Chapter 218
Lu Su's response plan!
Chapter 218 Lu Su's response plan! (Thanks to the monthly ticket support from book friend 2024...3801~)
Seeing that Lu Su finally got to the point, Lu Bu, who had already sat back in the tiger chair, immediately sat up straight!
The method proposed by the other party may not only affect the present world.
It could even bring an early end to the aristocratic families that had lasted until the end of the Tang Dynasty!
Under Lu Bu's expectant gaze, Lu Su slowly said:
“First, vigorously develop the education and training of the poor!
“I believe you all know that today, the right to education and the right to receive education are monopolized by the aristocratic families.
“People with culture and those without culture present completely different pictures in their thoughts and ways of doing things.
“It’s just like today’s military commanders and counselors.
“Military generals are destined to do more strenuous work than counselors, and promotions must be based on military merit, because of the gap in knowledge.
“Of course, I am not disparaging military commanders, because they also have physical and character advantages that civil officials cannot match.
“Let’s get back to the point… If ordinary people can get enough education, then future talents will no longer only come from aristocratic families.
“With a larger base of poor people, more and more talents of all kinds will emerge!
“In addition, interrupting the education monopoly of the aristocratic families can invisibly weaken the influence of the aristocratic families.
“And it won’t hurt them immediately.
“Originally, this is very difficult to implement, and other forces who want to implement this will inevitably encounter great obstacles.
“But as far as I know, our lord’s curved plow and dragon-bone waterwheel have greatly improved the living standards of the grassroots people.
"Not only does it allow them to have enough food to eat, but it also gives them some extra time to do other things.
“In addition, the lord has previously established schools in various county capitals to popularize education.
“Although the results were minimal, it did lay a certain foundation.
"Another very important point is the improvement of Caihou Paper by the lord.
“The new version of ‘Wenhou Paper’ is not only toilet-friendly, but also more convenient for writing!
"The most important thing is that 'Wenhou Paper' has greatly reduced production costs and lowered the price of paper.
"Ordinary people with spare money can also buy some paper to write on, which will further help popularize education.
“So this plan will definitely help weaken the aristocratic families.
“As for how to select talents from ordinary people in the future, it will not be too late to discuss it after basic education has achieved results.
“Of course, it is not enough to just weaken the aristocratic families.
“Some aristocratic families have accumulated hundreds or thousands of years of foundation, and this little bit of weakening alone cannot shake their foundation.
“Moreover, excessive damage to the interests of the aristocratic families will also force them to turn against us.
"Therefore, we have to implement a second method, which is to cut off our dependence on the aristocratic families.
“Once a war breaks out somewhere, the princes will inevitably ask the noble families near the war to provide food, fodder and troops.
“Once the princes develop this bad habit of asking for things as soon as they open their mouths, it will be difficult for them to refuse when these noble families make excessive demands in the future.
“Therefore, I suggest that when you launch a war in the future and seek help from local noble families, you should adopt the method of ‘borrowing’ rather than ‘taking’.
“You have to pay back as much as you borrowed, or even a little more.
“As long as we don’t owe favors to the noble families, we won’t have any psychological burden if they make requests to us in the future even if we refuse.
"There is no need to worry that they will not help us next time, because they will also get benefits by helping us.
“And whether we need their help or not, the driving force will be in our hands, not in the hands of the aristocratic families!
“We can live without them, but they can’t live without us.
"This will allow these aristocratic families to clearly understand their identities and status, so that they can actively curry favor with us!"
After listening to the two points raised by Lu Su, Lu Bu also felt that they made sense. While the other party was drinking tea, he continued to ask:
"What Zijing said is worth implementing. Is there anything else to do?"
Lu Su put down the teacup and nodded slightly:
"The third point is the direct clash with the aristocratic families." The aristocratic families control a large amount of property, land and private armed forces.
"The biggest threat to us is not their property but their private armed forces.
“Therefore, we can limit the number of serfs and private armies they own based on the amount of property they report.
"The more property you report, the more taxes you have to pay, and the less you report, the fewer private armies you have.
"For us, it's all good, but for them it's a restriction that's extremely annoying."
After hearing this third point, Lu Bu's eyes lit up!
This move is really amazing!
If a noble family loses its armed forces, it would be like a tiger without claws and fangs.
Even if there is still a threat, it will not be as deadly.
"Anything else?" Lu Bu asked with increasing surprise.
Lu Su glanced at the people from the aristocratic families whose faces were not looking good, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly:
"Nothing for now. I will let you know when I think of something later."
Lu Bu also noticed that Chen Deng, Gu Yong and other aristocratic families looked unhappy, and immediately said:
“Don’t worry, people from the noble families. I treat the noble families who fully support me as my family members.
“I will only confront those families that are fence-sitters or have ulterior motives.
"The fact that you can sit here and listen to Zijing's speech means that I trust you enough.
"As long as you and your family remain loyal, I will give you some leniency in future policies."
Hearing this, Gu Yong was the first to breathe a sigh of relief and bowed to Lu Bu.
Chen Deng was a little slow, but he also nodded to Lu Bu.
Lu Bu stood up and summarized Lu Su's situation in a loud voice:
“In short, the current approach has three points:
“First, to popularize education for the poor; second, to avoid dependence on the resources of the aristocratic families;
“Third, some policies were issued targeting the aristocratic families to restrict their property and private armed forces.
"Zi Bu, Zi Gang, I'll leave these three matters to you two."
Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong immediately stood up and saluted:
"I obey my orders!"
Lu Bu glanced at everyone and found that there were not many noble families under his command. The corners of his mouth could not help but twitch slightly:
“In the next period of time, we will focus on developing domestic affairs.
"I hope that when the next war starts, we will have a more solid and unshakable foundation!"
All the civil and military officials stood up, saluted Lu Bu, and said in unison:
"I wish that Marquis Wen will achieve his goal!"
Lu Bu laughed, announced the end of the meeting, and asked everyone to leave and rest.
Only Zhou Yu and Lu Su were left, and Lu Bu stopped them.
Lu Su was not surprised by this, because he had not finished speaking about the policy targeting the aristocratic families.
Lu Bu took Lu Su's hand, led him to his seat, and asked enthusiastically:
"In addition to the previous three points, Zi Jing should have other plans that he hasn't mentioned, right?"
Lu Su smiled slightly, and his eyes became sharp:
"As expected of Marquis Wen, he is both wise and brave.
“But the remaining methods are not suitable to be spoken in public.
"The first part is just a minor incident, but the latter part will cause a bloodbath..."
(End of this chapter)