A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 887: The dispute between literature and science, the ambition of the ancestors, the monarchy's ambition to establish a government

Just as Bai Tong was touting the benefits of his engineering, Bai Niu interrupted him:
"Are you taking things for granted, Third Brother?"

He thought Bai Tong's remarks were too unorthodox and unfounded.

Bai Tong said excitedly: "Brother, you don't know that the Institute of Gewu invented a new loom two years ago, which can produce several times more cloth than the old loom. In the future, silk cloth will be produced in large quantities and the people will get more. People will no longer freeze to death in the wild. Isn't this a benefit of the construction project?"

Bai Niu disagreed and said:

"Third brother, you are thinking too simply. If we use a loom to weave cloth, we will produce more cloth, and the price of cloth will drop. Then the families who rely on weaving for food will have nothing to earn. If they have nothing to earn, they will have no income. How can they support their families?"

"I am afraid that many people will die in Jiangnan this year. They are not freezing to death, but starving to death. Many of them must be weavers."

"Based on this, my third brother's strategy is not to enrich the common people, but to enrich the wealthy and powerful families."

"What you said, second brother, is a bit alarmist." Bai Tong said somewhat unconvinced.

"What your second brother said is true. If things continue to develop in this way, many people will starve to death, which will make everyone richer and the small family poorer."

As the head of the General Household Economics Department, Bai Jing was naturally aware that the emergence of new technologies would definitely cause some people to lose their jobs, so he interrupted.

"How could this be?" Bai Tong was still willing to listen to his elder brother Bai Jing's words.

Seeing that Bai Tong was a little sad, and even had the sign of a broken heart, Bai Qing said:

"Well, Dalang, you are the director of the main courtyard. The matter of the weaving bureau has already been reported to the Southern Sect and the Jiangnan Council. You should be alerted."

Bai Jing looked at Bai Qing and smiled, "That's true. When the Southern Sect reported this incident at the end of the year, someone in the main courtyard realized the harm involved. After discussion among the clansmen from all branches of the main courtyard, they finally came up with a remedy."

"First, invite the Weaving Bureau to recruit as many weavers as possible to reduce the impact on the weaver community when this item appears."

"Secondly, when the weather in Jiangnan cools down, we will donate some cloth, money and grain to the Jiangsu Merchants Association in the name of the Weaving Bureau, and open relief centers in various parts of Jiangnan in the name of Jiangsu merchants to help the people who have gone bankrupt because of this incident."

"This will not only reduce the harm to the people when this item appears, but also promote the reputation of the Weaving Bureau and Jiangsu merchants, allowing them to gain a foothold in Jiangnan."

"Besides, most of the weavers in the textile industry today are part-time workers and are women. Their main occupations are still farming and business, so only a few people will go bankrupt. Most people may have a reduction in income, but they will never be without food."

"The impact of this incident is far less than the impact caused by the Tibetan invasion, Liu Zhan's rebellion, and Yuan Chao's rebellion, so you don't have to worry too much, my third brother. The family has already made preparations."

After exhaling a breath, Bai Tong calmed down his mind. If this new thing really caused hundreds of thousands of weavers to lose their livelihood, it would be counterproductive.

"My son thinks too simply. Please enlighten me, father."

"Please teach me, father."

The three brothers bowed to Bai Qing.

Bai Qing stroked the beard on his old face and nodded slightly. His cloudy eyes could not hide the light of wisdom. He looked at the three people and said:

"As I just said, Bai Niu's words are from a high place, and Bai Tong's words are the foundation. If one of them doesn't work, the other one could overturn it."

After saying that, Bai Qing took the cane from the table, stood up, walked a few steps, and came to the plum tree in the yard. Snow fell on his head, but he could not tell whether it was snowflakes or white hair.

The three Bai Jing brothers followed one step behind him, and Bai Shen lagged behind half a step, slightly bending his body, following closely, with his hands stretched out and floating behind his elbows to prevent any accidents.

"If we want to truly realize our ancestors' aspirations and make everyone like a dragon, these two are indispensable."

"But this wise ruler cannot be controlled by humans, and wise ministers are not popular. Is the family going to repeat the story of Beixia and inherit the throne?" Bai Jing was very confused by Bai Qing's words. Bai Qing turned around, looked at the three people, and said slowly: "Yes and no."

"The kings of the past and present are real kings. Therefore, the country is the king, and the king is the country. When the country is destroyed, the king loses his position. This is the change of dynasties."

"What I mean by a monarch is a nominal monarch, so the monarch is the state, but the state is not the monarch. Therefore, even if the state is overthrown, the monarch remains the same. This is the monarchy."

"What is a monarchy?" Bai Niu expressed his doubts at the right time.

Bai Qing was not reluctant to answer the question and said without hesitation: "Monarchy means that the king establishes the government, the government controls the country, and separates the king from the country."

"Moreover, the king cannot directly intervene in state affairs and entrusts state affairs to the government. If the government is unqualified and the people are resentful, the king can take the opportunity to directly dissolve the old government and establish a new one to follow the will of the people and regulate social depression."

Bai Jing said thoughtfully: "In this way, if the country enters its last years, the people will vent their anger on the incompetent government, but they will have no reason to blame the king directly. After all, on the surface, the king does not interfere in state affairs."

Bai Niu, who had been listening to the lecture, suddenly realized:

"In this way, even if the Bai family becomes the ruler, they will have more opportunities to select talented people and wait for the country's technological innovation until the day when everyone is as powerful as a dragon."

"And a king without power will not attract the covetousness of ambitious people. After all, isn't a powerful government leader more in line with their wishes?"

Bai Tong had a different suggestion: "But the key is to limit the power of the king. We can't just say whatever we want and then make it happen like before. If we do that, how can we still control the government?"

"So we have to do what we have always done, benefiting the people. Whoever wins the hearts of the people will be a king beyond the country." Having said this, Bai Qingsheng continued with infinite confidence:

"Is there any family in this world that knows how to follow the will of the people better than our Bai family?"

As they continued walking forward, the snow fell heavier and heavier, almost covering Bai Qing's hunched back. He shook it off, and snowflakes all over his back fell to the ground:
"By then, there will be no family in the world that can sit above the Bai family and hinder everything the Bai family wants to do."

"By then, there will no longer be any ambitious people in the world who covet the Bai family's throne and instigate the family members to kill each other."

"By then, under the leadership of the Bai family, the world will move step by step towards a better, imaginary ideal country, without any more shackles."

"The Bai family only needs to be a good supervisor of the country, a protector of the people, and a collaborator of the bureaucratic family."

"The fate of the dynasty will no longer bind the fate of the family. Under the leadership of the family, the country will always look outward and refuse to waste energy internally."

“Then everyone will have a bright future.”

Bai Jing was a little worried and said, "Father, this is just our own fantasy. Will the Li Tang royal family, the aristocratic families, and the warlords agree?"

Bai Qing said with a smile:

"So the first step is to wait, wait until the world is in chaos, wait until the Li Tang dynasty falls apart, wait until the people no longer miss the royal family."

"The old master has passed away, and the new master has not yet been appointed. The Bai family, which has accumulated strength for a hundred years, will make its own voice. That is the voice of the future."

"Boom boom boom!"

In the cold winter, rare thunders are heard, and even rarer are continuous thunders, which gather in the sky of Songxi Mountain and rumble without any lightning.

But Songxi Mountain seemed to have an invisible threat. It seemed as if it was worried about something and was unable to land. It lasted all night until dawn.

(End of this chapter)