Ji Tang

Chapter 1080 What happened in Dengzhou
Dengzhou, a representative city in the economy of the Tang Dynasty, was already a big city at this time.Eight miles from east to west, twelve miles from north to south, this huge city has a circumference of 40 miles. Although it is not as good as Chang'an and Luoyang, it is second to none in the Tang Dynasty.

Xuanzhou and Mingzhou in the south can be compared with each other. The city with a permanent population of more than 20 has a floating population of about [-].

If the imperial court had not issued a decree on population relocation later, the permanent population would not have been able to double.You know, it is next to Dengzhou Port, the largest port in the north, where countless ships and merchants stop here every day.Among all the powerful merchants and firms in Datang, which one does not have a large amount of industry here?
Houses, shops, warehouses, workshops, don’t those require a large number of people?

The commercialization of cities attracted a large number of landless people and people outside the city. When they discovered that working was more profitable than farming, they came to work in the city without hesitation.

There are not only dock workers who are in urgent need of strong labor, but also various workshops that require a lot of manpower.Brick kilns, mines, fishing, and salt fields are flooded with labor.

Even women have a big gap, such as silk reeling workshops, weaving, sericulture, embroidery, tea picking, etc., all of which require young women to work.

So, when Cheng Yaojin saw the crowds on the street and the people walking in a hurry, he wondered: "Why are they so anxious? It's like..."

Yao Chang smiled when he heard this: "They are very busy. Now is the time to start work. They have to report at the specified time. If they are late, their wages will be deducted. Do you think they can not be in a hurry?"

Although Cheng Yaojin didn't know much about this, he could still imagine the frown on someone's face when they were late and were fined!
"Are there many people like this?" He pointed at the people walking in all directions.

"Many, there are less than [-]% of the indigenous people in this city. The rest of the population either owns real estate in the city after working to make money, and brings their children and families to live in the city. Or they are various traders, merchants, and a small number of students.”

"So, this is a very commercial city, and most of the land and policies in the city are centered around commerce."

Cheng Yaojin's eyes were full of doubts. He wanted to ask something but didn't know where to start.He is not good at civil affairs, let alone business matters.

The family's property, fields, and shops are all handled by his wife.

However, after seeing this, he felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it before somewhere!
Ji Song!

He suddenly realized that he had watched Ji Song grow up and had seen everything about him.And how did Ji make his fortune?

Business.

How similar is everything here to the workshops that had not yet been demolished?The same model, the same vitality, the same money-making and prosperity!
"Are there any Ji clan members here?"

Cheng Yaojin said thoughtfully.

Yao Chang was a little hesitant when he heard this, but then he thought of the relationship between this man and Mr. Xi, and said, "Yes!"

"How many?"

"Fifteen families!"

Cheng Yaojin suddenly realized it and understood in his heart.

It seemed that the Ji family dispersed the clan members, but unexpectedly they had already taken root in other lands of the Tang Dynasty.There must be many Ji clan members in Xuanzhou, Mingzhou and other places!
"What industry are they engaged in? Is it business?"

But Yao Chang's words subverted his cognition again!

I saw Yao Chang shaking his head, and under Cheng Yaojin's surprised expression, he smiled and said: "I won't hide it from the general. Only five of Ji's people are engaged in business, and it is not a huge profit industry. It can only be said that it is It’s just normal business activities!”

"What about the others?"

Now he was even more curious. There were only five!
"The remaining six families are all teaching, some are in government-run academies, and some are running their own private schools. As for the last four, one is a famous doctor in the city, one is a master builder, and the other is in Dengzhou A county magistrate below and another family bought fields outside the city and concentrated on running the manor."

Cheng Yaojin couldn't recover for a long time after hearing this. Among the fifteen, five were doing business, six were teaching, one was an official, one was a doctor, one was a great craftsman, and one was farming.

There is not a single family here that is incompetent, they all have their own careers.

Others may just see that Ji's life is good after the separation of the family, but who is he?But I can see some of the details.

No matter where he goes, he will be respected by people who preach and practice his profession, and he knows that the Ji clan members are both civilized and martial arts practitioners. They may focus on one thing, but they will never abandon the other. This is the foundation of the Ji clan.

Doing business can make them not short of money, and there must be some private quarrels between them, which he doesn't care about.Doctor, no matter it is troubled times or prosperous times, this kind of people are the easiest group of people to survive.

Because whether they are extremely evil people or enemies, they all need doctors, which greatly protects their personal safety.

The same is true for craftsmen. A master builder is indispensable no matter where he is.

Not to mention being an official. In the Tang Dynasty, there was no one who was an official. You wouldn't know what happened if you were eaten.

The position of county magistrate is neither big nor small, and it is certain that there will definitely be people entering the officialdom in the future.

They are both members of the Ji clan, even if they want Ji to be fair and selfless, the surname Ji will save them a lot of trouble, and they will be able to rise to prominence in no time!

Not to mention farming, this is Ji's old profession, how can we forget it?

The seemingly haphazard arrangement covered the four classes of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, supporting and complementing each other.Exquisite and natural, no one can find fault in it.

He could see the whole picture at a glance. From the distribution of the Ji people in Dengzhou City, he could already imagine the situation of the people in other places!
"What about other places? Is it the same?" Cheng Yaojin said still somewhat unwillingly.

Dividing other people's families means decline. The younger generation and peers are fighting for power and profit, wishing they could get more.As long as the family is separated, it will not take many years for the child to be separated.

This is also the reason why the seven kings provoked by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rebelled against him!
If he doesn't stop it, the family will fall out before the emperor takes care of him.

But how did Ji get out of this vicious circle?Everyone has selfish motives, and he didn't believe that all Ji clan members could split up their families willingly.

But after waiting for a long time, there was no answer from Yao Chang. He only lowered his head and said nothing, as if he didn't hear him!
"Okay, I'm talking too much!"

Cheng Yaojin smiled bitterly, that's right. How could he tell outsiders about this secret matter about his family?Even if the Cheng family and the Ji family are close friends, it won't work.

In front of the vital interests of a clan, everything else is vain.I'm afraid even the emperor doesn't know the distribution of all the Ji family members, right?You must know that those people at the beginning were distributed all over the Tang Dynasty, and there were many even outside the Great Wall, in the Western Regions, Lingnan, and overseas. I heard that people even went to Dashi.

I don’t know what their purpose is in going to Dashi?
In the following time, Yao Chang took Cheng Yaojin to many places. In fact, Yao Chang preferred to call the workshop area in the city an industrial area, because there are a large number of industries here, including all kinds of luxury goods. From firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, you can find everything here.

Most of this is a semi-finished product processing area. After semi-finished products from all over the Tang Dynasty arrive here, they will enter the workshop and be made into exquisite, high-quality and low-priced finished products by the workers here. Some of them will be sold again in various parts of the Tang Dynasty, but more Most of them have gone overseas to make huge profits.

There are two such workshops. Due to the concentration of industries, there are many skilled workers here, some of whom have gone bankrupt due to poor management of the workshops, or who have no jobs due to various reasons.Here, you can find all kinds of workers if you are looking for them.

This is also the reason why those businessmen are willing to build their workshops here!
"It's a worthwhile trip!"

When he returned to his place of residence, Cheng Yaojin said with emotion.

Who would have thought that Dengzhou, which was originally poor, would change so much in just over ten years?In the turbulent times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, this was the place where the war first started, and the people's livelihood could be imagined.

But such a place has become the largest city in the Tang Dynasty, a place of wealth!
What he saw and heard today overturned many of his perceptions. Businessmen who had never even looked at him in the past were actually radiating such vitality here.

You can think of it, Xuanzhou and Mingzhou, which are as famous as Dengzhou, must be the same!
He asked Yao Chang why Chang'an couldn't become such a city?In his opinion, as the most densely populated city in the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an was much better than Dengzhou in terms of geographical location and other aspects. If Dengzhou could become like this, why couldn't Chang'an?
Although the imperial court had passed the proposal to build four small cities outside Chang'an, it had been delayed due to various reasons and progress was slow. He also knew the reasons, not to mention that his Cheng family also played a certain role in it.

But what Yao Chang said today made him suddenly enlightened.

"Chang'an is too big and complicated. There are too many noble people, so we can't go there. We can't go there!"

After saying that, he changed the subject and stopped talking. It was only now that he understood what Yao Chang meant!
So it turns out that it’s because there are too many people like me that Chang’an won’t become such a city?
Then he gave a wry smile, and it turned out that from whence on, they, the rebels back then, turned out to be the most hated people back then.

Yes, there are too many noble people in Chang'an.

Royal relatives, nobles, aristocratic families, officials, etc., as businessmen who are despised and hated, are lucky not to be eaten into pieces in a place like this.

No wonder His Majesty decided to build four small cities around Chang'an, against all opinions, with different functions.Workshops, commerce, rural towns, and bookstores all showed that Chang'an was not suitable for their growth.

However, the nobles represented by them strongly rejected it, and he broke out in a cold sweat thinking of this.Thinking of His Majesty's increasingly calm expression, as if he didn't care about their resistance.

As a veteran minister, how could he not understand that this was a sign before the emperor broke out.I'm afraid if it weren't for this Nanhai cannibal, we should have dealt with them long ago.

Thinking of this, he couldn't sit still any longer.

I quickly found pen and paper and wrote a letter to my family.

He didn't say much, he just told his wife to immediately transfer Chang'an's property to the four cities outside the city at all costs. Even if it was just a prototype, she must not stay in Chang'an any longer.

If someone asks, don't say too much, just say it's what he meant!
He understood that once this matter was known to other nobles, he would be a traitor who betrayed the camp.But he didn't care. Faced with the rise and fall of his family and his reputation, he chose the former.

In addition, he wrote to Yuchi Gong and several old friends. As for the Qin family and the Li family, he thought about it but still did not write.After the old guys died, the relationships between the families inevitably took different paths.

No matter how much I say, others may not believe it, so it is better not to say anything.As long as these old guys are safe, nothing big will happen to them.

"Ziyi, you still think far ahead!"

Perhaps Ji Song had already seen something when the Ji family split up and transferred the Western Region industry to the royal family.It's just that I can't say it because of a certain willingness.

He didn't know whether he should be grateful for the big man-eater who jumped out to pick on the Tang Dynasty this time?Because if it weren't for them, I'm afraid the emperor would have taken action long ago.But with the big eater jumping out, whether it was to calm people's hearts or for any other reason, the emperor could not take action at this time.

He suddenly understood why the emperor sent him to Dengzhou. This might be their last chance!
Cheng Yaojin stayed up all night, thinking that if he hadn't come to Dengzhou this time, he would have faced suppression from the emperor.

Thinking about Yao Chang's seemingly absent guidance today, he knew that there must be Ji Song's instructions.

"Your Majesty, you have really taken great pains!"

"General, general!"

While in a daze, he suddenly heard a knock on the door outside. Cheng Yaojin quickly started to work and said, "What's the matter?"

"General, Supervisor Liu sent someone to say that the Nanhai Navy's fleet is about to dock!"

Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered the purpose of his visit, and said quickly: "I'll ask someone to prepare, I'll be there soon."

Dengzhou port.

This was the largest and most prosperous port in the north of the Tang Dynasty. When Gu Yanzhi saw Dengzhou Port, which was not inferior to Mingzhou, he was a little surprised and said: "Is this Dengzhou Port?"

"Otherwise? How is it compared to your Mingzhou Port?"

Liu Zhanmu, who came to greet him, said with caution.

Although Mingzhou Port was built first, he is confident that the Dengzhou Port he built does not belong to Mingzhou. It is like being number one and number two in the same class, neither one obeys the other.

Among the annual taxes given to the Tang Dynasty in these years, Chang'an, Dengzhou, Mingzhou, Xuanzhou, Luoyang, and Chengdu were the six major tax-paying areas of the Tang Dynasty.

But as time goes by, the advantages of Dengzhou and Mingzhou become more and more obvious. In recent years, they have even surpassed Chang'an and almost surpassed Chang'an to become the number one in the Tang Dynasty.

But what makes people unhappy is that in the past few years, there is not much difference between Dengzhou and Mingzhou. Either I will surpass you this year, or I will surpass you next year. Anyway, it is you fighting for it, and no one will admit defeat.

But this point in the court made everyone laugh. Yes, it should be like this. The more you fight and hate them, the happier they will be. After all, the court will benefit in the end, right?

(End of this chapter)