At the beginning of June of the seventh year of Tang Wude, Chang'an Du House. However, this Du Mansion is not the mansion of Du Ruhui under Li Shimin, but the mansion that Li Shimin gave to Du Chuke, although Du Chuke does not currently live in Chang'an, but lives in seclusion in Songshan, but now it is also lived by Du Chuke's daughter Du Yulu. At this moment, Du Yulu was playing chess with Zhang Chao, and the two were fighting on the chessboard, and then the two sides went back and forth. However, the current situation does not seem to be ordinary, and Zhang Chao is obviously holding the chess pieces a little uncertain.

"Director Zhang, you are already in a very unfavorable situation in this game of chess. As long as I land the chess pieces here, then one of your great dragons will be slaughtered by me, and then you will have no power to return to the sky. You can't even compare to me as a little girl on the chessboard, how can you play games with countless big people? Du Yulu asked.

Zhang Chao looked at this game of chess, listened to Du Yulu's words, and then took the initiative to say: "Yes, I am in a very bad situation in this game of chess, but this is that I am not good at the game." I'm just a beginner, so I'm not good at it. However, I thought I could try a few more times. ”

"I'm afraid, this is a repeated defeat, right?" Du Yulu asked.

Zhang Chao replied: "No, it's repeated defeats!" ”

"Repeated defeats?" Du Yulu was a little surprised when she heard this.

Repeated defeats and battles, this phrase actually originated in the late Qing Dynasty, and there was no such word in this era. And Zhang Chao said this, but the meaning in it is completely different, although it only adjusts the order of the two words, but it makes the spirit of the word more than one notch.

"You know what? You are now in the Shi clan, and your reputation is extremely ugly, and many Shi clans also say that you are not self-sufficient, saying that you are looking for death by yourself? Actually wants to challenge the entire Shi clan with his own strength, this is simply looking for death. So, everyone asserts that you are bound to fail. Du Yulu said.

Zhang Chao asked rhetorically: "Does Miss Du think so too?" ”

"Isn't it?" Du Yulu asked.

"Then I'm going to be disappointed, because we are so husband and wife for a hundred days, and you turn your face so much and don't recognize people, it really makes me very sad. However, Miss Du, you are a scholar after all, so naturally from the perspective of the scholar clan, then I am different. I look at the heavens, so I know that I will win. Although you may have the advantage at first, I think that even if I lose at first, I will be the victor in the end. Zhang Chao said firmly.

After Zhang Chao finished speaking, he immediately took the initiative to put all the chess pieces in his hand in a random corner of the chessboard, and he obviously lost this game.

"But no one can see the possibility of your victory now! Now, I can kill you with one move! Du Yulu said.

Du Yulu put the chess pieces on the chessboard, and then completely blocked the "qi" of Zhang Chao's chess pieces, and then killed a large number of chess pieces, and a big dragon was slaughtered. But Zhang Chao doesn't seem to care, because this is just a game of chess, and it is obviously insignificant compared to the game of the general trend of the world. This game of chess doesn't mean anything, although Du Yulu wants to tell him that the Shi clan wants to kill him, it's just a time to drop a chess piece, and even as long as he says a word, countless people will come to kill Zhang Chao.

"Kill me Zhang Chao, and there are descendants!" Zhang Chao said confidently.

Zhang Chao believes that those scholars will not use assassination, because assassination alone will not solve the problem. Assassination in politics is a very taboo, and it is not a matter of last resort to do so casually, because assassination will not solve the problem, but will only aggravate the seriousness of the problem. Even if the scholars are decayed now, it does not mean that they are fools, and the political elites who have accumulated over hundreds of years will not be unaware of this. If you want to kill someone, you should kill it openly, and you can't just use assassination as a means. This kind of antagonism between classes, assassination alone is useless, but will only aggravate the contradictions. Therefore, even if the Shi clan kills Zhang Chao, it will aggravate these problems and make the conflict between the two sides even more irresolvable.

Why there have not been many political assassinations since ancient times. In addition to the strong level of protection of politicians, the main thing is that assassination does not solve the problem. A political collective must have its own interests, and the so-called political leaders are only the spokesmen of this interest group, not the owners. Even if it is an emperor, he is just a spokesperson. If you rely on assassination, not to mention whether you can kill or not, even if you kill it, you will not be able to solve the other party's interest group or even the entire class at the root. Zhang Chao believes that as long as this scholar clan does not have water in his brain, he will not choose to assassinate. Because the rise of Hanmen is a historical trend, even if Zhang Chao is killed, another leader will still be chosen within Hanmen, and Li Yuan, as the emperor, will inevitably choose to cooperate with Hanmen for his own rights. The alliance between the imperial power and the Hanmen was an inevitable factor, and it was not something they could solve by killing Zhang Chao. Since it is useless to kill Zhang Chao, then don't assassinate at all, instead of choosing assassination, it is better to limit Zhang Chao's strength development in officialdom, and then make Zhang Chao unable to develop. As long as the development of the Hanmen is restricted, then the results can be returned, and then the scholars will ensure their status in the officialdom.

Du Yulu replied; "Since ancient times, there have been some fools who want to hinder the scholars, but what is the final result? It's just that they either suffer the consequences, or they compromise with the scholars, and Cao Cao is the same. But now you have nothing, how can you become a chess player in this world game? You are just a pawn, and a pawn can never become a chess player. Chess pieces are always just things that are used by others, and you only have yourself. The nobles have official positions, people's hearts, and wealth, what do you have? ”

"I have a general trend, the general trend of the world. The general trend of the world is mighty, those who go along with it prosper, and those who go against it die. Nothing in this world can escape germination, growth, and finally prosperity, and after the peak, it will inevitably decay and die. The scholar clan has reached a very decadent time, and this is the collective decay of the entire scholar clan, and it is not something that one person can decide. The Shi clan had reached its peak at the time of the confrontation between the north and the south, and now it was time for it to decay and perish. So I'm confident that the Shi clan has reached this time, and there is no way to save it. Zhang Chao said.

Du Yulu immediately said: "Impossible, there is no thousand-year-old dynasty in this world, but there is a thousand-year-old family." Many families have also been passed down for hundreds of years, and they are not casual, and you can defeat them alone. ”

"As I said, the nobles were not defeated by me, but by their own defeat, but by their own decay. The nobility inherited by blood is not really noble. The scholars have blocked the path of countless people in the world, and they have ensured their wealth by controlling the road to progress, what do you say? This will inevitably lead to a lack of sense of crisis among the scholars, and the so-called sense of crisis is also the sense of distress. At that time, Yasheng Mencius also said that born in sorrow and died in peace, the scholars occupied the public power of the country without any scruples, and then became ministers for generations, so that there was no sense of crisis, and they would inevitably die in such silence. I am the same in China, there is no strong country around, it will definitely cause a lack of progress, and then be born in sorrow and die in peace, which is also the reason for the reincarnation of dynasties. Zhang Chao said.

Of course, Zhang Chao knew that the Shi clan was already at its peak, and it was about to decay and perish. This means that they lack competition and a sense of crisis, which will inevitably collapse in the monopoly. This is true both for the state and for business. At first glance, it seems that commercial monopolies can obtain high profits and even control the market, but the final result is often not long-term wealth, but will one day decay and perish. This is true for business, but not for countries?

Why there are so many reincarnations in Chinese history, in fact, the main reason Zhang Chao believes is multifaceted. Zhang Chao believes that there is no real and absolutely powerful country around China, and that is the most fundamental reason. China is too strong for the surrounding countries to have a chance to defeat him, and the final result is that China itself decays, and then defeats itself. And even if there are a small number of nomads, most of the time, the nomads are unable to enter the Central Plains. Although the two Chinese nomads entered the Central Plains twice, there were actually too many accidental factors. The Song Dynasty was because of infighting, and the Ming Dynasty was also infighting, in fact, these two times were caused by their own death, and the patella indicates that they were truly defeated by the enemy. Therefore, in the East, no country can truly defeat China, and China will inevitably have no impetus for innovation.

It's not that Zhang Chao praises the stinky feet of Westerners, but that the West has indeed lived in crisis for a long time in later generations, and their Western countries are fighting each other, and if they fall behind a little, they will inevitably be devoured by others. Let them have a very strong sense of distress, and in the end, they will inevitably develop desperately, and finally they will unconsciously become strong and surpass the East. And China has no competition, and in the end it can only defeat itself on its own. Mencius's statement that being born in sorrow and dying in happiness is also very reasonable, from the individual to the country.

Now the same is true of the nobles, who have monopolized state power and economic power for too long, and have reached the time of dying in peace. Although they have the power of public opinion and the right to interpret the so-called sage texts, in fact these things are complete farts for those intellectuals who really have a certain degree of culture. Real intellectuals don't believe in these things, so Zhang Chao is very confident in this. What the mandate of heaven, what the divine right of kings, is all stinky shit for those who are educated, and it is useless at all. And human beings actually don't have real faith in their bones, if it really comes to the struggle for power, then even God will slaughter you. Therefore, although the scholars continue to promote what hierarchy and say that ordinary people should be absolutely subservient to the scholars, these may be taken seriously for those who have no culture, but those who read a little will not take it seriously.

As for what the monarchs and ministers in the Confucian classics are subservient to the father and son, this is completely a casual thing to play, and it is not worth mentioning. Aren't later generations also interpreting various Confucian classics according to the ideas of the new era? This kind of Confucianism is actually a broken thing, and what the ruler needs can be explained by adding his own private goods. Zhang Chao believes that those so-called Confucians are not in awe of the sage's thoughts, but in awe and power, and the so-called sage ideas are just a reason for them to compete for power and profit.

"But how can you defeat the Warriors?" Du Yulu asked curiously.

And Zhang Chao immediately asked: "Miss Du, are you here to trick me?" ”

"If you say you want to trick me, then take it as if you were talking to you, and then go and tell those scholars. I am also a scholar, and I naturally don't want the scholar to be wiped out like this, in fact, strictly speaking, you are my enemy. Du Yulu said.

But Zhang Chao laughed: "One day husband and wife hundred days, you want to betray me?" ”

"Betraying you? When did I agree to be a woman? If I don't want to, I can go at any time, we're just partners, not your women! Du Yulu emphasized again.

"Okay, we love each other so much and want to kill, is it interesting?" Zhang Chao asked rhetorically.

Du Yulu and Du Ruhui are both scholars, and their ancestors were European-style high-ranking officials, so naturally they would not like people like Zhang Chao who were particularly bold and dared to challenge the scholars. The relationship between Zhang Chao and Du Yulu has become very complicated since Zhang Chao wanted to challenge the entire scholar class. Du Yulu is a scholar, and their family may be able to tolerate marrying a poor family, but they can't tolerate her marrying Zhang Chao, the "enemy" of the scholar clan. In the eyes of many scholars, Zhang Chao is also a guy who is not self-sufficient and does not know how to lift. However, Du Yulu did not choose to separate from Zhang Chao, but she often sneered at Zhang Chao, and often sarcastically ridiculed Zhang Chao for challenging the scholars by himself. But Zhang Chao also followed, because Du Yulu was by his side, why wasn't it a weather vane for him to understand the Shi clan?

The reason why Du Yulu didn't leave was because maybe the Shi clan wanted to put someone by his side. But Zhang Chao did not refuse to come, and chose to accept this Du Yulu, because Zhang Chao knew that the struggle with the Shi clan was long-term, and it was not possible to distinguish the winner and the loser in a moment. So let Du Yulu by her side, although she can find out some information, but Zhang Chao can't get some news from her, so that Du Yulu is actually a channel for Zhang Chao and the Shi clan to reach a certain degree of compromise in the future.

Although Zhang Chao wants to gradually eliminate the Shi clan, but the political thing is like this, although it is a struggle in the overall situation, but sometimes you must learn to compromise. There is a saying in officialdom that if there is no compromise, there will be no struggle. Therefore, when necessary, although it is a struggle with the Shi clan on the general trend, it does not exclude a certain degree of compromise in the local area. If a politician does not compromise, he must not live long in the end. As for Du Yulu, she will also become a liaison between them, and they can compromise with each other.

"If you love each other and want to kill, that's a good thing! However, I still don't think that the scholars will die out so quickly, because the strength of the scholars is very strong, and it is not at all comparable to your humble family. Especially in the officialdom, the scholars have mastered almost all the official positions of the imperial court, and you Hanmen are just able to obtain some 'inferior' official positions that the scholars do not look down on, and the scholars occupy the absolute upper official positions, how can you be the opponents of the scholars? How many official positions in the imperial court can you occupy? Du Yulu replied.

Zhang Chao asked rhetorically: "Do you really take your official position seriously?" ”

"Isn't it not, isn't official office the most important means of struggle? Without an official position, it is simply impossible to obtain a basis for fighting. Therefore, you are no match for the nobles. Du Yulu said.

Zhang Chao smiled, these scholars are really "silly and cute"! They really regard official positions as the most important thing, and they believe that only with official positions can they gain advantages, and then only with official positions can they have the basis for struggle. And they don't know that they look at things from the top down, not really from the bottom up. They have become accustomed to looking from the top to the bottom, and the formation of their scholars in those years was through the mastery of political privileges to obtain a position, and they started by relying on political privileges, and naturally they all regarded political official positions as very important.

But they seriously ignore, or rather they don't realize, that official position is not really anything. Officialdom and politics are nothing but a manifestation, a representation of class. And the political struggle is only a superficial struggle, not a fundamental struggle. The political struggle is nothing more than a very superficial means of struggle, and it is not the core of the struggle. The nobles have put this means and core upside down, and they only have political struggle in their hearts as the real method of struggle, and they do not realize that there are other methods of struggle.

In ancient times, the most fundamental purpose of suppressing commerce was to restrict merchants and their descendants from holding official positions, so that they all thought that they could inhibit the development of commerce. The ancient rulers of China looked at the problem from the top down, if we say a metaphor, they looked at the ground floor from the top of a building, and then although they could see a little, they could not see the changes at the bottom at all. And it wasn't until one day that the house collapsed that they realized that the foundations underneath had been excavated.

These scholars think that Zhang Chao's so-called method of fighting with the scholars is to fight in the officialdom, which is actually a big mistake. Zhang Chao doesn't really attach importance to the struggle in officialdom. What he really attaches importance to is digging the foundation of the scholar clan, as long as the foundation of the scholar clan is dug up, then even if they occupy the official position of officialdom, they are just a castle in the air, and they will fall down if they push it. Therefore, although the gentry may be experts in political struggle, they are not good at class struggle.

"Miss Du, I just want to tell you that the economic base determines the superstructure. If I remove the economic base of the Shi clan, no matter how many official positions I occupy, it will be rootless water in the end. So, please Miss Du, think about it, once the foundation of your scholar clan is removed, what can you do in this way? Zhang Chao asked.

"Isn't the foundation of the scholar clan in officialdom?" Du Yulu asked.

Zhang Chao smiled and said nothing, because he knew that the ancient Chinese idea of the official standard was too serious, and they did not correctly realize that the economic base determines the core of the superstructure. Although ancient China also had the idea of changing the economic base, they were all influencing the economic base through the change of the "superstructure", which is also the reason why so many reforms in ancient China failed. There are so many reformers in China, although they all want to reform, but they all think that reform should be carried out by the leadership of officialdom.

But many of them ignore the importance of the economic base, because their policies are so detached from the economic base that they have failed. However, Zhang Chao knows that a real reformer is not actually going against the trend, but a really good reformer is following the trend. In fact, reformers have seen the needs of the people and the direction of the future world with their correct and long-term vision, and then accelerated the evolution of this process through their own efforts. And through their own efforts, they have succeeded in preventing this country or a certain group from more drastic bloodshed reforms. Although the reform will inevitably shed blood, it is much better than the "Ding Revolution" that caused chaos in the world. The reformers only understood the needs of the people and the general trend of future development, and accelerated the evolution of this process by means of bloodshed as little as possible, and it was absolutely not against the general trend of the world.

Zhang Chao knew that the Shi clan would die out after hundreds of years in history, so he knew this process, and he hoped to speed up this process before he could truly achieve reform. If you can't defeat the scholars, then your future reform ideas will not be realized. Zhang Chao first had to build his own economic foundation, support his own interest groups, and various class forces, and not engage in political struggle. Instead of thinking about political struggles, it is better to support new stakeholders who can support them in the future, and then let them continue to grow, and finally feed themselves back in various forms. And we must also cultivate talents, so that we have enough talent support, so that we can continue to fight with the scholars for a long time.

And the scholars just stared at the officialdom and did not realize the core of the economic foundation, so Zhang Chao already knew that he would win this time. Because although he may be suppressed in the officialdom at the beginning, once it is ten or twenty years later, the class and interest group he has cultivated will inevitably become a gluttonous beast, enough to devour the scholars.