I was very nervous about writing this book. I had to check a lot of information for each chapter, and I found many obvious errors in the history books. Many times, it’s not that I don’t want to update more, it’s that I really can’t finish writing, even though I know what I want to write.
I want to ensure that I can restore the historical trend as realistically as possible, instead of copying history books, which often leads to brainache. Historical materials really cannot be swallowed wholeheartedly and used as if they were just taken.
For example, according to the results of repeated research by Mr. Yan Gengwang, a leading modern historian, the population of Kuizhou is at least five times that recorded in food records.
Obviously, historians were limited by the limitations of the times and ignored the influence of the floating population on the economy, and their understanding of the commodity economy was also very shallow.
According to historical records, Kuizhou was a barren land with a population of no more than 10,000 households. However, based on other historical data, Mr. Yan found that the household registration in Fucheng alone exceeded 10,000.
It was one of the few metropolises in the Southwest besides Chengdu, and it was the economic and cultural center of Eastern Sichuan that lasted for a long time during the feudal period.
Another example is that at the end of the Kaiyuan period, the Tang Dynasty's finances were actually in a state of collapse. They relied on the "tear down the wall" model, in which the central government allocated less or even no funds to local governments, allowing local governments to bear more financial pressure, in order to achieve fiscal revenue. Branch balance.
The situation at that time was so dire that some local post stations were unable to be operated by the government and had to be subcontracted (forcibly apportioned) to large local households. Then any big local family that takes over will soon go bankrupt, and families often flee to avoid being punished.
There are detailed records in historical materials unearthed in recent years, but these historical books will not be written directly.
The first 100,000 words, maybe a simple sentence in it, are the result of my hard work for a long time.
The plot of the first act is half-concealed. In fact, the theme is about the monetization of the Tang court's taxes and an attempt to adjust the mediocrity of rent. Similar operations were historically launched under the control of Li Linfu, but were abandoned halfway.
The competition for tariffs led to Li Longji's extravagant desires, the biased position of Chang'an, and the systemic conflicts between Guanzhong and Hebei.
This is the first act, and it is also the historical trend in the last years of Kaiyuan.
What I am focusing on is these historical contexts, rather than Li Longji killing his three sons, making Li Heng the new crown prince, Li Linfu coming to power and driving away Zhang Jiuling, which led to the corruption of the government.
These are all superficial, and readers all know that I don’t want to use this as the main background to write about it. It’s all badly written.
If I were to rewrite this, it would be like killing these people and the Tang Dynasty would last forever. If I write it like this, I can update 15,000 times a day without any headache at all.
When I was writing the last book, I paid more attention to the historical "plot" and the direction of the story in the overall background. Because many readers of the last book didn’t even understand the basic story background. It is a last resort.
As for this book, everyone knows it more or less. My focus is on the underlying context of history.
Try to restore the true social, economic, political and humanistic forms of the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan Tianbao period. Not limited to Chang'an City.
Ancient people who studied the economy of the Tang Dynasty often ignored a problem that modern people can easily detect: when they calculated economic accounts, they only counted the country's total volume, not the speed of economic operation.
Only the circulation of coins is calculated, regardless of its circulation speed and circulation area.
We only look at the health of the country's economy at the national level and don't care about the stability of the grassroots society. (I am not using the past to satirize the present, please do not relate it to modern times, thank you).
Many times, different judgment standards lead to completely opposite conclusions.
For example, Tang Ting's treasury in various places in Hebei was full. It had always been full, including before An Lushan's rebellion. There was never any mention of a shortage of military rations.
This will create the illusion that society is stable and prosperous.
But if this is used to explain that Hebei's financial situation is excellent, the people's livelihood is also good. During the Tianbao period, the Tang Dynasty was invincible. It was because the border generals deliberately caused trouble that the Anshi Rebellion broke out and the people were in dire straits.
Then this is a very wrong view.
Every country in the world has also built many large granaries for its own food security, and these granaries are often full.
For example, the author myself was in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, and I was too poor to open the pot and had no money to eat. Then can I go to the government granary to beg for food? Should the staff at the granary open the granary and let me eat?
The answer should be self-explanatory, right?
The government belongs to the government, and the people belong to the people.
"The Prosperous Age" writes about signs of troubled times. I think there is no similar book like this, including the two books I have written. This is a new challenge for me.
I try to tell the story clearly, and tell the foreshadowing and changes within the general trend, without getting hung up on the small details. I also try not to write things that modern people think they are right about, and try not to write stupid plots that can reverse the disadvantages.
If you can't write this kind of thing, you will definitely not be able to write it.
For example, if you think you are eloquent and attentive, if you catch the opponent's little braid, you can reason with Li Longji or negotiate terms with Li Linfu to convince the opponent.
So that those who were originally dismissed from office can be exempted from dismissal, and the minions around Li Linfu can be played with applause.
Thinking that with a little information advantage, you can turn around the desperate situation.
This type of story will never appear in a book, not even a chapter will be written. Many small things are just the fuse of the general trend. No matter how you fiddle with the fuse, as long as you are unable to defuse the bomb, it is impossible to change anything, not at all.
Most of the ancient stories I know are actually not that complicated, because in ancient times when information was not transmitted smoothly, it was really difficult to perform them.
The more complex the routine, the greater the chance of failure.
For example, in the historical facts of the plot background, Yan Tingzhi helped the prisoners to plead for mercy, and was then dragged into the water by Li Linfu. With this, Zhang Jiuling was also dragged into the water by Yan Tingzhi, and was eventually dismissed from the prime minister.
Is the whole thing complicated?
It was really that simple to kill a famous Tang Dynasty prime minister and a minister of Zhongshu.
Unfortunately, it is really not complicated. The matter itself is so simple. What is complicated is the game and choice behind it.
Li Linfu's people found out what Yan Tingzhi had done through a casual search. They all used government channels, and there were not so many private spies, keeping secrets, and counter-reconnaissance.
There is no such thing as hiding something and then being exposed, and then counter-attacking, or fighting wits for fifty rounds. There was nothing, even going to Li Longji to file a complaint was the final word.
Limited to the objective conditions of ancient times, it was impossible to implement so many routines. The more complex the conspiracy, the greater the likelihood of failure.
Even if it does exist, it is nothing in the face of power.
The "horse stabbing case" in Jiangnan in the Qing Dynasty was not complicated. A stranger could solve it with a single blow.
The assassination of Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng in a feudal town in the Tang Dynasty was also carried out with a knife, and the court knew who sent it as soon as it was investigated. This incident did not produce the political effect that the planners needed.
These real stories in history are hard to watch and don’t have so many twists and turns, but there’s nothing we can do about it because it’s the truth. I cannot make up a random show under the guise of "art comes from life and is higher than life".
The style of my book makes it impossible to come up with those "complex plots" that are so wild and so childish that you want to pinch your toes. I can write it, but I can't write it in this book.
Maybe there will be one in the next book, who knows.
Officials in the Tang Dynasty could have sex with prostitutes, fight for power, and even frame people.
However, they also have to do things, serious things, work, and political achievements. It doesn’t mean that you think about doing this today and doing that tomorrow all day long.
Just like a reader in the book club said: Why do people in modern urban dramas seem to do nothing but fall in love all day long!
We fall in love when we go home, we fall in love when we work, we fall in love when we go to school, and we fall in love when we go on business trips. Everything else has faded, disappeared, can’t be seen, and blurred.
Switching to historical texts, these officials fight for power all day long without talking about what they have done. Isn't this just like people in urban dramas who only talk about love?
Just change a word.
If nothing else, let’s talk about Li Linfu.
Li Linfu is true to his words, but he spends most of his time dealing with government affairs instead of racking his brains to deal with political opponents.
Getting money for Li Longji is a very mentally and physically demanding task, and the risks are not small. The emperor has a huge appetite, and it is not easy to serve him.
Sir, are all your energy focused on killing your competitors? This is what is written in the history books, but we cannot just take it for granted.
This is different from the "love brain". Let me call it the "power brain". That is to say, apart from the struggle for power and gain, there is nothing worthy of this person's attention.
I'm afraid of those "Machiavellian" stories.
According to the story logic of "powerful brain", the protagonist should take refuge in the emperor and the powerful officials, pulling and stepping on them. Then he ignored the objective laws and seized military power. After the Anshi Rebellion, he became a military governor and then dominated one side.
The next step is to cut off the opponent and build a new country, step by step, to create a new one, not called the Tang Dynasty.
I can't write a story like that according to my ideas. To be honest, with similar books, I know what the ending will be after reading the first volume. Can I still write a book that I can’t even read for you to read?
There was no rule of law in the Tang Dynasty, and there was no place to reason and talk about right and wrong. These are not important to the powerful. Power is law, and law represents power, just like the big fish eating the small fish.
Where was there any justice in the Tang Dynasty? Where is the justice?
If I wrote it, I would find it ridiculous and would not dare to publish it to be embarrassed.
If the protagonist is weak, the "power skills" he can perform are actually very limited. In the face of power, so-called modern techniques are pale and helpless.
It's like you wrote an impassioned pleading, but people didn't even read it, just threw it in the trash can and then pronounced the verdict.
It's that simple, direct, and unabashed.
At that time, the people in Chang'an who were qualified to call deer a horse were not limited to Li Linfu.
The number of people is not even less than double digits.
Instead of thinking about so many sexy tricks, the protagonist might as well practice the guitar to see if he can please Li Longji and enter the theater.
In the future, you can naturally use your identity as a disciple of Liyuan to do things, and your chances of winning may be greater, at least in line with the political environment at that time.
Otherwise, don’t think too much about it.
During the Yingzhou Incident during the Wu Zhou Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of Hebei people were killed, but the court refused to allow them to be killed. Wu Yizong still killed a large number of people without going through any formalities, and was not punished afterwards.
When Li Longji killed his three sons, no official from the Ministry of Punishment was involved, and even foreign officials were not involved at all. There was not even a window-dressing step, and the involvement was extensive.
He didn't even bother to play around with it, and he just killed it if he really wanted to.
In the face of absolute power, any technique is like a spider weaving its web, in vain.
If the powerful want to kill you, even if you find a lot of evidence to prove your innocence, it will be useless. Those things are no different from paper shields.
If I ignored these and wrote about things that were gripping and impossible to exist in the social environment at that time, it would be like writing my own delusional story under the guise of history.
The book may be very popular, even lively, and even make a lot of money, but I have not planned such a plot, and I have no intention of writing a similar one.
There is no way this book will be written, it depends on the next book.
Li Linfu often defeated his political opponents with just one or two sentences and the guidance of the forces behind him. Take advantage of the general trend to eliminate political opponents.
These means are efficient, concise, and immediate.
I will analyze the general trend and use similar techniques to express the conflicts that should exist, without making any more showy moves.
The first act will end in the next chapter, and the second act will begin soon, so stay tuned.
In this book, I try to use plain language and direct and easy-to-understand writing methods to express what I want to express. I will not package Yi Tuo Xiang to look good, nor will I use some mysterious writing methods. It is okay to make something boring. The meaning of the platitudes is said in a fascinating way.
When I wrote the book, I said in the book club that this book does not seek results, I will write it according to my own ideas.
It will take time to rectify the title of my current book. This is my expectation.
Regarding some issues about character creation, since some book friends have asked about them before, I will focus on explaining them.
First:
Xiaofang is a child, this is necessary. If you are an adult, you must make a choice in advance, because capable people cannot hide it. If Xiao Fang reaches adulthood, will he be Li Longji's dog now, or will he be the next An Lushan?
If you are a dog, you will definitely die miserably in the end; if you are not a dog, you may die soon. How do you choose?
Besides, it is now the 24th year of Kaiyuan. By the time the bomb explodes during the Tianbao period, Xiao Fang will be 40 years old. With the average life expectancy and medical conditions in ancient times, how many more years can he still be able to bounce around?
If he pursues something at this age (such as overthrowing Li Tang), does it sound like an "old boy"? Wouldn’t you feel sad if you were to dominate the world at the age of seventy?
second:
As for Xiao Fang’s character, book friends who have read my last book all know that Governor Liu’s character and emotional intelligence are both top-notch. If I want to create, I can create a childhood version of "Captain Liu".
What the current arrogant character design means depends on Xiao Fang’s name. If it's too young, it's not necessarily better if it's bigger. If you talk too much, it won't be interesting. Just read slowly.
third:
Why was the character Lao Fang inserted and why was his character so extreme?
Lao Fang's true identity is Zhang Chengye of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. He is the "half protagonist" of this book. It is also the protagonist of some historical novels, believing that after killing the rebel generals of the Anshi Rebellion, the country can be rebuilt.
The theme of my book is: history cannot go back, the prosperous Tang Dynasty can never be reproduced, and we can only move forward to find a new path. Trying to recreate the prosperous Tang Dynasty is reversing the course of history and will surely lead to destruction.
The Mid-Tang Dynasty was at the crossroads of history, and many problems that had accumulated for hundreds of years were bound to explode.
This is the comprehensive effect of geographical, humanistic, economic and even climatic factors that have long existed in Chinese civilization.
As for why it is impossible to return to the state of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, I will reveal it bit by bit in my book. The 100,000 words that have been written now can also tell a lot about it, right?
Please look forward to the second act, the stage is Chang'an.
Today I'm planning the plot, so I won't update it again.
