New Shun 1730

Although this is not pleasant to hear, as the saying goes, good advice is good for action, and good medicine is good for illness.

Liu Yu seems to be saying, Emperor, you have good ideas. But there are unexpected events, do you know when you will die?

What if you die before you finish your work, do you think the prince can understand what you want to do?

It is very easy for you to do that kind of thing; who can guarantee whether it is difficult or easy for the prince to do it, what he can do, and whether he can understand the essence of ruling?

The prince is so old, whoever you leave as a minister to assist in the government will have a hard time. At that time, do you know what he can do?

If he does not do it right, or does it like a fool, what can you do, can you still crawl out of the coffin and tell him what to do?

Even if you tell him, his prestige, ability, and control over the wealth of the inner court are the same as yours? Even if you give him a trick, can he understand it?

Dashun should be the one who understands birth, aging, sickness and death the most, right? After all, your family is an adopted emperor. Although your surname is Li, this Shun has no blood relationship with the Shun in Xiangyang and Xi'an. Even the odd things with a small probability like Jiugong Mountain can happen, do you think you will definitely live to the day when all the things about the Yellow River are solved?

This statement, coupled with the previous Lisbon earthquake, seems more convincing. This side just wants to take back Macau and solve the problem of Christians in Southeast Asia, and has verbally bombarded the Jesuits and the Roman Catholic Church, but an earthquake happened over there.

This incident has added a bit of panic about the unpredictable destiny.

The emperor didn't care that these words were a bit unpleasant, nor did he care much about Liu Yu's saying that he was "loyal to the emperor, and the heaven and earth can witness it."

These words are not nutritious, and there is no way to dig into the heart to see if they are true or not.

The emperor just thinks that this statement does make some sense.

Then he said: "I have always thought a lot about your intention."

"In the past, Emperor Wu drove out the Xiongnu and stationed in Luntai, and gained the benefits of salt and iron, and implemented the method of equalization and equal distribution."

"In the future, it can be abandoned, used, and changed."

"The ancients said: relaxation and tension are the way of civil and military affairs. Relaxation is easy, but relaxation is difficult."

"For example, during the Yongle period of the previous dynasty, we went to the West and conquered the northern desert."

"In the future, we can stop going to the West and abandon the land in the northern desert, but we must have it first and then abandon it."

"I understand what you mean, that is, if you make a mistake now, you can change it in the future; but I am afraid that if you want to do something in the future, But it can't be done. "

"It's easy to abandon land, but it's hard to take it. Similarly, it's easy to abolish cruel politics, but it's hard to establish tyrannical politics."

"I've also thought about the Yellow River. As the ancients said, it's better to prepare for a rainy day. If the Yellow River problem can be solved, it will be beneficial to the country..."

"But Shandong and Songsu are different after all."

"Your words are different from Songsu, and I don't understand. Didn't you say that you want to raise money from merchants to build railways?"

Liu Yu said: "I carried out reforms in Songsu, dredged the canal, and built a canal from Funing to Nantong. Corresponding to the railway is Canals. I built those canals with taxes and government orders requiring people along the way to contribute money and labor. I didn't ask merchants to build them. "

"I just think that this is like making a steam engine. There are many ways to do it, and the principles are different. You have to try a few more times, make different prototypes, and then compare which one is more suitable. "

"Nowadays, the idea of ​​equalizing land and restoring the past is very popular. The price of grain in Shandong is not the situation where it is cheap in the early days and expensive in the disaster. The trend of annexation has swept the world. "

"I don't know what will happen in the future. But I know that If it is a last resort, there must be changes and reforms. Change is change; reform is reform. "

"Whether it is change or reform, it is change."

"How to change and what kind of appearance? We must try it first, and accumulate some experience, which can be used as history and a lesson for future generations."

"Songsu is one change, which may be used in Guandong and Nanyang; Shandong is another change, and the gains and losses may be used in Jingji and Zhongyuan in the future."

The emperor reacted all of a sudden. Since Liu Yu talked about the restoration of equal land, it is probably completely different from Songsu?

Although in essence, it is basically the same thing, because at this time, the world market and industrialization level, Dashun has no shortage of cheap labor and cannot accommodate so much.

As for increasing production, this is a different time. As of now, Dashun's per-acre output is basically the best in the world, and it is not impossible to keep it as it is.

In essence, what Liu Yu has to do is to increase the proportion of industry and commerce. It's just that it seems to be completely different from Song Su, but in fact, the core has not changed at all.

He just said some things in a more "traditional" way, avoiding the development of industry and commerce and the disintegration of the old economy.

However, the emperor felt that Liu Yu was completely different from Song Su when he mentioned the restoration of the past and equal distribution of land.

Liu Yu took a deep breath and said slowly: "If you want to manage the Yellow River, you must first solve the people's hearts. The people will never let the Yellow River pass through their territory."

"Therefore, I think that if you want to manage the Yellow River, you must first get the people's hearts outside the thirty miles of the surveyed river."

"Because most of the people within the thirty miles of the river will be relocated, and their hearts are impossible to win. Since it is impossible to win their hearts, there is no need to waste time, money, and energy to win their hearts."

"And the people outside the thirty miles of the river in the future... still have the power to fight."

"First, reduce rent and interest, make the tenancy longer, use work instead of relief, teach agriculture, provide loans for young crops, and help farmers and workers, so that they can benefit and gather the people's hearts."

"If the people's hearts are gathered, the Yellow River project can be accomplished. The people are not stupid. If they benefit and the pros and cons are explained clearly, they will understand."

"By then, even if the people in the river are dissatisfied, it is impossible for them to unite and start a war."

"This is the art of division."

"Make the people inside and outside the river unable to communicate and their hearts are not the same, then Move the people in the river channel and mobilize the people outside the channel, and then the river embankment can be completed. "

"In addition to the river embankment, you can also try to ease the annexation method. Whether it is good or bad, you will know after trying it."

"I used to be in pain from the sigh of reincarnation. The annexation has already harmed the world, and I am afraid that someone in the future will carry out reforms. Therefore, it is better to try it first, know its pros and cons, and summarize the experience, so as not to be like Wang Mang, who will hit his head and fear that the world will be in chaos. "

Hearing this, the emperor was convinced that this was indeed a completely different idea from Songsu.

In Songsu, Liu Yu's policy was not to reduce rent and interest, but to do the opposite.

Abolishing in-kind taxes, forcing monetary taxes, and exempting import tariffs - anyway, imported things are either grain or raw materials such as cotton - lowering grain prices, forcing tenants to quit rent and run away, to work or immigrate, and landlords had to try to transform their operations to be profitable.

Of course, the premise of this policy is the background of the great development of Kanto and Nanyang. Otherwise, there would not be enough space for so many retired laborers.

And because the development of Guandong and Nanyang was profitable, many tenants retired and either worked or went to plantations to grow soybeans, rice, etc.

And most of them were hired by capital, and the Dashun court did not pay much.

Naturally, this method could not be applied to Shandong. Because it is impossible to replicate the material basis of Songsu and the state of development in Northeast and Nanyang when it was first developed.

Only hearing about rent reduction, interest reduction, long-term tenancy and other means, the emperor thought it was certain that Liu Yu was not going to replicate the Songsu incident in Shandong.

But in fact, from the perspective of developing industry and commerce, it is actually the same thing.

It just changed the packaging and appearance.

Rent reduction, interest reduction, long-term tenancy, Liu Yu only said the first half.

In fact, there is the second half, he just didn't say it.

The second half is after the rent reduction, interest reduction, and long-term tenancy. On the one hand, the rule deepens; on the other hand, the capital in the hands of the landlords will be very painful.

With rent reduction, interest reduction, and long-term tenancy, the landlords' money is unlikely to buy land, and the land income is actually reduced, and lending is actually not cost-effective.

In this case, the railway is built, and the coal mines in Linzi and Bochuan are developed, and the landlords' capital can flow quickly to industry and commerce.

Taking the coal mine as an opportunity, flue-cured tobacco leaves, tussah silk reeling and weaving, peanut oil pressing, match factories, glass factories supporting coal mines, lime factories, and steam-driven flour mills all require capital investment.

On the one hand, the landlords may choose to sell the land in their hands - anyway, rent reduction, interest reduction, and long-term tenancy, they don't make much money at all - it's better to get the funds and invest in industry and commerce.

On the other hand, it is a kind of "redemption" type of equal land distribution, but the farmers themselves pay for it.

Farmers paid to buy land, and the money flowed into industry and commerce, mining, and modern industry. In fact, the original accumulation was achieved with the farmers' money.

This is the difference from Songsu. Songsu relied on foreign trade to accumulate and had strong capital, while Liu Yu's land policy in Songsu was actually looking for investment directions for the strong Songsu capital, which made them turn to Kanto and Nanyang.

This can be regarded as half local protectionism, but it is also a transformation that minimizes pain as much as possible. Otherwise, it would be ugly if Songsu capital was allowed to rush in.

Local advantageous industries such as coal mines, silk reeling, tussah silkworms, and peanuts were all taken away by Songsu capital, and they were quickly impacted and disintegrated... Let alone other things, the Yellow River embankment can't be repaired.

At that time, the rumor that "Songsu capital is conspiring to bring the Yellow River from Jiangsu to Shandong" will be unstoppable. After all, by then, local gentry will feel that life is difficult under the impact of foreign capital and foreign goods.

The hard life in the semi-colonial and semi-feudal state is difficult because local forces cannot complete the transformation. The profitable business is either comprador or external capital, so they can only think about the land and squeeze it as much as possible.

Regional issues are not taboos. The dispute between natives and Hakkas did not only occur in the south. In history, Shandong and Jiangsu often fought over the issue of land reclamation.

Therefore, some profitable industries must be left for local forces to allow them to complete the transformation and become local supporters of reform.

Otherwise, the railways are owned by Songsu Capital, the coal mines are owned by Songsu Capital, the silk reeling and tussah silkworms are owned by Songsu Capital, and the peanut oil pressing and sales are owned by Songsu Capital... If local forces can support the reform, it would be amazing.

Of course, Liu Yu still has to consider local advantages and the future national unified market. Therefore, it is impossible for Liu Yu to engage in the cotton industry. It is impossible to plant a cotton tree in Shandong. If he plants it, it will be troublesome when the Indian cotton comes in the future.

This is a kind of "pretend local protectionism", which is actually preparing for the future national unified market.

Songsu has no tussah silkworms, is not suitable for growing peanuts, is not suitable for growing flue-cured tobacco, and has no coal mines. It's just that because capital has legs, it still needs to control these legs appropriately.

In the early years, when the canal was not abandoned, many merchants and gentry in Shandong complained that the business circle in Linqing was full of Shanxi people making money, and the locals could not grab anything. This kind of dissatisfaction between regions has been going on for a long time.

However, the emperor did not understand Liu Yu's logic at all. He just heard about rent reduction, interest reduction, and long-term tenancy, and felt that it seemed completely different from what Songsu wanted to do.

However, he obviously did not understand that Songsu's capital and Shandong's capital are both called capital, and that is the same family, not your feudal imperial power.

The money used to redeem the land is no different from the money used to sell tea, porcelain, and silk. Once it is invested in industry and becomes a means of production, do you know whether this steam engine was exchanged for tea or peanuts?

The emperor thought it was different, but in fact it was just a core with a traditional anti-merger skin. As for things like land intensification, they will be played slowly after industrialization, and that is not something to consider now. Songsu did that for the development of Kanto and Nanyang, not for the land of Songsu itself.