Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 56: A piece of private goods shocked the world
Li Shimin quickly skimmed through the article and then read it carefully word by word.

The main purpose of Li Ming's "review" was determined.

That is:
The dry nobles.

The article quoted Li Shimin's own words to illustrate that the emperor was reluctant to force the common people to work to support the royal family.

Then the topic changed -

The royal family couldn't do it, but the nobles could!

The gentry were sucking the fat of the people to support their huge families.

The next paragraph leads to the reason for this "review" -

The Wei family occupied the road and drove away the vendors.

In order to have a villa that might not be lived in twice a year, the Wei family opened the gate to the main road to drive away vendors and customers.

The vendors simply lost their livelihoods and customers in South City simply experienced inconvenience in shopping.

However, the Wei family has lost a convenient gate, and every year they have to waste an extra quarter of an hour taking a detour when they go out of the city to avoid the cold!
It is illegal for hawkers to set up stalls in violation of regulations, but it is legal for the rich and powerful to build illegal structures.

Is this not the case of “He who steals a hook shall be punished, and he who steals a country shall be made a marquis
Besides, the people of Chang'an were still eating dirt (really eating dirt), and the Wei family was still not satisfied with building new mansions everywhere, and was still wantonly encroaching on public land.

Is this what it means to “work hard for the people to support one’s own parents”?
"The door opened onto the road?
"How did Li Qianyou approve this?!" (Li Qianyou was the magistrate of Chang'an County at the time)

Only then did Li Shimin notice this detail.

Realized what a ridiculous thing was happening right under the imperial city.

"So, that kid is not wrong...

"No, it's his fault for being too soft. Why didn't he tear down Wei Ting's house?"

Li Shimin firmly believed that spanking was wrong and continued reading.

Next is to enumerate the harms of the aristocratic culture.

For example, by relying on the advantages of law and connections, they legally and systematically seek private benefits for the family; they also control the officialdom and monopolize the channels for social advancement, and so on.

Not only did it cause ordinary people to complain, but it also made the court lose its ability to select, motivate and eliminate talents more widely.

If this continues, the abilities of officials will become increasingly mediocre.

Li Shimin himself knew these principles.

However, Li Ming's answer was far inferior to Li Zhi's.

Regardless of reasoning or literary talent.

Just based on this firm stance, Li Ming is far superior to Li Zhi.

"Okay, great article."

Li Shimin couldn't help but exclaim in praise and continued reading.

Another thriller:

When the people are exploited, they will not blame the gentry, but will only put all the responsibility on the emperor.

Even if there is a rebellion, it is the dynasty that is overthrown, and the culprit aristocrats are still there.

The emperor is essentially taking the blame for the gentry!

This really touched Li Shimin's heart.

He couldn't help but get angry and slammed the table:

"Yes!"

It is always the subordinates who take the blame for their superiors.

How can a boss take the blame for his subordinates?

These aristocratic dandies who have been protected by their ancestors are simply rebelling against the power of heaven!

However, after the outburst of resonance, Li Shimin calmed down again.

As a self-review, it is totally unqualified.

There is no intention of self-criticism at all, the whole article is about "conquer! Fight!".

But as an argumentative essay, the content made Li Shimin very satisfied and provided great emotional value.

Many of his views coincide with each other.

Let him know that there are still some sensible people among his descendants.

However, the value of the article is limited to this.

It pointed out a problem that Li Shimin had long been aware of, but did not provide the solution he urgently needed.

"What am I thinking? I don't even have an idea of ​​my own, and I can't expect a child to do that..."

Li Shimin shook his head in self-mockery and turned to the next article.

Then I found out there was something else on the other side.

"You really have a solution?"

Li Shimin was shocked.

But he didn't really want to continue reading.

Based on his understanding of Li Ming, a patient with paranoia, the final solution he would most likely give would be something like "shoot all the reactionaries", which seems a bit too extreme.

"But since I've already written it..."

There was a voice in my heart encouraging me.

He unconsciously moved his gaze back...

"Oh?

"Oh……

"Oh!"

After reading the entire article, Li Shimin couldn't help but widen his eyes.

The method given by that kid...

There seems to be something!
Li Ming begins with a clear statement:
The landlord (crossed out) aristocratic class does not rule out the possibility of individual talents, but is reactionary as a whole and doomed to extinction in the long run. In the short term, although they can coexist, they should also be contained by political means.

The core of the containment method is two words: pull and hit.

Pull one faction and beat the other.

There's nothing new about this.

The eldest brother pulls the third brother to beat the second brother, which is a common tactic used by rulers.

Even within a wolf pack, the old leader often joins forces with weaker wolves to suppress the second male wolf who challenges the status of wolf king.

Li Shimin had been supporting the Guanlong forces to fight against the Hebei forces. However, through this clan history event, it was found that the effect was mediocre.

With the mutual marriage and convergence of interests, the Guanlong gentry tended to merge with the Hebei gentry...

"He has ideas, but they are naive. He thinks he is the smartest person in the world."

Li Shimin smiled slightly.

But the more I looked at it, the more something seemed wrong.

Li Ming's fighting style.

It's a bit unconventional...

"Winning over the nobles of Hebei and suppressing the nobles of Guanlong and other regions?!"

What kind of cool operation is this?

Join forces with daughter-in-law to beat up your own mother?
Li Shimin's heart was full of complaints.

But because there were so many flaws, he couldn't help but continue reading.

“Lead dog effect?”

He read a strange term.

The general idea is that in the snowfields of the north, people use packs of dogs to pull sleds.

The dog owner took special care of the strongest dog in the pack, putting it in a cage alone and feeding it the best food.

When pulling a sled, the dog leads and the other dogs follow behind it.

Because they are jealous of the special treatment given to the leader dog, the other dogs will chase and bite it desperately.

In order to save its life, the leading dog will run forward at full speed.

While the dogs were at each other's throats, the sled was pulled high and reached its destination as quickly as possible.

"That is to say, we should use the Hebei gentry as the leader, recruit more of them, and make them the target of public criticism...

"And if several forces fight each other, they will all need my support...

"It's interesting, it's really interesting."

As long as the emperor instigates internal strife among the gentry, it will not be the emperor's attempt to win over the gentry.

Instead, the nobles took the initiative to curry favor with the emperor.

Although human society is complex, the underlying logic is the same as that of dog groups.

Li Shimin nodded repeatedly, feeling that he completely understood Li Ming's intentions.

The Guanlong Group relied on their merits in following the emperor and thought that the emperor had to use them to fight against Hebei, so they felt that they had "united front value."

They can do whatever they want, knowing that the emperor will not do anything to them.

It's time to give them a sense of crisis.

Let them understand that the Divine favor is not unlimited!

Go and bite the Hebei gentry for me. Only when I am satisfied will I give you bones to gnaw on!
In fact, Li Ming has stuffed a lot of private goods here.

He was intentionally directing the "divine grace" toward the gentry in Hebei.

This is beneficial both publicly and privately.

Personally, the Hebei gentry might be his potential allies in the future;
From a public perspective, if the tension between the imperial court and Hebei can be eased, it will also be beneficial to the long-term stability of the Tang Dynasty.

It just so happened that Li Shimin was unhappy with the Wei family, which produced a wonderful chemical reaction.

"Yes, we should first hit those guys whose elbows are bent outward.

"Guanlong regards Jingzhao as its most important, and Jingzhao regards Wei and Du as its most respected."

Li Shimin locked on the target he wanted to attack and turned back to read Li Ming's previous article.

In order to build a gate, the Wei family directly demolished the wall of the neighborhood and continued to build it to the main street.

"Even the hammer was handed to me.

"That boy is really... not bad!

"Oh my gosh, slurp~"

It was not until his saliva began to drip that Li Shimin suddenly realized that he had been grinning the entire time.

He wiped it off carelessly, pumping his fist excitedly to calm his surging passion.

Li Ming, that boy, is quite interesting!

Whether he is writing articles or doing things, he always succeeds beyond his expectations.

It seems to be a mess, but in fact it can always achieve the goal magically.

For example, this time, a group of little brats and peasants were organized to hide in a corner of the West City and do something stupid.

What could this accomplish? Li Shimin didn't care at first.

As a result, a wave of public opinion was set off throughout Chang'an.

The people were severely led astray and charged towards the imperial court without thinking.

Well, to the imperial court...

Li Shimin's smile gradually faded away.

That guy is really capable.

The most capable person is good at committing suicide.

"However, using strange ideas to stir up public opinion and sitting in a corner of the West Market, he could actually cause such an impact on the court...

"This method is even more unusual."

Like Fang Xuanling, Li Shimin was also amazed by Li Ming's low-level red and high-level black propaganda tactics.

But his vision was higher.

A ruler should govern the country with power, tactics and laws.

Among them, "momentum" is the most important.

If a monarch can go with the flow, he will be a wise ruler.

But Li Ming is not only able to take advantage of the situation, but can also create momentum.

A war that originally attracted no attention could actually cause such a huge wave that it almost submerged the Tai Chi Palace.

He understands all the tricks of governing a country.

(End of this chapter)