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The New Year is approaching, and the most talked-about topic among the people of Nanjing is still the telegraph.
Since the development of the wired telegraph, the Ministry of Industry has been responsible for building five lines at the same time: Nanjing to Beijing, Nanjing to Xijing, Nanjing via Wuhan to Chengdu, Nanjing to Kunming, and Nanjing to Guangzhou. In order to speed up the process, even a number of local garrisons were mobilized.
In just three and a half months, all five telegraph lines were completed. This speed was so fast that it was breathtaking. The astonishing speed achieved this time was called "Da Qin Speed" by the emperor.
This "Daqin speed" not only refers to the speed of setting up telegraph lines, but also refers to the speed of transmitting Daqin information in the future.
This is a revolutionary change. In the past, it would take at least half a month to transmit a message from Xijing to Nanjing. Now, it only takes a cup of tea for news from Xijing to reach Nanjing.
Such a speed will inevitably lead to huge changes in many industries, especially the circulation speed of commodity economy, which will have an unpredictable impact.
For example, in the past, when Xijing was short of food, it had to send people to Nanjing to transfer food. The journey alone would take more than half a month or even a month. Now, with just one telegram, Nanjing can immediately transfer food to Xijing, saving at least a month.
I believe it is not difficult for anyone to imagine what this means.
On the top of the Shengshihua Building, Fang Yizhi was talking loudly: "When talking about the importance of the telegraph, the emperor said: time is money. Ladies and gentlemen, what the emperor said is really insightful. Please think about it, the speed of information circulation will greatly affect the speed of commodity economy circulation, and the accelerated circulation of commodity economy means that many times more wealth can be created in the same time.
According to the statistics, a person could earn 10,000 dragon coins in a year. Now the speed of commodity circulation has greatly accelerated, and he can realize a profit of 20,000 dragon coins in a year. Correspondingly, he will also pay twice as much commercial tax to the court. The annual commercial tax income of our Great Qin is about 50 million dragon coins. With the frequent acceleration of commodity circulation, it can quickly reach an annual income of 10 million dragon coins.
If a businessman has an extra 10,000 dragon coins in the same period of time, his production scale or consumption capacity will double accordingly, thereby creating more goods or greater market demand.
The country has an extra 50 million in commercial taxes every year. It can be invested in people's livelihood, which will play an immeasurable role in improving people's livelihood. In short, the emergence of the telegraph has brought about huge benefits that are difficult to estimate. Some time ago, some people still talked about the Ministry of Industry setting up so many telegraph lines at one time. I can only say that such people are short-sighted... "
"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale. The Great Qin Times! The imperial court has published the draft of the Great Qin Law and is soliciting opinions on revisions from knowledgeable people in the society. Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale..."
Fang Yizhi, who was still talking loudly, once again showed people what "Daqin speed" meant. Before others could fully react, he already had a freshly-published Daqin Times in his hand. For a moment, he was unshakable and read it eagerly.
The draft of the Great Qin Law was actually published in the Great Qin Times. The intention was to solicit opinions from knowledgeable people in the society. Even though the emperor's great creations were dazzling, this move still surprised people like Fang Yizhi.
Although all dynasties attached great importance to their own laws, who has ever seen a revision of the laws of the dynasty also soliciting opinions from the people? The emperor's willingness to let people know has always been praised by the people. The move of soliciting opinions from the people on the draft of the "Daqin Law" was even more regarded as "wise" by scholars.
The judicial reform has caused such a big stir at the local level that scholars from private think tanks such as Fang Yizhi and Zhu Shunshui have already sensed something unusual.
However, ever since the imperial court stripped local officials of their judicial power, there has been no further movement, and not even a hint of news has been heard from within the court.
After Fang Yizhi and others eagerly read the draft of "Daqin Law" published in Daqin Times, they suddenly realized that there had been no further news on judicial reform before, and the emperor was waiting for an opportunity, and this opportunity might be the official promulgation of "Daqin Law".
"Brother Mizhi, what do you think about this?" Li Changqing couldn't help asking after reading the draft of "The Great Qin Law".
The second floor of Shengshihualou is a teahouse, which has now become one of the important places for scholars in Beijing to exchange knowledge and discuss world affairs. A large number of scholars gather here every day, and today is no exception, with more than sixty people present.
Flowers are blooming on the windowsill of the teahouse, the air is filled with incense, and everyone has a cup of tea in front of them, bringing a sense of elegance.
When Li Changqing asked this question, everyone looked at Fang Yizhi.
Fang Yizhi said solemnly: "The Great Qin Law is the fundamental law of our Great Qin. We have just read it and have not had time to think about it carefully. How can we make comments lightly?"
"Brother Mizhi is right."
"Yes, the emperor has published this draft to solicit opinions from the world. This is an unprecedented wise move, and it is well-intentioned. We cannot make rash comments on this without careful consideration. We must think about it carefully for three to five days, and then we can speak out when we have gained something."
"The holy monarch is in power and he allows people to express their opinions freely. This is a unique holy act in the prosperous Qin Dynasty."
"Yes!"
The scholars present at the scene, while praising the emperor, expressed their agreement and appreciation for the other party's wise and cautious attitude.
If it were a few years ago, Fang Yizhi would have been pleased with the praise from everyone. However, after the change of dynasties and several ups and downs in life, he was no longer as superficial as before. Facing the praise from everyone, he could remain calm and unperturbed.
"My dear scholars, although we cannot comment lightly on the specific provisions of the draft of the Great Qin Law, the idea of presumption of innocence and people-orientedness throughout this draft is worthy of our attention."
A scholar named Liang Cheng, also known as Zhongzhi, was quite famous. He was 36 years old and had a straightforward look on his face. He stroked his beard and said, "The emperor is wise and wise, and the world knows it. However, the various measures taken by the court are also worrying. From the previous forensic training, to the separation of local judicial power from the chief official and the exercise of it by the deputy, this actually completed the separation of local administration and justice.
On the surface, this move seems to be conducive to judicial justice, but if you look deeper, you will find that it is not without the suspicion of emphasizing law over Confucianism. The pre-Qin dynasty ruled the country with legalism, but the second emperor was replaced by the Han dynasty. This is a lesson for us!
The various measures taken by the court now are quite worrying. Once the judiciary is independent, it will actually be on par with the administration. In other words, this is abandoning the Confucian teachings and following the harsh laws of the Legalists. How can you not notice this, wise men? "
Liang Cheng's words immediately resonated with many scholars.
"Yes, although the emperor has not said to abandon Confucianism and follow the law, it is an indisputable fact that the current state governance strategy is increasingly leaning towards the Legalists."
"Once the judiciary is independent of the administration, it is easy for it to override it and form a strong constraint on the administration. However, the official schools that are specifically responsible for education are now part of the administration. In this way, doesn't it mean that the Legalists are above the Confucians?"
“… ... ... .”
For a time, the issue of Confucianism and Legalism became popular again and became the focus of everyone's debate. Indeed, everyone knows that the separation of judiciary and administration is conducive to judicial justice. However, once it comes to major issues such as the dispute between Confucianism and Legalism, everyone can immediately ignore whether the separation of politics and law is conducive to judicial justice.
"Brother Zhongzhi's words really woke me up. How can we sit idly by and watch the court take such actions?"
"Yes, this is a matter of right and wrong. As disciples of Confucianism, we cannot turn a blind eye to it."
"Everyone, I suggest that you all come together to present a petition. The emperor is a wise and enlightened monarch. As long as we explain the pros and cons, I believe he will definitely adopt our proposal."
"In that case, please ask Brother Zhongzhi to write, and we will add our names and present the letter to the king together."
“… ... ... .”
It was hard to imagine that the originally peaceful Shengshi Hualou had become so chaotic so quickly because of Liang Cheng's words that many people even supported knocking on the palace gate and submitting a petition.
From this we can see how violently the reaction of scholars around the world would be once the status of Confucianism was threatened.
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ps: The third update is here, and I’m starting to pay off my debts. Dear ones, please give me some recommendations and subscriptions. Thanks!
.(To be continued..)
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