At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 535: Xu Fan's limitations and the conflict of dealing with the princes

After communicating with Zhang Pijiang, Xu Aimin immediately found Xu Fan in the laboratory.

At this time, Xu Fan and a group of craftsmen were tinkering with some metal parts. Xu Aimin saw many springs and gears, which were installed together tightly, giving a steampunk feel.

Xu Aimin shouted, "Father!"

Xu Fan stopped him and said, "Now is a critical moment, if you have anything to say, wait a moment."

Master carpenter Wu Shang said, "Your Majesty, now that it has been installed, you will be the one to wind it up."

Xu Fan was not a good choice either. He inserted the key into the hole and kept turning it in circles, making a "clicking" sound.

After the spring was wound up, a "da da da" sound was heard, and along with the sound, a brass ornament kept shaking from side to side.

Xu Fan asked: "What time is it now?"

Wu Shang said: "One quarter after noon."

Xu Fan calculated and put the hour hand at eleven and the minute hand at six.

"Now let's see if the time is correct. Someone bring me an hourglass."

A young craftsman was holding a glass hourglass that looked like a toy in later generations. It took half an hour for all the sand in this hourglass to leak out, which could be considered a timekeeping tool in the Han Dynasty today.

That's right, what Xu Fan made is a clock, a large grandfather clock that is no longer seen in later generations, but can be seen in many TV dramas during the Republic of China period. As the Han Dynasty's industry develops better and better, the demand for accurate time is getting higher and higher. Now the Han Dynasty generally determines the time by looking at the sundial, hourglass, etc. There are large copper bells between cities to tell time, roughly ringing once every quarter of an hour.

But these all have certain limitations, so Xu Fan thought of making a table clock. The Han Dynasty already had the technology to produce it, but no one had thought of inventing a clock, so Xu Fan simply led the research team to make it himself.

At this time, Xu Fancha put his hand over to Xu Aiming and said, "Why did you come to see your father instead of Zhang Pijiang?"

Xu Aimin told Xu Fan about the events in Tianzhu, and then said seriously, "Father, Hu Hai has become so powerful in Tianzhu that he can't get rid of him. Haven't you noticed?"

Xu Fan said: "Everything Hu Hai did was under the surveillance of the Weiwei. How could your father not know? In fact, even your father did not expect that Hu Hai was so capable. What he did in Tianzhu was the same as what my father did in the Han Dynasty, clearing the remnants of slavery and paving the way for industrial development. This is something that many princes of my Han Dynasty have not done. In recent years, the Tianzhu market has been the largest overseas commodity market and raw material production base of my Han Dynasty. His contribution to my Han Dynasty is no less than that of a marquis. If it were not for his special status, your father would have made him a prince of my Han Dynasty long ago."

His impression of Hu Hai was that he was a prodigal son in history and a tyrant who killed his own brother. (Xu Fan didn't know that Hu Hai not only killed Fusu, but also spared all his brothers and sisters.) But he believed that Hu Hai's responsibility for the demise of the Qin Dynasty was less than 30%, so he didn't have much resentment towards Hu Hai, and was even a little surprised at Hu Hai's ability.

Xu Aimin said anxiously: "Opening up the market is not the most important thing. You don't have to worry about Hu Hai rebelling in Tianzhu."

Xu Fan said as if he had heard something funny: "Don't worry. Ninety percent of the people in Tianzhu Trading Company are from the Han Dynasty. What can Hu Hai use to rebel? And even if he rebels, Tianzhu has the South China Sea Fleet stationed on the Gem Island. It will be easy for the Han Dynasty to wipe out Hu Hai with its military strength."

He found it funny when he thought about someone rebelling against the Han Dynasty in India. The fighting capacity of the Indians had remained stable for thousands of years, but they were simply unable to defeat any invaders. The period with the most abundant martial virtues in Indian history over thousands of years was under the leadership of Niu Niu.

But obviously Xu Aimin is not Xu Fan. He has not seen the combat effectiveness of the Indian army, nor does he know about the decline of India in the past two thousand years. Instead, he looks at India according to the standards of the Han Dynasty.

In Xu Aimin's eyes, India has a large population, a pleasant climate, and fertile land. Except for the fact that it is controlled by monks and has weak combat effectiveness, it is an extremely prosperous civilization. If a figure like the First Emperor appeared, India would instantly become a threat to the Han Dynasty.

Xu Aimin said earnestly, "Father, India is a civilization with a population of tens of millions. If it were to be unified into an empire, it would be too threatening to the Han Dynasty. In the south, it could cut off the Han Dynasty's sea routes to Yanzhou and Qinzhou. In the north, it could cut off the Han Dynasty's connection with the Xiongnu Kingdom, and even attack the Western Regions. From the perspective of the Han Dynasty's global strategy, if India were to break away from the Han Dynasty's control, it would seriously affect the Han Dynasty's hegemony and cause the Han Dynasty's power to retreat tens of thousands of miles."

To a certain extent, if the Han Dynasty wanted to establish global hegemony, it had to first control the New World and second control India. These two places were the two hands of the Han Dynasty extending outward. As long as one of them was broken, the hegemony of the Han Dynasty would be in jeopardy. If both were broken, the Han Dynasty could only retreat back to Shenzhou, and its global hegemony would face collapse.

Xu Fan was stunned when he heard Xu Aimin's words. It sounded like there was some truth to them. He had never thought about the Han Dynasty's global strategy. The only thing he could think of was that once the Han Dynasty had digested the New World, it would naturally become the dominant power.

But will the status of overlord come naturally? Will powerful countries thousands of miles away submit to you just because your Han Dynasty is strong?

This may be the limitation of Xu Fan. In the era he lived in, people were still trying to replace the old hegemon and become the new hegemon. As for becoming the global hegemon and what strategy to use to maintain hegemony, how could he think of it when he had no idea about it?
Even on the Internet, few keyboard warriors have discussed this. Which strategic locations need to be occupied, which regions need allies to jointly rule, no, none at all, it is a bit helpless to say that they have been the hegemon for thousands of years, but have never been the hegemon of the world, Xu Fan has no experience in this regard.

But Xu Aimin was different. The technology of his era might not be as good as that of later generations, but the Han Dynasty he lived in did not need a comprehensive revival, but was in an unprecedented era of great expansion. After the global exploration, the Han Dynasty had already understood various civilizations. The new generation like Xu Aimin naturally believed that the Han Dynasty was the world hegemon and should dominate the world. Xu Aimin had no idea how many times he had read the world map. He and Chen Mai had no idea how many times they had discussed which important places the Han Dynasty should occupy and how it should rule the world.

Xu Fan thought for a moment and asked, "What do you think?"

Xu Aimin said, "Father, Tianzhu is too important to the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty cannot afford to lose Tianzhu. This is not only the loss of a market of tens of millions of people, but also the addition of a powerful enemy in the heart of the Han Dynasty. So I think that Tianzhu cannot be unified under one power. It is best for Tianzhu to be divided, like the Spring and Autumn Period. It would be best if there is a prince to suppress Tianzhu. My third brother is about to come of age, and he can go to Tianzhu to be a vassal, or even directly replace the Tianzhu Trading Company and establish a vassal state on the territory occupied by the Tianzhu Trading Company, so that my third brother can become the king of Tianzhu."

After thinking for a while, Xu Aimin continued, "The prince's suppression model can also be used in other places. Within the sphere of influence of our Great Han, the distance between the continents is too far. It takes almost three months of sailing to go to the new continent, and there are still certain risks. The court has no way to control the princes of each continent. The model of the governor's office is not suitable for the new continent. The governor of our Great Han is just an officer with a salary of two thousand stones, and the major vassal states are either dukes or marquises. Their status is far above the governor. I can barely mobilize them as a prince, but it would be difficult if I were just an officer. I think each continent must establish a kingdom belonging to the royal family. With the prince suppressing the princes of the continent, these continents will not be out of the control of our Great Han, and the power of the princes will not expand excessively."

After listening to Xu Aimin's words, Xu Fan sighed inwardly. His era has finally come to an end. Now he can't even compare to the strategic vision of people of this era. The only thing left is some guiding role in the development of science and technology.

So Xu Fan said: "I am about to retire, and you can do what you want after you take over the throne."

Since his son was already so good, he should let him lead the Han people to move forward. At this time, Wu Shang came over and said happily: "Your Majesty, the clock is a success. Its error is within one-thirtieth of an incense stick. With one calibration every day, the error can be controlled within one cup of tea."

A cup of tea in the Han Dynasty is roughly equivalent to about ten minutes in later generations. This accuracy can be considered a bad watch in later generations, but it is sufficient in this era.

Xu Fan smiled and said, "Okay, even if our clock is successfully developed, I will pay for the construction of a clock factory, Wu Shang, you will be the factory director, I will give you 5% of the shares, and the craftsmen in the laboratory will have 5% of the collective shares. Then you can develop in two directions. One is to develop in large scale, build a kind of outdoor clock, and place it on a high platform, so that all the people of our Han Dynasty can know what time it is just by looking at the clock. The second is to develop in miniaturization, preferably small enough to be put in the arms or worn on the hand. Our Han Dynasty's industry is becoming more and more prosperous, and the pursuit of time efficiency is getting higher and higher. There will be a huge market for pocket watches and wristwatches. As long as everyone works hard, everyone can become a millionaire."

Wu Shang and others cheered excitedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then Xu Fan moved the clock to where he lived. The adults didn't care and just looked at it out of curiosity. But Xu Shao and Xu Ling liked the clock very much. Not only did they look at it every day, but they also had to wind it up themselves. And you couldn't let only one person wind it up, because the person who didn't wind it up would surely cry bitterly. So Xu Fan could only let the two of them turn it a few times each.

The arrival of these two little people brought endless joy to this family. Chen Xiu even took a special leave to look after these two little ones. They visited the zoo in Chang'an City and took them to see pandas, phoenix birds, alpacas from the New World, and elephants from the South. It can be said that with the expansion of the Han Dynasty's borders, the Chang'an Zoo has a rich variety of animals, including tall, strong, and beautiful ones. In short, any animal that is hard to see can be seen here. She also took them to watch several football games and several operas. They visited all kinds of fun and beautiful places in Chang'an City.

On October 20th, the 29th year of the Han calendar, the Wise Men’s Assembly was held.

In front of all the wise men in the Han Dynasty, Xu Fan formally appointed Xu Aimin as the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty, and appointed Xu Aimin as the Right Inspector of Taxation.

Not many people were surprised at the meeting, as the Han people had already anticipated this appointment. After all, the second prince had been granted a fiefdom in the new continent, and the third prince was not yet an adult. The emperor had been training the eldest prince over the years, and he was training him as his successor. Everyone could see that.

This open relaxation made the Han officials like it even more. If there was a three-way fight for the throne, the ambitious Han people might like it, but the high officials hated this kind of instability. They were too busy with the government affairs of the Han Dynasty to handle it, and if they were to engage in these intrigues and internal struggles, who would have the energy to do anything?

How good it is now, no one has to make a choice, just follow the existing rules of the Han Dynasty. The Han Empire has a legal successor, and the inheritance of the empire is guaranteed, which is good for everyone.

Then, at the meeting of princes, the envoys of the Xiongnu Kingdom criticized Liu Bang verbally and in writing, saying that helping a foreign country attack the Han army was simply an act of treason.

The curses of the Xiongnu envoy, especially the word "traitor", directly angered the good-tempered Pei Hou Liu Ying. He drew his sword on the spot and wanted to teach the Xiongnu envoy a lesson for his outrageous words.

But they were stopped by other princes of the Han Dynasty. It was not that they wanted to protect the envoys of the Xiongnu. In fact, even now, not many princes of the Han Dynasty accepted the Xiongnu. They were like outsiders entering the princes' assembly of the Han Dynasty. Only the Kushan Kingdom was close to the Xiongnu. The two countries were outliers among the entire Han Dynasty's vassal states, and they had never been very welcome within the Han Dynasty.

However, the Xiongnu envoy was eight feet tall and looked like a very strong man. Although Liu Ying was also tall, that was only relative to ordinary people. He might not be his opponent if he rushed forward.

The Xiongnu envoy saw this and knelt down to complain to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the old Marquis of Pei did such a thing and did not reflect on it. If the emperor does not punish him, where is the dignity of the Han Dynasty? In the future, will the vassal states of the Han Dynasty disobey the orders of the emperor and attack the vassal states of the Han Dynasty at will? How is this different from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period when rituals and music were in disarray? When Han rituals are no longer in effect, all the vassal states in the world will surely be in danger."

The words of the Xiongnu envoy brought silence to the scene, especially to the small princes of the Han Dynasty. You have to know that the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were only a few decades ago, and they still remembered those stories clearly. If the Han Dynasty fell into the situation of the Zhou Dynasty, it would be a disaster for these small princes. At the beginning, the Western Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed hundreds of princes, and after hundreds of years of annexation, only the Seven Kingdoms of the Warring States Period remained by the Warring States Period.

In this chicken-eating competition that lasted for hundreds of years, 99% of the vassal states were destroyed, and the smaller the vassal state, the more difficult it was to survive. They wanted their families to continue for hundreds of years, rather than disappear without a trace like those small vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with only history and idioms recording their stories.

For a time, many princes stood on the side of the Xiongnu envoys. Han etiquette was sacred and inviolable, and no one could violate it. For a time, the atmosphere on the scene was in a state of equal strength.

Xu Fan was also extremely troubled by this problem. Naturally, he did not want the Han Dynasty's system of princes to collapse so quickly. The reason why Xu Fan divided so many princes was that he wanted other regions to be fragmented and difficult to pose a threat to the Han Dynasty. If the desert was unified under one prince, Liaodong would also be a force, and the princes in Jiangnan and Shu would be unified. What was the difference between this and the chaotic times of the Five Dynasties and Sixteen Kingdoms?

Although he knew that the trend of history was inevitable and that most of the feudal lords would disappear and become part of the regional powers, he wanted to delay this time. It would be best if the Han rituals could be maintained for a hundred or two hundred years, and then let the vassal states fight each other, so that the Han Dynasty could absorb the most vassal territories.

Xu Fan thought for a moment and said, "In this way, let Pei State compensate the Xiongnu State with 500 cannons and flintlock rifles."

The Xiongnu envoy thought for a moment and said, "I have no objection."

Although the Xiongnu Kingdom could manufacture cannons and muskets, they were obviously not as good as those made by the Han Dynasty. If they could get compensation for these weapons, they would be able to accept this loss.

But at this time Liu Ying was dissatisfied and said: "Your Majesty, my father has passed the position of prince to me. I am just helping as a friend of the King of Parthia. How can this be considered a violation of Han etiquette? The Xiongnu Kingdom does not consider its own combat effectiveness, but blames my father and slanders him as a traitor. As a son, I am unfilial for not teaching the Xiongnu envoy a lesson. If I apologize to the Xiongnu Kingdom, it means that my father is wrong. Even if I die here, I dare not do such an unfilial thing."

The Xiongnu envoy said angrily, "Marquis Pei has refused to admit his mistakes. Do you really think that our Xiongnu nation is afraid of you? If you are a real man, you should fight me in a fair fight in front of the emperor. Standing is polite, lying down is disrespectful. I don't want the cannons and muskets anymore. It's good to take the life of Marquis Pei as a way to repay the lives of the Xiongnu warriors who died."

Liu Ying was really enraged and planned to go up, but how could Xu Fan watch Liu Ying die here? The gap between the two sides was too big, and Liu Ying had no chance of winning at all.

He immediately said, "Today's meeting of princes is over for now. We will discuss this matter tomorrow. The meeting is adjourned."

Then he found Chen Ping, Shusun Tong, Fusheng and Zhang Cang to give him advice on how to deal with this matter.

Xu Fan thought for a moment and asked, "The Western Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed hundreds of princes. I think those princes would have conflicts. How did the King of Zhou deal with the conflicts between the princes at that time?"

Chen Ping and his men looked at each other, and finally Chen Ping said: "Your Majesty, at that time the Zhou royal family was very powerful. If there was a war between the princes, they would face punishment or even conquest from the Zhou royal family. Naturally, they did not dare to disobey the orders of the King of Zhou.

Moreover, at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, all the major vassal states were relatives of the Zhou king. The kinship between the states and between the states and the Zhou royal family still existed. Many of them were states with the same surname, so even if there were conflicts, they rarely reached the point of fighting each other. "

(End of this chapter)