I seek economic hegemony in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 389: The Wealth of Nations, which specifically deceives Cao Wei

Sima Yi did not find out about Wang Ling from Jianye, but Yangzhou's big problem was finally solved.

Entering July, Sima Yi announced Wang Ling's charges of rebellion and began to arrest Wang Ling's cronies in various states, counties and counties.

At the same time, King Cao Biao of Chu committed suicide out of fear.

Sima Yi stepped up his efforts to crack down on his political opponents, and the opposition in Cao Wei's counties gradually weakened.

Next, Sima Yi made new appointments and dismissals of Yangzhou personnel.

Guanqiu Jian was transferred to Yangzhou and promoted to the governor of Yangzhou, in charge of the military affairs of Yangzhou.

The reason for transferring Guanqiu Jian to the past was that Guan Qiujian was very experienced in fighting and had no foundation of his own in Yangzhou.

It can not only prevent Sun Quan from temporarily rebelling, but also isolate Guanqiu Jian.

It's definitely safer than putting it in Jizhou.

Of course, the officials in Yangzhou were basically changed all over, and almost all of them were Sima Yi's people.

Guanqiu Jian knew exactly what color underwear he wore on that day.

Later, Wen Qin was appointed as the governor of Yangzhou, which administratively separated Guan Qiu Jian's power and acted as a check and balance to Guan Qiu Jian.

With the two worries in Youzhou and Yangzhou solved, it stands to reason that Sima Yi should be able to have a good night's sleep.

But since entering July, Sima Yi began to suffer from insomnia.

Because serious inflation occurred in Luoyang.

How serious is it?

The price of food soared to 500 yuan per catty.

At first, Sima Yi had no idea about this. After all, Wen is a new unit of monetary measurement.

But the people Sima Yi sent to Guanzhong to investigate came back. The price of food in Guanzhong turned out to be thirty cents per catty!
The people sent to Xiangyang to investigate have also returned. The price of food in Xiangyang is twenty cents per catty!
There is no harm without comparison!
Although this price of grain is still far behind the ten cents per pound that Li Heng and Zhuge Liang had previously agreed upon, ordinary people can already afford it.

You know, a workshop worker's monthly salary is at least 300 Wen, plus the family's farmland is sufficient.

When Sima Yi had insomnia, he took out Li Heng's "The Wealth of Nations" and read it repeatedly.

He said to Master Sima in a hoarse voice: "It says that when the denomination of currency in the market is far more than the value of goods, the currency will depreciate massively. This is how Dong Zhuo harmed the two capitals."

Master Sima also looked ugly.

"Is that so?" Sima Yi asked.

"According to the current situation, this is indeed the case. Yesterday, the imperial censor reported that some officials sent people out to use banknotes to forcefully buy grain in Yanshi County."

“Abolish paper money, do it now!”

Sima Yi didn't hesitate at all. He smashed Li Heng's "The Wealth of Nations" on the table: "Li Jian's book is a conspiracy."

"Why do you say that?"

"He wrote all the methods on it, but what he didn't write down is the key point!" Sima Yi stood up and paced back and forth. He had never been so anxious.

On the battlefield, Sima Yi was simply invincible as long as he didn't meet Zhuge Liang. Sima Yi in the political arena, once Cao Rui leaves, almost no one can suppress him.

But at this moment, Sima Yi felt a sense of fear in his heart.

This is the fear of Li Heng.

He felt that this opponent was as scary as Zhuge Kongming.

Master Sima asked: "What didn't he write?"

Sima Yi suddenly stopped, looked at his son, his face was haggard, and said in a low voice: "He didn't write about human nature!"

After a pause, Sima Yi continued: "What is written in The Wealth of Nations are all good ways to govern the world. For example, division of labor and cooperation can create greater value and benefit everyone in an industrial chain. Workers will have money. How wonderful it sounds to be able to buy more goods, make money for businessmen, and pay more taxes!”

"But what is human nature? Human nature is greedy!"

"When we set up a workshop to make refined salt, when we learned from the weaving department established by Li Jian, and when we also wanted to use these to make money, we found that there were officials who managed the workers, officials who controlled the account books, and officials who controlled the greedy people. Rich people, they all get the most from this industrial chain, and in the end there is no profit left for the workers!”

There was dead silence in the room, and Master Sima remained silent for a long time.

"Also, everyone in the court wants to print more money, because the minister is not worried about being a victim in this drumming and spreading of flowers."

Master Sima's face was as pale as paper.

"The scary thing is that at this time, people will abandon banknotes and exchange them for copper coins at the money bank. Once the money bank does not have enough copper coins and the people cannot exchange them for copper coins, they will lose trust in the money bank and no longer use banknotes. All parties will sell banknotes. , the people in power still have a large amount of paper money in their hands. The people in power will use force to force the people to accept paper money, such as forcibly using paper money to buy food, cloth, cattle, etc. from the people. After the people in power quickly clear out the paper money in their hands, they will have a lot of assets. , and the assets in the hands of the people are gone, leaving only piles of waste paper.”

Sima Yi stared at Master Sima and asked, "Do you know why?"

Master Sima was silent for a moment and then said calmly: "Because they have power in their hands. As long as they have power, they can avoid all the losses caused by this drumming and passing flowers at any time."

"Yes, because of power, because people with power can avoid risks at any time. Avoiding risks is human nature!"

"How did Li Jian avoid it?" Master Sima was puzzled. His eyes were full of doubts. He was unwilling to give in. He felt that he could get rich in this way.

Sima Yi took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes and said, "Now I know why he wants to weaken the big families in Yizhou and Jingzhou."

Master Sima also seemed to realize: "Are you preparing for the current division of labor and collaboration to govern the country?"

"The Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety. In fact, the subordinates respected the superior and the superior controlled the subordinates. The hierarchy of the royal family, aristocratic families, powerful people, poor families, common people, and common people was clearly defined. Under loyalty, filial piety, and etiquette, everyone was arranged there. It cannot be overstepped easily.”

"But the division of labor and collaboration are completely different. When father and son go to the same workshop, their relationship will no longer be that of father to son, but will be the same as that of other workers."

The aristocratic family controls local resources, including land, people, public opinion, minerals, etc.

After the abolition of the aristocratic families, there was a short-term vacancy in society. At this time, the fields were divided and those who entered the factories entered the factories.

"If paper money is not abolished, families in various states, counties, and counties will use paper money to rob the people. In the end, a large number of households will be reorganized and the people will lose everything, causing turmoil."

The father and son were silent for a long time. Sima Yi raised his tired eyes and said, "Li Jian knew that we would definitely learn from The Wealth of Nations after reading it. He deliberately did not write about the harm of aristocratic families to the division of labor and cooperation."

"Write a memorial immediately and ask His Majesty to order the abolition of banknotes."

Sima Yi finally understood that this seemingly beautiful book and those seemingly valuable banknotes were actually beautiful traps.

(End of this chapter)