Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 388 Seven Signs of Subjugation

Wang Yan is the Duke of Ming Dynasty, a person who wields a lot of power. In his position, many things are beyond his control. His subordinates and the forces behind him will push him forward step by step. He has no intention of being Cao Cao. , But Baobuqi, his subordinates wanted him to be Cao Cao.

Yue Fei's name has lasted through the ages and was revered as a hero by future generations, but no one wants to be killed unjustly like him.

Wang Yan does not want to take these two roads, and Guo Ziyi, Liu Bowen, and Zhang Liang are left. Wang Yan is not reconciled. He wants to find a new road by himself, and wants to break the cycle of Chinese civilization for hundreds of years. The strange circle of cooking.

At this time, Wang Fuzhi heard the news of Wang Chaopin and Wang Jiezhi's arrival, and rushed over to meet him. After seeing the ceremony, he found that the atmosphere of the three of them in the room was very strange, so he immediately asked each other. After learning the reason, he said: " The things in the world must be united for a long time, and they must be divided for a long time. For thousands of years, the Great Han Dynasty has been reincarnated for hundreds of years. Throughout the dynasties, I don’t know how many ancestors wanted to reform and preserve the country. Get rid of this malpractice and make the country last for thousands of years, but most of them ended in failure. The Qin, Han, Tang, and Song Dynasties have all become a thing of the past. Shi Heng wants to get rid of the evils, what ideas do you have? And what does Shi Heng think about why the Ming Dynasty has fallen to where it is today?"

In the room, the four of them sat down and began to discuss.

Seeing that the three of them were all looking at him, Wang Yan nodded and said, "Yan is determined to eliminate the evils of thousands of years, and he has indeed thought about it in his heart. You can see why the Ming Dynasty is today. Looking at the history, you can also see the clues. Since ancient times, there have been seven reasons for the collapse of the country. , one is a female favorite, the other is eunuchs, three are strong vassals, four are barbarians, five are relatives, six are cliques, and seven are thieves. If there is one of the seven, the country will be uneasy, and if there is the second, the state will be The risk of overthrow, and since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Ming has monopolized five of them!"

Female pets, it seems that Shenzong once had a special pet, which caused a dispute between the princes, but compared with the female pets in history, it is not serious, so let's not count it.

Eunuchs, far from Wang Zhen, who ruined the elite of the Ming Dynasty, and near the notorious [-]-year-old Wei Zhongxian, there were countless eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.

Strong vassals, Chengzu won the country with vassal kings, at this time King Lu, King Gui, Zheng Zhilong before, and even Wang Yan can be said to be strong vassals.

Hunyi, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have already occupied the two capitals.

Foreign relatives, it seems that there is no such thing~

Cliques, three parties of Chu, Qi, and Zhejiang, Donglin Party, Eunuch Party~ and the chaotic cliques in the last years of Chongzhen~

The bandits, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, etc. are all big names, and even Yizong was forced to death, so it goes without saying.

Except for foreign relatives and female favorites, Daming has only five of them. It is very dangerous for any dynasty in history to occupy one of them, but Daming almost occupies all of them, which shows the necessity of change.

In fact, the end of the Ming Dynasty was indeed undergoing change, and ideas for change had emerged one after another, such as the fierce ones such as Li Zhi, the more moderate ones such as Gu Yanwu, Wang Fuzhi, and Huang Zongxi, and the scholar-official class had already begun to think about change.

"Why does Shi Heng think that the Ming Dynasty came here?" Wang Yan studied under Wang Fuzhi since he was a child, and his thoughts were mostly influenced by him. Wang Fuzhi obviously had guessed some of Wang Yan's thoughts.

Wang Yan was silent for a while, and sighed: "The power of the monarch is too heavy, and the balance between the monarch and his ministers is too great!"

Wang Fuzhi nodded, "For thousands of years in the Han Dynasty, since the first emperor swept Liuhe, the struggle between monarchs and ministers has never stopped. But looking at the historical records, generally speaking, the power of the monarch is getting stronger and the power of the prime minister is getting worse. How is Shi Heng going to reform? "

"The world's major events must be divided for a long time, and the Han people must change their dynasties every once in a while, falling into a constant cycle. This seems to have not changed, but fundamentally speaking, every time we reform the Ding, our system has gradually improved. Throughout history, we know that the ancestors of the past dynasties have been seeking two balances, the ruler and the ministers, the center and the locality."

Wang Yan paused slightly, and then continued: "Let me first talk about the ruler and the ministers. Since ancient times, when the ministers are strong, the powerful ministers will emerge in large numbers, causing the country to turmoil and fall, and the power of the monarch will make the world rise and fall. The people are bound to suffer. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the power of the prime minister representing the power of the ministers has been weakened. From the solitary prime minister to the group prime minister, to the Zhao and Song Dynasties, the balance between the monarch and the ministers was basically found, and the power of the prime minister was dispersed. But it can also restrain the imperial power, even if the emperor is stupid, the court can still operate, and the phenomenon of powerful ministers usurping the country has never appeared again."

In ancient China, before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the biggest problem in the system was that the prime minister had too much power. In the Three Kingdoms, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, if anyone became a prime minister and did not usurp the throne, he himself was not in a hurry, and the people below were all anxious for him. Don't usurp the throne? It's your turn to be emperor!"

After Sui Wendi Yang Jian usurped the throne as a prime minister, in order not to repeat the same mistakes, he implemented three provinces and six departments, divided the power of prime ministers, and made them group ministers.After that, after the improvement of Tang and Song Dynasties, the ancient Chinese political system, after thousands of years of development, was extremely superior to that of Zhao and Song Dynasties.

Mr. Chen Yinke, a master of national history in later generations, said: "Chinese civilization has evolved over thousands of years. It was created in Zhao and Song Dynasties, and then gradually declined, and it will eventually recover."

When people think of Song Dynasty, they often only know superficially, and only think of the humiliation of his annual coins, but they never really understand that the mere annual coins can be doubled every year in just four border markets in Hebei.

Emperor Daozong of the Liao State said: "I cultivate cultural relics, and the dignity is not different from China." He cast a Buddha statue and carved a line of words on the back, "May China be born from generation to generation."

Since the Liao people admit that they are China, the place where they live, the Northeast and the desert, are naturally part of China. China's inherent territory is also derived in this way, which is completely different from the Russian routine.

Since ancient times, China has relied on advanced productivity and culture to influence the surrounding barbarians, and it was the weak Song Dynasty in the eyes of many people that influenced the Liao Dynasty.

Why did a dynasty like the Song Dynasty survive for more than 300 years?At the time of Yashan, why there were [-] soldiers and civilians willing to die for this dynasty is worth pondering.

People yearn for the Han and Tang Dynasties, but "Han Wuxiong pictures record the history, the Great Wall is full of beacon smoke."

It took more than 40 years for the Mongolian Yuan to destroy the Song Dynasty. How long did it take to destroy the contemporary Arab empire? Westerners who have become the mainstream civilization in modern times can’t do anything against the Mongols. The demise of the Song Dynasty is not because the Song Dynasty is backward, but because the Song Dynasty is more advanced.

History is a very strange thing. If you look at history, you will find that in modern times, if you are backward, you will be beaten. But before the increase in firearms and food production, it is true that whoever is advanced will be beaten.

Some people say that the territory of the Song Dynasty was small, while the territory of the Qing Dynasty was large. I think he took advantage of the times to some extent. He was in an era when the productivity of nomads increased and their desire for war was lost.

At this time, not only the East, but also nomads in the West.

In the history of China, the reason why so many north rule the south is generally because the living conditions in the south are better, people have no desire for war, and the cost of war is high, while the cost of war in the north is relatively low, and the desire for war is stronger.

Wang Jiezhi nodded when he heard this, "The dispute between the monarch and the ministers was indeed resolved during the Zhao and Song Dynasties. After the Mongolian Yuan destroyed the Song Dynasty, the barbarians could not understand the essence of the Song system. Back before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Meng Yuan ruled the Central Plains for a hundred years, and powerful ministers came out in large numbers. Except for the first Yuan Shizu and Shun Emperor who fled to Mobei for a little longer, each sitting in the country for more than 30 years, the middle of Meng Yuan was short For more than 30 years, there have been ten emperors, basically all of whom were killed by powerful officials, and they were replaced every three years on average, which can be described as chaotic."

Wang Fuzhi also said: "The misfortune of the Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty was indeed a disaster for me, and it interrupted my Chinese orthodoxy for a hundred years. The Emperor Taizu expelled the Mongols and Yuans out of the Central Plains. Although he claimed to inherit the Song system, he was actually separated for a hundred years. It is difficult to imitate the Song system. The Ming Dynasty actually inherited the Yuan system. Therefore, Taizu killed Hu Weiyong and abolished the prime minister. After setting up the cabinet, it turned back again. Is Shi Heng thinking about restoring the Song system?"

Wang Jiezhi's eyes lit up, "In the Song Dynasty, only Zhang Bangchang and Yue Fei were the first-rank officials who were killed, and Yue Fei was still a military commander. If the Song Dynasty system were restored and the monarch and ministers check and balance, our Wang family may be able to prosper for a hundred years."

Wang Yan shook his head and said: "History is moving forward. Although Yan advocates the Song system, the Song Dynasty has perished after all. Since the Song Dynasty has perished, it means that the Song system also has great flaws. This is what I want to talk about. It's about the general."

(Thanks to Yuedong Woxin, for the reward on the railing)
(End of this chapter)