Bury the Qing Dynasty

Emperor Zhu stopped tapping his fingers on the table, and said sternly, "Da Ming must not lose his will, and never have the idea of ​​putting swords and guns into storage, and letting horses go to Nanshan."

It's not that the present Ming Dynasty has no problems at all, but all the problems have been covered up under the rapid development of Ming Dynasty.

Or take land resources as an example.

Are the land resources of Daming really not tight?
On the surface, the current Ming Dynasty is in a state of vast land and few people. Whether it is the so-called [-] provinces of Han, the later Jiaozhi, Bangzi, Jiugang, and even Alaska and Louisiana, which were enfeoffed by Qin and Jin, Large tracts of land are in an uncultivated state, and it really has nothing to do with the shortage of land resources.

But once you look at it from another angle, it's not the same thing at all - what Daming needs now is not just land for farming, but also a large amount of land for industry, and the demand for mineral resources is even more bottomless.

More importantly, Daming is still in the explosive period of population growth. In just a dozen years, the number of Dingkou has increased from more than 48 million in Qianlong's 3th year to more than 5 million now. What about ten years or even decades?
Land resources are just like Han Xin's soldiers, the more the better, no emperor would think that he has more land.

Apart from land resources, Daming also had a lot of other problems.

As a degenerate literati Mr. Lu Shuren said: The forest is big, and there are all kinds of birds.

The more people there are, the more different ideas there will be. Who knows, a How dare you thing will pop up one day.

Just like someone asked to reflect before, thinking that Daming's current territory is large enough, and it should stop expanding outwards, this kind of nonsense thinking has existed before, and it exists now, and it is even more unlikely that there will be fewer in the future.

Now Daming can still rely on the dividends brought by its rapid development to suppress those messy problems, but who can guarantee that Daming can always maintain its rapid development?
Not to mention anything else, just the various incidents of Xiao Poqiu going on every three days will definitely affect the development of Daming.

Once Daming's development speed slows down...

A certain undegenerate literati Zhou Xun once said: The universe is not a dark forest, but a small broken ball between countries.

Sand Goose, England, Silly Eagle...even Japan, France, each country on the little broken ball, the distance between them and Ming is not as far as the distance between the little broken ball and the Trisolarans !
Once Da Ming stagnates, other small countries that have been sucked by Da Ming will have a chance to catch up. Will those countries let Da Ming go?
Some people might say that the reason why those countries hate Daming is because Daming sucked blood from their country and caused serious harm to other countries. If Da Ming treated those countries kindly, the situation that Emperor Zhu was worried about would not happen.

In fact, this kind of argument is completely bullshit. People who can say such things are either really stupid, or they are simply bad-did the Tang Dynasty treat the Japanese country well?Daming didn't treat the Wa country well?Even if they were not treated kindly, there was no oppression in the first place, right?

You must know that the attitude of Tangkou in the Central Plains towards the Japanese and other barbarians was that those who come will not be rejected, and those who go will not be chased. A word is a hundred and eight thousand miles away.

However, Wa Kingdom bared its teeth with Datang at the beginning, until Bai Jiangkou was beaten honestly, and then bared its teeth with Daming, until a certain henpecked general who did not want to be named severely punished them.

In fact, almost all countries are fearful of power but not virtuous, even the people in the Central Plains Tangkou itself are also afraid of power and not virtuous.

It is precisely because of knowing this that Emperor Zhu intends to take New South Wales completely now, and he intends to let the merchants headed by Wang Zixuan charge forward, and let the Ming army do it after they grab a piece of land. .

Because Wang Zixuan and the others do it first, they will be able to get the honor of expanding the territory and eat a large piece of fat—to put it bluntly, Emperor Zhu intends to set up Wang Zixuan and the others as a model to attract other businessmen to follow, and at the same time, Wang Zixuan and the others I will also think about problems from the standpoint of expanding the territory, and will not have ideas similar to Ma Fangnanshan.

After explaining the reasoning here to classmate Zhu Jianying, Emperor Zhu asked inexplicably: "Let me ask you, do you think our Ming Dynasty and even the past dynasties relied on the rule of law? Or the rule of man?"

Zhu Jianying was slightly taken aback, and replied hesitantly: "Since my father founded the country, he has been promoting the rule of law all the time. Of course, our Ming Dynasty should be ruled by law, but no matter how perfect the law is, it still depends on people to implement it. , Our Ming Dynasty is actually similar to the previous dynasties, relying on the rule of man?"

But after answering Emperor Zhu's question, Zhu Jianying felt a little awkward again.

Because Emperor Zhu's question is too deceptive, no matter how you answer it, you can't get around the relationship between people and the law-the law must be implemented by people, and people must also use the law as a yardstick. No one can do without anyone, so how can it be simply said that it is the rule of law or the rule of man?
However, what Zhu Jianying did not expect was that Emperor Zhu just shook his head with a smile, and then asked inexplicably: "Then let me ask you again, what is the purpose of setting up a Ministry of Rites in all dynasties? Why did our Ming Dynasty also set up a the Ministry of Rites?"

When asked by Emperor Zhu, Zhu Jianying became even more confused.

Since the establishment of the Ministry of Rites in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it has become one of the six departments since the Sui Dynasty. The Ministry of Rites has always been in charge of the ritual system of the five rituals and the method of tribute in schools. The politics of politics, schools, religion, ethnicity, and foreign affairs have been passed down through successive dynasties without change.

So here comes the question: What does the matter of the Ministry of Rites have to do with whether Daming relies on the rule of man or the rule of law?
Just when Zhu Jianying was stunned, Emperor Zhu said with a smile: "The past dynasties, and even our Ming Dynasty, are actually not a simple rule of man, nor a simple rule of law, but a rule of ritual."

Zhu Jianying was a little dissatisfied, and said: "In the old Han Dynasty, Emperor Xuan once said: The Han family has its own system, which is based on the overlord's way. How can we use Zhou Zheng for pure moral education!"

Hearing what student Zhu Jianying said, Emperor Zhu took a look at Zhu Jianying unexpectedly, and then laughed loudly: "The one who messed up the Han family?"

"The prince is also the one who messes with my family!" This is what Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty warned the prince in order to teach the prince the disadvantages of "softness, benevolence and Confucianism". It means: Our old Liu family has its own system of governing the country. Want to educate the world purely by morality?Can't tell, you little bastard is ugly and flirtatious, and you want to restore the Zhou Dynasty's way of governing the country with rites?

When student Zhu Jianying said this now, he naturally implied that Emperor Zhu was turning back the wheel of history.

Zhu Jianying also realized that she had made a slip of the tongue, so she hurriedly bowed and said, "Father calm down, it's the son who slipped in the word."

However, Emperor Zhu waved his hand with a smile, and said, "There's nothing to calm down. It's a good thing if you dare to speak out against us to your face. We shouldn't be so narrow-minded."

But after laughing, Emperor Zhu asked sternly: "Let me ask you again, whether it is domineering or kingly, will it be included in the issue of the rule of man or the rule of law in the end?"

As Emperor Zhu said, whether it is domineering or kingly, it must eventually return to the system, and naturally there is a problem of the rule of man or the rule of law.

Emperor Zhu went on to ask: "If we say that it is a rule of man, then the rise and fall of the world should be attributed to one body, that is, all merits and demerits should be attributed to the emperor. example, what should I say?"

"It is said that Jie and Zhou were tyrannical, but merchants would rather die than eat Zhou millet. How should this be said? It is said that the rule of Wen and Jing in the Han Dynasty, the rule of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, the rule of Yongle Shengshi and Renxuan in the Ming Dynasty, but then Did no one starve to death during the time of Wen and Jing? No one died of starvation during the time of Zhenguan? No one died of starvation and no one rebelled during the time of Yongle and Renxuan?"

Classmate Zhu Jianying was silent.

As the eldest son of the emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianyong knew clearly from the knowledge he had come into contact with and learned since he was a child. No matter how beautiful the rule of Wenjing, the rule of Zhenguan, the prosperity of Yongle, and the rule of Renxuan are described in history books, they will never change. Not to mention the low productivity at the time.

In other words, if the majority of the people can survive starvation, it can be regarded as a governing and prosperous world, and it is still a thousand miles away from the great harmony of the world that Confucianism says. The difference between heaven and earth.

Emperor Zhu went on to say: "If it is the rule of law, then governing the country should rely on the laws of the past dynasties, such as the "Tang Law Shuyi" in the Tang Dynasty or our "Da Ming Law" in the Ming Dynasty or the "Great Law" established by Emperor Taizu Gao. "Da Gao", but!"

Emperor Zhu changed the subject: "Whether it is the examination system, the nine-rank system, or the imperial examination, when selecting officials and gentlemen, there is no special subject for assessing the law of the dynasty. Few people are proficient in the laws of the dynasty, and those who understand something are rare, so how can this be considered the rule of law?"

"What's even more strange is that these officials who are not proficient in the law and are selected by the Chaju or the Jiupin Zhongzheng System or the Imperial Examination can just happen to maintain the stability of the world and even win the trust of the people. There are many people who are called Lord Qingtian by the people."

Emperor Zhu asked with a smile: "Can you tell us why?"

After Emperor Zhu's words fell, student Zhu Jianying was already stunned in place, with cold sweat constantly dripping from his forehead.

Classmate Zhu Jianying looked at Emperor Zhu foolishly, and asked, "Is this the rule of etiquette that father said?"

Emperor Zhu nodded with a smile, and said: "Yes, this is the rule of etiquette. The Central Plains has never ruled the world by relying on wise emperors, holy lords, loyal ministers, and virtuous officials. It is not the law, but rituals. Rules that arise from rituals."

"Because the emperor is worried that someone will seize the throne, he has to set the rules of rebellion against the nine clans. Officials and gentry are worried about their own interests being damaged, so they want to limit imperial power. The people are worried about their own interests being damaged, so they hope to have a law that can protect themselves. .”

"Therefore, from the emperor to all the people in the world, they all need a set of rules to protect their own interests, and at the same time restrict the groups that can affect their own interests, even everyone including themselves."

"And this set of rules is etiquette!"

"After the summary of Confucius and Mencius and the development of Confucianism, Legalism and other schools, etiquette has become the bottom line in the hearts of everyone in the Central Plains, and it is this bottom line that has assumed the role of a law."

"It is precisely because this bottom line has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so many of those officials and gentlemen are not proficient in the law, but they can use the law to replace the herdsmen. It is very difficult to touch the law easily.”

"So, since ancient times, Tangkou of the Central Plains has been governing the country according to propriety rather than the rule of man or the rule of law!"

Speaking of this, Emperor Zhu smiled and asked again: "So, now you understand why the Ministry of Rites was established, and why the Ministry of Rites is collectively called the six departments of households, officials, criminals, workers, and soldiers?"

In fact, the Ministry of Rites is not collectively referred to as the six departments of household, official, punishment, engineering, and military, but is faintly superior to the other five departments, and can even be called the head of the six departments-because the Ministry of Rites masters the law of etiquette!

Classmate Zhu Jianying nodded half-understood, but then asked with a confused face: "Then father has been promoting the rule of law, so he wants to rely on the rule of law to replace the rule of propriety?"

Emperor Zhu nodded slightly, and pondered: "Whether it is the rule of rites, the rule of law, or the rule of man, the ultimate essence is to maintain the stability and balance of the rules, but time changes and things change, and any set of rules has its own limitations. , cannot be applied to all eras, and the rule of rites, the rule of law, or the rule of man are naturally the same."

"When the old rules cannot match the new rules, there will be fierce conflicts between the two, and naturally there will be the collapse of ritual and music that Confucius said."

"For example, if our Ming Dynasty is still the same as the previous Ming Dynasty, even if it is the same as the Qing Dynasty, then we don't need to promote the rule of law, just use the system before the Ming Dynasty or even the system of the Qing Dynasty. "

"However, the Ming Dynasty is different from the previous dynasties. Both the territory and the number of Dingkou are far beyond the previous dynasties, and all kinds of problems on the surface and behind the scenes are also far beyond the previous dynasties."

"Not to mention anything else, the emperors Wen and Jing of the Han Dynasty would not have a headache like us about the expenses of overseas military bases, and Emperor Yongle would not have a headache like us about where to sell the cattle and sheep on the grassland. Money is deaf and old dog It is even more impossible to worry about the education of the children in the families of the common people like us."

"Thus, those previous systems are no longer applicable to our Ming Dynasty, and what needs to be changed must be changed to make it suitable for our Daming."

"Taking New South Wales happens to be an attempt!"