The Ganlu Hall was deathly quiet.
All the ministers stood with their hands folded, saying nothing.
The only sound echoing through the hall was Li Shimin's laughter.
When he had swept aside rivals and pacified the realm, he hadn't felt much of anything.
But once the swords were sheathed and governance began, the problem of local great clans finally rose up before him—solid, unavoidable, and very much real.
And because he himself had come from a powerful clan in Longyou, Li Shimin understood them all too well.
"Imperial authority versus local power…"
He sighed softly.
"That description isn't wrong."
Edicts from the central court ultimately had to be carried out locally. Yet local great clans wrapped the common people around themselves like armor.
Those close enough to the capital understood the sharp edge of armored troops and dared not resist openly.
Those farther away nodded politely while bargaining behind the scenes.
And those farther still simply ignored the orders outright.
As for the Bolang Cui clan—even Li Shimin himself could say he had "long admired their reputation."
The ministers remained silent, but Li Shimin did a quick calculation in his own head.
"The Cui clan rose alongside Guangwu," he muttered.
"When emperors died, they didn't. When states fell, they didn't."
"I toil for the empire… and end up as the Bolang Cui family's hired hand?"
The words were sharp enough to cut. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance—one from the Qinghe Fang, the other from the Jingzhao Du. They felt vaguely wronged, but this was hardly the moment to argue.
Seeing their looks, Zhangsun Wuji smiled calmly.
"Your Majesty reigns as Son of Heaven, ruler of all under Heaven. Why belittle yourself so?"
"Look at this Light Screen—after a thousand years it still cherishes Your Majesty. As for the Bolang Cui, they vanish into history, remembered only with scorn."
Only then did Li Shimin's expression ease.
Still, some thoughts he kept to himself.
For example—
The Bolang Cui clan truly rose in the Late Tang. Those dozen or so chancellors likely all came from that era.
And Late Tang meant… the An Lushan Rebellion.
That was not a thought fit for jokes.
So he changed the subject, turning to another family.
"The Hongnong Yang clan… extinct already?"
The confusion was natural. After all, Yang Jian of Sui had claimed descent from Yang Zhen, Grand Commandant of the Eastern Han.
The ministers looked at one another. Finally, Fang Xuanling spoke carefully.
"Later generations may have studied the records more thoroughly… but it is true that the Hongnong Yang rose and fell repeatedly from late Han to Sui."
"Several Northern Dynasties Yang families all claimed the same origin. There may have been… complications."
Li Shimin shook his head. He didn't believe it for a moment.
After all, even the Tang royal house's forced link to Li Gao had been dragged out by the Light Screen and publicly thrashed. This sort of genealogical maneuvering likely took inspiration from the Sui.
In this era, clinging to noble ancestry was considered an honor. But later generations—able to survey all history—after seeing a beggar like Zhu Yuanzhang take the throne, would hardly find such claims impressive.
More likely, they'd treat them as jokes.
Did Li Shimin really gain glory from Li Gao?
If anything, Li Gao gained glory from him.
So he only instructed:
"When compiling the Book of Jin, verify everything carefully. Don't give later generations reason to laugh."
Fang Xuanling bowed in understanding. The other ministers each harbored their own thoughts.
[Light Screen Commentary]
[ So let's rewind and take a look.
By the Han dynasty, great clans had already perfected their "build."
They used wealth to befriend famous scholars.
Those scholars granted reputation to their sons.
With reputation, those sons entered officialdom quickly and legally.
Once in office, they used power to seize even more wealth.
With greater wealth came access to even greater scholars.
With greater scholars came greater reputation.
With greater reputation came higher office.
Round and round it went.
Great clans. Famous scholars. Officialdom.
A perfectly closed loop.
You only needed one of the three to enter the system—and once inside, growth was inevitable. By the late Han, these clans were ready to join the grand game of empire.
Compared to Qin, Han great clans had already shifted from bloodline-based rule to regional power structures.
They controlled not just family, but villages—binding people in life, politics, and economy.
Eastern Han great clans were strong because they had become territorial interest blocs.
And the entry ticket to the late Han chaos?
Great-clan status.
The Yuan clan. The Cao clan. No explanation needed.
The Xiahou clan under Cao Cao were local magnates of Qiao County.
Xu Chu—the famously "simple-minded" general—was also a Qiao County strongman. Records say that even before the chaos, Xu Chu could rally thousands of clansmen and had fortified compounds to match.
Others included the Chen, Xun, and Zhong clans of Yingchuan; Cheng Yu and Li Dian of Yan Province; Cui Yan of Hebei, and many more.
Cao Cao himself can be seen as the ultimate overachiever forged by the northern great clans—the undisputed juan-wang of his era.
The Sun clan of Jiangdong was a special case—early beneficiaries of chaos.
Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Sun Jian held minor county posts and earned modest fame fighting bandits.
When the rebellion erupted, he grabbed the very last ticket onto the great-clan train—raising troops from merchants, refugees, and strong youths in Huaisi.
He charged first in every battle, earning renown.
That's why he fought Dong Zhuo so recklessly—and after being first into Luoyang, successfully transformed from a rough hero into a regional magnate.
The problem was that Sun Jian and Sun Ce relied on military merit, not scholarly reputation—making them incompatible with the Han "meta."
The records tell the story.
Sun Jian failed to secure a marriage and tried intimidation—terrifying the Wu daughter into surrendering herself just to save her family.
He had old grudges with officials; one was forced to drink poison, another beheaded.
Sun Ce wasn't much better. Feeling slighted by scholar Gao Dai, he wanted him killed. When local gentry pleaded for mercy, Sun Ce took it as an insult and executed him anyway.
These men all belonged to the great-clan circle.
So Sun Jian and Sun Ce dying violently was hardly surprising.
Only when Sun Quan changed course did the Sun clan finally stabilize and earn a seat at the table.
As an aside—Lü Bu and Ma Chao were similar types. Military strongmen born into the wrong era. Had they lived in the Five Dynasties period, they might have gone much further.
Liu Bei's camp? No need to elaborate.
Most were discarded by the meta.
Mi Zhu had money but no people—never rose from merchant to magnate.
Liu Ba tried joining Cao Cao and got tossed out with one hand.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei—one a fugitive, one a butcher.
Zhuge Liang disliked the system altogether and voluntarily left the game.
So Shu-Han was fundamentally out of sync with its era—because it was swimming against the current.
Once Shu fell, nothing stood in the way.
The great clans climbed relentlessly toward full aristocratic domination—
and kicked the common people into the abyss as stepping stones.]
Liu Ba was the first to protest.
"What do you mean 'tossed out'? I was—"
He stalled.
"Kicked out?" Zhang Fei helpfully supplied.
Liu Ba's face flushed. Mi Zhu quickly soothed him.
"Why dwell on it, Zichu? Looking back, maybe it was a blessing."
"Would Cao Cao have let you act freely like our lord does?"
Fair point. Still—
"I merely recognized Cao the traitor's lack of discernment," Liu Ba insisted.
"And chose a life among mountains and rivers!"
"Of course. Of course."
Everyone nodded politely.
Pang Tong rubbed his temples.
"Then doesn't this mean Cao Cao unified the power of all northern great clans?"
Zhang Fei beamed.
"Perfect! One pot—boil them all!"
Pang Tong fell silent.
"The analysis is sharp," he finally said.
"Brief, but broadly accurate."
Zhuge Liang pondered.
"If so… the rise of paper first destroys the famous scholars."
Pang Tong nodded eagerly.
"When books become cheap, even a farmer can buy classics."
"Then masters with tens of thousands of disciples vanish."
"Who's this Zhang fellow?" Zhang Fei asked.
Zhang Song explained.
"Zhang Xing, Mou Chang, Cai Xuan—great scholars. Cai Xuan alone had over sixteen thousand disciples."
Zhang Fei whistled.
"So… scholarly great clans?"
Zhuge Liang tapped the paper.
"Thus, paper ends the famous scholars."
"If the people gain literacy, exchanging a bushel of grain for a book,"
"then hereditary scholarly clans fade."
He grew thoughtful.
"With examinations and education, even minor officials would suffice."
"The great-clan threat could be resolved."
Pang Tong hesitated.
"Then you become their enemy."
Zhuge Liang laughed.
"The illness runs deep. It must be treated slowly."
"And when treating it—Cao Mengde will help."
He understood clearly.
Before defeating Yuan Shao, Cao Cao was a great clan.
After unifying the north, he was no longer walking the same road.