Chapter 312 Lost! The powerful officials and gentry of Jiangnan lost!
Xindian Town.
A group of people's representatives in the town begged Li Dingshan, the owner of the grain store: "Boss Li, when will you open this grain store? If you don't open it, our people in Xindian Town will really have no food to eat! You will always get sick." Kindhearted, reopen your business! Although the court has changed the tax policy, your grain store can still make huge profits, so why go against the court and ignore the lives of the people! ”
"Everyone, it's not that Li is cruel, it's the arrangement from above. As long as the court refuses to give up the new tax policy, Li's grain store will not be able to open. Even if Li opens it, the people above will I’m sorry to all the villagers that I can’t drive anymore, but I won’t accompany you!”
After Li Dingshan finished speaking, he took a bus to bid farewell to these people's representatives.
The people's representatives could only watch Li Dingshan walk away, and even sensible people who had received education in the new school spat at Li Dingshan angrily:
"Bah! Over the years, he has made a lot of money from us because he has a younger brother who is an official in Huguang, but now he is harming us common people because of the court's tax reform!"
Although some people are disgusted with Li Dingshan's behavior of preferring to watch people starve to death rather than open a store, they really can't do anything to Li Dingshan. After all, Li Dingshan doesn't want to open a store to make money, and no one can force him to open one.
At this time, Li Dingshan, who was sitting in the carriage, looked at the lost and disappointed expressions of the people in Xindian Town. He couldn't help but smile coldly and was very proud. He had never been so proud as he is now. He found that merchants like him could indeed control government affairs and affairs. Given the current situation in the world, these merchants also have their own strengths in certain aspects.
Ji Xuan, who happened to come to Xindian Town, also saw this scene, and also smiled coldly: "The same is true now in Xindian Town. It can be seen that this strike is still very effective. The court is not saying that the tax reform is to protect the interests of the people, but for the sake of the people." Will the Ming Dynasty be able to maintain long-term peace and stability? When the whole of Jiangnan is starved to death, and the people will be in chaos due to hunger, let’s see if the court still believes that reforming the tax policy can make the Ming Dynasty peaceful and stable! ”
"I'm afraid that the court has begun to disbelieve it. As long as there is civil unrest, officials will definitely report it. I'm afraid that in order to calm the public dissatisfaction and allow our businesses to open, the officials who reformed the tax policy at that time will be executed."
A monk named Hui Jue who was following Ji Xuan laughed.
"Yes, the imperial court gave up reforming the tax policy and compromised with the Jiangnan gentry, so that His Highness's property in Jiangnan could be preserved without being discovered. But it doesn't matter if the imperial court still doesn't give up. It will really lead to civil unrest. I’m afraid that the world will already be in chaos without His Highness standing up first!”
After Ji Xuan said this, seeing that the people in Xindian Town would rather go hungry than violate the national law and directly rob the grain store, he was proud and said disdainfully: "These guys have reached this level and still don't cause trouble! It’s really useless!”
……
In fact, at this time, some people in Xindian Town could not stand the vicious tactics of profiteers. One of the people stood up and shouted: "Everyone, Li Dingshan would rather let tens of thousands of stones of grain moldy and rot than sell it to us. He would rather see We are starving to death and refuse to open our business. In this case, why don’t we catch this profiteer and force him to hand over the food? Maybe we will have to watch our wife and children starve to death!”
"Yes, we can't let Li Dingshan leave in vain!" Other people also responded.
Ji Xuan was even more proud when he saw this. He smiled coldly and was ready to watch the show. He wished that the people would riot and cause chaos in the world.
Li Dingshan didn't notice this scene at this time, and he was still proud of his ability to control the entire Xindian Town.
But at this time.
Sudden.
A gong!
"Ma's Grain Store is open now, and each bucket of steam-engine-made white flour will cost eight cents! A steam-engine-powered bucket of white rice will only cost six cents! The first 100 people who arrive can get another 50% discount! The grain store is in Xizha Town. Under the big locust tree! ”
The informant's words were like a burst of Sanskrit music that reached the ears of the people in Xindian Town. The already irritable and furious hearts of the people in Xindian Town suddenly calmed down.
Some people couldn't help but clench their fists and smile: "A grain store is open? There is a grain store open?"
"I really didn't expect such a good thing to happen, and white flour only costs eight cents per dou, and white rice only costs six cents per dou. This is much cheaper than the Li family's grain store!"
At this time, some people were already running over: "Uncle Yao, it's true. I just bought five buckets of rice and noodles! They are all good rice noodles. I heard that this Ma's Grain Store comes from the north, specially from Nanyang." The grain I bought was threshed using new machines and the grain was transported by Nanyang Pannu, so the price is cheap!”
So, after hearing what the common man said, everyone else hurried to Ma's Grain Store.
Li Dingshan was stunned when he saw this scene. He was both surprised and angry. He was surprised that someone would dare to open a grain store at this time. He was angry that someone was so ungrateful that he dared to open a grain store in Xindian Town. I don't know. Is Xindian Town my own territory?
Li Dingshan hurriedly ordered: "Send someone quickly to ask about the origin of Ma's Grain Store!"
At night, Li Dingshan's servant came over and said, "Sir, let me ask you clearly. Ma's Grain Store was opened by the family of Ma Wensheng, the first assistant of the family. The fourth son of his family came to Jiangnan in person this time and opened two hundred stores in one go. There are many grain stores, this is just a semicolon!”
After hearing this, Li Dingshan couldn't help but slumped down on his chair, with a complex look on his face, thinking that this was not a good thing. If a person like this came to Jiangnan to open a grain store, he would definitely not be able to stop it, not even the prefect. Law.
Therefore, after a long time, Li Dingshan suddenly became a lot more haggard, and he busily and feebly ordered his people: "Tomorrow, the grain store will open for business, all of them will open for business, and not only will they open for business, but all food prices will be reduced!
Lose, we lose! We didn't lose to the imperial court, we lost to our own people, these hateful northern imperial merchants. They followed His Majesty to reap royal profits, so they naturally didn't care about paying heavy taxes. However, they ignored our lives in order to gain more profits! We are all businessmen. Could it be that since they are royal businessmen, the royal family will always allow them to grow! ”
Li Dingshan was so angry that he roared. He was indeed unwilling and regretful, because he had lost less than ten thousand silver dollars due to the market strike these days. What made him even more regretful was that by doing so, he caused the capital of the Northern Royal Merchant to The predators took the opportunity to enter their own territory, which means that they will face more losses in the future.
……
Back to the topic.
Ji Xuan was shocked and angry when he heard the sudden appearance of Arima's Grain Store: "Who has the guts to open at this time! You won't cooperate with our strike policy!"
As he spoke, Ji Xuan ordered: "Go and ask the head of Xindian Town what's going on. Is it possible that their Futai master's words can't be true?"
After a while, the head of Xindian Town came over in person: "Ms. Ji, please forgive me for being so presumptuous. I can't afford to offend Ma's Grain Store. I reported my name to Mr. Fu Tai, but they ignored me. I wanted to ask someone to check it, but the police from Yingtian Mansion came directly! I heard that his son can reach the sky!"
Ji Xuan's expression turned cold after hearing this, and he began to realize that something bad might have happened. He hurriedly ordered: "Find out the origin of this Ma's Grain Store as soon as possible! No matter how much money you spend, you must find out!" After that, Ji Xuan was about to turn around and leave, but at this time, monk Zhu Zhen couldn't help but asked: "It seems that the imperial court also made some moves and it was not groundless." Feng, these royal merchants have indeed come to Jiangnan! They are people who have always eaten people without spitting out their bones. I am afraid that this strike will not only fail to stop the court's new tax policy, but also lose the hearts of the people of Jiangnan and the opportunity to make money. Ji Sir, do you think the more than 400 cement craftsmen at Heguang Temple in Xindian Town are going to be laid off?”
"Resign! Fire them all! It's too early to say that the strike has failed. Even if the court has the support of the imperial merchants, even if these imperial merchants are all as rich as the country, are the officials and gentry in Hui, Jin and Jiangnan just poor? ”
Ji Xuan decided to continue fighting the court without giving up at the beginning.
And because of this, more than 400 cement craftsmen were also fired that day. Ji Xuan, who had already arrived at Heguang Temple, looked pitiful when he saw the more than 400 cement craftsmen begging not to be fired and would rather receive half of their wages. In this way, his mood suddenly improved a lot. It seemed that now he was willing to see the pitiful appearance of these low-level migrant workers.
However, at this moment, another gong sounded: "Notice from the county working committee, are there any unemployed people here? Now the 24th Bureau of Infrastructure Bureau has come to Xindian Town to recruit migrant workers, strong men and strong women. You can do whatever you want, as many tricks as you like. The salary is favorable, with a minimum of two silver dollars a month, including food and accommodation. Those who are literate and can do arithmetic are also recruited. As long as they are graduates of junior school or above, they will be given a monthly salary ranging from five to ten silver dollars, and insurance will be paid for them! "
Although insurance is a new thing, the more than 400 unemployed cement workers present did not understand it yet, but when they heard that migrant workers were being recruited for not less than two silver dollars a month, they were moved and hurriedly stopped the man who was banging the gong. , have to apply for jobs.
Ji Xuan's expression turned cold when he saw this, and his good mood suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help but throw the tea cup in his hand to the ground: "That's too much! As soon as we were dismissed, they started recruiting workers, and the income and benefits were not low! What are you trying to do, to force us to admit defeat!”
Ji Xuan was furious, and Zhu Zhen was helpless. He couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that these imperial merchants have prepared a big deal!"
……
Here, Tian Shuxiang, the owner of the weaving workshop, said to his weavers very arrogantly: "Now, this workshop is closed, and you are all fired! Who asked you to follow me to fight against the new tax policy of the imperial court, and now you are all unemployed? Let’s see how you survive!”
Tian Shuxiang sneered, but at this time, Xu Jing's confidant shopkeeper Gu Hui stood up: "It's okay, we will recruit as many as you fire, the Xu family is recruiting workers, pay the wages first, come and report quickly!"
……
Coincidentally, other imperial merchants also began to take action, and grain, oil, salt, etc. were all shipped to Jiangnan.
"Jiangnan Salt Industry Corporation invites investment! Ordinary people can come directly to the headquarters to wholesale salt in various cities and towns in Jiangnan. It is all good salt! You can also wholesale and retail in towns and villages to make money!"
"Liu's Trading Company is urgently recruiting all kinds of craftsmen, apprentices, and all kinds of talents who can play with rockeries, fountains, gardening, and Feng Shui. The salary will be favorable and the monthly salary will be no less than half of the market price!"
"Jiao's Trading Company is undertaking the third phase of the Shanghai Port project. It currently requires 500,000 jins of cement and 200,000 jins of sand and gravel. Interested merchants have always cooperated. Please contact the shopkeepers of Jiao's Trading Company in each town!"
……
Soon after Xu Jing and other imperial merchants were called to go south, these imperial merchants began to spend money to revitalize the entire Jiangnan commodity economy.
From oil and salt and other livelihood industries to infrastructure construction, they have begun to recruit investment and labor, or directly open stores for business, or directly invest in local governments for public welfare undertakings, open free re-employment training classes, open learning classes and literacy classes, donate money to build schools, etc.
then.
The daily life of the people gradually returned to order. The strike of merchants in Jiangnan no longer affected their daily life, and prices began to fall.
The unemployment problem of a large number of migrant workers has also been solved, and their benefits have even been improved. Zhu Houzhao also took this opportunity to let the imperial businessmen implement the eight-hour work system and the social security system. He believed that these migrant workers would become accustomed to the imperial businessmen. Maybe they will identify more with their own empire after the high welfare brought by state capital management, rather than these local capitalists in Jiangnan.
Many ordinary merchants in the south of the Yangtze River who could not withstand the losses from the strike also started to open their businesses. For them, since their counterparts had already started to open their businesses, they would only suffer heavy losses if they did not open their businesses, and it would not have any impact on the imperial government.
"Your Majesty, in accordance with your instructions, I have begun to recruit workers, merchants, and investments extensively. Now, even if these Jiangnan plutocrats strike more completely, they can still handle it!"
Xu Jing also met with Zhu Houzhao at this time and confidently assured Zhu Houzhao.
Seeing that the people's panic was gradually being soothed by the commercial intervention of new capital, and that Jiangnan's commodity economy was gradually regaining its previous vitality, Zhu Houzhao also nodded: "If this new tax policy can be successful, you will be indispensable. I hope that after this incident, the people of the world will realize that everyone has the obligation to pay taxes! The court does not want to catch all the money, but it cannot maintain a peaceful and prosperous era.”
Zhu Houzhao then asked Wengui, the Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing: "Has the phenomenon of a large number of staff, shopkeepers and officials resigning due to the imposition of personal income tax improved?"
"Reporting to your majesty, after the imperial court decided to have the Ministry of Personnel list Shiye (similar to the secretary of later generations) as a bureaucracy, and after the ranks were established based on their service to Dongweng officials, no staff members have resigned, and students in various university halls have also Come and vote in the Ministry of Civil Affairs! The problem of declining government efficiency caused by the resignation of a large number of staff has also been solved!”
After Wengui, the Minister of Civil Affairs of Nanjing, answered, Zhu Houzhao finally smiled happily: "This is very good. The people's livelihood problems caused by the market strike have been solved. Now a large number of talented people with high salaries have begun to return to work. The implementation of the new tax policy is finally safe!" ”
……
"Why, why don't you continue! Why are these Jiangnan officials and wealthy businessmen so restless! As long as we persist, we will not lose to the court! Why don't you persist!"
Ji Xuan shouted angrily. What he didn't expect was that with the intervention of royal capital and royal merchants, the strike he led would collapse as quickly as an avalanche. Merchants in various prefectures and counties began to open their businesses, along with some of his most recent businessmen. His loyal allies also began to betray him.
At this time, a businessman from Huizhou met Ji Xuan: "Ms. Ji, Chang Shi has ordered that all the industries in the south of the Yangtze River operated by your majesty be opened for business. There is no intention of going on strike. The new tax policy of the imperial court cannot be reversed. We cannot let it go now." Zhu Houzhao and his lackeys take complete control of Jiangnan! Start the business quickly!”
Ji Xuan nodded after receiving the order from his prince, but he still couldn't help crying: "I'm not willing to give in, I really am not willing to give in!"
I wrote 4,000 words when I was sick. A bad cold was too uncomfortable, so I could only write so much. Sorry! The recent plot could have been a climax that could have been written well, but due to my poor condition, I guess the writing state was not very good either.
(End of chapter)