I'm really not doing business

Chapter 806: Use the fire of freedom to ignite the whole of Taixi
From ancient times to the present, there are countless scholars and officials, but few are willing to make reforms and innovations, and most are conservative.

Those who are willing to reform often ignore the reality and talk about the future being a smooth road;
Those who follow the old ways ignore the facts and hope that the unchangeable laws will last forever.

However, do these outstanding scholars who have passed the imperial examinations really not know that if they ignore the reality they will be confused and their path will be blocked, and that if they stick to the old ways they will only end up in destruction?

It's impossible, you are just deceiving yourself!

Countless dynasties have risen and fallen, and the lessons of history are recorded in history books. In the long river of history, we see future generations repeating the same mistakes made in the past over and over again.

You are just deceiving yourself and you are powerless.

Who is capable? A powerful emperor and an efficient court. This is the concrete manifestation of concentrated power. Only by concentrating power can things be done.

The combined strength of ten thousand men is an invincible force in the world.

"Governor Shen is indeed young and energetic!" Zhu Yijun made his own comments on this very boring political essay. He was very happy and even hoped to see this kind of thinking, the more the better.

It is a luxury to expect Zhu Yijun alone to make the Ming Dynasty great again. Only when everyone adds fuel can the flames burn brighter.

"Governor Shen raised the problem, but did not propose a solution." Feng Bao raised his doubts.

Zhu Yijun smiled and replied: "Didn't he say that? The road ahead is long and arduous, and I will continue to search for it."

The road is still very long, and we will encounter countless challenges along the way. We need to be down-to-earth and move forward towards our goal with determination.

"Isn't this just nonsense?" Feng Bao scratched his head. Shen Shixing seemed to have said everything, but it also seemed like he had said nothing.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "This political memorial is all nonsense. Political commentary that doesn't talk about serious matters is just nonsense. Let's publish it in the court newspaper, on the front page."

Zhu Yijun made Shen Shixing the headline, and the discussion about the replacement of the old with the new had far-reaching guiding significance for the Ming Dynasty.

Especially in the process of reform, how to strike a good balance so as not to lose the core value system and not to hinder the formation of new consensus due to conservatism.

The degree here is useless if it is too light, and the old and corrupt core value system will drag the entire Ming Dynasty into the abyss. If it is too heavy, there will be a moral crisis and too much chaos, the rift will deepen, and the contradictions among various classes will destroy each other in the fierce conflict.

"It's not all nonsense." Feng Bao followed the order and did his job. He felt that what Shen Shixing said was not nonsense, and the contents of the memorial were of great significance to the Ming Dynasty.

Are these lofty words nonsense? Perhaps time will tell.

After meeting the emperor, Marion planned to leave. She packed her bags in the Siyi Pavilion and waited for the arrangements of the officials from the Ministry of Rites. As envoys, they could move freely in the Ming Dynasty.

However, most foreign merchants are not allowed to leave Wanguo City, which represents the Ming Dynasty’s refusal to allow immigration and is clearly prohibited by law.

The possibility of migrating from overseas to the Ming Dynasty and directly entering the earthly kingdom of God in the flesh is almost zero. Because of the different appearance, anyone who sees the foreigners illegally entering the Ming Dynasty can report to the court and receive a reward of three hundred coins.

These bounties are already a lot.

This is very reasonable. The people of the Ming Dynasty were born and raised here. Their ancestors from generation to generation paid countless blood prices for the prosperity of this land. This is the blood tax of their ancestors.

Why should foreigners enjoy these blessings just by coming here by boat?

Marion stared blankly out the window of Siyi Pavilion. A manure cart was collecting manure cans placed in front of doors along the street. It also poured the garbage piled at the door into another box, and then pushed it to the next door. In this way, it passed by one house after another.

The feces will be used for composting, and the garbage will be taken to the houses in the surrounding areas for sorting. Some will be used for composting, and some will be transported to the Xishan Coal Bureau to be incinerated as fuel.

At the City Hall of the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the mayor Wang Xiyuan once formulated a garbage sorting plan, hoping that everyone in the capital would fully participate in the garbage sorting, reduce the labor involved in garbage sorting, and reduce waste, but it unsurprisingly failed.

Because it is inconvenient, it is very inconvenient for the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Citizens only needed to pile up their garbage in trash cans, and the manure carts that rang their bells would take the garbage away. The busy people of the Ming Dynasty simply didn't have the time to sort the garbage.

If citizens are to comply with garbage classification, they must be given time to do it, but long working hours leave them no time to consider how to sort the garbage.

A political decree that is not universally followed cannot be forcibly implemented even under the highly efficient and high-pressure rule of the Ming Dynasty.

This is the Ming Dynasty, the real Ming Dynasty. It is not perfect at all and is full of contradictions and games everywhere, but it is precisely this imperfection that makes Marion feel particularly real.

The Paris where she grew up was filled with the smell of fermenting excrement. Even the bodies of people who died accidentally were not dealt with and were left to be infested with maggots.

Marion couldn't help but shudder because she recalled some bad memories. When she was a child, she sat in a gorgeous carriage and saw through the window some beggars fighting over the maggots on the corpses and fighting for the remains of the corpses.

It was just a piece of clothing.

Marion, who was very young at the time, asked her father why they were fighting over the clothes and those disgusting things.

His father told her very calmly that they were born humble and destined to be humble.

Watching the manure cart going farther and farther away, Marion was a little dazed.

She clearly understood why the prophet was not optimistic about her father's success.

To be precise, because in the eyes of the prophet, the standards of success are different, her father's ambitions are nothing more than an internal conflict among meat eaters.

No matter who sits on the throne of France, he cannot bring stability and prosperity to the majority of people in France, and even Paris cannot have peace.

Marion murmured to herself, "The prophet once said: Class identity is often greater than ethnic identity. This is a great sadness, because the poor, who make up the majority, always live in such a struggle, and the Ming Dynasty is no exception."

"The prophet may be in great pain. If he didn't understand, he would be stupid. But the prophet is sober. He knows clearly that he is managing a huge empire. He must use all means to make the lives of the people of Ming Dynasty not so difficult."

“That’s why the prophet is so diligent in handling government affairs.”

"The prophet used the huge overseas profits in exchange for the landlords returning the land to the people, even if it was just a slight reduction in rent."

Zhu Yijun simply didn't know what Marion was thinking. You know, these fanatics always deceive themselves and can always justify themselves!

He was just used to it. Habit is a powerful inertia. It is as difficult for people to change their habits as it is for Wang Chonggu to change his irritable nature.

Of course, there is some reason for this.

As an emperor, he has the whole world and all the people in the world in his heart. Isn't that what he should do?
This was also Zhu Yijun’s first time as emperor, so he had to do his best to be more qualified and act like an emperor.

Marion thought of Antonio. The gift Antonio brought to the emperor was not gold, silver or jewelry, but piles of plant seeds. It was indeed what he wanted. His Majesty really cared about the people, and Antonio also really cared about the common people.

This may be the reason why Antonio can get the support of His Majesty. At least compared with other nobles in Tessi, Antonio is more human.

Taking advantage of the loophole in the law that prohibits talking to nobles with their backs turned, they legally stabbed people to death on the streets. These Western nobles are truly inhuman.

The nobles of the Ming Dynasty would never dare to do this. Even members of the royal family would be thrown into the high walls of Fengyang, which was the royal family prison.

"Envoy, let's set off." The interpreter from the Ministry of Rites knocked on the door, reminding Marion that it was time to get on the car to Tianjin Prefecture, take a boat back to Songjiang Prefecture at Tanggu, and then take a boat back to the West.

Marion looked at her residence in Siyi Pavilion reluctantly, and took a bus to the station, Chaoyangmen Station, with the Western envoys who came this time.

Chaoyang Gate has been completely demolished and a Chaoyang Gate Station has been built. This station has also become the starting point of the Jingmi Road of the Ming Dynasty. During the freezing period, a large amount of goods would depart from the capital and go to Mizhou by ship to go out to sea, which is an ice-free port.

This activated the winter economy in the north of the Ming Dynasty. In the past, after the autumn storage period, the entire north would fall into a quiet period of commodity circulation, but now it has become extremely busy all year round.

During the non-freezing period, the Beijing-Miyun Highway will still be very busy because the throughput of Tanggu Port in Tianjin Prefecture cannot meet the demand for cargo circulation. Even though Tanggu Port has built berths at the fastest speed, Tianjin Prefecture does not have a Maritime Customs Office and started late, and cannot keep up with the growth rate of demand.

Chaoyangmen Station is very large. If there is no one to lead the way, you would probably get lost. In the distance, large sections of the city wall are being demolished and wide roads are being built.

"Beep!" A sharp whistle suddenly sounded inside Chaoyangmen Station, attracting everyone's attention. Two yamen runners in tight clothes shouted loudly, "Catch the thief!"

A man who was a little short but looked particularly agile was moving among the crowd, but he was soon caught up by the yamen runners because someone stretched out his foot and tripped the thief, who was soon pinned to the ground and unable to move.

This was a thief. Chaoyangmen was already very busy. After the city gate was demolished and a railway station was built, it became even busier. The large flow of people gave some thieves an opportunity to take advantage. Mayor Wang Xiyuan arranged a large number of yamen runners at Chaoyangmen Station to catch thieves, and the situation improved.

Marion withdrew his gaze and began to board the train in an orderly manner. These foreign envoys sat in a special carriage, and the train was pulled by the Shengping No. 96 iron horse, with a maximum horsepower of 84. The middle Shengping No. iron horse with horsepower was smaller in size.

Shengping No. 128 Iron Horse has a total of twelve sections, each of which can carry people or kilograms of cargo.

The whistle sounded, and the train Marion was on began to move slowly. Marion kept looking out the window, lost in thought. She did not participate in the chattering gossip of the messengers.

Everyone knew that Antonio and his wife, Duchess Catalina, had the same grandfather, but when Duchess Catalina gave birth to a healthy child, the envoys from Tessa were talking about it and doubting Antonio's background.

There is absolutely no problem with Catalina's background. She is a duchess. If there is any problem, the Duke of Braganza will never marry her. Even in Tessie, in the extremely chaotic aristocratic circle, most people with status have no problems with their background. Those with problems are often illegitimate children.

The only one with a problem is Antonio, because he was born an illegitimate child.

These envoys were all joking. No one wanted to use this as an excuse to deny King Antonio's identity. If they denied it randomly, would the Ming Dynasty still want the goods in Lisbon?
Antonio was wearing a five-chapter robe, and he did not go to Rome to receive the Pope's canonization.

Today's Lisbon is most like a Ming Dynasty city, clean and tidy, and even has a hospital. Even though the medicinal materials there are extremely expensive, it still provides services to all Portuguese people.

"I heard that Portugal and Ming Dynasty have reached an agreement that they can send students to Ming Dynasty to study like Spain?" An envoy suddenly turned his attention to Antonio's envoy Paulino Franco.

The Sword Master Marcus did not come this time. He was fighting for the Kingdom of Portugal and was injured while repelling pirates. He needed to recuperate.

Paulino was somewhat complacent. He pointed at himself and said, "We are different from you. We are a vassal state, above a friendly country. The Ming Dynasty's global caravan gathers in Lisbon. His Majesty has reduced the tuition fees for us Portuguese students by 20%. A student in Lisbon only needs 8000 silver." The envoy from England said angrily, "But a student in a university in the Ming Dynasty only has a tuition fee of 120 silver, and there is also an interest-free loan of 60 silver. When he works for the court and receives a salary, it can be reduced. What are you so proud of? The Ming Dynasty has never treated you as its own people!"

"You are just a dog of the Ming Dynasty in the west! You are so proud of being a dog!"

Paulino said calmly: "There is an old saying in the Ming Dynasty, 'When beating a dog, you should look at its owner first. Stop yelling so loudly. If you attack me again, I will call the Ming Dynasty's imperial guards to deal with you!"

"Your Majesty has provided us Portuguese students with a low-interest loan of 3.1 silver coins, with an interest rate of only %. If you are willing to serve the Ming Dynasty for three years, all interest can be waived."

"Your visit to the Ming Dynasty this time still yielded nothing. The Ming Dynasty won't even sell you salt!"

The English envoys still gained nothing, and the Ming Emperor did not even receive them, because England still did not revoke the privateering license. The Ming Dynasty did not recognize England and believed that they were all a group of pirates.

The quarrel continued, and Marion paid no attention to it.

What Paulino boasted about was true. The Ming Dynasty really accepted Portuguese students. Although only humanities subjects were open to studying abroad, it was already extremely precious.

The Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic system was cultivated through the humanities!
The Ming Dynasty court is already two hundred years old. It is as stable as a rock and operates well.

Marion looked out the window. Along the way, Marion saw endless residential buildings, busy markets, lush fields, busy streets, and sailboats blocking out the sun. This time was the busiest time for Tianjin Tanggu Port.

"Goodbye, Ming Dynasty. Goodbye, my ideal country." Marion took a deep breath and bid farewell to Ming Dynasty again solemnly. She was well aware of the dangers she would face after returning this time. She was afraid that she would never be able to set foot in Ming Dynasty again in this life.

Marion's eyes went from soft to firm. She changed her mind. There was no way her father would succeed. The infighting among the carnivores would only make things worse. But she could.

She found a way.

Like Joan of Arc, there are many myths about her, such as when she was very young, she received revelations from the Lord, and Marion had two encounters with the Lord and received the blessing of the incarnation of wisdom.

Joan of Arc was good at fighting, and so was Marion. Joan of Arc led France out of the clutches of the English, and she wanted to lead the French to freedom!

Form a government of free men and complete the construction of the French dynasty!

Fight for the freedom of France! Fight for the freedom of the French!

This is one of the core teachings of the Great Light Church, which allows everyone to be free, no longer be enslaved, and no longer be forced to lose everything.

These teachings were summarized by Marion from various books of the Ming Dynasty.

She knew very well that this was an alienation of Ming culture, but it was enough. Now, she had an additional specific goal, to establish a political system that "insisted on making the vast majority of its people closer to free people."

"The first step is to use the Great Light Church to awaken the French people's spirit of resistance." Marion muttered to himself with a solemn expression. When the ship gradually sailed away from Tanggu Port, Marion knew clearly what he should do.

The Ming Dynasty and the West are completely different. The ruling class of the Ming Dynasty is willing to give concessions to the poorest people, but it is not that the ruling class is kind-hearted. A large number of the ruling class are morally corrupt. These typical cases were published in the official gazette and announced to the world.

The emperor used public trials to judge moral corruption, and used official reports to make these parasites notorious and to deter those morally corrupt scum.

The Ming Emperor even invented a law to punish Mingjiao sinners, engraved the deeds of this person on a stele, and established a happy stele forest to oppose moral corruption!

The selfishness of human nature is common and unchanging both in the Ming Dynasty and in the West. Human nature is selfish, and there is nothing wrong with that.

But the reason why the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty was willing to make concessions was not only because of the high pressure, but also because of the repeated rebellions in the Central Plains, the repeated struggles against all kinds of injustices, and the endless struggles!

Throughout the long history of the Central Plains, the people chose to rise up, and the dynasties that were destroyed and the dignitaries that were slaughtered may be more than the dignitaries in the whole world.

This is the fundamental reason why the ruling class of the Central Plains is willing to distribute wealth downwards, and it is also the reason why everyone in the Central Plains, from the common people to the emperor, is willing to protect this dynasty with a martyr's obsession. This dynasty has never belonged solely to the ruling class, nor solely to the emperor, but to everyone.

That is what the prophet said: The world belongs to all people.

In countless games, China's carnivores clearly realized the need for distribution and the need to make concessions to lower levels, because China has the most unruly subjects.

Carnivores are really afraid of the howling of foxes, notes in the belly of fish, and one-eyed stone men.

It was never supposed to be this way; everything was a consensus reached during the game.

The villagers in Ningdu, Ruijin, and Ninghua counties, and the villagers in Taizhou, Zhejiang, chose violence to protest against injustice because of the tax calculation issue! They dared to resort to violence to protest against injustice!
Even so, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty still firmly believed that the subjects of the Ming Dynasty were the best and most docile subjects in the world.

But in the West, right now, outside of the Netherlands, no one is choosing to resort to violence, and this is going to change.

Why did no one choose to resist except the Dutch? Marion thought deeply about this question. She even went to the Netherlands several times in person. Because of the cruel rule, the Dutch had to stand together and form a consensus of resistance!

The oath to reject the bill is a precious consensus!

Most of the poor laborers in the West are unable to reach a consensus, and frequent mutual harm among the lower classes makes people wary of each other, suspicious of each other, and question each other.

The simplest example is that Mayor Wang Xiyuan built a large number of public toilets to ensure hygiene. This was a public investment and was quickly unanimously approved by the councilors. The councilors in the court did not want to step on excrement while working, as that would be ridiculed.

The excrement collected in public toilets can be composted, and usually one pound of compost can be sold for six cents. Four hundred years ago, Emperor Gaozong of Song was in the composting business.

In Taixi, where there are no toilets and the environment is smelly, citizens complain that homeless people destroy hygiene, discriminate against them, and even beat them. The homeless people fight back desperately.

This is the widespread mutual harm among the lower classes, which affects the formation of consensus. The nobles in the West seem to be very good at creating mutual harm among the lower classes to prevent the formation of consensus.

The construction of the Ming Dynasty was based on collectivism, martyrdom, selflessness, and sacrificing individual interests in exchange for collective interests; while the underlying construction of the West was based on the individual, enjoyment, and the priority of preserving personal interests.

First of all, we must tell everyone that their sufferings are not God’s trials, and these sufferings are not the way to heaven.

This world should not be like this, as the prophet said: People are born and live, not to endure suffering and humiliation.

The Great Light Church will ignite the first holy fire belonging to the human world in the West!

Marion understood her own path and how to proceed.

"What you are going to do is very dangerous." An interpreter heard Marion mumbling to herself and chose to join in the conversation.

Marion smiled and asked, "Isn't what your Majesty is doing dangerous? Why does your Majesty do it?"

"Because I'm not afraid!"

"Why not be afraid!"

The interpreter thought for a moment and said clearly: "Because Your Majesty is the emperor, supreme, you have famous ministers and good generals to assist you, and you also have the new bourgeoisie as supporters who support Your Majesty's reforms, so you are not afraid. Most importantly, you also have loyal subjects."

"As for me, I am just an official, but I firmly believe that Your Majesty will lead the Ming Dynasty to a revival and allow most people to live a better life than before."

“I will go to the Royal Institute of Technology next year to study science and engineering. If I perform well, I can become an officer.”

Tongshi was full of expectations for his future life. He thought he would be a clerk all his life, but he didn't expect that there would be a day when he could make the leap to a higher level. Because of his excellent test results in the past, he became a member of the second batch of commissioned clerks to enter the Imperial University of Peking.

Marion was silent for a moment. Her conditions were much worse, far worse. She said without much concern, "I want to ignite the whole of Taixi with the fire of freedom."

"My father will oppose me, the patriarchs will oppose me, the followers of the Great Light Church will oppose me, but I will still do it."

"If I am killed, killed on the road to progress, the Great Light Church will truly succeed, because the fire of freedom ignited by life will never be extinguished, and will illuminate the path of those who come after me."

“This is the sacrifice of one of the eight virtues of a prophet.”

The interpreter stared at Marion in surprise and said, "I didn't expect that your doctrine is quite complete."

"It takes sacrifice to pay the blood tax and reach a consensus, so I am not afraid." Marion took a deep breath towards the sea. The sea breeze blew on her face. She said to the sea with certainty: "I firmly believe that the French can live like the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"I wish you success." The interpreter answered calmly, but as he was often exposed to Western academics, he knew very well that the path was right, but whether he could go all the way depended on luck.

The interpreter thought for a moment and said, "In fact, Western culture is more likely to create class barriers. Your writing is a bit strange, just like a lamb is a child of a sheep. Lambs and sheep are strongly related, but you created a spelling word to separate them."

"The cost of learning is too high. What if the Great Light Church succeeds? It will just add to the cost of learning, and everything will be in vain."

"Of course, there is a big gap between the vernacular writing and classical Chinese in the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty is working hard, and we interpreters are also trying our best to simplify the writing to make it suitable for popular education."

The interpreter reminded the Great Light Church from his own professional perspective that Taixi’s problem was not only the religion she saw, but also the writing.

Once words, as the carrier of civilization, become a class barrier, even the most glorious victory will become insignificant quicksand in the long river of history.

The Ming Dynasty did not intend to provide any material assistance. The development of a country and its people required self-struggle.

Marion's eyes widened suddenly, and he said in surprise: "I didn't realize this problem at all. I couldn't understand why the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was so greedy... stingy... and frugal, and yet he spent tens of millions of silver to build the Kowloon University!"

"No, I felt it. I asked His Majesty for the Chinese version of the theory of class!"

The interpreter smiled and said, "The same writing system, the same wheel gauge, and the same ethics are a phrase from the Book of Rites - Doctrine of the Mean. It was originally a beautiful vision, and later, it was realized by the First Emperor's county system. It is incredible to think about it. It is truly a remarkable achievement."

"So, my personal suggestion is that the writing should be unified and optimized. In order to standardize it, the Ming Dynasty made some revisions to Latin, such as adding more letters and syllables and sorting out some words. I can give these standards to you."

"I hope this can be of some help to you."

(End of this chapter)