Tracing China: Through history, dialogue between ancient and modern

Chapter 196 The Traveler's Lie
"On rituals?"

"Citadel?"

"Young man, aren't you joking with me?" Wang Mang looked at the stone table and bench that appeared out of thin air, with a look of surprise.

Lin Feng smiled and said, "Why not?"

Wang Mang said, "Since ancient times, I have only heard that there are court discussions on rituals, but never on the top of the city. Only barbarians would carry out such degrading things on the top of the city that is smeared with blood... "

The ancient city of Chang'an.

Immediately later the city of Xi'an.

It is well-known as the ancient capital of China's thirteen dynasties.

It carries countless historical details, and at the same time, it is also a city that has experienced the flames of war.

Even after the fall of the new dynasty.

Because the city was almost in ruins, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu had to move his capital to Luoyang and recreate the capital.

Dispute the etiquette here.

There is indeed something wrong.

However, Lin Feng came from later generations, he was not a Confucian scholar at that time, and he didn't have to abide by these vain etiquette and morality.

Why did he dare to argue with Wang Mang?

For one reason only.

It sounds like the court policies formulated and promulgated by Wang Mang are all beneficial to the country and the people, and should be commendable.

Especially in the ancient period 2000 years ago, it should be regarded as a kind of great wisdom.

But these.

All things boil down to four words - superficial articles.

"Host, since you want to argue with the ancient emperor, it's a bit shabby to just use stone tables and chairs, and a pot of old tea?"

"What's wrong? Do you still want to treat Wang Mang to a hot pot meal?"

"It's okay to have a hearty Chinese meal."

"What do you think? An emaciated camel is bigger than a horse, Wang Mang has given you such a meal? He is in the imperial palace, and every day there are delicacies from mountains and seas!"

"Haha, I'm really worried that the host will conjure up a bunch of modern and delicious Kung Pao chicken, braised pork and so on. Wang Mang suddenly said: Xiao Lin, before I crossed over, I ate it all day long. This, that is Taste of hometown."

"Then the fellow met the fellow, with tears in his eyes..."

"Then hugged each other and cried, each telling the history of the bitter blood and tears of the traversers."

"Well, ancient times are good, but there is no heat and no air conditioner to blow, no short video brush when I am lonely, no microwave oven when I am hungry, and finally burst into tears, expressing how old Wang I miss the old night market stalls eating barbecue and freezing beer little days."

"Damn, why don't you write dog-blood dramas here?"

"According to me, don't be so particular about this dignified gentleman's discussion of etiquette?"

"Don't be impatient, maybe after this discussion ceremony, we modern people can have a better understanding of Wang Mang, who is suspected to be a time traveler."

……

in the lens.

Wang Mang, who was wearing a dragon robe, sat down and sat upright. Although his face was old, he still had the majesty of an emperor.

Lin Feng also sat down, set the scene, poured tea, pushed cups, tasted tea, humble words... a set of cumbersome etiquette that should be expected of an ancient gentleman, and was done conscientiously, which is also the greatest respect for the ancients.

After receiving attention, Wang Mang's sullenness gradually disappeared, and his mood gradually calmed down.

Three languages ​​and one tea.

Drink nine cups in a row.

Wang Mang is the Ninth Five-Year Honor, which is the most honorable etiquette.

"Young man, since ancient times, the world has been home to the virtuous. Is there anything wrong with that?" Wang Mang spoke first.

"No mistake." Lin Feng said simply.

With his left hand holding his belly, his head is slightly lowered, and his right hand is like a younger generation of seniors, surrounded by half of his palms, making a "please" gesture.

"The emperor of Han was stupid and incompetent, he gave way to me, complied with the general trend of heaven and earth, and followed the etiquette of the Dao, right?" Wang Mang said again, his voice was as sharp as a jackal, but now it's a gentleman talking about etiquette, every sentence has meaning The demeanor and demeanor of a refined scholar is the best.

Wang Mang looked up to the sky, and then looked at people.

It means that the way of heaven is above, and people should follow the destiny of heaven.

modern audiences.

It was also the first time I saw such a solemn and solemn scene.

Wang Mang and Lin Feng seemed to be sitting and lying on top of the fairy clouds and white mist, and every move they made seemed to coincide with some kind of secret.

"Senior, following the trend of the sky is the way, but your trend is not today." Lin Feng said.

"My great power is not heaven, is it human?" Wang Mang frowned slightly.

"21 years ago, Wang Zhengjun, who was more than a few years old, personally took the horse and seized the Jade Seal of Chuanguo in the chaos after the death of Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty. Then he gave an order, senior, you assist the government. The power returned to you; if you are smart enough , through this series of ups and downs in the officialdom, you will realize that the reason why you can hold power is not because of how talented you are, how much credit you have, how much respect and admiration you have, but just because you are old. The nephew of the Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun—a standard foreign relative." Lin Feng's words made Wang Mang a little speechless.

Gentlemen don't blush.

Discussing etiquette does not tear the face.

Wang Mang was a little distracted, and pressed his two fingers on the table, signaling Lin Feng to pour tea, he should take a moment.

He is indeed excellent, and there are many people who sincerely praise him among the officials, but it is only in comparison with other relatives.

If this is clear, he should know that he is not qualified to usurp the throne at all.

Because once the emperor's surname is no longer Liu, Wang Zhengjun is nothing, and what's more, you Wang Mang is nothing.

However, it is a pity that power and desire blinded Wang Mang's eyes.

He did the last thing a foreign relative should and could not do - usurp the throne.

Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty collapsed, and Wang Mang became the regent, nicknamed "False Emperor".

Two years later, he usurped Han and became self-reliant, changing the name of the country to "Xin".

From the day Wang Mang began to walk towards the throne, the government and the opposition were no longer at peace.The princes of the Liu family began to rebel, and a large number of ministers loyal to the Han Dynasty either resigned or rebelled.

At this time, even the Queen Mother Wang, who had always supported him, cursed angrily:
"You have received the great grace of the Han family and enjoyed wealth and glory for generations. Not only did you not repay your kindness, but you took advantage of the opportunity to usurp the Han family's country and society, without thinking about the word kindness. People have reached this point , even pigs and dogs won’t eat your food, how can there be anyone like you in the world!”

Wang Mang put himself on the crater, but he didn't realize it at all.

He only felt that there was no new atmosphere in the country.

This is a fact.

Because the whole country, except the country name is new, everything else is old.

Even the supreme ruler of the empire, the emperor, was old, because Wang Mang was the de facto emperor long before the usurper of Han.

However, the old dynasty and the new emperor have not gone through any reforms that have been broken and established. Can this new dynasty be revitalized?

Isn't it just like a "old man", the sun sets.

No matter how many changes you, Wang Mang, make and how many good medicines you feed the "old people", the result will be the same.

people die.

The new dynasty is destroyed.

"For the prosperity of the country, I have worked hard day and night. For example, changing the currency system is to make the new dynasty's economy glow with a new round of prosperity." Wang Mang said.

Regarding this point, Lin Feng almost complained directly.

In fact, the most dazzling thing is the currency reform of Brother Wang Mang.

Originally, the five baht coins in the Western Han Dynasty were used very well, but Wang Mang felt that this was the symbolic regime of the Liu family and of course it could not be used.

So it has to be changed.What should I change it to?
Some people say that Wang Mang "does not use metal as a deposit, but promotes credit currency."

It looks a bit similar, what Wang Mang said is currency, you have to use whatever is currency, and you have to exchange it at the rate he said.

This actually works, but you have to keep it simple.

But Wang Mang didn't do it. He read from ancient books that there are knife coins, cloth coins, turtle shells, and shells that can be used as currency, so he used them all.

As a result, there were ten kinds of cloth money, big and small, five kinds of money made of shells, four kinds of money made of tortoise shells, plus gold, silver and copper coins of various sizes.

The exchange rate is not necessarily an integer, for example, 1 big shellfish is worth 216 yuan.

You don't have to bring a calculator when you go out to buy groceries.

As a result, after this set of nondescript things were done, the economy of the new dynasty really took on a new look, and everyone had to take it seriously.

Let’s talk about it, if you have this kung fu, why don’t you sleep at home and play two rounds of mahjong?Why are you messing around?

Lin Feng is a modern person, and it is somewhat difficult to communicate with the ancients.

So this passage.

He almost spoke the vernacular.

Although it seems to be the voice of ordinary people in the market, it is simple and belongs to the same category, and modern people can understand it!

Naturally, Wang Mang could also understand.

He didn't refute too much. In the area of ​​changing the currency system, he may also feel that he is not doing well enough.

"On the issue of land and slaves, the government orders I issued are all thoughtful and for the sake of the common people in the world."

For this.

Lin Feng, who was sitting opposite, didn't even need to think about it, and started to refute to the camera.

The land belongs to the imperial court and cannot be bought or sold.

Some people think this is the modern concept.

Bullshit!
Where is the modern concept?From the perspective of the whole world, land private ownership is still the choice of most countries and regions.

Up to now, there are still many public knowledge that our land property rights are not clear.

Besides, it is public ownership, we also have the transfer and transaction of land use rights here, Wang Mang's concept, that is before the Western Zhou Dynasty, very old.

Let’s talk about his distribution of fields by households. One household (8 persons) covers 900 mu, and those with more fields will be distributed to those with fewer fields.

That's not like what a smart person does.

Different places have different populations and different land areas, so a big country should be based on the same standard?

This makes people feel that without ten years of cerebral thrombosis, it is impossible to do this.

Is it that difficult to adapt measures to local conditions?
Regarding slaves and maidservants not being allowed to buy or sell, it is actually changing the name to "private property" and changing the name again!Don't you know if you change your vest?
For this wave of gentlemen's refutation, Wang Mang was defending himself, but the language seemed somewhat weak.

no way.

In fact, his transformation either ended in failure or failed to achieve its goal at all.

fail.

That is failure.

You have all failed. As a loser, you naturally have no face to sing praises for yourself here!
The ceremony at the head of the city continued.

Later, Lin Feng refuted Wang Mang's more than a dozen changes in the court's government orders one by one.

Let modern people understand Wang Mang at the same time.

It also solved the big lie of the so-called "time traveler".

(End of this chapter)