Liu Bei had always possessed a steady will.
So after a moment of reflection, he did not linger long in sighs.
Truth be told, he had once considered relying on powerful clans himself.
The problem was that the Yingchuan gentry and major lineages hadn't even bothered to look at him.
And besides—
Even if his restoration of the Han turned out imperfect, it would still surely be better than handing the realm over to whatever dynasty came next.
After the moment passed, Liu Bei couldn't help but chuckle.
"If Emperor Wu knew that later generations would call him Little Pig Emperor, he'd probably confiscate the narrator's entire household."
"Big Brother, don't joke like that," Zhang Fei muttered.
"Those future armies sound terrifying."
"Even if the Champion Marquis were reborn, I don't think he'd fare well."
By now, everyone had grown used to these irreverent nicknames.
If anything, they felt less like insults and more like a strange kind of praise—recognition from later ages.
After all, even a so-called "eternal emperor" like Li Shimin was casually referred to as Erfeng or Li the Second in later times.
And Zhang Fei vaguely recalled that Zhao Yun was sometimes mockingly called Yun-jie.
Compared to that, Little Pig Emperor almost sounded affectionate.
Pang Tong was the first to shake his head.
"The harm caused by great clans cannot be solved by harsh officials alone," he said bluntly.
"It is not a good long-term strategy."
"Money moves hearts. Land commands lives."
The Records of the Grand Historian listed only ten harsh officials by name—but during the reigns of Emperors Wen, Jing, and Wu, there were far more than ten.
Seeing Liu Bei's headache deepen, Pang Tong quickly added,
"Still, harsh officials do have deterrent value. My lord might consider appointing a capable legal officer in Yi Province—someone to oversee prisons and punishments—to keep the local clans in check."
Liu Bei thought it over and nodded without realizing it.
Yi Province had one major advantage: it was compact, and its clans were comparatively weak.
Guo, Yang, Liu, Du, Zhao—none of them could withstand real military pressure.
Zhuge Liang then offered another suggestion.
"Once the bustle of Chengdu eases after the third month, my lord could consider issuing an Edict Encouraging Learning, modeled after Emperor Wu's."
"Villagers with children under sixteen could be encouraged to send them for basic education."
As paper grew cheaper, the cost of literacy fell as well.
More literate people meant policies were easier to implement.
Zhuge Liang recalled an incident from the first month, when he had reformed salt production near Jiangzhou.
An old villager had stubbornly insisted that fire wells were haunted—and that salt boiled from them must surely poison people.
Enlightening the people, Zhuge Liang thought, is a long road indeed.
Liu Bei found the idea sound.
Before he could respond, Zhang Song stepped forward.
"My lord, Chancellor—the small academy policy will benefit generations to come."
"But you are both occupied with state affairs. I am a native of Shu."
"I humbly request to oversee this small academy, and I will not waste your trust."
Liu Bei nodded.
Zhang Song's sincerity sometimes made him uncomfortable.
And being a Chengdu local, he truly was the right person for the task.
At that moment, Liu Ba suddenly felt pressure.
They were all newly surrendered officials of Yi Province—if he stayed silent now, would the lord think he was dissatisfied?
Left with little choice, he said,
"I request to work with Zi Zhong on drafting a new commercial tax system."
"We must not repeat the disaster of the asset declaration edicts."
In Liu Ba's view, Emperor Wu's policy had been a textbook blunder—little revenue gained, reputation thoroughly ruined.
Mi Zhu, who had been lost in thought, looked up blankly.
"…Huh?"
In the Ganlu Hall, silence reigned.
Then Li Shimin burst out laughing, clutching his stomach on the couch.
Was Little Pig Emperor really that funny?
The ministers decided to pretend they hadn't seen anything.
After all, no one was quite sure whether advising the emperor on this matter would count as loyalty or suicide.
After a moment, Du Ruhui spoke thoughtfully.
"From the later perspective, commercial taxation seems extremely important."
Changsun Wuji found it obvious.
"Look at the map. Beyond Tang lies a vast world. In later ages, many states coexist."
"Trade through merchants and official markets becomes inevitable."
"We can conquer our neighbors—but what about lands tens of thousands of li away?"
"How does one march an army there?"
He hesitated, then added,
"It does seem that later generations hold some prejudice against Confucian scholars."
Fang Xuanling rose, pacing as he shook his head.
"The scholars of Qi and Lu—what do they know of economic policy?"
"They mouth the classics without understanding adaptation, quote sages without governing ability."
"Prejudice? Hardly."
Mid-sentence, Fang Xuanling stopped.
On Yan Liben's sketch paper, the Tang emperor was being vividly depicted rolling on the couch in laughter.
Fang Xuanling pretended not to see it and quickly changed direction.
"By the way—what exactly does time-travel mean?"
Du Ruhui recalled something.
"The lightscreen once mentioned His Majesty traveling into Liu Shan's body and entering history."
"It must be a strange fiction from later times."
Compared to the Western Han, early Tang had a full Han–Wei–Jin and Southern–Northern Dynasties as references.
So on salt, iron, commerce, and academies, they already had their own conclusions.
They silently avoided the topic of great clans.
Not because it was irrelevant—but because the emperor's opening remarks made the tone hard to judge.
Each minister, however, was thinking deeply.
[Lightscreen]
["The Eastern Han was the golden age of great clan development.
With imperial pressure gone, clans diversified rapidly."
"After Liu Xiu abolished local military forces, land-rich clans evolved into their ultimate form:
the manor lord."
"A standout example was Cui Shi during Emperor Huan's reign."
"A cultured landlord of the highest order, he even wrote The Monthly Instructions for the Four Classes—a guidebook teaching other landlords how to run estates."
"A qualified manor, according to him, should include agriculture, sericulture, weaving, brewing, medicine production, horse breeding—"
"And militarily: horn bows, crossbows, trained troops, armories, and supply wagons."
"What were fortresses under Emperor Wu became standard manor equipment."
"These estates were closed economic loops—self-sufficient, resource-rich, politically enabling."
"Cui Shi himself came from a family stacked like a résumé."
"Grandfather Cui Yin—famed scholar, peer of Ban Gu."
"Father Cui Yuan—scholar, close friend of Ma Rong and Zhang Heng."
"Cousin Cui Lie—Grand Commandant."
"Nephew Cui Jun—courtesy name Zhou Ping, famed literatus and close friend of Zhuge Liang."
"The family originated in Zhuo Commandery, later relocated to Boling."
"Yes—that Boling Cui clan."
"The one that even Li Shimin felt compelled to suppress."
"Despite early Tang suppression, by late Tang the Boling Cui were publicly acknowledged as the foremost gentry clan."
"Sixteen chancellors in one dynasty."
"After Tang, their voice faded."
"Five Dynasties chaos finally broke them."
"By the Southern Song, Boling Cui had completely fallen."
"Another evolutionary path was academicization—then officialdom."
"Simply put: wealth funds scholarship; scholarship builds reputation; reputation opens office."
"Since great scholars could accept private disciples, clans with money didn't need to send sons to Luoyang."
"Local study created local alliances."
"The most successful example was the Hongnong Yang clan."
"Though they prefer not to admit it, everyone knows they began with Yang Xi—who earned his title by carving up Xiang Yu's corpse."
"Yang Xi's great-grandson Yang Chang became Chancellor under Emperor Zhao—and Sima Qian's son-in-law."
"Yang Zhen later became Eastern Han Grand Commandant, called the 'Confucius of Guanzhong.'"
"Four generations, four Grand Commandants."
"Then it went downhill."
"Yang Xiu and Yang Biao died in the Three Kingdoms."
"Yang Jun's clan was exterminated in Western Jin."
"In Eastern Jin, Yang Liang's line was wiped out by Huan Xuan and Liu Yu."
"The Hongnong Yang were finished."
"From these two paths, one sees how scholars, officials, landlords, and hereditary offices reinforced one another."
"By late Han, imperial authority was effectively gone."
"Local people knew great clans—but not the emperor."
"Eastern Han had already been carved apart."]
Back in the Chengdu hall, everyone once again felt like country bumpkins.
"Five hundred years?" Liu Bei murmured.
From Han to late Tang.
Five centuries of accumulated wealth, land, survival through chaos, dynastic change—and still producing chancellors.
Zhang Fei snorted.
"Five hundred years, and not one general?"
"Survived the chaos of the Five Barbarians without lifting a blade—parasites, just like the lightscreen said!"
"And good riddance they changed to Boling. If they'd stayed Zhuo Commandery Cui, I'd be ashamed!"
Pang Tong laughed.
"If they'd stayed in Zhuo Commandery, they might've looked down on you instead."
Zhang Fei scoffed.
"As if I'd care!"
"Later ages remember me. Who remembers which way the Boling Cui graves face?"
"My second brother said it best—die, and let your name live in the records!"
Pang Tong clasped his hands, impressed.
Zhang Fei still had a temper—but now his words had structure.
He even agreed.
"Like Cui Zhou Ping—remembered mostly as Zhuge Liang's friend."
"Who envies that?"
Zhuge Liang laughed, shaking his head.
"I knew of the harm of great clans."
"I did not expect them to last centuries—and rival emperors for fame."
"Had early Tang not required tolerance—and allowed clans to hide crimes—"
Pang Tong smiled faintly.
"The Boling Cui knew how to endure."
"Shame they weren't born in Jiangdong."
Liu Bei grew quiet.
"If the lightscreen is right, Han should have fallen long ago."
"These clans fed on Han's people, grew rich—and then plotted power."
"Truly the bane of dynasties."
"Such men deserve extinction."
Silence followed.
Then Zhuge Liang clasped his hands.
"If so, my lord—do not forget the suffering of the people."
Zhang Fei immediately agreed.
"I've long hated those highborn surnames!"
"They fight over titles and thrones, and send common folk to die—what justice is that?"
The hall fell quiet again.
Only Zhang Fei laughed loudly.
In the Hall of Sweet Dew, Li Shimin laughed again.
"These chaotic factions—Tang's own party strife—deserve nothing but the blade!"