equalizing the land tax, returning the fire consumption to the public, and requiring officials and gentry to serve as officials and pay taxes together. This policy, including the subsequent collection of grain to fight drought, the reduction of officials, the dispute over the recruitment of soldiers, and the relocation of narrow villages to wide villages, were all examples of the imperial power weakening the aristocratic families time and time again."

Wei Ting nodded silently, acknowledging this.

Wei Mingshan's pupils shrank. He did not hold an office in the court and was not very clear about court affairs. He had only heard of what Wei Dezheng said, but he did not expect that there was a game between imperial power and the aristocracy involved.

Hearing this, he asked in surprise: "If that's the case, why haven't we seen any opposition from the nobles? Haven't all of Li Shimin's policies been implemented one by one?"

"Can the noble families just sit there and watch their interests being infringed?"

Seeing his nephew’s nervous face, Wade Zheng smiled and said, “Mingshan, there are some things you don’t know. There are differences between aristocratic families, some are big and some are small. There are national-level aristocratic families, and there are also some local powerful families with great reputations?”

"The noble families are not a whole, and there are huge conflicts of interest."

Seeing the doubt in Wei Mingshan's eyes, Wei Dezheng rarely introduced him: "Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there have been hundreds of years of turmoil, and the dynasties have changed frequently, but the aristocratic families are as solid as a rock. The aristocratic families seem to be more stable than the dynasties and have tenacious vitality."

"By the time the Sui Dynasty was established, there were hundreds of famous noble families in the country, and there were countless local tyrants who depended on these noble families. There were several in almost every state and county."

"Emperor Yang of Sui risked the destruction of his country and his family to take action against the aristocratic families. He really couldn't bear the heavy burden. It was not entirely because he was afraid that the aristocratic families would threaten the imperial power."

"Although the Longxi Li family later replaced the Sui and Yang families and established the Tang Dynasty amid a strong backlash from the aristocratic families, we, the great aristocratic families involved in the political power, also reflected on ourselves and took a series of measures to reduce the pressure on the country caused by too many aristocratic families."

“Everything has its limits, and prosperity will eventually lead to decline.”

"Just like the fish in a fish pond cannot grow indefinitely. If the fish exceed the carrying capacity of the fish pond, the ecology will be destroyed and unpredictable changes will occur. Therefore, appropriate restrictions and removal of some fish are not a bad thing, but are more conducive to the health of the environment."

Wei Mingshan was surprised. Originally, in his mind, imperial power and the aristocratic families were in natural opposition. He did not expect that the internal situation was so complicated. It seemed that the positions between the two were not so clear-cut.

There is not only a competitive side, but also areas of mutual cooperation and compromise.

"Li Shimin's series of reforms also won the support of the aristocratic families. In fact, they were more about restricting local tyrants who were very dependent on land, rather than large families like us with balanced development."

"Bo Jie, famous mountains, you must all remember them."

Finally, Wei Dezheng concluded with a serious look: "It is normal for people to be selfish and greedy. But you have to limit the number of people who exploit and oppress the people. From a dynasty to a shop, it is impossible to allow everyone to indulge themselves."

"Being corrupt doesn't mean you won't object to the greed of those below you."

“It is shrewd for one person to be greedy, but it is extremely foolish to indulge everyone in greed just for the sake of one person’s desire.”

"Just like the enemy of a villain is not the gentleman, but other villains. Because if everyone becomes a villain, who will the villain eat? The villain's advantage will be gone, and the only way is to make everyone else behave like a gentleman."

“Only a small number of villains can enjoy the dividends of breaking the rules.”

Wei Dezheng's words not only overturned Wei Mingshan's seriousness and stunned him, but even Wei Ting listened thoughtfully and nodded silently.

is not that right?

Wei Dezheng's remarks, at first glance, are very harsh and not in line with the way of a saint.

But if you think about it carefully, it is in line with the way of survival. People who are not trustworthy naturally hope that everyone is trustworthy, and they like to be surrounded by trustworthy people who keep their promises. If everyone is full of lies, then there is no point in lying? Wei Mingshan finally said with admiration: "Uncle, I understand. I am untrustworthy, but I want to encourage everyone to be a trustworthy person; I am greedy, but I want to promote everyone to be honest; I am despicable and shameless, but it does not affect my restraint for everyone to be a good person."

'Well'

Wei Dezheng and Wei Ting's faces froze, and they didn't know how to respond for a moment, so they could only remain silent.

Wei Mingshan seemed to have found the true meaning of life, and said excitedly: "Uncle, according to your theory, then the property distribution proposal this time will not have a big impact on us, right?"

"otherwise."

Wei Ting said decisively: "Previous policies actually only targeted a part of the aristocratic families, but this policy allows all the children of the family to enjoy the right to distribute property, which involves all families. It is no less than the Enfeoffment Order of the Han Dynasty."

"Once it is implemented, it won't take long, just one or two hundred years."

"The aristocratic families that are now comparable to the royal family will be broken up into small families, and eventually become indistinguishable from the crowd, no longer able to compete with the imperial power."

Wei Dezheng also said, "I was wondering why Li Shimin was so generous two years ago and was willing to give away such a large area of ​​the Western Regions, which is almost twice the size of the Central Plains, to the major families. So he was waiting here?"

"However, this is indeed a brilliant strategy. It not only expands the territory of the Tang Dynasty, but also relocates a large number of the powerful and wealthy in the Tang Dynasty. When the dust settles, the Central Plains will be completely relieved of its burden and will have unprecedented development opportunities."

"what?"

Wei Mingshan was anxious: "If that's the case, then why did you accept the title of king? Didn't you fall into Li Shimin's trap?"

"Haha, what do you know?"

Wei Dezheng smiled like an old fox: "Although I don't know what tricks Li Shimin is playing, the feudal system can actually obtain a territory in the west that is comparable to a state in the Tang Dynasty. It can legitimately establish a vassal state and raise a private army."

"Such a large piece of land should not be wasted."

"Besides, only with the support of our family can we implement this policy. And those royal family members and generals are actually our competitors. Once they are cleared out, the pond of Central Plains can bring us more room for development."

Wei Mingshan suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. Uncle is very smart."

"We are a great family of Jingzhao Wei with a history of hundreds of years. We have seen everything. How could we not understand these things?"

Wei Dezheng said proudly: "The Li family turned their family into a country. The size of those royal relatives is not large, and those military generals and meritorious officials who rose in troubled times do not have a deep foundation. They took the land of the Western Regions, but even if they tried their best, it would not be enough to build a feudal state."

"As for us, all of our aristocratic families have many branches. We can easily take over the Western Regions, and then legitimately raise our own army and grow stronger without affecting our interests in the Central Plains."

"On the contrary, the departure of a large number of nobles has left a large amount of cake to share, which is no less than an opportunity for our aristocratic families to expand again."

Wei Ting said, "However, uncle, Li Shimin is not a pushover. He is not in good health now. I believe that in the last few years, he will completely break off relations with our family and take a series of actions. How should we respond?"

"Haha, in fact, after more than ten years of development during the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin's measures to improve the environment were in place one by one, and his historical mission was basically completed. As early as three years ago, we wanted to get rid of him, but at that time, he brought up the feudal system again."

Wei Dezheng's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "In the face of such huge interests, we, the aristocratic families, have unanimously decided to support him in conquering the Western Regions. We originally wanted to wait another two years until the Western Regions are completely digested and all the fiefdoms are in place."

"We can get rid of Li Shimin then, since he can't wait?"

"That's fine. Anyway, the overall situation has been decided and the feudal system cannot be changed. As long as the rulers of later generations follow the rules, it will naturally not affect the future."

"what?"

Even Wei Ting was surprised and asked, "You guys have already taken action against His Majesty, how come I didn't know?"

At this time, Wei Mingshan was so frightened that his face turned pale and he couldn't utter a word. Although he was usually on the side of the aristocracy and did not have much respect for the royal family and imperial power, when it really came to a break with the imperial power, he still felt a little nervous unconsciously.

Wei Dezheng glanced at Wei Ting unhappily: "Why are you so surprised? Isn't it common for aristocratic families to overthrow dynasties and replace emperors?"

"Bo Jie, I think you have been a minister of Li Shimin for too long, and you really think of yourself as a loyal minister and filial son of the Tang Dynasty. No matter what the circumstances, you must remember that the interests of the family are above all else. The country can be changed, but the family cannot be destroyed."

(End of this chapter)