New Shun 1730

The logic of the emperor's actions may be difficult for those who are not Dashun people to understand.

For example, some Dashun people who are no longer Dashun people find it difficult to understand why the three main halls were built during the years of disaster and war? Why do we still have to maintain the basically useless Nanyuan and not reclaim it? And why did we have to repair the garden during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895...

And so on and so forth.

So the construction of several railways is not to promote economic development, but to send people to maintain it like Nanyuan, even if it may not be used once in three to five years, it is also normal.

On weekdays, there is no car, and when it is needed, it is used to transport troops, food, or disaster victims. This is also normal for the emperor, especially for the emperor who may have an extra income of 20 to 30 million taels every year.

In Liu Yu's view, Li Gan is actually a very good feudal emperor.

This kind of goodness is similar to other people's dogs, which are trained to go to the toilet to poop by themselves, open the door by themselves, and help their owners buy vegetables, etc. You can't just curl your lips and say: What's this? I was able to do it when I was seven or eight years old, so this is good? Who doesn't know that he goes to the toilet to poop when he is seven or eight years old?

So it is meaningless to evaluate the good or bad of feudal emperors. This is a human standard. When you look at cats and dogs, sometimes you will unconsciously bring human thinking into dogs, and even think that people poop when you see dogs poop, so in fact, dogs are human thinking.

In terms of China's size, trade advantages, technological advantages, and international geopolitical advantages at this time, a qualified modern Chinese regime, if it does not mobilize efficient organizational forces within 30 years to occupy North America and Oceania, it can be said to be pure waste, not even reaching the passing line.

What was Dashun's position in world trade before the Industrial Revolution? In fact, it was just a layer of window paper.

The British East India Company wanted to produce in Bengal, but it actually promoted the development of Bengal's textile industry to a certain extent. This can only prove that the ruling class of China at this time in history was a bunch of waste.

The working people created such a great advantage with their own hands, and the ruling class was so wasteful that they could not grasp it at all. If you know the original history, there is nothing more ironic and wry than seeing that the British East India Company was in Bengal to buy goods.

In this era of rapid change, it really fits the saying: The world's trend is mighty and powerful, those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish.

In this era of rapid change, yesterday's radicals may become conservatives today, and reactionaries the day after tomorrow.

Niu Er is actually no longer a big Shun person. It's just that he doesn't know it.

Because even if he envisions immigration and land occupation, it is not considered from the traditional feudal dynasty's "opening up territory" at all.

His thinking about immigration and land occupation is essentially how to deal with the transformation of industrialization he envisions. The purpose of land occupation is to increase the per capita resource possession and ensure that under further rapid transformation, the people can still have food to eat and will not rebel.

Which one is more likely to starve to death, 4 mu of land per capita or 40 mu of land per capita? Generally speaking, this does not require any profound knowledge to make a judgment.

Including his suggestion to levy taxes on India, none of them were considered from the perspective of a traditional empire ruling over its frontier vassal areas.

The Enlightenment was taking place in Dashun and Europe, but the two sides chose two completely different lines.

Europe chose consciousness over material; while Dashun adhered to the idea that material determines consciousness. But in essence, it was still determined by the material basis, per capita resources, etc. of both sides.

For Dashun, there should not be too many ideas such as morality, preaching, ideal country, and the rule of three generations.

Dashun actually had two faces in the European Enlightenment, more like a combination of Su and Mei in later generations.

Voltaire's praise was to create an ideal country, to naively design a new world, and to desire an idealization of "another civilization".

Montesquieu's satire was to use China to satirize France. The Chinese system in "The Spirit of the Laws" was also a metaphor for the church.

Diderot's explanation of the dispute between Confucianism and Buddhism also made a cut between Buddhism and the Confucianism of primitive natural gods, using Buddhism to satirize feudal superstition.

Good and bad, she is the one.

But whether it is irony or praise, it is still based on a "superstitious atheist" as a high civilization relative to Europe.

This high civilization has the concept of deism, worships filial piety, fairness, morality, recognizes natural human rights or does not need to recognize them at all. What is especially important is [there is no need to rely on divine revelation on human issues]. People are people and do not need God to give you the rights of being a human being, nor do they need divine revelation.

This enlightenment, of course, is of great significance to Europe.

But in Dashun, in terms of the process, it is actually useless. For example, divine revelation and the rights given by God to people are completely irrelevant in Dashun.

Dashun recognized the conclusion but not the reasoning process. This was a feature of Dashun's practical learning style at that time. For example, everyone in Dashun's practical school recognized the law of gravity and there were not many "religious" obstacles, because this was normal, and most of those who studied practical science had never read the book "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"; at this time, the law of gravity was still subject to the Inquisition in Portugal, and the story of the apple had just been translated into French by Voltaire and his mistress in France, and it was only then that the story of the apple began to spread on a large scale. This was also normal.

Due to the different degree of religious influence, the so-called enlightenment has different focuses. Each has its own characteristics.

Similarly, it is really hard for Dashun to understand the reasoning process of breaking through the apocalypse and then giving people the rights given by God, which is derived from scholastic philosophy.

It is much easier to explain than the reason that rebellion is justified.

Can the things being discussed in the French cafe solve the major events that can be foreseen on Dashun's head?

In other words, can the things discussed in the French cafe help Dashun achieve the power balance between the bourgeoisie and small producers and the feudal aristocracy? Can Dashun allocate resources according to the per capita allocation of 26 million people and 350 million mu of arable land?

For example, the Yellow River, which may burst at any time and directly divert to the north, can this be solved?

For example, the population continues to grow, and the per mu yield is actually much higher than the per mu yield after the British agricultural revolution, but there are still perennial disasters and famines. Can this be solved?

For example, can the problem of land annexation be solved?

For example, Niu Er, who was born in practical learning and was greatly influenced by Liu Yu, was a typical enlightenment figure on the Dashun side. Their understanding of the world was crude, but they had a vague concept that they themselves did not realize:

That is: Shang and Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Han Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty... Whether it is the tax system, property system, land ownership, industry and commerce, or currency, they are constantly changing.

They are convinced that the change of material will produce a change in taxation, property, land ownership, currency, and even government and official selection that adapts to the new era. As for what it will become, they only vaguely believe, according to historical tradition, that by then, there will be a difference between Zhou and Han, Han and Tang, Tang and Song, and Song and Ming.

They have been subtly indoctrinated and influenced for many years, and subconsciously believe that ideas and systems are built on a material basis.

They are not Leibniz optimists of the European Enlightenment, but more rational and fanatical progressives.

It is different from the traditional extension of people-orientedism upheld by the group of thinkers in the late Ming Dynasty.

The thoughts of this group of practical school in Dashun are very mixed. The only reason they can be collectively called a "school" is the vision of the future from a purely productivity perspective.

In terms of production relations, they are more mixed than a rainbow.

To a certain extent, they are actually a bit like the Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty, without a specific organization. The difference is that the Donglin Party recognizes moralism, while the practical school of the new school recognizes the productivity perspective.

Although the question the emperor is asking now is strange and somewhat surprising, it is essentially the difference between the old forces and the new era.

Before coming, Liu Yu and Niu Er said that they would say whatever they want.

But this does not include such questions that were never thought of.

The key to this question is not to answer whether to build a railway first or to immigrate first, but whether to give enough benefits to the merchant class when building a railway, whether to let them control the railway, or whether to let the merchant class take charge of this railway like some private canals that have already appeared in the south.

In other words, the most perfect answer to this question is to think that this is a problem.

If this is not a problem, then there is an answer, that is, let capital enter the market to build railways, isn't it solved?

Only when it is assumed that Songsu's capital cannot enter the market to interfere with the railway issue, this is a "dilemma".

It is a dilemma that only exists when "certain practices are not advisable".

The emperor does not want an answer.

Instead, he wants a consensus and a matter of course that "certain practices are not advisable".

To prove that the people of the New Learning School of Realism are not completely on the side of Songsu's capital, but are full of vigilance against them. They just use them as tools, not as their vassals.

Therefore, Niu Er's answer, whether it is "railway should be built first" or "immigration should be first", is correct.

There is only one wrong answer, that is, "official immigration and capital road construction, this issue can have the best of both worlds".

After thinking silently for a while, Niu Er's answer is quite interesting.

"In my humble opinion, this matter should be alleviated according to the severity."

"First, we should build a railway from the capital to Zhangjiakou, so that Mongolian wool can enter Tianjin, so that industry and commerce can be revitalized, and the Mongolians in the border areas will no longer be in a position to pull the bowstring."

"Then build a railway from Kaifeng to Guandong. It will be convenient for the people to migrate. It can not only strengthen the border, but also reduce the population. Moreover, the rice and wheat in Guandong can all be transported to the interior of the country. If there is a famine, it can be greatly relieved."

"Then, we can focus on overseas immigration."

Hearing this answer, Liu Yu wiped his sweat silently in his heart, thinking that I was scared to death, but this answer was okay.