The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 133 Wang Wenlong’s style

Wang Wenlong said: "After such deduction, after studying the history and geography, we not only think that the customs of the natives on the Western islands are strange, but we can also learn from the past and the present to know where their customs came from."

Everyone in the audience was quite surprised. Some of them had heard about the custom of cutting hair and tattooing among the natives on Luzon Island, and also knew about the records of the ancient Yue people. However, they did not expect that the two may have the same origin. With Wang Wenlong’s example, we can understand what Wang Wenlong said about studying the role of countries from five aspects.

Wang Wenlong continued: "By studying the origin of a place's customs in this way, we can learn from each other's judgments, and even infer the future from the past."

Wang Wenlong first explained the mercantilist economics at this time to everyone: "There is a premise that everyone remembers. Although Western countries have different customs today, they all regard gold and silver as precious items. No matter which country you go to, as long as you take out gold and silver, you can always In exchange for food and clothing, so the so-called maritime trade of various countries today is to hoard more gold and silver for their own countries."

Then he picked up the "History of Portugal" in his hand:
"With this premise, let's look at the history of Portugal. Portugal is located in Europe, with a small country and poor people. It went overseas to buy spices from India, and then resold them to other European countries. If one tael of silver was used as the cost to buy them in India, The spices can be sold for 20 taels when returned to Europe. As a transit country, Portuguese merchants can gain as much as 19 taels. The Portuguese nobles can also benefit from tax collection. Naturally, the whole country is very concerned about going to sea. Huge support.”

"In our Ming Dynasty, if a Ming maritime merchant went to India to buy spices at a cost of one tael of silver, he could sell them for 20 taels when shipped back to the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty is the country where the goods are ultimately sold. Although as a transit merchant, he can receive 19 taels of silver. The profit of two taels, but from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty as a whole, it was a tael of silver spent in exchange for spices worth one tael of silver, and a net outflow of one tael of silver."

"Many scholar-bureaucrats think that spices are luxurious items that should not be eaten or drunk. It is naturally uneconomical to exchange my large silver for such luxury items."

"So the Ming Dynasty did not support going to sea before the Longqing Dynasty, until the Europeans discovered large silver mines in South America. The goods produced by the Ming Dynasty could be exchanged for more silver through sea trade than sold within the Ming Dynasty. This This business is profitable for the entire Ming Dynasty."

"The Spaniards discovered the Potosi silver mine 55 years ago and gradually excavated it. They came to Luzon to colonize 42 years ago and used a large amount of silver to exchange goods with our Ming Dynasty. By 34 years ago, our Ming Dynasty had a moon port switch. thing."

"This is another example where geography and economy determine national conditions."

By the time Wang Wenlong finished explaining the reasons for the Longqing switch in terms of international maritime trade, everyone in the audience was stunned.

Many well-educated scholars present also knew about the process of opening up the sea in Longqing, but no one really understood it from the perspective of international trade. Only then did they finally understand that the Longqing switch was a standard model of mercantilist economics. The decision is made naturally in order to collect the most gold and silver at the best time.

It is estimated that the behavior would be similar to other civilizations, but the difference in reaction speed is two years earlier and two years later.

Gu Xiancheng in the audience was open-mouthed. He was just 16 years old when the Longqing switch was opened, and he had just passed the scholar examination. He was living in Southern Zhili, and he still had fresh memories of the sudden announcement by the court that private individuals were allowed to trade east and west.

At the time, he only knew that it was the conflict of interests between different factions within the Ming Dynasty that finally prompted the governor of Fujian to submit a petition to open the sea. He never imagined that there was such a crude logic behind it.

The large silver mine discovered in South America actually directly dominated the direction of the Ming Dynasty 20 years later!
Wang Wenlong was here today to explain the study of national relations. He did not cover too much about the situation of the Ming Dynasty. Instead, he cited examples from various countries to explain the principles of colonial economy at this time.

Regarding Wang Wenlong from overseas countries, he can naturally explain it in a profound and simple way. Many topics were only briefly mentioned in the "History of Portugal" before.

His description directly outlined the operating logic of the colonial empires in the Age of Discovery, which dazzled the Wuxi scholars who had been thinking about the internal party disputes in the Ming Dynasty.

And Wang Wenlong's research methods are even more impressive.There are more ideas from those who are interested in the audience.

If overseas countries can be studied from a sociological perspective, is it also possible to study the Ming Dynasty?If these five points are followed, in what direction will Ming's social economy develop?
Finally, Wang Wenlong concluded: "At this time, the customs of different countries are different, but after careful study, these five observations are always behind it, and they are connected with each other. With these five people, we can understand the current situation of a country. This is my little experience."

After Wang Wenlong finished speaking, there was a round of applause from the audience.

Gu Xiancheng stood up in admiration and said: "What Jianyang said today is really thought-provoking. I didn't know that the overseas situation had such a complicated impact on our Ming Dynasty maritime trade."

Wang Wenlong said: "I dare not make fun of the Fang family because of my small skills."

He looked at the people in the audience and said, "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

A Confucian scholar in his thirties stood up in the audience and said, "I am Wuxi An Xifan."

Wang Wenlong quickly handed over his hand: "Hello, Mr. Xiao Fan."

An Xifan, nicknamed Xiaofan, was awarded Jinshi at the age of 24. Later, he was demoted to a civilian rank due to party disputes. He lectured in Wuxi. He is 36 years old this year. He is a typical figure that Donglin looks up to. He is one of the Eight Gentlemen of Donglin later.

Even though he has been demoted to the rank and file, he can be regarded as a martyr who failed in the party struggle. He resigned from office and did not leave office. He is a person with great prestige in the Donglin Party. If the Donglin Party does not fall, An Xifan's prestige will only increase. Wang Wenlong does not dare to neglect as he becomes stronger and stronger.

An Xifan said: "Jian Yang said that Portugal and other countries became rich due to business, so how do you think the Ming Dynasty should relax restrictions on merchants?" Wang Wenlong felt contempt in his heart. As expected, these Donglin Party members only want to help Jiangnan officials. Business class.

But the question had to be answered. Wang Wenlong thought for a while and said: "I can only offer my own opinion on this matter. Although European countries support business, they also have business taxes. Their support is to support merchants to develop overseas trade. Strive for more gold and silver for the country, but I don’t know whether this method can be applied to the Ming Dynasty."

Hearing this, An Xifan frowned. He thought that because European merchants had such a high status, they must be treated lightly by the state. However, according to what Wang Wenlong said, Europeans actually taxed merchants even when they went overseas to trade. If this method was used Daming, then the taxes on businessmen would not only increase but would not decrease, which instantly made him a little disappointed.

Fortunately, Wang Wenlong's explanation today was very effective. He did not express any resistance to Wang Wenlong. Instead, he thought about why European businessmen could continue to develop under such circumstances.

"Mr. Thank you." An Xifan sat down, and another scholar stood up next to him.

"Mr. Jianyang, can you tell me how the Europeans prepared their armaments?"

Wang Wenlong laughed when he heard the man's accent: "My friend seems to be from Nanjing, why are you asking here?"

The scholar said: "I met some European missionaries in Nanjing. They said that European firearms were extremely powerful. The flanges and other items used in the Ming Dynasty were also imitations of Europe. I also read "History of Portugal" written by Jianyang and couldn't help but be surprised. How this small country in Europe could develop such sharp artillery is a unique question."

Wang Wenlong nodded and explained: "I think that fighting is just like other skills, it is also acquired through practice. Since the great voyage of Europe, the national wealth has been increasing day by day, and they have competed with each other for territory. Territorial disputes have naturally intensified, and wars have continued. At the same time, countries have become increasingly rich, and various countries have become increasingly rich. If you have money to build elite equipment, your technology will naturally become stronger and stronger due to competition with each other."

Gu Xiancheng was quite surprised: "Is that true?"

Wang Wenlong nodded and explained the principle of competition promoting technological development, and then said to Gu Xiancheng: "I am currently writing a book "The Wealth of Nations" about my income from studying the economy, which includes a detailed explanation of the reasons for technological development."

Everyone nodded, and the scholar said: "Thank you sir for clarifying my doubts. I will definitely read your masterpieces in the future."

The man sat down and then a famous scholar stood up in the front row: "I, Xue Fujiao, have a question to ask Jianyang. Since Jianyang is also a member of my famous religion, why did he write "The Scholars" to satirize the seeds of reading?"

Hearing Xue Fujiao's question, Wang Wenlong sweated violently. He didn't expect that after writing "The Scholars" for so long, the boomerang finally came back.

Xue Fujiao is also one of the Eight Gentlemen of Donglin. He grew up in a poor family and had very strict requirements on himself. He only wore coarse clothes and ate coarse grains throughout his life. He never accepted gifts from others. He lived in seclusion for more than [-] years, and his family had nothing to grow. Every child has to work in the fields to feed themselves.

So don’t really think that the Donglin Party is a group of shameless literati who are only interested in profit. Xue Fujiao is a standard early Donglin Party cadre. He really believes in the Donglin Party’s ideals.

Wang Wenlong hurriedly explained: "The content of this book was written by me while searching for anecdotes from the Ming Dynasty overseas. At that time, it was just to ridicule the flashy literati in the world, and also to educate the world to punish evil and promote good."

Then he bowed his hands to everyone present and said: "Only when I meet you all here today do you know what the literati of the Ming Dynasty are like. The novel has been written. If you don't like it, sir, just go back and stop reading it."

Everyone present laughed when they heard this. They all liked Wang Wenlong's cleverness and free spirit. They felt that Wang Wenlong's lectures were lively and lively, which was very different from other rigid scholar-bureaucrats.

Xue Fujiao didn't make things difficult for him. He smiled, lifted up his tattered robe and sat back down.

Wang Wenlong had hosted a fan meeting in his previous life. He performed a one-man show and led hundreds of people present to make trouble for several hours. After getting used to the scene in front of him, he naturally handled it with ease.

He started his lecture in the morning and continued until mid-afternoon. No one present felt tired at all, and more literati came to listen to his lecture.

"Mr. Jianyang is really knowledgeable. It would be great if he could stay in Wuxi to give lectures."

"His ability to understand a country's situation is truly thought-provoking."

"Not only that, Jianyang's writing style is also wonderful. The Scholars he wrote is the most wonderful novel I have ever read. It makes people unable to put it down."

"I have heard of the title of this novel, but I have never read it. Now I am going to buy it and read it."

"Go together."

(End of this chapter)