Chapter 967: The Open Strategy
There was a saying that tactics need not be new so long as they worked.
The Daoist Order had used this particular stratagem more than once, tracing back even to the Holy Xuan Era. It was no secret, and many understood the routine. However, when caught within it, it was never so easy to discern. Even if they could discern it, they might not be able to resist.
It was like the ancient “Order of Enfeoffment Sharing,” hailed as an unbeatable open strategy. But in truth, the key was not the decree itself but the immense strength of the centralized court.
To be precise, it was the unceasing efforts of four generations, from the White Emperor to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, that had slowly pushed past the feudal lords’ limits. It was like wearing down stone with drops of water until they achieved an impossible feat.
In fact, the First Emperor imposed the commandery system, shattering the feudal authority that had stood since ancient times and centralizing power by force. Though it was eventually undone due to backlash, the foundation was laid. At the start of his reign, the White Emperor had to compromise, adopting a mixed system of commanderies and kingdoms. Emperor Wen split the State of Qi into six. Emperor Jing quelled the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. Along the way came reforms to officialdom and curbs on meritorious officials. With the prestige of foreign war victories during the reign of Emperor Wu, the Order of Enfeoffment Sharing could finally be enforced.
This was not simply the lingering momentum of six generations’ toil. It was a vast transformation spanning two dynasties. The Order of Enfeoffment Sharing was just the final step. It seemed crucial, but without all the prior effort, it could not be implemented at all.
During this process, the Confucian School rose and ultimately defeated the Daoists to become the rulers of the realm. From then on, the Daoists were cast to the fringes, devoting themselves to rebellion after rebellion, like the Zhengyi Sect’s secession in Shuzhou, or the Taiping Sect’s Yellow Turban Uprising. Only a thousand years later did the Daoists at last defeat the Confucians and reclaim supremacy over the realm.
Thus, the Order of Enfeoffment Sharing was never truly an unbeatable open strategy.
Had it been during the late Wei Dynasty, if the court had issued a decree forcing the Qin, Li, Zhang, and other great families to divide their estates, calling it an “unbeatable open strategy,” those families would not have even glanced at the edict.
In the Central Plains, there was once a king with a rare vision. But in the end, he touched the core interests of the elites and had starved to death.
The Daoist Order faced a similar dilemma. The Holy Xuan sought to replace the three major sects with the Nine Halls, strengthening central authority. This was essentially a variant of the Order of Enfeoffment Sharing. With unmatched military and political achievements, the Holy Xuan held incomparable prestige and absolute power within the sect Daoist Order by supplanting the Confucians and defeating the Buddhists. Thus, he could press the reform and forcibly establish the Nine Halls, reclaiming power from the three major sects and redistributing it to the Nine Halls.
But due to certain reasons, the Holy Xuan never fully succeeded. His work was only half done.