Not long after Rao Wei sighed, Ai Daiwen's domestic slave came back and said that the farmer had a local accent.
Ai Daiwen and Rao Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the severity of punishments in the Ming Dynasty was reduced a lot, and many serious crimes did not require Ling Chi to be punished, the power of secret agents was greatly strengthened. Therefore, scholar-bureaucrats like Ai Daiwen and Rao Wei who were dissatisfied with the current situation still had to be cautious. , like a thief, guarding against people who might find out about his true political views.
actually.
In today's Ming Dynasty, as long as you have no political opinions or are consistent with the political opinions of the court, or you don't care so much about the fact that the political opinions of the people in power are different from your own, don't miss the time when you can suck yourself up effortlessly as long as you have education and family background. The era of compatriot blood will not be so painful at all, and will only feel that this is the most beautiful era.
Because in this era, as long as you are a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, there are plenty of investment channels that are sure to make money without losing money. Taxes are even lower. You don’t have to worry about foreign invasion and plunder. You don’t have to worry about your superiors not respecting you, that is, not treating yourself as a human being. look.
No matter you are an official or a worker, you don’t have to be too nervous. Meeting a boss or employer is like a slave meeting his master. You even need to have a special understanding of human relations to get promotion and valuable feedback.
The only shortcoming is that you can't be too domineering in front of your compatriots, especially in front of compatriots who are lower in class and younger than yourself, so you have to be much more restrained than before.
This is true from the emperor to the common people.
The emperor must show some respect to his ministers. He cannot go to jail just because he wants to go to jail, let alone Ling Chi.
The common people must show some respect to their wives and children, and cannot just beat them to death.
This is very uncomfortable for some people who are used to the old days where they only lorded it over their own people and only preached courtesy and kindness to others.
But because Emperor Zhu Yijun came from a later generation, he did not have a family mentality and was accustomed to treating compatriots with lower power and status than himself as human beings. At least his childhood education taught him that he must pay attention to mutual respect in terms of personality, especially the ethnic groups he has accepted since childhood. Education has made him more accustomed to looking at issues from a national perspective, so he is accustomed to treating his compatriots as human beings, and is also used to treating his Han ministers as human beings, treating the palace maids and eunuchs around him as human beings, and even treating the court ladies and eunuchs around him as human beings. The Han people in the world should be treated as human beings.
The emperor was accustomed to treating his compatriots as human beings.
The people below naturally began to get used to treating their compatriots as human beings, began to suppress or transfer the evil nature in their hearts to the outside, and put the good nature in their hearts on their own family members and people of their own country.
After the spiritual core of guarding the inside and the outside changed from the emperor, everything below also changed.
There are only a few people who are not used to it. They are those who still miss the old way of life and like to restore traditional rituals.
And these people are mainly middle-aged and elderly people, after all, they have experienced that era.
Because of this, although these people are a minority, because they are older, many of them still have a certain degree of power and status in Ming Dynasty's society, which makes them seem to have a loud voice and have to give way from time to time. The country turns back to the same as before.
But in essence, as time goes by, their voices seem loud, but they have less and less backup power to reverse the current situation.
And more and more people are becoming more and more accustomed to this era, and to this kind of pragmatic way of life that does not respect the past in thinking, only respects the objective laws of facts, and does not believe in authority.
Therefore, despite the voices of resistance to the imperial business, the imperial cigarettes were still popular when they were put on the market.
The people quickly fell in love with this product and were even happy that their smoking money would be earned by the court instead of private individuals.
As the people's education level has improved, and the official newspaper and some Dongchang personnel have been increasing their efforts to educate the people, the people's wisdom has broadened a lot, and they have a better understanding of their relationship with the country, the country's stability, especially its finances. Stability is very important to your own happy life. You should know that changing a dynasty is not as simple as changing a surname.
Therefore, the people are not as numb and indifferent as before, and they are not disgusted with the country's appropriate profit taking.
It's just that some wealthy businessmen and powerful bureaucrats who came from rich business backgrounds were very greedy for the huge profits after seeing the popularity of paper cigarettes.
It is true that some people or some groups are not very good at curbing their greed. They always hope that the more power they have, the better, and the more wealth they have, the better.
"Your Highness, it would be great if you were the prince. In this case, the profits from these government-run tobacco, mining, and textile industries will be yours in the future."
this day.
Ouyang Ling, the concubine of the second prince Zhu Changhui, smiled and mentioned the matter to him when the second prince lamented that there was still some money left to buy a private garden. It was obvious that he wanted Zhu Changhui to fight for the throne so that he could use all these official profits in the future. It became a royal property and could even be used to win over some nobles to support his reforms.
Zhu Changhui said with a serious look: "Aren't you pushing me into the fire pit? If I were the prince, I would have to guard against being used as a black incense!"
"Who dares to harm the crown prince?"
"Your Highness, never believe such words. Anyone who spreads such words may have ulterior motives."
Ou Yangling's general E frowned slightly and refuted Zhu Changhui's words.
Zhu Changhui said: "Even if there are rumors that someone wants to use Wuxiang for the prince, it is a rumor, but I can't compete with the emperor for the throne!"
"You should give up this evil thought as soon as possible!"
"First of all, I am a concubine. Secondly, there is no need for it. It would be great to be a feudal lord when I go out in the future. Didn't you hear what the uncles said? It's not that scary overseas. It's very rich and unrestrained. There are fewer rules. You also have your own army. You don't need to Like in China, sometimes the censor is so angry."
"But Your Highness, no matter how good it is overseas, nothing can compare to the Middle Earth. In the Middle Earth, we have parents, sisters and brothers we know, and good friends and confidants."
Ouyang Ling replied.
Zhu Changhui said: "But there are many rules, and I don't earn as much as being a vassal king overseas."
Ouyang Ling frowned after hearing this, and realized that Zhu Changhui had no enterprising spirit.
But for Zhu Changhui, the value of participating in the heir apparent is indeed not great. The main reason is that the benefits are not worth the benefits of joining the feudal clan overseas. The risk of key failure is very high, and the consequences after failure will be disastrous.
Therefore, Zhu Changhui was more interested in joining the feudal clan overseas.
After all, the situation overseas is now well known. As a prince, he also receives many gifts from overseas vassals every year. On the Wanshou Festival, he also hears many vassals who are close to him talk about their experiences of joining vassals overseas. Naturally, he also knows where to go now. Being an emperor overseas is more comfortable than being an emperor at home.
When you are an emperor at home, you need to treat your own people as human beings, but when you are a vassal king overseas, you don't have to treat the local natives as human beings.
Because when you become a vassal overseas, you don't have to worry about the local natives revolting. As long as the natives revolt, you can use your own army and the governor's court army to suppress it. If you can't suppress it, you can ask the court to add more troops to suppress it.
in addition.
Because technologically advanced weapons and various equipment can be purchased from the central court of the Ming Dynasty or provided directly by the central court of the Ming Dynasty, as a vassal state, there is no need to raise many technical personnel, let alone cultivate the talents of local people, just let them learn to be respectful. In this way, you can only practice the art of weakening the people, and you don't have to respect the natives, and you don't have to treat the natives as human beings. In this way, you can be a real feudal slave owner who takes life and death.
King Wei now monopolizes the interests of salt, cloth, grain, porcelain, tea, tobacco and minerals in his vassal state. He has raised many maids and retainers, and enjoys the pleasure of everyone kneeling down and worshiping him every day. his life.
"The imperial examination only respects Cheng and Zhu. They can only speak for the saints and are not allowed to express their feelings directly. Otherwise, they will not be admitted!"
In order to better win over the local people and not think about rebellion, King Wei opened the first imperial examination in his Wei Kingdom, but required that all the scholars in his country could only participate in the imperial examination in the same way as the scholars before the Ming Dynasty. You can only write eight-legged articles that follow Neo-Confucianism, but cannot have your own innovations.
Shi Zhangmi, the new chief minister of King Wei, could not help but ask King Wei:
"Your Highness, will this make our country lifeless, prevent our culture from flourishing in the future, and make it inferior to other vassal states in terms of culture and governance?"
"This is not important!"
"Because what Gu wants is not that the civil society is more prosperous than them, but that our Prince Wei's Mansion can always be the master of this land and can always guard the foundation here for Huang Ming."
"So, what I want is for the people here to be able to only be enlightened on the classics after studying, and only dull and not spiritual. In this way, the country will naturally be stable."
King Wei said.
Zhang Mi nodded and said, "Your Highness is right!"
Then, Zhang Mi added: "However, in my humble opinion, should we set up some special departments to recruit some talents who can develop skills, and if talents who can make instruments should be officials, in order to avoid being inferior to other vassals in terms of sharp weapons in the future, And being bullied by other vassal states?"
"No need!"
King Wei rejected Zhang Mi's proposal and said: "If other vassal states bully our country, the court will uphold justice. But if we develop equipment and cultivate talents to make equipment, we may not be tolerated by the court!"
"What's more, once these people want to develop skills, they have to give these people the right to question, so that they can't be too submissive and have to be smart to create, but this is not conducive to control!"
"Therefore, our country of Wei cannot cultivate craftsmen who are good at making things. Even the existing craftsmen must be classified as craftsmen and their access is restricted. Others must also be classified as civil and Confucian, and they are not allowed to leave hundreds of people at will. land."
King Wei said, "As for firearms, it is better to buy them than to make them. It is better to buy them from the court than to make them yourself!"
"Even the army doesn't have to be too strong, and the firearms and equipment don't have to be too advanced. Just being able to ride and shoot to suppress bandits is enough. Anyway, it has the protection of the court to allow as many people as possible to farm and mine, and they are not allowed to do business, go to sea or even flee, so we have to Set up road guides, compile various household registrations, and set up a maritime ban system!"
"In short, everything is just like the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Business and agriculture can only be controlled by the central court and the royal palace!"
(End of chapter)
