"Resolve the merchants?" Fusu frowned and asked doubtfully: "Even if the imperial court can resolve the merchants, if this matter is known to the outside world, it may not be able to solve the actual situation."
Ji Heng smiled and said, "You are wrong."
"The problem is the people."
"If the human problem is not solved, this shipwreck will continue to happen. Will the court be able to deal with it again and again?"
"How can the imperial court endure this if it continues again and again?"
“Talent is the main issue.”
"If you solve people's problems, all problems will be easier to deal with."
"If people can't solve it, things will be difficult."
"But how to deal with 'people' also requires a lot of thought."
"First we have to figure out what the merchant is after."
"Businessmen pursue profit."
"So the businessmen's plans basically revolve around profit."
"Salt and iron are beneficial in themselves."
"Selling salt and iron is profitable."
"It is also beneficial to let the government retreat."
"For a 100% profit, businessmen would dare to trample on any law in the world; for a 300% profit, they would dare to commit any crime and even risk hanging their heads."
"Under the government's management, merchants have very little profit margin."
"Basically they are sweat merchants."
"So it's normal for merchants to have resentments."
"The tens of thousands of pounds of salt and iron currently available are enough to make them take risks."
"What the court wants to do is hang your head!"
"It's just that before that, the court needs to alert the enemy."
"Snatching the enemy?" Fusu frowned, eyes full of curiosity.
Ji Heng smiled and said coldly: "Right now, the merchants are working secretly, and the government is working openly. All the government's actions will fall into the hands of the merchants. If we continue to follow the steps and the merchants have been planning for several months, everything will have been arranged by the court. Very little can be achieved.”
"So the court cannot do things according to the merchants' ideas."
"Just do the opposite."
"Everyone who knows about this shipwreck believes that the government's top priority is to ensure people's livelihood."
"Businessmen have the same idea."
"So the first thing the court should do is not to calm the people, but to investigate the case, and it is not to pay equal attention to both, or to deviate from it, but to completely ignore the people's livelihood."
"Qin's government is tyrannical."
"This time I will show my violence to the world!"
"Just tell the world clearly that Da Qin really doesn't care about the life and death of its people."
"The ship loaded with merchandise sank, and the court's money was gone."
"This is the big deal!"
Hear the words.
Fusu's face changed slightly.
He was also shocked by Ji Heng's words.
Don’t care about people’s livelihood?
There are tens of millions of people in Guanzhong.
If something goes wrong here, there will be big problems.
Fusu quickly shook his head and said, "Mr. Ji, I dare not agree with this."
"The people must be saved."
"Guanzhong is the foundation of the Qin Dynasty. If the imperial court is so indifferent to the people, doesn't it chill the hearts of the Qin people?"
"This is absolutely impossible."
Ji Heng smiled and explained: "We must save, but don't rush to take action. The so-called cold-blooded is just the attitude shown to the outside world."
"This is for businessmen to see."
"In the merchant's expectation, the government will definitely bring peace to the people."
"The imperial court despised the life and death of the lower class and did not act according to common sense. This also caused the merchants' plans to fail."
"Seeing that the imperial court is uneasy about the people and is only interested in investigating salt and iron, what would you think if you were a merchant?"
Fusu thought for a while and said uncertainly: "I'm going to panic."
Ji Heng nodded and said: "If this shipwreck was intentional, the merchants would be horrified after seeing the government's actions. Merchants are greedy for profit, but they are also afraid of death."
"The more the court ignores people's livelihood and attaches great importance to this shipwreck, the more panic they will get."
“In panic, mistakes are inevitable.”
"What the court is waiting for this time is for them to make mistakes."
Hear the words.
Fusu was thoughtful.
Immediately, he seemed to have thought of something, and said in a solemn voice: "But if the merchants really did it intentionally, they would make careful arrangements. The court may not be able to find out the problem in a short time. If the lack of salt and iron in Guanzhong cannot be solved, The imperial court may be unable to resist."
Ji Heng nodded.
He refilled himself with tea, took a leisurely sip, and said with a smile: "The imperial court naturally cannot compete with the merchants' patience, so it wants to alert the snakes and force the merchants out."
"Please give me some advice, sir." Fusu Zuo said with a bow.
Ji Heng closed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice: "Don't block the matter of salt and iron sinking into water and let it spread."
Fusu was startled.
Ji Heng said: "Are you a little unbelievable?"
"If you know what's happening in Huai County, it's probably an urgent message sent by a mailman. The mailman travels two hundred miles a day and a night. Normally, it would take at least a day or two for the news to reach Xianyang."
"Whether it's a lockdown or not, it will take one to two days."
"But do you think it will take a day or two?"
Fusu frowned.
He pondered for a while and said slowly: "If this matter was really intentional, someone outside would have known about it long ago, so it would not have taken a day or two."
Finished.
Fusu understood immediately.
If this news comes out in Xianyang today, it is basically certain that the merchants are aware of it.
Seeing Fusu's appearance, Ji Heng nodded and continued: "This matter must also be blatantly sent out to investigate, and the momentum must be huge and everyone must know it. At the same time, the heads of the major merchants' families must be directly arrested. Catch them."
"Don't arrest the real person in charge, arrest those from each family who have certain real power."
"Remember to send the ruthless officers to arrest him."
"Reputable."
Hear the words.
Fusu's mouth twitched slightly.
Cool official?
How can there be any cruel officials in Da Qin?
However, he also roughly understood that most of the principals of the major salt merchants and iron merchants had colluded with each other a long time ago, and it was not easy to trick them out, but others who had certain real power in the clan might not.
Once the imperial court puts its posture into perspective, and with a little more coercion, they may really be able to ask something.
Even if you speak strictly, you will be scared to death.
After all, he is a cool official!
And this is also scaring the major businessmen.
What is tested is human nature.
Ji Heng blew his breath and said calmly: "Everything the imperial court does is to implement one thing, which is to ignore the people's livelihood and only focus on investigating the shipwreck case. Under constant high pressure, these businessmen are forced step by step to take the initiative to deal with the people's livelihood." Change the direction to reduce the pressure on the government and at the same time allow the people to put pressure on the court."
"As long as businessmen turn to people's livelihood."
"It means moving from darkness to light, that is, the merchants cannot calm down."
"Once the merchants lose their composure, the purpose will be revealed."
"And that's what the court wants."
Fusu nodded.
He had understood Ji Heng's thoughts.
The imperial court could not follow the merchants' ideas and had to jump out of it. The merchants' idea was probably to use public opinion to force the imperial court to make some sacrifices of interests, so the imperial court directly ignored public opinion and only watched the merchants pursue and fight fiercely, forcing the merchants to be unable to do so. Don't make mistakes, or you can only take the initiative to guide public opinion to reduce the pressure on yourself.
All in all.
It's not about reassuring the people and investigating cases that everyone thinks.
And in businessmen.
Therefore, no matter whether the merchants did it intentionally or not, the merchants could not get away from it. Even if it was accidental, it would be much easier for the court to deal with it without the merchants obstructing it.
If it was really planned by merchants.
The more the court targeted merchants, the more panicked they became.
And even if there are some merchants who can keep their composure.
But can everyone stay calm?
The person in charge can keep his composure, but what about the rest of their clan?
Once someone loses his composure.
That means there is a flaw in the merchant's plan.
Moreover, the imperial court has been watching, and even if some of them are aware of it, they do not dare to contact each other privately. This kind of thing can only be supported by their own willpower. How many people can support it?
Fusu bowed and said, "Fusu has learned a lesson."
“Treat people before you treat them.”
Ji Heng said calmly: "The main reason for this is the time difference. If merchants dare to do this, they are probably colluding with many officials. So when the court knows about it, they will probably also hear about it, so if they continue to follow the rules like this, they will only fall into the hands of merchants." The plan is to force the merchants from the dark to the bright side."
"In broad daylight, darkness disappears."
Fusu said: "Sir, what you said is absolutely correct."
"I'm going to send a message right away."
Ji Heng nodded.
Fusu paused, thought for a while, and said with a slightly strange expression: "Wei Sheng, you go and inform the officials of the Shaofu and Tingwei's houses now. You don't need to worry about the lack of salt and iron anymore. This is caused by the merchants. The imperial court What we have to do is to investigate this case thoroughly and give an explanation to the world."
Fusu then continued: "At the same time, you go and notify Young Master Du He and ask him to immediately stop all actions and only send relevant personnel to Huai County to thoroughly investigate the salt and iron situation."
"Inform Lieutenant Meng Yi to investigate this shipwreck case strictly. In addition, I will explain my opinions to Meng Yi. I personally suggest that we find a few officials with fierce faces and reputations to deal with it. After a period of time, we will send several officials to major cities. Go to the merchant's house and capture the right-hand men of the major salt and iron merchants to the government."
"In addition, let Lieutenant Meng Yi Ting send some more petty officials to keep an eye on the homes of major merchants."
"Staring openly."
"As for the lack of salt and iron, let the people solve it themselves."
"The imperial court has no time to care."
Finished.
Fusu returned indoors.
As the door of the room closed again, Fusu smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Ji, if my words spread, I don't know how many people will be shocked."
Ji Heng said calmly: "Do you still care about your reputation?"
"Since ancient times, when evaluating a politician, how many people will look at their own personal ethics? What they care more about are the gains and losses of political affairs. As long as the final result is successful, what's the harm in losing some false reputation?"
"Reputation is a burden to politicians."
"How can a person who cherishes fame and cares about his own life achieve success?"
Hear the words.
Fusu was thoughtful.
Ji Heng continued: "You actually think too highly of merchants. Most merchants are a group of fierce and evil-minded people. When they hear that the government ignores people's livelihood and only investigates shipwrecks, their actions will be stronger than you think. Most merchants are Short-sighted.”
"You can calm down and enjoy your tea now."
"It won't be long before you hear from the merchants."
Finished.
Ji Heng made another cup of tea for Fusu.
Fusu looked at the clear tea in the tea bowl and couldn't help but smile. He picked up the tea bowl calmly and took a slight sip. After drinking, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"This tea is sweet!"
(End of chapter)
