Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 275: Suppressing the Bandits! Liu Kuan’s Thoughts [Please Subscribe]

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "You said that the contradiction between population and land is the main contradiction in agricultural society. Then what is the main contradiction in industrial society?"

"Your Majesty, the contradictions in industrial society primarily exist between the capitalists who control capital and the workers. This can also be summarized as between the rich and the poor. Ultimately, it comes down to the redistribution of resources and benefits."

"Therefore, in my humble opinion, the main contradictions of industrial society are essentially the same as those of agricultural society. Even the technologically advanced powers of later generations have failed to truly resolve this problem."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned even more deeply after hearing Liu Kuan's words. He asked, "So, even with all the opportunities you've brought, the Ming Dynasty can't break the cycle of history?"

Liu Kuan said, "If the historical cycle Your Majesty refers to is the rise and fall of dynasties, then it is indeed unbreakable. All things are born and die, and so are dynasties. They cannot last forever. After all, the earth and the universe will be destroyed one day."

"But if the historical cycle Your Majesty refers to is that the reigns of Chinese dynasties since the Zhou Dynasty have rarely exceeded four hundred years, and even most orthodox dynasties only lasted about two hundred years, then the Ming Dynasty has a great chance of breaking this rule."

"Of course, even if the Ming Dynasty developed technology and industry, promoted science, and reformed Confucianism, it still required generations of emperors and subjects to work tirelessly. Otherwise, even if technology and industry became powerful, they would not be able to resist self-destruction."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment before he sighed with a complicated expression, "It is indeed not easy to want a long-lasting dynasty."

Then he looked at Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying beside him, smiled again, and said, "But with Biao and Xiongying here, I believe the Ming Dynasty can at least maintain three generations of wise rulers and extend the country's life for at least a hundred years!"

Zhu Xiongying was very sensible and immediately bowed, saying, "My grandson will definitely live up to Grandpa Huang's expectations and educate his own children and grandchildren to become wise rulers in the future, allowing the Ming Dynasty to have two more generations of wise rulers!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed happily after hearing this, "Hahaha, good, Xiongying is indeed our good grandson!"

After feeling better, Zhu Yuanzhang took his eldest son, his grandson and Liu Kuan back to the main hall and asked Liu Kuan to play a movie.

Liu Kuan pulled out the movie he had prepared and said, "It's called 'Slaying the Bandits,' and it tells the story of Qi Jiguang's resistance against the Japanese invaders during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty."

The rest of the people did not know about Qi Jiguang, and it was even the first time they knew that the Ming Dynasty had fought against the Japanese pirates in history.

Most women are curious.

Princes Zhu Chong, Zhu Tan and others were thinking: Fight against the Japanese? Could it be that the small country of Japan would dare to invade the Ming Dynasty?
Only Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao had heard of Qi Jiguang's life and deeds, but they were still very interested in the later film "The Storm Riders".

In fact, Liu Kuan had thought about playing "Nanjing! Nanjing!" - he had already downloaded this movie to his mobile phone.

However, considering that today is the Mid-Autumn Festival after all, and "Nanjing! Nanjing!" is really depressing, and several older princes such as Zhu Ying and Zhu Di are not present, it doesn't make much sense to only show it to the rest of the Zhu family.

If there is a chance, Liu Kuan would like to show this film to the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, so that no one will make irresponsible remarks about the Ming Dynasty's policy towards Japan...

Put the tablet in place and start the movie.

A vicissitudes of life narration sounded under an aerial shot of the seaside.

"During the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, due to the imperial court's maritime ban and the corruption of local officials, Japanese pirates rose up along the coast."

"Among them, the leader of the pirates was Wang Zhi, a native of Anhui, who repeatedly invaded the coastal areas."

"In the 36th year of the Jiajing reign, Hu Zongxian, the Governor of Zhejiang, persuaded Wang Zhi to surrender and help eliminate the threat of Japanese pirates."

"Unexpectedly, Wang Zhi was immediately detained by Wang Bengu, the inspector of Hangzhou Prefecture. The Japanese pirates refused to surrender and instead caused trouble everywhere, attacking the Zhejiang coast..."

After the narration, the movie plays the first plot.

Yu Dayou, played by Sammo Hung, led his army to attack a Japanese pirate camp. However, due to their rigid fighting style and the fact that the Japanese pirates were equipped with many iron cannons and other weapons, they failed to capture the camp and instead lost many Ming soldiers.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frown and thought: I remember Liu Kuan said that Yu Dayou seemed to be a famous general second only to Qi Jiguang in the late Jiajing period. How come he was so stupid in fighting?
Also, how come the equipment of the Ming army during the Jiajing period looks worse than ours today? Not to mention the firearms, the shields and armor are just too bad, aren't they?
The movie then uses a plot to show that the so-called Japanese pirates are not just Japanese ronin and pirates, but also elite regular troops who emerged from the Warring States Period of Japan.

These people have experienced many years of war in Japan. Not only do they have rich combat experience, they also understand Chinese military books such as "The Art of War" and are very difficult to deal with.

Then, the protagonist of the movie, Qi Jiguang (played by Zhao Wenzhuo), appeared.

After a literary drama with Yu Dayou and Hu Zongxian, the plot went back to several months ago with Qi Jiguang's memories.

At that time, he had just been ordered to come to Zhejiang to take up his post, and he didn't even have a qualified soldier under his command...

"The Outlaws" is two hours long and did not receive high praise when it was first aired, and was even rated as a bad movie.

But many years later, its reputation has improved again and it has become one of the representative films of the Ming Dynasty's anti-Japanese war.

However, for the Zhu family, who rarely watch movies, this film is naturally quite exciting.

Therefore, when the movie ended with a great victory of the Qi family army in suppressing the Japanese pirates, the Zhu family was still reminiscing about it.

After the movie ended, Zhu Yuanzhang did not take the princes and grandchildren over ten years old to the side hall to discuss matters as he had done in the past - perhaps he felt there was no need.

"It's late, let's go back and rest."

Zhu Yuanzhang took Empress Ma's hand and stood up. After giving an order, the two left the Dashan Hall together.

"Farewell, Father (Your Majesty), and farewell, Mother (Her Majesty)!"

Liu Kuan and others watched Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma disappear at the back door of the Dashan Hall, then they said goodbye and left one after another.

On the way home, Zhu Huilan noticed that Liu Kuan was a little absent-minded, so she asked, "My husband, is there anything on your mind?"

Liu Kuan did not hide it and said with emotion: "I wonder how long the efforts we made for the Ming Dynasty today can benefit the Ming Dynasty."

Although Zhu Huilan was smart, she was more talented in science and handicrafts. She did not show any interest in politics and did not care much about it.

But she knew how to comfort Liu Kuan, and said with a smile: "No matter what, it will definitely last longer than in history." Liu Kuan nodded and said no more, but he was still thinking about this matter in his heart.

In a feudal monarchy, the good or bad of an era is closely related to the monarch - as long as the system remains unchanged, even if technology and industry develop, this cannot be changed.

Liu Kuan believed that Zhu Biao would be a wise ruler and a good emperor.

It seems that Zhu Xiongying is not bad at the moment, and may even be another powerful leader.

As for the later Ming emperors, he was not sure. After all, the succession to the throne of the Ming Dynasty in this time and space was completely different from history, and he had no reference.

Zhu Di's lineage will produce an emperor named Bao Zong, but who can guarantee that Zhu Biao's lineage will not produce an emperor similar to Bao Zong?
"Perhaps, all we can do now is to make the Ming Dynasty stronger and its hardware and software foundations more solid."

'In this way, even if a tyrant emperor appears in the Ming Dynasty in this time and space in the future, the country can still stand at the top of the world's nations with its strong foundation!'

Thinking of this, Liu Kuan let out a breath, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked at the night sky outside the window.

Tonight, the moon is really round.

···
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Tsushima Island, Minamimae.

In a seemingly ordinary house in the Acropolis, Zhu Di was also looking up at the bright moon.

Since the Lantern Festival in the first month of the lunar calendar, he has been either on the islands or on ships, either inspecting the Beiyang Military Region under orders or supervising the Japanese government's "conversion of rice cultivation to mulberry cultivation" and "immigration."

Now, more than half a year has passed, and the inspection of the Beiyangdusi has long been completed, giving him a more specific understanding of Ezo, Kuwu, Binghuo Island and other places.

It's a pity that he is planning to go to India to be a vassal in the future instead of somewhere in the north, otherwise what he learned from this inspection would be very useful.

As for Japan's "conversion from rice to mulberry" and "immigration", there has also been considerable progress.

Almost all the daimyo in the southern part of Japan are implementing the policy of "changing rice to mulberry". It can be predicted that the grain production in the southern part of Japan will be greatly reduced this autumn.

Many Ming Dynasty maritime merchants involved in this matter have already shipped rice from Southeast Asia, preparing to make a fortune in Japan.

This did not conform to the court's plan.

The "conversion from rice to mulberry" policy has only begun to show results. It will take at least three or four years to fully implement it.

If the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants had acted in an unpleasant and greedy manner from the beginning, the daimyo lords who implemented this policy in Japan would probably regret it.

Therefore, Zhu Di has issued an order not to allow maritime merchants to charge grain prices above a certain line. According to the estimates of Daoyan and other staff members, below this line, maritime merchants can still make a lot of money, and the Japanese feudal lords will not feel disadvantaged by the high grain prices.

The next day.

Shen Ji came to meet Zhu Di as a representative of maritime merchants.

"This humble citizen pays homage to His Majesty the Prince of Yan!"

"Stand up." Zhu Di raised his hand calmly, then asked, "Do you all agree to follow my orders?"

Shen Ji said, "This deal was originally granted by the imperial court, and it is related to the imperial court's major plan against Japan. How dare we merchants refuse?"

Zhu Di knew that simply forcing the merchants wouldn't work, so he said, "If you want to make a fortune, wait patiently for a few years. Once the Japanese and Southern Dynasties are accustomed to the business of selling raw silk and buying grain, then you can manipulate them."

"That's what His Highness said."

"How is the immigration this autumn going?" Zhu Di asked again.

Shen Ji said, "Your Highness, this year, the Southern Dynasty of Japan has implemented a large-scale policy of replacing rice with mulberry trees, causing famine among the people. In addition, several wars with the Northern Dynasty have led to heavy taxation by the daimyo, making life even more difficult for the common people of Japan."

"In addition, we sent people to spread the word that women who went to sea had a chance to marry into a good family. Not only could they have enough food to eat, but they could even send money home. Therefore, the practice of selling girls became very popular in the Southern Dynasty of Japan."

"I've done some statistics and found that since the beginning of July, various maritime merchants involved in immigration have signed contracts with over 50,000 young Japanese women."

Although Zhu Di was mentally prepared, he was still surprised when he heard this. "So many? Apart from the Ming Dynasty's overseas garrisons, where did the rest go?"

Shen Ji said, "Part of it was sent to China, and part of it was sent to Korea."

Zhu Di then asked, "Who are the people buying it in China and Korea?"

"This..." Shen Ji hesitated, "Korean nobles are the ones buying. As for China, common people don't do this business. I really don't know."

Zhu Di glanced at Shen Ji and smiled, "I guess you don't dare to say it? Well, I won't make it difficult for you. Go down."

Shen Ji's forehead was covered with sweat. He quickly said goodbye and left.

Later, Lou Kui, who had been promoted to deputy commander of Guangming Guard, came to report.

"Your Highness, thanks to our planning and promotion, the Toki and Yamana clans have united and are preparing to launch an uprising against the Ashikaga shogunate."

"The other three daimyo also have this intention. If the Toki and Yamana clans can gain an advantage in the initial battles, I'm sure these three will switch sides as well."

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)