The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 161: A new political force capable of rivaling powerful clans and aristocratic families.

He looked directly into Li Chengqian's eyes, which were slightly red from anxiety.

"His Highness wants to enable those from humble backgrounds to study, to spread the seeds of learning throughout the world, and to ensure that the path of sages is no longer monopolized by powerful and wealthy families."

"To realize this ambition, it is certainly important to deal with the current crisis of the court's credibility, but it is even more important to plan for the future."

"And this step we are taking now is the most crucial link to that future. It can not only solve the immediate crisis, but also lay an unshakeable foundation for Your Highness for generations to come."

Li Chengqian leaned forward, drawn by the rare solemnity in Li Yichen's words.

He understood the idea of ​​planning for the future, but he was still unclear about how to plan specifically, and where this "most crucial link" pointed.

"I understand your meaning, sir: we must plan ahead. But what exactly does this planning for the future mean? Controlling the Ministry of Works, encouraging craftsmanship, and improving agricultural production are certainly practical measures, but how do they relate to my future ambition to broaden education and benefit the poor?"

"Sir, please clarify."

Li Chengqian's brows furrowed slightly, revealing his inner confusion and urgency.

Li Yichen did not answer immediately. He paused for a moment, as if organizing the most appropriate words to fit the understanding of the crown prince of this era.

“Your Highness,” he began slowly, his voice still steady.

"I have previously discussed class with Your Highness. Aristocratic families constitute one class, commoners constitute another, and the largest groups of farmers, artisans, and merchants also have their own class structure."

"If Your Highness wishes to achieve extraordinary feats, you must be clear about which class you want to become, or rather, which class you must rely on, and become its representative in the court."

Li Chengqian's pupils contracted slightly, and he subconsciously retorted.

"Students are the heir apparent, the future emperors, and should represent all the people under heaven. How can they favor one class? They should be inclusive and harmonious."

This was the imperial education he received from childhood: the monarch is the ruler of all under heaven, transcending the interests of all parties.

Li Yichen shook his head slightly, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable power.

"Your Highness, the ideal is indeed so, but reality is not like that. Your Majesty is a man of great talent and ambition, and your prestige extends throughout the land. You seem to be above it all, but in your governance, do you rely more on the powerful nobles of Guanzhong or the gentry of Shandong? Do you care more about the interests of the aristocratic families or the suffering of the common people?"

"Their policy inclinations have their own underlying foundation. If Your Highness only wishes to be a ruler who maintains the status quo, you can naturally maintain the status quo and weigh the various forces."

"But if Your Highness wishes to achieve what you call 'spreading the seeds of reading throughout the world,' and to disrupt the existing power structure, you will inevitably need a solid force that aligns with Your Highness's goals as support."

"This force is neither the existing aristocratic families nor entirely composed of poor scholars who have not yet gained power."

Li Chengqian remained silent.

It's not that he doesn't understand the harsh realities of politics; it's just that no one has ever laid out the question of "whom does he represent" so nakedly and systematically before him.

He was torn. On the one hand, he felt that Li Yichen's words touched on the essence of power, and on the other hand, he felt an instinctive unease about "favoring" a certain class.

"Sir...why must it be a certain class? Why can't students represent all classes? Wouldn't it be better if the world could develop in a balanced way?"

"Because resources are limited, conflicts of interest will always exist."

Li Yichen's answer was full of the harsh realities of life.

"Your Highness, today I need to explain a few more fundamental concepts to you, which may help you see the underlying logic of how the world works."

"This is what I obtained from the fragments in my early years, and I will tentatively call it 'means of production,' 'productive forces,' and 'relations of production.'"

Li Chengqian looked bewildered.

"Means of production? Productive forces? Relations of production? What do these mean?"

These words were completely foreign to him.

Li Yichen knew he had to explain it in the simplest way possible, the way that best reflected the understanding of this era.

"Your Highness, please follow my line of thought. The so-called means of production, simply put, are the fundamental necessities that people use to create the things they need for clothing, food, shelter, and transportation."

"For example, the fields that farmers rely on to cultivate, the tools and raw materials that craftsmen rely on to make, the mines that miners rely on to mine, and even the spinning machines that weavers rely on to spin yarn. These are the means of production."

Li Chengqian seemed to understand something.

"Is this the foundation of one's livelihood?"

"That's one way to understand it," Li Yichen nodded and continued.

"Productivity, on the other hand, refers to people's ability to use these means of production to create material wealth."

"For example, how much land can a farmer cultivate and how much grain can he produce in a year using a plow and hoe? How many farm tools can a blacksmith forge in a day with a furnace and a hammer?"

"The quantity and efficiency of this output constitute productivity."

Li Chengqian continued thinking along this line of thought.

"So, improving agricultural tools and building water conservancy projects are for the purpose of increasing productivity?"

"Your Highness is wise and insightful, understanding it immediately!" Li Yichen affirmed.

"That's right. Improving the curved plow to make it easier and deeper for plowing increases agricultural productivity. Improving the water-powered bellows to double the efficiency of iron smelting increases the productivity of craftsmen."

He paused briefly before introducing the third concept.

"Production relations refer to the relationships formed between people in the production process. For example, who owns the land? Is it the self-cultivating farmers under the equal-field system, or the tenant farmers of the manors of powerful families? Are the craftsmen free artisans, or slave artisans dependent on the government?"

"How should the produced goods be distributed? Should they be distributed according to labor, or should the majority be levied by landowners and government officials?"

"These rules, systems, and identities surrounding the ownership of the means of production and the distribution of finished products constitute the relations of production."

Li Chengqian felt his mind buzzing. These three seemingly simple concepts were like three keys trying to open a door he had never seen before.

He tried his best to digest it.

"So... the means of production are the foundation, the productive forces are the capability, and the relations of production are... the rules?"

“Indeed.” Li Yichen’s gaze was intense.

"There is a decisive connection among these three. Generally speaking, the level of development of productive forces determines the specific form of production relations."

"When productivity changes, the old relations of production will come into conflict with it, which will inevitably lead to a transformation of the relations of production."

He decided to use history to verify this abstract truth. "Your Highness, please consider why the well-field system was implemented during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, with commoners collectively cultivating public fields? It was because agricultural technology was backward at that time, with wooden and stone tools that were inefficient. Without collective cooperation, survival was impossible. This low productivity determined the production relations of collective labor."

"During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, iron farm tools and ox-drawn plows were gradually promoted, greatly improving productivity. A family could cultivate more land and produce more grain by relying on its own strength."

"As a result, the well-field system gradually disintegrated, and private land ownership and family-based farming became the mainstream. This is clear evidence that the development of productive forces has driven changes in production relations!"

"Guan Zhong's reforms in the State of Qi, which rewarded agriculture and warfare and recognized private land ownership, were in line with this major trend, which is why the country became rich and powerful."

Li Chengqian seemed to have a sudden realization.

His breathing became rapid.

He had read the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods and knew about the collapse of the well-field system and the reforms and efforts of various states to strengthen themselves, but no one had ever revealed the driving forces behind it so clearly from the perspective of productive forces and relations of production!
It turns out that the changes in history are driven by such a cold yet powerful logic!
“For example,” Li Yichen didn’t give him a chance to breathe, continuing to challenge his understanding with historical facts.

"The reason why Qin was able to unify the six states was not only due to Shang Yang's harsh laws and punishments, but also because of his series of policies such as rewarding military merit, abolishing the well-field system, and opening up the fields. These policies greatly liberated Qin's productive forces and shaped a matching, efficient and brutal production relationship. The military merit system motivated soldiers, and private land ownership motivated farmers, which enabled Qin's war machine to have a much greater material support and troop mobilization capacity than the other six states."

"The Qin dynasty only lasted for two generations, and there were many reasons for its demise. However, one important reason was that after unification, it failed to adjust the overly harsh production relations, which were only applicable to wartime mobilization, in a timely manner to adapt to the current state of productivity in a unified empire that needed to recuperate."

"Excessive corvée labor and harsh criminal laws destroyed the recovery and development of productive forces among the people, ultimately leading to the complete collapse of production relations—the world descended into chaos and heroes rose up everywhere."

Li Chengqian felt a pang of heart palpitation.

He matched the rise and fall of Qin with these three concepts one by one, and felt as if the history books he had read before had been infused with a soul, becoming vivid and profound!
It turns out that the rise and fall of dynasties and empires were actually underpinned by such a powerful power struggle!
"So... what you mean, sir?"

Li Chengqian's voice trembled.

"Is the current equal-field system, the land tax and labor service system, and even the social structure of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants in our Great Tang Dynasty also a kind of production relationship? Is it determined by the current productive forces of our dynasty?"

"Your Highness has understood!" Li Yichen nodded emphatically, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

"That's right. The equal-field system was intended to ensure that most farmers had basic means of production—land—thereby stabilizing the tax base and the source of soldiers."

"The rent-labor-tax system was a product distribution method that complemented it. At the beginning of the founding of the country, this set of production relations effectively restored and developed the productive forces that had been damaged by the wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty, thus leading to the initial prosperity of the Zhenguan era."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming serious.

"However, productivity is not static. With population growth and land consolidation, can the equal-field system continue?"

"With increasing border troubles and expanding warfare, can the supplies collected through the rent, labor service, and tax system meet the enormous military needs?"

"With urban prosperity and the development of commerce, can the existing artisan system and business management fully unleash their potential for wealth creation?"

"Your Highness, the current court only knows how to forcibly extract more resources in the 'distribution' process by issuing bonds, but it has never considered that if productivity itself does not improve qualitatively, such practices are tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. What the 500,000 strings of cash in bonds have obtained is not real new wealth, but an overdraft of future wealth, which will inevitably trigger a credit crisis!"

Li Chengqian understood completely!

He felt as if he were standing at an unprecedented height, overlooking the body and bloodline of the Tang Empire.

All the anxiety and all the difficulties seem to have found their root in this framework!
The court was preoccupied with manipulating the "relations of production" and desperately accumulating wealth, while neglecting the true source of wealth—the development of "productive forces"!

"Therefore, sir, you must take charge of the Ministry of Works, encourage craftsmanship, and improve agricultural production..."

Li Chengqian's voice was somewhat hoarse with excitement.

"Is all of this to improve the productivity of my Great Tang Dynasty?"

"Exactly!" Li Yichen said decisively.

"Only when productivity is truly developed, with more grain, more cloth, and more refined tools, can the total amount of wealth that the whole world can create increase, and only then can the court truly have a rich tax base and the people have a prosperous life."

"At that time, His Highness's wish to 'enable the poor to study' will have a material basis for being realized—only when the people have surplus grain can they afford to support their children to study full-time."

"Only when the imperial treasury is full can more official schools be established and more scholars from poor families be supported."

"Otherwise, it's all just empty talk! When people can't even get enough to eat, literacy is an unattainable luxury for the vast majority of them!"

Seeing the flame burning in Li Chengqian's eyes, he knew that the Crown Prince had grasped the core issue, so he continued to delve deeper, steer the topic back to the initial question of "class" representation.

"Does Your Highness now understand why I said you must become the spokesperson for the class of artisans, and even more broadly, those who create wealth through skill and labor?"

Li Yichen said slowly.

"Because they are the most direct promoters and embodiments of productivity development!"

"The improvement of agricultural tools depends on the ingenuity and skill of craftsmen. The construction of water conservancy projects depends on the design of craftsmen and the labor of laborers."

"The efficiency of textile production depends on the improvement of looms and the operation of weavers."

"Even in the future, if we want to carve out more treacherous roads, build more magnificent cities, and defend against more powerful foreign enemies, we will all depend on the progress of productivity. And all of this, in the final analysis, depends on the wisdom and sweat of these craftsmen and farmers!"

Li Chengqian felt a sudden sense of clarity, as all the previous confusion was dispelled!

He understood! He completely understood!

Powerful clans controlled knowledge and monopolized high-ranking official positions. Their interests lay in maintaining existing land ownership and political privileges; they were not the main driving force for the development of "productivity."

It is often an obstacle, even in matters of land consolidation and concealing population.

Although scholars from humble backgrounds may yearn for education, they are not direct creators of wealth. Their rise requires a more affluent and open social environment that can provide sufficient opportunities and resources.

The creation of this environment depends precisely on a leap in "productivity"!

"Therefore... if students want to realize their ambitions, they must rely on and support those forces that are truly creating wealth and driving productivity... craftsmen, as well as farmers or merchants who are dedicated to improving technology and increasing efficiency?"

Li Chengqian's voice carried an unprecedented clarity and firmness.

"Your Highness is wise!" Li Yichen bowed slightly.

"This is what I mean by planning for the future. Your Highness is now supporting artisans, rewarding agricultural skills, and improving productivity, which is laying the most solid foundation for a prosperous future where the seeds of learning are spread throughout the land."

“If you grant artisans status and rewards, they will dedicate their talents to Your Highness and drive productivity.”

"With the development of productivity and the increase of social wealth, children from poor families will have the opportunity to study. With more scholars, Your Highness will be able to acquire a new political force sufficient to counterbalance the powerful clans."

"With the shift in the balance of power in the court, Your Highness can more effectively implement policies that promote the sustained development of productivity, thus creating a virtuous cycle."

"This is the true and bright road leading to Your Highness's ideal destination!"

(End of this chapter)