Emperor Zhu stopped and knocked on the table's finger and said seriously: "The Ming Dynasty cannot lose its heart, and there will never be the idea of ​​putting swords and guns into the warehouse, and the horses are put in the Nanshan Mountain."

The Ming Dynasty is not without any problems at all, but all problems are hidden under the rapid development of the Ming Dynasty.

Let’s take land resources as an example.

Are the land resources in the Ming Dynasty really not tight?

On the surface, the Ming Dynasty is now in a state of vast land and sparse population. Whether it is the so-called eighteen provinces of the Han area or the later Jiaozhi, Bangzi, Old Port, and even the enfeoffment of Alaska and Louisiana in the Qin and Jin Dynasties, a large area of ​​land is idle and uncultivated, which is indeed unrelated to the tight land resources.

But once we look at it from another perspective, it is completely different - what the Ming Dynasty needs now is not just farming land, but also a large amount of land in industry, and the demand for mineral resources is a bottomless pit.

More importantly, the Ming Dynasty is still in an explosive period of population growth. In just over a decade, the number of Dingkou has soared from more than 300 million in the 48th year of Qianlong to more than 500 million now. What if it takes more than ten years or even decades?

Land resources are just like Han Xin’s orders to soldiers. The more they are, the better. No emperor would think that his own land is more.

In addition to land resources, there are also a lot of other problems in the Ming Dynasty.

As some degenerate literati, Mr. Lu Shuren, said: The forest is big, and there are all kinds of birds.

The more people there are, the more different ideas you have. What do you know is a How dare you thing to appear one day.

Just as someone had asked to reflect before, thinking that the Ming Dynasty's current territory was already large enough and should stop developing outward, this kind of bullshit idea was used to be, and now, and it is even more unlikely to be less in the future.

Now the Ming Dynasty can still rely on the dividends brought by rapid development to suppress those messy problems, but who can guarantee that the Ming Dynasty can maintain rapid development all the time?

Not to mention anything else, just the broken things that open the ball in every few days on the small ball will definitely affect the development of the Ming Dynasty.

Once the development speed of the Ming Dynasty slows down...

Zhou Xun, a non-degenerate scholar, once said: The universe is not a dark forest, but a small break of the ball is between countries.

Sand Goose, England, the silly thief... Even Japan or France, the countries on the small ball, the distance between them and the Ming Dynasty is not as far away as the distance between the small ball and the three-body man!

Once the Ming Dynasty stagnates, other small countries that have been sucked countless blood by the Ming Dynasty will have the opportunity to catch up. Will those countries let the Ming Dynasty go?

Perhaps some people would say that the reason why those countries hated the Ming Dynasty was because the Ming Dynasty lie on their country to suck blood, causing serious harm to other countries. If the Ming Dynasty treated those countries well, there would not be any situation that Emperor Zhu was worried about.

In fact, this argument is completely a turtle. People who can say such words are either really stupid or simply bad. When the Tang Dynasty did not treat Japan well, the Ming Dynasty did not treat Japan well. Even if they did not treat Japan well, there was no oppression at the beginning, right?

You should know that the attitude of Zhongyuan Tangkou to treat barbarians such as Japan was to refuse those who came, not chase those who went, and willing to come and call tribute. Those who studied were allowed to come, not willing to call tribute, and those who studied were allowed to go. They were far from the word oppression.

However, Japan initially bared with the Tang Dynasty until Baijiangkou was beaten honestly, and later bared with the Ming Dynasty. It was not until someone who was unwilling to be named that his wife was afraid of being beaten up with them.

In fact, almost all countries fear power but do not have virtue. Even the people in the Central Plains Hall itself also fear power but do not have virtue.

It is precisely because of this that Emperor Zhu planned to completely take over New South Wales now, and he planned to let the merchants led by Wang Zixuan charge forward and wait until they grab a piece of territory before letting the Ming army take action.

Because Wang Zixuan and the others took action first, they would be able to get the honor of expanding the territory and eating a large piece of fat meat. To put it bluntly, Emperor Zhu planned to make Wang Zixuan and the others a typical example and inspire other businessmen to follow suit, Wang Zixuan and the others would also think about the problem from the standpoint of expanding the territory and expanding the territory without having any ideas similar to Ma Fangnanshan.

After roughly talking about the truth here to Zhu Jianyou, Emperor Zhu asked inexplicably: "Let's ask you, do you think our Ming Dynasty and even our dynasties rely on the rule of law? Or the rule of man?"

Zhu Jianyou was slightly stunned and hesitated and replied: "Since my father's founding, he has been promoting the rule of law at all times. Of course, our Ming Dynasty should be the rule of law. But even the perfect law still depends on people to implement it. Therefore, our Ming Dynasty is actually similar to all dynasties, and it depends on people to rule it?"

However, after answering Emperor Zhu’s question, Zhu Jianwen felt a little awkward again.

Because Emperor Zhu’s question is too tricky, no matter how you answer it, you cannot bypass the relationship between man and law. The law must be enforced by man, and man must also use the law as the criterion. Neither of the two can be separated from each other, so how can it be simply the rule of law or rule of man?

However, what Zhu Jianyou did not expect was that Emperor Zhu just smiled and shook his head, and then asked inexplicably: "Then let's ask you again, what is the Ministry of Rites used for in the past dynasties? Why did our Ming Dynasty also set up the Ministry of Rites?"

After Emperor Zhu asked this, Zhu Jianwen became even more confused.

Since the establishment of the Ministry of Rites in the Northern Wei Dynasty and then became one of the six ministries, the Ministry of Rites has always been in charge of the five rituals and the law of tribute and tribute in schools. It has been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites, which are divided into rituals, music, schools, religion, ethnic groups and diplomatic policies. It has not been changed since then.

So the question is: What does the affairs of the Ministry of Rites have to do with whether the Ming Dynasty relies on man or law?

Just when Zhu Jianwen was confused, Emperor Zhu smiled and said, "In all dynasties, and even our Ming Dynasty, we are not simply ruled by man or ruled by law, but ruled by rituals."

Zhu Jianyou was a little dissatisfied and said, "In the past, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty once said: The Han family has its own system, and it is originally mixed with overlords and laws. How can we just use the Zhou government by virtue and education!"

When Emperor Zhu Jianying heard what Zhu Jianying said, Emperor Zhu unexpectedly glanced at Zhu Jianying, and then laughed: "Those who chaotic the country of the man?"

"Those who mess with my family are the prince!" This is what Emperor Xuan of Han told the prince to teach the prince the evil of being "soft and kind to Confucianism". It means: Our Liu family has its own system of governing the country, and the domineering and the kingly way are implemented. Do you want to rely solely on morality to educate the world? You can't tell, you are a little turtle boy who is ugly and playful, but you are actually trying to restore the Zhou Dynasty's rituals to govern the country?

When Zhu Jianwenyou said this now, it naturally implies that Emperor Zhu is turning a backward in history.

Zhu Jianwen also realized that he had made a mistake and hurriedly bowed and said, "Don't calm down, it's the son who made a mistake."

However, Emperor Zhu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "There is nothing to stop being angry. You dare to say in person that we are not. This is a good thing. We are not so scrupulous."

But after laughing, Emperor Zhu asked seriously: "Let's ask you again, whether it is domineering or kingly way, will you eventually be classified as the issue of rule of man or rule of law?"

As Emperor Zhu said, whether it is domineering or kingly way, it will eventually return to the system, and naturally there will be problems such as rule of man or rule of law.

Emperor Zhu continued to ask: "If it is ruled by man, then the rise and fall of the world should be all the same, that is, all the merits and demerits should be belonged to the emperor. However, in the history of our Zhongyuan Hall, there are many examples of government orders not leaving the imperial city. How should we say this?"

"They said that Jie and Zhou were tyrannical, but the Shang people would rather die than eat Zhou grain. What should I say? They said that Wen of the Han Dynasty, the rule of Jing, the rule of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, the prosperous era of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, and the rule of Renxuan. However, Wen, no one starved to death during Jing? No one starved to death during Zhenguan? No one starved to death during Yongle, no one rebelled during Renxuan?"

Zhu Jianwen was silent.

As the eldest son of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianwen knew clearly that no matter how beautiful the reign of Wen and Jing, the reign of Zhenguan, and the prosperous era of Yongle, the reign of Renxuan were described in history books, it could not change the low productivity situation at that time.

In other words, if most people can maintain their hunger and not starve to death, they can be considered as governing the world. The prosperous era is still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the Confucian world harmony. Everyone can eat well, eat well, and wear warm clothes, which is even worse than the heaven and earth.

Emperor Zhu continued: "If it is the rule of law, then governing the country should rely on the laws of all dynasties, such as the Tang Dynasty's "Tang Law Commentary" or the Ming Dynasty's "Da Ming Law" or the "Da Ming Emperor Gao," but!"

Emperor Zhu changed his tone: "Whether it is the recommendation system, the nine-rank Zhongzheng system, or the imperial examination, when selecting officials and men, there is no subject that specializes in evaluating the laws of the dynasty. Those officials and men may not be proficient in the laws of the dynasty before taking office. Those who know about it are rare. How can this be considered the rule of law?"

"What's even more strange is that those officials and men who are not proficient in the law, selected by the Advice, the Nine-Chief System, or the Imperial Examination, can just maintain the stability of the world and even gain the conviction of the people. There are also many people who are called the Master of the Blue Sky by the people."

Emperor Zhu asked with a smile: "Can you tell us why?"

When Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Zhu Jianyou was stunned and stood there, and his forehead was constantly sweating.

Zhu Jianweng looked at Emperor Zhu foolishly and asked, "Is this what my father said about rituals?"

Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded and said, "Yes, this is the rule of etiquette. The rule of the world by Zhongyuan Hall has never been based on wise monarchs, sages, loyal ministers, wise ministers, or law, but etiquette, a set of rules that arise around etiquette."

[To be honest, I have been using Wild Fruit to read and follow up updates recently, changing the source and switching, and pronunciation aloud. It can be used on both Android and Apple.]

"Because the emperor was worried that someone would seize the throne, he had to set rules to rebel and punish the nine clans. Officials and gentry were worried that their interests would be damaged, so they had to limit the imperial power. The people were worried that their interests would be damaged, so they hoped that there would be a law that could protect themselves."

"So, from the emperor to all people in the world, we need a set of rules to ensure our own interests, and at the same time we restrict groups that can affect our own interests, even everyone, including ourselves."

"And this set of rules is a gift!"

"After the summary of Confucius and Mencius and the promotion of Confucianism and Legalism, rituals have become the bottom line in the hearts of everyone in the Central Plains Hall, and it is this bottom line that has assumed the role of almost the law."

"It is precisely because this bottom line has been deeply rooted in people's hearts that many of the officials and men are not good at the law, but they can use the law to represent the herders of heaven. It is precisely because this bottom line has been deeply rooted in people's hearts that the people usually have their own principles of conduct, and it is easy to touch the law."

"So, Zhongyuan Hallkou has been governing the country according to etiquette rather than man or law since ancient times!"

Speaking of this, Emperor Zhu asked with a smile: "So, now you understand why the Ministry of Rites needs to be set up, why does the Ministry of Rites collectively call the six ministries with households, officials, criminals, workers, and soldiers?"

In fact, the Ministry of Rites is not called the six ministries together with households, officials, punishments, workers, and soldiers, but is faintly above the other five ministries, and can even be called the head of the six ministries - because the Ministry of Rites controls the etiquette and law!

Zhu Jianyou nodded with a slight understanding, then asked with a confused look: "Why did my father always promote the rule of law, and he wanted to rely on the rule of law to replace the ritual? "

Emperor Zhu nodded slightly and pondered: "Whether it is ritual governance, rule of law, or rule of man, the ultimate essence is to maintain the stability and balance of rules, but times change and things change. Any set of rules has its own limitations and cannot be applied to all eras. Regulation of rituals, rule of law, or rule of man is naturally the same."

"When the old rules cannot match the new rules, there will be a severe conflict between the two, and naturally, the ritual and music collapsed as Confucius said."

"For example, if our Ming Dynasty is still the same as the Ming Dynasty before, even if it is the same as the Qing Dynasty, then we don't need to promote the rule of law. We just need to use the system before the Ming Dynasty and even the Qing Dynasty's system."

"But the Ming Dynasty is different from previous dynasties. Both the territory and the number of Dingkou are far greater than that of previous dynasties, and all kinds of open and behind the scenes are far greater than that of previous dynasties."

"If you don't talk about anything else, Emperor Jing will definitely not be as troubled as the expenses of overseas military bases as we do, and Emperor Yongle will not be as troubled as the cattle and sheep on the grassland as we do, and the old dogs will not be as troubled as the children in the world as we do."

"So, the previous systems are no longer applicable to our Ming Dynasty. Where they should be changed, they must be changed to make them adapt to our Ming Dynasty."
Chapter completed!