In the east of Yangzhou, after a period of rain, the dark clouds dispersed, and the air after the rain was refreshing, mixed with the smell of earth and grass.

The plaques and banners of the Shanhai Bookstore branch exude wisps of moisture under the illumination of the slanting sun.

The three sisters of the You family, when they greeted Jia Cong, they had already seen the cargo boxes on the merchant ship behind the warship, it seems that Jia Cong was still doing business all the way on this trip?

You Shi couldn't help but ask this question, and said as he greeted Yongdao: "The person sitting in your seat still needs to do business in person?" I'm afraid I won't be able to spend all my life on the filial piety that my subordinates gave you......"

I haven't seen them for a long time, but Jia Cong doesn't get along with them much jerky.

Or is he also a vulgar person in his bones?

"Those merchant ships, not only the goods of the shops related to me, but also the other princes and nobles, of course, are only their operators, and they will not be said on the surface...... Because they want to go to the sea, as soon as the sea ban is opened, who doesn't want to get a piece of the pie in the sea trade? ”

"Counterfeit money is only two or three times the profit."

"Salt merchants, it's twenty or thirty times the profit."

"And sea trade can reach a hundredfold."

"However, maritime trade is not familiar to everyone, and the requirements for ships and other technologies are extremely high."

"I can't eat alone, and I don't want to, I don't have that much appetite, only a lot of people benefit. Only then can I successfully clean up the situation in Macao, Ningbo, Ryukyu, and Waguo. ”

Speaking of it, I feel relieved, in fact, the burden on his shoulders, Jia Cong has always felt quite heavy, can he succeed by following the pioneering system of the West?

He didn't know.

But I also analyzed and estimated it in detail in my heart.

In ancient China, there are actually many similar things to the West, such as the control of the governors by the kings of the West, which is almost the same as that of China. But, after all, there is a big difference.

"Why are you thinking about that?" After all, You Shi has also been in a high-ranking family, so naturally he has also heard and come into contact with some things in the West.

However, in general, it is very unfamiliar and not very well understood...... When I think of foreigners, I have the impression of a barbarian......

Because since the 16th and 17th centuries, there have still been a considerable number of Chinese Catholics who have infiltrated from the gentry to the people...... There were more than 100,000 followers in the Ming Dynasty.

Since China is a unified dynasty, the West has adopted a more "soft" approach......

If ancient China was not a unified dynasty, then the fate of the people in this land would be the same as that of the natives of the Americas...... During the colonial period, eight million Native Americans died!

Million!

It's not just a number, behind it are the countless shamelessness, squalor and meanness of the rulers of the empire...... The nicely said "labor distribution system" is actually just the slavery of those people......

The weak eat the strong, and the king becomes the king and loses.

Jia Cong shook his head, didn't think about it, and touched the back of You Shi with his palm dishonestly...... Laughing: "Who said I only have those in my head?" Isn't that still you? ”

"We?"

"Hmm...... You. ”

Second Sister You and Third Sister You are used to it - they are all honest people, no one blushes, and they walked until the hall, Jia Cong saw his child, and soon after giving birth, he hired a wet nurse to take care of it, babbling, fortunately, he was very healthy, and the mother and child were safe and sound.

It's just that this kid is a little fat, full of flesh, and a few short hairs that are very, very sparse, floating on his head, Jia Cong temporarily said: "Why don't you call Jia Xi?" ”

You Shi didn't follow, and said angrily: "You have to ...... according to the characters of the Jia family."

……

Jia Cong doesn't care, according to the word generation, according to the word generation, the feudal society is too tolerant of men, and illegitimate children can also be taken home, presumably You Shi's concern lies in this.

She was thinking about rolling over the sheets with the three sisters of the You family, and the concierge in the courtyard handed in the post, and You also persuaded him that business was important, Jia Cong saw it, cleaned up and went to the restaurant.

The person who sent the greeting post and treated him to a treat was Jasven, an old friend.

In the restaurant, first the old people saw each other, toasted each other a few glasses of wine, Jia Swen politely invited the girl, Jia Cong said that he had no idea, after all, the three stunners in Yangzhou City are already very beautiful, and they are still waiting for him.

Waving his hand to let the dancing and singing girls go down, Jasven calmly spoke: "My lord went to the southeast to supervise the teacher, speaking of which, we southerners still know a lot about Taixi's mission. Some accepted their sermons and joined Catholicism, others denounced heresy, and so on. ”

"Xia Guan has deep doubts about this, our dynasty does not need Western things, so there is no need to open the sea, Western things are better than nothing...... Why should you provoke some people to be dissatisfied? ”

Jasven's last few words, in Jia Cong's opinion, can be said to be to the point.

Unexpectedly, the enemy is the smartest, and perhaps, sometimes the enemy sees it most clearly.

"Yes, you have a few words that are quite right. I compared the information of the West going to the sea with Zheng He's going to the West, and found that whether it was shipbuilding, compass, or firearms, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, we were completely superior to the Westerners. And we didn't continue to open up the sea, as you said, for a very important reason: we didn't need much Western things, and the West had a great demand for silk, porcelain, spices, spices, and so on. ”

"Hmm...... Is there any other reason why the Overseer is saying? ”

Jia Cong calmly analyzed: "Of course, because in our dynasty, since ancient times, the emperor rarely 'borrowed' from civilians or officials to expand his territory. And the kings of the West can, open up the sea, what they need is money, and those officials who stick to the rules and rest on their laurels are not willing - we don't lack anything in the first place, so why bother to make trouble with those barbarians? ”

In fact, China is fully capable of opening up the Age of Discovery, but it has ceded this opportunity to Portugal and Spain, and the above two reasons are the most fundamental: one is that the West is in a trade deficit, and China is in a surplus, so there is no such demand. Second, the political and economic system of China's feudal society has a very solid side.

Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, there is this attribute, the Ming Dynasty went to the sea to a large extent to promote national prestige, and did not know how to use the advantage of the surplus to fight for something for the common people - even if it is not for the common people, it is always necessary to consider the rule.

In feudal society, the common people are the shepherds of the rulers, who are kept in captivity by the rulers, and are slowly exploited and blackmailed, and Wu Si's "Unspoken Rules" has made it very clear.

And the success of Portugal and Spain is due to many reasons, and it is by no means an overnight achievement, and another point is that these two countries on the Iberian Peninsula have a considerable part of the support of almost every class, from kings, bishops, nobles, merchants, and commoners.

After the liberation movement, they also urgently needed to transfer their domestic contradictions abroad.

In the Age of Discovery, they paid a great price, I don't know how many people died, colonial bloodshed, massacres, missions, etc., when they had to be condemned, their respect for talent and science, as well as the spirit of hard work, were worth learning, which made them a strong country, and at this time China began to gradually fall behind, and backwardness will be beaten.

Not in his position, not in his politics.

Since he was sitting in this position, of course Jia Cong had to do something.

"What are the chances of the Overseer?"

"I'm not trying to go far, I'm just going to open the way for my big pass. First, I can win over some of the vanguard of the aristocracy. In many of our places, as in the West, sons inherit from us, and the nobility has others who cannot inherit. ”

"Second, we have immigrants in the Ryukyus, Manila, and other places."

"Thirdly, the emperor and a part of the capable people support me."

"So, the odds are more than fifty percent."

"Jia someone, first congratulate the Inspector on his triumphant return......" Jasven silently stopped talking, he belongs to the kind of person who has two ends of the head, maybe ...... Jia Cong's courage is worthy of admiration.

……

Jaswin asked him out, didn't talk about anything else, didn't talk about past grievances, and talked calmly for an evening.

Back in the courtyard of Yangzhou City, repatriated the family, it was already dark, but the doors of the wings on both sides were not closed, Jia Cong was close to the window of the east wing, and heard Eryou talking.

Third Sister You's voice had a refreshing and spicy taste: "Catch up with Ming'er, I will also give birth to one." ”

"Alas......" Second Sister You let out a long sigh, was silent for a few seconds, and said half-resentfully, half-compassionately: "This is the difficulty of being a concubine of a dignitary, even if she is born, it is difficult to say whether she can go back or not." But after all, it is what you and my sisters are willing, and I would rather cry in a BMW carved car than laugh in a poor person's house......"

Jia Cong turned back to the west, entered the door directly, and drank a few cups with You Shi, the nurse and the girl withdrew, Jia Cong couldn't help but doubt and wonder: "What, don't you feed the child?" ”

"Feed what?" You Shi also felt strange.

Suddenly, seeing Jia Cong's ill-intentioned gaze, patrolling the indescribable parts below her neck, You Shi's still charming face turned red and took a sip.

When the wine is hot and the lights go out, everything becomes indescribable.