Fu Shanhe

Chapter 18 Evil Tiger
"Uncle, there's nothing to be sorry about.

In recent decades, the struggles in the court have become increasingly fierce. Everyone's bottom line has been repeatedly broken in the struggle. If this continues, there will definitely be a big mess.

The current actions of the Qingliu Party not only angered the eunuchs, but also offended His Majesty.

Those high-ranking officials in the court will probably not have a good end! "

Li Mu said calmly.

It is very difficult to change a country, and it is even more difficult to change a declining empire.

The Dayu Dynasty had been passed down for more than two hundred years, and only the last few decades were left before the three-hundred-year cycle of the feudal dynasty.

As the civil service group grew stronger, it not only eroded the power of the nobles, but also continued to erode the imperial power.

After Emperor Tianyuan ascended the throne, this trend was interrupted. But it is an indisputable fact that the imperial power was greatly reduced.

The emperor could no longer make arbitrary decisions on cabinet personnel appointments and dismissals; they had to go through the court recommendation process before they could be accepted by all officials.

The imperial edict issued by the emperor is now also called the imperial edict by the outside world. If the six departments do not agree with it, they can directly reject it.

It will only have full legal effect after being affixed with the cabinet's seal.

In order to safeguard the monarch's authority, the emperor has not issued any imperial edicts in recent decades.

If this continues, perhaps Dayu's version of constitutional monarchy will enter the stage of history.

Of course, the chances of this happening are extremely small.

The emergence of constitutional monarchy stems from the rise of the capitalist economy. The current Dayu Dynasty does not have the conditions for the development of capitalism.

The seemingly wealthy businessmen are actually dependent on the powerful. They are deeply tied to the bureaucracy politically and rely on the transfer of interests to achieve their political demands.

Even if the monarch's power is locked up, given the internal strife that the civil service group is good at, if they are allowed to govern, the empire will be unable to do anything.

The fact that the central government of a feudal dynasty did nothing was a good thing for ordinary people. As long as the court did not make trouble, everyone was happy.

If the central government still does nothing during the transition to the capitalist era, there will be big chaos.

Seeing the imperial power continue to decline, as an ambitious emperor, Emperor Tianyuan could not sit idly by.

First, he used political means to alienate and divide the civil service group, and then he brought out the eunuchs and the Qingliu Party to compete with each other, supporting the reformists to enter the political arena.

This series of political operations cannot be said to be entirely correct, but the general idea is correct, only deviations occurred during the specific implementation process.

Forcing reforms forward does not mean that Emperor Tianyuan wants to reform, but rather that he is forced to do so by the imperial finances which are on the verge of collapse.

As dynasties entered their middle and late stages, the cost of ruling would increase dramatically.

The situation in Dayu is even worse. In addition to the normal cost increases, there are also the troubles brought by inflation.

With the prosperity of overseas smuggling, a large amount of silver flowed into Dayu.

As the amount of money in circulation increases, commodities priced in silver will inevitably rise.

The soldiers in the garrisons were of little use, so recruiting soldiers became an important pillar of national defense.

Combined with the factor of rising prices, defense spending has increased sharply.

Dayu, which originally maintained a million soldiers without spending a penny, now spent half of its fiscal revenue on military expenses.

The central government's fiscal revenue did not increase, but the cost of maintaining the empire's rule continued to rise. If no reforms were made, the empire would be dragged down by its finances.

This was the core reason why Li Mu did not choose to join the reformists and save this great empire.

The emperor supported the reformers only to maintain his rule, and he did not have the courage to take drastic measures to completely change the political environment.

The reformists who were temporarily formed were also mixed. Many people joined the reformists, but few of them truly supported the reforms. Most of them were political speculators.

There are vested interest groups outside that obstruct reform, and a group of pig teammates inside that drag the team down, so that the main force of reform has become eunuchs.

“They asked for it!
It seems that they are cracking down on eunuchs, but in fact they are eroding imperial power. It would be strange if Your Majesty let them go.

Just wait and see, Your Majesty's counterattack will begin soon.

If you don't let a dog out to find food after raising it for many days, it will become useless.

Control your subordinates well. If something unexpected happens later, the soldiers are the foundation of your survival!"

The following words already had the meaning of treason. But the current situation was complicated, and if Li Yuan didn't make the topic clear in advance, he was worried that his nephew would be fooled.

In conventional political struggles, the civil service group controls the discourse.

Once the situation escalates and turns into armed conflict, the advantages of the civil service group will no longer exist.

Among the many armed forces in the capital, the combat effectiveness of the Wucheng Bingmasi is not ranked high, but the biggest advantage of this unit is that it is stationed in the city.

The other main forces of the Beijing Camp are stationed outside the city.

If you want to mobilize troops into the city, both the imperial edict and the tiger talisman are indispensable.

"Don't worry, uncle, I know how powerful I am.

But the capital is still stable, will it really come to that?"

Li Mu asked nervously.

Judging from Marquis Zhenyuan's expression, it seemed as if he had already anticipated that the situation would get out of control.

The protagonists of the current struggle are the eunuch party and the Qingliu party. It is totally unscientific that a neutral nobleman knows the direction of the situation.

"You are still too young.

The Qingliu Party can do things like overturning the table, and the Eunuch Party can naturally do it as well.

The Emperor asked for our opinion a few days ago, intending to appoint Zuo Guangen as the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

It was just that they hadn't decided who to hand over the East Factory to, so the appointment was delayed.

With such a big change happening, I guess Your Majesty has made up his mind by now.

If the reins that bind the eunuchs are released, these mad dogs will definitely go out and bite people.

In the next few days, the imperial prison will probably be overcrowded.

It would be fine if they only targeted the civil servants, but if these guys become arrogant and have other ideas, we have to be on guard in advance!"

Li Yuan said with a mocking look on his face.

After receiving the exact information, Li Mu instantly understood why his uncle came to the conclusion that the capital was about to be in chaos.

The East Factory had the power to arrest and interrogate officials, and the Inner Court had the power to dismiss and convict officials.

The combination of the two makes him extremely powerful.

In the subsequent party struggles, the eunuchs acted as both referees and players.

No one can be completely at ease after releasing such a vicious tiger. Informing the nobles in advance was the backup plan that Emperor Tianyuan had prepared in advance.

One thing leads to another, and everyone is a chess piece of the emperor, just in different positions.

Some chess pieces are now the main force, some chess pieces are still lurking in the dark, and some chess pieces have unfortunately become abandoned pieces.

At this moment, Li Mu finally understood what it meant to serve the emperor like serving a tiger.

The emperor would not fully trust anyone except himself.

No matter how close the relationship is, once you find someone who may be a threat to him, it is only a matter of time before you change your attitude.

……

"What?"

"Do you know where this place is?"

As soon as the butler finished his scolding, an ear flew out.

"The East Factory is investigating a case, and anyone who interferes will be killed!"

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(End of this chapter)