Chapter 399 Times have really changed this time

Author: Wang Zixu

Chapter 399 Times have really changed this time

When Zhu Jingyuan faced his grandfather's rhetorical question, he did not directly answer yes or no, but began to explain another judgment:

“In the agricultural era, due to transportation restrictions and the scope of business being limited to agricultural farming, the scholar-officials group was naturally regional.

“Local scholar-bureaucrats and local court bureaucrats formed a natural party-oriented group, and they united in the court to compete with rural parties in other places.

“Although groups of scholar-bureaucrats from different regions share the most basic common interests, this interest is not enough to truly bind them together.

“The emperor can coordinate checks and balances, control the scope and intensity of party struggles, and then control the bureaucracy and rule the country.

"The regional party struggles in the Ming Dynasty may have begun in the Yongle Dynasty and continued throughout the Ming Dynasty.

“But in the industrial age, the natural division of regional factions is likely to quickly become ineffective.

"First, the owners of manufacturers can operate various businesses throughout the Ming Dynasty, and even around the world.

"Secondly, manufacturers throughout the Ming Dynasty and even around the world can use roads, railways, airplanes, and telegraphs to easily unite and coordinate to deal with any possible enemies.

"In fact, the royal consortium is the ultimate state of this kind of development.

"If it weren't for the legal restrictions of the Ming Dynasty, which handed over a large number of industries to the royal consortium for exclusive operation, it is likely that there would be super consortiums throughout the Ming Dynasty in these industries.

“After opening up the six major industries, it is also possible for manufacturers of this size to appear within these six major industries.

"For example, if I was not born into a royal family, but was the child of an ordinary businessman, then all my inventions and creations would definitely belong to this businessman's family.

“These inventions and creations, based on a certain amount of capital and not too bad management capabilities, can quickly expand to a level of horror that is unimaginable to most people.

“For example, I alone have a monopoly on automobile and engine manufacturing throughout the Ming Dynasty and even around the world, I alone have a monopoly on aircraft engine manufacturing, and I have a monopoly on the patents, manufacturing and sales of civil aircraft.

"When my industries spread throughout the Ming Dynasty and even around the world, to what extent will my influence on the local and central bureaucracy be reached? What kind of officials can resist my erosion?

“I think the expansion speed and upper limit of factories and commercial banks in the industrial era may far exceed our imagination.

"Whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the West, the strongest merchants in the agricultural era were dependent on the monarchs and nobles.

“Business at that time was a by-product of agriculture. Commerce could not replace agriculture, but industry could.

"With the advent of the industrial age, the bosses in various countries in Europe and America have gradually shifted from being dependent on the aristocracy to controlling the aristocracy.

“Even businessmen controlled the imperial court and sent their own representatives to form the imperial court, turning the imperial court into an internal platform for the bosses.

"At that time, taking bribes may even be legal, because the court itself is a battleground for capital.

“Essentially, it’s a world where one penny and one power comes, and it’s completely fair from a monetary perspective.

“Whoever has more money has greater power, but bribes must be paid in accordance with regulations, which can be called political donations.

"Although there is no essential difference between the social structure of the agricultural era and the agricultural era.

“But the effective management and checks and balances in the agricultural era are likely to become ineffective in the industrial era.

“Because the ‘order of magnitude’ of things to be managed has changed.

"We have to adjust the limits on the bureaucracy..."

Zhu Jingyuan knew that during the second industrial revolution, capitalism entered the era of imperialism.

Times have really changed this time.

The era of monopoly has arrived, and giant monopoly companies have begun to appear.

The existence of the royal consortium limits the emergence of manufacturers of this level.

Private monopoly is of course not good, but suppressing this development tendency too much will also limit the improvement of Ming Dynasty's production capacity.

Zhu Jingyuan felt that there should be relevant instructions in the pamphlet left by Emperor Shizu.

As expected, when Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan heard Zhu Jingyuan's description, they both had thoughtful expressions.

Zhu Zhongliang nodded slowly:

"That being said, we really need to loosen the reins a bit..."

Zhu Jianyan said in a strange tone:

"When the Ming Dynasty was founded, the emperor was constantly fighting against the civil service system.

"From the Yongle era until the Renwu Dynasty, emperors continued to fail.

"The emperor's authority continues to weaken as it is passed down from generation to generation.

"By the time of Apocalypse and Chongzhen, the resources controlled by the scholar-bureaucrats had threatened the emperor's status.

"It wasn't until the Renwu Dynasty that the situation was reversed at the hands of Emperor Shizu.

"Now... Jingyuan, you want us to go back and indulge or even strengthen the bureaucracy?

"Although it does make sense, this kind of thing makes me a little hard to accept...

"I'm very worried about whether this choice is the right one..."

When Zhu Jingyuan faced his father's concerns, he did not directly persuade or reassure him. Instead, he tried to analyze his father's concerns:

"The bureaucracy is not the emperor's enemy. If this system had a will of its own, it would certainly not want to become the emperor's enemy.

"Because the emperor himself is the supreme leader of the bureaucracy and the leader of the entire ruling group.

“Members of the bureaucracy are also representatives of the ruling class and members of the ruling group.

“Both parties belong to the same collective, their fundamental interests are actually convergent, and the conflicts between the two parties are internal class conflicts.

"The emperor put the bureaucracy in opposition, which is absolutely a completely wrong thinking.

"It's just that, as the head and leader of a group, the emperor hopes that his organization and group will be stronger.

“But I don’t want anyone under my command to threaten my status.

"But at the same time, he also needs to allocate resources to his subordinates in exchange for capable subordinates to help him maintain his rule.

"Before the Renwu Dynasty, the Ming emperors continued to lose in their struggles with the civil service system, and their authority continued to weaken. The fundamental reason was not the victory or defeat of the superficial struggle in the court.

“The most fundamental thing is the loss of control over land and population.

"The foundation of the agricultural era is land and population. When the authority of any emperor is the strongest, it is when it controls the most land and population.

“But if the emperor wants to control enough land, he needs to rely on the operation of the bureaucracy.

“How much interest and power is given to the bureaucracy and to what extent it is allowed to expand is difficult to grasp.

"Before the Renwu Dynasty, there was indeed the possibility of recycling the resources taken out by the emperor.

"For example, seizing a noble title and confiscating a house.

“But most of the time, you can only get out but not get in.

"Because the Ming Dynasty's nobles are not only hereditary, but there is no such thing as surrender.

“At the same time, because of the restrictions on nobles’ influence on government affairs, a large number of people are not working with resources, which is a waste of resources.

"In addition, the personal abilities of the emperors before the Renwu Dynasty... can only be relatively limited compared to those after.

“As the emperor continues to give out rewards and canonizations, the resources at his disposal are becoming less and less.

“With the continuous annexation of private land, some landlords own more and more land.

“In this process, the ratio of the resources controlled by the emperor as the leader of the group and the group members gradually reversed.

“When the land and population that the emperor can actually control are reduced to a certain extent, and the land and population controlled by private forces are concentrated to a certain extent, the emperor will no longer be able to direct the bureaucracy.

"The benefits that the bureaucracy received from other aspects gradually exceeded the benefits that the emperor could give.

“The emperor, the nominal leader, has no resources at his disposal to suppress all members of the group.

"Master Wei Miao (Zhu Youjian of Chongzhen) has certainly more control over the harem and eunuchs than Master Ximiao (Zhu Youxiao of Tianqi). Otherwise, he would not be able to kill ministers indiscriminately in the court and still be safe and sound.

He lived until the Renwu Dynasty.

"But his killing people in the court was not enough to affect the actual situation. Instead, it made the bureaucracy even more centrifugal.

"Master Wei Miao regards the civil service system, the entire delegation of the ruling class, and his fellow landlords as enemy bandits.

"Of course the civil service system will not willingly assist it in ruling the country.

"The interests of the entire bureaucracy have diverged from those of the emperor.

"Before the Renwu Dynasty, according to official household registration statistics, there was no actual growth in population during the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty.

“Not only has the land not increased, but it has decreased by a large amount.

“It is generally believed that a population at least equivalent to the number of registered households was hidden under the wings of the scholar-bureaucrats who cultivated, studied and passed down family traditions.

"So Emperor Shizu first completely banned any form of enslaving the Ming people.

“Then let land resources form a standardized system.

“The two most critical points are the imperial estate’s priority purchase system in land transactions and the assessment and inheritance system for traditional titles.

“The former curbs the concentration of land among the people and prevents other individuals within the ruling group from secretly growing in size.

"Let the transferred land return to the emperor's hands and ensure that the emperor always controls as much land as possible.
To be continued...