The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 303 Impossible

Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi returned from the riverbank and entered Tiebao City. Gong Erniangzi was still laughing at Li Bao's swimming style. The two chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere was quite good.

But as soon as he entered the city, a messenger ran up to him: "Privy Councilor, I've been looking for you for ages. There's urgent news from the Huaiyang Army."

Gong Erniangzi's heart tightened: "What? Is there an enemy attack?"

"No, that's not the case," the messenger said. "However, something very bad has happened at Huaiyang Army, and the Right Guard General is having a headache right now."

Gong Er Niangzi frowned.

The messenger said, "In Xiapi City, there are heretical sorcerers preaching and setting up altars. The Right Guard General led his troops to arrest them, but found that the local people were actually protecting the sorcerers, preferring to die rather than reveal where the sorcerers were going... and many people are even secretly hostile to our army."

"Huh?" Yue Wenxuan's interest was piqued. "What kind of cult is it?"

The messenger said, "Manichaeism!"

Yue Wenxuan frowned: "The Manichaeism's reach is so far? Not only are they causing trouble in Hunan, but they've also spread their teachings to the Jiangbei region?"

Gong Erniangzi blinked: "Manichaeism? I've heard of it many times. What exactly is it? What does it preach?"

The messenger's voice suddenly dropped a few decibels as he whispered, "The law that distinguishes between the noble and the lowly, the rich and the poor, is not a good law. When I practice the law, I should treat everyone equally, regardless of status or wealth."

"Huh?" said Gong Er Niangzi. "Isn't this a perfectly good sect? How come it's called a heretical sect? It treats the noble and the lowly equally, and the rich and the poor equally, which is truly a great virtue."

Yue Wenxuan: “…”

Well, he suddenly remembered that Gong Er Niangzi also came from a poor background. The poorer one's background, the easier it is to be bewitched by such simple slogans. At first glance, they sound quite appealing.

Yue Wenxuan said, "Second Mistress, let's find a quiet place. I need to talk to you."

He led Gong Erniangzi onto the city wall of Tiebao City, while the guards retreated far away.

Yue Wenxuan then spoke up, "Equalizing social status and wealth is wonderful, isn't it?"

Gong Er Niangzi: "Yes! That's wonderful. If there were such a country, I would yearn for it."

Yue Wenxuan: "But do you think it's possible?"

Gong Erniangzi: "Kill all the nobles and rich people, isn't that just..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly woke up and realized something was wrong.

"Found it? You found it pretty quickly."

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "It seems that you are no longer the naive little girl who knew nothing when you first debuted."

After saying that, he sighed again: "Actually, I also yearn for a world where the noble and the lowly are equal, and the rich and the poor are equal. However, such a world is ultimately just a reflection in a mirror or a flower in the water. It is impossible to achieve, at least not for hundreds of years." Gong Er Niangzi: "I just feel that it is difficult to achieve, but I don't know why. Please enlighten me, True Lord."

Yue Wenxuan: "There are too many reasons, I could talk about them for days and nights and still not finish. I won't go into those difficult or abstract principles, I'll just pick the simplest one. The difference in ability between people is greater than the difference between humans and monkeys... People with ability can naturally create more wealth, while people without ability can only create a small amount of wealth. It's impossible to make the wealthy and the incapable equalize their wealth."

After thinking about it carefully, Lady Gong realized it was true...

A skilled blacksmith can forge a gun barrel in a few days, while an inexperienced blacksmith may take more than ten days to forge one.

Should we equalize their wealth?
Why?
Are capable people even more foolish?
Yue Wenxuan: "As for the distinction between noble and lowly, I'm too lazy to analyze that. You'll understand if you think about it yourself."

Gong Erniangzi: "I do understand a little bit, but when poor people first hear the phrase 'equal treatment of the rich and the poor, and equal distribution of wealth,' they will surely be fooled. What should we do about this Manichaeism? Should we wipe out all those believers?"

Yue Wenxuan: "There's no need to be ruthless. Just seal off their altars, drive away the sorcerers, and prevent them from spreading their teachings. But don't kill those believers, otherwise it will make us seem too bloodthirsty and cruel. By the way, we should also carry out some corresponding propaganda. We should promote 'more work, more pay, and the capable rise to the top' to counter their 'equal distribution of wealth and social status'. Those who are capable will naturally lean more towards us, while those who don't want to work but want to 'equalize wealth and status' with those who work, or those who lack ability but want to 'equal status' with those who are capable, we're better off without them."

Gong Er Niangzi: "Ah? What if they make a big scene..."

"Don't worry, it won't cause much of a stir." Yue Wenxuan blinked, revealing a mischievous smile. "You've already figured it out: when equality between the rich and the poor becomes impossible, the Manicheans will soon understand too. It's just that those in lower positions and with less experience will understand this more slowly. Those who understand quickly will soon become parasites within the organization, hollowing out the entire Manichean sect from within. In as little as six months, or as long as three years, they will self-destruct."

This timing wasn't something Yue Wenxuan made up.

Historically, the State of Chu was indeed very powerful at the beginning, quickly sweeping across Hunan and occupying a territory larger than the present-day Northern Song Dynasty. However, within a few years, Manichaeism became corrupt.

Those high-ranking priests within Manichaeism, responsible for missionary work, quickly realized something: "Forget about social classes, I'm far more noble than ordinary believers. Forget about wealth, someone as noble as me should naturally be richer."

As a result, the middle ranks of the Manichaeism began to use their power to amass wealth, indulging in extravagance, decadence, and squandering, while experiencing emptiness, unease, and depravity.

Those ordinary people who joined because of the idea of ​​"equalizing wealth" were shocked to find that the State of Chu also levied taxes on them, and the taxes were not light. Where was the promised "equal treatment of the rich and poor"?
The fighting capacity of Manichaeism collapsed rapidly...

The once fervent believers are no longer so, but are instead filled with confusion; they no longer fight with all their might.

An empty building cannot bear the weight of a nation!
Then Yue Fei charged in and with one punch knocked the Manichaeism down, sweeping it into the dustbin of history.

Gong Erniangzi nodded in agreement and wrote a letter to Zhang Yong, instructing him to drive away the Manichaean priests and forbid them from opening altars to preach, but not to slaughter believers. She wanted to maintain the image of the Northern Song Dynasty as kind and benevolent, and not to be an enemy of the people. She said that the deceived people would gradually realize the truth on their own.

In the fourth year of the Jianyan era of the Song Dynasty, the eighth year of the Tianhui era of the Jin Dynasty, at the end of 1130 AD,

The Jin Dynasty, which had been ambitious and enterprising, suddenly stopped its advance, stationed its troops in Hebei, and never set foot in the Central Plains again.

After fighting several battles with the Northern Song Dynasty, the pseudo-Qi state realized it was no match for the Northern Song and retreated home, temporarily ceasing all military operations.

After capturing Weizhou, Mizhou, Yizhou, and Huaiyang Army, the Northern Song Dynasty was no longer in a hurry to advance. It temporarily stopped, began to reorganize its internal affairs, and even flirted with the puppet state of Qi, showing signs of possibly negotiating a peace.

(End of this chapter)