The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 584 Reform Discussion
The world was unified and foreign threats were eliminated. This was undoubtedly a precious period of rapid development for the Great Qi.

But at the same time, it is also a huge challenge.

One bite won't make you fat.

Even though Tian Ze knew that the feudal society was backward and would eventually be buried in the dust, he could not directly promote it to a modern governance system all at once.

People’s cognition, legal basis, social system, vested interests, communication methods…

Due to various reasons and shortcomings, Tian Ze could only try his best to advance the governance system to the relatively more centralized and unified regime of the Ming Dynasty.

Continuously strengthen central power, enhance social vitality, and curb the emergence of local tyrants to reduce the pressure on the people.

But as the ruling system continued to improve, Tian Ze became increasingly clear that this path was difficult to follow, as there were too many unavoidable problems.

There are many things that he could control with his personal authority and ability when he was alive, but future generations will definitely not be able to control.

A good father will have a bad son. It is too risky for the emperor to hold power personally and entrust the rise and fall of the world to one person.

So constitutional monarchy became Tian Ze's final choice.

The gradual decentralization of power to the cabinet and the emperor's rule was just a symbol.

But Tian Ze, who understood the inevitability of history, was open-minded and believed that the 300-year dynasty cycle was difficult to reverse. He did not have much obsession with this and just tried his best to do his own thing.

Although he had the ability to quickly unify the world in recent years, Tian Ze had been holding back. The most important reason was to eliminate the hidden dangers within Da Qi.

For the same reason, some things, if not done well before the world is at peace, will become even more difficult to do after external conflicts disappear.

And when the world is just beginning to settle down, it is a good opportunity for a new round of reforms.

In the conference room, Tian Ze was wearing a black dragon robe and had a slightly gloomy expression on his face. The thick "Reform Proposal" in his hand was already densely covered with comments.

The good news of the initial peace in the world had not yet cooled down, but this reform, which concerned the foundation of the country, had been brewing in his mind for many years.

Chen Gong and others who were summoned couldn't help but look solemn when they heard Tian Ze's words and took a deep breath.

Although Da Qi's current system is running quite healthily and efficiently, it is only because Tian Ze is here, and many problems have not surfaced in the short term.

"Your Majesty, should we take it a little longer?" Zhang Zhao asked after a little hesitation.

"Today, the world is not stable, the people are exhausted, and the wars in the northwest and southwest have not stopped. If we start a war now, I am afraid..."

Tian Ze stroked the dragon pattern on the edge of the imperial desk with his fingertips. The cold touch reminded him of the frost blade on the Mobei battlefield.

Although he has implemented tax reforms and imperial examination system reforms over the years, his target has always been the aristocratic families left over from the late Han Dynasty.

But this time is different.

This "Reform Memorial" was drafted after discussion by the cabinet. It was aimed not only at the powerful families, but also the established bureaucratic system, and even included scholars and some wealthy people.

This change has become a reshaping of the entire ruling class.

In a sense, Tian Ze was attacking himself, and it was a heavy hand.

Tian Ze looked at the ministers in the hall with an extremely solemn expression.

"If we don't take action now, when will we take action?" Tian Ze's voice suddenly rose.

"Every day of delay will make today's bureaucratic system more entrenched, making it more difficult to deal with and more costly."

"It is the best policy to take advantage of this time when the four seas are united and eliminate these accumulated evils at one stroke."

Chen Gong and the others all looked hesitant, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Among all the ministers, only Tian Feng and Man Chong firmly supported this matter. Having investigated so many corrupt officials and resolved so many cases, they knew that in the current environment, official corruption was growing too fast and could not be curbed at all.

Even though corruption is like a weed, it is almost inevitable that it will appear along with human nature, and in waves.

However, if the system is perfect and the foundation is solid, the speed of its occurrence will not be too exaggerated and it can be curbed.

The problem now is that this kind of corruption is spreading too quickly.

It is human instinct to think about sex when one is well fed and well clothed.

Many officials may be passionate and incorruptible at the beginning of their careers, but when benefits are within reach and power is unlimited, under repeated temptations, many of them embark on a path of no return.

Maybe they didn't have any problem with it before.

However, after so many years under Tian Ze's command, they were inspired by some of Tian Ze's ideas and had different views on this.

"Today's Da Qi is like a thriving tree, seemingly with deep roots and lush leaves, full of vitality. But bad branches and borers have already sprouted."

"If you don't cut yourself a few times, you will just grow crooked and corroded from the inside, and you will be chopped down by someone else." Tian Ze said dimly.

"The world belongs to everyone in the world. It is neither my world nor the world of officials."

"Instead of following the old path of the Han Dynasty and going through the chaos and struggle for supremacy again hundreds of years later, it is better to try a new path, which may still be successful."

"I know this is difficult. But isn't it even more difficult for us to build all this from scratch? We have already gotten more than enough, and we should be content."

"Some things are not ours in the first place, but belong to the people. We must give them back. Only in this way can it last forever."

Hearing Tian Ze's heartfelt words, everyone present's expressions changed slightly, as if they were recalling everything that had happened over the past decade.

Yes! They created all this with their own hands. Are they really going to watch Da Qi repeat the mistakes of Da Han?

They had discussed and debated with Tian Ze countless times about the potential problems of Da Qi.

It is impossible to copy the systems of later generations today, but many of their concepts are worth learning from.

After discussing, they came to a conclusion. If the current system continued, Da Qi might prosper for a few hundred years, longer than Da Han, but it would eventually become corrupt.

Unless the top management can always be kept active and reforms can be continuously carried out to keep pace with the times.

The key lies in the reform of the official system.

They also agreed with this, otherwise they would not have researched and formulated this book "Reform Discussions".

However, when they really prepared to implement it, they hesitated.

Looking at the gradually determined faces of the crowd, Tian Ze nodded slightly.

He understood everyone's previous hesitation very well.

Today, they no longer represent just themselves, but countless officials and interest groups are standing behind them.

If you really want to cut off one of your arms, it is almost impossible to do so without hesitation.

Except for Tian Feng and Man Chong, two ruthless guys.

However, he was determined to push this matter forward, even if it caused some confusion.

Now that the world has been settled, his prestige in the Central Plains has reached its peak. Many contradictions and problems are also rapidly intensifying and evolving, and he must make a firm decision.

(End of this chapter)