Liu Jin looked at the chaotic scene in front of him and fell into deep thought.
The conflict between the seemingly simple Confucian scholars and the new students is actually a confrontation between old and new ideas, and this is just the beginning. It can be foreseen that in the long time to come, the confrontation between old and new ideas and forces will continue.
It will continue to be staged and sweep across the entire Ming Dynasty and even the entire earth.
"Alas~"
Sighing, Liu Jin looked helpless.
Although time travelers have greatly changed the history and destiny of the Ming Dynasty through their own efforts, they are not gods after all and cannot change everything. Some things cannot be changed and are extremely inevitable.
The trend of historical development, under the rolling wheels, no one can change.
The development of capitalism and colonialism and the rise of new learning made Ming Dynasty prosperous and powerful, embarking on a completely different path from that in history.
But what those European countries had to go through in history was probably unavoidable for the Ming Dynasty.
Now it is just a confrontation between old and new learning. In the future, it will inevitably escalate to a confrontation between old and new ideas and forces. In the future, it is very likely to even become a confrontation between imperial power and capital.
Once the beast of capital develops and grows, it will expand rapidly, and the traditional feudal system will also greatly restrict and hinder its development. It will inevitably get rid of this restraint and restriction and break the old system.
Establish a new capitalist system that can better adapt to its own development,
Liu Jin was powerless to change all this, not to mention that it was Liu Jin who single-handedly supported this monster of capital. Liu Jin himself was one of the largest capitalists in the Ming Empire.
Now Liu Jin has also felt the heavy constraints and restrictions imposed by the traditional feudal system on the capitalist system. That is to say, the Ming Empire was large enough, with a large enough population, vast resources and a huge market.
If we were to look at Europe, where it was a small country with few people, the obstruction of the feudal system would be extremely powerful.
To give a very simple example, when capitalism was developing rapidly and budding in England's history, factories needed a large number of workers and a large amount of raw material wool.
However, most people in England are still farmers. They farm in the countryside, so the capitalists need to drive these farmers into the city to work in factories, and at the same time use the land cultivated by farmers to graze sheep.
More raw material wool can be obtained.
However, England's original feudal system did not allow such a thing to happen. Traditional feudal lords needed farmers to cultivate their land so that they could obtain tenant rent.
The contradictions between the two naturally became more and more irreconcilable, and the capitalist movement naturally emerged to overthrow the original feudal system and establish the capitalist system.
But the situation here in Ming Dynasty is different.
The Ming Dynasty itself had a large population, a huge population of 150 million. In the original traditional two capitals and thirteen provinces, almost every place had more people and less land. The average cultivated land was very little, and a large number of people wasted at least on cultivated land.
Factories can easily recruit the manpower they need because there are enough manpower to be separated from traditional agricultural production.
The second thing is about raw materials. Ming Dynasty covers a vast area. In the case of cotton, even if you grow some cotton casually, the factory can obtain enough raw materials.
Not to mention the market, a huge population is the biggest market.
All of this made the development of capitalism in the Ming Dynasty relatively easier than in Europe. Before it developed to a certain level, there was no need for a thorough confrontation with traditional feudal forces.
However, after these years of development, the capitalism of the Ming Dynasty has developed to a certain extent. Coupled with the rapid development of overseas colonization, the development of capitalism has also touched the top of the feudal system.
Any further development will inevitably be restricted and hindered by the traditional feudal system.
Just like in front of you.
The development of capitalism requires more emancipation of ideas and productivity, improved understanding of nature, research, and mastery of more advanced production technologies, and it requires the rapid development of new learning.
However, the court of the Ming Dynasty was controlled by traditional Confucianism. These Confucian scholars felt that these things were just fancy tricks and third-rate things, not worth mentioning at all.
They don't care if they don't learn. They even restrict others from learning and restrict the development of new learning. They want to beat the new learning to death with a stick, so that they can maintain their Confucian status and their status as traditional scholars.
This is just one aspect.
There are also businessmen who have a low status. They work hard to build factories, have tens of thousands of workers under them, and earn millions of taels of silver every year. Their status is not even as good as that of a scholar, and there are even many legal regulations for businessmen.
.
This will obviously hinder the development of capitalism. Although capitalists and businessmen are not the same, most capitalists evolved from businessmen.
Even today in the Ming Dynasty, factory owners, workshop owners, etc. are all regarded as businessmen.
"The capital of Ming Dynasty has developed too fast."
“Inherently, the capital of small European countries cannot be compared with it.”
Liu Jin smiled bitterly, sighing in his heart, not knowing whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Ignoring the students confronting each other at the school gate, Liu Jin returned to his home.
However, things did not calm down like that, in the morning of the next day.
"Your Majesty, I have this memorial~"
Xu Heng, the highest official in the Imperial Academy, stood up to offer wine at the Imperial Academy. He was ranked fourth in rank and belonged to the Ministry of Rites.
"Your Majesty, in recent years, new learning has emerged. The number of schools established and taught by students has increased. The trend of new learning has become stronger. Originally, teaching and educating people is a good thing and should be encouraged and supported."
"However, the methods taught by the new school are all eccentric and clever sexual techniques. There is no orthodox Confucian method, and there is no way to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. The eccentric techniques of sexual intercourse are all about teaching people to be opportunistic and to be lazy and unfavorable to work. If things go on like this,
Then the world will be turned upside down, the general order will be in chaos, the country will be in turmoil, and the country will be in turmoil."
"Therefore, I request your majesty to strictly prohibit the establishment of new schools and close all new schools in order to rectify the original source and protect the righteous way of Confucianism, protect the country of the Ming Dynasty, and enable the people of the Ming Dynasty to respect ethical principles and learn to be diligent and thrifty."
Xu Heng was already very old. When he said this, his beard couldn't help but twitch. At the same time, he looked extremely angry. It seemed as if the new learning was his life-or-death enemy and he would not fully implement the new learning.
If it is closed, he will not give up.
Hearing Xu Heng's words, the ministers who were preparing to go home from the morning session immediately cheered up and cheered up one by one.
Liu Jin, on the other hand, suddenly frowned at this moment.
What was supposed to come came.
In the end, the trouble reached the court. These Confucian people were no longer satisfied with making trouble at the gate of Xinxue.
After all, they would not get any advantage by making trouble at the school gate, and there would be some conflicts between the two parties. How could they, the weak Confucian scholars, be the opponents of the new students who were outnumbered?
But after all, the Confucian people controlled the court. They could easily convey their ideas to the court, and then intended to use the powerful power of the state machine to completely shut down the new learning.
It's just that this idea is too simple and naive.
Is his interest in Xinxue limited to Xinxue school?
What it represents is emerging capitalism and new power.
Although there are no new students who serve as officials in the imperial court, there are capitalists in the imperial court. The highest-ranking Emperor Hongzhi, the military generals and nobles below, and the officials who set up factories are all capitalists.
This is also the result of Liu Jin's long-term layout. Confrontation between the old and the new is inevitable, but the key is to tie more people to his own interests.
"Your Majesty, I think what Xu Jijiu said is true."
"What you learn in the new school are all tricks and tricks, not the right way. They are all opportunistic ways to teach people. The same is true for the machines and so on that have been developed."
"We, the people of the Ming Dynasty, originally worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, cultivating and reading family traditions. However, with the rise of new learning, people rushed to find clever ways and did not think about hard work, resulting in a large number of fertile fields being deserted and uncultivated.
There are a large number of gentry, and the scholarly families live in poverty because their fertile fields are uncultivated, and they cannot concentrate on studying the teachings of Confucius and Mencius."
"If things continue like this, the righteous path will wither, evil ways will rise, the country will be ruined, and the country will be in turmoil!"
As soon as Xu Heng finished speaking, another official stood up and expressed support.
This man's name was Li Renjie, an old Hanlin member of the Hanlin Academy. He was already in his seventies, with gray hair and beard, but he spoke with a clear accent.
The words also revealed a problem that Ming Dynasty is facing now, that is, with more and more factories, a large number of people are pouring from rural areas into cities, from farmers to factories, coupled with the vigorous overseas immigration, and
As for the traditional two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, many places are like the Beizhili area. No one is going to farm the land for the landlords and gentry anymore, and the fertile farmland continues to be deserted.
For those traditional landowners and gentry, this meaninglessness was a heavy blow. In the past, they relied on the land they controlled and did not have to do anything. They could live a good life of farming, studying and passing down family inheritance by collecting rent.
But now, when there is no one to farm for them, the fertile fields are deserted and they cannot collect the rent. At the same time, a large amount of overseas land is reclaimed and planted, causing the price of food to continue to drop.
These traditional landowners, the gentry, were undoubtedly the hardest hit. They could not receive tenant rent, their land was worthless, and their food was worthless. The foundation for their livelihood was destroyed, and their lives suddenly became impoverished.
Naturally, these landlords and gentry are actually the most opposed to capitalism.