The Great Industrial Ming Dynasty Started from Beiping

Wenhua Hall.

In a room, the general was sitting quietly. There was a cup of hot tea on the coffee table, exuding heat. Outside the room, there were clerks walking back and forth from time to time, making it look very busy.

Zhao An looked at the surrounding furnishings, and finally his eyes fell on his hands in a daze. He had been waiting for an hour and a half.

"When did we get so many old guys?"

Zhao An had never been so bored. For the first time, he realized that he was already over 40 years old and his big hands were very ugly with calluses. Zhao An didn't pay too much attention to it.

"General Zhao."

"plz follow me."

An elderly eunuch slowly walked into the house, and Zhao An quickly stood up and followed him.

Many people looked at Zhao An curiously as he passed by. Zhao An tried hard to maintain a calm mind. Regarding the impeachment and discussion from the outside world, Zhao An asked himself that he had a clear conscience, so he didn't care much.

Zhao An didn't know where he was going. Looking at the old eunuch's back, Zhao An became more and more worried.

This is the Wenhua Hall.

The center of the world.

Even Zhao An was slightly worried. When he saw His Highness the Crown Prince, how would he salute? How would His Highness the Crown Prince treat him? How should he explain it?

"My lord, please pay homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."

After entering a house, Zhao An only saw a figure at the eunuch's signal. He was already bowing excitedly and did not even dare to look at it.

"General Zhao, no courtesy."

With a smile on his face, Zhu Gaochi said calmly: "General Zhao, please take a seat."

At this time, Zhao An glanced at the scene in the room with his peripheral vision. What made Zhao An incredible was that there were no luxurious objects in the room, except for brochures, which were books and maps.

The bookshelves were all filled with books, and there was an open book on His Royal Highness’s desk. It was obvious that His Highness read books often. When Zhao An saw this scene, he felt respect in his heart.

Respect for scholars has been engraved in the genes of this nation since ancient times.

A prince who loves reading is an object of subconscious respect.

"General Zhao has worked hard these days."

Hearing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's question, Zhao An raised his head blankly and met Zhu Gaochi's eyes, which contained encouragement and appreciation. Zhao An suddenly became moved, and couldn't help but feel moved in his heart.

"For the great Ming Dynasty, I have not worked hard." Zhao An calmed down and replied respectfully.

Zhu Gaochi nodded.

"Although the impeachment of the imperial censors is in line with the procedures, the Ming Dynasty also needs people like General Zhao. They are indispensable. Therefore, I appreciate Xin Xue's words, to the conscience, to unite knowledge and action."

"In my conscience, everything I do is for the good of the country, so I have a clear conscience. No matter how much resistance and public opinion I face, I will continue as always. Such people are great, and the country and nation also need such people. People carry a heavy burden for the world and move forward.”

Zhao An was completely moved, His Highness the Crown Prince's words spoke to his heart.

Zhu Gaochi didn't say these words just to win over Zhao An, but he really thought so.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, the one Zhu Gaochi admired most was Zhang Juzheng.

Why do you admire Zhang Juzheng the most? Because Zhang Juzheng has never wavered in his life.

To the conscience, the unity of knowledge and action.

If for the sake of profit, Zhang Juzheng can obtain the wealth of the whole country, just like the leader of his career, half of Shanghai will become the land of that family. With Zhang Juzheng's status and power, not to mention half of Shanghai, the whole of Shanghai will not be a problem.

For the sake of fame, Zhang Juzheng only needed to arrest a few corrupt officials and organize a few imperial examinations to become a virtuous minister praised by everyone.

But Zhang Ju, as he said in his early memorial to Emperor Longqing, pursued righteousness.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng's powerful ministers became the object of opposition from all interest groups including nobles, eunuchs, censors, ministers, squires, and scholars. The powerful ministers regarded Zhang Juzheng as the only one like him.

It also set a historical precedent when the disciples impeached Mr.

There is a book from later generations that says that the most important thing for a person is to live the life he likes in this life. In line with the unity of knowledge and action, if you know what you want, just do these things and follow your own path in life.

But the beginning of the unity of knowledge and action is to develop conscience.

Many sophisticated egoists have confused more people by saying that knowledge and action are one, but they do not mention conscience.

Then it can be understood as.

On the premise of contributing to social development, live the life you want to live and become a person who will never regret it until your death. This is true civilization and spiritual sublimation, rather than shouting slogans for personal gain.

Although it was the first time for Zhao An to see His Highness the Crown Prince, he quickly surrendered heartily. Such a Crown Prince was indeed worthy of the Crown Prince who hung a picture of a swallow in every house of the common people.

"I did not do well and caused a lot of trouble for the court."

Zhao An took the initiative to apologize.

Since leaving Sichuan and coming to the capital, Zhao An has never surrendered. This is the first time he has surrendered.

After hearing Zhao An's inner words, Zhu Gaochi didn't say much. He simply comforted Zhao An and asked him to go back and rest. "The merits of the soldiers will not be affected by the impeachment of the censors."

Zhu Gaochi smiled and said: "Whether it's right or wrong, soldiers who win the battle are not criticized, they only have honor."

"The prince is wise!"

Zhao An was impressed.

After Zhao An left, Cao Duan was next.

Cao Duan was lecturing in Peiping. When he heard the prince's invitation, he did not hesitate at all. He did not make a name for himself, nor did he worry about being thought of as a villain who was greedy for fame and fortune. Instead, he packed his bags and headed south the next day.

Cao Duan was very gentle. He saw the books on the bookshelf and looked carefully at which books they were.

There are the traditional Four Books and Five Classics, as well as some emerging novels, and many papers and articles by scholars. It seems that the rumor that His Royal Highness does not like reading is false. His Highness is just not limited to the words of his family.

Zhu Gaochi was very enthusiastic about Cao Duan, not because of his achievements in history, but because in Zhu Gaochi's eyes, he was one of the top people in the Ming Dynasty in terms of knowledge.

Very early on, Zhu Gaochi was actually very arrogant.

On the road to the industrialization development of Ming Dynasty, not only Ming Dynasty was growing, but through the growth of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gaochi also learned more from each other. Even now, Zhu Gaochi has reflected on himself and made the mistake of arrogance.

"The suzerain state, vassal vassal states, external vassal states, the Xuanfu Division, and the Xuanwei Division are the foundation of the suzerain-vassal system. They focus on the spread of Chinese culture and lead the world. Everyone must submit to it."

Cao Duan talked about the vassal system in detail, which was based on the vassal system created by Emperor Taizu and based on the current national power of the Ming Dynasty, a new world governance system.

Zhu Gaochi listened very carefully.

The relations between countries in later generations were dominated by the West, because Western civilization won the world. So before the West leads the world, here is China’s theory of world.

There is no such thing as country to country.

There are only Central and Bafang.

China is the suzerain.

"Reforming the native land and returning it to the local people is not a new thing, but a plan that has been planned for a long time. However, when the Ming Dynasty was not long ago established, the influence was insufficient. First of all, the local governments recognized the central government, obeyed the central government's management, and prepared through education and management. "

"Ryukyu, Goryeo and other vassal states are successful examples."

"Outer vassal states became pro-vassal vassals, pro-vassal vassals became Xuanfu Division, Xuanfu Division became Xuanwei Division, and finally they changed to Tuguiliu and merged into one. It was precisely because all directions joined and the barbarians came to the king."

After Zhu Gaochi listened, he suddenly felt a little bit dumbfounded.

In later generations, people often laugh at the arrogance of ancient times, but they do not know the glory of ancient times. This glory does not only refer to force, but to civilization.

Including later generations’ contempt for etiquette.

The purpose of ancient rituals and music is not to satisfy the appetites of the mouth, stomach, ears, and eyes, but to teach the people the correct likes and dislikes, so that they can return to the righteous path of humanity.

It is human nature that people are born to like silence; emotional changes after perceiving external objects are the external manifestation of nature.

When foreign objects come around, they are perceived by the mind and then form likes and dislikes.

If the likes and dislikes are not controlled internally, and the temptation generated by the perception of external objects acts on the outside, the natural principles will be lost.

External objects give people endless feelings, but if people have no control over their likes and dislikes, they will be assimilated by the things around them.

If people are assimilated by foreign objects, they will destroy the laws of nature and exhaust human desires.

Therefore, the strong coerce the weak, the many rape the few, the wise deceive and ignorant, the brave make the coward miserable, the sick cannot be fed, the elderly, young children, orphans, and widowed mothers cannot live in peace, these are the consequences of the world. An element of chaos.

Therefore, rituals and music are artificially controlled: the etiquette system of weeping with hemp is used to control funerals; the system of bells, drums, and other music is used to harmonize peace and happiness; the system of marriage crowns and hairpins distinguishes men and women; Xiangshe, Dashe, Xiangshe, Xiangshe The etiquette system for drinking and other banquets regulates interpersonal relationships. Use etiquette to control people's hearts, use music to harmonize people's hearts, use politics to promote it, and use punishment to prevent it.

The characteristic of music is seeking common ground, while the characteristic of ritual is seeking difference.

Sameness makes people love each other, and differences makes people respect each other.

Too much unrestrained pleasures will cause confusion and uncertainty in the boundaries between people; too much unrestrained rituals will cause people to alienate each other. Harmonizing people's feelings, making each other love each other, regulating behavior and appearance, and ordering the dignity and inferiority of people. This is the function of ritual and music.

What kind of social environment will be achieved in the end?

For example, the money earned by businessmen is not used to exploit people, but to feed their neighbors. It's like a businessman from a small Western country who has made some achievements in foreign trade, but stays in his hometown. The millions of money he earns from foreign countries are not used for enjoyment, but donated to the sports team in his hometown, and he holds a competition for the people in his hometown. Lively activities they participated in.

In different social environments, whether businessmen seek wealth and kill themselves for profit, or whether they become commendable sages, are different manifestations. What needs to be guided by the civilization of the social environment.

"Since ancient times, learning has been nothing more than a matter of idealism and materialism, or whether the two are compatible." Cao Duan saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemed to understand, so he explained in more detail: "In different periods, with the difference in social productivity, learning has also changed. Different directions of development.”

"For example, pre-Qin people emphasized the Tao, which means that the development of the world is determined by the Tao."

"As for what Tao is, each school puts its own ideas and cognitions into it. But the common feature is that it recognizes the existence of Tao. For example, the Confucian school mentioned in the Book of Changes that one yin and one yang are called Tao, which is equivalent to Taoism is the result of the transformation of two opposing forces. Laozi mentioned in the Tao Te Ching that Tao can be Tao, but it is not Tao. Names can be named, but they are not names. He believes that Tao is difficult to define, and the Tao that can be told is not a long Tao or an ordinary Tao. rules."

"Acknowledge the existence of objective laws in the world alone, apart from all physical objects."

"That's why the Book of Changes mentioned that metaphysically it is called Tao, and metaphysically it is called utensils. The popular explanation is that all tangible materials are real objects, which are utensils. And there are objective laws on physical objects, so metaphysically they are called Tao."

When Cao Duan said this, he paused for a moment.

Zhu Gaochi showed curious eyes.

Cao Duan hesitated for a while, and then said: "His Royal Highness the Prince likes to go back to ancient times. Although there is some truth in it, in fact, in ancient times, there was no in-depth study of the worldview and material outlook of the current Ming Dynasty academic circles."

"The foundation is very materialistic, but it doesn't go deep after just touching it. As Confucius said, it doesn't matter what exists outside the Liuhe, and how can one know death if we don't know life? In fact, it means recognizing the existence of objective laws, but not thinking about it."

Zhu Gaochi didn't take it seriously.

Of course he knew that the level of research in ancient times was definitely not as high as that of later generations, but he had to consider the limitations of history. What he valued more was development, not only economic development, but also ideological development.

However, there is no need to debate these matters in detail with Cao Duan, because I do not intend to have an in-depth discussion with Cao Duan on the pros and cons, but to understand the current development level of Ming Dynasty scholarship.

It is impossible for everyone's thoughts to perfectly fit together. As it is said in "Book of Rites and Music", seek common ground while reserving differences, find common ground and retain different opinions.

Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince did not refute, Cao Duan breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "However, during the Song Dynasty, academic progress has made great progress, and this area is supplemented by the rise of Song Dynasty Dynasty. This is based on Song Dynasty's absorption of Buddhist ideas. Complete."

"In fact, the core of Ming Dynasty's new learning is somewhat similar to Neo-Confucianism. It is believed that nature is always rational and regular, and it is necessary to study things to gain knowledge."

"What is the difference between New Learning and Neo-Confucianism?"

"I believe that the New Learning also agrees that there are objective laws in the world, and that there is Dao beyond the Liuhe. However, the New Learning believes that people have conscience, and conscience is not conscience, but the first thoughts that people have when they come into contact with things."

"In the New Learning, that idea is considered to be the most consistent, the most consistent with objective laws, and the most innocent."

"For example, when I heard that General Zhao was killing people excessively in Sichuan, I felt very sympathetic and angry. That was my initial conscience, but then I thought about how I couldn't offend General Zhao, so I quickly kept silent. Then That’s how you do it from behind.”

"What is conscience? Conscience is my original intention. We must not forget our original intention and keep the truth in mind."

"So the requirement of the new learning is to first develop conscience, and then study things to achieve knowledge. Neo-Confucianism believes that it is to destroy human desires and preserve natural principles."

"Actually, human desire and conscience here are both philosophical concepts. Human desire is not a person's seven emotions and six desires, nor is conscience. It is a person's thinking, ideas, and worldview."

“In Song Dynasty philosophy, we must first admit the existence of rationality, that is, objective laws.”

“How to achieve compliance with objective laws?”

"Conformity is a state that we pursue in ancient times, that is, to make our cognition and daily behavior conform to objective laws. In the ancient saying, it is not within the daily routine until innateness."

"Let our thinking and behavior conform to the rules, so the difference between Neo-Confucianism and the New Neo-Confucianism is that Neo-Confucianism should believe that the truth should be pursued directly from scratch, while the New Neo-Confucianism believes that people have an initial conscience and should pursue the truth based on conscience. "

"Clap clap clap."

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but applaud.

People want to do what they like, whether it is to liberate their nature, or to be independent, or even to reflect on various things, first of all, it is based on conscience. With this foundation, society can continue to progress.

In fact, Cao Duan's new learning is similar to the mind learning in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

When modern literati translated Aristotle's famous works, metaphysics was based on this and used this name.

Later generations have always adopted the idea of ​​​​translating foreign classics from ancient Chinese classics. In order to pursue the unification of ancient and modern times, nouns will also use ancient words.

For example, words such as country, news, etc. are also ancient words. In the end, people talk about these words as if they were brought by the West.

Another example is Huang Tai Chi.

If they were named after Tai Chi, the names of Lao Nu's other sons would also be different. They were just transliterations, and the beauty of the words used lies in them.

The most regrettable thing about the death of the Song Dynasty is that the civilizational achievements of the Song Dynasty, especially the ideological ones, were not inherited by the successors. No matter how much wealth was robbed, it would eventually be spent. Only the civilizational achievements are the most precious.

Zhu Yuanzhang had great literary and military skills. Unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang was born in the late Yuan Dynasty after all and had not been highly influenced by the thoughts of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, although he formulated many good policies, there were also many shortcomings.

What about yourself?

After all, I was influenced by later generations, and I also did not fully recognize the achievements of ancient times. It was a waste of the foundation of Chinese civilization to guide the Ming Dynasty in the fifteenth century with the concepts of later generations.

What is the greatest heritage of Chinese civilization?

Radiating influence all over the world.

The world says.

The world is under common rule.

The king is the king of the world, not the king of one country. The king of the world is called emperor, and the king of a country is called king.

Cao Duan received the support of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and began to give lectures in the capital. It was hard to get a ticket for Cao Duan's lectures in the Grand Theater, and the venues were full of audiences who came to listen to the new learning.

The suzerain state, the Xuanwei Division, the Xuanfu Division, the vassal states of close vassals, and the vassal states of foreign vassals.

It soon became a discussion in the imperial court, and people discussed the kingdoms and regions such as Goryeo, Wa, Ryukyu, Laos, and Eight Hundred Burmese, and combined them with the vassal system of Emperor Taejo.

"In the beginning, many places were unable to be self-sufficient and had to rely on external supplies. However, Emperor Taizu used the productivity of our Ming Dynasty. Regions that wanted to obtain the supplies of our Ming Dynasty must recognize our Ming Dynasty as the suzerain country in order to conduct trade. In order to To maintain this system, private trade is prohibited and is managed uniformly by the imperial court.”

"Kingdoms like Goryeo, because of cultural traditions, are vassal states that came from cultural annexation."

"Today, with the productivity of our Ming Dynasty, in addition to inheriting this system of the world, we should also carry it forward and deepen the governance of the Xuanwei Division, Xuanfu Division, close vassal states, and foreign vassal states."

How should the Xuanwei Division, Xuanfu Division, and vassal states in different regions be treated and how to distinguish them? More and more people have begun to discuss more ideas around the new learning.

In August of the thirteenth year of Yongle, the civil war broke out in Siam, but what attracted more attention in the capital was the discussion of the vassal system. Even Goryeo, Ryukyu and other domestic forces are waiting and watching, because it is related to their own national interests.

Every time there is a change, interest groups will be affected.

Another big trading house disappeared.

This time, it is the Zhou family that is inextricably related to the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau. This businessman who cooperated with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the early years was Zhou Yourong, the great Zhou in the second week. After Zhou Yourong's death, his family hid their assets and was taxed Si Yamen found out.

According to the investigation of the Tax Department, the Zhou family transferred a lot of gold and silver and buried it under the land of Goryeo.

Goryeo is different from other vassal states. Goryeo's culture, customs and people are very close to the mainland. Coupled with the relationship between Ming Dynasty and Goryeo, as well as Goryeo's level of civilization, merchants have confidence in Goryeo's security.

In any case, under the investigation of the Tax Department, the Zhou family disappeared.

Although the Zhou family died, the Zhou family's minerals would not disappear. In the end, through the auction situation, more businessmen were enriched.

Under the concerned eyes of the businessmen, they also set their sights on the capital. Whether the conclusion of the sect-vassal system and its influence on Goryeo and other countries would break their existing interest situation.

Then obtaining more workers with Ming Dynasty status can be regarded as a kind of kidnapping, so that the court can take advantage of it.

The chieftains, big and small, in the southeastern region of Chongqing Prefecture began to repatriate under the organization of the local government. There were hundreds of thousands of people. Although their quality was not high, they were from the Ming Dynasty.

Scholars from Goryeo are not as valuable as illiterate people from Ming Dynasty.

The domestic situation in Goryeo did not end with the death of Old Nan Wang. Instead, the expansion of commerce, extreme oppression, and reduction in food production brought about an unprecedented famine.

Large tracts of land were not grown in food, and became the raw material base of the Ming Dynasty. The price of the grain transported by the Ming Dynasty reached sky-high prices, which became the last glory of the merchants, and they were likely to buy Goryeo in one fell swoop.

According to statistics from the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau, at least 60% of the land in Goryeo fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty trading houses.

In the past three years, at least half a million refugees have starved to death in Korea.

At the same time, according to the continuous expansion of Ming Dynasty trading houses, there are at least one million Ming people in Goryeo. Now they are eyeing the hundreds of thousands of extra people, hoping to eat this cake.

Hundreds of thousands of people from the southern region of Chongqing Prefecture were warmly welcomed by the merchants.

The slaves who had just regained their freedom boarded river boats and came to Shanghai to go to sea. Each family's family became the core of the trading companies, protecting their interests in Korea.

These poor people are not afraid of death and are the best source of factory protection teams for trading companies.

Three meals a day, six days off each month, and a monthly salary of at least one yuan and fifty cents. Under the guarantee of the Workers' and Civilian Union Department, these mountain people who had just come out of the mountains were imbued with the spirit of civilization and gained Savage physique.

They had ruddy faces and armed with simple firecrackers and machetes, guarding the merchants' factories and parks.

In just a few months, it seems like he has become a completely different person.

From slave to warrior.

Armed with capital, they lived a life they could not even imagine. They had their own mother-in-law and soon their own children, and were treated like superiors to others in Goryeo.

Daming products are continuously added to their lives, giving them higher quality.

Schools, gardens, squares, theaters.

By the end of the year, Goryeo had taken on a new look, taking the factory as its own from the bottom of its heart, with a group of millions of workers, but these workers were employees of the Daming Commercial Bank, not the Daming Industrial Bureau.

These were all done by the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau in the early years, and were finally learned by the capitalists. (End of chapter)