Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 997 Reason
The course and outcome of the war between the Tang Dynasty and Rome were extremely unusual to many knowledgeable people.

This is not about the outcome of a war, but the comprehensive qualities reflected in this war.

This result was within Luo Changqing's expectations. He understood that the opportunity he had been waiting for had come.

But he didn't expect that before he was ready to have a good talk with the emperor, some uninvited guests appeared in his mansion.

Most of the people who appeared before him were New School members and politicians of that faction.

"You are all very courageous. You actually dare to appear before me. Aren't you worried that I will arrest you and punish you?"

Luo Changqing said coldly: "You are all the rebels that the court wants to arrest."

The leading man, wearing a wide robe with big sleeves, flattered, "If it weren't for meeting King Luo, we would never dare to meet anyone else."

This is what they really think. These New School members have not yet become a force to be reckoned with in the Tang Dynasty. Now they are clearly a rebel party. Meeting the powerful people of the Tang Dynasty at this time is a merit that comes naturally to them.

Only when facing Luo Changqing did he dare to say something. This was naturally due to the Luo family's reputation for thousands of years. More than once in history, someone had used words to persuade the Luo family to change their minds.

When facing other people, you may need benefits, but when facing Luo, as long as you can make some sense and this sense can make Luo accept it, this matter may succeed.

Luo Changqing knew very well the purpose of these new school members. They just wanted him to stand on their side and carry out new school reforms within the Tang Dynasty.

Luo Changqing pretended not to know and asked, "Just say whatever you want to say. I still have to go to the palace to see the emperor."

When they heard the title of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the expressions of these New School members became a little strange.

Especially when he heard that Luo Changqing was going to enter the palace, he suddenly became anxious. There was basically nothing good about Prince Luo entering the palace.

He stopped pretending and immediately clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness Prince Luo, we have come to your palace to ask for the people of the world.

Now that the outcome of the war between Rome and the Tang Dynasty has reached the Tang Dynasty, I believe Your Highness is very clear about the difference.

We, the new school members, are rebels in front of all the powerful people, but I believe Your Highness does not think so.

I believe that Your Highness Prince Luo is well aware of the theories held by the new school, so I will not say too much in front of Your Highness.

Facts have proven that only the prevalence of new learning can allow the world to move towards a new stage of universal peace, rather than the current Tang Dynasty or the imperial system.

We know that the Luo family and the Li royal family are as close as a family, but we also know that the Luo family has always taken the world as its own responsibility and has a great reputation for speaking for the people. This has been the case for thousands of years.

Now that the situation in the world has reached this point, Your Highness, do you really want to watch European countries use new learning to establish new kingdoms while the Tang Dynasty degenerates in the vortex of imperial system?
Your Highness, now is the time for you to make a decision, whether it is the world or the Li family, this mission depends on your decision."

Everyone stared at Luo Changqing with shining eyes. Their words were not exaggerating. The attitude of the Luo family could really determine the fate of the Tang Dynasty. If the Luo family defected, the collapse of the Tang Dynasty might be imminent.

Days of civil war will break out in the Tang Dynasty. Given the prestige of the Luo family in the hearts of all the people, even the Li family will find it difficult to restore it, and the emperor's sacredness will collapse in an instant.

The Luo family is the flesh and blood and bones of the Tang Dynasty and is inseparable from the Li family.

After these words were spoken, everyone in the room stared at Luo Changqing. There was no need to guess what the Luo family's patriarch would choose. It had to be a guess.

They were waiting for Luo Changqing to choose them. This was the confidence that the current facts gave them. The power that Rome had unleashed shocked the entire Tang Dynasty. This was enough to prove the correctness of the new theory.

Only by taking the path of new learning can all Chinese people move towards great harmony.

Luo Changqing listened to those righteous and passionate speeches and suddenly chuckled, with a hint of sneer in his laughter.

"Do you know why I became the head of the Luo family?"

Luo Changqing suddenly asked such an irrelevant question, "I am not the eldest son, and this throne has nothing to do with me. I didn't even live in the Tang Dynasty when I was young. I came to Luoyang when I was twelve years old, but in the end, the throne fell on me.

Because the previous head of the family said that this prince is wise and has a strong intuition, and is the best in the Luo family. Even if he cannot see the way forward for the time being, he can always make the most correct decision.

So the throne fell on this king’s head.”

When Luo Changqing said this, he was deeply moved, and the people in the room became a little uneasy. They didn't know why Luo Changqing suddenly said this, but this was not normal.

While Luo Changqing was speaking, three or four people walked in from outside the house, both men and women. Each of them had a stunning appearance and a holy mark on their forehead. They were all descendants of the Luo family. After entering the house, these people all lowered their heads and sat in the room, sitting opposite the new students in silence.

Luo Changqing nodded slightly, then stood up, paused for a moment, and said sternly: "Do you know why I am saying this?

Because you just talked to me about the world. I sit on this seat because I can sit here. I am a member of the Luo family!

When will it be your turn, the new school members, to speak for the people of this world?

Thirty years ago, the one hundred and twenty countries and hundreds of millions of people in this world were all on my shoulders!

Are you people qualified to talk to me about the well-being of all the people in the world?

ridiculous! "

The New School members never expected that Luo Changqing would say such words and scold them to such an extent.

"Your Highness, Prince Luo, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated. We, the New School Party, are not qualified. Do you, a prince or nobleman, have the qualifications?"

Faced with Luo Changqing's words, they of course had to refute him.

Luo Changqing sneered: "You say all the good things and do all the bad things.

The New School members and you businessmen.

Although I don’t know what the world will be like in the future, it will definitely not be like Rome.

Do you think that I don’t know what you want?

Even with the imperial court's order, there are still a large number of women and children in the weaving factories. Is it simply because these people's wages are cheaper? Is it true?

Even with an imperial decree, in various factories, there are still countless workers who become disabled due to work and eventually die miserably, right?

There are still many things. Do you need me to tell you one by one?

Didn't the workers resist? In the end, they were suppressed by the merchants and officials. Why didn't you say that everyone is equal at that time?
Your equality is really cheap.

And you are strengthening your ethnic consciousness. Do you think that I don’t know what you want to do?

I tell you, be prepared to face the king's attack. Rome must be destroyed, and you, the Neo-Confucianists, will also disappear from this world!"

The New School members were really a little broken now. Luo Changqing's words pierced their hearts, but they still had their last bit of stubbornness, "Your Highness Prince Luo, no matter how much you say, it can't change the fact that the Tang Dynasty is an absolute monarchy.

No matter how bad a new learning country is, it is better than the best autocratic country. You cannot deny this. Moreover, the current Tang Dynasty does not have the strength to achieve the things you mentioned. The new world will eventually overthrow the old world. This is not something you or your family can stop."

Luo Changqing was ready to see the guests off, but he said calmly at the end: "You will see the power of enlightened monarchy. I don't know if this is the path of the future, but it is enough to send you all to hell. Send you off!"

A group of New School members left Luo Mansion with pale faces. This was completely different from their expectations. Before coming, they did not think that they would be successful. After all, Prince Luo was a die-hard supporter of the Tang Dynasty. But even if they failed, it would be different from now. From Prince Luo's words, he had great malice towards New School and it could be said that he completely disapproved of the theory of New School.

Such a tough attitude surprised them and made them panic. If Prince Luo had such an attitude, would the other members of the Luo family change their minds?

After the outsiders left, only the Luo family members were left in the room. These young and middle-aged people were also shocked by Luo Changqing's words. Luo Changqing calmed down and said softly: "Are you curious about why I said that just now?"

Several people looked at the patriarch's solemn expression, knowing that he had something to say. Luo Changqing pondered for a long time, and then slowly said: "The new school is a congenitally incomplete discipline. The things they advocate are actually rehashing old ideas. There was just no room for implementation before. As early as more than a thousand years ago, the Mohist theory already had more humane knowledge than those.

However, the new school of thought is playing with fire. They are playing with ethnic consciousness, which is very dangerous and is splitting the great unity. The Luo family has spent so many years to separate the various peoples of the Xia Dynasty and melt them into one cultural entity. Now there are signs of division again.

They say they are working for the people, but you should not believe them. The country established by the new school of thought puts commercial interests above all else. They may be able to unite in the face of foreign enemies now, but once they lose their enemies, they will immediately fall into internal strife.

In the eyes of businessmen, there is only profit, nothing sacred. All the good qualities of the past and the various responsibilities and obligations imposed on people are finally transformed into naked employment relationships.

A world with only interests and no morals would be criticized even a thousand years ago. The laws of our Tang Dynasty will protect these people.

And what are the benefits of strengthening ethnic consciousness?
In this world, all we need is a strong central government that can guarantee the survival and rights of the people.

Strengthening ethnic consciousness is only useful when fighting a war, like Rome is doing now.

Striving for long-term peace is what we should pursue. Now that the borders of the world have been explored, there will be no more unknown enemies. Striving for global unification, and then putting weapons into storage and horses into the mountains, is the future. "

Luo Changqing was already quite old, and he was a little out of breath after saying so much in one breath, but he did not stop, "I don't know what the future will be like. Maybe there will be more powerful people in the future who can point out a clear path for the world, but I want to do my last effort to make up for some cracks.

At the same time, change the Tang Dynasty."

This was the first time that Luo Changqing elaborated on his thoughts in detail in front of others.

"Master, these ideas of yours should be recorded in a book and then widely distributed so that everyone in the world will know about it."

Luo Changqing waved his hand and said: "I tell you all this just to make you not to believe too much in new knowledge, but to look forward and see what the vast majority of people in this world want.

In the past two thousand years, the Luo family has been making some relatively high-level plans, in terms of ideas and various systems, because at that time we were unable to benefit the grassroots, but now that technology has developed, we can, as descendants of the Su King, the concept of human harmony should be popularized to everyone.

I believe this is also King Su’s wish.

That's it. I'm going to the palace to see His Majesty. Reforms in the Tang Dynasty are imminent."

……

As Luo Changqing got older, he always felt that he was not going to last long in doing things. After leaving Luo Mansion, he went straight to the palace. The guards didn't even check and let Luo Changqing enter the palace directly.

The emperor was very annoyed by the war in Rome and was now in the harem. When he heard that Luo Changqing was coming, he hurriedly packed up his things in the harem and went to the front hall.

Seeing Luo Changqing in a hurry, he was immediately startled and said with a forced smile: "Prince Luo, how did you find time to come to the palace? Is there something important you want to tell me?"

"It's a big event, a big event that concerns the survival of the country."

Luo Changqing looked serious, and then asked in a shocking tone: "Your Majesty, if you don't make changes, you may become the eternal sinner of the Tang Dynasty." If anyone else said this, the emperor would immediately have him dragged out and beaten first, but since Prince Luo said this, he could only smile and said, "Isn't what Prince Luo said a bit serious? Although the war in Rome is not going well, our Tang Dynasty is still as stable as a rock. There is no chaos at the end of the dynasties in the past.

How could I become a sinner for all eternity? "

Luo Changqing slowly sat down opposite the emperor and said with emotion: "During your tenure, if a large number of vassal states rebelled, or even riots broke out in the country, or even the Tang Dynasty began to decline, how would the future evaluate your majesty?
The Tang Dynasty was destroyed by Your Majesty!
Your Majesty, the Tang Dynasty must reform. Now just one Rome is holding the Tang Dynasty back. There will be more Romes in the future. This is no small matter. "

The emperor was very scared of the future that Luo Changqing talked about, and he was not a fool. He knew that Luo Changqing was not fooling him and the current situation was really very critical.

The Tang Dynasty had truly entered a critical period of survival.

"Lord Luo, I know that we really need to reform now, but I really don't know how. We can't just reform like Rome did. In other aspects, no matter what technology, our Tang Dynasty is not inferior to Rome."

The Tang Dynasty is now a typical example of institutional backwardness rather than technological backwardness. In fact, in terms of the scale of technology, it is far superior to Rome. After all, the Tang Dynasty is a true world overlord with a vast territory.

In this situation, the Tang Dynasty only needs to reform, and it does not even need to reform to the extent of Rome. The vitality released can deal with everything, and even achieve Luo Changqing's idea of ​​making the whole world submit again.

“Your Majesty, the era of land aristocracy is really over. Now in the Tang Dynasty, a large number of people are still tied to the land, which is not conducive to the development of the empire.

We should immediately issue a new decree to abolish the previous land system, purchase or confiscate the property of those landlords, and at the same time carry out infrastructure construction in all regions, building roads, railways and various facilities to enable rapid business operations in areas that the empire could not reach in the past.

In addition to these, the recently emerged telegraph lines must also be laid in major cities as soon as possible.

There are still many reform measures. I have already written a memorial, which is right here. Your Majesty, please take a look. This time there really cannot be any hesitation.

As an example, the land owned by the Luo family is willing to be donated first and used as public land for the country. "

The emperor was shocked by Luo Changqing's drastic reform plan. He felt a little frightened just by listening to it. After opening the memorial, he took a look and asked with shaking hands: "Prince Luo, is this plan too radical? If we do this, I always feel that something bad will happen."

Luo Changqing said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, don't worry, sometimes people just scare themselves.

If it were before the steam age, doing this would be suicidal and no one would be able to succeed, but things are different now.

With the development of technology, the royal family can spread their ideas to the grassroots more easily. Once someone wants to rebel, even if the grassroots are deceived at first, they will soon receive the royal family's orders, especially when telegraphs and newspapers are combined. This is a means of communication that did not exist before and it is our trump card.

The most important thing is that in this era, the royal family has a more powerful central army, and now almost all the armies in the entire Tang Dynasty are central armies.

Moreover, the Empire can recruit more troops at any time. After the last cleanup, several major industrial areas of the Empire are now in our hands.

In these industrial areas, there are millions of employees who are completely dependent on the wages given by the royal family. These people are not only employees, but also loyal supporters of the royal family and a source of soldiers.

How could the nobles, who controlled the industrial zones and their population and could only exploit the land and the farmers, rebel against the imperial court?

This reform is destined to involve a lot of bloodshed. There are destined to be many people who fail to see the reality and who will resist stubbornly. All these people must be killed and their blood used to irrigate the new Tang Dynasty.

Your Majesty, give the order!"

The emperor was somewhat frightened by what Luo Changqing said. The bloody smell made him feel uncomfortable. Seeing him hesitate, Luo Changqing shouted again in a low voice, "Emperor, the opportunity is rare and will never come back. Time waits for no one. The sooner we reform, the sooner we can see the new Tang Dynasty."

The emperor hesitated for a moment, but his trust in the Luo family overwhelmed his uneasiness, and he said sternly: "Just do as you say, Prince Luo. Kill those who should be killed, even if they are royal relatives.

But isn’t the establishment of this political meeting somewhat unnecessary?”

The Council of State Affairs is similar to the ancient Regency Council and the Roman Senate. This thing also exists on the grassland. In fact, it is just everyone sitting together to discuss things.

Luo Changqing shook his head, and then explained: "Your Majesty, this is the essence of political reform. Since we are going to liquidate the land nobles this time, we have to win over other people. The power in this world cannot always be ruled by one person.

By staying in this meeting, they will not think of themselves as marginal figures, but think that they can influence something, but in fact, there is a civilian government in power, and His Majesty has the power to dissolve them at any time.

Of course, we can also listen to their opinions occasionally, so as to prevent these people from taking risks and engaging in rebellion because they cannot communicate with the court."

After hearing Luo Changqing's explanation, the emperor also felt that the setting of this meeting was quite ingenious, so he nodded in agreement.

After agreeing, the emperor looked at the memorial in his hand, still a little frightened, and said: "Lord Luo, don't rush to reform these things, otherwise I am afraid that the Tang Dynasty will not be able to bear it."

Luo Changqing smiled softly and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I have been in power for so many years. When have I ever been impatient? This is a matter of great importance, so I will certainly be extremely cautious."

Such a major matter was only discussed by the emperor and Luo Changqing. This is the current situation in the Tang Dynasty. Luo Changqing holds the power of prime minister, and his power is almost greater than that of the prime minister in the Han Dynasty.

With the emperor's seal stamped on it and Luo Changqing's Fengge Luantai seal added, an imperial edict with legal effect appeared.

……

After Luo Changqing left with the imperial edict, the first thing he had to do was not to make it public, but to clean up the industrial zone first. This was the true foundation of the Tang Dynasty royal family and the key to the success of this reform.

The essence of this reform was that industrialized regions wanted to expand their markets and scale, so they required agricultural regions to give up their interests, but it was also mixed with political reforms of the royal family.

But there are reasons behind any reform. Only with strong endogenous driving force can the reform succeed. Otherwise, it is just a joke of the upper class.

In the palace, Luo Changqing did not deceive the emperor, but it was not as simple as he said.

Now the main industrial power of the Tang Dynasty is in the hands of the royal family and the Luo family, but there is still a part in the hands of those nobles. Seizing this part of power is the most crucial thing.

If we use administrative power alone to seize it, we will need some major cases. For Luo Changqing, he thinks it is too slow and may expose something.

In this case, the best way is to replace or directly confiscate it.

At the same time, he also needed a reform team that had little to do with the traditional aristocratic bureaucracy.

The members of this team must obey his orders and not have too much involvement with the old nobles, which will take time.

Of course, Luo Changqing has a natural advantage, which is that he can mobilize a large number of talents from the Luo family.

Today, the Luo family is definitely the undisputed number one family in the Tang Dynasty. In the eyes of most people, the Luo family is more powerful than the royal family. If it weren't for the emperor in the royal family, they really couldn't compare to the Luo family.

The Luo family has a clan leader, but most importantly, they have a large number of talents. The Luo family has more talents than the Li family. This number is far more than those of the former aristocratic families, reaching an unimaginable scale.

It’s just that although the current Luo family still has a clan and a clan leader, the patriarchal system has actually completely disappeared in the Luo family.

Most of the clan members would only return to the family when it was important. In the Luo clan, even the direct line and the side branches were almost ignored.

Everyone lives their own life.

If you think that the Luo family has no cohesion, then you are kidding. As the patriarch of the Luo family, Luo Changqing still has a huge influence, especially since many of the Luo family's descendants work in the Luo family's industries and live in official circles.

These people basically naturally stand on Luo Changqing's side.

Enlightened monarchy.

It is not an easy task to achieve this. Any system has its own ideas behind it.

Luo Changqing did not approve of the new school of thought, but he was very clear in his mind that there were many things in the new school of thought that were not wrong, but these things would bring about greater confusion.

For Luo Changqing, what he least wanted to see was chaos.

In Rome in the far west, some people even shouted "Give me liberty or give me death".

But Luo Changqing thought this was wrong. The jungle was the only place in the world where one could be completely free, but that meant death and chaos at any moment.

Moreover.

"The King of Su never said that the new learning was correct."

Luo Changqing muttered this in his heart.

He is the head of the Luo family. Unlike other direct descendants, he is one of the most ardent believers in King Su.

He did not think so when the idea that "the king's power is granted by human beings" had gradually been accepted by most new schools of thought, and even many people in the Luo family accepted it.

Because the "heaven" in his heart has not spoken yet.

He didn't know when King Su would wake up, and he didn't know whether he would have the honor to listen to King Su's holy words in this life.

But he felt that he should wait and listen to what King Su had to say.

Although he could even guess what King Su was thinking, King Su didn't want to interfere in these matters from the beginning to the end.

But he still wanted to hear what King Su had to say. Even if King Su was not a god with infinite power, he was a saint who had reached the pinnacle of civil and military skills.

His vision penetrates history and he has infinite wisdom.

Nothing in the world could make him frown.

If it were King Su, he would not be confused about the current world, and he would definitely be able to point out the future for the world.

Luo Changqing thought so.

The King of Su.

When will you come back to this world?

----

From Luo Changqing's notes, we can see the core thought of this prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. He had a clear understanding of the world at that time. Although he was the prime minister of the Tang Empire and led the suppression of emerging countries such as Rome, he was not a conservative figure who cheered for the old world.

He had a deep understanding of the inherent corruption and cruelty of countries like Rome, and then set out to build his own ideal country. Although he did not take this step completely due to the constraints of the times, he still left behind sufficient political legacy.

He resolutely defended the great unity, resolutely fought against separatism within the empire and the various states, and resolutely transformed all external conflicts into internal conflicts. This is his immortal achievement and the last precious legacy that the Tang Empire left to the world. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"

(End of this chapter)