Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 407 Li Yu's "Theory of Contradiction and Relativity"

Zheng Hean pulled out the cork, and a pungent smell of alcohol and garlic hit him in the face.

moment,

His face was pale and his arms were trembling noticeably.

The guard at the Secretariat still looked calm and spoke in a calm tone:

"Sir Zheng, what's wrong with you? This is the medicine bestowed by His Majesty to heal the wound. It is a priceless treasure. Please drink it quickly so that I can go back and report."

……

Zheng Hean gritted his teeth and drank it all.

The white porcelain bottle was also turned upside down to show that "not a drop was left".

The guard carefully observed his expression and smiled:

"I'll take my leave, Lord Zheng. Please take good care of yourself. You should not take any other medicine within 6 hours."

After all,

He left quietly surrounded by guards.

Zheng Hean was left standing stupidly in the yard for a long time.

Back inside,

He lay down with his clothes on and his eyes closed.

The ups and downs of life keep revolving in my mind~
I fell asleep before I knew it.

When I woke up, it was already evening.

"I'm not dead?" Zheng Hean climbed up and said, "The wine that Your Majesty gave me was not poisoned?"

Get off the bed,
He felt full of energy and the discomfort seemed to have disappeared.

After waiting for another hour, even the frequent diarrhea every day did not reappear.

……

Zheng Hean laughed so hard that tears came out.

suddenly,
He understood that he was "judging others by one's own mean character" and actually thought that Your Majesty was one of those emperors who would be abandoned after the cunning rabbit dies.

the next morning,

Before Li Yu got up, he heard the maid's whispered report through the window.

"Your Majesty, there is a Lord Zheng Hean outside asking for forgiveness~"

Queen Hu Ling'er, who was sleeping with her, asked softly:
"Your Majesty~"

"Please change my clothes."

Li Yu looked normal. He changed into a cotton robe and put on a cloak.

He rinsed his mouth with green salt and willow twigs, washed his face with warm water, put on his boots, and then leisurely went to the front.

I don't know who came up with the idea of ​​"carrying a thorn stick to ask for forgiveness", but it's hard for Zheng Hean to think of this with his stubborn mind.

After the king and his ministers met,
Zheng Hean cried and kowtowed.

He told all his "secret" thoughts in detail.

Li Yu naturally reached out his hand to help him up and comforted him with gentle words. The emperor and his subject became harmonious, and any grudges that might have existed before were eliminated.

This handling was a well-considered decision.

The internal conflicts within the 2nd Legion cannot be punished severely, nor can they be let off lightly.

……

After seeing Zheng Hean off, Foreign Minister Jia Xiaozhen asked for a meeting.

Report while eating at the breakfast table.

The several pieces of propaganda work reported by Jia Xiaozhen were just a cover, mainly for the purpose of confessing that it was he who gave the idea to Zheng Hean.

"Lord Zheng came to visit me late at night, and I gave him a bad idea. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"Yeah." Li Yu didn't express his opinion and changed the subject directly. "What are the reactions of various groups in Wu now?"

"Ordinary people all support His Majesty."

"Although the businessmen were taxed, they had no complaints because they earned more and had a higher status than before."

"The gentry group was seriously torn apart. Some of them were engaged in industry and commerce, while others stayed indoors and isolated from the outside world."

"The scholars below the level of Xiucai have quite a few complaints, especially~"

Jia Xiaozhen paused for a moment.
Continue to add:

"Especially the older group of readers."

……

Li Yu wiped his mouth and nodded:
"That's understandable. It's normal for these people to feel resentful about the suspension of the imperial examination. But, where did you get the information?"

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Propaganda Department has more than 800 storytellers in various counties and prefectures. According to regulations, these people need to submit a brief report on local public sentiment every two weeks."

"well."

Seeing that His Majesty approved, Jia Xiaozhen asked tentatively:
"There is one thing I have been hesitant about. Should the Propaganda Department pay the storytellers' salaries in full or in part?"

"Huh?" Li Yu was stunned and asked, "How is it being implemented now?"

"The Propaganda Department subsidizes them with 8 coins of silver per month. These people also earn some income from storytelling in restaurants and teahouses. All in all, it should be close to or slightly higher than the clerks."

"Then why should they work seriously for the Propaganda Department?"

"I think it is a guarantee. With this semi-official status, the restaurant and teahouse owners dare not bully them, and the street hooligans dare not bully them either."

"Since this is the case, let's make it a precedent. Don't add more. Otherwise, it will become a heavy financial burden in the long run."

……

Li Yu is extremely generous in spending money in some aspects, but extremely cautious in some aspects.

Anyway,

He worked hard to create a healthy and reasonable financial system.

Money is vulgar.

But it is very practical.

From the daily life of ordinary people to the operation of the empire, they cannot do without this thing~
If money is spent wisely, the empire will not perish.

Even in the bad times like the end of Ming Dynasty and the end of Song Dynasty,

If Chongzhen and Huizong had been able to ensure the border troops' salaries and military merits in a timely manner, the soldiers would not have become disheartened and given up hope.

Even if we cannot win the foreign war, we can still fight back and forth.

Actually,
Even if you don't work hard in normal times, it will be useful to make up for the loss at the critical moment.

But the reality is that no one tries to mend the fence after the sheep is lost.

Everyone is waiting for the sheep to grow antlers and resist the wolves~
……

If we take the family ratio:

It's like there will be conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, conflicts between feudal patriarchs and young descendants, conflicts between brothers, conflicts between sisters-in-law, conflicts between husband and wife, and so on, which cannot be eliminated.

The fundamental factor is just one word – money!

Just imagine,
Your father, whose ideas are as old-fashioned as antiques and whose attitude is as rude as a warlord, first shows a card, and then madly teaches you how to be a person, how to do things, and to follow the three obediences and four virtues.

And you, who have worked as a civil engineer for more than ten years in a suburb 300 kilometers away from a big city, can tell there are several million dollars in the card just by touching its thickness.

At this time, he must be calm and humbly and politely pour wine for his father:
"Dad, I think what you said is very good. If you can speak well, please speak more. I love to listen."

and,
The basic logic of a family and a country is essentially the same; it is just the same problem magnified billions of times.

……

Anyway,

Contradictions are like reefs and will always exist.

Money is like a lake, ups and downs.

But as long as the water level rises, it will submerge most of the reefs.

Don't rush to resolve conflicts, because once you resolve an old conflict, a new one will immediately arise.

Contradictions can never be resolved.

When the day comes when humans no longer exist, contradictions will naturally disappear.

Therefore, the correct way to deal with large ships and reefs should be to blast a very small number of reefs on the main channel, and then raise the water level to submerge the remaining reefs.
……

The results of the first civil service examination of the Wu State were announced.

2000 out of 400 candidates were admitted.

Five to one, that's a pretty impressive ratio.

Countless people are eagerly waiting to find their names on the big red list.

"Oh, I won, I won." A middle-aged scholar from Huangpi, Hubei, burst into tears and raised his arms high.

He sneaked in from Qingtong District.

After experiencing the White Lotus Rebellion and the tug-of-war between government officers and soldiers, my family had already been devastated.

By chance, he heard that the State of Wu was recruiting talented people, and he had failed the provincial examinations nine times, so he immediately became interested.

He sold his property and bought a small boat, and miraculously arrived in Suzhou.

He was overexcited.
He sat on the ground and cried without any image.

But no one laughed at him. Except for a handful of gifted geniuses, all normal candidates could understand this kind of sadness, especially those who were older.

……

The failed students were in low spirits.

After all, even with a five to one ratio, they still failed to make the cut. Either their skills were really not good enough, or their attitude was problematic.

suddenly,

1 Ride a fast horse and hold a small red flag high, shouting along the street:
"Your Majesty has shown special favor and selected another 300 people from the failed candidates to serve as civil servants."

"The clerks in Wu are contract-based, with a five-year term, which cannot be renewed after expiration. The monthly salary is five taels. His Majesty has said that you can work while preparing for the exam, and strive for a bright future."

The patrol station unrolled an extremely long list of names to be named.

The shortlisted scholars were very excited, and they rushed to Daoqian Street to kowtow and express their gratitude.

Although being a clerk was not an official, it was a serious job after all, with an income of five taels per month, which was enough to support one's rent life.

Work during the day and study at night.

Strive to pass the civil service entrance examination within 5 years~
Smart people have discovered that the content of Wu’s examinations is very special and there is nowhere to study.

Working as a clerk in the government office, I can understand Your Majesty's new ideas the fastest through daily clerical work, and the starting line for the next exam will be different.

In the past,

The aristocratic families monopolize precious books and the masters' interpretations and explanations.

Nowadays, the new learning is close to the literati.

It’s equivalent to an official tutoring class that also awards scholarships!
……

Liu Qian, director of the Intelligence Bureau, returned to Suzhou to report on his work.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you~"

"Lord Liu, have you not had lunch yet?"

"Your Majesty, I came in a hurry~"

"Sit down and eat together. There's a little more food today."

Liu Qian quickly stood up, took the chopsticks from the maid and sat down. Eating at the same table was a special courtesy from His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, those scholars outside who are kowtowing?"

"Oh, I have selected some of the failed candidates with a positive attitude. There is a severe shortage of civil servants nowadays, so as long as they have a positive attitude, they can be given a chance."

There is only one criterion for selecting clerks:
See whether the answer to the test question "Why did Wu eventually replace the Qing Dynasty?" clearly praises Wu and criticizes Qing.

……

Anyone who has a clear stance, fiercely criticizes the Qing court, attacks Qianlong himself, and praises the Wu Kingdom will do.

I am not afraid of being excessive, I am only afraid of having an "ambiguous attitude".

Among the test papers, dozens implicitly stated that although the Qing court was a barbarian government, some of its measures were worthy of recognition.

There were also hundreds of submissions that were relatively mild in tone and not critical enough.

In fact, Li Yu also understood.
“Moderates” are not necessarily disloyal.

“Radicals” may not be truly loyal.

But when it comes to hiring people now, I can only choose people in a simple and rough manner.

after all,

The Qing Dynasty was still a behemoth, and brutal wars were still the mainstream.

We must never allow “moderates” to enter the civil service, so as not to give the world the wrong impression.

……

"The Intelligence Agency is doing a great job. Are you having any financial difficulties?"

Liu Qian was secretly delighted and whispered:
"Yes, I hope Your Majesty will allocate another 100 million taels."

Seeing Li Yu hesitate, he quickly lowered the price:
"Seven hundred thousand taels will do."

Li Yu picked up a chicken leg for him and said with a smile:

"Now that we are spending money everywhere, the finances are indeed a bit tight. However, I have seen your contributions, and I will squeeze out 120 million taels for you!"

"Your Majesty~" Liu Qian held the chicken in his mouth, his eyes slightly red.

"I trust you. You can spend as much as you want. Intelligence work has its own particularity and we will not check your accounts."

Liu Qian couldn't help sobbing.

Li Yu smiled and said:

"Don't act like a little girl. Let's talk while we eat. Can you tell me about the work of the Intelligence Agency?"

"Yes."

Liu Qian calmed himself down and began to talk about the main activity areas of the Intelligence Agency's spies - the capital, Huaishui (northern Anhui and northern Jiangsu), and northern Fujian.

“Is there anything unusual in Fujian?”

"Bilateral business is going smoothly. Wang Danwang is very good at using both kindness and power to win over his subordinates." Liu Qian suddenly realized that this was a bit presumptuous, and immediately changed the subject, "But the Shi family of Jinghaihou in southern Fujian is a bit strange."

Li Yu drank his soup while motioning for you to continue.

……

"The Shi family of Marquis Jinghai has countless students and former officials under their command. They actually control the Fujian Navy and have great influence in the two prefectures of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou."

"Is there a conflict between the Shi family and Wang Danwang?"

"That's the weird thing. The local tyrants and the foreign invaders are doing their own thing, and there is a clear distinction between them."

Li Yu put down his chopsticks in thought:
"What do you think?"

"I think the Shi family will do something behind our backs."

"What role will Wang Danwang play in this?"

"I'm afraid Wang Danwang has underestimated the Shi family. Old Wang's mind is full of gold and silver. Qianlong misjudged him."

The emperor and his ministers couldn't help laughing.

Wang Danwang's father was Wang Shi, the governor of Jiangsu.

Master Wang is an upright person, a man of integrity, and works diligently. He is the same kind of person as Zhu Gui and Wang Jie.

Later he died while serving as the governor of Jiangsu.

Out of love for his son, Emperor Qianlong promoted his son Wang Danwang, who was only a juren at the time, to high positions, and he successively served as magistrate of Gaolan County, prefect of Ningxia, and governor of Gansu.

Qianlong feels that I treat your Wang family so well.

Wang Dan hopes that you will be grateful and work hard for me.

……

In fact, this is a misunderstanding.

Qianlong thought he was being very kind, but Wang Danwang felt resentful.

What he was thinking was,

My father worked hard for you, lived an honest life, and eventually died as governor. But you issued an imperial decree to send me to Gansu to gain experience?

Why don’t you let me gain experience in Jiangsu?

Is Jiangdu County in Yangzhou not good? Is Shangyuan County in Jiangning not good? Is Yuanhe County in Suzhou not good?

You have to go to a place where you can't make any money.

Wang Danwang was filled with resentment.

He felt that he could not be like his honest father, who had spent his whole life without gaining anything.

In his eyes, "Jian is in the emperor's heart" and "leaving a name in history" are just tricks.

Silver! That’s the real thing.

Old man Qianlong, you had a lot of fun building your garden and traveling to the south of the Yangtze River.

The bunch of young men from the Imperial Household Department held lucrative positions in various places and made a lot of money.

Let me learn from saints?
……

When in Gansu, Wang Danwang thought for a long time and found a way to embezzle with the least impact - donating money to prison to impersonate relief!
There is clearly no disaster, but major disasters are reported every year.

The money obtained from selling the students was divided among everyone, and then the court was told that the collected grain was distributed to the victims. The method was quite clever.

But what is even more brilliant is that

He took the lead in breaking the Qing court's secret memorial system and brought together officials from all over the province to deceive Emperor Qianlong.

So many officials who could have submitted secret memorials to Emperor Qianlong on their own remained silent, making the emperor, who was thousands of miles away, deaf and blind.

Since then,

Wang Danwang's awe of the emperor dropped greatly.

When they arrived in Fujian, they mastered this skill to perfection.

Except for the two prefectures of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, he replaced one-third of the officials in other prefectures and counties.

The governor stationed in Fuzhou, the general of Fuzhou, and the governor of Fujian (land) all became accomplices.

Only the admiral of the navy stationed in southern Fujian and the Shi family of Jinghai Hou were relatively less affected, but they also acquiesced in Wang Danwang's "trade reversal."

……

(End of this chapter)