When Man Chong arrived, he brought his legal code with him. For some reason, when the messenger found him, he suddenly felt as if the time had finally come 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 someone as cold as Man Chong. Man Chong’s presence was like that of someone 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 become 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 come in, inwardly cursing. They thought, This is what it means 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 confirmed 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 implement 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 framework, 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 framework. He was clearly impressed—Man Chong’s legal code had far exceeded his expectations. "But, Baining, please provide me 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 came 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 momentarily 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 implementation, when the lord has the authority to confer the twenty-tiered nobility system, it will naturally come 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 sentiments.

In the Han dynasty, members 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 come 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 something 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 agreement. "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 measure 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 time Zichuan left for us. After all, we don’t currently have the authority to implement the twenty-tiered nobility system," Li You said after some thought. "We still have a long time to figure out how to distribute these rights and responsibilities."

"He’s always one step ahead of us. When it comes 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 time. We still have plenty of time, 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 government 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 came from noble backgrounds. Some 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 merit leading to ennoblement. The first fifteen ranks of nobility won’t have strict requirements, but the fifteenth to eighteenth ranks must require military merit. 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 become 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 ennoblement 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 advancement. 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 some hope. As for the eighty percent approval rate leading to direct ennoblement, Lu Su thought, Even I couldn’t achieve that level of approval right now. If someone can, there’s nothing more to say.

Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter