These words of flattery, however, slightly moved Ju Shou, causing him to shed tears.
Indeed, just as Zhang Chen had guessed, a person like Ju Shou needed timely affirmation to be motivated.
Zhang Chen then asked, "Gongyu, in your opinion, how should we proceed if we want to implement this policy?"
Ju Shou said calmly.
"The difficulty of this matter lies not in the policy itself, but in how to implement it."
Zhang Chen pondered after hearing this.
The Eastern Han Dynasty has been passed down to this day, and the imperial court is extremely corrupt. It is not uncommon for aristocratic families and powerful magnates to annex land. If a new policy is to be implemented, it will inevitably require taking land from them. But in this case, how would those aristocratic families and powerful clans agree?
As Zhang Chen was deep in thought, Ju Shou asked again, "May I know what attitude the Lord holds towards those aristocratic families?"
Zhang Chen sighed lightly upon hearing this.
He had to admit that 'beating the local tyrants and dividing the land' was not appropriate in this era.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was no imperial examination system. Officials were still selected through the recommendation system. As the name suggests, officials were selected from the populace through examination and recommendation by central or local officials according to the subjects stipulated in the emperor's decrees.
Although there was the ancient tale of Qi Huangyang, who 'recommended relatives without avoiding them and recommended enemies without avoiding them,' this was ultimately only a minority. Since most of those who entered officialdom were from powerful clans and scholarly families, the recommendation quotas naturally mostly fell to the children of aristocratic families. The aristocratic clans were deeply entrenched, and commoners from humble families had almost no path to advancement.
Therefore, looking at the history of the Three Kingdoms, how many famous people, especially those top strategists, came from aristocratic families? How many were truly commoners?
The Qinghe Cui Clan, the Yingchuan Xun Clan, the Lu Clan of Wu Commandery, the Zhuge Clan of Nanyang...
The children of these aristocratic clans and powerful families were abundant in talent. If their interests were touched, who would come to pledge allegiance to him in the future?
If these aristocratic families all stood against him, how could he talk about great ambitions in the future?
Zhang Chen had to weigh the pros and cons.
Seeing Zhang Chen frowning, Ju Shou nodded slightly and said, "It seems the Lord has already weighed the matter in his heart."
"Gongyu, the aristocratic clans and powerful families are immensely strong. To achieve great things in the future, we still need to borrow their strength. I am naturally aware of the gains and losses involved," Zhang Chen sighed. "However, the livelihood of the common people is also a major matter. How to balance this still requires Gongyu to teach me."
"Since the Lord knows the meaning of 'balance,' this subordinate has not misjudged the person," Ju Shou smiled slightly. "While the hearts of the people are important, the hearts of scholars are even more important, because the hearts of scholars can often gather the hearts of a multitude of people. This is precisely why the Yellow Turban Rebellion, despite its vast scale, was suppressed in less than half a year. Because they only had the hearts of the people, but not the hearts of scholars."
"What Gongyu said is very true," Zhang Chen nodded repeatedly.
During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Yellow Turban Army plundered everywhere, especially affecting many powerful families and nobles. Therefore, those aristocratic clans and powerful families, in order to protect their land and property, either recruited private soldiers to resist or funded the official army, causing no small impact on the Yellow Turban Army.
Ju Shou continued, "If the Lord only wants to implement the new policy in Guangping County, the people of Guangping County will naturally be happy, and refugees from all directions will gather. However, Guangping County is a small county only a hundred li in size. How many refugees can it accommodate? How much cultivated land is there? Once the new policy is implemented, the Lord's reputation for benevolence and righteousness will inevitably spread like wildfire, but how should the aristocratic clans, powerful families, and scholarly families view the Lord?"
Zhang Chen frowned slightly and said, "Everyone will feel insecure and will certainly not be willing to be under my rule. By then, when we try to conquer other areas, I fear there will be many obstacles."
"The Lord is wise, that is exactly right," Ju Shou said. "If the Lord does not have a certain level of strength and challenges the old system, it will surely invite resistance from the aristocratic families and powerful clans. Even if the Lord wants to close the doors and only implement the new system in Guangping County, it will be called an act of great rebellion."
"Then, according to Gongyu's view, what should be done?"
"This subordinate believes that before the Lord obtains a commandery, the old system should still be used. Reclaimed land should be public property, encouraging the people to cultivate it, while reducing grain taxes so that the people have surplus grain and are free from worry about food and clothing."
"In this way, although it cannot be thoroughly reformed, it can restore the livelihood of the people, and my heart is slightly at ease," Zhang Chen mused. "However, aristocratic clans and powerful families hold a large amount of land, and there is too little land available for the common people to cultivate. Moreover, some powerful magnates are still insatiably greedy, endlessly annexing land. If they are not restrained somewhat, in the long run, it will ultimately be a great disaster."
"They must be restrained," Ju Shou replied. "But the powerful families, scholarly families, and aristocratic clans are deeply entrenched. The Lord should not act rashly at this moment and needs to plan slowly."
"This subordinate believes it should be divided into three steps. The first is 'appease.' The Lord is currently not strong enough and cannot use force. He should befriend the powerful families and scholarly families and must not touch their interests. During this time, the Lord can widely recruit talents, accumulate strength, and bide his time. Please adhere to this word 'appease' before the Lord obtains a commandery."
Zhang Chen nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"The second is 'weaken.' After the Lord obtains a commandery and has a certain level of strength, he does not need to blindly flatter them, but rather make them serve him."
Zhang Chen couldn't help but ask in surprise, "How can they be made to serve me?"
"Those who can be used should be won over. Perhaps entice them with benefits, or perhaps with official positions, each taking what they need. Those who cannot be used should be weakened. Either divide them, or isolate them, stir up conflicts of interest, and the Lord will reap the benefits of the fisherman."
Zhang Chen nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "What Gongyu said is very insightful."
"The third is 'ally.' If the Lord obtains a province and holds sway over one area, he will inevitably have to deal with the aristocratic clans within the province. Unlike powerful magnates who covet small gains, aristocratic families have a broader vision. Aristocratic families are not only wealthy but have also served as officials for generations, with abundant talents within their clan and strong influence. To achieve great things, the Lord must befriend them. I see the Lord is in the prime of his youth; by then, even forming marriage alliances is not out of the question! Haha!"
As Ju Shou spoke, he stroked the beard beneath his chin, looked at Zhang Chen, and smiled slightly.
Marriage alliance?
Hmm, that's a good idea. In Ji Province, there is the Qinghe Cui Clan and the Zhongshan Zhen Clan, both top-tier aristocratic families.
In the history of the Three Kingdoms, a daughter of the Cui Clan married Cao Zhi, and that Zhen Clan was even more extraordinary! Five daughters in one family, all first-class beauties!
The most famous, of course, was Zhen Mi. Cao Zhi once wrote the 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo' for her, which has been passed down for thousands of years.
If he could get the Zhen Clan... Heh heh...
Thinking of this, Zhang Chen glanced at Ju Shou and found that the other party was looking at him meaningfully. He couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"What Gongyu said truly resonates with me!"
The two talked by candlelight for a long time. It wasn't until the Xu Zheng hour (around 9 PM) that Ju Shou finally took his leave.
Zhang Chen stretched and sighed inwardly.
It's great to have a strategist! He doesn't have to rack his own brains for many things.
Moreover, this Ju Shou is truly a great talent. What he said just now hit the nail on the head in every sentence.
Zhang Chen decided to proceed according to this strategy.
The previous decree has already been issued and does not need to be changed. Within Guangping County, there are only wealthy households, not powerful clans, and the situation is already under his control.
Next, he will widely recruit talents and accumulate strength.
Zhang Chen's mind stirred, and he immediately wrote down the names of several people on paper.
Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Tian Feng, Shen Pei, Feng Ji...
Guo Tu? Hmm, this is a useless guy, don't want him!
Chunyu Qiong? Addicted to alcohol and prone to mistakes, don't want him!
As for Xu You... This fellow betrayed Yuan Shao and advised Cao Cao to raid Wuchao, which led to the great defeat at the Battle of Guandu. But his intelligence is indeed not weak. If Yuan Shao had made good use of him, it wouldn't have ended up like this.
Forget it, write him down first.
Oh, and Zhao Yun! He's probably still in the mountains right now, learning martial arts with old Master Tong Yuan, right?
Alright, write these down first. Tomorrow, I'll send people out to inquire about their whereabouts.
I want to bring all the heroes and talents of Hebei into my fold!
