Steel Dynasty - Chapter 826

[Chapter 825 Changing customs]

As June entered, the weather in Qingzhou suddenly became hotter.

At this time of year, he misses the contemporary sweatshirts and large pants very much. After all, compared to such a cool outfit, he can only walk around in a dragon robe now.

Fortunately, he was the emperor and had people waiting on him at all times. In order not to be distracted by the heat when dealing with government affairs, he asked Qian Dafu to find saltpeter and water, and at the same time asked the Equipment Department to make a hand-cranked fan.

When saltpeter meets water, it will absorb a large amount of heat in the water and cause the water to freeze. Using a fan can blow this cold wind over.

In this way, it is cool and humid, and the effect is not much different from installing an air conditioner in the house.

The only disadvantage is that it needs to consume strategic resources such as saltpeter. However, since taking control of Bashu, the Minerals Department has fully taken over the saltpeter caves in Shu. He finally does not have to worry about the shortage of saltpeter resources.

In the past, Qian Dafu always stood outside the door when Xiao Ming was handling government affairs, but now he stood inside.

This was Xiao Ming’s special offer in consideration of his hard work. This gesture was small, but it moved Qian Dafu very much.

While he was enjoying the coolness in the house, a young eunuch came outside the door. Qian Dafu asked the young eunuch and then returned to the house.

“Your Majesty, the Korean delegation has arrived in Qingzhou and was arranged by the Foreign Affairs Office to stay at the Jinxiu Restaurant.” Qian Dafu said.

Xiao Ming was correcting the papers that had been sent. He raised his head and pondered for a moment, and said, “I’ll see them again tomorrow. Forget it today, I’m not in the mood.”

Qian Dafu said yes, turned around and asked the eunuch to inform the Foreign Affairs Office, and then He turned around and asked, “The emperor was quite happy just now. Why is he out of mood now?”

Xiao Ming always trusted Qian Dafu and liked to talk to him about anything. He sighed and said, “I’m not an official yet.” I have only been on the throne for a few years, and all these officials can’t help but reach out to make money.”

“So that’s what happened,” Qian Dafu thought for a while and said, “Zi Dayu. At the beginning of the founding of the country, the problem of official corruption has been getting worse and worse. At that time, Emperor Gaozu beheaded tens of thousands of officials in anger, so that there was a shortage of officials everywhere in the country. However, this still cannot be cured, and now the people of Dayu are Although some officials graduated from Qingzhou University, most of them are old officials. These officials are accustomed to corruption. How can they stop it?”

Xiao Ming nodded. Qian Dafu was right. This corruption problem is 80% correct. It was caused by old officials, and 20% of it was caused by officials who came from Qingzhou University.

This is only from the brochure sent by the Overwatch Council. There are probably more officials who have not been discovered.

Regarding this problem, Xiao Ming sometimes feels powerless. The contemporary emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, almost killed all the officials but failed to contain this problem. How should he solve it now?

After pondering for a while, he said: “The root of corruption is not to kill, but to change customs. The Confucian etiquette that has been practiced for thousands of years is the root of corruption. This is a culture of corruption. As long as the soil of this culture is not eradicated, everything will be ruined.” Chongqing will continue to be corrupt forever.”

At this moment, Xiao Ming felt that it was important to develop technology, but it was also important to eradicate some dregs of culture. Of course, Confucian etiquette focused on etiquette.

However, after thousands of years of inheritance, this etiquette has gradually extended to matters such as giving gifts when doing things.

In addition to this kind of custom, he also disagrees with the relationship society and the human relationship society, because this is essentially a continuation of clan relationships, and it is also a drawback that hinders the realization of rule of law in Dayu.

In this kind of relationship, officials accept bribes through favors, thereby allowing the law to be trampled on.

At the same time, when one official becomes an official, the whole family’s chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven. Over time, in places where the ruling power of the court is weak, clan forces will appear to control a certain government department, or even a certain government department. local government affairs.

“Change customs, change customs, change customs…” Xiao Ming kept repeating, because this is the fundamental solution and the way to avoid the law of dynasties.

Qian Dafu was dumbfounded. The solution proposed by Xiao Ming was something he had never heard of before.

“Your Majesty, the people of Dayu are used to this kind of life, how difficult is it to change it?” Qian Dafu shook his head.

“It’s hard to say it’s hard, but it’s not hard to say it’s not. The imperial court represents the law, and Confucianism represents the moral restraints of the people. Naturally, changing customs must start from the foundation of culture. Confucianism changes customs, and the country of Chongqing changes customs.” Xiao Ming said.

Through these seven years of observation, Xiao Ming discovered that Confucian concepts are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and their status in the hearts of the people is not as good as Western Christianity.

Christian believers abide by the teachings, while officials and people who trust Confucianism abide by Confucian ideas.

If the people use the spirit of soaking in pig cages to deal with corruption, the corruption problem in Dayu will definitely be solved.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming felt that it was right not to completely eradicate Confucianism. Perhaps he could take on the title of both Great Confucian and Emperor of the Chongqing Kingdom, and cure the ills of the Chongqing Kingdom that had existed for thousands of years, both materially and spiritually.

Qian Dafu looked at Xiao Ming blankly. He felt that this emperor who never followed the rules was going to make some big noise again.

“By the way, where are the three Ge Yiren now?”

Xiao Ming asked. Naturally, this matter required the cooperation of the three of them.

He decided to create a scam of the century, so that the three people would become great Confucians representing the thoughts of the new era, and influence the thoughts of the people of Dayu through their works.

Of course, this idea must pass through his hands.

“They were in Qufu. After the news of the victory of the Northern Expedition came back, the three of them went to Qufu. I have to say that these three people are also extremely smart. With the power of the victory of the Northern Expedition, they are more confident.”

Xiao Ming nodded lightly. , “Ask them to come see me when they come back.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Qian Dafu responded.

After thinking about this matter, Xiao Ming wrote a written reply to the memorial. Although the customs must be changed, these corrupt officials must also be given a heavy blow, otherwise the punishments will be light and less intimidating, which will not be able to deter the current officialdom.

After correcting the memorial in his hand, Xiao Ming began to think about how to deal with Goryeo.

Obviously, to him, the current Goryeo is just a piece of fish on the chopping board, allowing him to slaughter it. Even if Goryeo fights him desperately, the final outcome will be defeat.

However, subduing the enemy without fighting is always better than using force. Since Goryeo wisely chose to surrender, he would take this opportunity to completely assimilate Goryeo and turn it into a government of Dayu.

This may take a long time, but leaving an unstable factor with Dayu is an unwise choice.

Therefore, what he had to do was assimilate, erase the history of Goryeo, and tame the Goryeo people.

(End of chapter)