"So, according to you, all the forces in the east will be like this." Theodora said: "If Java can continue until that time, maybe they will be the first to follow suit."
"It's very possible." Guo Kang said: "They are actually the same as us. The number of citizens is never enough, but they have a large number of slaves, so the methods they choose may be similar."
"Moreover, compared to the traditional Central Plains dynasty, the Javanese Yuan is more 'European'. I heard that they even have a large number of foreign mercenaries. Therefore, their methods may be more radical than ours. I doubt that their entire country will develop rapidly. slave society."
"That's true, that place is actually more like a merchant republic. For the sake of efficiency, merchants will not worry so much." Theodora nodded: "They have no one to control them there, so they will naturally do whatever they want. "
"I was discussing the issue of imported looms with 'Sun Shiwan' before. He complained to me that when his brother was in power a few years ago, he was accused of lining his own pockets and using his power to compete with the people for profit, which led to the development of new plantations. The plan failed."
“But I have talked with representatives of the Chen family in Java before, and they complained that the Sun family members have been condemning them every day in the past few years, saying that since they took over the government, their first priority has been to compete with the people. "
"Look, this time when they came to power, others said they were competing for profits with the people. They didn't even bother to change their excuses." She spread her hands: "For businessmen, this is not a problem. There are many rules. From their point of view, it’s just an excuse that they can use whenever they want.”
"That's why I said, you trust businessmen too much." She did not forget to add a few words of warning.
Guo Kang felt that she had been too sensitive these days, and he didn't know what happened, so he had no choice but to nod and fool around.
"But I don't know how the Ming Dynasty will choose." Seeing him admit it, Theodora continued the topic with satisfaction: "I always feel that with their size, it will be difficult for them to develop like Java."
"Farms and workshops in Java can use a large number of slaves and slave labor, but it may be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to do so. Where to obtain slaves and how to transport them over long distances are all problems."
"And I have a feeling that the Seris people are very 'squeamish'." She thought for a moment and then said: "They care very much about things that other peoples don't care about. Let these people be serfs or slave labor, I'm afraid it will be a problem. Don’t let them have any fighting capacity. In the current environment of the Ming Dynasty, I’m afraid they won’t be able to bear this kind of price.”
"I think it's because the average level there is too high." Guo Kang thought for a while and found an explanation that he thought was feasible: "The Seris people have higher basic combat effectiveness and organizational skills, so their There are also more basic requirements.”
"Similarly, here in Europe, it's not that the serfs and gangsters are more powerful in fighting, but that everyone is equally weak to begin with, and they can no longer show their strength."
"So we can't make comparisons out of thin air, we still have to look at their environment." He concluded.
"That's right." Theodora agreed.
"But you are right. The situation in the Ming Dynasty is indeed difficult to manage." Guo Kang thought for a while and said.
Like the Purple Horde Khanate, the Ming Dynasty could not quickly concentrate land through administrative orders and laws. Unlike those bully English farmers, the Serris people are very 'squeamish'. The prevalence of land annexations can really lead to massive rebellions. Throughout the ages, no dynasty can withstand this impact.
Therefore, theoretically, they are unlikely to adopt this approach.
In fact, the Ming Dynasty is not without similar opportunities. From a historical perspective, England had a similar period of time before it entered capitalism.
In the last years of the Stuart dynasty, England was in extremely serious crisis.
In the north, the Scots were constantly harassing and causing trouble. To the northeast, the struggle with the Netherlands intensified. Moreover, not only are there these foreign enemies, but domestic conflicts are also becoming increasingly fierce. The nobles occupied land one after another and annexed properties on a large scale, causing farmers to be displaced and bandits to run rampant.
At the same time, although the country was getting richer and richer, the money and food available to the court were stretched thin. Because the king's main income comes from the royal territory and a few privileges such as customs duties. Most of the wealth was withheld by nobles and gentry everywhere. They were entrenched in the southeast of England, the richest areas, and the court was unable to carry out the expropriation smoothly.
These southeastern gentry formed factions with the help of parliament to compete with the king. The king also responded tit-for-tat, appointing close ministers to establish special agencies in an attempt to collect taxes.
But at the end of the contest, the king was defeated. Several close ministers were killed and the corresponding institutions were abolished. In the end, even the king was overthrown and executed. Later generations generally believe that from then on, Britain gradually entered the era of capitalism.
Although the specific circumstances of this period of history are quite different from Seris, they are vaguely similar to the situation in the late Ming Dynasty.
From this point of view, the reason why the Ming Dynasty failed to successfully realize capitalism should be that the southeastern gentry was too weak to overthrow the emperor and let Siris embark on the same path. After all, in the history of the Ming Dynasty, there was no well-organized and powerful "Donglin Party", but the English did have a Whig Party.
Continuing the analogy, a way more consistent with the development of advanced civilization should be to support the southeastern gentry and encourage them not to pay taxes to the court and to confront the emperor.
...I feel that this conclusion should be in line with Javanese Yuan's taste.
After this, England's story is not over yet.
Although the internal problems have been resolved, external conflicts remain. Since then, England and the Netherlands in the northeast have fought many times, with many defeats and few wins. At the worst time, someone even broke into the border, attacked the city of London, set fire to the dock, and robbed the flagship of the English Navy.
Faced with such a difficult enemy, the gentry's choice was to actively collude with each other, lure Dutch soldiers into the pass, and drive away the restored king. At that time, the Netherlands was also full of internal conflicts. The Orange family and the Parliament were in constant conflict, and bloody murders and coups occurred many times.
So each side got what it wanted, and William of Orange married the English princess and was recognized as king. And he also brought his party's industry and shipbuilding technology with him. From then on, the financial and shipbuilding center at that time gradually moved to England, which provided a great boost to the subsequent development of capitalism and laid the foundation for navigation and even industrial development.
It can be seen that if you encounter a powerful enemy, taking the initiative to invite him to enter the customs is a very suitable choice for gentry.
This is probably equivalent to the fact that in the late Ming Dynasty, when Huang Taiji was unstable and unable to convince the king and ministers to discuss politics, the gentry took the initiative to welcome Huang Taiji and quickly entered the pass, drove Chongzhen away, and then married the princess to him.
According to this British operation, a "United Empire of the Ming Dynasty and Jianzhou Eight Banners" can be established. From then on, obstacles were removed and we embarked on the path of developing capitalism.
Although the name is weird, people in England are advanced and civilized and never care about this. They have been ruled by foreigners for eight hundred times, and they have not said anything. At first glance, they appear to be very open-minded and progressive.
Of course, the biggest problem with this is that ordinary people are likely to rebel because they can't stand it any longer. And even if there is more force from the Eight Banners, if the land is enclosed with the intensity of the British, there will still be people who will continue to rise up and resist.
This should be the biggest difference.
The gentry of the Ming Dynasty themselves said, "If you don't die of hunger in peace, just imitate the mantis with its arms." It is precisely because the landless peasants did not learn from their British counterparts and obediently starved to death from exhaustion, but instead rebelled all day long, that capital accumulation could not proceed. Of course, the Ming Dynasty was unable to learn from advanced civilization and develop capitalism.
Some people in later generations believe that the inability to learn from the West and develop capitalism is a problem with the foundation of Chinese civilization. It can be seen that this place is a depression of civilization with no hope of solution. After detailed analysis, it is not difficult to find that an excessive willingness to resist and a lack of endurance may be the root cause of this civilization.
This conclusion is very strange, but I believe that the gentry of the Ming Dynasty would definitely feel the same way.
(End of chapter)
