Fang Congzhe breathed a sigh of relief.
He couldn't help but think to himself: "Your Majesty did not originally intend to kill all the powerful people in the world except the Zhu family like Taizu did. Instead, he was dissatisfied that many powerful gentry did not take the emperor or the court in their eyes. .”
Fang Congzhe himself also acknowledged the phenomenon that the world's powerful and gentry were increasingly disloyal to the emperor and father and to the court.
He also agreed with the view that the world's powerful and gentry should not be too selfish or disloyal.
Moreover, Fang Congzhe now also clearly knows that the real way His Majesty the Emperor wants to realize the prosperity of everyone in the Ming Dynasty is indeed not to "rob the rich and give to the poor", but to let powerful people like himself and the Emperor plunder and tyrannize externally, instead of "robbing the rich and giving to the poor". Kingly way.
Fang Congzhe is not a conservative person who adheres to Confucian orthodoxy, so he does not object to His Majesty the Emperor's proposition.
But what Fang Congzhe had to admit was that the Ming Dynasty already occupied the richest land in the world, and it was already vast and rich in resources. Whether it was plundering from the outside or making a lot of money from the outside, it was meaningless to improve the lives of the domestic people.
Because there is not much rich land outside.
In terms of people, there are still many refugees in the country who have not been resettled. Taking them back will only open their mouths to eat in vain.
As for gold and silver, no matter whether it is stolen or earned, it cannot be eaten or worn. In the end, it will be turned into jewelry and utensils and enter the homes of wealthy people, which is of no benefit to the people.
Moreover, Fang Congzhe had to admit that if he really wanted to encourage external expansion, there would be no guarantee that there would be no disasters like vassal towns and the emergence of local forces that the imperial court could not control.
Therefore, Fang Congzhe had to say again: "I understand your Majesty's intention, but what I want to say is that in fact, except for my great Ming Dynasty, the lands of Zhufan are really barbaric and like chicken ribs. Even if all the lands of Zhufan are taken away, It is difficult to realize the profit and make everyone in our Ming Dynasty rich. Instead, we have to spend a lot of money and food to govern the place."
"You are right, but to realize the prosperity of everyone in the Ming Dynasty is not just about making profits from the outside world, but also about innovating farming, water control and other techniques!
The emergence of iron tools allowed more people to participate in farming and unified China. Otherwise, why would some places that were still considered wild at that time enter the land of China?
Also, the emergence of the curved-wheel plow gave many small fields in the hills and mountains in the south the opportunity to cultivate intensively, making Jiangnan, Huguang and other remote areas in the south gradually prosperous;
It can be seen that if the Ming Dynasty innovates its skills accordingly, it can turn the barbaric land into a prosperous land. "
Zhu Youxiao continued: "In fact, I don't know whether it is possible to realize that everyone in the Ming Dynasty will be rich, but the court must work hard in this direction. It must realize that everyone in the Ming Dynasty will be rich and that the Ming Dynasty will be a world of great harmony." As a goal, under this goal, we will set clear small goals for the government's governance this year and in the next few years;
Otherwise, as long as the world is at peace and there are no internal or external troubles, the emperor, the scholar-bureaucrats, and the people of the world will all be lazy, which will make the entire Ming Dynasty sit and eat!
So, we meat eaters have to have such a goal! Either make profits from outside, or find ways to innovate techniques to increase grain production. This is what I, the emperor, and you powerful gentry should do in the country, instead of depleting the people's land and plundering the people's wealth! "
Zhu Youxiao started talking.
After hearing this, Fang Congzhe became enlightened.
As one of the most astute officials of this era, he naturally understood Zhu Youxiao's true purpose of making everyone rich in the Ming Dynasty.
Fang Congzhe even felt like he had understood the true meaning.
There is a reason why Fang Congzhe has been the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet for many years, and has even been in charge of the cabinet alone for many years. He has won Wanli's trust.
The reason is that although he is also a civil servant, he still has a sense of responsibility for the country and is not someone who only cares about his own interests as a scholar-bureaucrat.
Moreover, Fang Congzhe also had his own political ambitions. Otherwise, he would not have proposed some reform measures to increase taxes when he was the chief minister of the Wanli Dynasty.
In addition, as a mature politician, Fang Congzhe naturally understands that it is better to concentrate on making the cake bigger than to make it smaller.
Therefore, what Zhu Youxiao is now talking about is a strategy of cultivating new dignitaries, that is, new elites, who are loyal to the emperor. At the same time, under the emperor's rule, he set the goal of making everyone rich in the Ming Dynasty, and therefore jointly seizing external profits and improving productivity. To his taste.
Therefore, Fang Congzhe hurriedly said excitedly: "Your Majesty used iron tools and curved shaft plows as examples to illustrate the effectiveness of technological innovation. This is indeed a unique approach. Moreover, Your Majesty takes the goal of achieving equal wealth for everyone as the goal of the imperial court. It is indeed the "Li" The Great Harmony advocated in "The Great Harmony" should serve as a driving force for future generations to forge ahead. Scholars should not only care about their own interests but not be loyal to the country and fail to realize the ambition of making everyone rich and establishing Great Harmony."
"That's right, so we can lay it out in this way, unite loyal and ambitious people, innovate various skills of our Ming Dynasty, master the best skills, and then use this to gain benefit from the world. Those people behind the scenes who only care about their own wealth, Either surrender to me honestly and beg for a bowl of soup from me, or die without a burial place!"
Then, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.
Zhu Youxiao was very pleased that Fang Congzhe, the chief minister of his cabinet, understood what he meant, and secretly sighed that it was true that the sound of a drum does not need a heavy hammer.
This gave Zhu Youxiao greater confidence in the next Ming Dynasty reforms.
Because Zhu Youxiao believes that his advantage is just a few hundred years more knowledge than the smartest people in the world. He can formulate some national strategies that may be prescient, but he needs to use means to implement these national strategies. When it comes to strategies and strategies, you may not be as smart as some of the smartest people of this era.
Therefore, it is indeed a very gratifying thing for Zhu Youxiao that Fang Congzhe understands and agrees with Zhu Youxiao's point of view.
In this case, Zhu Youxiao could let Fang Congzhe draw the blueprint he wanted for him, and let Fang Congzhe, who was well versed in the rules of Ming Dynasty officialdom, implement his strategy.
"Your Majesty is the sage of the Holy Dynasty. Anyone who is not loyal to Your Majesty should be punished!"
Fang Congzhe replied directly.
"If everyone in the world could be as enlightened as Yuan Fu, why should I attack each other frequently? But the current situation is like this. Although there are many people who read the books of sages, there are few who really take me seriously. Therefore, this strict policy is still We have to continue, and the execution of Qian Qianyi and other temple-cryers is just the beginning. Next, more disobedient people will be killed!"
Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.
Then, Zhu Youxiao said: "But at the same time, we also have to make a good layout for Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, and the West. Which ones should be fought, which ones should be appeased, which ones should be trained, and which ones should be suppressed. All of them need to be The imperial court came up with a unified charter, especially for the annihilation of the Donglu. The military strategy was to use wheel warfare to consume its troops. As for foreign affairs, as for money and food, should we take advantage of the opportunity of the rise of the Donglu, Expand the Ming Dynasty’s interests in North Korea or the Mongolian tribes? These require specific strategies to be determined as soon as possible!”
"What your Majesty said is true!"
Fang Congzhe replied, but he cursed in his heart: "It is certain that your majesty has these insights now, it must have been taught by Xu Guangqi, who pays attention to practical learning! When he was in the temple, this person advocated taking advantage of the Donglu rebellion to send more officials Go to North Korea to train North Korean soldiers and horses and ask North Korea to assist the Ming Dynasty in destroying the Donglu!"
"In addition, the imperial court must quickly find out what new skills are worth promoting, what new crops are worth promoting and planting, what capable ministers and officials need to be reused immediately, and who knows what other great talents my Ming Dynasty has. Craftsmen, in addition, how to treat foreigners who can only preach but cannot bring new skills or new knowledge to the Ming Dynasty? How to treat those who are missionaries but can bring new skills or new knowledge to the Ming Dynasty? These must have regulations, and It is the issue of sovereignty in places like Haojing (Macau) and Dongfan Island (Taiwan). Whether Westerners should settle in these places or not, regulations have to be drawn up!"
Zhu Youxiao continued to speak, and Fang Congzhe responded one by one.
He had to admit that as the chief minister of the cabinet, he would be very busy next time.
Your Majesty only needs to speak, and you must give specific regulations.
Even if more officials are sent to North Korea, the interests of all aspects must be weighed before deciding which officials to recommend to His Majesty as envoys to North Korea. This is because the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is very complicated. There are Donglin Party members and others who are close to me but don't like them. Among his son's faction, there are those who are close to his son but don't like his faction, and there are also so-called neutral ministers, and there are also northern and southern regions.
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