A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"I am ready to launch reforms."

Wang Mang's voice was neither loud nor soft, but if an outsider heard it, they would surely feel it was as explosive as thunder.

Reform is not something that can be accomplished simply by talking.

It concerns countless people and interest groups across the entire country, and is destined to shed countless blood.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, various states launched reforms in order to become stronger and dominate the Central Plains.

During the reign of Duke Huan of Qi, Guan Zhong promoted economic reforms, implemented state monopolies on salt and iron, and sent countless salt merchants to the executioner's block; he also promoted taxation based on land rank, cutting into the wealth of the nobility, and helped Duke Huan of Qi become the first hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Li Kui of Wei implemented reforms, promulgating the "Legal Canon" to govern the country according to law, which led to widespread bloodshed within the state. State control of grain prices deepened Wei's wealth accumulation, enabling it to dominate the world in the early Warring States period.

Wu Qi's reforms in the State of Chu abolished the hereditary privileges of the nobility, forcing them to relinquish their privileges. Ultimately, the reforms failed due to the nobility's backlash, and almost everyone involved in the reforms was killed.

Even more famous was the Shang Yang Reforms in the Qin state, which proposed a system of agriculture and warfare, a system of military and industrial ranks, and implemented the prefecture-county system and the system of collective responsibility. These reforms helped Qin become the leader of all the states and laid the foundation for Qin's unification of the world.

The Qin reforms were bloody, not only staining the blood of countless Qin citizens but also the blood of countless citizens from the other six states. Even Shang Yang, who spearheaded the reforms, was torn apart by chariots.

The entire 200-year Han Dynasty was built upon the foundation laid by the Qin Dynasty, with only minor repairs and modifications.

One reason why no one is pushing for nationwide reforms is that the reforms are far too drastic, affecting every aspect of the country. If they succeed, all will be well; if they fail, they will severely damage the nation's foundation.

"What reforms do you plan to implement?"

Wei An's expression turned serious. The people are the foundation of the Wei family, and reforms are bound to lead to unrest among the people.

If the turmoil is only temporary and will lead to greater prosperity for the people, then the Wei family's fortunes will grow stronger in return.

However, if the reform fails or goes in the wrong direction, it will severely damage the vitality of the entire people, and the fate of the Wei family will also decline sharply.

Therefore, the reforms also concern the foundation of the Wei family.

"I plan to initiate reforms by citing the restoration of ancient rituals and drawing on the system of the Western Zhou Dynasty."

"One of them is the royal field system, which is based on the well-field system of the Western Zhou Dynasty."

"The Han Empire has been in existence for 200 years, giving rise to one generation after another of noble and scholar-official groups."

"These aristocratic and scholar-official groups, relying on their connections in the officialdom, plundered the wealth of the people in the local areas."

"Especially the people's land, they have 100 ways to consolidate land and force the people to transfer their land to them."

"People who have lost their land can only become vagrants and tenants."

"Even with the Wei family's protégés and former officials watching over various places, such things still happened frequently."

"Those powerful families in the court each own tens of thousands of acres of land. Where did they get all that land?"

"Isn't it all obtained through land consolidation, plundering from the people?"

"Therefore, I plan to turn all the land in the world into royal fields, which will be rented to the people for their use. The people will only have the right to cultivate the land, not the right to buy or sell it."

"To prevent local governments from using this as a pretext to forcibly seize land from the people, I will also order that if the government wants to seize land from the people for other purposes, it must obtain the Prime Minister's permission. In addition, the documents for seizure based on the land exchanged by the people must be stamped with the official seal of the Prime Minister's office."

"The second is to abolish state-owned slavery."

"All Han citizens, except criminals, are not allowed to be enslaved. If nobles and powerful families want manpower, they must use the method of hiring."

"If you want slaves, you can only use slaves from other races, such as the slaves from the Japanese islands. They are tough, durable, and very easy to manage."

"Thirdly, there was the imperial highway system."

"The Great Han Dynasty now extends from the northern wilderness to the East China Sea, from the south to the South China Sea, and from the west to the Western Regions. From south to north, from east to west, it covers more than several thousand miles."

"Even the most elite cavalry of the Han Dynasty would need several months to travel from Chang'an to the frontier battlefield."

"If something changes on the border, it will take several months to receive the news, and by the time the troops arrive, it will be almost a year."

"The daylily is all cold."

"Therefore, I plan to start from Chang'an and build four highways in the east, west, south, and north, leading to the border."

"The construction will be funded by the national treasury, with corvée labor conscripted, and the state will provide meals and wages. We hope the Wei family can send someone to intervene and prevent the people from being mistreated."

"Once completed, two months will be enough time for the iron cavalry of Chang'an to reach any border, which is sufficient to ensure the stability of the current Han Dynasty territory."

"The fourth is the enfeoffment system."

"Even after the construction of the imperial highways, the maximum territory under the rule of the Han Dynasty is still what it is now."

"The Han Dynasty was no longer able to govern a wider area, so it had no choice but to adopt the enfeoffment system."

"The heroes, nobles, and meritorious officials of the Han Dynasty were enfeoffed in places outside the Han Dynasty, and supported by the state so that they could gradually gain a foothold in other places and establish the Chinese civilization sphere."

"I hope that one day, we can truly achieve a situation where wherever the sun and moon shine, and wherever rivers flow, all is Chinese territory."

"At that time, just like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, a great ruler like Qin Shi Huang will emerge again, unify the world, and let Chinese civilization completely conquer the world."

"The fifth is that the sage emperor governs the world by folding his arms and bowing his head."

"The Liu family ruled the world, but it's impossible for every generation to produce a wise ruler. However, there will always be wise ministers in every generation."

"Therefore, the sage emperor governs the world by folding his hands and bowing his head. The emperor resides in the ancestral temple, and the affairs of state are managed and the world is governed by virtuous ministers."

"The most important matters of state are sacrifices and warfare. The emperor is in charge of sacrifices and establishes the rites and ceremonies for the whole country."

"Weapons are instruments of violence! They should not be in the hands of one person. They should be divided into three: one for the Holy Emperor, one for the Prime Minister, and one for the Duke of Yan, so that they can check and balance each other."

Wang Mang had already realized that it would be too difficult for him to become emperor in this era; the Wei family was an insurmountable obstacle, almost impossible to overcome.

Moreover, the most important thing for him was reform, especially the feudal system.

He was a thoroughgoing Chinese nationalist.

If this weren't the world he lived in, where the Japanese islands had already become a mining center for China, he would have sent people to study shipbuilding technology and conquer them long ago.

Even if he didn't become emperor, he could still wield great power in the court, enjoy a glorious life, and then leave a good future for his descendants. In the land outside of China, on that land with black oil, he could leave behind a large enough fiefdom, making his descendants into wealthy and powerful families that everyone would envy.