What happened at the banquet quickly spread among a small circle, and those with interests began to feel uneasy.
People who were still a little skeptical at first believed that this new generation of Luo Hou really had a relationship with the emperor when they saw that Luo Cheng clearly stood on the side of Queen Shen Jiang and had been staying in Taishi Lao without any contact with political affairs. generally.
As night fell, Luo Cheng was reading in his study, holding a bamboo slip.
What happened at the banquet and these days was just a passing cloud to him.
Luo Cheng dared to anger Ji Ne, so he had the confidence. Even if Ji Ne was angry, she would not lack the power that should be given to him.
Power appears to be from the top down, but it is essentially from the bottom up, especially in this era when royal power is not very exciting.
The source of power of the Luo Hous in the past dynasties was firstly due to the trust of the emperors of the past dynasties, and secondly due to the position occupied by the Luo family in the Bangzhou system.
Even in the era of King Kang and King Zhao, the two of them were able to hold great power as soon as they ascended the throne because they completely inherited the mantles of King Su and Duke Luo Wen.
Although Luo's power has been declining over the past hundred years, Luo's status is still special.
The six people who served as princes in the Regency Council more than a hundred years ago during the Luo Wengong era, and now only the descendants of the Luo family still hold high positions in the royal family are proof of this.
Luo Cheng didn't like Ji Nie, the emperor, because he thought he had great ambitions and little talent, and had no self-awareness.
Simply stay out of sight and stay in Taishi's residence for a while. When the time comes, you will naturally start to get involved in political affairs.
The royal family now has very complicated feelings towards Luo Shi.
For example, Ji Nie didn't like Luo Cheng and the former Luo Hou, but from the bottom of his heart, he knew that these two people were loyal ministers who could do things.
Others may have evil intentions, but Luo Shi does not. This kind of political trust has exceeded the scope of people's hearts and has reached a point where it should be taken for granted.
Moreover, Luo Cheng had nothing to do in Taishi Lao. He could learn more about Wang Ji's situation and lay the foundation for subsequent governance.
Luo Cheng looked at various recorded classics in Taishi Lao, and soon discovered that Haojing's problems were much bigger than he imagined, and each problem was very difficult.
Some of these issues were recorded in books by Luo Wengong a hundred years ago.
Each generation of Luohou will record his life's governing experience in books and leave them to his descendants.
Luo Wengong's records include a series of reforms he carried out on Bangzhou.
But at the same time, he also explained that these reforms only alleviate the problem and cannot completely solve it. The descendants of the ruling people must pay special attention to it in the future.
Among Luo Wengong's reforms that year, one of the most important policies was to once again promote feudalism. This strategy was very successful, and the land that Zhu Xia could actually control increased significantly.
The Iroh Rong were suppressed miserably.
However, the war against Xirong was a failure. By the time of Ji Ni, the power of Quanrong had grown to a stage where the western countries could no longer control it.
As the area under actual control increases, this problem in the west has become more serious than it was a century ago.
It has been more than two hundred years since King Wu conquered the Shang Dynasty.
Hundreds of vassal states were spread over the vast land, fighting to the death with the barbarians.
They competed with each other for living space, and many jungles were opened up into land that could be cultivated.
The Xia kingdoms built cities one after another in the open wilderness, and barbarians lived in the unruly areas between these cities.
As the living space continues to be squeezed, the barbarian power in the central and eastern regions is getting smaller and smaller, and the intensity of the battles between the countries has even exceeded the intensity of the wars between the Xia and barbarians.
But here in Ho Kyung, the situation is the opposite.
As the ancestral temple of Bangzhou, a lot of land was also developed here, but the power of the Quan Rong became more and more powerful.
During the reign of King Xuan, he appointed a large number of virtuous ministers, united Jin, Shen, Guo and other large vassal states, and achieved good military achievements.
However, the continuous use of foreign troops also made Wang Ji's financial situation very bad, and the people of the country began to become war-weary.
In addition, in the later period, King Xuan was ignorant, and as the emperor, he took the lead in trampling on the patriarchal legal system, forcibly interfering in the succession of the princes' throne, and even led troops to attack a princely state with the surname Ji, which made the princes dissatisfied with him.
He also killed ministers indiscriminately, causing loyal ministers to abandon him and leave.
In the end, he lost the support of the princes and suffered a major defeat in Qianmu. Wang Ji's military power was completely lost.
The Quanrong, who had been temporarily suppressed before, became rampant again and began to migrate towards Wang Ji.
More and more Quanrong tribes gathered in the cities and towns of various vassal states.
Rong people gathered around the city, which was a very dangerous signal.
Jinie relied on Guo Shifu to govern and make money, and may have the idea of suppressing the princes in Jinei, but this was unwise.
He had no prestige among the nobles, and the people of the country had many angry words towards him.
Without the support of these two, Wang Ji's military strength was depleted. Any small incident may cause irreparable consequences.
Now Ji Nie can still sit safely in the palace, it is entirely because of Bangzhou's complete system that protects him.
Even if his power is eroded, he is still the emperor.
More than two hundred years of feudal system, patriarchal system, ritual and music system have made the emperor's majesty deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Although King Xuan fell into a coma in his later years, he did not cause irreversible consequences and could still be regarded as the leader of the ZTE, while Ji Nie was not good at all.
Under the protection of the system, he can still be considered safe.
So his first choice should be to strengthen the system and seek opportunities to weaken the power of others.
Instead of what Ji Nie is doing now, favoring Bao Si, alienating Queen Shen Jiang, and even wanting to depose the queen, make Bao Si the queen, and let Bao Si's son be the prince.
This is another blatant trampling on the state and Zhou system, and the instigator will have no consequences?
"You really don't know how to live or die!"
Luo Cheng unequivocally supported Queen Shen Jiang and Prince Yi, telling the world that the patriarchal system of Bangzhou was still there, and the Luo family was still there.
In the hearts of everyone in Bangzhou, all Luohou dynasties were defenders of the patriarchal clan and Zhou rites.
However, the Luo Hous of all dynasties knew in their hearts that the patriarchal clan system and Zhou rites were both tools to safeguard the emperor's rule.
If the eldest son is very poor and wants to replace him, this is a very reasonable request. After all, the ancestors of the Luo family have been troubled by the incompetent king for so many years.
But not so blatantly.
When King Su established the system, he actually left a secret door.
There are many examples of people who cannot be inherited in the system. The most common one is that they cannot have obvious disabilities.
His ancestor Luo Wengong was the second son. Because the eldest son had a leg disability, he inherited the position of Luohou.
At that time, Luo Wengong hinted that the same reason was true for Marquis Nanshen to change his heir.
I am really dissatisfied with the heir. Even if he does something quietly, no one will know whether it is accidental or intentional.
But neither King Xuan nor Ji Ni understood this truth, or in other words, they didn't care and didn't understand the importance of the patriarchal system.
A high-profile intervention, one that was already known to everyone in the palace before even taking action. The method was too rough.
When the situation reached this stage, Queen Shen Jiang was already on guard.
As King Su, Luo Cheng must stand unequivocally on the side of the patriarchal clan at this time and must firmly maintain the orthodox status of the prince.
Moreover, the State of Shen behind Queen Shen Jiang was one of the most powerful princes around the Hokyung royal territory.
Luo Cheng didn't like Marquis Shen either, but politicians never decided the country's strategy based on personal preferences.
Ji Nie, an emperor with an unstable foundation, dared to challenge the patriarchal clan and at the same time offend a powerful prince who was on the other side of the bed.
Luo Cheng could only say "good death".
“The problems are much more serious than those of our ancestors, Duke Wen, and it is unrealistic to solve them all.
But slowly taking care of it can still alleviate some of it. If it can prevent Bangzhou from getting worse, Gu has done his best. "
Luo Cheng is very self-aware and understands that he can only be a paper framer.
His ability to govern the country is very strong. As long as he follows the rules step by step, at least these problems in Bangzhou will not expand.
As for the future, we have to rely on the wisdom of future generations.
He continued to look through the complicated information, thinking about countermeasures while reading, "First of all, we must get rid of the loser Guo Shifu. In such a critical period, a person with mediocre abilities is not qualified to stay in a high position."
The strength of the princes in the Kingdom of Haojing has far exceeded that of the Wen Gong era. A lot of the power of the royal family has been usurped, and there is even a tendency to evade the emperor. "
The Wen Gong reform that year greatly eased this process.
But more than a hundred years later, this problem has returned with a vengeance, and the royal family's economic foundation in Haojing has almost been hollowed out.
It is necessary to suppress the princes in Kinei, but the suppression must be limited.
When there is no decisive force, the bottom line of the Kinai princes cannot be breached.
Guo Shifu did not have the ability to grasp this, so he was not the nobleman that Luo Cheng needed to unite with.
At that time, Duke Wen took advantage of the Xiongdun Rebellion and when the power of the princes within the territory was empty, he introduced the power of the princes outside the territory so that he had enough power to carry out reforms.
Now Wang Ji's political power is also unbalanced. King Huang and King Xuan both saw this problem, but their solution was wrong.
Although the royal power has declined to this point, the emperor is still stronger than any prince in the world, and more powerful than any noble clan in the royal territory.
King Huang and King Xuan therefore chose to use violent means to directly suppress the nobles. As a result, they became united and resisted together.
In Luo Cheng's view, all kings have to face a very real problem.
That is, once the emperor forces everyone to the opposite side, he himself becomes the weaker party.
Since the establishment of Zhou Dynasty, although the emperor's power is the strongest, it is not as strong as the coalition of princes.
This reality is not caused by the enfeoffment system, but because of this reality, the enfeoffment system must be implemented.
Through a series of institutional designs, King Su made the emperor a transcendent existence. As long as the king sat on the throne, he could always maintain his strong influence.
But there are always monarchs who like to end up in a fight.
King Huang and later King Xuan, through a series of operations, successfully pushed all the princes and ministers to oppose themselves.
This is extremely stupid behavior.
"Jinie's mother clan is from the Qi Kingdom, and her wife's clan is from the Shen Kingdom. These are external forces that can be relied on.
But Jin is still missing. The most important country in the Central Plains with the surname Ji cannot have its own interests among the kings.
This is not conducive to uniting the clan. "
Luo Cheng shook his head helplessly. All monarchs wanted to be dictatorial, and they always felt that relying on others meant decentralizing power.
Some succeeded and gained greater power, while some failed and suffered death and destruction of their country. King Huang is such a typical example.
He did not want to use the power of the princes outside the country to attack the princes inside the country, but wanted to do it himself.
As a result, he was finally overthrown by a riot secretly led by the Kinai princes.
King Xuan understood this truth in the early stage, so he prospered temporarily.
Later, he wanted to kick away the princes who helped him seize power, so he was defeated.
The monarch of Shen State did want to use his daughter's status as queen to obtain greater benefits, but in Luo Cheng's view, this was a very reasonable behavior.
Shen Guo has paid the price and should receive corresponding benefits.
The state of Zhou was conquered by all the princes in the world. The princes neither dared to arrogantly claim the title of king nor had the power to overthrow the rule of the royal family named Ji.
They want to profit from the system, and the emperor should be happy. After all, he is the biggest profiteer in this system.
As long as the emperor sits firmly on the Diaoyutai, uses high positions to bestow high positions on those princes outside the country, and balances the nobles within the country, it is very simple to take power.
Moreover, the Marquis of Shen is the northwest barrier of Wang Ji, and the communication with some tribes of Quanrong is solely responsible for the Marquis of Shen. Maintaining a good relationship with the State of Shen is very important to Wang Ji's safety.
King Xuan saw this, so he chose the legitimate daughter of Marquis Shen as the queen for Ji Nie, but Ji Nie actually wanted to destroy it.
"First of all, the common enemy is to conquer the Quanrong. This is Bangzhou's great righteousness.
It is not enough to stabilize the Marquis of Shen and unite with the foreign relatives Shenhou and Qihou to fight against the nobles of Jinei. The land of Qihou is far away, so it is not enough to let Qihou fight against Shenhou and to unite with Jinhou to ensure that the situation is stable and that swordsmen will not fight each other..."
Luo Cheng began to think about the introduction of new political forces and the exchange of interests.
He didn't care much about the princes outside the territory gaining power among the king's territory. Luo always considered issues in terms of tens or even hundreds of years.
For such a long time, without the support of a huge clan, the ruling power of the princes outside the country will eventually be lost.
The position of the Third Duke, passed down by the Luo family for seven consecutive generations, was lost over time during the Luo period.
"Um?"
Looking at the information on the bamboo slips, Luo Cheng's originally calm face gradually turned serious. The bamboo slips recorded the natural disasters that had occurred in Fenghao in the past few years.
From the records one by one, it seems that God has no longer favored Gu Bangzhou. Since Ji Ni came to the throne, many natural disasters have occurred in Haojing one after another.
"Natural disaster!"
Countless serious natural disasters have occurred in the past ten years. The most serious one was the earthquake that occurred in the second year of Jinie. This earthquake caused the diversion of the Jinghe River, the Weihe River, and the Luohe River, and ultimately caused the dryness of the three rivers in Fenghao Land. .
"When a country is about to perish, there must be evildoers."
Because of Ji Zhao's existence, Luo Shi completely believed in destiny and luck, and now Luo Cheng's heart was cast into a shadow.
Putting down this bamboo slip, Luo Cheng picked up another disaster-related bamboo slip, searched for it, and found what he expected.
These disasters have made much of the land between Fenghao and Fenghao no longer suitable for survival, and even the families of Dr. Youqing have been migrating eastward one after another.
"Trouble!"
Luo Cheng didn't look good, and couldn't help pinching the bamboo slips with his fingers. He knew that he might have encountered a big problem that couldn't be solved.
Geographic changes caused by natural disasters!
This is a top priority in the governance book left by King Su to the Luo family, and each generation of successors will study it deeply and carefully.
It is mentioned in the governance book that as long as the problems are caused by human behavior, there are solutions.
If you think a problem cannot be solved, either you are not capable enough or your identity limits you.
Lowen Gong used his decades of experience in governing to annotate this passage.
The situation caused by King Li was a man-made disaster, including the occupation of the nobles by Wang Ji Gongqing, and the increasing power of the princes outside Ji and their separation from the emperor. These were all man-made disasters.
He listed his methods to solve the problems, and also listed the problems that he could not solve due to his status as a noble.
These valuable political experiences can quickly improve the level of Luo's heirs.
But equally, if a problem is not caused by human behavior, then it is a big problem.
Farming is the foundation of the dynasty. In this political book, King Su mentioned a point that few people would pay attention to.
He believes that a qualified ruler should always pay attention to changes in temperature and rainfall, the diversion of rivers, and changes in mountains, as well as these factors that affect the output of food in the fields.
These changes are beyond human control and are the will of God. Human dynasties must obey the changes of God's will and find the most suitable place for survival.
Now Luo Cheng feels that he has encountered this serious problem.
The migration of princes, ministers and officials was because their fiefs were no longer enough for them to survive, so they preferred to migrate.
In this era where the land is full of thorn bushes, forests, jackals, tigers and leopards, it is very painful to leave the cultivated land and build a city in the wilderness again.
Haojing is located at the confluence of the Jing River and the Wei River. If these two rivers stop flowing, the entire Fenghao land will be destroyed.
Without water sources, food production will be reduced, and the population cannot be maintained. If the population is insufficient, the military strength will be further reduced. Who will resist the swarming Rong people?
Luo Cheng couldn't keep calm anymore. He held the bamboo slip in his hand and started pacing in the room.
…
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, a series of natural disasters dealt a serious blow to the economic production of the Weihe Plain. Wang Ji's strength declined significantly, and the lives of the Zhou people at the bottom were difficult. Amidst the prosperity of singing and dancing, the Zhou royal family's rule over Fenghao Wang Ji had Shaky. ——"Those Things in the Western Zhou Dynasty"
