Fu Xiaoguan's words left Yan Beixi and Shang Yu speechless.
In this agricultural era, although merchants were already quite active, agriculture was still the dominant policy in the country.
The class structure of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants remained unchanged, so students focused on studying in order to enter the imperial court as officials, which was the first class of society. Although farmers had extremely low incomes and could even live a miserable life, their status at the national level was second only to that of scholars.
In reality, businessmen actually have the best lives, but their status is the lowest.
For example, Fu Daguan, the richest man in Linjiang, is a big landlord who sells grain, and he is actually also a businessman.
He had a lot of money, which allowed Fu Xiaoguan to squander at will, but he was very timid and was most afraid of offending officials.
Yan Beixi, Shang Yu and others who were in the situation were completely unaware of this drawback. In their perception, businessmen did not farm, but instead found shortcuts to profit from speculation, or purchased raw materials at low prices, processed them in their workshops, and then sold them on the market to make huge profit margins.
For all those who have read the books of sages, these behaviors mean getting something for nothing, being dishonest and opportunistic, and are definitely not the right way.
But after listening to Fu Xiaoguan's words, the two of them thought about this problem carefully for the first time. They knew the composition of the tax silver of the Ministry of Revenue. In the past, they did not think there was anything wrong with the merchants paying more than half of the taxes. But now they understood why Fu Xiaoguan said that only by making trade bigger and more prosperous can the problem of the empty treasury be solved.
This matter is so huge that even though Yan Beixi is the prime minister, he dare not make the decision to change this national policy.
"Is there any other way?" Yan Beixi asked.
"I'm completely gone anyway. I've already explained the reason to you briefly. If I can't change the status of merchants, then my position as an official is pointless. Otherwise...would you just treat me like a piece of shit?"
"roll!"
Yan Beixi stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked back and forth a few steps angrily.
"Write down your opinion in detail..." He took a deep breath. "I need to discuss this matter with His Majesty, and the final decision will be made by His Majesty, so you must write a solid article for me!"
Fu Xiaoguan suddenly thought of The Wealth of Nations, which he had read in his previous life. It was about the same idea, but he had not read the book as carefully as A Dream of Red Mansions. However, he should be able to write something according to the ideas in the book to fool the old man.
"It will take me half a month."
"So long? No! Just three days!"
Old man, do you think I carry a computer with me?
"It can't be done in three days. This is a hundred times more troublesome than the disaster relief plan. There are so many things involved. It will take at least ten days, otherwise forget it!"
Shang Yu watched the two haggling in amazement. He had been in the Secretariat for nearly twenty years, but this was the first time he had seen such a thing! The dignified Prime Minister of Yan was actually arguing fiercely with a young man, all for a few days, and this young man actually dared to confront the Prime Minister of Yan - he was indeed a newborn calf who was not afraid of a tiger. It was really as the saying in "The Story of the Young Men of the Yu Dynasty" said: "The red sun rises, its path is bright. The river flows out of the hidden stream, pouring into the ocean!"
The result was beyond his expectations, Yan Zai was defeated!
Fu Xiaoguan looked like he was about to leave, which finally made Yan Beixi take a big step back.
"Alright, alright, just ten days. If you can't write a good article, I'll show you how I'll deal with you!"
Fu Xiaoguan was delighted and happily lifted the teacup from the table and handed it to Yan Xiwen. "The Prime Minister has a broad mind... Please calm down. I can't guarantee that I can write a brilliant article, but I can guarantee that if we can reuse merchants and restart trade, we will see significant results within three years."
"Three years is too long, one year!"
This doesn't make sense. It takes half a year to harvest a grain of rice!
"Prime Minister Yan, everything has its own laws, and the economy is no exception. Even if Your Majesty agrees, how long will it take for this policy to be implemented? How long will it take for merchants to accept it? How long will it take for local officials to adapt to this change? Once merchants accept it, how long will it take for them to establish workshops and produce goods?"
"So you have to eat your meal one bite at a time, otherwise... you'll choke to death!"
Yan Beixi frowned and thought about it carefully. What Fu Xiaoguan said was true. He was indeed too hasty.
"Alright, alright, I won't argue with you about this. Just finish that article first."
"I obey your command... but the crowds here are so numerous and noisy that it's affecting my thinking. So I'm thinking, I'll just stay home for ten days and have some peace and quiet. Only then will I be able to write that article like a flower, right?"
"Get lost! You're just causing me trouble."
Fu Xiaoguan cheerfully bowed to Yan Beixi and Shang Yu, "Master Yan, Master Shang, I will leave now!"
Watching Fu Xiaoguan's back disappear outside the door, Yan Beixi laughed, "Old Shang, what do you think of this boy?"
"Prime Minister Yan has a unique vision! His argument, while... subversive, makes perfect sense upon closer examination. This national policy of prioritizing agriculture has been in place since ancient times, and no one has ever raised any objections, believing it to be the way it should be. But after hearing what he said today, it seems a change is indeed necessary."
"Hmm..." Yan Beixi stroked his short beard and nodded in agreement. "There's enormous resistance to this. It's not so much the problem with His Majesty, but the resistance among the scholars. The idea that all things are inferior except for education is deeply ingrained in the minds of scholars. This group of people looks down on merchants the most, believing them to be money-minded and profit-oriented. If this reform is implemented, they will definitely jump out to oppose it. Old Shang, you must be prepared."
Shang Yu nodded and said, "I will go and talk to Lord Shangguan Wenxiu right away. I'll try to make some indirect suggestions first. Once His Majesty agrees to this reform, I'll ask Lord Shangguan to start changing the mindsets of the students at the Jixia Academy. I'll use the books published by the Imperial Academy to prepare the students of the Yu Dynasty."
"This strategy is feasible. Sigh... If we had ten or eight years, it wouldn't be so difficult to implement. But now, time is running out!"
…
…
In Dieyi Palace.
Emperor Yu Yin was lying in a chair in casual clothes, reading a book by the stove. Yu Wenyun was about to slip out when Yu Yin suddenly called him, "Wenyun, I have a question for you... Last time you and Dong Shulan went to the Xishan Villa in Xiacun, did you see with your own eyes the workshops he was tinkering with?"
Yu Wenjun sat down again and pouted.
"At that time, his place only had a winery. The perfume was still being prepared and had not yet been tested. There was no trace of soap."
"Oh... so, in just two or three months, he was able to come up with perfume, soap, and that cement thing?"
"Well, that's about right. Father, what do you mean by this? I'm not planning to take over his workshop, am I?"
Concubine Shang glared at Yu Wenjun and said, "What are you thinking? Would your father be interested in those things of Fu Xiaoguan?"
"That's hard to say!"
Yu Yin smiled, put down the book in his hand, and asked, "How much does his perfume and soap cost? How much does it cost?"
"This..." Yu Wenjun rolled his eyes and said, "The perfume costs three taels of silver per bottle, plus shipping and other miscellaneous costs, so we sell it for ten taels of silver. The soap costs about two taels of silver per piece, so we sell it for seven taels of silver."
"Oh... if you calculate it this way, I can definitely make a profit of half." Yu Yin nodded, seemingly thinking about something.
"No, Father, why are you asking this?"
Yu Yin did not answer, but asked again: "When you were in Xishan, that young official Fu said that if a country values commerce and gives merchants a higher status, the country will surely prosper. Please tell me everything he said at that time, and be careful, I want to hear it clearly."
Yu Wenjun looked at Concubine Shang, who nodded.
"Let me make this clear first. If you, Your Majesty, are unhappy with what I've heard, you can't blame Fu Xiaoguan. Because when he spoke to Shulan and me, he said that these words were extremely treasonous and must not be told to outsiders."
Yu Yin frowned and said, "Tell me, how could I possibly argue with Fu Xiaoguan?"
So, Yu Wenjun recalled what Fu Xiaoguan said while eating cold crucian carp that night, and now he told Yu Yin everything.
"He said Mencius said: 'The people are the most important, the country is second, and the monarch is the least important.' These are the words of a sage. The people are the most important. They are the cornerstone of a country. They perform the most basic work, but they create immeasurable value that you don't see."
“…”
"He also asked where these taxes come from? Ultimately, they come from these farmers, these workers, landowners like me, and businessmen."
"Since this group is so important, why doesn't the country value them? Scholars discriminate against farmers, calling them 'mud sticks,' and officials discriminate against merchants, believing them to be saddled with money. They don't consider that the vast majority of their salaries come from taxes paid by merchants. Therefore, if a country values commerce and gives merchants a higher status, it will surely prosper."
"That's it, don't be angry!"
Yu Wenjun looked at Yu Yin nervously. Yu Yin looked at the sky outside the window with a serious expression, as if he was thinking about these words, but he did not express his opinion for a long time.
This is no small matter. As Wen Yun said, this statement is indeed quite rebellious, because it goes against the current national policy.
However, as Fu Xiaoguan said, the court's tax revenue indeed came from farmers, workers and merchants, and even merchants paid more than half of the taxes.
So if I want to boost business, how can I change the inherent views of scholars all over the world?
Yu Yin was puzzled, thinking that the twenty-word guideline was originally written by Fu Xiaoguan. Would this kid have a way to realize it?
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