Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 222: Sincerely try to be humble, don’t worship me too much!

Seeing Liu Bowen acting like this, Zhang Cheng just smiled slightly.

He knew that Liu Bowen was stimulated by his words.

But what Zhang Cheng said was true. He was not worried about the vitriol and rotten scholars who still wanted to restore the old order.

Because the regimes dominated by these people have always been very weak in history, either being eliminated by foreigners or by people with low status within themselves.

There is no need to elaborate on the reasons. Zhang Cheng only said to Liu Bowen now:
"Next, as the output of grain, various types of fabrics, and ironware increases, there will be fewer and fewer places where people's power is directly used, and more and more people will not only seek to avoid hunger and cold, but also more and more We need to let the people understand the importance of the stability of the country and the nation, and the importance of observing etiquette, law and morality, and we cannot just sit back and let them become fools!”

"If a person is stupid and has excessive human desires, then such a person will cause great damage to the peace of the world. Therefore, after taking charge of the Civil Affairs Bureau, he should organize the world's elites as soon as possible to compile some books that are conducive to the people's self-study and the knowledge of etiquette through self-study. It’s a good reference book for world affairs.”

"After all, there are still insufficient talents who can serve as teachers. Our Datong Society can only provide them with some literacy and basic knowledge education, and let the people further develop wisdom, realize the importance of order, and understand To realize the importance of reasonably controlling human desires and the importance of being friendly to others for self-interest, people need to learn these things by themselves through certain tools.”

"After some reference books are compiled, some simple and easy-to-understand popular readings on history and practical studies, and even popular readings on various Confucian schools, including other schools, will be produced, so that people who are willing to understand can learn through self-study. A preliminary understanding of why there are Han Confucianism and Song Confucianism, what is Tao, what is Zongheng, etc., and then have a detailed understanding of the inheritance of Chinese civilization. "

"This will prevent them from feeling too inferior to their past culture because Hu Yuan came to China, and also prevent them from being overconfident in their past culture because we restored China."

After Zhang Cheng said this, Liu Bowen nodded solemnly, and then said with a smile: "I didn't expect Mr. Zhang to value the wisdom of the people in the world so much. Literati have always looked down upon each other, but Mr. Zhang believes that the wisdom of the people in the world is stronger than his own."

"I can make such a big change in the world in a short period of time. In essence, I value craftsmen, encourage their creations, and respect their achievements. That's why it seems that there are so many new techniques and new equipment. In fact, there are so many new techniques and equipment. Although there are many new achievements, there are many more that have not been successfully applied to industry and have failed, making money wasted and turned into spectacles.”

Through these years of experience, Liu Bowen could not help but believe that Zhang Cheng would not let people's power be used less and less directly.

Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "My mentor once issued a strict order not to reveal his name. My father does have some unique characteristics. Now that you ask me why I can make such a big change in the world, I can only say , this is due to the teachings of our teachers, but more importantly, we Chinese people actually contain a lot of wisdom. As long as we respect their personalities and get to know them seriously, we will find that there is a lot among them that is worth carrying forward. New achievements, such as the chemical fertilizers I am currently developing. In fact, long before I asked people to develop chemical fertilizers, Wang Boxan (Wang Zhen) had already used various manure, old wall nitrate soil, and grass ash to develop fertilizers that increase agricultural production. I began to study what nutrients crops needed to grow better. Then there was the cotton gin, a new technology invented by an old woman named Huang Daopo. She eliminated a lot of labor in the process of deseeding cotton, making cotton no longer available. It’s expensive cloth.”

Zhang Cheng nodded: "Yes, this is an inevitable situation."

But at the same time, Liu Bowen asked Zhang Cheng curiously: "May I ask Mr. Zhang, will the direct use of people's power really become less and less?"

After Zhang Cheng said this, Liu Bowen raised his hand and said yes.

Liu Bowen didn't expect that just after Zhang Cheng began to show off, his skills and knowledge would improve so quickly in a short period of time!
Even now, based on the meaning of Zhang Cheng's words, it seems that this rapid improvement will continue to occur.

Liu Bowen also smiled at this.

Although he said nothing, his strange power confused his spirit.

And most of the time, there will only be excessive requisition of people's power and public dissatisfaction will arise.

But Liu Bowen had to think so.

"And there are still many such people in the world, especially among the people. We just need those in power not to set our sights on others, nor to suppress their personalities, but to encourage them to create inventions and be good at discovering them."

But what Liu Bowen was quite emotional about was that throughout the ancient and modern times, all kinds of skills and knowledge had never improved so quickly after Zhang Cheng appeared.

This made Liu Bowen even more surprised and admired.

He couldn't help but wonder to himself: "Is this Zhang Cheng really a star descended from the sky, so he can bring a lot of favors, enlighten the foolish people in the world, and prevent the world from hearing cries?"

Liu Bowen couldn't help it, so he took the initiative to ask about Zhang Cheng.

"Mr. Zhang, may I ask who you studied under, or what is so great about your father that makes you so wise and unparalleled in the world? You have also caused great changes in the world because of you. From now on, the people no longer have to work just for farming and weaving. busy?"

Although he subjectively does not want to see less and less people's power being directly used, he knows that he should believe that Zhang Cheng can make people's power less and less directly used, and can make the world need more people. brainpower and talent to contribute.

"It's a fact, it's not that I don't want to think that he won't exist."

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "I don't want to be an independent man in terms of power, let alone academic skills, but I really feel that I am the smartest in the world!"

"Having said that, there are indeed few people in the world who can match Mr. Zhang." Liu Bowen really didn't expect that Zhang Cheng would be so humble and transparent, without any arrogance after possessing lofty status and power. He only thought that there would be people in the world who could compare with him. He is wiser.

This made Liu Bowen admire Zhang Cheng even more in his heart.

But he also became more and more determined that he could not be an enemy of Zhang Cheng. He could not deal with someone like this who clearly knew the world and yet humbly learned from the people in the world.

After all, this kind of person is almost considered a saint.

And who can be the enemy of a true saint?
Shortly after Zhang Cheng and Liu Bowen returned to the cabinet, Li Shanchang came to see Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng also introduced Li Shanchang to Liu Bowen.

Liu Bowen therefore took the initiative to salute Li Shanchang.

Inspired by Zhang Cheng, and knowing that Li Shanchang had made considerable contributions to Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Cheng and others in crossing the Yangtze River and conquering the south of the Yangtze River, he did not treat ordinary Confucian scholars like Li Shanchang because he was a Jinshi of the Yuan Dynasty. There is contempt.

Li Shanchang also returned the gift. He knew that Zhang Cheng only valued practical ability, so he would not be wary of Liu Bowen because he was a Jinshi, and felt that Liu Bowen would really affect his status in the cabinet.

Then, Li Shanchang said to Zhang Cheng: "Mr. Zhang, the Central Academy of Engineering has just reported that it has successfully produced the cement you gave by calcining and finely grinding limestone and clay according to the ratio you requested. It has been proven that It does become very hard after hardening.”

Zhang Cheng nodded immediately after hearing this: "Very good!"

Later, Zhang Cheng said to Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang: "As I said, in the future, the number of direct use of large-scale manpower to accomplish some major things will be reduced. Now that the cement comes out, Sanhe soil will have no use, and large-scale construction will If things happen, there will be no need for a lot of manpower to ram the soil, and more and more people will have time to receive education. By then, the overall wisdom of the Chinese people will naturally be improved, and the entire China will be more prosperous. "

"cement?"

Liu Bowen asked secretly curiously.

Here, Zhang Cheng said to Li Shanchang: "You all come with me to have a look."

"Yes!"

Therefore, both Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen followed Zhang Cheng to the Central Academy of Engineering recently established by Zhang Cheng, and the bachelor of the Academy of Engineering was Wang Zhen.

After Wang Zhen saw Zhang Cheng, he immediately bowed to Zhang Cheng.

Seeing this, Zhang Cheng hurriedly supported Wang Zhen and asked, "Why did the Lord suddenly salute you?"

Wang Zhen said: "Mr. Zhang, you made this magical sticky ash called cement appear, so I can't help but want to pay homage to you."

"With the emergence of cement, river embankments and city walls will be stronger in the future, which can reduce many natural and man-made disasters and harm the people. The key is that it will also save a lot of people's labor. Because of the need to dredge rivers and carry out large-scale construction, a large number of people who died in service will be The number of people who will die in other places will undoubtedly decrease in the future."

Wang Zhen showed a bright smile as he spoke.

Li Shanchang also said here: "Not only these benefits, but also the cost will be greatly reduced. In the past, to make the embankments and city walls strong, it was necessary to use grains such as glutinous rice to mix the dust. Now that we have cement, it will be really practical to build embankments and city walls in the future." I don’t know how much food I will save.”

"Mr. Zhang's move can indeed be said to be a great achievement."

Li Shanchang then flattered Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng smiled and waved his hand: "Using various types of lime and sand to make adhesive mud that adheres bricks and stones. The ancients have had this idea for a long time. I just paid more attention to it and organized some old craftsmen to experiment and try to mix it. Comparing some materials, calcining some materials, and providing some new ideas. It cannot be attributed to me alone. Experts in construction in the past dynasties and experts in construction in this world, especially the craftsmen responsible for developing cement in the Academy of Engineering, are all If you have merit, don’t blame it on me alone.”

Zhang Cheng didn't want people like Li Shanchang to only give him the credit, to overly mythologize and worship him, and to make him overly authoritative, which would dampen the enthusiasm of others to actively innovate, so he tried his best to mention him at such a time. Take credit for others' efforts.

Liu Bowen fell silent again at this time. Although he had not yet seen what cement was, he had already noticed through the narrations of Wang Zhen, Li Shanchang and Zhang Cheng that the emergence of cement would definitely further subvert the traditional ruling model.

(End of this chapter)