When Man Chong arrived, he brought his legal code with him. For so reason, when the ssenger found him, he suddenly felt as if the ti had finally co for his hard work to be published. This almost prophetic feeling prompted Man Chong, who never believed in such things, to instinctively grab the code.
As soon as the stern-faced Man Chong appeared at the doorway, Jia Xu and the others felt a chill run down their spines—a nearly instinctual reaction. Although Jia Xu and the others had never really done anything wrong, seeing Man Chong blocking the entrance, with the sunlight casting his shadow into the room and darkening the hall, made them feel an uneasy sense of foreboding.
"You’re here, Baining," Jia Xu said, trying to force a smile.
Even Jia Xu found it uncomfortable to interact with soone as cold as Man Chong. Man Chong’s presence was like that of soone who had just crawled out of a coffin—standing next to him made you feel a chill. And without Liu Ye to temper him, Man Chong had beco an icy figure.
"I am," Man Chong replied, raising a hand to greet the others. He forced a smile, but his face twitched awkwardly, and then the expression vanished, leaving Lu Su and the others feeling unsettled.
The three of them forced strained smiles in return and gestured for Man Chong to co in, inwardly cursing. They thought, This is what it ans to be born with the face that reflects the heart—he might as well have ‘Iron-faced and Unfeeling’ written on his forehead.
Once they confird that Man Chong had successfully completed the entire legal code, Jia Xu and Li You felt fully at ease. From this point on, it was up to them to implent it. After this, they intended to bind all the internal noble families to their chariot, ensuring that there would never again be any factions within their ranks whose interests were not aligned with Liu Bei’s. This was a crucial goal that had to be achieved: internal unity was necessary to eliminate internal strife and better prepare for external wars.
"Has the lord already reviewed it?" Li You casually flipped through the code. Among the hundred or so laws, a few stood out—unlike the rest of Man Chong’s strict and emotionless legal frawork, these laws had traces of humanity woven into their wording.
"He has," Man Chong replied, his face as expressionless as ever.
Though Man Chong’s face was emotionless, he couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of pride when he recalled how Liu Bei had spent a month thoroughly reviewing his legal code and found little to criticize. This was, after all, the result of his hard work. When Taishan was first established, the task that Chen Xi had assigned him had finally borne fruit.
"We’ll use Baining’s general outline as the basis for regulating the noble families," Lu Su said after thoroughly reading the general frawork. He was clearly impressed—Man Chong’s legal code had far exceeded his expectations. "But, Baining, please provide with a copy of the laws specifically related to noble families. I need to study them further."
"No problem," Man Chong responded with authority.
"All privileges should be exchanged for corresponding responsibilities and obligations. Who ca up with that idea?" Li You was particularly interested in this principle—this concept ensured that all privileges had a foundation for their existence.
"It was written in an ancient book. I used it as the foundation for the legislation," Man Chong said, his thoughts montarily drifting.
"That’s a good approach. But what should we do now?" Li You asked, turning his head.
"First, we need to establish the foundation. As for implentation, when the lord has the authority to confer the twenty-tiered nobility system, it will naturally co into play. For now, we need to clarify the privileges for each tier. The twenty-tiered nobility system is viable, but we must avoid the situation that occurred four hundred years ago," Man Chong said, hinting at potentially rebellious sentints.
In the Han dynasty, mbers of the Liu family were all eligible for succession. Unfortunately, Emperor Liu Xie had no sons. If the throne was still in the hands of the Han dynasty in the future, it might co down to selecting a successor from the Liu clan. Given the current state of the world, such a selection would be unnecessary—Liu Bei’s offspring had a significant advantage.
"Let’s discuss this further. The privileges for each tier must be clearly defined. If a privilege exists, it should be specified; if it doesn’t, it should be clearly stated as well. Social welfare should also be outlined," Li You said seriously. "And once these details are written into the law, they must not be altered. We need to determine the maximum capacity for each social tier—this is sothing we cannot forget!"
"This must indeed be handled with care. Many of the old veterans in Guanzhong during the late Qin dynasty didn’t resist because their social privileges were destroyed," Lu Su nodded in agreent. "The twenty-tiered nobility system’s privileges should be written into the general legal code."
"We also need to assess the responsibilities and obligations that each tier should bear. The higher the tier, the greater the obligations and privileges. Figuring out how to asure this will be a challenge," Jia Xu sighed, realizing that balancing social responsibilities and privileges would be a complex issue.
"Perhaps this is the buffer ti Zichuan left for us. After all, we don’t currently have the authority to implent the twenty-tiered nobility system," Li You said after so thought. "We still have a long ti to figure out how to distribute these rights and responsibilities."
"He’s always one step ahead of us. When it cos to strategic planning, he’s always the best," Lu Su sighed. "The issue of the twenty-tiered nobility system isn’t that difficult, given that we already have a plan. We just need to take our ti. We still have plenty of ti, at least until the northern lands are pacified. Until then, we don’t need to worry too much about this."
"It won’t be long. I foresee that our war with Yuan Shao will inevitably break out this year. There’s no other possibility," Li You said with a sigh. "Once this rebellion is crushed, let’s directly promote the students from the academies to fill the vacant positions."
"That’s exactly what I was thinking. Promote the students directly, and increase the proportion of officials from humble backgrounds to fifty percent," Lu Su agreed with a nod.
The monopoly of governnt positions by the noble families at the end of the Han dynasty was what made all those in power wary. Even though Taishan had been weakening the influence of the noble families, the reality was that seventy percent of the officials under their control still ca from noble backgrounds. So were direct descendants of noble families, while others were trained by them. In contrast, the truly humble origins made up less than thirty percent.
"We’ll continue the system of military rit leading to ennoblent. The first fifteen ranks of nobility won’t have strict requirents, but the fifteenth to eighteenth ranks must require military rit. As for the nineteenth and twentieth ranks, the Marquis of the Interior and the Marquis, these can only be earned on the battlefield," Jia Xu added.
"Only dukes and marquises can beco ministers," Li You sighed. "Let’s maintain that rule. As for the nineteenth and twentieth ranks, let’s make a change. Pure civil officials seeking ennoblent must govern a territory the size of a province for three years. If sixty percent of the people approve, their case will be reviewed for advancent. If eighty percent approve, they will be directly ennobled."
"Agreed," Lu Su nodded. While he didn’t have much regard for civil officials who couldn’t fight, he acknowledged the need to offer them so hope. As for the eighty percent approval rate leading to direct ennoblent, Lu Su thought, Even I couldn’t achieve that level of approval right now. If soone can, there’s nothing more to say.
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