Chapter 400: Heroes of the World (IV)
"Are there born bad guys? Yes, there must be. But this kind of bad guy is the result of the body structure and is based on the body's reaction, not some idea at birth. If you want to stick to materialism, you have to admit that the existence of concepts is the result of cognitive development. A child is born without any concepts, only instinctive reactions. Then let me ask you a question, are children born in the Central Plains naturally different from those born in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"
"Your Majesty, Xunzi said that the children of Gan, Yue, Yi, and He all have the same voice when they are born, but they grow up with different customs. This is because of education. There must be no difference when they are born!"
Asking the students who were speaking to sit down, Huo Chong said loudly to everyone in the audience: "This is correct in terms of propositional form. So, I want to emphasize it again. We should not have regional discrimination. We should not say that Jiangsu, Zhejiang or any other place is naturally this or that. That is incorrect in terms of propositional form. This proposition is wrong. Similarly, we must also admit that the regional environment, as well as certain cognition and style caused by this environment, also exist. All consciousness exists after the existence of matter. In terms of cause and effect, we must never confuse the effect with the cause."
Chen Mingtai initially thought that Huo Chong's words could reassure the scholars in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but the subsequent narration made Chen Mingtai feel desperate. The clearer the analysis, the more it can prove many things.
In such despair, Chen Mingtai listened absentmindedly to Huo Chong's analysis of the various classes in the Huaxia Dynasty, determining who is a friend and who is an enemy, and when they are friends and when they are enemies.
This long course has come to a temporary end.
At noon, Huo Chong invited Chen Mingtai to dinner. The two of them didn't talk while eating. After they finished eating, Huo Chong smiled and said, "Brother Mingtai, Gao Pang is also a student of both of us. It seems that we are quite predestined."
Chen Mingtai replied unhappily: "Gao Pang is from Qiongzhou, how could he care about people from Jiangnan?"
"Gao Pang certainly cares about the people of Jiangnan. He just refuses to be the spokesperson for the scholars and aristocratic families of Jiangnan. Also, please rest assured, Brother Mingtai, I have no intention of massacring the scholars of Jiangnan."
"Your Majesty, there are few people who are filial and brotherly but like to offend their superiors; there are no people who do not like to offend their superiors but like to rebel! The officials in the south of the Yangtze River are loyal to Your Majesty, but the heresy of the Hunanese ruined their future. Isn't this a tragedy for the relatives and a joy for the enemies?"
"I only listen to what the Hunanese say that I care about. They say that the Jiangsu and Zhejiang families manipulate the promotion of officials. Is that false? Yes, they are filial and brotherly, but there are few who like to offend their superiors. This is true, but the officials of Jiangsu and Zhejiang or the officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are filial and brotherly. Then they seek benefits for the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. Do you think this is right or wrong?"
Chen Mingtai seized on this and asked loudly, "Serving as an official in a place and benefiting the place where it lives. What's wrong with that? Caring about your hometown and doing things for it, what's wrong with that?"
"I only heard about it before, but recently the Bureau of Literature and History has finally sorted out the relevant content. Brother Mingtai can go and help correct it. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the tea tax in Jiangnan was only twelve taels of silver a year. Yes, don't be surprised, it is really twelve taels of silver. This kind of filial piety has a price, and the court is that price."
"I! Don't! Believe it!" Chen Mingtai said angrily.
"I didn't believe it at first, so I wanted to ask Brother Mingtai to correct it and see if what he concluded is true. If it can be confirmed, it can be used as the basis for a very good dramatic story. But thank you for your hard work, Brother Mingtai."
Chen Mingtai went to the Cultural and Historical Bureau angrily to participate in the data review, while Huo Chong continued with the most important work at the moment.
Whether there are enough people and talents has a huge impact. Although he has to organize tens of thousands of people to study, Huo Chong is still working hard and feels very happy.
It is truly gratifying to see the results shown by those soldiers who have experienced war and those active-duty soldiers who have received training.
For example, the field army finally understood one thing: forming a field army was a long and arduous learning process. The soldiers studied and discussed with the soldiers in the Ministry of Rites and even came up with a big framework.
Many of the contents filled in the frame made Huo Chong feel "very cute", that is, quite childish. But which child is not childish during the process of growing up? Seeing that the field army itself has taken shape as a towering tree, Huo Chong's joy is indescribable.
Precisely because he understands that all development is a process, Huo Chong is full of expectations for these young people who are about to retire completely and enter the construction bureaucracy.
Huo Chong instilled into these students the social framework that he understood, as well as the concepts that he had learned and seen.
Time passed quickly , and Qian Qing gave birth. When Huo Chong walked quickly to the obstetrics and gynecology department of the medical school, he saw Qian Qing holding a small baby and feeding her. The chief doctor of the obstetrics and gynecology department who caught up with him said happily: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, the King of Qi has given birth to a prince for Your Majesty. Both mother and child are safe."
"Thank you for your hard work." Huo Chong quickly expressed his gratitude.
Qian Qing looked up at Huo Chong, and Huo Chong was deeply moved by the motherly look on her face.
"Sir, it's a son." Qian Qing said with relief.
Huo Chong sat next to Qian Qing and touched Qian Qing's forehead which was still slightly damp. "As long as it's yours, it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl."
Qian Qing whispered, "Sir, I was always worried that it wasn't a boy. I was scared to death."
This is the truth. Huo Chong was touched, but also a little helpless. If Qian Qing and Huo Chong were not the emperor and empress, with Qian Qing's personality, it would not make much difference to her whether she had a boy or a girl. However, in this position, it was almost necessary for the first child to be a boy.
Looking at Qian Qing's relieved expression, Huo Chong felt sorry for Qian Qing... and himself.
Qian Qing, the leader of the generals in the army, gave birth to a boy. The news that both mother and child were safe soon spread throughout the Chinese court. The generals who had fought with Qian Qing were happy from the bottom of their hearts. The eldest sister gave birth to a son for the emperor, which was really double happiness and perfect.
The civil officials had little personal contact with Qian Qing except for work. The Empress gave birth to a prince, and the relationship between the chief military commander and the Emperor was extremely stable. The civil officials were also very happy.
From the perspective of civil officials, Qian Qing already has his own title of king, and now he has an heir. There is no need to consider giving Qian Qing a share in the upcoming merit evaluation. The military rank for the merit evaluation has been finalized, and the highest is marshal. As long as the queen's merits are not counted, and only the queen is awarded the marshal, it is well deserved.
The civil officials even considered whether to make a suggestion to give Her Majesty the Queen the title of Grand Marshal. Later, after reading the official system, they realized that the Grand Marshal was the title of Huo Chong, the supreme commander of the Huaxia Army. Huo Chong had already stated that the emperor had the status of commander, so he must not be given a military rank.
In order to balance this issue, the civil officials discussed whether to give Qian Qing the title of chief marshal.
Unlike the views in the army, the starting point of the civilian officials is very civilian. If Qian Qing becomes the chief marshal, the other marshals will be equal. Since they are equal, there is no question of who leads whom. A group of marshals of the same level will not be able to unite under someone's banner to rebel. At least it can greatly reduce the possibility of such danger.
The army was also in turmoil at this time. The eldest sister gave birth to a child and raised the child. The monkeys below were happy.
According to Huo Chong's order, the army selected generals who were recognized to be fair and impartial to form a committee to evaluate the merits. Everyone felt that they had a chance and tried their best to summarize every small merit of theirs. They had to work hard for their own honor at this time.
At a time when struggle and joy coexisted, Chen Mingtai asked to see Huo Chong with a helpless look on his face, "Your Majesty, the information is incomplete. It's only one year. I think if there are more documents, the conclusion of twelve taels can be overturned."
Huo Chong laughed and said, "Haha, Brother Mingtai. I said ten times more, one hundred and twenty taels. Do you think this number is suitable for him?"
Chen Mingtai was initially upset, and now he was even more upset when he heard this, "Your Majesty, the Guanning Army is wasting public funds and doing whatever it wants. Jiangnan is also overwhelmed."
"Yes. This is also a logical form. If it is such a logical form that if someone else makes a mistake, I will do whatever I want. I have two wives. If I work at night, it will delay work during the day. Then everyone can do nothing."
"Your Majesty! You are quibbling!" Chen Mingtai couldn't help but criticize Huo Chong.
"This is not a quibble. This is the foundation of the general theory of logic. Schools are now learning this. The first exam of all is the logic exam. If you fail, you don't have to take the other courses. Retake this first. The second exam is the political ideology exam. If you fail, it will be handled the same way. As for other exams, this problem does not exist. Logical form only matters whether it is valid. Proposition form only matters whether it is correct. Our Chinese Dynasty is all about science and democracy. This must not be shaken."
Chen Mingtai felt that Huo Chong in front of him was as tough as steel. What Huo Chong said was already formed before Gao Pang defected to Huo Chong. However, Chen Mingtai did not expect that Huo Chong would not waver after such a long time and with such a huge change in his status and position. Instead, he wanted to promote Huo Chong's ideas more forcefully and infuse them into the entire Huaxia Dynasty.
Chen Mingtai understood that it would be useless to resist. He could only settle for the next best thing, "Your Majesty, the officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are innocent."
"Brother Mingtai, you are thinking in the wrong direction. Do you think I think the style of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang families is wrong? I don't think so. The methods of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang families and the scholars are already the ceiling of the political tactics I have seen. Compared with them, the old brothers who started with me are the floor. The reason why I brought this up is to educate the students of these schools and let them broaden their horizons. Therefore, if you don't climb a high mountain, you don't know how high the sky is; if you don't stand by a deep stream, you don't know how thick the earth is; if you don't hear the last words of the ancient kings, you don't know how great knowledge is. Brother Mingtai must have gone mountain climbing for fun. Does a mountain only have a beautiful and picturesque side? A mountain must have sinister and difficult places, and places where wolves and insects are densely packed. Let everyone know the full picture of the world as much as possible, so that they can really grow."
"That is the job of the Ministry of Personnel. If everyone learns...the tricks, wouldn't Your Majesty be worried about being deceived?"
Huo Chong couldn't help but smile at Chen Mingtai's words. It seemed that the old man was also anxious. Isn't this just saying that the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are playing shady tricks?
"Haha, Brother Mingtai, the public has sharp eyes. Why are they so sharp? It's because their own interests are involved. As long as their own interests are involved, of course they are sharp. As for learning bad things, my view on learning bad things may be different from yours. Packaging personal interests as public-spiritedness is called learning bad things. If you readily bring up personal interests and discuss them on the basis of the whole country as one chessboard. This is not called learning bad things. This is just human nature. Who wants to live a miserable life? Who wants their descendants to never have a chance to succeed? If you package these things as good and describe them as justice, you are forcing people to learn bad things."
"Your Majesty, if you do this, it will only lead to endless disputes in the world." Chen Mingtai desperately launched the strongest accusation he could think of.
"You overestimate me. It's not me who caused the constant strife in the world. Whether I am here or not, the world would have been in constant strife. And I am just one person in this strife. I am just a person who sits on the side of the workers."
Chen Mingtai gave up. He didn't give up his own ideas. He just gave up trying to persuade Huo Chong. Chen Mingtai understood that Huo Chong probably wouldn't change. Because Chen Mingtai had personally seen that Huo Chong hadn't changed at all over the years.
In this case, any effort against Huo Chong will be futile.
Huo Chong himself gave up on Chen Mingtai. Such a person will not change. Lei Hu and Huo Chong said during their chat that Master Changxin believed that people would not change. At most, they recognized themselves but did not recognize themselves. Then, as the world's situation was swept up, they met other different people without knowing it.
Although it was not surprising that the monks had such views, Huo Chong still felt that it was a pity that Master Changxin did not come to Kaifeng. Such a person, with such a stance, could indeed greatly relieve the overly tense obsession during the chat.
But this was the extent of Huo Chong's regret.
A year later, the first batch of students graduated. They used to be soldiers, workers and farmers. Now, as members of the Chinese court, they began to work in various departments. While they were not used to it, they were distressed, busy, and learning to become a part of the Chinese court.
Many people also accepted the arrangement and went to work at the grassroots level in various provinces. Before they left, they already knew that they would be working at the grassroots level for a long time, perhaps for more than ten years, or perhaps for decades. They all worked somewhere, bringing the court's work to the grassroots level, opening up the transmission channels monopolized by the literati class, and letting the court's ideas be heard by the people. They also let the court know the problems and sufferings faced by the people.
The next three years passed quickly, and in the fifth year of the Chinese Republic, the Ministry of Rites, which had been completely suspended for a time, began to recruit new members. During these three years of suspension, the members of the Ministry of Rites experienced a journey they had never experienced in their lives.
Education, labor, reflection, discussion, and education again. In three years, the number of members of the Ministry of Rites decreased by 30%, and those members who failed to pass the test had to leave this organization centered on ideas.
In the fifth year of the Republic, the Spanish envoy Count Francis came to visit Huo Chong again. When he heard Count Francis carefully asking whether the trade, which had already reached its peak, would be capped, Gao Pang, the Minister of Industry who was also attending the meeting, could not help but smile bitterly.
For Gao Pang, it has been nearly ten years since he proposed to expand silk production. Looking back, Gao Pang thinks that his younger self was really cute. He once thought that just raising the purchase price of raw silk would be enough to solve the trade problem with the Spaniards.
Over the years, the industrial sector of the Chinese court has gradually grown with the expansion of the industrial workforce, with retired military personnel as the backbone. When a large number of new silk reeling and textile factories were established, silkworm breeding really achieved a breakthrough.
For those farmers who raise silkworms, they don’t necessarily care about the price doubling. What they care about is whether they can avoid large-scale silkworm diseases when raising silkworms, and whether they can sell the cocoons as quickly as possible after the silkworms have finished making cocoons, and exchange them for real money.
What foreign trade, what national economy. These people don't really care, nor are they interested. How to effectively expand production, improve efficiency, and how to earn the most profit with the same productivity are what these people care about.
Even based on this understanding, the production factors of means of production + investment + labor, which were originally courses taught by the Ministry of Rites and the civil service, were easily and thoroughly understood by the farmers, and they could teach these basic principles to their own families.
People never refuse to learn. As long as the knowledge can really help them, people's desire for knowledge is very strong.
Gao Pang had felt that someone was wrong before, but now he understands. It is true that someone was wrong, but the judgment of right and wrong was something Gao Pang could not understand at that time. It was because of these years of integration with the workers, peasants and soldiers, living and working with them, and learning from them that Gao Pang understood the truth and understood himself better.
Huo Chong never thought of rejecting legitimate trade. The Spanish had a very stubborn attitude towards doing business. Probably because they directly exploited the colonies with cruel means, never treating the local Indians and the black slaves sold to South America as human beings, and exploited them crazily. Their attitude towards products was just to make money.
In the mines and farms of the colonies, which consumed countless lives, a large number of products were produced for trade with China, and these raw materials and commodities were also needed by China.
Huo Chong looked at the Minister of Industry Gao Pang, who nodded, "Your Majesty, we have prepared a list. There are more products here, and you can also ask Count Francis and the Spanish delegation to go to the market to have a look. These are all popular products in China."
Count Francis was delighted. After being a wealthy count for several years, he had gained a lot of knowledge. His ambition grew uncontrollably.
The earl was required to be a retainer of the emperor or a hereditary feudal lord. He had considerable power, including control over the military, civilians, and finances, and sometimes served as a local official. After the feudal system was strengthened, the earl could rule a region.
Count Francis earned the title of earl by expanding trade with China and obtaining certain tax reductions.
Before receiving the appointment as an envoy from the King of Spain, Count Francis had been engaged in various activities, using the huge amount of money he had earned to build connections and try to obtain the status of Marquis.
The title of Duke is often awarded to commanders who have made outstanding contributions in expanding territory. Generally, only close relatives of the royal family can be awarded the title of Duke. However, the title of Marquis is different. The lords of the frontiers have the opportunity to obtain the status of Marquis. This is also the limit of the status that Earl Francis can imagine.
So the Earl sincerely asked Huo Chong how much the trade limit could be increased. If possible, it would be best to increase it five times.
"Hey, kid, can you Spain and France sell so many goods?" Huo Chong was very puzzled.
Count Francis still spoke the truth. Since Cardinal Richelieu laid the foundation for France, France has firmly occupied the position of the largest country in Europe. However, in recent years, the inferior goods made by British machines have been invading France, and the British have used the money earned from France and other European countries to constantly challenge France.
The trade line between Spain and China was opened, and a large number of Chinese goods were first shipped to Central America, then crossed a short land channel to reach the Caribbean ports, and then arrived in Europe via the route protected by the joint fleet of France and Spain.
Since then, the Spanish royal family has made a huge amount of money and has become the richest royal family in Europe. France, the big brother, naturally took a share of the profits and drove the shoddy British goods out of France and Spain. And through the land and sea trade channels between France and Spain, it entered Italy, Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. It was even exported to Russia in the far north.
The benefits of this trade route were so huge that it not only hit the profiteers of Britain and the Netherlands, but also made huge profits for France and Spain as middlemen. After all, at similar prices, Chinese goods had an overwhelming advantage over British goods.
At every banquet of European nobles, Spanish and French nobles wore dark-patterned silk robes and ornaments made of exquisite gemstones and large pearls, which made the British and Dutch nobles feel ashamed.
Count Francis married the daughter of a marquis who had nearly gone bankrupt due to heavy debts. He avoided bankruptcy by marrying his beautiful daughter to Count Francis.
When Mrs. Frances attended a cocktail party, she would secretly change into a dark-patterned silk dress of exactly the same color and style at different hours, the only difference being the flowers on the dark pattern of the dress.
Such an elegant and low-key display of wealth made the nobles present at the meeting extremely envious, and also made Count Francis determined to obtain the status of Marquis.
It feels so good to have money!
Huo Chong heard such an honest answer and said expressionlessly: "Your father and I are friends. Five times is five times. But boy, your silver supply is not high enough recently. Can you increase the production?"
Francis replied somewhat embarrassedly: "But we are also considering what to buy here."
"Ships. Iron-framed wooden ships, much more resistant to turbulence than your Spanish ships. Your father is an excellent naval officer. If you have your father's naval qualities, you will definitely understand the benefits of these ships." Huo Chong began to promote the new ships that China has only been able to build in the past two years. Although these ships have not reached the size of Zheng He's treasure ships, they are getting closer step by step.
China's shipbuilding industry, which suffered a devastating blow after the Qing Dynasty's maritime ban, is recovering step by step and, with the help of industrial development, is moving towards new heights step by step.
