Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After explaining how to curb the rampant kneeling and worship, Zhu Youjian happened to catch a fish and returned to the previous topic:
"Gathering and hunting were the earliest food sources for humankind, persisting throughout the entire prehistoric era."

"This process may take tens of thousands of years, or it may take hundreds of thousands of years."

"So when people find something in the wild, or fish or hunt, they feel a kind of pleasure; it's a memory etched into their bodies."

"Sir, you could use the period divisions in 'On Production' to explore why people enjoy fishing."

"There are many aspects of this article that can be explored; we can't just write it down and then leave it at that."

Qian Qianyi nodded repeatedly, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

He now deeply understood why the emperor was disappointed in him, and even dissatisfied with him.

The fact that someone has taken away part of the right to interpret the ownership of permanent property is already a lesson learned.

However, they still do not care about the theory of production, and there is a risk that the right to interpret productive forces and relations of production will be taken away by others.

In this situation, how can the emperor support himself? Even if he comes up with a new theory, it will be snatched away by someone else.

Realizing the risk, Qian Qianyi immediately used his very clever mind and said:

"According to the division of production relations, the clan era followed the primitive era."

"Shennong taught people how to cultivate the five grains, and the food source of China began to shift to farming."

"But the surrounding barbarians are still fishing and hunting."

"This is where they are backward, and they need the Chinese civilization to educate them."

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval at these thoughtful words and added:
"To be precise, the Jianlu people in Northeast China relied mainly on fishing and hunting for food."

"Later, under the influence of the Ming Dynasty, they turned to a semi-agricultural, semi-fishing and hunting lifestyle."

"The nomadic tribes on the grasslands are mainly nomadic, but some of them are now farming in places like Guihua City."

“These barbarians don’t have enough food, and their population can’t be fed as it grows. We have to use war to consume them.”

"So they kept harassing the Ming Dynasty. If they won, they could plunder resources; if they lost, they could deplete the population."

"For them, war is a sure thing. Unless the Ming Dynasty can threaten their leader, they will continue."

These words profoundly explain why the Ming Dynasty was plagued by constant border troubles.

This isn't a question of whether the Ming Dynasty wants to fight or not; it's that the barbarian population has increased, so we have to continue the fight.

Qian Qianyi, recalling the grassland population reduction policy formulated some time ago, complimented:

"Your Majesty's appointment of Mongol nobles, the allocation of pastures for them, and the setting of population limits are a long-term strategy for stability and prosperity."

"This is true benevolence, which benefits both the grasslands and the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Youjian smiled and continued:

“In the past, the court conferred the title of Shunyi King upon Altan Khan, bribed the right-wing Mongol nobles, and helped the people on the grasslands survive years of famine through trade.”

"This allowed the area from Xuanda to Hetao to remain stable for several decades."

"But in Liaodong, it was a three-way war between the Ming Dynasty, the Mongols, and the Jurchens, which eventually led to the emergence of the Jurchens, a formidable enemy."

"The lessons learned from this experience must be absorbed, and more articles should be published to discuss them as a reference for formulating grassland policies."

"Sir, you should not stop writing articles after leaving the Hanlin Academy. You should raise more issues and guide officials and the public to think."

This was to make him a mouthpiece for public opinion, and Qian Qianyi had this idea in mind, so he asked for instructions:
"That's exactly what I was thinking too."

"The Ministry of Rites' Propaganda Department has this responsibility; I request to take charge of this department."

Zhu Youjian's current focus is on the Rong and the sacrifices, and propaganda is an important part of that.

Taking advantage of Qian Qianyi's request, he openly interfered with the division of rites, appointing officials as follows:

"You are the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and you are authorized to oversee propaganda and education."

"You can be in charge of the Propaganda Department and the Education Department, and be responsible for their respective work."

"We can also strengthen exchanges with the Propaganda and Education Department of the Ministry of War and jointly explore experiences in propaganda and education."

"This is a very important responsibility, and I hope you can do it well."

The practice of appointing a vice minister to oversee a specific area of ​​affairs was implemented by Zhu Youjian in the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Works, and other government offices after he ascended the throne.

However, the Ministry of Rites was not involved, because it used to be a prestigious and insignificant government office with very little to do.

However, things will be different after strengthening the functions of publicity and education.

Given the importance of propaganda, Zhu Youjian established a special position to oversee propaganda and education, appointing Qian Qianyi, the Left Vice Minister, to be in charge.

Qian Qianyi was very pleased, never expecting that the emperor would increase education simply because he mentioned propaganda.

He didn't care whether the emperor's private appointment was in accordance with procedure, and said happily:

"Your Majesty's kindness is so great, I will do my utmost."

"Currently, the Propaganda Department has a News Bureau and a Publication Bureau. I believe that a Theory Bureau should be added to specialize in theoretical research."

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment and then agreed:
"We can set up a Theory Hall, or a Theory Research Office, and build it together with the Hanlin Academy."

"It is too much to ask government officials to study theory; the academic officials of the Hanlin Academy should be allowed to do so."

"The most important thing is to establish a public opinion hall, just like the public opinion department of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to focus on collecting and guiding public opinion."

“After the establishment of the National Assembly, the people will have a voice in the court, and the influence of public opinion will become greater and greater. The court must have the power to manage it.”

This is what he has been doing all along: adapting the various government offices of the Ming Dynasty to the future era.

Although he did not expect the system he established to last for thousands of years, it should still last for two or three hundred years. Therefore, he tried his best to consider the future and ensured that the court had departments to manage various affairs.

Qian Qianyi is still in charge of the Datong Daily, so he naturally understands the role of public opinion.

He also admired the authority of the Public Opinion Department and immediately said that he would definitely build a good public opinion hall.

Then he made his own request, hoping to establish a government office specifically for the study of practical knowledge.

The theoretical research institute the emperor mentioned was exactly what he desired, and he hoped it could be upgraded to the Institute of Practical Learning. He said:

"Those who excel in theory are not only scholars; there are also many talented people among the common people."

"I believe we can establish a research institute modeled after the Academy of Sciences and recruit these people into it."

Zhu Youjian almost burst out laughing when he heard this, never expecting that Qian Qianyi would have such an idea.

For him, who came from the future, establishing an academy was instinctive; he never even considered establishing any other equivalent academy.

However, in Qian Qianyi's view, the emperor not only established the Academy of Sciences, but also strengthened the Academy of Literature and established institutes such as the Academy of Equipment Research and the Academy of Martial Arts Research.

It was only natural for him to establish a research institute for practical learning. In his eyes, the Academy of Sciences held no special status.

Listening to Qian Qianyi's reasons, Zhu Youjian slowly came to his senses and realized that his understanding of the Academy of Sciences was different from that of Qian Qianyi.

In his eyes, the Academy of Sciences holds a special position and its future will be no less than that of the Hanlin Academy.

However, in Qian Qianyi's view, the Academy of Sciences was just one of many institutions established by the emperor. Even if the branch academies were numerous and developing rapidly, other institutions still had a chance to catch up.

If practical learning has research institutes, it may not necessarily be inferior to the Academy of Sciences in the future.

Since he had ambition, Zhu Youjian, considering the need to increase competitive pressure on the Academy of Sciences, agreed:

"The Theoretical Research Office can be upgraded to an academy, specifically recruiting talents from the private sector to research theories." "However, once it becomes an academy, it is no longer suitable to place it in the Hanlin Academy. It should be placed in the inner court, just like the Academy of Sciences, with funds allocated based on the research results."

"The theoretical research should also have a direction, with the goal of achieving universal harmony."

"This institute is called the Datong Research Institute, which specializes in studying the theory of achieving Datong (the Great Harmony)."

An institute was established to study this subject, modeled after the later Marxist Academy.

He wanted to seize the right to interpret the concept of Datong and use the Datong Academy to guide the development of the Datong theory.

He also renamed the Theory Hall of the Propaganda Department as the Civilization Hall, corresponding to the Civilization Office in later generations.

Zhu Youjian said:
"Theoretical research should aim at achieving a great unity."

"The responsibility of the Civilization Hall is to guide the progress of civilization and move towards a harmonious society."

"If anyone promotes a barbaric and decadent culture, the Civilization Department should supervise and order them to rectify the situation within a specified period."

“We can create a negative list, requiring that items on the negative list are not allowed to be published, or can only be published in decadent publications.”

"Publications published to the public must be positive and conducive to the development of civilization."

"How to define the negative list and how to commend positive newspapers and books can be studied and evaluated by Datong Academy."

This power delighted Qian Qianyi.

He thought it would be good enough to establish a research institute, but he didn't expect that it would also connect with the Department of Civilization and have the power of evaluation.

Those who master the Datong Academy will have a great deal of influence over public opinion.

At the same time, this also imposed a strict requirement: practical learning must aim at achieving universal harmony; otherwise, it would lose its voice in the Great Harmony Academy.

However, this was not a limitation for him, because he had been running the "Datong Daily" and most of his students agreed with the Datong theory.

He proposed to the emperor:
"Both the Hanlin Academy and the Academy of Sciences have publications. I request that the journal 'Datong' be established."

"The Datong Daily, which I preside over, can also be included in the Datong Academy to specifically promote the theory of Datong."

I hope to use these two publications to influence the academic and public opinion communities.

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement and said:
"The articles published in Hanlin were mostly from Hanlin Academy officials, while Science was too specialized."

"Since you have experience in presiding over the Hanlin Academy, you can follow its example and establish the Datong Academy, which is aimed at talented people from the general public."

"If someone's academic theories are worth reading, we can invite them to become researchers at the Datong Institute."

"Those who make contributions can become academicians and be granted the title of Yuanshi."

Offer policies similar to those of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and see how far Qian Qianyi can go.

Seeing that the emperor had granted all his requests, Qian Qianyi then proposed:

"I request the establishment of the Great Harmony Academy to specifically cultivate talents who study the theory of Great Harmony."

Zhu Youjian then disagreed, saying:
"Once the school is established, we must find a way out for the students."

"The capital already has nine academies, and there is no need for more at the moment."

“Talents who study the theory of Great Harmony can be trained at the Imperial Academy. A Great Harmony Academy can be established at the Imperial Academy to attract interested students to study it.”

"Students of the Imperial Academy can become officials as soon as they graduate, so there is no need to help them find a way out, and the Datong Academy does not need to worry about their arrangements."

Modeled after the Marxist colleges of later universities, the Datong Academy was established within the Imperial Academy.

Qian Qianyi was somewhat disappointed by this, because a mere academy within the Imperial Academy could not possibly cultivate talent as effectively as an independent school.

In particular, he wanted to use this opportunity to spread practical knowledge within the academy. Now that the emperor had placed the Datong Academy within the Imperial Academy, it wasn't so convenient.

However, Zhu Youjian also had his considerations. It was easy to set up schools now, but if there were too many college students to accommodate in the future, that would be the source of unrest.

Therefore, he had consciously controlled the size of the schools; there were only 11 top-tier schools in the capital.

The Imperial Academy, the Martial Arts Academy, and the Nine Great Schools together constitute the current university structure.

Only graduates of these eleven schools will be provided with jobs by the imperial court to ensure they do not become unemployed.

Even if a new and powerful school emerges in the future, it will only be able to compete for the status of the Nine Great Schools.

This was something Qian Qianyi was unaware of, and as a result, his proposed Great Learning Hall failed to be established.

As a gesture of appeasement, Zhu Youjian said:
“The Datong Academy can establish an association modeled after the Academy of Sciences, setting up branches in various regions and vassal states, and inviting relevant talents to join.”

"The Datong Daily, as the association's publication, published many articles dedicated to Datong."

"The Great Harmony of the future will inevitably encompass the entire world."

"I hope that all regions and vassal states will have more in common and fewer differences."

"The Datong Academy and the Datong Association must shoulder this responsibility and bravely point out to the local and vassal states policies that are detrimental to Datong and policies that lead to the degradation of the barbarians."

"If the local authorities and vassal states do not correct their practices, we can report this to the Ministry of Civilization or the Court of Colonial Affairs."

"Achieving Great Harmony is not just a matter for the imperial court; it requires the joint efforts of the entire nation!"

This further encouraged Qian Qianyi, making him realize his responsibilities.

The Datong Academy was by no means an insignificant institution; like the Taichang Temple, it was responsible for ideological education.

Then, Zhu Youjian continued from where he left off, making the following request:

"In a world of great harmony, people must have enough to eat and wear."

"Hunting and gathering cannot meet this requirement."

"Wandering and herding are also not allowed."

"Datong Institute should point out the backwardness of these two modes of production from an ideological perspective."

"We will organize research institutions such as the Academy of Agricultural Sciences on how to settle and graze livestock, how to plant fruits and vegetables, and how to raise aquatic products."

"To promote the evolution of hunter-gatherer and nomadic tribes, and to improve their productivity and production relations, they should settle down like agricultural civilizations and have fixed property."

"Only in this way can they transform from a predatory civilization that cannot be self-sufficient into a productive civilization."

"Only when the border regions of the Great Ming Dynasty are secure can lasting peace and stability be achieved."

This passage not only utilizes the concepts of productive forces and relations of production from "On Production," but also from "On Permanent Property."

He pointed out the direction for Qian Qianyi's academic development, which made him admire him immensely.

Only then did he truly realize the significance of the two theories the emperor had commissioned him to write.

They hadn't even discovered their potential; they were sitting on a treasure trove without realizing it.

The concepts of hunting and fishing, nomadic herding, farming, as well as predatory civilizations and productive civilizations, broadened his thinking.

He decided to emulate the recently popular theory of immortality and use these concepts to illustrate the distinction between Chinese and barbarians—

Clearly, Qian Qianyi understood what the emperor valued most.

The emperor, who was dedicated to expanding his territory and conquering the surrounding barbarians, was very interested in theories involving the distinction between Chinese and barbarians.

Theories that can provide support for the emperor are exactly what the current emperor needs most.

He wanted to use practical theories to prove that the Chinese were superior to the barbarians. (End of Chapter)