Chapter 4048 Social Change
July 26, light rain.
Early in the morning, Fang Jun had just had breakfast, when Li Daozong and Ma Zhou came to visit...
In the flower hall, the flowers and trees are green and the fragrance of tea lingers. The raindrops fall softly on the transparent glass exterior wall, and the raindrops gather into a stream and wind down.
Li Daozong held the tea cup and asked Ma Zhou worriedly: "It has just been sunny for a few days. If there is another heavy rain, it will have a great impact on disaster relief. I wonder how many people will not be able to be resettled?"
Ma Zhou was not in a hurry. He took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "The prince does not have to worry. At present, most of the victims have been resettled, and the remaining few have a place to live. Especially this time, they have received help from Youtun Guards to provide disaster relief." It went very smoothly, there are enough clothes, food, and medicinal materials, and the arrangements will be completed soon.”
During this period, Jingzhao Mansion and various yamen in Beijing all participated in disaster relief under his coordination, working day and night, and finally achieved remarkable results. Now the victims gathered around Chang'an have been properly resettled in various places in Guanzhong, the government agencies are operating normally, and the disaster has been basically eliminated.
Even if there is another heavy rain, with the skilled cooperation of various ministries and the sufficient supply of materials, it will not cause the huge disaster as before.
Even though the Eastern Expedition almost emptied Guanzhong, the huge imperial foundation was placed there. No matter where it was squeezed out or saved, the imminent crisis could always be solved.
This is the foundation of a great country. Whether it is strategy or economy, it has unparalleled depth...
Fang Jun sat aside and drank tea slowly. Hearing Ma Zhou's confidence, he reminded him: "We can't ignore the difficulties. The spring plowing in Guanzhong was almost destroyed. Either the war was in chaos and there was no time to plow, or the fields were damaged by rain. The floods have destroyed many households and their crops will be cut off this year. Disaster relief can only save them temporarily until winter comes. Every household is running out of food. How much food do you have for relief? The government's relief cannot keep up, so the people have to borrow money from the landlords. If there is a slight difference, they will have to pay for their land, and even sell their children and daughters. The family has no permanent property, and the wife The scattered people will add countless refugees, affect social stability, and cause countless hidden dangers..."
When natural disasters strike, ordinary farmers wail in sorrow and become pariahs, while landlords and aristocratic families celebrate with joy. Because every disaster is a bloody robbery, the common people's property flows into big families during disasters.
This happens year after year, week after week, making the rich richer and the poor poorer. There is a natural chasm between the classes, which breeds opposition. It eventually evolves into a huge wave set off by the poor in order to survive, sweeping everything into it, completely perish.
Then redistribute the wealth, live a period of harmony and prosperity, and then condense wealth amidst constant natural disasters, and the confrontation between the rich and the poor...
Throughout the ages, dynasties have been involved in the distribution, gathering, and redistribution of wealth over and over again. Civilizations have risen and fallen, wandering in the nest with difficulty, and it has always been difficult to transcend boundaries and reach higher levels.
Ma Zhou was silent for a moment, then raised his head and asked: "So you have been encouraging the court to support those handicraft workshops just to absorb the refugees who have lost their land?"
Fang Jun nodded with a solemn expression: "Land annexation has always been the root cause of the collapse of dynasties, but human nature is greedy, and you and I cannot stop this trend. If we want to eliminate the resulting social unrest and class antagonism, we can only find another way. .Develop business , and even encourage and support those workshops that can absorb a large number of refugees to find employment, which can not only resettle the people who have lost their land and give them a way to survive, but also bring a lot of tax revenue to the court, which is really a strategy that kills two birds with one stone. "
But this road is not actually a one-and-done solution. Again, human nature is greedy. Business can indeed solve the life problems of the proletarians, but it cannot truly eliminate class contradictions. Moreover, business progress is endless. When it reaches a certain stage, capital will inevitably coerce politics, and the entire country will become a vassal of capital...
However, has human society ever had a truly perfect system?
At all times and in all countries, they have just chosen a path that is more suitable for them under their respective national conditions...
Ma Zhou thought for a moment and agreed: "Although business has been humble since ancient times, Erlang, you should be right. In the future, I will promote and support the development of business under my rule, especially the kind of shops and workshops that can hire workers on a large scale." , try to see if it can seriously solve the life difficulties of poor people. ”
He has never been a stickler for rules. Since he thinks this path is feasible, he will have the courage to try it and is not afraid of taking responsibility.
After all, merchants have been regarded as a lowly profession since ancient times. If the court strongly supports it, it will inevitably lead to criticism. It is essential for those noble and proud scholars to impeach...
Fang Jun reminded: “While supporting merchants, we must also formulate corresponding laws to restrict them, protect the interests of workers as much as possible, and achieve a balance between the interests of workers and merchants, otherwise there will be endless consequences. The cessation of exploitation has reduced workers to mere beasts of money, being drained of their blood and sweat by those merchants.”
When capital occupies labor force, it is not a complete gratuitous occupation. A part of it is gratuitous occupation, that is, the part that embodies the value of labor force, and this part is converted into wages. The remaining part is occupied by capital for free, which can be called "exploitation", and this is where the interests of capital lie.
When the value of wages equals the value of labor power, workers cannot escape the control of capital. Without capital, workers will be unable to obtain other sources of money and maintain their own survival.
In this case, workers must accept the control and exploitation of capital.
The characteristics of capital determine that control and exploitation are endless. Every capital wants to squeeze out the last drop of blood and sweat of workers in order to create the maximum value while paying the same wages... If it cannot be restricted by law, Then the workers are reduced to cattle and horses.
Of course Ma Zhou had never read "Das Kapital", but he was a smart man. He quickly understood the truth from Fang Jun's words and solemnly nodded: "The sword has two edges. Every policy has its pros and cons. I All we have to do with the imperial court is to promote our strengths Avoid shortcomings and optimize the advantages of a policy while minimizing its shortcomings. I will think carefully about this matter, and then ask your Majesty to try it out for a period of time under the rule of Jingzhao Mansion, and then observe from it, find out the shortcomings, and measure the advantages. Bad.”
Fang Jun praised: "Brother Bin Wang is really the leader of the country. He neither shrinks in the face of difficulties nor blindly believes in making drastic measures. Instead, he explores the way of doing things through practice. I am not as good as me. I should be a famous official for the ages." .”
There have been many reforms throughout the ages, some successful and some failed. Most of the losers lacked blind self-confidence in research. They moved forward boldly and courageously from the beginning, but ignored that every change will inevitably conflict with the prior politics and will harm the interests of vested interests, eventually forming Huge obstacles lead to failure of change.
For example, the rapid development of commerce will attract more refugees and ordinary people to participate, which will inevitably lead to a sharp decrease in the number of ordinary people farming and reduce the income of landlords. Nowadays, all the wealthy families are based on countless properties. It can be seen how much commercial development will harm their interests. How can they sit back and remain indifferent?
How to strike a balance between landlords and businesses, and offset or reduce the resistance of landlords, is the primary condition for whether commercial development can ultimately be implemented.
Li Daozong, who did not interrupt, laughed, pointed at Fang Jun and said to Ma Zhou: "Don't be fooled by this man. Supporting merchants and prospering commerce was originally his strategy, but now he wants you to follow it." When it comes to governance, everyone knows that Fang Erlang is a visionary and talented person, but if he encounters disasters, setbacks, or even crazy resistance, it is too sinister to ask you to shoulder the responsibility.”
Fang Jun held the pot and poured tea, smiling and saying nothing.
Ma Zhou calmly accepted Fang Jun's offer of tea and said calmly: "Some people give advice and formulate policies, and some people are diligent and hands-on. If they think it is the right thing, there will always be someone to do it. As for whoever faces the difficulties head-on, whoever temporarily What does it matter if we avoid the edge? As long as the people benefit and the country benefits, we will naturally be happy with it and regard death as home.”
Li Daozong was stunned for a moment and then praised: "King Bin is indeed a famous official in the world. He has the country in mind and is loyal to the whole world. He is also a role model in the world! Don't worry, everyone in the Youtun Guards will give their full support. If those rich and unscrupulous merchants dare to obstruct it, The king will send troops immediately, killing people and confiscating their homes is not a problem!”
Fang Jun squinted at him with a hidden sneer.
Ma Zhou laughed when he saw this: "I would like to thank the king for his understanding and support, but you should take care of the Youtun Guards, lest someone wakes up and be ignored by someone, unable to assign a single soldier, and become the laughing stock of the world. ”
Now Li Daozong has succeeded Fang Jun as the general of Youtunwei, but Fang Jun's control over this army is very solid. Not to mention that Li Daozong has not tried to clear Fang Jun's influence and then take full control of it. Even if he had, it would never be possible in the short term. It will be achieved within 10 days unless he completely replaces the middle-level and above-level officers regardless of the decline in combat effectiveness and offending Fang Jun.
Being mentioned by Ma Zhou at this moment, Li Daozong didn't feel any embarrassment. He just smiled and said: "The Youtun Guards are Erlang's army. I will only take charge of them for a period of time. I believe it won't take long before the property will be returned to its original owner."
The current situation is a bit delicate. If His Majesty wants to make an easy move, he must first cut off the wings of the East Palace. Fang Jun is the first to bear the brunt. But if His Majesty wants to stabilize the government after the Easy move, he has to appease the officials of the East Palace. Fang Jun is still the first to bear the brunt... So now His Majesty Guo seizes the throne. How straightforward Fang Jun's military power was, and he will definitely still be so enthusiastic about returning all these military power in the future. Therefore, even if it is the world's most powerful army like Youtunwei, Li Daozong has no intention of getting involved. Since he knows that it cannot be his own, why bother to offend others?
(End of chapter)