Chapter 5104: Good National Strategy

Chapter 5104: Good National Strategy
After returning to the Fang Mansion, Fang Jun first went to the study in the front yard to see his father.

After not seeing each other for ten days, Fang Xuanling's previously gaunt face looked a little more haggard, but his eyes were bright. When he saw his son, he quickly asked him to sit down, and couldn't wait to tell him all the experiences he had gained from "seclusion" for a long time, hoping to have an exchange with his son that touched the whole country...

"As a father, I believe that even if people are enlightened one day, not everyone can talk about politics. As the saying goes, 'Every profession has its own specialty.' How can a farmer in the field or a businessman who is very careful about every penny know what kind of policies to issue to govern the country? The best and most stable way is for everyone to do their own job."

Fang Jun agreed with this and was even more radical: "It's not just the common people and merchants who can't govern the country well. Officials may not be able to do it either! Since ancient times, there have been many cases where internal officials have been valued and external officials have been neglected. The result is that internal officials do not know the detailed situation of the prefectures and counties, and the central government's decision-making is out of touch with reality, resulting in low local governance levels. Not all officials have the ability to govern the country."

Fang Xuanling thought about it and nodded in approval, but he could not think of a way to avoid such a situation, let alone how to formulate a rule for selecting officials to prevent such a situation and ensure that the prime minister has the ability to govern the country. So he asked, "Does Erlang have a good plan for this?"

Fang Jun smiled and said, "It's not difficult, 'If you don't go through the prefectures and counties, you won't be promoted to the provincial government'!"

"Not serving in prefectures and counties, not planning to serve in Taiwan?"

"That's why only officials with experience in governing prefectures and counties are qualified to become governors of the three provinces and then prime ministers. Such officials have seen what the lowest level of bureaucracy is like, have experienced the hardships of the people's lives, and know what policies are beneficial to the people and the country. At the same time, an official who has been promoted from county magistrate, governor, and prefect must be an outstanding person. Only such people can lead the empire on the path of continuous development without making mistakes, or making fewer mistakes."

Fang Xuanling clapped his hands and praised: "Such a good strategy can be regarded as a golden rule! For example, Liu Sidao is just a corrupt scholar and a corrupt official. He has neither amazing literary talent nor military achievements to stabilize the country. Now that he has stolen the position of prime minister, what achievements can he make?"

He had a gentle personality and never talked about others behind their backs, but he couldn't help it this time.

Firstly, he didn't need to be so cautious when chatting with his son in the study, and secondly, he really looked down on Liu Li...

Both he and Du Ruhui, although they were children of aristocratic families, had emerged from the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty and could be said to have risen from the grassroots. They followed Emperor Li II in building achievements and performing meritorious deeds, gradually raising the country from ruins and making it stand proudly in the world.

Even people like Xiao Yu and Gao Shilian had experienced many misfortunes and hardships, and had their own understanding of war.

What about people like Liu Li?

He was born into a noble family and lived a life of luxury. After entering the officialdom, he served as an advisor to Emperor Li II and wrote documents for him. He was ignorant of the sufferings of the world and had no knowledge of civil or military strategies. Such a person sat in the position of prime minister, in charge of the central government and in charge of all the officials. The national policies he formulated were bound to have more mistakes than correct ones.

Even forgetting his understanding of "state capitalism" that he had pondered for many days, Fang Xuanling stood up and paced. After a moment, he turned around and said, "Erlang, grind the ink for me. I want to write a memorial to present to Your Majesty!"

Fang Jun gladly obeyed.

Historically, this policy was proposed by Zhang Jiuling, but was later abolished due to the Anshi Rebellion.

It was not until the Song Dynasty that it became a national policy.

Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, the prime ministers of the empire have included loyal ministers and treacherous thieves, but rarely mediocre ones...

Fang Xuanling was quick-witted and finished writing a memorial in a moment. He blew away the ink stains and carefully checked whether there were any omissions or mistakes. The more he read, the more satisfied he felt. He put down the memorial, patted his son's strong shoulders, and said with relief: "When Emperor Taizong commented on you, I was once very embarrassed. I thought it was excessive praise and partiality. Now I know that Emperor Taizong's ability to judge people is far better than yours!"

The so-called comment is naturally the sentence "This boy has the talent to be a prime minister"...

People at that time thought that Emperor Taizong exaggerated the matter to save Fang Xuanling's reputation or because of his favor for Fang Jun, which was why he ignored the dignity of an emperor. However, Fang Junzhi's various performances afterwards made everyone have to admit that Emperor Taizong was unparalleled in the world in judging people.

However, today's policy of "not serving in prefectures and counties, and not being appointed to the provincial government" made Fang Xuanling feel even more how amazing his son was.

This is more than just the talent of a prime minister.
He is definitely a "qualified official"!
A famous minister who dominated his generation, was brilliant in his time, and whose name goes down in history and will be remembered through the ages!

Fang Jun acted well-behaved and was extremely terrified: "Emperor Taizong is praising me, but I am ashamed to accept it! I only know how to be loyal to my country and benefit the people, that's all."

Fang Xuanling nodded: "We are men of our generation, with great ambitions and lofty aspirations. This is the way to go! As a father, I will not take credit for this memorial."

This national policy has swept away the shortcomings of the previous method of selecting prime ministers and is almost perfect. I believe that not only will Your Majesty adopt it, but it will still be one of the most important policies a hundred years later, and the person who proposed this national policy will surely go down in history.

Fang Jun smiled and made a cup of tea for Fang Xuanling, saying, "You and I, father and son, why do we need such false reputations to decorate our facades? I am a powerful figure and I care about the people in my heart. That is enough. Even if the Confucians now denounce and abuse the overseas policies I have formulated, so what? Even if the crimes are extremely serious, they are 'the crimes are committed in this era, but the merits will last for thousands of years'. Hundreds and thousands of years later, future generations will benefit endlessly from what I do today. What's the point of getting a bad reputation for a while!"

Nothing can last forever. No matter how powerful the Tang Dynasty is today, it will eventually decline or even collapse.

But the vast territory conquered by the Tang Dynasty today will become an incomparably glorious legacy.

“When you are poor, put aside disputes; when you are rich, stick to it as it was from ancient times”, this is an eternal rule.

Even if today's territory is reduced to ashes in the future, we can wait until China rises and revive again in a certain cycle and then have a legitimate reason to attack.

The phrase "a legitimate name and a smooth speech" is indeed more effective than any amount of wealth...

Fang Xuanling stared at his son for a long time and praised him: "When you are poor, you should take care of yourself; when you are rich, you should help the world. This is what a gentleman does. Erlang has great power and outstanding achievements, but he does not only care about his own enjoyment, but also cares about the country and the people. This state of mind is beyond even your father."

Traditional Confucian culture emphasizes "strict father and kind mother". The father must always be serious and teach his son in front of him to maintain his authority. Therefore, even if the son does well, the father must encourage and persuade him more and not praise him easily, so as to prevent him from becoming arrogant due to spoiling.

Fang Xuanling was the most traditional gentleman, strictly adhering to Confucian culture, but he really couldn't help himself at this moment.

……

A long time after Fang Jun left, Fang Xuanling was still sitting alone in the study, drinking tea and flipping through the memorial he had just written.

The more you look at it, the more amazing it becomes.

It is impossible that wise rulers and virtuous ministers could not have failed to think of such a simple truth, but the formulation and implementation of every policy in history had to compromise with the political environment at the time, and not all good policies that truly benefit the country and the people could be implemented.

Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the empire was ruled by aristocratic politics, and even the emperor had to give way to it. All powerful families and aristocratic families sent their most outstanding sons to the emperor in order to achieve the goal of rising to prominence and ruling the world.

Who would be willing to send their clan members to prefectures and counties, wasting more than ten years or even dozens of years to pave the way for a prime minister?
Even if someone once proposed the saying "Without serving in a prefecture or county, one cannot be elected as a provincial governor", it would have been drowned out by the utilitarianism of the aristocratic families.

But now is the right time.

There were footsteps at the door. Fang Xuanling looked up and saw his wife Lu walking in with a tray. When she came closer, she put the tray on the table and took out some exquisite pastries and arranged them one by one.

She filled the teacup again and placed it beside Fang Xuanling, saying with a slight frown, "You are old now. No matter what happens, you should be more open-minded. Why do you act like a possessed person? You even forgot to eat!"

Fang Xuanling smiled and did not refute. He picked up a piece of cake and chewed it for a few times. He drank a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I have been busy and toiled for half my life. I am a little uncomfortable to be idle all of a sudden. I find something to do for myself. It is good to live a fulfilling life."

Lu rolled her eyes at him, said nothing, and sat beside him, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Fang Xuanling was speechless: "Does your husband need to ask: Does your good wife have any advice for you?"

Mrs. Lu snorted and stopped stretching. She frowned and said, "Although Erlang is very good and may even surpass you in future achievements, isn't your husband doting on him too much now? Erlang has become much calmer in recent years, but he was arrogant and spoiled in the past. Your husband should not let him go back to his old ways."

One of the meanings of a "strict father" is to be dignified in front of children, to be able to calm children down at critical moments and make them feel awe so that they will not act recklessly.

But in Lu's opinion, Fang Xuanling had long forgotten this point. In the past few years, Fang Xuanling always agreed with Erlang's words, which showed that he was too doting on Erlang.

Fang Xuanling was stunned for a moment, put down the teacup, and sighed: "I know what you mean, my lady, and I think you are right, but I can't do it."

Lu was surprised and asked, "Since you think that we should be strict with Erlang, why can't we do it?"

Fang Xuanling said: "Because although you know that Erlang is very good, you don't know to what extent he is good."

Faced with his wife's doubts, he handed her the memorial on the table.

Lu took it and looked at it carefully.

The daughter of Fanyang Lu was well-read and knowledgeable. After a quick reading, she understood the profound meaning of the sentence "I have not served in prefectures and counties, nor in the provincial government" in the memorial...

Her eyes sparkled with admiration, as if she had returned to the time when they were newlyweds, and was full of admiration for Fang Xuanling's wisdom.

"My dear, your wisdom is unrivaled in the world. With this memorial submitted, you will be worthy of the title of the first prime minister of the Tang Dynasty."

"Ha ha!"

Fang Xuanling chuckled and pointed at the memorial: "'Not serving in prefectures and counties, not being considered for a provincial government post', this was said by Erlang."

Mrs. Lu was pleasantly surprised: "Are you serious? Oh, he is worthy of being my son!"

Fang Xuanling: "..."

What about the look of admiration?

What about the admiring gaze?

(End of this chapter)