After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

"There was originally, but then it was gone," Zhao Ming paused, unable to resist asking, "In Your Majesty’s heart, which is more important, the people or the dynasty’s longevity?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "Uncle Ming may not believe it, but I think if a dynasty can ensure the interests of the majority of its people, it will continue indefinitely."

Zhao Hanzhang asked him, "Why did the Han Dynasty come to an end?"

Zhao Ming: "Because the eunuchs held power and villains were in control."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and then shook her head, "That’s right, and not quite right. You are used to looking only above, seeing the chaos at the top of a tall building, yet you fail to see that the base of the building is already bent. All it takes is a straw added on top for it to topple from the base and collapse in an instant."

"The eunuchs’ dominance was just a small reason. More importantly, bureaucrats colluded with each other. The Han emphasized the recommendation system, allowing the powerful to form alliances and monopolize the selection process for officials. Those who enter service and advance in the court invariably have connections to them, forming a formidable network of relationships." Zhao Hanzhang said, "They join forces and transfer the taxes they should pay onto the common people. The commoners labor hard all year only to find they cannot even sustain themselves and owe taxes to the court, leaving them with no choice but to abandon their land and become refugees."

"The lands they abandon are seized by the powerful who turn them into their own through various means, and then they buy or directly use the refugees as concealed households to cultivate these lands," Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "The state’s tax on these people is lost, and for land taxes, they replicate the method, transferring them onto others... this cycle goes on, eventually leaving the vast majority of the populace landless, while seventy percent of the land is concentrated in the hands of less than ten percent of the people."

"This less than ten percent of people hold the majority of the nation’s wealth, yet the state cannot collect taxes, support the military, or maintain officials. Instead of asking for funds from those who control the nation’s finances, they pressure the barely surviving commoners. Do you think this tall building can remain standing and the world not descend into chaos?"

Zhao Cheng’s eyes moistened as he choked, "The Yellow Turban Rebellion cost so many lives, and now you say it wasn’t the rebels causing trouble, but that it was the emperor pressing the people to revolt?"

Zhao Ming suddenly understood and nodded to Zhao Hanzhang, "I see."

Their gaze should not only be upward; they must also look downward to see the most ordinary and suffering people.

Zhao Ming murmured, "The people are the foundation..."

"The people are the foundation..." Zhao Cheng also began to murmur, "I have always believed this too, though each emperor espouses Confucian thought, preferring to read only the ’Analects’ and the ’Doctrine of the Mean,’ reading Dong Zhongshu’s commentaries, unwilling to promote Mencius and Xunzi..."

At this point, Zhao Cheng’s eyes lit up, grabbing Zhao Hanzhang’s sleeve, "Hanzhang, do you think human nature is inherently good or inherently evil?"

Zhao Ming saw this and hurriedly pulled his hand away, whispering, "Insolence, this is Your Majesty!"

Are you still thinking it is like before?

Zhao Hanzhang did not mind, and after a moment of silence, she said, "If I say human nature is inherently evil, Uncle Cheng, will you punch me?"

Who knew Zhao Cheng would burst into laughter, "Precisely, precisely, human nature is inherently evil. Otherwise, why does evil surge forth when faced with dire straits?"

"And because human nature is inherently evil, we must educate with virtue, constrain with law, transform evil nature into good—this is the essence of learning and the foundation of virtuous governance."

Zhao Hanzhang could not help but turn to Zhao Ming, "Uncle Ming, where did you find Uncle Cheng? Where has he been these six months? I remember he used to believe that human nature is inherently good."

Seeing she didn’t mind Zhao Cheng’s rudeness, Zhao Ming replied coolly, "People change; they can change in a day, let alone in half a year."

Zhao Ming brushed off Zhao Cheng’s hand, scolding, "Be respectful, speak properly if you have something to say, stop tugging on Her Majesty."

Zhao Hanzhang saw Zhao Cheng lower his head, lost in his own world, his thoughts wandering who knows where, and said to Zhao Ming, "It’s all right, it’s all right, I don’t mind."

You can tell from how I address myself.

Zhao Hanzhang led them back to the inner palace for a meal, deliberately slowing her pace to accommodate Zhao Cheng immersed in his world, discussing halfway through this year’s treasury revenues along the way.

Mrs. Wang lived in the Xuanguang Palace of the inner palace. Passing through Yongxiang from the Deyang Palace, that’s where Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan are now residing.

They hadn’t reached the palace door when they heard Zhao Hu’s boasting voice, "This Vermilion Bird Carrying Ring and Stepping on Tiger Jade Vase was bought for eight hundred thousand coins. Its value could be no less than ten million."

Zhao Hanzhang stumbled, almost tripping over her own feet. Hearing her biological father’s voice suddenly, Zhao Cheng was also snapped out of his mental world.