keep!

How many people have thought carefully about how the mentality of seeking stability and unchanging arises?

Why did all countries become enterprising during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but China became increasingly conservative after the Qin and Han Dynasties?

When Europeans came to the East that had been dreamt of for thousands of years, when they directly observed China, what shocked them the most was undoubtedly the unique tradition of unification in this country. The Chinese Empire, which was close to the entire Europe, appeared long before Jesus' birth, and this Chinese Empire could maintain such a unified scale for most of the following two thousand years. In contrast, Europe had never had similar powers after the collapse of the Romans' prosperous times.

In fact, it is not just Europe, but other major civilization centers in the world have never had a unified case as long as ancient China.

What led to such a "great unification"?

In addition to the relatively single ethnic composition and the Han population occupying an absolute dominant position, what is more important is the ideological "unification", which is often the blame for the backwardness of modern China, and is also an indispensable factor for the continued unification of China.

In fact, Confucianism has never been conservative, and even it has evolved continuously with the historical process of the Chinese Empire. From the day when Confucianism was "respected by Confucianism alone", what is the core of Confucianism?

It is to maintain the order and unity of the empire!

In learning from the lessons of past dynasties, Confucianism has been constantly changing, and it has become conservative and introverted. The ideas it advocates to follow order, pay attention to people's livelihood, advocate upper authority, pursue stability and harmony, be cautious in fighting or even not fight, are the core of the empire to maintain the stability of the empire. After all, history tells the world that the huge Chinese empire is often destroyed from the inside.

How to maintain stability within the empire is the most important issue for the rulers.

Conservative and unchanging.

Defense and no fight.

It became a must to maintain the stability of the empire.

All this seemed to have promoted the "great unification" of the Chinese Empire, but it made the Chinese Empire lose the ability to try and error, and even the ability to forge ahead.

A unified world empire actually puts eggs in a basket.

The risk is too great!

History has also proved this point. Without fierce competition, this unified empire pursues only the stability of the empire, that is, the so-called "peaceful and prosperous era". For the so-called "peaceful and prosperous era", this empire can do whatever it takes, which itself is the inevitable cost of the ruler to maintain rule!

Why did the Qing Dynasty measure China's material resources and win the favor of friendly countries?

It is to maintain the rule of one family!

Why are new policies implemented and even constitutional?

It is also to maintain the rule of one family!

Why do you want to abolish constitution?

Not for the rule of one family!

What was the emperor of the Song Dynasty who promoted the tribute and called the son emperor?

Not for the rule of one family!

Even the marriages of the Han and Tang dynasties were for the so-called "peace of the world" and for the so-called "living and working in peace and contentment".

As for the war!

What is the cost of war?

Has the population of Hanwu been halved?

Sui Yang lost his deer?

Or are the bandits of Chongzhen everywhere?

In short, for the Central Plains Empire, war has never been the best choice, because once the war breaks out, it is likely to shake the foundation of the country. Whether it is the young and strong man needed to mobilize hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops, the civilians who transport military rations, or the military pay for the war, it may cause the burden on the people, the people will live in poverty, and eventually lead to civil unrest. This kind of civil unrest may even destroy the entire empire.

This is true for war and radical changes. Why do those literati and officials oppose change? It is not that they stick to the laws of their ancestors. But because they are afraid that reform will destroy the stability of the empire. After all, the lessons of history also tell them that reform may make the country strong, but it will also lead to unrest in the country and even lead to the demise of the country. So they would rather ignore the problem and use tradition to maintain the stability of the empire. At least stability can allow the empire to continue operating.

As for the future?

There may be better choices in the future, who knows?

Therefore, conservatism and stability became the inevitable choices of the empire.

This conservatism and the Chinese Empire fell into a vicious circle, and the three hundred-year cycle law is always a cycle of chaos and great governance.

After the glorious prosperous times, the arrival of troubled times is always accompanied by the arrival of troubled times.

When people summarize their experience, they always say that land annexation and corruption are caused. In the end, these things lead to people’s misfortune and social conflicts, and ultimately they can only start over.

But what about it?

When a dynasty is committed to enterprising and striving for the motivation to govern, and try every means to maintain the stability of the empire, the decline of the empire is inevitable. This is the so-called "crisis of prosperity", because when people are in prosperity, they will try every means to "maintain prosperity", and the best choice to maintain the "maintain prosperity" is to remain unchanged!

The best choice is not to take risks, after all, taking risks may lose that little possession.

But while the change remains unchanged, the social environment is changing increasingly, the royal family and the powerful are becoming increasingly large, the land and power are becoming increasingly concentrated, the social class is becoming increasingly solidified, the social vitality is becoming increasingly lost, the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming increasingly widening, the system cannot adjust itself and innovate, and internal and external problems are accumulated...

What was waiting for it in the end?

Naturally, people are living in poverty, and they are internal and external troubles, and naturally they are people who are taking the lead.

It's another cycle!

Once again, I will start over!

This is the cycle of the Chinese dynasty!

In order to break this cycle, from the day he became emperor, Zhu Guoqiang, while promoting the colonial route and alleviating the pressure on wealth (land), he also began to take another route, constantly enfeoffing the vassal states, allowing those vassal kings to control the government affairs themselves, and eventually they would embark on different development paths.

Even if the steamships and steam locomotives are connected together now, they cannot change the preferences of the princes and kings. "The superiors have a preference and the subordinates will be even more likely." Shang Yang, Sun Bin, Su Qin, Zhang Yi, and Le Yi, who always "have talent but are not met", were unable to gain weight in their own country and were valued in another country. They implemented reforms and achieved the strength of the country.

Of course, this alleviates the possibility of class solidification. After all, for those who have learned knowledge, their choices are diverse. Moreover, for their own strength, the vassal states will also surrender talents without any restrictions. Instead of letting power concentrate in the hands of the old nobles and letting wealth concentrate in the hands of a few.

Even now, when these princes unanimously expand to the "non-our race" category, in order to achieve the goal of "a great country with a thousand miles", the princes were trying their best to recruit talents, which even made the Ming Dynasty feel pressure. As early as more than ten years ago, some court officials went to the vassal states in their country, saying that "there are more famous foreign scholars than carp people" and hoped that the court would restrict the outflow of talents.

Of course, Emperor Zhu would not agree. This is exactly what he hoped to see that the diversity of Chinese civilization was guaranteed! With more routes and more choices, there will be capital for trial and error and tolerance. Is there only one way to succeed for a civilization?

Zhu Guoqiang had no answer in his mind, but he believed that it was always right to choose more than a "way to success" planned in advance. After all, there are too many accidental factors in the long river of history. If you are not careful, you may be in a desperate situation. If the country goes a wrong way, the result will probably be disastrous for this civilization.

It's always right to have an extra backup.

Even if the big account is finished, the small account will continue to practice!

The Ming Dynasty was the big group of Chinese civilization. As for the hundreds of Zhu vassal states from Southeast Asia to West Asia and to North America, even Persian Li and Babylon Li were small groups of Chinese civilization. In a sense, this vast land was a "gu farm". Like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chinese civilization created a new "gu farm" model there. They learned from each other and competed with each other, and what kind of "gu king" would they eventually give birth to?

"Isn't this the survival of the fittest?"

Zhu Guoqiang said to himself.

But then he understood that this was inevitable. The traditional thought of Chinese civilization would make the Ming Dynasty and the vassal states move towards unification again after experiencing the "foundation period" of "not our race", but this "foundation period" will take at least two or three hundred years. After that, they will break out wars with each other, and these wars will last for a long time, and only the strong can survive in the end.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the "Gu King" of Qin was raised.

What kind of "Gu King" will China develop in two or three hundred years?

While curious, Zhu Guoqiang suddenly felt that this seemed impossible. It was almost impossible to unify all the princes.

Even if it is the Ming Dynasty, it does not have the ability. After all, he is facing a group of tigers and evil wolves. The princes will definitely do everything possible to maintain their "independence".

"Okay, let's let you compete with each other and learn from each other..."

Zhu Guoqiang, who had already gotten up by the car window, said to himself.

He knew that Chinese civilization entered the "Spring and Autumn Period" again, and the challenge that needs to be a "Gu King" would be an unprecedented industrial revolution!

Steam engines have been popular for decades now. The domestic factories are developing extremely rapidly. The industrial revolution with steam engines as the core has begun, not only in the Ming Dynasty, but also in the vassal states. The development of the vassal states is even slightly surpassing the Ming Dynasty. Because the vassal states are insufficient in the population and labor force, factory owners are keen on purchasing various machinery. Stimulated by market demand, the metallurgy and machinery manufacturing industries of the vassal states are quickly catching up with the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty was not behind. After all, the Ming Dynasty's labor force was not necessarily sufficient. The Ming Dynasty's population was constantly outflowing. After all, both colonies and vassal states were attracting immigrants in large quantities. Therefore, the demand for machinery was naturally higher. With market demand, business owners were naturally willing to invest and encourage scholars and craftsmen to study machinery.

When the Chinese civilization once again launched the "Gu-raising" mode, with the stimulation of the industrial revolution, what kind of fruit will the Chinese civilization bear?

At this moment, Zhu Guoqiang couldn't help but look forward to it:

"The "Gu-raising" model...The industrial revolution...It's a pity that I am old... What will that future look like..."

It would be great if I could go to that era...

Unfortunately, it was just thinking about it. Not to mention that era, even the "time and space gate" that brought Zhu Guoqiang to this era lost its effect after many trips in the first few years. Perhaps it naturally disappeared due to energy.

Alas...it's a pity!

Suddenly, at this moment, Zhu Guoqiang heard the sound of the train brakes suddenly. When his body leaned forward violently, he hurriedly held the sofa. The steel wheels made a harsh sound when they rubbed against the rails. The sparks during friction lit up the night like fireworks.

What's going on?

Before he could react, he felt that the carriage seemed to be tilting, and then he fell down. He also fell down.

Yu'er, who fell off the bed, screamed in horror.

"Grandmad, what's wrong with this..."

Before Zhu Guoqiang could figure out what was going on, a burst of gunfire came from the dark night.

"There are bandits!"

Du Mingwei, who was knocked out of sight, shouted loudly.

"Squad leader, take down the machine gun, and Squad 2, go out with me..."

When he gave the order, he heard the sound of horse hooves and the shouts of the people in the sky. They rode their horses and fired their guns.

"Quick, machine gun..."

When Du Mingwei was shouting to set up a machine gun, Li Laiheng, who fell from the bed, was stunned for less than half a second, grabbed the pistol and shouted at the guards who broke in.
To be continued...