I'm really not doing business

Chapter 805: Zhou is an old country, but its destiny is to be renewed

In a closed system that cannot expand further and where no new interests are entering, the vested interests within the system will always tend to infinitely expand their own share of the benefits.

Zhang Juzheng called it annexation, and pointedly summarized it as the world is trapped by annexation;

Wang Chonggu calls it bloat and rigidity. Bloat and rigidity interact with each other, eventually causing the organization to lose vitality and the ability to metabolize.

Later generations called it the law of dynasty cycles.

Zhu Yijun did not have the ability to change the world. He had great power, but his power was imperial power. He could write the fourth volume of the theory of class, but in the end he only wrote that the imperial system would inevitably perish, which failed to gain widespread recognition.

Even the people around Zhu Yijun were against him, including the queen. She was the queen, and her son also wanted to be the emperor.

Even the third volume of class theory, the volume on the struggle that led to the Ming Dynasty's inevitable demise, is still widely opposed.

The wise officials in the Ming Dynasty court all used it critically. Since they already knew the path to destruction, they prevented the process of destruction, weakness and decay, and at least delayed the collapse of the world.

In essence, Zhu Yijun betrayed the absolute rule of the imperial power, actively opened up the sea, ended the strong personal dependence of feudal rule, and even untied the dependence of ministers on the imperial power, bringing enough incremental benefits to the Ming Dynasty.
While developing and expanding, the distribution of incremental profits is used to ease internal conflicts.

This is what Zhu Yijun was doing before the 15th year of Wanli. Zhu Yijun sold out too many attributes of the absolute rule of imperial power, including establishing four overseas governor-general's offices and conferring various pioneering lords. These were not simple decentralizations of power, but the dismemberment of the sanctity of imperial power.

Zhu Yijun has already sparked a discussion about freedom, which is like opening Pandora's box and can no longer be stopped.

Zhu Yijun had already become the gravedigger of the imperial system. Perhaps because of his wisdom and bravery, as well as his adherence to his original aspirations, the imperial system could continue for a while, but what was to come would eventually come.

Zhang Juzheng sensed the danger and tried to use narratives of gratitude to make up for the loss of absolute imperial rule. The effect was extremely significant. Narratives of gratitude are now accepted by the court and the Ming Dynasty.

Because the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty could really use various means to bring back huge amounts of silver.

"Then do we need to borrow money? France does not have so many colonies, and its overseas income is too low. Isn't it too stressful to pay off nearly five million silver in three years? I can provide a huge loan to the generous Duke of Montmorency with a very low interest rate of only 4%, which can be repaid in forty years, just like Portugal." Zhu Yijun's eyes were bright and full of interest.

Making money is the most important thing. As long as Zhu Yijun can still earn a lot of silver, all classes in the Ming Dynasty will firmly support Your Majesty's rule and even shout that you are invincible!
Debt can turn an individual into a slave, and similarly, it can also turn a country into a slave.

Thirty percent of the deposit of five million silver is one and a half million silver, and the internal selling price of twenty five-masted ocean-going ships is one million silver. Even if Marion's father failed, the Ming Dynasty has already made money!
Zhu Yijun's goal was simple, to continuously export debts, and even if Marion's father succeeded, he would not dare to break the contract easily, because that would represent an absolute break with the Ming Dynasty and he would not be able to continue friendly trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Marion took a deep breath. The emperor's current expression was exactly the same as those profit-seeking businessmen in Venice!

The halo of the Holy Prophet was immediately shattered into pieces, which made Marion feel frustrated as if an idol had been shattered.

She had heard too many rumors and knew clearly that as long as the matter of silver was involved, the emperor would lose his wise demeanor and become a stranger!
But when this moment came, it was still a little hard for her to accept.

"Your Majesty, France still has some money, unlike Antonio, who has no other options!" Marion emphasized the differences between France and Portugal.

No matter how many colonies Portugal had, they did not and do not belong to Antonio, and in fact no one was optimistic about Antonio.

After Antonio ascended the throne, it was the Ming Dynasty's envoy Xu Fan and others who went to France and England to obtain the two countries' recognition of King Antonio.

Of course Zhu Yijun didn't think highly of Antonio either, it was Antonio who made the most of himself.

Zhu Yijun frowned and refused to lend money. Come to think of it, France was in political chaos, but not much territory was lost, and these grand dukes were still very rich.

He thought for a moment and said, "Is that so? Does that require training?"

"You know that no one is born a sailor. All sailors have to learn, and driving a ship requires some skills. It just so happens that the Ming Dynasty has the most five-masted ocean-going ships. We can help France train enough sailors to deal with Spain's dominant position at sea!"

"France is short of sailors. The Ming Dynasty can train them for you. Otherwise, even if we help you sail these ships back, you won't use them."

Marion's eyes lit up and he asked, "Can you train a boat master?"

"That's probably not possible." Zhu Yijun immediately replied, "This is not something that can be solved by paying money. For example, Felipe plans to pay 500,000 for each fast sailing ship, but the Ming Dynasty only builds 12 ships a year, and they have to be equipped for the Ming Navy."

"Forget it." Marion was disappointed. The naval forces trained by the Ming Dynasty were famous throughout the world. The Ming Dynasty was the only place that could systematically train navigators.

France also has some sailors. Although it does not have a formal navy, finding enough sailors is not a problem.

An excellent naval officer can reduce the voyage time by one third or even more, and being lost at sea is even more dangerous. It can be said that if a captain has a naval officer to assist him, the voyage will be smoother.

Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty was willing to sell many things for silver.

But there are some things that the Ming Dynasty likes to keep behind closed doors and refuse anyone from prying eyes, such as the manufacturing of steam engines, fast sailing ships, high-jin naval guns, etc., all of which are tightly closed to the barbarians.

Let alone the barbarians, even the people of the Ming Dynasty had to trace their ancestors back five generations to understand these things and keep them confidential to the greatest extent possible. It was extremely difficult to get a glimpse of the secrets.

Marion finished his business with the Emperor and made a solemn request: "I heard that the prophet gave a piece of advice to the envoy of the Northern Alliance and blessed Ainmaren. Please give some advice to my father."

Zhu Yijun was still not used to the religious narrative of Patriarch Marion. He shook his head and said, "That was not a blessing. When we talked about the oath of abstinence, I expressed my opinion based on their resistance. They need to fight for the freedom of the Netherlands."

"Just like the teachings of the Great Light Church say: There is no one who can save the world, only oneself can be saved."

This sentence is indeed the doctrine of the Great Light Church, and it is one of the core doctrines.

There is no God in the teachings of the Great Light Church. This is why Zhu Yijun is willing to talk to these believers. Because there is no God, there is no savior, and everything depends on one's own hands to create one's own future.

Marion made another solemn request: "The lost lamb needs to find a direction in the fog."

"Then I wish him success." Zhu Yijun thought about it. He didn't have any sharp opinions to comment on. The situation in France was not clear. Zhu Yijun could only wish this desperate duke success.

"Thank you for your blessing, Your Majesty." Marion was a little helpless. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't seem to be very optimistic about her father and didn't intend to give more guidance.

Marion frowned and said, "I have read the court reports of the Ming Dynasty for the past year in the Four Barbarians Hall. It seems that two rebellions of different scales occurred in Zhejiang and Jiangxi in the Ming Dynasty."

"The people of the Ming Dynasty seem to be even less patient than the people of the West. They will use their actions to express their dissatisfaction. What I find difficult to understand is that Your Majesty does not stop all this from happening, and even condones it."

Marion couldn't understand why the people of the Ming Dynasty were so lucky to be the upper class citizens of the Celestial Empire, but they actually resisted the rule of the empire just because of some tax issues!

Whether in cities or in the countryside, the people of the Ming Dynasty are happier than the people in the West.

In the cities of the West, people had to endure the ubiquitous feces, be careful not to step on feces and be careful of excrement falling from the sky, and the poor sanitary environment led to more diseases. Hospitals were a privilege only a few people could enjoy, while the Ming Dynasty had institutionalized pharmacies for the benefit of the people.

In the countryside, the people of the Ming Dynasty could own their own land and even tie up their employers to sign an alliance. While the West was carrying out the enclosure movement and even the Russian Empire was establishing serfdom, the farmers of the Ming Dynasty could unite several counties and prefectures to resist the imperial court's straw tax.

The court’s decisions were even more bizarre.

Zhu Yijun thought about this question seriously, shook his head and said, "This question is very complicated, but what I want to say is that the people of the Ming Dynasty are very hardworking and can endure hardships. In my opinion, most people in the Ming Dynasty are the best subjects in the world, no doubt about it."

"I am lucky to be their king. This throne was inherited from the previous emperor. It is passed down through blood, not my merit."

"When I first ascended the throne, I often said to my attendants: I am young and immature, whoever works hard for the people is the king of the people. Today, I am an emperor who barely lives up to the admiration and expectations of billions of people in the world."

"In fact, if we give a little warmth to the poor and coolies, who make up the majority, they will be grateful and think that the local sages are kind people and that I am a good person."

"In my opinion, the people of the Ming Dynasty are extremely docile. If they were not desperate, they would not do this. So I think it is reasonable for them to do this, so I want to support them."

"The Ming Dynasty is a country with a vast territory and a large population. The management of 130 million people is a very complicated matter. If I do not support the poor and the coolies, the poor and the coolies will kill the local gentry and then the powerful and the wealthy, until they kill me and the Ming Dynasty."

"This has happened many times in China."

In the Central Plains, dynasties are constantly changing. If you insist on forcing the people into a desperate situation, then you really can't blame the people for no longer recognizing the Ming Dynasty.

Marion was completely unable to understand the emperor's logic, just as the Ming emperor was unable to understand the cruelty of the religious wars in the West.

She shook her head and said, "Wise prophet, I dare not agree with you. The people of the Ming Dynasty are not docile. The beggars on the streets of London and the endless serfs in Kiev seem to be even more docile. They never seem to have thought of resisting, but instead put their hopes on the empty, non-human gods to save them."

"Your Majesty, I have no intention of preaching in the Ming Dynasty, even if it is the Great Light Religion. The Great Light Religion is an alienation of the Ming Dynasty's narrative."

The people of the Ming Dynasty are docile? The blood of the Western people is almost being sucked dry!

In addition to the Dutch who chose to resist, the Dutch were also divided into two factions, and even the surrender faction had the upper hand.

Marion did not think that the people of the Ming Dynasty were docile. She even felt that the resistance of the people of the Ming Dynasty was too fierce. She attacked the county town, hung up the local gentry, and forced the court to sign an alliance to reduce taxes.

It's really terrible.

She had also heard of a man named Huang Chao, who actually wiped out entire families that had been passed down for thousands of years, as if they had never existed.

Some of the tax collectors under her father, generation after generation, had been extremely excessive. If they had been in the Ming Dynasty, they would have been beheaded by the emperor long ago to quell public anger.

She said these words not to persuade His Majesty to allow Western sects to preach in Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty is more interested in rice, flour, grain and oil, and is not particularly interested in God and God's words.

She came to Ming with the purpose of pilgrimage. Seeing that the prophet was still as wise as ever, she would feel at ease. When she returned to Taixi, she could tell her believers that she had witnessed wisdom itself.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Religion is indeed a relatively cheap means of maintaining stability, but I am the king of the world, the emperor of all people, not a servant of God."

"God doesn't even have an infantry battalion, so why should I be his servant? This is irrational. God doesn't even have an infantry battalion, yet he wants me to submit. This is ridiculous."

"Here I have the third volume of Theory of Class, which Legazpi has translated into Latin. You can take it and have a look."

Zhu Yijun signaled for someone to bring the third volume of the struggle scroll. Since they had come all the way to the Ming Dynasty, they should take the scroll back with them. They couldn't go back empty-handed.

"Generous prophet, please forgive my greed. Is there a Chinese version? I think the Latin will lose its original meaning in the translation process. I can understand the Chinese version with difficulty." Marion doesn't like the class theory of the Latin version. She likes the original version.

Some words lose their original meaning in the translation process, but for the Patriarch, the true meaning is the basis. "Seeking liberation is never greedy. This is a book that was printed on a large scale in the Ming Dynasty. When you leave, you can take one with you." Zhu Yijun agreed.

For the sake of the five million silver transaction.

Although the annual turnover in three years was only 1.7 million silver, it was by no means a small business. It was equivalent to the cost of building three tombs of the former emperors. If this was a small business, then what were the tombs of the former emperors!
"I am looking forward to meeting you next time, but the sea route is long, the environment in the west is complicated, and the situation of the Great Light Church is also somewhat difficult. Your Majesty, please remember me, even if we can never meet again in the future."

"I am the devout Marion." Marion felt a little emotional. Life is so fragile and every pilgrimage may be the last one.

She knew that the Ming Dynasty was a good country, and she also wanted to stay here like Legashi, but she knew that the Great Light Church in Taixi was still waiting for her to return.

"May wisdom always be with you." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

"Thank you for the prophet's blessing." Marion bowed again and left the imperial study of Tonghe Palace.

The main reason why Marion came to Daming was that she needed encouragement to encourage her and all the believers of the Great Light Church to keep going, no matter how rough and difficult the road was, as long as they kept going, they would reach the other side, because Marion saw what the other side looked like with her own eyes.

Even though it is not perfect, and is not the kingdom of God on earth, it is this imperfection that makes it seem real and more approachable.

Marion's confusion disappeared completely, and she did not disturb the emperor too much, because the emperor was busy with many affairs and had to receive envoys.

The Russian state also sent an envoy, but it was not the legion commander Ivan Pettersson whom the emperor met last time, but a young man who brought seeds of various crops that Ivan had promised.

Several types of grass, and sugar beets.

The reason why Daming needs these forage grass seeds is that Daming, led by the Agricultural College, is actively promoting the use of grass instead of grain in captive animal husbandry.

Use grass feed to replace soybean meal which is widely used in animal husbandry. Soybean meal is the residue left after oil is extracted from various cotton seeds, rapeseed, soybeans, etc.

Soybean meal is also a grain and the main raw material for making soy sauce. However, livestock will not grow meat if they are not fed soybean meal. Even the dodo is like this. If they are fed with feed mixed with fermented soybean meal, they will grow meat faster and grow better.

However, the soybean planting in the Ming Dynasty was all replanted during crop rotation, and the yield was far less than the demand, so they could only grow more forage grass.

In order to make pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, and ducks grow meat, it is the responsibility of the Agricultural College to cultivate better quality forage. The Agricultural College cultivates a variety of crops and livestock to enrich the Ming Dynasty's dining table.

Food is the most important thing for people. To attach importance to food is to attach importance to the people themselves.

Zhu Yijun stretched and continued to review the memorials that had piled up like a small mountain but were well organized.

According to news from Korea, since the Ming Dynasty conquered Chungju, the Japanese army has completely lost the courage to attack and began to occupy various mountain cities to defend themselves, never taking the initiative to attack. No matter how the Ming army provoked them, they would hide in the mountain roads and cities they built and hold their ground.

The Ming Dynasty changed its strategy and began to attack the pirates' supplies, forcing them to fight.

The Korean battlefield has entered garbage time. We can just pry these turtle shells off one by one. It is inevitable that the Japanese pirates will be driven into the sea. The Ming Dynasty has already turned its advantage into victory.

Because the people of Korea actively supported the Ming soldiers who protected them, they would rather starve themselves than leave some food for the Ming army.

Although Ling Yunyi was a bit cruel, he was not tyrannical. He did not rob the people of their food, but actively promoted the king's rule. The situation in North Korea was very stable.

With the support of Japanese compradors, the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office took over some silver mines. For example, the Hojo family accepted the Nagasaki Governor-General's request to station troops, and the condition was that they could receive the equivalent of Ming Dynasty treasure notes every year, and the Ming people were allowed to hire Japanese people to work in the mines.

The Hojo family hoped to exchange more Japanese slaves for silver.

In the first half of this year, the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office accepted another 500 Koreans, all of whom were good at castration. In half a year, more than 40,000 Japanese slaves were transported to the construction sites of the East Zhejiang Canal and the Nanyang plantations. These were young and middle-aged people between the ages of 16 and 25.

There were also more than 30,000 Japanese women who entered the Ming Dynasty.

The Pure Land Cult became more and more prevalent in Japan, and more and more people knew that the Ming Dynasty prohibited people with tattoos and branding from entering the Ming Dynasty, making it difficult to screen Pure Land Cult followers.

However, the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office did its best to ensure that extreme ecstasy followers would not infiltrate the Ming Dynasty on a large scale.

In fact, it is quite easy to distinguish them, because some evil spirits can be spotted at a glance, and by asking twenty labeled questions, the extreme ecstasy followers can be screened out.

Zhu Yijun was a little puzzled, and said to Feng Bao: "They are all studious geniuses. I used Li Kaifang's formula conditional probability to learn tax inspection, and Changqi used countless questions as a question bank to ask random questions. They are all studious talents!"

"Your Majesty is admired by hundreds of millions of people, and the whole country follows your example. This method is good and will naturally be used everywhere. Governor Xu is also acting in accordance with the imperial order." Feng Bao said happily.

I learned all of this from Your Majesty.

Since the degree bypass was discovered, people in the Ming Dynasty have discovered that this mathematics is really useful and can really solve many problems.

"Feng Daban, bring me the backup copy of this memorial and cross out the part about the Japanese invaders at the back." Zhu Yijun picked up the pen on the table and blacked out the part about the Japanese invaders.

Crossing it out means there is no clear record, which means Xu Wei and Sun Keyi did not do these Japanese slave business. If someone asks in the future, where did the Japanese slaves go? They will put the blame on the emperor.

Just like the first to enter the battle line wear three-inch round dragon flag stickers, the ministers are all following orders.

Feng Bao whispered, "Except for the one in front of your Majesty, when it was copied for the archives, the part about the Japanese slaves and Japanese prostitutes was not copied."

"If we want to build the Xinri Canal, the Japanese slaves will be the main force. If they are seen by those cheap scholars from the Rouyuan people, they will chatter non-stop. We can't delay the important work."

The original copies of memorials presented to the emperor by the Inner Study were all sealed with wax, seals and signatures, but the copied ones were kept on file and could be distorted.

This is common, not everything needs to be recorded so clearly.

For example, it is not necessary to say clearly whether Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen escaped or died in the fire in the Nanjing Palace. What is more important is that Emperor Jianwen lost the throne.

Zhu Yijun picked up a black pen and painted all the Japanese characters black, making sure they could not be seen.

These sins have been wiped out.

"Send a memorial to the cabinet to commend their merits." The Ming Emperor was very satisfied with his behavior. As for how many Japanese slaves there were every year, future generations can only guess.

Zhu Yijun picked up the next memorial, looked at it for a moment and said, "It's quite interesting."

Songjiang Governor Shen Shixing submitted another series of memorials, opposing the Ming Dynasty and discussing the Ming Dynasty's decree to increase the punishment of local nobles, gentry, and powerful people by three levels for their illegal crimes.

Government decrees are usually divided into two categories: rewards and punishments; encouragement and prohibition.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty rewarded and encouraged the powerful and wealthy, and punished and prohibited them too little.

This practice leads to a very scary phenomenon. We can only increase the intensity of rewards without imposing any punishment. Encouragement is ineffective and desires are insatiable, while prohibition is difficult to succeed and laws and regulations cannot restrain anyone.

All institutional designs will run counter to the original vision.

"The greater the favor, the deeper the desire, and the harder it is to fill it; the more difficult it is to prohibit, the worse the law, and there is no restraint; the noble rule over the humble, and the humble follow the noble, the social order collapses, rites and music cease, the superiors and the subordinates are suspicious of each other, and the country is in chaos and without governance, the fundamental system is abandoned, and all the leaves are withered." Zhu Yijun read out the summary of Shen Shixing in the first volume of Shen Shixing.

Regarding the encouragement and prohibition, rewards and punishments of government orders and etiquette.

Shen Shixing gave an example: tobacco and opium. At the crossroads, the emperor chose to allow tobacco to be produced by the government, while imposing the strictest ban on opium.

If all institutional designs go against the original vision, the first dilemma will arise, that is, the core value system of the Ming Dynasty will become weakened and corrupt, that is, cultural degeneration.

This is the feeling Shen Shixing got after observing the rampant spread of the Paradise Sect recently. He also believes that the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of decay in terms of this core value before the Wanli Restoration.

Once the core value system of a dynasty begins to decay, the entire dynasty will fall into extreme division, and this division will magnify all contradictions.

Even a small incident could lead to a disaster that the court could not have anticipated, and then spread rapidly.

If the core value system begins to decay, it will mean absolute chaos and moral crisis, and all contradictions and rifts will be impossible to bridge.

In addition to the crisis of the decline of the value system due to external invasion, the Reform Movement would also fall into this terrible crisis.

The Ming Dynasty has overcome the first dilemma and is heading towards the second one.

The second dilemma is this: if the Ming Dynasty wants to develop, change its production relations, change its productivity, and change its small peasant economy, then a new value system will continue to be established in the process of development, and the Ming Dynasty’s old core value system will definitely suffer a huge impact.

If the new value system is allowed to grow wildly and develop recklessly, the traditional, old value system will be difficult to preserve. This is the trend of development. It is always in the process of development and constantly eliminating the past things.

But the complete collapse of the old value system will cause moral crisis and chaos.

"Although Zhou is an old country, its destiny is to renew." Zhu Yijun muttered to himself the last sentence of the two dilemmas. This is a quote from the Book of Songs. The wisdom of our ancestors always appears suddenly and lights up the road ahead.

Confused? Here comes the ancestor!
Shen Shixing quoted this sentence to describe the general principles of the replacement of the old value system with the new one.

Although Zhou is an old state, it has been completely renewed. The old value system cannot be completely abandoned, nor can the new value system be absorbed indiscriminately.

Which old etiquette needs to be abandoned and which new etiquette needs to be absorbed and established are all specific issues that need to be analyzed specifically.

Moreover, Shen Shixing thought it was not very important, just as the standards of good and evil are always changing, the standards of the value system are also changing.

In Shen Shixing's view, the most crucial issue is: who will do it, who will bear the responsibility, and who will fulfill the mission. Although Zhou is an old country, its destiny is to restore the old and the new.

Zhu Yijun continued with a solemn expression, "Since ancient times, there have been few who are diligent and many who follow the old ways. Those who are diligent ignore real practice and worship empty talk; those who follow the old ways blindly practice and expect eternal life. However, don't scholars know that those who ignore real practice will be lost, while those who follow the old ways will surely perish?"

"When luck comes, heaven and earth are on your side; when luck is gone, heroes are helpless and powerless, and everything fails."

In fact, neither those who are diligent nor those who follow the old ways have the power to shoulder the responsibility and burden of reform.

(End of this chapter)