"But I can't leave a command so that future generations can control their desires. Hope, can we save people's power and cherish the people? Li Yuan asked.

But Zhang Chao asked rhetorically: "Your Majesty, do you think future emperors will listen to you, your ancestor?" Power is a steamed bun that he can use at any time, and this is placed next to his mouth, and he can eat it with just one mouth. And he is like a gluttonous beast that can never be satisfied, do you think he will put the steamed buns next to him that can be eaten at any time and not eat them? And once he eats this steamed bun, it will get bigger and bigger, and then finally forever endless. And when the steamed buns are gone, that is, when this power dies. ”

"Your Majesty, how many descendants of emperors have been there since ancient times, and they will completely obey the orders of the previous emperors? The minister said something that was not good, even if he obeyed, he only obeyed on the surface, and he didn't know what it would look like to tamper with the ancestors' testaments behind his back, and in the end, it was completely something with his own private goods. ”

Li Yuan took a deep breath, he wanted to scold people so much that he almost couldn't help but pull Zhang Chao to cut him. No matter how you look at this, it is a satire of the emperor, and this kind of distortion of the ancestors' teachings obviously does not give Li Yuan face. Zhang Chao very directly showed that Li Yuan's later emperors would also deliberately misinterpret Li Yuan's orders, and then pretend to do their own things under the pretense of Li Yuan's orders. Therefore, this is obviously to tell Li Yuan that the legacy of he, the founding emperor, was just shelved by later emperors, and when he could use it, he would transform it, and then change his face to do his own private goods in the name of his ancestors. If it is not used, there will be more ways for later emperors to break through the legacy of their ancestors. This is also the so-called desire to add sin without excuse, anyway, when you can use it, if you need it, there is an excuse to break through the boundaries of the ancestors' legacy.

So Zhang Chao was so unceremonious to say this topic that everyone didn't want to think about and don't want to think about, which made Li Yuan feel very faceless. And when Li Yuan was very angry, a soft hum suddenly came from behind the screen, and Li Yuan also calmed down. Zhang Chao keenly discovered this, that is, there are people behind the screen, there are definitely people. But who this person is, there are only a few that he can guess. It's not Li Jiancheng, it's Li Shimin, Li Yuanji doesn't have the qualifications to make Li Yuan like this. Because Li Yuan is already the emperor, and the composition of the Tang Dynasty is very complicated, the only people who can force Li Yuan to dissipate his anger are Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, two Li Yuan's fathers, sons and partners. As for Li Yuanji, Zhang Chao didn't take him seriously, because Li Yuanji was not a "partner" of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Yuan would not be angry because he took the initiative to press Nai.

"Go on!" Li Yuan said.

Zhang Chao continued: "And the reason for all this is actually that the emperor's power seems boundless. Therefore, the emperor can do whatever he wants, and what can restrain the emperor is only his own morality. But morality, to be honest, can't be trusted. Whenever the founding emperor was able to influence countless people to follow him with high morals, and then establish a country. However, the emperors after that did not experience the difficulties of starting a business, and then they were born with enough power, and they can be said to be windy and rainy. Their wealth seems to have fallen into their hands out of thin air as if it had been blown by a strong wind, and would they cherish it? It's like picking up wealth, but you won't cherish it when you spend it. If you don't earn money in person, you won't be restrained when you spend it. Therefore, the emperors of later generations are like getting countless riches out of thin air, which can be spent as they please. Their power comes too easily, so it's easy to use it indiscriminately. In addition, they have lived a rich and prosperous life since childhood, and they do not know the suffering of the people, and they do not know where the limits of what the people can bear. In the end, the people of the world could no longer bear it, so they could only continue to rebel, and then let some careerists in the troubled times seize the opportunity, and then re-establish a country. ”

Li Yuan frowned again, Zhang Chao's words seemed to be sarcastic about Li Yuan!

"I won't say much about the past, but in the future, if Datang wants to be able to inherit it for a longer time, I still have a way!" Zhang Chao said.

"Say!" Li Yuan said.

Zhang Chao continued: "Actually, it's very simple, that is, to legislate the imperial power. Establish a division of power between the king and his courtiers, so that neither side can transgress it, and if it is exceeded, it will be punished. In this law, it is advisable to stipulate the scope of imperial power, which is no longer infinite, but a range that is acceptable to the ministers and all the people in the world, and then fixed. And the kings of the Hereafter will not be able to transgress it, and they will not be punished. On the other hand, the courtiers must also agree on the scope of their powers, and if they dare to infringe on the emperor's power, they will also receive some punishment. In this way, everyone, from the emperor to the courtiers and the common people, can safely exercise their power in accordance with the prior covenant law, and cannot go beyond the scope of the other. In this way, both sides also have their own scope in their respective power territories, and the struggle between the emperor and his courtiers is countless times less, and the emperor cannot exploit the people too much, and the people can accept it. The courtiers also have clear rules for operation, and the courtiers have specific standards for their discipline, so that if they want to seize the imperial power, it is also illegal and will not be supported. Therefore, in this way, the king, the courtiers, and the people, each of the three parties exercise their respective rights, and hardly interfere with each other. ”

And there will be fewer and fewer conflicts between the three sides, and once the two sides want to cooperate, once they exercise their own power, and then they will affect the power of the other identity, they must also be discussed, and they cannot be forced to order, and they cannot be forced to use violence. If you are forced by violence, you will end up going back to the past. As long as everyone can perform their duties and responsibilities in a stable manner, and can form a perfect method of power operation, then this can also allow the power of the state to operate safely and there will be no problems. ”

Li Yuan immediately couldn't help it, and said, "Then you are like this, do you want to set up ropes to tie me up?" But what's in it for me? ”

Li Yuan finally couldn't help it, obviously he didn't agree with this kind of setting up rules and regulations to tie up the emperor's power, and he couldn't go beyond others. And as an emperor, who doesn't want his power to grow bigger and bigger, and he can't wait to concentrate all the power in the world on himself? Therefore, Zhang Chao's idea of tying the emperor with a "rope" simply made Li Yuan a little unbearable. As a feudal emperor, if he can't hold power, how can he feel stable? If an emperor does not hold power, then he will have a very serious sense of crisis, and if the emperor loses power, it will be the extinction of the family for them. This is also the result of the ancient feudal emperors constantly devouring power, and then making it more and more autocratic. And in their thinking that an emperor loses power, it means that the family will be destroyed, and then the throne will be usurped. Therefore, Zhang Chao's idea of using various rules and regulations to limit the emperor's power made Li Yuan very uneasy. For the monarch, power represents a sense of security, and without power there is no security. It's not that emperors always want to seize power, it's the sense of security that power brings that makes them not only devour power.

But Zhang Chao, as a later generation, knows better that power is not only not something that brings security, but a talisman. Power is a tiger, once it is released, it will definitely eat people, and then it will be eaten itself. From the perspective of the history of various countries, both China and foreign countries have gone through a process in which the power of the monarch has increased, and then more and more autocratic emperors have been created. But when autocracy reaches its peak, revolution will come, overthrowing the decaying feudal dynasty. It can be said that the totalitarian autocracy has reached the extreme, and not only will it not bring benefits, but it will bring waves of rebels. This is the concept of separation of powers advocated by later generations of politicians, and only by decentralizing power to a certain extent and then restraining each other can it be a stable truth. Of course, you can't be too scattered, because being too scattered means splitting. Later generations have come up with a very tight system to avoid the concentration of power in the hands of one person.

But the ancient emperors didn't understand this, they still stubbornly believed that power was a sense of security, and then they desperately grabbed power. Empower yourself to feel safe.

"Your Majesty, let me give you an example. No matter how big a box is, the capacity is limited. If you have to pack more stuff into it, it will inevitably burst open and cause damage to the box. Power is not the case, once a person has rights that human beings cannot carry, it will inevitably collapse in the end. And then that's what I call the conservation of power, where everyone has their own power, but most of the time, power is exercised by others. However, there is no accurate statement of how much a person can carry, but a person cannot concentrate all the power in the world. If you take too much power away from others, they will all fight for your own power. ”

"The emperor might as well think about it, the power of the founding lord of the ancient country reached its peak, but in the middle and late periods, most of it was controlled by powerful ministers, or restricted by identifying various courtiers. This is also the conservation of power, the ancestors held too much power, concentrated too much power on themselves, and the successors of later generations will inevitably be retaliated against by those who have lost power, even the emperor. We might as well make an arithmetic idea, if we add up the power of the ancestors and the power of the last emperor, and then add them up one by one, the final result is balanced, and in the end it is equal to the power that the middle emperor has. This is also the conservation of power, which is a kind of power in the dark that is distributed. Because if you plunder others too much, then in the end others will also plunder you. ”

This is actually the way of heaven, the way of heaven is more than enough to make up for the deficiency, everything is the conservation of balance. If the ancestors have too much, it means that they have given too much of the blessings of their descendants, and their descendants will inevitably be retributed. And the emperor might as well think about it, the Shengdou people don't have much power, but they can continue their descendants most of the time without breaking off. However, once the royal family goes through the Ding Revolution, it will inevitably lead to bloody slaughter in the end. ”

Li Yuan couldn't help but say angrily; "Enough!"

After Zhang Chao listened, he continued: "If the emperor doesn't want to listen, then I won't say it, but if the emperor doesn't want to listen, I can't do anything!" ”

"Okay, go on, I'll see what you can say!" Li Yuan roared angrily.

Zhang Chao continued: "Therefore, the best way to continue the country is to find a balance that everyone can accept, and then completely fix it. In this way, not only can the royal family enjoy enough glory and wealth, but it will not cause an imbalance of power, and then all the people in the world will rebel. In this way, it can be more conducive to the royal inheritance and enjoy the wealth of eternity. ”

When Li Yuan heard Zhang Chao's words, he couldn't help but start to be silent, because Zhang Chao's last sentence was the most important. Because although Zhang Chao said that although it restricts power, it can make the royal family reproduce and exist for a longer time and enjoy wealth for a longer time, which is indeed a very big attraction. Just like many big families also want to exist forever, why doesn't the emperor want his family to exist forever and be a royal family forever? However, Zhang Chao pointed out that if you keep holding on to your power and keep practicing the centralized and autocratic imperial power system, it will inevitably cause an imbalance of power in the end, and then the people of the world will rebel one after another. Once the dynasty is changed, it will inevitably make the blood of the royal family flow.

And Zhang Chao's idea is to find a result that everyone can accept, so that the emperor can spit out part of the power, so as to maintain the balance of everyone's power ecology from being damaged, so as to avoid turmoil. In fact, the distribution of power is an inverted triangle, the lower the power, the less power, but it is also the foundation of the building structure above. If the upper part is heavier, but it is still constantly plundering the power below to strengthen the above, it will definitely cause the people below to be unable to carry the above, and finally cause the overall collapse. Zhang Chao's suggestion is to follow the principle of the way of heaven to make up for the deficiency, take out the upper part, and gradually strengthen the bottom, and finally make this inverted triangle of power not be destroyed because of the "weight" of power, the main structure can exist forever.

"You get out!" Li Yuan said.

Zhang Chao took the initiative to salute and said, "The minister retires!" ”

And Li Yuan then sat down, and then the person behind the screen came out. But Zhang Chao didn't know that there were actually two people behind the screen, not one person. And one of these two people is actually Li Shimin, and the other is Li Jiancheng.

"What do you think, what did Zhang Chao say?" Li Yuan asked.

And Li Jiancheng said first; "This, Erchen is not good at appreciating!"

"What do you say, Shimin?" Li Yuan asked.

But Li Shimin said: "Father, this Zhang Chao is either a great sage or a great traitor." However, Erchen thinks that it should be a great sage. ”

"Oh?" Li Yuan felt something interesting.

"Father, Zhang Chao's words made his sons and daughters suddenly! In the past, we all paid attention to the imperial power, but this heaven is too vain, and there are not many people who really believe it. And why have there been so many powerful ministers since ancient times, but after listening to Zhang Chao's statement of conservation of power, Erchen understood. Because the power of the so-called king has not formed a fixed system, and the power of the king can be large or small, if it is big, it can be boundless, and if it is small, it can be swallowed by any powerful minister. ”

And it is precisely because of this large or small nature that too many people have too much room to play. A wise king can usurp the rights of countless courtiers and peoples, and finally concentrate the power of the world in one. But a mediocre king can only be usurped by powerful ministers. However, the mediocre kings in the world account for the vast majority, and I don't believe that our Li family will be mediocre kings for generations to come. And the power of the monarch can be large or small, which also allows those powerful ministers and shrewd courtiers to have enough room to play, and even be able to empty the imperial power, and finally be usurped step by step or unbalanced and the world is in chaos. ”

However, Zhang Chao gave his sons an idea, since mediocre kings account for the vast majority, it is easy to cause poor control and imbalance, then we can't pin this hope on the wisdom of future kings. And in this case, the method Zhang Chao said is also a good way. By establishing the sphere of power, and then by promulgating a method for the division of power, then if it is exceeded, it will inevitably be punished, even by the emperor. In this case, everyone has their own responsibilities, and there will not be too many conflicts. Without too much conflict, the country will be stable, and there will be less power. As long as we can find a balance that is acceptable to everyone, then we will use a law on the division of power to fix it, so that we can all get the maximum benefit from the royal family. Then it ensured that the power would not be out of balance, and finally faced the catastrophe of annihilation. ”

But Li Yuan said: "But in this way, the emperor will inevitably lose the supreme and unlimited right!" ”

"However, our royal family can avoid the disaster of Dingge and enjoy wealth for a longer time." Li Shimin said.

Soon, the father and son at the scene also fell silent, because they were also thinking about whether they wanted power or long-term wealth. Since ancient times, emperors have also done two things, one is to compete for power with their courtiers, and the other is to let the imperial family continue for a longer time.

The ancient emperors believed that seizing more power would allow the imperial family to last longer. However, Zhang Chao unceremoniously exposed the result that the greater the power, the easier it is to cause an imbalance of power and the faster the royal family dies. However, Zhang Chao proposed a method, that is, to limit the power of the emperor, find the balance of the power that all the people in the world and the emperor himself can carry, and finally set up a law to stipulate the scope of power in all aspects, so that everyone can get through it safely, and the probability of a crisis is much less.

However, this made it very difficult for Li Yuan and these royal families to choose. On the one hand, it holds huge imperial power, but on the other side it is the long-term continuation of the family. The two clashed, and they didn't know which one to give up. Both of these seem to be very important things, and if you give up one of them, it will really be heart-wrenching.

"That's it, let's keep this Zhang Chao for now! Anyway, I can only blame it for taking one step at a time, keep it for now, and see if he has any other thoughts later? I won't kill him this time, although this guy is very annoyed by my words, he has almost touched my scales. However, what he said still has some truth, so let's not kill him for the time being. However, what you do next is up to you. As for whether you believe Zhang Chao's words or not, it's up to you. When the time comes, whether you reuse him, or belittle him, or even cut off his head, you will solve it. It's okay for me to be the emperor of my life, and you can solve the future by yourself. Li Yuan said.

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin both felt that 10,000 grass and mud horses were passing by, and Li Yuan was planning to pick a pick. Anyway, according to Zhang Chao's words, the theory of conservation of power, the founding monarch had the greatest power, and then the later emperors were smaller than ever. But the founding monarch rarely dies in the current generation, and Li Yuan is also fearless, anyway, it is impossible for his generation to lose the country, as long as he enjoys the benefits of power, as for the affairs of the descendants, let the descendants solve it themselves.

Anyway, as soon as his eyes are closed, the headache is still his son, that is, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin. When one of them becomes emperor, he will inevitably face the choice of whether to choose a longer continuation of the imperial family, or choose to concentrate power in the hands of the emperor. Anyway, Li Yuan is a guy who quit doing it, and he put the responsibility on his son, and after enjoying it here, he threw this huge problem to his descendants, isn't this shirking responsibility? So at this moment, Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng were like 10,000 grass and mud horses passing by, and they felt very depressed that such a father was on the stall.

And Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng also muttered in their hearts, if it was themselves, how would they choose. Do you choose to kill this Zhang Chao and treat Zhang Chao's words as a flood beast, or do you obey Zhang Chao and gradually choose to give up supreme power and choose to establish a stable and long-term imperial power through legislation? On the one hand, it is to give up the infinite imperial power, and then let the family continue for a long time and enjoy this wealth for a long time. Or do you choose to let yourself enjoy unlimited imperial power, and finally let your descendants suffer revenge? Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng also began to hesitate in their hearts, if they put themselves in their shoes, they would choose to continue for a long time, or be happy for a while.