1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 712 Democracy and Autocracy

February 1655, 2, Hanzhou, Jianye City Palace.

Huang Zongxi bowed to the King of Qi, and then stood in the hall with his hands down, waiting for the King of Qi to question him.

"Mr. Huang doesn't need to be formal, please sit down and talk." Qi Tian couldn't help but carefully looked at this one of the few foresights who later called "a person with complete personality and no regrets" in the 2000 years after Qin.

Huang Zongxi bowed his hand to thank Queen Qi, and then sat sideways on a chair. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy sitting next to King Qi, looking at him curiously.

"He is my eldest son. As the crown prince, he may be in charge of this country in the future, so he often listens to politics with me, which can increase his knowledge." Qi Tian explained with a smile: "Zixing, meet Mr. Huang. But it comes from the great Confucian with the most cutting-edge thinking in Ming Dynasty!"

"Foreign ministers, you can't be praised by the King of Qi, let alone such a great gift from the prince!" Huang Zongxi saw the prince Qi Zixing approaching him, bowed to him, and quickly got up to return the salute.

"I have read all of your words, and I agree with many ideas." Qi Tian looked at Huang Zongxi and said seriously: "As a person in the world, you should think about the affairs of the world. And the affairs of the world are the worries of the people. Joy. To do things, we must think about the worries and joys of the people. To stand up, we must first worry about the world's worries, and then enjoy the world's joys. Although the thoughts of Mr. Wang are simple, they are forward-looking scientific and democratic. We have heard that, Everyone should keep these principles in mind, and be able to practice and practice them.”

"Your Majesty... I am ashamed to be a foreign minister!" Huang Zongxi couldn't help being stunned. He didn't expect that the King of Qi not only had a certain understanding of what he said and did, but also recognized him so much. He couldn't help but think highly of the Lord of Hanzhou A few points.

"Mr. Huang said in "Liu Shu" that the laws of the following three generations are the laws of the emperor's family, which is illegal. He advocates replacing the laws of the family with the laws of the world, and puts forward the idea that "there is a rule of law and then there is a rule of man". Ideological proposition. I am deeply convinced of this. Seeing that Qi State has established its foundation in Hanzhou for nearly 20 years, it has thousands of pieces of legislation, trying its best to take "all peoples of the world" as the foundation, and openness, justice, and fairness as the general principles. To ensure that the people of the world can be protected by the public law and not forced by the remnants of government. However, there is still a long way to go to fully implement the rule of law for all people."

"What the king has done has far surpassed the previous dynasties. This is the fortune of the Qi country and the blessing of the people of Hanzhou." Huang Zongxi praised sincerely.

"However, Mr. said otherwise, since the Qin Dynasty, the politics of all dynasties have been "chaos without governance". Secondly, we should follow the example of the early Tang Dynasty's system of setting up "square towns" to screen the central government, so as to check and balance the centralization of power and implement local autonomy. To be honest, I don't quite agree with this."

"I hope that the King will see you." Huang Zongxi said solemnly, clasping his hands.

"To put it in layman's terms, it's easier to concentrate our efforts." Qi Tian said with a smile: "Looking at China's thousands of years of history, although China has a period of separation and division, unification and aggregation is the general trend, and it is the mainstream of China. It is thought that the princes are self-governing, or setting up square towns to screen the central government, although they can check and balance the centralization of power, but to some extent, because of the ambitions of the princes and square towns, Kyushu will be separated and split, and even return to the Warring States Period, or separate the towns, and attack each other continuously. If foreigners The foreign nations are attacking, and with the force of the division of Kyushu, how can we resist it?"

"However, if the power of the world is centralized in the king, and the king fails to see things, or is unwilling to see things, and what's more, using the king's selfish desires to harm the people, wouldn't it be like the disaster of the Warring States Period and the feudal towns?" Huang Zongxi retorted: "Thousands of years of Chinese history, there have been very few successful kings, but there are many tyrannical and cruel emperors. Although there is a danger of splitting in the feudal state and the founding of the country, and even Fangzhen's self-government, there are always obstacles The law can avoid the disaster."

"Mr. Huang, Chen She shouted in the wilderness that princes and generals would rather have a kind! In the Five Dynasties, some people said that the emperor would rather have a kind? He who has a strong army and a strong horse is for you. So far, you are still willing to believe in a feudal state , and the establishment of vassal towns, can they check and balance the centralization of power?" Qi Tian sneered and said: "The king is alone, tyrannizing the disabled people, to put it bluntly, it is nothing more than changing the dynasty and establishing a new dynasty. , within the Kyushu, hundreds of years later, there may be many princes again, and they will become separate and independent states, and the trend of great unification may be unsustainable. Even the tradition and civilization of China will no longer survive."

"... Your Majesty's words may be exaggerated." Huang Zongxi shook his head and said, "The feudal state and the founding of the country are just the separation of governance and financial power. The military power should be unified and belong to the central government. In this way, feudalism should be avoided."

"Don't you think that the king is an independent husband? Since the military power belongs to the central government, how can the local government independently resist the centralization and how to check and balance the central government?"

"...the central government should enter into a gentleman's covenant with feudal localities to control military power."

"Since the king is stupid and cruel, how can he be restrained by a contract?"

"Under the king, there should be a prime minister to control the monarchy."

"What if the king doesn't want to divide power? Emperor Hongwu, who is as powerful as Emperor Hongwu, also abolished the prime minister and took over the power of the country."

"The king is alone, and the world will fight against it!"

"The king has soldiers in his hands." Qi Tian said with a smile, "Mr. Huang, what you said is a bit outrageous!"

"..." Huang Zongxi was speechless for a moment, "Then..., what is King Qi talking about?"

"Whether it is a feudal state to establish a country, or setting up a prime minister to divide the monarchy, it is nothing more than trying to limit the dictatorship of the king, exercise the power of democratic assembly, and try our best to avoid a high concentration of state power, so as not to bring harm to the country, the nation, and ordinary people. Unforeseen risks. Mr. Huang, am I right?"

"Yes." Huang Zongxi nodded and said: "People are not sages and sages, who can be blameless? Relying on a sage to govern the country is a fluke, and it cannot last long. In the country's great politics, everyone can pool their strategies to avoid mistakes."

"It is an ideal concept and method of governing the country that everyone gathers strategies and participates in the discussion of politics. But Mr. Huang may have forgotten one of the most critical factors."

"Please enlighten me, King Qi."

"Democracy takes time to learn and adapt." Qi Tian said leisurely: "More than ten years ago, when Hanzhou was first established, I also thought about building Hanzhou into a country of all people, and I even wanted to try it out. The concept of "the world is the master, the king is the guest" said by Mr. But we have all ignored a key question. Does the world really need democracy today? Or, in this period, our people really want to obtain the freedom of self-management Power?"

"..." Huang Zongxi fell into deep thought.

"Since more than ten years ago, the Qi State has spared no effort to promote education in various places under its jurisdiction, and has tried its best to improve the literacy rate of the people. Even so, our Qi State dare not say that the people in the country have developed wisdom, and may exercise the powers bestowed on them. .Even the officials who are in charge of governance cannot be completely independent from the existing governance model of supremacy of the monarchy and centralization. In the process of social and historical development, a small step may be able to greatly promote human beings. progress. But if it goes too far, it could be a catastrophe for the whole society.”

"What the king of Qi said is that it will take time for the separation of monarchy and democratic policymaking?"

"That's right." Qi Tian nodded and said, "It takes a long time to learn and adapt to the transition from autocratic dictatorship to democratic policymaking, and it can only be implemented when the people's wisdom is wide open. In addition, democracy and autocracy are not separated from each other and opposed to each other." The two should be transformed and promoted each other under certain circumstances. For example, before making a decision, it should be fully democratic and comprehensively considered, and the decision will be made immediately. Everyone and all places should follow the collective Decisions and division of labor, and earnestly perform their respective responsibilities, without prevarication or delay.”

"What King Qi said, foreign ministers still need to think more about it before they can solve their confusion." Huang Zongxi vaguely felt that what King Qi said was reasonable, but for decades, he had been criticizing autocratic monarchy, concentrating on studying the idea of ​​people-oriented, trying to understand Limiting the power of the monarch and exerting the power of the people is not something that King Qi can immediately persuade with a few words.

"Your mission came to Hanzhou this time, but you want to use the power of Qi to suppress Sun Kewang to a certain extent, so as to avoid his domineering actions?" After talking about democracy and autocracy, the topic turned to Daming The purpose of the mission's visit to Qiqihar.

"Exactly." Huang Zongxi cupped his hands and said, "Sun Kewang, since my Emperor Guangde of the Ming Dynasty (Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong succeeded the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing in October last year, and was changed to Guangde the next year), although he was superficially respectful, But in secret, he regards the King of Qin as his respect, seizes power arbitrarily, and all political affairs in the court come out of the Qin Palace, ignoring the emperor, and acting like a puppet. If things go on like this, Dong Zhuo may come."

"I heard that Sun Kewang followed the model of Yunnan and Guizhou in governing Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Hunan and other places, confiscating a large amount of land, distributing it to the landless refugees, and stipulating that the government and the people should pay grain and tax together. The livelihood of the people in various places has been restored. At the same time, it has also ensured that your Ming army has sufficient supplies and people's strength to fight against the Qing captives. If you use the current strength of your Ming court, is it possible to do this?"

"With the power of the imperial court, how can we not do this?" Huang Zongxi asked subconsciously.

"Not necessarily so." Qi Tian said with a smile: "You Guangde court officials dare to distribute the land under the names of many gentry officials to the landless refugees for free? Will your officials propose a rule that officials and gentry should pay food together? More importantly, do your Ming officials dare to break the old social production order and reshape a brand new governance structure?"

"The intention of King Qi is to support Sun Kewang in usurping Daming?" Huang Zongxi looked at Qi Tian vigilantly.

"Didn't Mr. Huang once say that the order and chaos of the world does not lie in the rise and fall of a surname, but in the joy and sorrow of all people? If Sun Kewang's generation can do better than Da Tianzi, and make the people live and work in peace and contentment, all people have no worries. Then , what’s the harm in changing your surname in this world?”

"His Royal Highness King Qi!" Huang Zongxi was shocked, and then a burst of anger welled up in his heart, "Sun Kewang's generation was born as a traitor, killing officials and remnants of the people, and everywhere he passed, there were no victims. The thieves are raging, and the Qing Dynasty will not take advantage of the situation to enter the pass and mess up our country. How can this generation do better than me?... However, for more than ten years, you Qi State has been spared no effort to help I am Ming. Today, why change the course and help the thieves?"

"Mr. has been in Hanzhou for nearly a month. Accompanied by officials from various ministries of Qi State, he has visited more than ten towns, villages and villages in Jianye Prefecture, and visited dozens of industrial and mining enterprises of various sizes. Here, what do you have? How do you feel?" Qi Tian didn't return to Huang Zongxi's question, but changed the subject suddenly.

"In the workshops and mines of Qi State, utensils are roaring, the production is extremely fast, and all kinds of goods are produced continuously; the rural villages are also full of fertile fields, and the crops are prosperous, and the people have no risk of hunger or cold; the roads between counties and towns are accessible, and the vehicles are not busy. Absolutely, travel is cheap; inside the port, boats and boats gather, merchants from all over the world gather here, and the goods are planted everywhere, and the prosperity is extremely prosperous....Qi country can be described as great rule. I am the envoy of Ming Dynasty, and hereby, I congratulate the king of Qi! "

"The government of the State of Qi arranged for you to visit the counties, towns, villages and many industrial and mining enterprises under the jurisdiction of the Jianye Mansion. Do you think that the State of Qi is taking this opportunity to show off such ingenious things to the Ming Dynasty Mission?"

"..." Huang Zongxi's face froze, why did the King of Qi speak so straightforwardly?The Daming Mission came to Hanzhou for nearly a month, without talking about anything, and arranged for people to show us here and there, and even took us deep into the factory production workshop to observe those rumbling loud noises up close. machines, or go to the iron and steel smelting plant to see the splashes of molten iron and steel.In the end, we let the members of the mission group experience the offensive and defensive drills of the Qi army in a certain military field. The artillery and guns fired, the cavalry rushed into the formation, and the flying crows, did it well? lively.

All of this, isn’t it that you, the Qi State, are showing off to our Daming Mission?We know that your Qi State has powerful ships and powerful guns, and your fighting power is tyrannical. Last year, you defeated an army of [-] Qing captives on the banks of the Yalu River in World War I.It is precisely because of this that we are ordered by the emperor to come to your Hanzhou mainland to seek more assistance from you to our Ming Dynasty, especially the specific support for the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

"Mr. Huang, do you know how much steel our country of Qi can produce every year?" Qi Tian said to Cheng Yuan with a smile.

"Foreign ministers don't know." Huang Zongxi was stunned, showing off endlessly.

"The data reported by the Ministry of Industry of Qi State in December last year showed that our steel production has reached more than 70 tons. Well, it is equivalent to about [-] shi."

"..."

"A huge amount of steel means the specific strength of a country." Qi Tian continued: "As we all know, steel can be used to make swords and spears, to produce iron armor and armor, and even to produce countless artillery guns. In wartime , A sufficient amount of steel will become a key material for the survival of a country."

"For decades, under the attack of the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was defeated in almost every battle, every defeat was defeated, and every defeat was lost, so that the Qing Dynasty finally broke into the pass. In addition to various human factors, the Qing The equipment of the barbarians surpassed that of the Ming army in terms of both quality and quantity. This may be one of the reasons why the Ming army disappeared in every battle. But the problem is that the entire Ming Dynasty possesses a sufficient amount of steel. Hundreds, or even thousands of times, of the captives. If it was exhausted, the Qing captives should not have such brilliant achievements."

"Illegal merchants along the border wantonly smuggled ironware and cleared the captives. In addition, our Ming army was defeated in Liaodong several times, and a lot of weapons and supplies were discarded in the battle. In this way, the Qing captives can obtain... far better than our Ming army's equipment. " Huang Zongxi said with an embarrassed expression.

"Mr. Huang, you may not know something. In today's era, the cold weapons of bows, arrows, swords and horses, under the attack of artillery and muskets, have already made the barbaric nomadic tribes lose their due traditional advantages of riding and shooting. In the far west, the highly civilized European barbarians have begun to conquer the barbarians all over the world, enclosing a large number of colonies.” Qi Tian said coldly: “However, in the mainland of China, in Daming, this paradoxical incident was created. A historical event—my Chinese civilization was conquered by a group of barbarians from deep mountains and old forests with a very small number. This is so strange!"

"During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the country's steel output was more than [-] tons, the population was billions of trillions, and the army was as many as one million. How could it be beaten by hundreds of thousands of Qing captives and quickly swept the world? There are philosophers It is said that the military is the mirror image of politics, and the dramatic reversal of war reflects the complete failure of politics. You may say that the fall of the imperial court was caused by frequent natural disasters, constant refugees, financial bankruptcy, officers and soldiers owed salaries, and repeated mutinies. So that it was taken advantage of by the Qing captives."

"But in fact, the complete disorder of the Ming government, the complete collapse of order, regional discrimination between officers and soldiers, power party struggles, eunuchs' dictatorship, king's negligence and chaotic governance, finally caused all kinds of forces to fall apart, and it is beyond redemption. Our Qi State has assisted the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years. Over the years, countless manpower and material resources have been invested, but in the end, because the vested interests of a leading army general were harmed, he surrendered the city and completely degraded the situation in Denglai."

"Since that's the case, if Daming doesn't try to change himself to survive, then he might as well try another person."

(End of this chapter)