Chapter 878 Private Chat

Chapter 878 Private Chat

Chapter 878 Private Chat
Lu Xun once said: "Stupid! It's the economy!"

The economy shapes a society in a fundamental way, silently and in an all-round way.

There is no doubt that I will bring goods in the future.

When Concubine Pei wore hemp cloth that summer, Shao Xun's eyes widened. He put his hands in and rubbed and caressed her for a long time before reluctantly letting go.

The production of this cloth was extremely small, and because of the war, commercial exchanges were inconvenient, so even wealthy families could not buy much - originally, Yiyang and Anfeng counties would pay tribute to them for a small amount of hemp cloth, but now they are gone.

The most profitable things are always mass consumer goods, that is, things that everyone uses, and preferably consumables.

This kind of thing benefits a relatively large number of people and has a more thorough impact on society.

Shao Xun thought that he actually had no control over what the Southern Manor produced. He could only try his best, and the effect would depend on fate.

Moreover, there are many obstacles in business.

In his plan, the North is a consumer market, so he needs to create as many consumer groups as possible.

In the early stages, the most suitable targets were government soldiers, conscripted soldiers, officials, Hu chieftains, merchants, gentry and their families.

In the long run, these are the people who are the worst!
In addition, the scarcity of currency is a problem.

What do you take as a general equivalent? Silk and grain are not durable and will gradually depreciate in quality, which is far inferior to precious metals.

They may stop after selling some of the goods because they have received too much silk and grain and don't want to receive any more, unless you make them spend these things through policies, such as selling them some land to build an estate.

One son, one estate.

Murong Wei's brother had more than 60 sons in his lifetime and created an entire tribe by himself. The manor owners should not have any problem with this. As long as they refused to disband and their fertility was still there, it should still be feasible.

If he accepted the punishment, it would be hard to say. Anyway, as far as Shao Xun knew, Wang Dun accepted the punishment, so he helped Wang Dun a lot.

Finally, there is the issue of transportation.

This can only be done by water transport. If large-scale trade between the north and the south is possible, then Xuzhou and Bianliang will surely become economic centers.

In fact, the above are just best estimates.

The most likely reality is that a large group of northern scholars brought their troops south, and after hard work in reclaiming wasteland, they became self-sufficient. Apart from gatherings for casual discussions and sightseeing, they basically had no communication with the outside world, and lived on their own, leaving things to fend for themselves.

We can only think on the bright side, at least this is half the battle.

Nothing in this world is simple.

On May 11, the second day of the conference, Shao Xun did not show up because he found that everything was under control and there was no need to discuss it in person. He only asked someone to copy a "minutes of the meeting".

But he was not idle, and had a private talk with Yu Chen.

"Liang Nu, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and pay your respects to your grandfather." Shao Xun pushed his son and said, "Only family members are here today."

The nine-year-old Liang Nu immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, old man."

Yu Chen returned the salute, then looked at his grandson carefully, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"How was today?" Shao Xun asked.

"In fact, just as you thought, what we are arguing about now are just minor details," said Yu Chen.

The so-called "details" are nothing more than when will the land outside Liang be measured? When will the expedition to the south be launched? What support will the court get for building a manor in the south? For example, tax exemption, etc.

The fact that we can debate this says a lot in itself.

"Kill!" A loud cry of killing rang out in the distance.

Shao and Yu both knew that the palace soldiers were discussing military matters with the Silver Spear Army and practicing attack and defense tactics.

This is actually also a kind of "detail". Shao Xun started playing with it from the first day, artificially exerting pressure.

"Is there anyone dissatisfied?" he asked.

Yu Chen glanced at him. Is there any need to ask this? Of course there are dissatisfactions, and there are many, but most people dare not speak out.

On the first day, a Wang Chong was brought out, but a warrior threatened to drown him in the river.

The Hu people and the poor scholars also refuted him again and again. Seeing this, others naturally did not dare to oppose him openly.

But their silence does not mean approval; it is actually a form of silent resistance.

As for using reason to convince them and reach a consensus, that is simply silly and cute.

When it comes to interests, one has to make some effort even if it is unreasonable, especially since the scholar is not completely in the wrong.

Even if you are wrong, so what? If you don't use military force to exert pressure, and you debate with others in an open and aboveboard manner, you will end up like Wang Chong: I just want my own interests not to be harmed. When it comes to interests that touch the soul, there is no reason, no right or wrong, and no consensus.

People who can remain calm and admit defeat openly in debates on other matters on weekdays will never admit defeat at this time. They will fight you to the end even if they die, and the final result will only be a mess.

To put it bluntly, this is not an academic debate, but a struggle for interests. Even if you are convinced in your heart, you will not accept it verbally.

"Some of the Hua clan members in Pingyuan believed that they had contributed greatly to the cause of the war and should preserve their foundation for survival." Yu Chen said, "Only one or two people agreed. After no one paid attention to them, they became quiet. They seemed to have gone to visit the Jin Temple in the afternoon and did not show up."

"Let him go. You still have the magnanimity to allow others to complain." Shao Xun said, then looked at his son and said, "Liang Nu, remember, if you encounter such things in the future, if others' complaints do not affect the overall situation, let them go. A monarch should not be too magnanimous. But if his chattering affects the overall situation, don't be soft-hearted, just deal with it quickly."

After saying this, Shao Xun immediately regretted it.

Damn, I spoke too fast. Some things came out without me thinking.

Yu Chen's eyes lit up, "For the king?"
Liang Nu was a little confused and only asked: "Grandpa, how can we tell whether it will affect the overall situation?"

"Good question!" Shao Xun said, "There are many methods, and they are very complicated. It is difficult to explain them one by one. As for today's matter, it depends on how many people respond. If everyone responds, then we must take thundering measures. If no one responds, forget it."

"One more thing." Shao Xun thought for a moment, and then said, "If you can talk nicely, don't resort to violence. Violence is addictive and may not be very effective. The knife is in the sheath, and you hold the handle, which can scare people. But if you draw the knife and others have no choice and no way to retreat, can you definitely win?"

"Besides, if I kill you today and you kill me tomorrow, and the killing never ends, this is not the atmosphere of a glorious dynasty. The more you kill, the more both sides will compete to bribe the warriors, and the generals will become more arrogant and the warriors will become more corrupt, and in the end they will have to die together."

"The way of civil and military affairs is to have a balance. I promote military men only because the status of military men is too low. Remember this, remember this."

"Yeah." Liang Nu nodded vigorously like a little adult, making Shao Xun and Yu Chen both laugh.

While being satisfied with his grandson, Yu Chen also had a deeper understanding of Shao Xun.

He knew that part of what was said just now was directed at him, namely, "The way of civil and martial arts lies in balance."

King Liang actually told him that I was not targeting the nobles, I was just redistributing the benefits. The nobles were also an important force to check and balance the military men, and both civil and military affairs should be equally important.

"There's fighting in Nanyang again." Shao Xun brought up another topic: "The two counties of Yiyang and Sui have been fighting for many years, and the people are living in poverty, which is particularly tragic. Sui has changed hands twice. When Wang's army retreated, the people were relocated. When Wang Dun retreated, the people were relocated again. Several counties east of Yiyang have become almost empty, which is really ugly."

Yu Chen listened quietly, he knew that his son-in-law would not mention this place for no reason.

"The former site of Han Zhongwu County (now Xinyang) is very important. I want to set up a Longxiang Prefecture." Shao Xun said: "The prefecture soldiers will be drawn from the Luoyang Imperial Army, and the guards will be my family's farmhands in Runan. The remaining farmhands will be sent there in batches to build a fort and station there."

Shao Xun had farms in Runan, and the dowry brought by Yu Wenjun when she married him was later joined by many people from Anping. The place was not small, and there were tens of thousands of farmhands.

Runan was a county under the jurisdiction of the State of Liang. Under the background of land measurement, he also wanted to set an example, so he came up with an idea: to select more than 10,000 people to serve as soldiers of the government, and to set up a fort with the remaining more than 10,000 people.

"The forts here are connected and interdependent." Shao Xun continued, "When the people of Wubao are not cultivating the land, they are transplanting tea trees to the nearby mountains."

"Are you planning to make a profit from tea?" Yu Chen was stunned and asked.

Shao Xun nodded and said, "It's just for trial and to serve as an example. Once we can really make a profit from growing tea, it will attract others to follow suit."

"Tea is indeed scarce," said Yu Chen, "even if officials and scholars want to buy it, they have to wait for many days."

To put it bluntly, the product may not be available on the market, so you need to talk to someone and place an order in advance.

It can be seen that the custom of drinking tea is still confined to the upper class circles, and is only now beginning to spread slowly to the middle class, but it has not yet become popular, although many scholars have already written poems about drinking tea.

"That's great." Shao Xun said, "If the manor can successfully produce tea, I will give it to the officers and officials. If you persist, I don't believe that the trend of drinking tea will not be popular."

The nouveau riche always like to imitate the life of the upper class, so let them imitate, the more pretentious the better.

"You really worry about this world." Yu Chen smiled bitterly and said, "However, all kinds of strange ideas are often not thought of by predecessors. If you think about it carefully, there may be some feasible places."

"I can't accept my father-in-law's praise." Shao Xun joked.

After laughing, he looked at Liang Nu again and said, "My son, do you know why the old clans of Dongwu like to establish their own territories?"

Liang Nu shook his head.

Shao Xun touched his head and said with a smile, "It's actually very simple. They don't understand northerners and are full of estrangement. But if they are connected through business, the exchanges will increase and the estrangement will gradually disappear, and the situation will change greatly. If there is a tea garden in the south of the Yangtze River, and its tea is mainly sold to Luoyang, do you think the owner of the garden is willing to secede?"

"I don't want to." Liang Nu said.

"Generally speaking, it is like this." Shao Xun said, "The north and the south are originally one, so there should be no barriers. After I defeat Sima Rui and take all the land of Jiangdong, the northerners will move south in large numbers, enclose land and build manors. They have relatives in the north and do business with the northerners, so it will not be so easy for them to split up. In addition, I am also paving the way for the northerners who are moving south and thinking of ways to make money for them. In this way, the northerners will not be so resistant when they move south in the future."

"Remember, in the future, no matter what you do, you must put yourself in other people's shoes, think more about other people's difficulties, and try to resolve them. Don't just do whatever you want, always only consider yourself and ignore others, otherwise something bad will happen sooner or later."

"Okay." Liang Nu nodded heavily again.

Yu Chen was quite satisfied.

My son-in-law is really training the prince, that's good.

(End of this chapter)