As the great figures like Zeng Cheng were all bewildered, Zhu Jinsong suddenly asked inexplicably, "Regarding what I just said, do you all think it is possible to achieve?"
Zeng Cheng immediately felt something was amiss.
Equality for all, distribution according to need – this concept, akin to a world of great harmony, sounded beautiful, but could it truly be realized?
At the very least, the Great Ming had not yet reached such a state of universal harmony; at most, it was only striving in that direction.
So, the question arose.
If the Great Ming was merely striving in this direction, how could other countries on this small planet possibly achieve such a state?
Zhu Jinsong smiled and asked again, "Also, suppose your family's wealth accumulated over a hundred years or generations, would you be willing to be surpassed by someone's ten years of diligent study?"
Zeng Cheng didn't know how to answer.
To say he was willing?
That would be utter nonsense; no one would be willing.
To say he was unwilling?
Wouldn't that imply that ten years of diligent study was far less important than being born into a good family?
Zhu Jinsong didn't seem to expect an answer from Zeng Cheng, and instead continued to speak to himself, "We should still allow them to compete freely, shouldn't we? Does managing everything like our Great Ming not align with the ideas of those barbarians in Europe?"
Upon hearing this, Zeng Cheng and the other great figures couldn't help but exchange glances.
They finally understood!
At first, Zeng Cheng and the other great figures thought Zhu Jinsong intended to use that song to incite the common people of Europe to rebellion.
Zeng Cheng and the others did not doubt the song's power of incitement, nor did they doubt whether the common people in Europe would revolt.
Rumor had it that the bread eaten by the common people in Europe was mixed with sand, stones, and the like, although it had gradually improved a little in recent years.
Furthermore, it seemed European merchants would rather pour milk away than sell it to the common people at a low price?
If these chaotic rumors were true, then the song mentioned by Emperor Zhu would absolutely incite the common people of Europe, making them focus their anger on the nobles and merchants of Europe, and even the courts of various European countries.
Europe would surely be thrown into chaos.
However, as it seemed now, Emperor Zhu was indeed a very fair and just emperor.
He, through the form of a song, painted a beautiful system and prospect for the common people of Europe, and then, in turn, presented a system more suited to the European nobles.
Impartial.
It could be foreseen that the kings and nobles of various European countries would definitely favor the theory later proposed by Emperor Zhu and strive to promote it.
However, the common people at the bottom of Europe would certainly prefer the system depicted in Emperor Zhu's song.
When the two systems began to clash...
Just thinking about it, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but shudder, "Your Majesty, these two systems... our Great Ming..."
Zhu Jinsong smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Our Great Ming is neither the system described in that song nor the system I mentioned later. Our Great Ming walks a path with distinct Chinese characteristics."
According to the system depicted in that song, there should be no emperor in the Great Ming, yet the Great Ming inexplicably had an emperor.
According to the system Zhu Jinsong later mentioned, the Great Ming should encourage free competition among merchants, but the Great Ming court had enacted various rules and regulations. Projects and constructions involving people's livelihoods were directly undertaken by workshops and companies controlled by the court. While it couldn't be said that distribution according to need was fully realized, the Great Ming court had always favored ordinary people, and there was no talk of free competition for wealthy merchants.
Zeng Cheng suddenly thought of four words.
Reverse operation.
When it came to systemic issues, shouldn't one normally take the essence and discard the dross?
Yet, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of Great Ming, performed a reverse operation, directly splitting the current system of Great Ming into two, and mixing countless dross into these two systems.
After careful consideration, Zeng Cheng bowed and said, "I report to Your Majesty, I think it would be better for these two systems to be proposed by the European students."
Hearing Zeng Cheng say this, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but tap the table with his fingers.
These were two completely different systems.
The former, the system depicted in that song, had never appeared in Europe.
As for the latter, although European countries were using this system, no one had summarized and refined a complete theory.
It wasn't impossible for himself, the Emperor of Great Ming, to propose these two theories first, but the problem was that since he already planned to use these two theories to sow discord in Europe, then these two sets of theories should indeed be proposed by Europeans themselves.
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong directly instructed Meng Fanzhi, the head of the Ministry of Rites, "Arrange it later. Have Jiang Xinlong pick two relatively good European students and teach them these two theories."
...
Jiang Xinlong felt like he was going crazy.
To teach these two theories to the European students, he had to first fully grasp these two theories himself.
Otherwise, how could he answer the questions raised by the students?
But these two theories were mutually conflicting!
When learning the theory of distribution according to need, the theory of free competition seemed to have loopholes everywhere.
When learning the theory of free competition, the theory of distribution according to need also seemed to have loopholes everywhere.
More crucially, to whom should these two system theories be taught?
The students sent by Europe to study in the Great Ming included not only the "five good people" from small countries like France and England, but also small countries ruled by the Habsburg family.
Should the systemic theory of that song be taught to the students of the Habsburg family? Or to the students of France or England?
Take France, for example.
The current France, led by Louis XVI, was madly rushing towards becoming a devoted follower of the Great Ming. The system implemented could not be said to be a complete copy of the Great Ming, at most, the three characters "Great Ming Law" were changed to "French Law," and the two characters "Great Ming" were changed to "France."
Under these circumstances, whether the system in that song was taught to French students, or the theory of free competition was taught to French students, it all felt somewhat inappropriate.
However, from another perspective, Louis XVI's fervent promotion of the Great Ming's system in France had the problem of "unsuitable climate," and many aspects were difficult to implement in practice.
In the final analysis, it was because France had always used the system of free competition.
It was like the underlying architecture was incompatible with the Great Ming's system.
If the theory of free competition was taught to French students, it was likely that France would quickly implement this theory.
Of course, Louis XVI might also fall out of favor.
The Habsburg family was the same.
After carefully studying these two systems, Jiang Xinlong had already clearly realized the strong cohesion of the system mentioned in that song, especially for a country like the Habsburg family that had been beaten up. This theory could easily arouse emotions of shared hatred and resistance.
The Habsburg family's foundation, which had resisted the attacks of France and England for so long, was definitely not as weak as it appeared on the surface. With the added bonus of faith in this system...
After pondering back and forth for several days, Jiang Xinlong finally made up his mind and decided to teach the theory of free competition to the French students and the system mentioned in that song to the students of the Habsburg family.
In any case, the leader of the Habsburg family, Franz II, was also the Emperor of Austria. As long as one was an emperor, one would never fully support the system mentioned in that song, because the emperor himself was the venomous beast mentioned in that song, and moreover, the biggest and fiercest one.
Then, Jiang Xinlong had someone summon the Austrian art student Adolf von Cyril and began to teach him the system theory mentioned in that song: "Just as you wanted to target the pressure faced by the lords of Yici Leya from the nobles before, even if you solve the problems of the lords of Yici Leya and the nobles, can Austria truly become strong?"
"The doctors in our Central Plains hall always say that treating an illness requires treating the root cause, because illness has both superficial symptoms and underlying root causes."
"Many not-so-clever doctors can only treat the symptoms, that is, treat the superficial manifestations. However, if the root cause of the illness cannot be found, the patient will quickly fall ill again."
"This principle also applies to a country."
"As our ancestors in the Central Plains said, a great doctor treats the country."
Although Adolf was somewhat confused by the numerous terms like "superficial," "symptom," and "root cause" in Jiang Xinlong's mouth, Adolf somehow understood the meaning of Jiang Xinlong's words.
Austria's current situation was like a patient. If the cause of the illness could not be found, even if he himself dealt with the lords of Yici Leya or even the nobles, it would only alleviate the superficial symptoms and would not cure Austria completely.
After thinking about it, Adolf humbly asked, "Teacher, do you have any good solutions?"
Jiang Xinlong smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "Good solutions? Are there any particularly good solutions in this world?"
"For example, do you see how strong the Great Ming is?"
"But if you copy all the systems of the Great Ming back to Austria, will the people of Austria accept it? Will Franz II of the Habsburg family accept it?"
Adolf fell silent.
As Jiang Xinlong said, the Great Ming was indeed the strongest country on this small planet. All the systems of the Great Ming appeared so perfect and reasonable, but could he copy them back?
Let alone whether the people of Austria would accept it, or whether His Majesty Franz II could accept it, even the people of the Habsburg family would definitely not accept it!
Thinking of this, Adolf suddenly trembled in his heart.
The Habsburg family, Franz II of the Habsburg family, Emperor of Austria, Austria.
These four keywords spun around in Adolf's mind like a revolving lantern.
Why else would they say that those who meddle in governance have dirty hearts? This was precisely the purpose of Jiang Xinlong mentioning "Franz II of the Habsburg family" just now.
Franz II was the Emperor of Austria, but he was also the leader of the Habsburg family.
So, in Franz II's heart, was the Habsburg family more important? Or was Austria more important?
Adolf was now successfully led astray by Jiang Xinlong and began to ponder whether Austria was more important to Franz II, or the Habsburg family was more important to Franz II.
Jiang Xinlong did not give Adolf much time to think, but continued, "A few days ago, when some of the great figures in our Great Ming court were discussing governance, they had classified and summarized the systems on this small planet."
"The first is a system like that of our Great Ming. You have seen the benefits of this system, but this system may not be suitable for your Europe."
"The second is the system of free competition... Your Austria, like France before, used this system."
"However, this system may not be suitable for your Austria, after all, the outcome of the war between the Habsburg family and France has already explained everything."
Hearing this, Adolf also felt a sense of despair.
Indeed, the countries under the rule of the Habsburg family, like England and France, used the same system, with only minor differences in details, yet the final outcome was that the Habsburg family was beaten by France.
Where could one reason this out?
What? The reason the Habsburg family was beaten was because France had the support of the Great Ming?
Don't be ridiculous. Others might not be very clear, but as an Austrian art student, Adolf knew very well that even without the support of the Great Ming, France could still beat the Habsburg family, it would just be less easy, simpler, and more enjoyable!
Seeing Adolf's expression becoming heavier, and his right hand trembling due to aftereffects from years of stuffing cotton for the lords of Yici Leya, Jiang Xinlong immediately patted Adolf's shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't be agitated. Calm down first, and listen to me slowly."
After Adolf calmed down, Jiang Xinlong continued, "In addition to the two systems I just mentioned, the great figures in our Great Ming court, inspired by His Majesty the Emperor, have also summarized a third system."
"Each contributes their ability, distribution according to need!"