"Speaking of which, I have not expressed my intention to do business in Fujian in the short term, and it may not even be implemented in Fujian in five or ten years. Why are these people so eager to take risks?"
Zhao Mengqi was actually a little confused.
He believed that he had tempered his edge as much as possible, and the pace of reform was very slow, in order to reduce the big conflict with the scholar-bureaucrat class in a step-by-step manner.
It was like dancing on a tightrope. He thought he was dancing pretty well, but now a group of people suddenly rushed out to cut the rope. It was indeed a bit unexpected.
Chen Wei's face was full of wrinkles and it was difficult to show his expression. Only a slight smile could be seen from the corner of his eyes.
"The so-called "knowing the subtleties" can also be said to be true at the age of three. Your Highness may not have stated his political agenda, but through your words and deeds, many people can still see what kind of person you are."
Zhao Mengqi raised his eyebrows, "Oh? What kind of person does the bachelor think I am?"
Chen Wei said unhurriedly, "You often go beyond the rules, which means it is difficult to be restrained and controlled. It is somewhat similar to Huizong. This should be a common trait of smart and talented people. However, Huizong loves glitz, but His Highness said practical."
"And he is not content with the status quo. He always likes to break traditions and create many new things, that is, seeking new changes, and is somewhat similar to Shenzong. However, Shenzong is impatient, greedy for big things, and lacks some responsibility and decisiveness. He prefers to borrow the ideas of others. He works with his hands, but His Highness prefers to play it safe and hands-on."
"His Royal Highness's palace is also quite deep, and he is quite remarkable in his tactics. He is similar to Taizong, but he is more confident and has less doubts."
"His Highness is also as heroic and generous as Taizu. He sees things fairly and fairly, is not narrow-minded or biased, and can treat civil and military affairs rationally. He is also stubborn and will not give up until he achieves his goals. Moreover, His Highness's temper is not that bad."
After Zhao Mengqi listened quietly, he couldn't help but touch his nose, "Why do you feel that the bachelor is completely praising me? How dare I compare with my ancestors?"
It's not that he is humble, but he is self-aware. Apart from having hundreds of years of experience and being able to think outside the limitations of history, he dare not say that he is really better than these emperors of the Zhao family.
Even Song Huizong, the worst among them, was the one he despised the most, but he had to admit that although Huizong was a terrible emperor, his talents and knowledge were real, unlike his own who had stolen them all.
Chen Wei's eyelids were slack and droopy, appearing to be half-open and half-closed. His eyes seemed to be chaotic, but at this moment, there was a glimmer of relief.
"Whether an old minister's words are praiseful or derogatory depends on His Highness's thoughts. You can hear warning in flattery, learn lessons from scolding, see the truth in false words, and arouse introspection in praise, then you will be enlightened."
Tsk tsk, it turns out that ginger is very spicy, and this car wheel is very talkative.
Zhao Mengqi pinched his cheeks to calm down the weird look on his face, "It is better to listen to the bachelor's words than to read stupid books for ten years... The bachelor should continue to talk about why those people are so eager to cause trouble?"
Chen Wei smiled knowingly and said leisurely, "After I have a general impression of Your Highness, I can naturally analyze the context of your life and guess what you plan to do in the future. Although you deliberately control the pace, sooner or later you will implement your ideas. It is inevitable that the interests of many people will be harmed at that time, so, like this fly..."
As he spoke, Chen Wei motioned Zhao Mengqi to look at the fly standing on the tea cup, then raised his hand slightly, and the fly immediately flew away.
"Mosquitoes and flies can sense danger in advance, let alone humans? If His Highness is just a person with high vision and low hand, they may not care too much. After all, many emperors in history were ambitious at first, but later they were wasted. But His Highness's character But it makes people feel scared, and His Highness is building a new army, planting teams, solidifying the foundation, and reserving strength step by step. Anyone who is not stupid can predict the future, how can he sit still and wait for death, not to mention that His Highness will be stronger one day later. , of course, the sooner we take action, the more advantageous it will be.”
Yes, as the "elite" of a country, how could they be so stupid as to wait for themselves to harvest?
Although I had thought deeply about it, I still committed the problem of self-righteousness, thinking that others are slow toads who can really be boiled to death in warm water.
Zhao Mengqi laughed at himself and asked, "But I don't intend to drive them all out. I just want to adjust the way of distribution of benefits so that all classes can reach a balance. In this way, you are good and I am good and the country is good. It is better than just one family. , just like when I was in Pingjiang, I also adopted the method of interest exchange, and they actually didn’t lose much.”
Chen Wei replied, "Indeed, the farm system established by His Highness embodies the idea of balance very well, but Fujian has eight mountains, one water, and one farm, and is generally inhabited by large clans, so it is not suitable for the farm system."
"As for industry and commerce, Zhejiang and Zhejiang have a good foundation. By improving the system, it can easily be revitalized and generate a lot of benefits. However, due to the inconvenience of transportation in most places in Fujian, the prospects for developing industry and commerce are not great. Only Quanzhou is famous for its industry and commerce. Although it is prosperous, it has formed a stable interest structure and therefore resists change."
"And even if His Highness can come up with new ways to make money, there are still many uncertainties. If it is just to increase new ways of making money, they will be willing to try it, but they will not be willing to use their original foundation to exchange it."
"What's more, there is only this amount of wealth in the world. If Zhang San gets more, Li Si will get less. In the eyes of many people, His Highness must take the two Zhejiang provinces as his basic base, so he will satisfy the interests of the two Zhejiang tycoons. It is very likely that after His Highness completes the basic building and has a solid foundation, the powerful powers in other places will lose the qualification to compete and can only be reduced to being allocated fish."
Sima Guang said, "The wealth and goods produced by heaven and earth are limited to this number. They are not in the people, but in the officials."
Later generations will probably disagree with this sentence, but at this time, or even hundreds of years later, most scholars think so. Of course, the people in their minds are often not ordinary people.
In fact, although this statement is somewhat biased, it still makes sense in the global environment of later generations. Otherwise, why would there be so many wars?
This cannot be said to be wrong in this era, because the means of production and productivity in agricultural societies are relatively fixed and rarely undergo major changes.
What Zhao Mengqi wanted to do was to improve production relations, promote the development of productivity, and then equip the Song Dynasty with the ability to absorb foreign wealth. Simply put, he wanted to make the pie bigger.
But most people at this time did not have such a concept, and they may not understand Zhao Mengqi's approach. They just wanted to stick to their original interests and even compete for more, that is, involution. .z.br>
Sighing silently in his heart, Zhao Mengqi smiled bitterly and said, "Since I am determined to rejuvenate China, how can I favor one over the other? The benefits I will bring out must be new, such as the development of Liuqiu, and the one who will benefit will be the entire Song Dynasty .”
Hearing this, Chen Wei became even more serious, "Your Highness may not know that it is precisely because of the Liuqiu incident that the Fujian gentry's sense of crisis has been exacerbated."
"Where did you start talking about this?" Zhao Mengqi was stunned.
Chen Wei looked at him seriously and then said slowly, "First of all, developing Liuqiu Island requires a huge amount of manpower, so as Fujian Road is just around the corner, there will inevitably be a large loss of manpower. In this way, the local labor cost in Fujian It will definitely increase significantly..."
Zhao Mengqi smiled bitterly, it turned out that his plan had been seen through.
In his vision, the poor people in Fujian will be relocated on a large scale in the next few years. When the number of labor force is reduced, prices will naturally rise. Then, whether it is renting or hiring farming, the interests of farmers can be improved, and the interests of landlords can be improved. The increase in our costs is equivalent to a decrease in land profitability. At this time, the implementation of the border and the redemption policy will encounter much less resistance.
I just didn't expect that this wishful thinking was very good, but it still didn't hide it from the eyes of the "human spirit".
Chen Wei paused for a while to give King Yan time to digest, and then said, "Another beneficiary of Liuqiu Development is the sugar company and development company founded by His Highness, but the shareholders here are mainly the royal family, The imperial court and the powerful gentry of the two Zhejiang provinces..."
Zhao Mengqi touched his nose and said, "Didn't I leave 100,000 shares for the Fujian gentry? I just plan to wait for the Liuqiu plan to be officially launched before selling it."
"Now each share is worth 300 guan. When His Highness actually releases these 100,000 shares, the stock price may still rise. Even if it is still profitable, how can the Fujian gentry feel comfortable thinking about the difference?
Clothes? And how can these 100,000 shares be distributed among the gentry in Fujian Province? "
This sounded like a question, but Chen Wei looked at Zhao Mengqi with burning eyes, obviously with expectation.
Zhao Mengqi let out a sigh of relief, finally getting to the point of drama.
As he thought, although the scholar-bureaucrats seemed to have the same interests, they were not monolithic. There were not only regional differences, but also differences caused by various factors.
Let's just say that not all Fujian gentry participated in this chaos. There were many people who stayed out of the incident, perhaps waiting to see, or perhaps waiting for a price.
Especially the gentry in Fuzhou, because this is the only area where the entire Fujian Road has passed through the border, which means that when King Yan implements the border again, they will suffer relatively less losses.
Then Chen Wei, as the highest-ranking veteran in the local area, and the court's trust in him, naturally became the spokesperson of these "neutral factions".
Zhao Mengqi had guessed this, so on the surface it was asking him for advice, but in reality it was a negotiation.
After some trial preparation and showdown, both the old and the young had reached a certain consensus, and now it was time to negotiate the price.
Fortunately, Zhao Mengqi had prepared a lot of capital. "These 100,000 shares will be sold according to the original stock price, but it must be a placement, which will be measured by the degree of loyalty to the imperial court!"
The implication is that whoever supports me will have meat to eat. Eat more and pay less based on your contribution.
Chen Wei nodded, "I think this is a matter of course."
Zhao Mengqi continued, "About seven hundred miles south of Liuqiu, there is a large island with only native people. The land is fertile. When the time comes, it can be developed and the Fujian gentry will be given a satisfactory share."
"Although overseas trade has fallen into a trough, it still has great potential. I will establish a sea trade company for this purpose and also give shares to the Fujian gentry..."
"Fujian is rich in minerals, but because the imperial court imposes too heavy a tax on this area, it is unprofitable. I will try to reduce it to 20%. Except for gold and silver, which must be collected by the government at market prices, the rest of the minerals will be privately owned..."
"Fujian has many mountains. Although it is not suitable for growing grains, it can widely grow cash crops. With related workshops, the prospects are bright. I will design a flexible management method..."
"Fujian is rich in marine resources and has a good foundation for its shipbuilding industry. It also has broad room for development..."
Although these items were just rough intentions, Chen Wei's eyes became brighter and brighter, "Okay! Your Highness is worthy of being the King of Wealth!"
