"good."
The murderous intention is a bit strong.
"Of course, in my opinion, merchants are not pariahs; they are also part of the nation. Therefore, the nation cannot discriminate against merchants and should treat them normally, just like any other citizen of the Song Dynasty. But at the same time, I also hope that merchants can be patriotic, honest, trustworthy, and fair and just."
"Though merchants like us value profit, we also know that even if a country is destroyed, the mountains and rivers remain. Without the Song Dynasty, without our own country, we will be like duckweed on a floating root, drifting everywhere."
"Yes, please rest assured, Dean Zhi and Minister Li. However, if you have any orders, we will not refuse them, even if it means sacrificing our lives and property."
Li Zi nodded slightly and said, "I have carefully selected all of you. For example, when Tian Chang entered China, he rarely overestimated his wealth. He also established a trading company to stabilize the price of tea. He almost never inflated the price of tea. At most, he would sell it at a slight premium. He only made the money he deserved and didn't make any money he shouldn't. This is the way to do business!"
Hearing his words, everyone felt a little relieved. Tian Chang and others quickly said, "Prime Minister Li, you're joking. We are just doing our duty. The people of Bianliang want tea, and we are doing it for the country and the people. We don't dare to take credit for it."
It is said that all crows are black, but in fact not all landlords in ancient times were like Zhou Baopi.
Historical records show that there were many patriotic and charitable landlords. During years of famine, many merchant landlords would choose to sell grain at a fair price or a low price, or even simply open porridge shops to help the victims.
Everyone patted their chests and made the promise.
There were countless merchants in Bianliang, and some even had assets exceeding one million. However, Zhao Jun chose only these ten or so people because they were considered to be the most principled merchants.
Zhao Jun needs to support a group of businessmen, on the one hand to stabilize prices and people's livelihood, and to prevent frequent large fluctuations in daily necessities.
Secondly, it is also to promote the development of capitalism.
The story of "food given out of pity" is actually about a landlord named Qian Ao who gave relief to disaster victims. However, his words were too arrogant and the hungry people could not accept them, so his good deed was ultimately not implemented.
So it is not easy to find a needle in the sea, but it is easy to find pearls in the sand. In the end, Li Zi selected more than ten businessmen who were relatively conscientious.
The entry into China and France depended entirely on the court to give full play to their subjective initiative through policies.
When it comes to war or disaster relief, these merchants can play a much greater role than the government.
If the mineral resources are semi-nationalized and semi-privatized in the future, I don’t believe that these businessmen will not develop steam engines in order to mine.
Last but not least, businessmen’s efficiency of action and ability to mobilize supplies still have great advantages compared to the current bureaucracy.
Therefore, cooperating with businessmen and carrying out semi-privatization and semi-nationalization is also a necessary reform measure.
When these policies and measures cause other problems in the future, we can reform them.
(End of this chapter)
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