Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Hearing these words, Xia Yuanji's eyes showed strong interest.

In his impression, Jiang Xinghuo didn't seem to say anything completely meaningless.

Therefore, even though Jiang Xinghuo himself shook his head and laughed just now, Xia Yuanji still believes that the 'three distributions' mechanism Jiang Xinghuo mentioned should still appear in subsequent content and play a key role.

Xia Yuanji asked without revealing his thoughts.

"Game, does it mean talking with hands?"

Jiang Xinghuo was startled for a moment, and then he realized that talking about hands meant playing chess.

"Yes, the so-called game refers to two or more parties assuming [absolute rationality], playing against each other by choosing strategies under certain rules, just like playing chess. The ultimate goal of the game is to let one side gain Maximum benefit.”

Xia Yuanji asked in confusion: "Then why is it said that the essence of taxation is actually a game?"

"Game, you can understand it as playing chess, which includes five aspects." Jiang Xinghuo elaborated, "First, the participants of the game, that is, the chess players who make independent decisions and bear the consequences independently during the game; second, the game Information, that is, information that players have that is helpful in choosing strategies, such as Go positions, games, scores, etc.; third, the set of all behaviors or strategies that players can choose, which is the player's chess path. ; Fourth, the order of the game, that is, the order in which the game participants make strategic choices, that is, the order of moves; fifth, the benefits of the game parties, that is, the gains and losses of each game party after making decisions, that is The gain and loss of this move and the probability of success or failure.”

"Do you think the matter of 'taxation' complies with the rules of the game?"

Just when Xia Yuanji was thinking.

Zhu Gaoxu interjected and asked: "Mr. Jiang believes that one of the parties in the tax game is naturally the court, but what about the other party?"

"More than one party." Jiang Xinghuo looked at him and said.

"There's more than one side playing chess?"

"Yes." Jiang Xinghuo said, "The imperial court requires one person to play chess on two chessboards at the same time."

"A chessboard called the Central Game."

"Another chessboard called the National Game."

This sentence seemed to wake up Xia Yuanji who was thinking.

Xia Yuanji, who was squatting on the ground, raised his head and said: "I thought about it carefully. If we understand it this way, from the analysis of taxation in Chinese history, these two chessboards do exist; and taxation does comply with the rules of the game."

——————

"What's the meaning?"

At this time, Zhu Di didn't understand. He turned around and asked, "How does taxation have anything to do with chess?"

After Jian Yi and Ru Yu just exchanged glances, Jian Yi replied: "If we look at the five contents of the game (playing chess), the first one is the person who plays chess, the court as the chess player, and the central and local players at the same time. The two games of chess, the country and the people are indeed very good descriptions; second, the information of the game is actually the land and population information mastered by the court, which is the Ming Dynasty's "two volumes"; third, the chess players The chess game, that is, the changes in the tax system of the past dynasties, are mostly similar here; the fourth is the order of moves, which is the intensity of tax collection; the fifth is the benefits of the game, that is, the benefits of tax collection and cost."

After saying this, Zhu Di understood.

"Master Dao Yan, then this taxation has really become a game between the court and the people, and the court and the localities? I have never heard of this view."

However, Dao Yan just said indifferently: "I have already vaguely guessed what Jiang Sheng is going to say."

Fortunately, Zhu Di has adapted to the old monk's recent abnormal thinking.

But Dao Yan's "Jiang Sheng" made the two ministers suspicious.

I originally thought that it was a bit outrageous for Xia Yuanji to call someone in prison his teacher.

I didn't expect it to be even more outrageous here.

saint?

Why?

But the other party was Dao Yan after all, so even though the two of them were full of doubts, they couldn't say much.

Rujun, Minister of the Ministry of War, just asked out of curiosity: "What did Master Daoyan guess?"

Dao Yan looked at him and said with a smile: "Of course there is a solution to the game. Guess what the solution to the game of taxation is, Ru Shangshu? What impact will it have on the Ming Dynasty?"

Ru Yun was led in such a confused state that she could not follow the old monk's train of thought, skipping the intermediate steps.

I immediately deduced it in my mind, but I got dizzy.

——————

Jiang Xinghuo used his fingers to draw a simple chessboard on the damp sandy ground.

Tian Tian Tian

Tian Tian Tian

Tian Tian Tian

Jiang Xinghuo said bluntly: "At present, the game of taxation is a stock game. What is a stock game? It is the boundary of the chessboard. It is so big. The players on both sides compete for the territory on this chessboard."

For traditional feudal dynasties, this is indeed the case.

Because of tax, what is collected is agricultural tax.

The territory is this chessboard, with deserts in the north, jungles in the south, high mountains in the west, and the sea in the east.

The field under the sky is the circle on the chessboard, and it has a certain number.

Therefore, there is an upper limit on the agricultural tax output of the fields.

Xia Yuanji looked at the chessboard, recalled what he had said at the beginning, and came to his senses. He asked with some certainty: "What Mr. Jiang means is that the taxation chessboard can actually be made bigger?"

"Yes, but instead of mentioning it now, we have to talk about the actual situation first."

Jiang Xinghuo continued: "Since the chessboard is limited, we regard the opening of a dynasty as placing pieces on an empty chessboard, and its opponents are mainly localities and people. Taxation is actually a competition for agricultural output benefits. And this There is a kind of competition. As time goes by, whoever occupies a larger territory (tax base) and has a longer spirit (continuous tax collection time) will be able to live a little longer."

"What will happen if the chessboard is full?" Zhu Gaoxu asked tentatively.

"When a dynasty is destroyed, overthrow the chessboard and start the game again."

As soon as these words came out, the two ministers in the secret room couldn't help but look at the emperor in horror.

This is a treasonous statement!

But what surprised them even more was that not only did Daoyan's triangle eyes not open, Zhu Di was even more indifferent, as if he didn't hear anything.

The emperor's behavior shocked them even more than Jiang Xinghuo's words.

What the hell is going on?

If they had heard Jiang Xinghuo’s talk about the Three Views, they would definitely talk about it now.

My outlook on life and values ​​have been completely overturned!

As a supreme being, the emperor didn't react at all when he heard about the demise of some dynasty?

Looking at Zhu Di like this, it's not like he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

So, there is only one conclusion.

Jian Yi and Ru Rui saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

——The emperor is used to it!

In other words, the emperor had become numb and accustomed to listening to such treacherous lectures, so he would not react at all.

The fact that he dared to say these words in front of the Emperor Zhu Di, who had a bit of a bad temper, before he was dragged out and beheaded, is enough to illustrate Jiang Xinghuo's ability.

The last person who dared to say that had his genealogy ripped into cover.

With this surprise, Jian Yi and Ru Ru continued to listen.

under the tree.

The three squatting men continued to talk.

"Since it is a game of stocks, the court and the localities, the court and the people, are actually two chessboards, stacked together to form one."

"In other words, on this big chessboard of the stock game, there are not two chess players, but three chess players playing against each other."

Jiang Xinghuo drew another shape.

△

"A three-party game requires more considerations than a two-party game."

"And the biggest variable is."

"——Winner takes all!"

Jiang Xinghuo paused and asked again: "Can you understand what the winner takes all of the stock game is?"

"I can understand the literal meaning, but I can't understand it in this context."

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a moment, gave up thinking, and asked.

"Mr. Jiang, I still have some difficulty understanding the relationship between tax collection and games between the court, localities, and people."

Just as Zhu Gaoxu expected.

Mr. Jiang always has a way.

It seems that Mr. Jiang is naturally good at simplifying complex things and popularizing profound things.

"It doesn't matter."

Jiang Xinghuo said, "Let me give you an example. If you think about it for a moment, you will understand what the winner takes all in the stock game."

The words fell.

Students will wait and see.

"A long, long time ago, five Japanese pirates with the same force successfully robbed the coast of Jeolla Province in North Korea and obtained a box of Pasibawen silver coins left over from the Yuan Dynasty's expedition to the east province."

"When they returned to Tsushima to divide the loot, they found that there were exactly 100 Pasiba silver coins in this box. They decided to go their separate ways and return to Japan after dividing the loot."

"Since these five Japanese pirates are all [absolutely rational] people who only value their own interests and are extremely shrewd, they do not intend to accept the plan of dividing the money equally between the five of them and each receiving 20 Pasiba silver coins."

"The five Japanese pirates decided to divide the 100 Pasiba silver coins by formulating rules and taking turns to propose plans."

"These five [absolutely rational] Japanese pirates all believe that by playing games within the rules, they will gain more benefits than others."

"So, here's the rules they set."

"The five Japanese pirates decided to draw lots fairly to rank A, B, C, D, and E, a total of five numbers from front to back."

"Then in that order, a distribution plan will be proposed to divide the 100 Pasi Bawen silver coins."

“Every Japanese pirate plan needs to be voted on by a show of hands. It can only be passed if it gets half or more (≥50%) of the hands raised.”

"In other words, out of 5 people, 3 people need to agree; out of 4 people, 2 people need to agree; out of 3 people, 2 people need to agree; out of 2 people, 1 person needs to agree."

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said: "Wait a minute."

"What's wrong?"

"Shouldn't there always be five pirates?"

Jiang Xinghuo's smile was a little weird, he smiled and shook his head.

"No, these five [absolutely rational] Japanese pirates made an agreement to prevent anyone from cheating. Each Japanese pirate who proposes a plan to divide the silver coins in order needs to throw all the weapons on him not far away under the supervision of everyone. Can you start proposing.”

"If the plan proposed by a certain Japanese pirate to divide the silver coins is not accepted by other Japanese pirates, then the unarmed Japanese pirate will be killed by his companions. As for the last Japanese pirate numbered 'E', he was unlucky to be disarmed in advance. , which is also part of the rules.”

Zhu Gaoxu thought about it, but still didn't understand the meaning of these strange rules.

But a few smarter people have already figured it out.

"Continue?"

"continue."

"In other words, if A proposes a plan, if everyone disagrees, A will be killed, and so on."

The Ba Si Ba Wen silver coin in Jiang Xinghuo's hand was thrown into the air, drew an arc, and fell back into his hand.

Jiang Xinghuo asked: "If at this time, you play the role of the Japanese pirate with the serial number 'A' and need to be the first to propose a plan on how to divide these 100 Pasibawen silver coins, how many silver coins should you allocate to yourself? So that you can survive?"

Before the two of them could start thinking, Jiang Xinghuo covered the silver coin with his other hand and said coldly.

"This example of 'Japanese pirates dividing money' is a good explanation of what is called 'winner takes all' in the stock game. If you can guess the answer, then you will understand why taxation can and must have only one maximum The winner, if this winner cannot maintain his position, then he will die without a burial place."

——————

In the secret room.

The two ministers fell into thinking.

The emperor didn't want to think about it because he knew that there was a high probability that he wouldn't be able to figure it out.

Dao Yan didn't want to think about it, because he had already figured it out when Jiang Xinghuo spoke.

Jian Yi thought for a moment and then said: "Should I give myself a smaller share? If I give myself less, I will leave more Ba Si Ba Wen silver coins to other Japanese pirates, so they won't be killed, right?"

Obviously, as the Minister of Personnel in charge of personnel affairs, Jian Yi is still using the "moderate" approach to understand this proposition.

Zhongbo Rujun, Minister of War, shook his head.

Well, just like his title, what stands out about Ru Rui is his loyalty.

This loyalty is not only loyalty to Zhu Di, but also loyalty to Zhu Yuanzhang, the great emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Ru Yu, a senior and senior minister, had acted as Minister of War in the 23rd year of Hongwu. He had served as Minister of Personnel, Chief Envoy of Henan, and Minister of War. He had also participated in negotiations between the Northern and Southern armies.

Of course, for such an important minister who could survive the Hongwu Dynasty, loyalty alone was obviously not enough. Ru Yu also had enough sense.

Ru Jin analyzed: "In this example of 'Japanese pirates splitting their silver', it has been assumed that these five Japanese pirates are all [absolutely rational] and only consider their own interests. So this kind of person, if possible, would be able to divide a silver coin." I won’t leave it for the other party.”

"So, I feel that no matter what plan A proposes, it will be rejected by the Japanese pirates behind."

"The reason is also very simple. As long as you veto the removal of armor, there will be one less Japanese pirate to share the silver coins with."

Jian Yi asked back: "Does every Japanese pirate who is behind have to veto the Japanese pirates who are ahead? Doesn't that mean that the last Japanese pirate is... No, why is the last Japanese pirate specially disarmed? "

Jian Yi and Ru Ru were lost in thought.

Crow's feet have appeared on the edges of Daoyan's triangular eyes.

The two ministers are still not rational enough.

——————

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his beard and proposed a distribution plan.

"I'll leave 19 silver coins for myself, is that okay?"

Jiang Xinghuo asked incredulously: "Tell me your reasons?"

"Mr. Jiang, think about it." Zhu Gaoxu said after thinking, "Originally, a Japanese pirate should be divided into 20 Ba Si Ba Wen silver coins. In this way, I will suffer a loss. I will be short of 1 Ba Si Ba Wen silver coin, just like that 'two peaches kill three people' ' Like this, I left this Pasibawen silver coin to the four Japanese pirates behind to fight for it. In this way, I got the silver coin again. Although it was a little less, my life was saved!"

"It can't be saved."

Xia Yuanji suddenly said.

"Why?"

It's hard for Zhu Gaoxu to understand. In his opinion, he has already suffered a loss, okay? Aren't you still not satisfied?

"First of all, no one stipulates that the five Japanese pirates should share 100 Pasibawen silver coins equally; secondly, even if we follow the method of basically equal division, if A's plan is rejected and A is killed, wouldn't everyone get more?"

Zhu Gaoxu frowned, his CPU was already on the verge of smoking.

Xia Yuanji is obviously smarter than these people, and he may have thought of the saying 'winner takes all'.

Xia Yuanji said: "Perhaps, I should be more greedy and allocate 99 Pasiba silver coins to myself, leaving 1 Pasibawen silver coin for the remaining four Japanese pirates to fight for."

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head.

"You're too greedy."

Jiang Xinghuo slapped the hands he had just covered.

As if by magic, the Pasi Bawen silver coin in his hand changed from one to two.

"The correct answer is to keep 2 Phasi Bawen silver coins and swallow 98 Pasi Bawen silver coins for yourself."

"As for the Japanese pirate 'A' who first proposed the plan, in this stock game played by five parties with [absolute rationality] and [equal force], only in this way can you survive and get the most benefits."

As soon as he said this, Zhu Gaoxu felt that his head had turned into a ball of paste.

Zhu Gaoxu asked in confusion: "Why? This answer is unreasonable. I left 19 silver coins for myself, and the remaining Japanese pirates wanted to kill me; I left 98 silver coins for myself, but everyone agreed, and I returned home with a full load."

"This is impossible!"

Jiang Xinghuo turned around and asked, "Mr. Qiu, do you understand?"

Xia Yuanji was thoughtful and only said: "I feel like I almost understand it, but I'm still not close enough to understand it."

"You might as well talk about it."

"Why do you keep 2 Pasiba silver coins instead of 1?"

Jiang Xinghuo wrote lightly: "Because the previous rules have stipulated that every Japanese pirate plan needs to be voted on by a show of hands. Only if it gets half or more (≥50%) of the hands, can it be passed."

Xia Yuanji silently went over the rules in his mind and deduced them.

Out of 5 people, 3 people need to agree; out of 4 people, 2 people need to agree; out of 3 people, 2 people need to agree; out of 2 people, 1 person needs to agree.

"I see!"

Xia Yuanji suddenly realized and said: "Under the premise of the five Japanese pirates being [absolutely rational], it is true that A needs to distribute 2 Pasibawen silver coins to the other Japanese pirates in order to survive."

Xia Yuanji's expression became a little excited, and he seemed to think of something.

"So, the same is true for taxes?"

"Yes." Jiang Xinghuo nodded.

"What on earth are you talking about? Can you tell me why A can keep 98 Pasiba silver coins for himself?" Zhu Gaoxu was extremely anxious.

"I know you are in a hurry, but don't worry yet."

Jiang Xinghuo reassured: "Now let me tell you why the Japanese pirate Jia can leave himself the vast majority of the benefits of up to 98 Ba Si Ba Wen silver coins. Why is it called - winner takes all!"