Thief Emperor

Chapter 1111 Estrangement
Throughout history, in any imperial state, the political goal of the rulers has never been to seek the well-being of the people. In the final analysis, everything they do boils down to four words.

To maintain rule.

Whether it's disaster relief or benefiting the people, the fundamental purpose is the same: these four words.

Therefore, many systems are actually designed for these four words.

In another world, in order to solve the problem of the legitimacy of monarchical politics in the early Han Dynasty, the concept of "interaction between Heaven and Man" came about. The so-called interaction between Heaven and Man essentially meant to unify political power and divine power.

To sanctify the monarch.

The benefits of sanctifying the monarch are obvious: it increases the resilience of the people under his rule, ensuring that they will not rebel unless absolutely necessary.

Although this system also brought some negative effects to the monarch, such as some people using natural disasters to attack the emperor himself or even the government, this system, as Du Qian said, was set up for the weak court.

If the central government remains strong, then this system is unnecessary.

However, from the time he rebelled until he became emperor, for more than a decade, Li Yun's policies were never centered on maintaining his regime.

His core goal is to transform the country, and even the era.

Therefore, for him, whether something lasts or not may not be the standard for determining right or wrong.

Upon hearing Li Yun's words, Du Qian, his longtime partner, almost immediately understood what he meant. Du Qian sighed, "Throughout history, there has never been an emperor with such thoughts as Your Majesty."

Emperor Li came to his senses and looked at Du Qian with a calm expression: "We have known each other for more than 20 years. Brother Shouyi should now be very clear about my background."

Emperor Li continued unhurriedly, "Now, everyone knows that I am from Lijia Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain in Qingyang County, Xuanzhou."

"Those who know me better know that I actually grew up in a village in the Cangshan Mountains."

Emperor Li looked down at his palm, seemingly recalling the events of that year, and said, "However, most people don't know that my father was indeed from Li Family Village back then."

“My father never told me about what happened back then, but later, the elders in the village and the elders in Lijia Village told me about what happened back then.”

He looked at Du Qian and said quietly.

“When the government came to collect taxes, my grandfather had died early, my grandmother had died at the hands of the constables, and my aunt had disappeared. At that time, my mother was pregnant with my brother, and my father really couldn’t pay the taxes. So he gritted his teeth, killed the constables, and took a few brothers from the village to go up the mountain and become outlaws.”

He looked at Du Qian and said slowly, "Among them is the father of the Prince of Jin."

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Du's expression changed slightly. He took a deep breath and said with a wry smile, "My background is completely different from Your Majesty's. I can understand what Your Majesty is saying, but I have never imagined what kind of scenario this is."

"It's okay, I can't think of anything either."

Emperor Li remained calm: "I heard all of this later; I was already on the mountain when I was old enough to remember things."

He lowered his head to drink his tea and smiled calmly: "Our Xuanzhou is mountainous, and many people have been forced to go up the mountain and become outlaws. When I came of age, Brother Shouyi, guess how many mountains and how many bandits there were in Xuanzhou?"

Du Qian shook his head slightly, indicating that he couldn't guess.

"Back then, there were probably over a hundred villages in all the counties of Xuanzhou combined."

Emperor Li said with a smile, "Back then, after I wiped out the bandits in Xuanzhou, I already had a basic team under my command."

"Brother Shouyi, you can imagine what kind of life the people of Xuanzhou lived under the rule of Emperor Wu Zhou."

"Later, I became emperor. If I had done nothing, the Li Tang dynasty would have been just another Wu Zhou dynasty, and another hundred years or so would have passed."

"Even if things are better in Qingyang Prefecture now, other prefectures and counties will still see the same stories of the Wu Zhou dynasty."

Li Yun waved his hand and said, "This doesn't mean anything."

Du Xianggong openly stated, "This has been the case for thousands of years, in a never-ending cycle."

Li Yun said seriously, "I know."

"If I were also caught in this cycle, I wouldn't have these messy thoughts, but Brother Shouyi..."

“I’ve seen people break this cycle.”

Emperor Li said solemnly, "At least, the people are fed and clothed."

Minister Du sighed, “I know that Your Majesty has seen things that others have never seen before, but is Your Majesty not worried that you might end up doing all the work for someone else?”

"Once the seedlings are planted, they will eventually bring about earth-shattering changes to the world."

Li Yun said calmly, "I originally thought that such earth-shattering changes were unlikely to occur in our Tang Dynasty, but I must plant this seed."

"Success need not be attributed to the Tang Dynasty." Du Qian looked up at Li Yun, thought for a moment, and then asked instead of continuing the conversation, "What does Your Majesty intend to do with the Tao family?"

Emperor Li snapped out of his daze, glanced down at the documents in his hand, and after a moment’s thought, he understood what the Tao family was thinking. He sneered, “If Tao Wenyuan dared to personally submit a memorial to me before he died, I would respect him a bit.”

"They sent him here after he died simply because they thought I wouldn't make things difficult for his family."

"If I grant his request, the descendants of the Tao family will gain wealth and honor, and his fame will spread throughout the world."

“Even if I disapprove, or even fly into a rage, this document will still be circulated, and in the end, Tao Wenyuan will still become famous.”

"At most, it will be the children and grandchildren who suffer a bit."

Emperor Li glanced at the document and said, "He never submitted this document, nor did the Secretariat forward it. Go to the Tao family and explain it to his children and grandchildren. If they know what's good for them, I can pretend nothing happened."

"If they insist on making Tao Wenyuan famous and spread this stuff, it will eventually cause panic among the people."

Emperor Li said calmly, "I can't punish a dead man, but it's easy for me to find a pretext to punish them."

Minister Du nodded quickly and said, "I will go to the Tao family in a little while."

Emperor Li grunted in agreement and slowly said, "There's no need to keep any copies of this book; I only have one here."

Minister Du bowed his head once again.

He knew in his heart that part of the reason why His Majesty was so wary of this document was that he was worried that if the scholars of the old school saw this document, they would rise up and cause trouble again.

But the bigger reason was... the emperor was worried that the crown prince might see the document.

Minister Du left Ganlu Hall in a hurry, without even going to Zhongshu, but instead left the imperial city directly and rushed to the Tao family.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Palace, His Highness the Crown Prince was looking at a brazier with uncertain emotions.

In the brazier, flames flickered, and a document was burning fiercely, almost turning to ashes.

His Highness the Crown Prince turned his head and looked at one of his subordinate officials in the Eastern Palace, and shouted angrily: "You have a lot of nerve, daring to show me such a treasonous document that slanders the Emperor!"

The official knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, I am a student of Minister Tao. These ten memorials are the culmination of Minister Tao's efforts over more than a decade since the founding of the dynasty. His lifelong wish was for His Highness the Crown Prince to see these documents."

"Therefore, I risked my life to present this to Your Highness."

At this point, the man bowed his head and kowtowed: "Prime Minister Tao has already sent his family members, risking their lives, to deliver this document to His Majesty."

"Whether Tao's family can survive in the future is still unknown."

"My mentor said that the Tao family can be destroyed, but we must find a way to let His Highness see this document as well."

His Highness the Crown Prince's eyes were fierce as he clenched his fists: "Distorted logic, distorted logic!"

"Guards, seize him and take him to the Ganlu Hall!"

The man knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness may immediately bind me and bring me to the Ganlu Palace to meet Your Majesty. However, once I submit to the law, Your Majesty will know that Your Highness has read Minister Tao's ten memorials."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the Crown Prince abruptly stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing deeply.

"What do you mean?"

The man knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, His Majesty's new policies are grand and sweeping. With His Majesty's authority, no one will be allowed to obstruct the court's new policies."

"Even if you have this thought, it may threaten the new policy in the future, but it is not allowed."

The official bowed deeply and said, "If Your Highness has read these ten memorials, there is a possibility that the new policies will be overturned."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the Crown Prince's expression immediately turned ugly.

"How dare you sow discord between the imperial family and their son!"

The official knelt on the ground, prostrating himself: "I am only telling the truth, I am willing to die!"

"But Your Highness, please make sure you understand the pros and cons carefully!"

"Somebody come!"

The crown prince said coldly, "Take him away!"

He gritted his teeth and said, "Send it to Ganlu Palace!"

(End of this chapter)