Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 398 The Nine-Rank Official of Xia Kingdom

"Damn it!"

"How could the Xia Kingdom have become like this!"

As the chanting of scriptures in the new Xia Kingdom grew louder, the dead King Wen of Xia uttered this rebuke from the underworld.

He wasn't criticizing Buddhism, which was already widely practiced in the Xia Kingdom.

Under the constant revisions by the Xia ruler and the competitive pressure from the Taiping Dao,
Buddhism, which originated in India, has long been integrated with the Chinese civilization.

The Buddha statues offered by the monks now appear gentle and serene, compared to the bold and striking features of the past.
The temples where the monks lived were also built in the style of the Chinese civilization, with flying eaves and bracket sets...

Even the monks themselves, following the emperor's wishes, changed some of their precepts and began to abstain from meat and eat vegetarian food.

Having witnessed this transformation of Buddhism firsthand, King Wen of Xia naturally no longer rejected it as he had during his lifetime.

What he condemned,
These are new policies and decrees implemented by the Xia Kingdom in recent years:
The Nine-Rank System!
"Is the power of aristocratic families truly uncontrollable?"

When this decree was implemented and quickly became a tool for many powerful families in the Xia Kingdom to consolidate their power, King Wen of Xia stood dejectedly in the ancestral temple where his descendants worshipped him, and said with a sorrowful expression.

"If this continues, our Great Xia will soon have its own caste system!"

He Bo, who was standing next to him, said, "The aristocratic families of Xia have existed for many years."

"It was expected that they would become so arrogant now."

When the new Xia state was first established, its population was so small that most of its descendants naturally shared a common ancestor.

Among the families of that state, the surnames “Zhao”, “Sui”, and “Qin” were the most prominent and enduring.

They were all descendants of the founders of the new Xia dynasty, and during the previous dynasty, each had several rulers based on the system of "respecting the virtuous and recommending the capable."

There's nothing we can do about it.

At the beginning of a new dynasty, it is essential to ensure the foundation is solid, the governing body is competent, and there are successors...

in this way,

We must concentrate a large amount of resources on a small number of people, so that "the virtuous predecessors can lead the virtuous successors" and let them play a leading role.

Under these measures, the foundation of the new Xia dynasty was consolidated, and the descendants of the three families multiplied, forming a large clan.

Furthermore, due to the large population and sufficient resources, the likelihood of talented individuals emerging from these three families is far greater than that from ordinary people.

King Wen of Xia was able to revive the country and eliminate the separatist forces within it more than a hundred years ago, and this was naturally one of the reasons.

Although King Wen of Xia abolished the system of "recommending the virtuous and recommending the capable" after ascending the throne, consolidating the world under one family, and consciously dismantling the excessively large clans—

Using the pretext of respecting ancient customs, he coerced or bribed the excess members of the Zhao, Qin, and Sui clans to separate from their original families and adopt new surnames based on their official positions, fiefdoms, and so on.

This led to the division of large families into many smaller families, thus enriching the surnames in the Xia Kingdom.

then,

King Wen of Xia also promoted education and built schools in various regions to encourage commoners to enroll and cultivate talents from commoner backgrounds in order to suppress the power of aristocratic families.

But the same,

Under the influence of the "honoring the virtuous" system that lasted for a century, King Wen of Xia still allowed local officials and aristocratic families to recommend talented and virtuous people to the court to serve as state officials.

This was the recommendation system of the Xia state.

A century has passed.
The "recommendation system," which relied on others to implement its functions, naturally crumbled and became corrupt.

After all, one should observe and select talented individuals.
Who are the talented individuals?

Who should nominate someone?

This all depends on the mouth of a powerful family.

How many connections do children from poor families have to spread their good reputation?

How many resources are available to cultivate their abilities?
Over time, it will naturally be monopolized by powerful families!

When the monarch is wise, he can also verify the value of "talent" by presiding over assessments and suppress officials who abuse their power of recommendation.

But that's not possible right now.

Because the old emperor who led the rise of Buddhism, before his death, although he passed the throne to his second son, still could not let go of the lineage of his eldest son.

then,

He used his power to grant the most fertile land in the eastern part of the Xia Kingdom to the only son of the former crown prince.

And when the latter grew up and was about to be sent to his fiefdom, in front of the new crown prince and many court officials, he held his grandson's hand and said with tears in his eyes:
"If your father were still alive, you would definitely be able to become emperor!"

"It's a pity that you didn't live long enough, and your father passed away before me..."

"Therefore, I can only ask you to go to a local area and become a king."

The grandson, hearing his grandfather's earnest words, looked deeply moved. The grandfather and grandson completely ignored the awkward expression on the new crown prince's face. Because mortals cannot see ghosts, they could not know how hard King Xia Wen stomped his foot or how loudly he cursed.

King Wen of Xia wished he could kill this senile descendant with his own hands!

He was emperor for decades.

Doesn't he realize how much trouble such remarks would cause for the successor?

The Xia envoy had lived in the Central Plains for so long, and after returning to the Xia Kingdom, he also told him about the "Rebellion of the Seven States" during the Han Dynasty.

Did he not know the immense potential dangers that would arise from granting out vast and fertile lands to the country?
You've really ruined your brain by chanting scriptures!
When the old emperor died and a new emperor ascended the throne, a rebellion indeed broke out in the east.

Although the new emperor managed to quell his rebellious nephew, he died of illness before he could resolve the aftermath, as he was already over forty when he ascended the throne and had been overworked.

His young and inexperienced son succeeded him and became the current ruler of the Xia Kingdom.

The emperor was terrified of the powerful vassal kings who still existed in the rich eastern lands, and he was also worried that the rebellious factions that had not been completely eliminated due to the sudden death of the previous emperor would resurface. Therefore, he attempted to suppress the power of the vassal kings by winning over the aristocratic families.

In his opinion,

Each aristocratic family has its own surname and interests, making it difficult for them to form a cohesive group.

But the feudal lords were different.

They all share the surname "Zhao"!

The powerful families sensed the emperor's anxieties and were willing to provide him with a sense of security.

just,

Loyalty to the emperor and love for one's country also require rewards.

therefore,

At the suggestion of powerful families, the emperor issued the "Nine-Rank System":
He demanded that surnames be assigned and clans be established to determine the social standing of various aristocratic families in the Xia Kingdom. He also ordered the "Zhongzheng," the official in charge of assessment, to select talents according to their social standing and encouraged many aristocratic families to discuss intermarriage and friendly relations based on their rank.

According to reports from the Xia Kingdom:
"His Majesty has also made a private agreement with the aristocratic families that in the future, when selecting officials, 'the highest ranks will not be for those from poor families, and the lowest ranks will not be for those from noble families!'"

Such news,
This news terrified the children from poor families.

King Wen of Xia was also deeply troubled by this.

He knew in his heart that such development was harmful to the Xia Kingdom.

So he ran over and asked Zou Yan:
"I wonder if the Taiping Dao side has any intention of taking action?"

He would rather see a popular uprising, delivering a fatal blow to the Xia state of Zhao, than see the country of the Xia gentry corrupted by a group of insects who only think about consolidating their own class status, becoming like the southern Sindhu states!

Both the Qin and Han dynasties were progressing.

If the Xia Kingdom retreats,

Then we'll have to compete with the overseas Wu Kingdom for the title of "Shame of the Chinese Nation"!
In any case, the Zhao family monopolized the state for nearly two hundred years.
King Wen of Xia was already satisfied.

But Zou Yan said:
"The implementation of the Nine-Rank System has not lasted long, and its drawbacks have not yet fully manifested, which has aroused criticism from many people."

"Moreover, in the eyes of ordinary people, official positions were often owned by aristocratic families, so the Nine-Rank System did not have a very strong impact on them."

"More importantly, the Xia Kingdom has not experienced any major famines or plagues in recent years, and the people's lives are still bearable. The situation has not yet developed to the point where they can respond to the call of the Way of Peace and overthrow the country."

Upon hearing this, King Wen of Xia could only retreat to a corner and isolate himself.

He understood in his heart,
The Xia Kingdom, which has enjoyed many years of peace, is about to usher in a new era of chaos.

In He Bo's view,

The fact that the Xia Kingdom has been able to maintain peace for so long is truly a gift.

If there is no unrest afterward, the accumulated impurities will solidify and become even more difficult to clean, to the point that there is a real possibility of sitting at the same table as the Sindhu people.

Therefore,
Let things be chaotic if they want!
Let's turn the world upside down and stir up all the impurities that have sunk to the bottom!
……

Will our great Han Dynasty be like this in the future?

After hearing about the situation in the Xia Kingdom, Su Wu couldn't help but feel worried.

Because of the problems of the Xia Kingdom
The Han side also had some, but it wasn't as obvious as the other side's.

He Bo chuckled as he began knitting with two thin sticks in hand.
"rest assured!"

"It hasn't gotten to that point yet."

With Emperor Wu of Han's later years marked by his insistence on equality for all, the Han Dynasty still had many years before it became worthy of the Taiping Dao's attention!

right now,

Let the Han Dynasty be the first to enjoy its prosperous time!

(End of this chapter)