The question of profit arose.
Zeng Cheng and others were truly perplexed as to what profit could exist within this scenario to make England and the Habsburg family tacitly agree to instigate a conflict between the White Goose and the Ottomans. Unless, of course, Great Ming had made promises to England and the Habsburg family.
But what was the purpose of such an action?
It was quite understandable that Emperor Zhu wished to tarnish the reputations of England and the Habsburg family. After all, inciting the White Goose and the Ottomans to war was something that, in the Central Plains, would be viewed unfavorably. Once news spread, the reputations of Emperor Zhu and the cabinet would surely be affected.
In other words, such matters were akin to visiting a brothel; one went quietly, enjoyed oneself quietly, and then returned home quietly. No one had ever been seen to actively publicize such affairs.
If Emperor Zhu were to simultaneously tarnish reputations and promise benefits, wouldn't that be like "trying to hide 300 taels of silver by digging a hole, only to reveal that Wang Er next door didn't steal it"?
While Zeng Cheng and the others were bewildered, Zhu Jinsong spoke with disappointment, saying, "Profit! I already explained it. England has been secretly developing firearms and artillery. If the Ottomans and the White Goose go to war, they can sell these firearms and artillery at a low price."
"If I were in your shoes, and could get England's independently developed firearms and artillery onto the battlefield, and find points for improvement, I wouldn't mind bearing a bad reputation, let alone giving away a batch of firearms and artillery to the Ottomans and the White Goose for free."
Zeng Cheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, if England and the Habsburg family admit to this, why would the Ottomans and the Habsburg family purchase firearms and artillery produced by England? Furthermore, even if the Ottomans and the White Goose were to purchase English firearms and artillery, what would that have to do with the Habsburg family? Why would the Habsburg family accompany England in admitting to this crime simply because of a convenient in-law relationship with George III?"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and shook his head, saying, "England needs war after war to test and improve their independently developed firearms and artillery, while the Habsburg family needs a breathing space. Besides the issues between the Habsburg family alliance and the White Goose, the 'little mustache art student' is also a major concern for the Habsburg family."
"Moreover, how do you know that England and the Habsburg family wouldn't take advantage of the situation? The White Goose and the Ottomans have always wanted to engage with Europe, but the European nations have ostracized them. If the White Goose and the Ottomans go to war, and the situation becomes a stalemate, leading to mutual destruction, do you think the European nations wouldn't seize the opportunity? Other countries might be alright, but the Habsburg family and England have both suffered recent defeats. Now is the perfect time to win a victory to boost morale. To put it bluntly, profit is not just limited to gold, silver, and jewels. While the title of 'Five Great Benefactors' of the 'Little Broken Pot' might have deterrent power, it depends on who is exerting that deterrence and whether the benefits gained are worth offending the Five Great Benefactors."
Zeng Cheng understood Emperor Zhu's meaning, but he suspected that Emperor Zhu might be contradicted by England and the Habsburg family. Emperor Zhu's analysis was based on his own thinking, which could be considered a strategy for governing the nation. If things truly went according to Emperor Zhu's plan, England and the Habsburg family might indeed take responsibility for their own benefit.
However! What intelligence did those European barbarians possess? Could they ponder such complex and far-reaching issues? Don't be ridiculous. The fact that France and England successively sold their most advanced warships to Great Ming indicated that those barbarians were always concerned with immediate profits and never considered matters years or even decades in the future.
Zeng Cheng simply said no more. In any case, no bizarre actions were impossible from those European barbarians. What if they inexplicably took responsibility?
After thinking about it, Zeng Cheng changed the subject back to Great Ming: "Your Majesty, in the past few months, the Ministry of Railways has reported numerous casualties due to riding on trains, with several incidents almost every month..."
Zhu Jinsong was immediately flustered. Trains were not a new phenomenon in Great Ming. They had been used for freight transport for over ten years, and passenger transport had only begun to be gradually implemented in the last two years. Strictly speaking, a few accidents per month throughout Great Ming was not a major issue, given the vastness of Great Ming and its large population. Even a few incidents per day wouldn't be a significant problem – considering the scale of over two thousand counties, it would take years to cycle through them all.
The problem was that this was not how it should be calculated. Was the practice of "ticketless travel" not a patent of the Indian brothers? How had the people of Great Ming learned this trick?
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong turned his gaze to Chi Yuansi, the head of the Ministry of Railways: "Did you set the ticket prices too high, forcing people to ride without tickets?"
Chi Yuansi replied with a wronged expression: "Reporting to Your Majesty, trains have only been used for passenger transport in the past two years. While the ticket prices are not exactly cheap, they are not considered high. Furthermore, I sent people to inquire about the citizens who were injured while riding without tickets, and the conclusion I obtained is one I am too ashamed to speak of – they did not find the ticket prices too expensive; rather, they felt there was no need to buy tickets at all!"
Zhu Jinsong looked at Chi Yuansi in bewilderment: "Wait, what do you mean there was no need to buy tickets?"
Chi Yuansi said resentfully: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is mainly due to the freight trains from over a decade ago. At that time, there was no such thing as buying tickets, and the trains ran at a slow speed. Thus, there was no danger. So, the people developed the habit of simply hopping onto any train that was going their way... The key point is that they don't feel ashamed of this; on the contrary, they feel quite proud of it! It's truly..."
Chi Yuansi dared not utter the remaining words, but Emperor Zhu and Zeng Cheng, along with the other esteemed officials present, knew what the remaining three words were. Emperor Zhu also understood Chi Yuansi's anger. This was because Emperor Zhu suddenly felt like cursing.
However, no matter how much he wanted to curse, the problems that needed to be solved still had to be addressed. Otherwise, if this continued, it might become more than just a few accidents per month in the future.
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong asked Chi Yuansi, "What are your plans at the Ministry of Railways?"
Chi Yuansi bowed slightly and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, after discussing with my colleagues, we believe that guardrails can be installed along the railway lines. Simultaneously, we will issue directives to local governments and farmers' associations, requiring them to warn the public and prohibit people from casually riding on trains."
Zhu Jinsong grunted and was about to say something when Liu Huaiwen objected: "Installing guardrails along the railway lines? You old man, do you know how long the railway lines in Great Ming are? How much budget will it take to install guardrails along both sides?"
Zeng Cheng and the others present were amused by Liu Huaiwen – the Minister of Revenue, who managed the national treasury, questioning the head of the Ministry of Railways about his knowledge of the total length of Great Ming's railway lines?
The head of the Ministry of Railways, Chi Yuansi, snorted: "I am well aware of the length of our Great Ming's railway lines; I do not need you, Minister Liu, to point it out. As for the budget for installing guardrails... you, Minister Liu, do not have to approve it, but how will you solve the problem of people riding on trains?"
Liu Huaiwen was immediately rendered speechless. For the people of Great Ming, finding ways to take advantage of the court and the emperor was a sign of ability rather than shame. It was perfectly normal for the people of Great Ming to choose to ride without tickets. This meant that if guardrails were not installed, the practice of riding on trains would only increase, not decrease. This had nothing to do with the train ticket prices; it was purely due to the innate tendency to seek small gains.
Seeing Liu Huaiwen's speechlessness, Zeng Cheng then added to Emperor Zhu's vexation: "In addition to the railway matters, the imperial highways have also not been very peaceful recently. According to Minister Shen, accidents on the imperial highways have also been increasing in recent years, with incidents even occurring within and outside the cities."
Zeng Cheng had successfully angered Emperor Zhu to the point of near death.
What kind of situation was this? He, the dignified Emperor of Great Ming, was daily calculating how to ensnare European countries or the other four great benefactors. The documents on his desk were all about major affairs of war or governance. He had received his mandate, and his word was law, demonstrating immense prestige. Now, it had come to this: he had to worry about the petty issues of your damn train-riding and traffic lights?
However, Zeng Cheng showed no intention of letting Emperor Zhu off the hook: "Furthermore, according to reports from local governments, cases of brawling have also been increasing in recent years, especially due to Your Majesty's imperial edicts, so..."
Zhu Jinsong interrupted Zeng Cheng with a bewildered expression and asked, "Wait, what do you mean 'due to my imperial edicts'?"
Zeng Cheng said expressionlessly, "Your Majesty once issued an imperial decree requiring all schools, except for the elementary schools, such as community schools, county schools, prefectural schools, and universities, to strictly implement a one-month military training system annually."
"Although this decree has provided Great Ming with the largest and best reserve of soldiers on the small globe, it is precisely because our scholars have undergone military training that they tend to lose control when they get into a fight."
"Fortunately, the common people still respect Your Majesty, the court, and the government. Otherwise, given the student numbers from which any prefectural school in Great Ming could form a reserve force, it would be easy to cause great chaos."
This reminded Zhu Jinsong of Xingping Village and Xingan Village, which he had encountered during his private visits. The skirmishes between just two villages could consume the resources of a low-intensity war between European countries, and their skill levels were even higher than those of European regular armies. Where was the justice in this?
The problem was that Great Ming did indeed encourage its people to be martial. In Emperor Zhu's view, it was not wrong for the people of Great Ming to be martial; on the contrary, it was a great virtue. The key was how to guide them to be brave in public battles and timid in private disputes. Otherwise, would he want to raise the people of Great Ming into effeminate sissies who only knew how to enjoy themselves? That would truly be a great mockery.
However, as Emperor Zhu was secretly getting angry and thinking about how to guide the people, Zeng Cheng became more enthusiastic as he spoke: "Aside from the affairs of our Great Ming citizens, a large number of barbarians are now involved. Although most European civilians do not have the money to travel to Great Ming, European nobles are very wealthy. The number of European nobles visiting Great Ming has also been increasing in recent years."
Zhu Jinsong grunted and said, "This is also a good thing, after all, if people come, they leave their money behind."
Zeng Cheng said with a dark expression, "This is indeed a good thing. The problem is that those so-called European nobles are too crude and unbearable. I truly cannot understand how they manage to urinate and defecate anywhere in broad daylight. Do these barbarians truly have no sense of shame?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor suddenly became alert: "Does Minister Zeng know that Paris, considered the capital of romance by Europeans, originally had the nickname 'City of Filth'? And the River Thames outside London, the capital of England, was also known as the River of Filth."
Emperor Zhu chuckled and said, "Barbarians are always like this. Some European nobles would even urinate and defecate anywhere within their castles, and even Louis XVI's Palace of Versailles was not spared."
Zeng Cheng cursed resentfully, "Th-they barbarians, of course, are crude!"
After cursing, Zeng Cheng continued indignantly, "If they only wreaked havoc like this in Europe, it would be fine. However, these so-called European nobles come to Great Ming and do not change their ways. Many have already been punished by government yamen runners for urinating and defecating anywhere."
"Of course, it's better if they are caught by government yamen runners. After all, yamen runners still follow rules. However, many so-called European nobles were caught by the people of Great Ming while urinating and defecating anywhere. Just last month, there were several cases of injury."
Zhu Jinsong's expression darkened and he asked, "Were our Great Ming citizens injured?"
Zeng Cheng shook his head slightly and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the injured were those European barbarians. Our Great Ming citizens were not injured."
Zhu Jinsong's expression softened, and he said with a cold snort, "Then, they should be dealt with as they should be. Great Ming has its laws, so we will deal with them according to the law. We cannot wrong a good person, nor can we let a bad person go."
Zeng Cheng and the other esteemed officials couldn't help but inwardly mourn for those European nobles. The phrase "cannot wrong a good person" naturally meant not wronging the citizens of Great Ming. As for "cannot let a bad person go," it naturally meant not letting go of those European nobles who urinated and defecated anywhere.
In this regard, Zeng Cheng admired Emperor Zhu from the bottom of his heart. Back in the Qing Dynasty, that old dog Qianlong had also said things like "cannot wrong a good person nor let a bad person go." However, in Qianlong's words, the "good person" referred to those European barbarians, while the dignified people of the Central Plains were considered "bad people" in Qianlong's mouth. For example, the Batavia Massacre back then.