Ji Heng did not give in and said directly: "The significance of the country to the people is to protect the bottom line."
"Guarantee the bottom line?" Fusu thought thoughtfully.
Ji Heng said: "Guan Zhong himself is a businessman, so he is more concerned about making profits."
"I don't know what Guan Zhong thinks of merchants, but in my eyes, merchants actually have three levels."
"One: Make a living and make a profit for your family."
"This kind of businessman is greedy!"
"Second: profit-seeking and desire for profit."
"This type of businessman is extremely corrupt."
"Third: Seeking benefit for the country and benefiting the people."
"This is the great merchant!"
"Guan Zhong is obviously a great businessman."
"But whether it is greed, extreme greed, or a big businessman, he always plans things based on the businessman's interests, so his intentions will only end up with 'interests' in the end."
"However, the way to govern a country cannot only be based on the balance of interests."
"Excessive emphasis on interests will only turn the country into a tool for making money."
"This is also the reason why Qi State declined in one generation."
"The state of Qi pursued profits so much that it ignored the bottom line of society. In the end, the five sons competed for the throne, but no one collected the body of Duke Huan of Qi, leaving his body to rot for more than two months. This may not be the cause and effect planted by Duke Huan of Qi himself in the past."
“What you sow, you will bear!”
"This is the truth of heaven and earth."
"Now it's up to Da Qin to make a choice."
Fusu's face turned pale.
My back was completely soaked.
He had never thought about this before, and he really didn't expect it to be so profound.
After being reminded by Ji Heng, he suddenly came to his senses.
If the Qin Dynasty imitated Guan Zhong's "monopoly" move, although it could amass a large amount of money in a short period of time, this would definitely cause the bottom line to slip. Because the money came in too fast, the monarchs of all dynasties would 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 was breathing heavily, and the tips of his hair in front of his forehead were soaked. He bowed respectfully to Ji Heng and said gratefully, "Thank you sir for your advice. Fusu almost caused a disaster."
"It is indeed not advisable to monopolize the imperial court."
"The Qin Dynasty must not ignore the world because of short-term gains."
"Da Qin has a bottom line!"
Hu Hai looked at the two people in front of him suspiciously, but he didn't know what Fusu understood.
In his opinion, the imperial court franchise is very good, and the money comes quickly and hard.
Ji Heng frowned slightly.
Fusu was able to understand, and he was actually not surprised.
Fusu has "benevolence" in his heart.
After Fusu Ming realized the pros and cons, his lecture today officially began.
He picked up the wine bottle next to the lounge chair and poured the wine into Tongjue very skillfully, and then said with a straight face: "Now I will formally explain to you the differences and differences between the two methods."
Fusu smiled bitterly.
He didn't react until now.
Ji Heng didn't touch the wine he brought. This was obviously intentional. The previous questions and answers were probably a test for himself. If he failed, I'm afraid Ji Heng wouldn't accept the wine at all, or even He will also drive himself out.
People who are short-sighted in pursuit of profit are not worth advising at all.
Because it is doomed to be in vain.
Fusu raised his arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling scared for a while.
In fact, he was really attracted by the government monopoly.
It's just that Ji Heng's thoughts always jump around and he rarely makes inferences based on common sense. In addition, before leaving last time, Ji Heng mentioned that Guan Zhong's method was not suitable for Da Qin, so he secretly remembered it.
Otherwise, this time it will probably be in doubt.
Fusu saluted Ji Heng again and sat down on the table respectfully, sitting upright and listening to Ji Heng's instructions.
Ji Heng didn't care about Fusu's actions. He took a sip and slowly spoke out his thoughts.
“For the people, the purpose of the country’s existence is to protect the bottom line.”
"Therefore one cannot be greedy for profit."
"Salt is necessary for life, and iron is necessary for production."
"Both of them are closely related to people's lives, so they must not fall into the hands of businessmen."
"Businessmen pursue profit."
"They don't care whether people live or die."
"But the court must care."
"So the mountains, forests and ponds that can produce salt and iron must be completely controlled by the imperial court, and merchants must not be allowed to set foot on them."
"This is the bottom line!"
Fusu frowned.
Although he agreed with this view, the world's daily consumption of salt and iron was huge, and the government's own production alone could not meet the world's demand. Otherwise, Daqin would not have chosen to hand over the mountains, forests, and ponds to merchants for management.
But he didn't choose to speak.
He knew that since Ji Heng dared to speak like this, he must have his own reasons and his own solution.
Ji Heng continued: "I mentioned government property earlier, but this statement is not entirely rigorous. As you said before, Da Qin actually cannot spare so much manpower."
"The so-called officialdom is actually a people's property."
"But the 'people's property' I mentioned is not exactly the same as Guan Zhong's 'people's property'."
"Guan Zhong opened up the salt ponds, allowing the private sector to produce freely, and then purchase them uniformly by the state. This ensured that all the salt produced would belong to the state, thus ensuring profits."
"My solution is different."
"The imperial court needs to completely control the salt ponds and other areas where salt is produced, and strictly put an end to private salt production, even if it means enacting laws."
"The production of salt must be entirely managed by the imperial court."
"No one can be contaminated."
"It is true that Da Qin currently does not have so many people producing salt, but there are people in the world. Da Qin can hire people who have produced salt among the people in the past and let them produce salt for Da Qin."
"Court officials are only responsible for management and supervision."
"It does not interfere with specific production."
"All the salt produced was submitted to the Salt Official for inspection and acceptance, and then sold to merchants who obtained distribution rights at a fixed price, and the merchants were allowed to transport it and sell it on their own, while the court continued 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 his price below the prescribed range, the court has the right to suspend the merchant's distribution qualifications, or even directly convict and fine him."
"also."
"The imperial court needs to set up supply and marketing stores in various places to supply salt to the bottom class at the lowest price in the market, so as to prevent the bottom class people from being unable to afford salt when local salt prices fluctuate significantly."
"Protect people's livelihood to the greatest extent possible!"
"What Da Qin has to do is to set a bottom line and then protect this bottom line."
There was dead silence.
Fusu stared at Ji Heng blankly, feeling his scalp numb.
He didn't understand it completely, but he understood a little bit and took advantage of the merchants.
Too cruel!
It's almost like knocking the merchants' bones and sucking their marrow.
It is completely to plunder the interests of merchants.
He suddenly understood now why Ji Heng said the word 'money grabbing' so simply and straightforwardly, because he really just wanted to steal money.
Ji Heng asked at that time, "Does the world need big businessmen?" This sentence was not groundless, but a true thought.
From Ji Heng's point of view, it's not that there are no 'big businessmen' in the world, but that these big businessmen can only earn a small amount of hard work after being busy for a year.
The money they earned in a year could only be considered 'meager' in the past, so they certainly could not be called 'big businessmen'.
But is this really possible?
Fusu had huge doubts in his heart.
Fusu swallowed and asked, "Is this idea too crazy? Can those big businessmen really agree?"
Ji Heng sneered and said disdainfully: "We cannot tolerate their disagreement."
"Da Qin doesn't have much else, it just has a lot of people."
"There are currently 800,000 prisoners in Lishan. Isn't there a few among them who can do business?"
"If these big businessmen don't do it, then replace them with a group of capable ones."
"Trading salt is not impossible without them."
"These merchants don't produce salt, and they don't provide much commercial value. They are just second-rate dealers. Why do they get their turn to make irresponsible remarks?"
"Moreover, most of the four 'Iron Kings' of Great Qin were wealthy merchants who had migrated from the Kanto region. These people had their property confiscated back then, but they still rose to prominence in just a few years."
"Do you really think they will just keep to themselves?"
Hear the words.
Fusu was stunned.
Ji Heng filled a glass for himself, ignored Fusu's surprise, and continued: "In this period of time, you can send someone to check the big merchants selling salt and iron in Guanzhong."
"This incriminating evidence will be very useful in forcing them to submit."
Fusu suppressed the fear in his heart and asked uncertainly: "Is there really something wrong with these big businessmen?"
Ji Heng glanced at Fusu and couldn't help but shake his head. Fusu was a little naive. He said slowly: "There are indeed people who are self-made in the world."
"But you need to understand that there is a lot of iron in Guanzhong and salt in Longxi. This situation has spread all over the world. In the past, there were many merchants selling salt and ironware in Guanzhong. Why were they eventually swallowed up by these merchants from Guandong?"
"I admit that Guandong's salt-producing and iron-making technology has a lot of advantages over Qin, but after all, they are new here, and they wiped out all the merchants in Qin in just ten years. This process is too easy. ”
"It would be understandable if only one or two people could do it, but now most of the salt and iron in Guanzhong fall into the hands of Guandong merchants, which is worth pondering."
"Whatever the facts, it never hurts to check."
"Maybe there will be unexpected surprises."
Listening to Ji Heng's words, Fusu also noticed something strange.
He nodded and said: "Then when I go back later, I will send someone to check the past of these salt and iron merchants to see if these people are really innocent."
"If there is really something dirty going on secretly, then don't blame Da Qin for its ruthless laws."
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, which is a good thing for Da Qin."
"Why is this?" Fusu was a little confused.
Ji Heng rubbed his forehead and said solemnly: "This world is never black and white, it is actually more gray."
"These merchants may have done illegal things in the past, but now and then, these criminal evidence can now help Da Qin collect salt and iron faster, which is beneficial to the country."
"You have to understand that in this world, it will never be what you think it should be. Instead, you must first learn to adapt, 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, but by whether it is beneficial to you or not."
"Now that the merchants are guilty, this is good for Da Qin."
"That's enough."
"As for punishment, that will happen later."
“Now just focus on the present.”
(End of chapter)
