Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 993 Scattered
The Tang Dynasty court's crackdown on the emerging class caused a stir within the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not as big as imagined.

The empire was very peaceful. The old aristocracy who occupied the top of society, the peasants and hired workers who made up the majority of society, and even the craftsmen and scientists were not greatly affected.

There are many reasons for this, the most important of which is that the power of conservatives is ultimately decisive.

If Luo had not stood on the side of the reformists, the two sides would have been completely incomparable.

Therefore, after Luo abandoned the emerging classes composed mainly of businessmen, the only way to describe those emerging classes that tried to seize power politically was to suffer a crushing defeat.

The lives of most people were not affected, and factories and a large amount of wealth were taken over by the royal family and the old nobility.

Of course, it is impossible for there to be no change.

First, the people doing the work have changed.

The old aristocracy had a large number of people who were personally dependent on them; these people were “more reliable”, difficult to “betray”, and less costly.

Under such circumstances, of course many people who used to work in factories lost their livelihoods. They were "people without property" and "without land". In the past, these people were called vagrants and were the number one enemy of the imperial court.

They usually become bandits, die of hunger or do something desperate. In short, they are a destabilizing factor in society.

In the age of industrialization, these people are valuable assets.

Soon, a large number of people recruiting workers appeared in major cities in Jiangnan, and ships were transporting people to Annan Province.

After Luo Changqing realized this, he immediately banned the outflow of population. He knew very well that these workers in Jiangnan Province were a huge asset.

It takes time to train a skilled worker, and the hired workers in Jiangnan Province are all skilled workers, so on the one hand he mobilized grain from the treasury, and on the other hand he distributed relief funds from Luo's Money House in order to stabilize these workers.

This was the first time in the history of the Tang Dynasty that relief funds were provided to unemployed workers.

At the same time, he once again borrowed special funds from Luo's Bank to purchase a large number of machines on the market, especially machines for the textile industry. These things were basically purchased from the old nobles.

Luo Changqing has discovered that it is impossible for the old aristocracy to really pursue profits in the manufacturing industry.

Especially this time's great victory has made many people extremely confident.

Manufacturing and industry are too low-level.

Most of the old nobles could make a fortune by collecting rent from land and shops, as well as various special court benefits, such as various monopoly certificates.

Besides, what kind of machines in the world can be as cheap as human labor? There are too many tenant farmers in the family to use all the machines, so there is no need to use them.

The reason why the emerging classes are suppressed is simply because they are blind and do not know who is the king and who is the boss, and they want to gain political power.

But Luo Changqing didn't think so. After discovering this, he felt both sad and excited.

It is sad that most of these old aristocrats who have made great contributions are still clinging to their old ways and do not know how to look forward.

In this respect they are even worse than the emerging classes that have been expelled.

The reason for his excitement was very simple. Since most of the old nobles were unwilling to embrace change, or were disdainful of embracing change, these things would naturally be taken care of by the royal family and Luo's industry under his control.

New technologies will emerge, and the old aristocrats who cling to their old ways will realize that human labor will eventually be replaced by machines.

For most employees, working for the Luo family and the royal industries they manage is something they would love to do.

Because working in Rockford's industry, the environment is obviously better, and Rockford has the most basic humanistic care, which is what distinguishes it from other factories.

Of course, this increases the cost of the Rockies industry, but the Rockies has a huge industrial chain and strong power to maintain such a system.

In reality, this is of course impossible to operate in the long term.

Besides, what is Luo family?
Luo is not just an athlete competing together, but also a referee who holds national power.

After experiencing the initial high cost of operation, Luo soon realized that it could not continue in this way.

It is impossible for the Luo family to cruelly exploit the people.

Then the only option is to let others follow Luo’s path.

The Luo family used their family's powerful political power to promulgate relevant laws.

An entire industry is restricted in many ways.

It stipulates the maximum working hours for employees, the minimum daily wages, the minimum working age, and the compensation standards for accidents during work.

Although these aspects were still not as good as Luo's treatment, they successfully increased their operating costs, and Luo's felt much more relaxed instantly.

Of course, there is no need to consider these issues now, because the emperor has taken all the blame, and from now on 70% of the Tang Dynasty’s industry will be in the hands of the royal family and the Luo family.

……

Luoyang, the capital of the gods.

Luo Changqing was summoning many officials from the Ministry of Works. All the main officials from the Ministry of Works, including the Minister of Works, were here. Many people from the other six ministries were also here. It was comparable to the original Political Affairs Hall meeting.

After the advent of the steam age, the status of the Ministry of Industry rose sharply, and the power it wielded grew. The era of being humble and subservient is gone forever.

But when facing Luo Changqing, the Minister of Works had the same attitude as when facing the emperor, with a face full of respect.

Luo Changqing tapped his teacup, and everyone below sat up straight instantly. "I called you all here because I have an important matter to discuss. I have already reported this to His Majesty, and His Majesty agreed to let me handle this matter with full authority, so I summoned you all today."

Everyone in the hall bowed and said, "We are at your disposal, His Royal Highness Prince Luo."

If someone else were the prime minister, these words would be a bit over the top, but since Luo Changqing was here, he accepted it openly.

Luo Changqing pondered for a moment and then slowly said: "This time the court has taken over many industries. There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers in Jiangnan. A large number of merchants left the Central Plains by boat, some went to Penglai, some went to Annan, and some went west.

The Central Plains was cleared, but the future remained difficult.

The world is vast, and it is not just the Central Plains. This is something you all know.

The stability of the world today depends entirely on the powerful military might of the imperial court, which is built on the million-strong army of our Great Tang. If problems arise with the million-strong army, the world will fall into chaos.

This king has always been sad. "

The Minister of War bowed and said, "Your Highness, don't worry, our Tang Dynasty is invincible!

All the villains and evil spirits can only tremble in fear under the mighty power of our Great Tang Dynasty.

Wherever there is rebellion, the Tang Dynasty's Heavenly Army will go there and achieve victory!"

When he said this, the Minister of War's face was full of arrogance.

The invincible fleet of the Tang Dynasty could even reach Great Britain. With hundreds of warships sailing there, any evil thoughts would be gone.

Not to mention the invincible Tang Dynasty army. Under the artillery, all beings are equal. The Lingbei Province completely obeyed the rule of the Tang Dynasty. There is a reason why it has not raised any ideas in the past hundred years.

Luo Changqing remained silent. The terrifyingly powerful strength of the Tang Dynasty was what the old nobles relied on without fear. Within the visible range, there were no enemies that could threaten the Tang Dynasty.

Everyone in the hall had the same look in their eyes, full of pride. Luo Changqing asked softly, "Then may I ask Minister Li, do you know what smokeless gunpowder is?"

Smokeless powder?

The Minister of War was stunned when he heard this. Although he didn't know what this thing was, black gunpowder produced smoke, and he could tell from the name that this should be a new type of gunpowder.

Moreover, he could tell that Luo Changqing's tone was not right, so he lowered his head and said, "I don't know, Your Highness, please explain."

Luo Changqing suppressed his anger and said: "Smokeless gunpowder is a newly discovered type of gunpowder. It is many times more powerful than black powder, and it has no smoke, which means it will not produce impurities to clog the pipes. If you use this kind of gunpowder to make muskets and cannons, the range will be longer, the power will be greater, and the loading speed will be much faster.

Minister Li is a person who has seen firearms before, and he should know how much this kind of thing can improve the combat effectiveness of the army."

The Minister of War already knew what Luo Changqing was going to say. He was speechless and could only passively endure Luo Changqing's thunderous reprimand, "The Tang Dynasty is invincible?
You are so arrogant. The Tang Dynasty is invincible now, can it continue to be invincible?

If the Tang Dynasty did not have these new muskets and artillery, but those regions and countries that had long had disloyalty had them, and even had more powerful and advanced weapons, do you think they would rebel or split?

"Be prepared for danger in times of peace, be prepared for danger in times of peace. I have said this so many times, have you listened to it all?"

The Minister of War blushed and could only whisper, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. I wonder which genius invented such a magical weapon."

When others saw the appearance of the Minister of War, they couldn't help but be frightened. They could only hope that when they were asked about this, they would be able to give an appropriate answer and not be so miserable.

Luo Changqing said unhappily: “From the shores of the East China Sea to Great Britain, there are hundreds of millions of people living in this vast land. How many geniuses are there among them?
You are a group of professional bureaucrats who only know how to govern the country. You have no idea about the discoveries made by researchers every day, nor do you know what major changes those discoveries will bring to the world.

In this era, the world can do without you, and it can do without me, but it cannot do without those researchers. Their contribution to the world is greater than all of you combined.”

Although everyone present did not speak, and some even agreed, Luo Changqing could see that many people were not convinced. Although the status of the institute had been greatly improved in recent years and was no longer regarded as a craftsman, it was still far behind the officials. As long as the current system remained, this status quo would be almost impossible to change.

After criticizing everyone, Luo Changqing formally put forward his own ideas, "According to the information I have received, laboratories in various places are now communicating intensively, and researchers are forming their own guilds to exchange the latest results.

Many discoveries were made in laboratories everywhere, not just about smokeless powder.

The Empire must change immediately.

The Imperial Royal Academy will once again recruit talents, and will be divided into the Research Institute and the Engineering Academy, to be awarded to talents who have made great contributions in theory and practice respectively.

Moreover, this time, titles of nobility will be offered as an honor, as well as various miscellaneous official titles, official titles, honors, etc. The inventor of smokeless gunpowder will be awarded the title of earl, and the emperor will personally grant the title, and various books will be in no way inferior to the formal earl.

The Ministry of Personnel should come up with a set of rules as soon as possible. I will give you three chances. If you still cannot satisfy me after three chances, you will have to resign as the Minister of Personnel."

boom!
This instantly turned the world upside down. The Minister of Personnel never expected that this matter would fall on him, and it was such explosive news. In the past, the empire only gave these inventors some monetary rewards and some privileges similar to officials, but it did not really make these people equal to officials. After all, many of these people were just craftsmen before.

"Your Highness, is this inappropriate?"

The Minister of Personnel said directly: "Although these craftsmen have some ability in research, they are unreliable. How can we let them become officials?

This is irresponsible to the empire. Officials of the empire must be familiar with the classics and strategies for governing the country, and have absolute loyalty and obedience to the emperor, instead of asking this and that and talking about principles and truths.

I think they must not be allowed to become formal officials. Moreover, they have mastered many technologies. If they have a strong background, how can these things be used by the empire?

Everything they have belongs to the empire and to your majesty. If you give them too much, they will want more. I think it is better this way. "

This statement was agreed by most people. They even straightened their official robes with pride. "Yes, Your Highness, whether it is you or your colleagues present, we are all loyal to the empire and are reliable people."

Every time Luo Changqing talked to these people, he felt like he was not from the same world as them, and there was a huge gap between them.

It seems like these people don't know how to keep up with the times. They always think that politics determines everything and they always think that everyone else is a fool.

"Have you never paid attention to the outside world? Don't you know that outside the empire, there is a popular thing called patents.

Inventors can use their exclusive rights to gain profits from every application of patents. Many people have become rich through patents and have a very high social status.

Use your brains to think about it. In this situation, if the Empire cannot improve its treatment, what will happen? "

Everyone present was smart. Of course they knew that the talented people from the Tang Dynasty would definitely run away, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

The Minister of Justice hesitated for a moment and stood up and said, "Your Highness, nowadays, wherever the sun and the moon go, it is either a province of our Great Tang or a vassal of our Great Tang. We will directly use the Great Tang law to declare this law invalid. The empire does not recognize this law."

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that Luo Changqing was looking at him as if he were a fool.

The essence of this law is to encourage innovation and creation. As long as the local ruler is willing, he has countless other ways and reasons to enforce this law.

Can the empire still go to war just because of this law?

And that would make people lose the support of the people even more.

The vassal states are obedient now because the empire is strong, but the reason why the empire has the plan to transform the vassal states into provinces is to make the vassal states more obedient.

Rebellions by vassal states have been common since ancient times.

The Minister of Justice who had said stupid things retreated awkwardly, and Luo Changqing said coldly: "What I said was not a discussion, but a notification. You just need to do as I say.

It's such a simple thing, if you can do it, do it, if you can't, you can submit your resignation. I believe that the emperor will not retain incompetent people. "

Official positions alone cannot stop them, but as Luo Changqing said, they cannot fail over such a simple matter. For Luo Changqing, these Shangshu are actually quite well-coordinated.

In the 30 years since he became prime minister, he has changed at least three ministers of various ministries. If you can't keep up with his thinking, you will basically end up retiring in disgrace or being demoted.

After three confrontations, the six ministers in the hall had a general understanding of Luo Changqing's determination this time, and listened quietly to Luo Changqing's next words.

“What happened just now is a long-term matter and there is no need to rush.

The empire's main focus in the future will be on what I have said, that is, within ten years, all kinds of textiles, steel, etc. produced in the Tang Dynasty must be doubled. No, not only doubled, but also completely surpassed the provinces of Annan, Lingbei, Penglai, Western Regions, and Snow Regions.

In the future imperial system, Lingbei was to be a mere wool supplier rather than a region that could manufacture finished products from start to finish, and the same was true for several other provinces.

These border provinces must strengthen their ties with the Central Plains, suppress centrifugal forces, and then integrate the power of this vast land.

The empire had to prepare for war, equip all its armies with new weapons, build more factories in each province, and the Ministry of Rites had to come up with a charter to establish more academies that would not teach classics but would train more employees who could use machines.

This king hopes that within ten years, the number of employees in the empire will increase several times, and the empire's goods will be available in all countries of the world."

Everyone was a little shocked. They didn't expect Luo Changqing to have such thoughts. Now basically everything in the empire is in the hands of the royal family and the Luo family. This will allow the royal family to move forward greatly again.

And we have to prepare for war. The imperial army is already so powerful now. Who is King Luo going to target? Is there any enemy in this world worthy of the empire's targeting?

The most discussed topic in the empire now is disarmament. After all, maintaining such a large standing army without using it seems unnecessary to many people, and it would be better to disarm it.

The Minister of War was somewhat excited. As long as the army was expanded, it would naturally be a good thing for him. He immediately agreed and promised to complete the expansion of the army and preparation for war properly.

What Luo Changqing announced today is the reform plan for the Tang Dynasty within the next ten years. It cannot be achieved simply by issuing a few decrees, and there will be many problems encountered.

But his goal is also very clear, which is to use the power of a new round of new technologies to enable the royal family to gain powerful strength and then face the impending crisis.

If there was no crisis, he would also have to lay a solid foundation for the subsequent transformation of vassal states into provinces. The productivity of the steam age still constrained the further development of the Tang Dynasty.

The reason why there are so many vassal states in West Asia and Europe today is that the Tang Dynasty can actually only do this much and cannot rule by using temporary officials.

In other words, the current way of ruling makes everyone feel comfortable. The Tang Dynasty is the most powerful country in the world, crushing them in all aspects, and the army can reach their land.

So they became vassal states of the empire, cooperating with the empire's actions in many ways, just as most dynasties in history had done, except that the Tang Dynasty now ruled a little further away.

But if the Tang Dynasty really wants to abolish their kings and princes and replace them with rule by temporary officials, that won’t work.

According to Luo Changqing's plan, if the next new technology can make the speed of trains faster and increase the strength of the imperial army significantly again, then the Tang Dynasty will be able to control more remote areas at a lower cost, and perhaps all vassal states will be able to be turned into provinces later.

Although Luo Changqing also came from the Luo family, he was not from a technical or theoretical background. If he had knowledge in this area, he would know that although the development of technology was lagging behind, in the theoretical community, it had already made tremendous changes.

However, although Luo Changqing could not see some distant things, at least he had predicted the major changes that would take place in the future. There was no problem in accumulating royal strength at this time.

The discussion in the Divine Capital lasted for a long time. The various ministers needed to understand what was needed from Luo Changqing. The more they listened, the more they felt that this was a very big matter.

Wait until everyone has left.

Luo Changqing went to the palace to report the whole matter to the emperor. After he left the palace, he looked at the high palace walls, recalled the scenes inside the palace, those palace maids and eunuchs, and suddenly he felt a smell of decay emanating from it.

Can he really accomplish the great cause he wants to accomplish by relying on those traditional imperial bureaucrats?

He questioned these questions in his mind.

……

At various docks in the south of the Yangtze River, there were many people leaving in a hurry. I don’t know how many people left here holding boat tickets.

It's not just businessmen, in fact businessmen are a minority. There are also many intellectuals who are worried about being implicated. They are not mainstream intellectuals. In the current atmosphere in Central Plains, they have decided to leave here.

Most of them went to the Annan Province, which was a place of refuge and had always been in serious conflict with the Central Plains.

In addition to Annan, many people also passed through Annan and then turned to Europe, which was the farthest away from the Central Plains. Although there were many monarchies there, people from the Central Plains had a relatively high political status there.

There were also many kingdoms and principalities established by the Han people. Because there were so many countries, it was a bit like the scene during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, so the political atmosphere there was also more relaxed.

There are many Han people everywhere in the world. Among the 100 million people, it is estimated that Han people and people with Han blood account for 800 million, and they are widely distributed in various kingdoms and provinces.

For an individual, this may just be an act of escape, but once it rises to the macro level, it is completely different.

A large amount of funds and scholars with new ideas that were very different from those of the Tang Dynasty left the Tang Dynasty and moved to the frontier provinces and princely states where the empire's control was relatively weak.

This is a shift in power among the emerging classes.

These people are completely different from the old aristocrats. For example, when Luo Changqing said that he wanted to confer titles on those researchers and accomplished craftsmen, the first reaction of the six ministers and others was disbelief.

Even if he was suppressed by Luo Changqing forcefully, he would definitely feel unwilling in his heart.

But if it is these emerging classes, they will take it for granted and think it is very reasonable. This is the difference in thinking.

Never underestimate the role of thought.

If a person is full of servility, he will kneel no matter what the reality is, and even be proud of it.

But if a person does not have this kind of thinking in his heart, he may succumb to power and have to kneel down, but as long as the opportunity arises, he will stand up and accomplish a great cause.

When the Tang Dynasty conquered the Indian countries, it could be said that it was unstoppable and the people of that place had no resilience at all.

However, after four hundred years of rule by the Tang Empire, India has undergone a qualitative change and can be said to be completely different in terms of national character.

Not to mention those who migrated from the native land, even the native people were completely changed after accepting the ideas from the Tang Dynasty.

Now, there is a group of people who accept new ideas and believe that human rights should be improved. They advocate a series of obviously unfair policies, such as blatant discriminatory policies in society.

Among them, the concept of slavery is the most obvious. These people not only promote this in the Central Plains, but also in other regions. Serfs, slaves, etc. do not conform to their theory.

And now, Zhongyuan relies on its powerful force to expel all these people.

Compared with the rulers in the Central Plains, these people are of course weak, but after they flow out and go to other places, they are not weak at all, and can even be said to be very strong.

After losing power in the Central Plains, these people would naturally turn their attention to other regions where imperial power was not as strong and carry out activities in these regions.

There are also many of their companions here. They have been active in the empire for a long time and will be very welcome.

In many regions and countries, many people are already looking forward to their arrival and want to hear their ideas.

----

After the emerging classes were expelled from the Tang Empire, these scholars with new ideas and new knowledge realized that in the short term, due to the existence of powerful conservatives in the central empire, there would be no obvious breakthroughs. Except for a few who still remained active in the empire, most of them turned their attention to other countries.

The impact of this on the world situation is not small. In the following chapters, we will introduce in detail the changes that this move of the Tang Dynasty brought to the world, and combine it with the history of world science and technology to narrate this complex and magnificent history. ——"Global History"

(End of this chapter)