Rebirth of the Four Seas Emperor

Ji Wenjun is not locked in a deep palace and ignorant of worldly affairs. Naturally, she also knows a little about Linjian Kihu. However, no matter how talented she is, she still doesn't know the reason behind this rule.

Now when I heard Hou Yao tell the secret behind this, I felt that my world view had been completely overturned. I suddenly said in a daze: "Is this so? In this way, after all, the royal family has failed the world... Then I Father, he...?"

Hou Yao smiled and said: "Actually, your father is also a good emperor who worked hard to govern. You don't need to say more about the first fifty years. As for what happened later, it is more obscure. This matter has to be dealt with from Uncle Zhang." Speaking of which, Zhang Shuda is indeed worthy of his name and is also an unborn genius. Although a whip method did not fundamentally solve the tax problem of Daxia, it also greatly eased the tax crisis of the Daxia Dynasty, and even For a time, there was a slight surplus in the national treasury. It’s just that while Zhang Shuda saved Daxia’s predicament, he also created an even bigger predicament.”

Ji Wenjun listened very carefully and tried hard to digest every word Hou Yao said: "Another dilemma? What do you mean?"

Hou Yao said: "Before the rise of Zhang Shuda, there were many parties in the Daxia court, attacking each other. Although it affected state affairs, they also restrained each other, making the imperial power stable, and officials also did not dare to be too presumptuous because of such constraints. , it can be regarded as a moderate accumulation of wealth, which means that in fact, the Great Xia at that time was chaotic and not dangerous.

However, after the rise of Zhang Shuda, due to his outstanding political ability, he gradually became the only voice in the court. The most frightening thing is that the confrontation between civil and military forces that had formed since the founding of the Xia Dynasty was perfectly unified by him. All civil and military officials obeyed his orders, which seriously threatened the stability of the imperial power.

If Zhang Shuda is really a wise minister who is dedicated to the public good, then it doesn't matter, but in fact Zhang Shuda is still a greedy man. Under his operation, Daxia was buried with an even greater hidden danger. "

"What kind of hidden danger is it?"

"The name of this hidden danger is "provincial levy and taxation, in order to support farmers and promote business, to lighten the market, in order to support business and benefit farmers." You should have heard that Uncle Zhang is a comprehensive person, right?"

Ji Wenjun nodded: "Yes, even after his father punished him, he once lamented with regret, saying that there is no one better than Zhang Shuda in the world."

Hou Yao nodded slightly: "It is said that everyone who comes into contact with him dislikes him. Don't you think it is very unreasonable for a person to behave like this? Ordinary people like someone, maybe just because they see him Just being pleasing to the eye is enough, but it is absolutely impossible for officials, especially important ministers, to like a person only to see if he is well-behaved, but more to see if he is profitable. Therefore, in this world, there is simply no person who can do everything, and the only one who can make everyone The only thing no one can refuse is money.

So Uncle Zhang's secret to winning everyone's favor is to get money. Not only can he get money for himself, but he can also help others get money, so in the end, even your father couldn't refuse him. The biggest effect of a whip method is to make everyone focus on the money. Since then, there has been the so-called ZTE. The essence of ZTE is that it actually improves the status of merchants in disguise, making them dare to spend money. In this way, the goods in the hands of farmers can be more easily transformed into Silver taels.

Farmers are naturally happy when they can sell grain more easily; businessmen are happy when they dare to spend money; goods are circulated, materials are abundant, people's lives are improved, and money can be exempted from corvee, which makes the people grateful; the petty officials' Naturally, they were all happy when their work became easier. After all the goods were converted into silver, taxes were also increased, and the court was happy. Finally, when everything was converted into silver, corruption became more convenient for officials, and everyone was happy. The whole world applauded, and the so-called ZTE was born. "

Ji Wenjun was a little confused when he heard this: "Shouldn't this kind of policy that everyone applauds be a good law? What do you say..."

Hou Yao shook his head helplessly: "The essence of ZTE is to release the wealth of businessmen, but don't forget what the nature of businessmen is. Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, businessmen are ranked last, because farmers and workers are all working for Society creates wealth, but businessmen are only responsible for exchanging what is needed and do not generate any value themselves.

Moreover, businessmen pursue profit, and conscientious businessmen take advantage of information asymmetry to sell high and buy low to earn the price difference; while unscrupulous businessmen will hoard and maliciously raise the price of goods to control the supply of goods and other means to make profits. Make huge profits.

There is an upper limit to the income of farmers who work hard for a year; the upper limit of income for workers can also be estimated based on their skills; and officials have fixed salaries, so it is easier to determine the amount of their property; the income of these three types of people are all equal to one's own ability.

However, businessmen are different. A big businessman can earn the wealth accumulated by these three types of people through years of hard work by hoarding a single business. Even a good businessman can earn a lot of money from a single business when the market is good. There are many people there.

Therefore, there must be merchants, but not too many. This is the main reason why the Central Plains dynasties have suppressed merchants for thousands of years. But look at Daxia now, merchants are everywhere, big merchants are as numerous as dogs, and wealthy merchants can be seen everywhere. Think about it carefully, where did these wealthy businessmen come from? Where does their money come from? "

Ji Wenjun gave Hou Yao a strange look: "When it comes to being extremely rich, who in the world can compare with you? Where did your money come from?"

Hou Yao knocked on Ji Wenjun's forehead: "Your husband, I am here to teach you. It's okay if you don't thank me. Instead, you question me. I really should beat you."

Ji Wenjun smiled mischievously: "Come on, let me beat you. After I beat you, I will go out and tell everyone that you bullied me."

Hou Yao held her in his arms and kissed her deeply: "Your husband is not a businessman, but a real entrepreneur."

"entrepreneur?"

"Yes, entrepreneurs, what do businessmen compare to entrepreneurs? My business has created new social needs and increased the types of social wealth. Strictly speaking, it belongs to the category of industry. Although we are engaged in business, business has never been Our main profit point, and the products I create, are not basic daily necessities, and will not increase the living burden of the poor. Moreover, because the production of enterprises has created a large number of new jobs, people's power has become more and more valuable, and the number of people has increased. The poor people’s career choices also prevent them from being overly exploited by the landlords and gentry, thereby increasing their family income.”

Ji Wenjun smiled happily and said, "I understand. In the past few years, the price of tenant farmers in Bao'an has become more and more expensive year by year. Many people are lamenting that the most expensive thing in Bao'an now is manpower. That's probably why."

Hou Yao nodded and said: "Yes, it is for this reason that as long as farmers become scarce, they will not become objects that can be exploited at will."

Ji Wenjun thought for a moment: "But I still don't quite understand what the big crisis you are talking about is."

Hou Yao said: "Zhang Shuda's policies released the hidden wealth of merchants, but he himself was also a representative of the merchant class, so he did not formulate any laws to restrict the behavior of merchants. Therefore, these merchants began to sweep away the world's wealth at an unimaginable speed. The most famous group among them is the Zhejiang merchants, and the representative of the Zhejiang merchants is the Sea Emperor Wang Zhi. If the Sea Emperor had not died, the state affairs of Daxia would not have become so sluggish."

Ji Wenjun was shocked: "What? You mean the Emperor of the Sea? Isn't he a great pirate in the East China Sea? Why did he become a businessman again?"

Hou Yao said: "Big pirates are also big merchants. When the Sea Emperor was there, the trade in the entire East China Sea was in order. He also restrained the Japanese pirates from causing trouble along the coast of Daxia. In fact, if your father hadn't secretly arrested the Sea Emperor, the pirates in the East China Sea would be leaderless. , why did the Japanese pirates need Qi Junshen to take action? After the Sea Emperor's absence, the East China Sea trade was in chaos, and a new leader was needed to lead them, so the four sea kings rose up, each sea king held an important trade route, and at this time, Your father was not willing to be alone and joined in.

At first, he wanted to use the navy, your uncle Lin Lihui, to control the East China Sea trade. However, your uncle didn't seem to be good at business and there was no improvement. It was not until the appearance of a young man that your father saw hope, so he was able to Against all odds, he was pushed to the position of chief assistant, but your father never expected that the young man he promoted with his own hands would take the entire East China Sea into his hands in just a few years with the huge profits of the East China Sea. Even your uncle was bribed by him.

The East China Sea was managed like an iron bucket by him, and the water could not flow in. Your father had no choice but to start a new business, so the other two young people were taken by him, and these two young people were much easier to control than the previous one. , the point is that these two young people still have something in his hands, so he began to work hard to support these two young people and enter the East China Sea again in an unofficial capacity.

Your father has exhausted his plans and wants to regain control of the huge profits in the East China Sea. But what he doesn't know is that these three young people have been in contact with each other even before he did. Under the planning of these three people, your father The emperor has never been able to regain control of the East China Sea trade route. Instead, he has made the three of them, one at a time and one at a time, echo each other, making it even more difficult to deal with. However, the three young people also know the principle of leaving a little bit behind in life, and have always allocated a large share of profits to meet your father's needs.

Whether it was your father or these three young men, their original goal was to control the trade routes in the East China Sea. But what they didn't know was that because they released an unfettered business group, they would control the entire country in a few years. Xia's state affairs collapsed to the point of being precarious. "

Ji Wenjun became more and more confused: "I still don't understand how these businessmen caused the national affairs of Daxia to collapse."

Hou Yao sighed: "It's all the money's fault."

"Silver? Why silver?"

"A whip method allows the people of Daxia to focus on silver. At this time, the Malani trade route has been opened, and a large amount of silver from Mexico has flowed into Daxia. This cheap silver allows merchants to transport all the surplus materials in Daxia to the East China Sea. Nearby provinces, while other provinces were short of supplies, naturally prices skyrocketed. East China Sea merchants took the opportunity to go back with supplies and earn back the money in their hands at higher prices. After going in and out several times, the inland provinces Basically all the money and materials in the East China Sea provinces were swept away by the merchants. If there were no natural disasters or man-made disasters, there would be no problem for a while. But once a natural disaster occurs, what will the people of these provinces do?

Therefore, Daxia is in danger... ”.