Zhui Xu

Chapter 96: Times (2)

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In fact, the time has gradually shifted from the dog days, but the weather still hasn't gotten rid of the heat of the summer. In this study of Yushan Academy, Li Pin poured two cups of tea and handed Ning Yi a cup.

"In the affairs of the state and the world, sometimes I see a lot of rhetoric and self-confidence, and I always find it ridiculous. However, many ideas always come from this rhetoric. If you really work hard and never discuss with others, it is inevitable. I was biased. I went to Beijing to take the exam in three years, and I was ranked 11th in the Imperial Ranking. Unfortunately... At that time, I offended Fu Ying, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, because of his excessive policy theory. After that, I was disheartened, left Tokyo, and went back to Jiangning."

Li Pin talked about this, then shook his head with a teacup and smiled.

"Others asked for an official position and got a jinshi. There are also people who stayed in Tokyo for a few years to seek various connections. They left after a few months. Sometimes I don't want to talk to people for fear of being laughed at. But the part in Tokyo Time, when I see the network of interests between officials and officials, my mood is really complicated. Tokyo is slightly different from Jiangning. If you go there, you can feel that the place where the imperial city is located, as if everything is enveloped by that feeling. Near the Royal Street, you can see the towering palace wall every day, even if you can't see the palace, if you look in that direction, the palace seems to be standing in front of you..."

"Those who are seeking officials, who are seeking connections, who talk about national affairs, who will continue to learn from the past, and who will bring peace to the world... Teahouses, bars, and fireworks are all talking about these things. You can see the shadow of officials wherever you go. On the one hand, they are full of vigor, and on the other hand, they are sluggish. In short, everyone is in a hurry and can't get to the point. But life has to go on. I also try to find various ways, think of various ways, maybe find that Fu British political enemies, etc., can be supported. But in the end, it is still not very useful. Maybe it is just that I have not taken the right path. I thought the eleventh should have some value. You arrange some places, but there are no real shortages, and other people's arrangements are not leaking, so after a few months, I probably understand that this road will not work for the time being."

"Why do you think about taking advantage of other people's places, you can't get in. My family is not bad. If I really want to live in Tokyo and wait for the opportunity, I don't have money, but I don't think it is necessary. I might as well take advantage of it During this period of time, I could settle down and think again. So I left Tokyo and traveled to Xu, Tang, Shen, and Anji to return to Jiangning. At that time, I also encountered floods and saw a lot of things. After coming back, I have been thinking about , what's the matter in this world..."

He took a sip of tea and said, "In the past hundred years, my Wu Dynasty also had several reforms and reforms. There were many failures. When it comes to principles, it is always inseparable from the three things of enriching the people, strengthening the army, and recruiting scholars. It does make sense to start. However, looking at the root cause, the military and civilians of our military dynasty are weak, and what is the root cause of the inability to use the law? I have been thinking about these things every time I talk to people recently.”

Ning Yi took a sip of tea, then shrugged: "This reason... isn't it very simple?"

Li Pin was originally waiting for his opinion, but after listening to his words, he was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed: "It's really simple... Li Heng said at the beginning that everything has basic rules and its roots. If you see it clearly, maybe you will have a clearer grasp of the future development. I think it makes sense... In fact, when you look at my Wu Dynasty now, the reason is also quite clear, and anyone who spends a little effort can see clearly... "

He paused for a while, picked up the chalk, and drew a triangle on the small blackboard on one side: "I originally founded the country with military force. At the beginning of the country, the military force was strong, but the subsequent rebellions made the Taizu see the drawbacks of this matter. , and then suppressed Wu Chongwen, and managed our dynasty in a way of strong and weak branches. These methods helped our dynasty to eliminate the cause of civil strife, and once made the people rich and the country continued. But now, it has also caused many drawbacks, making I attacked the enemy and the outside world. Under a lot of pressure, in order to keep the strong and still strong, it also made the weak branches weaker, and the wealth still flowed to the tip. The force was originally suppressed by the strong and weak branches, and now it is even weaker. The weaker the force, the greater the external pressure, the greater the pressure, the weaker the force, thus forming a cycle that cannot be freed…”

Li Pin let out a sigh of relief and looked at the blackboard: "If we can solve the business problem, and if we can estimate the weak branches, I will naturally have the spare time to consider force. This is a problem that any strategy to enrich the people needs to solve... Strong and prosperous, foreign aggressors dare not invade, and I will naturally be able to breathe. This is the problem that needs to be solved in the strategy of strengthening the army. The selection of soldiers is also to enrich the people, strengthen the army, and extend the country... Unfortunately, it is all empty talk."

He threw away the chalk: "If you only talk about one strategy, it seems that everyone has a method, and there is no problem with several strategies. , a little nutrient, the weak branch is also taken away by the strong stem. How to guide the strong stem and let it flow nutrients to the weak branch naturally, this is the problem. What does Liheng think?"

Ning Yi thought for a while, then nodded with a smile: "Well, it makes sense, and you're talking about... Let those big landlords and big businessmen who have become powerful—just like our Su family—and those royal relatives Ah, the rich, the rich and the idle, willingly take out the money they earn, and make the people rich..."

Li Pin smiled and did not deny it: "It is true that there are some bookish spirits, but there is no other way. Of course, everything in the world is moving forward, and it is impossible to retreat. Everyone in the world said that when Emperor Heng and Emperor Huizong were in power, I was martial. The dynasty is prosperous, the country is prosperous and the people are strong, but it is impossible to think back. The problem is how to guide it to the next step, so that these people are willing to take money out. It is not a cycle, impractical, and not very useful. Everything needs to be considered. Huanhuan promotes mobility. Therefore, there needs to be a way for these people to take out their money and invest in poor places, and then they must ensure that both parties can make money, and then continue to continue, so as not to reduce the wealth of the strong, But it can ease the situation of weak branches... Perhaps, we can consider letting the court intervene first."

"Wang Anshi has reformed..." Ning Yi frowned slightly and murmured, Li Pin turned his head from there, "Huh?"

There was no Wang Anshi in the Wu Dynasty, but a prime minister named Tan Xi Tan Ziyong did a similar thing decades ago. The reform tried to get the court to intervene in many businesses to revitalize the economy. Ning Yi smiled: "Dexin said this. Isn't it similar to what Tan Xiang thought back then?"

Li Pin nodded: "I did ponder over the reform of Tan Xiang's law back then, and it inspired a lot. What Tan Xiang thought was probably the same, but he didn't expect the resistance to be so great back then. The first thing to do in the state is to eliminate the officials..."

"This sentence is correct." Ning Yi nodded, "But the method is wrong, the economy can't play like this."

"Huh? Economy?"

"Uh, that is the commercial system, the circulation of goods, the circulation of currency, the whole system..." Ning Yi explained with a smile, "Any commercial system that involves privilege is not a normal commercial system. Privileges are here, only It is poison, especially the privileges of the imperial court and the government.”

"Liheng also thinks that he shouldn't compete with the people for profit?"

"That's not the reason." Ning Yi shook his head, "Don't you have basic rules? The basic rule of the economy is greed. Businessmen pursue profits, and the purpose can only be profit, and the rest can be vague. Greed is such a thing. In many cases it's positive, I'm doing things in the store, and I want to buy a piece of clothing, so I try to do it, try to figure out a way to make money, or be appreciated by the host to make more money. That's good greed. He actually has There are many ways to steal and rob, but you will be imprisoned and won’t pay, so you can only do it according to the rules of the game. I have done so many things, it is worth so much money, and it is worth the clothes. Greed in the rules of the game is good greed…”

"But the court is not in the rules of the game, they are still in front of the referee, but you let them join the game, and in the end no one else can continue to play... As I said before, businessmen seek profit, the purpose can only be profit, you let one person They saw profit and taught greed. When they turned around, they saw a gold medal and a knife in their hands. If I could simply take back the benefits, why would you let me not take it? If so Ideal, isn't it the same as directly asking the big landlords and businessmen to take out the money?"

He paused for a while: "Tan Gong's reform is not because the rule of law is not enough, people will always take advantage of loopholes, greed is too powerful, once he has this kind of emotion, then he has nothing but interests in his eyes. This kind of emotion can make people very positive, Its driving force is great, but the only key is: it is best not to let the privileged existence have this kind of emotion, if the privilege is not suppressed enough, no one will be able to play in the end..."

"As long as there are any small loopholes that can be exploited, then the rule of law will never have enough time. The privileged class can only do business by letting wolves into the sheep. The privileges of the game may have some promotion effect... In short, it is a sentence, let the referee play the game, then how to play the game? To talk about supervision, it will only make the originally simple things more complicated, and damage cannot be done. avoid."

Outside the window, a pair of siblings squatted in the corridor under the windowsill to eavesdrop. The boy tapped his sister's shoulder and whispered, "Sister and sister, did he say that we should destroy our family's business?"

"This barbarian..." Zhou Pei blinked his eyes, a little annoyed, then glanced at his brother, "but what he said makes sense, you have to remember and think about it, don't believe it, but don't talk nonsense because of others, so in the future to do great things.”

"Oh." Zhou Junwu nodded, then untied his waist pocket, took out a glutinous rice cake, and ate it in small bites, Zhou Pei glared at him beside him.

"Let the referee come off the court to play the game..." In the room, Li Pin was silent for a long time, and then laughed, with a complicated expression, "Liheng's sentence is indeed in the middle of the basic principle. If I am the referee, once I go off the court, it is indeed... "

He is someone who can think about things, although he may not give up the idea of economic guidance, but when Ning Yi said this, he can somewhat think of the consequences: "I can't imagine that I've been thinking hard for a few years, but Liheng can see it at a glance. Seeing one of the most difficult points to solve, perhaps, this is also the difference in Liheng's way of seeing things?"

"After all, this is a very interesting thing. I hand over hundreds of thousands of coins to the Liao Kingdom every year, and the profits from trade are in the millions. In the end, we still take advantage of it. The importance of businessmen is the benefit of business. , Now not only Brother Dexin understands it, many people already understand it. My dynasty is different from the previous ones. My dynasty does not suppress business. Although there are problems with Tan Gong's reform, it also shows the court's attitude towards business. It's important, but..." Ning Yi thought for a while, then suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, I was thinking just now, how is that Fu Ying now?"

Ning Yi was talking about business, and suddenly turned to this sentence, Li Pin was also stunned, and after a while, he suddenly burst into laughter: "Li Heng is really amazing, I really can't hide anything from you, Minister of Personnel Fu Ying this year. Yue was investigated for greed with ink, and was sentenced to exile by Dali Temple last month. When this flood is over, I'll probably..." He was a little melancholy, but he was happy in the end, "I'm probably planning to go to Tokyo again. Let’s go up and down to see if we can make up for the lack. I’ve been waiting for five years now, and Liheng should not say that I’m too addicted to officialdom.”

Ning Yi also laughed: "If that's the case, congratulations to Dexin brother."

"It's too early, it's too early... How did Liheng see this?"

"Commercial secret." Ning Yi only noticed some clues from the other party's expression, so he asked casually, making a joke at this time. Li Pin shook his head and laughed for a while, then took a sip of tea: "Let's get down to business, let's get down to business, Li Heng can understand the advantages and disadvantages, I wonder if he has ever thought about it, if only let the court guide, what is the compromise?"

"Then... a joke."

"It's just a joke."

"Well, you're going to be an official anyway, so it's good to discuss it." Ning Yi nodded with a smile, "I personally think, yes, no."

"how you said that?"

"It's actually very simple. Let the court let Confucianism consciously improve the status of merchants, then the style of business will naturally become more prevalent. If you want to take the initiative to guide, but not interfere and destroy, this is the only way..."

After saying this, Li Pin frowned: "Businessman status... This matter... After all, businessmen value profits..."

"It's not about businessmen who value profits," Ning Yi took a sip of tea, "The country also values profits. Over the years, business development and the status of businessmen have improved compared to previous dynasties. If you take the initiative to open up a little bit, business will definitely grow, but this is not the case. Where possible... they dare not."

"Who?"

"The people above, the imperial court, the sages, the Confucians...you and I, or everyone else, dare not let go..."

In the corridor outside the window, Zhou Junwu, who was squatting by the wall, was slightly stunned: "Sister, he's talking nonsense again, I didn't dare to do it. Our family is also doing business. Grandpa's family is bigger..."

"Shut up." Zhou Pei whispered more than what he said, and then thought for a while: "I don't dare... He's a tactic."

Then they heard Ning Yi's slightly mocking voice coming from inside.

"If you let it go, with a bang, the Wu Dynasty, this country... will be gone."