Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 327: A Loyal and Patriotic Merchant (Part 2)
Production efficiency increased dozens of times?
Just like this, the merchants present did not feel it very intuitively. But when Cao Sanxi explained the effects of machines such as Changluo shuttle, Huijuan spinning machine and the school machine, the merchants who had already had red eyes were breathing heavily at this moment. Looking at Cao Sanxi was like seeing a beloved beauty, or a mountain of gold!
"Everyone." Even though he had been in a high position for a long time and often punished the wealthy merchants in the country, Cao Sanxi was shocked to see so many merchants with such vicious eyes.
"Everyone, did you pay attention to the topic of the policy essay in the imperial examination last year? In fact, as long as a smart person sees such a topic, he will naturally think that the crown prince already has something corresponding in his hands. Otherwise, why would the crown prince set such a topic?"
"Oh~ yes!"
"Oh! I see!"
"So, bosses, do you still have any doubts in your mind now?"
"No, no, President Cao, we have no doubts in our hearts! We may have doubts about others, but we definitely don't have any doubts about you, Crown Prince!"
After a wave of flattery, Xu Yuanzuo stood up on behalf of many businessmen and asked a question: "Well, President Cao, since we have such a magical weapon, I wonder how much it will cost us?"
"Haha, Boss Xu, your family has been an official family for generations, and there are many educated children in your family. Naturally, you can also see the essays of the new Jinshi last year. Let's not talk about other things. Have you seen the essays of this champion? Do you still remember it?"
"Uh, Li Boyun's policy paper...hiss, I remember it now. That policy paper said that if these machines were suddenly put into use by the people, it would cause a surge in grain prices and make life difficult for the people in Ming Dynasty. In order to safely reap the benefits of technology, we must pass on the problems caused by the emergence of these technologies to neighboring countries. Um, neighboring countries...hahahaha, I understand."
"You are all people of status in your respective provinces. Please keep the content of today's meeting, especially the following things, confidential except for informing the nobles behind you."
"Yes, please rest assured, President Cao."
"Okay, let me continue. The invasion of Siam and the Japanese pirates has caused certain losses and troubles to our Ming Dynasty. But from another perspective, it is also a great opportunity."
Anyone who can reach the top of the business world of the Ming Dynasty must be extremely smart. Cao Sanxi just said this lightly, and everyone immediately understood: as long as they win this time, Siam and Japan will never be able to live behind closed doors like before!
We have all been doing business at sea for many years, and we have a good understanding of East Asia and Southeast Asian countries. Coupled with the influence of the six major newspapers for so many years, we quickly thought: in the future, the whole of Southeast Asia will be the granary of the Ming Dynasty, Japan will be the supplier of precious metals , the Mongols will provide us with furs, and the people of the Western Regions will grow cotton for us - and we in the Ming Dynasty will use these raw materials to produce products, and then sell them to these guys, thereby making huge profits!
"Hahaha, you all have figured it out, right?"
"To President Cao, we have figured it out!"
"Well, for these things to be realized, there must be a prerequisite, that is, my Ming Dynasty can win this war!"
"President Cao, we firmly believe this!"
"Well, I am also convinced of this. However, this requires a process."
"President Cao, let's make a donation!"
"Yeah, two shipyards are not enough? Build two , no, five more shipyards! Build thousands of Beizhili-class ships and pile them up, and bury those two little thieves at sea!"
"That's right, donations! President Cao, we want donations! In addition to building a new shipyard, we will also help the court open a few more arsenals! After we win the naval battle, we will also send a large army to sweep Siam and the Japanese pirates' homeland!"
"Donate! Build the factory sooner and win the battle sooner!"
"Hahahaha~~" After a hearty laugh, Cao Sanxi quieted the venue again.
"I am deeply grateful for your loyalty and patriotism. But His Highness has made it clear that we will not accept your donations. Uh, everyone, please be patient. Next, please allow Mr. Huang from the Ministry of Revenue to talk to you."
"Everyone." A middle-aged man in his forties stepped forward and said, "I am Huang Shijun, the head of the Ministry of Revenue."
"I have met Mr. Zhuangyuan."
"Hahaha, top scholar is just a title from the past. You should just call me by my official title."
After exchanging pleasantries, Huang Shijun said, "Just now, President Cao said that the Ministry of Revenue still has a lot of money on its books after selling the salt mines. This is, of course, true. However, the country is so big, and there are many places where money needs to be spent. Therefore, we cannot invest all the money on the books in the military. For example, the court threw nearly 30 million yuan into the locust plague last year. If we use all the money to build warships, what if the country needs money urgently for other things?"
"Mr. Zhuangyuan is absolutely right! That's why we want to donate!"
"I would like to thank you all for your loyalty to the emperor and your patriotism." After bowing his hands in thanks, Huang Shijun said, "As for this money, we still need some contributions from all the bosses, but we are not asking for donations, but borrowing from everyone. In the words of His Highness, we are asking everyone to contribute money together to set up a war fund."
"Hey! Mr. Zhuangyuan, don't borrow, we will donate directly!"
"Yes, donate it directly! If the court takes the money and wins the battle sooner, it will be worth it for us!"
"Well, I was thinking of asking everyone to donate directly at first, but then the Crown Prince told us officials from the Ministry of Revenue a story. My thoughts changed immediately."
"May I ask what the story is? Could you please let us learn more about it, Mr. Zhuangyuan?"
"Okay, Your Highness told us that it was from Lüshi Chunqiu. The general meaning is that during the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a law in the State of Lu: If the people of Lu saw their compatriots suffering misfortune and becoming slaves in a foreign country, as long as they were able to redeem these people and help them regain their freedom, they could get compensation and rewards from the state. This law was implemented for many years, and many people of Lu who had become slaves abroad returned to their hometown. Later, Zigong, a student of the sage, was a big businessman and very rich. He redeemed the people of Lu from foreign countries, but refused the compensation from the state. As a result, the people of the whole Lu praised him, and Zigong was also complacent. But the sage alone said, "Zigong, you are wrong! Receiving compensation from the state will not damage your character; but if you do not accept compensation, no one in Lu will redeem their compatriots who have died.
What is the reason for this? The prince said that Zigong's mistake was that he raised the moral standard that everyone could reach to a level that most people could not reach. In the past, everyone paid to redeem people and received compensation after returning. They did good deeds and did not lose anything. With such an arrangement, everyone was willing to do it.
But after Zigong refused to accept compensation from the state, if someone redeemed someone and asked the state for compensation, they would be laughed at. But how many people in Lu were as rich as Zigong and didn't care about this little compensation? This naturally discouraged many people from redeeming someone. And this is indeed the case. After Zigong did this, people in Lu often turned a blind eye to their compatriots who had become slaves abroad.
The prince said that morality that goes against common sense and human nature is the most evil thing in the world. Raising the moral standard infinitely or treating personal morality as public morality will only lead to one result, which is to embarrass morality and make ordinary people turn pale at the mention of morality and stay away from it!
The prince also said that the country neglected military preparations for various reasons in the past few years. As a result, the war was not going well for a while, and the business of the bosses suffered losses. Under such circumstances, the bosses were still willing to stabilize prices in various places for the court and ensure the stability of people's livelihood. This was great enough and enough for the six major newspapers to publicize and praise. If everyone was asked to donate for free at this time, it would infinitely raise the moral standards, and from then on, I am afraid there would be no such thing as patriotic businessmen.
So, the Grand Prince said that this time, we can borrow money and absorb funds in the name of the war fund, but we will never accept donations. "
"So that's how it is. I admire your profound intentions, my Lord."
"Yes, please ask Chief Huang to tell His Highness that we will do our best to stabilize the prices of goods in various places. If there are some ignorant small merchants who dare to raise prices, we will take care of the matter ourselves without His Highness's instructions!"
"Haha, in that case, I would like to thank you all. Next, please allow President Cao to explain the matter of this war fund."
"Ahem, everyone, this war fund is actually very simple. After you become shareholders, Fangshan's technology will be sold to shareholders first. If shareholders want to use new equipment to build factories, banks will also give priority to shareholders in lending. Of course, the above are just priorities, and everyone will have to pay out real money in the end. And this foundation also has a benefit. After the Ming Dynasty wins a war, the local land can be divided among everyone..."
"Bang!" The door of the meeting hall opened. A group of wealthy merchants from the Ming Dynasty, who were plump, with fat faces and usually smiled when they spoke and did things, walked out with ferocious faces. They waved their fat upper limbs and shouted at the top of their lungs: "Loyalty to the emperor and love the country, stabilize prices! Eliminate the two thieves and give me back my world!"
