I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 537 The Great Han Dynasty is doomed!

Cui Yan crossed the river at Liyang and arrived in the Central Plains, a place he had not visited for many years.

Spring planting has just ended, and the rice seedlings in the fields have already sprouted. When the wind blows, the air is filled with the smell of excrement and urine... Although the smell is unpleasant, it is foreseeable that after the autumn harvest, no matter what kind of excrement or urine it is, it will eventually turn into millet and wheat in our stomachs.

Cui Yan did not rush to Jingzhou. Instead, he often stood on the ridges of the fields, watching the Han people coming and going.

To Cui Yan's surprise, none of the Han officials along the way regarded him as a spy sent by an enemy country!
In Hebei, officials would often come to identify and drive him away if he stood still for a while, requiring Cui Yan to prove his identity before letting him leave, as if someone like him, a "loafer" standing in the fields, was a heinous criminal. But after arriving in the Central Plains, it seemed to be commonplace...

Fortunately, Cui Yan quickly figured out what was going on.

It seems that the Han Dynasty allows people to leave their jobs.

It's not just him.

He would occasionally see others like him wandering around in the fields.

Only after asking did I learn that this person was a teacher specially hired by the Han government.

"Has the Great Han Dynasty gone this far?"

Cui Yan found it hard to believe.

The Central Plains were in utter chaos after the Han-Zhao War.

Even so, the first thing the Han government did after organizing the people for spring plowing and ensuring food security was to hire teachers and open schools.
Cui Yan didn't quite understand the phenomenon before her.

If it were the Eastern Zhao court or the Hebei government, they would absolutely not have had this kind of organizational capacity!

After some trial and error, Cui Yan finally understood many things.

Firstly, under the equal-field system, the people of the Han Dynasty naturally had solid social security.

Secondly, Liu Miao had the government establish agricultural loan services early on, replacing the previous model where ordinary people could only borrow money from landlords and powerful families by mortgaging their land. This allowed even the poorest Han Chinese to borrow money and grain to support themselves for more than a year.

Finally, and this is what Cui Yan considers the most important point—

Cui Yan witnessed the constant flow of merchants between the Central Plains and the South.

Those merchants brought large quantities of cheap clothing, porcelain, and even grain!
These almost inexhaustible resources were the key to the Central Plains' rapid reconstruction from the ruins!

Without these abundant and inexpensive supplies, even the best system is ultimately meaningless!
For a moment, Cui Yan looked forward to the trip to Jingzhou even more!

He had long heard that there were numerous workshops throughout Xiangyang and the Jianghan Plain to its south, all dedicated to the production of cloth, porcelain, and metal.

For someone accustomed to the traditional model of men farming and women weaving, that place was obviously incredibly intriguing to Cui Yan. He even once thought that if he could unlock the secrets of Jingzhou, he could unlock the secrets of the entire Han Dynasty!
While Cui Yan was wandering around, he happened to come across a scene where a village was selecting its three leaders.

The Han dynasty replaced the Three Elders with the Three Chiefs, a change that Liu Miao made after taking power.

When Yuan Shao was at odds with Liu Miao, he repeatedly seized on this point to attack Liu Miao, claiming that Liu Miao "violated filial piety" and was "truly a traitor."

Previously, Cui Yan had actually had some reservations about this aspect of the Han Dynasty's system.

After all, elders should always be respected.

Liu Miao's abolition of the Three Elders, from the perspective of rites and laws, did indeed violate the Han Dynasty's principle of governing the country with loyalty and filial piety.

But once he actually set foot on Han territory, Cui Yan realized he had made a huge mistake.

of course.

Liu Miao abolished the Three Elders.

Instead, there was a monthly "pension" allowance paid by the government.

This amount of money may not be enough to make a person extremely wealthy, but it is more than enough to ensure basic needs are met.

Moreover, regardless of the elderly person's previous status, whether they were an official or a farmer, the amount of money they received was the same, without any favoritism.

Therefore, Liu Miao's abolition of the Three Elders system, which seemed like a great act of treason, actually provided for more elderly people.

In particular, Cui Yan, who came from a prominent family, knew all too well that the so-called "Three Elders" were actually all from wealthy local families...

Or rather, unless one comes from a wealthy family, it is very difficult for ordinary people who work the fields to live to the age of becoming elders...

Therefore, Liu Miao's current actions are not disrespectful to the elderly, but rather a way of abolishing the power of a few aristocratic elderly people and allocating the resources they have monopolized to support more common elderly people.

"How much care the elderly can receive... The vow Liu Miao made outside Xiangyang City back then is actually beginning to come true step by step."

At the same time, Cui Yan found the new "three-chief system" selection process extremely novel.

Five households are each headed by a neighborhood head, five neighborhoods by a village head, and five villages by a party head.

These three leaders are basically able to oversee all matters, large and small, at the grassroots level.

Compared to the three-tier system, this is undoubtedly more refined and also avoids the expansion of the grassroots level.

What surprised Cui Yan even more was the method used.

For example, when electing a neighborhood head, all five adult male households must vote together, and the one with the most votes is elected.

At the same time, a neighborhood head can only serve a maximum of three years, or one term, and cannot be elected for two consecutive terms after that...

genius!

Absolutely a genius!
Wouldn't this completely get rid of the situation where one party dominates the local area?

After all, if you don't act like a human being, who can guarantee that the next three leaders won't retaliate three years later?

When people have fears and concerns, they won't act without any bottom line. In addition, there are two layers of regulatory bodies: local governments and central censors. Undoubtedly, this can ensure that local governance is basically transparent.

At least, given Cui Yan's abilities, he couldn't think of a more suitable way of governing.

This system also reminded Cui Yan of something he had seen in some "unreadable" books—

Legend has it that King Li of Zhou implemented a "monopoly" policy, placing the mountains, forests, lakes, and marshes under the direct control of the emperor and forbidding the people from entering them to make a living. This caused widespread resentment among the people, who eventually launched a rebellion and exiled King Li to Zhi. Afterwards, the Zhou dynasty was without a ruler, so the people elected the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao to temporarily act as regents. Important political affairs were discussed by the six ministers, a period known in history as the "Zhou-Shao Regency" or "Republican Administration."

There was also the "National Assembly," which was quite popular during the Spring and Autumn Period.

The section on the duties of the Grand Minister of Agriculture states: "When the state faces a major crisis, all people are summoned to the royal gate."

The entry for "Xiao Sikou" in the Rites of Zhou states: "The duty of Xiao Sikou is to manage the affairs of the outer court, and to consult with all the people. The first is to inquire about the dangers of the state, the second is to inquire about the relocation of the state, and the third is to inquire about the establishment of a ruler."

In the past, when the country had major events, the monarch would summon the people of the country to discuss and decide on them together.

For example, the Zuo Zhuan records: In the eighteenth year of Duke Xi's reign, during winter, the Xing and Di people attacked the State of Wei and besieged Tupu. Duke Wen of Wei wanted to abdicate the throne to someone else. At a general assembly of the people, Duke Wen said, "If anyone can govern Wei well, I am willing to follow him." However, the people rejected Duke Wen's proposal to abdicate and decided to meet him in battle at Zilou. The Di army, seeing no opportunity, retreated.

For example, in the 28th year of Duke Xi's reign, Duke Wen of Jin and Duke Zhao of Qi formed an alliance at Lianmeng. Duke Cheng of Wei requested to join the alliance, but the people of Jin refused. Duke Cheng of Wei wanted to ally with the state of Chu, but the people of Wei disagreed, so he drove away their ruler and came to appease Jin...

Although the "Three Chiefs" system currently implemented by the Han Dynasty is far from being as "terrifying" as recorded in historical books, giving the people the ability to exile the emperor, Cui Yan still felt that the two were extremely similar.

The "revival of a hundred schools of thought" advocated by the Han Dynasty seems to have gone beyond mere surface-level changes, and has truly brought about a fundamental transformation.

"If things had been like this during the Later Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion might never have happened, right?"

Even though so much time has passed, the thought of the Yellow Turban Rebellion still gives Cui Yan goosebumps.

As someone who experienced that great chaos, I can never forget the devastating scene that nearly brought the world to its knees...

It was precisely for this reason that Cui Yan and many other scholars and Confucianists of the Han Dynasty sought change.

Can not forget.

I really can't forget it!
Those Taoist priests who carried talismans and water and traveled around were simply the nightmare of all Han scholars!

If she could, Cui Yan would never want to see those figures from the past again...

But Cui Yan's illusions were quickly shattered!
The closer we got to Jingzhou, the more frequently people with the same kind of attire appeared!
Moon-colored shawl and star-studded scarf, rainbow-colored robes and rosy sleeves!
Taoist priest!

The Taoist Priest of Peace!

Upon seeing them, Cui Yan reacted like a mouse seeing a raccoon, his first instinct was to flee!
The Taoism of Peace...has it been revived?

Fortunately, after Cui Yan patiently got to know them, he discovered that these people were not the Taiping Daoist sect that had once turned the Han Dynasty upside down.

His origins are from the Five Pecks of Rice sect.

"Has Liu Miao gone mad? How can he allow these people to act so recklessly? Does he want another Yellow Turban Rebellion to occur in the future Han Dynasty?"

By learning from history, we can understand the rise and fall of dynasties!

Did Liu Miao not know how badly the Yellow Turban Rebellion had ravaged the Han Dynasty?

Cui Yan was especially horrified when he saw what these Taoist priests were doing!

They were actually distributing food and clothing for free!
How could a Taoist priest be allowed to do such a thing?

Isn't this just handing over the hearts and minds of the government and the people to the Taoist priests for nothing?
Liu Miao has truly gone mad! The Han Dynasty is doomed sooner or later!

However, Cui Yan was no longer an official.

He soon realized something—

Could it be that the dignity of the government is more important than the basic needs of the people?

Moreover, according to Cui Yan's observation, these Taoist priests did indeed seem different from the Taoist priests of the Taiping Daoist sect back then...

Although it was preaching, what they were talking about was really strange.

Cui Yan managed to sneak into a Taoist temple.

Actually, there's no need to mix them up.

This kind of place is open to all ordinary people for free.

The temple contains many simple houses for the homeless to live in.

In several side halls, porridge or clothing was being distributed.

Inside the main hall, a Taoist priest was preaching.

"The Tao is one, and one is a fixed number."

"All things in the world have their own destiny and their own reason. They are not chaotic and disorderly."

"For example, adding one to one can only result in two. There is no question of whether you calculate it or I calculate it, or whether it is calculated in Hebei or Jiangdong, which will create a difference."

"Furthermore, let the right side be multiplied by itself to get the vermilion square, and the left side be multiplied by itself to get the blue square. Let the in and out sides complement each other, each according to its category, and then leave the rest unchanged, to form the power of the square of the sine. Take the square root and divide it, and that is the sine..."

Cui Yan stared at the Taoist priests in disbelief.

no……

What exactly did Liu Miao turn your Taoists into?

(End of this chapter)