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Chapter 2165: Out of Control at the Grassroots Level [Free]

The Song Dynasty after the Tang Dynasty seemed to be completely destroyed by foreign invasions. If there had been no Jin or Mongolia, the two Song dynasties would have been able to survive for another 100 or 200 years. However, the land annexation problem in the two Song dynasties was also extremely serious. The two Song dynasties actually had the most peasant uprisings in the history of China.

But the Song Dynasty was special in that it was almost developing capitalism, and capitalism was actually the best way to resolve land annexation. Because in the capitalist era, the value of land was not that high, and workers were the most exploitable assets.

At the same time, because of the development of productivity, the output of grain will also be greatly increased, so the probability of a large-scale food crisis will be greatly reduced, which is why the two Song dynasties have been able to persist. Because the business of the two Song dynasties was too developed, and many high-productivity technologies were also developed.

A simple example is that in Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were already various chain stores that specialized in selling beverages. These stores only sold beverages and nothing else. There were dozens of types of beverages, all made from a variety of fresh fruits.

This is an industry that would never emerge if business had not developed to a sufficient level. It's a pity that the technology tree of the two Song dynasties never reached the military level.

Not to mention the Yuan Dynasty, other dynasties at least suppressed land annexation, but the Yuan Dynasty took the initiative to engage in land annexation.

Although the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the Manchus, if it weren't for the peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, which caused the northern part of the Ming Dynasty to become depressed, the Manchus would never have been able to attack.

Well, this is getting further and further away.

Then let’s return the topic to Qi Sheng. Land annexation is the core reason for the destruction of all dynasties, but are so many dynasties throughout history fools and blind?
Even if the Han and Qin dynasties were unable to see the dangers of land annexation due to their lack of historical experience, couldn't later dynasties learn lessons from them and not curb land annexation?

The answer is that these later dynasties not only knew about it, but also, except for a few emperors who were crooked, most of the emperors themselves tried desperately to suppress land annexation, but it was all in vain. The will of these emperors was only to suppress, but could not stop, let alone reverse it. In the end, land annexation became more and more serious, until a large number of farmers went bankrupt, and the land was balanced again through the bloody and cruel slaughter of the population by changing dynasties.

Then why couldn't the emperor curb land annexation?
Aren’t they the supreme emperors?

First of all, except for the founding emperor and a few emperors who restored the country, most emperors did not have supreme power. They were just rubber stamps of the court and officials. The power was in the hands of officials at all levels. If the emperor was disobedient, he could be replaced. For example, the emperor of my Ming Dynasty was easily soluble in water.

But this is only one reason. The more important reason lies in another saying: "Imperial power does not extend to the countryside."

In ancient times, due to communication, transportation, and population reasons, the tentacles of imperial power and the court could only extend to the county level at most. The county magistrate was the lowest administrative unit that the court could govern. When it came to specific towns and villages, it was impossible for the court to assign officials to manage them because the population of a village or a town simply could not support a team of officials.

All ancient dynasties relied on the self-governance of gentry, relying on those local forces to convey and execute the orders of the court, and even the collection of various taxes was entirely dependent on the cooperation of local forces.

Therefore, the most basic and extensive power of the entire court is not in the hands of the court, but in the hands of the local gentry, many local forces, and aristocratic families. These aristocratic families, local gentry, and landlords are exactly the culprits of land annexation. Now you expect these culprits of land annexation to help you curb land annexation. Isn't this as ridiculous as expecting Wall Street to help curb the financial crisis?
Only in modern times, when village committees were built in villages, could the problem of land annexation be completely curbed.

Qi Sheng is now raising the same issue. Compared with curbing land annexation, the social result of the Tongshituan, which completely overturns an existing class and creates a world of great harmony that is completely contrary to human nature, requires even more meticulous control over the grassroots.

Even something like a village committee won't work, because the village committees are built by local people in the local village, and there is also the problem of local power. The best way is to directly transfer people from other places and form a village-level administrative agency entirely with outsiders to supervise and transform the people in the village.

This would require a huge amount of manpower. 100 villagers might need 5 administrative staff and 10 soldiers to maintain the local situation and stability in the early stage. Such a large number of manpower is a force that the current Tongshi Group does not have, so Qi Sheng would take the initiative to solve this problem in advance.

"If the Tongshi Group does not send any military personnel at all, and even transfers all the soldiers to become administrative personnel, will it be enough to establish grassroots organizations in the 10 worlds?" Liu Xu asked.

"Of course you can, but if there are no soldiers..."

"I will provide the soldiers. You give me a total number of ordinary soldiers you need to help you suppress the many basic problems!" Liu Xu asked directly.

"Yes!" Although Qi Sheng didn't know where Liu Xu got so many soldiers from, since the teacher asked, he said directly, "The current population of these ten worlds is trillions, which adds up to a population of one hundred trillion. If you want to maintain absolute stability, you need at least 1/10 of the soldiers, that is, trillions of soldiers to guard the grassroots!"

"Trillions?" Liu Xu tapped the table lightly, then said, "Okay, trillions of soldiers, I'll give them to you!"

"..." Qi Sheng felt a little numb. Trillions of soldiers were equivalent to the population of a large world. Qi Sheng really didn't know where Liu Xu got so many soldiers from.

"It's not just a matter of soldiers!" Qi Sheng swallowed his saliva and said, "With so many soldiers, the military pay and food are also a problem. Feeding so many soldiers is equivalent to feeding an entire world, and all resources have to be transported from other worlds. Half of the resources may be lost on the way. We in the same world group don't have so many resources..."

"No need for military pay, no need for military rations, nothing!" Liu Xu waved his hand again and said, "You can treat them completely as robots, and robots that don't need to be charged. You can use them however you want without consuming any resources! The only problem is that they are relatively stupid and can't understand complicated commands, but it's not a big problem. If you want them to dig the soil, just order them to dig the soil. If you need them to fight, then fight for them. Don't worry about anything else!"

"How can you be so inhumane!" Qi Sheng looked at his teacher in confusion. He had always thought that his teacher was a saint who spoke for the people and wanted to create a harmonious world for the common people. How come from now on, he is no different from a thief?

(End of this chapter)