unclear

Chapter 490 Measurement
"This... what should I do?" Wang Xiangqian really didn't want to give Xu Guangqi and Wang Zheng eye drops behind their backs. He just looked at Qi Qi Qi and asked casually. He didn't expect it to be so unbearable.

"I don't have any good ideas to think of. Industry is not a gift from God, but a creation of man, which goes against the laws of nature. However, if we do not develop industry and rely solely on farming, we will not be able to keep the people fed and clothed, nor can we protect the country from foreign forces." Prisoners are in a dilemma.

Aiqing may not have visited the Yongding River in the west of the city, where the situation is even worse. The wastewater discharged from coking plants, iron smelting plants, coal washing plants and alkali plants is even more toxic, affecting everyone on both sides of dozens of miles of waterways.

Wanping County has complained to the public many times, saying that most of the crops used by farmers near the river to irrigate the river have withered and the harvest is almost gone. I can only give up a few imperial villages and move the farmers who were affected by the disaster. There is no other way.

Zi Kuo, it is true that factories are harmful, but it is obvious to all that factories are beneficial. As an emperor and a minister, you can only choose one of the two, and you cannot give up eating because of choking. If the benefits are great, then progress will be made; if the disadvantages are great, then stop.

If the factory is to be developed, it will infringe on the interests of some farmers, and they will definitely oppose it. If it were my farmland that was left with no harvest, I would definitely not agree to it. But looking at the overall situation, if one factory can equal the harvest of a hundred farmers, it will still make a profit even if it damages fifty of them.

This is true for factories, and so is the New Deal. Opposition is certainly inevitable, but the trend is irreversible. As long as the New Deal can make more people fed and clothed, I will not give up easily. Anyone who wants to stop it and does not listen to advice is my enemy. There is only life and death, and there is no third way.

It's not that I deliberately killed the courtiers, nor did I want to create an emperor and a courtier, but the old path in the past is no longer working. With Taicang becoming increasingly empty day by day and the weak frontier army, how can we differentiate ourselves from the wolf-like and tiger-like Beilu and Jianlu?
It is not wise to go against me or the New Deal. Smart people should not reject the New Deal at this time, but should study it carefully, find opportunities to actively participate, and give full play to their own advantages to benefit from it. At the same time, help me guide the direction of the New Deal and strive to avoid detours. "

Faced with the concerns of courtiers, Hong Tao not only has no solution, but also faces this dilemma frankly. There is no way to solve industrial pollution. Not only cannot it be solved, we must also intensify efforts to pollute ourselves.

Over a long period of time, the extent and coverage of industrial pollution will be directly proportional to economic development. Which state or county has serious pollution will have rapid economic development. The local people will be rich, and the state and county officials will have good political performance. If anyone can turn Bohai Bay into a smelly pond, Hong Tao is willing to give him the title of King with a different surname!
By the same token, both the New Deal and industry had positive aspects and negative aspects. The effects seen by the common people, gentry, officials, nobles and emperors from different angles will definitely be different, or even completely opposite.

As the emperor and important ministers of the court, what we should do at this time is not to blame each other, be suspicious of each other, and undermine each other, but to determine through rational analysis whether the disadvantages or benefits are greater, find the true answer, and then pursue the advantages and avoid the disadvantages.

The reason why Hong Tao extended the scope from industrial pollution to government affairs was to remind Wang Xiangqian what he should and should not do. This Minister of War was promoted by himself with his own approval. Even if he cannot become a royalist, it is best not to stand on the opposite side.

"I am terrified... I have never had any intention of resisting the New Deal since I was lucky enough to be in a high position. My family has invested in a factory in Shandong, and thanks to His Majesty's blessing, they have gained a lot. But as His Majesty said, whether it is the factory or the New Deal Association, Someone has been harmed, and there is nothing I can do about it, so I can only let it go and stay away."

This was already the second time the emperor talked to himself alone. The last time was to build up the army, and the facts proved that what he said was true. Wang Xiangqian also had a rough guess about what was going on this time.

Now that the emperor has made it clear, stop pretending to be dumbfounded and tell the truth. The Wang family has already tasted the sweetness of the New Deal, and even if they are not royalists, they will never stand on the opposite side. As for talking about others, I'm sorry, I really can't control it, and I don't want to get involved.

"Keep a respectful distance...that's a good word to use. I'll wait and see."

Hong Tao can accept Wang Xiangqian's attitude. He comes from a family of officials, with many uncles, uncles, and cousins, most of whom are serving in the court. He must be very sensitive and wary of changes to the system. Being able to achieve lawful neutrality is no longer a problem. Easy.

"Wang Chengen, tell me to go down. I will stay at Ma Jinglun's house for a day and send someone back to Beijing to ask Zhou Daodeng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, to go to Tongzhou to meet him." With Wang Xiangqian's statement, the current situation in the court became somewhat clear.

Among the three cabinet bachelors, Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe have already been branded as royalists and will not change their families easily until the outcome is clear. Weng Zhengchun is not used to some of the practices of the New Deal, but he is quite satisfied with the effects of the New Deal. For the time being, he can only be considered a swinger.

Among the six ministers and nine ministers, Zhao Shiqing, the minister of household affairs, must be an unshakable neutral. He doesn’t ask for much and is relatively easy to satisfy. If he could not force the Ministry of Accounts to bleed a lot of money and prevent the Ministry of Lending from borrowing money, he would be the most loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to Zhao Shiqing, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Wang Xiangqian, the Minister of War, who have already expressed clear attitudes, the situation of Liu Yuanlin, the Minister of Industry, is also relatively reassuring. Ever since he was promoted after the explosion of Wang Gong Factory, he has always been grateful to the emperor for his discernment. He has not missed a team for eight years.

In addition, Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Wang Zheng, Zhao Shizhen and others are all his subordinates. In the eyes of outsiders, the entire Ministry of Industry is basically a royalist stronghold. Even if he wants to change his ways, no one would dare to accept him.

Yang Tingyun, the Minister of Rites, was from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Shen Yingwen, the Minister of Punishments, was from Yuyao, Zhejiang, and Zhou Daodeng, the Minister of Personnel, was from Suzhou, South Zhili. They were all strongholds of bureaucratic capital and scholar-bureaucrats, and were also areas where opposition to the New Deal was most concentrated.

It will definitely not work for them to play interest exchange. The New Deal and bureaucratic capital are fundamentally mutually exclusive. They cannot urinate in the same pot, so they cannot become a community of interests, even temporarily.

At this time, it was time to rely on the emperor's personal charm. According to Hong Tao's observation and judgment, Zhou Daodeng, the official minister who was always unwilling to get involved in court battles, should be the most likely to be persuaded.

Even if it doesn't work, he still has to come to Tongzhou to meet him. As long as they go there, some people will be beating the drum in their hearts. After returning, they will ask carefully and they will not understand anything. The more he said that the emperor didn't say anything, the less those people believed him.

Sowing discord and raising suspicion is also a common tactic in political struggles. As for whether it will have any effect in the end, who knows, just hit three poles first if there are jujubes or not.

Yang Tingyun, the Minister of Rites, was a good friend of Li Zhizao and a Christian of Matteo Ricci. He believed in Christianity and would most likely support the New Deal. At the end of the day, he was also a neutral. With Xiong Sanba, a servant of God, there is no need to do the persuasion work himself.

Shen Yingwen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, is more troublesome. He has a conflict of interest and a political dissenter, and he has little personal connections with the royalists. The role played by the Ministry of Punishment in this murder was very subtle, and it seemed to have played a leading role. So don’t fight for it for now, just wait and see.

Liu Zongzhou, the general envoy, was from Shanyin and also belonged to the Southern Zhili Group. Moreover, he was a master of Neo-Confucianism. He was not on good terms with the Donglin School and looked down upon Li Zhi's Taizhou School. He was very particular about etiquette, and he also emphasized governing the country with benevolence, which was incompatible with the New Deal. It was difficult to persuade him, so he also gave up temporarily.

Xu Honggang, the censor of Zuodu, was from Dongyang, Zhejiang. He came from a family of officials. He was a member of the Zhejiang Party. He had a good official reputation, dared to give direct advice, and had strict requirements on himself. However, good personal ethics does not mean that you are a good official. The habit of having your butt determine your head has been found in later generations as well as in ancient times.

His origin and upbringing environment meant that he was destined to focus on safeguarding the interests of his family and class. The more wealthy and prominent the family, the harder it was to escape. At this time, the advantages have become constraints that restrict their flexibility and long-term vision. It is too difficult to convince them.

In the end, there was still Gao Panlong, the minister of Dali Temple. He was originally the leader of Donglin. He had firm beliefs and will. Even after the collapse of Donglin Group, he remained unchanged and insisted on his views.

The reason why he was given this important task in the first place was to restrain other factions, so as to avoid the emergence of a single one. After a few years, the effect is obvious, but the side effects are also quite serious.

This guy doesn't play by the rules at all. He clings to his fixed ideas and refuses to change. He always believes that the implementation of the New Deal will do more harm than good. Although he didn't deliberately do anything against him, he did cause trouble a lot.

The problem is that he does his job very well, his official reputation is increasing day by day, and he really can't find any faults other than constantly following the law and causing trouble. It's not Hong Tao's wish to dig holes and harm people on trumped-up charges. How about persuasion? Forget it, he can stand wherever he likes, it's up to him.

(End of this chapter)