Top Scholar

Chapter 204 Is governing not difficult?

In fact, for teenagers who are not involved in the situation, simply reading the "Di Chao" is not very useful. They need someone knowledgeable to explain it to them so that they can appreciate the thrilling events behind those few words.

In the entire Luzhou region, and even in Sichuan, no one understood this better than the old abbot. He leaned back in his rocking chair, gently stroking the now much larger myna bird in his hands, and spoke slowly, as if having a casual conversation:
"When the Little Prince invaded before, he only plundered the border. But in recent years, he has gone deeper and deeper. This year, he actually captured Qingshui Camp in Ningxia and looted Huai County in Weizhou. It is really shocking. Qingshui Camp is a border fortress. It was actually captured by the bandits. They drove straight in, burning, killing and looting. This shows that the defense of the Northwest has become very lax."

"Why is this happening?" Zhu Zihe asked, puzzled. "The imperial court has stationed heavy troops in Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, and has appointed so many generals and governors, as well as the three border commanders-in-chief, yet they still can't do anything to a little prince?"

"You've really hit the nail on the head. Ever since Minister Qin was recalled, the court has been holding the position of Governor-General of the Three Border Regions in name only, without appointing anyone. The provincial governors and garrison commanders are not in charge of each other and are passing the buck, which has given the little prince an opportunity to take advantage of the situation... Although the Emperor sent Vice Minister Gu of the Ministry of Revenue to Shaanxi to reorganize the military pay, he is neither a capable commander nor has any real power, so he cannot change the situation."

"So the most urgent task is to re-establish the trilateral system?" Su Lu asked softly. This feeling of giving orders was so exhilarating, just like being back in a taxi in Beijing.

"Indeed, the key to governance lies first and foremost in the selection of the right people. Good policies without capable advisors are useless; political chaos can be brought under control with the help of virtuous officials," the old abbot said slowly.

"The position of Commander-in-Chief of the Three Border Regions, overseeing military affairs in Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, requires someone with authority, discipline, strategic acumen, and a willingness to take on responsibilities. After careful consideration, I believe no one is more suitable than Yang Yiqing, the Governor of Shaanxi. I estimate that he will assume the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Three Border Regions within the next year or two."

Then he said to the two of them, "You can read his previous memorials, especially those concerning the defense of the Northwest. After he takes office, you will definitely benefit greatly from seeing how he does things."

"Yes," the two replied hurriedly in deep voices. They knew that this was the old headmaster cultivating their sense of the big picture.

~~
"As for investigating hidden households, it is actually His Majesty's long-cherished wish," the old scholar said softly.
"Back when I was in court, His Majesty had just ascended the throne and was full of vigor, eager to make a name for himself. He often mentioned this matter during the lectures, and the lecturers had already explained the issue thoroughly... Since the Jingnan Rebellion, the Ming Dynasty has enjoyed a century of peace, and the population has certainly increased. The reason for the decrease in the number of registered people is simply that the newly added population has not yet been registered."

"..." Su Lu felt guilty after hearing this. Erlang Su Shi also had this situation, and it was quite serious.

Their large family numbered over four hundred people, with forty-four women listed on the military register, representing only one-ninth of their actual population.

This is the result of four more students being admitted to Taiping Academy this year; otherwise, it would only be one in ten...

Even so, Commander Ma praised the Su family, saying that they were a model family and had the most households under their jurisdiction!
Of course, there's the special circumstance that military households cannot separate their families; ordinary civilian households can't go to such extremes, since they would eventually have to separate into separate households. But basically, it's normal for each household to hide half or even two-thirds of its population.

"If that's the case, why doesn't the imperial court conduct a population census like it did during the reign of Emperor Taizu?" Zhu Zihe asked, perhaps unaware that his Zhu family's practices were even more extreme...

"Why wasn't it checked? The imperial register is compiled every ten years, and it's checked every time." The old headmaster said with a wry smile, "The conclusion of the check is that the number of households is constantly decreasing."

"That's just the local governments doing a perfunctory job. Didn't sending imperial envoys to Jingzhou and Xiangyang to check the household registrations prove very effective?" Zhu Zihe raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty could send more imperial envoys to check the household registrations in various provinces!"

"It's difficult." The old headmaster said without much hope, "If it were easy, the Emperor wouldn't have dragged it out for more than ten years before taking this step."

"And why choose the border area of ​​three provinces as the starting point? Because it's a no-man's-land. The investigation will encounter the least resistance there. Once it's implemented in each province, we'll definitely run into all sorts of unforeseen troubles," Zhou Shanzhang continued.
"The officials investigated either found themselves unable to move forward or were dragged down. Those who were able to open up new avenues without being dragged down either had fabricated charges against them or died of illness or met with an accident."

"So dark?" The boys were stunned.

"Heh...it's not that scary. Qingheng is exaggerating, making local officials and gentry sound like bandits. The madmen who dare to touch the imperial envoy are ultimately a tiny minority." The old headmaster waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice:

"However, there is no solution to this problem, and it would be useless to find out. Because they can no longer remain anonymous, and they can still flee."

The old mountain chief held up two fingers and said, "There are two kinds of escape. One is to become a refugee and flee to another place. The other is to seek shelter in a wealthy family and escape the government's jurisdiction. In times of famine and war, the former is more common. In times of peace like now, the latter is naturally more common."

“Yes, who would willingly leave their homeland unless absolutely necessary?” Zhou Shanzhang agreed wholeheartedly. “Nominally, one can recognize a father or sell oneself into slavery and continue living, only the tax recipient changes from the state to the gentry.”

"Isn't there a capable minister who can solve this?" Zhu Zihe asked, feeling frustrated. "Like how we can rely on Yang Yiqing to deal with the border troubles." "It's difficult," the old abbot sighed. "Mencius said, 'Governing is not difficult; it's about not offending powerful families.'"

"Moreover, those who can rise to the position of a capable minister already come from wealthy and powerful families. They must have the awareness of a sage to be willing to take such drastic measures against themselves..." Master Zhou added softly, "In short, this matter is heartbreaking to talk about, but impossible to do."

"Remember this: for something to be accomplished, the Emperor, the powerful, and the common people all have to want to do it." The old abbot said slowly, "If any one of these three parties is missing, it cannot be done."

"That means nothing can be accomplished." Su Lu finally couldn't help but sneer, "These three groups will never be able to reach a consensus, not even when the country is destroyed and the race is wiped out!"

"..." Upon hearing this, the old headmaster was slightly moved, and Headmaster Zhou hurriedly reprimanded him in a deep voice: "Hongzhi, don't talk nonsense."

“Hey,” the old headmaster waved his hand and said, “This is an academy, so people should speak freely.”

As he spoke, he asked Su Lu seriously, "Hongzhi, in your opinion, we can only sit and wait to die?"

“Then this disciple will speak presumptuously. This disciple believes that if something is clearly beneficial to the country and its people, and two out of three parties want to do it, then the opposing party is reactionary!” Su Lu said in a deep voice:

"If the opposing side cannot oppose openly and honestly, and can only resort to these despicable underhanded tactics, then it shows that it is extremely reactionary!"

"This is getting more and more absurd!" Headmaster Zhou couldn't help but rebuke again.

"Hehehe, don't rush to assume it's about someone. Hongzhi didn't name names and say which side it was..." The old headmaster waved his hand, signaling Headmaster Zhou to be patient and said, "Let him finish speaking first."

"Throughout history, nations have perished due to both internal strife and external threats. Internal strife far outweighs external threats, and the root of internal strife in every dynasty has always been annexation!" Su Lu continued:
"Mergers are a natural human instinct. No matter which of the three parties is involved, they will try to take as much as they can within their capabilities. But the common people will never get what they want and will always be the ones who suffer!"

"So we only need to look at the remaining two parties. Whoever wants to change the status quo is the one who will also be harmed. Whoever wants to maintain the status quo is the one who will benefit from the current situation." Su Lu didn't talk about any grand principles; he simply used rigorous logic to leave no room for rebuttal.

"Hehehe..." After listening, the old headmaster stroked his beard and laughed, "So, the Emperor is so eager to investigate the household registration, so he is the one who is harmed. The powerful families are desperately trying to obstruct it, so they are the ones who benefit, the reactionary ones, or even the extremely reactionary ones?"

“The students did not personally experience the harm caused by the giant house, but based on the information they have heard, it seems to be the case.” Su Lu nodded, reverting to his tactful and subtle style.

"But Mencius said, 'Don't offend powerful families.' So what should we do?" The old abbot stared intently at Su Lu, knowing that finding a problem and scolding him wouldn't solve anything. Although he didn't expect Su Lu, at such a young age, to have any brilliant ideas, he still hoped to hear something different.

“If we hadn’t offended the powerful families, the country wouldn’t have perished, and the Sima family would still be in power! So I believe that Zhu Xi’s commentary is correct— ‘Therefore, the hearts of the powerful families are difficult to subdue by force, but the people of the country have always trusted them; now that they are pleased and subdued, the people of the country will all submit.’ Mencius’s point is to make them pleased and subdued, not simply to flatter the powerful families!” Su Lu’s answer did not disappoint the old abbot.

Having written such rigid, formulaic essays for so long, Su Lu had developed a habit of first establishing a theoretical foundation before elaborating on his arguments. He continued:
"Therefore, Mencius' ideal ruler is one who can both please the wealthy and powerful and implement reforms that benefit the country and its people. If one can do this, then governing is not difficult."

"Hahaha, well said! If you write this down, it'll be another excellent eight-legged essay!" The old headmaster clapped his hands and laughed heartily. After laughing, he asked leisurely:
"But wouldn't that bring us back to my initial argument that all three parties have to be willing to participate?"

"In my opinion, Mencius's words were correct at the time, but the so-called powerful families of today are far inferior to those of the pre-Qin and Jin dynasties, and even less so than those of the Tang dynasty," Su Lu said coldly.
"They don't deserve to be called powerful families; at most, they're just academic cliques."

“That’s true. Those truly powerful families who founded the dynasty and brought peace have long since faded into obscurity.” The old headmaster nodded and smiled, “Your choice of words is fresh and accurate. Nowadays, wealthy and powerful families do indeed rely on the imperial examination system, unlike before the Tang Dynasty…”

P.S. I still included a time setting; I didn't check both chapters...

(End of this chapter)