Everyone?
small home?
Is there any difference here?
Xin Qiji was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized.
"So you are..."
Su Yonglin smiled.
"The reason why a powerful landowner's family is strong is simply because of its large population. The reason for its large population is that it can take in as many concubines as it wants. If the wives and concubines are put together, when they meet a master who can give birth, He gave birth to seventy, eighty or ninety sons in one go.
In this way, it is passed down from generation to generation, and it does not take two or three generations to become a family of Zhongming Dingshi. The whole family uses blood relations as a bond to unite with each other and use the advantages accumulated by their ancestors to seize land on a large scale.
So they owned a lot of land, tenants, food, soldiers, and enough bloodline people to rule. What is this? Is this a family? No, this is not a family, this is a paramilitary organization!
Such paramilitary organizations are very detrimental to the imperial court. They can resist imperial decrees, resist taxation, and annex farmers at any time. They are the biggest instability factor in the areas ruled by the imperial court and are harmful to unification.
All dynasties have wanted to eradicate them, but there is nothing that can really be done. Even the policy of containment and the policy of delaying their development and growth were only achieved for a period of time during the Pre-Han Dynasty. They used the mausoleum system to suppress the powerful. , but later on, it was also abandoned. "
Xin Qiji felt that what Su Yonglin said made sense.
And as he continued to think about it, he felt that the more he thought about it, the more he understood.
"After the Lingyi system, no dynasty could curb the growth of the powerful landlords, and no one proposed to end the concubinage system! Never! And as time goes by, this will inevitably cause the local powerful people to The power of landowners grew.
Once their strength grows and their family population increases, they will inevitably occupy more land, have more people and food, and they will also have greater say. When the scholars they cultivate enter through various means After the imperial court... Chairman, has no one in the past dynasties ever thought of this? "
Su Yonglin nodded.
"Of course, but so what? Those who support the old system can throw those who hold such ideas into the abyss with just one sentence, and they will not be able to stand up."
"Which sentence?"
“There are three types of unfilial piety, the greatest of which is not having offspring.”
Su Yonglin said slowly: "For a dynasty that uses Confucianism as its official ideology in governing the country, filial piety is a hurdle that cannot be circumvented, and the requirements of filial piety for the reproduction and inheritance of descendants are very high and cannot be broken at all.
If concubinage is not allowed and everyone is monogamous, as long as the husband has no problems, but the wife cannot give birth to a son or is infertile, the family is in danger of being cut off from inheritance. At this time, what should be done to save the situation? "
Xin Qiji suddenly realized.
"Indeed, there are three kinds of unfilial piety. The greatest is not having children. If you take this as the starting point, everything will be over."
"That's why I want to destroy Confucianism and not use it as official learning."
Su Yonglin spoke slowly: "Once filial piety becomes politically correct, many ridiculous things will happen. In an era when unfilial piety is the most common, ending the concubine system is tantamount to digging one's own grave.
Although commoners have never been allowed to take concubines, and would not object to it, the rule of ancient dynasties was based on the superiors, not the common people, so for the rulers, it did not matter whether the common people supported this matter.
No matter how much support the common people give, they cannot provide much support to the rulers. Once the opposition from the upper class becomes too loud, the dynasty's rule will face overthrow, and the emperor will not do such a thankless thing. "
Xin Qiji nodded slowly.
"If you put it this way, it is indeed true. Even if the upper class takes concubines mainly to enjoy female sex, there are also cases where wives are infertile and can only rely on concubines to give birth. This cannot completely rule out the reason for family inheritance.
As long as the importance of family inheritance is brought up, it is a dead end that cannot be circumvented no matter what. Anyone who tries to end this rule will be knocked to the ground by Confucianism and will be ruined. Over time, no one will think this way. "
"That's it."
Su Yonglin picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea, and then said: "Under such circumstances, which emperor would dare to abolish the concubinage system? In fact, it is enough to progress to monogamy and multiple concubines. They can't continue to progress. , locked up."
Xin Qiji thought about it again, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
"My dynasty... our dynasty does not regard Confucianism as its official ideology! Nor does it pay attention to governing the country with filial piety. This aspect... is not a problem!"
"Our government does not rule based on superior people."
Su Yonglin laughed and said: "The basis of our dynasty's rule is the masses, and from ancient times to the present, the masses have never had the right to take concubines. They have never had the right to take concubines, so they will not care whether I abolish this system.
Rather, if they knew about this matter, not only would they not interfere with me, but they would fully support me. If I terminate this system, the benefits to the people will be obvious.
Releasing a large number of women who are supposed to become concubines and maids of powerful and wealthy families, and allowing them to enter the field of civil marriage, can greatly reduce the difficulty of marriage for civilian men, increase the number of civilian household registrations, and greatly promote civil stability.
As for those who have evil intentions and think that taking concubines is a natural thing from the bottom of their hearts, it happens that our revolution has been almost wiped out. The dead are already dead, and the living are doing coolies in Jishi Prefecture. .
In other words, at this moment, except for a small group of people in the imperial court, most people actually don’t care much about this system. This is the best moment to completely abolish the concubinage system. Don’t do anything at this time. , when will we wait? "
Xin Qiji figured everything out and felt overjoyed for no reason.
"As a result, it will be difficult for the people to have big families. Without big families, it will be difficult for powerful landlords to emerge. Without powerful landlords, it will be difficult for large-scale land annexations to occur!
In this way, even if the agriculture of the Ming Dynasty is stabilized, and if agriculture is stabilized, even if other industries cannot develop very well, the people of the Ming Dynasty will not go hungry, and there will not be any turmoil because of the land! "
"It does have this effect. The abolition of the concubinage system can greatly curb the momentum of land annexation. It can also increase the number of households that pay taxes and increase the court's tax revenue. With money in hand, the court can do more It’s a big deal, it’s a good thing that benefits the country and the people.”
Su Yonglin smiled, put down the tea bowl in his hand, and said: "The period before was just like working as a coolie. Now it seems that the hardships during that period were not in vain. I have done everything I should do, and I will give back what I want now." Doing things paves the way.
It just so happens that while the current wave of concubinage has quietly emerged but has not yet fully formed a momentum, I can crush it completely with one punch and destroy all possibilities. While the society is stable, it can be regarded as doing something for the people. It's a small thing. "
"You are being humble. If this move is successful, how can it be considered a trivial matter? This is obviously the first time since the beginning of the world. The first time someone can solve this problem. Even if it is not completely solved, at least half of it is solved!"
Xin Qiji stood up and walked around excitedly, his face full of excitement.
"If you can't stand in the people's position, see many shortcomings, and see the country heading towards destruction, but you can't do anything about it, this feeling may have been experienced by the ancients."
As he said that, Xin Qiji looked at Su Yonglin excitedly: "But just from the standpoint of the people, all problems seem to be solved easily, there are no such worries at all, just do it, the people will support us anyway!
Today, I finally understand why the Chairman has always insisted on standing with the people without wavering. Really, this can really solve almost all problems! "
