Chapter 287 Prime Minister (Thirteen) Ultimate Reform
Aren’t you afraid of burning more incense to Jehovah? Yes, Gao Pragmatic’s attitude towards these things is almost always like this. Whether you become a religious person or not is not at all his concern, as long as you adhere to the consistent attitude of the Chinese people.
What is your attitude? If you are good, you will burn incense; if you are not, you will destroy the temple.
Chinese civilization is a civilization that has been secularized since the time of Duke Zhou. People's "belief" in gods of this kind is very realistic: If you are useful, then I will give you a stick of incense; if you are useless, then I will destroy you.
to your temple.
The Chinese are not used to those useless immortals who receive incense in vain - no matter what kind of immortal you are, you can come to China if you want, but if you want to be established, you must complete the KPI.
Hey, that's how the Chinese people are. They settle accounts between brothers, and it's the same when gods come. You, Lord, have come to China, and you still want to treat people in West Asia and Europe like those people in West Asia and Europe. You always PUA people and say that you are inherently sinful. If you don't believe it, I will do it.
Being punished by God...you really want to eat shit!
No matter who you are, your mission when you come to China is the same: can you ensure that I have good weather, can you ensure that I am named on the gold medal list, can you ensure that my business is prosperous, can you ensure that my family affairs are smooth, can you ensure that my descendants are full, can you ensure that I
...Anyway, you have to be useful!
If you are useless and you dare to threaten me, then what kind of god are you? Do you know that you are a heretic in China?
As long as Li Zhizao - and others - adhere to this principle, joining the religion is not a problem at all. Their main purpose is to really show some spiritual power, even if it is by chance, then the incense will be burned, and it will still be possible
Promote consumption. If it doesn't work, it will naturally disappear without a trace, or it will disappear into the public, and the high pragmatic people will not bother to bother.
At this time, after talking about principles, Gao Pragmatic was about to start talking about serious matters. He cleared his throat and said: "Zhenzhi, do you know why I chose you among thousands of officials to serve as a cabinet servant?
"
"The lower official is stupid. He thought about it all the way and failed to understand Yuan Fu's profound meaning." Li Zhizao bowed deeply and said in a humble tone.
Gao pragmatic guessed that he could figure out some clues anyway, and he might even have figured it out a long time ago. It was just the habit of Chinese literati that made him deliberately hide his clumsiness, so he didn't point it out. He just smiled and said: "Because there is news that you are not only
He was good at arithmetic, investigating things, and even learned Latin from Matteo Ricci and others."
"In arithmetic, the investigation of objects is no more than a by-pass way, how can you get into Yuan Fu's eyes?" Although Li Zhizao had already guessed, he looked quite surprised at the moment, and said: "As for Latin, it's just a foreign language in the vassal state, and it's just a low-ranking official.
It’s nothing to do here, just trying to pass the time, Yuan Fu actually cares?”
"Not only do we care about this, but we also hope that there will be more people like you." Gao Pragmatic was not ambiguous at all this time and said directly: "The imperial court selects talents through imperial examinations. This is a great policy, but it is also facing some problems at the moment.
Dilemma.
For example, over the years, there have often been several articles that were difficult to distinguish, causing the examiners to fight with each other during the talent selection ceremony, and even behave in an insulting manner. We think it is inappropriate, and the court should not turn a blind eye to this.
, there should be ways to improve it and correct the polite style."
Li Zhizao's heart moved, but he did not dare to express his guess, so he had to ask: "I wonder if Yuan Fu has any perfect strategy?"
"If everything is not perfect, how can I be so conceited? However, if it can be slightly improved and it will help the court select people, then I do have some ideas."
Gao pragmatism began to make habitual movements, tapping the fingers of his right hand rhythmically on the armrest of the Taishi chair, and said: "I want to add another subject besides Cheng Wen (eight-legged essay) as a 'selective exam'"
', that is, arithmetic. The so-called optional test means that candidates can choose to take the test or not to take the test, but regardless of whether they take the test or not, their test scores will be used as the criterion for judging Cheng Wen in the event that he is indistinguishable from others.
.
For example, Zhang Sheng and Wang Sheng both participated in this Spring Festival. Zhang Sheng took the arithmetic test after taking the Cheng Wen test, but he only got one question correct in arithmetic, while Wang Sheng did not take the arithmetic test again after finishing the Cheng Wen test.
During the marking, the examiners both appreciated Zhang's and Wang's essays, but the second examiner was in a stalemate. In this case, the second student's arithmetic score was added to the calculation. Although Zhang only got one question right at this time, Wang didn't, and it was regarded as all wrong.
.In this way, Zhang Sheng’s ranking is above Wang Sheng.”
Li Zhizao's eyes widened and he gasped. He even subconsciously looked around, lowered his voice and said in a slightly trembling tone: "Yuan Fu, such a big change will shock the world!"
Gao pragmatic sighed in his heart.
Li Zhizao can be regarded as a very "progressive" person, but he felt "shocked by the scholars" when he heard it. This shows how rigid the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty has become, even such small changes - or even just unchanged
In the case of overall rules, a slight improvement in the system will be considered a "major change".
However, Gao pragmatically began to think about this matter not long after he time traveled. Now that almost thirty years have passed, and he has even become the first minister of the government, he really can't wait any longer. Gao pragmatically is determined this time.
The idea was to make some move on the head of the imperial examination system, the "Tai Sui".
As for saying that there will be objections... Huh, what is it that no one objects to? If there are objections, nothing will be done. So what is the purpose of this high-pragmatic time travel? Just to make some money with a vision that is four hundred years ahead of the times.
Enjoy the feeling of being a master in the feudal era?
This is too unpromising. If you just want to do this, then as long as you are a time traveler and have your own background, I am afraid that anyone can do it.
What's more, to truly change the Ming Dynasty and keep Chinese civilization advanced, it is not enough to emphasize the importance of maritime trade and develop a group of seemingly advanced handicrafts and primary industries. If you cannot make changes in the system, you will have to
The fruits of reform over the past few decades are actually nothing more than flowers in the water, a moon in the mirror, which will wither after a short period of time.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is not alarmist, but an inevitable result of social development. Many people in later generations discussed why modern science emerged in the West rather than in China, and then what did some say?
Chinese culture is inherently devoid of scientific spirit. Westerners have known "Elements of Geometry" for a long time. This is the seed of scientific spirit.
Gao Pragmatic believes that this is pure fart.
After the renaissance, later generations of Chinese people completed their disenchantment with the West. More and more scholars have questioned the various magical stories that have been boasted since "Elements of Geometry" and have raised many doubts. However, Gao Pragmatic does not want to start from the "Elements of Geometry".
Regarding the authenticity of "Elements of Geometry", he has another view.
He believes that the West took the lead in completing the so-called "scientific evolution" and starting the industrial revolution, which was actually the result of demand-oriented development. It is a result, not a cause.
What is "demand orientation"? Two levels, economic and military.
Westerners gained a lot of benefits during the Age of Discovery and occupied many colonies. However, in fact, the "technology" of the West at this time did not exceed the level of the East. In fact, everyone was still at the same level, and each had its own merits. This is
As I said a long time ago, for example, the Ming Dynasty still maintains its leadership in many technologies, and even has many inventions and creations that are not weaker than the West in terms of military technology.
However, as the Age of Discovery reached its peak, Western colonists found that although they had seized a large number of colonies and had an extremely broad market, their country's population was too small, resulting in insufficient products to fill these huge markets.
, so "demand orientation" came into being - I have to produce more products to sell and make money!
However, the problem is that they cannot solve the problem of too small population, so they can only find ways to improve productivity. Under this "productivity anxiety" of the whole society, any idea that may mention productivity will be taken seriously and implemented. Over time,
The importance of science and technology was infinitely elevated, and finally the Industrial Revolution broke out.
This also explains why China did not take the lead in the industrial revolution - the Ming Dynasty did not expand externally, and the domestic market was almost fixed. Therefore, Chinese society had no motivation to produce more products to fill the market gap and make more money.
.
And for Ming Dynasty, even if the market is bigger, it is actually difficult to stimulate the huge impulse to improve productivity, because the population of Ming Dynasty is too much! You say that the existing products are not enough to fill the market demand? This is easy to handle,
I just need to recruit more people to do it. As for improving productivity... I don't care, there are many people!
This can also prove another thing: whether the agricultural era developed well or not, a very weighted criterion actually lies in the population. The better you develop in the agricultural era, the more likely your population will continue to grow, because there is not enough
Without advanced agricultural technology and agricultural facilities, you would not be able to have enough food to feed such a large population!
Therefore, China can say without humility: Our Chinese civilization represents the pinnacle of technology in the agricultural era!
However, it is a pity that the technological peak of the previous era often leads to its backwardness at the beginning of the next era. Just like the second industrial revolution era allowed the United States and Germany to surpass the United Kingdom, the representative of the first industrial revolution.
The peak of the previous era is often unwilling to give up the vested interests brought by these advantages due to path dependence and the advantages it has achieved, and is unwilling to invest in new technologies, which leads to it falling behind after the start of the next era, and then being replaced by rising stars.
transcend.
Whether it is the Ming Dynasty in the original history or the Ming Dynasty that has been transformed by Gao pragmatism, in fact, it is still at the same stage and in this rut. If you want to change the fate of being surpassed by the West, then Gao pragmatism must find a way to complete the entire process.
The mindset of "I am the best in the world" or even "I will always be the best in the world" in social thought allows the people of the Ming Dynasty - at least the scholars of the Ming Dynasty to truly understand that "sail against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat" is not meant to scare you.
Rather, it is a real danger that may occur at any time.
The Ming Dynasty has too many people, which was originally the most difficult problem to solve, especially considering that Gao Pragmatic would not agree to the plan of using civil war to eliminate the population. But fortunately, God has "help" now, and the Little Ice Age has arrived, so Gao Pragmatic
Being pragmatic can make every effort to move the population to southern Xinjiang, Nanyang and even more places, and then dilute the population in the Ming Dynasty, thus forcing the domestic impulse to increase productivity.
At the same time, Gao Pragmatic finally agreed to the further expansion of the controlled area in southern Xinjiang. It must be noted here that he was not really forced to compromise because of some internal impulse to expand in southern Xinjiang.
As he has said before, he has established a perfect system so that no one in southern Xinjiang can oppose his will. If he insists on not expanding, those expansionists can only give up in anger and shift the power struggle internally.
, begin to compete for power resources inward rather than outward.
After more than 20 years of opening up the sea, the huge productivity of the Ming Dynasty has been activated by trade in southern Xinjiang, Nanyang, Mongolia, the Western Regions, Japan, Korea and other places. Now it is necessary to continue to maintain this "market expansion and therefore the need to increase production"
model, we must further expand the breadth and depth of the market, and keep broadening the market to an extent that Ming Dynasty cannot satisfy. Only then can we stimulate the initiative within Ming Dynasty and start thinking of ways to improve productivity from the perspective of science and technology, rather than relying solely on "
Pile people" to achieve it.
If this step can be achieved, 70% to 80% of the high-pragmatic major task will be completed. Then, what is the remaining 20% to 30%?
The improvement of productivity can be regarded as the work of the whole society, but the change of production relations needs to be completed within the officialdom! If you don't complete it within the officialdom, do you have to wait until Cromwell, the protector of the country, appears in the Ming Dynasty and murderously kills the emperor?
Are you essentially going to reinvent the wheel and create a system of capitalist hypocritical monarchy? That would violate the basic principle of "avoiding civil war" in a highly pragmatic way!
So, how to make the "production relations" adapt to the future development of productivity? Then a system reform must be carried out for the Ming Dynasty. And to reform the system, first of all, you must have talents who can reform the system. If you still have all the people under your command
In the past, those masters of writing who only read the books of sages and sages throughout their lives could not even understand an account and looked down upon all kinds of "strange and obscene techniques". It was obviously impossible to do it.
Therefore, it was logical that Gao Pragmatic would bring people like Li Zhizao around as "horse bones" and prepare to add some spice to the imperial examination system that had not changed much for thousands of years.
Li Zhizao saw that Gao Pragmatic's face was calm and he didn't seem to be frightened by his words at all. He finally calmed down. He remembered that Gao Pragmatic had carried out many reforms over the years that seemed almost impossible to complete in advance, and he gradually calmed down.
Bao Bao took a deep breath and asked: "What Yuan Fu said is indeed reasonable, but the matter is serious. I wonder if the emperor will agree?"
Gao pragmatic narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled: "When it comes to persuading the emperor, I have some experience."
Uh... that's true.
Li Zhizao didn't dare to question or ask. He could only smile and lower his head in agreement.
However, he still couldn't help but murmur in his heart: Can Yuan Fu really convince the emperor about such a big matter? How can he use it?
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PS: After a step-by-step reform, I finally want to express this reform that was regarded as the ultimate goal before I started the book. It took several years, which is really emotional.