unclear

Chapter 330 Sensitive Topic 3

In the same way as officials, some businessmen have given up and others have learned to cooperate with capital and power to achieve a win-win situation. However, in this win-win situation, one party is power and the other is capital, excluding the country and the people, and it is even harmful.

In order to satisfy its endless greed for power, capital naturally seeks faster and higher profit points. Soon some Shanxi merchants discovered that selling supplies to the Mongols was much more profitable than giving them to the border troops in exchange for salt. So a group of people were separated from the traditional Shanxi merchants and started this business specifically.

Since these Shanxi merchants had money and power transactions with some officials, the government and border troops along the way naturally turned a blind eye. In fact, court officials, local officials, border army generals, plus some Shanxi merchants, are like shareholders of a foreign trade company. Everyone makes money, so how can they cut off their own business routes by themselves.

By the Hongzhi period, the Kaizhong Law had been misrepresented and had become a disguised tactic used by bureaucratic capital to carve up the Salt Law. Seeing that even the Salt Law was about to fail, the imperial court had no choice but to promulgate the Zhese Law and directly get out of the way. China and France exist in name only.

However, the Shanxi merchants who made their fortune by opening up China and France did not stop smuggling strategic materials. The more the Ming Dynasty tried to use economic means to curb the development of the nomadic people in the north, the greater the profit margins for food, tea, cloth, and ironware. They are getting more and more excited.

All the successive emperors saw this situation in their eyes, but there was nothing they could do except to make small fuss and play around the edges. What they are facing is not a small group of corrupt officials but the entire bureaucracy. Anyone who dares to overturn this table is an enemy of the entire class.

No matter how wise the emperor is, no matter how powerful the imperial power is, he is still a member of the ruling class. When faced with outsiders, Tyson could solve problems with a big fist. If he faced his own disease, he was no different from ordinary people, and he would still have to go to the hospital to queue up for a specialist appointment.

Hong Tao is facing the same problem now. If he wants to crack down on Shanxi merchants' smuggling activities to capitalize on the enemy, he has to hurt the interests of the bureaucratic group. This is equivalent to overturning the table and destroying the jobs of many officials. Then he is regarded as a mortal enemy by the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty.

Ask yourself, he is really not that capable of overthrowing an entire class like a destructive force. The greater possibility is that he will die before the attack is launched, and in the end he will turn the country into a pot of porridge, allowing the eager foreigners to take advantage.

Take the simplest example, Wang Zheng. He grew up in his maternal grandfather's house and learned many skills from his uncle Zhang Jian. When he was 15 years old, Wang Zheng married his aunt's niece and became his wife.

Zhang Jian has made great achievements as an official for many years. As a small part of the system, he cannot escape the general trend. During the six years he served as the magistrate of Datong Prefecture, he not only provided convenience for Shanxi merchants who smuggled out of the customs, but also received some benefits.

Hong Tao was willing to believe that Zhang Jian didn't ask for it, and he probably didn't like these activities, but people couldn't help themselves in officialdom. If Tongzhi doesn’t take it, how can the state government take it? If the state government doesn't take it, how can the Langguan take it? If Lang Guan doesn’t take it, how can Shangshu take it? If you don't get the chancellery, how can you be promoted to county magistrate, state magistrate, or Langguan?

Entering an official career is like joining a big family. Parents have the final say on who behaves and who doesn't. If you want to eat more sweets, you have to learn to make your parents happy, and don't treat yourself like a dog that you don't want to see. This is the general trend of officialdom. Anyone who doesn't abide by it or can't learn it will be in bad luck, big bad luck!

So now comes the problem. If you attack this big family yourself, you can't leave Zhang Jian alone. What would Wang Zheng think once the knife was placed on his uncle's neck? How to do it?

Killing relatives for righteousness? Loyal to the emperor and patriotic? Or a counterattack? Hong Tao thinks it's possible. What if Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Zhao Shizhen, Li Zhi, Yuan Keli, and Yuan Yingtai also had relatives and old friends who were involved? What should they do?

As the ancients said, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. Although both of Hong Tao's parents have died in this life, he still has his grandfather and uncle. If they were also involved, would they all be beheaded and their homes confiscated? To be honest, I can't bear to be so cruel.

So if it's not the right time to lift the table, then you have to endure it. Not only can't you do it, but you can't even show an expression of boredom. When you accumulate enough strength to attack this system, other troubles will be solved.      In the final analysis, the fault does not lie with the person, but with the environment in which people have become like this. No matter who is in that kind of environment, [-]% will change. It is too harsh and unrealistic to always ask others to be one percent saints.

"I'm just using an analogy to remind you that the two of you must keep secrets in your mind at all times in the future. You can't trust anyone except your parents, wives and children. You must know that the artifacts I created can not only make life better. Simple is more comfortable, and everything is a killer.

If it falls into the hands of foreigners because of your carelessness, Ming Dynasty may die several times or more than ten times more soldiers in the future, including your family members, colleagues and friends. These words are not just for you two. All the people in charge of the ironworks, gunpowder factories, and shipyards must abide by them, including those around me.

Don't worry about raw materials. Maybe before the expansion of the new factory is completed, refined steel that is several times larger than before will be continuously delivered. As for the origin, I won’t mention it for now and let you two think about it. Whoever can answer the question correctly before the fish bites the hook, I will give him a blueprint of the new machine and name it after him! "

It was precisely out of this consideration that Hong Tao felt that he should give Wang Zheng and Xu Guangqi a warning. If their family members, relatives and friends are participating in the Shanxi merchant smuggling group's business, it is best to quit when the situation is good, so as not to be unable to protect themselves in the future.

In addition, there is another important matter that needs to be arranged in advance, which is the supply of raw materials and the research and development of new equipment after the expansion of the machinery factory. Compared with smuggling at the border, this is the key to development.

"...Could it be Luanzhou?" Xu Guangqi and Wang Zheng probably didn't understand the full meaning. You looked at me and I looked at you, inspiring each other with their eyes. However, when faced with the emperor's new problem, Wang Zheng responded very quickly and immediately proposed a very specific position.

"Hahaha... Liangfu, I taught my apprentice to starve to death, master. The ancients have never deceived me! I can only keep my word and hand over the drawings to Zi Xian." Hearing this, the emperor laughed heartily and taunted at the same time. Xu Guangqi asked Wang Chengen to take out a roll of drawings from the exquisite lacquer box fishing box.

"Alas, I am willing to admit defeat. I remember that I haven't seen Zhenzhi for more than a year. I can't bear to think that he went to Luanzhou to work. I am gratified for fulfilling my mission. Master, why don't you quickly accept the order and express your gratitude? !”

In fact, when Wang Zheng mentioned Luanzhou, Xu Guangqi also thought of a person, Li Zhizao. I haven’t seen this old friend in almost two years, and no one knows where he has gone. It turned out that it was the emperor's big move again, and he actually built a larger iron smelting plant in Luanzhou quietly.

As for why Wang Zheng thought of Luanzhou, on the one hand, young people have good memories, and on the other hand, they have been exposed to related things. Around the end of last year, a batch of equipment for the iron smelting plant was about to be shipped, but what arrived was Yuan Keli's naval transport ship. It was Wang Zheng who received him at that time, so he must have heard something.

(End of this chapter)