Volume VI: On extravagance and waste
Author: Jason Wu
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Chen said:
The previous generations I have seen, from Xia, Yin, Zhou and Han, have been handed down one after another for more than 800 years, at least 4,500 years, all of which have accumulated virtues and rooted in people's hearts. Is there no eccentric king? In case you don't rely on Ganzhe! From Wei and Jin Dynasties to Zhou and Sui Dynasties, most of them died in 50 or 60 years, and the least died in 20 or 30 years. The king of good friends and entrepreneurship didn't do anything extensive. At that time, he could only control himself, and there was nothing to think about afterwards. Therefore, the master of the inheritor, politics and religion decline less, and while one man guards it, the world collapses. Although your majesty has made great contributions to today's world, his accumulated virtues are shallow, and he firmly respects the principles of Tang, Wen and Wu, and he has made extensive efforts to govern by virtue, leaving room for mercy and laying a foundation for future generations. Do you want to unite politics with religion, so that you can hold on to that year! And since ancient times, although Ming Chengzu was taught to be lenient with others at any time, it is important to be frugal and treat people with things. Therefore, they love and admire their parents like the sun and the moon, respect their parents like gods, and fear their parents like thunder. This is why long-term disasters are not done.
After the funeral of the people today, it is only one-tenth of that of the Sui Dynasty, and the road of official corvee is one after another, and brothers return to their younger brothers, beginning and end. People in the distance travel five or six thousand miles, spring, summer, autumn and winter without rest. Although every time your majesty has a thank-you letter, it will be reduced, and some departments will not be abolished, so it is natural to need people, documents and services. Every time I visit, in the past four or five years, the people have complained, and your majesty has not kept it. Yesterday, at the hat stand in Tang Yao, Yu Xia hated clothes and food. Such a thing, I know it doesn't work today. Emperor Wen of Han spared a hundred dollars, dropped the terrace and collected books as temple curtains. Fortunately, his wife's clothes didn't mop the floor. When I arrived at Jingdi, Jinxiu Group hindered the female workers and deliberately removed them, so the people were happy. Liang Wudi's filial piety, though extremely extravagant, inherited the literary scene, so people were unmoved. After Emperor Gaozu, there must be Emperor Wudi, and the world is not complete. This is close to the times and the deeds can be seen. Today, in the capital and Yizhou, sacrificial objects are set up, and all the princesses are dressed. None of the negotiators thought it was frugal. I heard that I am ignorant and arrogant, but later generations are still lazy and reasonable, and its disadvantages are still chaotic. Your majesty knows the sufferings of the people, and the success or failure of the previous generation is exactly the same, and the crown prince grew up in the palace, not to mention foreign affairs, even after long live, he must worry.
I secretly seek the success or failure of the past dynasties. If Li Shu rebelled in anger and got together as a thief, the country would perish. Although the owner wanted to repent, he failed to restore safety. It's no use practicing politics and religion when it can be repaired. If things happen together, you'll regret it. Every time Old Master Q saw the death of the previous generation, he knew the cause of his politics and religion, but he didn't know the loss of his body. You and Li also laughed at the death of Yin Zhou. At the beginning of the great cause of Emperor Yangdi, he laughed at the loss of Zhou and Qi. But today, he still regards Yang-ti as Zhou and Qi. Therefore, Jing Fang said that Emperor Hanyuan said, "I am afraid that I will look at the present and the ancient." This statement is inevitable.
At the beginning of Zhenguan in the past, the soil was like frost and frugality, and a silk horse got a bucket of millet, which made the world natural. The people all know that your majesty is worried and pitiful, so everyone is safe and has not slandered. In the past five or six years, the number of years has been abundant, and a silk horse has won more than ten stones of millet, and all the people regard your majesty as not worrying or complaining. Those who are doing what they are doing now have a lot of urgent things to do. Since ancient times, the rise and fall of a country is not accumulated, but the suffering of its people. And based on recent experience, the Sui family kept the warehouse in Luokou, which was in the charge of Shi Mi. Tokyo has accumulated cloth and silk, according to the king; Xijing national treasury is also used by the state and has not been exhausted so far. There is no silk in Luokou and the East, even Shi Chong and Shimi may not be able to gather people. But hoarders are common in China and should be collected when people have spare time. If people try to collect it, it is useless to accumulate it with capital. However, it is not difficult to save people. At the beginning of Zhenguan, your majesty has bowed to him, and this trip is not difficult. One day, as everyone knows, folk songs and dances. If people are overworked, they will never stop using it. If there is a flood and drought disaster in China and a sandstorm warning appears on the border, unpredictable things will happen because of it. Eating and sleeping is just a sacred bow. If you are sincere in your majesty's holiness, you will not bother to seek ancient skills, and at the beginning of Zhenguan, the world is very fortunate.
Taizong said: "I made a mistake recently in making small personal belongings, but I didn't expect the people to resent it." It was ordered to stop.
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Author: anonymous
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, the counselor Ma wrote On the Gains and Losses of Current Politics:
I read the history books one by one and found that from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Han Dynasty, dynasties changed constantly. A long dynasty can last for more than 800 years, and a short dynasty can last for four or five hundred years. These dynasties have accumulated good deeds and won the hearts of the people. There are also bad kings who only rely on the teachings of the sages to avoid extinction. However, from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Zhou and Sui Dynasties, the dynasties were only fifty or sixty years long and only twenty or thirty years short. This is all because the monarch who started the business did not show mercy widely, but only protected himself and was not kind to the people. Therefore, as long as the heir to the throne has a slight deviation in politics and religion and someone takes the opportunity to rebel, then the world will soon fall apart. Now, although your majesty has made remarkable achievements and pacified the world, he still has little kindness to the people. Therefore, we should respect the way of Dayu, Shang Tang, Wang Wen and Wang Wuzhi, spread moral education widely, leave room for the future and create a solid foundation for later emperors. How can you think that as long as there is no fault in today's politics, today's country can be preserved and everything can be better? Moreover, since ancient times, emperors have formulated specific policies according to the situation at that time, whether lenient or strict, but frugality and kindness are the foundation of politics in previous dynasties. Only in this way can the people love the king as their parents, admire the king as the sun and the moon, respect the king as a god, and fear the king as thunder. This is the reason why the country has long-term stability and no turmoil.
Now, after the chaos in the world, the population of the people is equivalent to one tenth of that of the Sui Dynasty. However, there are still many corvees today. In a family, my brother just came home and my brother was leaving. They traveled thousands of miles all year round, non-stop. Although your majesty is kind, he often orders the corvee to be reduced. However, according to the plan, some departments still need to recruit people to perform hard labor. Official documents to reduce labor are constantly issued, but the journey of serving the people remains the same. I often visit people who suffer. In the past four or five years, there have been many complaints among the people. They think your majesty doesn't care about the people. In the past, Shun let officials live in thatched cottages, and Dayu regarded wealth as evil. I know that these virtues of thrift are impossible to realize today. Emperor Wen spared millions and stopped building balconies. He collected cloth bags used by ministers to make curtains for the main hall, so as not to let the beloved Mrs. Shen's dress grow to the ground. Emperor Jing of Han believed that brocade embroidery would hinder women workers, so he ordered the dissolution of government workshops to let the people recuperate and live and work in peace and contentment. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, although he was arrogant and extravagant, he still inherited the legacy of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, so the people's hearts were unshakable. If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne after Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, the mountains and rivers of the Han Dynasty would definitely be lost. These situations are closer to today, and things are still very clear. At present, the capital and Yizhou are under construction, and the clothes of the imperial concubine are also extremely elegant. Public opinion thinks this is too extravagant. It is said that the monarch who gets up early and makes great contributions diligently will be slack; Making reasonable laws will lead to disadvantages and confusion over time. Your majesty grew up among the people when he was young, and he knew well the sufferings of the people. The success or failure of the previous generation is also in the eye, but it is still done. And the prince grew up in the palace, pampered, I don't know the sufferings of the people, it is conceivable that his future situation is worrying after he acceded to the throne.
I personally investigated the success or failure of the country since the previous dynasty, and found that as long as the people harbor resentment and gather people to make trouble, the country will not perish, and no one can regain stability even if the king repents. Nowadays, improving political education should be carried out when there is still room for improvement. If anything changes, it will be too late. The monarch generally believes that the demise of the previous generation was caused by himself and did not know that he would make such a mistake. Therefore, Shang Zhouwang laughed at the demise of Xia Jie, while Zhou Youwang and Zhou Liwang laughed at the demise of Shang Zhouwang. When the Sui Dynasty was founded, Zhou and Qi were ridiculed for losing their country. Now we also evaluate the Sui Dynasty in this way, but we don't know that we look at the Sui Dynasty today, just like Sui Zhi looks at Zhou and Qi. So Jing Fang said to Emperor Han Yuan, "I'm afraid that future generations will look at the present as if they were looking at the ancient times." This sentence must be taken as a warning.
Once upon a time, in the early years of Zhenguan, the world was frosty and the harvest failed. A trace can only be exchanged for a bucket of millet, but the world is calm. The people know that your majesty cares about them very much, so everyone is at ease and never complains. In the past five or six years, there has been a bumper harvest every year, and one silk can be exchanged for more than a dozen stones of millet. But the people think that your majesty doesn't care about loving them, and they all complain. This is because the corvee is too heavy, and many things set up now are irrelevant. Since ancient times, the rise and fall of a country lies not in the amount of savings, but only in the suffering and happiness of its people. As far as modern things are concerned, the Sui Dynasty stored millet in Luokoucang, which was used by Shi Mi. Accumulated cloth in Tokyo, and the result was Wang Zhanling; The property of Xijing Treasury is also used by Datang and has not been used up so far. At that time, if there were no Luokou and Tokyo's millet silks, it would be impossible for Wang He and Shi Mi to gather the public. Of course, the accumulation of money, food and property is a common occurrence in the country, and it is necessary to wait until the people have enough to eat and wear. If the people work hard and forcibly collect and scrape, they will eventually help the thieves, and the accumulated property will be of no benefit. However, in the early years of Zhenguan, Your Majesty personally promoted frugality to support the people, so it will not be difficult to implement it now. As long as it is implemented for one day, the whole world will know that everyone will sing and dance. If the people have worked hard and used it all the time, once China suffers from floods and droughts, and there is a dust warning on the border, crazy and cunning people will take the opportunity to have an accident, and unpredictable things will happen, not just letting the holy family eat late and sleep late. If you really want to make great efforts to govern the country by your majesty's holiness, you don't need to ask for an ancient road, just do it as you did in the early years of Zhenguan, then the world is very lucky.
Emperor Taizong said: "I recently ordered the manufacture of portable gadgets, but I didn't expect the people to be dissatisfied with it." This is my fault. " So he ordered to stop manufacturing.
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