Li Shimin frowned: "You mean this business will employ a large number of people?"
Lin Xuan was slightly startled when he saw Li Shimin's expression. Wasn't he just hiring some manpower?
Why does Li Shimin look so unhappy?
In fact, Lin Xuan didn't know that the underdevelopment of industry in ancient times had something to do with the low status of craftsmen and merchants. The most important thing was the restrictions of those in power.
In ancient times, if you hired dozens or hundreds of people, there might not be any problem.
Dare to hire thousands of people? Don't be ridiculous, you might be labeled as a rebel.
Lin Xuan didn't know the reason and said: "It will probably employ about two thousand people."
Producing two hundred bars of soap every month could only meet the needs of the Tang Dynasty.
If sold to other countries, more will be needed.
Two thousand people are just the initial stage. When the market opens, more manpower will definitely be needed. In the end, it will take almost tens of thousands to meet production needs.
Li Shimin frowned deeply. He hired so many people and with a little organization, he became an army.
Fortunately, he didn't know that Lin Xuan wanted to hire tens of thousands of people, otherwise he would have objected immediately.
"No, land is the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. If they gain benefits, many people will surely imitate them. Who will plant the fields in the future?" Li Shimin said.
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten the Zhenguan plow? With the Zhenguan plow, the people can cultivate more land than before. Freeing some people from the land will also give those who cultivate the land more land.
Seed." Lin Xuan said.
"Although the Zhenguan plow is much faster than before, the imperial court has stopped the people from opening up wasteland. This year alone, the Tang Dynasty has added more than 200,000 acres of cultivated land. Although the current grain yield is not as good as those fertile fields, after several years of planting, the output has increased.
It will naturally improve." Li Shimin said.
Although Li Shimin often said: "The king is the boat and the people are the water. The water can carry the boat but also capsize it."
But the premise is that the water must be in the river to hold the boat.
If the water is not in the river, the boat will be stranded.
The premise of caring about water is to want the boat to always be on the water and sail smoothly.
Loving people like children may be part of it, but it is certainly not the whole story.
The more reason is that the people are the foundation of a country. As a civilian ruler, he understands the connection very well, so he will pay more attention to the people.
"Your Majesty, the Zhenguan plow is just one of the tools to increase the speed of people's farming. As long as your Majesty increases the rewards, the craftsmen in the world will definitely be able to invent more things. It doesn't need so many people to farm to satisfy the needs of people all over the world.
We need food." Lin Xuan said.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said with an unhappy expression: "I won't do it if I say no, you can go back first."
Lin Xuan was stunned and said: "Yes, I will retire."
Li Shimin may have felt that his tone just now was a little too harsh, so his expression softened a bit and he said, "As long as you grow potatoes well and store more potato seeds, I will never forget your contribution."
"I understand." Lin Xuan said with some waning interest.
After leaving the Li Zheng Hall, Lin Xuan stopped and looked back at the majestic hall, with a trace of self-mockery flashing across his face.
Li Shimin didn't even ask what kind of business he was talking about. He only asked how many people he would hire, and then he firmly opposed it.
He didn't understand it at first, but now he understands the reason.
The talk of one emperor for all eternity and the talk of loving his people like his own children are all nonsense.
When ancient emperors were governing the country, they often talked about loving the people like a son, and said that they worked so hard in handling political affairs so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment, so that everyone could live a good life. When those ministers flattered the emperor,
He also praised the emperor for loving his people like a son, as if this was the greatest compliment.
But in fact, these feudal rulers did something different. They did not let the people really eat enough, but only half-full. Some emperors really didn't care about the life and death of the people, as long as they enjoyed the glory and wealth themselves.
That's fine, but there are some emperors who really want the people to live and work in peace and contentment, but why do they still do the same thing in the end?
In fact, in the final analysis, this is the inevitability of feudal society. In this kind of society, the ultimate goal of the rulers at the top is always to safeguard their own interests and consolidate their status. Therefore, Confucianism will be reused for this reason.
It is related, and even if it is Confucianism, it will still be screened. For example, the thoughts of the Confucian sage Mencius should not be taken seriously, because he advocated that "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the king is the least." This is not for rulers.
It is in line with their interests, so they pay more attention to the set of ideas of monarch, monarch and minister.
Therefore, when these feudal rulers look at the people, they first stand from the perspective of their own interests. They will not really completely ignore the life and death of the people, because they still need these people to work hard to serve them. Therefore, they still need to pay attention to loving the people as their own children.
, so that they will not all starve to death, otherwise the people will revolt when there is no way to survive.
But they will not let the people completely solve the problem of food and clothing, even for those wise kings. Because once these people don't worry about food and clothing, they will start to think wildly. In a sense, it is "full, warm and thoughtful".
It's just like those people from aristocratic families who have become high officials. They have obviously enjoyed the glory and wealth, but they still want to scheming. It's all because of greed. After getting it, they will want more. So when these common people want to cause trouble
, will pose a great threat to the imperial court, and will also make the ruling class including the emperor unstable.
Therefore, in the end there is only one option, let these people eat half full, most of them will not starve to death, and they will not think too much about being full. These people have been struggling to have enough to eat, and naturally they will not care about it.
The ruling class poses a threat. This is why in so many so-called prosperous periods in history, many people still had insufficient food to eat.
The ‘Reign of Zhenguan’ was praised by many people in later generations, but Lin Xuan found that many people still did not have enough to eat.
This is true all around Chang'an, let alone other places.
"New Book of Tang·Shi Huo Zhi" records that when the price of rice was the cheapest during the Zhenguan period, it was only four or five yuan per bucket. At first glance, it seems that life in the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty was really good, and prices were so cheap. However, the price is cheaper than
Expensive prices are more "hurtful".
One bucket, converted to the weight of later generations, was about twelve and a half kilograms, and converted to the weight of the Tang Dynasty, it was about eight kilograms.
Eight pounds of grain costs only four or five dollars. What is the concept?
The grain yield of the Tang Dynasty was about 100 kilograms per mu, which means that the annual income from one acre of land was only fifty or sixty cents.
People don't just have to eat. For the people, all their income depends on the land.
Therefore, in the so-called prosperous times, people were not as happy as they imagined.
The low price of grain has seriously affected the enthusiasm of the people. The price of grain is low, so many people are unwilling to farm. The price of rice has seriously affected the enthusiasm of the people.
By the time of Emperor Gaozong, food prices had risen sharply.
You must know that between the late Zhenguan period and Li Zhi's accession to the throne, no major natural disasters occurred in the Tang Dynasty.
For the market, the price of an item increases because supply exceeds demand.
Many people may think that if this happens, won’t the people become rich?
In fact, there is no such thing, just like the skyrocketing housing prices in later generations.
Because housing prices have skyrocketed, the assets of many people who own houses have also skyrocketed.
But those are all false. After all, house prices have increased, and a house is still a house, and one must stay in it.
The real rich are those who speculate in real estate.
The same goes for food. In ancient times, apart from rations and seeds, people would sell everything else in exchange for daily necessities.
When the price of grain increases, the people do not have much food in their hands, and most of the food is concentrated in the hands of grain merchants.
When there is a good harvest, food prices will plummet, and people will still not make much money.
Therefore, in the so-called prosperous times, people will not go hungry at most. It is simply unrealistic to say how wealthy life is.