Chapter 33643366【Natural Selection】
In the thirty-first year of Qianlong's reign, Xiang Nan deposed his eldest elder brother Yong Huang and sent his seven elder brothers to work in the Six Ministries.
This move was regarded by the courtiers as a sign that the nine sons would seize the legitimate rights in the last years of Kangxi. For a time, there were some who were opposed, some who were afraid, and some who were eager to try...
The objection was that the prince's seizure of heirs would cause party strife, and party strife would not only cause the division of the dynasty, but also make the court idling, making administrative efficiency extremely low, and also cause turmoil in the officialdom, and even unrelated people might be implicated.
Just like the Niu-Li party struggle in the Tang Dynasty, the old and new party struggle in the Song Dynasty, the party struggle between the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty... These party struggles intensified the contradictions within the ruling class, thereby exacerbating the decline of the country, and eventually led to The end of the whole army was annihilated.
For example, the Niu-Li factional conflict led to a surge in the power of vassal towns and eunuchs, thus weakening the royal family of the Tang Dynasty. From then on, vassal towns were divided, warlords arose, and even eunuchs dared to change the emperor at will.
The struggle between the old and new parties in the Song Dynasty lasted from the period of Shenzong of the Song Dynasty to Huizong of the Song Dynasty, which led to the decline of the country's power. It was successively invaded by the Liao and Jin countries, and eventually led to the country's destruction.
The dispute between the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty led to the country's malaise and the people's poverty, and endless turmoil, which led to the rise of Hou Jin Dynasty and finally unified the world.
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Therefore, the opponents are worried that the nine sons seizing the legitimate sons will repeat the fate of those party struggles, so naturally they do not support it.
…
The fear is that I will be involved in party strife.
Because party struggle does not distinguish between good and evil, right or wrong, and only cares about the interests of one's own party. We will oppose whatever is beneficial to our party and whatever is not beneficial to our party.
When parties fight together, officials will be forced to take sides, otherwise the centrists will be suppressed first. After the centrists are suppressed, the remaining factions will start fighting until both sides suffer, and there will basically be no winner.
Many of the victims were innocent. For example, Tang Dynasty poets Du Mu and Li Shangyin were implicated in the Niu-Li party struggle. It is a pity that a generation of talented people had no way to serve their country and wasted their lives.
Hence, many officials are afraid of party strife and fear that if they fail to stand in line, they will be crushed into pieces.
Of course, there are also ambitious people who are eager to try this.
After all, once you succeed in following the dragon, you will be rich and prosperous for a lifetime. For example, Nian Gengyao and Longkoduo, who supported the Fourth Master among the Nine Sons to seize the throne, were reused after Yongzheng came to the throne.
One is the General of Fuyuan and a first-class Duke; the other is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and a first-class Duke. If they hadn't committed suicide, were arrogant about taking credit, and formed cliques for personal gain, they would never be able to enjoy all their wealth in their lifetimes.
Hence, many people are wondering which prince the emperor will choose to succeed him, and which prince they should move closer to.
…
Your dear friends are worried that the princes competing for the throne will set off party disputes, which will lead to the disaster of party disputes in the late Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties. I know all your concerns,
But I am not ready to change my mind. First of all, to be a wise king, you must be able to do things. Although it has been said since ancient times that the Yellow Emperor, Yao and Shun ruled by doing nothing, and with their noble moral character and sentiments, they could make all the people bow their heads and the world was peaceful, but I can tell you, that is all bullshit. All wise kings and saints throughout history have worked hard to govern and reform and innovate in order to achieve prosperity and long-term peace and stability in the country. For example, King Wuling of Zhao’s horse-riding and shooting in Hufu, Shang Yang’s reform advocated by Qin Xiaogong, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s hollowing out of the Western Regions, Emperor Taizong’s imperial examination system...
A buddy was born in the deep palace and raised in the hands of women. He didn't have much knowledge. If you don't work hard and get some training, even if you succeed to the throne in the future, you officials will be wantonly fooled by you and become just a puppet sitting on the throne. "
"I don't dare." Seeing Xiang Nan's harsh words, all the ministers hurriedly knelt down to plead guilty.
"Hmph, whoever dares to tell me about 'governing by looking down, governing by doing nothing' or talking about nonsense like 'cultivating virtue will make all foreigners submissive', I will send him to Southeast Asia, where there are still many Aboriginal people with cannibalistic customs.
I want to see if you moral gentlemen can civilize those savages and make them surrender willingly. Xiang Nan said coldly.
When all the ministers heard this, they were so frightened that they broke out in cold sweat.
“You dear friends should have read the works I brought back from the West. One of them, Biology, contains a principle called ‘natural selection, survival of the fittest’.
Just like us, the Xianbei people started out as nomads. After entering the Central Plains, they would still become farmers. And when the Han people go to the grasslands, they will also become nomads... Why is this? Circumstances dictate. Those who cannot adapt to the environment will have no choice but to die of poverty or starvation.
Dogs are domesticated from wolves, as you all know. But dogs are docile and wolves are ferocious. Why? Because during the years of domestication, undocile dogs were killed. Therefore, only docile dogs will be passed down to future generations. With generations of inheritance and training, dogs will become more and more docile. This is also the principle of survival of the fittest.
If brothers want to succeed in competing for reserves, they must learn to compete. Otherwise, how can you win the trust of me, the officials, and the people?
But the fight is a fight. I see it as your work, not your intrigues, cliques, criticisms, and attempts to undermine each other.
Let me tell you, I’m not dead yet, and I’m not stupid either. Whoever dares to do such a thing, eldest brother Yonghuang is your role model, you can try it. "
“I don’t dare!” Yong Cong, Yong Qi, Yong Cang and others also knelt down and said.
"Whether you dare or not depends on your words, I won't believe what you say, I will see your actions. I will see who is really doing things and who is not doing business and is thinking about opportunism all day long. It needs to be clear." Xiang Nan said coldly, "Okay, get up."
“Thank you, Emperor Ama.” All the elder brothers stood up and said with fearful expressions on their faces.
"You ministers too." Xiang Nan said coldly, "Don't think I can't notice what you have done in the past few years since I was away.
I tell you to take care of yourself. I have been on the throne for thirty-one years, half of which I have been fighting, and my sword has been sharpened. There is no battle to fight now, I am very lonely, and the knife in my hand is already buzzing.
So you'd better be honest with me and do what you should do. Otherwise, I will inevitably sacrifice your sword. I said what I said before, don’t say that I didn’t predict what I said. "
"I will remember the emperor's teachings." All the ministers were trembling with fright, and they all knelt down and kowtowed.
(End of this chapter)