New Shun 1730

In the year when the War of the Austrian Succession was about to start, the French envoys visited China, the chain reaction of the war against Russia before the Dashun Dynasty recovered the Western Regions, and the existence of various East India companies that were sure to make money from trade with China, all made the capital the focus of diplomacy this year.

No country came for the Celestial Empire, they all came for China.

The banner, influence, ideology and Confucian morality of the Celestial Empire were far inferior to those of the Ciyao in Jiangxi, the weavers in Songjiang, and the tea farmers in Fujian.

I just think that the emperor and the bureaucrats were confused and probably couldn't tell the difference. Maybe if the Western sailboats really arrived at that moment, many people would think that this was a tribute from all nations.

At this time, the center of this city that was about to become the focus of diplomacy was the Forbidden City.

In the court, there was still a debate on the "uselessness of diplomacy".

Liu Yu stood in the row of nobles and clenched his fists several times, ready to come out and curse, but he finally held back.

Both his family and the Duke of Qi had advised him.

The emperor may no longer need a champion marquis with unparalleled vigor.

The passionate speeches in the court actually made Liu Yu, who had put aside his thoughts of scolding, feel a little drowsy.

"The strength of a country lies in virtue rather than in danger..."

"Our dynasty compares itself to the Han and Tang dynasties, but the old problems of the Han and Tang dynasties must be observed."

"In the past, during the Han Dynasty, if the literati and officials wanted to do something, they could only gather troops to fight on the borders; the second best was to drive out bandits in the Central Plains. If they wanted to have fame, they must go to war."

"So the world knew that if they wanted to get promoted, it was best to open up borders, and the second best was to suppress civil unrest. However, few people knew that this might lead to disasters."

"So the Han Dynasty had a strong military force, which was liked by the literati and officials, and the people also competed to be martial. This led to the eras of Yuan, Cao, Sun, and Liu."

"Some people say that countries always perish because they are weak, but the Han Dynasty perishes because it is strong. Is this praise? This is not praise, but a denunciation of the Han Dynasty's martial arts, which led to the importance of military achievements, which was the reason for the demise of the Han Dynasty. ”

“Now our dynasty has settled the Western Regions, pacified Mongolia, and exiled the southwest. It has reached its peak. I sincerely believe that we should stop fighting and focus on cultivating virtues at home, and not start wars again.”

“Diplomacy will inevitably involve the affairs of many countries. Once deeply involved, disputes are inevitable.”

“If there is no diplomacy, then countries such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands, which are tens of thousands of miles away, can be ignored.”

“He Xiu annotated the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and said: The king does not rule the barbarians. Records of the barbarians are not rejected, and those who leave are not pursued.”

“The most strict and detailed law in the world is the "Spring and Autumn Annals."

“If those who come are not rejected, and those who leave are not pursued, then what is the use of diplomacy?”

It’s the same old rhetoric about "putting your head in your crotch, then the things outside don’t exist." Liu Yu has no energy to come out and spray.

After this person finished speaking, someone stepped forward and said, "I second the proposal."

"Diplomats are nothing more than people who are good at talking and arguing. People like Su Qin and Zhang Yi are all villains. They do not follow the right path, do not cultivate virtue, and do not speak the truth. They are proud of deceiving and are famous for cheating. They instigate disputes and advocate wars in order to gain fame and fortune."

"These are the people who harm the world and benefit themselves."

"In the Western Han Dynasty, there were also people like Zhang Qian. If Zhang Qian had not been in the Western Regions, Visiting the Western Regions, how did Emperor Wu conquer Dayuan and reduce the population by half? "

"In the Later Han Dynasty, there was Ban Chao. Wang Fuzhi, a great scholar of this dynasty, once said: 36 people roamed the countries, captured their kings, killed them if they wanted to, and captured them if they wanted to. Some people said that there has never been anyone in ancient and modern times who is so smart and brave as to be able to do this... digging holes to attack crickets, entering swamps to catch loaches and carp - people with knowledge have laughed at this for a long time. "

"Ban Chao bullied the weak and humiliated the few, disturbed the people and animals here, and cheated them for extraordinary achievements. Ban Chao Ban Chao no longer has a human conscience. "

"And people throughout the ages have praised his actions. Isn't this just encouraging arrogant people to be more arrogant? People like Ban Chao are simply ridiculed by knowledgeable people. "

"According to today's saying, this is diplomacy?"

"From Ban Chao's actions, if diplomats are stationed in the Western Yi, they must take Ban Chao as an example and imitate Ban Chao's story to cheat for extraordinary achievements. Especially since the Western Yi are tens of thousands of miles away, diplomats must deceive their superiors and advocate war. "

"This is all to learn from Ban Chao to seek personal gain and fame, how can it be for the country? "

"Some people in the court are not ashamed, but proud. Some say they want to emulate Zhang Bowang and Ban Dingyuan. "

"Little do they know that Zhang Qian was the main culprit for the halving of the population during the Han Wu's expedition to Dayuan; Ban Chao helped the Later Han Dynasty to start border conflicts and was the main culprit for its demise! "

After saying this, some people turned their attention to Liu Yu. Everyone knows who the person who "does not feel ashamed, but proud, and wants to emulate Zhang Bowang and Ban Dingyuan" is.

Although Dashun encouraged some Han and Tang speeches, none of the people who may enter the court are young men, and it is impossible for them to be "bewitched" by these slogans.

If some speeches were really so effective, the things that happened in the late Ming Dynasty would not have happened. Li Guo may have had great ambitions and tried to change the public opinion, but unfortunately he died too early and could not fundamentally change much.

Many things are caused by conflicts of interest.

Dashun originally created a Wude Palace with a single-plank bridge for the imperial examination, and now the military reform has made it impossible to become a general with the things learned in the imperial examination.

If they continue to follow the Han and Tang system, with military merit as the first priority, I am afraid that the power of civil servants who came from the imperial examination will become weaker and weaker.

In addition to the power struggle in the court, many civil servants also consider the future.

There are many lessons left at the end of the Ming Dynasty. No one has learned the biggest lesson, but the lessons of the side branches are remembered clearly.

The civil officials knew that the reason they could collect rent and oppress others was the stability of the country.

Not to mention the war, when military generals killed civil officials like killing dogs. Even in the Jiangnan slave rebellion, if the government had not backed them up, they would have died in the rebellion.

This government could be anyone, including the Qing Dynasty, as long as they could suppress the rebellion and provide stability.

Whether it was for power struggle or for national stability, the civil officials from the imperial examinations who were born as gentry had reached a consensus.

The expansion of Dashun ended here.

No more thinking about going to war.

If there was no diplomacy, there would be no direction worth going to war in the surrounding areas. Just close the door and be the Celestial Empire, and continue the old path.

Once there was diplomacy, the outside world might have an impact on the inside, and Dashun might continue to go to war - especially the fact that Dashun built a navy, which made many people feel uneasy.

They were not all petty people, but they considered that going to war would cost money.

To spend money, taxes had to be collected. Collecting taxes... Bai Yunhang of Wendeng has made reforms such as allocating taxes to each acre and checking the land in Wendeng.

Because of the major external inspection this year, Bai Yunhang has done a great job in Wendeng. After the abolition of the tax, the tax revenue is actually several percent higher than before.

Even if there is no reform, it is a waste to use the collected taxes to fight wars. It is better to use them for people's livelihood. For example, repair the Yellow River, exempt taxes and grain, etc.

The Western Regions have been conquered, but what's the use? A lot of money has to be paid into it every year, and troops have to be stationed.

Yes, it has brought benefits to farmers in Gansu, Xijing and other places. It is no longer the front line. If you really can't make a living, you can go to the Western Regions and cultivate the Hetao.

But the benefits are all obtained by people in Gansu and Xijing, but taxes have to be collected from people in Jiangnan. Why? If you have the ability, don't collect a penny of taxes in Jiangnan, and rely on taxes from Xijing and Gansu to pacify the Western Regions.

When the Luosha people entered Beijing, the emperor said that it would stop until the Western Regions were pacified.

Now they want to set up a Ministry of Foreign Affairs again. Isn't this going back on their word?

As long as there is no diplomacy, there will be no contact with the outside world, and there will be no possibility of war.

Most people think so. Liu Yu has been accustomed to the way of thinking of the literati of this era and is not surprised.

The China of later generations is fundamentally different from the China of this time in terms of the three views.

Ninety years ago, Wang Anshi was still a traitor, but Dashun implemented a deformed three-relinquishment method, and the Confucian scholars could not criticize him too much, as that would be a slap in the face of the court; Zhang Qian's evaluation was not all positive; Ban Chao's killing of the Huns' envoys was criticized by many people, who believed that this was a manifestation of immorality and bullying.

In fact, there are more serious ideas than this.

For example, some people think that the borders on all sides are a burden, so it is better to abandon them, which is a pure waste of money.

The king does not rule the four barbarians. Of course, Liaodong does not count. It is no longer considered the four barbarians. They are all a group of immigrants.

At this time, the court was terribly quiet. This remark was equivalent to pointing at Liu Yu's nose and scolding him as a traitor. Many people know that today's matter is not that simple.

The court dispute is similar to a war. There are vanguards, main forces, defenders, and people who come out to mediate.

At this critical moment when the Jiedushi came to Beijing to report, the vanguards who tested the firepower must send the Jianyi doctor, who is qualified to speak, but will not suffer too many casualties if he loses.

Everyone knows that Liu Yu is a child in the court and cannot bear any loss.

Some Jiedushi outside thought that there will be more excitement today.

Even the emperor did not say a word, waiting for Liu Yu to stand up and scold.

However, Liu Yu, who was accused of not being ashamed but proud of it, was as quiet as a shy girl, spitting on his face, sticking there, as if he was asleep.

After waiting for a long time, the emperor saw that the atmosphere was too awkward, so he had to speak first.

"The Western countries are not small countries. Haven't you read Ying Suobo's "A Brief Study of Western Countries"? Yingguili has an annual income of 20 million and warships of 600,000 or 700,000. The Duke of Qi went to France, and the French army was not weak. In diplomatic affairs, we exchange what we have and know each other."

"The Han Dynasty still praised Rome and called it the Great Qin. The Western countries are not small countries. Ying Suobo knows about Western affairs, so we should trust him."

Someone came out and said, "Everyone knows that Ying Suobo is not familiar with "The Analects" and "Mencius" and has rarely studied the classics, but he knows everything about the Western countries. We naturally believe his understanding of Westerners."

After humiliating Liu Yu with a lot of sarcasm, he said, "The Yingguili country has only a small area of ​​Guangxi and a population less than Shandong. However, it collects 20 million taels of silver in taxes and 600,000 warships, which shows that it is tyrannical and aggressive."

"With my Judging from the situation, it will not last long and will definitely perish. The land is not as good as Guangxi, the population is not as good as Shandong, and the annual income is 20 million. Does Your Majesty think this is a good thing? "

"What's the point of interacting with such a doomed country?"

"Even if we interact, we already have the Li Government and the Honglu Temple. Now we have established the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"I would like to ask, how do Korea and Ryukyu view this? Korea is a filial son, within the five mournings; the Western barbarians are outsiders, belonging to the barbarians."

"The standard of entertaining the Rakshasa is higher than that of Korea. This emphasizes the barbarians and neglects the relatives of the five mournings. I am afraid that the vassal states will be disunited and disappointed."

"Even if the Western barbarians are strong, they can't beat us, and they are far away. Why bother interacting and disappointing the vassal states?"

As for the discussion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu Yu did not speak. The Duke of Qi should not speak to avoid suspicion, but at this time he could not help but say: "Have you forgotten the incidents of Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries in the Ming Dynasty? Zhoushan, Penghu, and Taiwan are not far away. "

However, the opponents had already thought of it and said with a smile: "I only know one of the words of the Duke of Qi, but not the other."

"Back then, the Ming Dynasty was in seclusion, and the British and Dutch just wanted to trade. Now that our country has opened trade, the goods of the Chinese Empire are exported to the West, and everyone is after them. How dare they go to war and cut off their own wealth?"

"In addition, Westerners use a lot of rhubarb and tea, and also eat beef, mutton and milk. Without tea and rhubarb, they will die of abdominal distension. How dare they start a war and seek death?"

"As long as this dynasty continues to switch on and off, there will be no war. Westerners only want trade. Trade matters can be handled by customs. Why do we need to establish a foreign ministry again?"

"There is also the issue of sending people to Sweden. Making friends from far away and attacking close by seems to be a wonderful thing, but in fact it is a disaster. The Rakshasa people and this dynasty have already established a border. If they send people to Sweden, the Rakshasa people will think that this dynasty will go to war with the Rakshasa people, and the border will increase. Soldiers, should we increase our troops? It will cost money."

"Or maybe some people want to learn from the affairs of the Han and Tang dynasties. Military merit is the top priority, so they are willing to fight. What's the benefit of fighting the Rakshasa? No one is willing to go to the bitter cold land, even the Songhua River, and they are taking away the Rakshasa land. , what’s the use?”

"The military reform made it possible for Han soldiers to fight one against five, and it also encouraged some border generals to make meritorious deeds."

"I believe that since there are no more foreign enemies, we should cultivate a virtuous government. We must not follow the example of the Han and Tang dynasties and embark on the path of military warfare."

"I am not the kind of person who knows nothing about the world. I have also seen a Western globe. In ancient times, there was a saying of the Great Nine States. Chixian Shenzhou is one of the Great Nine States, and it is a land of unparalleled wealth. As long as you practice virtue and govern diligently, Since all the nations have come to court, why should they use the actions of Su Qin, Zhang Yi, and Zhang Qian Ban Gu?"

"The only way to prevent the Western barbarians from coveting our dynasty is enlightenment. The word enlightenment can only be found in the classics. If you want enlightenment, you should establish a Fan school. Recruiting Fan people to teach the classics is a hundred times better than diplomacy."

"Therefore, diplomacy is useless and brings disaster."