Chapter 471: Survival of the Fittest

Why use an ox to kill a chicken? In colloquial speech, this means one need not exert great effort for a small task; but to Confucian scholars, it meant that even governing a small state requires ritual and music—this was a debate between Confucius and his disciple Ziyou on statecraft, and Zhu Zhu Yijun knew its true meaning.

Wang Wang Chonggu exerted such great effort precisely because the official factory collective production system was of vital importance.

The official factory collective production system was a crucial mechanism to spur the idle and entrenched powerful elites to abandon land and enter workshops, to settle the countless vagrants displaced by land consolidation, and to lead Great Ming toward transformation into a commodity economy; though scholars might regard humble artisans as petty folk, to Wang Wang Chonggu, it was the foundation of his own glorious transformation.

Thus, he proposed three measures to manage the nepotism and favoritism in official factories, copying Zhang Zhang Juzheng's methods without the slightest hesitation—utterly at ease with himself.

Minister of Works Wang Daoqun strongly endorsed this matter; the Ministry of Works had long been at the bottom of the Six Ministries, a transparent figure in court, but as the official factory collective production system gradually rolled out, its voice grew ever louder.

"The official factory collective production system is indeed a fusion of the early Ming military colonies and resident artisans; times have changed, today is not yesterday, and even if it resembles the past, it differs fundamentally. From the perspective of production diagrams, we easily reach this conclusion: the productivity of official factory collective production will advance rapidly with mechanical progress, and sooner or later, it will provide sufficient goods." Wang Daoqun did not accept certain views of the Songjiang School.

The Songjiang School equated official factory collective production with military colonies, but the production relations in military colonies were a contradictory unity between tenant farmers and landlords, whereas official factory collective production was not; constrained by land output, military colony production could not keep pace with population growth.

In the early Ming, population was low and land abundant; one household might manage a field a single ox could plow—a field of about one hundred mou—but as time passed, population increased and land diminished, the conflict between people and land became acute, and now one household might possess only ten or twenty mou.

Changes in agricultural production never happen overnight; two parts planting, three parts management, five parts fertilizer—any breakthrough in agricultural production is measured in centuries.

But technological progress in official factory collective production is visibly evident—that is why Wang Daoqun values it so highly; it is no longer a chicken, but an ox, and in the future, it may become a strong, robust ox.

"The military-industrial battalion camps." Zhang Zhang Juzheng mentioned the most contentious issue in court.

Wang Wang Chonggu, Wang Daoqun, and Ceng Ceng Shengwu, leading the Ministries of Justice, War, and Works, firmly supported it; as military-industrial battalion camps spread locally, vagrants multiplied, public order deteriorated, civil unrest erupted, and lawbreaking became ubiquitous—the Ministry of Justice became nominal in substance. Wang Wang Chonggu's support for military-industrial battalion camps from the Ministry of Justice was not merely for his own sake.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng, Wang Wang Guoguang, and Wan Shihé opposed the immediate implementation of military-industrial battalion camps; both sides had clashed repeatedly over this issue, yet neither could prevail over the other.

Wan Shihé smiled at Wang Wang Chonggu: "Pushing too urgently won't let you eat hot tofu; Minister Wang, could you wait a little? Let the military-industrial battalion camp system mature further; otherwise, if this raw, untested system is thrust upon Great Ming's two capitals and fourteen provinces, and problems arise, the court will flip the pancake—and lose face. But once proven wrong, reviving the system will be as hard as climbing to heaven, for it will be deemed a failure."

"Minister Wang, you don't want the military-industrial battalion camps to fail, do you?"

Wang Wang Chonggu was momentarily silenced; Wan Shihé had a point—if practice proved it unworkable, the military-industrial battalion camps could never be revived during the Emperor Wanli reign. Maintaining state stability, in Wang Wang Chonggu's view, had never been a pejorative term.

Wang Wang Chonggu, visibly reluctant, said: "In my view, this is not a major issue. We could let localities experiment with forming such camps, following court policy step by step; when court policy changes, localities adjust accordingly. Localities can also adapt in practice, tailoring policies to local conditions—Great Ming's regions differ greatly, so specific policies must vary subtly."

The Emperor Wanli Reforms' new policies were not uniformly applied across Great Ming; local execution always had subtle differences. For example, in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Guangxi, gathering to lecture was never banned; if scholars arrived, the court even provided travel expenses and relay stations—to promote literature and civilize local tribal chiefs. Land surveying was weak; Yunnan even tacitly permitted the Prince of Qin to consolidate land, for the primary conflicts differed, and thus policies varied.

Clearly, on this issue, the conservatives were Zhang Zhang Juzheng, and the radicals were Wang Wang Chonggu.

"Minister Wang, we all rose from the provinces. When court policy changes, will the provinces truly follow?" Wan Shihé shook his head. "Impossible. It's better to leave fewer loopholes from the start."

"Fine." Wang Wang Chonggu finally conceded. He would endure a little longer; the system still had countless flaws and needed further refinement.

After this most contentious issue, the atmosphere in the Zhao Wenhua Hall became much lighter.

Li Li Chengliang in Liaodong had again gained inch by inch, expanding territory over a hundred li, establishing six garrison forts—this had become an annual tradition; every year Li Li Chengliang expanded territory, primarily because the black soil was so alluring.

In ten years of Emperor Wanli, Li Li Chengliang expanded six hundred li; he used annual territorial gains to express his loyalty. The extent varied yearly, but this year, his garrison forts had reached the Jilin Shipyard.

The Jilin Shipyard was specially established by Liu Qing, Regional Commander of the Liaodong Regional Military Commission, who led troops there three times—in Yongle 18, Hongxi 1, and Emperor Xuande 7—to construct ships. The massive shipyard became the vital link and keystone connecting the capital, Liaodong Regional Military Commission, and Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

"Commander Liu Qing saw a pile of pheasants in the forest, so he named it Jilin. Later, he thought it sounded bad and changed it to Jilin." Wan Shihé recounted the origin of the name Jilin—a minor anecdote.

Minister of Revenue Wang Wang Guoguang remarked with emotion: "Great Ming's garrison forts are expanding; Great Ming's people are moving to Liaodong to make a living. The land is fertile; even one harvest per year can sustain many."

"The northern administrative center's geographical position is extremely important, for it is the keystone between Great Ming's two largest grain-producing regions—the strategic heart of strategic locations."

As geographical maps became increasingly precise, the vast arable zones suitable for farming—the connection between the North China Plain and the Liaodong Plain—was precisely the northern administrative center. Rooted in agriculture and sericulture, the northern administrative center's geographical importance became especially pronounced.

Perhaps Emperor Emperor Chengzu originally established the Nurgan Regional Military Commission to prove the correctness of northward relocation—to open a grain-producing region—but various reasons prevented him from completing this task.

Jilin was once a fully administered county during the Yongle and Emperor Xuande eras; but under the prevailing trend of promoting literature and suppressing martial affairs, Great Ming's Liaodong direction completely retreated behind the Great Wall along the Tieling-Fushun line, leaving the Liaodong Regional Military Commission perpetually in a defensive, offensive-impaired predicament. Great Ming's understanding of affairs beyond the pass diminished, and its control weakened.

This was a dangerously ominous signal: once the Jianzhou Jurchens, Haixi Jurchens, Wild Jurchens, Outer Khalkha, and Left Wing Tumens completed their unification, Great Ming would plunge into utter military peril.

After driving out the Left Wing Tumens, Great Ming was far from secure in Liaodong—it needed further advance to establish fully administered counties.

Li Li Chengliang was now doing exactly this; Great Ming's Masters of Natural Philosophy had traveled to Liaodong to produce relatively precise geographical maps.

To court's relief, Li Li Chengliang showed no signs of becoming a regional warlord; it seemed he had no intention of becoming Great Ming's An Lushan. An Lushan and Shi Shi Siming rebelled in Tang because Emperor Xuanzong had indulged them and because Tang's harsh policies toward the Three Hebei Garrisons.

Great Ming's emperor did not indulge Li Li Chengliang and remained perpetually wary of him; even Li Li Chengliang's son Li Li Rusong understood this. Qi Qi Jiguang had repeatedly stated: whether Li Li Chengliang would slide toward warlordism depended entirely on the strength of the capital garrisons—if the capital garrisons were strong, he could not rebel even if he wished; if they were weak, he would become a warlord even if he did not wish to.

Li Li Rusong believed: General Qi was right.

The court constantly promoted literature and suppressed martial affairs, enforced civil control over the military, and even allowed civil officials to execute military officers without prior approval (Wang Ji killed An Jing); thus, frontier garrisons harbored resentment, refusing to fight even if they did not rebel—firing three shots into the sky before battle, they felt they had fulfilled their duty to the court. Who in their right mind would abandon being a loyal Marquis of Marquis Ningyuan to become a mountain bandit?

Great Ming could not even be accused of mistreating Liaodong; on the contrary, it actively supported Li Li Chengliang's expansion. Loyal and patriotic Marquis Hou Hou Yuzhao repeatedly petitioned for land reclamation policies, household registration, and even Shandong annually shipped grain to Liaodong. Liaodong was the first military region to fully supply rations; during the Emperor Wanli 2 campaign against Gule Zhai, it received full rations—a year earlier than the other nine border regions.

No mistreatment or neglect could be claimed; Liaodong lacked the foundation for warlordism—neither top-down nor bottom-up. Li Li Chengliang now appeared more like a loyal, reliable frontier general of Great Ming, charging across Liaodong, having expanded to Jilin and petitioning to reestablish the shipyard.

"The Dissection Institute recently submitted a memorial with peculiar content—please take a look." Zhang Zhang Juzheng's expression was deeply strange: "The chief physician of the Dissection Institute has used natural selection to argue the distinction between Huaxia and the barbarians."

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's expression was complex; when he saw the memorial's title, he thought the chief physician had gone mad—but after careful reading, he found it remarkably logical, internally consistent, and capable of explaining many phenomena.

A strange thing.

"What? Arguing the Huaxia-barbarian distinction?" Minister of Rites Wan Shihé was somewhat bewildered; the Huaxia-barbarian distinction was a crucial battleground of ritual law, yet now the chief physician of the Dissection Institute sought to explain it through biology.

The Dissection Institute discussed change and selection.

It all began with the moths of the Xishan Coal Bureau.

Coal smoke turned the Xishan moths black, because they were less visible to predators; white moths became rare. This was both natural and human selection. Chief physicians Li Li Shizhen and Chen Chen Shigong noticed this fact and naturally arrived at the "Theory of Natural Selection" and "Theory of Human Selection": biological evolution and variation arise from natural selection and human selection.

Natural selection: nature's choice. Human selection: deliberate human choice.

These moths' changes prompted the Dissection Institute to consider human evolution: from hairy, blood-drinking ancestors to stable agriculture, then to settled communities forming stable ecologies, nature's influence on humans weakened. Had human evolution stopped? This was the Dissection Institute's concern.

Soon, the Dissection Institute was reassured, for they observed breeding at the Baoqi Bureau—deliberate human selection.

Humans domesticated animals and plants, continuously selecting them according to needs, making life easier: Song Dynasty's Champa rice gradually replaced traditional rice; now, famine-relief sweet potatoes, through continuous selective breeding, saw yields rise steadily.

Human selection, compared to natural selection, was more purposeful and faster.

Human selection interfered with the evolution of crops and livestock—did it also interfere with human evolution itself?

The answer was yes.

Human evolution was accelerating. This was the Dissection Institute's thinking on human evolution under the framework of the "Theory of Natural Selection" and "Theory of Human Selection."

"First, the Dissection Institute's 'Theory of Natural Selection' is earth-shattering, revealing a profound truth. This point must be affirmed: 'Survival of the fittest through natural selection'—eight simple characters encapsulate the infinite principle of all things." Wan Shihé first affirmed the Theory of Natural Selection, explaining: "These eight characters—'Survival of the fittest through natural selection'—are His Majesty's annotation on the Theory of Natural Selection: incisive, concise, and masterfully composed!"

Court ministers glanced at Wan Shihé with disdain; he seized every opportunity to flatter, it had become instinct.

He was so proficient in ritual law he could have become a true scholar through merit, yet all he did was fawn and curry favor—utterly disgraceful to the literati.

Even the scholars admitted: His Majesty's eight characters perfectly summarized the Theory of Natural Selection. The theory explained nature's interference in species evolution; beyond natural selection was human interference—human selection.

"If these Western missionaries saw this, they'd be furious and denounce Great Ming." Wang Wang Chonggu thought the Theory of Natural Selection directly contradicted the notion of divine creation; it logically led to the conclusion that humans themselves were their own gods.

Because humans intervened, made choices, and fully interfered with plants and animals—the large moths of Mentougou, the seedlings of Baoqi Bureau, the horse breeds of Danning Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo—all were results of human intervention.

The Western Church's influence was profound; if this spread to the West, the Church would surely ban it as an evil book—heretical, undermining the Church's very foundation.

Great Ming had no such concerns; it was fundamentally human-centered. Li Li Chengliang had even blown up the Dragon King Temple, yet the Dragon King had not overturned rivers and seas to kill him—after all, Li Li Chengliang had cannons.

"But the later content is debatable." Zhang Zhang Juzheng gestured for them to continue reading. The preceding sections on natural and human selection were grounded in practice: species undergo various changes during reproduction; natural environments select among these changes; human interference is more direct, purposeful, and faster.

The latter part argued the Huaxia-barbarian distinction through human selection.

China's population was enormous; since the pre-Qin era, the Central Plains' population far surpassed the world's. The massive population base increased human variation. The eight centuries of chaos during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods initiated cruel human selection: short, weak, unintelligent people died in brutal internal strife; descendants became stronger, followed by even more brutal dynastic cycles.

The intensity of dynastic cycles, each massive population decline and subsequent recovery, and societal upheaval further accelerated human evolution.

Population determined variation; violent upheaval selected variation.

In the Theory of Natural Selection, natural selection was far slower than human selection, because natural environmental changes occurred over centuries, whereas human selection, deliberate and purposeful, was far more intense. The intensity of warfare and the magnitude of population change in the Central Plains far exceeded the world's, thus proving the Huaxia-barbarian distinction.

That is: only a massive population generates more variation; more intense human selection eliminates those unable to adapt, resulting in Central Plains people possessing superior physique and intellect compared to others worldwide.

"Actually, it's quite reasonable," Minister of Rites Wan Shihé first affirmed the Dissection Institute's Theory of Natural Selection and Human Selection: human selection surpasses natural selection; the Central Plains' massive population and cruel selection, combined with broader horizontal and vertical variation and selection, resulted in Central Plains people's inherent superiority over others worldwide.

The logic was self-consistent, flawless.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng frowned: "Reasonable? Western shipbuilding once held a commercial advantage; had His Majesty not vigorously opened the seas, this advantage would have grown further."

"I do not believe this argument benefits Great Ming. After Rome's fall, the West's intellectual discourse flourished; the Grand Tour culture enhanced its efficiency. This superiority theory is the starting point of stagnation—the mortal enemy of Central Plains civilization."

"Great Ming is already so powerful. Why not pause, enjoy peace? Isn't this precisely the origin of promoting literature and suppressing martial affairs?"

"Indeed, the Theory of Natural Selection and Human Selection explains many phenomena we could not otherwise explain; the earlier parts deserve affirmation, but the latter part should not be promoted."

Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival—arrogance is. The Song Dynasty was the wealthiest in the world, its culture flourishing; that arrogance toward all others blinded its people to looming danger. Northern Song fell to the Jin; Southern Song fell to the barbarians.

Expel the barbarians, restore China; establish righteous order, rescue the people.

Great Ming's founding emperor Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang had already done this once. If we still live with the Huaxia-barbarian distinction, looking down on all others, can we expect another Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang to arise?

Why should such luck always fall upon your Han people?

This was why Zhang Zhang Juzheng opposed the Theory of Natural Selection and Human Selection—he thought from a historical perspective; deliberately cultivating arrogance was unacceptable.

Great Ming was strong, but not strong enough.

"Excluding other factors, I speak only of biological change and selection in humans," Wan Shihé added.

"Still no," Zhu Zhu Yijun spoke directly: "The Theory of Natural Selection and Human Selection discussing change and selection, advocating 'Survival of the fittest through natural selection,' should be widely publicized. But the latter part's superiority theory must stop here—at the Zhao Wenhua Hall. Arrogance and self-satisfaction are shameful acts—even General Qi, in every battle, first considers defeat, then victory, and thus wins every time."

"Bloat and complacency are utterly unacceptable."

Zhu Zhu Yijun set the tone for this discussion—it was shaping public opinion. Even if the Dissection Institute's arguments were sound, such arrogance and self-satisfaction were stumbling blocks to Great Ming's determined advancement.

"We humbly obey Your Majesty's instruction." Wan Shihé reluctantly bowed.

The emperor always had a peculiar urgency. Though Great Ming's revival was incomplete and still distant from the glory of Yongle's time, the emperor's urgency—his intense desire for Great Ming's strength—had never waned; indeed, with age, it grew stronger.

Zhu Zhu Yijun never explained this urgency. In this feudal imperial system, where the emperor was seen as divinely wise during the Emperor Wanli era, Zhu Zhu Yijun could have claimed divine dreams to create mystique and consolidate his authority.

But mystique served no purpose for a Great Ming emperor; pretending to be divine only made him appear fearful, like the Daoist emperor.

Great Ming's emperor was a human monarch; scholars would not abandon their principles because the emperor was mysterious. Zhu Di succeeded in the Jingnan Rebellion and became the only prince in history to rebel and ascend the throne, claiming he was the incarnation of Zhenwu; yet in Yongle 19, the newly built northern administrative center's three great halls burned to ashes. Great Ming people did not believe such nonsense—not a monotheistic world.

Zhu Zhu Yijun could not possibly tell the proud Zhang Zhang Juzheng:

Divine dreams: after your death, all reform achievements were reversed; Great Ming's power declined; Eastern and Northern barbarians united; the Battle of Sarhū ended in catastrophic defeat; Nurhachi, now a specimen, founded Later Jin; Great Ming suffered repeated defeats; the young barbarian chief Huang Huang Taiji founded the Tartar Qing; Great Ming collapsed amid peasant rebellions; Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill after Li Li Zicheng entered Beijing; the Southern Ming fractured in infighting; the Tartar Qing entered the pass and secured power; Central Plains civilization fell again to barbarians; a century passed, the world transformed, and foreign warships with cannons were mounted on China's shores—a century of humiliation.

This would be too cruel for Zhang Zhang Juzheng.

Thus, Zhu Zhu Yijun was urgent, and court ministers interpreted this urgency as: an obsession with achieving glory.

The emperor wanting to achieve glory was neither strange nor unreasonable.

Zhu Zhu Yijun listened eagerly to the court deliberations: change produced diversity, and cruel competition selected among changes. Zhu Zhu Yijun understood this, so he felt no fault in loving women from all nations—he increased Great Ming's diversity, creating more variation.

The Theory of Natural Selection and Human Selection contained another section not discussed in court: even without cataclysmic upheaval or dynastic change, human selection still influenced everyone.

The world was plagued by land consolidation; those not strong or intelligent could not secure sufficient resources, making marriage extremely difficult. This was a subtle, non-violent but real form of human selection: the poor grew poorer, the rich richer; strength and beauty paired, wisdom and wealth combined—this was marriage by social parity. The Dissection Institute's chief physicians generally believed: the intensity of this human selection was not weaker than war.

The final section was even more heretical than the superiority theory; the court had never discussed it.

The memorial from the Dissection Institute was slashed by two-thirds; only the theories of Natural Selection and Human Selection made it onto the Official Gazette and periodicals. The subsequent court deliberation left Zhu Zhu Yijun yawning repeatedly—it was utterly dull, nothing but scheming and pointless internal strife.

Immediately after the court deliberation ended, Zhu Zhu Yijun slipped away to prepare for his own wedding.

"Your Majesty, today's 'Free and Easy Gossip' has arrived." Zhang Hong delivered the periodical, edited by Lin Fu of the Songjiang School, to the palace.

Zhu Zhu Yijun read it with great interest. This time, Lin Fu primarily argued for establishing freer employer-employee relationships rather than the bondage of slave-like personal dependency. Lin Fu had become a vocal advocate of court policy, mainly promoting the rationality of abolishing the low-status registers.

Slaves can only perform repetitive, meaningless labor; they cannot engage in any creative work. The shift from bondage to large-scale free employment holds profound significance for the Great Ming. Abolishing the low-status registers and no longer recognizing indenture contracts is the first step—without freedom, there is no creation; without creation, there is no technological advancement; only with increased productivity can material wealth flourish.

In addition to advocating the court's abolition of the low-status registers, Lin Fu met with the Western envoys Li Li Yashi and Diego de, discussing the Free City—the Free Cape, seized by the Portuguese a century ago, teeming with unrestrained freedoms that had become a nest amplifying humanity's inherent evil.

Only recently did the House of Sages bring some change to the Free City.

The conversation was exceedingly intriguing: Li Li Yashi, a Westerner, relentlessly refuted Lin Fu's views, while Lin Fu held firm. Li Li Yashi's rebuttals were thoroughly grounded—he cited Zhang Zhang Juzheng's treatise on Public and Private Interests.

Li Li Yashi argued that the Great Ming was already far too free; there was no need to further promote it. Every person under heaven had his own household, each pursuing his own interests. Take maritime trade: the Great Ming levies only six percent in customs duties, yet merchants still complained incessantly. In the West, such low rates would have been hailed as proof of Felipe's invincibility. Western nations maintain high tariffs; the Great Ming's light taxation is truly a benevolence.

The Great Ming does not lack freedom—it lacks public spirit, public virtue, and Hong—the aspiration to embrace all under heaven. The massive private market scandal at Guiyan Bay stands as irrefutable proof.

Lin Fu's version of 'Free and Easy Gossip,' however, focused on the scope of freedom, arguing that freedom is a necessity for every subject of the Great Ming.

After finishing the periodical, Zhu Zhu Yijun set it aside and picked up the memorial from Xu Wen, the Governor-General of Nagasaki. This time, Xu Wen had no other request—he demanded Great Ming treasure notes. The previous Nagasaki Trade Fair had been highly successful; after tasting the profits of coinage taxes, the Japanese daimyos had entered a frenzy of wealth accumulation.

Zhu Zhu Yijun picked up a silver coin beside him—it was issued by Oda Nobunaga, designed to counter the Great Ming treasure notes.

(End of Chapter)