Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 514 Officials Fight for Supremacy
The world will be in chaos.

This was after Li said, "I don't want the throne anymore, you guys can take it yourselves." This was how people in the world viewed the situation at the time. Everyone was looking around the world, trying to find a hero.

Unfortunately, none of them were found.

The world is impermanent.

Although the Kong family and other families were suppressed and wiped out in an instant, the Chen family and other families did not completely wipe them out. After removing a part - or most of the rotten meat, they still left them behind.

They don't have any deep hatred, and they haven't done anything to collude with foreign countries to invade China. It's not easy to eliminate such a big family.

Now, looking around the world, there is no one who wants or dares to say, "Am I going to be the emperor?"
Everyone was at a loss.

But this country and this world seem to be still running very smoothly.

So, the people no longer cared about this matter.

It doesn't matter whether there is an emperor or not. The court and the government are not in chaos. If there is no chaos, then it has little to do with them.

The people continue to live their lives, classes at the academy of sciences and universities continue as usual, and the workers in the factories continue to pick up the tools in their hands and work. After all, the factories are still running.

People still have to live.

In history books, this is a year without a reign title, but looking at the entire history, this is the only year without a reign title and without an emperor, so when people mention "that year", everyone knows which year it is.

It was not until thousands of years later that the expert who wrote the history of the war called this year the "Hou Longwu Year" and the historical community recognized this name, and only then was this year truly recorded in history.

In fact, there are quite a few people who have studied the land of China over this year.

Some people have always been curious about how this huge country could continue to function without an emperor or a ruler? How could it still sail without a leader? How could this ship not deviate from its course without a helmsman?

It is precisely because of the existence of this year that some foreign forces in later generations who did not join the Ming Federation would have the following sentiment: "Huaxia is not a country, they are just a nation disguised as a country."

But without the emperor, people would not be able to adapt.

On July 7th of the Later Longwu year, when the war was finally settled and the court became free, the people had finished their busy farming season, and everyone began to discuss this matter.

Who will become the emperor in the end?

"Alas, we haven't had an emperor for a year, but we are still alive and well. There is no chaos, and not many people want to be emperor and start a war. We are living a pretty good life."

This sentence has become a common topic of discussion among people.

Guandu Chen's Mansion
Chen Xian was sitting in the courtyard. In front of him sat Zhao Kuangyin, with a faint smile on his face: "Brother Zhao, what do you think of the world right now?"

Zhao Kuangyin smiled without changing his expression: "The world is truly prosperous at this time."

"Even without the emperor, the common people can live well. This is all thanks to the Chen family. If it weren't for the Chen family's suppression, the world would have been in chaos by now, right?"

Chen Xian shook his head, looked at Zhao Kuangyin and said, "That's not the case."

He stood up, walked to the edge of the pond, and said with a smile: "The most ridiculous thing in the world is that the people need a leader and a ruler to govern them."

"That's just the ambition of ambitious people. They want to live a life of wealth and glory. They want to stand above everyone else and become the best. They want to control everything, so they made up lies one after another, saying that the common people need a ruler."

"Look, the world is peaceful without a ruler now, isn't it?"

Chen Xian said in a cold voice: "What the world needs is a court that serves them or establishes order. They don't need rulers standing above them."

"All the benefits they created were divided up by the rulers, and then they were given only a little bit, hoping that they would be grateful. This is the biggest lie in thousands of years."

"Why should I listen to you? Why should they listen to you? When everyone is self-centered and does not listen to the empty promises of the rulers about the future, the world will no longer be in chaos."

Zhao Kuangyin was silent, but finally smiled and said, "Brother Chen, there is no need to test me."

"To put it bluntly, most people in the world are stupid and ignorant. They just live their lives drifting with the tide. But if there were no people like us, where would they go?"

"Most people only know how to provide 'labor' and power, but they don't know how to use it or what to do with it."

"Just like the great rivers flowing towards the east, if they don't have a river channel, they can only drown everything they see. But when they have a river channel, they know which direction to go, and thus they can form a powerful force to bring peace to the world."

Zhao Kuangyin looked in the distance, looking very heroic.

"I have to say, this is not pleasant to hear, but it is the truth."

"Mencius once said that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important. Later, there was a saying that the king is the boat and the people are the water, but I don't really agree with this."

“I even think it’s totally wrong.”

Zhao Kuangyin said disdainfully: "I am not here to discuss saints and sages, but even if Mencius is here today, I dare to say it directly. I think his remarks are desirable, but they are extremely absurd."

"Where is there any high or low in this world? If the people are placed in a high position and the ruler is placed in a low position, then in fact the people become the ruler and the ruler becomes the people. This becomes a paradox and absurdity."

"Mencius' words seem to put the people in a high position, for the good of all people, but he actually divides the people and the monarch into two classes, dividing them into different levels. In this way, how can they not be hostile to each other?"

"What kind of person is able to humble himself to the dust and let others be high and mighty? There is no such person. If there is, then he will not be able to persist for long, or he may have a serious problem with his brain."

"In my opinion, people are not important or high or low."

He waved his arm and pointed to the distance: "If I become the emperor, I will be an ordinary person, an extremely ordinary "commoner". What is important is not me, but the identity and symbol of "emperor".

"This is just a job and a profession. What the emperor does, ordinary people should be able to do too. If you always pretend that the people are more important than the emperor, talk about how humble you are, how you want to be, how you come from an ordinary background, and how your father is an ordinary person, then you must be thinking in your heart how noble you are and how you deserve to be high above others!"

"This kind of people are the most hypocritical! What they say is often the opposite of what they think!"

"They say they were born ordinary, and their parents were just ordinary people who worked hard. So they must think they are born noble, and are a hundred or ten thousand times better than those untouchables! They must think they are the sun, high above, and everyone should look up to them!"

"They say they respect saints and ancestors, but in their hearts they must think that the saints are just stumbling blocks that hinder their progress! Their own principles are the most important and precious principles!"

"They say they respect all different opinions, but in their hearts they must be thinking these people are bastards and they want to shut them up completely!"

Zhao Kuangyin's words were heroic and lofty, but Chen Xian's expression did not change.

Zhao Kuangyin continued, "As for the saying that the emperor is the boat and the people are the water, it is absolutely absurd."

"This is even more contradictory to his own statement that the people are more important than the king."

"If the king is light, then how can the king stand on the water? If the people are precious, why should the people spend everything they have to support the king?"

"In Mencius' mind, he himself couldn't figure out what he was talking about."

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said, "In my opinion, the people are indeed water, but the king is not a ship sailing on the people."

"You should be the 'river bank' on both sides of the water. You limit the water, constrain the water, govern the water, lead the water, and lead the water to keep moving in the right direction. You gather all the drops of water together to form a broad and huge river that then rushes into the distance!"

"Everyone is just a part of this force!"

"That's all!"

"None of them stands on anyone else's shoulders. They are just one of the dust in history! The most ordinary one!"

clap clap-

There was applause coming from behind Zhao Kuangyin, and Chen Xian, who was standing there, had a smile of appreciation on his face.

He felt that he had indeed chosen the right person. Zhao Kuangyin, who was able to say these words, and said them from the bottom of his heart, might be the most suitable emperor to take on this period of history.

As for why we can be sure that Zhao Kuangyin was telling the truth?
In his wide sleeves, his right hand was tightly holding a stone.

【Touchstone】: To verify the truth or falsehood of everything. (Part 2)

This is the prop bestowed by Chen’s ancestors!

"Brother Zhao, what you said is exactly what Chen wants."

Chen Xian walked up to Zhao Kuangyin and said, "But Chen will not decide who will be the emperor. Besides you, there is another person who wants to be the emperor."

He smiled and said, "You two should compete fairly."

The so-called position of emperor, in the mouth of the head of Chen family, does not seem like the power of the supreme ruler, but more like an ordinary job.

At this time, a man was slowly coming in from outside the mansion. This man was more than eight feet tall and had a handsome face.

He cupped his hands, looked at Zhao Kuangyin and said, "Li Jing, from the Zhaojun Li family."

Zhao Kuangyin raised his eyebrows slightly and said with the same smile: "Shangdang Zhao, Zhao Kuangyin."

Chen Xian looked at the two of them without saying anything. He just turned around and walked behind him. After entering the house, he pointed at the feng shui map hanging on the wall and said, "Take a look at this place."

He smiled and said, "This is an important place for the connection between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions, and it is also a vital passage. But now a group of people have gathered here. Of course, these people are supported by the forces of other countries."

“And here.”

Chen Xian pointed to a place in the south and said, "This place is a vital passage that connects the world. Many ships in the world have to pass through this strait, but there are also many empires that have set up operations here."

"The problems faced by the two places are the same, and the power possessed by the two places is almost the same."

"Each of you two will choose one. Whoever captures it first will be the emperor."

"This will not harm the peace of China, nor will it harm the Chinese people. What do you think of this method?"

Li Jing and Zhao Kuangyin looked at each other with a hint of contemplation on their faces. After a moment, they nodded and said, "Mr. Chen is right. That's exactly what we should do."

"China is peaceful and stable at this time. If we start fighting, it will only give outsiders an opportunity to take advantage of us."

"The method Mr. Chen mentioned can not only test our strength, but also help expand China's territory. It can also help determine who has better luck and can get the right time and place."

“This way, we get the best of both worlds.”

Zhao Kuangyin cupped his hands and said, "I am willing to take on this difficult task. I wonder if Brother Li is willing to do so?"

Li Jing smiled elegantly and said, "Of course I am willing to do so."

"Then, let's take this as a decision."

August of the Hou Longwu year.

The two heads of the Zhaojun Li family and the Shangdang Zhao family discussed a result that satisfied everyone in Guandu, and then began to recruit soldiers.

There are many people following the Zhao family, and there are also many people following the Li family. Because the Chen family did not make a clear statement, both families are doing their best to fight for this opportunity.

Although being an emperor may not necessarily be better than now, at least he can get a royal status, right? And it is probably better than now.

Li Jing chose to attack the Strait of Malacca, while Zhao Kuangyin chose to go southwest to open up the land route connecting the Western Regions and China.

The two people's choices are different, but they both have their own reasons.

Leaves fall in late autumn.

December of the Hou Longwu year.

Two months is enough time for some things to come to fruition.

Southwest.

Zhao Kuangyin stood on the yellow sand and looked at the place in the distance that had long been flattened. He couldn't help but sigh: "There are countless heroes in the world, but they bow down for this country."

"But the world doesn't know that sitting in that position is not all joy."

"Being an emperor is not a noble status, but a responsibility."

He turned his head and looked at Zhao Guangyi who was standing beside him: "Third brother, can you understand this truth?"

(End of this chapter)