Xinshun 1730

Chapter 990 Flattering
Liu Yu has been avoiding the use of steam engines in the direction of destroying the small farmers' economy. The emperor's attitude towards science and technology, which was lured by Liu Yu, is a special attitude.

Liu Yu knew what the progress of the times was, but he didn't tell the emperor everything.

But Liu Yu did not tell lies, but only part of the truth.

Liu Yu did not say a word about the development of capital industry and commerce in the southeast, dumping in the interior, bankruptcy of small farmers, common people's uprising, utopian theory of subjective small-scale land equalization, rural gentry being generally bankrupted by machines, rural gentrification, and intensified conflicts between landlords and farmers.

What did the emperor see?

In other words, what did Liu Yu want the emperor to see?
What I saw was a joke made by the emperor at the time, so on the land of the Academy of Sciences, a large amount of saltpeter and struvite transported from Zhoushan were used as fertilizers extravagantly, and a wheat field with an output of [-] catties per mu was created.

What I see is the military industry with increasingly strict organization and increasingly high-tech craftsmen, and under this military industry, the rebellion of the people is a dead end, because the rebellion of the people can neither build warships nor bore excellent copper cannons——As for Craftsmen and workers who have mastered advanced productive forces do it themselves, which is unprecedented. Isn't it unfounded to worry about this?Just worry about small farmers.

What I saw was that the steam engine was used for the work of the dock, which strengthened the naval power of the imperial court and ensured the physical connection between the capital and the money bags and rice bags.

What I saw was the "Grand Canal without water" that Liu Yu said, and it may really appear within a few decades.This means that Dashun's garrison in the capital can move to all parts of the country within a month, making the rule stronger.

The relationship between the small farmer and the steam engine is not the straight-line relationship between the shoemaker and the shoe-making machine, but a tortuous relationship.The emperor's vision, under Liu Yu's deception of deliberately covering the fog and protecting the fire, has no way of seeing its influence.

On the contrary, he only saw the benefits: yes, the steam engine can produce clothes and cloth, making life difficult for small farmers; however, Liu Yu covered it up.What the emperor saw was that the steam engine could lift water and irrigate the farmland, the small peasant economy was more stable, and Dashun would not be easy for thousands of years.

Everything has both positive and negative sides, Liu Yu hides the negative side for the emperor, and only shows the positive pattern to the emperor.

Therefore, a silver coin, if you look at it once, it is a flower, if you look at it again, it is still a flower, and if you look at it a hundred times, it is still a flower, so it must be obvious that there are flowers on both sides.

So, in the eyes of the emperor, what are the benefits of building a large factory in southern Sichuan, combining steam engines with coal mining, and boiling salt?
The advantage is that "fewer people use it".

Fewer people use it, okay?
So good, so good, so good to fly!

The emperor wished that the Xishan Coal Mine would only have seven or eight hundred workers, and then it would be able to supply the coal for the entire capital!
This is not the same thing as small farmers.

The emperor's fear of "mines", throughout the dynasties, has never been afraid of the few hanging coins of the mine owners, but the thousands or tens of thousands of organized, complex, group-living workers who are not at all like scattered small potato farmers.

But, mine is different from salt.

Salt can be so revolutionary that it destroys the sun-dried salt method. Every family makes iron pots and controls coal and firewood to cook salt.

Coal...you can't dig a hole alone, can you?
Is it okay not to dig coal?

Of course not, the capital city has a population of one million, half of them will die in winter if they don’t dig coal?
The emperor was worried about "seizing the people's property", and the "people" he worried about were small farmers and small producers.

As for mining, a job that small producers and small farmers can't do at all, the emperor wished that all of them were robots.

It must be understood that in the eyes of the emperor, a machine that can be replaced is not necessarily bad.

The most perfect system in the eyes of the emperor is that the whole country is a big village, and then the refining puppet mines, transports and sells the refining puppet, and everyone uses labor vouchers, trades truly and fairly, and perfectly gets everyone's labor Income prevents mergers—the ultimate fantasy of a reactionary petty bourgeoisie.

Liu Yu would not foolishly think that as long as it is a machine, the emperor will oppose it.On the contrary, Liu Yu is very clear that the emperor will strongly support the machines that are beneficial to the rule.

Therefore, he used the example of one Han as the five Hus, and the other as slash-and-burn farming. From the perspective of the emperor, his understanding is that it takes fifty people to produce [-] catties of grain under slash-and-burn farming, and it takes fifty people to produce [-] catties of grain. It only takes five people to produce [-] catties of grain—as long as the grain is replaced with coal, mines, iron and other industries that are the most strictly controlled by the feudal dynasty and are most afraid of accidents.

The real problem lies here. The mine has to be opened, and if it is not opened, Dashun can't even make money, and can't even burn coal.

It has to be opened, and the output is insufficient.

Now two choices are before the emperor:

This kind of black hole of law and order, the darkness of evil, frequent riots, and constant lawsuits.

Do you want more people to do it?
Or are fewer people doing it?
The words Liu Yu and the emperor said really touched the emperor, and they were condensed. Although Liu Yu didn't think this way in his heart, the emperor's condensed meaning was:

Small farmers have a way of life when the northern Jiangsu is reclaimed; Sichuan salt enters Hunan and Chu, and the imperial court is rich; Sichuan salt production surges, but there is no need to increase too many workers; Xishan Coal Mine can even lay off more workers in the future to ensure the current production.

Later generations may think that when the head of the feudal landlord saw the steam engine, he exclaimed that this thing would seize the food of the common people in the future.

This thing is a clumsy steam engine, an iron ox, not a CNC automatic loom.

As far as the steam engine of the Academy of Sciences is concerned, the only way the emperor can connect this big iron lump with small farmers after seeing it is that if a group of these things are placed on the fields in Henan, Shandong and other places to water them during the fucking drought, the common people How can you rebel?

Or think that if this thing can really run and plow the land, then eating beef in the Water Margin is not considered a heroic act.

The starting point for the collapse of men farming and women weaving is not the steam engine, but the Selfaktor Mule, which is translated as the mule machine for short.

Even if the so-called spinning jenny machine appears in Dashun, it will be laughed out of the mouth. This thing spinning in Dashun, let alone making money, if it doesn’t lose all my wife’s house within a year, it can only prove that The spinning is not fast enough, so the compensation is not fast enough-of course, the old China has its own wonderful national conditions here. 117 years after the advent of the steam engine, the hand-woven rolls that have been recorded in history have won the counterattack of the machine layout department, which is unique in the world. share.

The steam engine is juxtaposed with water power, waterwheels, cattle, and horses.

What replaces the chariot is the stirrup, not the faster horse.

So the emperor's attitude towards the steam engine is very clear: support.

The attitude towards the railway is also very clear: support.

For waste water transportation, after ensuring smooth sea transportation and eliminating the threat of Japan in Southeast Asia, we also support it.

The simplest thing is that the workers of the water transport raised the Bailian, Qinglian, Luo, Wuwei and other sects that the feudal emperors least wanted to see.

Therefore, on the issue of southern Sichuan, with Liu Yu's foreshadowing in the previous 20 years, the emperor did not directly express his support as long as he did not open mines at will and indulge everywhere.

Instead, he laughed loudly and said, "Aiqing thinks a lot, so it's not unwise. But the ancients said that a wise man will make mistakes if he thinks about it. There is actually another advantage in doing this. Aiqing might as well think about it again."

Liu Yu hurriedly said: "A sage has far-sightedness, but a minister can't match it. It is said that as the son of heaven, he is also an emperor and a teacher. I have already thought of all the benefits I can think of. I really don't know what else is good."

The emperor looked at Liu Yu's hard thinking, and smiled proudly: "Just now you said that, I thought, for example, that Maolong silver mine, a large number of workers can both mine and cast it."

"In the southwestern mountainous area, transportation is inconvenient and blocked by mountains. If there is a day in the future to conquer Burma, we only need to mobilize a group of cannon-casting craftsmen from the capital, use the people from the local mining area to help, and recruit people from the local mining area to assist the engineers."

"For one thing, the field artillery is light, but the siege artillery is heavy, so it is not easy to transport it to the southwest. It can be cast there. But without these industrial foundations, it would not be so easy."

"Secondly, if Aiqing's siege and tunnel tactics are supported by the common people, they will not be familiar with the tactics after all. But if the miners join the army to assist the engineers, it will be easy to break the city."

"Aiqing's policy of southern Sichuan is also useful."

"There are both miners who dig mines and iron smelters. If there is chaos in the Southwest in the future, you don't have to work hard to transport the siege guns for thousands of miles. You just need to send cannon-casters and local workers to assist you. Castable cannons."

"At the same time, the towers of the southwestern chieftains were either bombarded, or miners were used to assist the engineers to excavate them."

"If southern Sichuan is done well, as Aiqing said, it should be the needle and bridgehead of the Southwest."

After finishing speaking, he glanced at Liu Yu again, snorted and said, "I can understand Aiqing's small thoughts now. It's nothing more than the same old routine, just like Aiqing joked with the others, she wanted to open the window, but said to open the window." roof."

"You are talking about the prefecture of Xu, but you are talking about the whole of Sichuan; you are going to tell the story of Songjiang, but you are talking about laissez-faire... What else can I say now? I have wronged you?"

Liu Yu immediately pretended to be shocked, his face was horrified, and he said: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty has insight into people's hearts. I... I think I'm smart, I think... I think..."

Li Gan snorted and said, "Why? I thought I didn't understand the benefits of it, and wanted to hold on to the place where the barbarians and the Han were defending each other, and it was not appropriate to let the mines be opened. Then the Maolong Silver Mine came to emulate the story of Su, Qin and Zhang Yi? This is so clever , you don’t need to use it in the future, just say what you have, can’t I still distinguish between likes and dislikes?”

"If you said so directly in the memorial, why did you make this trip?"

Liu Yu tried his best to make his back look like he was sweating, but he thought in his heart that you knew a hammer. This matter is getting too complicated. If I just go straight up like this, I'm afraid you don't know what to think Woolen cloth.Besides, I have to give you a chance to "enlighten and enlighten" me, give you a chance to be both emperor and teacher, right?Besides, what kind of crap are you thinking about? Why do you have to transport the cannons to the border when you fight in Burma? The navy can’t transport the big cannons by sea?Capture the coast and force a treaty to be signed, isn't it over?Or take over the important coastal towns and change the border?

I hold a navy in my hand, but my mind is still in the inertia of land warfare...

Besides, there are other things here, I won't come here, and I really don't know what you think about the general direction.

Just when he was pretending to be panicked, the emperor said again: "Forget it, even if you don't come, I am planning to send someone to look for it. After I read your first few memorials, I wanted to ask Ai Qing. Since Aiqing just happened to come to ask about Chuannan's affairs, that's also just right."

"Your preface is to build roads in Haizhou and encourage private capital to build roads so that coal can be transported in the future. I just thought, if it is feasible to connect Xishan coal to the capital?"

"I've only seen this kind of thing in the Academy of Sciences. It looks like a big cart. It can carry thousands of catties on the track and on the track. It runs like flying without getting tired."

"It's most suitable for transporting coal. Aiqing happens to be recommending talents, I think so..."

"You recommend some people to try out many new policies in southern Sichuan first, and also improve their skills. If it is feasible, first solve the problem of the Xishan Coal Mine, and solve the situation that the capital's population has increased over the years and the daily use of coal is insufficient."

"In the Xuzhou government, from the governor down, all the industrial and commercial personnel should be in charge of you, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. You don't need to recommend people for the matter of salt."

"You are in charge of production. I also think your official transportation and commercial sales methods are quite suitable. You don't have to worry about how to transport, sell, tax, etc. After all, the name is not right, and the court still has salt. Government ministers."

When it came to salt administration, the emperor couldn't help laughing again.

"In this salt reform, originally I only wanted to fight Huaihai, and only moved the Huaihe River and Haizhou Salt Fields. Now it is doing well, from Shanxi Hedong Salt, to Gyeonggi Changlu, and then to Huainan, Fujian, Guangdong, and Sichuan. Reach the world."

"But after thinking about it carefully, I feel that there is really no harm. Every time I read history books and read the old affairs of Tang Zong, I feel the same way. I am afraid that future generations will not be able to catch up, and I must solve the Goguryeo incident."

"Now I understand Tang Taizong's thoughts more and more."

Liu Yu thought in his heart, is this even boasting about himself?

"Your Majesty's ambition is so great that the Qianxiang of this dynasty is extremely observant of the sky. Every time I think about it, if Tang Dynasty had such navigation skills and such a world of great rivalries among nations, what would it be like?"

"Every time I think about this, I feel that even if Li Tang survives again, it will be nothing wrong."

Hastily boasted a few words, the emperor actually nodded and said: "This statement hits the key point. Before, everyone talked about how the dynasty is going to be, but my heart is empty."

"At that time, the population in the south of the Yangtze River was not abundant, and the means of navigation may not have used star boards, let alone guns and cannons."

"If that's the case, they still protect Congling."

"So every time I think about this, I also think like Ai Qing. First, I think about Ruotang's ability to sail and guns, and then make comparisons."

"As for what happened, it can only be left to future generations to comment on."

"Take the matter of salt reform as an example. After reading Qing's memorandum, I can't help but sigh some of the truths in it."

"The same principle is used to compare the current dynasty with the Han and Tang Dynasties, but it is also similar."

While sighing, the emperor couldn't help but think of a metaphor in the fourth memorial that Liu Yu handed over before.

In the fourth memorandum published earlier, I first told a story: When a certain person passed through the door, the door was very high, but he always bent over.People were very curious and asked him why Guomen bent his waist?The man said: My father bent over the door, so I bent over the door. Isn't it natural to bend over the door?

But his father was nine feet tall and nicknamed Touching the Sky; while he was five feet tall and nicknamed Three Cun Ding.

Some of this story is called Carving a Boat and Seeking a Sword, and some is called Waiting for a Rabbit, which itself was used by Han Feizi to satirize Confucianism.

Just like when shooting an arrow, you have to tilt the arrow upwards, raising it an inch to get the center; but if you use a musket, but still raise it an inch, this is a disease of the brain.

Originally, Liu Yu used it to talk about the reform of the salt administration, to the effect that:

The salt government of the previous dynasty had its reasons, and it was appropriate to use it in the previous dynasty.

However, this dynasty has its own situation, and it is still necessary to use the method adapted to the previous dynasty.

The salt policy of the previous dynasty, the opening of the Chinese law, etc., were not only tax policies, but also national defense mobilization bills.

But Dashun's border situation, surrounding situation, etc., are already different from those of Daming.

The rationality of the former salt administration lies in the dual meanings of taxation and national defense mobilization bills.

Now the meaning of national defense mobilization is no longer necessary, but taxation has become an obstacle, so a thorough reform is required.

Originally, it was about salt, but using today's topic, the emperor lamented that Dashun and Datang were different in technology, external situation, and surrounding enemies.

What exactly does he have to do, so that he can truly be honest when this technology is completely different, with the difference between firearms and navigation?
(End of this chapter)