When Zhu Jingyuan faced his grandfather's rhetorical question, he did not directly answer yes or no, but began to explain another judgment:
“In the agricultural era, due to transportation restrictions and the scope of business being limited to agricultural farming, the group of scholar-officials was naturally regional.
“Local scholar-bureaucrats and local court bureaucrats formed a natural party-oriented group, and they united in the court to compete with rural parties in other places.
“Although scholar-official groups in different regions share the most basic common interests, this interest is not enough to truly bind them together.
“The emperor can coordinate checks and balances, control the scope and intensity of party struggles, and then control the bureaucracy and rule the country.
“The regional party struggles in the Ming Dynasty may have begun in the Yongle Dynasty and continued throughout the Ming Dynasty.
“But in the industrial age, the natural divisions of regional factions are likely to quickly become ineffective.
"First, the owners of manufacturers can operate various businesses throughout the Ming Dynasty, and even around the world.
“Secondly, manufacturers throughout the Ming Dynasty and even the world can easily unite using roads, railways, airplanes, and telegraphs to coordinate and deal with any possible enemies.
“In fact, the royal consortium is a limit state of this kind of development.
“If it weren’t for the legal restrictions of the Ming Dynasty, which handed over a large number of industries to the royal consortium for exclusive operation, it is likely that Ming-wide super consortiums would appear in these industries.
“After opening up the six major industries, it is also possible for manufacturers of this size to appear within these six major industries.
"For example, if I was not born into a royal family, but was the child of an ordinary businessman, then all my inventions and creations would definitely belong to this businessman's family.
“These inventions and creations, based on a certain amount of capital and not too bad management capabilities, can quickly expand to a level of horror that is unimaginable to most people.
“For example, I alone have a monopoly on automobile and engine manufacturing throughout the Ming Dynasty and even around the world, I alone have a monopoly on aircraft engine manufacturing, and I have a monopoly on the patents, manufacturing and sales of civil aircraft.
"When my industry spreads throughout the Ming Dynasty and even around the world, to what extent will my influence on the local and central bureaucracy be reached? What kind of officials can resist my erosion?
“I think the expansion speed and upper limit of factories and businesses in the industrial era may far exceed our imagination.
“Whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the West, the strongest merchants in the agricultural era were dependent on the monarchs and nobles.
“Business at that time was a by-product of agriculture. Commerce could not replace agriculture, but industry could.
"With the advent of the industrial age, the bosses in various countries in Europe and America have gradually changed from being dependent on the aristocracy to controlling the aristocracy.
“Even businessmen controlled the imperial court and sent their own representatives to form the imperial court, turning the imperial court into an internal platform for the bosses.
“By that time, bribery may even be legal, because the court itself is a capital arena.
“Essentially, it’s a world where one penny gets one power, and it’s completely fair from a monetary perspective.
“Whoever has more money has greater power, but they must pay bribes in accordance with regulations, which can be called political donations.
“Although there is no essential difference between the social structure of the agricultural era and the agricultural era.
“But the effective management and checks and balances in the agricultural era are likely to become ineffective in the industrial era.
"Because the 'order of magnitude' of things to be managed has changed.
"We have to adjust the limits on the bureaucracy..."
Zhu Jingyuan knew that during the second industrial revolution, capitalism entered the era of imperialism.
Times have really changed this time.
The era of monopoly has arrived, and giant monopoly companies have begun to appear.
The existence of the royal consortium limits the emergence of manufacturers of this level.
Private monopoly is of course not good, but suppressing this development tendency too much will also limit the improvement of Ming Dynasty's production capacity.
Zhu Jingyuan felt that there should be relevant instructions in the pamphlet left by Emperor Shizu.
As expected, when Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan heard Zhu Jingyuan's description, they both had thoughtful expressions.
Zhu Zhongliang nodded slowly:
"That being said, I really need to loosen the reins a bit..."
Zhu Jianyan said in a strange tone:
“Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor has been constantly fighting against the civil service system.
“From the Yongle era until the Renwu Dynasty, emperors continued to fail.
“The authority of the emperor continued to weaken as it was passed down from generation to generation.
“By the time of Apocalypse and Chongzhen, the resources controlled by scholar-bureaucrats had threatened the emperor’s status.
“It wasn’t until the Renwu Dynasty that the situation was reversed at the hands of Emperor Shizu.
"Now... Jingyuan, you want us to go back and indulge or even strengthen the bureaucracy?
"Although it does make sense, this kind of thing makes me a little hard to accept...
"I'm very worried about whether this choice is the right one..."
When Zhu Jingyuan faced his father's concerns, he did not directly persuade or reassure him. Instead, he tried to analyze his father's concerns:
"The bureaucracy is not the emperor's enemy. If this system had a will of its own, it would certainly not want to become the emperor's enemy.
“Because the emperor himself is the supreme leader of the bureaucracy and the leader of the entire ruling group.
“Members of the bureaucracy are also representatives of the ruling class and members of the ruling group.
“Both sides belong to the same collective, and their fundamental interests are actually convergent. The contradictions between the two sides are internal class contradictions.
"The emperor puts the bureaucracy in opposition, which is absolutely a completely wrong thinking.
“It’s just that, as the head and leader of a group, the emperor hopes that his organization and group can become stronger.
“But I don’t want anyone under my command to threaten my status.
“But at the same time, he also needs to allocate resources to his subordinates in exchange for capable subordinates to help him maintain his rule.
"Before the Renwu Dynasty, the Ming Emperor continued to lose in the struggle with the civil service system, and his authority continued to weaken. The fundamental reason was not the victory or defeat of the superficial struggle in the court.
“The most fundamental thing is the loss of the ability to control land and population.
“The foundation of the agricultural era is land and population. When the authority of any emperor is strongest, it is when it controls the most land and population.
“But if the emperor wants to control enough land, he needs to rely on the functioning of the bureaucracy.
“It is difficult to control how much interest and power is given to the bureaucracy and to what extent it is allowed to expand.
"Before the Renwu Dynasty, there was indeed the possibility of recycling the resources provided by the emperor.
"For example, seizing a noble title and confiscating a house.
“But most of the time, you can only get out but not get in.
"Because the Ming Dynasty's nobles are not only hereditary, but there is no such thing as surrender.
“At the same time, because of the restrictions on nobles’ influence on government affairs, a large number of people are not working with resources, which is a waste of resources.
"In addition, the personal abilities of the emperors before the Renwu Dynasty... can only be limited compared to those after.
“As the emperor continues to give out rewards and canonizations, the resources at his disposal are getting smaller and smaller.
“With the continuous annexation of private land, some landlords own more and more land.
“In this process, the ratio of the resources controlled by the emperor as the leader of the group and that of the group members gradually reversed.
“When the land and population that the emperor can actually control are reduced to a certain extent, and the land and population controlled by private forces are concentrated to a certain extent, the emperor will no longer be able to direct the bureaucracy.
“The benefits that the bureaucracy received from other aspects gradually exceeded the benefits that the emperor could give.
“The emperor is the nominal leader, and the resources he controls are no longer enough to suppress all members of the group.
"Master Wei Miao (Zhu Youjian of Chongzhen) has certainly more control over the harem and eunuchs than Master Ximiao (Zhu Youxiao of Tianqi). Otherwise, he would not be able to kill ministers indiscriminately in the court and still be safe and sound. He lived until the Renwu Dynasty.
"But his killing people in the court was not enough to affect the actual situation. Instead, it made the bureaucracy even more centrifugal.
"Master Wei Miao treats the civil service system, the entire delegation of the ruling class, and his fellow landlords as enemy bandits.
"Of course the civil service system will not willingly assist it in ruling the country.
“The interests of the entire bureaucracy have diverged from those of the emperor.
“Before the Renwu Dynasty, according to official household registration statistics, there was no actual population growth at all during the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty.
“Not only did the land not increase, it actually decreased by a large amount.
"It is generally believed that at least a population equal to the number of household registrations is hidden under the wings of the scholar-bureaucrats who work, study and pass down family traditions.
“So Emperor Shizu first completely banned any form of enslaving the Ming people.
“Then let land resources form a standardized system.
“The two most critical points are the imperial estate’s priority purchase system in land transactions and the assessment and inheritance system for traditional titles.
“The former curbs the concentration of land among the people and prevents other individuals within the ruling group from secretly growing in size.
“Let the transferred land return to the emperor’s hands and ensure that the emperor always controls as much land as possible.
“The latter ensures that the ruling group retains its ability to rule at the lowest cost.
“Recover the land resources occupied by ruling group individuals who have lost their governance capabilities and transfer them to new ruling group individuals who can provide governance capabilities.
“This mechanism is certainly not in line with the wishes of ordinary people, the wishes of ordinary members of the ruling class.
“But the emperor as the leader has already taken the lead, and the emperor’s sons also have to take exams to obtain titles, and the training system is more stringent than that of Guan Xungui.
"The future emperors selected in this way can all be regarded as social elites.
“Then the honorable nobles can only accept it.
"Because the inheritance assessment is not a pure surrender. Of course, if you don't work hard, you will not have the right to inherit, but if you are willing to work hard, you will have the opportunity to obtain the right to inherit, so most people choose to work hard.
“This has led to the overall involution of our ruling group in the Ming Dynasty, and has formed a tradition of getting out if they can’t do their job.
“At least so far, the system is working quite well.
“The energy of the bureaucracy is always tightly constrained.
“And the royal consortium and private capital are expanding almost without restraint.
“When running a business and running a factory becomes the most desirable profession for ordinary people, rather than being an official, the energy of the bureaucracy will drop to freezing point.
“Since being an official is not as good as being a boss, then why do the best elites come to work for the emperor?
"I think we really need to loosen the reins a little bit now..."
Zhu Jingyuan spoke for a long time, and the two emperors Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan were silent for a while.
After a long time, Zhu Jianyan did not speak again. Zhu Zhongliang continued to ask:
"You have been thinking about it for so long, do you have a more mature plan?
"How to release it specifically? How to improve the status of bureaucrats.
“What should we give them so that they can more effectively resist the corrosion of capital?
"At the same time, how to ensure that they are still under control in the future."
Of course Zhu Jingyuan had thought about it, so he spoke directly now:
“I think we should start from two directions, one is protection, the other is honor, and the third is energy.
“First of all, ensure the living conditions of bureaucrats, as well as the advancement paths for themselves, their families, and their children.
“The imperial courts at all levels have come forward to provide high-quality housing for all officials, in different sizes according to different levels.
“When you reach a certain level, you start to be equipped with cars, which must have special logos and special functions.
“The most basic-level clerks and clerks can also be directly provided with fuel-powered mopeds (motorcycles), so that they do not need to ride bicycles to and from get off work, nor do they need to spend money to purchase transportation.
“Comprehensively build specialized schools for officials’ children, and ensure that their educational level and educational resources exceed normal levels.
“After retirement, the court will also provide relatively high pensions, provide almost free medical care, almost free funeral services, and provide relatively high standards.
“Unified official cemeteries can be built in government offices at all levels.
"As long as he becomes a formal bureaucrat of the Ming Dynasty, he and his family will no longer have any worries about their life and safety, as well as their children's learning and development space.
“This eliminates the need for bureaucrats to actively accept investment from capital for the sake of living conditions.
"We are not afraid of raising a family of professional bureaucrats. This kind of family is actually more likely to be of one mind and heart with the emperor, because their status is completely determined by the emperor.
“Secondly, honors, the immediate solution is to open up titles to the civil service system generally.
"An old bureaucrat who has worked diligently in the bureaucracy all his life and has made no obvious mistakes in his life should have the lowest honorary title when he retires.
“We can use the once informal names of gentry and gentry to identify them and enjoy certain retirement benefits.
"Those who have made outstanding contributions can be given a rather formal baronship, and those who have made great contributions can be promoted to titles in turn.
"Ordinary titles can be given to the title of "Flower Knight", and those with special contributions can be given to the Spyker. Of course, the inheritance test is the same as the traditional title.
"Emperors and nobles are hereditary, but civil servants are not easily granted titles. This is actually one of the underlying causes of corruption in the civil service system.
“Civil officials may feel that since the emperor and nobles can inherit, but their own identity cannot, they should use their power to seek personal gain for their family when they are in power.
“The emperor and nobles evaluate succession, which reduces the psychological incentives of the civil service system.
"Now that the restrictions on titles have been relaxed for them, then civil servants, military officers, and traditional nobles will be exactly the same.
“It can further alleviate this contradiction.
“At the same time, civil service titles can maintain or even enhance ordinary people’s yearning for official status.
“Ultimately, we continue to attract the best talents to become officials.
“The last thing is the energy, which is the most important part.
“Let the bureaucracy possess resources that can counter the royal consortium and private capital.
“In the industrial age, the resources that can provide this energy are the means of production, which are large factories and businesses.
“So, we should establish a government-run consortium that is owned by the imperial court and whose managers have formal bureaucratic status.
“With the government-run consortium, the bureaucracy has the ability to compete with private capital.
“The key is that this makes the two sides have a natural tendency to oppose each other.
“The emperor can then coordinate and balance.
“In the future, the capital power of the Ming Dynasty may be divided into three parts: the royal family, the court, and the private sector.
“The mutual balance of these three parts is the prerequisite for maintaining the stability of the Ming Dynasty.
"The final decision-making power of two of them is in the hands of the emperor, so it is also the basis for protecting and maintaining the emperor's authority."
Zhu Jingyuan paused for a moment when he said this, feeling that the two emperors should understand his purpose.
Both generations of emperors indeed nodded silently.
The two of them originally thought that Zhu Jingyuan was going to delegate power, but they didn't expect that except for the final project, everything else was not related to fundamental things.
In fact, the protection of bureaucratic identity, status, life and other aspects exists now and has existed since ancient times.
It's just that it was not as comprehensive as Zhu Jingyuan said before.
As for the last item, the two emperors who had read Shizu's posthumous chapter had a word pop up in their minds:
"State Capitalism."
The two of them did not need Zhu Jingyuan to explain in depth, and Zhu Jingyuan also knew that he should not need to explain.
State capitalism does not mean ownership by the whole people, and ownership by the whole people does not mean ownership by workers.
State capitalism can be seen as owned by the bureaucracy, or the civil service system, or the imperial court.
The factories and businesses owned by the imperial court could not directly protect the interests of the people at the lowest level.
But it was the basis for the court and the bureaucracy to remain relatively neutral when facing employers and workers.
If there is no government-run consortium to weigh the weights, and if the court formulates some new labor-related laws, requiring manufacturers to produce according to certain regulations, and requiring manufacturers to provide workers with certain protections, the bosses may react like the scholar-bureaucrats in the past against the emperor.
You can do it in disguise, you can resign, you can go on strike, you can find a lot of reasons that look very reasonable.
In the past, it was "the court cannot compete with the people for profit," but now and in the future it is "the court cannot deprive workers of their right to work to get rich."
If the court deals with certain individual manufacturers in particular, other similar manufacturers may unite to fight or go on strike, or even incite and instigate workers to riot against the court.
Just like the local scholar-bureaucrats in the past, they could find someone to kill the tax collectors sent by the emperor. If someone died in trouble, they could write a "Tombstone Note of Several People" to ensure that the cause they were doing was just.
It's a pity that in the Qing Dynasty, it was impossible to write this kind of tombstone record. The list was too long to write down, and even if it was written, there would be nothing.
With the consortium run by the imperial court, it is equivalent to the imperial court directly controlling part of the resources and a large number of people.
The management and use of these resources and populations no longer require the use of bosses as intermediaries.
When the bosses disobey management or interfere with them, the court can use government-run consortiums and enterprises to fight against them.
The imperial court enacted a law requiring the implementation of a ten-hour work system, and could let the government-owned consortiums directly managed by it implement it first.
Government-run consortiums will attract workers from private manufacturers due to their relatively favorable working conditions and benefits.
This in turn forces private employers to offer better conditions to retain workers.
Just like the Ming Emperor used the bureaucracy and the royal consortium to check and balance each other.
The most critical thing is that the existence of government-run consortia has created a competitive relationship with private capital.
Members of the bureaucracy include members of government-run conglomerates.
Therefore, the existence of government-run consortiums has become an obstacle to the reconciliation between the bureaucracy and private capital.
The use of government-run conglomerates is the basis for the bureaucracy not to completely tilt to its employers.
A dam that restricts private entrepreneurs from controlling more social resources.
No matter what considerations the bureaucracy takes, it is against protecting the most basic interests of workers at the bottom.
The existence of government-run consortiums provides them with the possibility of making choices.
Without the government-run financial groups directly controlled by the court as a balancing force, it would be as difficult for the court to require manufacturers to directly protect the interests of workers as it was when the ancient emperor asked scholar-bureaucrats to protect the interests of farmers.
They can say it nicely, but chances are no one will actually do it.
