I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1058 A City Bumpkin is a City Bumpkin
For a hundred generations, the Qin system has been followed; for ten thousand years, the First Emperor's heart has been obeyed.

Dynasties rose and fell like tides, but the systems of each dynasty remained largely within the framework of the prefecture-county system.

After the Qin Empire expanded eastward and unified the world, Chancellor Wang Wan and Minister of Justice Li Si had a fierce disagreement regarding the system of governance for the empire.

Chancellor Wang Wan believed that Li Si should emulate the Yin and Zhou dynasties and re-establish the feudal system. He then posed three questions, each of which left Li Si speechless.

First: Although the Qin Dynasty conquered the six states, the people of these states were still plotting to restore their kingdoms. Their foundations were unstable, so they appointed their sons as kings and meritorious officials as feudal lords, dividing the country to govern different regions in order to secure the world.

If the land is not divided and the remnants of the six former states rise up to restore their kingdoms, how can we suppress them?
Second: After the feudal lords were first defeated, the lands of Yan, Qi, and Jing were extremely far away. If kings were not appointed to govern them, how could these remote places be managed?
Thirdly, there are the border kings, who are surrounded by the remnants of six kingdoms plotting to restore their kingdoms, and the powerful Xiongnu on the outside. If they are not enfeoffed and granted fiefdoms, how can the peace of the border be guaranteed?

These three issues were all very real, but in the end, the First Emperor adopted Li Si's suggestion of the prefecture-county system.

The First Emperor believed that the reason why there was chaos and war during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods was because of the feudal lords and princes. Now that the world has just been settled, it is too eager to enfeoff them and seek peace and tranquility. Wouldn't that make it even more difficult?
Similarly, these three unresolved issues ultimately led to the downfall of the Qin Dynasty.

When the Han Dynasty came to power, the emperor enfeoffed his sons as kings and established meritorious officials as feudal lords. However, the First Emperor's worries were immediately realized, and the kings and feudal lords began to fight each other in the early Han Dynasty.

In order to weaken the feudal lords and vassal kings, in the third year of Emperor Jing of Han, Emperor Jing appointed Chao Cuo to begin the reduction of the power of the vassal states. The vassal kings and feudal lords who opposed the reduction of the power of the vassal states caused the Rebellion of the Seven States.

Although Emperor Jing of Han executed Chao Cuo and defeated the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, the conflict between local separatist forces and the autocratic imperial power remained irreconcilable.

Later, Jia Yi proposed in "On the Security of the State": "If you want the world to be at peace, there is no better way than to establish many feudal states and reduce their power. If their power is small, they are easier to govern with righteousness, and if the states are small, they will be less prone to evil intentions."

By increasing the number of feudal lords to disperse their power, the power of the vassal kings and feudal lords would be weakened and easier to control. Their fiefdoms would shrink and they would have less ambition. Based on Jia Yi's proposal, the "Yangmou Tui'en Edict" (a decree of granting favors to the emperor) began to be implemented.

China has traversed thousands of years amidst tense and complex power struggles between the imperial court and local authorities. Similarly, the conflict between the central government and local authorities has always permeated the Ming Dynasty, influencing the rise and fall of successive dynasties.

Zhu Yijun was willing to listen to the thoughts of the Ming Dynasty's scholar-officials and see what their views and ideas were regarding this tense and complex game.

Sages throughout history, such as Li Si of Qin, Jia Yi of Han, and Liu Zongyuan of Tang, all observed this contradiction and, based on the conflict between the central government and local authorities, hoped to design a more reasonable framework.

Throughout history, wise men have devoted themselves to this cause, exhausting their wisdom and intellect.

Zhu Yijun, accompanied by Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang, arrived at Lumingxuan. With the three top leaders of the dynasty gathered together, they were the embodiment of power, and their safety was guaranteed. This was a planned trip. The imperial guards had already cleared the streets and conducted checks. Even the emperor's private room, the "Heavenly" tier, was entirely occupied by imperial guards.

The emperor loves watching excitement, and after watching so many years of excitement, he can't even do a good job of security. The head of the imperial guards might as well quit.

Zhu Yijun met an old acquaintance, Gu Xiancheng, a scholar-official from Wuxi.

In the fifth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, during the palace examination, Zhu Yijun specifically removed Gu Xiancheng's name from the list of successful candidates.

This was by no means a small act of arbitrariness by those in power. Because Gu Xiancheng bribed Sun Jigao with 35,000 taels of silver, after the Sun Jigao examination fraud case broke out, Gu Xiancheng and 15 other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) had their names removed, and they were also stripped of their academic titles, and were barred from taking the imperial examinations for five generations.

Because Gu Xiancheng had no official rank, he wore a plain scholar's robe and sat quietly in the center of the stage.

"In the blink of an eye, almost twenty years have passed." Zhu Yijun sighed with emotion. He never expected that after seventeen years, they would meet again. Gu Xiancheng had also changed from a spirited student to an old scholar with slightly graying temples.

Zhang Juzheng had heard his son mention the experiences of Gu Xiancheng and others. Gu Xiancheng's main competitor was Jiao Hong, who was still working as a Doctor of Natural Sciences at the Imperial Academy and had made a great contribution to the advancement of productivity in the Ming Dynasty.

But the experiences of people like Mr. Gu are truly moving.

Gu Xiancheng and some friends rebuilt Guishan Academy in Liangxi, Wuxi, and hung up a couplet: "The sound of wind, rain, and reading all enter the ear; family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs are all of concern." They renamed Guishan Academy Donglin Academy, attempting to gather people of talent and discuss national affairs.

As soon as the sign was put up, the Suzhou prefect ordered it to be shut down on the grounds of "discussing national affairs and holding unauthorized gatherings for discussions".

Local officials are often caught in a dilemma between "being in charge" and "being settled down," and usually almost all transferred officials will choose to be in charge in order to seek promotion.

Because of his involvement in the imperial examination fraud case, Gu Xiancheng, whose name was personally crossed out by the emperor, stripped of his academic title, and barred from future official positions and the imperial examinations for five generations, was considered a huge threat by the Suzhou prefect.

To prevent Gu Xiancheng from being implicated when he was struck by lightning, the Suzhou prefect ordered the gate to be closed.

The Donglin Academy founded by Gu Xiancheng and others is just a snapshot of his life. Over the years, they have moved around to various places such as Yingtian Prefecture, Hangzhou Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, and Songjiang Prefecture. Wherever they go, they are harassed. No matter where they live, government officials will come to their door and politely ask them to leave.

These excessively difficult opinions will be criticized by the Shihlin as being spineless and obsequious to superiors, but if left unresolved, this trouble will remain in their hands, and could at any time cause these local officials to lose years of hard work.

Therefore, the usual approach is simply to politely ask them to leave.

"I am Gu Xiancheng, a humble man from the mountains, and I greet you all." After three gong sounds, Gu Xiancheng stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to all sides, and received only a few scattered responses.

Gu Xiancheng saw Jiao Hong, Lin Fucheng, and Li Zhi and others. Li Zhi, Lin Fucheng and others lived the kind of life that Gu Xiancheng wanted to live.

However, what struck Gu Xiancheng as odd was that several foreigners were sitting next to Jiao Hong and Lin Fucheng.

These foreigners were Riyaz, Galileo, Kepler, and others.

Jiao Hong walked step by step onto the stage, cupped his hands in greeting to the four directions, and said, "I am Jiao Hong, a Doctor of the Institute of Natural Sciences."

Jiao Hong greeted the scholars, receiving a round of applause and enthusiastic responses. There were only 105 doctors in the Academy of Natural Sciences, and they were rarely seen on ordinary days, yet they appeared in the Deer Cry Pavilion today.

"It's been many years, Brother Jiao, how have you been?" Gu Xiancheng said, his hands clasped together, his expression a mixture of emotions.

"Several years have passed since we last met, Uncle, your charm remains unchanged." Jiao Hong replied calmly.

Jiao Hong ignored Gu Xiancheng and stood up straight, looking around as he said, "Today, before we begin our discussion, I want to clarify two things. First, we must follow the ancient feudal system. The essence of feudalism is a private world, while the prefecture-county system is a public world. Second, Qin perished because of its policies, not its system. We need to establish these two premises before we can begin our discussion."

What does Uncle Shi think?

A discussion needs a framework and a consensus. Jiao Hong is not young. If Gu Xiancheng does not even agree with these two premises, then it's pointless to talk about anything that doesn't fit the conversation. He has already said it, so there's no need to discuss it further.

Gu Xiancheng frowned slightly, a hint of emotion in his eyes. Jiao Hong had been hospitalized for many years, but his debating skills were in no way diminished. Of course, he immediately provided two frameworks, which tightly limited the scope of this gathering.

Zhu Yijun watched this scene with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, because Jiao Hong's two frames were quite precise.

As a feudal state, the Ming Dynasty was actually very anti-feudal, believing that feudalism was a private world while the prefecture-county system was a public world, which seems a bit strange.

The main reason is that since the Qin Dynasty, the Qin, Han, Tang and Song Dynasties did not actually consider themselves feudal states; feudal power was entirely inherited through bloodlines.

Li Si's advice to Qin Shi Huang was to "abolish feudalism and establish prefectures and counties," with the emperor directly appointing local officials such as prefects to govern the vast and populous empire through a bureaucratic network from the court to the local level.

Feudalism refers to the division of states into feudal systems.

Since the Rebellion of the Seven States in the Han Dynasty, for thousands of years, there has only been enfeoffment without the establishment of states. How can this be called feudalism?
A more explicit and specific definition of feudalism is the contractual relationship between a lord and his vassals.

The lord grants vassals land and provides them with protection;
Vassal vassals were required to swear allegiance and promise to pay tribute, perform labor service, military service, and pay taxes.

Vassal states enjoyed ruling power in their own fiefdoms. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, feudal lords, high officials, and other vassal states were, in effect, kings in their own fiefdoms.

However, since the Qin Dynasty, the imperial system of prefectures and counties, where the emperor appointed officials, was a completely one-way hierarchical relationship. Officials did not have fiefdoms, and within their jurisdictions, they could not do whatever they wanted. A strict network of surveillance monitored every move of these local officials.

In short, the power held by officials comes from the authority granted by the organization;

The power of the vassals came from the granting of fiefdoms and the establishment of states, which stemmed from a two-way contract.

The Ming Dynasty had hereditary local officials, and the policy of replacing local officials with centrally appointed officials was an anti-feudal movement.

This first box effectively limits the scope of the discussion; denying the prefecture-county system is tantamount to denying the principle of public ownership of the land.

The second point is that Qin perished due to its political system rather than its institutional problems. The reason for the Qin Dynasty's demise was not due to institutional issues, but rather to the loss of control caused by political infighting in the court, which led to problems with government orders.

This framework effectively limits today's discussion, preventing any dissenting or anti-government remarks from emerging.

The Qin system was not flawed. If the Qin dynasty perished because of its system, wouldn't that mean that the Ming dynasty, which used the prefecture-county system, would also inevitably perish like the Qin dynasty? This is traitorous rhetoric.

"Indeed." Gu Xiancheng acknowledged the two major premises of the discussion: not to follow the old feudal system, not to oppose the prefecture-county system, and not to make any traitorous remarks.

Jiao Hong looked at Gu Xiancheng strangely. Today's topic was: "Integrating feudalism into the prefecture and county system." Gu Xiancheng actually agreed to these two major frameworks. What else did Gu Xiancheng want to say?
"The Qin system, does it seem to be just a prefecture-county system? In my opinion, it is far more complex than that." Gu Xiancheng stood with his hands clasped. Because he had been stripped of his official rank, he cherished every gathering and had made many preparations for this day.

"The foundation of prefectures and counties lies in the officials. Through the governance of the four directions by officials, the court's management of the local areas can be ensured. Since the foundation lies in the officials, prefectures and counties have three cornerstones: selection, assessment, and supervision."

"Since the time of the First Emperor, it may seem that Confucianism has been in power, but the core is still Legalism. The selection, assessment and supervision of officials are aimed at realizing what Legalists have always dreamed of: that matters may be in all directions, but the key lies in the central government."

After pondering for so many years, Gu Xiancheng gradually came to understand some things.

On the surface, Confucianism is the dominant school of thought, a unique field of knowledge, and officials in successive dynasties have been selected based on Confucianism. But upon closer inspection, it has always been Legalist.

Because almost all the systems are centered around the selection, assessment and supervision of officials, the purpose of these systems is to achieve the political goal of "the affairs of the four directions are handled in the central government." This is the Legalist ideal of a utopian world, a state of idealism.

The Confucian principles of "respecting the superior, loving one's relatives, and honoring the virtuous" are politically correct, but not political goals. In other words, Confucianism is a tool for achieving the goals of Legalism.

Only by understanding this premise can Gu Xiancheng's subsequent words be easily comprehended.

“In reality, the local areas are still under feudalism.” Gu Xiancheng put forward his first outrageous argument.

This statement sparked a great deal of discussion among scholars. In fact, this issue had been noticed long ago, but no one had spoken of it openly.

“Most of those who buy land are local officials, and the number of those who leave farming to become family members of local officials is now ten times greater than before. Fathers pass this down to their sons, brothers to their brothers, and clerks and officials live in dens among them.” Gu Xiancheng suppressed the murmurs of the crowd and continued to state his views.

According to Gu Xiancheng's observations, the annexation of territory in the Ming Dynasty was not only caused by natural disasters, man-made calamities, and local gentry, but also, and more importantly, by local officials.

Gu Xiancheng also explained the term "local official" in detail. In the Ming Dynasty court, they were called "clerks," especially the clerks in the prefectural and county governments. Local clerks were almost always appointed from father to son, and they also bought and annexed land everywhere.

“Almost all the successful candidates in the imperial examinations, students of the Imperial Academy, and tribute students who had no chance of entering officialdom joined the ranks of officials. They evaded taxes and corvée labor, controlled local affairs, and formed powerful local interest groups. All the systems and policies of the imperial court had to go through them to be implemented in the countryside.”

"In other words, if they disagree, the policy is almost impossible to implement."

“The local officials are the true kings of their regions, while the officials appointed by the imperial court are not.” Gu Xiancheng’s words dissect and explain clearly that imperial power does not extend beyond the county level.

Local powers such as the judiciary, education, and taxation have been completely eroded by feudalism.

Gu Xiancheng continued, "This is by no means an exaggeration; the place has already become like this."

"Can the performance evaluation system really be used to select local officials? Absolutely not! Because county towns and prefectural cities are really too small. You see each other all the time. The clerk in charge of the evaluation might even be a relative of the person being evaluated."

"Blood relatives, in-laws, godparents, fellow villagers, colleagues, and classmates are like a large net spread across the land, so dense that it is impenetrable, water cannot be splashed in, and a needle cannot be inserted!"

"At this point, you're bound to ask, what were those court officials doing?"

"Yes, the three cornerstones of the prefecture-county system all revolve around officials. The key to the prefecture-county system lies in these four words: imperial officials!"

"Officials appointed by the court are focused on their duties and seeking promotion. These officials are obsessed with their duties, trying to figure out if there is any hidden meaning in a certain word from their superiors. They are always on edge, trying to avoid making mistakes, and consider leaving office safely as the greatest blessing."

"There is no one who is genuinely working for the benefit of the people, so the result is naturally the decline of the people's livelihood and the weakening of the nation."

"Can we really blame them? I've traveled all over the country, and they're helpless. It's just that officials who have the heart to save the people want to introduce some policies to change things, but they get neither the support of their superiors nor the support of their subordinates."

“If superiors don’t support you, it means you have to take the blame yourself when you make a mistake, and you can’t get any help from them. If subordinates don’t support you, it means all your orders are just empty words. The more you do, the more mistakes you make, and it may even affect your career.”

Gu Xiancheng took a sip of water, waiting for the scholars to discuss and digest what he had said.

Zhang Juzheng sighed and said, “Your Majesty, this is nonsense. Many people say that there is no way for the people. Hou Yuzhao said in his book ‘Shenfan’ that the idea that there is no way for the people is just a figment of the imagination. There is no road in the world. As more people walk on it, it becomes a road.”

"Officials appointed by the imperial court hold the seal of office, which means they hold power. If they truly have the heart to save the people, how can they say there is no way for the people to serve them?"

For a long time, Zhang Juzheng believed that the phrase "no way for the people" represented the predicament of officials, which was his weakness—he lacked experience in local politics. However, Hou Yuzhao proved to Zhang Juzheng with facts that this was not the case at all.

The town of Tongzhang in Mindanao is a typical example. Did the officials sent by Yin Zhengmao really have to collude with the foreign tribes and other religious groups to oppress the Han people in order to maintain the existence of Tongzhang? That's a complete lie.

Wang Qian made it very clear that the real reason was to make things easier, to make the believers more organized, and to avoid trouble, they would all become birds of a feather.

The officials of Tongzhang Town could easily tell Yin Zhengmao the situation: there are ten battalions in Luzon, five infantry battalions and five naval battalions. They could simply label them as religious bandits and carry out a large-scale crackdown, just like Yin Zongxin is doing now.

Wang Qian concluded that the reason Tongzhang Town was a case of officials forcing the people to rebel was because of factors such as convenience, laziness, and a class identity closer to that of the church, which was also part of the ruling class. He believed the fault lay with the local officials for their lack of morality, not with the people being troublemakers.

If something is difficult, then don't do it. If something is difficult, then give up. If something is difficult, then retreat. If something is difficult, then retreat. If you encounter a little difficulty, then all you know how to do is complain. You don't think of any solutions at all, and you're not even willing to report to the court. These lowly scholars will definitely give up halfway through their work. This is what Zhang Juzheng repeatedly said about being weak and cowardly.

When His Majesty was ten years old, he practiced martial arts. He suffered a shoulder impact, and his shoulder hurt so much that he couldn't use it. But His Majesty didn't complain. Instead, he had the commander Zhu Xixiao violently open his shoulder and hips. How painful must that have been?
His Majesty didn't complain about the hardship, fatigue, or pain, and even said that Zhu Xixiao hadn't eaten.

Ultimately, it's because the officials appointed by the imperial court never had the concept of equal power and responsibility in their subconscious.

"The feudalism in local areas today should be resolved by incorporating feudalism into the prefecture and county system!" Gu Xiancheng finally revealed his proposed solution.

Gu Xiancheng spoke eloquently about his ideas: hereditary succession of prefectural and county officials, elimination of redundant supervisory agencies at the prefectural and county level, granting local governments a high degree of financial autonomy, simplifying political processes, and dismissing redundant officials, thus embodying feudalism within the prefecture and county system and decentralization within centralization.

They acted as if they were in a prefecture, and as if they were in a county, they used their own methods for rewards and punishments, and they gave and took away things at will.

At the prefecture and county levels, the approach should be one of indulgence, dynamism, and development, allowing hereditary officials and these feudal local bureaucrats to fight each other.
Above the prefectures and counties, the focus was on centralization, order, and stability, with increased performance evaluations of prefectures, the three ministries, and the imperial court, making administration more efficient and stable.

"A brilliant idea," Zhu Yijun said with a smile. Gu Xiancheng's rhetoric, in short, was about letting heroes investigate heroes and good men investigate good men. In fact, with a slight modification, it would become the United States across the ocean in the future.

“A pipe dream with no administrative experience whatsoever,” Zhang Juzheng said with a look of disdain. “I thought he would have some profound insights, like whether to centralize or deregulate power. This is a matter of policy; you can’t have it all. He wants both the stability and order of centralized power and the vitality that comes with deregulating power. Where in the world can you find such a good deal?”

The struggle over policy directions is a matter of life and death; there is absolutely no possibility of coexistence.

If the conflict between the central government and local authorities could have been resolved so easily during Zhang Juzheng's twenty years in power, how could it have persisted for thousands of years and become one of the main contradictions determining the rise and fall of the dynasty?

Indeed, history has proven, and will continue to prove, that even corrupt and incompetent officials are far more capable of governing than inexperienced public opinion leaders who rely solely on guesswork, conjecture, and empty talk.

After all, corrupt officials also have to do things. If they don't do anything, they really can't embezzle much money. Only by doing something can they have an opportunity to take advantage of others.

All you need to be a mouthful of opinions is a mouth.

"If these people who only know how to sit idly by and talk big are allowed to rise to power and seize authority, the Ming Dynasty will not be far from its demise," Zhang Juzheng asserted.

The Ming Dynasty fears nothing but that its ruling class consists of such fools with brains full of water, and such lowly scholars who stand idly by and talk about morality.

Jiao Hong waited until Gu Xiancheng had fully expressed his opinion before speaking, "Let me restate your idea. You mean to establish hereditary officials in prefectures and counties, so that these hereditary officials can fight against these feudal bureaucracies?"

"That is what you said, respecting the rank of the chief and granting them the power to generate wealth and govern people, abolishing the position of supervisor, establishing hereditary official positions, and implementing the system of appointing subordinates."

“Indeed.” Gu Xiancheng fully affirmed Jiao Hong’s understanding and then added, “But above the prefecture and county level, the magistrates are entirely appointed by the imperial court, and the prefects are changed every three years. The emperor dispatches imperial censors to inspect the four directions and strictly supervise them. The governors and provincial governors strictly evaluate whether the people are living and working in peace and contentment.”

Gu Xiancheng's idea was to emphasize decentralization below the prefecture and county levels, and centralized power above the prefecture and county levels.

"Then there's a question: how do we prevent the power at the prefectural level from becoming feudalized?" Jiao Hong asked.

Gu Xiancheng said matter-of-factly, "Naturally, they are officials who change every three years, and they will be transferred every three years."

Jiao Hong shook his head repeatedly and said, "I was asking about the feudalization of power, not about the position of prefect."

"The prefectures and counties of the Ming Dynasty are now heavily feudalized, as everyone has seen. If you allow hereditary officials in prefectures and counties, wouldn't those hereditary officials be just like the clerks in the prefectures and counties who have hereditary positions?"

"The problems that future prefects and governors will face are exactly the same as those that current prefectures and counties face: when it comes to governance, the hereditary clerks below them will obstruct them. Your method has not solved the problem."

"By then, the prefectures will be feudalized; and after a while, the three local administrative divisions will be feudalized. Isn't this just like the regional warlordism at the end of the Tang Dynasty?"

Jiao Hong's question made Gu Xiancheng frown. He waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Let me think about it. The court can prevent the feudalization of the prefecture level, because the court's power can be fully demonstrated at the prefecture level!"

Gu Xiancheng found a solution: the imperial court's control was weak at the county level, but much stronger at the prefecture level.

"Because power extends to the county level, the imperial court has such strong control over the prefecture level. Once the county becomes completely feudal, its control over the prefecture level will be greatly weakened." Jiao Hong pointed out the part that Gu Xiancheng had not thought through.

Jiao Hong's meaning is very simple: the second floor is built on the first floor.

Throughout history, the process of local powers growing strong and seizing control, followed by various warlords fighting each other, clearly demonstrates the weakening of the imperial court's control.

The countryside is out of control, the county is out of control, the prefecture or county level is out of control, and finally the provinces and circuits are out of control. Then several provinces and circuits unite to resist the imperial court and attack each other, plunging the country into chaos.

Li Yashi stood up, walked to the stage, bowed to the four sides, and then said, "Gu Xiancheng, right? I am a Westerner. Your method will only turn the Ming Dynasty into a Western one. It will not solve any other problems."

"The Ming Dynasty was so far removed from feudalism that people began to yearn for its advantages. However, the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, and the world came rushing in, providing concrete examples of various systems."

"Let me talk about the harms of feudalism."

Li Yashi's face turned sorrowful, and he sighed, saying, "I am a coward. I live a life of ignominy in the Ming Dynasty instead of sacrificing my life to bring the seeds of light to Taixi like Marion did."

"Next, I will talk about the harm of feudalism and how hellish the West is today."

Li Yashi thought that these city bumpkins living on the moral high ground in the Ming Dynasty were really too ignorant! They didn't even know what feudalism was like, yet they talked about it!

A city bumpkin is a city bumpkin!

To actually fantasize about using feudalism to counter the feudalization of local power is not just turning back the clock of history, but also harboring unrealistic illusions about the word "feudalism."

Li Yashi recounted the life of a Western serf. The story was so long that it left many Ming Dynasty officials and scholars bewildered.

"This is what European farmers eat. It can be preserved for up to a year because they can only borrow the feudal lord's oven to bake this bread when they pay their taxes each year. Does anyone want to try it?" At the end of the story, Li Ya took out a long, black loaf of bread and slammed it heavily on the table several times without even a crumb falling off.

“A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen. You scholars don’t even cook, so of course you don’t know that pots are a scarce commodity all over the world. This kind of bread has to be broken up and soaked in cold water for a whole day before you can eat it.”

Li Yashi felt that the officials of the Ministry of Rites were all too high-minded, arguing that the Ming Dynasty was the Celestial Empire from the perspectives of writing, systems, steel, technology, and error correction mechanisms, which was full of the arrogance of scholars and the Celestial Empire.

Just take out this iron pot, and that's enough to prove it; there's no need for so many fancy things to corroborate it.

Stir-frying is not something that can be served up by just anyone.

The farmers in the West still don't have a stove or a pot; they eat cold meals! They eat bread that's harder than a rock, and it's soaked all day to make a meal for the whole family!
“This black bread is feudal,” Li Yashi said, glancing at Gu Xiancheng with obvious disdain.

Li Yashi called Kepler onto the stage. Kepler was a genius. Before he hooked up with a rich woman, he didn't have much money and ate this kind of thing. Li Yashi had Kepler demonstrate how to eat this bread: sawing the bread open, soaking it in water, and then handing it to Gu Xiancheng.

"Can you eat it?" Kepler asked solemnly.

"No." Gu Xiancheng took a step back and shook his head. He was indeed in a terrible situation, but he came from a prestigious family and was a scholar-official. He had never cooked for himself in his life, and he really couldn't chew this stuff.

"From now on, don't talk about embodying feudalism within the prefectures and counties, or decentralization within centralization." Li Yashi's lips twitched. They were all raised on the rice of the Ming Dynasty, yet the difference was so vast!
The rapid spread of the Great Light Cult in the West was no accident.

(End of this chapter)