"What do we need most?"

Faced with His Majesty's angry "burden", Guan Mingtang pushed back with a rhetorical question. His rhetorical question made Zhang Zhidòng, Liu Nengxian and others all pinch a cold sweat for him.

In the past, people used to say that "when Lord Guan was in the West, he must have drunk with leopard gall all day long", this was changed to today, maybe Zhang Zhi dòng would have laughed, but this time, he couldn't laugh, he hadn't seen the courtiers who contradicted the emperor, or Cixi, didn't someone contradict her?

But someone like Guan Mingtang who has no scruples, he has opened his eyes today.

Surprisingly, Zhang Zhidòng noticed that Shi Si, who had the nickname of "Founding Prince", did not speak, he just looked serious and half-closed his eyes, as if he did not notice Guan Mingtang's disrespect.

It's not the right thing

Zhang Zhidòng noticed it, and Yuan Shikai, as the "subject", naturally noticed it, and Yuan Shikai even deliberately observed Shi Si's breathing, his breathing was not hurried or slow, and he was all in a graceful and wandering demeanor.

If you change to normal...... It is estimated that Shi Si would have pounced on Guan Mingtang and bitten him twice, but today, like a person who has nothing to do, he turned a blind eye to Lord Guan's "trip without a king and a father".

With a muffled snort, Chen Moran didn't speak, but he kept his ears open and waited for Guan Mingtang to continue.

"We need machines the most. However, in order to build a machine, steel is needed. And in order for the machine to start, power is needed. This ......"

Shen yín for a moment, looking directly at His Majesty who seemed to be contemplative, Guan Mingtang said word by word.

"That's what China needs, as for the peasants......"

The original generous voice changed.

"When the country becomes rich and strong in the future, it will be enough to directly exempt the agricultural tax per mu of land."

Listening to Guan Mingtang's words, everyone understood that he was going to hand His Majesty a choice, whether to choose industry or agriculture. Whether to choose a strong country or a weak country.

"Your Majesty, although we have built the most cars in the world, although we can produce nearly two million tons of steel, in essence, we are still an agricultural country, China, leaving the industrial belt along the Yangtze River, leaving the provincial capitals, such a big China, you can't see a single electric light, a machine, this country is the same as more than two thousand years ago, it is still a primitive and backward agricultural country that has hardly changed for thousands of years, this is China"

While unceremoniously pointing out a fact, Guan Mingtang said in a tone that seemed to be persuasive but could not be questioned.

"On the issue of agriculture, Chen feels that many people may have made a mistake, compared with Europe and the United States, and even Russia, our agriculture is extremely backward, in the United States, a family can cultivate hundreds of acres of arable land, while in China, a family can only cultivate at most twenty or thirty acres of land, this is the root of our agricultural backwardness, we spend too much manpower on agriculture, and now many people see that the peasants who account for 90% of the Chinese population are very poor, so they all want to make a fuss about land policy, what rent reduction and interest reduction, To some extent, the fundamental starting point and direction of the cultivator are wrong."

Although he was suspected of having no scruples, when he said it, Guan Mingtang still pointed the question to "many people", instead of pointing directly at His Majesty who raised these things.

"The current situation determines that we must use a lot of manpower to disperse the divided land in order to complete the production of agricultural products to feed the people of the whole country. As long as this status quo is not changed, it is impossible to reduce the agricultural population, therefore, to a certain extent, China should not only not realize that the cultivators have their own land, but should instead replace manpower with modern animal-powered machinery and even machinery by providing low-cost agricultural machinery to the landlords and rich peasants, replace manpower with machines, and use machines to drive the hired peasants, middle peasants, and poor peasants into the cities, so that they can enter the factories, sell food, and build roads, what does the country need to do in this process? It's about providing them with as many jobs as possible."

If it was in the past, Zhang Zhidòng would have shouted absurdity, there is no farming, what does it mean that tens of millions or even tens of thousands of peasants have lost the opportunity to work in the countryside, it means that the number of displaced people has increased greatly, it means that there is chaos, and even together with Shi Si, who originally had half-closed eyes, his eyes would have widened in shock, and Chen Moran also looked at Guan Mingtang with an incredible look.

"We can buy the most advanced machines and gradually produce advanced machines, and we can continue to manufacture industrial products, but where is our market? Is it possible, like a car, to rely on exports? Why are automobile exports entangled in lawsuits in the United States, we must rely on the domestic market, and the "alternative industry" established in the short term is not precisely to meet the needs of the domestic market? In China, 10 of the urban population consumes 70 of the modern industrial products, and 90 of the peasants consume only 30 of the industrial products, the peasants, the peasants...... The consumption of industrial products by three peasant households cannot catch up with the consumption of industrial products by a poor urban household".

Facing Guan Mingtang's gushing words, Chen Moran was in the same surprise as everyone else, what was he talking about? To use the word I am familiar with, it is "urbanization", and later generations have talked about it for decades, from what urbanization to what urbanization, and in the end, it is still a farmer or a farmer, and the city is not a city, which is nothing more than a slogan.

"Even the poor families in the slums consume more than the peasants"

"According to you, if in the future, millions or even tens of thousands of people are really "driven" by machines to the cities, and when it comes to the chūn festival, they will go home, it will be a nightmare just for the Jiāo Pass problem."

Although he did not deny that an industrial country was exactly what China needed and what he was pursuing, Chen Moran still used something he was familiar with to refute Guan Mingtang, perhaps purely to use this refutation to tell him that he could not always be right

In China a few decades later, there are hundreds of millions of migrant workers, which is the world's largest seasonal mobile character, and of course, China also has the world's unique chūn luck, many years ago, when I was in college, I was even "lucky" to experience the chūn luck that "if you don't wear niào pants, you can squeeze others to get pregnant".

His eyes opened slightly, Guan Mingtang looked at His Majesty with puzzled eyes, not only him, but almost everyone looked at His Majesty with the same eyes, how could His Majesty ask such a ...... One question.

"Your Majesty"

Sensing that His Majesty seemed to be a little proud of his rebuttal, Guan Mingtang couldn't help but laugh in his heart.

"If your wife and children are all around, why do you need to return to your hometown during the Chūn Festival? I went home in the city, my family was in the city, and I returned to my hometown...... At most, it's just occasional, who would deliberately go back to their hometown? ”

When Guan Mingtang hesitated to speak in words that did not irritate His Majesty as much as possible, everyone in the office made an absent-minded appearance, as if they had not noticed His Majesty's "gaffe" at all.

Sensing their looks, Chen Moran felt that he seemed to have said a "idiot" question, otherwise they wouldn't be like this, but no, this is China, and there is also China, why are they so confident that there will be no chūn luck here. But it seems to be ...... It seems that chūn transport only exists in China, but it can be ......

Although he had some doubts in his heart, Chen Moran still decided not to ask this question that might damage "Tianwei".

"Master Guan, I don't know, if so many poor people crowd into the city, who knows that there are no thieves in it, if they can't find a job, they may become robbers, if the homeless people are used by others, I am afraid that there will be endless disasters."

Seeing that no one was paying attention to the work camp anymore, Yuan Shikai opened his mouth to ask about a matter within his scope of responsibility.

"Lord Yuan, if we want to complete the transformation from an agricultural country to an industrial country in a relatively short period of time, it will inevitably lead to some complex social confusion, and naturally a large number of urban poor people are also one of the problems, which will bring about some confusion and other problems. What is important is that in addition to the transformation from agriculture to industry, there is also the transformation from a backward agricultural economy to a modern industrial and commercial economy, and further, there is a great transformation from the agricultural culture "loess civilization" to the industrial culture "iron and steel civilization". ”

Looking at Guan Mingtang who was talking there, almost for a moment, Chen Moran had an illusion, could it be that this Guan Mingtang also traveled from the future? This thought just flashed, and looking at Guan Mingtang's eyes, it changed, to a certain extent, he was able to tolerate Guan Mingtang's "guilty words", perhaps because he had something that others did not have, not only was he a person who did things, but also a ...... Well, he should be one step ahead

"All countries that have undergone industrial transformation have had many pains in the process of changing from agricultural countries to industrial countries, and Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, without exception, have suffered from such and such pains of change, and this process is something that a country must bear, Your Majesty."

Turning his gaze to His Majesty, Guan Mingtang decided to quote a sentence that His Majesty said, which is still admired by the "**" people in China and even other countries.

You once said, "If you seek the happiness of civilization, you will understand the suffering, and this pain is called **." It should be said that this is the best interpretation of ** that the minister has ever seen. And the minister also believed that in order to seek the future of a strong country, he must go through the pain of a strong country, and this pain is called rising"

"It's okay to shoot horses like that...... No, it's a dragon's fart? ”,

Yuan Shikai couldn't help muttering in his heart, and at the same time, he shouted for Guan Mingtang, this Guan is not stupid, this person is afraid that he is the biggest competitor of being the "Prime Minister", and His Majesty seems to be ...... Well, pampering

No, we have to find a way

A sentence that seemed to be a quote or a low monologue made Chen Moran fall into deep thought, his eyes drooped slightly, seemingly calm, but his heart could not be calm.

To seek the future of a strong country, we must go through the pain of a strong country, and this pain is called rising

How much pain is there in the process of rising, how much original sin is there? Raising his eyes and looking at Guan Mingtang, did he know that what he had repeatedly opposed before was also the "pain of rising"?

We need machines, we need steel, but where does the money come from? As a backward country, China is not like Germany and Japan, which has a huge war reparations as the capital for the rise of the country, and even the "huge money" that it has is hurriedly invested in it, which is just a drop in the ocean.

When the military is strong, it can rely on foreign raids to supplement the country's financial shortcomings. But what about China, which has a weak military? I'm afraid that there is only an internal sweep. Aren't those people a manifestation of introdity?

When His Majesty was silent, Guan Mingtang, who seemed to have finished expressing his opinion, was also silent, but his eyes had been paying attention to His Majesty.

The experience of studying in the United States has made Guan Mingtang understand the nature of "capital" better than others, and behind the so-called strong country, there are too many unknown or unnoticed dark sides, such as Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and even the United States.

"Balance between all sides will always exist only in the illusion of the idealist, Your Majesty, the minister thinks that as a key member of the empire, he must abandon the idealist idea and base it on reality, and only in this way can he seek strength."

This is not so much to say to others, but to himself, how could Chen Moran not know the meaning of his words, the meaning of Guan Mingtang's words can be said to be very clear, he is an "idealist" to a certain extent, at least in the matter of looking at farmers.

"China's problem is the peasantry's problem"

Although admitting that what Guan Mingtang said has some truth, it ...... If, those people ......

"Master Guan"

Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted Chen Moran's thoughts, and he looked at the voice as Yuan Shikai, the "central figure" of the original meeting.

"Your Majesty's previous question, it seems that Lord Guan has not answered it."

didn't wait for Mingtang to explain, but Yuan Shikai took the initiative to speak.

"Your Majesty's reward for soldiers to Xuntian, one is to stimulate the heart of the soldiers, the other is for China's long-term peace and stability, the Lord Guan only talked eloquently, although it is not unreasonable, but the Lord knows that Mongolia is big, and how many Han people? In the Northeast, how many wastelands, Russia and Japan are eyeing Mongolia and Northeast China, and with the wisdom of Your Majesty, do you not know that you can be trained by literate sergeants to become factory workers, but with Your Majesty's foresight, how can you be limited to one leaf and one eye?"

As he spoke, Yuan Shikai was full of admiration.

If it is said that someone else has changed, I am afraid that Chen Moran will really be inspired by his words, but it is Yuan Shikai who says this.

"Guan Daren, Mongolia is big, the people are only more than a million, and all are Mongolians, my Han people are in Mongolia, only tens of thousands of chūn go to Kehui merchants, at the beginning of the recovery, Mongolia is independent, although Mongolia is determined today, but it is replaced by military coercion, if you want to maintain long-term stability, non-immigrant colonization and instability, if the Han people in Mongolia reach a million, Mongolia can be stable, and the northeast is famine, which is conducive to reclamation, whether Mongolia or the northeast, are the frontiers of our country, outsiders are eyeing each other, how can they not be guarded, it is precisely because of this, Your Majesty granted" "The field of honors" in the retired soldiers, if more than ten years, the two places scattered millions of retired soldiers, the frontier is not only stable, but also not afraid of the invasion of outsiders, if the invasion of outsiders, enjoy the gift of His Majesty "field of honor" soldiers, will be the vanguard of defending the land, this kind of policy is not for the military but for the military reclamation, is not within the reach of the common law"

Yuan Shikai, who has always been ruthless to political enemies, will be righteous and awe-inspiring, but the hidden meaning between his words is provocative, for Yuan Shikai, even if he is a political enemy, he must be suppressed.

Regarding Yuan Shikai's responsibility, Guan Mingtang just smiled slightly.

"In the eyes of Lord Yuan, is it because the Imperial Guards will not be able to defend the territory and the frontier in the future, instead of consolidating the border with retired soldiers?" ,

The hat buckles...... Hearing this, Yuan Shikai was so annoyed that he almost didn't get angry, this Guan Mingtang was also a little ruthless, and directly said that he suspected the Guards, who didn't know that it was "His Majesty the Soldier" sitting in front of him

"Colonization of the border is indeed the need of our country, but why spend precious manpower? Your Majesty"

Guan Mingtang, who had not further attacked Yuan Shikai, turned to face His Majesty.

"Manpower, of course, there is no shortage in China, but the vast majority of young and strong people are illiterate, but they do not include soldiers, according to military regulations, three months of training need to know 600 commonly used words, will be basic addition and subtraction, in addition to the responsibilities of normal officers, grass-roots officers must also assist soldiers in taking cultural courses, according to the investigation of the General Staff, among the 1.73 million guards army and navy, as many as 1.05 million have obtained the initial graduation certificate, 320,000 have obtained the high school graduation certificate, and more than 200,000 have obtained the junior high school and high school graduation certificate. There was even a lack of technical certificates, and the military provided them with the opportunity to be educated, which made them more accessible to training than the average illiterate peasant, and the military experience made them accustomed to discipline and better suited to work in factories, but if left to scatter in the fields, it was undoubtedly a kind of expense."

In fact, Guan Mingtang has been playing the idea of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers who will "probably retire" in the near future, although as the Minister of Finance, he does not need to think about this issue, but the reality of the lack of workers in the factory is something he can't help but consider.

"As for border defense, there are so many landless hired peasants in China, as well as beggars, you can use the power of the state to organize them, and then immigrate to the past, and the government will bear the road expenses, provide farm tools, and land loans, and the soldiers who defend the country will still give it to the army, Your Majesty, after the retired soldiers retire, they do have the responsibility to defend the country, but in Yu Chen's view, retired soldiers are also civilians, and the responsibility of defending the country should be given to the army, and what is the matter with the country and the people? In that case, why is it necessary to establish this so-called solid defense and reclamation? For China, whether it needs peasants or more workers, I think the answer to this question is already clear, and there is no need to argue. ”

When Guan Mingtang spoke, Chen Moran also muttered in his heart about the pros and cons of doing this, there are advantages and disadvantages for soldiers to enter the factory, but to a certain extent, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, at least they are more difficult to be used by others.

"What about the land I promised before