Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3766 Carrying on one's back while the blood on one's mouth is still wet

Fei Qian had considered this long ago: the so-called emperor or officials in the government often say one thing and do another. On the surface, they are all for the country and the people, but what is the real situation?

What is the root cause of this discrepancy between words and reality?
Fei Qian once thought it was a problem with bureaucracy, but later realized it was actually a problem with human nature and people's hearts. Then he looked back and realized it was actually a problem with the system.

Human nature is inherently prone to greed, which is determined by the instinct for survival. What restrains this instinct is the law and morality.

Changes to the law are slow.

However, moral concepts are updated very quickly, and the rate of moral decay far exceeds that of the law.

In ancient China, the responsibility for upholding moral standards originally fell on the Confucian school.

Confucius said, "What is a gentleman?"

Then he gave an answer, or a standard.

However, Confucianism failed to do this well and quickly became corrupt and complicit with those in power.

The aristocratic families of the Eastern Han Dynasty were not merely a product of that dynasty; they were a historical crystallization of the collision, adaptation, and transformation between institutional design and social reality during the early exploration of ruling models by the imperial system established by the Qin and Han dynasties. This profoundly influenced the course of Chinese history for the next several centuries, only beginning to be modified with the establishment of the imperial examination system in the Sui and Tang dynasties. However, for Confucianism, the damage was already deeply entrenched and difficult to reverse.

Confucianism, fundamentally focused on human life, emphasizes self-cultivation, family harmony, and the governance of the state. However, regarding the crucial matters of life and death, and the doctrines of spirits and deities, Confucius said, "If you don't know about life, how can you know about death?" He also said to respect spirits and deities but keep them at a distance, to preserve their existence without discussing them. Ordinary people face the hardships of hunger and cold in life, and the fear of their souls in death. Thus, Confucianism cannot alleviate their livelihood difficulties, nor can it ease their anxieties about the afterlife. Taoism, though originating in its homeland, is largely confined to the lives of reclusive scholars practicing alchemy and emperors seeking immortality, making it far removed from the lives of ordinary people. At this time, Buddhism arrived in the East, preaching reincarnation, retribution, and promising blessings in the next life, thus filling this void. This is not due to the superiority of Buddhism and Taoism, but rather a failure of Confucianism and Taoism!

Fei Qian's words immediately left Cui Yan speechless.

This question...

Who cares?
For the aristocratic families of the Eastern Han Dynasty, commoners were commoners and ordinary people were ordinary people; these were two different classes.

But when Cui Yan really thought about what Fei Qian said carefully, he began to think that it made sense...

Buddhism and Taoism could not compete with Confucianism in the end, so they could only penetrate the market. However, they were unwilling to live a hard life, so various Taoist societies and sects emerged.

Market demand.

Everyone is afraid of death.

This is a human survival instinct, just like greed. It's something etched into human genes that no one can avoid and everyone has to face, regardless of whether they are poor or rich, or regardless of gender or age.

However, while Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism all made some contributions to imparting knowledge and enlightening the people, they failed to enlighten the entire populace until the time of Xiao Biao's death.

Confucianism is clearly a complex unity full of contradictions.

Confucianism is neither a pure "gospel of the people" nor a simple "accomplice of the rulers." It has both idealistic pursuits and realistic compromises.

It provided both a cloak of legitimacy for imperial power and a moral basis for criticizing it.

It both upholds hierarchical order and emphasizes that the strong within this order bear greater moral responsibility.

Confucianism, from the time of Confucius, has been somewhat like a "high-stakes gamble"...

The Confucian school of thought was betting that it could "domesticate" a powerful monarch from within through moral education and institutional design, turning him into a "sage king."

The outcome of this gamble was mixed...

It worked.

It indeed shaped the moral character of ancient Chinese governments to a great extent, fostering virtuous ministers, honest officials, and benevolent governance, enabling Chinese civilization to continue stably for a long period.

At the same time, it also failed.

Ultimately, it failed to fundamentally restrain imperial power through institutional means; instead, it was frequently abused and corrupted by imperial power. When faced with incompetent or tyrannical rulers, its means of restraint—such as divine retribution and admonition—often proved particularly weak and ineffective.

Therefore, both the value and the shortcomings of Confucianism stem from this. Its attempt to solve the problems of despotism within its framework inevitably leads to profound theoretical contradictions and historical limitations. It is both a defender and a critic of the imperial system, and its successors also exhibit this "flexible" characteristic; their double standards in speech and behavior are a natural consequence of this dual role.

Cui Yan pondered for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "Therefore... the Grand General established the Shoushan Academy and opened the Qinglong Temple Grand Debate?"

Fei Qian nodded, his tone slightly heavy. "Indeed. Now, you worry that the new policies will corrupt the established order and laws, and fear that the people's intelligence will disrupt social order. But if the people are not enriched, how can their hardships be alleviated? If their intelligence is not awakened, how can their ignorance and fear be overcome? If the gentry continue to monopolize land and control official careers, then the Yellow Turban Rebellion will serve as a stark warning. Our equalization of land ownership will curb land annexation, thus strengthening the foundation of the nation; the promotion of various industries will ensure sufficient resources, thus strengthening the state; the implementation of performance evaluation will broaden the path to virtue, breaking down prejudices and vulgarity; and the advocacy of practical learning and emphasis on truth will remedy the ills of Confucianism, allowing it to return to its fundamental purpose of practical application. This is not destroying Confucianism, but rather reviving it!"

Cui Yan frowned upon hearing this. It wasn't that he thought Fei Qian was wrong, but rather that what Fei Qian said was far too complex…

Cui Yan came to pay his respects this time with the intention of trying to be "flexible" with Fei Qian, but even with this mindset, he was still repeatedly defeated by Fei Qian.

This isn't just a 'change,' it's an earth-shattering transformation!

Cui Yan remained silent for a long time, then bowed deeply. "General's words are truly enlightening. I...I am deeply ashamed. In the past, I was narrow-minded and limited by sectarian views. Now, hearing your profound discourse, I realize that the Confucian school indeed suffers from stagnation and self-imposed limitations. However...however, the matters of land and recommendation are far-reaching, and sudden changes could lead to chaos. In the past, Shang Yang's reforms, though strengthening Qin, resulted in its downfall; Wang Mang's reforms, attempting to restore the past, led to the collapse of the state. I urge General to be cautious and act prudently."

Fei Qian smiled slightly, but the smile only lingered on his lips, fleeting as a moment. "Sir's concerns... truly lie in the gains and losses, in whether the lands of the gentry can be preserved hereditarily, and in whether the power of recommendation can be maintained for long. Is that so?"

Cui Yan's expression changed slightly, but he quickly recovered. "General's words are... are likely to hurt the hearts of the scholars of the land. What we are thinking is truly the way to ensure long-term peace and stability for the nation. Scholars are the pillars of the state. If the hearts of the scholars are stable, then the nation is stable. If we take away all the scholars' livelihoods and damage their reputation, then the pillars will crumble, and what will the great edifice rely on? This is not merely my personal opinion, but the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, the instructions of the sages. Even Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, in his restoration of the dynasty, relied on the assistance of the heroes of Hebei, without completely seizing their property or changing their customs, thus establishing a foundation for nearly two hundred years of rule. This is something the General should clearly understand."

Fei Qian laughed loudly, "What a brilliant mirror! Then I shall discuss with you, sir, what true face this mirror truly reflects!"

"Sir, you only remember that Emperor Guangwu relied on powerful clans, but have you ever thought carefully about whether the Han dynasty was truly peaceful after Guangwu? From Emperor He onwards, relatives of the empress and eunuchs successively seized power, the disaster of the partisan purge was extremely tragic, and even the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and the world was in chaos. What was the root cause?" Fei Qian said with emotion.

Cui Yan frowned and said, "This is due to treacherous officials obstructing the emperor's ears and causing the court to fall into disarray..."

Fei Qian waved his hand and said, "No! There are indeed treacherous officials, but fundamentally, it is the rise of powerful clans and wealthy families who have devoured both the imperial power and the common people!"

Cui Yan said in a deep voice, "General, your words...are too harsh!"

Fei Qian didn't take it to heart and said with a smile, "Let me offer my opinion..."

Cui Yan cupped his hands in greeting, "I would like to hear the details!"

"The Qin dynasty abolished the feudal system and established prefectures and counties, intending to abolish the feudal lords and establish a unified empire. Imperial power governed all people, registering households and organizing the army, aiming to eliminate the hereditary system of official positions that plagued the Zhou dynasty, allowing talented individuals, regardless of their background, to serve the country. This initial intention was undoubtedly benevolent. However, the Han dynasty, inheriting the Qin system, failed to grasp its fundamental nature… How could the emperor, residing in the highest palace, govern this vast land of China and its countless people with the power of a single person?"

Cui Yan took a sip of cold noodles and said with slight hesitation, "Of course... we should rely on virtuous and capable people to fill the positions of officials..."

"Indeed!" Fei Qian nodded. "This is the bureaucratic system. It requires bureaucrats to govern separately. And this method of selecting officials… Emperor Wu implemented the recommendation system, originally intended to recommend the virtuous and capable, based on two criteria: virtue and learning. But are these 'filial and incorruptible' individuals truly 'filial and incorruptible'? Ask yourself, how can ordinary people, toiling all day just to make ends meet, afford books and renowned teachers? How can they have the leisure to read poetry and cultivate a good reputation? Only wealthy landowners with stable property have this power. Thus, from the very beginning, the power to select officials has favored the rich and powerful! Is this not a flaw in the system?"

Cui Yan frowned, "This...this common people are so dull...unable to understand the classics, they are certainly unfit for officialdom..." Fei Qian chuckled, "The common people are dull? If I were to select a hundred sons of commoners and a hundred children of noble families, send them to the same school, raise them in the same place, and have them all study under the same teacher...and ask them, after ten years, will the sons of commoners be less able to understand the classics, or will the children of noble families be more knowledgeable in their meaning?"

"This...this...um..." Cui Yan naturally couldn't answer.

Fei Qian nodded in agreement. "That's one point, but let's set that aside for now and talk about the second. Since many officials come from wealthy and powerful families, once they become officials and wield power, do they prioritize the country over their families, or vice versa?"

Cui Yan took a sip of the oil tea and immediately felt a sticky sensation in his mouth. He mumbled for a moment, then said, "What the General says... the quality of scholars varies greatly; how can we let a minor setback deter us from our studies?"

"Indeed, there are good and bad among them," Fei Qian acknowledged. "However, the good ones make up only a small fraction. Many abuse their official positions and privileges, acquiring vast tracts of land, concealing household registrations, keeping slaves, evading taxes, embezzling public funds, enriching themselves, and ruining the lives of farmers. When powerful clans annex a region, the court loses a portion of its tax base and weakens its military strength. Is this not like parasites eating away at a pillar?"

The self-cultivating farmers of the Han Dynasty had a similar name in later generations—

Unspeakable.

The reason why "peasant" became a relatively derogatory term in later generations is simply because they endured far too much...

In the Han and Tang dynasties, legitimate self-cultivating farmers owned hundreds of acres of land...

Simply change the era and the name, and there's practically no difference...

Before Fei Qian could answer Cui Yan, and of course Cui Yan couldn't answer either, it was an indisputable fact that the powerful clans of Shandong had seized real estate, and no amount of talk about the diligence or hard work of their ancestors and fathers could cover it up.

"Thirdly. The Five Classics scholars, passed down through generations, have almost become family learning. The interpretation of the classics is in the hands of a few powerful families. They praise and recommend each other, and their students and former officials are all over the country. The recommendation system has become no longer for selecting talents for the country, but rather a tool for the aristocratic families to pass on their power from generation to generation! Those recommended only know their recommenders, not the court; they only know how to protect their family's status, not the overall situation of the country. Is this not the abuse of public power for private gain?" Fei Qian stared at Cui Yan and said calmly.

Sweat beaded on Cui Yan's forehead and rolled down his forehead.

Fei Qian brushed the table with his sleeve. "And so… the sons of the gentry, engaging in lofty discussions, critiquing figures, seemingly taking it upon themselves to judge right and wrong, sparing no effort in criticizing eunuchs and imperial relatives. Yet, they never mention their own actions of annexing land, exploiting tenant farmers, and evading taxes. This is using the empty name of 'pure criticism' to conceal the real benefits of corruption! Imperial power hangs in the air, merely an ornament! This is the disastrous consequence of the events of Emperor Guangwu that you speak of! Is this the path you wish me to emulate Emperor Guangwu, to achieve 'long-term stability'?!"

His words resounded like a thunderclap in the hall.

Cui Yan's face was deathly pale, and he was sweating profusely.

The stability of any dynasty depends on a fragile balance.

Imperial power, or rather, the representative of state power, must, to a certain extent, meet the basic survival and development needs of the people—the main body of social production. These needs include security, basic sustenance, and relative fairness, thereby gaining its tacit legitimacy. Furthermore, in order to manage a vast empire, imperial power must rely on an executive class, namely the common bureaucratic system.

In the Han Dynasty, this was the aristocratic system.

This triangular relationship constitutes the core contradiction in the operation of the empire.

Confucianism has always emphasized agriculture because China was a typical agrarian civilization for most of its history, with its core productive force being the labor force of self-sufficient farmers. After all, the state's tax revenue, military manpower, and corvée labor almost entirely came from the vast self-sufficient farming class. Therefore, the empire's economic lifeline and foundation of rule lay in maintaining a stable, productive small-scale peasant economy. The emperor's core interests overlapped with the state's core interests in this respect. The long-term survival of imperial power depended on the ability to reliably extract resources from self-sufficient farmers.

Therefore, the fundamental task of a "good emperor" or an "effective imperial power" is to curb land annexation, protect independent farmers, and prevent them from going bankrupt and becoming vagrants or tenants of powerful families. This is the most fundamental need of the people that the imperial power "reflects" or "represents"—the need for survival and stability. The legitimacy of the public power exercised by the emperor derives from his ability to fulfill this function. If the emperor or his bureaucratic system fails, leading to widespread suffering, uprisings will break out, and his legitimacy will collapse.

However, the aristocratic families that emerged from Confucianism, and the bureaucrats derived from them, did the opposite of the slogan of "emphasizing agriculture." Once these bureaucrats gained power, their personal desires and family interests would swell. They used their power to seize land, engage in favoritism and corruption, and evade taxes.

Thus, the balance of the triangular relationship was broken.

The emperors discovered that the bureaucratic system, intended for managing the people and extracting resources, had itself become the biggest resource plunderer and disruptor of order. The emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty, especially in the mid-to-late period, attempted to rebel. Whom could they rely on? Their relatives by the empress and their eunuchs.

Both were extensions of imperial power, lacking independent social foundations and thus clinging tightly to it. This explains the numerous struggles between imperial relatives and eunuchs in the mid-to-late Eastern Han Dynasty; essentially, it represented the imperial power's attempt to bypass or even suppress the distorted aristocratic bureaucratic system and regain control. However, these efforts ultimately failed because the aristocratic families had become too deeply entrenched.

The general public is usually the silent sufferer in this game.

However, when this conflict escalates to its extreme, the people will express their will in extreme ways. Interestingly, it was precisely those powerful clans who owned private retinues and estates who ultimately stood up to suppress the uprisings and subsequently divided power among themselves. They actually strengthened their own power by suppressing the rebellions; their actions to maintain the dynasty's rule, in effect, further undermined it.

This is precisely the paradox of history: a system designed to strengthen public power has, in practice, fostered the largest private power group.

Cui Yan's body trembled slightly as he wiped sweat from his brow with his sleeve. His voice had lost its initial composure. "The... the General's words... are earth-shattering... However, the land, clan, and local reputation are the foundation of a thousand-year-old tradition. Even if they have flaws, how can... how can they be destroyed all at once? It's like treating a seriously ill person with strong medicine... It should be done gradually, with education and guidance, slowly and surely..."

Fei Qian's tone softened slightly, yet remained firm: "Sir, do you still consider this a 'problem'? This is a chronic illness! You speak of 'gradual' improvement, but tell me, from Emperor Guangwu to now, nearly two hundred years, has it ever 'gradually' improved? Only worsened, until the world collapsed! When the common people were writhing and groaning in the chaos, resorting to cannibalism, who listened to this talk of 'gradual improvement'?!"

"In Shandong today, Buddhism is flourishing. But its doctrines are shallow; how can they move the hearts of the Chinese people? It is because the native Confucianism and Taoism are either enshrined in the imperial court, reduced to a stepping stone for the aristocracy, or have retreated to the mountains and fields, seeking personal ease. Do they have even a shred of genuine concern for the people's birth, old age, sickness, death, hunger, cold, and their desires? Who are those who claim to value agriculture and sericulture, yet destroy farmers' homes? Who are those who speak of purity and tranquility, yet amass wealth by concocting elixirs?"

Fei Qian looked at Cui Yan and said in a deep voice, enunciating each word clearly, "Right now, only the Hu religion has arrived, praising only Hu Buddhism... If one day, what comes is not Buddhist scriptures... Heh, even if Hu Buddhism is gone, what Heavenly Emperor will come? What then? If the doctrine cannot be spread, what if they raise swords and spears? Moreover, if the followers of Confucianism and Taoism seize the people's land and property, then... Buddhism will also seize land and property, fight for people, and take in slaves... Hmph, what then?"

"This, this is absolutely... impossible..." Cui Yan couldn't wipe the sweat from his brow. Because he knew that what Fei Qian described was not a possibility, but an inevitability.

Whether it's Confucianism or Taoism, they both started out as advocates for the people...

Confucius and Mencius said, "The people are of utmost importance..."

As Laozi and Zhuangzi said, tranquility and inaction allow one to rest and recuperate...

The results of it?
A ghost knocks on the door in the middle of the night.

Is there even a trace of "public respect" or "tranquility"?
Cui Yan seemed to have all his strength drained away. He struggled to lift his head and look at Fei Qian.

The figure of the General of the Cavalry before him appeared exceptionally tall in the autumn sun, his gaze seemingly transcending this era, looking towards a distant future he could not fully comprehend. All his prepared arguments, all his elaborate defenses, seemed so pale, short-sighted, even… before Fei Qian's grand analysis based on the laws of rise and fall throughout history.

It seems hypocritical.

After a long silence, Cui Yan's voice was hoarse, barely able to speak, "Yan... today I finally understand what it means to... have a profound understanding of the past and present... the General's words... please... please allow Yan... to ponder them carefully..."

Fei Qian nodded. "Excellent. Sir, you may travel to Guanzhong and Hedong, and tour the schools, workshops, and fields under my jurisdiction... You may also speak with newly promoted officials from humble backgrounds, meritorious soldiers, and even literate farmers... However... there are four more words that you must remember..."

Cui Yan cupped his hands and asked, "Please enlighten me, General."

"Time waits for no one," Fei Qian said calmly.

Cui Yan was taken aback for a moment, then bowed deeply.

The extent of the bend this time was far greater than when it came.

He staggered as he left the lobby.

The sunlight was still bright, but the world in his heart had been turned upside down...