Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 168: Confucianism is also important, Zhu Chong suffers from snow disaster

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao did not respond to Liu Kuan's words immediately because they took the matter seriously.

A moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang then spoke, "In my opinion, the Western capitalists and landlords you mentioned are actually birds of a feather."

"At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, rituals and music were in disarray, laws were ineffective, and the Yuan court had few constraints on landlords and powerful people. Many of these people resorted to extremes to annex land or gain wealth, with no moral or righteousness in their hearts."

"We have already decided to suppress this group and let the successor emperor of the Ming Dynasty implement this policy. Adding a capitalist to the mix won't be a big deal."

Obviously, Zhu Yuanzhang's ideas were very positive, or full of fighting spirit.

However, Zhu Biao said, "Father, according to what my brother-in-law said before, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, many local gentry and powerful interest representatives entered the court, and even eventually took control of the court through the cabinet."

"Now that this generation has added capital power, can the imperial power really be controlled?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was displeased and said, "Is the Ming Dynasty today the same as it was in later history? At this time in later history, the heroes were gone, your mother was gone too, but now you are all still here."

"Even if the gentry and powerful have increased their capital power, we have artillery, muskets, trains and railways, and we have Liu Kuan, a man from the future, to help us!"

"Even with such great support, if you still don't dare to face those damn gentry and capitalists, you might as well find a piece of tofu and kill yourself!"

Old Zhu is really angry and even swears.

Zhu Biao was filled with shame when he heard this and explained, "It's not that I'm afraid to face them, but I just want to think of a foolproof plan to prevent the people of the Ming Dynasty from suffering like the people in the West."

At this point, Zhu Biao turned to Liu Kuan and asked, "Brother-in-law, haven't future generations found a way to completely solve the problem of landlords and capitalists exploiting the people?"

Under Zhu Biao's expectant gaze, Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "In fact, in a sense, there will no longer be landlords like today in the future."

Are there no landlords in later generations?

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were quite surprised when they heard this.

Liu Kuan continued, "Because after the Industrial Revolution, technology developed to a certain level, the efficiency of making money through farming for the rich and powerful became very low, far less efficient than opening factories and engaging in business."

"By then, smart and insightful landlords will sell their land, invest in industry and commerce, and transform themselves into capitalists."

"And the stubborn and conservative landlords will see their income and social status plummet, and will no longer hold an important position in the world order."

Hearing this, Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "It's just as I said before. Landlords and capitalists are birds of a feather. In the end, they are indistinguishable from each other."

Zhu Biao came to his senses and asked unwillingly, "Is there a way to completely solve the problem of capitalists exploiting the people?"

Liu Kuan thought to himself: Of course there is, and that is to completely eliminate the bourgeoisie!

But Liu Kuan didn't say this, nor did he dare to say it.

Because the Zhu family is now the largest landlord in the Ming Dynasty, and if nothing unexpected happens, it may also be the largest capital group in the future.

Old Zhu would aspire to suppress all other landlords and capitalists in the world, but he would never think of destroying the Zhu family as well.

Even Zhu Biao, although concerned about the people, just asked how to solve the problem of landlords and capitalists exploiting the people, rather than how to eliminate this social group.

Therefore, Liu Kuan could not even mention the elimination of landlords and the bourgeoisie.

He shook his head and said, "As long as the people own private property and can engage in production and trade, capitalists will emerge. Capital is driven by profit, and it's almost instinctive for capitalists to exploit the people. How can we completely solve this problem?"

"What the imperial court can do is to formulate various laws and policies to guide, restrict, and even suppress these people."

"Even if they still want to exploit the people, they can't be as blatant and unscrupulous as the Western capitalists I mentioned earlier."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Liu Kuan is right - as long as the imperial power is strong enough and can control the power of the court, whether it is the landlords or the capitalists, they will have to obey us. Why should we be afraid?"

"So, Biao'er, instead of thinking about how to stop the landlords and capitalists from exploiting the people, you should think about how to keep the power of the court firmly in the hands of the emperor."

After hearing this, Zhu Biao was silent and thoughtful for a while.

Zhu Yuanzhang then said to Liu Kuan, "Although we are not afraid of landlords and capitalists, the steam loom machine will have a huge impact on the hand-woven textile industry."

"In the future, if the Machinery Manufacturing Bureau has any achievements, they must report them immediately and keep such machines confidential until the court has made detailed plans before opening the relevant government-run factories."

"As for releasing it to the private sector, we can put it off until the end – when government-run factories set an example on issues like worker pay and working hours, private factories will have no choice but to follow suit."

"Even if there are greedy and unkind people, they wouldn't dare to disregard the law and exploit workers like Western capitalists do."

Zhu Yuanzhang's instructions reminded Liu Kuan of something.

Despise the enemy strategically and take the enemy seriously tactically - probably all great military strategists understand certain principles.

He immediately responded, "I understand."

This topic ends here.

Zhu Yuanzhang finally asked: "When will the remaining five trains be completed?"

Liu Kuan said, "The Locomotive Manufacturing Bureau is currently setting up the relevant production line. If nothing goes wrong, it will be completed by the end of winter." "By then, the speed of train production will be much higher than before. If everything goes well, six trains can be produced within three months."

Zhu Yuanzhang heard this and said, "So, we can produce one train in half a month?"

"It seems that Lao Zhu still doesn't understand the model of industrial production well enough."

Liu Kuan muttered to himself and explained, "We produce six trains simultaneously every three months, not one every two weeks."

"So that's how it is." Zhu Yuanzhang finally understood.

Liu Kuan then took his leave.

After Liu Kuan left Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Biao, "What do you think of what Liu Kuan said about the future of the Western Industrial Revolution?"

Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then said, "I actually wanted to ask Liu Kuan a question earlier. With the capitalists oppressing us so much, have the common people in the West risen up in rebellion? And have they succeeded?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "I'm actually quite curious about this matter. You can ask Liu Kuan later. The behavior of this Western capitalist has actually changed my mind about another matter."

"After Liu Kuan came to the Ming Dynasty, he explained to us the importance of science. Previously, Confucianism was the only religion respected in the world. To develop science, we must inevitably weaken the influence of Confucianism, or even suppress it."

"Therefore, I have previously considered gradually weakening the influence of Confucianism to that of science, and then using science as the primary aid in our rule of the world."

"But today, after listening to Liu Kuan's account of how Western capitalists exploit the people with such blatant and unscrupulous fervor, I suddenly felt that Confucianism also plays a crucial role in teaching the people loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness. In fact, in terms of ideological education, its importance even surpasses science."

"Although I have only a superficial understanding of the Way of Science, I have discovered that it seems to lack any content that teaches the people loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, or moral integrity and shame."

"In this case, the ideological and moral education of the people must be carried out by Confucianism."

"Moreover, over the past thousand years, Confucianism was considered a prominent doctrine for governing the country by dynasties like the Han, Tang, and Song, which is sufficient to show that it did play a certain role in governing the country."

"Biao'er, do you think what we think is right?"

Zhu Biao was deeply influenced by Confucianism. Although Zhu Yuanzhang used Confucianism before, he did not respect Confucianism in his heart. He was wary of the literati group gathered by Confucianism, and even scolded Zhu Biao for being too close to Confucian scholars.

Later, Liu Kuan arrived and promoted the importance of science. In addition, Confucianism did indeed block the development of science, so Zhu Biao believed that Confucianism would most likely decline.

Whenever he thought about this, he felt a little depressed.

Now, hearing that Zhu Yuanzhang had changed his mind and believed that Confucianism was still important to the country, even as important as science, he was very surprised.

He immediately smiled and said, "Your Majesty, your thoughts are absolutely correct! While Confucianism may not be like science in directly increasing national wealth or military strength, it can teach the people about loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, morality, integrity, and the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. It is indeed an indispensable way to govern a country!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, then said with emotion, "Now I understand that science, Confucianism, Legalism, military strategy, and the art of kingship, etc., when it comes to ruling the world, are like the four limbs and five senses of a person, each with its own function."

"If any one of these is missing, a person may still be able to survive, but they will certainly not be as strong as someone with all four limbs and five senses intact, and even their lifespan will be affected."

"We plan to leave behind our ancestral teachings so that future Ming emperors will remember this truth. This will surely allow our Zhu family's rule to last even longer."

Zhu Biao praised sincerely, "Father, you are wise!"

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According to research by later scholars, the period from the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty can be regarded as the last ice age before modern times.

During this period of more than 600 years, the temperature only warmed up in the 100 years from the end of the Southern Song Dynasty to the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty.

Because the Yuan Dynasty lasted less than a hundred years, the temperature actually began to drop at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and this drop continued until the early Qing Dynasty.

Although the temperature during the Hongwu period was not as cold as in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there was always snow in the capital in winter.

This year's snow is heavier than in previous years.

In the locust tree.

Zhu Chong was lying on a bed covered with thick straw, covered with a thick quilt, and in the warm bed he was hugged by two people - the one leaning against the wall on the left was Deng, and the one on the right was Guanyin Nu.

Both Deng and Guanyinnu could be considered beauties. Zhu Chong was so lucky that he must have been envied by countless poor single men in Huaishu Village in the past year.

It is said that Deng initially did not allow Guanyin Nu to go to bed, but made her sleep on the firewood pile in the kitchen.

As a result, he was warned by Lao Zhu and had to sleep in the same bed with Guanyin Nu.

It was still dark at this time and the three of them were sleeping soundly when they suddenly heard a loud bang and then felt like they were hit hard and pressed down by something heavy.

All three of them woke up in shock.

"What's going on?" Zhu Chong muttered, still a little confused.

"It seems that the accumulated snow has collapsed the roof." Guanyinnu said in a muffled voice under the quilt.

"Ah ah!" Deng realized it later and heard that the roof had collapsed. She was so scared that she screamed and tossed and turned in the quilt.

"Stop messing around!" Zhu Chong yelled, "You kicked my thigh!"

Deng was startled and didn't dare to move. She asked, "Are you okay?"

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)