Chapter 1164 Gengzijuan You need to immerse yourself in pulling the cart, but you also need to look up at the road.

“Brother Wenqi, I feel like you have some opinions on what I did in Yongping.” Feng Ziying asked with a smile and a leisurely attitude.

"Ziying, I know that you are a genius. Brother Yu admires your strategy of opening up the sea. But that is just a strategy guided by the imperial court. It also uses the merchants who exist in Jiangnan. Without such a strategy, those seamen Merchants also want to smuggle out of the sea, which is difficult for the government to control. Your more detailed and thoughtful planning will not only increase revenue for the court, but also effectively regulate maritime trade. Brother Yu is very supportive, but what you did in Qian'an , seems to have deviated somewhat from the way of a saint.”

Wen Zhenmeng was not polite, "Shanxi businessmen are only interested in profit, and of course they can guide them, but if they are used by them and become their pawns, it will be disgraceful. Brother Yu's words may not be pleasant to the ears, but they come from the bottom of his heart." , with absolutely no other intention.”

Feng Ziying also believed that the other party had no ill intentions and that she had no personal grudges with the other party. Moreover, Wen Zhenmeng and Yao Ximeng were not considered the backbone of Jiangnan scholars.

One is in the third grade, and the other is in the second grade. Yao Ximeng can be regarded as a disciple of Liu Yishui, the censor of Youdu, but Wen Zhenmeng can only be said to have a bit of ancestral influence in terms of personal connections, and although his grandfather Wen Zhengming said He was quite famous among the scholars, but because he served as an official for a short time, he did not have much foundation in the officialdom.

"Well, I understand what Brother Wenqi is worried about, but does Brother Wenqi think that I can be controlled by Shanshan businessmen?" Feng Ziying asked with a smile.

Wen Zhenmeng was a little hesitant, he didn't quite believe this, but Feng Ziying's candidate, Qiao Yingjia, was one of the leaders of the Shanxi scholars, and the merchants in Shanxi and Shaanxi were mainly Shanxi merchants. Looking at his actions in Yongping Mansion, none of them If you don't work closely with businessmen from Shanxi and Shaanxi, it will inevitably make people suspicious.

In the minds of scholars, merchants are available, but they cannot be controlled by them. Merchants are very powerful in both the north and the south. This is also a game. Wen Zhenmeng was worried that Feng Ziying would also be controlled by those powerful Shanxi merchants. Coerced.

"Brother Fool certainly doesn't want this, but Brother Xian promoted the mining and building of factories in Yongping Mansion. Not only did he transfer a large number of military households into mines and workshops under the names of businessmen, but he also cleared out a large number of hidden households and transferred them as well. , now it is even more important to guide the refugees to be used by merchants. If things continue like this, who can control the power of merchants? "

Scholars had a very contradictory attitude towards businessmen. They wanted to rely on their economic power, but at the same time suppressed their political penetration. They also had an innate sense of superiority in their hearts, so this complex attitude was reflected in every businessman. Every group and even every person in this era has different reactions to every specific matter.

The big moves of Shanshan and Shaanxi merchants in Yongping Prefecture cannot be hidden from others, and a large number of cleared military households and hidden households have gradually entered the mines and workshops run by the merchants to work. This will inevitably weaken the influence of the local gentry, especially Since these squires have not been able to participate in it yet, they will naturally be more emotional.

Even among the Northern scholars, many of them were quite disdainful of this, let alone the Jiangnan scholars. However, most of the Northern officials in the court remained silent because they knew very well that Yongping Prefecture was opening mines and building factories. The promotion of Yongping Prefecture has directly improved the economic strength of Yongping Prefecture, and commercial taxes have also increased significantly.

Moreover, the rise of Yuguangang Port also shows that the North is not without the ability to cope with the strategy of opening up the sea. The continuous shipment of large quantities of iron materials, iron tools and newly emerged cement to the south also shows that the North is facing the aggressive aggression of the South. The economic offensive is not without power to fight back.

Although the scholars and people of this era still had some vague understanding of the principle that the economic base determines the superstructure, they also knew that the taxes a place paid to the court were largely related to its say in the court. an important factor.

Why did the scholars from Jiangnan have such influence in the court? Is it because the water transport from Jiangnan supplied a huge part of the needs of the capital city? Why did the scholars from Huguang stand out in a situation where scholars from Jiangnan and Northern scholars were divided into two parts? That's all due to historical changes.

Even though the Huguang scholars could not compete with the Jiangnan and Northern scholars, they still occupied a corner and had considerable influence. In addition to the success of the Huguang scholars for the first time, the most important thing was the various more profitable cash crops in Jiangnan. When trade and economics were booming, Huguang's grain output became increasingly important. In many cases, the rice and wheat transported to the capital from Jiangnan were already transported south from Huguang to the capital via the canal.

In contrast, whether it is the Southwest or Guangdong and Guangxi, their relatively remote geographical location and inconvenient transportation have restricted their economic influence. However, Feng Ziying is also very clear that with the rapid development of the shipping industry, Guangdong, Guangxi and Guangxi have The advantages of water and heat that are ripe every year will gradually become apparent. Coupled with its special location facing Nanyang, its influence in the court will gradually increase.

As for why the influence of scholars in the North is comparable to that of Jiangnan, the capital city is located in the hinterland of the North, and the nine sides face the unique military challenge of foreign invasion. In addition, the literary style of the North is not weaker than that of the South. These factors also determine the influence of the North. Di's political influence in the DPRK will not fade.

"I understand Brother Wenqi's worries, but Brother Wenqi is in the Ministry of Household Affairs and should also be aware of the current situation of our Yongping Prefecture. We owe a lot of taxes to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Without him, the local evil gentry controls the county, and the land annexation is getting worse. They resorted to various means to avoid taxes and servitude, not because the officials in the mansion did not work hard, but because the actual conditions were like this. In addition, it was adjacent to the border area and the folk customs were fierce, so the public security was not peaceful. To be honest, Brother Wenqi, the younger brother and his family members all encountered difficulties on the way to Yongping Mansion. Bandits attack, and as far as I know, most of these bandits are people who have lost their land and have no choice but to turn into bandits. But Brother Wenqi thinks that as a colleague, what can I do?"

Feng Ziying's anger gradually became darker, and his brows were full of lingering gloom, "Yes, it is my duty as a colleague to use patrols and civilian raids to completely eliminate the banditry, but they are doing it on their own. Are you willing to fall into depravity and become a bandit? In the past six months, many such bandits have been captured in the government. I randomly selected ten of them for investigation and found that some of them died due to poverty, disease, poor harvest or accidents at home. Some of the debts were due to collusion between the evil gentry and people in the government. In the end, they lost their land, but they had nothing to do and had difficulty making ends meet. Only three of them were lazy and idle, and they themselves were idlers..."

Wen Zhenmeng is the deputy director of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Of course, he knows that Yongping Mansion owes many years of debt. This situation is very common in the North. It is normal for better mansions to owe one, two or three years, and for worse ones, it is normal. There are those from 1978 to 1978.

“Even if you lose your land, you can still rent land or be hired by a big family...” Wen Zhenmeng reluctantly responded.

"Brother Wenqi, I say that, but you and I both know how big the contrast is from having land to being a farmhand or renting land. Most people may be able to accept it, but there are still some people who cannot face it. Regarding this reality, this is one of them; farming and renting land are difficult for those who are slightly infirm. The land rent plus taxes and servitude, if there are many children in the family, can be done by those who are strong and healthy, or those with a clever mind can do it. There are other ways to make a living, but those whose qualifications are below average may not be able to do the job. Therefore, as time goes by, when the stomach is not full and the body is cold, it is inevitable to take risks. I wrote an article about this , specifically published in..."

""Internal Reference"?" Wen Zhenmeng was startled.

"No, "Yuedantan"." Feng Ziying smiled.

Feng Ziying's words were not just words, but he did some research, made a statistical list by category, and then wrote an article. Considering its sensitivity, he did not directly send it to "Internal Reference". Instead, he sent it to Zhou Yongchun and published it in "Yuedantan", which also caused great controversy in Qingtan Academy.

Wen Zhenmeng also knew that Feng Ziying was not the kind of person who spoke nonsense. He did not publish "Internal Reference" but published "Yuedan Tan", the journal of Qingtan Academy, which also shows that Feng Ziying was also aware of the sensitivity of this issue.

This kind of thing is not uncommon in both north and south, but the worse the conditions are, the more serious it is, because farmers are less able to resist various disasters, poverty, disease, and accidents, and the harsh environment makes them more resistant, so It is also very easy to trigger civil unrest and rebellion.

"So Ziying thinks that using Shanshan and Shaanxi businessmen to open mines and build factories can give these people a way to make a living? Could it be said that these Shanshan and Shaanxi businessmen are good people? Aren't the mines and workshops also working day and night? I'm afraid that may not be the case. It's better than renting land or being a hired worker." Wen Zhenmeng took a deep breath.

"At least give them one more choice." Feng Ziying spread her hands, "There is a saying that goes well, all snakes bite, if you go to the mines or workshops to make a living, if you can make a living, you can hire workers or rent land. It’s almost the same, but at least the government has more binding force on mines and workshops, but what about the squires?”

This sentence hits the mark. The gentry has much more say than the businessmen. The reason why the gentry has the word "shi" means that they have something to do with reading, and reading is the foundation of being a gentleman. , is also the foundation for establishing oneself.

In comparison, even though businessmen are influential, they cannot compare with the gentry. Therefore, many developed businessmen will not spare no effort to send their children to study and serve as officials, or to buy land and become landowners in order to survive in the second or third generation. Promoted to squire.

Seeing Wen Zhen and Meng speechless, Feng Ziying would naturally be unreasonable and unforgiving, "Brother Wen Qi, what I said earlier was also in the article "On the Emerging Classes and the Current Changing Patterns of Productivity and Production Relations - From Everlasting" In the article "The Development of Pingfu Industrial and Mining Industry", if Brother Wenqi is interested, you might as well take a look. After all, we are also helpless. The economy of the North is far less than that of the South of the Yangtze River. This is an indisputable fact, but the court is now Financial resources are exhausted, and the more enemies we face around us, how to deal with them, we always need to change and find a way out..."

 (End of this chapter)