"In our pre-Qin period, the East and the West were repeatedly moving between centralization and decentralization, hundreds of cold and summer, and finally parted ways and evolved out of their respective histories. The silent eyes clearly flashed with a glimmer of thousands of years of history, and he only listened to his words with pride: "If you carefully consider and compare the history of the East and the West, as long as you are realistic and realistic, you will admit that in the face of natural and external challenges, the advantage of imperial power is obviously ......, and this is determined by Ran for a long period of time." ”

"The ruthless iron rules of survival made Western Europe dare not use family to confront nature until our Ming Dynasty. During the Tang and Song dynasties, when small farmers talked around the fireplace, Europe was still terrified by the invasion of pirates. Castles and lords became the main horns of small forces against foreign enemies and nature, and backward agricultural production could not maintain a standing army at all, so war was like child's play. The battle of 100,000 people only took place in the legendary Athens and Roman periods. Even by the Renaissance, European civilization had not returned to the level of the Athenian city-state, and had always wandered in the poor, ambiguous Middle Ages, which was directly related to their inability to centralize power.

"On the other hand, in China, we use the strength of the whole country to fight against natural disasters and foreign enemies, so that the people can enjoy peace. No one knows if they can survive after giving up the imperial power, maybe they chose to divide power and were quickly wiped out by the enemies on the grassland, at least the Han and Tang dynasties and the two Song civilizations will not appear. It can be said that the choice of imperial power itself is the ...... of reason, and as you said, no one can negate the advanced with backwardness. ”

Zhang Juzheng listened intently, thinking seriously and nodding slowly.

"But the greatest harm of collective rights is the lack of competition.

The people at the top of the hierarchy are the gods of this society, without any competition, and can grab resources by any means. Since there is no restraint, the plunder must be endless, once the plunder exceeds the survival limit of the bottom, irreversible violence will erupt one by one against the county power, the goal is not to protect its own interests, but to become another imperial power. Silently and painfully: "From this, the Chinese civilization began a long cycle that began over and over again. You will clearly find that in this meaningless change of dynasties, our Chinese civilization has already reached a bottleneck, and we are not as strong as the Tang Dynasty and not as rich as the Song Dynasty, and we have begun to stand still like the European Middle Ages. ”

"At least we're a long way ahead of them before we get on the move." Zhang Juzheng said in a deep voice.

"Didn't you notice that they had come out of the loop and started to make great strides!" Shen Mo sighed lightly and said: "And our Ming Dynasty has been affected by the clan, the military system, finance and taxation, post delivery, Cao Yun... These carbuncles brought out of the mother's womb have tormented Oriental patients who are riddled with diseases and difficult to treat. Eastern and Western civilizations, after the pre-Qin period, have never approached as rapidly as they do today. But sadly, this is brought about by our weakness and their leap. ”

"Why were they the first to get out of the circle?" Zhang Juzheng asked.

"If you lose your horse, you don't know if it's a blessing. It is precisely because of Europe's backwardness that it has to embark on a path of trial and error. Under the framework of territorial fiefdom and partition, there was no unified royal power between lords and even kingdoms, so each region could conduct economic experiments independently. So we see all kinds of pictures in Europe: imperial Spain, decentralized England, authoritarian France, self-governing Holland, ...... and an interesting thing is happening there, the imperial Spain that you praise is facing the challenge of weak Britain, and there must be a war between the two sides for sea power. Spain claims to have an invincible arma and Britain only has a few pirate rookies, so if you were to make a bet, which one would you buy? ”

"Do you still need to ask, after all, strength speaks." Zhang Juzheng smiled: "I choose Spain." ”

"I'm the opposite of you." Shen Mo said lightly: "We might as well make a bet." ”

"Bet on what?"

"If you win, I'm willing to do whatever you want." Shen Mo smiled and said, "And vice versa." ”

"......" Zhang Juzheng looked at his silent and sincere face, and couldn't help but recall his failures again and again, and he was angry and realized that he might lose. But he felt that such an ending did not seem to be bad, so he nodded and said, "A word is safe." ”

"You're doomed." Silent and confidently smiled: "The victory of Britain will be decisive for Western Europe." Christianity has unified the culture of the people throughout Western Europe, and its successful political system and mode of production will spread throughout Europe. From then on, Europe will leap away from primitive family production and begin a major change in industrial organization and market system, the market will easily become the basis of economic activities, and the productive forces will develop greatly, and finally Western society will get rid of the vicious cycle of survival economy. After thousands of years of human civilization, the superiority of decentralization will be manifested for the first time! ”

"You and I know very well that our Daming is also undergoing an unprecedented change. On the decaying body of traditional political and production relations, new production relations, new ideas, new industrial and commercial towns, and new burghers have emerged and are growing rapidly. The old order is in jeopardy, and the new order has not yet taken shape, so it can be said that the Ming Dynasty has reached a critical moment where hope and destruction coexist. If we do a good job, our country will break through the shackles of the millennium and continue to be proud of the world's forests, reaching unprecedented heights. If you don't go well, you will be destroyed by the húnluàn and weakness of this period, and you will be completely thrown off by the West! ”

"How do you know that the decentralization of power in the West is for us?"

"I've never said that, and I never think so." Shen said in a deep voice: "As I said before, what kind of system each country chooses is determined by its historical, social, economic, geographical and other objective conditions. A superpower like ours cannot adopt the treatment of breaking down and standing up, and in today's day, when communication is still very primitive, rashly abolishing the right of centralization and adopting decentralization will only lead to the country falling into húnluàn and splitting! ”

"So, you're not against collective rights?"

"What I'm against is autocracy, not collective power! The collective right has an incomparable superiority in maintaining unity and stability and enhancing national competitiveness, and this has been the case in the past and will be the same in the future. He spoke for too long, and his voice was a little hoarse, but his tone became more and more firm: "But we can't tie the fate of the country to one person. The founders of all empires were undoubtedly the best in terms of military prowess and politics, and they could give up immediate pleasures and benefits for the sake of the country's long-term peace and security. However, there is no system that can guarantee that a successor will inherit these advantages, and an imbecile successor will appear sooner or later, which is the fate of autocratic dictatorship! ”

"We in China have proved this point with countless histories, and if there is no accident such as the invasion and destruction of civilization by foreign enemies, the day of abolishing the dictatorship and dictatorship must not be far off!" Shen Mo let out a long sigh, and said with great certainty.

"Anti-autocracy is not anti-collective", Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly, chewed the meaning of these words, and asked: "Can you tell me what your ideal system is?" ”

"All those in power, including the emperor, have only limited power, and they must be supervised and balanced by the system." He said in a deep voice: "The emperor has the right of veto over military and political personnel, but he does not deal with any specific affairs. The day-to-day government affairs of the country are still handled by the cabinet and six ministries. However, major military affairs should be decided by the court, and those who participate in the court meeting should not be limited to the six ministries and nine secretaries, but should also have officials of science and technology, as well as elected representatives of various provinces. The decisions made by the court were not even opposed by the emperor. ”

"In addition to the fact that the emperor is hereditary for life, civil officials, including the prime minister, adopt a term system, such as the first assistant for a five-year term, and cannot be re-elected for two consecutive terms." Shen Mo continued to put forward his idea: "Officials are still selected by the imperial examination, but the imperial examination must be reformed, in addition to the Four Books and the Five Classics, practical learning must also be examined, and different ministries have different examination subjects......

"The allegiance of the army is to the state. The appointment and dismissal of ordinary officers shall be the responsibility of the Ministry of War. Rations were provided by the Ministry of Households, and weapons were produced by the Ministry of Industry. The opening of a truce must be authorized by the Chamber. The officer's duty is to manage the army, train and fight, and the rest is not to be taken care of. If the army leaves the defense area without authorization, it will be regarded as a rebellion against the country. ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I finally understand, it turns out that the Wanli New Deal you are implementing is all for the sake of this political system and experimenting." After listening to the silent words, Zhang Ju said in a complicated manner: "It's really deliberate!" Saying that, he sneered and said, "But there is one person who does not agree, no matter how well you prepare, it will be in vain." Zhang Juzheng sneered: "The emperor will not compromise, he stands in the name of righteousness, and has the power of tyranny in his hands." No matter how many things you do, I only have this one move, and you have no chance of winning. Unless you dare to rebel, then you are a traitor......"

"Some people say that Xiucai rebels and can't succeed in ten years, that's because Xiucai has a long time to prepare, as long as Xiucai is given more than ten or two years and ten years, if he dares to rebel, the success rate will definitely be high, and there will not be so many sequelae." Ma Yuan served the tea, took a sip silently, and smiled lightly: "If you don't believe it, let's see." ”

"Let's fight again" ,..." Zhang Juzheng was halfway through his words when he heard the sound of 'oh oo He stopped talking, and saw a sweaty guard running up.

The guard whispered a few words in Shen Mo's ear, and Shen Mo's face was completely bloodless, and he looked at the river and was speechless for a long time.

Zhang Juzheng didn't want to ask questions, so he waited quietly.

Shen Mo didn't let him wait long, and then his eyes were red and said, "Mr. He, it's righteous." ”

"Ah...", Zhang Juzheng was taken aback, and he was also gloomy. Anyway, it was also his old friend, and they had just drunk together.

"New hatred and old hatred, don't repay non-people!" Shen Mo smashed the teacup in his hand and said, "Pass my order, the negotiation between the Huilian and the household department will be suspended!" ”

"Don't be impulsive." For this negotiation, Zhang Ju knows exactly that. He said in horror: "Otherwise, you will see a miracle immediately!" ”

"The Connecting will be fine." Silent and faint, he took his hat and said: "I won't go back to Hubei next, do you want to go with me, or go back to the original villa." ”

"Whatever the guest wants." Zhang Juzheng pouted, it was okay not to do this choice.

"Then come with me." said silently: "If you don't like it, you can say it, as long as it makes sense, I will definitely listen." ”

"You're welcome." The two talked, went downstairs, first went to the river to worship He Xinyin, and then took a boat into the Yangtze River and went east to Shanghai.

,,","一一,,一,,一,一,一,一,

Beijing, 3rd floor of Tianshunlou Hotel.

In this deep-relationship restaurant, the negotiation between the household department and Huilian has been going on for a month.

However, it is said that in the eleventh year of Wanli, the third year of the emperor's pro-government, the financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty was highlighted. On the one hand, it was because the young emperor was so happy that he was overjoyed. On the other hand, during his reign, Shen Mo always controlled the national treasury of silver below 10 million taels, and except for the budgets for various ministries and provinces, the rest of the money was used to buy grain,... This is a measure that must be taken in the early days of the whip law. However, the stabilization of food prices has made it difficult for the country to make unplanned expenditures.

The silent method is to use state tax revenues as a guarantee to issue treasury bonds in a targeted manner. Because during the period when he was in power, a whip law had been consolidated, and the law had been tested to achieve results, and the tax source and tax revenue were guaranteed. Therefore, Huilian and Sunrise are scrambling to subscribe for treasury bonds.

Because the national debt is long-term, in the short term, only regular interest payments are required, and the imperial court is naturally very happy. Therefore, after so many years, it has become a habit of the household department to find a bank if it is difficult. Later, it gradually became a common practice, and meetings were held every year to decide how many treasury bonds should be issued that year.

However, this year's negotiations are somewhat peculiar, because the first batch of 11 million taels of 10-year treasury bonds has matured. With the embarrassment that the imperial court is now unable to make ends meet, it is necessary to raise new debts first to pay interest, and where can they get the money to pay off the old debts?

The Ministry of Household means that it is best to reduce part of the national debt, or extend it for another ten years.

However, the two banks said they needed to look at the accounts of the household department to assess the risks.

Inspecting the accounts is a routine matter before the annual sale of treasury bonds, but this year, the household department did not dare to show it to Huilian and Sunrise...... Unable to make ends meet and the emperor's encroachment, the accounts of the household department are already miserable, if you show it, can you still have a good one?

So this negotiation was very difficult. The left shì lang Song punishment and the right shì lang Yang Junmin attacked the fortifications separately, the former was responsible for the Huilian, and the latter was responsible for the rising long, no matter what, grinding tofu also had to grind the negotiations. Sooner or later, anyone will appear, and Zhan is the fate of the dictatorship! ”

"We in China have proved this point with countless histories, and if there is no accident such as the invasion and destruction of civilization by foreign enemies, the day of abolishing the dictatorship and dictatorship must not be far off!" Shen Mo let out a long sigh, and said with great certainty.

"Anti-autocracy is not anti-collective", Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly, chewed the meaning of these words, and asked: "Can you tell me what your ideal system is?" ”

"All those in power, including the emperor, have only limited power, and they must be supervised and balanced by the system." He said in a deep voice: "The emperor has the right of veto over military and political personnel, but he does not deal with any specific affairs. The day-to-day government affairs of the country are still handled by the cabinet and six ministries. However, major military affairs should be decided by the court, and those who participate in the court meeting should not be limited to the six ministries and nine secretaries, but should also have officials of science and technology, as well as elected representatives of various provinces. The decisions made by the court were not even opposed by the emperor. ”

"In addition to the fact that the emperor is hereditary for life, civil officials, including the prime minister, adopt a term system, such as the first assistant for a five-year term, and cannot be re-elected for two consecutive terms." Shen Mo continued to put forward his idea: "Officials are still selected by the imperial examination, but the imperial examination must be reformed, in addition to the Four Books and the Five Classics, practical learning must also be examined, and different ministries have different examination subjects......

"The allegiance of the army is to the state. The appointment and dismissal of ordinary officers shall be the responsibility of the Ministry of War. Rations were provided by the Ministry of Households, and weapons were produced by the Ministry of Industry. The opening of a truce must be authorized by the Chamber. The officer's duty is to manage the army, train and fight, and the rest is not to be taken care of. If the army leaves the defense area without authorization, it will be regarded as a rebellion against the country. ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I finally understand, it turns out that the Wanli New Deal you are implementing is all for the sake of this political system and experimenting." After listening to the silent words, Zhang Ju said in a complicated manner: "It's really deliberate!" Saying that, he sneered and said, "But there is one person who does not agree, no matter how well you prepare, it will be in vain." Zhang Juzheng sneered: "The emperor will not compromise, he stands in the name of righteousness, and has the power of tyranny in his hands." No matter how many things you do, I only have this one move, and you have no chance of winning. Unless you dare to rebel, then you are a traitor......"

"Some people say that Xiucai rebels and can't succeed in ten years, that's because Xiucai has a long time to prepare, as long as Xiucai is given more than ten or two years and ten years, if he dares to rebel, the success rate will definitely be high, and there will not be so many sequelae." Ma Yuan served the tea, took a sip silently, and smiled lightly: "If you don't believe it, let's see." ”

"Let's fight again" ,..." Zhang Juzheng was halfway through his words when he heard the sound of 'oh oo He stopped talking, and saw a sweaty guard running up.

The guard whispered a few words in Shen Mo's ear, and Shen Mo's face was completely bloodless, and he looked at the river and was speechless for a long time.

Zhang Juzheng didn't want to ask questions, so he waited quietly.

Shen Mo didn't let him wait long, and then his eyes were red and said, "Mr. He, it's righteous." ”

"Ah...", Zhang Juzheng was taken aback, and he was also gloomy. Anyway, it was also his old friend, and they had just drunk together.

"New hatred and old hatred, don't repay non-people!" Shen Mo smashed the teacup in his hand and said, "Pass my order, the negotiation between the Huilian and the household department will be suspended!" ”

"Don't be impulsive." For this negotiation, Zhang Ju knows exactly that. He said in horror: "Otherwise, you will see a miracle immediately!" ”

"The Connecting will be fine." Silent and faint, he took his hat and said: "I won't go back to Hubei next, do you want to go with me, or go back to the original villa." ”

"Whatever the guest wants." Zhang Juzheng pouted, it was okay not to do this choice.

"Then come with me." said silently: "If you don't like it, you can say it, as long as it makes sense, I will definitely listen." ”

"You're welcome." The two talked, went downstairs, first went to the river to worship He Xinyin, and then took a boat into the Yangtze River and went east to Shanghai.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beijing, 3rd floor of Tianshunlou Hotel.

In this deep-relationship restaurant, the negotiation between the household department and Huilian has been going on for a month.

However, it is said that in the eleventh year of Wanli, the third year of the emperor's pro-government, the financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty was highlighted. On the one hand, it was because the young emperor was so happy that he was overjoyed. On the other hand, during his reign, Shen Mo always controlled the national treasury of silver below 10 million taels, and except for the budgets for various ministries and provinces, the rest of the money was used to buy grain,... This is a measure that must be taken in the early days of the whip law. However, the stabilization of food prices has made it difficult for the country to make unplanned expenditures.

The silent method is to use state tax revenues as a guarantee to issue treasury bonds in a targeted manner. Because during the period when he was in power, a whip law had been consolidated, and the law had been tested to achieve results, and the tax source and tax revenue were guaranteed. Therefore, Huilian and Sunrise are scrambling to subscribe for treasury bonds.

Because the national debt is long-term, in the short term, only regular interest payments are required, and the imperial court is naturally very happy. Therefore, after so many years, it has become a habit of the household department to find a bank if it is difficult. Later, it gradually became a common practice, and meetings were held every year to decide how many treasury bonds should be issued that year.

However, this year's negotiations are somewhat peculiar, because the first batch of 11 million taels of 10-year treasury bonds has matured. With the embarrassment that the imperial court is now unable to make ends meet, it is necessary to raise new debts first to pay interest, and where can they get the money to pay off the old debts?

The Ministry of Household means that it is best to reduce part of the national debt, or extend it for another ten years.

However, the two banks said they needed to look at the accounts of the household department to assess the risks.

Inspecting the accounts is a routine matter before the annual sale of treasury bonds, but this year, the household department did not dare to show it to Huilian and Sunrise...... Unable to make ends meet and the emperor's encroachment, the accounts of the household department are already miserable, if you show it, can you still have a good one?

So this negotiation was very difficult. The left shì lang Song punishment of the household department, and the right shì lang Yang Junmin attacked the fortifications separately, the former was responsible for the Huilian, and the latter was responsible for the rising long, no matter what, grinding tofu also had to grind the negotiations.