The two of them traveled through the Tang Dynasty to open a supermarket, and the little Sizi was sup

Chapter 111 Entering the Imperial Court as an Official?

"Hmm?" Li Shimin asked, puzzled. "What does this mean?"

"At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the powerful clans and aristocratic families became history along with the Tang Dynasty, and there were no more such power groups afterward."

Li Shimin immediately became interested, "How were they eliminated?"

"At the end of the Tang Dynasty, a ruthless man appeared who killed his entire family one by one according to the family genealogy, eliminating them physically."

After hearing this, Li Shimin was at a loss for words.

I never imagined that this problem of powerful families would be destroyed in this way.

"From the perspective of future generations, are there any other ways to eliminate the power of aristocratic families?" Li Shimin continued to ask.

“No!” Xiao Ran shook his head. “The powerful clans could not be completely eliminated during the Tang Dynasty’s own rule. This was determined by the Tang Dynasty’s political structure, economic foundation, and historical limitations.”

"Before the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the Li family of Longxi, to which Your Majesty belongs, was itself a powerful and influential family."

"The establishment of the Tang Dynasty was also supported by many powerful families."

"From the very beginning, the Tang Dynasty and the powerful clans were bound together; it was impossible to kick them out."

"Some later historians believe that aristocratic politics was a product of the development of feudal production relations to a specific stage."

"As a landlord class regime, the Tang Dynasty could not break through the limitations of the times and actively eliminate its own ruling foundation."

"Its demise was essentially the result of the development of productive forces, the collapse of the equal-field system, the rise of the commodity economy, and the movement of contradictions in the superstructure, rather than the result of human intervention."

Li Shimin raised his hand to interrupt Xiao Ran, "Wait a minute!"

Li Shimin carefully considered Xiao Ran's words.

Li Shimin had also thought of this principle, but he didn't put it into words. It seems that's the gist of it.

Li Shimin nodded approvingly, "Good, my dear nephew, please continue."

"The Tang Dynasty lacked the economic foundation, political means, and social consensus to eliminate the powerful clans, and its demise itself was a sign of the collapse of the powerful clan system."

"This historical task was ultimately accomplished by the Song Dynasty through a new ruling model of co-ruling the country with the scholar-officials, but in essence it was still a continuation of the rule of the landlord class, rather than a fundamental change in class attributes."

"So, in the future, the scholar-officials will replace the aristocratic families, right?" Li Shimin asked.

"Yes, during the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty, aristocratic families suffered greatly. It was only after the Song Dynasty that the imperial examination system was further improved, allowing scholar-officials to replace the aristocratic families." Xiao Ran continued, "Your Majesty need not worry. They cannot completely disappear; they can only be replaced by other things."

Li Shimin nodded. In the past, the most influential factor in the Han Dynasty was the maternal relatives. Later dynasties were wary of the maternal relatives, but new problems always emerged.

"So, the imperial examination system is the best way to weaken the influence of aristocratic families, right?" Li Shimin understood.

"Is such that."

"The root of the problem of powerful families lies in their monopoly on official careers and control of local areas. The only way to weaken their power is to break their foundation."

"By opening up the imperial examination system, scholars from humble backgrounds can enter the court. If the imperial examination system becomes a fixed system, all the talents in the country will be at Your Majesty's disposal, and even if the sons of noble families have a family tradition of learning, it will be difficult for them to stand out."

Li Shimin nodded. "Not bad, not bad."

Li Shimin also had other considerations. Although the imperial examination system was good, once scholars from humble backgrounds gained power, it was hard to guarantee that they wouldn't become a new interest group.

Li Shimin didn't know what the situation would be like for scholar-officials after the Tang Dynasty, but he figured it wouldn't be much better.

The ideal situation is a balance of power between the two factions.

Li Shimin began to devise a plan to find opponents for the aristocratic families to challenge, with the imperial power acting as referee and mediator.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin's lips curled up slightly.

He had a general idea in mind. "Xiao Ran, what dynasty are you in now?" Li Shimin suddenly asked curiously.

"Your Majesty, the Qing Dynasty has fallen. There are no more dynasties, no more emperors. It is a completely different social system."

"I will go and see it if I have the chance." Li Shimin wanted to keep Xiao Ran by his side, because Xiao Ran, a person from a different era, saw different problems.

The main reason is that Xiao Ran is from a later era and knows a lot of things.

"Would you be willing to serve as an official in the imperial court?"

"Huh?" Xiao Ran didn't expect Li Shimin to ask such a question.

"No, I'm not cut out to be an official. I know myself very well, and I don't want to be one."

Li Shimin was not surprised by this. "There are many kinds of officials. I am not asking you to take a certain position. I am just talking to you. That's all."

Xiao Ran shook his head again, "Your Majesty, no need."

"I'm giving you a salary, not making you work for free."

“This isn’t about money. If I were to become an official in the court, I would have an additional layer of relationship with the emperor. As such, there must be proper etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. I don’t want that.”

Li Shimin said with a smile, "It's obvious that you don't want to bow to me, is it because you don't want to kneel before me?"

Xiao Ran was taken aback for a moment, then said frankly, "Your Majesty, to be honest, there is a force in later generations that made people aware of the value of dignity and equality, and broke free from the shackles of the old order. I have been deeply influenced by this, and it is really difficult for me to perform the kneeling ceremony again."

While kneeling was not a common occurrence during the Tang Dynasty, there were special occasions that required it.

"Hahaha!" Li Shimin laughed loudly. Xiao Ran made no attempt to hide anything and was very honest.

"Alright, alright, I won't force you, and you don't need to bow to me." Li Shimin wasn't a pedantic person; these weren't major issues.

Compared to the benefits Xiao Ran brought, Li Shimin could disregard these.

Li Shimin's eyes flashed with curiosity as he pressed on, "You once said that I am an exceptionally outstanding emperor. How does the person you admire compare to me?"

Xiao Ran said earnestly, "Your Majesty, you are among the best of the feudal emperors. But the person I admire transcends such a status and is incomparable to you."

Li Shimin became even more interested, "Tell me about it!"

Xiao Ran took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and slowly said, "Your Majesty, more than a thousand years later, China has experienced a great change unprecedented in three thousand years. During the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the country was closed off from the world, causing China to lag behind other countries by a full 200 years."

"At that time, China was subjected to humiliation by foreign powers, signed many unequal treaties, and suffered greatly as the country was torn apart and the people endured unspeakable misery."

"For five thousand years, China has never suffered such humiliation!"

"Never before have so many unequal treaties been signed!"

Li Shimin's expression turned solemn, his brows furrowed slightly, and he pressed for an answer: "And what happened next?"

"Later, countless ancestors sacrificed their lives to resist foreign invasion and re-established a new China."

"Your Majesty, you ascended the throne and received the worship of all people. Everyone knelt and submitted to you. This is the ruling tradition of feudal dynasties."

"All past emperors were like this!"

"Decades of hard work have made China one of the strongest nations today!"

"Decades have brought about earth-shaking changes to this land, shaking it off its previous poverty and weakness and giving the land of China a new lease on life."

"It's stronger than any previous dynasty; in terms of overall national strength, it's incomparable to anything before."

　This chapter was reviewed and revised twice. A lot of it was deleted by the platform, and some parts were added. I won't write this kind of content again. Sorry!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)