Chapter 3374 Chapter 3376 [The foundation of a country]

After visiting Songshan Mountain and Shaolin Temple, Xiang Nan and others left Xinzheng and took a train to Hankou.

When the train drove onto the Yellow River Bridge, all the brothers, concubines, princes and ministers all let out bursts of admiration.

Such a large iron bridge spanning the north and south of the Yellow River, turning this natural chasm into a thoroughfare, is really wonderful.

"My emperor is more talented than the three emperors. He is able to turn a natural chasm into a thoroughfare. It is really a blessing for our Qing Dynasty and a blessing for all the people." Fu Heng bowed and said.

"Building a bridge over the Yellow River is something that has never happened since ancient times. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Emperors of Qin, Han and Wu, and Emperors of Tang and Song Dynasties could not do it. This shows that our emperor is really a wise and talented man who can accomplish such a feat!" Military Minister Yin Ji Goodness is also the way.

“This is not my credit, this is the credit of science and technology.” Xiang Nan waved his hands and said, “Dear ministers, building this bridge requires geological exploration, bridge design, steel and cement.

 Each item requires the cooperation of mathematics, physics, chemistry, mechanics, and industry subjects to complete. That's why I carry out education reform, just to create more talents.

 Otherwise, let alone memorizing the Four Books and Five Classics thoroughly, even if Confucius were to reincarnate, he would not be able to achieve it. Therefore, the foundation of our Qing Dynasty is science. "

After hearing this, the expressions of all the ministers changed suddenly.

 Many of them had passed the imperial examinations back then, and they had great admiration for Confucius, who was honored as the "Holy Master". But now listening to Xiang Nan's tone, it is obvious that he is not interested in Saint Kong.

Moreover, the foundation of the Qing Dynasty was clearly based on the "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules" and "Ritual, Righteousness, Integrity and Shame" advocated by Confucianism.

Confucianism has always claimed that "propriety, justice and integrity are the four dimensions of a country. If the four dimensions are not open, the country will perish." Now Xiang Nan says that the foundation of a country is "science", which really gives them a lot to say.

“Your Majesty, I have the boldness to suggest that the foundation of our Qing Dynasty should be the ‘Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules’ and ‘propriety, justice, integrity and shame’, and should not be changed easily, otherwise the fundamental principles will be corrupted, the four dimensions will not be maintained, and the country will be in trouble.” Minister of Military and Aircraft Liu Tongxun said bluntly.

“What Lao Zhongtang said makes sense.” Xiang Nan nodded and said with a smile, “Etiquette, justice and integrity promote spiritual civilization, while science and technology promote material civilization.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong once said, "If the warehouse is solid, you will know etiquette; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace." It would be really difficult for a person who is so poor that he is about to starve to death to follow the rules of "propriety, justice and integrity". That’s why Jia Yicai said, “Since ancient times and to the present, there has never been a situation where the people can be managed due to insufficient people.” ’

 If we want people to live a prosperous life, we must increase productivity. This dynasty relied on scientific and technological means to produce Tianji fertilizer, which generally doubled the yield per mu. One acre of land can feed a larger population.

 Steam loom, one machine can support the work of dozens of people, which has caused the price of cotton to drop several times, allowing ordinary people to wear new clothes. This is the contribution of science and technology.

Let the people have enough food to eat and wear warm clothes. At this time, we should educate them with "propriety, justice, integrity and shame" and "three cardinal principles and five constant principles", so that they will listen to the instructions.

 So I do not despise "propriety, justice, integrity and shame" and "three cardinal principles and five constant principles". I just want to tell you that ‘material civilization determines spiritual civilization’ and ‘the economic base determines the superstructure’. "

After hearing this, all the ministers seemed to understand or not, and they were still a little puzzled.

 …

“May I ask your Majesty, what does ‘the economic base determines the superstructure’ mean?” Military Minister Yin Jishan asked curiously.

“The economic base is productivity, and the superstructure is the political system.” Xiang Nan explained, “Everyone knows that in ancient times, there was a concession system.

  Why, because the science and technology at that time was backward, people were living on raw materials, drinking blood, slashing and burning, and their livelihood was precarious. Therefore, there must be a smart, wise, strong and powerful leader to lead the people to survive. This is the origin of abdication.

If the system is changed to a hereditary system with a family and the world, and a mediocre leader is replaced, the whole family will be destroyed, so the people will not agree.

Our mountain people in the Yunnan-Guizhou area of ​​the Qing Dynasty, the tribes in the wild jungles of Southeast Asia, and the deer hunters of Siberia still have this system. If any of you are interested, you can go and see for yourself. After the development of science and technology, by the time of Dayu, people had houses to live in, land to farm, and their lives were much better than in ancient times.

At this time, Dayu took power by controlling floods, and his son Qi inherited power and defeated the princes who opposed him. Thus, the system of abdication was changed to the system of inheritance. This is called the economic base determines the superstructure. "

After listening to this, all the ministers will be enlightened.

“I dare to ask, if the economic base determines the superstructure, what will the economy of this dynasty look like if it continues to develop?” Liu Tongxun asked curiously.

“Only God knows about this.” Xiang Nan said with a smile, “But no matter when the time comes, if you remember the four words of ‘propriety, justice, integrity,’ and integrate knowledge and action, you will be a good person.

 So I say that material civilization and spiritual civilization must be grasped with both hands, and both hands must be strong. We should not only let the common people have enough food to eat and wear warm clothes, but also let the common people know the etiquette, justice and integrity. "

"Your Majesty is absolutely right." Upon hearing this, all the ministers nodded in agreement.

Since the emperor recognized the "three cardinal principles and five constant principles" and "propriety, justice, integrity and shame", they would not compete. Otherwise, even if he is the emperor, they will have to reason carefully. In order to protect the famous religion, why not be afraid of death.

 …

The train passed the Xinzheng Yellow River Bridge, then passed through Xudu, Runan, Yiyang, and finally reached Hankou.

 After arriving in Hankou, Xiang Nan inspected the Yangtze River embankment as usual.

 Hankou is the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Han River. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

 After taking it, you can take Jinling to the east, Xiangyang to the west, the Central Plains to the north, and Lianghu to the south...

 The reason why it is easy to defend but difficult to attack is the natural danger of the Yangtze River.

However, the Yangtze River has its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage is that floods occur almost every year, causing suffering to the people on both sides of the river.

 Hence, river management has never stopped in all dynasties. During the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helu and Fucha of Wu dug Xuxi, Xujiang and Hangou.

In the Taihu Basin in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the river network is intertwined and lakes are densely covered. Local officials led the people to start building embankments and reclaiming lowlands, and early polders appeared.

During the Warring States Period, Li Bing, the governor of Shu in the Kingdom of Tianfu, built the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project to irrigate the Tianfu Plain and cultivate rice fields, thus creating thousands of miles of fertile fields.

During the Han Dynasty, in the Nanyang and Xiangfan areas in the middle reaches of the Han River Basin and the Hanzhong area in the upper reaches, the local government organized people to dig ditches and canals and divert water to irrigate the fields, which became famous agricultural irrigation areas.

 The Dongting Lake Plain and the Xiangjiang River Basin, the Poyang Lake Plain, the Ganjiang River Basin, and the Fuhe River Basin have also become famous agricultural irrigation areas.

 In the Jin Dynasty, with the war in the north, a large number of immigrants came to the south, and the water conservancy project in the south was further promoted.

The Grand Canal during the Sui and Tang Dynasties connected the water systems of the Yangtze River and Qiantang River; during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, lakes were continuously reclaimed for farmland and dams were built...

But even so, the Yangtze River is still not so easy to tame, and floods occur almost every year. Even during the Qianlong period, Xiang Nan had made great efforts to rectify the problem, but it was still only treating the symptoms and not the root cause.

 (End of this chapter)