My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 85 Unleashing a Powerful Output
fall back?

Zhu Biao slapped his forehead and said, "How could I have forgotten about aristocratic politics?"

"The aristocratic families emerged in the late Western Han Dynasty, and the Eastern Han Dynasty entered the era of aristocratic politics."

“They not only controlled the channels to become officials, but also directly controlled a large population.”

"With them holding us back, public power is affected."

“A large number of people became their slaves, and civil rights also regressed.”

Ma Yu nodded and said, "Yes, but the power of aristocratic families is far less than that of vassal states."

"So overall, the public power during the Han and Tang dynasties was greatly expanded compared to the pre-Qin period."

"The same applies to civil rights. Although many people have become servants of the powerful, the majority of people are still free citizens."

"Moreover, the public authorities have been vying with powerful families for control of the population."

"During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, a large-scale household registration was conducted, which essentially stripped the aristocratic families of their control over the population."

"How severe was the deprivation? The land that Emperor Gaozu of Tang had acquired through his official career was now uncultivated."

"When Emperor Taizong of Tang was a child, he had to work alongside his mother."

"There are records in historical books about him picking wheat in the fields when he was a child."

"At that time, bandits were rampant among the people, and Emperor Taizong's hometown was attacked by bandits several times."

“In his hometown of Wugong County, there is a cave on which records the experiences of Emperor Taizong of Tang hiding from bandits when he was young.”

"These records basically confirm that at that time, powerful families had lost control of the population."

"The power of aristocratic families was weakened, while public power expanded further."

"Correspondingly, civil rights have also been improved."

"However, during the Han and Tang dynasties, there was a system of classification for the lowly, and a large number of people were still reduced to semi-slaves."

"During the Qin and Han dynasties, the distinction between free and common people was not so clear, and intermarriage between them was possible."

“Through certain means, the status of a person of low social status can be changed to that of a person of good social status, and intermarriage is one such effective means.”

"However, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty formulated even stricter laws on free and unfree people, which completely prohibited intermarriage between free and unfree people and also basically locked up the possibility of free people being granted free status."

"This situation continued until the Song Dynasty."

"The Tang Dynasty was a pivotal moment in the demise of aristocratic politics."

"The arrival of the warm season has led to the vigorous development of agriculture and the prosperity of the private economy."

"With money, one will naturally pursue a higher status, such as by studying."

"With the advancement of productivity and the maturation of papermaking and printing techniques, the price of books was further reduced."

"The combination of these two approaches has provided more people with the opportunity to read."

"Knowledge that was previously monopolized by aristocratic families has begun to be popularized among the general public."

"This laid the foundation for the flourishing of the imperial examination system."

"The aristocratic families were first stripped of their control over the population, and then lost their cultural monopoly, further compressing their power."

"Huang Chao delivered the final blow to the decline of the aristocratic families."

"The Song Dynasty re-established its regime on the ruins, and its public power was arguably the strongest in all of history."

"No force can hinder it."

Zhu Gang couldn't help but ask, "What about the scholar-officials? Wasn't it said that the Song Dynasty would govern the country together with the scholar-officials, and that they couldn't be killed?"

Ma Yu explained, “On the surface, that is indeed the case, but these powers were given to the scholar-officials by the emperor, not earned by the scholar-officials through their own efforts.”

"This is fundamentally different from the enfeoffment system of the pre-Qin period and the aristocratic politics of the Han and Tang dynasties."

The feudal lords and powerful families earned their privileges through genuine strength, which made the monarch dare not deny them special privileges.

The fundamental difference lies in the fact that in the Song Dynasty, the emperor granted special privileges to the scholar-officials.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, scholar-officials were nothing more than tools of the imperial family.

Zhu Gang was even more puzzled: "Why would the Song Dynasty royal family put a shackle around their own necks?"

Ma Yu thought for a moment and said, "I think there are two reasons."

"Firstly, the military forces during the late Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period were too ruthless and bloodthirsty, which frightened the people."

"Limiting the power of military personnel was a consensus at the time."

"The Song Dynasty heavily relied on scholar-officials in order to suppress the military."

"In fact, it did solve the problem of the army being out of control, which had existed since the mid-Tang Dynasty."

"Secondly, the first few emperors of the Zhao Song dynasty may have had limited abilities, but they were clear-headed."

"They knew that a monarch who held absolute power could be even more dangerous if he became incompetent."

"They were able to keep a clear head, but their descendants have a much harder time doing so."

“By not killing the scholar-officials, the scholar-officials were given the confidence to defy the emperor.”

"As long as there are some good ministers who dare to speak frankly and directly, the harm can be mitigated to some extent."

Zhu Gang curled his lip, clearly unconvinced.

Zhu Yuanzhang also held this in utter contempt, questioning whether scholar-officials were worthy of the power to contradict the emperor.

Since the emperor is supreme, he should have absolute authority and make all decisions.

Moreover, the fact that the scholar-officials failed to prevent the tragedies of the Song Dynasty suggests that the policy had limited effectiveness.

Only Zhu Biao showed a thoughtful expression.

Seeing that they had no further questions, Ma Yu continued:

"Correspondingly, civil rights were also improved to an unprecedented degree during the Song Dynasty."

"In the tenth year of Emperor Taizu of Song, an order was issued to uphold the basic rights of those of low social status through law."

"For example, one must not buy or sell servants at will, one must not beat or kill servants, and if a servant dies, one must report it to the government to investigate the cause of death, etc."

"By the time of Emperor Renzong of Song, the system of lowly people had been basically abolished, with only a few such lowly people such as courtesans and musicians remaining."

"But the court at the time also stipulated that these minorities of low social status had rights close to those of free people."

"Furthermore, the imperial court stipulated that it was forbidden to use derogatory terms such as 'lowly people' to refer to servants employed in the household."

"We can only use neutral terms such as human resources or maids to refer to them."

“These systems in the Song Dynasty were not just empty words, but were actually implemented.”

"The concubine of Chancellor Chen Zhizhong beat a maid in his household to death. He was impeached by the censor and dismissed from his post as chancellor."

"There was also an official named Liu Zhu who was dismissed and exiled for privately punishing his servants."

"Because a concubine beat a servant to death, he was dismissed from his post and exiled as punishment. This was unprecedented in Chinese history."

"Its symbolic significance is enormous."

"Emperor Huizong of Song has been criticized because of the Jingkang Incident, but he also made contributions to civil rights."

He compiled and summarized the regulations concerning servants of the previous emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty into a unified set of laws.

"And stricter penalties have also been implemented."

"If Chen Zhizhong's case had occurred during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, according to the law, it would not have been as simple as just being dismissed as prime minister; at the very least, he would have been exiled three thousand li away."

"This is only because he didn't participate. If he had participated directly, he would have faced the death penalty."

"It can be said that with the expansion of public power, civil rights have also been enhanced to an unprecedented degree."

"But conversely, it is precisely because of the improvement of civil rights that public power has been guaranteed."

"The two are one and two, and two and one."

"During the Yuan Dynasty, the development of China was interrupted, and the Mongol barbarians turned back the clock of history."

"The emperor became a tool in the hands of powerful ministers, and the royal ladies became their playthings."

"Not to mention the common people, His Majesty and Aunt should know this best."

Empress Ma responded with a long sigh; she had witnessed far too many tragedies.

A look of pain appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face. Of his dozens of family members, only a few remained after a few years of death.

The memories are too painful.

However, he did not dwell on his personal pain and soon began to think about the public and civil rights that Ma Yu had mentioned.

The Yuan Dynasty's public authority was clearly inadequate; apart from Kublai Khan, the other emperors were all hampered by powerful ministers and military leaders.

Regarding civil rights, the four classes of people defined by law are the best evidence.

Previously, without anyone pointing it out, he hadn't really thought there was anything wrong with the Yuan Dynasty's system.

Ordinary people have a low social status; they are content with just having enough to eat and dare not ask for more.

It's not fair to call him mean or anything like that.

Rather, it's because he experienced it firsthand, and therefore he believes it to be true.

His greatest wish back then was for a powerful figure to emerge and end the chaos so he could go home and farm properly.

He even considered joining the Yuan army to quickly eliminate the rebels and restore peace to the country. His eventual decision to join the rebels stemmed from a letter Tang He wrote to him, which was reported to the authorities.

His path to joining the Yuan army was cut off, and he was wanted by the Yuan court, so he had no choice but to join the rebel army.

The real culprit is the Mongol Yuan dynasty's system, which distorted people's understanding of the world.

This leads people to mistakenly believe that this is the correct way, that this is how the world is.

Ma Yu's analysis transcends the limitations of its time, interpreting the laws and trends of the era's development from a historical perspective.

It also helped Zhu Yuanzhang recognize his limitations from a higher perspective, prompting him to reflect.

He even thought of Mencius.

No wonder I've never liked Mencius; I felt that many of the things he said in the book were blasphemous.

It turns out the problem wasn't with Mencius, it was with me.
-
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang deep in thought, Ma Yu felt somewhat uneasy.

I wonder if this stinking beggar will ever come to his senses.

In the original world, he inherited many of the Yuan Dynasty's despicable policies, thus turning back the clock of history.

Even so, the Ming Dynasty still made some breakthroughs in its cultural system.

For example, the cabinet system.

Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system, and later, Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Zhanji, by chance, created the cabinet system.

It can be said that the cabinet system was the optimal solution for classical empires.

This approach both safeguarded the interests of the imperial power and gave full play to the initiative of the officials.

When the emperor is capable, the cabinet is an auxiliary institution.

When the emperor is incompetent and foolish, the cabinet can govern in his place.

Even without an emperor, the cabinet can still maintain the operation of the country.

Moreover, the cabinet system has, to the greatest extent possible, limited the emergence of powerful ministers.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the only official who could truly be considered a powerful minister was Zhang Juzheng.

However, Zhang Juzheng was able to take control of the government only with the support of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Eunuch Feng Bao.

Without the support of these two people, he could not have become a powerful minister.

Moreover, the cabinet system provided a reference for the emergence of the idea of ​​a figurehead monarch.

Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu, and others in the late Ming Dynasty proposed the idea of ​​a figurehead monarch based on their research and reflection on the politics of the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Zongxi went a step further, opposing the idea that the monarchy was ordained by heaven and believing that it was granted by the people.

He believed that the ruler was the greatest threat to the world.

Let's imagine what new ideas and systems would emerge if Chinese thought continued to develop in this direction.

Unfortunately, it's just wishful thinking now.

Because all of this was interrupted by the Manchus.

However, no matter what, Chinese civilization has been constantly improving and progressing.

Therefore, Ma Yu was speechless when he heard someone in the West say that China has no history and is just repeating itself.

What kind of ignorance and arrogance must one have to say such a thing?

The key point is that not only foreigners believe this, but many Chinese people also believe it.

A proper understanding of Chinese history reveals that Chinese civilization has always progressed through exploration.

From public power to civil rights, from productive forces to production systems...

Each of them has a clear and well-defined development process, which can be described as taking one step at a time.

Although the process was full of twists and turns, and there were several instances of reversal.

But overall, it has been moving forward.

It's ridiculous to negate everything before because of the dark rule of the Qing Dynasty.

It is understandable that Westerners deny Chinese history, after all, they want to create a Western-centric ideology.

But it's a bit hard to understand why Chinese people also agree with their views.

It's not entirely incomprehensible; did the West, as a latecomer, surpass them?

Because the West is powerful, people assume that everything they say is correct and that everything they do is good.

Therefore... many people who claim to oppose power are actually the ones who admire strength the most at heart.

The problem is that we cannot deny our own history because of this.

In fact, as early as the Republican era, a large number of Chinese scholars had already figured out this principle.

They believe that we should not blindly learn from the West, but rather inherit our own strengths and absorb the advantages of others.

These people were generally criticized at the time, but it was precisely their efforts that ensured that Chinese culture was never abandoned.

And it became the cornerstone of the later cultural revival.

Moreover, those who deny Chinese thought can never explain a single problem.

Was the development of the West created by a single country or ethnic group?
That arose from exchanges between many countries.

Capital originated on an island in Italy; the Age of Exploration was a series of pioneering efforts by many countries; and the Industrial Revolution was born in Britain.

Can you see them as a whole?

I'm afraid they themselves wouldn't want to, would they?

So why should we consider them as a whole when comparing them to China?

This benchmarking is not only in terms of culture and systems, but even more pronounced in technology.

China is no longer benchmarking itself against Western powers, but against all other countries in the world.

We must surpass the rest of the world in every aspect; if we are inferior to any country in any one area, we will be completely rejected.

In my previous life, the internet was filled with such comments.

Ma Yu deeply resented this, but unfortunately, he was powerless to do anything about it.

Fortunately, China has finally opened its eyes and embraced the world anew.

They absorbed the advantages of foreign civilizations at the fastest speed and achieved national independence and rise.

To put it counterintuitively, China is the country that has undergone the most thorough ideological transformation and is also the most proactive in embracing the new era.

The changes were even more thorough than those in the countries where new ideas originated.

This is Chinese civilization.

For some forces, strength and weakness define their entire lives.

But for China, whether it is a trough or a peak, it is just a stage in history.

We have experienced far too much, and are more composed than any extraterrestrial civilization.

Those people compare China to the rest of the world, but has China ever explained this?

No.

Moving forward silently.

After decades of development, by the time Ma Yu traveled through time, China had truly become capable of directly confronting Europe and America.

I don't know whose face was slapped in the end.

Moreover, why has Western civilization always been hostile and hostile towards us?
Many people say it's because of the huge differences in our thinking.

That's part of the reason, but Ma Yu believes the real reason is that they were afraid.

There is a generally accepted logic in historical circles regarding the continuity of history.

The longer something has existed in the past, the greater the likelihood that it will continue to exist.

Simply put, the longer a civilization's history, the greater its chances of surviving in the future.

So, which civilization on Earth has the longest history?
China's decades of development have shown the world that this historical pattern is correct.

Unfortunately, their fear came too late.

After their attempt to contain China failed, they had no choice but to lower their once-proud heads and learn to get along with China.

But the hardships and humiliations he endured along the way were far too many.

If possible, Ma Yu still hopes that Chinese civilization will never experience these low points again.

Now, the power of choice rests entirely in the hands of the man standing before him.

Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang.

I hope you won't go backwards again.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a long time before coming to his senses, but instead of discussing public power and civil rights, he asked:

"Is this necessarily related to what you said about expanding the functions of government offices?"

(End of this chapter)