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Chapter 809: Politics serves the economy

Will the Tsar be fooled? Hong Tao thinks there is a high probability that he will be fooled. This is not a conspiracy, but an open conspiracy. It is like borrowing money at the gambling table. You know that you may lose more if you borrow, but you still have to borrow. Because if you don't borrow, you will never get back what you lost, but if you borrow, you may get it back.

They waited for five days, rehearsed for an hour, performed two salutes, spoke two sentences, listened to three sentences, were scared to death in a cold sweat, received a few more gifts and a Ming Dynasty delegation. This was the entire process of the Russian delegation's first visit to the mysterious Eastern country.

Moreover, it was impossible not to bring it with you. The Ming emperor wrote a personal letter to the tsar, which was said to use the ancient Chinese characters, and needed members of the Ming embassy to translate it. So not only did you have to bring it with you, but you also had to carefully escort it to ensure that both the letter and the person arrived in Moscow safely at the same time.

"Mr. Envoy, can the cannon on the top of the city be made bigger?"

In fact, Petlin felt that he had made a profit. Not to mention the value of the clock and glass wine vessels given by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, just these ten young officials who could build large ships and cast cannons would allow him to get a considerable reward from the Tsar.

As for why the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty knew about the war between the Russian Empire and the northern countries, you can ask the devil. As long as it was not mentioned in the letter, I would never tell you.

From the moment we entered the territory of the Ming Dynasty, almost all the Ming army we met along the way were equipped with a large number of artillery and muskets. Looking at the population size in the capital, it was obvious whether we should easily offend this huge empire. It was indeed a good idea to develop westwards.

"As long as there is enough copper, we can make it as big as possible!" The envoys sent to the Russian Empire naturally came from the General Staff. Some were good at surveying and drawing maps, some were proficient in tax calculations, and some were good at building ships and casting cannons.

But don't be afraid, they are only junior technicians, they have no access to the core technology of building warships and armed cargo ships, and they don't know how to cast iron cannons. It's useless to torture them. But this doesn't affect their bragging to outsiders, they just brag as much as they can, which is just like the teacher's personality.

"Your Majesty, the Russian Empire and the Ming Dynasty are thousands of miles apart, with Mongolia and the Western Regions in between. Why do you attach so much importance to it?"

Yuan Keli immediately implemented the emperor's arrangement and quickly formed a delegation to the Russian Empire by drawing personnel from various places, but he was reluctant in his heart.

The reason is simple. The most important thing right now is to deal with the Mongolian tribes and the Jurchens. Even the tribes in the Western Regions are a long way off. Why bother about the vague Russian Empire?

Not only does this country sound strange, but it has never been linked to the Han dynasty in historical records. Isn't it a bit too worrying to prepare for a rainy day when we are so far away?

"Those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the present, and those who do not plan for the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region. You are the Chief of the General Staff, but you only focus on the periphery of the Ming Dynasty. The map I drew is the overall situation.

Let's take a closer look. If the Ming defeated the Jurchens and the Mongols, who would they face next? In addition to the various tribes of the Oirat in the west, there is the vast land in the north. Now the army of the Russian Empire has arrived here. Do you think it is still far away? "

Hong Tao was very annoyed to hear such remarks. From ministers to common people, they always wanted to live a quiet life behind closed doors, but no one was too lazy to open the window to see what others were doing. They always felt that danger was far away from them and was not worth worrying about.

I don't know when this habit of sitting in a well and looking at the world from a narrow perspective, and being ignorant and fearless, started, but it must end with me.

A country with hundreds of millions of people cannot always rely on one person to push it forward. The person should just take the helm, and there should be many people around to share the work and cooperate.

"North of the desert, there is little rain and drought, so farming is impossible. West of the Pamir Mountains, there are mountains and rivers that are difficult to cross. Your Majesty, besides dealing with the Jurchens and Mongols, do you want to continue westward?"

Yuan Keli stared at the map, as if it was the first time he looked at it, and took his eyes off it for a long while, but he still didn't understand the emperor's intention. It was agreed that the new policy would be implemented domestically to ensure that the people had enough food to eat, and that the threat from the Jurchens and Mongols would be eliminated externally to prevent the war from invading the south.

Why is it changed to "All under heaven belongs to the king" now? According to the map, the Ming Dynasty only occupies a fan-sized area on it. Does it mean that the entire rest of the wall must be taken down? Even if there are another 100 million ground troops and new troops, it will not be enough. "Li Qing, sit down first and have some hot cocoa."

Seeing Yuan Keli's face full of disbelief and surprise, Hong Tao did not dare to tell him the answer immediately, but found an excuse to slow down. He could not scare away this most capable partner, nor could he let him down. He had to think about how to persuade him.

"Your Majesty, I think it's time to promote the new policy in Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. The effect of the new policy in Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong, and Zhili is obvious to all. They have been ranked among the top four in taxation for three consecutive years, and the livelihoods of the local people are getting better and better. This is definitely not the result of arbitrary and extortionate taxation.

If we strike while the iron is hot and add a few more provinces with new policies, although we cannot say that we can catch up with the rest, it can benefit tens of millions of people and relieve the worries of the court and Your Majesty. "

Yuan Keli sat down, but he didn't touch the hot cocoa, and he didn't stop talking. He didn't intend to give the emperor an opportunity to take advantage of him, and he didn't discuss whether he should continue to move westward endlessly, but instead focused on the development of the New Deal.

This is his smooth side. After fully understanding the emperor's temper, he usually would not confront him head-on, but would try every means to persuade him in a roundabout way, using very covert and cunning methods.

At the same time, he was also a capable minister. He only knew how to confront the emperor, which was of no benefit to the country except for gaining a reputation for being upright. Things that could have been done could not be done because of his overly aggressive attitude, and in the end, the people were the ones who suffered.

"Well, that's right. That's exactly what I meant."

But this trick had almost no effect on Hong Tao. He first affirmed the other party's idea and showed that he was willing to take action, which made Yuan Keli feel good. Then he changed the subject and started teaching again.

"Li Qing, you and I have been working hard for more than ten years, bearing the pressure of being crushed to pieces, and pushing forward the new policies with all your might. What is the purpose?"

"Eliminate the old abuses, ensure that the people have enough food and clothing, ensure that the imperial court's policies are implemented smoothly, and ensure that the country and society can be sustained forever!"

Yuan Keli didn't even need to think about such a simple question, he answered it right away. And it was not perfunctory or clichéd. This is what the emperor said when he agreed to return to the throne, and he has been working in this direction over the years, so it must be considered sincere.

But to Hong Tao, these words were just bullshit. They might be used to get people excited, but they were completely useless.

Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Specific problems need to be analyzed specifically. Under the premise that the general direction remains unchanged, the operational details must be changed at any time to deal with unexpected events that may arise at any time.

“But have you ever thought that as the new policy is implemented, there will be more and more factories and farms everywhere, and more and more products and crops of all kinds.

Who would you sell all these things to? If you are not an official who sits high in the court and is oblivious to the suffering of the people, you will naturally understand that things are valuable because they are rare.

The more things there are, the lower the price will be. It sounds like the people will benefit from cheaper prices. But when the price drops to a certain level, neither the factories nor the farms will make any money.

By then, they will have to reduce production or even go bankrupt. What will happen to the workers who rely on wages to live, the farmers who rely on a good harvest after a year of hard work, and the imperial court that relies on collecting taxes to enrich the national treasury?
We can't wait until that point to think about it. By then, the more the factory produces, the more it loses; the more it plants, the less food the farmers will have to eat. It will be too late to think about change then.

This is called overcapacity and insufficient domestic demand. Once it happens, our efforts over the past decade will be wiped out in an instant, and we will be labeled as scourges to the country and the people, and will become sinners of the nation for generations to come."

(End of this chapter)