Chapter 1126: Suggestion

“Fief?” Mu Yangling’s eyes widened. “Didn’t Emperor Shizong of the previous dynasty no longer confer vassal lords?”

“The previous dynasty was the previous dynasty, and this dynasty is this dynasty.” Qi Haoran said, “If the previous dynasty had vassal lords guarding the borders, Great Jin and West Xia wouldn’t have the ability to occupy a large portion of our territory.”

Mu Yangling disagreed. “The reason why Great Zhou lost a large portion of its territory was because Emperor Gaozong moved the army inwards. Instead of defending against external enemies, he guarded against the commoners. In addition, Emperor Shizong valued literature over martial arts, causing there to be a lack of military talents in the army. What has this got to do with the vassal lords?”

After Qin Shihuang unified the six states, he abolished the feudal system and changed it to a county system. After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, the feudal system was re-adopted again. However, it was very different from the previous one. This time, it was a combination of feudal and county systems. After a thousand years, although the feudal system had always existed, it had been constantly weakened. It was only when Emperor Shizong of the previous dynasty abolished the vassal system that the princes could enter the Imperial Court as officials but no longer be conferred vassal lands. Before the new emperor took over, the princes had to stay in the capital and not leave the capital.

Mu Yangling did not think that Emperor Shizong was right to restrict the growth of the royal family’s descendants, but he was right to abolish the vassal system.

The existence of the vassal system could easily divide a country, Han and Jin being two living examples.

Mu Yangling said to Qi Haoran, “People could become selfish over time. Haoran, I don’t approve of conferring fief. Little Treasure and Little Bear might have a good relationship now, and won’t fight each other for power. But what about their descendants? When the time comes, what if one wants to reduce power, and the other wants to obtain more power? Great Qi will definitely be in chaos. The Han and Tang Dynasty have been working hard to weaken the power of the vassal lords for hundreds of years. Emperor Shizong even risked his life to abolish the vassal system. Are we going to backtrack now and end up worse than the Han Dynasty a thousand years ago?”

Qi Haoran frowned. He really had not thought too much about it. As the Emperor’s younger brother who also had accumulated military merits, it was only right for him to be conferred the title of King and a prosperous fief. However, Ah Ling was now saying that this system was wrong.

Mu Yangling knew that this was not something he could accept right away. So, she quickly turned around and sent the children off to sleep. Then, she turned around and led him into the room to talk in detail.

Historically, there had been countless cases of the country falling into chaos or the power of the country being weakened because of rebellions staged by vassal lords when an attempt to abolish the vassal system was made. Mu Yangling did not even need to flip through the history books, for this came easily to her. “The struggle for power has never stopped. Since the descendants of the Qi family are also mortals, they, too, will fight for power and benefits. Emperor Shizong did very well in cutting off their capital that could disrupt the country.”

Qi Haoran said unhappily, “Then will the descendants of the Qi family have to be like the royal family of Great Zhou, cowardly living off the royal family’s salary for the rest of their lives? Then, after five generations when they become commoners, they might be worse off than even a straw sandal vendor.”

“That’s because they’re too incompetent.” Mu Yangling said, “Despite being born into the royal family and having so many resources and advantages over others, they ended up in that state. My suggestion is that we don’t give preferential treatment to the members of the royal family in the Imperial Examination, commerce or the army. No matter what they want to do, they have to compete with the commoners.”

“After the second generation, if one wants to become an official, they’ll have to participate in the Imperial Examination and compete with all the scholars in the world. If one wants to do business, they’ll have to pay taxes. They also have to abide by the law. They should be free to join the army, too. There are so many professions out there, surely there’s something that they can do? Born into the royal family, royalty receive a good education since they were young. Plus, they have connections and resources that others don’t have access to. If they aren’t able to compete against others despite having so many advantages, it’s a problem with their intelligence and genetics. Can’t blame others for it.”

Qi Haoran looked at his wife speechlessly.

Mu Yangling continued, “Hear me out. Think about it. How long has it been since Great Qi was established? As a King, you’ll be occupying the vast region that is Taiyuan. Royal Brother has six sons. Other than Little Treasure, he has to confer five more Kings. Even if their fiefs aren’t as vast or prosperous as yours, at the very least, they will take up five county cities. When Little Treasure ascends to the throne and becomes the Emperor, he will also have children of his own and confer many counties. This way, in less than a few generations, unless the conferred Kings don’t have any descendants, the Emperor won’t have any more land to confer. Then what can he do? He can only think of removing the vassal kings. And will the vassal kings be willing to hand over the benefits they have obtained? At that time, Great Qi will be in chaos again.”

These were all things that had happened repeatedly in history. The Five Kingdoms Rebellion of the Han Dynasty was the most famous example.

When Mu Yangling saw Qi Haoran’s gloomy expression, she continued, “And this is only one of the main conflicts. The secondary conflict is the conflict between the princes of the vassal kingdoms, the conflict between the vassal kingdoms, the conflict between the vassal kings, the officials of the territories, and the interests of the commoners. How much trouble will this vassal system cause Great Qi?”

Seeing that Qi Haoran was deep in thought, Mu Yangling did not disturb him anymore. She untied her hair and lay beside him. With a yawn, she said, “Like I always say, one’s children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Now that we’ve already paved the way for them, there’s nothing we can do if they insist on crashing into each other on the way. Furthermore, our family already has money and power. As long as we live happily, there’s really no need to slog over a fief. Hence, we should turn down this fief.”

After a long time, Qi Haoran said, “Aren’t we cutting off the children’s aspirations by doing so?”

Mu Yangling heard it in a daze and said vaguely, “Great Qi is so big. Surely we won’t have to worry that they won’t be able to fulfill their ambitions?”

Qi Haoran did not sleep the entire night. The next day, he ran to Little Bear’s room with dark circles under his eyes and pulled him up. He looked at him sternly and asked, “Wenjin, if Father King rejects the fief, will you blame me?”

Not quite awake yet, Little Bear subconsciously felt that his father was testing him. He immediately said reflexively, “The feudal system was abolished when Qin Shihuang was still alive, and the vassal system was abolished by Emperor Shizong from the previous dynasty. Daddy, do you want me to write a paper on the adverse effects of the feudal system and the vassal system?”

Qi Haoran: “…”

Qi Haoran looked at his dazed son and pressed him onto the bed with a tap of his finger. With a wooden expression, he said, “Alright, continue sleeping. Pretend that Father King never came.”

Qi Haoran turned around and entered the palace.

Today’s morning court assembly was especially packed. As long as one was qualified to attend, everyone would come to join in the fun. News had spread from the palace yesterday that the first king and vassal king of Great Qi might be conferred in the court assembly today, so everyone wanted to join in the fun.

Qi Xiuyuan had already decided to reward the few greatest contributors today, so he was in high spirits. The ministers were also brimming with joy when they saw this. This war against Jin could be said to have been a complete victory. Not only did they recover the lost land, but they also obtained most of Great Jin’s wealth.

After the rewards were given, the palace would definitely hold a palace banquet. Their sons and daughters who were of appropriate age could then take this opportunity to interact.

Qi Xiuyuan conferred the rewards from the lowest to the highest. Credited for watching over the country alongside the crown prince, Rong Xuan was conferred the title of Grand Tutor and the title could remain for two more generations. This effectively meant that the title of the Duke of Defense could remain for three generations.

On the other hand, the Duke of Peaceful State, Fan Zijin was promoted to Prince An and his title was hereditary. Previously Prince Rong, Qi Haoran was conferred the title of King Rong and his title was also hereditary.

Qi Xiuyuan asked Qi Haoran, “I chose Taiyuan as your fief yesterday, but you didn’t like it. Have you chosen a fief now?”

The ministers all looked at Qi Haoran.

Qi Haoran stepped out with a dark expression and cupped his hands. “Reporting to Your Majesty, I don’t want a fief.”

The smile on Qi Xiuyuan’s face gradually disappeared and turned into a frown.

Qi Haoran raised his head slightly and said, “Emperor Shizong abolished the vassal system in the previous dynasty, and I personally thought that this was a brilliant move. Thus, I hereby propose a permanent abolishment of the vassal system.”

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