New Shun 1730

The so-called emperor's Westernization Movement-style thinking is very simple in nature:

That is, the feudal leaders and some bureaucrats believed and realized that advanced weapons and technology could effectively strengthen feudal rule.

Things like railways coexist with imperial power, which is actually not inconsistent at all. Because the two thousand miles of water transport on the Grand Canal already existed before, and it was not inconsistent at all.

For a feudal emperor, before the rebellion, the severe social contradictions in the mainland were what they could take advantage of.

Once he sat on the dragon throne, in fact, the severe social contradictions and land contradictions in the mainland were actually like a negative asset for the royal family.

Or, it was the most likely force to threaten his chair.

Including the capital consortiums that have risen in Songsu in recent years, large salt fields, etc., in the eyes of the emperor, what are these? Can a prison guard compare with the peasant uprising in the mainland?

The internal contradictions have actually become so large that almost all resources have to be used to alleviate the existing contradictions. Then the stagnation of society is a kind of inevitability.

Including Liu Yu, no one in the court of Dashun has the ability to continue to maintain the old society and constantly calm down and ease the many contradictions of the old era.

The difference is that the emperor hopes to introduce advanced weapons and technology, and rely on external funds and wealth to continue to suppress the many contradictions of the old era.

Liu Yu's thinking is that if I smash the old society itself, then the contradictions of the old society will no longer exist? I can't ease the contradictions of the old society, so I just kill the old society and it's over? Of course, there are contradictions in the new society, but that is new and needs to be solved with new methods to promote social progress, no problem.

If you have to talk about the essence, the emperor's current thinking is actually not much different from the idea of ​​relying on external imperialist forces to prolong life in the late Qing Dynasty.

Both introduce a force that did not exist in the traditional world before to suppress internal contradictions and strengthen the rule more effectively.

The essence is not much different, and the difference is nothing more than this "force that did not exist in the traditional world before" is in the hands of the Dashun court, and this force can be strengthened through external expansion.

The advantage is that the Westernization faction in the late Qing Dynasty realized that advanced weapons and technology could effectively strengthen feudal rule, and they also knew that these needed the benefits of industry and commerce.

Imperialism had no external market outside, and because of various treaties inside, the internal market had been liberalized. Therefore, every time they "benefited industry and commerce", they were actually intensifying the contradictions of the old era - for the old society of internal small peasant economy, it made no difference whether the cotton cloth was produced by Nantong Textile Factory or Manchester Textile Factory. The benefits of industry and commerce must have a market, and the external market could not be grabbed, so they could only work with imperialism to develop the internal market.

The Dashun Emperor considered this issue after his last southern tour of Songsu, so he was worried that Songsu and other developed regions would intensify the old internal contradictions.

This is also the reason why the Dashun Emperor supported external expansion. Once capital was turned around, there was a huge internal market next to it. If you don't let him eat, you have to find food and blood outside for him.

Because the Dashun Emperor chose the path of "relying on "external" forces to strengthen feudal rule", this "external" force must be strong. And to be strong, you have to keep giving him blood food, otherwise he will eat it.

Although the emperor may not be able to realize all this theoretically, he still chose such a path with his cunning and sophisticated sense of the ruling class.

In fact, the content that the emperor wanted to teach the prince, in summary, is "remember that you are the son of heaven."

Never use the thinking that Dashun will soon use in India to deal with the mainland, to become the "emperor" of Songsu capital, and to turn the mainland into a colony. You can't withstand a large-scale uprising of that scale.

Also, never use the experience of the old era to deal with Songsu, Northeast China, Southeast Asia and foreign trade. In the end, a situation of many positives in the court will be created, and the money of the hair can't be collected. All resources are used to maintain the stability of the old era, and nothing can be done.

When most of the fiscal revenue needs to be used to quell and ease the old contradictions, things like building railways cannot be completed by relying solely on the old means of rule.

In short, there is no money, no resources, and limited finances must be spent on the contradictions of the old era.

Emperor Yang of Sui could build the Grand Canal, but he could only build one, and it was blown up after it was built.

Dashun could build railways, and it seemed that he could build more than one, because he could get money, materials, food, cloth, etc. from outside.

In the eyes of the emperor, the emergence and rapid development of railways and sea transportation made it meaningful to stabilize prices and equalize transportation.

Stabilize prices and equalize transportation... [the national grain prices are basically stable and unified, the national salt prices are basically stable and unified, the grain prices in Gansu and Suzhou are basically the same, and the grain prices in various places are still stable after the disaster], this itself is the highest realization of stabilization and equalization under feudal society.

Which feudal dynasty can do this? For four hundred years, there will definitely be no problem.

In addition, the railway can realize the emperor's idea of ​​dividing the world vertically and horizontally, so that peasant uprisings can only be trapped in one province.

This idea itself is the highest embodiment of the Westernization Movement-style thinking of feudal leaders and some bureaucrats who believe and realize that advanced weapons and technology can effectively strengthen feudal rule.

And this question is more detailed. Can the taxes, resources and food provided by the new system centered on Songsu, which covers the Northeast, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, India, and European and American trade, support an elite field force of 200,000 to 300,000 people, and can quickly mobilize through railways and sea transportation to complete firefighting-style suppression; can it support a group of meritorious officials who rely on all this income and ensure a group of talents who are completely dependent on imperial power rather than domestic land?

Obviously, it seems that now, not only can it be done, but it can be done.

As for the comprehensive reform of the interior, the emperor has a clear mind. If it can't be changed, it can't be changed, just make do with it, and it will be easy to follow the direction of Wang Mang's new policy.

The emperor hopes that the prince will be a king who maintains the status quo, and tells the prince to do things to the end and not give up halfway and have his own opinions.

This itself is not contradictory.

On the one hand, even if you are a king who maintains the status quo, it is different from before. You have to keep doing things and do many unprecedented things, otherwise you can't maintain the success.

On the other hand, if the prince is really stubborn and more courageous than himself, and really wants to carry out reforms like Wang Mang's reform and equal distribution of land... then he may die, but he will not crawl out of the coffin and say that this is not okay.

Since he has done it, he should do it to the end. Don't be reckless at the beginning and then be timid later.

If he really has a brain failure and chooses to do it, then for uprisings and resistance, kill ten thousand of them, and anyone who opposes in the court will be exiled to the Yukon Valley to raise dogs with gold diggers.

Don't be timid halfway through, otherwise it's better not to do it.

The emperor also knew that this might not be something that he could explain to the prince in a short time. But he would probably understand it a little after teaching him a little.

And the most important thing is the connotation of being an "absolute arbitrator", which is something that can only be understood but not expressed in words.

The prince looked at the picture drawn by the emperor for him, frowned and thought for a while, and finally understood his father's meaning.

The emperor exhaled and said slowly: "It doesn't matter if you can't see through these things for the time being. Although the people in the East Palace also went to Songsu, southern Sichuan and other places, their vision is still a little bit worse. They can be chief historians or provincial governors, but I'm afraid they are not as wise as Guan Zhong and Yue Yi."

"You can keep this in your heart. But you might as well ask the Duke of Xingguo about these things."

"You should listen to his reasons, not just his words. Knowing the reasons, his words may not be yours."

"After a few days, the matter of this road will be settled. By then, you will be the whole journey. Follow and learn. "

"As a king, you don't necessarily have to know how to pave roads and how to repair roads."

"But to build this road, you still need to listen, see and see more about the reactions of the people, land acquisition and relocation, coordination of iron factories, industry and commerce along the way, and the impact of the people... these things. "

"When you consult the Duke of Xingguo, you might as well ask him what impact this road will have. Remember my words, listen to the reasons, not necessarily the reasons. "

The prince hurriedly agreed, thinking that the Duke of Xingguo has always kept a distance from him, neither close nor distant.

My father asked me to ask him about this matter. Does he mean that he should be responsible for the road construction?

So the prince said, "Father, Duke Xingguo returned to Beijing from Songsu and was busy with the Wuding River incident. I think that the Wuding River incident shows Duke Xingguo's ability to achieve three goals at one stroke. If we can listen to Duke Xingguo's advice more, it will be helpful."

"If we build a railway through the Central Plains, if Duke Xingguo is in charge, it will be twice as effective with half the effort."

The emperor disagreed and smiled lightly, "Why do we need him to do this? Kill a chicken with a butcher knife. This matter is different from the Wuding River incident. The smallest Wuding River incident is the Wuding River incident. The rest of the coal from the west of Beijing to the capital, the banks of the Heilongjiang River "The immigration to the border and the establishment of a railway construction office are the big things."

"Everything is ready. When it comes to the construction of the road, why would he need to do such things?"

"I said that the attitude of the people, compensation for the relocated people, land exchange, communication and coordination during the road construction process are what I asked you to learn more about and understand the folk affairs."

"I asked you to consult the Duke of Xingguo, not to ask you to consult these things."

However, the emperor did not express his intention that the child was incorrigible. After saying that, he asked the prince to withdraw.

…………

Two days later.

The prince held a banquet and invited Liu Yu specially. The big fanfare was also a signal that the emperor asked him to invite him.

After a brief polite talk, the prince talked about the topic of "where to build the first railway".

Since the emperor meant that things such as the need to migrate people and level the graves along the way should be understood by the prince himself, the prince did not ask about this aspect.

This road itself is an extension of the Indian problem. If Dashun does not fight India to rob commercial capital and accumulate capital, it is basically impossible to build such a huge project that seems a bit magical at this time in a short period of time.

Liu Yu certainly supports collecting taxes and building roads.

But Liu Yu does not think that the impact of this road on Dashun will be huge.

Since this road itself is an extension of the Indian problem, the impact on the transformation of agricultural crops is basically certain and there is no possibility.