Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 627 The Lone Traveler

Humans are inherently selfish, and the only way to overcome selfishness is to have a strong will, unwavering courage, and a faith as bright as the rising sun.

If Xia Lin really wanted his son to become the emperor, this would be much simpler than what he needed to do right now. After all, Li Zhi, Xia Lin's biological son, possessed the strongest resources in the world. If one had to say who was the strongest being in the 7th century, before Xia Lin's son was born, it would definitely be Li Shimin. But after the little guy was born, Li Shimin's status as the strongest would be questionable.

The little thing's father is Xia Lin, who currently possesses the strongest individual soldier quality, overwhelming technological superiority in personnel and military equipment, and super strong industrial capabilities. Furthermore, the quality of the population within his jurisdiction ranks first. Apart from the relatively small overall size, everything else can be described as overwhelmingly superior. If the issue of numerical superiority is not taken into account, no regime at present can withstand it.

The little one's birth mother is the Grand Princess of the Tang Dynasty, who enjoys high prestige in the army and is very skilled in warfare. She is currently well-resourced and has the strong support of her own younger brother. If a war were to break out, as long as they do not confront Xia Lin head-on, they would basically be invincible.

Li Jing has been dead for some years, and the Mountain and Sea Elite Cavalry is no longer what it used to be. It has degenerated from a first-rate combat force to a third-rate garrison. Moreover, because Jinling can no longer provide more financial support, the number of heavy cavalry in the Mountain and Sea Elite Cavalry has dwindled to less than five hundred, and they are all old and infirm soldiers. In addition, Li Jing's son is not Nezha and does not possess that extraordinary fighting power. Therefore, one of the original three giants has now faded into obscurity.

That leaves the Xuanjia Army and the Polu Army. However, the Polu Army is now more like the capital's guard, making it inconvenient for them to launch attacks. Most of the external battles are controlled by the New Army and the Green Forest Army. Among these two forces, the New Army, although well-established, is quite dispersed. In Ningbo, one side manages maritime transport to resist Japanese pirates, while in Lingnan, they coordinate defense and control of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Green Forest Army is not even fully formed yet, and it has also been assigned to the Western Regions, forming an enclave, so its combat strength is not at its full potential.

Therefore, the Xuanjia Army under the control of San Niang is currently the strongest military force in the entire northern region, without exception.

And of course, let's not forget his nominal father, Dugu Douyazi, the powerful family of the world, who own half of it. She has no other skills, just money, and her investment acumen is shrewd. The simplest example is the construction of the new Xianyang. About 30% of the cost in the entire construction process is logistics, and she almost ate all of it. After deducting the cost, she can earn 10% of the city's construction costs.

This is just one place; the influence of the Dugu family can be seen in the construction of the Western Regions, the Northeast, and even the flood reconstruction in the Southwest.

Yes, she doesn't have military power, but don't forget that her wife does.

In other words, Li Zhi, who is showered with love and affection, currently possesses the most terrifying amount of resources in the world. People say he was born in Rome, but he was born at the pinnacle of the Forbidden City.

However, Xia Lin did not want this person, who was most likely to become the future ruler of the world, to become that person, because once he became emperor, it would only last for three hundred years at most, and the cycle of history would repeat itself again.

The old aristocratic families have died, and new ones have taken their place. The land of China will continue to be shrouded in this shadow. The strong cannot remain strong forever, and the principle that water overflows when full and the moon wanes when full must be not only known but also practiced.

"why?"

"what why?"

After returning to his room, Emperor Jingtai asked with a puzzled look, "Your son is clearly the best emperor. I don't understand."

How many times do I have to explain this?

Emperor Jingtai frowned as he looked at Xia Lin. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Is it really that important to you that there is no emperor?"

"It's not important to me, but it's very important to the world." Xia Lin placed his hands on the table and looked at Emperor Jingtai: "As long as the world is still ruled by a family, my clan will never be able to rise again. Do you understand what I mean? The late emperor's dying words to me were that the country can perish, but China cannot perish. But if China is to survive, someone has to make concessions. Who do you think should make concessions? We can't ask the common people to make concessions, can we? What else do they have to give up? All they can lose is their shackles. You certainly don't want to see that day."

Tuoba Jing lowered his eyelids and sighed deeply: "I don't know how to say it, but you really dared to say it to my face. How am I supposed to face this?"

“I’m telling you this because I consider you one of my own. If it were anyone else, I would have launched at least three movements in Jinling by now. But the situation in the world is already very chaotic. You and I can’t afford to be thrown into turmoil, and the people can’t afford to be thrown into turmoil either. Otherwise, there will be a great calamity, and we won’t be able to face our descendants.”

Emperor Jingtai gave a wry smile: "Is there no other way to go?"

"Of course there are, but I have three questions for you. Think them through before you answer."

"Excuse me."

"You aspire to emulate the late emperor and become a wise ruler. Are you confident that your descendants will be able to do the same? Secondly, there are the thousand-year-old aristocratic families here. Are you confident that you can resolve their problems? Thirdly, there is the issue of imperial power not extending to the county level. Can you handle it well?"

After Xia Lin finished speaking, he stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Tuoba Jing, and then pushed open the door and left. Emperor Jingtai remained seated at the table for a long time without moving.

He was thinking, but no matter what path he set for himself, he seemed unable to reach the other side.

He certainly couldn't guarantee the first thing. He didn't even know what his son was thinking, let alone his son's son. Fighting against greed and desire in human nature is extremely difficult. Even if it were him, without the regents left by his father, such as Ma Zhou and Xia Lin, he would have already been running rampant and would have no chance of having the ability to compete with Li Er here.

The second question was even more perplexing to him. He himself came from a powerful family and knew all too well how deep their roots ran. At any moment, they could launch a rebellion or an attack on the monarchy. After things calmed down, they would be unaffected regardless of the outcome; those who were dealt with would simply be the scapegoats they had pushed onto the stage.

But for an emperor, winning or losing is still losing...

The third problem makes him laugh when he thinks about it. It's a chronic problem: imperial power can't reach the county or the village. No one knows better than an emperor how much control the village elders and clans have over a region. This is also an unsolvable problem. The tentacles of power simply cannot extend there. In a sense, the village elders and clans are a means to curb powerful families along with imperial power. Cutting them off would be too costly.

There is no solution; these three questions are absolutely unsolvable.

After a long period of contemplation, Emperor Jingtai gave up, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest. In short, he simply gave up...

"Jinlian."

"The folk girl is here."

"What do you think are the differences between the Jingtai reign and the Hongbao reign?"

Faced with Emperor Jingtai's question, Jinlian was taken aback and hesitated for a long time before deciding how to respond. Emperor Jingtai probably knew her concerns, so he smiled and said, "You heard what Daosheng said just now. Since I'm willing to let you listen, you may speak freely."

Jinlian cautiously stepped forward, and after a moment of reflection, she said, "I feel that the Jingtai era and the Hongbao era are like... like there are many, many years between them."

"What do you mean?" "Hmm... I don't know how to explain it."

"To be frank, I will not blame you."

"I think the Jingtai era is better, but I can't quite put my finger on why..."

Emperor Jingtai smiled and said, "Alright, then come with me to the street and ask someone."

The two strolled out onto the street. The flood had just passed, and the street was no longer as bustling as before, but it was not as desolate as it used to be either. Although everyone looked busy, you could at least see the light in their eyes.

When Emperor Jingtai was young, he also encountered those disaster victims. They were all like corpses on the verge of death, numbly existing, without any hope for the future.

The two found a ginger tea shop and sat down. Ginger tea is a specialty of Lingnan. Because the area is humid, ginger can dispel dampness and promote sweating, so there are many such tea shops along the roadside.

The two of them ordered a pot of tea and sat under the thatched shed. Just then, a few patrolmen in white hats came by, dropped off a few coins, and ordered two large bowls of herbal tea to drink.

The owner even greeted him warmly, "Sir, come sit down and have a drink in the shed, don't stand there."

One of the men in white hats waved his hand and said, "We can't sit down during the patrol. We appreciate your kindness, but we'll just have a sip of our water and then leave."

Sure enough, the group of people in white hats gulped down their herbal tea and left. The tea shop owner also sat down to rest for a while. When he saw Emperor Jingtai and Jinlian sitting there, he greeted them warmly: "You two aren't locals, are you?"

Emperor Jingtai smiled and nodded: "They came from Nanjing."

"That's quite a distance." The shopkeeper said, then went to the side and brought over two glutinous rice cakes, poured brown sugar syrup on them, and placed them in front of Emperor Jingtai: "Please enjoy these, you two."

"You're too kind, boss," Emperor Jingtai said with a smile. "Business has been good lately?"

"Great, great. I'm just exhausted. Business has been even better since His Majesty came; people from all around want to come and see him."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingtai straightened his back instantly: "Oh? Why must a high-ranking official come to see Your Majesty?"

"Sir, you have no idea how good life is these days, all thanks to His Majesty. I'm not originally from here; I fled from Henan Province almost twenty years ago. Just now, I knew I'd met a fellow countryman as soon as I heard your accent."

The boss started talking as soon as he mentioned his hometown: "Back then, my family also suffered from floods, but it wasn't as bad as the one in Guizhou this time. I was only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time. My parents took me and ran away overnight. The journey was incredibly miserable. Seven or eight-year-old children were pinned to the ground and hacked to death with knives. After that, they were thrown into the water and boiled."

Upon hearing this, Jinlian cried out and grabbed Emperor Jingtai's sleeve. Emperor Jingtai could only sigh and shake his head. Then the shopkeeper continued, "We were lucky to meet a relative who was a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), who brought us here. Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. As for this year's flood, it's much better. My house was also damaged and washed away, but at least everyone is safe."

"The house is gone?"

“Gone, all gone. All the houses in our village are gone. But the government provides food and drink, and we don’t have to pay taxes for three years. If you have hands and feet, you’ll be back in a few years. Life is much better than before. Back in Henan, the government didn’t care if you suffered a disaster or not. You still had to pay taxes. If you didn’t, they’d arrest you and make you a laborer. My brother was arrested and made a laborer when he was seventeen. He was never seen again, neither alive nor dead.”

Seeing that business wasn't good at the moment, the shopkeeper brought over another pot of herbal tea and offered it to Emperor Jingtai. He also brought over some tea snacks, saying, "You came with the Emperor, right? The tea is free today, it's on me."

Emperor Jingtai laughed and said, "Then tell me, is the Jingtai reign better or the Hongbao reign better?"

"Of course, the Jingtai reign is better. It's much better than the previous reign. Since the current emperor became emperor, there are more merchants passing through, and life is much more stable. Even my family, which sells soy milk, can send our son to school. A few days ago, after the flood, when I registered my name, the official told me that it was about time for my son to start school. He said that once the academy opens, I should send him there. I even asked how much it would cost per year, and the official said that it wouldn't cost a penny for the first five years. If he could pass the exam for the top-tier academy in the next five years, the government would give us one tael of silver a year. I thought, 'I can earn money while studying. Who would have dared to dream of that before? If you don't believe me, go ask the people around you. Everyone says life is better in the Jingtai reign.'"

Emperor Jingtai laughed. This wasn't a good thing about the Jingtai reign; it was clearly a good thing about Xia Daosheng. He was the only person in the world who would do such a thing, yet while he did the work, all the credit went to him, the emperor.

He genuinely wanted peace and tranquility in the world.

At this moment, Emperor Jingtai turned his head and asked Jinlian in a low voice, "Shall we go and stroll around somewhere else?"

"Everything is as Your Majesty wishes."

After saying goodbye to the tea shop owner, they strolled around the city a few more times and asked many people, but the answers were all pretty much the same. Everyone was praising Emperor Jingtai as a good emperor, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

Whether he was a good emperor or not, did he not know it himself? He was just a hands-off ruler.

But from chatting with these peddlers and laborers, I learned that the Jingtai era was more comfortable than ever before. Some of the older ones had even lived through two or three eras, and now it all felt like a dream.

In short, we can now drink hot water, keep warm in the cold winter, occasionally eat meat once a month, no longer have to eat dead children in years of famine, have more things to buy, have more job opportunities, earn money is easier, and taxes are not as heavy as before.

These are all small, amusing things, some of which have even become part of daily life. But when these little things come together, that's what makes life better.

As evening fell, Emperor Jingtai stood by the river, watching the sun gradually sink into the mountains. He tried to say something several times but could not bring himself to speak.

"Your Majesty, it's time to return. If it gets too late, we'll only cause Lord Xia worry."

"What's he worried about?" Emperor Jingtai stretched. "Where else would Jinlian like to travel? How about I take this opportunity to show you around?"

"Your Majesty... please reconsider."

"I've thought about it for more than three times; I've thought about it for a whole day." Emperor Jingtai turned around: "Have you noticed that the Great Wei is actually better off without me?"

(End of this chapter)