New Shun 1730

"Sir, what do you think, what does the Duke of Xingguo mean?"

Even though he could sense the strong sarcasm in the letter, Meng Songlu thought about the suggestions in the letter and vaguely felt that it was not completely impossible.

Like Loulan's admiration for the Han, like Congling's envy for the Tang.

The only vassal states of the "Holy Religion" in the surrounding areas are Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, and Annan.

If that place can really be made, it can be regarded as a great achievement in the scope of the Holy Religion.

Because they have experienced the spread of Christianity, Islam, and even Buddhism, they have a serious lack of confidence in changing the belief system of those countries in Southeast Asia.

The pirates in Sulu have been fighting against the merchant ships of Dashun under the name of "holy war" all day long.

After pacifying one place, they ran to another. If they really had confidence, they would solve the major problem of Dashun after controlling the trade in Southeast Asia.

Since they have no confidence in these religions.

Meng Songlu still has confidence in the tribal beliefs on the island that seem to be from the Shang Dynasty.

After this loan incident, Meng Songlu's inner belief has actually begun to waver. Although he himself does not know it, he vaguely feels that some things may not work.

After all, this is just a village with 240,000 acres of land, and it has not shown a better development than other places under the tide of the times.

What about the vast rivers and mountains, the whole world?

It's just that this idea is hidden deep in his heart, just a little budding.

But under the stimulation of this letter, although he clearly knows the ridicule in the letter, it means that you are only suitable for beating children, don't get involved in adult affairs.

But, it seems that if you can beat the children and succeed, and really make them vassal states, spread the holy teachings, and implement the Zhouli system, it will also be a great contribution to the world.

At least it is much better than the current situation where he has been working for a long time without any results and is ridiculed by Liu Yu all day long.

Cheng Tingzuo was not afraid of the presence of outsiders around him. When he heard this question, he said, "Duke Xingguo has always been like this, so you don't have to worry about it. People like you and me should follow the example of Yao, Shun, Zhou and Confucius, establish merits for all ages, and solve the problems of the world. Not only should we solve the problems of our country, but also the problems of Korea, Ryukyu, Japan, and Annan."

"However, if we can get a vassal who admires the Holy Religion, it will indeed be a great achievement. The current situation is true to what Duke Xingguo said."

"The big thing is done. As long as capital can be imported and the village community can catch up with the development of textiles, there should be no problem."

"The fundamental contradiction between what Duke Xingguo meant and what you and I meant was that he believed that industry and commerce could accommodate more people in the future. My teacher Shugu thought that if the professions were changed to scholars, workers, and merchants, it would be impossible to accommodate too many people, so Shugu came up with a unique idea to divide the fields into upper, middle, and lower fields and cultivate them. As for what you said in the past, the restoration of the patriarchal system, with the eldest son at the grassroots level and the second son going out to colonize and cultivate, this is another matter, not a problem within this fundamental contradiction. "

These statements such as contradiction, fundamental, and primary and secondary, which were subtly influenced by the new school of thought, Quan Zheshen, who was standing by, had heard Meng Songlu say them many times along the way, but he did not expect that even Meng Songlu's teacher, a great scholar who was also famous in Incheon, was now full of these things, and he could not help but be silent.

Perhaps because he had too many verbal battles with Liu Yu, he summarized the content of Liu Yu's letter very well.

The second half asked them to spread the holy teachings, but this was not mentioned.

The first half still meant the fundamental contradiction between the two sides.

Liu Yu meant that the situation where men farmed and women wove, and farmers were the main and merchants were the secondary, could not last long. So if you are trying to design the future instead of going back to the past, then you should try to develop industry and commerce in the rural communities, a model of industrial and commercial development that is different from the one Liu Yu did before and now, in which villagers participate and are not exploited by merchants.

Because, from a more macro perspective, the land issue is just a transition to the future.

Transition and transformation are both fine.

Just like the reform in Jiangsu, whether it is mobilizing troops, catching exiles, or getting through this most difficult transition period, we still have to consider the future.

In the future, in terms of industry and commerce, you should still spend some time and try the route of developing industry and commerce in rural areas.

As for the land issue, you have actually reached the end of the old era, and it is impossible to surpass the "only farmers have land" proposed by Wang Yuan.

But what happens after having land?

Is it men farming and women weaving?

Or is it agriculture combined with village and community industry and commerce?

In the final analysis, it is still a disagreement between the two sides on the future.

The special situation in Jiangsu has caused this disagreement belonging to the future generation to be shown early in the Huainan area.

To farm, you have to buy bean cakes to fertilize the fields.

At the current price, if a stone of bean cake is sprinkled on the field, the increase in production is definitely more valuable than a stone of bean cake.

Can you buy bean cakes in Guandong by relying on the original model of men farming and women weaving?

Even if the advanced model of men farming and women weaving is equipped with new looms, the iron wheel loom is very expensive, and the disgusting futures trading makes it difficult for individuals to get suitable cotton yarn.

The improvement of production efficiency has made the social division of labor more obvious.

Originally, there was a nursery rhyme: four people spinning, one person weaving.

Today's upgraded looms, relying on the improved spinning wheel of the original framework, require sixteen people to spin and one person to weave.

Relying entirely on self-sufficiency, a large village community cannot complete the full cycle of men farming and women weaving by itself.

At least the villages on both sides of the canal can only exist as vassals of the southern Jiangsu region if they want to be rich.

As the letter said, take advantage of the opportunity of infrastructure completion to transform. If it is too late, there will be no chance.

But after the transformation, the original meaning of this village agreement and village community actually no longer exists.

Because the Jiangsu model cannot be promoted throughout the world.

What they are determined to solve is to find a way out for the entire Confucian cultural circle. Once the transformation occurs, it means that it has changed from universality to particularity.

Not all places have canals, ports, capital, and large external markets.

Liu Yu's letter actually pointed out three ways out for them.

If it is for reality, and to continue the way Yan Yuan, Li Xian, Wang Yuan and others counted on the spontaneous donation of land by landlords, then please do not try it in places like Huainan where there is no such major contradiction at all.

Go to Henan and Shaanxi, go to the villages there, try the village agreement and village sages, and find a way to "get rich and then teach" in the villages with landlords without violent solutions.

If it is for the future, then give up this fantasy, assuming that in the future, industry and commerce will definitely be able to accommodate more people, and the weight of industry and commerce will be like the villages near Nantong, "the main is the secondary, and the secondary is the main."

Then, please give up reality, imagine the future, and find a way for the villages to focus on industry and commerce and agriculture as the secondary. A rural road that is different from the road in the Huainan circle area where hired workers work but actually have nothing.

If it is for the court and the nation, then go to the distant Honolulu, use your best disciples, spend ten or twenty years to explore a road of rapid assimilation and vassalization.

After all, if it is really useful, there are still many "blank" areas in the world. If you can use Honolulu as a practice and summarize experience, then there will be great potential in the future, laying the foundation for the future civilization struggle with the Western island barbarians.

Now, they don't want to give up, but want to have it all and try it all.

Fortunately, many disciples have been trained in these years, and they have also learned a lot of agricultural knowledge after practicing in many rural communities.

There are conditions for trying in Henan, Shaanxi and other places. You can still find an official there with connections, and if you pull your face down and go to Liu Yu, let Liu Yu come forward to help talk, it is still possible to make some attempts in a county in the north.

After a long while, Cheng Tingzuo stared at Meng Songlu and said slowly: "What Duke Xingguo said about the Sandalwood Mountain incident is not about the Han and Tang dynasties, but about the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty and the transformation of the barbarians. Do you understand?"

Meng Songlu naturally understood this.

"I think the court is not short of people like Zhang Bowang and Ban Dingyuan. Some of them lead thousands of troops to roam the Western Regions; some rely on the art of diplomacy to cause chaos in Sindhu. These are all the achievements of Zhang Bowang and Ban Dingyuan."

"If we really do the things of the Han and Tang Dynasties, I think Duke Xingguo will not look for us. He has his own successors in the way of hegemony, and the court is not short of military personnel."

"As you said, the affairs of Honolulu are not the affairs of the Han and Tang Dynasties, but the business of converting the barbarians."

"Duke Xingguo said that the economic foundation determines a lot. The mountains in the southwest are high and the forests are dense, and there is no benefit from farming, so it is difficult to convert. But the letter said that the land in Honolulu is fertile, and the fields are all government-owned, suitable for planting, so it seems that we can try it."

Cheng Tingzuo nodded approvingly and said with a smile: "In the past, everyone said that Mr. Xizhai's learning must be recommended first, and Wang Anshi must be second. This statement is not entirely true. It is false. King and hegemony are equally important and should be practiced simultaneously. It is rare that there is a place where Xingguogong thinks that pure hegemony is not feasible, and he should use both king and hegemony, with the king as the first. It is indeed worth a try. "

"The letter said that astronomical calculations show that comets will come every few years, which may be used as a way to enter the island. These are just some techniques, which may be used or not. "

"After all, we still have to educate the local kings and prove that our sacred learning is not inferior to Catholicism and Islam, and can also make people naturalized. It may not be worse than the Spanish transformation of customs in Luzon in the past. "

After saying that, he laughed at himself and said, "It is really rare that Xingguogong thinks that hegemony is not applicable. I wonder how many such places there are in the world?"

While laughing at himself, he glanced at Quan Zheshen beside him, thinking that in any case, in his opinion, the court did use hegemony too much in the affairs of the Kingdom of Korea.

It is actually the technique of Guanzi's light and heavy, and the routine of using leather as currency and Korea must pay tribute. This is really unnecessary to deny.

Meng Songlu also understood what Cheng Tingzuo meant, and asked tentatively: "Teacher, do you think this matter can be accepted? I, the disciple, also have this ambition. If it can succeed, educate millions of people, and spread the holy teachings thousands of miles away, it can be called a success."

"I am willing to go thousands of miles away, try to spread the holy teachings, and convert the people of a country. As mentioned before, I have explored and drawn maps, and fur traders exchanged taro and sweet potatoes, etc., and I have already settled there. I think that if within 20 years, the chiefs of their countries can come to pay tribute to the Celestial Empire, and their countries can promote the six virtues, six conducts, and six arts, it can be called a success."