"That's all we can do, alas!"
Zhu Biao sighed softly and slowly poured himself wine.
"Perhaps I am really too impatient. I always want to make Ming Dynasty rich and powerful as soon as possible, let the people live a good life as soon as possible, and let my Ming Dynasty's cavalry ride on the grassland as soon as possible."
"Perhaps, I should really learn from you, how you can always be so calm and unhurried."
Zhu Biao shook his head and handed the wine jar to Xiao Han.
"I can understand your mood, but some things really can't be rushed."
"And, to put it bluntly, after the chaos, it is more suitable for a mediocre emperor to do things like recuperate and recuperate. In fact, it is not suitable for someone like you who is busy to death all day long."
"The one who is really suitable for you should actually be to open up the territory and expand the territory, to seal the wolf as a cub, and to drink from the vast sea of horses. It's a pity that this is the case."
Xiao Han took the wine, filled it for himself and shook his head slightly.
"how you said that?"
Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, having difficulty understanding Xiao Han's theory.
"A dynasty can only survive in a few stages. If the prosperous age comes too quickly, it will accelerate the process and shorten the life of the dynasty."
"For example, in the past, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, with his natural talent, single-handedly allowed the Tang Dynasty to finish all the work of the Han Dynasty from Emperor Gaozu to Emperor Wu."
"As a result, after his son Li Zhi left, the Wu family usurped the country. Fortunately, the empress followed the Li family and his son for many years. Although she could not be called an eternal wise king, she could not be said to be too bad. In the end, he found his way back and returned the government to the Li family."
"Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty, to a certain extent, can be regarded as dead after three generations. After all, after Li Zhi, power has been in the hands of the empress."
Xiao Han held the wine glass and looked at the sake in the glass with emotion.
"But, does this have anything to do with what you said?"
"After the Wu family, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, didn't he create the prosperous Kaiyuan era and bring the Tang Dynasty to its peak?"
Zhu Biao frowned and looked at the wine and then the food. He was confused and couldn't eat it.
"Kaiyuan, prosperous age?"
"maybe."
"It seems that Anshi caused the decline of the Tang Dynasty, but in fact, even without Anshi, the Tang Dynasty would have gone downhill."
"The houses are full of luxury and luxury."
"What a longing for a prosperous age, but they can't see that Kaiyuan is already too prosperous and it can't be more prosperous."
"In other words, it is impossible to make the pie of the Tang Dynasty bigger. So, in this case, what do you think those aristocratic families, those landlords, and those wealthy businessmen will do?"
"Will they... stop when enough is enough, or will they reach out to those Luo Qi's who pop up in every house?"
"People say that the imperial concubine seduced the king, causing him to not go to court early, which led to the Anshi Rebellion and the ruin of the dynasty."
"But this is just an excuse for the scholar-bureaucrats to forcefully blame the imperial concubine. Even if there is no imperial concubine, the court will still be the same court. How long can they keep their hands on it?"
"Five years, ten years, or twenty years?"
"It can be said that the foundation left by Zhenguan is so good. Even after years of fighting, once it stabilizes, it will reach its peak in a short period of time. It is not an exaggeration to say that from a certain level, it was Empress Wu who suddenly gave everyone a huge boost. The Tang Dynasty extended the national destiny for decades."
Xiao Han chuckled and drank the wine in one gulp.
"No, no, it shouldn't be like this. There have been examples of ZTE in all dynasties. How could it be that once it has passed its peak, it will definitely decline? If in the future, I, the descendants of the Zhu family, can work hard to govern, they may not be able to reach a second peak."
Zhu Biao shook his head desperately, as if he wanted to get rid of the concepts Xiao Han entered into him from his mind.
"ZTE? Can their ZTE really be the same as it was at its peak back then? Unless we smash it to pieces and start over, it is impossible to really ZTE. Of course, this is not unprecedented. There have indeed been people who have done this. He defeated the enemy and beat himself to pieces. Not only did he expand his territory, but he also used the opportunity to solve internal problems."
"It's just that that person's record is almost impossible to replicate. After all, such conditions are too harsh. Once there is a slight mistake, everything will be lost."
Xiao Han chuckled.
"You mean, Emperor Wu of Han?"
"From your point of view, this is too extreme, right? If you can defeat Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but fail to defeat Emperor Sui Yang, both results and impacts are too extreme."
Zhu Biao grinned. Even if he was asked to come at that time, he would feel that instead of walking a tightrope, it would be better to find a way to put aside the conflict.
"So, don't worry. The advantage now lies with me, Daming. Take your time. I know you want to save some wealth and fight to your hometown in Beiyuan."
"But now our Ming Dynasty is prospering, and Meng Yuan's river is declining. We have the advantage of time. Don't worry, let them hurry first. There is no need for us to rush for success, and we have to tire ourselves out every day. The guy with the toughest tone worked hard.”
"Whenever we need this enemy to invade abroad, we will go deep into the grassland and deal with the last remaining Meng Yuan."
Xiao Han shook his wine glass with an indifferent expression.
"Then what should we do?"
Zhu Biao touched his chin.
"Back then, the old man conquered the world with his nine-character mantra. Today, I will also come up with a nine-character mantra."
"Stretch out the oar long, accumulate grain widely, and go out to the ocean."
"We will gradually build production in the Ming Dynasty, clean up the Japanese pirates along the coast, build more large ships, and then use ocean trade to accumulate national strength. If we really want to fight, then go directly to the Japanese pirates' hometown. There are gold and silver mountains there."
Xiao Han chuckled, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
Zhu Biao:…
"Why do I feel that you just want to persuade me to fight the Japanese pirates by talking so much in a roundabout way?"
Zhu Biao raised his eyebrows, feeling something strange in his heart.
"It's nothing, that's what I'm saying. It's just that the Japanese pirates do have mountains of gold and silver that we can rely on when we return to gold and silver in the future."
Xiao Han smiled awkwardly, but in the end he still did not tell Zhu Biao about the hatred between the country and the family in future generations.
"Forget it, let's not talk about these distant things. I just want to know what we can do to make our Ming Dynasty rise longer and prosper more."
Zhu Biao raised his glass to Xiao Han.
"It's easy to say, it's the same sentence."
"If you enter, you will be unable to fight the soldiers at home, if you leave, you will be invincible against foreign patients, and the country will be permanently destroyed."
"First, in China, we can make the cake bigger and make it hotter, leaving a more complete rule."
"Second, if there is really no other way, then let the enemy invade and divert the conflict. However, this method treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. Diversion is not elimination. It cannot truly solve the problem unless the enemy is defeated and the other side comes to set fire to it. It’s all burned.”
Xiao Han raised his glass and touched it with Zhu Biao.
"oh?"
"Tell me how you can make the cake hotter."
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up slightly. Although Xiao Han said that dynasties had their own rise and fall, he did not put his words to death. It was obvious that although it could not be completely solved, there was still a way.
"Actually, we are already doing this. The appearance of Jin Yiwei is a means."
"However, enforcement is ultimately about brute force. If you want to better overcome the opponent, you can only fundamentally disintegrate the power of those who reach out, so that they can realize that this cake is hot and not easy to take lightly."
"Boss, tell me, since ancient times, who are the people who can most subvert the imperial power?"
"Are they the peasants who frequently revolt?"
Xiao Han narrowed his eyes.
"Of course not. In ancient times, peasant uprisings were mostly oppressed by powerful families, but in the end, they were beguiled by them and transferred their anger to the imperial court."
"And the imperial court itself has been corrupted by powerful families. Corruption has been repeatedly banned and it is unable to clean itself up. Even a virtuous king cannot defend himself in the face of this situation."
"So I, the Ming Dynasty, do not share the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, but share the world with the people of the world. Both my father and I will continue to suppress those scholar-bureaucrats and be kind to the people of the world in the future."
Zhu Biao raised his head as he spoke, looking proud.
"oh?"
"Suppress the scholar-bureaucrats?"
"How to suppress them? Shouldn't they be allowed to become officials?"
Xiao Han chuckled and poured cold water on Zhu Biao.
"I…"
Zhu Biao hesitated slightly. This was indeed the deadlock of the feudal dynasty. Ordinary people had trouble even eating. How could they have the chance to study?
Even if you really read the book, the great Confucians of the world are all scholar-bureaucrats, and the right to interpret the Four Books and Five Classics is in their hands. Whether your article can pass the previous examination and be sent to the emperor is not a matter of their words.
If the dynasty wants long-term stability, it must suppress the scholar-bureaucrats and prevent the powerful people from oppressing the people too harshly. However, while suppressing it, it must also rely on them, because as long as the imperial examination is held, basically 90% of the people who come will be their people.
Can't get around, can't hide, can't be killed.
Today's imperial examinations have almost reached a dead end just like the imperial examination system back then, being manipulated by powerful families.
"You have a solution, right?"
Zhu Biao looked at Xiao Han expectantly.
"have."
"Do you still remember the "Ming Dynasty Political Outline" I gave you before? The essential problem is that there is a problem with our selection system. Powerful families can easily block the advancement channels of ordinary people."
"Even if my Hongwu Dictionary is spread out in the future and the common people have the opportunity to read and write, powerful families with the power to interpret the Four Books and Five Classics can already interfere with the entire imperial examination. If we want to get rid of them, we must change this situation. "
Xiao Han said to Zhu Biao.
"We are already too far behind here in the Four Books and Five Classics. No matter how loud we shout, we can't cover up the voices of those wealthy families."
"So...I thought maybe we could reopen some new tracks."
Xiao Han's eyes were gleaming, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
"The new track...can this be done with just the "Ming Dynasty Political Outline"?"
"Since ancient times, everyone has relied on the Four Books and Five Classics as the basis. Now that we are starting a new one, what should we do if the scholars don't accept it?"
Zhu Biao was a little worried.
"Haha! You're being short-sighted, aren't you? Opening a new one doesn't mean the old one must be blocked."
"The Four Books and Five Classics are already classic subjects in Ming Jing Ke, but from now on it will be just one of them."
Xiao Han chuckled and looked at Zhu Biao.
"But, despite this, it is still faster for those scholar-bureaucrats to grasp the governance of our Ming Dynasty, right?"
"After all, they have the largest collection of books at home, and the principles are similar. It won't be long before the track of "The Political Outline of the Ming Dynasty" will still be theirs."
Zhu Biao frowned, with worry in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I haven't finished speaking yet."
"This "Ming Dynasty Political Outline" is just one of them."
"Now let's talk about the second one. The Ming Dynasty releases the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes and gradually popularizes the trading market. At that time, the officials of the Ming Dynasty must have a sufficient understanding of the market rules to be able to represent the Ming Dynasty in fighting against those shrewd merchants."
"After all, the existence of the market in the future will most likely become an important source of income for my Ming Dynasty."
"So, do the officials who manage the market need to learn this? Do the officials in the Ministry of Revenue need to learn this?"
"This is called Ming Economics."
"So, those powerful families have advantages in terms of political agenda, but do they also have advantages in economics?"
Xiao Han asked Zhu Biao.
"No, there is such a thing. Those aristocratic families are most likely not as good as those wealthy businessmen who are running around on their own."
"but…"
"Well, wait, according to your logic, wouldn't it mean that our officials in charge of agriculture in the Ming Dynasty are..."
Zhu Biao suddenly paused. He was about to say that "rich businessmen" were not good birds, but he suddenly realized.
"Smart, you can draw inferences from one instance to another."
"Yes, for officials involved in agricultural production, we are also going to compile a book tentatively titled "The Essentials of Agricultural Science in the Ming Dynasty." This thing may be difficult for the scholar-bureaucrats who read the books of sages to understand, but it is for the common people who work hard to cultivate the fields. , Holding the Hongwu Dictionary, you can learn better."
Xiao Han grinned at Zhu Biao.
"You kid... it really has to be you."
Zhu Biao shook his head with admiration in his eyes.
He felt that the brother in front of him was most likely already preparing these when he was writing the Hongwu Dictionary.
I just kept whetting his appetite, waiting for him to take the initiative to ask.
As for the common people who relied on the Ming Dynasty's agricultural skills to be qualified only for agriculture-related officials, this is not a problem at all. As long as they enter the Ming Dynasty's bureaucracy and have almost all the things they need to make up for, then the gap between them and the scholar-bureaucrats' families will be the same. It's smoothed out, and it's not easy to change the position.
When thousands of troops cross a single-plank bridge, the focus is on the past, not how they get there.
Whether you jump over, run over, or simply wade through the water, as long as you go over, you will land.
As for the children of ordinary people, whether they will become corrupt and collude with the scholar-bureaucrats after they become imperial officials, that is a matter for Yushitai and Jinyiwei.
The most important thing in doing this is to tell the people of the world that Ming Dynasty has not forgotten them. Ming Dynasty specially left a way for them. As long as they are willing to walk, they can always reach the emperor.
The emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country.
The Ming Dynasty chose to stand with the people from the beginning. In the end, although Chongzhen was mediocre, he could still say that he should not hurt any of the people.
(End of chapter)
