Xinshun 1730

Chapter 1006 The New Generation
Looking at the two kneeling in front of him, the emperor looked at their pouted posture, very satisfied.

The two men were afraid to raise their heads, but the emperor could understand their inner emotions.

Fear, nervousness, excitement, joy, worry... these emotions are all caused by him.

The panic is because of meeting the emperor.

I was nervous because I was afraid that the wrong answer would leave a bad impression on the emperor.

Excitement is the emperor's summoning means high promotion...

Everything, including emotions, was given by him, the emperor.

This kind of feeling can be regarded as one of the most common enjoyments of being an emperor. After all, even the superiors can cause this feeling to the lower people.

It's just that when the emperor was the prince, there were emotions like kneeling officials, but there was always a day when he would get through it.In the end, after the funeral, no one can give him the mixed emotions of fear, tension, excitement, and worry.

This is the cheapest enjoyment of power, and it is not worth savoring.

Satisfied for a while, the emperor first asked Ma Haochuan, "I want to appoint you as the defense envoy of Syria and horses. Do you have any research on things in western Sichuan?"

Ma Haochuan was transferred back to the capital before, and he only knew that he might be promoted, or go to the Privy Council for a period of experience before being released.

But I didn't expect that after staying in the capital for so long, Hou came to such a big surprise.

Long before entering Beijing, Ma Haochuan had studied the Southwest issue, because he felt that after the imperial court went to Nanyang, even if there was another war, the people from the navy would fight in the front, and it might not be his turn.

And even if the navy group can fight, they can't go inland by boat on dry land.

Then, nothing more than the northwest and southwest.

It is very possible in the northwest region. Normally speaking, the way to get promoted in the past few years is to first go to the Privy Council to experience a few years of staff skills, and then go to the Western Regions to guard for a few years and get promoted.

Or, continue to participate in reforming the land and returning to the people in the southwest region, beating chieftains and beating those village buildings.

These are two different directions.

Moreover, there is a big difference in the art industry depending on the specialization.

In the counter-insurgency in the Western Regions, there were basically no tough battles. They were all field battles, and our side focused on defense.Ma Haochuan heard from his classmates who went to the Western Regions that the rebels' earthen walls there, children urinating hard under the walls, could reach the top of the walls.

The land reform in the Southwest to suppress the rebellion was basically a battle of attacking the fortress towers, and our side focused on attacking.Ma Haochuan saw those watchtowers in the west of Sichuan. It is true that children can't pee on the top of the towers. Fortunately, they are not anti-gun.

After Ma Haochuan obtained military merits in western Sichuan, his mind became active, and he had higher pursuits-if he hadn't made meritorious service before, his background was doomed to come to an end, so he didn't have much active mind.

Therefore, he has really carefully studied the Southwest issue. At this time, he was overjoyed when he heard that the emperor wanted him to be the defense envoy of Syria and Horses.

It's just that although he thought at first that he might be sent to Lhasa in the future, so he did more research on the situation on the snowy mountain side, but it's not like he didn't study the southwest region.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Ma Haochuan carefully replied: "Return to Your Majesty, I have studied the Southwest issue a little bit. Xuzhou, Mahu, and Liangshan are the gateways to the Southwest."

"You can control Guizhou and Yunnan from the bottom; Kuizhou and Huguang can be connected to the east; Chengdu can be controlled from the west. This place is extremely important, and my ministers are really afraid."

The emperor hummed, and said again: "Compared with those who are ignorant and don't know where the horse is, you don't have to be afraid."

"If you go here, what's your strategy?"

Ma Haochuan knew that every time he talked to the emperor, he was gambling.If it fits the emperor's mind, and Jane is in the emperor's mind, it will be smooth sailing in the future; if the gamble is wrong, and what he says is not in the emperor's mind, it may end in the future.

However, if you don't gamble, you can't do it, because you don't say a word about your majesty's self-determination, that is the evaluation of a "mediocre person".

Ma Haochuan was heartbroken and replied: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, stones from other mountains can be used to attack jade. Over the years, I have read a lot of Western books edited and translated by Duke Xingguo, and I have also read some books published there about Westerners living abroad. A spell strategy to rule."

"Especially in Southeast Asia, Ceylon, India, Luzon and other places, each is different."

"I believe that in Xu, Ma, Liang and other places, equal emphasis should be placed on grace and power, and suppression and relaxation should not be generalized."

The emperor still asked in a muffled voice and without emotion: "Equal importance is given to grace and power, and to suppress Zhang Chi. Everyone says that. If you only say that, I'm afraid you haven't learned the essence of other rocks."

Ma Haochuan hurriedly said: "Return to Your Majesty. I think there is another way to describe the intersection of Ma and Liang, and the strategy of suppressing Zhang Chi."

"Xingguo Gongyan: The economic foundation determines the superstructure. I didn't understand it at the beginning, and I didn't know the true meaning until I went to Western Sichuan to suppress the rebellion."

"Farming and reading is a good thing. However, in places like western Sichuan, how to farm and study? It is necessary to adapt to local conditions. The knowledge of sages is only applicable to the land where farming and reading can be done."

"The ancients said that there is a difference between Yi and Xia. In the past few years, I have read the articles of Xingguo Gong and thought to myself, why are there hundreds of states in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Yi people lived among them, and they were all Xia people for hundreds of years; while Mobei, Western Sichuan, etc. Earth, intertwined for thousands of years, why didn't they turn into Xia people?"

"I believe that this is a manifestation of the so-called economic base determining the superstructure."

"As far as Syria, Ma and other places, since the previous dynasty, the policy has been to use the barbarians to control the barbarians, or to defend the fortress, or to strictly guard against the barbarians. This is a solution to the symptoms, not the root cause."

"If you want to treat the symptoms and the root cause, you should treat the barbarians."

"The subtlety of transforming barbarians lies in the farming of small farmers."

"This dynasty here has an advantage that the previous dynasty did not have."

"Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, etc. can all be grown in mountainous areas. Although it is different from wheat and rice, the essence is still farming."

The emperor didn't think there was anything wrong with Ma Haochuan citing Liu Yu's logic. On the contrary, he felt that Ma Haochuan could think of this, especially after thinking that potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn can be grown in mountainous areas, which is an advantage of Dashun different from the previous dynasties. : "You can think of these, so it's not just a knife and a gun. Speaking of this, what else do you think?"

Seeing the emperor's praise, Ma Haochuan was even happier, and he said boldly: "I read the story of Duke Xingguo's voyage to Nanyang, and also read the Dutch rule of Nanyang. I know that the deep meaning of 'disintegrating the old village system' lies in exchange."

"The huge profits of Nanyang spices have accelerated the disintegration of the village community. If we can find something suitable for planting in Liangshan and other places, and its profits are high, the old system will disintegrate faster."

Unexpectedly, the emperor laughed and said, "Liangshan is not Nanyang. The spices that can be grown in Nanyang are not suitable for the climate and soil of this dynasty. What can be grown in Liangshan, where can't it be grown in other places in this dynasty?"

"If you talk about huge profits, I'm afraid there are only poppies and opium. Is it necessary to plant these things there to realize what you said 'exchange accelerates the disintegration of the old system'? Do you want to ban opium all over the world, and only allow places such as Ma and Liang Plant poppies to close your heart?"

"Hahahaha, but if you can think of this, it can be seen that you have really worked hard."

"Is this the fu you said? What about suppressing?"

However, Ma Haochuan boldly said: "Return to Your Majesty, what I said is not just to encourage farming. Looking at the Southwest system since the Tang Dynasty, I feel that if it is reversed today, it will be suppressed. At most, it will kill its leader, but this is not the case. What they fear most."

"The wild fire is endless, and the spring breeze blows again. Killing a Zhang San, and another Wang Si, can only be safe for a while."

"If you want to really caress, you have to hit hard first."

"Choose a stockade that usually plunders the people of Shu and Guizhou as slaves, and beat them fiercely. After they are beaten down, all the slave owners will be killed, leaving no one behind."

"And those slaves were all released and given the identity of the people."

"The imperial court supports some farming cattle and seeds. Then learn some people from the new school and teach them to plant."

"After a long time, there must be slaves fleeing here, thinking that this place is also a paradise."

"And this gave the court the initiative."

"Those honest barbarian leaders, the court can return those fugitive slaves, at least not take them in."

"And those who are dishonest encourage the slaves to flee. They even pretend to follow the previous story, kill their clan and rescue all the slaves."

"The previous method, killing Wang San, the system remains unchanged, and there will be Zhang Si in the future."

"Now, it is to change its economic foundation. If Wang San is killed, there will be no more Zhang Si. This is what they are most afraid of, and it can really hold them down."

"The imperial court may not really fight all of them. After all, there are high mountains and dense forests. With this money, it is better to move the good people from Henan and Huanghuai to the sea of ​​whales and Nanyang to survive."

"Just make a few examples and tell those barbarian leaders that the court now has the means to cut off their roots. They will naturally be honest. Because what they are afraid of is to rescue the slaves, not to beheaded. Beheading Wang San's head, Zhang Si cheered happily, but Wang San and Zhang Si are so-called slave owners, and abolishing slave owners is the way to make Wang San and Zhang Si afraid."

"The ones who are comforted are the local slaves. The ones who are suppressed are the local leaders."

"This is the essence of the Dutch using low-caste people as officials in Ceylon."

"In this way, the rescued slaves will all be grateful for the court's great kindness. In the future, they will be recruited as soldiers. With their familiarity with the terrain and their hatred for the leader, they will go into the mountains to clear them up, and the result will be twice the result with half the effort."

"As for the leaders of other cottages, seeing the court's methods are so 'vicious', they are afraid that their roots will also be dug out by the court, so they will constrain their subordinates honestly, for fear that the court will find an excuse to exterminate them and rescue the slaves."

"If the imperial court wants to fight, they can use the rescued slaves in the future to train troops that are most suitable for the southwestern mountainous areas. Following the story of the white-eared soldiers, they are strong enough to climb mountains and mountains, and because they are familiar with the terrain, they will not leave a single one."

"If you don't want to fight, just scare them like this. If you dare to go down the mountain to 'give birth' or 'catch slaves' within a few years, before the court takes action, the rest of the tribe in the mountain will have to tie them up and send them down the mountain for fear of sticking together." All mountain slave owners."

"This is the way I want to use both kindness and power, and suppression and appeasement."

"It's not the previous method of rewarding whoever rebels and beating up, and whoever obeys. That's not giving both kindness and power, it's raising tigers to make trouble."

"The imperial court now has ironware from the Liaodong mine, corn, sweet potatoes, and a large number of students with practical backgrounds. This method is justified!"

"If the minister is the defense envoy of Syria and horses, a thousand soldiers can destroy the stronghold without even needing artillery."

"If you get more than a hundred real school children, ten thousand pieces of iron, and a thousand cattle, you can guarantee that there will be no more people who come down the mountain to plunder slaves. They don't need to go up the mountain to wipe them out. Clear the relationship."

After boldly speaking out his thoughts, Ma Haochuan certainly didn't dare to look up at the emperor's expression.

But after waiting for a long time, the emperor did not speak.

After a long while, the emperor gave a nonchalant hum, and asked Niu Congyun, who was kneeling there, "I want you to be the prefect of Xuzhou. You must have heard about Sichuan Salt's entry into Guizhou in the past few days. It was discussed just now, and I have read the mansion newspaper."

"I also guessed that I want you to go to the Xuzhou government. The affairs in the south are mostly military affairs, so you don't need to worry about it. At this time, you should know that it has something to do with the salt."

"Mr. Xingguo recommends you, and recommends that you have outstanding abilities, especially the ability to understand policies, and know why and why."

"Xing Guogong rarely recommends people, and even if he recommends, he never makes such comments."

"Know it, know why. I really haven't heard Xing Guogong say anything about this evaluation."

"So, I am also curious, so I will test and teach you one thing first."

"You are in southern Jiangsu, experienced tax reform, and assisted Fu Yin to set up a business."

"Regarding land, people, industry and commerce, small farmers, etc., there is a word that Xingguo often said, you know it?"

Niu Congyun thought for a while and replied, "Return to Your Majesty, it's land rent."

"Well, ground rent."

The emperor couldn't help laughing when he heard the word land rent.

Niu Congyun vaguely heard the emperor's chuckle, he didn't know if it was a smile or a knowing smile, but at this moment he had to continue talking.

"Your Majesty, Yu Songjiang has read "On Taxation" by the Westerner William Petty, which talks about the relationship between land rent and interest."

"According to its theory, the so-called interest is only an extension of land rent."

"Interest is linked to land rent. Because with the same money, if you buy land, you will receive land rent; if you lend it out, you will receive interest."

"If the interest rate is too low, then they would rather buy land and collect the rent, because the land rent will guarantee the income in drought and flood. However, the interest has certain risks, so the interest rate is always higher than the land rent."

"In this dynasty, the tenants often only get [-]% of the land rent, and lesser [-]%."

"Yes, the interest rate in this dynasty is quite high."

"This Westerner's statement seems unreasonable at first glance. What is the relationship between land rent and interest? But when you think about it carefully, it is quite reasonable. It is land rent, which leads to interest."

The emperor hummed and said: "I have heard of this person. This person is a nobleman who was appointed after the restoration of the Royal Party of England. When Cromwell was in power, he used his power as a land equalizer to give himself a lot of money. After the restoration of the British royal party, this person surrendered to the royal party in order to preserve the real estate...It reminds me of some people from the founding of this dynasty. However, although this son’s morality is unbearable in the eyes of this dynasty, but There is some truth in his opinion. There are talented but not virtuous people. It seems that there are many in every country."

"I never thought that there is such a relationship between land rent and interest."

"Since you know such things, let me ask you again, do you know about the enclosure of land by the British?"

Niu Congyun hurriedly said: "Return to Your Majesty, I know a thing or two."

"Grand Xing Guo also talked about this matter and made an analogy. He said that if this enclosure movement is in this dynasty, two conditions must be met."

"One is that the price of grain has dropped from one tael of silver to one stone of rice, to one tael of silver to buy ten stones of rice."

"Secondly, ordinary people can't grow indigo grass, etc.; and indigo grass is expensive, and one mu of land can earn ten taels of silver."

"That's why the squire no longer rents the land to the tenants, and collects three or five buckets of rent. Because if the price of grain is as low as that, let alone collect [-]% of the rent, even if they collect [-]% of the rent, they can't sell much. money."

"The merchants and big merchants rent the land of the squires, plant indigo, and give the squires two taels of silver per mu of land."

"If that's the case, the squire will naturally take back all the tenants' land and let the tenants fend for themselves. They may go to the Nanyang plantation or work in the Songjiang factory. They will rent the land to grow indigo and give them two taels of silver. Merchant for a year."

"This is the only land enclosure movement that this dynasty can understand. As for enclosing public land and the like, all those who can gain a foothold are now private, and the rice fields have been broken. It is difficult for this dynasty to understand what enclosing public land is."

"On the contrary, the people in Jinghai and other places can somewhat understand the meaning of enclosing the common land, because they raise more large animals. And the large animals need to mow the grass for winter use, so there are still large areas of pastures for public land. Everyone went there to mow the grass, neither belonged to A nor B, and every autumn they would work together to mow the grass and irrigate to prevent fire from the sky. I served in Jinghai for two years, and then went to southern Jiangsu. Otherwise, it would be difficult to understand what a circle is. land."

"Nowadays, the land rent that the people can give has reached its limit. I feel that this is a good thing..."

"The rent of the British people was too low before, but now the rent of this dynasty can no longer be higher. There are as many as [-]% of the big fights and small fights, which is stable. Unless one mu of land gives two Small farmers cannot afford the rent of two silver coins, so they may be enclosed."

"But according to what I see, there is really nothing that can pay rent for an acre of land and still make money."

"The current interest rate is 36% according to the Da Shun Law."

"This acre of land is rented for a year, and then it is converted into two yuan and one acre of land to hire people. Adding seeds and the like, there are three taels. And with 36% interest, one acre of land must be able to harvest gross 4 Two and a half silver, merchants are willing to enclose land and hire labor to drive away small farmers, otherwise it is far worse than lending."

"I feel that there is no need to worry about this time, because there is no such thing as an acre of land in this world that can receive four taels of silver."

"The rents charged by the landlords and gentry in this dynasty are extremely high. At best, it also makes this dynasty free from the risk of enclosing land. This is really a blessing in the prosperous age."

It sounds like this sentence is sarcasm.

To Liu Yu's ears, the proper irony is simply a murderous yin and yang.

But it's like there is a deviation in the understanding of "getting the right of the country", just like the aesthetic difference of binding feet is beauty.

At this time, Niu Congyun's words, neither he nor the emperor, thought it was ironic.

On the contrary, it is sincerely thinking that it is a blessing.

It is definitely not yin and yang.

According to William Petty's theory, which the emperor thought had some truth, interest was an extension of rent.

Then, the high land rent of the gentry in Dashun drove up the loan interest rate in Dashun.And the extremely high loan interest rate makes merchants have to consider interest when investing.

The extremely high land rent is even more ruthless than Japan's five publics and five people. A three-seven-five rent reduction can lead to high land rents that kill and improve rural construction, and it also makes it more difficult for businessmen to obtain high profits from land enclosures.

As Niu Congyun said, in the current situation of renting a house, one mu of land must be guaranteed to produce four or five taels of silver before merchants consider enclosing land to drive away small farmers.

And what can be planted for four or five taels of silver per mu?Kind of gold?Not cotton anyway, at least not right now.

For the emperor and ministers, the maintenance of small farmers was the first goal, because the stability of small farmers was the basis for the existence of the imperial court.

As for the various developments of the Westerners, before the storm of [-], the most frightening thing for the emperor was precisely the land enclosure movement.

Even if it is Cromwell or something, in the eyes of the emperor, isn't this normal?What's all the fuss about?

The man with strong soldiers and strong horses is the son of heaven, and the princes and generals should be kind to each other, what's the big deal?Your Stuart family is the king, and I, Cromwell, can replace it. How big of a deal does this seem to Dashun?Cut off the king's head?King killing 36, subjugation of the country 52, not to mention beheading, isn't it normal to be stabbed to death in the street without a trial?What's more, I, I, dog feet.

In addition, the emperor didn't care about some parliaments from the Western side at this time. After the translation was distorted, in the emperor's view, what is the difference between this and the fantasy of the rule of three generations?The Mo family is even clamoring to choose the emperor, and they have seen a lot.

On the contrary, I am quite worried about things like the enclosure movement.

The emperor's worries about the enclosure movement had nothing to do with the compassion of sheep cannibalizing people.

Instead, he was worried that someone raised his arms and shouted that the tiller would have his land, and then they would dig a hole and bury the Li family.

Or if you are depressed and failed to pass the imperial examination, seize the opportunity, read a sentence, and go to the Dabie Mountain, Yunxiao Mountain, and Shangluo Mountain nearby.

Therefore, if Liu Yu heard these words full of yin and yang, which were full of sarcasm, but to the emperor's ears, he nodded frequently, and in his heart gave Niu Congyun, who was about to be a governor at the age of 30, a "worthy" evaluation.

Niu Congyun said again: "My minister often hears Duke Xingguo lamenting about the land rent. What he laments, as far as this court is concerned, is nothing more than lamenting that the land rent is too high, business and industry are sluggish, and domestic demand is insufficient. Cloth and other items cannot be sold, so that they have to pay for it." The horses and horses are ready to fight outside."

"That's what Duke Xingguo has always wanted to do, which is to reduce the rent by [-]% and implement the law of permanent tenancy. Because Duke Xingguo has calculated that if the rent is calculated by [-]%, it can not only ensure that the people have spare money to buy an extra foot of cloth; To ensure that the land rent is very high so that there will be no land enclosure. At the same time, if the price of rice is lowered, the interest derived from the land rent will be reduced, and the imperial court will also absorb money to develop Nanyang and accommodate the population.”

"But there are many kinds of land rent. Yichen learned from Xingguo Gongna, and land rent can be divided into absolute land rent, differential land rent, and monopoly land rent."

"For example, mu tax can be counted as absolute land rent."

"And the land rent in Songjiang Mansion must be more expensive than the land rent in the Western Regions and Jinghai. This is regarded as differential land rent."

"And if it is a salt well, it can be counted as monopoly rent."

Niu Congyun knew what the emperor asked him to go to the Xuzhou government to deal with, because just now the court newspaper was still talking about Sichuan salt entering Guizhou, and then he was summoned by the emperor to go to the Xuzhou government as a small mansion official, why not? Know it must have something to do with the salt?
The emperor asked about the land rent again, and he also took advantage of the situation to say that the land rent in Yanjing was a monopoly land rent.

The emperor remained calm, and asked with an attitude that seemed to be very objective and neutral: "In your opinion, is this monopoly rent good or bad?"

"Return to Your Majesty. It's not good to monopolize land rent. It is the landlord who benefits, not the real businessmen. If it is like a salt well, since there is a monopoly land rent, then [-]% of the salt profit is land rent." Niu Congyun directly talked about it Salt well, unabashedly.

"If the profit of salt is [-]% of the land rent, then the salt must be expensive. If the salt is expensive, the official salt will be more difficult to sell, and the people will be more willing to eat less."

"If there is no salt tax in this dynasty, it can be like the story of the previous dynasty, using mine supervisors to collect the benefits of monopoly land rent."

"Since there is a salt tax in this dynasty, any form of monopoly land rent should be cancelled, the land should be owned by the government, and the salt profit should be derived from the salt tax, instead of double taxation."

"There are no more than two kinds of mines in this dynasty."

"It's like the salt well. The land in the salt well is privately owned, and the current dynasty collects salt tax. The salt will become more expensive, which will be unfavorable to the people and the officials."

"The second is like gold and silver. The land belongs to the officials, and [-]% of the income from gold and silver goes to the imperial court. The imperial court directly collects monopoly land rent."

"The third is like a coal mine. The land is owned by the government, and the fixed tax is paid instead of the coal. It seems to be different from the second, but it is actually the same, except that the currency is gold and silver, which saves the need to pay gold and silver after selling the coal. Just a ring."

"My minister thought that the land rent for the well salt should be fully collected by the imperial court. This is the old law of officials in mountains and seas. However, because there is a salt tax, the land rent can be hidden in the salt tax, and there is no need to collect it twice."

"In this way, the people get their benefits, businesses get their convenience, and the country gets their taxes."

The emperor hummed, and said lightly: "Well... After you go back, you can read Zhou Shu's "Xin Ang Biography" more, and encourage it."

(End of this chapter)