allonlinenovel Chapter 130 On the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 130 On the Three Kingdoms
Last time we talked about how the Northern Wei court had begun a fight over the Imperial Examination System and the Imperial College, and Tuoba Jun successfully took advantage of his identity as a referee to reap the benefits. So let’s take a look at how the story will develop next.
Now that the Enke and the Imperial College have been settled, and the clan class has suffered a loss, will they just give up? Of course not, but they can't get angry at the emperor, so what will they do?
Naturally, there was only one person who suffered, and that was Li Yi. Those who implemented reforms in every dynasty were bound to offend the powerful class at that time. Most reformers did not have a good ending, regardless of whether their reforms were successful or not. Just look at Shang Yang, Wang Anshi, Zhang Juzheng, Tan Sitong, etc., and see which one of them ended up well.
Fortunately, Li Yi is a time traveler. He has thousands of years of experience from his ancestors. Although he is not a top student, he has received higher education. So he had a deep conversation with Tuoba Jun and Tao Zhongwen a long time ago:
It was the last day of March. Tuoba Jun finished reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms and felt very sad. He was sad that the Three Kingdoms were returned to the Jin Dynasty and the Sima family won the world alone. Tuoba Jun first found Tao Zhongwen, because Tao Zhongwen had always been hostile to clans, so he felt most at ease talking to him about clan issues.
Tao Zhongwen arrived at the imperial study, and the master and apprentice started chatting. Tuoba Jun told many stories from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Tao Zhongwen was so surprised that he asked Tuoba Jun where he heard these stories. Tuoba Jun brought both parts of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" to his teacher.
Tao Zhongwen was an extraordinary Confucianist and Taoist, so naturally he had unique methods. He placed the two books on the table, and with a righteous energy in his hands, the two books opened at the same time and turned the pages quickly by themselves. In less than an incense stick of time, Tao Zhongwen had finished reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
He hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, who wrote the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? It is a great book, well written, great!"
Tuoba Jun said calmly: "Xiu Yuan, who else could it be. Only this guy can have such insight, only he can write such a book, and only he can use this method to tell me to beware of these clans."
Tao Zhongwen closed his eyes and quickly sorted out the main plot and major events of the book in his mind. He suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, Li Yi has something else that has not been written in the book!"
Tuoba Jun asked: "What?"
Tao Zhongwen saluted and said, "Your Majesty, please wait here for a moment. I will go find him and we will talk it over face to face!" After saying this, Tao Zhongwen disappeared. He meant what he said.
Li Yi was singing with a guitar at this time, when suddenly a gust of wind blew in front of him and purple air swirled around. Then Tao Zhongwen appeared and stretched out his hand to pull Li Yi up. Before the latter could react, purple air swirled in front of him again. When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the imperial study.
Li Yi greeted Tuoba Jun and said, "Your Majesty, I wonder why you have come here?"
Tuoba Jun looked at Tao Zhongwen, who smiled and said, "Xiuyuan, I want you to make it clear what is not said in the book."
Li Yi asked: "Books? What books?"
Tao Zhongwen picked up the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and said with a smile: "It is this book. You wrote such a good book, but you didn't let me appreciate it, but sent it to His Majesty first. Xiuyuan, you have learned bad things!"
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "What good book? It's just for killing time when you have nothing to do. I didn't expect that the chief would like this kind of miscellaneous book."
Tao Zhongwen said unhappily, "What are you talking about? This is not just a miscellaneous book. Every detail in the book is thought-provoking. Both the plot and the characterization are meticulous. If it weren't for the word 'romance', I would have thought it was a true history."
Li Yi looked at Tuoba Jun and asked, "Your Majesty, have you finished reading?"
Tuoba Jun sighed and said, "Yes, the three families returned to Jin. Xiuyuan, your ending makes me very dissatisfied. Why did Cao Wei have the advantage of time but not the world, Liu Bei had the support of people but still not the world, Jiangdong Sun Wu had the advantage of location but still could not live in peace, and the Sima family became the final winner?"
Li Yi looked at Tao Zhongwen, who just smiled and said nothing, so he bowed to Tuoba Jun and said, "Your Majesty, this matter has been written at the beginning. The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there will be unification, and after a long period of unification, there will be division, just like the surging river flowing eastward."
Tuoba Jun was puzzled and said: "Of course I understand this sentence, but it doesn't answer the question just now!"
Li Yi cupped his hands and said, "You can't win the world by having the right timing, people and location. To win the world, you must have power!"
Tao Zhongwen was struck by lightning when he heard the last word "momentum" from Li Yi. He suddenly recalled the words he said to his Taoist master before they parted ways, "cultivate the Tao, the Tao will be accomplished, break through the realm, and the momentum will be determined."
He sighed in his heart: He who has power will win the world, and he who has power? Power can be determined! Li Xiuyuan, Li Xiuyuan, only you can help my Wei Dynasty achieve the great trend of conquering the Central Plains and unifying the nine states, and what I have to do is to use your power to stir up this muddy water and return peace to the world! Thinking of this, Tao Zhongwen was very excited, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Li Yi changed. Originally, he liked and appreciated, but now it has become expectation and desire.
Tuoba Jun, who was sitting on the dragon throne, stood up and walked down the steps and asked, "He who gains power wins the world? I have heard that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, but where does this power come from? What does this power mean?"
Li Yi looked at Tong Qing and waved. Tong Qing immediately stepped forward and asked, "What do you want, Master Yuefu?"
Li Yi said, "I'm afraid we'll have to talk for a long time today. Go get some wine and food. I want fruit wine and meat. Do you hear me?"
Tongqing looked at Tuoba Jun, who just smiled faintly. Tongqing immediately understood and said loudly: "Everyone, please leave. Your Majesty has important matters to discuss with Master Tao and Lord Yuefu!" After that, he led the eunuchs and palace maids serving in the imperial study to leave.
On the other hand, Tao Zhongwen had no dissatisfaction with Li Yi's presumptuous behavior. He now thought Li Yi was good in every way, as if he was holding him in his hands for fear of dropping him, or holding him in his mouth for fear of melting him.
Tuoba Jun naturally took out two cushions and placed them on the steps, then pointed to his side. Li Yi did not hesitate to pick up the cushions and sat on a step below Tuoba Jun. Tao Zhongwen stood by and watched the brotherly-like monarch and minister with a smile.
Tuoba Jun said, "Teacher, you might as well find a place to sit down. Xiu Yuan has already talked about it. I'm afraid we'll have to talk for a long time."
Tao Zhongwen smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I will accompany you no matter how late it is. Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so talkative. This scene reminds me of the time when your brother sat on the same steps with your Majesty, slept on the same bed with you, sat on the same table when entering, and rode on the same carriage when leaving."
Tuoba Jun smiled and said, "Yes, if my brother was still alive, he would be the one sitting on the dragon throne. The teacher wouldn't be so busy, and the students wouldn't be so hard either."
Tao Zhongwen reached out and grabbed a stool and sat down, then he saluted and said, "It's all my fault for speaking too quickly and making Your Majesty unhappy. Your Majesty should talk more with Xiuyuan. They are of the same age, so it will be much easier for them to communicate."
Tuoba Jun smiled and said, "Teacher, you are too kind. I have nothing to be offended by. Besides, Xiuyuan and I often sit and talk like this, and we chat every day during the New Year holidays."
Tao Zhongwen was surprised and said, "Is this true? Oh, I am a fool. I just wanted to drink and brag with those corrupt scholars. It seems that I missed a lot of wonderful things!"
Li Yi sneered, "Did you take out that pen to show off? I think you've done enough. How can you be so magnanimous as an elder? You got a good thing but you didn't keep it to yourself. You even invited people to your place for a drink!"
Tuoba Jun asked with a smile: "What kind of pen? How is it so good? The teacher actually invited others to the Gentleman's Pavilion for a drink? It seems that it is really a treasure!"
Li Yi said calmly: "It's just a brush used by a saint. If there's anything special about it, it's just that it's very broken and very old. There's nothing to show off about it."
Tuoba Jun was surprised and asked: "Saint? Which saint?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "It's Confucius, the third generation saint. If it was something from a second generation saint, it wouldn't be left in the Gentleman's Pavilion."
Tuoba Jun looked at Tao Zhongwen and asked, "Teacher, how did you get this holy object? No, the brush used by the saint is a holy object. Teacher, please let your students open their eyes to such a treasure passed down from generation to generation."
Tao Zhongwen smiled and said, "Don't worry, don't worry. Let's talk about it today. After we understand it, we can talk about the matter of the holy weapon. Xiuyuan, please tell me quickly. He who gains power gains the world!"
Li Yi sat on the steps and looked at the gate and said, "It is true that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, but does this heart of the people refer to the hearts of the common people?"
Tuoba Jun asked back: "Isn't it?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "No, the hearts of the common people are not needed. As long as they have enough food and clothing and can live a peaceful life, they will naturally say good things about you. On the contrary, if there are constant wars and heavy taxes, they will definitely curse. Just like the current Wei Dynasty can be regarded as a peaceful country, the people will definitely say that the emperor is wise and brave, is this considered the will of the people?"
Tuoba Jun understood what Li Yi meant and asked, "What does Xiuyuan mean by the people's will?"
Li Yi said: "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. The hearts of the people do not refer to the lower classes, but to the hearts of scholars and clans."
Tuoba Jun nodded and said, "If that's the case, then I understand the principle. Please explain the momentum you mentioned."
Li Yi asked: "Cao Cao spent his whole life fighting and conquering the Wei Dynasty. Why didn't Cao Cao become emperor?"
Tuoba Jun thought for a moment and replied, "Because at that time there were still many clans that were loyal to the Han Dynasty and not to the Cao Dynasty, or the scholars' hearts were with the Han Dynasty and not with the Cao Dynasty."
Li Yi asked again: "Then why was it so natural for Cao Pi to become emperor?"
Tuoba Jun said: "Because he has the support of the clan."
Li Yi asked again: "How did he get the support of the clan?"
Tuoba Jun answered stupidly, "Because he adopted Chen Qun's Nine-Rank System."
Li Yi looked at Tuoba Jun and asked, "What does the Nine-Rank System mean?"
Tuoba Jun suddenly realized: "The clan's path to becoming an official."
Li Yi turned his head and looked at the gate again and asked, "Why did no one stand up to stop Sima Yan when he usurped the throne? No one even spoke up for Cao, and no one even scolded Sima?"
Tuoba Jun replied: "Cao Wei has no successor, and the Cao family has lost power."
Li Yi asked: "What kind of power did you lose?"
Tuoba Jun asked doubtfully: "Military power?"
At this time, Tong Qing's voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the wine and food are ready."
Tuoba Jun said: "Bring it in."
Tong Qing opened the door, came in, set up the food and wine, and then left. Li Yi sat down first and said, "Come and sit down. I won't be polite with you."
Tuoba Jun sat opposite Li Yi and was still thinking about what momentum was. Tao Zhongwen smiled and sat next to Li Yi and said, "Xiuyuan, stop embarrassing your majesty. Tell me what momentum you are talking about."
Li Yi poured himself a glass of wine and said, "The right time, the right place, and the right people."
Tao Zhongwen and Tuoba Jun sneered: "Nonsense!"
Li Yi shook his head and asked, "How did the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty unify the world?"
Tuoba Jun replied: "The emperors of the Qin Dynasty worked hard to govern the country until the First Emperor. No one in the world could stop the Qin Dynasty."
Tao Zhongwen began to speak: "Shang Yang's reforms changed the system and made Qin from weak to strong. The Qin people were martial and gained wealth through military merit, making the Qin army a powerful army. Whenever there was a war, fathers would send their sons and sisters would send their brothers, and all men would be willing to go to the battlefield. Moreover..." Tao Zhongwen listed a lot of advantages of Qin.
Li Yi thought: The dividing point between this life and the previous life is the second emperor of Qin. Prince Fusu did not commit suicide, but returned to Xianyang and won the throne under the protection of Meng Tian. Later, he promoted Confucianism and Taoism to consolidate the imperial power. This led to the 500-year-long Qin Dynasty. Now China has not been unified, and the history books of the previous dynasties are incomplete. It's time to show my real skills and let you know what an emotionless endorsement machine is!