Imperial City, Imperial Garden, Feiyun Pavilion.
Bigan and Di Yi sat opposite each other, and the atmosphere at this moment was much more relaxed than in the court hall.
But Emperor Yi still held the memorial in his hand tightly, his expression was deep, and he even refused to believe it for a long time.
Because the things written above are so big that even the emperor of Yin and Shang could not ignore them.
The first line above is clear to the eye: The chaos in Beihai was not caused by human effort.
This conclusion is so unexpected that one cannot even think too much about it. What does this non-human act mean? Are there other forces involved in the Beihai Rebellion?
And besides the princes of Beihai, who else would oppose the Yin Shang?
Di Yi frowned deeply, pressed the memorial with trembling hands and continued reading:
Hu Hongmeng is so big that the Yin and Shang Dynasties only live in a corner. There is heaven outside the heaven, and there are immortals outside the human world.
Beihai is located in a barbaric wilderness, where demons and monsters are everywhere. The people are suffering, either because of the desire for profit or because of arrogance and arrogance. The princes from all walks of life are bewitched by the demons and evil spirits and refuse to obey the king's rule. Then they calm down and rebel again, and rebel and rebel again. This is really a stubborn disease called ringworm.
If it is not eliminated for a long time, there may be great chaos, and you should be vigilant immediately, otherwise the world will rise up one after another, and the country will not be a country.
In order to protect the prosperity of the Yin Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty, my brother has a public security policy, and I will express it to my brother Wang.
If the country is to be strong and prosperous and not humiliate foreign enemies, there are three remaining strategies: cutting down vassals, restructuring, and centralizing power. These three strategies have been reported to the king's brother, and I am very frightened.
Bigan knew in his heart that in the Battle of the Gods, the rise and fall of Zhou and Shang were planned by the saints. How could he tell the truth unless he risked his life.
For Emperor Yi, he could only give a brief hint. As for the three strategies he proposed, they should be the most suitable rescue method for Yin Shang at the moment.
When Shang Tang conquered Xia and put Jie in Nanchao, he began the strategy of co-ruling the world with other princes.
According to the original idea, the King of Shang had direct jurisdiction over the former Xia Dynasty's homeland and implemented commercial laws. The various princes took charge of their own domestic affairs and governed according to customs.
Therefore, these vassal states that connected states and counties enjoyed a very high degree of autonomy.
They can independently develop their economy, mint currency, cast mountains into copper, and boil seas into salt; they can also develop their own armed forces, but mobilizing the army requires a tiger charm or edict issued by the King of Shang; except for the officials of the vassal states, the princes are entrusted by the King of Shang. , and the rest are appointed by the princes and kings themselves. It is completely a country within a country.
And once the princes have money, food, and an army, if the world changes, who will still be willing to obey you, the Yin Shang? So this is why princes from all walks of life can often rebel.
What Bigan had to do was to rule the world together with the princes, to gradually weaken it, and then to centralize power. Only in this way could the Yin and Shang fortunes be reunited, so that there would not be only twenty-eight years of the world left.
"Centralization of power...centralization of power..." Di Yi murmured in thought. For so many years, he had been on the road to quelling the rebellions of various princes. Even the capital of princes like Xiqi rebelled several times.
And every time, the method of disposal was just to behead the rebellious princes, and the territory continued to be inherited by his descendants.
But Bigan's words of centralization opened another door for Emperor Yi. Yes, why should the descendants of the rebellious princes continue to rule the territory instead of taking it back to the country and letting the Yin Shang personally send officials to govern it?
"Wonderful, wonderful! Brother Wang is really a talented person who is the king's assistant. One strategy can bring peace to the world!"
Di Yi patted the table excitedly, looking at Bigan's expression full of appreciation.
Bigan was not infected by Di Yi's excitement. Instead, he shook his head and sighed in his heart, silent, just because he was a human race but could not control the fate of the human race.
The demise of the dignified Yin Shang Dynasty was actually caused by the dispute between saints and sects caused by the need for gods in heaven, and it was regarded as a battlefield for games.
Looking at the splendid palace and the bustling streets, he felt a sense of decadence and powerlessness, as if no matter what he did in the Yin Shang Dynasty, he could not change the outcome of destruction.
This... seems very desperate.
At this moment, he thought about King Zhou in the early stage of the Conferred Gods, who killed Dongbohou Jiang Huanchu, Nanbohou E Chongyu, imprisoned Xibohou Jichang, and captured Beibeihou Chonghou Hu. Did he also have the idea of cutting down the vassal princes to gather luck?
But he seemed to have failed.
"Brother Wang, Brother Wang, what's wrong with you?" Di Yi stood up and shook Bigan in confusion.
"Brother, I just remembered some bad things." Bigan thought for a while and replied. After all, he couldn't say, Your Majesty, come down, the saint wants to destroy your Yin Shang.
Emperor Yi was thoughtful, but suddenly he was silent for a moment, calmed down and said:
"Cutting down the feudal lords and centralizing power is indeed a way to fundamentally strengthen the Yin Shang Dynasty and pacify Beihai. However... cutting down the feudal lords will definitely cause rebellion among those princes, and then the war will be uncontrollable."
It is true that reducing vassal status is a technical job with a very high risk factor, because those princes have armies, have the right to rule over the fiefdom, and have certain human and financial resources to fight against the Yin and Shang Dynasties.
After all, you want to centralize power, but will these princes be willing? There is only one answer to this question: they are unwilling, because this is their vested interest.
You said that a prince has so many vested interests, and whoever is willing to give them away is a fish or a bone in the mouth of a cat or a dog, and you will not take it away.
If you take the vested interests of a prince or a king, you can take it. It would be strange if you don't rebel.
Once they join forces to rebel, they will often fail to reduce the vassal state. Even if they do not fail, the reduction of the vassal state will often trigger wars and cause heavy losses to the Yin Shang Dynasty.
There are countless such examples. For example, in the previous life, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty cut off the vassal vassals and caused the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms; , half the country fell into war, and Kangxi was so frightened that he almost fled back outside the customs.
Therefore, Bigan said: "We must not rush to deal with these princes, but we must slowly attack them, cut them off, and the final purpose of restructuring is nothing but centralization of power."
"In order to prevent strong opposition from various princes, we can first promulgate the gold law, the law of additional benefits, and the crime of leaving the border privately to test the attitude of the princes, so that they cannot cross the borders of the feudal state at will, and cannot make friends with courtiers at will."
"In addition, there is a more gentle method of extending favor, taking the opportunity to weaken the strength of each feudal country, slowly encroaching on the territory, and dividing it."
Di Yi pondered for a long time but still had a heavy expression on his face, quietly listening to Bigan's analysis.
Bigan knew that if he asked Yin Shang to make changes, there might not be much hope, but if he didn't, Fengshen would surely perish, he continued.
"If the Yin Shang want to weaken these princes, the most important thing is to have strong strength, enough to calm the world."
Having said this, Emperor Yi sighed subconsciously. The Yin Shang Dynasty was currently suffering from internal and external troubles. The pacification of Beihai alone had already taken up most of the country's energy. There was no room left to deal with the princes.
Regarding this question, Bigan smiled slightly. Even though Yin Shang was in such a miserable situation, there were actually many talents. If there were no disciples in the Conferred Gods who used the big ones to bully the small ones, it would have been impossible to defeat the Yin Shang.
He was still very confident in dealing with only the princes except Xiqi.
"The Yin Shang Dynasty has a profound foundation and the people's hearts are still there. The only thing missing is capable and loyal civil servants and generals to deal with the war that comes at any time."
"My younger brother thinks that we should put out a notice to recruit talented people. Regardless of their origins, we should select talented people from all over the country to serve as officials in the court, especially those who practice spiritual life. Either with fame or fortune, we should win over them. "
"Secondly, open a government school and set up a military school to cultivate a group of generals who truly belong to the Yin and Shang Dynasties. Among these generals, the court can select and promote some capable officials and station them in key places."
"Then even if the princes from all walks of life realize that something is wrong and want to resist the imperial court, they can react quickly and anticipate the enemy's opportunity."
"At that time, we will send a capable minister to use kindness and power to split the vassal states that are too big into many small ones that do not pose a threat, and slowly replace the vassals with floating officials. Things can be done."
Di Yi was originally very interested in the idea of centralizing power proposed by Bigan with a sad look on his face, but he had no hope of how to weaken the princes.
But now, Bigan has prepared a very feasible plan, and Di Yi is really moved.
The reason why Beihai always quelled the rebellion was because these princes became independent and refused to obey the orders of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. In addition, they were bewitched by evil spirits and intensified their ambitions.
What's more, even if these people's rebellion fails, at worst they surrender to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, they still won't lose their status as princes. If the privileges of these princes can be canceled and replaced by officials directly sent by the court to govern, this kind of situation can be avoided to a large extent. Rebellion.
As for recruiting talents and establishing a military academy, Emperor Yi was even more surprised. Although there was Wen Taishi in the court who led troops to suppress the princes and intimidate one party, except Wen Zhong, it was really difficult to find such a capable person.
But Bigan said that he wanted to recruit talented people and establish a military academy, which fundamentally improved the shortcomings of the Yin Shang Dynasty's lack of talents, and his loyalty was more guaranteed, and he could completely replace the princes.
The more Emperor Yi thought about it, the more he felt that this was the direction that Yin Shang would take in the future.
Being able to see the whole situation from a single glance, from the chaos in Beihai to the elimination of princes and centralization of power, Bigan truly deserves to be a capable minister in governing the world.
He couldn't help but sigh and glanced at Bigan. It turned out that this boy was trying to hide his humiliation from me before. He was just pretending to accept bribes and ignore government affairs. Di Yi sighed with emotion for a moment and said with concern.
"Brother Wang, thank you for your hard work."
"This is a very good strategy. You have the authority to open a mansion. You can recruit talented people as you please. You should also recruit practitioners from all over the Yin and Shang Dynasties who are willing to join you."
"As for establishing a military academy, someone who understands military affairs must be selected to do it. I heard that the Grand Master has not returned to the court yet..."
Seeing that Emperor Yi was hesitant about the candidates for the military academy, Bigan, who was originally a little proud, became a little anxious.
Is it necessary to wait until Master Wen returns to the court to establish a military academy? How many years have it been? The day lilies are already cold. It is estimated that when Xiqi hits Chaoge, he will not be able to build it.
So what’s the point of me giving advice here?
No, I only have a little more than ten years, so I must seize this opportunity to increase the fortune of the Yin Shang Dynasty.
When I heard that Zhong was not here, I'll come. Bigan immediately said:
"Brother Wang, I am willing to be the head of this military academy to cultivate talents for our Yin merchants."
"You want to establish a military academy? Is this what civilian officials should do?"
Di Yi replied in surprise, his face full of disbelief, and then he waved his hand.
"It's better to forget it and let the professionals do it. We'll think about it again after Wen Taishi returns from the expedition to Beihai."
"Brother Wei knows that you are an unparalleled genius in governing the country, but...but this leader..."
"Brother, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I never found out that you have talent in this area..." Di Yi said it tactfully, but the meaning was that you were not talented in that area.
But Bi Gan was angry, what's wrong, you don't believe me so much, I have enjoyed a lifetime of blessings, why can't I fight a war?
