At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Guo Peng can appreciate Guo Jin's concern, but there are some things that cannot be left to others.

No one understands the true purpose and importance of Gephysics better than Guo Peng, so Guo Peng has to do it himself.

"I am the only one who understands this knowledge. I want to check it so that these old scholars will not pass on the wrong knowledge of Gewu to students, and I will not let them mislead their children and harm the country."

"So... that's fine."

Guo Jin was silent for a while, then asked again: "My son still doesn't understand why my father wants to promote this physical science. The Mohist theory was abandoned as early as the pre-Qin period, but my father picked it up and promoted it again. Is this what my father wants to do? ?”

"Naturally."

Guo Peng nodded: "The various schools of thought in the pre-Qin period all tried their best to develop upwards, aiming to influence the upper class and promote the theories of their own school, so as to obtain huge political and economic benefits and achieve a big success. Learn valve.

Be it Confucianism, Taoism, or Legalism, it’s just that, they don’t have ordinary people in their eyes, only the nobles of blood in the pre-Qin period, and those they strive to win and serve are also these nobles of blood.

Of course, the founders of each theory were also of noble origin. In that era, common people did not have surnames. Those with surnames were all powerful nobles going back at least three generations. What they practiced was actually nobles. of learning.

Of the hundreds of schools of thought, only the Mohists have seen and realized the power of the common people, so they advocate universal love and advocate [Red and worthy, although there are people in agriculture and industry, there are people who can choose their actions] , advocating that [officials are impermanently expensive and people are impermanently cheap]. "

"This... imperial examination?"

Guo Jin was a little surprised: "Father established the imperial examination, could it be..."

"I can't say that it doesn't matter. The concept of the imperial examination is indeed similar to that of the Mohist school. I can't say that it has not been influenced by the Mohist ideology. However, due to the time limit, the Mohist ideology is just a kind of ideology. It has not been implemented. , and perished."

Guo Peng shook his head: "Fortunately, the theory of Mohism disappeared completely. I took them out again, and I can easily make deletions, and get rid of the non-aggression theory of Mohism. I appreciate some of Mohism's ideas. But it’s never going to be accepted in full.”

"I see."

Guo Jin said that he understood: "Both the Mo family and my father have seen the great power of ordinary people."

"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. We are the boat, and the common people are the water. The water is soft, but when the water gets angry, it will be a huge wave. The sad thing is that many boats think they are indestructible. , in the end, can only be subverted by water."

Guo Peng pointed to the "Mo Jing" on his desk.

"People who don't pay attention to the common people will eventually be abandoned by the common people. Once they are abandoned by them, they will surely die. Ah Jin, you must not forget."

"Son, keep it in mind."

Guo Jin swears seriously.

After Guo Jin left, Guo Peng sighed silently, and put away the Mo Jing on the table.

Whether you remember it or forget it, you cannot escape the fate of the feudal empire after all.

He Guo established a feudal empire, a feudal empire doomed to perish, not a promising republic.

This era is doomed for him to have no way to bring this feudal empire forward, he can only stay in this era.

Then, leave hope for future generations to move forward.

What really matters is not whether future emperors can remember his words, or whether they can thoroughly study Guo's Junxue.

That's all minutiae.

What is really important is whether the learning theory of learning from things can blossom everywhere and become a subject that is widely valued by people. On this basis, various basic knowledge needed in the industrial age can be born.

For the Wei Empire, it was not easy to get to this point, and the next thing could not be accomplished by an agricultural feudal empire.

If the flowers of industry can be bred in the agricultural soil of the Wei Empire, then the historical mission of the Wei Empire can be completed.

It is impossible for Guo Peng to know what the future world will look like, and he doesn't want to know.

The only thing he knows is the fate of the Wei Empire.

He actually saw Guo Jin's series of operations, and he was not happy.

He saw Guo Jin's lack of self-confidence and a little cowardice in the face of the overall political situation that Guo Jin tried to hide, and saw his hesitation when he took action. This time the action was not outstanding, at least in Guo Peng's view, there were many problems.

But maybe this is the limit that Guo Jin can do at this stage.

Not every emperor can remain calm and wise in the face of court storms.

At the very beginning, Guo Peng was not so proficient in mastering the skills of the big cleansing.

It's just that Guo Peng is the emperor who walked out of the sea of ​​corpses and blood. He has a strong will, sees everything in his eyes, has experienced everything, and he is clear about the careful thinking and tricks of the officials.

He can kill, make everyone fear, and make everyone worship him, he has that prestige.

So he is not afraid.

As for Guo Jin, no matter how well the emperor masters the mind and how skilled he is in the use of power, he is not the master who created the country, but the successor. He cannot toss the country with the same confidence as Guo Peng.

In the final analysis, he didn't come all the way from the mountain of corpses and the sea of ​​blood, but was cultivated by elite education. He didn't have some insights that only those who walked out of the mountain of blood and blood could have.

He doesn't have the kind of courage to go despite thousands of people.

Promoting social revolution requires that kind of boldness and belief, and that kind of belief can only be possessed by a superman who has emerged from a sea of ​​corpses and blood, and ordinary people cannot possess it.

Only with a strong will, belief, and courage can we toss this country, bring this country to life, or forcibly interrupt the downward trend and bring it back to the uphill.

Guo Jin is himself, not the second Guo Peng, he doesn't have that courage.

Guo Peng noticed that he was not strong enough, he was not tenacious enough, he could only use power to control the officials, but could not use prestige to deter them.

Maybe one day he can also have his own prestige, but it needs enough time to develop, and he needs to be emperor for 30 to [-] years to form his own prestige.

But even so, this kind of prestige cannot be compared with the prestige of the founding emperor, it is more like a ruling inertia.

Guo Peng saw Guo Jin's contradiction and hesitation in wanting to get rid of his influence as the Supreme Emperor but did not dare to let go of his influence. He also saw his restraint and compromise in many things as the second emperor. .

No matter how superb the tactics and tactics are, they are only expedient measures. The reform of the court and the great purge are the real killer moves that can change the situation.

Every big purge can break the political balance of the court, as well as the corruption and interest exchange hidden under the political balance.

Every big purge can bring about a reshuffle, a change in the political landscape, and an opportunity for the lower classes of society to move upward.

Behind the four words of dynamic balance are courage and bloodshed.

Without the courage to let those bureaucrats bleed, the dynamic balance will never be achieved, and the Wei Empire will only go to chaos and then perish.

Guo Jin has learned political skills and can use them well, but he lacks the political wisdom and courage to launch a big purge.

The Great Purge not only represents the emperor's killing intent, but also represents the emperor's absolute control over the court——

So many people have been killed and so many people dismissed, but the government can still operate stably, and the government's administrative functions can be maintained. No accidents.

This required the emperor's extreme control over the government.

This cannot be summed up in a few words.

The several major purges launched by Mr. Guo were all launched under the premise that the government can be operated as usual. Disrupting the central government will not disrupt the local area, and disrupting the court will not disrupt the world.

Therefore, all the unstable factors that the Wei Empire inherited from the Han Empire were wiped out by him. He completed his social revolution and brought the Wei Empire out of the fate of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

He was in control of the situation from beginning to end.

And right now, if Guo Jin is allowed to launch a big purge, can he control the situation and ensure that no more serious political crisis occurs during the purge?

Guo Peng knew that he couldn't do it.

Not necessarily another ten years.

Guo Peng is still alive, and he can use Cheng Yu to launch the last major purge, but after that, there will be no such opportunity.

Can Guo Jin grow to the point where she leads the purge?

Guo Peng did not know.

But Guo Peng knew that the Wei Empire was undoubtedly going downhill.

Take a Song and Ming-style downhill road.

Even if its population is increasing, its wealth is increasing, its national power is increasing, its academics are moving downwards, and everything seems to be improving, the heyday of the Wei Empire is far from coming.

But the Wei Empire is already on the decline.

From the moment he felt tired and decided to give up the throne, the downhill road was fixed, and it cannot be reversed by manpower.

Even if he returns to the throne at this moment and regains control of the world, this trend cannot be reversed.

Guo Jin is not him, nor can he become him. There is only one him, only himself.

no one else.

Facing the heavy inertia of history, he won once and led the Wei Empire out of the abyss of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. It had already consumed his whole life, and he had no way to continue leading the Wei Empire out of the abyss of the Song and Ming Dynasties.

So Guo Peng let out a long sigh, buried his head, and wrote vigorously.

He put all his expectations and hopes for the future into words, looking forward to the day when the seeds of hope can bloom into brilliant flowers of hope.

It is not him, but this flower of hope that can lead the entire nation out of the abyss.

The seeds of hope that Guo Peng needs to be cared for have just been planted.

It is too weak, and it still can't see the future that can be achieved.

But in the West Asia region thousands of miles away from Luoyang, Emperor Caracalla of the Roman Empire seemed to see his own future.

Chapter 1488. One thousand 390 The terrible system of the Roman Empire began to exert its power

Since the war with the Parthian Empire, Caracalla has won consecutive battles and led the army all the way.

He continued to expel the resistance army of the Parthian Empire, constantly gaining victory and prestige, and his troops pointed directly at Tessiphon, the capital of the Parthian Empire.

Caracalla wanted to reproduce his father's glory-occupied Ctesiphon again, the capital of the Parthian Empire, and burned, killed, and looted to attack the Parthians' belief in resistance.

Of course, the Parthian Empire would not let him be ruled by him. He fought bravely to stop the invasion of the Roman army many times, and repeatedly gave the Roman army firm resistance, but the number of defeats was a little more.

The Roman army has won consecutive battles, their morale is high, and the prestige of the emperor Caracalla has never been improved. The Roman army looks unstoppable.

In desperation, Parthian Emperor Artabanus V personally led his troops to the second line of defense of the empire and the last line of defense before the capital to face the Roman army.

He tried to fight to the death with the Roman army here, defeated the Roman army, defended the capital Ctesiphon, established his status and prestige as emperor, and consolidated his rule.

But when he arrived at the front line, he realized that the situation on the front line was much worse than he had imagined.

Morale is low, equipment is not complete, supplies are not enough, and troops are scarce.

The reinforcements he brought could not fully make up for the previous battle damage. The previous battle damage was too great, and the generals and officers at all levels were very dissatisfied with him, and everyone was really tired, very tired, and there were problems with logistics and transportation. Storage is nearly depleted.

This made Aldaban V feel a little worried amidst his anger.

His elder brother was only expelled by him and lost the throne, but he was not dead. If the army was dissatisfied with him and supported his elder brother, he was destined to lose the throne.

He could not accept this situation, so this battle had to be won, or at worst a tie, to force the Roman army back, so as to maintain the minimum level of his status as a monarch.

But how can the weak and weak army that has just been defeated defeat the Roman legion with high morale and unstoppable morale?

Artaban V fell into confusion.

But what Artaban V did not expect was that one person also felt his confusion.

This man, called Opelius Macrinus, was the highest officer of the Praetorian Guards around Caracalla, and an important figure who supported the throne of the Caracalla Emperor.

He is the head of the Praetorian Guards, one of the important figures who led the Praetorian Guards to hold the Roman throne, an important supporter of Caracalla, and one of the important commanders of this battle.

His life experience is very wonderful, wonderfully comparable to that of Spartacus who also caused the great uprising back then.

He was born in North Africa, and his father was a slave, so he was born a slave, an inferior existence, and was even sold to the Colosseum later, becoming a gladiator who will fight for tomorrow.

Logically speaking, he would be eaten by wild beasts or killed by people in a certain battle.

But he didn't, he persevered, whether in front of beasts or in front of people, he showed amazing adaptability in the Colosseum, adapted to life in the Colosseum, and his body became very strong. lost.

After that, he redeemed himself with his outstanding performance and accumulated wealth, gained freedom, and completed the transformation from slave to free man.

Afterwards, he became a postman and worked for three years. During these three years, he also studied law by himself. Finally, he worked hard to obtain the identity of a Roman citizen, completed the leap from slave to Roman citizen, crossed classes, and achieved a breakthrough in life. .

In modern times, it is a model of individual struggle and effort to change destiny, and it is worth learning from the whole society.

But this is not the end. Not only did he become a Roman citizen, but he also joined the army and joined the Praetorian Guard. Supporter of Emperor Caracalla.

He became an imperial general with great power and status.

He completed the incredible leap from the humble slave to the ruling class of the empire, and he can be called a rare genius in 50 years.

The fact that the Roman Empire did not pay attention to other traditions that only focused on citizenship gave him the possibility to make this leap, but it still required incredible hard work and dedication to make it possible.

No, there is still luck against the sky.