webnovelfull Chapter 626 The Best State of Domination
Chapter 626 The Best State of Domination
It's truly rare for ordinary people like us to have a good emperor; we should all be content.
And yet you all blindly followed others and started a rebellion? What were you thinking?
Or is it that your hometown is so devastated that people can't make a living anymore? If that's the case, speak up boldly, and I'll help you chop down all the culprits.
What's wrong with you? Why did you have to take this step? Why not enjoy a peaceful life instead of doing something so despicable? What were you thinking?
"One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers." In every war, the ones who die the most are the lowest-ranking soldiers like you.
Do you know where those great generals' military achievements and immense wealth came from? They were all built upon the countless bones of you lowly soldiers.
In the end, they were granted titles and honors, their wives and children were granted titles and privileges, the emperor bestowed mansions and gold rewards upon them, and then the titles were passed down through generations, eventually becoming a powerful and influential family.
And what have you received? All you got were two lines of tears from your parents and unbearable days after losing the pillar of your family.
It may not be long before, with the passing of your parents, no one in this world will remember you anymore.
Do you know why I didn't mention your wives and children just now?
Because after losing you as the pillar of the family, your children and wife will most likely not survive.
If your wife is heartless and willing to abandon your children and remarry, you might still have a chance to survive.
So what exactly are you after?
You wouldn't expect that such a despicable dog as King Le, who would rather forgo peaceful days and instead stir up trouble and rebel, would treat you well if he became emperor, would you?
That's just wishful thinking, far too naive.
He doesn't care about your lives now, and you actually expect him to treat you well in the future? Don't dream.
He's a complete failure; he's just throwing you guys out there to make noise.
Even if he succeeds, the first people he'll be wary of are people like you.
He knows all too well how he came to power, and he will definitely find an excuse to kill you all.
Only the dead can keep secrets, and only the dead won't fight him for the throne, understand?
So what exactly are you after?
Let me tell you something else: all the tax revenue from the King of Le's fiefdom went into his own pocket.
He didn't offer a single coin to the court; on the contrary, he would frequently find excuses to ask the court for money.
It's as if the people of this land supported their family.
Close your eyes and think carefully about how much silver and grain your family needs to hand over each year.
The taxes you pay are enough for that family to live on gold and silver for generations to come, even if they didn't eat any other food.
And what happened? This scoundrel who did nothing but eat, drink, be merry, and frequent prostitutes was still not satisfied.
He actually used the heads of ordinary people like you to pave the way for his supreme imperial power.
Do you know what the tax revenue collected by the imperial court is used for?
Frontier warfare requires provisions, the Yellow River floods need to be controlled, and snowstorms, landslides, floods, and plagues in certain areas all require money to solve.
Do you know who has it tough? Does anyone treat ordinary people like human beings?
Now look at Prince Li and his men. They have been entrenched in this area for many years, but what have they done for the local people?
While they're sleeping soundly on the people's hard-earned money, they're also causing trouble and don't value your lives at all. Do you understand? That's the most terrifying thing.
Shen Ruyi rattled off another long string of words.
She wasn't lying; it's unclear what the future holds for the current government, but things seem alright for now.
Moreover, one cannot place too high demands on the emperor.
Because he is part of the ruling class, his stance determines that he won't treat ordinary people very well.
The relationship between the two is both contradictory and unified.
The best state of governance is to neither let the people starve (to the point of rebellion) nor treat them too well, but rather keep them in a state of semi-starvation (to the point where they are unlikely to rise up in rebellion).
When people are starving, they only have one pursuit and one thought: how to eat their fill and fill their stomachs.
Once people have enough to eat, a series of problems arise, and they begin to ponder the meaning of life and the issue of unequal wealth distribution.
Therefore, most emperors throughout history adopted a policy of keeping the people ignorant, leaving their subjects to live in a state of semi-starvation.
If ordinary people are exhausted from working themselves to the bone just to eat three meals a day, they will have no time to think about problems or rebel.
Therefore, how can one expect the highest leader of a ruling class to empathize with the most ordinary people?
This idea itself is flawed.
In the eyes of the upper class, the lower class are just consumables, slaves they keep and can be sacrificed at will.
That's why there's the saying, "Thunder and rain are both the emperor's grace."
For ordinary people, rain and dew are things they might never encounter even once in their entire lives.
It's something you've only heard of but never seen, because good things and benefits never reach the bottom; they've already been divided up by the higher-ups.
I see the Thunder all the time; I can easily find an excuse to experience it firsthand.
Often, no excuse is needed; if the emperor is in a bad mood, this thunderbolt can befall innocent people.
It's like ordinary people never get any of the benefits, but when there are downsides, they are the first to be affected, the first to be used as consumables, and the first to be sacrificed.
That's why Shen Ruyi felt that the current emperor was actually a very good person.
If you don't believe it, just look through the history books and you'll see how rare it is to find a normal emperor who is diligent in governing and loves his people, doesn't seek pleasure, and isn't obsessed with alchemy or carpentry.
This has always been the case, and it has never changed.
The ruling class is responsible for the imperial power it holds, not for the common people at the bottom.
What they care about is whether their position is secure and whether they have enough power.
How much benefit he can bring to his descendants is not about whether the people are happy or not, or whether the people can survive.
This is not something they should worry about, much less something they should care about.
What they want is stability—to prevent rebellion—not the actual living standards of ordinary people.
This is reality, this is the truth.
The truth is cruel, but we have no choice but to face it.
This is the main reason why Shen Ruyi always used benefits and interests to pave the way for things in front of the officials, no matter what she did.
Everything she did actually played right into the hearts of the officials, who were the ultimate beneficiaries of the whole affair.
The emperor seemed to trust her immensely, but that was only because her existence brought him enormous benefits and brought about earth-shattering changes.
I am still useful to the government now, but once I am no longer useful, it is really hard to say what will happen in the future.
So, Shen Ruyi has always lived a relatively clear-headed life and is quite sensible.
She may seem lawless and daring to do anything, but in reality, she never crossed any lines she shouldn't have.
She was never arrogant or complacent, because she understood all too well the intricacies and human nature involved.
Today the emperor can make her a queen, but tomorrow she can be thrown into prison and beheaded.