Chapter 197 Democracy itself
What's more, Zhu Xiongying himself is now facing a legal crisis in his rule.
Nanjing claims that it is orthodox, and Beijing also claims that it is orthodox. Both sides say that they are orthodox, which just shows that neither side is orthodox.
And a long time ago, He Xi denied the telepathy in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.
This actually denies the legitimacy of the Emperor of Heaven. Since the Emperor is not the Emperor chosen by God, then anyone can replace him. The emperor no longer has the sanctity, so why should they command the world?
When Zhu Yuanzhang was there, this problem was not serious.
After all, who is Zhu Yuanzhang? One sentence that truly explains Zhu Yuanzhang's status is that he is the emperor, and he is the one with strong soldiers and horses. This is how Zhu Yuanzhang's status came about.
But this sentence is indeed reality. But this sentence cannot be used as the legal basis for ruling the world, otherwise the world will fall into the vicious cycle of war and chaos in the Five Dynasties, and the people of the world will not live in peace.
"What are you going to do?" Zhu Xiongying asked after understanding He Xi's explanation.
He Xi was silent for a while and said: "There is no other way. Or, we can only determine the new legal system, that is, the people value the monarch."
Zhu Xiongying understood some of it, but also didn't understand much. These were the words of Mencius. Since the Song Dynasty, the Simeng school of thought has been widely spread. Such words have long been spread throughout the world. Zhu Xiongying didn't know what He Xi meant by retelling these clichés?
Zhu Xiongying said: "Uncle, can you explain it more clearly?"
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, now we just need to make sure that God has appointed a king to bring peace to the people. The world is not a world for one person, but a world for everyone. The people value the king more than the king. Your Majesty accepts the will of the people and has a world. This world is not the world of the Zhu family, but the world of the Zhu family. The people of the world rule the world by pretending to be the Zhu family."
Zhu Xiongying's breathing suddenly became rapid.
Although Zhu Xiongying vaguely knew that after the industrial revolution, the power of the emperor would decline. But the feeling is not real. At this moment, He Xi's words were like a heavy hammer hitting Zhu Xiongying's heart.
In an instant, he understood.
Perhaps his father had understood this many years ago, which was why Zhu Biao had been hesitant.
Zhu Xiongying can tolerate He Xi's dominance now, partly because of He Xi's ability, and partly because of He Xi's aura. But in the end, because He Xi had no ambition, Zhu Xiongying felt that he could take back the power of the world from He Xi one day in the future.
According to He Xi's statement, Zhu Xiongying's power, no, the absolute authority of the imperial court will not exist much in the future. In order to collect taxes as much as possible from below to support the new government or the huge expenditures for war and construction, the tax base must be established on the factory owners and capitalists, and just like the central government was powerless against the Jiangnan scholar-officials in the late Ming Dynasty.
In the future, the Ming court must also compromise with these people.
The power of the emperor, who had the Tianxian in his mouth, was lost forever in the hands of Zhu Xiongying.
This is not what Zhu Xiongying wants to see.
His first feeling was resistance, resistance. He was determined not to let his future become a puppet.
He can tolerate He Xi now, but he will never tolerate losing power forever.
However, Zhu Xiongying calmed down quickly.
First of all, what should I do if I can’t decide on military spending? The situation now in full swing in Beijing will lead in that direction. Without military spending, can Beijing's strategic advantage over Nanjing be sustained?
If Nanjing is given enough time, will Nanjing develop better and even complete military and industrial reforms, giving Beijing more advantages?
After all, from a basic point of view, the manpower and material resources that Nanjing can deploy are still higher than those of Beijing, and Beijing only has a first mover.
Secondly, what exactly was He Xi thinking?
He Xi has always wanted to promote reform. If he himself does not agree, will He Xi go further, for example, he can replace him.
When he thought of this, Zhu Xiongying felt more and more horrified about He Xi.
Nothing else, idealism
It is difficult to fathom.
For every real person, it can be measured by pros and cons, and analyzed by gains and losses. This leads to the conclusion that someone is determined not to do something, but idealists are different. They have their own self-consistent values. It is difficult to measure the pros and cons in a secular sense. One thing requires paying a lot of price, even one's own life. Something that ordinary people would never do.
Perhaps in front of idealists, they are willing to do so.
This is something Zhu Xiongying finds difficult to understand.
Maybe I will never understand.
The ideological gap between the two parties made it difficult to judge the other's behavior. Zhu Xiongying could only think about the worst, and he could only endure his unhappiness. Said: "What should we do specifically?"
It's just that Zhu Xiongying has made up his mind deep down. Once the big thing is decided, He Xi must be kicked away.
Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiongying, and Zhu Yunwen are essentially the same type of people. They are all political creatures, and power is their life. If Zhu Yuanzhang was not about to die, he might not be so free and easy.
With the same problem, Zhu Biao could not sacrifice himself for others, nor could he give up the power in his hands to promote He Xi's so-called new law. It's just the same problem. Zhu Biao is merciful, and he can't bear to let the good governance that makes the people live better not be implemented.
This kind of internal friction led Zhu Biao to a dead end. Zhu Yunwen never knew this. The essence of what he did was to consolidate his own power and rely on his desire for power itself to operate. But Zhu Xiongying is the most contradictory.
On the one hand, he has been involved in the rolling wave of reforms. His youth and passion made Zhu Xiongying very supportive of these reforms. On the other hand, as an emperor, I have enjoyed the benefits of power.
Zhu Xiongying is also increasingly alienated by power and becomes a creature of power. Power is his life. He can die but cannot lose power. Because after losing power, life will be worse than death.
At this moment, the essence of He Xi's reform was clearly seen. In the new system, there were too many restrictions on the emperor. Although historically, it took one battle to knock off all the crowns. But the French Revolution had already guillotined the emperor.
Of course, because Zhu Xiongying has seen the history of the future, he knows that it is wrong to fight against the current of history. Zhu Xiongying never thought about turning the times around, but Zhu Xiongying valued power itself, not the emperor.
Don’t say that there will be no dictators when we enter the industrial age.
It's just that Zhu Xiongying hasn't figured out what the future emperor should do.
It can only be said that the times are developing too fast. Zhu Xiongying wanted to make the times develop slower and wait for their emperor.
He Xi said: "After much thought, I have no choice but to choose the parliamentary system. Select a group of people from Beijing, Liaodong, Hebei and other places to hold a conference in Beijing to discuss the matter. I have several plans that need to be discussed with these people. Let’s discuss one or two. But the premise of everything is to give parliament enough power.”
Although He Xi didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that the parliament was a very great invention. He represents a channel for dialogue between the upper and lower levels of society. Before this, in the feudal dynasty, almost every court was talking about opening up the world. But actually, it's not that. Ordinary people, who sue officials, must survive a narrow escape to be qualified.
Even if there are things like drums and drums, it is very difficult for the lower class people's sentiments to reach the imperial court. In this case, officials who are close to the people are the most important. Because people-friendly officials understand what the people at the bottom need.
However, the parliamentary system proposed by He Xi is essentially a money and power transaction. Rich people use money to buy the opportunity to speak at the top. At the same time, let the upper levels understand the ideological tendencies of this group of most dynamic people in society. It is better to carry out united front work. These people will not be allowed to go against the imperial court.
As for finding ways to make these people pay heavy taxes, or spend real money to buy public bonds. This is one of the little problems.
The top-level design of the parliament is essentially to unite the human and material resources of the entire Beijing Liaodong industrial society as much as possible so that they can be used by the court. That's what matters most.
It is also the essence and first voice of all Western democratic systems.
He Xi also used it.
