Anti-Qing: I'm actually an honest person

Chapter 204 Things and Government Affairs

After all, it has been too many years since the imperial examination. The Confucian system has become a social consensus because there are too many vested interests. Now that Enke has been opened, it is too unreasonable not to reuse it. It is challenging the bottom line of scholars in the whole society.

But shareholders are the foundation of the company, and the company is the foundation of Daming. It can be said that neither side can afford to offend.

However, Yu Jackie ate the weight and firmly held himself down and forced him to solve the problem. There was no other way, so he had no choice but to show his cards: "Old Yu, do you think that the imperial examination can really benefit the country? Limin?"

But Yu Chenglong simply said: "No matter how bad the imperial examination is, at least it is better than relying entirely on the shares. The power of the shareholders is already strong enough and must be restricted. Otherwise, it will be passed down over the years. Becoming a new powerhouse is a great plan for a hundred years and a thousand years. No matter how you say the imperial examination, it at least gave hope to the middle-class families, but the company, with all due respect, did not give it. This is much more stubborn than the Guanlong Military Group The community of interests must be restricted while it is still too late, otherwise it will be a disaster for future generations and endless troubles."

Liu Dapao smiled wryly when he heard the words: "It's just half-baked. What you said, to put it bluntly, is class solidification. In fact, they are all the same. From ancient times to modern times, Chinese, foreign, and even future, even if it is to create a class, I dare not even think about it." It is the same for countries where everyone is truly equal and where workers’ children are the leaders of the country.”

"As long as there are ladders to climb up in this world, those who climbed up first will definitely try their best to stop them from climbing up, and they will also try their best to pass on the experience of climbing the ladder to future generations. No system is useless."

"The more society develops, the more people climb up the ladder. Gradually, the space above the ladder will become smaller and smaller, and the living space will become more and more crowded. Climbing up, you will still find that there is no place to stand, and you may even be kicked down by those who are already standing on it."

"In a country, a regime, and a society, when the ladder is first erected, there is a lot of space on it, and everyone will work hard to climb the ladder together. Everyone in this society will think together and work hard together. At this time, the rulers of the country will find that they are wise and powerful in everything they do, and the whole country is thriving, and they can do anything.”

"But as the space above the ladder becomes more and more crowded, the people below find it more and more difficult for them to climb the ladder. The people on the top are all focused on how to kick the people who are climbing the ladder. The progress of this country , and then stopped, in order to climb the ladder, the people below will be more and more rolled up, and when they can’t be rolled up, they will lie down more and more.”

"A nation, a society, a country, when everyone is lying down, the development will stagnate. At this time, even if Qin Huang Han Wu is resurrected to control this country, you will find that you can't do anything."

"Whether it is military merit, imperial examinations, or stock ownership, this is true for any upward ladder. There are countless ways to climb up first. There are countless ways to climb up later. Therefore, there is no eternal dynasty, no fairness in society, and no human society. You must obey the law of the jungle, but you must obey the first-mover advantage."

Yu Chenglong thought for a while and said: "You are right, then, is there a solution?"

"No, there is no solution. Even if one day I use my power to smooth out the huge gap between the rich and the poor in the whole society and force egalitarianism, this problem will still not be solved."

Yu Chenglong frowned and said: "So you mean, because this problem has no solution, so you simply can't solve it, right? Simply support some shareholders to engage in Suwei, making it like the nobles of Guanlong, no, it's like Like the feudal aristocrats before the Han Dynasty, is it true that in the future, whoever will be an official can only look at blood? This seems to be much more terrifying than a powerful family."

Liu Dapao thought for a while and said: "It's all about the stock market. It can be regarded as drinking poison to quench thirst. It can't solve the problem, but it can last a little longer."

"Drinking poison to quench thirst?"

"Looking at the society of stocks, to some extent, it is exactly as you said. It is very similar to the feudal society in ancient times, but the foundation of feudal society lies in the enfeoffed land, and the output of the land is constant, and the society is zero-sum. , and starting a company with stocks can expand business, but also must hire workers to create greater wealth. With more and more businesses in society, there will be more and more companies, and there will naturally be more and more shareholders. gone."

"What's more, if there is business, there will be competition, and if there is competition, there will be turnover. Some people will go bankrupt, and some will get rich. As long as the total wealth of society continues to grow, there will always be people who will slowly climb up. Moreover, in People at the bottom of the ladder will also have the illusion that they are slowly climbing up."

"By contrast, Haoshoupoorjing seems to be fair, but in fact it is more complicated. In short, we can't change this result, but we can try to extend the length of the ladder as much as possible."

After listening to Yu Chenglong, he was not deterred by these fallacies at all, but pointed to the core of the problem: "First, how to ensure eternal competition in business? If a company completely monopolizes an industry, there is government support. , How will the latecomers compete with him?"

"Second, according to your statement, the space above the ladder will expand with the increase of commercial activities, but will this space expand forever? You use the land as a comparison, saying that the income from the land used to grow food is fixed. Yes, yes, the income from growing food is relatively constant, but it is also stable at the same time. Occasionally, if you suffer from a flood or drought, it will naturally recover after two years. The Pacific Company has covered all walks of life, will it always make money?"

"Prime Minister, extending the length of the ladder is to drink poison to quench thirst, but if one day the ladder does not become longer but becomes shorter, causing those who have already climbed to fall, the development of this country may not only stagnate."

"Third, if things go on like this, clans will still reappear. Being thirsty may not necessarily lead to death from thirst, but death is certain if you drink poisonous poison. You also said that class solidification is inevitable. The solidified products born under the military merit system are nothing more than military merit groups. , what was born under the imperial examination system is nothing more than school party struggle, and under the equity system, if one day three or five large business families monopolize more than [-]% of the company's stock by relying on private equity alone, then it is really the emperor who does it in turn, not every Each shareholder has the broad-mindedness of a prime minister, and I dare to say that if several families take turns to be emperors, the harm will be far greater than that of the family!"

When Liu Dapao heard this, he was really stunned for a while, and then he also looked at Jackie Chan with new admiration.

To be honest, he had thought of most of these words, and there were some things he hadn't thought of, and there was nothing enlightening about them, but Yu Chenglong, an ancient man, thought of these things so quickly, but it really made him I was frightened.

He smiled and said, "So? Do you have any suggestions for me."

"That's why I think that the Xinke Scholars must be used. The imperial court must have a ladder from outside the equity. These people will check and balance the shareholders. Even if they are allowed to serve the board of directors, they must be responsible for the small shareholders and the branches. , to conduct a fair guidance, at least so that we will not drink poisonous poison, but cannot quench our thirst."

"Your Majesty, the so-called bureaucracy was originally created by the king to contain and fight against the nobles. I thought that the major shareholders and their descendants would inevitably become the new nobles of our Ming Dynasty. This is already inevitable. But I also ask you Your Majesty ordered the establishment of a bureaucratic system outside the noble system to guide and suppress the nobles."

"How about more specifics?"

"The Overwatch Council can be set up, laws can be established, and the Overwatch Council can act in accordance with the law. This year's Xinke Scholars will be the first batch of Overwatch Council officials."

Liu Dapao said with a smile: "In the long run, the Overwatch Council must be above all yamen. How is this different from a governor or governor? How is it different from the previous feudal society?"

Yu Chenglong thought for a while and said, "The Supervisory Yuan acts in accordance with the law, but the specific laws to be enacted can be discussed with the shareholders and voted on at the general meeting of shareholders, and then the general meeting of shareholders will set up a yamen to supervise the Supervisory Yuan, which is responsible for supervising the law enforcement of the Supervisory Yuan. Condition."

When Liu Dapao heard this, he laughed so loudly that he slapped the table.

"Why is the Prime Minister laughing?"

"I just think that there is no need to call it the Overwatch Council. How about dividing the public service system into two, the administrative officials and the administrative officials? Those who have equity are called administrative officials who are elected by the board of directors. They enter the officialdom through the imperial examination. Yes, they are called affairs officers. One is in charge of making laws and the other is in charge of law enforcement, how about that?"

Yu Chenglong thought for a while, then simply cupped his fists and said: "The prime minister is wise, I think this is a very good move. It seems that the prime minister has thought about this problem a long time ago, and he already has a secret case, but he doesn't know what the prime minister is avoiding. ?”

Liu Dapao laughed again when he heard the words, but he finally figured it out a bit.

This, frankly, is the development process of the modern Chinese political system.

It is estimated that in the original history, the political construction of the country was exactly the same as this process?
Sure enough, different paths lead to the same goal. I really can’t underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Give them a head start, and they will naturally take all this in the right direction.

But I don't know if such a system continues to develop, will it gradually go astray as one person, one vote, populist politics like Western countries.

After thinking about it, Liu Dapao took out two cigars, gave one to Yu Chenglong, lit one for himself, took two puffs slowly, but did not speak.

"The prime minister has always been far-sighted. If you can think of it, you have also thought of it. The reason why you are hesitant, but is there anything that you have thought of that the minister has not thought of? Please give me your advice."

"Is there any concern... Indeed, if a complete system of affairs officers is established, government affairs and affairs must be separated. I, Wei Xiaobao, Zeng Yangxing, Ma Bao, Lei Zhentian, we all must For those who are political officials, all the officials in our Daming system are political officials, so no matter who is the head of the affairs officer, they are essentially dividing my power, and being divided by others, for sure. There are concerns."

"If the prime minister is trustworthy, I am willing to recommend myself."

Liu Dapao sighed: "You... do you know what this means? Once this system of affairs officers is really established, no matter whether this official position is called Cabinet Secretary, Secretary of State, or President... well, it doesn't matter. , but in short, this position will inevitably become the second person in the court. Really, under one person, above ten thousand people. Strictly speaking, it is to check and balance me. Among future generations, in extreme cases, the affairs officer can be Overhead government officials, why would I let someone you hate be an official who can check and balance me?"

Yu Chenglong also laughed when he heard the words, and said, "Who does the prime minister plan to entrust with the job of the Minister of the Household Department?"

"Have I agreed with you to be an officer?"

"You will definitely agree. Do you want me to flatter you? If you don't want to do it today, you will make it up next time."

"...Yu Chenglong, are you a bit too much? Do I know you that well? You hate it, you know."

"Okay, then let me say a word, the prime minister's mind is unprecedented in all ages, minister, throw yourself to the ground. That's it."

Liu Dapao smiled wryly: "What's the matter, it's so strange to add the word "OK" after it."

But after thinking about it, Liu Dapao still said: "I am relieved that you will take the lead in building the affairs officer system. To be honest, I have really held this idea in my mind for a long time. The reason why I have never dared to implement it , I didn’t even dare to take the imperial examination. Indeed, to a large extent, I don’t know whether this system is suitable for our Ming Dynasty’s national conditions. You amaze me."

"However, the reason why I am so hesitant is not only for this reason. The imperial examination must be held, and the examination must be taken, but it cannot be just done like this."

"Please ask the prime minister to clarify."

Liu Dapao, however, digressed and said, "Do you know that there is a force in this world that can counter capital?"

"Ah? Is it...power?"

"No, it's technology."

"Technology?"

"From javelins to bows and arrows, from bows and arrows to muskets, the land in Qin and Han Dynasties was almost at its limit to support 2000 million people, but at the end of Ming Dynasty, the same land had already supported [-] million people. This is the power of technology."

"Even if a shipbuilding company monopolizes more than [-]% of the world's business, if one day a small company suddenly invents a large ship that can travel thousands of miles a day without sails, those waiting for this large company will inevitably be It’s collapse, and this is also technology.”

"The advancement of science and technology will make people's lives better and better, and new aristocrats will be born one after another, making the social class fully mobile and full of vitality. As long as technology develops forward, in fact, the three points you just mentioned are all It won’t happen, the ladder will get longer and longer, and the space above will be bigger and bigger, to accommodate more and more people to climb up and down.”

"So, in addition to the affairs officer system, I also want to build another scientific officer system, and take advantage of Enke's opportunity to solve it all at once. Yu, I’m actually not sure if this system will work, so I’ve been hesitating.”

"Old Yu, if you are allowed to become an administrative officer first, if you want to build a scientific officer system in a few years, can you accept the separation of powers from your hands? How to ensure that our future generations can also manage government affairs, affairs, and science? The three powers, separated forever, cooperate with each other?"

(End of this chapter)