"Brother, come quickly and help us clear up our doubts."
Gong Duan, however, was familiar and impatient, so he pulled Zuo Mengeng to the middle.
Only then did Zuo Mengeng see that what was on display among the crowd was The Wealth of Nations.
This can't help but make his head full of black lines.
Akito's sense of confidentiality is really too much to complain about.
Can these kinds of writings be shown to others at will?
If there was a stubborn and conservative person among the people here, if he brought this matter out, wouldn't he, Zuo Menggeng, immediately become a criminal?
Hou Xun noticed his strangeness and said with a smile: "Don't worry, dear nephew, we are all members of my generation."
Zuo Menggeng was an accident.
"If Mr. Gu doesn't realize that this junior's works are deviant?"
Hou Xun picked up the manuscript as if he were holding a peerless treasure.
"It's a joke, how can this be deviant? The road to governing the country lies within it."
Zuo Mengeng didn't dare to relax, and said cautiously: "When I wrote this article, I didn't think about governing the country and bringing peace to the world. I just saw people working hard every day. Although they are conscientious, there are things that can be improved."
Cao Wenheng stroked his beard and sighed.
"Good nephew, don't think that governing the country is difficult. After all, it is nothing more than money and food. If money and food are sufficient, the country will be peaceful and the people are safe; if money and food are scarce, the country will be in danger and the people will be in difficulty. Those of us who are officials and govern diligently are nothing more than These are just two words. However, I have worked hard and thought hard, but I can't add anything to it. What my wise nephew said should be my teacher."
Zuo Mengeng didn't dare, so he stood up quickly and kept thanking him.
My family knows their own affairs.
Although I had a strange dream, the things I could inherit were very biased, more than military matters.
As for how to be an official and govern the country, he is still a novice.
I don’t think that seeing the scenery of the next few hundred years makes me any better than these political bigwigs.
At the very least, he had a dark look at how the imperial court was run in this era.
If you really want to enter the officialdom, you will probably be eaten by others without leaving any bones or dregs.
Gong Heng also said: "My dear brother, I don't know something. The place where the Gong clan is located is overcast, with many mountains and little land, and the people are trapped. How to survive has never been understood. As my wise brother said, if you create hundreds of projects and accommodate ten thousand people, then It is actually a good method to reduce the pressure on the land."
Liu Zongzhou nodded and said: "This is the case in the south of the Yangtze River. If there are no prosperous industries, the people will immediately lose their income, and there will be countless people who will destroy their families."
Gongduan is sincerely asking for advice.
"What the wise brother said is very interesting, but there is something that I don't understand, the foolish brother. Please enlighten me."
Zuo Mengeng felt relieved a little.
"My little brother, I will tell you everything I know, and I will tell you everything I know."
The public was overjoyed.
"My dear brother said in the article that hundreds of industries can be opened to accommodate tens of thousands of people. Although this can provide livelihood for the people, there are a certain number of fields in the world, and the food produced is naturally fixed. Too many people have left the land, but there is no food to satisfy their hunger. In this day and age It’s a big problem.”
It turned out that this was really the case for Zuo Mengeng.
"The fields in the world are limited, but the output is unlimited. Nowadays, the maximum output from an acre of land is only one or two stones. But what if the output is increased to three or four stones?"
Everyone exclaimed, "How is that possible?"
Zuo Mengeng was at ease.
"Why not? In the pre-Qin period, people mostly used stone and bronze tools for farming. The amount of land cultivated was limited, and the output was less than half of what it is today. Only after the rise of iron tools did we have the current output. Why can't we cultivate more acres? What about investment and research to increase yield per acre?”
A group of people looked at each other.
They are all scholar-bureaucrats. Although they are not industrious or indifferent to grains, they obviously do not understand how to operate farming.
Zuo Mengeng sighed with emotion, realizing that there was too much to explain when facing these ungrounded people.
"Take seedling cultivation as an example. Is there any progress? The younger generation feels that there is, in fact. A piece of farmland, even if the farmers serve it wholeheartedly and take care of everything, some of the crops that can be grown will be good and some of them will be bad; in the event of a disaster, Afterwards, some fell down and some were still upright. What's the difference?"
Cao Wenheng scratched his beard and tried, "Maybe it's just a coincidence?"
It’s no wonder he thinks so. Agriculture in this era depends on the weather, and there is no overly professional research at all.
Various agricultural books and books also focus more on the construction of agricultural facilities and the most basic breeding methods.
But the difference between breeding and breeding, without the support of biology and genetics, people in this era simply do not understand the mystery.
This is what Zuo Mengeng wants to say.
"It's no coincidence that crops are like people, some are strong and some are weak. The strong among people are less likely to get sick and injured, and recover faster. The opposite is true for the weak. In this case, the junior thought, in When breeding, why not choose seeds that grow well and remain intact despite disasters? Will the crops grown from seeds grown in this way be better than ordinary seeds?"
Everyone listened in rapt attention, but did not refute.
Although they didn't understand the reason, it sounded like it was true.
Hou Xun is a practical person and said: "I don't know if this method is feasible. When I get to the capital, I will personally discuss it with Sinong Temple. If it is feasible, it will be a blessing to all people if it is promoted throughout the world."
Everyone nodded one after another, feeling that it was a great kindness.
Only Zuo Mengeng laughed, knowing that it was impossible.
Hou Xun had sharp eyes and could see clearly, but he was unwilling to let him go.
"My dear nephew, if you have something to say, why don't you say it? What we all want is peace in the world, peace and prosperity for the country and the people. If there are any omissions in this method, it is up to you to find out and fill in the gaps."
When Zuo Mengeng came to his door, he couldn't avoid it.
I gritted my teeth and had to take heavy medicine.
"According to the younger generation, regardless of whether this method is successful or not, it is impossible to spread it throughout the world."
Everyone was surprised and didn't know why he made this conclusion.
Liu Zongzhou was even more anxious and said: "Tell me your reasoning."
Zuo Mengeng looked around, even looked around, and realized that the servants were far away, so he spoke.
"In today's world, most of the land is concentrated in the hands of the royal family, nobles, and landlords. These people annex the land to enrich themselves. The current output and exploitation alone can satisfy the luxurious enjoyment. It is not enough, just continue to annex. Which What motivation is there to increase the output per acre?”
His words were like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, instantly cooling the atmosphere.
Still no one refuted Zuo Mengeng, because everyone knew that what he told was the truth, and it was cruel.
The reason why the landlord class is an obstacle to progress in this era does not mean how harmful it is to landowners annexing land.
When it comes to issues in all dynasties in Chinese history, land annexation is the focus.
In fact, in Zuo Mengeng's view, there are prerequisites for land annexation to become a big issue.
The most prerequisite is that the vast number of people are locked on the land and must rely on the land to survive. In other words, land is the only means of production for the majority of people.
When land is robbed, people will inevitably face pressure to survive.
Secondly, the annexation of land did not bring about the development of agriculture.
Anyone who has experienced agricultural mechanization and scale-up in later generations knows that doing so is the right way to improve agricultural production efficiency and output.
But the problem is that the purpose of the landlord class annexing land is only to grab wealth and will not make any investment in agricultural production.
Since you can live a wealthy and luxurious life with the land you robbed, how can the landlord class be willing to invest in agricultural production?
When natural disasters occur and agricultural production decreases, the landlord class does not find ways to improve the ability of crops to withstand disasters. Instead, it continues to expand land annexation and rely on quantitative advantages to make up for the lack of production.
The last small problem is that the backward feudal society cannot satisfy the survival of more people after they break away from agriculture.
The production in agricultural society is relatively simple, there are not many types of industries, and the number of labor required is very limited.
After a large number of farmers lost their land, they were unable to obtain their survival needs from other places, and ultimately had to embark on the road of exile.
This is the cruel reality of this era.
Even if there are ways to increase agricultural production and income, the landlord class that controls the land will not do it.
This is also the biggest difference between the landlord class and the large farmers in the capitalist era.
Although the large farmers of later generations were also engaged in agriculture, they were actually more like factory owners.
Land is their means of production and food is their commodity.
They sell the grain they produce on the market, and the profits they get back are either expanded reproduction or turned into their own wealth.
Under such circumstances, those large farmers are naturally willing to work hard and conduct research on increasing agricultural production and income.
But the landlord class is different.
The wealth of the landowning class is land.
As for food, it is the fruit of the land.
The more land the landlord class owns, the more wealth they have. As for the output of the land, it is only incidental.
This also depends on the feudal society, which has a single type of wealth.
After food is produced, it cannot be converted into various types of wealth, and naturally it cannot stimulate the enthusiasm of landowners.
As a result, agricultural output cannot be increased to meet the needs of a larger population. Farmers' land has been robbed. Coupled with natural disasters and political chaos, a huge and violent social crisis has arrived.
Zuo Mengeng didn't say much. He just mentioned the issue of increasing agricultural production and income, which already made Liu Zongzhou and others feel troubled.
Of course these people know what kind of virtue a landlord is.
Because many of them are also landowners themselves.
The only difference from traditional landowners is that their wealth is not just land, business occupies a large part.
These social elites who combine agriculture and business have a more comprehensive view of the problems of the entire society.
Naturally, we know how difficult it is to increase production and income as mentioned by Zuo Menggeng.
As for the method of colonial expansion, Zuo Menggeng did not mention it at all.
There is no need to worry about talking to Xu Ruolin, and there will be no consequences. But when it comes to these people, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
Since the Zhao and Song Dynasties, the Chinese nation has not been very interested in external expansion.
He had no power at this point and bringing it up would only cause trouble.
Only when these people return to the court and face the Pixiu-like emperor and the deteriorating situation will they understand the right path.
When the time comes, Zuo Mengeng doesn't have to bend over backwards to hand over his subordinates or be courteous to the corporal. As long as he performs to a certain extent, these people will switch camps and become his help.
