I'm really not doing business

Chapter 851 The Ultimate Goal of the Wanli Reform

The literati of the Ming Dynasty were well aware of the problems of the Ming Dynasty, but when they made reports, they always spoke insincerely. It was obvious where the real problems lay, the problems of production relations and means of production, but they chose to turn a blind eye and say insincere words.

This is normal, because telling the truth is a very difficult thing. Harry Ken told the truth, and it is very clear when you look at his life of walking on thin ice.

However, problems are problems, and we cannot avoid them by simply ignoring them.

The population of the Ming Dynasty began to grow after the war was settled in the early years of the country, and after reaching 130 million, it stopped growing. This was not at all the so-called limit of the land's support, but because for various reasons, the people were unwilling to have children.

In the past, no ministers were willing to talk about having children. Now, when the Ming Dynasty officials were forced to look at this issue due to the shortage of labor, although the ministers had different reasons, the answers they gave in the end were highly similar: return the land or build farms.

Both of these methods allow the people to own the means and tools of production, giving them hope in life and naturally allowing them to have more children.

Wang Guoguang, who has already left the court, once said incisively: Economic matters are complex because they encompass everything; to put it simply, it can be summed up in one sentence: in the short term, look at policies; in the medium term, look at land; and in the long term, look at population.

Only with people can we produce enough talents, promote the continuous improvement of productivity, constantly stimulate social progress, have enough labor force, have strong production capacity, and have the world's largest consumer market, thereby ensuring the Ming Dynasty's commodity advantages, ensuring the Ming Dynasty's leadership, and ensuring the Ming Dynasty's status as a supreme country.

Just as the British Empire was the core interest of Spain, the status of the Celestial Empire was the core interest of the Ming Dynasty.

In Wang Guoguang's opinion, if Ming Dynasty really wants to maintain long-term stability with its current productivity, that is, people's current ability to change nature, the population of the hinterland must be between 300 million and 500 million. This is the key factor in maintaining long-term stability. Now the population of Ming Dynasty is too small. 130 million people are barely enough for the hinterland of Ming Dynasty to barely maintain its economic scale. If the opening of the sea takes away a part of the population, the country will fall into a labor shortage.

Now it is the labor crisis that is forcing the Ming Dynasty to reform its production relations.

If we turn a blind eye to this problem, Japan's current situation will be the near future of the Ming Dynasty.

In Japan where the Paradise Cult is rampant, no children are born, because everything this evil cult instigates is contrary to responsibility. It cuts off ties with parents, family, relatives, and friends, and shirks all responsibilities; it indulges in extreme pleasure and does not care about anyone's opinion.

Just as the famous prophecy of the Paradise Religion says: The wise and the foolish are all rotten bones, and glory and wealth are just dreams at midnight; false fame and wealth are not real, and the hope for beauty and fame is like illusory dust.

If the Ming Dynasty did not reform itself, it would have become a suitable breeding ground for the Paradise Cult even without being defeated in the war. No matter how the Ming court tried to hunt down and intercept it, even if it really stopped it, the Paradise Cult would still have been born in the Ming Dynasty, and would have spread irreversibly from the developed areas of the Ming Dynasty to the backward areas, and finally filled every corner of the Ming Dynasty.

"This memorial from Zongbo Shen is interesting." Zhu Yijun took Shen Li's memorial and read it with great interest.

Shen Li put forward a point of view, that is, the fundamental reason for the Yang Wei case was that His Majesty was very wise, which eventually led to these retro conservatives having to take risks, because if they did not take action, the emperor would outlive these retro conservatives.

The retro conservatives were originally waiting for the emperor to gain supreme power and stand at the pinnacle of the world, with everyone around him flattering him and expressing their loyalty. When the emperor felt that the whole world was in his hands, the real danger of the Wanli Reform came.

It is still too dangerous to directly confront the imperial power, especially after Your Majesty has taken control of the Beijing camp and violence. The result of provoking the imperial power is to make a joke of your own nine clans, and waiting for the emperor to make a mistake is the best strategy.

The emperor will inevitably become crazy because of the environment around him.

Warmongering, radical reforms, crazy purges and desperate expansion of territory, this kind of Emperor Yang of Sui's madness would plant countless hidden dangers for the Wanli Reform. Then all it would take was waiting for these hidden dangers to ferment into thunderclaps, and that would be the time for a counterattack.

Simply put, the retro conservatives had been waiting for the emperor to go crazy.

How long can a young emperor, with such power and strength, remain rational? This is what the retro conservatives are waiting for.

But the retro conservatives are waiting in despair.

Official reports, court discussions, imperial edicts, government decrees, etc., all told these retro-conservatives that the emperor and his prime ministers often played the role of conservatives in the decision-making of the Wenhua Hall. "Don't be too hasty," was a common comment from the emperor.

For example, the Single Whip Law was stopped and the land return order was promoted in a limited way. The Ming court even came up with a compromise version of the Yingzhuang Law to return land. For example, the emperor also made adjustments to the characterization of the Ji Fu Governor's Office.

This made the retro conservatives completely desperate, and they became so crazy, because they were waiting impatiently, but could not wait for the emperor to go crazy.

"This is not because I am wise. What the ministers say makes sense, so I have to listen. One person's views are short-sighted, while the masses have long-term views. Without the assistance of the ministers, I alone cannot support the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yijun commented on this memorial. Shen Li's memorial had a very obvious suspicion of flattery.

The Ming Dynasty could not be supported by Zhu Yijun alone.

"No matter how reasonable your words are, Your Majesty has to listen to them." Feng Bao didn't think Shen Li was flattering him, and he felt that Shen Li was right. The reason why Yang Wei was so anxious was very clear. He really couldn't wait for the day when the sky collapsed and the earth broke apart.

Your Majesty is still young and can accept opposition and criticism, but as the old ministers gradually leave, can Your Majesty still listen to these opinions?

People are never static.

In the late autumn of the sixteenth year of Wanli, a foreigner came to the capital of the Ming Dynasty and knocked on the door of Li Yashi's home. The capital was so big that the foreigner searched for a long time before he finally found Li Yashi's home. The foreigner was wearing a Confucian robe and had his hair tied up. His red hair was slightly curly, his face was thin, his nose was high, and his eyes were deep and bright.

"You finally came to the capital." When Li Yashi heard the visitor's name, he hurried to the door to greet him. Looking at the handsome man in front of him, Li Yashi showed a satisfied smile.

This person was none other than Galileo, the student whom Legazpi brought back to the Ming Dynasty from the West. Galileo studied medicine at the University of Pisa. Because he stole autopsies of corpses, he received a ban from the Vatican Inquisition. Due to lack of money, Galileo was forced to drop out of school and went to Madrid to find a job. Felipe arranged for Galileo to be with Legazpi and brought to the Ming Dynasty.

Because Felipe also knew very well that Galileo could no longer conduct his own research in Spain, where the Vatican had great influence.

Discussing tides on the streets of Madrid was a violation of Vatican doctrine, so Galileo could only dance in shackles in Europe.

Galileo smiled and said, "I have traveled all over Zhejiang. The Ming officials returned the land to the people in Zhejiang. After a complicated and long struggle, when I left Zhejiang, the five prefectures of Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Taizhou and Wenzhou had completed the return of the land to the people."

"Sometimes, I even suspect that in the Eastern world, gods live on earth. When gods said that the land should be returned, Zhejiang completed the return of the land. These local sages handed over their land to avoid being killed."

Li Yashi waved his hands repeatedly and said with a smile on his face: "That also needs to be discussed by the nine ministers. Only after the approval of the court can the land be returned. Even if the gods want to have light, they also need to be discussed by the nine ministers."

"Your Majesty gave up the imperial power and shared the decision-making power in exchange for the loyalty of the ministers. All the courtiers who enter the Wenhua Palace are the helmsmen of the empire."

The political structure of the Ming Dynasty was still dominated by the emperor, but the emperor distributed his power to the court officials in Wenhua Palace to jointly decide the fate of the dynasty.

Galileo thought for a long time before he frowned and said, "Is it the Roman Senate? I have only heard of the Roman Senate and have never seen this method in reality."

It has been so long since we left Rome that everything about Rome has become a legend. Stories always have various colors and it is impossible to get a full picture.

Galileo felt that the Senate system was a legend, people's imagination of Rome, not the real Rome, just like the retro-styled people who kept clamoring that the Roman Empire was above the Third Reich.

Three generations ago, humans were still sacrificed, and there wasn’t even a standard of good and evil. That era was really not a good era.

Li Yashi nodded and shook his head and said, "Unlike the Senate, most of the elders passed through layers of talent selection, passed the imperial examinations, and defeated all opponents in the cruel officialdom before entering the Wenhua Palace. Therefore, these elders are ruthless and quite manipulative."

Galileo understood the difference with the Roman Senate. He shook his head and said, "I am actually not interested in political activities. The ugliness of human nature is always exposed in these political activities."

Legazpi agreed and said, "I also want to advise you to stay away from politics. This is not your area of ​​expertise. In other words, the best way to avoid being alienated by power is to stay away from power."

“Stay away from power, or you will become unhappy. That’s good advice, at least for you.”

Not everyone is suitable to be close to power. Galileo and King De Zhu Zaiyu are very similar. Their talent in understanding the principle that all things are infinite is unquestionable, but if they get involved in politics, they may easily die without a burial place due to lack of sensitivity.

"What have you been doing in Zhejiang these years?" Li Yashi asked curiously.

Galileo pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, which was densely written in Latin. He said with great satisfaction: "I participated in the establishment of 17 people-friendly pharmacies in Zhejiang, personally vaccinated 13,000 people with cowpox, and trained 350 doctors with basic medical knowledge. At the very least, they were all familiar with the "Discourse on the Exorcism of the Infectious Diseases" and had certain insights into some common health and prevention issues."

"Before I left, the Zhejiang Governor Hou Yuzhao received me and gave me a second-class first-class merit plaque, which was a reward and recognition from the court."

Galileo took out a sandalwood box and opened it to reveal a silver medal weighing one or two taels. This medal did not seem to have any privileges, but it was actually Galileo's identity certificate, representing his contribution to the Ming Dynasty and the recognition of his contribution by the Ming court.

This was very important to Galileo. Without this medal, he would not be able to continue his studies at the Polytechnic Institute, nor would he be able to enter the temple of science and become a doctor of science. In Galileo's heart, the Gewu Academy was the temple.

"I am finally no longer a barbarian. The debate between China and the barbarians in the Ming Dynasty is really hard to describe in a few words." Galileo talked about his own mental journey, from being stared at with strange eyes to being recognized by others. Of course, he also experienced some embarrassment, but finally gained the recognition of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty was very strange. On the one hand, because of the Wanli Reform, the Ming Dynasty as a whole was somewhat profit-driven and focused on profit in everything; on the other hand, it had high demands on morality and regarded the realization of morality as the highest pursuit of the court. The fact that a barbarian like him was also recognized was the result of the pursuit of moral realization.

Perhaps, this is the contradiction that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty talked about. Everything is always so contradictory.

Legazpi took out a box, opened it, counted out ten silver bills from it, handed them to Galileo and said, "If you are short of money, I can give you some. Your Highness Felipe sends envoys to bring 10,000 taels of silver every year to support my activities in Ming Dynasty. This is 1,000 taels of silver. You can exchange it for silver coins at the Baoyuan Bureau for living."

Galileo waved his hand and said, "No, I made a lot of money. The local government in Zhejiang is very rich. They gave me enough labor remuneration, about more than 100 taels of silver, enough for me to live. Because of my contribution to the promotion of cowpox, His Majesty allowed me to enter the Royal Institute of Technology." "I paid 60 taels of silver myself and borrowed 60 taels of silver from the emperor to pay the tuition. After entering the school, the court gave me 24 taels of silver for tuition fees of 6 taels per year for the four-year course, which was enough for food, clothing, housing and transportation."

"Your Majesty's loan is simply a charity. You don't have to pay it back during the four years of school, and you can pay it back three years after graduation, and there's no interest."

"God, the students of the Ming Dynasty actually think that this is what the court should do! There is no gratitude at all. Some students of the Ming Dynasty even think that they need to pay it back after graduation. It is because the court is too greedy. How should I describe it?"

Galileo was a little stuck. Although his Chinese studies were already very good, he still couldn't master the use of some idioms and classical Chinese. This kind of hyperlinked text carried too much information.

"To accumulate wealth and create profit." Li Yashi replied with a smile.

Galileo nodded immediately and said, "Yes, it is to accumulate wealth and make profits. When I was studying at the University of Pisa, the tuition was so expensive that I could not afford it at all. The people of the Ming Dynasty really don't know how to appreciate their blessings."

"All Ming students, at least those at the Royal Institute of Technology, should thank your majesty for his grace. Of course, I have not seen such gratitude."

Knowledge is extremely expensive. The Ming Emperor provided a way of borrowing money to reduce some of the tuition burden, but the students of the Ming Dynasty were ungrateful. They discussed privately and even regarded student loans as a manifestation of greed and profiteering and moral corruption.

These ungrateful students should go to the West and experience how difficult it is to pay off student loans in a lifetime, and then they will realize that knowledge is priceless.

Knowledge is the true luxury in this world.

Galileo was about to enroll in school in Ming Dynasty. He originally thought that he would be trapped in the trap of student loans for the rest of his life because he dropped out of the University of Pisa. On the one hand, there was a ban from the Holy See, and on the other hand, he really had no money to go to school.

He originally wanted to borrow some money from Li Yashi, but after completing the admission procedures, he discovered that studying in Ming Dynasty was so cheap!
The admission to the Royal Institute of Technology was a reward from the emperor in recognition of his promotion of the method of curing cowpox among the people, and the loan of sixty silver coins was even more of a timely help.

In Galileo's view, this favor can never be repaid.

But the students of the Ming Dynasty actually ignored this kindness. Some students who graduated from mathematics racked their brains to come up with ideas for the Minfang to evade taxes from the court, and eventually ended up putting themselves in the Dongjiaominxiang Prison.

Li Yashi frowned and said, "This is also a policy to achieve morality. The Emperor of Ming wants to build five large tiled houses for Ming."

"Let every child go to school and learn knowledge; let every place have a pharmacy for the benefit of the people so that they can afford medical treatment, at least to reduce some human tragedies;"

“Let the roads of the Ming Dynasty be connected in all directions, let the highways lead to every corner of the Ming Dynasty, and let free migration depend on the will and choice of individuals;”

"Let the Ming Dynasty no longer be in a money shortage, let the economic development not be constrained by currency, let the goods circulate at a high speed, and break the closed small peasant economy;"

“The last one is to make sure everyone has enough food.”

Galileo looked at Legazpi in disbelief, horrified. Of course, Galileo understood the metaphor of the five large tiled houses, but what he didn't understand was, could this really be achieved? Were they sure they weren't talking about the Kingdom of God on earth?

Li Yashi spread his hands to indicate that he was helpless and shook his head and said, "Don't look at me like that. After His Majesty the Emperor proposed the idea of ​​five large tiled houses, the expressions of the Ming courtiers should be as surprised as yours. I also think it is a bit difficult, but what if it is realized?"

"Do you think it's possible?" Galileo said nervously, "Is this a topic that can be discussed?"

Galileo was somewhat worried. The imperial power of the Ming Dynasty and the religious authority of the West were similar. Discussing whether what the emperor said was right or wrong was as rebellious as discussing whether God's will was correct. God would not be wrong, and neither would the emperor. Discussing these rebellious topics would be unacceptable to the secular world and would be pursued by the judges.

Legazpi seemed to have thought of something interesting and said with a smile on his face, "Whether it can be realized, I don't know."

"But I know that this is up for discussion, because I made up a lot of jokes, but His Majesty didn't chop off my head. Recently, he even didn't bother to arrest me, thinking that I was eating and drinking for free at the Northern Pacification Office."

"I swear to God, I paid for the meal!"

This is a very interesting thing. There was limited freedom of speech in the Ming Dynasty. You could even question the emperor. As long as you were realistic and spoke the truth, you could discuss it. But you couldn't talk nonsense. If you even attacked Hai Rui's character and questioned the significance of General Qi's Eastern Expedition, then you can't blame the emperor for being ruthless.

The emperor's bottom line is very clear.

Galileo said tentatively: "In fact, the Ming Dynasty can absorb some foreign students from the West. Because of religion, they cannot study their own knowledge in the West. It is a good choice for them to travel across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty is willing to accept international students, but the tuition fees are extremely expensive, 10,000 silver coins per person. No matter who pays for the study abroad fees, this fee will be charged. You only have a 120-silver gift. That's because His Majesty the Emperor has given you a second-class merit medal and treats you as a Ming Dynasty citizen." Li Yashi told Galileo the difference.

Galileo was undoubtedly lucky. He made contributions to the Ming Dynasty, submitted a letter of allegiance, and obtained an identity. However, ten thousand silver coins were not a small amount of money to study in the Ming Dynasty, and not everyone could afford it.

"Well, I thought too little. As you said, I am not suitable for politics." Only then did Galileo realize how much advantage he had taken.

Galileo came to visit his guide. After meeting Legashi, Galileo planned to visit Xu Guangqi. Xu Guangqi had a father whose fate was changed because of the Wanli Reform. Xu Guangqi bought a house in the capital. Galileo was going to visit a friend. He did not intend to trouble Xu Guangqi. He planned to live in the official residence of the school.

"Is this the Ti Knight?" Galileo, who was going out, took a step back, because the Ti Knights were active on the street. These guys, who were similar to the knights of the Inquisition, looked really scary. The armor, weapons, and uniform pace were the most direct manifestations of violence.

After Li Yashi whispered a few words to the doorman, he found out why the Tiqi were dispatched.

This is a special rectification campaign. Recently, a number of fraud cases broke out in the capital. Some people used their connections and found ways to enter the Ming Dynasty official factories. After paying hundreds of taels of silver, they got the contract and waited to enter the factory. However, there was no movement for several months. When they arrived at the official factory to inquire, they found out that the contract was fake and the identity badge was also fake.

This is an elaborate scam. In the name of helping people enter government-owned factories, they demand huge amounts of money and property. During the scam, they repeatedly warn people that doing so is against government-owned factory laws and that they should not go to the government-owned factory to inquire. If the scam is exposed, it will never be successful. After paying the money, they can just wait to enter the government-owned factory.

Victims often think that this is a shady operation and are willing to wait. However, after waiting for a while, the person disappears without a trace. When they go to the government to report the case, they find that the contract and the Mazda brand are fake. Because too much time has passed, the government finds it difficult to track down the case.

This time the Ti cavalry closed the streets because they had received accurate information and were preparing to round up these swindlers and send them all to Southeast Asia and Juezhou. These people were indeed the scum of the Ming Dynasty, but if they were sent to Southeast Asia, they could serve as thugs on the plantations. Some of the foreign slaves were not particularly obedient.

Galileo waited for nearly half an hour before the Ti riders pulled away the large fence that had been pulled onto the street. The end of the street closure meant that all the criminals had been arrested, otherwise the street closure would have lasted longer.

The Ming Dynasty court was committed to maintaining public order and good morals. This was the Ming Dynasty that Galileo saw. Although sometimes the court was not omnipotent and was even helpless about some problems, the Ming Dynasty was already trying its best.

"Nice to see you again, my friend." Galileo met Xu Guangqi at dusk.

Xu Guangqi led Galileo into his home and asked as they walked: "I heard that you encountered some troubles. Have you solved them?"

"Thanks to your Majesty, everything has been resolved." Galileo said helplessly, "When I was in Ningbo Prefecture, a man who had been vaccinated with cowpox died. Then his family members came to Huimin Pharmacy and said that I was a wizard who practiced the art of calling souls, and wanted the court to arrest me. This was a huge trouble for me."

"Fortunately, the coroner found out that he died of heart disease, not cowpox surgery. But I had to leave Ningbo Prefecture and go to Wenzhou."

"This is normal. Whether in the Ming Dynasty or in the West, people are always used to blaming others for their mistakes instead of themselves."

Galileo had seen this many times in Tessa. For example, Felipe killed the court pharmacist because he believed that the court pharmacist had killed his beloved queen Anna. But in fact, the queen died of illness, and the court pharmacist suffered an unprovoked disaster.

"Do you remember the problem we had before? Why did the wooden stick on the second floor fall down?" Xu Guangqi talked about the problem he was studying at the Gewuyuan.

Galileo's eyes sparkled as he said, "Of course I remember, but I don't have any good ideas. Do you have an answer?"

After it was proved that the earth is a sphere, some thorny problems followed. For example, why did people not fall off the earth? This is because the top of people on the back of the earth is the bottom of people on the front of the earth. Looking at each other, both should have fallen off, but no one fell off the earth.

Obviously there is a force that is restraining humans and preventing them from falling off the earth.

"Yes, a doctor from the Institute of Gewu raised a question. If the speed is fast enough, will it not fall from the air to the ground? If we can figure out this problem, we can find the answer to the problem." Xu Guangqi said very affirmatively.

"We have conducted many experiments on this issue and have confirmed the following facts: first, the motion of a free-falling body accelerates uniformly; second, objects made of the same material but with different masses fall at the same speed from the same height and land at the same time; third, two shells of different sizes and weights fall at the same speed."

"We are now working on calculating the relationship between the distance an object falls and the time it takes, and calculating the magnitude of this force."

The facts that have been repeatedly verified by these three experiments have confirmed one thing: gravity really exists and that the force continues to act during the falling process.

"Similarly, we are also curious. The five planets, gold, wood, water, fire, earth, and the earth, all revolve around the sun. Are they also operating based on this force?" Xu Guangqi said excitedly.

Galileo said with great emotion: "This looks very interesting. Solving one contradiction will lead to more new contradictions."

After the practice of the great voyages proved that the earth is a sphere, the question of why people do not fall off arose. After confirming the existence of gravity, people had to face more problems, such as the measurement of gravity, the influence of gravity on speed, the principle of gravity, etc. As the emperor said in his theory of contradictions, everything is infinite, but the principle runs through the beginning and the end.

(End of this chapter)