Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 275 The peasants of the Ming Dynasty were not safe and hungry, so they were civilized depressions
"So, according to your point of view, all the powers in the east will be like this." Theodora said: "If Java can last until then, maybe they will be the first to follow suit."

"Very likely." Guo Kang said: "They are actually the same as us. The number of citizens has not been enough, but there are a large number of slaves, so the methods of choice may be similar."

"Moreover, compared to the traditional Central Plains dynasty, the Javanese Yuan is more 'European'. I heard that they even have a large number of foreign mercenaries. Therefore, their methods may be more radical than ours. I doubt that their entire country will quickly develop to slave society."

"That's right, that place is actually more like a merchant republic. Merchants don't care so much for the sake of efficiency." Theodora nodded: "There is no one to control them over there, so naturally they will do whatever they want. "

"I talked to 'Sun Shiwan' about importing looms before, and he complained to me that when his brother was in power a few years ago, he was accused of enriching his own pockets and using power to compete with the people for profit, which made the development of new plantations The plan didn't work out."

"However, I also talked with the representatives of the Chen family in Java before, and they complained that the people of the Sun family have condemned them every day in the past few years, saying that since they took over the government, they have put the pursuit of profit with the people as their top priority. "

"Look, this time when they are on stage, someone else will say that they are competing with the people for profit. They don't even bother to change an excuse." She spread her hands: "For businessmen, this is not a problem, many rules are in From their point of view, it’s just an excuse to change as you use it.”

"That's why I said, you trust the businessman too much." She did not forget to add a few warnings.

Guo Kang felt that she was too sensitive these days, and he didn't know what happened, so he nodded and let it go.

"But I don't know how the Ming Dynasty will choose." Seeing him admit it, Theodora continued the topic with satisfaction: "I always feel that with their size, it is difficult to develop like Java."

"The local farms and workshops in Java can use a large number of slaves and slave labor, but it may be difficult to do so in the Ming Dynasty. Where to obtain slaves and how to transport them over long distances are all problems."

"And I have a feeling that the Seris people are very 'squeamish'." She thought for a while, and then said: "They care about things that other peoples don't care much about. Let these people be serfs or slave labor, I'm afraid Don't let them have any fighting power. In the current environment of the Ming Dynasty, I'm afraid they can't afford this kind of price."

"I think it's because the average level over there is too high." Guo Kang thought for a while, and found an explanation that he thought was feasible: "The Serisians have higher basic combat and organizational capabilities, so their There are more basic requirements."

"Similarly, on the European side, it's not that those serfs and hooligans are so strong in combat, but that everyone is equally weak, and they can't show the strength of these people."

"So we can't make comparisons out of thin air, we still have to look at their environment." He concluded.

"That's right," Theodora agreed.

"But what you said is also correct. The situation in the Ming Dynasty is indeed difficult to manage." Guo Kang thought for a while and said.

Like the Purple Horde, it was impossible for the Ming Dynasty to quickly centralize land through administrative orders and laws.Unlike the bully English peasants, the Siris are very 'squeamish'.Land annexation is prevalent and can really lead to mass rebellion.Throughout the ages, no dynasty has been able to withstand such an impact.

Therefore, they are theoretically unlikely to adopt this method.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty was not without similar opportunities.Historically, England had a similar time before it entered capitalism.

At the end of the Stuart dynasty, the crisis in England was extremely serious.

In the north, the Scotch captives continued to harass and make trouble.In the northeast, the battle with the Netherlands intensified.Moreover, there are not only these foreign enemies, but also domestic conflicts are becoming more and more intense.The nobles encircled the land one after another and merged the land properties on a large scale, resulting in the displacement of farmers and rampant bandits.

At the same time, although the country is getting richer and richer, the money and food that the court can use are stretched.Because the main income of the king comes from the royal territory, as well as a small amount of privileges such as customs duties.Most of the wealth was withheld by nobles and gentry everywhere.They are entrenched in the southeast of England, the richest areas, and the imperial court can't smoothly collect them.

These southeastern gentry formed a faction with the help of the parliament to contend with the king.The king also responded tit-for-tat, appointing his cronies and close ministers to establish special agencies to try to collect taxes.

But at the end of the contest, the king was defeated.Several close ministers were killed one after another, and the corresponding institutions were also abolished.In the end, even the king was overthrown and executed.Later generations generally believe that since then, Britain has gradually entered the era of capitalism.

Although the specific situation of this period of history is quite different from that of Serris, it is vaguely similar to the situation in the last years of the Ming Dynasty.

From this point of view, the reason why the Ming Dynasty failed to realize capitalism should be that the gentry in the southeast were too weak to overthrow the emperor and let Seris follow the same path.After all, in the history of the Ming Dynasty, there was no well-organized and powerful "Donglin Party", but the English really had a Whig Party.

If the analogy continues, it is more in line with the development of advanced civilization, which should be to support the southeastern gentry, encourage them not to pay taxes to the court, and fight against the emperor.

...I feel that this conclusion should be in line with the taste of the Javanese dollar.

After that, England's story is not over yet.

Although internal problems have been resolved, external contradictions still remain.Since then, England and the Netherlands in the northeast have fought many times, with more losses than wins.In the worst times, people even broke through the customs, beat them to the edge of London, set fire to the docks, and robbed the flagship of the English Navy.

Faced with such a difficult enemy, the gentry chose to actively collude with each other, lure the Dutch soldiers into the pass, and drive out the restored king.At that time, the Netherlands was also full of internal contradictions. The Orange family had conflicts with the parliament, and bloody murders and coups occurred many times.

So each side took what it wanted, and William of Orange married the Princess of England, and was recognized as king.And he also brought his own party's industry and shipbuilding technology with him.Since then, the financial and shipbuilding center at that time has gradually moved to England, which has provided a great boost for the development of capitalism, and also provided the foundation for the development of navigation and even industry.

It can be seen that if you encounter a powerful enemy, it is a very suitable choice for gentlemen to take the initiative to invite him to enter the customs.

This is probably the same as in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, when Huang Taiji's foothold was unstable and he was unable to persuade the meeting of kings and ministers, the gentry took the initiative to welcome Huang Taiji and quickly entered the customs, blasted Chongzhen away, and then married the princess to him.

According to this British operation, a "Da Ming and Jianzhou Eight Banners United Empire" can be established.From then on, remove obstacles and embark on the road of developing capitalism.

Although the name is very strange, England's advanced civilization has never cared about these things.They have been ruled by foreigners for [-] times, and they haven't seen anything to say. They are very open-minded and progressive.

Of course, in this way, the biggest problem is that ordinary people are likely to rebel because they can't hold back.And even with the addition of the force of the Eight Banners, if the enclosure is carried out according to the strength of the United Kingdom, there will still be people who will continue to revolt and resist.

This should be the biggest difference.

The gentry of the Ming Dynasty said it themselves, "If you don't starve to death in An'an, you can follow the mantis with arms."It is precisely because the landless peasants did not learn from their British counterparts and obediently starved to death, but rebelled all day long, resulting in the failure of capital accumulation.Of course, the Ming Dynasty could not learn advanced civilization and develop capitalism.

Some people in later generations believe that the inability to learn from the West and develop capitalism is a problem at the root of Chinese civilization.It can be seen that this place is a depression of civilization, and there is no hope of solving it.After a specific analysis, it is not difficult to find that the strong will to resist and the lack of endurance may be the root of this civilization.

This conclusion is very strange, but I believe that the gentry of the Ming Dynasty will empathize with it.

(End of this chapter)