The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 167 Shackles

If someone says that Qin is a purely backward agricultural country, this statement is not very appropriate.

After decades of peaceful development, within the territory of Qin, there are a large number of handicraft workshops, workshops, mines, iron smelting furnaces, and large factories that have introduced Qi’s advanced machinery. In terms of industrial and commercial scale and economic activity, , far exceeding that of the pre-Ming Dynasty, which also made the non-agricultural population very large.

For example, there are more than 80,000 craftsmen in Jingdezhen, more than 150,000 trackers on the Yangtze River, more than 100,000 weavers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong regions; there are also more than 100,000 sugar rolling workers in Lingnan and Yizhou; in various big cities There are also countless craftsmen and citizens engaged in commercial activities; the number of miners in the southwest region also reaches one million.

"There are no fewer than fifty or sixty iron furnaces in Guangdong Province, and there are no fewer than tens of thousands of servants...".

But most of these are handicraftsmen or pure coolies, without machines or mechanization.

Of course, there are some large factories that use machine production in Songjiang, Denglai, Guangzhou and other places, but considering the huge size of Qin State, the number is still too small.

More than fifty years ago, when the Ming Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty changed, some court officials saw the influx of goods and utensils from the Qi Kingdom. They were very disapproving and their attitude was quite disdainful. "Everything from Hanzhou is just for supply." Have fun.”

When the Xinyou Palace changed and the Queen Mother took over as regent, she issued an edict and launched a new reform policy, which pointed out, "The way to govern a country lies in self-improvement, and when assessing the situation, self-improvement must be based on making weapons first."

At that time, various places began to introduce various "implements" from Qi on a small scale, set up factories, and develop modern industry.

As a result, the introduction of machines opened the skylight of the ancient iron house. In the struggle for power and violence, in the alternation of inferiority and arrogance, in the torment of loss and madness, the ancient Chinese China staggered and gradually embarked on a journey that would endanger the world. The not-so-willing path to industry.

However, due to the Confucian tradition and the limitations of their knowledge, in the eyes of many court officials and gentry, "Qixue" was only regarded as a supplementary knowledge rather than a method of understanding the world. .

A great Confucian once said, "What is immutable is ethics and discipline, not law; the holy way is not equipment; the mind is not craftsmanship."

Because, in China, which has been influenced by culture for thousands of years, there is also a deep-rooted ideological anti-commercialism, which greatly hinders the development of Qin's industry and commerce.

"Guoyu·Jinyu" says, "The public eats tribute, the officials eat the town, the scholars eat the fields, the common people eat their own food, and the businessmen eat the officials." This makes the folk business in the past dynasties more subject to the rules of the officialdom, rather than the officialdom. The laws of the market.

Even among the influential traditional merchant gangs in Daqin (Hui merchants, Shanxi merchants, Shaanxi-Gansu merchant gangs, cotton merchants, salt merchants, etc.) and several wealthy banks, as well as wealthy overseas traders in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places, They are also different from the trading companies and factory owners in Qi State. These commercial organizations lack their own independence to a certain extent, and their business activities are dominated by market monopolies formed by power leasing, let alone technological inventions and innovations.

On the ancient earth, Confucian jars accommodated too many things, and also restricted too many things with their powerful influence (binding force).

What is completely different from the spirit of adventure and exploration in Europe and the West and the scientific competition spirit that is gradually taking shape in Qi in the Han continent is that the tradition of China places more emphasis on simplicity and inaction, which is prominently reflected in some Confucian classics.

For example, "If there are many people and sharp weapons, the country will become comatose; if there are many people and skills, there will be many strange things; if there are many laws and regulations, there will be many thieves."

Another example is, "Those who practiced good deeds in ancient times would not make the people enlightened, but would make them stupid. The people are difficult to govern because they are wise. Therefore, if you govern the country with wisdom, you will be a traitor to the country; if you do not govern the country with wisdom, you will be a blessing to the country."

The so-called "inaction", "not fighting" and "not respecting the worthy", this kind of moderation embodies the oriental wisdom of the traditional era and is irreproachable in itself.

It is precisely based on long-term considerations and for the sake of the stability and longevity of the dynasty that they will be more or less vigilant and cautiously opposed to technological revolutions that "challenge nature".

To borrow the words of Mencius, "It's not something you can do, it's something you can't do."

If you put aside the utilitarian color, it is difficult to say that this kind of reservation and conservatism is not a kind of wisdom.

"It is in harmony with heaven and earth in its virtues, in harmony with the sun and moon in its brightness, in harmony with the order of the four seasons, in harmony with ghosts and gods in its good and bad fortunes."

In traditional Chinese culture, “the metaphysical is called Tao, and the metaphysical is called tools.” “Virtue comes first, and art comes down.” ".

In the "Xi Ming" written by Zhang Zai, Mr. Hengqu of the former Song Dynasty, he said: "The people are my compatriots; the things are my friends."

What does that mean? It means that people and people, people and all things are one.

The steam engine and the big iron ox are nothing more than sharp weapons that can be used to kill people.

Traditional Confucianism emphasizes people's introspection, and what is to be conquered is "mind" rather than "things".

Throughout history, Chinese Confucian civilization advocates the middle way and harmony. This spiritual resource of the unity of nature and man is undoubtedly a revelation for the long-lasting of human civilization.

The so-called industrial spirit or industrial civilization promoted by the Qi State is not worthy of boasting and introduction. It is just an "accessory" brought by them in their pursuit of conquering the wilderness, defeating barbarism, and exercising hegemony. It is a contribution to Chinese civilization. It leads to a "distorted" reality problem.

During the years when the Empress Dowager of the Qin Dynasty was regent, Songjiang and Denglai were designated as "economic innovation zones" and were also listed as direct administrative offices of the imperial court. They adopted economic and governance methods different from those of the Qin Dynasty, introduced various industrial production and manufacturing from Qi, and encouraged industry and commerce. , vigorously expand foreign trade.

However, decades later, as the Queen Mother withdrew from the center of power and returned power to Emperor Qianyuan, without the support and support of the supreme ruler, the hundreds of private workshops and workshops established in the above two places gradually withered and Withered, many factories even became subsidiaries of government and merchants.

Some factories lacked funds and management skills, and their operations were deteriorating; some were unsustainable due to forced purchases and sales by the court and local governments and defaulted on payment for goods; others were forced to take shares by the court and became joint ventures between the government and businessmen. Or change it to a government-supervised commercial operation.

The so-called government supervision of business operations is nothing more than a way for the government to invade and suppress business, making it impossible for businessmen and factory owners to gain true economic independence and freedom.

Since the Song Dynasty, whether it was the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty that briefly ruled the mainland, or even the current Qin Dynasty, there has never been a strong elite class other than scholar-bureaucrats who can put their power above the country in various ways ( or participate in it), or limit the monarch's power within a certain range to achieve a balance of power that supports and restricts each other.

The merchant class in Da Qin had no political status and lacked sufficient influence on politics. They did not constitute a powerful force participating in the operation of society. In order to survive, businessmen can only bribe and cling to officials, or introduce the power of officials.

Confucian morality is not only a legal constraint for the dynastic regime, but also a powerful ideology.

It can be said that previous dynasties can collapse, perish, or be conquered, but the power system of the new dynasty will not change.

In order to "weaken the people", the autocratic power naturally chose to exploit "agriculturalism".

"People and farmers are simple, simple means easy to use, easy to use means the border is safe, and the master is respected." As for some "artifacts" and some advanced factories, they are more like a beautiful "patch" to maintain the rule of the dynasty.

Why Qi is strong, advanced, and able to dominate the oceans is all due to its efforts in "nurturing the people" and "educating the people." It lies in the implementation of decades of universal compulsory education, and in the public opinion on science and utensil-making both inside and outside the court and among the people. attention and reliance.

However, during the decades of the Qin Dynasty, those who talked about "Qi Fa" only focused on refining manufacturing, improving weapons, and expanding equipment. This was just a suppression of the end.

During the Queen Mother's regency, she tried to implement five-year compulsory education in Songjiang Prefecture, using Qi's reformed textbooks as a model, "New Learning" scholars as teachers, and recruiting children at an early age. However, the implementation only lasted seven or eight years, and it was hampered by financial constraints and The source of students was very few (many children from poor families need to help their families or work as child labor), and finally disappeared without a trace.

Some knowledgeable people who had studied in Qi State and returned from studying abroad have also pointed out, "The people of Qi have their own origins when they founded the country. Although the education and culture (Confucian culture) is far inferior to that of our country, the Qin Dynasty, they have been tamed until they became rich and strong, and they have physical skills and talents. In the school, political affairs are discussed in the Pardon Office and the cabinet. The monarch and the people are united, the superiors and the people are united, they are pragmatic and avoid hypocrisy, and they make decisions before taking action. This is the body. Cannons, muskets, railways, machines, and other matters are all used for this. But I, the Qin Dynasty, have left his body behind and seek to use it again, no matter how hard we run, our sincerity is beyond comparison!"

Under the inherent power system of the Celestial Dynasty, some factories in Daqin that introduced advanced machinery and equipment were unable to achieve their due benefits due to traditional ideas and backward management methods. Compared with Qi’s investment, their input and output were The factories established were all inferior.

It is not difficult for people who are not from Qin, but they are actually shackled by invisible hands.

Technology comes from innovation, but innovation does not necessarily come from nothing, but is mostly an improvement on existing technology, that is, integrating many old technologies into a new technology, thus producing a "1+1>2" effect.

For a new country like Qi that has always been troubled by a shortage of manpower, the most important invention is not a machine, but the invention of a concept that saves manpower the most - of course, it will gradually change to cost saving later. --method to produce maximum production efficiency.

Some scholars in later generations said that the significance of science does not lie in "usefulness", but in the need of rationality and the instinct of thought.

In the Qin State with a huge population, many "useful" sciences have become trivial, and extremely efficient machines have become appendages. Because people are "plentiful and cheap", machines will at some point be regarded as harmful and unprofitable. , especially in a situation where more than 90% of the people must rely on labor to survive.

During this period, within the territory of Qin, under the leadership of knowledgeable people, there were still new inventions and improvements in labor-saving technologies and tools, but they were basically only to adapt to the production of small farmers and sideline industries, and had nothing to do with the large-scale production model. From the perspective of Chinese people, these inventions are not even real machines.

The secret of modern industry lies in technological innovation, but the "creative destruction" brought about by new technologies and new machines will cause traditional workers to lose their jobs in the short term, causing unemployment and social instability, and may threaten imperial power.

For example, in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, some powerful cotton manufacturers have successively introduced large-scale cotton spinning machines and looms driven by steam engines from Qi. Although they have improved productivity, they also have a crushing cost advantage over cotton produced in Qi. However, the "creative destruction" it triggered has attracted opposition from all parties, and there are even incidents of laid-off workers causing riots and destroying machines.

If not, local officials and businessmen brought a large number of homeless weavers to immigrant ships through immigration, opening a "drain valve" that would probably cause more civil unrest.

Tea has always been the main export commodity of Daqin, but it has always been maintained in a heavy household and manual state, and has not been able to develop into large-scale operations and large-scale machine production. Several years ago, a businessman from Qi State who had some good intentions found this business opportunity and brought in several tea kneading machines made locally in Hanzhou, hoping to sell them at a good price.

However, many tea merchants in Qin State did not dare to put it into use because they were worried about causing commotion among the tea kneading workers, which shocked the people of Qi State who were preparing to make a fortune.

In the 1712th year of Qianyuan (), many businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River jointly invested with the Jiangnan trading company of the State of Qi to build the Su-Song Railway (Shanghai-Wuxian). Unexpectedly, it triggered huge controversy. Countless coachmen drove their vehicles into the railway construction site and hindered the construction, fearing that their livelihoods would be affected after the railway was opened to traffic.

In the thirty-fifth year of Qianyuan (1717), when the Daqin cabinet established the organization structure under the Ministry of Industry, the emperor said, "Within ten years, only Chinese merchants will be allowed to take shares to set up the organization, and no additional stock raising will be allowed to set up factories."

"If you are afraid of machines, there will be many jobs and no way to resettle them."

Fan Bosi, the Minister of Rites, once said in a memorial, "The way of self-improvement of Qin is different from that of Qi. Qi takes commerce as the foundation of the country, while Da Qin takes people's livelihood as the foundation of the country; Qi's self-strength lies in business, and Da Qin's self-strength lies in loving the people. Qi has a small number of citizens. , so machines are used, but the people of the country are recruited to make up for the lack of manpower; the people of Qin are numerous, so machines are rarely used, and the poor people still have no way to make a living, and many people go abroad."

The great chaos at the end of the Ming Dynasty gave rise to countless vagrants who swarmed and eventually destroyed the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Qing tyrants to take advantage of the situation and bring a stink to China.

Da Qin should take warning.

Anyone who breaks away from the constraints and protection of the social order at that time, wanders between cities and towns, in the countryside and outskirts, has no stable means of livelihood, is forced to make a living, mainly sells physical or mental energy, and also obtains the means of living through unfair means. Considered a "nomad".

The homeless are at the bottom of society. Subconsciously, they will change everything only in violent social conflicts. They ignore order, crave conflict, and even welcome violent social conflict and social unrest.

In the ancient feudal dynasty, the so-called "tramps" were largely landless farmers or the remaining population of agricultural society.

Didn't Qi State produce "vagrants"?

Naturally, there are some, but before the "tramps" can move around, they are often forced by the government to overseas territories to serve as the king's pioneers and open up more living space for the nation.

The Qin Dynasty, wrapped in Confucian culture, was always most concerned about the consolidation of imperial power, the stability of the dynasty, and the fixation of the system.

"Among the four peoples, most of them live in the countryside, with men farming and women weaving, each doing their own business. The foundation of public security is nothing more than this. ... With the gradual advancement of machines, folk customs will no longer exist, and more and more people will become unemployed, and the world will become homeless. , the harm is unspeakable!”

Sigh, all history will eventually point to the system itself, the foundation of consciousness.

Human nature is to seek wealth and honor and hate poverty. Everyone is an "economic man" who "maximizes interests". The people of ancient China are no exception and are not exempt from this custom.

Sima Qian said: "To seek wealth from poverty, agriculture is not as good as industry, industry is not as good as business, and embroidery is not as good as relying on the market."

The emergence of merchants broke the balance of wealth, and the power of money posed a threat to political power. Therefore, throughout the dynasties, all rulers tried their best to suppress the power of merchants, focused on agriculture and suppressed commerce, used agriculture to eliminate handicrafts and commerce, and "equalized wealth". "Poverty" to reduce the gap between rich and poor.

"It's up to the king to give, it's up to you to take away, it's up to you to be poor, it's up to you to be rich. Therefore, the people wear clothes like the sun and moon, and love the king like parents." "He who can sharpen a hole, his country is invincible."

The Empress Dowager passed away and the whole country was mourned. On the beautiful boat, the big salt merchant from Yangzhou was still grieving over the fact that he could not take away the charming "thin horse" he had admired, but he received a message from the Salt Administration Department of the Ministry of Household. News that depressed him to the extreme.

For the funeral of the Queen Mother, the state funds were insufficient, and a huge amount of money was donated, thinking that she was loyal to the royal family!

You merchants, make money quickly!

(End of this chapter)