frightfiction Chapter 506
Chapter 506
Zhou Chu paused here, giving everyone time to think.
Upon hearing this, everyone felt as if they had been enlightened. Many things that they couldn't understand before suddenly became clear, such as why the Taizu Emperor purged the Huaixi nobles after they seized land at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
For example, why did the gentry class acquire more and more land while the common people acquired less and less?
"By the end of each dynasty, the common people had very little land, yet had to bear extremely heavy taxes, and resources were extremely unbalanced. Such a world was already on its last legs. History has proven countless times that when the common people can no longer survive, it is time to tear down and start over. For example, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty, why could Zhang Jiao rally so many people? Could his rice soup really cure all diseases?"
Zhou Chu's words struck the hearts of everyone like a morning bell and a evening drum.
"Throughout history, the redistribution of resources has always begun and ended with the concentration of resources in the gentry class. This is what we call the historical cycle."
Zhou Chu concluded.
"The historical cycle!"
When Hu Zongxian and others heard this term, they carefully considered the words.
"For a dynasty to last, it must break the cycle of history. But this is easier said than done. Do you know why?"
Zhou Chu looked at everyone and asked.
Hu Zongxian and the others shook their heads. They had been bombarded with too much information at once and hadn't fully digested it yet; they were all in a daze.
"Please enlighten me, teacher."
Hai Rui said respectfully.
"Those who rose up with Emperor Taizu were mostly born into the lower classes; you could say they were peasants, not exactly gentry."
Zhou Chu looked at everyone and asked.
Upon hearing this, everyone shook their heads.
"But after they came to power, instead of thinking about how to protect the interests of the common people, they began to plunder their interests. They changed. They went from being at the bottom to becoming a new gentry class. This shows that everything, including people, is constantly changing, and social classes are not fixed."
"They eliminated the original gentry class, but then became a new gentry class. Once they became the gentry class, they wanted to protect their own interests, so the Taizu Emperor had to take action against them."
"How many people did Emperor Taizu kill in his lifetime? More than 30,000 officials. He only wanted to do one thing: eliminate the gentry class. But as it turns out, he failed. No matter how many he killed, the gentry class could never be completely eliminated. You all know what happened afterward."
After saying this, Zhou Chu took a sip of tea and stopped.
Hu Zongxian and others were shocked after hearing this. Only now did they realize how difficult it was to shake the historical cycle. Emperor Taizu had killed more than 30,000 officials in his lifetime, yet he still failed, and failed miserably.
Thinking about all this, Hu Zongxian and others felt a chill run down their spines. They felt that this historical cycle was many times more ferocious than a flood or a ferocious beast, and they couldn't think of any way to stop it.
For a moment, Hu Zongxian and others felt a sense of despair.
Hu Zongxian and others couldn't help but recall what their teacher had done in Jiangnan: measuring the land and returning it to the people.
It turns out that the teacher had seen all of this a long time ago, and everything he did was to prevent the historical cycle.
Having figured this out, Hu Zongxian and the others looked at Zhou Chu and felt that their teacher had become even more towering.
Do you know why I say the historical cycle is difficult?
Zhou Chu placed the teacup on the table beside him and said.
"Because some of you, once you reach a high position, will act like the nobles of Huaixi back then, going against me and doing anything to protect your own interests."