Chapter 17: On National Policy

  Lu's mother handed over the management of the land and house to Zhou Yue'er, only keeping the deeds, Zhou Yue'er hired Liu Tangshu as the farm manager and rented out the land to the original tenant farmers, handling everything in an orderly manner.

  Lu Qi didn't really agree with buying land in the countryside, but standing on his own family's land, he couldn't help but feel a little excited, smelling the fresh earthy scent, and feeling very uplifted.

  Wearing a earth-yellow robe, Zhou Fu stood beside him, gazing at the vast fields of crops, and smiled faintly: "Xian Sheng, standing here, aren't you somewhat excited?"

  Lu Qiyan was taken aback and replied in a low voice, "There are some."

  Zhou Fu nodded, bent down and picked up a handful of soil, looked up at him and said in a gentle voice: "Xian Zhang, do you know why the great Tang Empire that once intimidated all the surrounding tribes perished?"

  Lu Qiyan was stunned and replied in a deep voice: "It's because of An Lushan's rebellion."

  Zhou Fu shook his head and said, "My good nephew is wrong."

  Lu Qi thought for a moment and said: "It's because of the corruption in the imperial court, with treacherous officials holding power."

  "Nor is it entirely correct; the real reason for its downfall was that the Tang Empire allowed its subjects to lose their land."

  "Land?"

  At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, a strict system of divisional militia and equal landholding was established, implementing a military system that separated soldiers from civilians. Peasants became soldiers during wartime and returned to farming in peacetime, resulting in people cultivating the land and soldiers guarding the borders, directly contributing to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, during Emperor Xuanzong's reign, the imperial court abandoned its authority, and large numbers of officials seized peasants' land, destroying the fundamental equal landholding system of the divisional militia. This led to a shortage of troops, forcing the implementation of a mercenary system. The consequences of this system were the rapid growth of local military power, ultimately resulting in An Lushan's rebellion and the formation of a fragmented world of regional warlords, which was the root cause of the downfall of the Tang Dynasty - the loss of land by peasants.

  Lu Qi nodded, and Zhou Fu said in a harmonious tone: "Your late father had once debated with me about what is the way to prosper the country and enrich the people. Your late father was dissatisfied with the court's policies, thinking that the court was corrupt, indulgent, weak and not competitive."

  It shocked Lu Qi's father, and sadness surged in his heart. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but say resentfully: "What my father said was completely true."

  Zhou Fu shook his head and said, "Xian nephew, why is the imperial court so weak? Do you know?"

  "The imperial court is corrupt, only knowing how to indulge in comfort and pleasure, can it not be weak?"

  The old man shook his head and sighed, "I used to be dissatisfied with the court's emphasis on stability and non-contention. However, in recent years, I have gained new insights. The court's emphasis on stability and non-contention is actually aimed at consolidating its rule. Although the Emperor of Tang is a descendant of the great Tang royal family, the establishment of the country was based on the division of military power. My wise nephew should know that in the Central Plains, those who control the army frequently change dynasties. The court fears that powerful generals will also rebel with their armies, so it avoids expanding its military might to prevent the threat of arrogant generals. This is a national policy of 'pacifying the interior before expanding abroad'."

  Lu Qi listened thoughtfully, and after careful consideration, he found that Zhou Fu's insight was indeed reasonable. During his five years in the army, he had seen how the commanders were restricted by the court-appointed supervisors (junzi), who interfered with their military decisions despite being unfamiliar with military affairs, causing them to miss many opportunities. As a result, the officers and soldiers secretly cursed the court for not knowing how to use people, only sending useless individuals to disrupt command. Now, after listening to Zhou Fu's explanation, Lu Qi understood that the court sent civil officials to supervise the army because they feared that if generals gained too much military power, it would threaten the court. Moreover, after the battle in Xinfeng Prefecture was over, his request to return home was easily approved, and many of the generals who had not requested to leave were also dismissed. The reason for this was naturally to weaken the regional military power.

  He nodded and said: "Uncle's views are very reasonable, but Tang Dynasty has not seen true internal peace yet."

  Zhou Fu shook his head and sighed deeply: "The accumulated evil is hard to resolve. The factions in the imperial court are vying for power, while local officials are wantonly seizing land from farmers. Since our humiliating tribute to Zhou Guo, taxes have reached an all-time high in Tang Guo. Many bandits are gathering and looting, and Tang Guo is plagued by internal and external troubles."

  Lu Qi thought for a moment and asked in a harmonious tone, "Uncle, do you think that if the imperial court were to implement the Fubing Juntian system, allowing people to have land to farm, it would be able to change the chaotic situation?"

  "Probably can, but it's hard to implement. Too many bureaucratic interests are involved, and even the Emperor is powerless. Forcing it will only trigger a backlash from the large landowners, which would be disastrous for Tang."

  Lu Qi thought for a moment and shook his head: "Uncle, we are just ordinary people, worrying about the rise and fall of national affairs is also useless."

  Father Zhou gazed into the distance and said calmly, "We are not qualified to worry about national affairs. I just yearn for the prosperous era of the great Tang Dynasty that awes the four barbarians, but I'm afraid it's something we won't see in this lifetime."

  Lu Qi fell silent, he was just a powerless official, what could he do? Being able to earn some more silver to support his family and live a slightly better life was already the highest hope. The affairs of the imperial court were beyond his reach, today's words were just meaningless empty talk about worrying for the country.

  "Dad, Xiao Qi, let's go back." Zhou Yue'er's gentle and beautiful voice called out, she was the happiest person today.

  "Good nephew, don't go today, stay here with me for a night, okay?" Zhou's father said warmly and kindly.

  "Tianfeng is willing to stay for one night and return to the city tomorrow to attend to business, thank you Uncle Zhou for your kind intentions." Lu Qi politely agreed, as Zhou Fu had helped him greatly today, how could he refuse the old man's kindness? Staying overnight would also allow them to draw closer in their relationship.

  Back at the Zhou residence, the Zhou family had prepared a sumptuous dinner to entertain. Mr. Zhou had two sons and two daughters. Zhou Yue'er was the second daughter. The eldest daughter was married to a wealthy family in a neighboring county. Both sons were ninth-grade officials. The elder son was a Confucian official in the capital, while the younger son was an accompanying officer in the military with the rank of team leader. No wonder Mr. Zhou cared about national affairs; it turned out that both sons were officials, only their ranks were a bit low.

  At the dinner party, Lu Qi didn't dare to drink too much. Fortunately, Zhou Fu was a scholar and elegantly used small cups to drink wine. For Lu Qi, who was used to heavy drinking in the army, it was just enough to moisten his throat. He politely raised his cup and toasted with Zhou Fu.

  Zhou's father was very talkative, and after three cups of wine, his face turned red with excitement. He kept asking Lu Qi questions as if he had seen an old friend for many years, especially about Lu Qi's experiences in the army. Lu Qi carefully answered, only talking about the good things, such as bravely killing enemies, cleverly gathering intelligence, and daring to infiltrate enemy lines. However, he didn't dare mention any of the evil deeds like looting or rape. Zhou's father listened with bated breath, pounding his fist on the table in praise. This meal was more exhausting for Lu Qi than participating in a fierce battle.

  At night, Zhou Fu, who couldn't hold his liquor, returned to his room to rest in excitement. Lu Qi secretly let out a long sigh of relief and pretended to be drunk, letting Ning Er support him as he went to a bedroom to rest.

  As soon as he entered the bedroom and closed the door, he became spirited and straightened his waist. Ning'er lit the house lamp, turned around and smiled: "So you weren't drunk after all."

  Lu Qi was slightly drunk, and under the lamp light, he saw Ning Er's smile as beautiful as a flower, her white skin, black silky hair, slender figure, standing elegantly by the lamp, every aspect of her was perfect. Looking at her made his heart flutter, unknowingly igniting a flame of desire. Last night's intimacy was the most exhilarating experience of his life, allowing him to taste the true joy and love between men and women, also dispelling his concerns about Ning Er being his senior. The evil fire in his body, fueled by the wine, rapidly spread throughout his entire being.

  He strode hastily to Ning Er's front, his eyes fixed strangely and yearningly on Ning Er's beautiful face. A pair of powerful hands naturally lifted up and stretched out, embracing Ning Er's soft fragrant upper arm.

  "Ning Er, am I not drunk?" Lu Qi's voice was very gentle, Ning Er's body shook, and a blush flew up to her cheeks, Lu Qi's embracing motion was self-evident, especially that eye full of wild passion.

  "Young master, this is the Zhou family, I'm not good at serving." Ning Er was delighted by Lu Qi's proactive affection, but this was the Zhou family. If they indulged in their emotions and were overheard, it would lead to the Zhou family looking down on them.

  "Sister, let's call me Xiao Qi together." Lu Qi's voice was very gentle, but his arm roughly hugged Ning Er, and his large hand slipped under her clothes to caress the soft skin.

  Ning'er was held tightly and let out a soft "en" sound, silently allowing Lu Qi to caress her. She feared leaving a bad reputation at the Zhou's house, but even more so, she feared strongly rejecting his behavior would displease Lu Qi, who was someone she absolutely couldn't afford to lose as her support in the future.

  "Xiao Qi, sister is relying on you, but you listen to sister, don't make a sound." Ning Er's voice was whispering softly.

  "Alright, I won't make a sound." Ning Er's consent made Lu Qi's heart feel greatly relieved, and he tightly held onto her delicate body. He lowered his head and pressed his lips onto hers, passionately kissing her fragrant lips. His large hands freely roamed up and down, fondling her, as Ning Er softly moaned in response, her beautiful body twisting into an alluring pose, her eyes like silk gradually falling into a state of desire.