New Shun 1730

Obviously, in the emperor's opinion, the prince gave an obviously wrong answer.

Of course, this does not mean that this question is a trap. For example, the correct answer should be not to build the railway, but this is certainly not the case.

However, this wrong answer only made the emperor mutter inwardly, lamenting that his son was still too young and naive. Childishness has nothing to do with age.

What is reflected behind this is the serious separation between the practical school and the traditional school.

When I asked about railways, the answers I gave were all from the new school, because the traditionalists didn’t understand this stuff at all and hadn’t studied it before. However, the brain circuit of the Real School is too weird compared to traditional thinking.

The essence of this separation is that there are huge differences in the understanding of society. In other words, there are huge differences in what the world of Dashun should be and what it will be in the future.

In the emperor's opinion, there were very few people in the court who could truly combine tradition and new learning.

As for the existing few, it is basically impossible for the emperor to let them become princelings. He would not dare.

The emperor didn't blame the prince, or in other words, he didn't disappoint the prince because of these words.

After all, the prince grew up in the palace, and Dashun had changed a lot over the years.

When the prince was young, missionaries could still go to the palace as officials and teach some practical knowledge.

When he reached adulthood, he ushered in the most severe trend of banning religion.

When the prince first came to supervise the country, Dashun was still at war with the Rakshasa in the north and Junggar in the northwest. At that time, he had to worry about the dangers in the northeast and considered how to prevent a country that owned a large plain, was close to North Korea, and was adjacent to Eastern Mongolia. A new wave of rebel forces has emerged in potential areas.

But now, Dashun's entire strategic focus has moved to the south. The fleet has left Malacca westward and is likely to sail to the Western Ocean again.

When the prince was established as prince, the connection between north and south of Dashun was still through the Grand Canal. The capital's food still needs rice from the south to travel north along the Grand Canal. The top priority in domestic expenditure every year is water transportation and river engineering.

Now, the connection between the north and the south relies on sea transportation. In fact, the capital does not eat much Jiangnan rice anymore. It is even unclear where the rice and wheat are. There has even been an illusion in the capital that "rice and wheat are grown in grain stores and grain depots, and as long as there is money, you can get as much as you want."

When the prince was a child, he read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When he read about Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse, he thought it was a myth.

But now, wooden cows and stray horses are no longer a myth. Cars that humans do not eat and horses do not chew have already appeared.

All these changes occurred within twenty or thirty years.

The emperor experienced it from beginning to end. There is another reformer who is a "great loyal minister" who understands tradition and is proficient in practical learning.

Even so, it was not until the Songsu Dayue a few years ago that the emperor truly determined what the Dashun Li family would do in the future, and gradually took shape in his mind.

It is impossible for the emperor to ask the prince to directly understand and understand all these changes. This is difficult for others.

Just like Liu Yu said to the emperor, the person who carves a boat and seeks a sword is not stupid; the person who lands two iron balls at the same time is not stupid either. Because it is impossible for a fool to sum up the rules of implementation. Just based on the rules summed up in the past, it was useful in the past, but it may not be correct now.

The problem now is that most people, whether they are the traditional school or the practical school, are trying to find a sword.

The traditional school carves the boat of the past; the practical school carves the boat of Songsu.

People who have forgotten the past cannot understand industry and commerce.

People who carve pines in Suzhou cannot understand the mainland.

The emperor was silent for a moment and suddenly asked: "My son, what do you think is the most important reason for my family to abolish the canal and build sea transportation?"

The prince secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know whether the answer just now was right or wrong, since his father asked this question and his tone was obviously more affectionate, it was at least a good sign.

"My son thought..."

As if repeating the old tune, he talked about the truth about sea transportation or river transportation. This is something that has been debated for hundreds of years.

It is nothing more than the suffering of the people along the coast, the fatigue of rice transportation, the heavy exploitation on the way, thieves carrying private goods, officials taking advantage of the opportunity to make money, the river costing tens of millions, etc., etc.

After hearing these answers, the emperor shook his head.

"You need to remember that throughout the dynasties, you must do things when you can do them. When you have to do it, you often can't do it. Therefore, don't do what Duke Xingguo said, don't poke or jump. Huh. When you push it, you don’t know if you can still jump.”

"What you are talking about does not count as being forced to poke and jump. It is like this now, it was like this in the past, and it will probably be like this in the future. Has anyone in the past dynasties lost their country due to the shortcomings of water transportation?"

"At the end of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, there was a prophecy that said: One eye of the stone man will not stir up rebellion in the Yellow River."

"Have you ever thought about how to continue river transport? What will happen if the Yellow River bursts its banks?"

"Water transportation was cut off, and half of the imperial government's finances and taxes were piled up in the south of the Yangtze River; there was a shortage of rice, and the people around the capital were restless; the people were recruited for flood control, and the canals were cut off, so food was insufficient or wages could not be paid; millions of people were trapped in the rivers, and there was no harvest. Prices are soaring, and an uprising is necessary.”

"The Yellow River bursts, which is a natural disaster."

"However, the natural disaster is the same, but the aftermath is different."

"If the court has money, rice, and grain, it can provide relief, rescue, raise money, suppress, and appease."

"If the court has no money, no rice, no food, then hungry people will be everywhere, people will be in panic, wars will be everywhere, and uprisings will happen frequently."

"Abolition of the canal, for my family, is the first of all reasons to minimize the possibility of chaos after the Yellow River bursts."

"The corruption and expropriation in water transportation cannot defeat the ancestral temple. Don't say that the stone man has only one eye, and he really wants to defeat the ancestral temple."

"Taking history as a guide, the peril of a country and a surname originates either from the Yi Di or from the common people. However, now that the Yi and Di are tied up, they can only perish at the hands of the common people."

"Since ancient times, if there is no chaos in Henan and Jingchu, it will be nothing more than separatist rule and rogue bandits. If both Jingchu and Henan rebel, the country will be in danger!"

"As my son said, going to Zhangjiakou and Rehe, establishing industry and commerce, and cultivating Mongolian land are all on the right path, but you can do it today, you can do it tomorrow, and it's not too late to do it the day after tomorrow."

"From my perspective, this first road must lead to Henan and Jingchu."

"There will be no chaos in the capital, Hebei, Henan, Jingchu, Songsu, and others. At best, the rest are just separatists and bandits, and cannot achieve great things."

"In the past, Mencius met King Hui of Liang. What did King Hui of Liang say about the famine?"

The prince hurriedly said: "If there is a bad situation in the river, move the people to the east of the river and move the millet to the river. The same goes for the bad situation in the east of the river."

The emperor nodded and said, "I asked you to read the Treatise on Salt and Iron before. What did Sang Hongyang say about this matter?"

"Returning to my father, the doctor said: The king seizes heaven's wealth, closes the market, keeps time, and governs the people. In good years, he will store up to prepare for shortage; in bad years, he will use money and goods, and there will be surplus. But the adjustment is not enough. In the past, when the water and soup were in drought, the people were in short supply, so they had to use gold from Lishan Mountain and copper from Zhuangshan Mountain to mint coins. In order to redeem his people, the world will be praised for his kindness. In the past, the money was insufficient, and the soldiers might not be able to get paid. However, Shandong was hit by disasters, and Qi and Zhao suffered from severe famine. They both lost their livestock and stored in the barns, so the soldiers provided it and the hungry people were given relief. Therefore, all the lost goods and the wealth in the treasury are not only for the use of the soldiers, but also for the purpose of relieving the poor and preparing for floods and droughts. "

The prince answered very neatly. Since it was a book specially asked by the emperor to read, he must read it carefully.

Moreover, many people at the time thought that the emperor supported Sang Hongyang's line, and that the state regulated and encouraged industry and commerce, which basically seemed to mean something like this.

However, the book the prince got, "The Treatise on Salt and Iron" given to him by the emperor, is very interesting.

The prince knew that the book was originally shown to Duke Xingguo by his father, and Duke Xingguo left a lot of comments and comments on the book.

For example, there is an idiom at the beginning, "Never carve a boat in search of a sword."

Another example is Sang Hongyang's first question at the beginning of the chapter, which is: "The side expenses are insufficient, so salt and iron are produced, and wine and wine are set up. They all lose, and the goods are made rich, and the side expenses are assisted. Now the people who are discussing this want to give up, There is no treasure in the treasury inside, and there is no use for holding supplies outside. The soldiers preparing for the fortress and riding the city are hungry and cold on the border. How can we support them?" There was a complaint written at the back.

It was not Dashun who complained, but the British East India Company. Said: The British East India Company did not encourage the invention of more effective mousetraps. The key is who can obtain the government-licensed rat-catching qualification. So did the Dutch East India Company.

Said: The benefit of salt and iron lies in the benefit, not in the salt and iron. Salt and iron benefit from their shape and quality.

If the benefit of salt and iron is great, then the salt and iron are great; if the great benefit of tea sugar is great, then it is tea sugar. It is ridiculous to carve a boat in search of a sword and find only salt and iron but no profit.

The Rakshasa people are fond of wine, so they take advantage of wine; the British are fond of sugar tea, so they take advantage of sugar tea; the Dutch are fond of spices, so they take advantage of spices; the Spaniards...are blessed with gold and silver, and everyone in the world They all loved it and took advantage of the gold and silver mines.

Basically, the book the prince read was full of complaints.

The emperor took the book back and did not publish it. Instead, he asked the prince to read it after reading it, which had profound meaning.

It's just that the emperor forgot something. He read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles. The prince read a lot, but the current answer did not achieve the effect the emperor wanted him to achieve.

However, there is nothing wrong with reciting Sang Hongyang’s original words.

In today's matter, the emperor does not want to teach the prince specifically. The key to the benefits of salt and iron is whether salt and iron are beneficial.

But take another angle.

Seeing his answer, he said: "King Hui of Liang knew that there was danger in the river, so he moved his people to the east of the river and his grain to the river."

"I think everyone knows this truth. Meng Ke's words are not unreasonable, but they only make sense when the land grant system or the official land accounts for the majority. For example, Japan may make sense. The land collected by it is divided into five public and five people. . But in this dynasty, it makes no sense. If the imperial court exempts them, will the gentry and landlords be exempted from rent? "

"The court must follow King Hui of Liang's method."

"Just, how many miles from Hanoi to Hedong?"

"Nanyang rice, Liaodong wheat, Guandong sorghum, Japanese rice, Korean rice. If there is a big disaster, the money in my hand will never let the hungry people in Henan rebel."

"But, even if they are piled up like mountains in Tianjin, how can they get to Henan?"

"King Hui of Liang knew that there was danger in Hanoi, so he moved his people to the east of the river and his millet to the east of the river. I know that too. But when he moved from Hanoi to the east of the river, it was only from Jincheng to Linfen. In terms of distance, it may not be as close as the Tianjin Guard. Capital City.”

"Since King Hui of Liang's method is right, we need to consider how to transport the grain accumulated by Tianjin Wei from Hanoi to Hedong in the event of a disaster in Henan. Once a disaster occurs in Henan, the people of Henan will move to Guandong and Fusang." , how to go from Ha Dong to Hanoi as easy as that.”

"Now the imperial court has benefited from the mulberry sheep, and the foreign trade of silk, tea, porcelain, cotton, spices and gems has benefited tens of millions a year. The rice and noodles from Guandong in Nanyang are piling up like mountains."

"As a ruler, you should know that no matter how much grain is piled up in Tianjin, the disaster victims in Henan cannot eat it. No matter how much land there is in Fusang, the disaster victims in Sichuan and Chu cannot go there."

"As an emperor, you should solve the problem of how to feed the food piled up in Tianjin to the disaster victims in Henan; how to let the refugees from all over the country reach the vast land of Fusang and the South Ocean."

"Only in this way can you sit firmly and the country last long."

"The world is like a chessboard. The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are two horizontal divisions. There must be another vertical division to divide the world into several pieces and separate them from each other, so that one man will not cause the whole world to be broken. Chaos."

"Therefore, if the railway is built, the first road to be built by the emperor should not go north or west, but should go straight to Henan, connect with Jingchu, and cut the world vertically and horizontally."

"You must know that if the Yellow River bursts, it will be a flood. At that time, it will not only be the place where the Yellow River bursts, but also the Central Plains and Jingchu that will be affected by floods. Otherwise, if it is just ordinary weather, how could the Yellow River burst? "

"If we don't do it now while we can still do it, I am afraid that as the Duke of Xingguo said, when we are really poked and have to jump, we will find that we can't jump anymore. "