Chapter 1164 Geng Zijuan not only needs to bury his head in pulling the cart, but also needs to look up at the road

   "Brother Wen Qi, I feel that you have some opinions on what my brother did in Yongping." Feng Ziying asked with a smile, with a leisurely attitude.

"Ziying, I know that you are a genius from the sky, and you have a strategy to open the sea. Brother Yu admires it very much, but that is just a strategy guided by the imperial court, and it is also a way to use the existing merchants in Jiangnan itself. Merchants are also going to smuggle out to sea, and it is difficult for the government to control it. Your more detailed and thoughtful plan can not only increase the revenue of the court, but also effectively regulate the behavior of maritime merchants. Brother Yu is very supportive, but what you did in Qian'an , seems to have deviated from the way of a saint."

Wen Zhenmeng is also not polite, "Shanshan merchants are mercenary, and of course you can guide them, but if they are used by them and become their pawns, it will be disgusting. Brother Yu's words may be a bit offensive, but they come from the heart , absolutely nothing else."

  Feng Ziying also believes that the other party has no malicious intentions, and she has no personal grievances with the other party, and neither Wen Zhenmeng nor Yao Ximeng can be regarded as the backbone of Jiangnan scholars.

One top three, one second, Yao Ximeng can be regarded as a disciple of Liu Yixiu, the censor of the right capital, but Wen Zhenmeng can only be said to be a bit of a shadow of his ancestors in terms of connections, and although his grandfather Wen Zhengming said He is well-known among scholars, but because of his short time as an official, he doesn't have much foundation in officialdom.

   "Well, my brother understands what brother Wen Qi is worried about, but does brother Wen Qi think that my brother can be controlled by Shanshan businessmen?" Feng Ziying asked back with a smile.

Wen Zhenmeng was a little hesitant, and he didn't quite believe it, but Feng Ziying's sponsor, Qiao Yingjia, was one of the leaders of Shanxi scholars, and Shanxi merchants were mainly Shanxi merchants. Looking at his actions in Yongping Mansion, there is no one It is inevitable that people will become suspicious if they do not cooperate closely with Shanshan merchants.

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. coerced.

"Brother Yu certainly doesn't want this to be the case, but brother virtuous promoted the vigorous development of mines and factories in Yongping Prefecture, not only transferred a large number of military households to the mines and workshops under the name of businessmen, but also cleared a large number of hidden households and transferred them , and now it is even more important to guide the refugees to be used by the merchants, and if things go on like this, who can control the power of the merchants?"

Scholars have very contradictory attitudes towards businessmen. They should not only rely on their economic power, but also suppress their political penetration, and they have an inherent sense of superiority in their hearts. Every group and even every person in the era has different reactions to every specific thing.

The big actions of the Shanxi merchants in Yongping Mansion cannot be concealed 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 It's because these squires haven't been able to participate in it yet, so they will naturally be more emotional.

Even among the scholars in the Northland, there are many people who are quite contemptuous of this, let alone the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River. However, most of the officials in the Northland in the court remained silent, because they knew very well that Yongping Mansion was opening mines and building factories. The promotion directly made the economic strength of Yongping Mansion greatly improved, and the business tax also rose sharply.

Moreover, the rise of Yuguan Port, taking advantage of the situation, also shows that the north is not helpless in its strategy of opening up the sea. The continuous southward transportation of a large amount of iron materials, ironware, and newly emerging cement also shows that the north is facing the aggressiveness of the south. The economic offensive is not defenseless.

Although the scholars and people in this era still have a vague understanding of the principle that the economic base determines the superstructure, they also know that the tax paid to the imperial court by a place is largely determined by its right to speak in the court. an important factor.

  Why did the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River have such influence in the court? Is it because the water transportation in the south of the Yangtze River supplied a huge part of the needs of the capital city? That's because of historical changes.

Even though the scholars from Huguang cannot compete with the scholars from Jiangnan and the north, they still occupy a corner and have considerable influence. In addition to the competitiveness of the scholars who first went to Huguang, what is more important is the various economic crops that are more profitable in the south of the Yangtze River. When business and commerce flourished, Huguang's grain production became increasingly important. In many cases, the rice and wheat transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital had already been transported southward by 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 restrict their economic influence. However, Feng Ziying is also very clear that with the rapid development of the shipping industry, Guangdong, Guangxi The water and heat advantages of the three-year-old crop will gradually become apparent, and coupled with its special location facing Nanyang, its influence in the imperial court will gradually increase.

As for why the influence of the northern scholars can rival that of Jiangnan, the capital city is located in the hinterland of the northern region, the nine sides face the particularity of the military confrontation with foreign invasion, and the literary style of the northern region is not weaker than that of the Jiangnan. These factors also determine the northern region. The political influence of the land in the court will not fade.

"Brother Wen Qi's concern, I understand, but brother Wen Qi is in the household department, and he should also be aware of the current situation of our Yongping Prefecture. We have owed a lot of taxes to the household department. Without him, the local evil gentry dominates the left and right counties, and the annexation of land is intensifying. It’s not that the officials in the mansion don’t work hard, but that the real conditions are like this. In addition, it is adjacent to the border area and the people’s customs are fierce, so the law and order is not stable. I will tell you that my brother and my younger brother’s family have encountered problems on the way to Yongping Mansion. Bandits attacked, and as far as I know, most of these bandits lost their land and had nowhere to go, and finally had to become bandits, but Brother Wen Qi thinks, as a colleague, what can I do?"

Feng Ziying's tone slowly sank, and the lingering gloom filled his brows, "That's right, it's my duty as an acquaintance to mobilize patrols and mobilize the people to clean up the banditry, but they are their own. Are you willing to fall into the grass and turn into bandits? In the past six months, the mansion has also captured many such bandits. The younger brother randomly selected ten of them to investigate, and found that some of them died because of family poverty, poor harvest or accidents. Debts, one or two of them were conspired by the evil gentry and the people in the government, and finally lost their land, but they had nothing to do, and it was difficult to make ends meet. Only three of them were lazy, and they were idlers..."

Wen Zhenmeng is the deputy head of the household department. Of course, he knows that Yongping Mansion has been in debt for many years. Seven or eight years old.

   "Even if you lose your land, you can also rent it or be hired by a big family..." Wen Zhenmeng responded reluctantly.

"Brother Wen Qi, that's what you said, but you and I both know that on the one hand, there is a big difference between having land and becoming a farmer or renting land. Most people may be able to accept it, but some people still can't face it. For this reality, this is one of them; farm labor and land renting are difficult for those who are slightly infirm. If the rent is added to taxes and labor, those who have many children in the family can do it with all their strength, or those with ingenuity can do it with all their strength. Others make a living, but those aptitudes belong to the middle-lower ones, I am afraid it will be difficult to be competent, so after a long period of time, the stomach is hard to fill and the body is cold, so it is inevitable to take risks. The younger brother wrote an article on this , published exclusively in…”

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

   "No, "Moon Dan Tan." Feng Ziying smiled.

These words of Feng Ziying are not just talking, 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, it was sent to Zhou Yongchun and published in "Yuedan Tan", which also caused a lot of controversy in Qingtan Academy.

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

Such things are not uncommon in the north and the south, but the worse the conditions are, the worse 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 cause civil upheavals and rebellions.

"So Ziying thinks that by opening mines and building factories with Shanxi merchants, they can give these people a way to make a living? Could it be said that these Shanxi merchants are good people, and mines and workshops also work day and night, I'm afraid it 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 people, earn a living in mines and workshops, earn a living, hire workers or rent land, It’s almost the same, but the government is at least more binding on the mines and workshops, but what about the squires?”

This sentence hits the nail on the head. The gentry has more power to speak than the businessman. The reason why the gentry has a word for shi means that they are more or less related to reading, and reading is the foundation of the gentry. , is also the foundation of standing.

In contrast, even though businessmen are influential, they cannot be compared with gentry, so many well-developed businessmen will not spare no effort to let their children go to study and become officials, or buy land to become landlords, so that the second and third generations Promoted to squire.

Seeing that Wen Zhenmeng was speechless, Feng Ziying would naturally be unreasonable and ungrateful, "Brother Wen Qi, what my younger brother said earlier is also in the article "On the Emerging Class and the Change Model of Current Productivity and Production Relations-From Everlasting If Brother Wen Qi is interested in the article "Speaking of the Development of Pingfu's Industrial and Mining Industry", you may wish to read it. After all, we are also forced to do so. The economy of the North is far behind that of the Jiangnan. This is an indisputable fact. Financial resources are exhausted, facing more and more enemies around, how to deal with it, always requires change, and finding a way out is the only way..."

  (end of this chapter)