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

Chapter 517 Self-Revolution
In the fifteenth year of Kaibao, winter.

The heavy snow fell slowly on the ground, and everyone in the Fengtian Hall looked at each other in silence for a while.

The ground dragon burned slowly, providing a suitable temperature for this magnificent and ancient hall. Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Chen sat together, both of them with a slightly tired look on their brows, especially Chen Chen.

There was more hidden anger and a hint of sadness on Zhao Kuangyin's face.

He sighed and said, "Zi Shi, I really didn't expect that something like this would happen."

It has been some time since Shi Shouxin returned to Beijing. He said that he wanted to apologize, but he also calculated that Zhao Kuangyin would not punish him for this matter at this time, so he was somewhat fearless.

The fact was indeed as Shi Shouxin thought. Zhao Kuangyin did not punish Shi Shouxin for this incident because Shi Shouxin came with the momentum of having just won a victory.

I'm afraid that if Shi Shouxin is punished at this time...
Zhao Kuangyin frowned, and his face looked even more tired. Of course, it was not that he had no way to deal with Shi Shouxin, but at the moment, dealing with Shi Shouxin was not the most critical and important issue.

This incident exposed not only the ambitions of Shi Shouxin and the man hiding in the dark, but more importantly, the problems within the royal family and the Chen family.

There is a question that is very important and can be seen at a glance.

Did Zhao Jiong's ambition and Shi Shouxin's betrayal appear on the first day? Of course not on the first day, it must have been brewing for a long time, and the two of them must have been connected for a long time.

So why didn't the "Yulin Guards" under Zhao Kuangyin discover the problem?

Even if the Yulin Guards under Zhao Kuangyin really did not find any problems, then why did Chen's intelligence system not find any problems either?

Not to mention anything else, the Black Ice Platform of Qin, the Embroidered Robe Messengers of Han, the Road Soldiers of Dayu, the Secret Guards of Tang Dynasty, these most powerful secret intelligence forces in the world, these secret forces that brought together many dynasties, all gathered in the hands of the Chen family.

Why didn’t Chen discover this problem?
Or in other words, why didn't Chen Chen discover this problem?
These two seemingly different questions actually have only one common answer, that is, some "subtle problems" have appeared in both of their forces. When the problem appears internally, it is actually very difficult to solve, and even difficult to contain and detect.

It is human nature that people always find it difficult to discover their own problems but are good at discovering problems in others.

I don't know the true face of Lushan, I am only in this mountain.

Discovering one's own problems and solving one's own problems is something that few people can do.

In other words, sometimes it is easy to discover your own problems, but it is also easy to solve your own problems - just like people in many cases, don’t you know what problems you have?

Actually, I know.

Obesity is caused by lack of exercise and inability to control one's diet, insomnia is caused by excessive playing with mobile phone at night, and failure in an exam is caused by not really working hard in normal times. Instead, one perfunctorily tells oneself that one has worked hard, and one deceives oneself and gets away with it.

The easiest thing in the world is to deceive yourself, and the most difficult thing is also to deceive yourself.

Zhao Kuangyin raised his head and looked at Chen Chen, asking with a questioning look in his eyes: "Chen, how do you want to solve this problem?"

Chen Chen was silent for a moment, and then he smiled suddenly: "Your Majesty, do you know why the Chen family has been able to exist for a thousand years and even stand firm until now?"

He slowly stood up, his robe rubbing slowly with his movements, making sounds that echoed in the hall. The flame in the earth dragon was still burning, and it was snowing heavily outside, but the room was very warm.

The flame in the stove in front of the two people was still burning.

Chen Chen stood on the corridor of the main hall, gently looking at the snowflakes falling on him: "The reason why the Chen family has been able to stand for a thousand years is because the Chen family has been self-cleansing and self-revolution."

He said silently: "Self-cleansing and self-revolution are the most difficult things, but also the simplest things. All you need is a heart that wants to cleanse yourself and absolute strength."

Chen Chen turned around and looked at Zhao Kuangyin with a hint of compassion in his eyes.

"The Chen family is not a family of gods. Your Majesty should know this."

"There are many miraculous things in the Chen family. Your Majesty should also know this."

He looked at Zhao Kuangyin and said, "For example, the amulet I gave to Your Highness, the rain-praying amulet that Tianshi Zhang Jiao used to pray for rain, the Chen family's ancestral hall, and many more things."

"The ancestor of the Chen family was conferred the title of Enlightened Emperor by the Han Emperor at that time. In fact, this is an insult to the ancestor."

"The ancestor will never become a so-called enlightened emperor. The ancestor will always be a human being. The ancestor will always be high above the sky, watching the world as a "spectator."

"The ancestors would not think that they are the world, much less that they are God, nor would they think that they are the incarnation of the Way of Heaven."

“Ancestors are just ancestors.”

"His eyes look down upon this world, and his hands stir certain unimportant factors in this world - such as the Chen family. As long as the ancestors are there, the Chen family will always be pure and fervent."

"The Chen family will not become corrupt, because if they do, they will be punished by their ancestors."

"The Chen family will not become a royal family that rules the world, because once they become emperors and stand above everyone else, the Chen family will become the most common, dirty power monster."

"Anything for power."

“That’s not the path that Chen chose.”

"Your Majesty."

“Self-cleansing and self-revolution are always difficult things, but when there is an extremely powerful external force to monitor and control this matter, self-cleansing becomes the easiest thing.”

"Because of our ancestors, self-cleansing will always remain pure, and self-revolution will not become a means of framing and slander in factional struggles within the family."

"Under self-cleansing, there is no faction between you and me, only black and white."

Chen Chen gathered his robes and said softly, "This world is not divided into black and white, but a delicate and turbid gray. But in Chen's family, there are only two colors."

"Black and White"

"In Chen's, there will never be such ideas as 'I am also doing this for XX, and I am not wrong from XX's perspective'. These ideas are simply created by the powerful class to stir up trouble."

"Black is black, white is white."

"Right is right, wrong is wrong." "If he did something wrong for something, then he is wrong. A wrong will not become right because of his hardship, and it will not become forgivable because of his hardship."

"Gray is black."

“The so-called gray world and the so-called suffering all have their sources are nothing but reasons and excuses that evildoers find for themselves.”

Chen Chen stepped forward: "The Chen family will take the lead in self-cleansing and set an example for the world and your majesty. As for the internal affairs of the Zhao family and the royal family, it is up to your majesty."

After saying this, Chen Chen walked directly into the distance and slowly left the Fengtian Hall.

Only Zhao Kuangyin was left standing alone in the Fengtian Hall, looking at the wind and snow all over the city. The countless wind and snow covered everything, and it also made Zhao Kuangyin's heart snow heavily.

Self-cleaning sounds simple, but is it really that simple?

This is an extremely complex and difficult matter.

Zhao Kuangyin didn’t know whether he could move forward firmly, whether he could move forward correctly, or even whether he could move forward. How many people were standing beside him?

For the benefit of the people, or to compete with the people for their benefit, how many of those who accompanied him to conquer the world have maintained their purity? And how many of them are truly for the people?

How many of their children still maintain the beliefs and ideals of their fathers?

When all this becomes a thing of the past, how many of the remaining people will be able to continue to remain pure and innocent?

But it's all just passing clouds.

Perhaps in the eyes of these people, their ancestors fought for their current high position, and they have long forgotten the way they came. As for their parents? Perhaps it is precisely because their parents have such thoughts that such an impact is caused.
Teaching by example is never just empty talk, but is the real “secret” to seeing the elders’ thoughts from the younger ones.

In the winter of the fifteenth year of Kaibao, it was the twelfth month.

A bloody purge began.

Chen's Old House
Chen Chen stood in front of the ancestral hall. Among the people kneeling in front of him were his elders, his juniors, and even his legitimate son.

That was his eldest son whom he had placed high hopes on.

But now, he was kneeling here, kneeling on the ground, with a dirty and ferocious look on his face.

This person doesn't even think he did something wrong, he thinks he did the right thing.
"Father, why?"

He roared and shouted fiercely: "Why can we in the Chen family only follow the rules and strictly demand ourselves? Why can we in the Chen family never become emperors? We can't even use the power in our hands to seek benefits for ourselves?"

"Just for the so-called ideals and paths? Just because of the so-called ancestral teachings?"

"This is absolutely ridiculous!"

With anger and unwillingness on his face, he looked at the people standing around Chen Chen and said, "Are you willing? Are you willing to be just an ordinary, common person forever?"

"Our Chen family has been passed down for how many years? How powerful is it? The power of the royal family of the previous dynasty is now in our hands, but what about us? We don't even want to use this power to become the eternal royal family!"

"I know how powerful the Chen family is. The Chen family's ancestors have even become supreme gods!"

"The ancestors of the Chen family control everything, so we in the Chen family don't have to worry about the things that other families worry about! We can be emperors forever! We in the Chen family can always be the emperors of this world, the royal family! We can always stand above everyone else!"

"Father!"

"Now that we are emperors, can't we work for the people? We can still do that, but we are standing above everyone else. The descendants of the Chen family have become the most noble people in the world!"

"Why don't you want to?"

His hoarse roar did not move Chen Chen. He just stood there with his back to the roaring man, looking at the rows of tablets in the Chen Ancestral Hall in front of him with a somewhat peaceful expression on his face. Now Chen Chen was no longer sad for his son.

All Chen Chen heard from his son was ambition and the greed that came from unsatisfied ambition.

He didn't quite understand why he gave birth to and educated such a child, but he knew that Chen must embark on the path of self-cleansing and self-revolution. Only in this way can he remain pure forever.

When the incense in front of him slowly floated in the air, Chen Chen turned his head and heard the sound of bells not far away. The bells woke everything up and countless dust was stirred up by the bells.

Chen Chen just looked at his son kneeling in front of him calmly and said softly, "Do you think Chen's life is not good now?"

Hearing Chen Chen's question, the hoarse and ferocious man seemed to think he had a chance. He just looked at Chen Chen and said, "Of course not."

He said as a matter of course: "Why does the Chen family have so many restrictions on their own people? Especially for us, the direct descendants!"

"Our Chen family has been passed down for thousands of years. The first Qin Law in the world was even created because of our Chen ancestors. The laws of every subsequent dynasty were made by us. Why should we abide by those so-called bullshit laws?"

"We, the Chen family, are the descendants of our ancestor Chen Ye. We should naturally stand above everyone else in this world. They should all become our slaves and work hard for our enjoyment and life."

"We are born noble, we are born extraordinary."

"We should live in the most luxurious of palaces, eat food that the untouchables cannot enjoy, and have someone to take care of our daily life - and choose carefully."

“We should live a life where we can have whatever we want instantly.”

"We should be the best! Above everyone else!"

"We should be able to enjoy everything without producing anything!"

"This is what our ancestors worked so hard for. Why should we give up? Why should we restrain ourselves? Why can those damned lowly people just study hard and be able to match the efforts of our Chen ancestors who have worked for a thousand years?"

"That's not fair."

(End of this chapter)