At that time, it will inevitably create an illusion of prosperity. The reason why it is an illusion is because with the future population growth, the benefits brought by high-yielding crops such as red sweet potato will gradually be smoothed out.
But Liu Zhang wanted to take advantage of this illusion. It was not unreasonable for the sprouts of capitalism to appear in the Ming Dynasty. As long as this prosperity was taken advantage of, business would surely flourish.
But before it can flourish, Liu Zhang needs guidance, and there must be no commercial aggressive growth, which is definitely detrimental.
Liu Zhang solemnly said to all businessmen: "You are all the elites of the Han people, and you should make your own contribution to the healthy development of the Han Dynasty, so I hope you will pour more of your funds into the real economy."
"The King of Shu is wise...but, what is the real economy?" Yin Bai asked in confusion, Huang Yueying, Qu Xi and others also looked at Liu Zhang.
"That is to produce products, not to resell goods." Liu Zhang said: "In the past, when we only had Yizhou, you all made your own products.
Later, Jingzhou became a wasteland. In order to restore Jingzhou, you began to transport goods from Shuzhong to Jingzhou for sale, and many merchants gradually began to engage in reselling.
Until now, the imperial court has controlled eight states, and transporting goods from one area to another has gradually become your main business, and the emerging business families in Jingzhou basically make money through transportation and resale, right?"
Liu Zhang looked at the representative of the Huang family in Jingzhou, who nodded silently.
Liu Zhang smiled and said: "It's nothing. The way of business is to make up for the deficiency with surplus, and there is nothing wrong with reselling.
But this is not the way to strengthen a country. In other words, it has a certain effect, but it is not that important. Even to a certain extent, it will restrict the development of our economy because it cannot create actual value.
I need more real economy. I need you to be more engaged in the production of Shu brocade, silk, ceramics, paper, etc., and to mass-produce saponin paste, kerosene and other daily necessities for the common people, as you did when there was only one Yizhou.
.”
"I understand. What King Shu means is that we should focus more on producing products instead of making profit on the price difference, right?" Yin Bai said immediately.
Seeing Liu Zhang nodding, Yin Bai was overjoyed and immediately patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, King Shu, we will produce more products and speculate less on resale."
"Really?" Liu Zhang glanced at Yin Bai and said in a deep voice: "Yin Bai, I know that you have prepared a large amount of supplies for the reconstruction of the Central Plains area, but you have not taken them out. Are you waiting for the spring famine?"
Meeting Liu Zhang's eyes, Yin Bai's pupils suddenly shrank. This was a business secret. None of his peers knew about it. How did the King of Shu know about it? Yin Bai suddenly thought of Wang Lei's supervision organization. Didn't he say that it was just for supervising officials?
"You don't have to worry about how I know it. The court can easily find out about the tricks of the merchants. If you change other kings, in order to collect more taxes from you, they may turn a blind eye, but if you also think that I
If you do that, then you can only seek blessings for yourself."
Yin Bai's heart tightened, and he felt cold sweat break out, "Yes, yes."
"You don't have to promise anything now. I'm just waiting for you to sell the goods. If you dare to go higher than the market floating price, I will make you die in an ugly way."
After Liu Zhang finished speaking, he looked at all the businessmen: "Don't think that this king is deliberately looking for trouble because he wants to develop the real economy. Don't forget that the three laws issued by this king include land orders, four civil service examinations, and price limits."
make."
"Huh?" All the merchants were startled and whispered. The most violent things so far were the Land Order and the Four-Economy Official Examination. The two government orders completely pushed the Sichuan army to the opposite side of the family, leading to large-scale killings.
However, the original three major government orders were gradually forgotten by people because business did not really rise, and the price limit order was as inconspicuous as a shadow in the corner. No one paid attention to it.
However, the businessman did not think of this decree until then. This was simply a decree tailor-made for businessmen. Specialized people estimated the market prices of various daily necessities and set a floating space. Those who exceeded the price limit would violate the price limit order.
Isn't violating the price limit order the same as violating the land order?
From the time they started doing business until now, businessmen have never realized that they still have such a big knife hanging over their heads.
Huang Yueying also looked at Liu Zhang with a little surprise. The price limit order was issued before the business started. Liu Zhang issued this decree along with the land order and the four imperial examination officials. Did he anticipate the rise of today's business? This is far-sighted.
Is it too much?
"Zhang Song."
"I'm here." Zhang Song stood up timidly. He was going to discuss the economy without him as the bank president. He was called here early in the morning. It seemed that Zhang Song was a bit too plump now and was completely different from the skinny guy before.
Same, it seems that the bank's treatment is too good.
"Immediately formulate a law. If the price of one or more daily necessities rises sharply and reaches a certain limit without stopping, and at this time there are merchants hoarding them, they will refuse the sellers after issuing warnings. At least, they will buy them at the lowest price in the market. At worst, they will buy them at the lowest price in the market.
Then he will be beheaded and all the goods will be confiscated."
Yin Bai's face trembled, and he felt the sweat everywhere was wet. He wiped his forehead hard with his sleeves, and thought about going back and paying close attention to Zhang Song's approval of the highest price, and hurrying out.
Yin Baike had no doubt that Liu Zhang would drag him to behead him. Even though the Yin family's property was huge now, if it fell, it would seriously affect the Sichuan army's tax revenue.
"Yes." Zhang Song responded.
Liu Zhang then nodded. Liu Zhang had to do this before business was fully developed, otherwise he would not be able to do it again when the business model took shape.
It's like a price limit order. If you were a modern capitalist, would you give him a price limit order? It's a joke. People would rather pour the excess milk into the sewer to sell it at a high price.
There is also the real economy. Perhaps the financial industry has been covered with too many veils, but in fact financial manipulation is no different from gambling. It cannot create actual social value at all. What has been achieved is a group of financial oligarchs who have unique vision and flexible thinking and no lower limit for ruthlessness.
.
Are you talking about the real economy to those modern financial oligarchs? They can paralyze national institutions in minutes.
This is the hijacking of political power by excessive business. Liu Zhang could not guarantee that he could prevent it, but he must do his best.
Liu Zhang has always known that when capitalists develop to a certain extent, they are much more harmful than aristocrats. However, as traditional agriculture develops as productivity and as labor surplus increases, commerce will inevitably rise, and capitalists will inevitably replace traditional landlords. This cannot be changed by anyone.
.
What Liu Zhang is doing now is to speed up the pace of China's development. After the explosive increase in grain output from high-yielding crops, business will inevitably flourish, and the seeds of capitalism in the Han Dynasty will be born.
Liu Zhang cannot hinder social development. Since he cannot change this trend, he should standardize it as much as possible and set a normative example for future generations.
"In addition, I have several suggestions. In addition to producing more physical products as mentioned just now, I also hope that you can develop products. Every private craftsman's workshop can develop a new type of product, such as the white porcelain developed by the Qu family before.
If you are unwilling to sell to the government, the government will give you a reward based on its value. If you are willing to sell, it will also give you another acquisition fee based on its value to share resources.
I can assure you that as long as the things developed are indeed valuable, the rewards will be high.
Of course, this kind of development is not just about improvements like white porcelain. Perhaps you have heard rumors that large-scale construction is about to be carried out in the Hetao area. Preparations should be made for everything from paving roads to purchasing furs.
But I’ll tell you another way to get rich.”
"What's the way to get rich?" Yin Bai and others all joined in, especially Fatty Jin. Now that he heard about "money", his eyes were filled with stars.
"You can select those cattle and sheep that grow well and breed them to breed new and better offspring."
"Is this very profitable?" Qu Xi asked hesitantly. Dahan has also bred new horse breeds before, but I have never heard of anyone making money.
"Of course you can make money, you can try it. In fact, it is very simple to cultivate superior cattle and sheep, and the success rate is also very high. As long as you cultivate excellent breeds, your cattle and sheep will have many advantages over other cattle and sheep. Isn't that right?
Extra cash?"
The cultivation of fine breeds can be traced back a long way in Chinese history, but not many people paid attention to it. When a cow appeared that grew quickly, the herdsmen were very happy and quickly sold it to make money, feeling complacent about the few extra coppers they got.
Unless it is used for national purposes like breeding Xiliang horses in the past, few people care about this.
Qu Xi said: "But this takes too long, right? And even if it is cultivated, when the first batch of cattle and sheep are sold, won't others just pick it up and get a bargain?"
"How do you know it's cheap?" Yin Bai gave Qu Xi a look of disdain.
Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Qu Xi is right, but Mr. Qu seems to have forgotten the research and development subsidies I mentioned before. High-quality cattle and sheep are also research and development products. We will give you generous subsidies to ensure that after you cultivate them,
You can make a steady profit."
Liu Zhang said to Huang Yueying: "Yueying, you, Zhang Song, and relevant officials will study it later and come up with a science and technology award, which will be selected once a year, including cultivating excellent varieties, such as new products such as white porcelain, according to their requirements.
The contribution score of the country and its people.
The award-winning individuals or companies will not only receive free publicity from the government to the whole country, but also receive a wealth of science and technology awards."
When Qu Xi Yin Bai and others heard Liu Zhang's proposal, their eyes immediately lit up. Regardless of the reputation, this science and technology award is enough. If they get the first place, they will not immediately become famous all over the country. What about the products they produced?
Are you still worried about not being able to sell your daily necessities?
"It's quite fresh, but it looks good." Huang Yueying said.
"In addition, you can also select crops to obtain fine varieties. And you should not be so rigid, although I am a big man who belongs to the Celestial Kingdom."