The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

Before we knew it, it was already early noon.

The candidates would go up to the main hall to answer the questions, wait in a side hall, go back up to the main hall to answer the second question, and then go back outside the main hall to wait in staggered positions. This back and forth continued until two rounds were completed.

Overall, in the evaluation records of the Commander Shi, Lu Jun still ranked first, far ahead of the competition.

No one answered the question of officialdom more concisely, profoundly, or boldly than him.

At this point, the top scorer is almost certain, with little room for further change. The only remaining suspense is...

Can Lu Jun achieve first place in all three questions?

In addition, the ministers and the candidates were of vastly different statuses and had mostly remained on the sidelines. However, after the debate just now, even more people wanted to participate and exchange ideas with Lu Jun.

This round is still in the forward order, and Wu Zetian has also learned the principle of simplicity, asking Liu Yan a question:

"Question 3: Briefly describe the reasons for the decline of the Sui Dynasty."

The observant ministers immediately noticed that the Empress Dowager was testing them on three aspects today: moral character, political talent, and historical knowledge.

The second question was the most normal, the first question was the most thrilling, and the third question was the most obscure.

The reason for the veiled tone is that the issue itself is not new, but the timing is intriguing.

Whenever a dynasty changed, the new emperor would investigate the reasons for the decline of the previous dynasty. Emperor Taizong made many summaries and recorded them in the "Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong" for future generations to learn from.

The Empress Dowager must have read it many times and already had some insights, so she didn't need to seek answers.

Using it as a question in the palace examination was clearly intended to test the candidates' scholarship, and also to emphasize—

A new dynasty is about to be established.

Liu Yan, whose knowledge was quite good, replied: "The two emperors of the former Sui Dynasty only knew how to amass wealth and did not care about the people. Emperor Yang was even more fond of grandiose projects and over-exploited the people, which led to his downfall..."

Instead of attributing the cause solely to Emperor Yang of Sui, it points out the accumulated problems of both emperors.

He analyzed the situation carefully and was ultimately rated third, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

The other candidates also had their own opinions:

"The two Sui emperors built numerous palaces and initiated massive labor projects. Emperor Yang of Sui also waged wars on all fronts, failing to understand the importance of recuperation and rest..."

"The former Sui emperor ignored loyal and honest advice, blindly believing only one side of the story, which led to rampant banditry throughout the land without him even realizing it..."

"During the Sui Dynasty, heavy taxes and corvée labor, officials' greed for merit, frequent warfare, and constant construction projects led to numerous peasant uprisings..."

"The Sui emperor was too harsh and demanding on his ministers, and was suspicious and distrustful. Even when the ministers knew they were wrong, they dared not dissuade them..."

Some, quick-witted as ever, sensed the Empress Dowager's intention in setting the questions and explained it using the Five Elements theory:

"The Sui dynasty was associated with the element of fire, yet it heavily promoted water conservancy, thus disrupting the balance of the five elements and being rejected by Heaven. It was subsequently replaced by the Tang dynasty, which was associated with the element of earth."

This answer belongs to the category of seeking fortune in danger.

Because the Zhou Dynasty belonged to the Wood element, and Wood overcomes Earth, if the Empress Dowager, who considered herself a descendant of the Zhou Dynasty and replaced the Tang Dynasty with the Zhou system, were to overthrow the Tang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty, it would be an act in accordance with the will of Heaven.

Amidst a chorus of silent disdain, this answer received a second-class evaluation, even higher than Zhang's.

"Even this kind of clever answer only gets you second-class status; Lu Chuyu probably won't get first-class status."

When Lu Jun appeared last, she naturally attracted everyone's attention.

He replied, "The Sui Dynasty perished because it lacked effective governance."

hiss--

There were gasps of disbelief all around.

Wu Sansi smiled coldly, a contemptuous glint in his eyes, but his knowledge was limited, so he didn't directly refute him this time.

Many people were eager to try, exchanging opinions before going on stage, and a chorus of discussion arose.

The first to speak was Fan Libing, the Minister of Spring and the Third Rank Official of the Phoenix Pavilion and Luan Terrace.

He was a scholar from the Northern Gate Academy, and had participated in the compilation of historical books. At this time, he was supervising the compilation of national history in the name of prime minister. He had read the "Veritable Records of Emperor Taizong" and was very knowledgeable.

"The Sui Dynasty implemented numerous innovations, including the inspection of household registration, the abolition of local officials, the supervision of all regions, and the establishment of imperial examinations. How can it be said that they lacked the skills to govern the country?"

"The fall of the Sui Dynasty is generally attributed to a lack of sound governance; in terms of tactics alone, it was probably unparalleled throughout history."

"Is Lu Lang mistaken?"

Many people nodded in agreement: "What Prime Minister Fan said is true. Lu Chuyu is still young and has not studied history."

Princess Taiping thought to herself, "Oh no, Lu Lang is very capable in his official duties, but he's given himself away by asking a question he didn't know."

Wu Zetian and Shangguan Wan'er had read Lu Jun's articles and knew that he was knowledgeable about both ancient and modern times, so they were waiting for his explanation.

"Greetings, Mr. Fan." Lu Jun bowed deeply.

I really want to tell him, "I have good news and bad news to tell you. Which do you want to hear first?"

The good news is that one of his descendants will become a model of civil officials throughout history, and will be remembered for his famous saying, "Be the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures."

The bad news is that he's about to die.

The stated reason was that he had recommended someone who was later executed for treason, and he was implicated as a result.

The real reason was that the Empress Dowager was about to ascend the throne, and all the scholars from the Northern Gate who had access to core secrets had to be silenced.

Regardless of the reason, Lu Jun couldn't save him; she could only offer him a grand send-off.

"May I ask, Lord Fan, how many households and how much land did the Sui Dynasty's household registration inspector find?"

"If I remember correctly, in the ninth year of the Kaihuang era, there were a total of seven million households and 1.94 billion mu of land in the country."

"In the fifth year of the Daye era, the total number of households in the empire was 8.9 million, and the total amount of land was 5.585 billion mu."

"Leaving aside the accuracy of the number of households, does Prime Minister Fan find the amount of land recorded by the Sui Dynasty credible?"

A few rhetorical questions silenced the hall instantly.

Disdain and mockery slipped from the corners of everyone's mouths, making their chins hang low as if they weighed several pounds.

"How does he know so much about the household registration and land ownership of the previous dynasty?" This question filled everyone's minds.

Apart from the prime minister and the officials in charge of land administration, other officials, even if they wore scarlet robes and silver ornaments, were completely clueless about this kind of data.

Wu Zetian was already used to Lu Jun's erudition and thought to herself, "Chu Yu studied at Chengjun Academy, so it's not surprising that he might have sought guidance from the Imperial Academy's professors."

Fan Lubing fell silent at this moment, seemingly pondering something, before finally speaking slowly:

"The number of acres of land investigated by the Sui Dynasty was too large to be reliable and should be far from accurate."

Whether the numbers are accurate or not, you'll know by comparing them with the data from the Tang Dynasty...

The total amount of farmland in the Tang Dynasty was only over 500 million mu.

Only a quarter of that in the ninth year of the Kaihuang era, and one eleventh of that in the fifth year of the Daye era.

The Tang Dynasty's territory was much larger than that of the Sui Dynasty, and after seventy years of peace, it's impossible for the difference to be that much!

Let alone the Tang Dynasty, even in the 21st century when the mountains were cleared and the land was reclaimed, the total area was only about 2 billion mu.

Converted to Sui Dynasty land area, it was even less than that of the ninth year of the Kaihuang era, and less than 40% of that of the fifth year of the Daye era.

The amount of water poured into the Sui Dynasty was more than the amount of pork in later generations.

Fan Libing did not directly state the amount of land in the Tang Dynasty because it was a confidential matter and could not be disclosed without authorization.

But when he said "far from it," the other ministers understood that Lu Jun's judgment was correct.

Lu Jun continued:

"Household registration and land ownership are fundamental to governing a country. If even this data is inaccurate, how can one claim to have any effective methods?"

"Since the officials have registered the land at 1.9 billion and 5.5 billion mu respectively, and the population is so abundant, the Sui Emperor naturally believes that the people are living well and that there is more than enough manpower and financial resources. What's wrong with them filling the national treasury? What's wrong with employing some laborers?"

"Fan Xiang said that Emperor Sui was supervising all directions, so how come he couldn't detect the people's depleted strength and the falsification of land records?"

"Furthermore, abolishing local officials and uniformly dispatching officials within the region is a method of strengthening the central government and weakening local officials, not a strategy for governing the country."

"Even if it were a matter of strategy, many local officials in the former Sui Dynasty were known for their harsh policies and frequent conflicts with local clerks. How could the Sui emperor not have known this?"

"Finally, there was the imperial examination system..."

"During the Sui Dynasty, fewer than a hundred people were selected through the imperial examinations. What kind of technique is this? And how effective is it?"