Insufficient balance

  I don't know why I'm feeling particularly down today, and I ended up talking nonsense to this young man, not even noticing that we were discussing the Roman imperial system, but somehow we got into a discussion about the gains and losses of monarchism, which was enough to make some people's hearts skip a beat. (At first, when he asked me about my views on current events, I'm no fool, I sensed that it might be related to the emperor and the crown prince, so I quickly changed the subject, but who knew that as we spent more time together, I would still get caught up in his trap)

  Then he asked some questions about my personal ideals and beliefs, finally being squeezed by me to the point of urgency, and transformed a question into "A great man settles his life and career, doesn't he have any ideas at all?"

  I find it funny and a bit strange, who are you, always urging me to think about achieving great success. "Then just be a carefree jester", I suddenly feel like watching him get angry.

  When I said I just wanted to live a stable life as a eunuch, this kid's eyes rolled back and he wore an expression of shock and incredulity, unable to speak. "Boss, your way of thinking is really... unusual."

  "Fool, what's the point of learning from famous generals? With a hundred thousand soldiers hidden in your chest, you can decide victory or defeat thousands of miles away. But what's the use? You control the life and death of tens of thousands of soldiers, yet you can't grasp your own fate. Because of one word from those above, you're ruined, your name is tarnished, your family is destroyed, and you die without a place to be buried. Throughout history, there have been few who ended up like Wei or Huo, but many more like Li Guang. For the sake of their descendants' prosperity for thousands of generations, rulers have cooked and eaten even more people."

  Besides, if you perform too well, some superior might think that you're a threat to their power and decide that they can't use your talent for themselves but also don't want others to have it, so they'll get rid of you quickly. Or they might put you in an awkward position outside, all for the sake of securing their own legacy. What a pity! Sometimes being carefree and happy is more attractive than any power or wealth, but others might not understand that. So, it's still safer to be a jester.

  "Don't you understand? Since ancient times, there have been many examples of 'the rabbit dies and the dog is cooked', and there are also many rulers who only know how to enjoy wealth and power but not share it with others. Of course, they think they have achieved great things and have merit, so they become arrogant and lawless, allowing their subordinates to do as they please, and ultimately bring about their own downfall. There have been many such arrogant ministers and generals throughout history. However, Emperor Taizong is the only one who has achieved unparalleled success in both literature and military affairs since ancient times. He was born with great talent and had a wise and just way of governing, so he was able to keep his meritorious officials safe and sound until the end. This is truly an extraordinary achievement, even surpassing that of Qin Shi Huang."

  Achieving great success and fame? There's no such easy thing. Since ancient times, how many people have returned from battles? I advise you not to talk about becoming a marquis. One general's achievement is built on the withering of ten thousand bones. The magnificent accomplishments of a prosperous age are piled up behind countless corpses. Please, I don't want to become one of them.

  I gave him another slap on the face. "Fool, what's good about being an emperor? Think about it, everyone in the world thinks that being an emperor is the most glorious and comfortable thing, that as long as you sit on this throne, you can do whatever you want, have everything at your disposal, take whatever you want. But they don't know that this is also the most tiring and troublesome job in the world. Without great ability and magnanimity, one cannot bear to sit on it. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility one bears. With the vastness of the world and the complexity of affairs, one has to exhaust oneself with worries, cannot eat or sleep peacefully, what joy can be spoken of?

  It's clear that he didn't expect the constant change in his expression, but after hearing this, his eyes lit up. "What about the princess?" He stroked the jade pendant in his hand, and I thought of the various stories in history books, thinking of the last emperor Chongzhen's famous words. I couldn't help but sigh, speaking with a tone full of vicissitudes: "The most pitiful are those born into royal families. What's good about being a princess? On the surface, they have no worries and enjoy all the glory in the world, but they don't know that from birth, their fate is decided for the needs of the country - to be used as a political tool for marriage alliances or to win over officials, married off to some unknown man. Even the daughters of the poorest commoners may have the chance to choose their own husbands. A cage is still a cage, no matter how many golden and jade decorations it has, with no freedom to make one's own choices, even in the midst of glory and wealth, it's just a heavy burden, what joy can be spoken of? These women are often associated with misfortune. Princess Wencheng was married off to Tibet and her name is famous for thousands of years, but who knows about the desolation and sorrow behind the glory - a young girl sent far away to marry an old man in his fifties, unfamiliar with the place and having to endure the temper of the first wife. Princess Jincheng's fate was even more miserable, Wencheng at least had a reliable family to rely on, but by her time, the two countries were constantly at odds, stuck between her mother country and husband's country, how difficult it is to be human! Even those who are lucky enough to follow their hearts' desires will end up like Taiping and Gaoyang - reckless and lawless. So what's there to envy?"

  Even if one is in the royal family, what's so good about it? People all say that emperors have no domestic troubles, but domestic troubles are national troubles. Every move is watched by the world, and everything is emulated from top to bottom. Even a slight mistake can be a disaster.

  What's good about being a prince? Your family has little property, your brothers are still fighting, and what about the most respected family in the world? Even if you have no intention of doing so, others will not let you go. There is only one throne, and a large group of brothers and sisters are fighting for it with their lives, guessing and being cautious of each other, the closer the blood relationship, the more they need to be guarded against, what kind of family affection can be spoken of? Even if you have no ambition, you still have to live carefully, worrying about whether there will be any intact eggs under the overturned nest, and whether others will let you go. How tiring and painful it is to live like this.

  They obviously didn't expect me to say something like that. After a moment of silence, I found that there were many fewer listeners around me (I also didn't notice that at the time, people who could bear such topics, except for those with particularly thick nerves, probably wouldn't be able to take it). Xiao Bai was deeply shocked, and his eyes even trembled with something else, but he couldn't speak. I looked at him in confusion and said, "I'm just speaking my mind, even if it's a bit exaggerated, why are you so worked up?"

  “……”

  "Even if one really sits in that position, what's the point? Without the matching talent, how can one sit stably? One has to guard against the ambitions of those above and control the dissatisfaction of those below. Living every day with anxiety, where is the joy? Either being controlled by relatives and party members from within, or being troubled by powerful ministers from outside, if one really acts arbitrarily, the result will be the same as that dead tyrant Emperor Yang of Sui, ending up in a situation where everyone rebels and dies at the hands of one's own people."

  "...". (In silence).

  "Even if I casually take a liking to a woman, she will be the focus of attention from all under heaven. The words of admonishment from my ministers are that without an heir, I will be criticized by others; with an heir, they will fight for favor and the position of crown prince, making it impossible for me to live in peace."

  “……”

  Descendants are not promising, it's a worry. Worried that the country will be controlled by women and petty people inside, and outside by powerful ministers and ambitious relatives. Descendants are too promising, it's also a worry. Worried that for the throne, you'll fight to the death, brothers and siblings will slaughter each other. What kind of life is this? Without extraordinary talent and magnanimity, it's just wishful thinking.

  “……”

  Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, a great and brilliant ruler. What I admire most is not his unification of China, expanding its borders and achieving great feats, as there were predecessors like Qin Shi Huang who had already accomplished such things. Rather, it is his magnanimity in embracing all under heaven, and the graciousness with which he treated his meritorious officials from beginning to end.

  “……”

  Won't it, even this is unknown, that's what water can carry a boat and also capsize it. Using people as mirrors to pull, what's more difficult than starting a business is keeping it going. Descendants don't know the hardships of entrepreneurship, thinking that power and wealth are naturally theirs, squandering recklessly, so often wealth and nobility don't last beyond three generations. In this world, what really lasts forever? No matter how capable one's ancestors were, if their descendants aren't making an effort, what's the use?

  “……”

  I snorted in derision, completely unaware that the topic had already exceeded their psychological endurance.

  “……”

  "When you rule the people, even if you have all the wealth of the four seas, the poor have no place to stand, and the hungry have no food for the next day. Your own life is not worth much, only a thread of life remains, all these are the responsibilities of the ruler, who else should be held accountable? The world is poor and weak, the people are suffering from hunger and cold, and are about to die, who cares which family or surname holds power? As long as they can bring peace, prosperity, and wealth, that's enough."

  “……”

  Since the founding of this dynasty, striking down powerful aristocratic families and promoting humble ones, what's wrong with that? Are there any noble families born to be so? The current prosperity isn't it all thanks to the hard work of our ancestors who rose from humble beginnings? How many aristocratic families are on the Lingyan Pavilion list? Is there a forever-lasting aristocracy in this world? It's clear which is more numerous, aristocrats or commoners. Aristocrats have already enjoyed all the glory and wealth; giving them even more benefits would be like adding flowers to brocade. Rulers govern with benevolence and kindness towards all people, what logic is there in not helping the majority but instead catering to a minority? Moreover, no matter how many benefits aristocrats receive, they won't necessarily be grateful, and might even become unmanageable. Which of the Northern and Southern Dynasties' chaos wasn't related to aristocratic families? Commoners from humble beginnings will risk their lives to serve as long as they are treated with some kindness. It's clear which is superior and which is inferior.

  The rebellion of commoners is merely a struggle for survival, seeking enough food and clothing; most often it's the officials who force the people into revolt, leaving them no choice but to rebel. The poor have only a tiny patch of land, their families without even overnight provisions, and are forced to become thieves and bandits. As the sage said: "If the people do not fear death, why threaten them with death?" What's lost is the hearts of the people.

  The rebellion of aristocrats, on the other hand, is merely to satisfy their desire for power and wealth. It's just a matter of personal gain, "...".

  The rise and fall of the world, every individual has a responsibility. People are all the same, no one is more noble than others, what about kings, princes, generals? Heaven gives birth to the royal family to protect the people, not heaven gives birth to the people to protect the royal family. The world is not for one family or one surname, but for everyone's world. The sea changes into mulberry fields, dynasties rise and fall, which dynasty does not perish? Only the descendants of Huaxia, the common people, continue forever.