My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 326 Let Lao Zhu understand what labor is
Soon, more and more ministers stood up and petitioned Zhu Yuanzhang to send troops and navy immediately to eliminate the pirates.

Zhu Yuanzhang could understand why the military generals and nobles were so enthusiastic, but he was a little surprised that the civil officials were also so concerned.

Especially when he saw that the officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites were shouting the loudest, Zhu Yuanzhang understood that they were shouting in pain because Chen Zuyi had cut their flesh.

You weren't so active when Shaoxing Prefecture was ravaged by Japanese pirates.

Faced with the growing calls for war in the court, Zhu Yuanzhang, as the helmsman of the Ming Empire, although he wanted to chop off Chen Zuyi's head and eat it with wine, he still had the common sense and would not be led by the ministers.

Food should be eaten one bite at a time, things should be done one step at a time, and the first step is to comfort the local suffering people, comfort those who need to be comforted, and provide relief to those who need relief.

The second step was to execute all captured pirates in public, using the death penalty to boost public morale.

The third step is to send the Jinyiwei and military spies to go out to sea to gather all the information about Chen Zuyi. The core is to find Chen Zuyi's lair.

The fourth step is to transform the Ming navy into a navy to prepare for sea operations.

After announcing these four points in public, Zhu Yuanzhang announced his withdrawal from court. He was not afraid of the civil officials gossiping about him behind his back, such as saying that he was afraid of war, because no one dared to gossip about him.

After the court session, he hurried to the inner hall. If he wanted to wipe out Chen Zuyi, he had to see if Old Li had any good ideas.

When he returned to the inner hall and walked into the Buddhist hall, he felt relieved when he saw that the Buddhist table was piled with papers again.

No need to ask, Lao Li will definitely come up with a good solution!

When he came to the Buddhist table, he picked up the envelope directly, opened it impatiently, took out the letter, and then read it carefully.

"Old Zhu, I am very pleased to hear that the first railway line of Daming has been successfully built and opened to traffic. This means that Daming's future development will have a qualitative leap.

And your next line of thought is completely correct. After Yingtian Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture are connected by railway, it will not only strengthen the development of economy and trade, but will also have a far-reaching impact on the entire pattern of Jiangnan."

pattern?

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. What Lao Li said was right. Once the railway from Yingtian Prefecture to Songjiang Prefecture was completed, it would indeed change the entire situation in Jiangnan.

However, I always feel that the word "pattern" mentioned by Lao Li seems to contain a deeper meaning.

"It is true that the construction of the railway will definitely strengthen your control over the Jiangnan region. This is almost a foregone conclusion. But in this process, what kind of changes will occur in the Jiangnan region? What kind of demonstration effect will it have on other areas of the Ming Dynasty? Have you ever considered this issue, Old Zhu?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded unconsciously, but then shook his head quickly. He had never thought about this question, not even thought about it!

As expected, Old Li is still far-sighted. This is the pattern! Zhu Yuanzhang felt ashamed, but more of it was his admiration for Li Han. After being in contact with Li Han for such a long time, he naturally knew in his heart that Old Li was almost omniscient and omniscient, but every time he communicated with him, he would gain new insights.

This may be the true meaning of a sage and wise teacher, who will always give you advice on things you haven’t considered, allowing you to go further and further on the path to becoming a wise ruler or even the greatest emperor of all time.

“In my opinion, the construction of the railway from Yingtianfu to Songjiangfu will provide a good example for the entire Jiangnan region, telling Jiangnan and even everyone in the world that the Ming Dynasty has officially entered an industrial society, and what kind of earth-shaking changes industry will bring to their lives.

Of course, this is too superficial. Let me analyze these changes in detail for you, Old Zhu.

Yeah, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded unconsciously again, feeling that he was back to the time when he first started communicating with Li Han. At that time, he was like a child who had just entered school, full of curiosity about the world and eagerly absorbing the valuable knowledge taught by Mr. Li Han.

And this state is exactly what he enjoys the most.

“When the railway starts to be built in Jiangnan, it will bring about all-round changes, not only because Jiangnan is the richest place in Ming Dynasty, but also because it is the political and cultural center of Ming Dynasty, and now it is also an industrial center.

The attention of the entire Ming Dynasty is now focused here, so the following points are definitely what you, Old Zhu, should pay attention to!
First, after the railway is opened in the Jiangnan region, the speed of trade will be further accelerated as the speed of cargo transportation doubles, which will bring about the first step of change, that is, the resources of the entire Jiangnan region will be reintegrated and redistributed.

What are resources? Here, it means commodities, money, minerals, crops, etc., and, more importantly, people! "

people?
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment. Resources are money and goods. Of course, minerals are also considered resources, and livestock and poultry are even more considered resources. But what Lao Li said... isn't he equating humans and livestock?

In his understanding, the concept of people has never been combined with resources.

He scratched his head. In traditional Confucian concepts, human beings are the most precious thing in the nature of heaven and earth. How could it be connected with resources?
That is to say, in this context, people will no longer be human beings, but valuable resources!
He found that Li Han was breaking down his original ideas step by step, crushing them, and then reshaping them.

This may be the thought that is necessary to make a country and a nation strong!

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered a sentence from the Tao Te Ching, "Heaven and earth have no benevolence, and treat all things as straw dogs." Perhaps, Lao Li was interpreting the concept of man-made resources to himself from the perspective of the saints of heaven and earth.

From the perspective of the saints of heaven and earth, everything is equal. From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with man-made resources. This may be more in line with the way of saints.

But if that is the case, then it would be too inhumane. But in my opinion, Lao Li is a very humane person!
“Humans are of course resources and the most important means of production, because humans possess the most important quality that other animals do not possess—labor!
Almost all wealth is created by people through labor. Simply put, workers produce products and farmers grow food, all of which are created by human labor. If you understand this, you will understand why people are also resources. "

That’s right, what Lao Li said is easy to understand. Since everything is created by humans, then humans are the most important resource, which is an irrefutable truth.

Li Han's words caused him to think more deeply. If so, farmers and workers are production resources, then the army, the country's most important weapon, is the most important war resource!
"If we understand the previous concepts, we will have a better understanding of the resource 'people'.

I have already said that people rely on labor to become the most important means of production. So, Lao Zhu, how do you understand labor? "

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment. This question really stumped him. Isn't labor just work and production?
No matter what, even if the Jade Emperor came, wouldn't the labor be the same as hoeing the fields, growing crops, or screwing screws in a factory?
(End of this chapter)