Chapter 151: The Incomparable Kindness and Righteousness Wang Yuanxu

At present, Qiqiao Pavilion has almost poached all the blacksmiths of Yanshi Li's family. Lu Fang immediately reported the good news to Wang Jing: "Master, I am lucky to have fulfilled my mission. The Li family is no longer a concern."

Wang Jing took the list from Lu Fang, glanced at it, and quickly extracted the key information on it. Especially after learning that even the craftsmen of the Li family were poached, he couldn't help but smile: "Twelve craftsmen, four hundred artisans, and more than a thousand apprentices. In such a short time, you have achieved such results. It seems that you really put in a lot of effort."

After all, Lu Fang was just a young man in his early twenties. After being praised by Wang Jing, he touched his head a little embarrassedly, but his chest was held high and his expression was very proud. However, he still replied modestly: "It's just that I spent a lot of money. I hope the master won't blame me."

Wang Jing laughed out loud: "What's a little money? Talent is priceless. You did a great job this time. Remember, Qiqiao Pavilion must focus on recruiting and training talents. Money is a bastard. If we lose it, we can earn it again. But if talents are lost, then Qiqiao Pavilion will be finished."

After chatting for a while, Lu Fang thought of the matter about Li Feng, so he asked Wang Jing for instructions: "Master, among the twelve new craftsmen, there is one who needs special attention."

"Oh, who?"

Lu Fang pointed at the list and said, "Li Feng, also known as Zimao, is a man of great talent and intelligence. I have personally tested him. He understood the Mechanics chapter in the Mohist Classic almost immediately after reading it, and he was able to draw inferences from one example. Such talent is rare."

This time, even Wang Jing was surprised.

After all, although the mechanics section is not difficult, not everyone can learn it in one go. What's more, Lu Fang himself is a genius in this field. To be able to receive his praise, one can imagine how talented and gifted Li Feng is.

But what made Wang Jing curious was why such an outstanding talent would "rebel against his family"?
This is indeed unreasonable.

Wang Jing looked puzzled: "Since he was born in the Yanshi Li family and has such outstanding talents, why would he leave the master of the family and defect to us?"

Lu Fang knew what Wang Jing was worried about, so he quickly explained Li Feng's life experience: "Master, please rest assured. I have sent people to investigate the cause and effect of the matter. Speaking of which, the Li family is also responsible for their own misfortunes. They finally produced a talented person, but not only did they not use him, they also deliberately suppressed him. This is why Li Feng and the Yanshi Li family became alienated and defected from the family."

Li Feng showed extraordinary talent when he was young. At the age of ten, he could recite "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius", two of the Four Books, by heart. For this reason, he was appreciated by the magistrate of Chenggao County at that time, who even intended to recommend him as a filial and honest official.

Finally, the matter was brought to nothing thanks to the efforts of Li Wei's father, and Li Wei was chosen as the filial and honest person.

His fame and fortune were taken away and his parents died. In order to make a living, Li Feng had to secretly learn the Li family's iron smelting technology. As a result, he went from being a "scholar" with a bright future to a "craftsman" at the bottom of society. This huge psychological gap would have made an ordinary person commit suicide by jumping into the river.

Over the years, Li Feng has suffered a lot in the Li family. This matter cannot be false and anyone can find out the truth.

Even though Li Feng was so down and out, the jealous Li Wei did not let him go. He often withheld his wages and did not even give him the status of a craftsman.

If it weren't for his reputation, Li Feng might have died on the street.

After Wang Jing learned about Li Feng's situation, he was quite speechless. He could only sigh that in today's world, even the aristocratic families are plagued by all kinds of strife and infighting, and there are constant conflicts between the direct bloodline and the side branches. It can be seen that the people of the aristocratic families are by no means a monolithic group. Perhaps something can be done here to divide and disintegrate the famous families.

Although what Li Wei did seemed to violate the Confucian "ethics", it was very reasonable if you thought about it carefully. After all, although the imperial dynasty had all kinds of magical powers, the strong themselves did not participate in production, and they would not take turns to go to the fields to farm. Therefore, the imperial dynasty was still a typical agricultural society, and grain production was very limited.

Under such a social structure, if productivity does not increase, then in about two to three hundred years, the entire society will enter a bottleneck state of development stagnation due to population growth.

The contradiction between human and land resources has become unprecedentedly acute, and involution is an inevitable outcome. Even within aristocratic families, there will be uneven distribution of benefits due to the reproduction of descendants.

That’s why there is a saying that the world will eventually unify after a long period of division, and will eventually divide after a long period of unification.

Because once social development enters a bottleneck period, either an industrial revolution will break out and break through the upper limit, or an internal war will break out and reduce the population.

By this time in the Eastern Han Dynasty, social order was on the eve of collapse. The aristocratic families were unprecedentedly powerful, even overwhelmed the imperial power.

But at the same time, new economic growth points were lost and internal conflicts began to intensify.

There are probably many talented people in the world, including Li Feng, who are oppressed and buried within aristocratic families. These people can actually be targets for winning over.

Wang Jing tapped his fingers lightly on the table and began to think and calculate various possibilities.

If handled properly, it might be possible to weaken the world's aristocratic families in one fell swoop.

After returning to the General Wei's mansion, Wang Jing immediately called Li Ru and told him about Li Feng's life. Then he ordered, "Wen You, find someone to secretly spread the news about Li Feng and create momentum."

Li Ru was so smart that he immediately guessed Wang Jing's intention. He was shocked and asked with a surprised expression: "My lord, are you going to issue an order to extend favors?"

In the past, Emperor Wu of Han followed the strategy of Lord Father Yan and successfully divided and disintegrated the princes of the world with a decree of enfeoffment, solving many historical problems left over from the Yanhan Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang. Ultimately, Emperor Wu of Han was able to complete the unprecedented feat of centralization, and eventually drove the Huns to the north, eliminating the biggest external threat to Chinese civilization at that time.

The impact of this historical event remains to this day and is a must-learn subject for Confucianists. How could Li Ru not know about it?
Therefore, Wang Jing just gave a brief introduction and Li Ru understood his idea.

Although as the knife in the hand of Emperor Wu of Han, Lord Father Yan's final fate was extremely miserable, Li Ru had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the matter.

After all, Wang Jing spared his life so that he could be used as a knife to kill people.

If he did this, he might die.

But if you don't do this, you will die right now.

Three days later, the Luoyang Palace held another routine court meeting.

All the civil and military officials were present, and all the wise men gathered together.

After talking about trivial matters for a long time, Shi Huai, the new eunuch beside Liu Xie, shouted at the top of his voice: "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court."

Just as the ministers and the emperor were about to leave, Wang Jing stood up and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"General, if you have anything to say, feel free to speak freely."

Not only Emperor Liu Xie, but also civil and military officials, wanted to know what Wang Jing, who seldom attended court, was up to by attending the court meeting today.

In front of all the civil and military officials in the court, Wang Jing first bowed to Liu Xie, and then he spoke calmly: "I was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan, but I am the second son of the family. In order to find a way out, I had to join the army. I survived many dangers to gain the glory today. But there are many people like me in the world, as many as the stars in the sky, but they may not have the luck like me."

As the second son in the family, Wang Jing actually had no right of inheritance, whether it was the family business or the title. As long as his elder brother Wang Gai was alive, the huge Taiyuan Wang family business would basically have nothing to do with Wang Jing.

The support Wang Jing received at the beginning of his uprising was actually provided by Wang Yun in the form of a "gift", or even a "loan".

After Wang Jing used the family resources and made them bigger and stronger, he must give something back, and even "repay a drop of kindness with a spring of water."

If you don't "return it", your reputation will be ruined and you will be ostracized by the entire circle.

That's why in history Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu joined hands to kill Huang Wan and Yuan Ji. The one who did it was Dong Zhuo, so Dong Zhuo took the blame.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu happily divided up the entire Runan Yuan family. In fact, as long as Yuan Ji was still alive, the two of them had no chance at all.

If Dong Zhuo had any brains, he would not have killed Huang Wan and Yuan Ji's family.

Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo did not understand politics and thought that Huang Wan, Yuan Ji, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were in the same group.

Now Wang Jing is using this incident to make a fuss about it, attacking the Confucian etiquette of the eldest son inheritance system.

"Although I am not a famous scholar, I am familiar with the classics and often hear the teachings of the saints. I think that the Yanhan Dynasty has always ruled the world with benevolence and filial piety. A gentleman governs the country with benevolence and filial piety. Is this true or not?"

Huang Wan was the first to speak out, nodding in agreement and saying, "Marquis Qi is absolutely right. Filial piety is the most important virtue, and it is the foundation of the imperial dynasty."

Yang Biao glanced at Huang Wan unhappily, feeling secretly disdainful in his heart.

Bah, lackey!
Then he quickly stepped out of the crowd and took second place. He also praised Wang Jing in front of all the court officials: "What Qi Hou said is very good. King's righteousness, minister's behavior, father's kindness, son's filial piety, brother's love, younger brother's respect, these are called the six obediences. If everyone can fulfill their filial piety, the world will be peaceful and prosperous."

The rest of the officials also agreed.

Even if they were unhappy with Wang Jing, they could not refute the core ideas of Confucianism. If they dared to do so, they would be disrespecting their teachers and ancestors and would die without a burial place. Seeing that everyone agreed, Wang Jing nodded, but immediately changed the subject: "That's strange. Even gentlemen govern the country with benevolence, so why do the aristocratic families treat their own blood so harshly?"

Wang Jing then took this opportunity to tell Li Feng about what happened to him. This matter had been deliberately spread by Li Ru over the past few days and had already caused a sensation in Luoyang City, sparking many topics and debates.

Now hearing Wang Jing mention this matter, Huang Wan and Yang Biao, who had originally only verbally supported him, suddenly had a very bad premonition in their hearts.

And what happened next was exactly as they expected.

Wang Jing took advantage of the topic and questioned the officials: "They are all from the same family, some are even blood relatives, but the rich have many wives and concubines, and live in luxury, while the poor are destitute and helpless, and die in poverty. Is this humane?"

Which of the bureaucrats standing in the hall is not a member of the Selection of Filial and Honest Officials?
They are the vested interests among the aristocratic families. Don’t they understand what Wang Jing said?
No, they understand very well.

But they did not dare to agree. If the aristocratic families wanted to gain a foothold and grow stronger, they had to concentrate resources in the hands of the main line. Only in this way could they concentrate their strength, maintain their own strength, and gain an advantage in the competition.

The concentration of resources will inevitably lead to uneven distribution, with some people getting more and some getting less. After all, as long as one is a human being, there will be selfish desires, and with selfish desires there will be closeness and distance between people.

Is this benevolence?

of course not!

We all have the same ancestor and the same blood flowing in our bodies. Why do you get more and I get less, or even nothing at all, and am also suppressed and targeted everywhere?

But the reality is so cruel. If an organization, whether it is a country or a family, wants to develop, it must oppress and exploit itself internally and concentrate its resources.

Because those who don’t do so have been quickly eliminated in the tide of history.

For this reason, the current Confucianism is very different from the Confucianism of the time of Confucius and Mencius. The concepts of benevolence and righteousness have even been gradually weakened internally, and instead emphasis has been placed on filial piety, brotherhood, and rites and laws.

how so?

The essence of benevolence and righteousness is actually the reasonable demand of the lower class for interests, that is, people's need and desire for the right to survival and development.

Filial piety and brotherly love are different. They are requirements from superiors to inferiors, and are obligations that inferiors must fulfill.

The purpose of downplaying rights and emphasizing obligations is self-evident.

What Wang Jing had to do now was to tear off the fig leaf of the aristocratic families and expose everything clearly to the whole world.

Don’t Confucians keep Confucius’ teachings on their lips all day long?
Aren’t you talking about benevolence and righteousness all day long?

Okay, I will divide your property now and allow illegitimate children and collateral branches to also be eligible to participate in the distribution of family wealth.

Anyone who dares to oppose is an unkind and unjust person!

"I beg Your Majesty to promulgate a new Inheritance Law, stipulating that if the head of a family dies, both the concubines and the legitimate children can inherit the estate. This is not only in line with the teachings of the saints, but also takes fairness into account. It can be said to be of great benevolence and righteousness."

In the solemn and dignified hall, Wang Jing's words were so loud and clear that they immediately caused a huge uproar and made all the ministers turn pale.

Even though aristocratic families and wealthy clans deify Confucius and regard Confucian classics as golden rules, do they really agree with these great principles from the bottom of their hearts?
Maybe some people do agree with it, but most people don’t believe it in their hearts.

If they believed it, where did the large number of refugees in the imperial dynasty come from?

How much moral standard do you expect from the upper class who spend their days lending money at high interest rates to farmers, draining their blood, engaging in large-scale land annexation, and not caring about the lives of the people?
There are definitely good people within the aristocratic families and powerful clans, but their number is not rare, but can be counted on one’s fingers.

Confucianism was favored by both the emperor and the aristocratic families because the social concept it depicted best met the needs of the ruling class.

When Liu Bang established the Yanhan Dynasty, he governed the country with the Huang-Lao philosophy, and occasionally mentioned benevolence and filial piety to demonstrate the benevolent governance of Yanhan.

But by the Eastern Han Dynasty, filial piety and brotherly love had gradually become the mainstream of society, and the word "benevolence" had long been shelved and became meaningless.

Wang Jing is now using the name of "benevolence", but what he really wants to do is to pretend to be a saint and divide the power of the aristocratic families and achieve the grand goal of continuously weakening the aristocratic families and the powerful families.

But the civil and military officials who came from aristocratic families and were all vested interests were obviously not fools. In the past, Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict to disintegrate the nobles and princes throughout the world and completed the centralization of the empire.

What Wang Jing is doing now is totally uncreative and is just a repetition of the old tricks of the imperial dynasty.

Therefore, the court officials immediately rose up in opposition, and even Huang Wan and Yang Biao, the political allies who had just defected to Wang Jing, began to become alienated from him and a rift developed.

Wang Jing wants to weaken the world's aristocratic families, so how could they just sit there and wait for death?
A fierce confrontation is inevitable.

The court meeting ended unhappily. Wang Jing was about to leave when Wang Yun stopped him and said, "Yuan Xu, it's been a while since you and I have had a good time together."

"Father invites me, how dare Jing refuse?"

Wang Jing got on Wang Yun's carriage and went to Sikong Mansion.

In the hall, Wang Yun dismissed his attendants. It was obvious that he had something private to discuss with Wang Jing. He brought up the topic of today's court as soon as he opened his mouth: "Yuan Xu, your actions in the court today were really too impulsive. The officials will never agree to it."

"Why, father is also against the Inheritance Law?"

Wang Jing had an indifferent expression and calm eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was really thinking.

As a big shot, he was used to this kind of life under everyone's spotlight, with his every move being watched by countless people. As Wang Jing's spiritual cultivation improved and his Heavenly Fate Emperor Star grew stronger, he became more and more majestic and sophisticated, with the domineering aura accumulated from his constant battles.

In the eyes of many people, he is not like an emperor, but he is better than an emperor.

Even Wang Yun felt that his son was becoming more and more extraordinary. Even sitting next to Wang Jing made his father feel like he was living with a tiger.

When Wang Jing asked him whether he opposed the Inheritance Law, Wang Yun hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "The Wang family of Taiyuan is not the only one. Even if I don't oppose you, the noble families in the world will never agree to this."

The Wang family of Taiyuan originated from the Ji surname and is a descendant of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty. Since the ancestor Wang Jian established the family, there are two major branches to this day, one is the Langya Wang family, and the other is the Taiyuan Wang family.

The Wang family of Taiyuan was actually divided into two branches. Wang Yun and his son Wang Jing belonged to the Wang family of Qi County, and this was how Wang Jing got the title of Marquis of Qi.

In addition to the Qi County branch of the Taiyuan Wang family, there is also the Jinyang Wang branch.

Although Wang Yun was an honest official, the Wang family was not poor. Not only did they own large tracts of land, but they also controlled many caravans in Bingzhou, from which they could make a lot of profit every year.

The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is essentially a distribution model within aristocratic families.

Under the marriage system of one wife and multiple concubines, children are divided into legitimate sons and illegitimate sons. In particular, the eldest legitimate son will have priority over other children in inheriting titles and property, and the rights he enjoys are not comparable to those of ordinary people.

Most of the illegitimate sons are in a miserable state. Their biological mothers are basically concubines, maids, or lovers. They have very few rights, and their status in the family is mostly determined by the status of their mother.

For example, in the Yuan family, which had three officials in four generations, Yuan Shao was born out of wedlock, while Yuan Shu was born out of wedlock. Although he was not the eldest son, his status was indeed much nobler than Yuan Shao's. The two parted ways because of this, and even went to war with each other for competition for interests.

In history, if it weren't for the conflict between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Sun Ce, Liu Bei and others would have no chance to rise.

The fact that the Yuan family lost the world due to the dispute between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu over the legitimate heirs is enough to prove one thing: if you want to accomplish great things, you still have to concentrate your strength.

However, Wang Jing's "Inheritance Law" is a fatal move to cut off the support of the aristocratic families and completely cut off their roots. How could the aristocratic families accept it?

(End of this chapter)