Chapter 23 Brainwashing An Zisheng
Shangyang County!
Change the world!
The rebel troops finally broke in.
The county magistrate had fled the day before, and a few hours before the rebels were about to arrive in the city, the officers and soldiers turned into bandits and looted the city. Almost all the shops were looted, and then they left the city with the looted property.
The rebel army easily took over Shangyang County. Compared with the officers and soldiers' final frenzied looting, these rebel troops did not plunder the people's wealth after entering the city. Instead, they maintained order in the county.
After a day, the county town finally settled down.
Lin Ye walked out of the room, went to the study, pushed open the door, and An Zisheng glared at him.
"Shameless, traitor, rebel..."
Lin Ye took the paper ball out of An Zisheng's mouth, and the guy immediately started cursing, his saliva almost spraying on Lin Ye's face.
"The rebels have entered the city. You can leave now."
When An Zisheng heard Lin Ye's words, he suddenly became like a deflated ball, with all his energy and spirit gone.
"The rebels... the rebels have entered the city. The people of Shangyang County are going to suffer. I, An Zisheng, am reading the books of sages. What the hell are you reading?"
An Zisheng murmured at first, then he burst into swearing, and the look he gave Lin Ye was murderous. Lin Ye felt that if he untied this guy now, he would pounce on him like a dog and bite him.
"You are blinded by a leaf. You are indeed reading the sage's book in vain."
Lin Ye rudely slapped An Zisheng on the back of his head. An Zisheng felt the pain and looked up with anger and grievance.
"You think what you know is the truth. Let me tell you, the soldiers in your eyes robbed the shops in the county before the rebels arrived. They took away a lot of money and left without caring about the lives of the people. The rebels in your eyes, who were like bandits, actually maintained order after entering the city."
An Zisheng listened to Lin Ye's words and stared at him with suspicion. It was obvious that he didn't believe what Lin Ye said.
"I won't lie to you. You can go out and see for yourself and ask the people in the city if what I said is true."
Lin Ye untied An Zisheng's rope, but An Zisheng did not rush towards Lin Ye. He said angrily, "I will ask you. If I find out that you lied to me, I will make you pay the price even if I die."
…
…
An Zisheng walked out of the courtyard and was confused by the scene on the street at first glance.
He read books of sages and those about the rise and fall of history, and whenever there was a mention of rebellion, it described how wherever the rebels went, the people suffered and every house was closed.
But on the street in front of him, the people did not seem to be in a panic at all. They were walking in groups of two or three, talking and laughing.
Did he lie to me and the rebels didn't invade at all?
Yes, that must be it.
An Zisheng felt that his judgment was correct. It was very likely that the rebels changed their direction and did not come to Shangyang County, so the people were so relieved.
Thinking of this, An Zisheng walked quickly to the street, stopped a passerby, and asked, "May I ask if the rebels have changed their direction?"
The common people looked at him and said unhappily, "What rebels? They are here to rescue us. If they hadn't come, the city would have been in chaos. Those young hooligans took advantage of the officials and soldiers' escape and came out to rob."
"The county magistrate has escaped. How is that possible? The county magistrate said that he would live and die with the county."
An Zisheng shuddered all over. When he was studying in the academy, the county magistrate came to the academy to encourage these scholars and talked about the character of scholars. Later, when there was a rebellion in Sanhe County, he went to the county government office to ask for an audience with the county magistrate. The county magistrate told him righteously that as the local official, he would live and die with Shangyang County.
"What the hell are you talking about living together or dying together? You must have become stupid because of all the books you read. The county magistrate has already run away, and those officers and soldiers are even worse than bandits. They looted all the shops in the city before they fled. You scholars are like sweet-mouthed people, saying one thing and doing another. You are the worst kind of people."
The passerby spat and walked away, leaving An Zisheng standing there, looking confused and helpless.
Everything was different from what he had imagined.
"No... that's not the case."
An Zisheng stopped another passerby, and a few minutes later, he stood on the street in a daze.
"Do you know why? Because everything you know about the rebels comes from the gentry and the rich. To these people, the rebels are hateful and as inhumane as bandits. But to the poor and ordinary people, the rebels are here to save them and stop them from being exploited by the landlords and rich."
Lin Ye appeared behind An Zisheng. Seeing An Zisheng turning around, he continued to ask, "Do you know why a dynasty can only last for a hundred years or at most a few hundred years?"
"Because of the emperor's immorality and the corruption of the bureaucrats, the people are living in misery. People with lofty ideals have risen up in rebellion, and people from all directions have responded to the call." An Zisheng replied.
"Wrong. The real reason is that no matter which dynasty or which emperor came to power, they were unable to manage the grassroots. The imperial power did not go down to the countryside, and the officials stayed in the county government. The highest official that the villagers could see in their lifetime was the head of the village."
"Hasn't it been like this in all dynasties? The country folk haven't read much, so it's most appropriate for the village head and the local gentry to be in charge of management." An Zisheng retorted, because that's what the book says, fool the people, fool the people, tell them the principles in the books, these people won't understand, it's enough for the village head to convey the policies issued by the court.
"It is precisely because of this that no dynasty can last long. At most, it can only last a few hundred years. The Jing Dynasty lasted for 400 years. When it collapsed, Emperor Wenzong was known as a rare diligent and wise ruler. The Liang Dynasty lasted for 360 years. The last Emperor Chengzong rectified the administration of officials, but he still failed to prevent the collapse of the dynasty."
As for the history of the other world, Lin Ye had read many history books during the time he was imprisoned and had some knowledge of it. He knew some historical events of the dynasties. He mentioned these two dynasties and the last emperor. Naturally, An Zisheng, as a scholar, also knew about them.
"Then can you tell me what caused it?"
An Zisheng asked in return, so many great scholars in history had not been able to explain it clearly, so he didn't believe that Lin Ye could explain it clearly.
Lin Ye laughed and said, “Little guy, if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to explain it clearly, but I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”
"Because the imperial power does not extend to the countryside, and because every dynasty has never really cared about the common people at the bottom." Lin Ye thought of a scholar's research he had seen before, and directly copied it: "Every dynasty prospered at the beginning, because it had just experienced war, the population was small, the land was abundant, everyone had land to share, and the people would not starve. But as the country stabilized, the official gentry class emerged. The officials and gentry enjoyed various privileges, but the people could not enjoy them. When they encountered a disaster or illness, they could only sell their land to the gentry landlords in order to survive, and then became tenants."
"From the royal family to the officials, no one cares about the life and death of these tenants. Just like you scholars, you claim to read the books of sages every day and always say that you put the people first. But the people you are talking about are not the poor people, but the local sages and gentry."
"The reputation of an official is in the hands of the local sages, because the poor people have no access to officials at all, and the court's assessment of officials only stays at the first level. Therefore, the so-called parents of officials love the people like their own children, and they love these local sages. For a good reputation, officials keep being nice to these local sages. The local sages desperately exploit the lower-class people and plunder their land while praising the officials. The officials and the gentry are happy and no one cares about the life and death of the real lower-class people."
"You want to refute me? You think what I said is wrong." Seeing An Zisheng opening his mouth to refute, Lin Ye sneered and said, "Take you for example. You are a scholar and you haven't passed the imperial examination. You only know about the rebels from the gentry. If you passed the imperial examination and became an official, surrounded by officials and gentry, you would not listen to the voices of the people at the bottom. You would be intoxicated by the peaceful and prosperous rivers and seas woven for you by the gentry and landlords, and you would think you are a good official."
"It is because of officials like you who think they are benefiting the people, as well as those corrupt officials, that all dynasties can only last for a few hundred years."
An Zisheng pursed his lips and tried to say something several times, but he found that he could not refute. He was a scholar and understood some truths as soon as he heard them. He did not understand them before because he had never thought about it this way, or perhaps no scholar in the world had ever thought about it this way.
Because when they were studying, even poor scholars were kind to the gentry when they came into contact with them, and some would even donate silver to them. Take the school he attended for example, every year the gentry donated hundreds of taels of silver to them to buy the four treasures of the study. How could they possibly think that these gentry were bad?
An Zisheng knew that if there had been no rebellion, if he had really passed the imperial examination and was appointed to a county post, he would have been deceived by the gentry, just as the man in front of him said, because of his good impression of the gentry and local celebrities.
Seeing An Zisheng's doubtful look, Lin Ye was also happy in his heart. What he said was only the superficial reason. The actual reason was still insufficient productivity. As long as the existing land could not meet the survival of the people, it would be useless even if there were honest officials in the court and the world was peaceful.
Once the world is peaceful, people will work hard to give birth to offspring, but when the population increases and the land becomes insufficient, conflicts will still break out.
"Thank you for your teachings."
After a long time, An Zisheng suddenly bowed to Lin Ye as a teacher, and said solemnly: "If it weren't for Master Lin, I, An Zisheng, would never realize this truth even if I read the books of sages for my whole life."
Lin Ye accepted An Zisheng's gift without hesitation, then waved his hand and said, "Okay, now that you understand this, do what you need to do. I still have things to do."
An Zisheng bowed again and turned to leave. Lin Ye looked at An Zisheng's departing back. This scholar was indeed an interesting person.
