Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

"What do you mean by 'competing to be the worst'?!"

"Are our civil servants really that bad?"

Some of the scholar-officials during the Song Dynasty were dissatisfied.

Even if those incompetent civil officials of the Ming Dynasty had their own ulterior motives,

At least in their Song Dynasty, civil officials were better off than the powerful families of the Tang Dynasty!

Ultimately, whether powerful clans or the civil service is better or worse is simply a matter of comparing who is worse.

The upper limit for powerful clans is low, but the lower limit is high, while the upper limit for civil officials is high, but the lower limit is low.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the civil service group, as a substitute for aristocratic families, was generally much more advanced than those families.

"Wuhu!!"

The civil service officials of the Song and Ming dynasties shouted excitedly.

He then realized that he had to maintain the dignity of a scholar and could not show his emotions as openly as those uncultured thugs.

They forced themselves to suppress the corners of their mouths, but the slight upturn of their lips and the slight squinting of their eyes revealed their inner joy and excitement.

No matter what, being stronger than the powerful clans is a victory!!

The fundamental difference between the two lies in their different self-positioning within their respective dynasties.

If we compare a dynasty to an inn or a merchant guild, the emperor is like the innkeeper or the head of the guild, while the nobles are like the middle management.

Aristocratic families are essentially partners who invest in and share profits with an inn or trading company.

Ordinary people are the workers in this system, responsible for providing physical labor.

In this world, powerful clans and the emperor share resources and profits. Some contribute money, some contribute manpower; in short, their goals are the same: to make more money and enrich themselves.

However, in this process, the emperor holds the largest share, while these powerful clans will use various means to increase their shareholding or to obtain more profits, thereby increasing their shareholding percentage.

Therefore, no matter what happens, no matter how the internal proportions change, this business cannot go bankrupt.

They can replace the person in charge internally, but they can't let this business collapse.

That's what the sky is saying!

As early as the pre-Qin period, China had a rudimentary form of joint business, known as "common wealth."

Although the term "sky curtain" uses some new words, a little thought reveals its meaning.

That's a very apt description.

They didn't want this business to collapse.

For example, during the late Han Dynasty, although powerful families built manors and fortified villages in the provinces, enabling them to be completely self-sufficient and have their own retainers and servants, and rely on these fortified villages for defense and attack when facing external crises, this did indeed reduce the imperial court's control over the provinces.

However, during the period of the Five Barbarian Invasions, fortified villages played an important role in defending against ethnic minorities.

Even during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, prominent families, led by the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, spontaneously opened their granaries to distribute grain to refugees and transported the grain to county government offices on several occasions when the Tang Dynasty suffered severe droughts and food shortages.

Moreover, they all volunteered, although their motives may have included maintaining their reputation or political opportunism.

However, when evaluating a person, don't look at what they say, look at what they do.

A wise person judges by actions, not intentions; for by intentions, no one in the world is perfect.

In short, these powerful families consider themselves half-owners of the business. They don't care how much internal strife they cause, but if any outsiders dare to disrupt things, they will definitely provide financial and human support.

Whenever the world is in chaos, powerful families always manage to save the people from suffering, but don't ask how that suffering came about.

Beautiful!!

That statement on the sky is absolutely right.

A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions; don't concern yourself with our motives.

Did the Jin Dynasty prevent Fu Jian of the Di tribe from advancing south? Did they transport grain during the Zhenguan era?

That was all real money, it was really spent!

We know that future generations, with their intelligence and wisdom, will surely be able to see the advantages of our aristocratic families.

We have shed tears and blood for our country!

How could we possibly be all bad?!

The civil service is slightly different.

They were equivalent to the "resident masters" specially hired during the Tang Dynasty, the "accountants" during the Song Dynasty, or modern professional managers who were responsible for running the shops and only received a salary or owned a very small number of shares.

Therefore, whether the shops are doing well or not has nothing to do with them. Since they don't invest a lot of money, they won't put in much effort to run the businesses.

[Their only concern is taking money from this shop to fill their own pockets; that's what they're really thinking about.]

Even if this shop collapses in the end, it's not a big deal. At worst, they can just find another owner. They can still do what they want, enjoy themselves, and watch song and dance performances. It won't stop them from continuing to be officials and superior people.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!!!"

"Slander! This sky is slandering us!!"

"We have diligently studied the classics; how could we possibly be what later generations say?!"

"I just don't understand why later generations harbor such malice towards us. Judging from their words, they are clearly well-versed in classical literature!"

The literati of the Song and Ming dynasties were already jumping for joy, wishing they could smash the sky with a single punch and give future generations a kick!

The heavens actually said they were unpatriotic and disloyal to the emperor!

Who could be as loyal to the emperor and as patriotic as they were?

If you disagree, let's debate! You can choose any scripture or poem you like!

At this moment, the Qing Dynasty civil officials glanced at each other's spiky hair and couldn't help but smile wryly, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

For them, there seemed to be no reason to refute this.

What was said on the sky screen does make some sense.

However, it cannot be said that all civil officials were traitors who harmed the country and its people and betrayed their country.

At least during the fall of the Southern Song and Ming dynasties, so many taxi drivers resisted the Yuan and Qing dynasties, and some even died for their country, sacrificing their lives heroically.

[It's just that when faced with foreign invasion, the civil service was no match for the powerful clans; they surrendered too quickly.]

Compared to the vast majority of civil servants, those with the backbone to resist and remain unyielding ultimately constitute only a minority within this group.

However, the advantage of the civil service group lies in its maintenance of internal circulation, which is stronger than that of aristocratic families.

The descendants of powerful and influential families are almost guaranteed to become officials, but the sons of civil officials are not necessarily guaranteed a stable official position.

They have no way of passing on the power they hold to their descendants.

Even if the son of a high-ranking official wanted to become an official, apart from the special privilege granted by the emperor, he still had to pass the imperial examinations and earn his official rank through genuine examinations.

The phenomenon of "rising from a humble peasant in the morning to a high-ranking official in the evening" was a real occurrence during the Song and Ming dynasties.

We slid on our knees too fast?

Doesn't this just mean we lack backbone?

Tianmu, do you think we won't notice just because you've changed your wording?!