dognovel Chapter 665 The Chen Family Wants to Be Ennobled?
Chapter 665 The Chen Family Wants to Be Ennobled?
According to Zhong Yao, the imperial examination system can be divided into three stages: if it is not widespread, it can be ignored and left to its own devices; if it is widely spread, it should be suppressed with all efforts; and if it becomes so rampant that it cannot be suppressed, other solutions must be found.
Cao Pi understood his meaning and went straight to the point: "The worst-case scenario that the Grand Tutor mentioned is nothing more than the complete spread of 'The Legend of the White Snake' and the collective request from the poor families in the Central Plains to implement the imperial examination system. If it really comes to that, how should the court deal with it? We can't really open up the imperial examination system, can we?"
Zhong Yao bowed and said, "Please forgive my dullness, I haven't thought of anything yet."
Liu Ye continued, "Your Majesty, Grand Tutor, this old minister believes that it is better to guide than to block. If we launch a full-scale attack, we will only force the poor families of the Central Plains to Liu Bei's side, which will play right into Liu Bei's hands. Rather than that, we should turn the tables on him."
Cao Pi's expression shifted, and he quickly asked, "How can we turn the tables on them?"
Liu Ye bowed and said, "If the situation really gets out of control, we might as well release the news first and declare that the court does not disagree with the imperial examination, but it is not appropriate to change it since the world is not yet unified. It is not too late to open the imperial examination after defeating Liu Bei and unifying the world. To put it bluntly, we are using the bait of the imperial examination to keep the scholars in suspense and prevent them from joining the bigwig. As for what to do after defeating the bigwig, isn't it up to His Majesty to decide?"
To put it simply, it was like dangling a carrot in front of poor families, promising them a chance to win the imperial examinations, and then getting them to help the court fight Liu Bei. As for what would happen after defeating Liu Bei, frankly, Liu Ye didn't expect Cao Pi to be able to defeat Liu Bei; he only hoped that Cao Pi wouldn't die before Liu Bei.
Given Liu Bei's age, the goal is simply to outlive him to death.
Cao Pi was so angry that he wanted to spit in Liu Ye's face. "You old bastard, aren't you making me lose faith with the people? You'll get the benefits, but I'll have to take the blame. What kind of nonsense is this?"
Zhong Yao, however, said, “This is indeed a good idea. Using the pseudo-Han regime as an obstacle to the implementation of the imperial examination system, and calling on the poor scholars of the Central Plains to collectively oppose Liu Bei by claiming that the imperial examination system will be implemented after defeating Liu Bei, is much more effective than directly suppressing the poor scholars.”
To put it bluntly, it's all about procrastination; many things fall apart if they're dragged on forever.
Even if we were to use this strategy to defeat Liu Bei and unify the world, without Liu Bei as a fatal threat, what waves could a mere commoner make? Wouldn't it still be the aristocratic families who call the shots?
That's a matter for the future. Cao Pi didn't need to make things awkward with these old folks now. Hearing this, he said, "Chen Su, go back to Xuzhou and see how 'The Legend of the White Snake' is spreading there. Then report back truthfully and we'll make a decision."
Chen Su quickly bowed and said, "Yes..."
Cao Pi then inquired about Sima Yi's expedition and the battle between Cao Zhang, who was guarding Guanzhong, and the Han army before ordering everyone to disperse.
Leaving the palace, Zhong Yao pulled Chen Su aside and instructed him, "Nephew Chen, your Chen family of Xiapi is a prestigious family that ranks among the top in the world. If the court is really forced to implement the imperial examination, it will not be good for either of our families. For the sake of our descendants, I don't need to say more."
Chen Su bowed and said, "Grand Tutor, rest assured, when I return to my clan, I will definitely instruct my clansmen to abandon maritime trade with the pseudo-Han and do everything in their power to destroy all the books brought by the pseudo-Han."
Zhong Yao was then relieved and let him leave.
Chen Su dared not delay. After returning home and quickly packing up, he rode a fast horse back to Xuzhou. He did not dare to rest on the way and rode at full speed. After several days of travel, he finally entered the territory of Xuzhou. When he passed a village, he saw a group of people gathered at the entrance of the village. Out of curiosity, he instinctively led his horse over.
Upon closer inspection, hundreds of villagers were gathered in a circle. In the center of the circle, a young man covered in patches was telling them a story from a crumpled, blackened book. After listening for only a few sentences, it became clear that he was telling the story of "The Legend of the White Snake," which had caused great anxiety in the Cao Wei court.
He had read the book and had some recollection of its lines. Seeing the young man speaking with great enthusiasm and the surrounding villagers listening with rapt attention, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "I can't believe this book has even reached the countryside! How many copies did the pseudo-Han print, and how many were sent to Xuzhou? That damned pseudo-Han is really willing to spend so much money. Do they think paper is free?"
Chen Su silently retreated and continued on his journey. Upon returning home, he immediately went to see his uncle Chen Pi without resting and sent someone to summon Chen Yu to a meeting.
In the study, Chen Su, Chen Pi, and Chen Yu, uncle and nephew, took their seats. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Chen Su got straight to the point: "Uncle, Brother Yu, has our family been secretly trading with the pseudo-Han people lately?"
Chen Yu said excitedly, "Of course! I've already handed over the money to Zhang Xiu five times. Do you know how much money our family made in those five trips? Seventy thousand strings of cash, a full seventy thousand strings of cash!"
Chen Su, who was initially displeased with Chen Yu for his selfishness and disregard for the overall situation, couldn't hold back when he heard this number and exclaimed incredulously, "So many?"
Chen Yu said excitedly, "Yes, the pseudo-Han products sell so well. As long as they are transported here, the price will increase several times and people will still be scrambling to buy them, especially tea. I heard that the Xianbei people outside the Great Wall love this stuff the most. Tea transported from Xuzhou to the grasslands will increase in price more than tenfold."
"There are also earthenware pots and pots. The grasslands lack iron and therefore have no iron pots. Furthermore, the imperial court has imposed a salt and iron embargo on the grasslands, so our iron pots cannot be sold there. However, the earthenware pots brought from the pseudo-Han people are not restricted and can be sold on the grasslands at a price no lower than that of iron pots."
The grasslands are barren, and the nomadic people living there are far more miserable than the Han people. Their food is mostly roasted, not because they like roasted meat, but because they don't have pots for cooking rice. Therefore, the earthenware pots and hot pots used by the pseudo-Han people for cooking porridge are very popular on the grasslands and are in high demand. They cost a fortune!
Chen Su sighed, “No matter how good money is, you have to be alive to spend it. The matter of ‘The Legend of the White Snake’ has angered the court. His Majesty has ordered Luo Tong to form a maritime surveillance team to crack down on maritime smuggling. At that time, even if our goods are brought ashore and stored, they may still be found by Luo Tong’s surveillance team.”
"More importantly, Luo Tong is not from Qing and Xu provinces, and has no dealings with the gentry of those two provinces. He won't show us any leniency, and with Hua Xin as his stepfather backing him, he will definitely act without any scruples. So let's stop the smuggling business for now. We can't go against the grain and get caught in the crossfire. Otherwise, losing the goods is a small matter, but being arrested and punished would be a huge loss."
If we shut down the business, how much money would we lose?
Thinking of the huge profits slipping through his fingers, Chen Yu was immediately displeased and said angrily, "The imperial court is meddling too much. How can people live like this? In my opinion, it would be better to go south and join Liu Bei. At least we can trade freely there."
Chen Su was startled and quickly whispered a rebuke: "Don't talk nonsense. The court is just looking for an example to make an example of. We can't just go looking for death. Besides, Liu Bei will definitely promote the imperial examination after he wins. This is too disadvantageous for our gentry. We must not let that big-eared thief run rampant."
Chen Yu shook his head and said, "Patriarch, you are mistaken. I have discussed the imperial examination with my father and we believe that it is inevitable. No matter who unifies the world, Wei or Han will use the imperial examination to suppress the gentry. So instead of worrying that the imperial examination will destroy the family, we should think of a way to get rid of the threat of the imperial examination completely."
Chen Su quickly asked, "What method?"
Chen Yu replied decisively, "Being granted a title of nobility is the biggest trump card for a family to prosper. If our Chen family can obtain the title of Duke like the Mi family, we can sit back and relax completely. Whether the court promotes the imperial examination or not will have nothing to do with our family."