unclear

Chapter 518 Shanxi Merchants
"Reporting to your majesty, I found some old accounts in the Fusi of Nanzhen, which belong to the Wanli Dynasty. They only record the simple process of the conflict between the four families of Fan, Wang and the salt farm due to the amount of salt imported. There is no subsequent settlement result. "

Wang Zhizhen's condition was not much better than that of Li Jinzhong. After reading the secret report sent by Chen Ju, he took his close associates to search for relevant files. He did not get many valuable clues for two days, but he had an extra pair of panda eyes.

"Long live my lord, I found a lot of old documents from the previous dynasty in the Supervisor of Ceremonies. After sorting them out, I can probably figure out the ins and outs of those Shanxi merchants."

Seeing that neither Dongchang nor Jinyiwei could satisfy the emperor, Wang An stood up and reported without waiting for questioning. Although his face was expressionless, every word and every syllable was filled with pride. When it comes to serving the emperor, these two newcomers are still a bit green.

"Long live the Lord, I have also found a lot of relevant content from the archives of the Royal Horse Prison. Not only the accounts of those Shanxi businessmen, but also more than a dozen Shanxi and Shaanxi businessmen are doing the same thing, but the amount is not enough. "

But before Wang An had enough time to show off, Zhang Ran spoke again. The content could not be said to be tit-for-tat, but it could also be considered a disgrace. It seems that these two old enemies have not completely turned their hostility into friendship, and they will still fight for it once they have the opportunity.

"The Royal Horse Supervisor? They also have business dealings with the palace!" The emperor did not object to the competition among his subordinates. As long as there was no mutual restraint, competition was not a bad thing. But I'm quite surprised by the source of the information. Could it be that these profiteers have penetrated into the 24th Prison?

"The Royal Horse Supervisor has forage farms and horse farms in various places. Although the grain and grass required are not much, it is quite inconvenient to transport them all from Beijing. Since the Xuande period, some grass farms and horse farms have begun to trade with local merchants, although not every Every account is clear and accurate, and it is not difficult to find out the origin of the trader. ”

But the answer was not as complicated as the emperor thought, and the merchants did not infiltrate the palace. The reason why the Royal Horse Prison is the most important department after the Li Jian among the twenty-four prisons is not only because it holds military power, but also because of its large size.

It not only operates many pastures and horse farms inside and outside the capital, but also sets up similar institutions across the country, especially in the important areas of Jiubian. The reason is simple. The closer to the border, the more pastures suitable for horse herding, and the easier it is to obtain excellent horse breeds.

However, the Royal Horse Supervisor is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, so naturally, food and supplies cannot be replenished. As a result, some ranches and horse farms tried to find ways to be self-sufficient, following the example of Kaizhong and making secret deals with local businessmen to exchange what they had.

"Is this the same for this dynasty?" If Zhang Ran hadn't mentioned it, Hong Tao wouldn't have remembered that there were so many branches under the Royal Horse Prison.

"...It's always been like this!" Seeing the emperor's unkind expression, Zhang Ran regretted his eagerness to show off.

There are no less than a thousand pastures and horse farms across the country under the control of the Royal Horse Supervisor, and the dispatched supervisors are not all his own people who know the ins and outs. If someone does something bad in the local area, or the accounts are unclear, why would the emperor ask? It's not like you're trapped in a cocoon.

"It's okay. What's the most important thing about working for me? Do you remember?" Sensing the change in Zhang Ran's expression, the emperor temporarily stopped paying attention to the Shanxi businessman and changed the topic.

"Speak everything you know and seek truth from facts!" Although this sentence was asked to Zhang Ran, everyone present immediately gave the same answer in unison.

"Yes, no one is perfect, and mistakes will always be made. Some are unintentional and some are negligence. As long as it does not cause serious trouble, I can let it go. But lying and concealing the report is an unforgivable crime for me. Zhang Ran dared to expose his family scandal this time. Worthy of praise! Okay, let’s get down to business. Wang An, please tell me the origins of these merchants from the beginning. Zhang Ran, if there is anything Wang An didn’t mention, please add it carefully. Don’t miss a word.”

Hong Tao's understanding of what loyalty is is different from that of most people. What he values ​​most is not being intrusive at critical moments, but telling the truth on a daily basis. In order to achieve this goal, whenever it comes to this issue, it will be emphasized again and again, trying to use this method to brainwash.

Does it work? In fact, there is no need to test, he has already tried it in previous lives, and it does have good results. As long as the leader can set relatively clear rules and lead by example, subordinates will be able to roughly judge the location of the red line and try not to touch it.

In fact, in the relationship between superiors and subordinates, the attitude of the leader is the key point. Most of the actions of subordinates are adjusted at any time according to the status of the superiors. They try their best to cater to whatever the higher-ups like to hear; they also try their best to avoid whatever the upper-levels annoy the most.

Therefore, it is not because of despicable moral character that officials like to deceive superiors and subordinates. On the contrary, it just reflects that their leaders cannot lead by example. In fact, the ancients came to the conclusion very early on that if something goes well at the top, it will be worse at the bottom.

But knowing it, knowing it, there is almost nothing that can be done. Because self-discipline is an extremely anti-human behavior, and human nature is the lowest instinct of human beings, and sometimes it is not even controlled by the brain. Whoever actually does it may not be considered human anymore.

Shanxi merchants are the abbreviation of Shanxi merchants. They rose in the Ming Dynasty, flourished in the Qing Dynasty, and declined in the Republic of China. The Ming Dynasty was an important stage for the rise of Shanxi merchants, so how did they carry out primitive accumulation?

There may be many ways, and the reasons are not one-sided, but if I have to sum it up in one sentence, it would be four words: policy support.

There are many literary works, movies and TV shows about Shanxi merchants in later generations, and there are many various interpretations and descriptions, all of which generally summarize their advantages. For example, what are the advanced joint-stock systems, the courage to innovate, the courage to pioneer, unity and diligence, long-term vision, etc.

But when Hong Tao looks at any problem, he will not look at its advantages first, but first look for its shortcomings. He believes that anyone and anything is acceptable and feasible as long as there are no fatal flaws. The advantages determine its upper limit, and the disadvantages mark its lower limit. If there is no lower limit for people and things, no matter how high the upper limit is, it is still a castle on the beach.

So what are the shortcomings or shortcomings of Shanxi merchants? Based on the archives of the Si Li Supervisor and the Royal Horse Supervisor, coupled with the development history of Shanxi merchants seen in later generations, Hong Tao finally summed up two words, policy.

The rise, development and decline of Shanxi merchants are inseparable from policies from beginning to end. No, it’s not that we can’t live without it, but we rely on it, completely relying on the policy. Once it loses government support and funding, it immediately falls apart.

This is very similar to the real estate companies of later generations. Whether state-owned or private, they basically rely on bank loans to survive. As long as the policy is no longer supportive and bank lending is tightened, they will be in trouble in a very short period of time. Most of them will collapse, and the remaining few will be able to survive.

(End of this chapter)