Suppressing the depression and discomfort in his heart, Bo Jinchen's face remained expressionless: "Who are those miners? Slaves or free people?"
There was a trace of uneasiness on Yu Yongzhi's face, but he still resisted and said: "They are slaves, but those mine owners don't treat slaves as human beings. They require the miners to stay in the mines for twelve hours a day, and Everything we eat is stuff that even dogs won’t eat. We all come from poor families and we know how difficult life is, but a life like theirs is indeed not what humans should live.”
Bo Jinchen's vision became a little sharp, "Didn't the Holy Kingdom give instructions? Regarding the issue of slave status, we should try our best to redeem them for their freedom instead of using administrative means to interfere. Have you forgotten, Yongzhi?"
"Bo Xiang, redeem? Where can we get the money to redeem? You also know our situation in Jinzhong. Those nobles and gentry are all arrogant and don't worry about what we dare to do to them. Basically, they have not escaped. The wealth we have obtained It was so pitiful that it was not enough to use. When I saw the miners who had escaped coming to our army crying and telling about the inhumane treatment they had received, the brothers couldn't bear it and demanded that the mine owners be taken down for public display. Use military orders to suppress it, but we cannot sit idly by. Which of those mine owners is not worth billions? They don’t care at all about the redemption price you proposed, not to mention that we have no spare funds to spend on it!"
Yu Yongzhi was very convincing. In fact, he obtained quite a lot of funds in Jinzhong. In particular, the assets left behind by many nobles who had good relations with the upper-class nobles of the empire after running away and a large number of coal mines brought many rich returns to the Taiping Army. Just taking back these coal mines and auctioning them off has already made the middle and high-level generals in the Taiping Army a lot of money, but the amount that belongs to the Taiping Army seems a bit meager. If this purge storm can be expanded infinitely, the benefits derived from it by both the Taiping Army and himself will increase exponentially. This is the conclusion that Yu Yongzhi came to after discussing with several of his confidants. When the mine owner who had good relations with the Taiping Army took over the heavy silver notes, Yu Yongzhi could no longer maintain a calm heart.
Bo Jinchen didn't even think about the dirty thoughts in Yu Yongzhi's heart. He was still thinking about how to deal with the questions raised by the other party. The methods used by mine owners to enslave slaves must be very cruel. Treating slaves as cattle and horses has always been the inherent view of slave owners. If they want to abolish it all at once, Bo Jinchen thinks there are still many unsolvable problems. Difficulty, in areas like Jinzhong, the mines mainly use slave labor, and there are not many free people engaged in this work. Once abolition measures are forcibly implemented, I am afraid it will immediately cause chaos. Bo Jinchen's original idea was to increase the tax on mines, raise the tax rate, and then obtain funds for the government to redeem the mine owners. Of course, the price will definitely be much cheaper than the market price, which may reduce resistance, but from now on At present, it seems that this idea is difficult to be recognized by the people below. Once he has gained the power, he can use force to grant the slaves the status of free citizens. This probably represents the aspirations of many people led by Yu Yongzhi, and judging from the current subtle atmosphere, the Holy King seems to be leaning towards this attitude. .
What Bo Jinchen is most worried about is not the abolition of slavery in Jinzhong. After all, although the power of the mine owners in Jinzhong is large, it is limited to one government and the number is limited. With the power of the Taiping Army to enforce it, the mine owners are strongly opposed. , and even create some chaos and trouble, but Bo Jinchen still believes that it can be calmed down smoothly. What he is worried about is that once this wind blows, no one can control it anymore, and this wind will definitely blow As the epidemic gets bigger and bigger, it will spread to other areas. In addition to the abolition of slave status, calls for the further confiscation of the assets of merchants, landowners, and all noble gentry to be nationalized or distributed to the poor will become even louder, and it is very likely that they will be paid. These implementations will inevitably lead to chaos in the entire control area by then, which is something Bo Jinchen never wants to see.
"So Yongzhi, what do you want to do?" Bo Jinchen rubbed his forehead and cheeks sleepily, and finally asked the core question.
"Uh, um, that's why I came to ask for permission from Bo Xiang." Although Yu Yongzhi was arrogant, he knew that the wisdom of the man in front of him should never be underestimated. Even if he got the tacit approval of the Holy King, if he didn't learn from the man in front of him, Even though he was truly convinced, he still didn't dare to act rashly.
"Hmph, Yongzhi, are you still trying to be careless in front of me? This should be a civil affairs matter, why are you so active?" Bo Jinchen's tone changed and became a little cold.
"Well, Prime Minister Bo, it's not because Yongzhi has exceeded his authority, but because Yongzhi's 300,000 men are in urgent need of life and weapons, so they have to come to the Holy Capital to ask for help from the Holy King and Prime Minister Bo. For this reason, Prime Minister Bo I understand." Yu Yongzhi looked even more humble at this moment, but Bo Jinchen's eyes turned cold. In fact, he already knew the purpose of Yu Yongzhi's coming. He was not involved in civil affairs in the first place. It was only because of his prestige and his views and opinions that were completely opposite to those of the Holy King that the Holy King came up with such a method. On the surface, Come up to ask for your opinion, but in fact everything has already been decided.
"Oh, I'm not in charge of civil affairs. You should ask Minister Wen for instructions on this issue. As long as you decide, you don't need to tell me anymore." Bo Jinchen lay down in the chair and curled up slightly, "Go ahead. Yongzhi, we just need to pay attention to the methods and methods, and we also need to treat those mine owners differently. It goes without saying that those mine owners who are more indignant than the unkind people, but the gentry with high popularity and reputation must not be tampered with."
Knowing that everything was inevitable, Bo Jinchen couldn't help but say a few more words, hoping to make his last effort, although he also knew that these words would hardly reach the ears of the person in front of him.
With a burst of ecstasy in his heart, Yu Yongzhi still saluted respectfully on the surface and said: "Xiang Bo, then Yongzhi will go. Yongzhi will return to Heshuo after submitting his message. He will come back to pay his respects to Prime Minister Bo next time he returns to the Holy Capital."
He waved his hand silently. At this time, Bo Jinchen had no thoughts at all. Until Yu Yongzhi's figure disappeared, Bo Jinchen's eyes were still looking at the top of the beams blankly. It was useless to persuade the Holy King. Once upon a time, This old friend of mine is not even willing to meet him. This is the so-called change of time. His identity has changed, his mentality has changed, and his plans have also changed. But all these superficial brilliance can be How long will it last
Bo Jinchen seemed to have seen the ruins behind the carved beams and painted columns.
The week-long visit was an eye-opener for Viscount Mengkadi and his entourage, from the iron-smelting blast furnaces in Yinchuan and Qingyang to the ceramic kilns in Bonan, from the brewing workshops and salt wells in Guide to the medicinal materials workshops and wood processing in Jinzhou Although the factories, from Qingyang's wool textile center to Taixuan's sugar workshop, were just a quick glance, Mengkadi and his entourage were still impressed by the vibrant northwest economy, as if they were in full swing. The powerful machines are running at an unstoppable speed. The economic situation of the entire northwest is not only no less than that of the small principalities of the Hansen Alliance countries, but even worse. The good social security and business environment, the educational mechanism and health institutions that have begun to take shape have opened the eyes of Viscount Mengkadi. It seems that the legendary civilization level of the Eastern Continent is no less than that of the Western Continent.
However, Viscount de Montcadé's request to visit the northwest army was rejected. However, Prolovland and Miss Dreiser, as their fiancée, were fortunate enough to see the cavalry drill from Mott. The Mott cavalry showed great performance. Plovlan was amazed by his skillful horsemanship and unparalleled momentum when charging into battle, and Miss Dreiser was even more focused on taking advantage of the rare opportunity to observe and ask questions in the northwest military camp from all aspects. Many questions had been asked unconsciously. She didn't even notice that a side that was inconsistent with her identity was exposed. After the visit, the people from the security department quickly reported the situation to Wu Feng's ears, but the Jiedushi Master waved his hand generously and asked for safety. People in the department do not need to deliberately restrict each other, they just need to pay attention to monitoring, which makes the personnel in the security department confused.
After obtaining all the information from his niece, Viscount Mengkadi's anxiety became more serious. If we really want to use the strength of the northwest to destroy the current Luobei people, it is not impossible from the current point of view, especially in the west, the Luobei people are also suffering from the attack of the Chidi people. If the northwest people are really determined To punish the Luobei people, there is no need to punish them. Even if the current situation continues, it will be enough to drag the Luobei people down. Once the Luobei people are defeated, the Chidi people's voice is bound to become louder, and the end of the northern countries of the Hansen Alliance is coming. The greedy and cruel Chidi people will bring more to the Hansen Alliance than just burning and killing. It was so simple to plunder that they would even give birth to people who conquered these places. It was unknown whether the idea of turning civilized people like themselves into machines and livestock to be exploited would arise in their simple minds.
At this time, it became extremely strong to persuade Li Wufeng to give up the idea of weakening the Luo Bei people. Unfortunately, Li Wufeng didn't seem to be very interested in him now. His several requests to see him were declined by the other party because he was busy with official duties, but the other party had time to go. Accompanying this guy Plovlan to the Golden State for summer vacation made Mengkadi feel extremely depressed. After finally waiting for Li Wufeng and Pulovlan to return to Qingyang, Mengkadi didn't care much at this time. For the sake of his own future and the prosperity of his family, he could only shamelessly go to Pulovlan and invite him. Convey your wish to see Li Wufeng on your behalf.