Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 46 The Provincial Examination Approaching

"Because the Rebellion of the Seven Princes had already broken out before the Edict of Grace was issued, the court greatly weakened the power of the vassal kings and also deterred other vassal kings when it quelled the rebellion," said Minister Fu.

The so-called "Decree of Grace" was a policy implemented by Emperor Wu of Han, under the pretext of "promoting imperial grace and promoting benevolence and filial piety within families," which allowed vassal kings to enfeoff their sons with marquisates within their fiefdoms. These marquisates were not subject to the original kingdoms' jurisdiction.

Many people believe that the Edict of Grace was the greatest open scheme in history, because although it was a decree of grace, it was actually a way to weaken the power of the feudal lords.

It achieved the goal of weakening the feudal lords without resorting to force, yet making them unable to refuse – a subtle way of weakening them.

But Prime Minister Fu saw further ahead. If it weren't for the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, the issuance of the Edict of Grace would have inevitably led to a united rebellion by those vassal kings.

The princes weren't fools. Although they divided the land that originally belonged to them among their sons, the land they granted to their sons was no longer under their direct control.

They could naturally see through such blatant measures that were weakening them.

Therefore, the most important aspect of the Enfeoffment Edict is the timing of its implementation, rather than the policy itself.

But he didn't understand what this had to do with the imperial court's reforms.

Could it be that they're going to kill a bunch of high-ranking officials in the court to intimidate us?

But that's not realistic either.

The Edict of Grace undermined the power of the vassal kings, as according to the primogeniture system, no one else was qualified to inherit the throne.

Even if they could provide some money and land, it would be very limited.

Depending on whether the heir is legitimate or illegitimate, and the degree of favoritism, some neglected offspring may not even receive a share of the family property.

Once the Edict of Grace was issued, any vassal king who was unwilling to participate and wanted to conspire to rebel could have their sons report them.

The imperial court was nominally bestowing favors, and given the precedent of the Rebellion of the Seven States, those vassal kings could do nothing even if they knew about it.

However, the reforms were different; they harmed the interests of all civil officials, regardless of their rank.

Moreover, given the nature of the officials, it's impossible for them to agree.

If it's just a matter of demoting officials, removing some of the high-ranking and powerful ones to make room for others, people might be afraid of offending the authorities and wouldn't dare to object for the time being.

However, support from only a few is useless and cannot solve the interests of the group.

"I'm not referring to those feudal lords, but to the court officials!"

Lu Wang said, "Emperor Wu of Han encountered tremendous resistance when he wanted to implement the salt and iron monopoly. However, the resistance to the Edict of Grace in the court was not nonexistent, but it was very small."

After a moment of contemplation, the wealthy man suddenly realized and said, "I understand. You mean to start by targeting the interests of a select few, without affecting everyone else's interests?"

"That's right!" Lu Wang smiled and nodded.

Although he did not agree with Zhou An's suggestion to do things one by one, he still understood the principle of dividing and winning over others.

The conservatives were not a monolithic group; it was simply their term for the group that opposed reform.

When there is no common goal, they will fight among themselves for their own interests.

Simply find some issues that affect the interests of a few people as a starting point, and others will naturally stand by and do nothing when they see that their own interests are not affected.

Only when their internal strife erupts can they win over some people, at which point they can then advocate for reform.

"This matter needs to be discussed thoroughly with Minister Han and the others!"

Mr. Fu also thought it was worth a try, but the specifics still needed to be discussed.

However, he was also very decisive and immediately sent someone to invite the reformists in the court.

.........

As the New Year passes and temperatures gradually warm up, many people in the countryside are already busy in the fields.

Although Zhou Li had no intention of starting any business, he listened to his son's advice and rented out the land.

However, renting out the land doesn't mean you can rest easy and just wait to collect rent.

Being a landlord isn't easy; landlords also have to provide their tenants with whatever help they can during the spring planting season.

Because tenants pay rent to landlords on a pro-rata basis, if a tenant misses spring planting due to a lack of farm tools and oxen, the landlord will also suffer losses.

Zhou Li was busy until evening before returning to the county town. During dinner with his family that night, he talked about something.

"Several elders of the Zhou family discussed building an ancestral hall and compiling a family genealogy. They also said that since our eldest son has now achieved academic success, it is a matter of bringing honor to our ancestors, and we must let them know."

"father!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou An curled his lip and said, "We can't even find our ancestral graves anymore, so what's the point of building an ancestral hall?"

The Zhou family ancestors were not native to Youyang.

In fact, the ancestors of the Zhou family and the Sheng family are somewhat similar.

The Zhou family ancestors were refugees who fled during the war. There were some of their relatives at the time, but they were later settled in Youyang.

Although these Zhou family members were of the same clan, they were all ordinary people and had not formed a powerful clan.

The sudden announcement of establishing an ancestral hall is actually an attempt to unite all those with the surname Zhou.

Zhou Li's lineage is currently living the best life, and Zhou An even holds a degree of official rank.

Once a clan is formed, they can benefit from the glory of their lineage.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Zhou Li said irritably, "They even said they'd make you the clan head and put our branch on the first page of the family tree!"

"Father, there are only a few of us in our family. I need to study for the imperial examinations. How can I have time to become a clan leader? In the end, won't those old folks be the ones who call the shots?"

Zhou An curled his lip and said, "Moreover, the clan doesn't even have any clan property. Those other families can't compare to our family before. All of this has to be paid for by our family."

"If I really become the clan leader, and then each family encounters difficulties, should I help them?"

"This…"

Zhou Li hadn't thought that much about it, but after hearing Zhou An say this, he realized that there was quite a bit of trouble involved.

But he also wanted the Zhou family to become a powerful clan.

Shulan agreed with Zhou An, but she felt awkward about bringing it up.

Hao Shi no longer had those concerns and said, "I think Da Lang is right, and besides, he's about to take the provincial examination. Talking to him about this at this time, aren't you just distracting him?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Li gave an awkward smile and said, "Then I'll go and refuse tomorrow."

"Father, I want to have more children in the future, so that our family can become a clan."

Zhou An smiled and said, "When the time comes, we'll put your name first, and you'll be the ancestor of our branch."

"You're always spouting nonsense. Are you suggesting that you won't even include your grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather in the family genealogy?" Zhou Li said irritably.

"Do you remember what our great-great-grandfather's name was?" Zhou An asked.

Not only did ancient emperors like to claim ancestry, but powerful and wealthy people in ancient times also liked to do this.

Besides elevating one's own social standing, another reason is that without family genealogy records, generations later would have no idea of ​​the names of their great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather.

Given the state of the Zhou family, not to mention the previous ancestors, even the first few ancestors who were settled in Youyang have long been forgotten.

"I..." Zhou Li was speechless for a moment.

"Ignore him, he's always acting on a whim."

Madam Hao looked at Zhou An and asked, "Eldest son, it's almost the end of February, when do you plan to set off?"

"I asked around today, and once the academy arranges the joint guarantee, we can set off. It should be within the next few days," Zhou An said.