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Zhao Han's attitude towards "Ming History" made Zhu Minghao feel like a spring breeze.

This emperor did not slander the previous dynasty or Chongzhen. Everything was done in a down-to-earth manner. Zhu Minghao thought it was great!

Before the end of the Shangsi holiday, Zhu Minghao was recruited into the palace and saw the emperor fishing in the imperial garden.

"My minister Zhu Minghao, I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"Find a place to sit by yourself."

There was a small Maza next to him, and Zhu Minghao sat down on his buttocks, and even picked up the fishing rod and hooked the bait to throw it out.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "You don't see the outside world."

Zhu Minghao immediately said: "The king regards his ministers as brothers and feet, and the ministers regard the emperor as his heart. Brothers, feet, and heart, how can we see outsiders?"

"You are flattering, I really didn't see it." Zhao Han couldn't help but smile.

Zhu Minghao is filial and honest, he does not take concubines, he is not greedy for money, he studies ancient and modern history intensively, so he should be a serious old scholar.But on the contrary, he has a wide range of friends, he can't offend anyone, and he even comes to flatter with his mouth.As long as it's not a matter of principle, even if he doesn't like his friends' words and deeds, he never speaks harshly to each other, and only reminds them with side-effects.

Facing the emperor's jokes, Zhu Minghao said: "I never say anything against my will."

Zhao Han said: "Old Wu asked for illness and resigned many times, and I can't persuade him to stay. From now on, you will be in charge of Datong Monthly."

Zhu Minghao said: "Your Majesty, I am managing history. My ambition is to revise all ancient and modern history books."

"Which history books need to be revised?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhu Minghao said: "The Book of Song and the Book of Sui are both ridiculed in history, and they are correct. Moreover, the two books are not worthy of the name. They are called "Book of Song", but they are mixed with things about Wu, Jin, Shu, and Wei; It is called "Sui Shu", and it is mixed with Liang, Chen, Qi, and Zhou. If you feel that the history writing is incomplete, you can just annotate the history like Pei Songzhi, and you can't add things in it."

"What else?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhu Minghao replied: "Another example is "Book of Southern Qi", "Good Government", there are two people who do not need to be recorded, one person who should not be recorded, and two people who are not included. There is an appendix "Xiaoyi" which should be changed into "Good Government" "One person. The history books of all dynasties, all these, are too numerous to enumerate, and they can all be revised."

Zhu Minghao also wanted to delete many "likes" from historians in the history books of the past dynasties.Either the praise is unreasonable, or the praise is commonplace. The only function of these praises is to waste paper and ink and waste readers' time.

Zhao Han put down his fishing rod and said, "I have also read Qing's treatise on political history, and I generally agree with it, but there are some points that I disagree with."

Zhu Minghao's expression became serious, and he also put down his fishing rod, cupped his hands and said, "Please correct me, Your Majesty."

"Qing's administration of history only focuses on politics and ignores other things," Zhao Han said earnestly. "Food economy, literary rhetoric, Buddhism, Taoism, and religion are also extremely important. With these in history books, hundreds of years later, people passed Only by studying history can we know how much the predecessors bought a catty of rice, what style of writing prevailed in a certain dynasty, and what sects the men and women believed in at that time."

Zhu Minghao said: ""Shihuozhi" is naturally important, but literature, Buddhism and Taoism do not need to be included in history books. History books must be refined. If you want to know the style of writing in the previous dynasty, you can just read the articles of the previous dynasty, or have a special research article. And that Buddhism and Taoism are heretics, not the classics of the country, and the "Shi Laozhi" should not be set up in the history books."

Zhao Han said with a smile: "The history of literature is also history, and the history of religion is also history. In the Zhengjia period of the previous Ming Dynasty, why did the first seven sons suddenly appear? Suddenly there was a need for literary improvement? And when literature was improved, why did Yangming appear? Psychology and Neo-Confucianism?"

Zhu Minghao was thoughtful, and seemed to have grasped the point, but he didn't pierce through a layer of window paper.

Anyway, he didn't want to understand, Zhu Minghao cupped his hands and said, "Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

Zhao Han said: "At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the people's livelihood was sluggish and the economy was in decline. At the same time, the Yuan Dynasty was shameful for a hundred years, and culture and education were sluggish. Ming Taizu and Ming Taizong, facing this situation, their top priority is to expel the Tartars and make the world stable. , is to let the common people eat and clothe themselves warmly. Leaving aside foreign wars, if you want internal stability, you must unify the thoughts of the ruling and opposition parties. That’s why stereotypes are needed to select scholars. Therefore, it is necessary to compile the “Complete Four Books” and “Complete Five Classics”. Even Mencius Some sentences have been deleted, and Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism has naturally been distorted and castrated."

"That's true." Zhu Minghao nodded.

Zhao Han continued: "This kind of ideological confinement was good for stability in the early Ming Dynasty. On this basis, Emperor Hongwu even came up with a whole set of rules. Canonize certain gods, give grades to gods, and reprimand some gods. He is a false god. Even the monks are not allowed to eat meat anymore. There is another set of village drinking rituals in towns and villages across the country, and what the common people should do is stipulated. At that time, people were calm and business was not prosperous. In bartering, traders mostly buy and sell in neighboring counties, and the transportation across provinces depends entirely on the imperial court. Although Emperor Hongwu had strict rules, the people all over the world liked them."

Zhu Minghao nodded subconsciously.

Zhao Han went on to say: "But in the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties, these rules are out of date, and the distorted Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is no longer useful. You participated in the compilation of "History of Ming Dynasty", you can go to the Shihuo Zhi at that time, Is it the prosperity of industry and commerce? Is it because a large number of farmers left the countryside and went to the cities to make a living? The food crop system exists in name only, and no one mentions the drinking ceremony in the village.”

"Indeed." Zhu Minghao agreed.

Zhao Han said: "Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is out of date. The essence is that the thought cannot keep up with the development of the country. People of insight want to break through the shackles of thought, so there is a new philosophy and a new philosophy, and there is a literary improvement of the former seven sons. Before the former seven sons improved literature, scholar-bureaucrats wrote articles mourning their dead wives, but they could only write about his wife’s gentleness and virtuousness, and dared not write about how loving he and his wife were. Can't you open your mind?"

"Of course." Zhu Minghao nodded repeatedly.

Zhao Han said: "Furthermore, Lord Yangming not only improved his mind, but also re-established the village treaty. The reason why the village treaty was formulated is because Zhu Hongwu's village drinking ceremony can no longer govern the countryside, and the Ming court's rule over the countryside is out of control. .”

"Of course!" Zhu Minghao felt more and more interesting.

Zhao Han said again: "Let's say that when the food and clothing are scarce, the ordinary people only think about eating and clothing. When food and clothing are no longer a problem, they just want to eat better and wear better clothes. The style of clothes and the taste of food are all important There are more needs. But with a large population and insufficient arable land in the countryside, farmers will flood into the city. The more farmers move into the city, the stronger the citizen class will be. These citizens also have their own needs. Look at the Taizhou of Xinxue Does the school of thought represent the bourgeoisie?"

"Of course, this really enlightens me!" Zhu Minghao suddenly realized that many problems were suddenly figured out.

Zhao Han said: "Politics, military affairs, ideology, literature and art, economy, religion, these things are all important parts of history, and they are indispensable."

Joo Myung-ho asked, "Why is religion important?"

Zhao Han said: "God's will is unpredictable, people's minds are fixed, and people have to believe in something. Emperor Hongwu himself came out of Mingjiao, and he was deeply afraid of religion. He not only banned Mingjiao, but also banned Buddhism and Taoism. He didn't allow monks to eat Meat, monks and priests are subdivided into occupations. Which monks wear which color clothes, some monks manage temples, some monks are responsible for preaching scriptures, and some monks specialize in practicing rituals. Coupled with the degree system, you can go down the mountain to preach scriptures Buddhist monks can’t keep up with the population increase. So what’s the problem?”

"Fake monks are rampant," Zhu Minghao said.

Zhao Han nodded: "It's like during the Wanli period, the emperor didn't allow the replacement of officials, and half of the counties and counties in the country didn't have chief officials to govern. This place lacks power, and it has its own powerful to occupy it. Similarly, if there are not enough monks and priests who can teach scriptures, then there are False monks and false Taoists fill in. These false monks and Taoists are nothing more than making money. But it’s okay just to make money, because they are afraid that their ambitions will expand. During the Hongzheng period, the people were miserable. The more miserable the people, the more religious believers. The Tao promises various benefits, and the suffering people will believe in it.”

"White Lotus Sect?" Zhu Minghao exclaimed.

"Not only the White Lotus Sect, but all kinds of heresies," Zhao Han said, "From the religious situation in a certain period, we can get a glimpse of whether the politics at that time were clear and clear, and speculate whether the people at that time were happy or not."

Zhu Minghao stood up abruptly, and saluted the emperor again, but this time it was his disciple's salute: "Your Majesty studies ancient and modern times, and if you talk about history, you will never be as good as one!"

Zhao Han said: "Since you want to manage history, then continue to manage it. "Datong Monthly" can also be managed. The specific affairs are handled by the deputy. You are only responsible for reviewing important articles."

"The minister leads the order!"

What Zhu Minghao is thinking now is to hurry home and write a thesis, combine what the emperor just said with his own historical research, and reformulate the future historical research methods.

Chapter 918 [Economics]

During the holiday, there were only a few officials on duty in the Imperial Academy.

Zhu Minghao took the outline of the thesis he wrote last night and went to the library of the Imperial Academy to search for information.

As soon as he entered the library, he bumped into Zhu Cizhao: "Mr. Zhaofeng, there is a five-day holiday for the Shangsi Festival, so I'm here to study knowledge after only three days."

"Isn't Zhu Yushi here too?" Zhu Minghao said with a smile.

Yushi is a respectful name, which is the ancient official name of a librarian, just like calling a magistrate a prefect.

Zhu Cizhen's biological mother and sister were both accepted by the emperor as concubines.Although the seniority is a bit messy, it does not hinder Zhu Cizhao's promotion of status.Of course, the emperor was rather stingy, and he didn't award any titles. He just promoted Zhu Cizhao from an ordinary official to a small official in charge of the library.

Zhu Cizhao was about to speak, but saw Song Yingxing coming in with a cane.

"Meet Shou Kui!" The two quickly bowed to each other.

Song Yingxing waved his hand and said, "I've already retired, and I'm no longer the chief assistant. I came here today just to find a few books."

Zhu Cixuan hurriedly asked: "What book does Shoukui want to read? This junior will go find it immediately."

"No need." Song Yingxing waved his hand.

Zhu Cizhao and Zhu Minghao supported Song Yingxing to walk in from left to right.

Not long after, the cabinet minister Wu Yingji also came.

Zhu Cizhao felt that it was very rare that a retired chief minister and a current cabinet minister would come to the library to get together today.

Song Yingxing was actually in good health, but when the rheumatism broke out, he couldn't get out of bed because of the pain.After the beginning of spring, the symptoms eased, and I was able to walk on crutches by myself.

After he resigned, he did not return to Jiangxi immediately, but stayed in Nanjing planning to write a book.

Wu Yingji sat down next to Song Yingxing, and Zhu Cizhao made good tea himself, then stood by and listened to what they had to say.

Wu Yingji said: "Yesterday, what Shou Kui said made the next one suddenly enlightened. The core of this economics seems to be the word 'currency'."

The word "economy" has existed since ancient times, and it is the abbreviation of "Economizing the country and benefiting the people" and "Economizing the world and benefiting the people".

But Zhao Han often used it in other words, and the ministers gradually got used to it, and the meaning of the word gradually changed to the economy of later generations.

Song Yingxing said: "Since ancient times, "Guanzi" must be the most important theory of economics. Guan Zhong talked about economic contingency, which is called the three powers. When I was young, I inspected all kinds of industries. When I was young, I made money for the court by minting coins. State affairs. Talking with His Majesty at ordinary times, I also learned a lot. Now that I am retired at home, I read "Guanzi" again, and I have a new experience."

"Please enlighten me!" Wu Yingji cupped his hands.

Song Yingxing said: "Guan Zhongzhi's right of heaven refers to the time of day. Floods, droughts, locusts, snow and epidemics all affect the economy of a country. Land rights refer to products, including cultivated land, mines, forests, and lakes. There is a saying about human rights, which is also economic. the core of learning."

Wu Yingji said: "The human rights I understand below are adjustment and opening and closing."

Adjustment is the country's grain reserves in good years and calming agents in bad years.To put it bluntly, the government manipulates commodities and prices to achieve the goal of governing the country, weakening enemies, cracking down on profiteers, and stabilizing society.

Opening and closing can be understood as macro-control, encouraging or restricting certain commercial behaviors, and guiding the market to develop in accordance with the government's vision.

Guan Zhong explained these contents very clearly.

Song Yingxing said: "The changes in the world have changed over time. Some of the economic methods in "Guanzi" are now outdated, and some of them are missing. Compared with the pre-Qin period, all industries are prosperous now. Use coins to buy goods. There is also the right to land. Spain shipped countless silver from Mexico to China. Mexico’s geographical advantage can also be used by China through commercial trade.”

Wu Yingji nodded and said, "Indeed."

Song Yingxing also said: "Guan Zhong manages the country financially and advocates frugal use of the people. This is right, but he uses frugality for propriety and enriches the people for government. The principle is generally correct, but it needs to be changed a little bit."

"It needs to be changed," Wu Yingji said.

Guan Zhong's "Enriching the People with Government", the content is: lightly collect agricultural taxes, collect commercial taxes equally, limit the number of merchants, carefully expropriate corvees, and ensure agricultural production.

Zhao Han's philosophy of governing the country is roughly the same as this set of methods.But instead of restricting the number of merchants, it is encouraging the development of industry and commerce.

Guan Zhong's "festivity is used for propriety", on the surface it is talking about what clothes the emperor, princes, and doctors should wear, but in fact it is talking about the country's administrative expenses.Don't set up official positions that don't do anything, and don't confer unnecessary titles indiscriminately. The Song and Ming dynasties obviously violated Guan Zhong's thought.There were a lot of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty, and a large nest of clans in the Ming Dynasty.

But some of Guan Zhong's methods are obviously outdated.

For example, Guan Zhong said that the government can do business in person, which will inevitably make the market deserted.When the market is deserted, there will be fewer merchants, and agricultural labor will be sufficient.When agriculture is prosperous, there will be no shortage of national taxes.

This is obviously because of the low productivity at that time, so the agricultural labor force must be guaranteed and the number of merchant groups must be suppressed.

Suddenly, Song Yingxing said to Zhu Cizhao: "I have read a copy of "Xujiang Anthology", and I don't know if it is here, you can go and find it."

Zhu Cizhao asked: "Which dynasty is this "Collected Works of Xujiang" from?"

"Song Dynasty." Song Yingxing said.

Zhu Cizhao acted immediately and found it quickly, but it was already rotten.

Song Yingxing said to Wu Yingji: "This book contains "Strategies for Enriching the Country."

Wu Yingji read it curiously, and started to read it on the spot.

The first article talks about the need for money to govern the country, and officials should not shy away from talking about profit.The second one is to curb land mergers.The fifth chapter is to curb the number of monks and Taoists.The seventh chapter discusses the righteous warehouse system.The third and eighth chapters deal with money.The fourth, sixth, ninth, and tenth chapters discuss industry and commerce.

The author Li Gou, when discussing the land issue, started from the perspective of labor force and means of production, and believed that land annexation destroyed the close combination of labor force (farmers) and means of production (land).Therefore, it will definitely hinder agricultural production.

When discussing currency, he also talked about inflation and deflation, thinking that too high or too low prices are not good for the people.In addition, cheap grain hurts farmers, and expensive grain hurts farmers.

When discussing industry and commerce, industrial and commercial practitioners are divided into three categories: wealthy merchants, wealthy industrialists, small handicraftsmen, and small traders. (Li Gou believes that industrial and commercial people engaged in the production and distribution of luxury goods are "vagrants" and should be cracked down and let them do business.)

"This is really a great Confucian!" Wu Yingji sighed after reading it.

Of course Li Gou was a great Confucianist in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zeng Gong was his student, and Wang Anshi was his friend.He was able to go to Taixue to teach, which was recommended by Fan Zhongyan many times.

Fan Zhongyan's New Deal and Wang Anshi's Reform were more or less influenced by Li Gou's economic thoughts.

Song Yingxing said: "Our country has written books since ancient times, and they all have a high-level view. But I heard that Qintianyuan adopted the ideas of European scholars and did the opposite. Subdivide a big thing so that it cannot be further divided. To study these small details. We study economics, can we do the same?"

After the envoys returned from Europe, they brought back Descartes' thoughts, which the Qintian Academy unanimously agreed with, and now the epistemology and methodology of scientific research have been established.

Song Yingxing is the author of "Heavenly Creation of Things". He always likes to explore the details and process.Reminded by the situation of Qintianyuan, the idea of ​​re-studying economics was born.

"How to subdivide?" Wu Yingji felt at a loss.

"currency!"

Song Yingxing said: "National use and people's livelihood, scholars, farmers, business, and business are nothing more than goods and currency. Goods are real and yang, currency is virtual and yin, and the combination of virtual and real, yin and yang, is a complete economy."

Wu Yingji thought carefully and subconsciously nodded in agreement.

"Is it possible to define these economic terms like studying physics and mathematics?" Song Yingxing said, "Goods, goods are goods, and things are things. First define things, such as sun, moon, mountains and rivers, birds, animals, fish and insects, flowers, trees, grass and stones." , and things can be seen everywhere.”

Wu Yingji said: "When things are exchanged, they are goods!"

Song Yingxing said: "It's not enough. Things are dead, and they need people to exchange them. Fish are in the water, and they can be sold after they are caught. Iron is in the mountains, and they can be mined and smelted before they can be sold. To turn things into goods, people need to work." Only labor is not enough. If you catch fish and eat it yourself, but don’t sell it, it’s not called goods. So the definition of goods is labor that appears for trade.”

"Excellent!" Wu Yingji clapped his hands in praise.

Suddenly, Wu Yingji said to Zhu Cizhao: "Please fetch the pen and ink."

Zhu Cizhao ran quickly, poured water and grinded the ink himself, and said courteously: "The two gentlemen continue to talk, and the younger generation will record it."

Wu Yingji muttered to himself: "What elements should the currency have? It is used to exchange goods, as long as it can be exchanged, it doesn't have to be gold, silver and copper coins. Some places in Yunnan still used shell coins a few years ago."

Song Yingxing said: "Coin is also a kind of goods, because it contains the elements of all goods. But it is different from ordinary goods. It is a currency that can be exchanged for any goods."

Wu Yingji said: "The goods have a price, and the currency has a value. The exchange of goods and currencies must be of equal value, at least both buyers and sellers think they are of equal value. Therefore, currency is an equivalent commodity, and it is an equivalent currency specially used for transactions. "

"It can be defined in this way," Song Yingxing turned his head and said, "Write it down."

Zhu Cizhao hurriedly moved the pen to quickly record the content.

Song Yingxing said: "Money and currency have already been defined. Let's define a few elements of goods. How did the goods come from?"