Jingming

Chapter 445: Productivity above all else

The interests of agriculture, industry and commerce were recognized, which was the essential point proposed by the emperor.

The courtyard of Yangxin Hall was very quiet, and Zheng Kui's heart was in his throat.

He has been made a marquis, and the most important ministers of the court will be drinking with him tonight. Isn't this enough?

But the silence of the important ministers made him understand that things were not that simple.

Zhang Bi stopped speaking rashly. Yang Shen was already the unofficially appointed Prime Minister and Minister of State. He considered his words carefully.

Before he was in his 30s, he only knew how to talk and point out the country.From the 16th year of Zhengde to the present, he has learned for so long from the specific local practices, from the teachings of Yang Tinghe and other elders, and from the new learning and new laws proposed by the emperor.

To reduce the people's corvee burden, isn't it to protect the interests of farmers?

Are we not allowing civilian ships to enter the sea and banning commercial activities in Guangsong to protect the interests of merchants?

Craftsmen can have official positions in enterprises and can no longer be treated as slaves. Isn't it to protect the interests of craftsmen?

If the emperor says this, it is naturally not enough.

In other words, the goal that the emperor wanted to achieve could not be achieved: Ming Dynasty could always be at the forefront on the avenue of physics and human science.

Everyone fell into silence. Is it because of confusion and confusion?

No.

Why has it been the case since the Tang and Song Dynasties that "everything is inferior but reading is superior"?Because since the imperial examination was used to eliminate the power of elite families to control the examination, the concept of class that the emperor talked about a few days ago has also changed.As long as you study, even if you don't win the imperial examination or become an official, you can be called "upper class" in terms of power, financial resources, and class influence.

Secondly, businessmen are middle-level people who have financial resources and the influence of their own network of contacts.

Farmers and workers are naturally at the bottom.

Now the emperor obviously feels that it is not enough to do so now, so the most fundamental issue must be touched upon.

In terms of power, wealth, and reputation, institutional paths must be formed to improve their motivation.

That cannot be the emperor's own disapproval. What the emperor needs is the unanimous approval of the scholar community.

Yang Shen spoke: "Your Majesty must have realized it a long time ago, so it is better to clarify my doubts for you. I forgive you for being stupid. I suddenly heard about this constitution and purpose and cannot understand its meaning."

"The so-called constitution means that the monarch, his subjects, and all the people must abide by it. It can be changed and revised, and most of them will agree to it after the monarch, his subjects, and all the people discuss it. The so-called purpose means that from the emperor down to the officials and the people, all members of the Datong Party should follow It is an ideal and a goal." After a slight pause, Zhu Houcong added, "Laws and regulations must not violate the Constitution, and party members in the world must not betray the purpose."

They were deep in thought again, but Zhu Houcong stood up and walked to the tree in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

The emperor stood up, and others stood up one after another. Zhu Houcong turned his back to them and looked up at the tree.

"In the Spring and Autumn Period, the princes did not obey the Emperor of Zhou. Although the world was not as chaotic as when the Seven Heroes were fighting for hegemony, the saying of unjust wars in the Spring and Autumn Period was still left. At that time, the sages lamented the hardships of the people's lives, and they all thought about a way out. At that time, a hundred schools of thought contended .”

It was already autumn, and Zhu Houcong twisted off a leaf that was almost completely dry.

"The seas have changed, and the dynasties have changed. The Qin Dynasty valued the law, and the early Han Dynasty advocated inaction, and then deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism. Today, I understand that you are all the leaders of the Confucian school, and you naturally understand it. Today, Confucianism has long been eclectic. , it is not as simple as the early years of Confucius and Mencius. In the Zhao and Song Dynasties, Neo-Confucianism was beginning to emerge, how many ideas from Buddhism and Taoism were absorbed? I attach great importance to the path of physics, and I also have the Mohist ideas of heavenly will and non-destiny."

Zheng Kui felt a little dizzy after hearing this. What kind of destiny or fate?
But Yang Shen was thinking.

In addition to the views of universal love, non-publicity, respecting the virtuous, and respecting unity, Mo Zhai also advocated other ideas.

The so-called will of heaven is to believe that heaven has its own "personality" and its own standards in addition to "human beings".Although it still emphasizes the humanistic perspective of doing things according to the system, it starts from the fact that craftsmen need to have external standards for measurement, so they can get twice the result with half the effort.

Instead of destiny, it denies the existence of destiny and emphasizes that those who rely on its strength will survive.Among them, people can change their lives by relying on their understanding of the world, using wisdom and hard work.

Why did the emperor say that the great principles of physics have the idea of ​​​​will of heaven and destiny?

Zhu Houcong turned around to face them, held the leaf and said: "When a person is born in the world, in just a few decades, the first thing is to survive. First, he needs to be fed and warm, then he wants to avoid disasters and diseases, and then he wants to talk. To be loved by relatives and friends, to have a good reputation and status. All of them are not lacking, like me and you, only your ideals and ambitions are left."

"But how many people in the world can pursue fame, status, and ideals and ambitions?" Zhu Houcong walked back and sat down. "Most of the living beings still spend their entire lives seeking food, warmth, stability, family, and harmony with neighbors." He said. When it comes to fame, status, ideals and ambitions, monarchs and ministers in the past dynasties often talk about their achievements in the prosperous times, but what is the real situation? Is it really true that all people in the world have no worries about food and clothing, and no disasters in their lives? "

"Let me tell you, the younger generations have inherited so much experience, and they are complacent with their small gains, calling it a prosperous age. Seeing this, the sages will probably shake their heads."

Those who can't shake their heads, the ministers don't know.But now that the emperor has said this, they at least have to lower their heads to express their shame.

To put it bluntly, isn't it the emperor who wants to take them to roll?

It's already hard to do this.There must be a wise king and wise ministers.

"The world is not so difficult." Zhu Houcong said firmly, "I have thought about it, and I am afraid that for thousands of years, monarchs and ministers have only focused on the path of human ethics. How to educate and shepherd, how to make government orders smooth, how to Fighting for power and profit. During the Xining Reform, Sima Guang even said that there is a quota for the world's wealth. The territory of Zhao and Song was far inferior to that of Tang. Doesn't Sima Guang know that the finances of Zhao and Song were several times that of Li and Tang?"

The emperor opened up the case, and Yan Song made a sad expression in his heart for Sima Guang, who was called by his first name by the emperor.

He knew that he probably had to get to the root of the problem: the distribution of benefits.

Zhu Houcong continued: "If you only focus on the avenue of human science, you will inevitably end up fighting with others! If you can't put your mind on the avenue of physics and create more wealth at the same time, and only focus on the avenue of human science, then naturally you can only do this in front of you. These interests are divided between left and right. However, those who directly create wealth in the world are not scholars, but farmers, industry and merchants, and they are those classes that are looked down upon by scholars."

"How much can be done about crop growth, seasonality, seeds, fertilizers, water conservancy, and farm tools? How much financial resources and energy have been spent here in the past? Persuading farmers only uses words and just shows. How can the construction of water conservancy ever last long? A complete plan and a complete system? It is even more difficult for craftsmen. Building roads, building houses, manufacturing armor, vehicles, and equipment...the things they do are all related to military affairs and the foundation of domestic stability, but many dynasties have treated them like slaves."

Yang Shen felt complicated.

...Your Majesty, this craftsman status was also determined by Taizu.When you say this, doesn't it mean you despise Taizu as well?
When the emperor said this, Zheng Kui's eyes turned red.

When he was still a nobody, how could he not experience the difficulties of craftsmen firsthand?

"As for the merchants... all the masters said that Zigong's utensil was Hulian. At that time, Hulian was used to hold millet in the ancestral temple, and it was an important temple utensil that matched the tripod. Just because merchants pursued profit, they Beat him to death with a stick. No matter how wealthy he is, he is already a high-ranking official in daily life, and he is still not allowed to wear silk."

Zhu Houcong looked around: "In terms of understanding of the path of human theory, later generations are now better than the sages. However, there are still gains and losses, and advantages and disadvantages. The sages have great contributions to the technology that benefits the country and the people, and to all walks of life." Later generations have lost a lot of their understanding of the avenue of physics. Even though there are still achievements, they have never really paid attention to it. "

After talking in such a long circle, his point of view returned to the key point: "This constitution is nothing more than rectifying the original source. The monarch and his ministers must change their minds and come up with ways to encourage all industries and people in the world to have the motivation to use their own efforts to continuously create more wealth and ensure that Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are not just in the same order as mentioned above. There are differences between top and bottom. There are systems that study the path of physics to help the Ming Dynasty create wealth and expand the total amount of benefits, and there are systems that follow the path of human science to allow people of different identities to distribute these benefits without causing harm. to a system that is excessively unfair and triggers civil unrest.”

"And this purpose is that all party members of the world's great harmony understand that there is a way to realize the ideal of world harmony. Although it is a long process, there are steps. This first step starts with letting the people of the world desire for food, warmth and stability. , don’t be complacent just because you have achieved something.”

"Is this first step difficult?"

The emperor asked, but no one dared to answer.Of course it's difficult.

The emphasis is on "both".

Who can guarantee that no one will be missed?
"It is indeed difficult, but there are ways!" Zhu Houcong also agreed, and then said, "To be full, you have to have more food. Grain seeds, water conservancy, farm tools, fertilizers, these things used to be arranged by me. This is not enough, if If there is still a shortage, go buy it and let people from other vassals plant it for the Ming Dynasty! If you want warmth, increase the production of cloth and reduce the cost of cloth. Build roads to lower the cost of transportation, and use the power of machinery to increase the production of cloth!"

"To reduce disasters and diseases, external feudal vassals should be used together to suppress bandits and maintain public security within the territory, so as to reduce military and bandit disasters. Natural disasters are predicted, but disaster relief and relief have so much experience in past dynasties, can't we really do it well? Almshouses and medical hospitals, These are things I have planned to do for a long time. Can epidemic prevention, intensive medical research, and training of more doctors become truly important tasks for the imperial court?"

At this point, Zhu Houcong pointed to Zheng Kui: "Why do I say that the steam engine he made can be said to usher in a new era? Because this is a huge step forward on the path of physics! As long as there is coal and workers to maintain it, , without animal power, water or wind power, this steam engine can run all the time. With enough raw materials, the looms can continuously produce cloth, and the people's thirst for warmth is expected to be satisfied. Starting from it, mining, iron smelting, utensils, trains and ships... will be started from it... Everything can be done with half the effort.”

"If a person originally created wealth at a rate of one tael a month, and in the future he can earn 100 taels, 1000 taels, or [-] taels a month, why should the monarch and his ministers still indulge in the path of human ethics, fighting over how to divide and spend the money? "

"But if I worry about these things alone, can that day come sooner? A hundred years from now, I will be inferior in everything but good at studying. Will there be a new prince?"

"If the world's wealth could be ten times or a hundred times what it is today, even if the gentry could not monopolize [-]% or [-]% of it as it is now, but even if it could only get half of it, how much would it be? But in exchange, all the people would be fed, warm and stable, and that would truly be the country. Forever. Not only do we have greater interests, but we also have a reputation that will make history proud, and we have accomplished such great things as world unification, so why not do it?"

There is naked analysis in the powerful words.

Zhu Houcong didn't say anything fair, which would inevitably appear naive and childish.Where can there be absolute fairness in the world? The total contradiction caused by everyone's pursuit of rewards can only be balanced in a certain state.

These remarks are nothing more than using his imagination of steam engines to hope that the top figures among these scholars can come to a state where they can really make the cake bigger and enjoy the new cake at the same time.

Don't focus on the profits of one-third of an acre of land every day, as if if you have more, I will have less.

But the basis of all rhetoric is the same: can the world's profit cake really be ten times or a hundred times what it is now?

If you only get half of it, you don't have to worry about it.At that point, it's not just about everyone's ability...

The ministers, who were a little uncomfortable because the emperor talked about "profit sharing" nakedly, all looked at Zheng Kui.

The emperor said these words to them because of the steam engine.

Opening up a new era... This steam engine contains the power to make the world's interests ten times or a hundred times what they are now?

Zheng Kui felt very uncomfortable.

In the Ming Dynasty, anyone who was stared at by the Prime Minister, Minister of State, General Staff of the Military Council, and the eight ministers of state would be terrified.

Except the emperor.

It must be the emperor with unparalleled prestige in front of him.

"...Your Majesty has worked so hard, and I all understand."

Yang Shen opened his mouth.

The reason why the emperor talks so much is not because he wants to actually establish the constitution and clarify the purpose later. He is afraid that there will be great disturbances among the gentry, and he needs to get the important ministers to unify their opinions first.

When people say that their thoughts need to be changed, aren’t they the first ones to change?

So he asked: "I don't know the use of this steam engine, but your Majesty knows it very well and is about to ask for advice."

Today is such an atmosphere of "talking around the fire at night", so it seems that the emperor is also ready to speak freely and let them understand first.

Here, there will not only be how to use new physical products such as "steam engines" to create enough wealth, but also some new methods of distributing this wealth.

And if they want to be able to help the emperor persuade the world after being "persuaded", then I'm afraid they still need a clear example that is clear enough for the Ming gentry to understand.

It is not difficult to discuss the constitution and purpose of this year's major national policy meeting first. With the current prestige of His Majesty and the imperial court, even if there are doubts, they can only brew and wait and see first.

In this process, clear examples are the best way to break doubts.

Zhu Houcong smiled: "It's still a long time, I will explain them one by one. The new Shihou is here, let's talk about the characteristics of the steam engine first."

So this class turned into a steam engine principle study class and a steam engine application seminar class.

Later, as evidence that the emperor believed that difficult problems of "disease" could be tried and studied carefully, Prince Rui was also called over with a microscope.

Only then did all the important ministers realize that they had not seen the world during the day.

Yan Song knew it, and his son told him.

But after all, no one has ever seen the "New World" in person.

The microorganisms in the water caught his eye, and the emperor felt uneasy about eating the banquet.

The microscope and the steam engine, two things that broke the cognition, appeared vividly in front of the eyes of the ministers. The world seemed to have become strange, so they were a little confused.

So in the confusion, the emperor, who was calm and confident, seemed more like a reliable leader.

But it is this leader who seems to have really lifted some of the fog that shrouded the words "World Harmony".

The hot-blooded 16-year-old Zhang Juzheng's blood boils just because these words are spoken, but these old people who have experienced the vicissitudes of the world will not be so easily moved.

Unless you really see a glimmer of possibility.

Huge iron boats powered by steam engines that did not rely on sails and were much larger than today's sea ships continuously transported cheap goods from overseas.

A factory that can smelt steel thousands of times the current output without stopping.

In the thick smoke, you can see the golden wealth.

And then there will be more.

This is why the emperor asked them to pay attention to the physical avenue.

The emperor said: Productivity is above all else, and physical avenues and technology are the primary productive forces!
(End of this chapter)