Prime Minister of Great Qin

Chapter 89 Blood and Sweat Merchant! (seeking subscription)

Ji Heng didn't make a fool of himself, and said directly: "The significance of the country to the people is to protect the bottom line."

"Guaranteed the bottom line?" Fu Su was thoughtful.

Ji Heng said: "Guan Zhong is a businessman himself, so he pays more attention to making profits."

"I don't know what Guan Zhong thinks of merchants, but in my eyes, there are actually three levels of merchants."

"One: seek profit for a living, seek profit for the family."

"Such merchants are greedy!"

"Second: profit is only for the sake of greed."

"Such merchants are extremely corrupt."

"Third: Seek profit for the country and the people."

"This is the greatest merchant!"

"Guan Zhong obviously belongs to the big businessman."

"But whether it's greedy, hugely greedy, or a big businessman, they are always looking for the interests of the businessman, so the plan will only fall on the 'profit' in the end."

"However, the way to govern the country cannot only be weighed by interests."

"Excessive emphasis on interests will only turn the country into a money-making tool."

"This is also the reason why the state of Qi declined in one lifetime."

"The state of Qi was too chasing after interests, to the point of ignoring the bottom line of society. In the end, the five sons competed for the position, but none of them collected Duke Huan's body and left his body to rot for more than two months. This may not be the karma that Duke Huan himself planted in the past."

"What kind of seeds you plant, what kind of fruit you will bear!"

"This is the truth of heaven and earth."

"Now it's Daqin's choice for this truth."

Fusu's face turned pale.

The back is completely soaked.

He hadn't thought about this before, and he really couldn't think of it so far.

After being reminded by Ji Heng, he suddenly woke up.

If Daqin follows Guan Zhong's "monopoly" move, although it can amass a lot of money in a short period of time, this move will definitely cause the bottom line to slip, because the money comes too fast, and the monarchs of all dynasties will eventually involuntarily lean into the abyss of greed.

Under the temptation of huge interests, the bottom line will only gradually decline.

In the end, the government forced the people to rebel!
Fusu gasped heavily, the hair on his forehead was already soaked, he saluted Ji Heng respectfully, and said gratefully: "Thank you for your advice, sir, Fusu almost caused a catastrophe."

"Imperial court monopoly is indeed not advisable."

"Great Qin must not ignore the world and the common people just because of a short-term profit."

"Daqin has a bottom line!"

Hu Hai looked suspiciously at the two people in front of him, but he didn't know what Fusu understood.

In his opinion, the imperial court franchise is very good, and the money comes quickly and ruthlessly.

Ji Heng nodded slightly.

It was not surprising that Fusu could understand.

Fusu has 'benevolence' in his heart.

After Fu Suming realized the pros and cons, his lecture today officially started.

He picked up the jug beside the reclining chair, poured the wine into the copper jug ​​very skillfully, and then said with a serious look: "Now I will formally explain to you the differences and differences between the two methods."

Fusu smiled wryly.

He didn't react until now.

Ji Heng did not touch the wine he brought, which was obviously intentional. The question and answer before was probably a test for himself. If he failed, Ji Heng would not accept the wine at all, even And kick myself out.

People who are short-sighted and profit-seeking are not worth pointing out at all.

Because it is doomed to futility.

Fusu raised his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a wave of fear in his heart.

In fact, he was really fascinated by the government monopoly.

It's just that Ji Heng's thoughts are always jumping off, and he seldom reasoned according to common sense. In addition, before leaving last time, Ji Heng mentioned that Guan Zhong's method is not suitable for Da Qin, so he secretly remembered it.

Otherwise, it will probably be suspended this time.

Fusu bowed to Ji Heng again, sat down on the table respectfully, and listened to Ji Heng's instructions while sitting upright.

Ji Heng didn't care about Fusu's actions, he took a sip and slowly expressed his thoughts.

"For the people, the meaning of the country's existence is to protect the bottom line."

"So you can't be greedy for profit."

"Salt is necessary for life, and iron is necessary for production."

"The two are closely related to people's lives, so they must not fall into the hands of merchants."

"Businessmen seek profit."

"They don't care if people live or die."

"But the court must care."

"So the mountains, forests and pools that can produce salt and iron must be completely controlled by the imperial court, and merchants will never be allowed to set foot."

"This is the bottom line!"

Fu Su frowned.

Although he agrees with this point of view, the world consumes a huge amount of salt and iron every day, and relying on the government's own production alone cannot meet the world's needs at all. Otherwise, Daqin would not choose to hand over the mountains, forests and pools to merchants.

But he didn't choose to speak.

He knew that since Ji Heng dared to say this, he must have his own reasons and his own solution.

Ji Heng continued: "What I said earlier about government property is not completely rigorous. As you said earlier, Daqin actually couldn't spare so much manpower."

"The so-called officialdom is actually private property."

"However, the 'Minchan' I mentioned is not exactly the same as Guan Zhong's 'Minchan'."

"Guan Zhong is opening up the salt ponds, allowing the people to produce freely, and then the state will purchase them in a unified manner, and then ensure that all the salt produced belongs to the state, thereby ensuring profits."

"My solution is different."

"The imperial court needs to completely control areas such as Yanchi where salt is produced, and strictly eliminate private salt production, even if it is promulgated and completed."

"The production of salt must be entirely managed by the court."

"Not to be contaminated by anyone."

"It is true that there are not so many salt producers in Daqin, but there are people in the world. Daqin can hire folks who produced salt in the past and let them produce salt for Daqin."

"Court officials are only responsible for management and supervision."

"It does not interfere with specific production."

"All the salt produced will be handed over to the salt officials for inspection and acceptance, and then sold at a fixed price to merchants who have obtained distribution rights, and let the merchants transport it out for sale by themselves, while the imperial court will continue to charge high taxes as in the past."

"at the same time."

"The price of salt must be set within the range specified by the imperial court."

"Once a merchant raises or lowers the price below the specified range, the imperial court has the right to suspend the merchant's distribution qualification, or even directly convict and confiscate the merchant."

"also."

"The imperial court needs to set up supply and marketing stores in various places to supply salt to the lower class at the lowest price in the market, so as to prevent the lower class from being unable to afford salt when the local salt price fluctuates sharply."

"Do our best to protect people's livelihood!"

"What Daqin has to do is to set up a bottom line, and then protect this bottom line."

There was dead silence all around.

Fusu stared blankly at Ji Heng, feeling his scalp tingling.

He didn't fully understand it, but he did understand a little bit, grabbing the benefits of merchants.

Too bad!
It's almost a blow to the merchants.

It is completely to plunder the interests of merchants.

Now he suddenly understood why Ji Heng said the word 'robbing money' so simply and straightforwardly, because he really wanted to grab money.

At that time, Ji Heng asked, "Does the world need big businessmen?" This sentence was not groundless, but a real thought.

In Ji Heng's view, it's not that there are no "big businessmen" in the world, but that after a year of busy work, these big businessmen can only earn a little bit of hard work.

The money they earn in a year can only be regarded as "meager" in the past, and naturally they cannot be called "big businessmen".

Just is it really doable?

A huge question arose in Fusu's heart.

Fu Su swallowed his saliva and asked, "Is this idea too crazy? Can those big merchants really agree?"

Ji Heng sneered and said disdainfully, "I can't tolerate their disapproval."

"There are not many other things in Daqin, but there are many people."

"There are now 80 prisoners in Lishan. Couldn't there be a few of them who know how to do business?"

"If these big merchants don't work, then replace them with a batch of capable ones."

"The sale of salt is not impossible without them."

"These merchants don't produce salt, and they don't provide much commercial value. They are just second-hand dealers. Why do they get their turn to make irresponsible remarks?"

"Furthermore, the four 'iron kings' of Daqin are mostly rich merchants who migrated from the Kanto region. These people were confiscated back then, but they still rose in just a few years."

"Do you really think they will keep their own place?"

heard.

Fusu was taken aback.

Ji Heng filled himself a cup, ignored Fusu's surprise, and continued: "You can send someone to check the big salt and iron merchants in Guanzhong for a while."

"These incriminating evidence are very useful in forcing them to submit."

Fusu suppressed the horror in his heart, and asked uncertainly: "Is there really something wrong with these big merchants?"

Ji Heng glanced at Fusu, and couldn't help shaking his head. Fusu was a little naive, and he said slowly: "There are indeed self-made people in the world."

"But you need to understand that Guanzhong has a lot of iron and Longxi has salt. This situation has already spread throughout the world. In the past, there were not a few merchants who sold salt and ironware in Guanzhong. Why were they all swallowed up by these merchants from the East?"

"I admit that Kanto's salt and iron production technology has a lot of advantages compared to Qin, but they are newcomers after all, and they wiped out all the original merchants in Qin in just ten years. This process is too easy gone."

"It would be understandable if only one or two people did it, but most of the salt and iron in Guanzhong now fall into the hands of merchants in the Guandong, which is worth pondering."

"Regardless of the facts, it never hurts to look up."

"Maybe there will be surprises."

Hearing Ji Heng's words, Fu Su also noticed something strange.

He nodded and said: "Then I will go back later and send someone to investigate the past of these salt and iron merchants to see if these people are really innocent."

"If there is really something dirty in the dark, then don't blame Da Qin's laws for being ruthless."

A cold look flashed in Fusu's eyes.

Ji Heng glanced at Fusu, and said, "You don't have to be so jealous, these people have problems, it's a good thing for Daqin."

"Why?" Fusu was a little puzzled.

Ji Heng rubbed his forehead and said in a deep voice, "This world is never black and white, and more is actually gray."

"These merchants may have done illegal things in the past, but now and then, these criminal evidences can now help Daqin gather salt and iron faster, which is beneficial to the country."

"You have to understand that this world is never what you think, it should be, it will be, but you have to learn to adapt first, and then use your own power to try to make some changes."

"When you are not strong enough, you should not distinguish between good and evil, good and bad, but should distinguish between good and bad."

"The merchants are now guilty, which is beneficial to Daqin."

"That's enough."

"As for punishment, that's a matter for the future."

"Now just focus on the present moment."

(End of this chapter)