At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

But these are just pushing them to a dead end, Alan, what is Wang Jue going up?It's the emperor!No matter how high the king is, he is no longer a minister.

It's okay for those who don't have big ambitions, but what if they have a different heart?I will only crown the prince as king, and the other princes, the highest one, is the duke, and I will take away the prince of Guo Yang sooner or later.

In this way, everyone in the world will understand what I mean. I have chosen Ah Jin to be my successor, so I must protect him and not allow people to attack him and shake his position. Shaking Ah Jin is also shaking the foundation of the state of Wei. "

Cao Lan didn't speak, but leaned silently on Guo Peng's shoulder.

"They are all my sons. It is impossible for me not to think about them. We are fine when we are alive, but what about after we die? I have to think more about the future of the children.

Alan, Guo Yang is incompetent, and I am the eldest son, so I am not threatening, but Ajin has many brothers, how can my son be as incompetent as Guo Yang?

If I don't strengthen his position, protect him with all my strength, let him know that he is safe, what will he do with his brother when we are gone? "

Guo Peng sighed: "You can't make Ah Jin feel insecure, and you can't make him feel insecure. If he doesn't feel safe, he will feel resentful. When I die, he will become the emperor and hold the power of life and death." , what will you do?

Brothers are not brothers, they have become a threat. If he has resentment against these brothers, he will not hold back from them. It is inevitable that brothers can kill each other. Alan, do you want to see that kind of ending? "

Guo Peng's words were full of cold reality, which filled Cao Lan's heart with gloom.

Chapter 963, 970 Three, my child, shouldn't be mediocre

Brothers turned against each other, flesh and blood broke out, and cruel battles broke out between blood relatives.

This is an unavoidable thing that has always been inevitable in the succession of the throne of the emperor.

Thinking of such a terrible scene, Cao Lan shook her head again and again.

"I do not want."

"I don't want to either."

Guo Peng sighed, and said: "So, you and I should focus on A Jin. The more stable his position, the more secure he feels. After he succeeds, the children will be safer. Telling him he was my only option was reassuring him.

His brother is also growing up slowly, and he will gradually develop different emotions. This is human nature, so neither you nor I can have any extra preference for any child. This is very important for our children. It is the safest. "

Guo Peng held Cao Lan's hand, and slowly expressed his cares.

Cao Lan understood what Guo Peng was thinking, and felt mixed feelings for a while.

"The other children, can only be imprisoned in Luoyang City all their lives, and die in depression? Can they never do anything?"

Cao Lan bit her lip and looked at Guo Peng's side face: "That must be very hard, right? They are all lively and lovely children..."

"No matter how uncomfortable it is, it is better than the ending of brothers killing each other. No matter how difficult it is, it is better than being killed by your brother, isn't it?"

Guo Peng sighed helplessly, and said, "Isn't that the case with Tianjia? You want power and freedom at the same time. How can there be such a good thing in the world? You and I are still here and can control the situation.

But what will happen to you and me in the future, how can you and I decide?Alan, we are a heavenly family. I am the emperor and you are the queen. Our family is no longer the same as before.

Our family can't tolerate so many children's affairs. If you and I want all the children except Ah Jin to spend their lives safely, the daughter is fine, but we must not favor any son. "

Cao Lan stopped talking.

Both of them were silent for a while before Guo Peng spoke again.

"Actually, I have also thought about whether there are other ways besides this way of dealing with it. Can I find a way that is good for Jin and other children? Although it is difficult, I think it is not impossible."

When Guo Peng said this, Cao Lan immediately became interested.

"what idea?"

"Similar to the way the Zhou royal family entrusted clans and heroes to various parts of the North China Central Plains to be monarchs, entrust the children to be their own monarchs, with Wei Guo as the suzerain state and Wei Tianzi as the suzerain."

"What does it mean?"

Cao Lan didn't understand, so she hurriedly asked: "Didn't Peng Lang say that he won't seal the country for the children? Isn't sealing the country the root cause of the country's disaster? Wouldn't it be dangerous?"

"Of course it's impossible within the Wei state. I won't seal off the children within the Wei state, but it may not be impossible outside the Wei state."

Guo Peng took a deep breath, squinted his eyes and said: "When King Wu succeeded in overthrowing Zhou, he enfeoffed clans and his meritorious officials went to various places to be kings. Now it seems that it has indeed caused hundreds of years of separatism and chaos.

But at that time, at least before the decline of the Zhou royal family, it was a move to expand the territory, Alan, the transportation at that time was not as good as it is now, and the area controlled by the Zhou royal family at that time was only the Guanzhong Luoyang area.

Many other places, including the Central Plains and Hebei, are barren lands, with no roads, no development, no exploration, and no idea what the situation is. Under the traffic conditions at that time, the royal family of Zhou could not catch up.

Even if King Wu wanted to, he couldn't control too much territory at all. The Zhou royal family couldn't directly rule those places, and government orders and troops couldn't reach them. Moreover, there were indigenous people in those places, so they would definitely fight.

If the royal family of Zhou took it all on their own and went to fight hundreds of miles or even thousands of miles away, even now I would feel exhausted and had to make great efforts to farm the fields. It would have been an unimaginable situation a thousand years ago, so King Wu and his heroes Only then did I choose to enclose.

The clan and heroes were entrusted to manage the places that the Zhou royal family could not do what they wanted. These monarchs will inevitably open up territories for their own interests. They use their places as supply bases to attack and develop nearby cities. While developing, they occupy.

When they expanded their territory and expanded their strength, they also expanded the territory of the Zhou royal family to wherever they went. Those lands that did not belong to the Zhou royal family also became the royal land of the Zhou royal family in name and law. . "

"But after that, wouldn't the royal family of Zhou not be able to command the states at all? The states expanded each other's territories, resulting in disputes, and endless wars for hundreds of years. That's not a good thing."

Cao Lan was influenced by Guo Peng and had read many books, so her face was full of doubts.

Guo Peng shook his head.

"As far as we look at it now, it is certainly the case, because we can completely control the Central Plains and Hebei, and because the transportation is greatly developed, the national government orders and the army can rush to the place in time, so I can control the entire Wei State in Luoyang.

But Alan, we can’t use the present to compare the situation of more than 1000 years ago. We can do it now because of the accumulation of more than 1000 years. The Zhou royal family did not have the development and accumulation of their ancestors for more than 1000 years. They really couldn’t do it. . "

When Guo Peng said this, Cao Lan became even more interested.

"Why can't it be done?"

"Because the Zhou royal family has no conditions. To expand the territory, it needs transportation, manpower and material resources, and these Zhou royal families do not have it. It has no way to control such a large country. The land it can directly control is very limited. It can only divide the country. Get out, there's no other way.

Even the small countries it enfeoffed could not be merged with each other, they could only develop. When those vassal states were enfeoffed, they seemed to be a large piece of territory, but they did not have formed counties and villages like they are now.

At that time, the local residents were not even Huaxia people. They lived scattered all over the country, drank blood, and were ignorant of education. The Zhou royal family divided the land to the princes, but how to manage and govern it depends on them. The Zhou royal family will not provide them with much help. .

What they controlled at the beginning was just a small area around the capital city. Compared with a country, it is better to say that it is a city-state. Slowly reclaim wasteland and slowly build settlements. As time goes by, traffic improves, population increases, and technology grows. , the situation has changed.

After decades and hundreds of years, the speed of the government's decrees and military marches became faster, and those vassal states slowly gained a foothold, civilized and assimilated the local people, made them Chinese, increased population, increased productivity, repaired roads, and then Continue to expand the area of ​​direct jurisdiction.

In this way, gradually expanding from one city-state to several cities, from tens of thousands of people to tens of thousands of people, the nominal land really became the king's land, and the hegemony of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States gradually took shape. It really belongs to Huaxia.

How many wars occurred during that period, how many bloody conflicts, how many foreign races were eliminated, conquered, and assimilated, how many Chinese people died in the process of pioneering, how those cities were built, how roads were repaired, canals, water conservancy How it was built is all in those hundreds of years. "

After Guo Peng explained it, Cao Lan understood what kind of enfeoffment was and what it was all about.

"In that case, what happened to the Zhou royal family's inability to control the vassal states? If enfeoffment is so effective, how could it happen later?"

Cao Lan continued to look at Guo Peng.

Guo Peng sighed.

"How can there be a perfect system in the world? It is only the most suitable for the present, but the world is constantly changing, and everything is changing. If you can't keep pace with the times, you are destined to be abandoned by the times. The royal family of Zhou was abandoned like this of.

The enfeoffment system was very good at the beginning. It helped China expand from Guanzhong to the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It also established territories in Shuzhong, Hebei, and Jiangnan. The population of each vassal state is increasing day by day, and the territory is increasing day by day. There is also gradually a struggle for hegemony. Power.

I think that at the latest when King Li Xuan was the king, the royal family of Zhou should start cutting down the vassals. At that time, the enfeoffment had been divided for nearly 200 years, and the vassal states had already reached a considerable scale in terms of population, finance, and military strength.

Moreover, the world's transportation has also undergone tremendous changes. Anyone with insight in the Zhou royal family should realize that it is only a matter of time before the vassal states get rid of control, but the Zhou royal family did not.

King Xuan wasted a great opportunity in vain, so that King You died at the hands of Shen Guo and the Rong people.

King Ping no longer has the basis for ruling, so this is something that King Wu didn't expect when he entrusted him. Hundreds of years have passed by then. Could it be King Wu's fault? "

Cao Lan nodded silently.

"Of course it's not King Wu's fault."

"Alan, who can predict what will happen hundreds of years later? Can King Wu? Can Jiang Shang? None of them can. They are the most powerful elites at that time. They can only make the best choice at that time. The most beneficial and most appropriate choice, they did nothing wrong.

Future generations do not have the vision to keep pace with the times, do not have the courage and wisdom to break the law established by the ancestors, and fail to change the system and revitalize the country. This is the incompetence of the future generations, not the fault of the ancestors. "

Cao Lan looked at Guo Peng.

"So, for us now, is there the best choice?"

Guo Peng nodded.

"In my spare time these past few years, I have carefully studied the counties and enfeoffments, and reviewed the history of more than 1000 years. Then I realized that counties and counties are good for ruling, and enfeoffments are good for development. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. shortcoming.

The system of prefectures and counties is very helpful for the emperor to govern the world, but it is not easy to expand the territory. Once the world is unified, the power of local officials will be greatly checked and balanced under the system of prefectures and counties. Because of the constraints, they could not continue to develop.

The enfeoffment system is different. The military, government and financial power are all in the hands of the monarch of the country. He can send troops without the permission of the central government, which will save a lot of time. Starting from the local area and expanding outward, he is full of pioneering and independent. The advantages are particularly large.

But in the same way, the problem with enfeoffment is that the local power is too heavy, and it is too easy to compete with the central government for power, causing conflicts between the local and the central. can not be seen. "

Feeling that what Guo Peng said made sense, Cao Lan nodded.

"That's why there is a struggle for hegemony among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period?"

"Yes, it is because of the enfeoffment that the seven warlords of the Warring States Period have joined forces and competed for hegemony."

Guo Peng said: "Compared to Emperor Han before, I was actually enfeoffing the princes. The central government could not contain me or order me. I only thought about unification, but after the founding of the country, it will be different. For the stability of the country, counties and counties system is a must.

Without the power to enfeoff the monarch, local officials can only stick to the rules, protect the environment and the people, and cannot open up to the outside world. Therefore, the counties and counties themselves are designed for rule rather than for development. They are for rule, not for progress. The enfeoffment system is different. , in order to develop. "

Cao Lan felt that she understood.

"So that's the case...but if this is the case, where should we set up a feudal state? If it is in the south of the Yangtze River...or Liaodong?"

"No, we must set up a closed country where we cannot control it."

Guo Peng shook his head and said, "We Wei State is very big and strong, with a large population and convenient transportation. The government orders of the state can be transmitted to any corner from Luoyang. However, with our current situation, there is still a large amount of land that can be controlled. extreme.

I think that if we can control the counties and counties of Pingzhou in the east and the counties and counties of Jiaozhou in the south, then for us, at least in a hundred years, the east and south directions are the limit , unable to continue to expand abroad, unable to establish effective governance of counties.

It takes time for the decree and the arrival of the army. Once this time exceeds a certain limit, the decree will lose its effect, and the army will not be able to quell the rebellion and disasters in time. As a result, our local rule will collapse, and the loss outweighs the gain. "

"Is that right?"

Cao Lan didn't understand government affairs, so she blinked at Guo Peng.

Guo Peng nodded slowly.

"Yes, there is a limit to the rule of counties and counties. It cannot be expanded infinitely. I have sent people to calculate and deduce it. The limit is about three months. The army and government orders from Luoyang can arrive in three months. The farthest place is this limit.

Beyond this limit, no matter how strong I am, no matter how many troops I have, I will not be able to rule unless there is a leap in traffic, so I was thinking, I want to find this limit, and then send our children beyond the limit, and give them to us in that place. They closed the country and let them open up and make progress on their own.

In this way, Ah Jin, who is the emperor in Wei State, will not be threatened by the enfeoffed children, and the progress of the enfeoffed children will not be restrained by Wei State, and the two sides cannot substantially interfere with each other. Perhaps, this is the only way. "

"Is it that far away?"

Cao Lan seemed a bit reluctant: "Then the children will never be able to go home?"

"It must be that far, or even a little further. For the sake of future generations, it is best for them not to have conflicts of interest with each other, so that they can develop in the long run."

Guo Peng said slowly: "If Liu Bang had the opportunity to gain strength back then, he would have looked outside and entrusted the kings of the Han Dynasty to the grasslands, to the Western Regions, to the south of Jiaozhou, and to Liaodong. The room will be another situation.

If the children who are enfeoffed can open up the situation and occupy the local area, they can also be regarded as the vassal state of the Wei State. Those who go out are our Wei State people, representing the Wei State, inheriting the Chinese legal system, and bringing over our education. Is this true? Isn't it another sense of expansion? "

Cao Lan suddenly felt that what Guo Peng said made sense.

"Another kind of frontier expansion..."

"Yes, another way to expand the territory, the Zhou royal family may have had the same idea back then. The territory that the Zhou royal family could control back then, that is, Guanzhong and the Yellow River Basin, other places could not control at all.

It was precisely because of the enfeoffment of the states that Hebei, the Central Plains, and a part of Jiangnan were controlled. Those princes were all Chinese, and the officials and soldiers they brought were also Chinese.

After the land took root and developed, the different countries established were actually Huaxia, and the land that did not belong to Huaxia became the land of Huaxia. There were 800 years of Zhou, and it was also a history of 800 years of enfeoffment and development, which laid the foundation for today.

And what I have to do is the same, divide the children beyond the limit of the land I can control, give them a state and build a country there, give them some officials and troops, let them take away some people who are willing to follow, let them They go to develop, to pioneer, to build a new country. "

Guo Peng took a deep breath: "My child, you shouldn't be mediocre."

Chapter 964 .970 The beloved son of the four parents has a far-reaching plan

Guo Peng painted a magnificent picture scroll for the future children and the Wei Empire.

And Cao Lan was shocked by the situation Guo Peng described.

The 800-year enfeoffment of the Zhou royal family is already a major change that has never been seen in ancient times. If Guo Peng's plan is implemented smoothly, what will the future look like?

no one knows.

Anyway, Cao Lan definitely can't see such a future.

"if that's the case……"

Guo Peng held Cao Lan's hand.