Su Yonglin knew a truth.
In matters of national importance, laziness and avoidance are absolutely unacceptable. Any attempt to take advantage of the situation will definitely leave a huge hole for the future empire and bring disaster to future generations.
Relying on clans to maintain stability and reduce administrative costs will inevitably face clan embezzlement of local tax revenue and erosion of mobilization capabilities.
Su Yonglin had a very clear understanding of this after in-depth investigation of the social ecology of the Southern Song Dynasty.
He knew that it would be difficult for his revolution to get started in a social environment where clans were everywhere. If the start was difficult, it would most likely be wiped out before it could develop and grow.
Likewise, this social ecology is unfriendly to any aggressive state action.
It longs for stability and peace, and is willing to pay any price for stability and peace.
In this state, the Northern Expedition of the Southern Song Dynasty was destined to be impossible to succeed.
Its economic and political foundations do not support a successful Northern Expedition. Even if it relies on political strongmen to push it forward, unless the enemy is unspeakably rotten, as long as it encounters a slight setback, it will inevitably be destroyed from within by powerful resistance forces. .
Su Yonglin must fight against this traditional social governance model in the future, and eventually destroy it.
Unless this rigid social ecology is destroyed, society cannot be restructured and China's downward trend cannot be fundamentally reversed.
Even if he re-establishes a dynasty, no matter how strong it is in the early stages, it will be difficult to avoid following the old path of the Jin Kingdom.
It destroyed the world as soon as it appeared. As a result, after acquiring land and becoming landlords, the whole country quickly became decadent, and people lost their will to enterprising and quickly degenerated.
The final fate of the Jin Kingdom was no different from that of any feudal empire. It collapsed due to internal and external troubles.
Su Yonglin did not want to follow in the footsteps of the Jin Kingdom, nor did he want the country he established to follow in such footsteps. In this case, the revolution he had worked so hard for would be meaningless.
But he didn't expect that Zhao Zuoliang would actually start to question the existence of the clan at this time because of this kind of thing, and he would have a faint antipathy towards the clan.
Wouldn’t it be awkward to question it at this time?
Didn't you yourself use the power of the clan to oppress members of the clan and make profits from it in the past?
But now that he is being targeted in turn, only then do you realize how unreasonable and cruel this set of rules is?
Su Yonglin didn't feel any sympathy for this at all, he just felt that Zhao Zuoliang deserved it.
"I speak more frankly, so don't be angry. I think you deserve it and you bring it upon yourself. I don't sympathize with you at all, and you don't deserve sympathy."
He expressed his emotions very directly.
Zhao Zuoliang didn't seem surprised by this. He was just stunned for a moment and then showed a bitter smile.
"What General Su said is exactly the same as what my little girl said. They are all saying that I deserve my punishment."
Su Yonglin raised his eyebrows.
"Your love? Your love can actually say such words? Don't you think your love is treasonous?"
"Before I had a daughter, I had two sons. My wife doted on these two sons too much, which made them naughty and not very considerate. So I really wanted a daughter. I didn't have this daughter until very late and regarded her as the apple of my eye. , very loving."
Zhao Zuoliang smiled and said slowly: "My little girl is well-behaved, sensible, lively and cute. I like her very much. I have taught her to read and write since she was a child. I have taught her to read Confucian classics and wild essays. She is very smart and has almost a passing memory. She has the ability to not forget, talk to me and quote scriptures, and sometimes I am no match for her."
Saying this, Zhao Zuoliang suppressed his smile again and sighed again and again.
"So after I came home from this accident, my daughter talked about my fault to my face. When I was depressed, she also said that I deserved it. Others might be angry, but I wasn't. I just felt more ashamed and depressed."
Zhao Zuoliang looked at Su Yonglin: "Even my daughter can see that I deserve it, but I don't want to admit it myself. How can I have the face to blame her?"
Su Yonglin noticed the tenderness that belonged to his father when Zhao Zuoliang talked about his daughter, and knew that this was true.
Feeling his regret and shame, Su Yonglin was basically certain that this incident really happened.
If so, this woman is indeed extraordinary.
So Su Yonglin smiled.
"There are not many women and fathers like this in contemporary times who dare to point out their father's mistakes in person, and who dare to reflect on their own mistakes in front of their daughters."
Zhao Zuoliang smiled bitterly.
"Is what General Su said praising me, an old man?"
"Just because you can raise such a daughter, I feel that at least your mind and tolerance are enough, but that's all. Otherwise, you wouldn't let your son do such a thing. To be honest, that's it." If this happened under my watch, people would die."
Su Yonglin said with a smile: "And definitely not just one person will die, no matter who he is."
Zhao Zuoliang was silent for a while.
"I don't make the same mistake twice."
"A lot of people who made the second mistake have said the same thing, but they failed to do it."
"I'm different from them."
"Yeah?"
Su Yonglin smiled noncommittally: "But I am a little surprised that you can reflect on the relationship between clan and individuals."
"I also thought I would never be so reflective, but it is."
Zhao Zuoliang said seriously: "The clan raises the individual, and the individual needs to give everything for the clan, and once there is a conflict between the individual and the clan, no matter right or wrong, innocent or not, the clan will always be higher than the individual.
But is this really right? If there is a matter where the clan makes a mistake, but an individual can find the correct solution, then is it okay if the clan does not listen to the individual? "
"Of course it's wrong."
Su Yonglin shook his head: "There is, and is only, the law, the national law, that can determine what is right or wrong among individuals. Under the national law, all living beings are the same. If a clan tries to use clan rules to fight against the national law, it is a sin!"
"…………"
Zhao Zuoliang looked at Su Yonglin in surprise and asked, "Is this the general's sincerity?"
"certainly."
"The general does not follow Confucian classics? The general likes Legalism? I have heard that Legalism had such a statement in the pre-Qin period, but I have never heard of it since the Han Dynasty."
"This is not important. What is important is that I cannot accept lynching under the national law. I will not allow anyone to compete with the national law for authority!"
Su Yonglin's expression suddenly became very stern: "Only national law can punish individuals, only public national laws without any secrets. National laws cannot be violated by any private laws!"
Zhao Zuoliang blinked, as if he was a little surprised, or perhaps a little afraid of Su Yonglin's harshness.
"As the saying goes, the state has national laws, families have family rules, and there are family rules under the national laws. That is something everyone agrees on. If the general wants to change it, aren't he afraid of the opposition of the world?"
"Do you support it?"
Su Yonglin stopped Zhao Zuoliang with a rhetorical question.
Zhao Zuoliang didn't know how to answer for a while.
"Look, there are many people who are against it, but there will be more people who will support me, and as long as I put their strength together, I can easily solve the problem."
Su Yonglin came to the conclusion: "Of course there are many people who benefit from this set of rules, but there will only be more people who suffer. Since most people are suffering, it proves that this is wrong. Since it is wrong, It needs to be changed.”
"Is this the General's long-cherished wish? But unless the General one day rules the world and unifies the world, such a thing is absolutely impossible."
Zhao Zuoliang reacted.
"Since you said it's possible, of course I have to do it! If I don't do it, how do I know it's impossible?"
Su Yonglin punched the table, and the thick table shook. This made Zhao Zuoliang feel that Su Yonglin was not joking.
He really has many, many ideas that he wants to realize.
And there are some ideas that can surprise people anytime and anywhere.
If he can defeat the gold master Wan Yanliang and destroy the Jin Kingdom, then it is really possible. If he cannot defeat...
Of course it's just a joke, and it's a joke that no one will know.
