The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 228 Talk
The chain reaction caused by the decree on the treatment of poor scholars did not stop despite the temporary retreat of scholars.

The emperor's refusal to issue the memorials of Zheng Huan and Li Xianmu left the court officials, who had suffered a crushing defeat in the struggle for the Confucian Temple, feeling as if vultures had caught the scent of a corpse.

The emperor does not support Li Xianmu!

This was the personal behavior of Li Xianmu and Zheng Huan. Although they were intimidated by Li Xianmu's illustrious reputation, the court officials were not without merit.

Li Xianmu was not a notorious treacherous eunuch like Liu Jin or Wei Zhongxian.

They respected Li Xianmu, but not to the point of being terrified of him.

Soon, a series of opposing memorials were submitted, and not only civil officials, but also many military generals submitted memorials in opposition.

……

"Xianmu, you really acted too impulsively this time."

British government.

Duke Zhang Fu of England sat at the head of the table, his face serious, with a hint of helplessness and coldness in his eyes. "You shouldn't have brought this up. Many people have a lot of complaints about you."

You are squandering the political prestige you've worked so hard to gain.

If this continues, you're destined to become a lonely figure!

There has never been a class that betrays its own class. As a second-tier noble family in the Ming Dynasty, it is perfectly normal for Li Xianmu to be criticized for what he did. The fact that he was not attacked by the masses is already a testament to the high political prestige of the Duke of Ying and his alliance.

It should be noted that even when Zhang Juzheng was practically "regency" in history, there were still a large number of opposition parties in the court and the country. Moreover, Li Xianmu did not have the same power as Zhang Juzheng.

The Duke of England's voice was filled with a deep sigh, "I know you have lofty ideals, but you must know that if you are abandoned by your subordinates, you will lose power, and all your ideals will be buried in the earth."

Li Xianmu cupped his hands and solemnly replied, "Father-in-law."

When you asked me why I was determined to put all the officials in Shandong to death when I was the governor of Shandong, I was reminded of this.

Why not take them in as dogs and expand your own power?

Military strategy states that the key to victory lies in quality, not quantity. I believe the same applies to political forces.

The most elite people under my command are all scholars who have been selected from various departments and the imperial examinations during my ten years in office and who agree with me.

Besides these elite troops, there were officials like Zheng Huan who were later recruited and joined us. At this point, I stopped expanding, because having more would not only fail to guarantee combat effectiveness, but would also be a burden due to excess.

Those officials in Shandong, if I let them join my political faction, they can only wave the flag and shout when the wind blows, but once they encounter the slightest setback, they will defect or even turn against me.

Father-in-law, you said I would become a lonely figure. If the people I've spent ten years choosing can't even support me in this matter, leaving me all alone, then everything I do is destined to fail!

Li Xianmu's powerful words echoed in the main hall of the Duke of Ying's mansion. The Duke of Ying gradually relaxed from his solemnity. Li Xianmu said solemnly, "I do not want to be an ordinary rich kid in this life. The scholars I select will all follow me!"

The Duke of England shook his head and said, "You are too confident. They came from poor backgrounds, so naturally they could stick to their original intentions. But people always change. When they were poor, they felt that the powerful and wealthy families were blocking their path to advancement. But once they turned their lives around, they immediately began to block the advancement of those from poor families. I have seen too many people like this."

Those under your command will be no exception.

The dragon slayer becomes the dragon himself; this is the curse of human nature. Zhang Fu had been through this, and his heart had long been hardened to the point of being as solid as a rock.

"Xianmu, you have always been intelligent, but you come from a wealthy family and there are some things you don't understand. Do you know why everyone who climbs up through hardship ends up going in the opposite direction?"

Li Xianmu looked calmly at the Duke of Yingguo. He knew, but he wanted to hear what the Duke of Yingguo had to say.

The British Duke coldly said: "Because the lower class is too terrible. Their lives are in the hands of clerks and gentry. If they are not careful, they will die miserably, and they may not even know why they died."

Countless officials were killed during the reign of the late emperor, but even so, being an official was still better than being a commoner. If the officials were all dead, how could the common people possibly survive?
Those who have fought their way out from the bottom and passed the exams will never allow themselves or their descendants to return to that powerless state!

But there are only so many official positions, and some people will always be ruled. Therefore, closing off the lower-level channels is the only solution. This is reality, a reality you can't change!

After Zhang Fu finished speaking, he saw that Li Xianmu remained calm and composed, with no change in expression whatsoever. No!
Li Xianmu's expression showed a hint of indifference.

"You think what I said is wrong?" Zhang Fu raised an eyebrow and asked in a curious voice.

Li Xianmu nodded without hesitation.

Zhang Fu sat up straight, showing no anger at being refuted. "Then I would like to hear the details and where the mistake lies."

Li Xianmu pondered for a moment, "What my father-in-law said is a universal reality throughout history, but he only described the process and not the result."

"Let me give you a few examples and see if you can give me an answer."

During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the sons of kings became kings, the sons of dukes and marquises became dukes and marquises, the sons of ministers and high officials became ministers and high officials, and slaves remained slaves generation after generation. Kings, marquises, generals, and ministers were born into nobility.

Later, when various states reformed their laws, the hereditary system of official positions and stipends was abolished. Did this mean that the kings, nobles, generals, and ministers themselves gave up their high-ranking privileges?
At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were the noble families of Yuan, Yang, Chen, and Xun; in the Jin Dynasty, there were the Wang and Xie families; in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were the Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng families; and in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were seven surnames and ten families. They were truly powerful families for generations, treating the common people like cattle and horses, and the lowly as lowly. They monopolized official positions, but where are they now?

Did they themselves relinquish their prestigious positions?

"No, it's that their attempt to block the path to advancement failed. Not only did they fail, but they also ruined their entire family. The so-called powerful and influential families ultimately amounted to nothing more than Xie Daoyun, who, in her middle age, watched her husband and son being killed before her eyes. She herself only survived out of pity!"

"From the Three Dynasties, Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period, Qin and Han Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Song and Ming Dynasties, the proportion of officials holding high positions from poor families has been increasing!"
The absurd story of Wei Zheng, who was a prime minister during the Tang Dynasty, being ridiculed because of his humble origins, is no more!
My father-in-law just said that closing the lower-level channels is the only solution, and that's the reality. I agree with that.

However, closing the underlying channel has never been successful; this is a fact!

Li Xianmu looked at Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo and solemnly said: "The upper class that closes off the upper level will inevitably decay gradually. Just like the second generation of the Wang and Xie families who only know how to talk nonsense, without the abilities of their ancestors Wang Dao and Xie An, how could they have defended the Jin Dynasty?"
With the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the Wang and Xie families, who were dependent on it, also collapsed.

Father-in-law, how many of the second and third generations of nobles do you think are truly willing to serve the Ming Dynasty?

"If we truly place them in high positions, do you, Father-in-law, think the Ming Dynasty can still cope with the threat from the Mongols?"

(End of this chapter)