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The first time Qin Mu convened a meeting of ministers for a discussion, it was only a small-scale one. The matter was still a concept and it was impossible to immediately submit it to the court for a large-scale discussion. That would only cause trouble if too many people came to discuss it.
This time, Qin Mu summoned Sima An, Yang Shen, Xu Yingjie, and Zhuge Min, and also asked Han Zanzhou to attend as observers.
As soon as they sat down, Qin Mu asked a question directly: "For two thousand years, serious land annexation has been one of the main reasons for the demise of dynasties. Our great China has been trapped in this vicious circle of long-term division and unification, and long-term unification and division.
Since the establishment of the Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, great development has been achieved under a unified social structure. However, every change of dynasty was bloody, with a sharp decline in population, and serious damage to science and technology, people's livelihood, moral ethics, etc.
And no matter how hard each dynasty tries, it can’t avoid the fate of extinction for at most three hundred years. Today, I would like to ask all the ministers, how can our Great Qin avoid the fate of all the dynasties? "
After Qin Mu asked, he picked up the Jingde blue and white porcelain cup and sipped the tea carefully.
Sima An and his companions looked at each other in bewilderment. The so-called long-term division will eventually lead to unification, and long-term unification will eventually lead to division, in fact, people all over the world have long recognized this theory. They shouted "Long live the country", but who believed that any dynasty could really be passed down for eternity
For two thousand years, anyone who has studied has probably thought about this problem, but has anyone come up with a solution
No, no matter how wise the monarch or how intelligent the ministers are, at most they can only come up with some targeted measures to treat the symptoms, and no one has a fundamental solution.
So dynasties are still constantly changing and rotating...
Sima An coughed twice and said, "King of Qin..."
Qin Mu waved his hand and interrupted him, saying, "Mr. Sima, I know you don't have a solution, but I do have a solution to the land annexation problem, and it is a fundamental solution."
The people present disagreed, Sima An even curled his lips secretly, thinking, Could it be that the First Emperor taught you in a dream again
Although the First Emperor told you in his dream that there is a large iron mine in Ma'anshan, which has been confirmed, the dream story always makes people feel a little... Well, I can't explain it.
What Qin Mu never expected was that he really dreamed again. He only heard him say: "Last night, the First Emperor sent me another dream..."
"King Qin!"
"Uh... Mr. Sima, don't get excited. Listen to what I have to say. You have all heard of the Huaxu Dream. There is a record in "Liezi. Huangdi": Huangdi took a nap during the day and dreamt of traveling to the country of Huaxu. The country of Huaxu is west of Yanzhou and north of Taizhou. I don't know how many tens of millions of miles away the country of Qi is. It is beyond the reach of boats and carriages. It is just a spiritual journey. There is no leader in the country, it is natural; the people have no desires, it is natural..."
"I have read Liezi, so there is no need for the King of Qin to repeat it. The King of Qin summoned me here today, is it not to talk about Huaxu's dream?"
"I emphasize once again that the First Emperor did appear in my dream last night. He also gave me a strategy to solve the land annexation problem. After careful consideration, I think it is feasible, so I summoned all the ministers to discuss it."
"What strategy? Please tell us, King Qin. We are all ears."
"Capitalism." Qin Mu cleared his throat and emphasized, "Only by pushing the Qin Empire into the capitalist era can we liberate capital and productivity from the land and avoid the serious land annexation that inevitably occurred in the middle and late stages of every dynasty. This in turn led to a series of problems that led to the demise of the country."
"Capitalism? King Qin, what is capitalism?"
“The word capital is easy to understand. Let me talk about so-called capitalism. Let me tell you this: it is actually to direct private capital from the land to industry and commerce;
Since ancient times, as long as people have money, the first thing they do is to buy land. Although engaging in industry and commerce is more profitable than managing land, people's enthusiasm for buying land has never diminished;
Therefore, no matter what policies the imperial court introduced, it could not avoid increasingly serious land annexation. When land annexation became serious to a certain extent, it was often the time when dynasties would perish.
Therefore, the only feasible way to get out of this vicious circle of dynasties changing every few hundred years is to transfer private capital from land to industry and commerce. Otherwise, it won’t be long before our Great Qin will also face the problem of land annexation and repeat the mistakes of previous dynasties. "
Zhuge Min said: "King Qin, as the saying goes, food is the most important thing for the people. If agriculture is not emphasized and food is insufficient, the world will be in chaos. Moreover, merchants value profit over morality. If they are allowed to control a large amount of wealth and gather a large amount of manpower, it is very easy to cause rebellion. In the pre-Qin period, industry and commerce were not suppressed, and even treacherous merchants like Lu Buhui appeared in the court..."
"Mr. Zhuge, don't forget that when Lü Buhui was in control of the court, the power of the pre-Qin Dynasty was growing rapidly, and at the same time, great works such as Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals were completed." Qin Mu interrupted Zhuge Min and said, "Mr. Zhuge, you don't have to say more. I know what you said, but all dynasties seem to have fallen into a misunderstanding, that is, to stop eating because of choking.
Yes, encouraging private capital to transfer to industry and commerce will indeed bring about great hidden dangers, but I believe that these hidden dangers can be controlled in some way, and we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. "
"King Qin, don't think that the rulers and ministers of all dynasties are stupid. If it is really possible to control it, how could no one have thought of it in the past two thousand years?"
"During the three hundred years of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were owned by Liao and Jin. They were born with deficiencies, but they were able to hold out for more than three hundred years, perhaps because they attached great importance to industry and commerce." Qin Mu seemed not to want to dwell on this issue too much, so he said in a deep voice, "This king knows at least one thing. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, almost all dynasties have perished due to serious land annexation. This is an indisputable fact. In other words, if we don't make new attempts, our Great Qin will definitely repeat the same mistakes in the future."
When discussing something, Qin Mu rarely used such a tough attitude, and Zhuge Min and others couldn't help but frown.
In fact, Qin Mu also knew that it was impossible to immediately push Daqin into the so-called capitalist society.
Moreover, the formation of capitalism has its own stages, such as capital accumulation, increase in free labor, market expansion, productivity development, etc. In particular, finance needs to be improved to resist the crisis that is bound to arise during capital operation.
These things can be pushed forward slowly, but in order for these factors to mature, some prerequisites must be laid out in advance to clear obstacles for capital accumulation, otherwise it will never be possible to move in that direction.
At the same time, Qin Mu also knew that the ministers’ opposition to bringing capital into industry and commerce was not purely out of concern for insufficient grain production. Encouraging industry and commerce itself would pose a great challenge to the interests of the bureaucracy.
Therefore, Qin Mu has always been very cautious, but he also knows that some policies must be adhered to now and implemented step by step, otherwise after the bureaucratic system becomes solidified in the future, it will never be possible to promote them.
This is also the reason why Qin Mu is constantly deifying himself and strengthening his centralization of power.
In China, which is dominated by Confucianism, if you cannot have a high degree of centralization, not only will you be unable to do anything, but you will also bring about your own destruction.
To centralize power, the first thing is to strengthen the control over the army. Qin Mu personally goes into battle time and time again. Isn't he afraid of death
No, he is afraid of death too.
But he is too young. Only in this way can he quickly create an indestructible image in the hearts of the soldiers, which will help enhance the centripetal force of the soldiers and increase the control of the army. He must use blood to prove that he is not a weak person who can be bullied. Anyone in the army who wants to rebel, you should weigh yourself first.
If he could control the army, he would be able to take a more assertive stance when facing his ministers. For example, now, if he really wanted to push for something, how could Sima An and his men stop him
However, the strategy still needs to be discussed. Qin Mu suddenly turned the topic to the specific part: "Regarding the matter of transferring private capital to industry and commerce, you can think about it first. But there is a problem that we must discuss and come up with a result as soon as possible. The continuous wars in the past 20 years have caused a serious imbalance between men and women. I believe you all know what problems this will lead to.
I will now tell you about my ideas on solving this problem. I would encourage the public to set up large spinning mills, weaving mills, embroidery mills, garment factories, etc., and absorb a large number of women who have no one to rely on into these factories. Since they are all women, there is no need to worry about causing unrest, right
The military medical department should also try to recruit women as nurses, as women are more meticulous and patient than men, and are more suitable as nurses. In addition, some hospitals should be established in some large cities in a pilot manner.
Now the population is seriously lacking, medical conditions are not up to par, the infant mortality rate is high, and the quality of folk doctors varies greatly. It is necessary to establish some official hospitals in some big cities to integrate medical research and treatment to promote the development of Daqin's medical industry.
I believe everyone wants to live longer. It is useless to seek immortality. Only when the medical level is improved can your wish for longevity be realized. These hospitals can also absorb many women as nursing staff.
In addition, we should set up some schools for girls, impart some knowledge and skills, so that they can have the basic ability to make a living. Don't tell me nonsense that a woman without talent is virtuous. When you marry, you probably want to marry a woman with both talent and beauty. If that's the case, there's no need to hypocritically say that a woman without talent is virtuous. "
Qin Mu spoke a lot in one breath. Generally speaking, except for the last item of opening a girls' school, his measures did not have a big impact on the existing moral system.
After he finished speaking, he quietly looked at Sima An and the others who were sitting there. They had suddenly received too much information and were digesting it in their minds. No one spoke for a while.
But this does not mean that they completely agree with Qin Mu's ideas...
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.(To be continued..)
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