After talking about it for more than half an hour, Li Yuan and Li Yuan broke through the cobweb-like paths and entered a main road.
At this time, the morning sun was rising, and the Pingchou land in front was filled with mist, like a white streamer rising from the flat ground. There was a huge noise in the white mist, coming in waves.
"We're almost there. Brother, seeing that you are in a hurry to get into the city, let me get off the horse and I'll push the cart by myself. I won't delay your entry into the city. There's a pier by the canal in front of you. But you If you go into the city to look for someone, I'm afraid you have to inquire first. Most people in the city are now collecting food on the dock. You may not be able to find the person you are looking for when you enter the city." Sun Dadao.
Li Yuan agreed, asked Sun Da to dismount, took the Taiping chariot to him, and urged the horse to run forward.
Soon after, after crossing a small slope, Li Yuan saw a grand and busy scene emerging from the steaming white mist. But in a huge open space outside the east gate of the county seat, countless people were surging.
Countless people were moving around. Noises, shouts, scolds, laughter, the neighing of mules and horses, the squeaking of wheels, and the cries of children surrounded Li Yuan like a huge wave.
Looking farther away, on the wide steaming river, the masts of the tall ships are clearly visible, and the huge sails are turning white halo in the rising sun. On the pier, workers came and went like ants, carrying grain packages and shuttled back and forth from the bow to the pier in groups.
This situation and scene actually reproduced the appearance of a prosperous age in this chaotic situation, which made Li Yuan greatly admired. This shows how far-reaching the influence of merchants on social development is.
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms can be said to be a dark period in history, but there were also bright stars, one of which was the development of commerce.
Generally speaking, after the fall of a dynasty, its ideas still have some influence on later generations. This is also true. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the regimes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty. But in terms of economic development, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were very different from the Tang Dynasty.
In the early Tang Dynasty, like other dynasties, the policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business was implemented. When the Tang Dynasty was founded, it was clearly stipulated that people engaged in industry and commerce could not become officials, and their social status was very low. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, a decree was issued prohibiting the industrial and commercial classes from riding horses. This is exactly the same as during the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang banned merchants from riding carriages and wearing gorgeous clothes.
In addition, there are many manifestations of the Tang Dynasty's suppression of business. For example, when Wu Zetian hosted a banquet, Zhang Yizhi led Sichuan merchant Song Bazi and others to the stage to play. After Wei Anshi saw this, he reported to Wu Zetian that people like Shu merchants were despicable and should not be allowed to attend the banquet.
It can be seen that the Tang Dynasty's policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
However, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the status of merchants underwent some changes. At that time, the society was in turmoil, and some businessmen took the opportunity to join the army to seek development. Some people even obtained higher military positions, but this was limited to this. The road to officialdom through normal channels was still not very smooth for businessmen.
But after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, this situation changed. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the rulers not only did not continue to adopt the policy of focusing on agriculture and suppressing commerce, but actively supported the development of commerce. Among them, the ones with the best commercial development were mainly the southern separatist regimes. After all, dynasties in the north were changing too quickly and wars continued, which was not conducive to the development of business.
For example, Ma Chu issued an edict to set up "Huitu Service" in Bian, Xiang, Jing and other places to carry out commercial activities in convenient Chu areas. Guo Wei, Taizu of Zhou Dynasty, also requested that military towns in Xiazhou counties should be governed and merchants should not be hindered.
Some countries even actively encourage court officials to engage in business. For example, the Kingdom of Wuyue allowed ministers to do business abroad and accumulate wealth, not to mention the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan's old father-in-law, Zhou Zong, not only controlled the country's salt and iron power, but also He has been engaged in business activities outside all year round and has made a lot of profits. He is known as the richest man in Huainan.
It can be seen that the rulers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period had long ago abandoned the old ideas and concepts of the Tang Dynasty that despised business and despised merchants, and personally devoted themselves to commercial activities. After all, most of the rulers of the separatist regimes came from the bottom, and they were not influenced by traditional They were restrained by Confucianism and were not as reserved as the nobles in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
In fact, to put it in the most practical terms, you can make money by engaging in business. Who doesn't love money? If you have money and food, you can have soldiers.
The rulers attached great importance to commercial development, which also pointed the direction of revival for many wealthy families that declined in the late Tang Dynasty. For example, the Gu family of Wuyue Kingdom, a wealthy family in Suzhou. Since they were no longer able to get involved in politics in these troubled times, they used the resources at hand to The right answer is to use money to make money to grow and develop, and then look at the opportunity to pursue bigger goals in the future.
What's more, Suzhou Prefecture, where the Gu family is located, is a unique place for doing business, with a large population of more than 100,000 households. The Taihu Plain is fertile and rich, with numerous lakes and water networks intertwined. The waterways extend in all directions, are dense and smooth, and there are no obstacles to communication. This It's a great convenience.
The Wujin County in front of us is just a small county town along the canal, but judging from the size of the dock and the density of berthed ships, it is obvious that it is also one of the beneficiaries of commercial development. The lives of most people in this county probably depend on this dock and the canal that passes through it.
Although the scene in front of him was exciting, Li Yuan was also deeply worried. You must know that the Jin army's fleet is on the canal more than a hundred miles away, and is returning quickly to approach here, and these murderous bandits can even plunder their own city. Now Gu is here At this juncture, he came forward to provide food for the people, didn't he hit the muzzle of the gun? What a piece of fat.
Li Yuan had no time to think, so he rode his horse down the slope and headed straight for the dock. When he arrived at the outskirts of the crowd, the divine horse on his crotch and the handsomeness of the rider attracted the attention of the people. Sitting on a jet-black horse was a handsome young man with an imposing figure. Such a figure had never been seen in Wujin County.
"Who are you? You are not allowed to ride horses." Several regiment training soldiers who were maintaining order were wearing shabby armor. When they saw that the knights on the horses were also wearing armor, but it was obviously much better than what they were wearing, they suddenly felt a little ashamed of themselves. This also aroused their jealousy. It was clear that Li Yuan's horse was still patrolling outside, but they also came over to scold him.
"Brothers, may I ask if the magistrate of this county is here?" Li Yuan asked, cupping his fists.
"Who are you? Why are you looking for my County Magistrate? He doesn't have time to see you." A regiment trainer said.
Another regiment training soldier looked Li Yuan up and down and said: "Where did you get this armor? And where did this horse come from? Look at you, the armor and the horse were both stolen, right? You didn't recruit them from the real thing." "
"Yes, let's recruit them from the truth. Do we in Wujin County have this style of armor and this horse? Tell me, where did you steal it from?" The other regiment training soldiers asked together.
Li Yuan smiled and said: "Are you kidding me? I am from Changzhou in the north. I have something important to see your county magistrate. Please take me to see him quickly."
"Bah, bah, bah, who is kidding you? Get off your horse and explain clearly. You have something important? We also have something important. Our important thing is to find out where you stole this outfit from." A regiment training soldier shouted loudly. road.
Li Yuan frowned and said, "Don't be rude. If you delay something important, you guys will be in trouble."
