Tian Erdan asked the thoughts of all the Green Camp soldiers present, and even some of the helpers pricked up their ears to listen.
Ye Qiu and Pang Chaoyun were a little speechless. The two second-generation merchants had never thought about this problem. Although neither of them came from a wealthy merchant family, as members who could get a share of the maritime trade, the family's financial strength It cannot be underestimated.
They really have never lived the kind of poverty life that Erdan Mahui lived with them. Of course, they can't appreciate how sweet the life is now. In their eyes, although beef and canned fruits are delicious, they are far from worthy of the title. Fresh and exquisite, in their minds, the braised beef cooked by the family chef in a pot of old soup is the most delicious.
"Oh...oh..." Ye Qiu said nothing for a long time, and finally Pang Chaoyun took over.
"Of course the Prime Minister is rich, but I can tell you responsibly that the Prime Minister does not have a cornucopia of treasures. The Prime Minister's money is earned bit by bit. It does not belong to the third prince of the Dragon King as you say..."
"I think there is only one reason why you think so, and that is what the Prime Minister said. The gap between the rich and the poor in the Qing Dynasty is really too big..."
Xiao Letian once discussed the question of whether the Qing Dynasty had money at an internal economic meeting at Letian Bank, and elders from the Ye Qiu and Pang Chaoyun families were lucky enough to attend.
Whether the Qing Dynasty had money or not, this issue will take on different forms from different angles. It is difficult to explain clearly in one sentence, but Xiao Letian's analysis is very to the point of "gap between rich and poor, capital outflow".
Yes, in the long history of China, no matter how the dynasties change and the country changes color, China has always been like a huge magnet, constantly absorbing the wealth of the world.
There were indeed alien invasions, and even barbarians trying to conquer the world, but this slow money-attracting device never stopped working.
The reason is simple. At that time, Chinese civilization was the most famous in the world. Even if the war horses of the northern nomads rushed into the Central Plains and plundered a large amount of gold and silver treasures, the wealth would gradually flow back in normal trade, and even more would flow back.
Nothing but the attraction of higher civilization. Foreign races need the salt and iron tea from the Central Plains, exquisite handicrafts, silk porcelain, and even cultural products from the Central Plains, such as "erotic palace pictures", etc. Can they create foreign exchange?
The Central Plains had a vast land and abundant resources, with a net outflow of all kinds of goods and a net inflow of all kinds of gold and silver. Thousands of years of accumulation have allowed China, a country that was originally short of gold and silver veins, to become the world's largest reserve of precious metals.
Don't underestimate the boatloads of porcelain and silk, let alone the cartloads of salt, iron and tea. China has thousands of years of history, and the accumulated wealth of the Chinese people is unimaginable.
This situation lasted until the middle of the Qing Dynasty with no sign of ending. This trade deficit finally caused the British to collapse. They could not bear the precious metals they had gathered from the colonies and Europe, and let the Qing Dynasty make money in vain. In the end, they could only Use the murderous spirit of opium.
At that moment, opium was no longer just a drug, but a weapon of financial and economic warfare. It was a powerful medicine for Britain to fight against China's gold-eating monster, and the final side effect of this powerful medicine was war.
"The Prime Minister once said that China is not short of money. The wealth accumulated by the people is more than gold and silver. But why are the poor now unable to stand up, while the rich are extravagant and lustful? Wealth is unfairly distributed and corrupt officials On the one hand, the rampage of foreign bandits is the reason, but on the other hand, it is also because China has suppressed business since ancient times..."
"That's right, businessmen in China are nothing but fat in the eyes of power. No matter how capable the big businessmen are, they don't want to do anything big, because you have to use funds to do things, and the white mountains of silver will be transferred as soon as they are mobilized. You attracted the blood of corrupt officials, and before you even finished the matter, your money was gone and swallowed up by them..."
"No one is stupid. After a while, people will understand the world. If you have money, you should hide it, secretly hide it in a cellar, or turn it into thousands of hectares of fertile land, and finally spend all your money to provide a scholar to become an official. This It’s the Chinese people’s helplessness, they can only adapt to the environment in this way..."
Pang Chaoyun might have said something too high-minded, and he was embarrassed by the confused eyes around him, but now Ye Qiu also thought about it for a long time, and he took over the topic and said.
"What Lao Pang said is the exact words of the Prime Minister. You should understand if you don't understand. In fact, the truth is very clear. You are poor and we are rich. The key point is that Prime Minister Xiao of Donghai and his subordinates all have conscience and are clean... This can Do you understand?"
"Understood..." Now the Green Camp soldiers nodded their heads one by one, "That's right, I have been a soldier for so many years, and this is the first time I have seen a commander who doesn't beat or curse people and doesn't kowtow... He's kind and not corrupt. Our ration money, look at what we eat, the Prime Minister’s men are all upright officials..."
They still have a very simple peasant mentality. When life is good, it is the credit of the wise king and upright officials. When life is hard, they dare not scold the emperor and can only scold the greedy officials. Only when they are forced to have no way to survive will they think of rebelling against the emperor.
Ye Qiu took a sip of hot soup and nodded, "What you understand is only the first point, and there is a second point... Our Prime Minister respects businessmen, and what we do is called 'mercantilism.' But Qing Yao and those scholars, They all look down on businessmen, so this is the main reason why you are poor..."
"China's commerce has been underdeveloped since ancient times. The grain merchants, cloth merchants, and grocery stores you face on daily basis are actually not pure businessmen. They are just a group of officials and businessmen backed by corrupt officials. They rely on monopoly to make money."
"For example, when farmers farm, why do some people always lower the price of food every autumn when there is a good harvest? And when there is a lean period, there are always people who raise the price? You have worked hard all year and you have a good harvest, but you are poor, and you have a poor harvest. You will become even poorer, and during times of famine, you will have to sell your sons and daughters..."
Ye Qiu's words finally reached the hearts of Erdan and the others. Thinking about the hard days of their ancestors, they were filled with emotion and all of them secretly wiped away tears.
"So what, it's fate... When I was a kid, I went to sell rice with my father, and the rice store manager had a mouth full of hooks. No one could tell him off... They teamed up to lower the price during the good years, and they joined forces again during the lean years. They are all working together to raise prices, and we can’t resist because they are so powerful..."
"That's right. Anyone who opens a grain store in the city is backed by a big shot. How can we ordinary people fight against them..."
Ye Qiu slapped his thigh fiercely, "Yes... That's the truth. They are all a group of official businessmen, a group of monopoly businessmen. They are different from the businessmen recommended by Prime Minister Xiao... What we engage in here is equal competition. Whoever wants to do business well , we have to improve the quality of service, provide good prices and goods, otherwise we will die..."
"To tell you the truth, you may still remember that at the beginning of spring this year, there was a food shortage near Tanggu. Many merchants joined forces to raise the price of food, hoping to make money while the people were running out of rice. ……what's the result?"
Before he could finish his sentence, the Green Camp soldiers surrounding several bonfires crowded over. "What happened? What happened next..."
Ye Qiu also started to take advantage of it at this time, enjoying the feeling of being watched by everyone. He hung up a cigarette and pointed at the fire with his hand. Without him having to say anything, he quickly pulled out a burning stick and lit the cigarette respectfully.
"Those stupid grain merchants still wanted to make money using their old ideas. As a result, they reported this matter to the old shopkeeper Fan Jian. The old shopkeeper smiled and wrote a line on a note two fingers wide, I turned around and asked someone to hand it over to Shopkeeper Niu from Sihai Trading Company..."
"When Shopkeeper Niu looked at it, he saw the four small characters 'East Asia Rice' on it. Shopkeeper Niu understood it at that time, and started flying pigeons to send messages to branches of the company in Japan, North Korea, Ryukyu and Jiangnan..."
"How fast do pigeons fly? In less than three days, Japanese rice, Korean rice, and rice from the south of the Yangtze River began to be loaded on the ships, and they headed for Tanggu..."
"The first one to arrive was North Korea's Baiyimei. Three large warehouses were unloaded. The people carrying rice were walking through the city like a long queue. The local grain merchants immediately lowered the price when they saw it. They cut the price by 20% that day... "
"Then came Japanese rice. The Japanese businessmen in weird kimonos were extremely respectful. They bowed endlessly when they brought us rice. They said that they could work for our prime minister. That was the kind of confidence they had cultivated in eight lifetimes... and then there was another. Civil servants carry burdens and walk around the city..."
"That night, the price of food in the city plummeted by another 30%..." Ye Qiu blew out a long smoke ring. "And then after the rice from Ryukyu and Jiangnan arrived..."
"How is it?" everyone asked in unison.
"Haha, those country bumpkin grain merchants and bosses immediately closed their doors, and then they all ran to kneel in the street outside the Lotte Bank headquarters. They had nothing to say but to beg the old shopkeeper to help him and save his life..."
"Look, this is a real businessman. He doesn't make shady money, and his business routes can go overseas. He can make money by buying low and selling high, and he can also keep prices down. Do you think the people will benefit in the end?"
This time Erdan Ma replied, they understood, "So that's it? What you mean is that the world is big and the prices of the same things vary greatly. Businessmen just buy goods at low prices and sell them at high prices. As a result, there is a shortage of food." Local prices will not be too high, and in places with a lot of food, prices will not be too low. Both parties will benefit..."
Pang Chaoyun took a breath and said that he understood the truth, "Yes, why does our Prime Minister get rich? It's because he understands this truth and knows how to mobilize the power of businessmen all over the world, that's why he makes money..."
"For example, Sihai Trading Company defeated the old Tanggu grain merchant. Do you think he has done good deeds? But do you know that not only did he do good deeds, he also made money..."
"Brothers, there is a huge price gap between goods from different parts of the world. Do you think it's not profitable to ship rice from Japan and Korea? Rice from the south of the Yangtze River is even more profitable..."
"The most important thing is that they have made money and reputation. Originally, Sihai Company's business did not involve food in the past, but this year's good deeds have convinced all the people in Tanggu. People now have to buy rice from Sihai Company." Eat and spend all the money you have at Sihai Merchant..."
"Let me tell you secretly, now those unscrupulous grain merchants have started secretly discussing with Niu Zhang to sell the store..."
Pang Chaoyun patted Tian Erdan on the shoulder, "Brother, our Prime Minister does have a cornucopia. We in China have ignored this cornucopia for thousands of years. In the end, it will be Prime Minister Donghai Xiao who can let him see the light of day again... Do your best in the future. The days are sweeter than honey..."
From,! r405
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