At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 431: Equal Wealth and the New Banner of Confucianism

On October 17th of the 14th year of the Han calendar, in Chang'an City, Mo Nan Shangshe Hall.

As the wealth of people like Kuai Che increased, the impact of Han Dynasty policies on them also increased. For example, last year's asset tax increased their tax bills by millions to tens of millions.

Therefore, at the annual Sages' Meeting, even if they did not get a place as a sage, they would come to Chang'an City to obtain first-hand information issued by the Sages' Meeting.

These people were originally wealthy, and in order to make it easier for them to live in Chang'an City, they simply paid a sum of money to build the Mo Nan Commercial Society Hall in Yongxinli, not far from Jianzhang Palace.

Kuai Che and his men were quite happy to come to Chang'an City this year. Compared with last year, the economy of the Han Dynasty had completely gotten rid of the impact of the economic crisis. In addition, the immigration and reclamation policy had reached its peak, and hundreds of thousands of households had been added to the Han Dynasty's sphere of influence, making their business even better.

So the members of Mo Nan Trading Company all asked with a smile how much money they had earned this year.

When Kuai Che came in, everyone greeted him enthusiastically.

"If it weren't for the president's idea, we don't know how much less we would have earned this year!" Wang Ze said with a smile.

This year, many of the big shopkeepers of Mo Nan Trading Company have profits exceeding 300 million yuan, but they have to pay an asset tax of up to million yuan.

But Kuai Che brought them together and jointly invested to build their own steam workshop. They then purchased sites, established workshops, trained employees, purchased various lathes and machinery, and bought out patents. Such a workshop cost them more than 3000 million yuan. Coupled with the cost of purchasing steam textile machines, their profits this year suddenly became thinner, and they saved a lot of asset tax expenses.

Kuai Che smiled and said, "The emperor is far-sighted, while we are a little short-sighted. The business is so good this year, and reclamation and immigration are definitely an important reason. This year, the purchase of cloth in Liaodong alone has increased by millions of pieces, and most of this business was swallowed up by us. This is the credit of reclamation."

"We have to give the court some face this year. We will pay a few million yuan in property tax. We won't embarrass the court. It will be 10% to 20% more than last year. I can always make it back anyway."

Originally, according to Kuai Che and others, paying a few hundred thousand yuan in asset tax would be considered a way of giving face to the court.

But Kuai Che and his men never expected that the emperor would use him as a target of punishment. The asset tax of 3.6 million shocked the world. This was equivalent to % of the annual tax revenue of the Han Dynasty, and it was said that this number would be about the same this year.

To be honest, Kuai Che seldom admired people, but he admired the Han Emperor very much. There were many monarchs who were cruel to the people during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. There were also fewer monarchs who were cruel to aristocrats and officials, but they did exist. The First Emperor was such a person. But he was so cruel to himself. He had only seen the Han Emperor in most of his life.

You must know that the Han Emperor even handed over his position as the Shaofu. Now all the money the Han Emperor earns is earned by him giving up his status as the Son of Heaven and taking the initiative to become a merchant.

It can even be said that he used his status as the emperor to make money. A carriage was worth 50 coins. Without the title of the emperor, no sucker would be willing to buy it.

Later, the Han emperor got glass, mirrors, high-end rouge and powder, perfume, and in recent years, sachets have become popular. Each one of them is a luxury item worth more than gold. His wife spent 8 yuan to buy a so-called dragon skin suitcase. Even Kuai Che was frightened by the price. It was all based on the title of the emperor.

The Han Emperor was a business genius. In just ten years, he built an inner court. If it weren't for the asset tax, no one would know that the emperor's inner court earned more than 10 billion a year. It can be seen that the Han Emperor was not a person who regarded money as dirt.

But such a person who was willing to make money by using the emperor's reputation actually stabbed himself in the back. Kuai Che and his men understood that if they really didn't bleed at all, they would severely offend the emperor. They were afraid that the whole world would criticize them. Even if the emperor exiled them to the frontier, few people would sympathize with them.

So they all raised the amount of property tax to be paid, and Kuai Che's family paid 2 million yuan, which made him sad for several days. Fortunately, the effect of reclamation was also revealed later, which made Kuai Che and his people feel better.

Of course, there are things that make them happy, and there are things that make them angry. Kuai Che threw out the "Mozi Monthly Report" and said, "But our enemy Qin Bo doesn't want us to have an easy life. He is shouting everywhere that we make too much money, and the court should find a way to distribute wealth and let ordinary people enjoy the dividends of the prosperous development. It is obvious that I have to support millions of craftsmen in the world, but Qin Bo slanders that the craftsmen in the world support us. This is simply unreasonable."

It’s no wonder that Kuai Che was so angry. He didn’t offend the Mohists, but the Mohists attacked their lifeblood with every strike, trying to torture them to death.

Hearing the name Qin Bo, the atmosphere at the scene quickly cooled down. These people gnashed their teeth at Qin Bo, and even wanted to kill him. It was a pity that they could only think about it. If they really competed in force, with the hundreds of thousands of craftsmen controlled by the Mohist School, they might not be enough for Qin Bo to kill.

You should know that among the various schools of thought, the Mohist school has always been known for its military strength. Back then, Mozi led hundreds of Mohist disciples to roam the Central Plains, and even a big country like the Chu State did not dare to provoke them.

Now the number of Mohist disciples alone has exceeded a thousand, and among all the schools of thought, few dare to say that they can beat the Mohist in terms of force. Not to mention these workshop owners who cherish their lives.
These people looked through the contents of the "Mozi Monthly Report" and soon found the article written by Qin Bo, in which he published the contents of land tax and taxes during the three years of the founding of the Han Dynasty, listing them year by year until the new data released this year.

He said that the court's land tax had tripled in these 11 years, and taxes had nearly tripled. From this set of data, it can be seen that the wealth of the Han Dynasty was increasing rapidly, increasing by 10 to 2 times in 3 years.

Then he listed the growth of craftsmen's salaries and farmers' income in several major cities of the Han Dynasty in the past ten years. The salary of craftsmen in the world has increased by less than 10%. Because of the drop in food prices, farmers' income has actually been declining in the past ten years if calculated in terms of money.

Then Qin Bo listed the incomes of other wealthy merchants in the Han Dynasty. The net worth of these people generally increased five or six times. Among them, Qin Bo focused on Kuai Che as an example. His wealth increased nearly 10 times in the past 20 years, and his assets amounted to billions.

He gave him the title of the richest businessman in the world in a mocking tone, and said that the craftsmen in the world increased his wealth 20 times, but he was unwilling to increase the salary of the craftsmen by 200 coins. The Han Dynasty wanted to rely on these workshop owners to realize the world of great harmony, which was simply wishful thinking.

The Mohist school’s proposals would be announced in the Mozi Monthly Report before the Sages’ Conference in order to organize more people to support them, so Kuai Che and others could know Qin Bo’s proposal in advance.

Linghu Li was dumbfounded and said, "Is Mojia crazy? He has opened many workshops in the past two years. Does he want to perish with us?"

Two years ago, at the Sages Conference, Kuai Che mocked Qin Bo, asking why he didn't open his own workshop to support the craftsmen. Qin Bo really listened to him and opened a machinery factory that year to produce lathes for the Han workshop. Even Kuai Che ordered a large number of lathes from Qin Bo's machinery workshop. Although he was hostile to Qin Bo, he believed in the craftsmanship of the Mohist school.

Although the machinery factory had high profits, it had high technical requirements and could only employ a very limited number of craftsmen. Later, the Mohist school opened another factory, built workshops, specialized in renovating the neighborhoods, and constructed various difficult buildings. The Weishui Bridge, for example, was built by the Mohist school. It was cast entirely with cement and steel bars, and the height of the bridge exceeded 7 meters. A rail carriage weighing 2000 kilograms can pass on the bridge, and ships weighing kilograms can pass under the bridge. This has become one of the wonders of Guanzhong.

Now the Mo family has ten workshops of various sizes, with more than 10,000 craftsmen and reportedly tens of millions of yuan in revenue. In Linghu Li's opinion, Qin Bo is no different from them now. What is this saying about being equally rich? Isn't this a shared fate?
Kuai Che shook his head in confusion and said, "They are different from us. When Qin Bo founded these workshops, he distributed the shares to all the craftsmen. According to the equity distribution of manager, master craftsman, and craftsman three, three, and four, Qin Bo and other Mohists do not have too many shares, and there are not even many Mohists in these workshops. According to the Mohists, this is called a collective workshop, and the profits earned by the workshop belong to all the craftsmen."

"And Qin Bo is also a ruthless person. In order to supervise the Mohists, he actually applied the property disclosure system of the past two years to the Mohists, allowing the entire world to supervise the Mohists and prevent them from becoming corrupt. Although he is an enemy, I admire Qin Bo. He is a wise man who combines knowledge and action."

But Kuai Che said with disdain: "But if they take the wrong route, the harder they work now, the more miserable their end will be. The collective workshop sounds good, but who is the so-called collective? If everyone owns it, then no one owns it. Those capable master craftsmen and managers with management skills, are they willing to share wealth with ordinary craftsmen?
This is simply impossible. Xu You did not want to let the world take advantage of him. Even if Emperor Yao wanted to give up the position of the common lord of the world to him, he was unwilling to accept it. Isn't it because of this that the public world perished. Qin Bo is wiser than Yao, Shun and Yu. He actually wants to go against the trend of something that the five ancient emperors could not stop. "

"The people of the Mohist School are dancing happily now, but I am sure that as long as the economic crisis comes, few of these so-called collective workshops will survive."

Wang Ze said angrily: "But Qin Bo still has to jump for several years. If he wants to be a saint, then he can do it. Why does he force us to do it? He dares to say that wealth should be shared equally. Why doesn't he share wealth with the emperor?"

If Qin Bo had only mocked them and shouted slogans, they would not have been so angry. The key point was that Qin Bo called in the Mozi Monthly Report that the court could not rely on workshop owners to increase the income of craftsmen, but the court should pressure workshop owners to increase the salaries and benefits of craftsmen.

He also formulated a plan to double the income of craftsmen, and listed several major measures to achieve the plan. First, the court should help small and medium-sized workshops to improve productivity. According to Qin Bo, small and medium-sized workshops accommodate a large number of craftsmen and are the main channel for the employment of the emperor's craftsmen. If the middle and lower workshops are strong, they will be able to absorb more craftsmen, and the people of the world can increase their income.

The second is to increase investment in the construction of the Han Dynasty's infrastructure and speed up the construction of infrastructure such as highways, tracks, ports, warehouses, and post stations. On the one hand, it can provide more convenient transportation conditions for workshop operations and save logistics costs. On the other hand, it can allow the world's wealth to flow into the hands of the grassroots people and increase their income.

The third is to distribute wealth equally and reduce the income gap among various craftsmen. The Han Dynasty must formulate a strict income growth plan based on the current income of the people of the world, formulate a minimum salary standard in accordance with the development situation of various regions, and require all workshops in the world to implement it, so as to prevent the workshop owners of the Han Dynasty from exploiting the craftsmen indefinitely.

Fourth, the imperial court should also increase support for ordinary craftsmen, build low-cost houses, and solve the housing problems of ordinary craftsmen. According to Qin Bo's statistics, in large counties such as Chang'an, Luoyang, Chenjun, Kuaijijun, and Nanyangjun, due to the influx of a large population, local housing is in short supply, and a large number of landlords have emerged. More than 30% of the craftsmen's annual income is taken away by the landlords, which seriously affects the increase in craftsmen's income. The imperial court should restrict such behavior so that the craftsmen's salaries will not be taken away by unscrupulous rentiers.

Finally, Qin Bo talked about the importance of increasing the income of craftsmen to the Han Dynasty. It was useless for the Han Dynasty's workshops to produce more products because no one would buy them because the people did not have enough consumption power.

The world cannot reduce the income of craftsmen on the one hand and want them to buy more goods from the workshops on the other hand. Such counterproductive behavior can only lead to an economic crisis in the Han Dynasty, each time more serious than the last.

On the contrary, only by increasing people's income can the economic crisis be truly alleviated, and at the same time it is also the implementation of the Han Dynasty's ideal of Datong. A Han Dynasty that only increases the income of workshop owners cannot achieve the ideal of Datong. Only when people all over the world can obtain the dividends of the Han Dynasty's prosperity can the Han Dynasty's ideal of Datong be further advanced.

Qin Bo's proposal for equal distribution of wealth caused a sensation throughout Guanzhong. Students from various universities in Chang'an City circulated Qin Bo's article. After these young people spread the article, it spread throughout Chang'an City and Guanzhong in a very short time.

Youth is the most ideal time in a person's life. Compared with returning to hometown to inherit a few ranches, thousands of cows or several workshops, achieving equal wealth can arouse more enthusiasm among young people.

The reason why Mohism became the most popular school of thought in the Han Dynasty was because they had the greatest appeal to young people. Countless young people were willing to join the Mohist school for this ideal.

In contrast, their parents are the old feudals who suppress their ideals. They have nothing but money and are left with only an empty shell.

This is also the most distressing thing for workshop owners all over the world. Although they are rich, their reputation is not very good in the public opinion environment of the Han Dynasty.

People who follow the Mohist school can talk about the ideal of equal distribution of land, equal distribution of wealth and universal harmony.

What do they use to attract people? Is it the naked money relationship? Even their descendants will despise them.

Although countless people in the Han Dynasty envy their wealth, it does not prevent countless people in the Han Dynasty from despising their greed. They have not yet found a good packaging to explain their behavior.

Kuai Che said with some worries: "Although what Qin Bo said is very unpleasant to hear, I have to admit that there is some truth in it. If the people's income does not increase, who can we sell the goods we produce to? You must know that the efficiency of steam engines is three times higher than that of water-powered textile machines. When the water-powered textile machines in the world are replaced by steam textile machines, the amount of cloth consumed by the people in the world does not increase by three times. I am afraid that it will not be long before the economic crisis will follow again."

Wang Ze said angrily, "This is all perverse logic. If we increase the wages of craftsmen, how can we make money? If we can't make money, how can this workshop continue to operate? We will be beaten out of business by other profitable workshops. Market competition is the law of the jungle. It's not as easy as Qin Bo said. It's easy to increase the wages of craftsmen, but if the workshops go bankrupt, the craftsmen will lose their jobs."

Linghu Li carefully read the points Qin Bo mentioned and said, "Except for the third point about making everyone rich, I don't agree with it, but I think the other points are pretty good. For example, the court should help small and medium-sized workshops by helping them replace new machines, which will bring customers to our steam workshops. If this point is implemented, all the small and medium-sized workshops in the north will be our market."

"Increasing investment in the construction of the Han Dynasty's infrastructure will also benefit us. With more roads and tracks, we can transport our goods to farther places and occupy more markets. The reason why Sanchuan County can become the center of the world's textile industry is because it is located in the center of the world. There are many roads, tracks, canals, and the huge Yellow River. The cloth they produce can be circulated throughout the Central Plains."

"But in fact, we are close to the desert, so the cost of producing cloth is the lowest. It's just that our transportation cost is too high, which offsets the production cost. That's why we can't compete with the textile workshop owners in Sanchuan County. If the railway can connect the entire Hebei Central Plains, we may not be able to compete with the textile workshop owners in Sanchuan County."

"There is also a fourth provision to build cheap houses for craftsmen to live in, which is also beneficial to us. The craftsmen save three floors of rent, which can be used to buy the goods we produce. After all, it is the court that spends money and we benefit. Except for the third provision, which we oppose, the other provisions are all beneficial to us."

Linghu Li suddenly smiled and said, "Why don't we change our ways and propose these three points to the court, so that the Mohists will not have the upper hand. Don't let people in the world always blame us for being greedy and spending the court's money. It would be a great thing to make our name known."

Linghu Li has completed a level of evolution in his thinking, which is roughly equivalent to Keynes' level. He found that the more money the court spends, the better it is for them without weakening their interests. It would be best to borrow money to save the market like in the previous two years. The wealth they occupy cannot be distributed to the craftsmen, but it is also beneficial to distribute the taxes occupied by the court to the craftsmen. Eventually, this wealth will still flow into their hands.

After hearing this, Kuai Che laughed and said, "You should spend more time on academics, so that our reputation won't be so bad."

Then he sighed and said, "After all, no one speaks for us, and there are no academic masters in Yanmen. We should still find ways to support more scholars who speak for us."

Without a say in the Han Dynasty, it was difficult for them to protect their interests. They could crush ordinary craftsmen to death with just their fingers. But because of the Mohists, they did not dare to go too far, because the Mohists really dared to stand up for them. A group of scattered sand and an organized group of hundreds of thousands are two different concepts.

Kuai Che discovered that these wealthy people also needed to organize themselves so that they could fight against the Mohists. Who were the enemies of the Mohists back then?

Kuai Che thought for a long time and finally figured out the idea of ​​Yang Zhu's school of thought. Then he became excited. This was a school of thought that could attract young people.

The Han Dynasty court continued to increase its investment in education, and the cultural circle of the Han Dynasty was a place where a hundred schools of thought contended with each other. Among them, Mohism and Confucianism were the most attractive to young people of the Han Dynasty to join.

Confucianism held high the banner of educating the barbarians, saying that this was the manifest destiny of the Han Dynasty and that all people in the world should follow the examples of Taigong and Shaogong and transform the barbarians into Han people.

In recent years, Confucianists have stopped talking about the Three Dynasties. Because the bronze inscriptions of the Zhou Dynasty and the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty preserved by the Han Dynasty, the academic circles of the Han Dynasty were rigorous and clear about the situation of the Three Dynasties. The more they studied, the clearer they understood that the affairs of the ancient times should be studied in a rough way rather than in detail. If they studied too much, it would be detrimental to the development of the Han Dynasty.

The academic world has already understood what the Three Dynasties period was like. If you still talk about the Three Dynasties at this time, it would be like trying to cover up one's faults and attracting ridicule. At the same time, contemporary Han young people also believe that the prosperity of the Han Dynasty has surpassed the Three Dynasties, and the Three Dynasties are not worth their yearning.

The competitive pressure in the Han academic community was enormous. If the Confucian factions did not change, they would lose the support of young people and naturally decline or even disappear. The cruel reality forced the various Confucian factions to change their flags.

Other Confucian factions found the banner of education, so over the years they have continuously elevated Taigong's status, believing that Taigong's education of the Dongyi not only made Qi a territory of the Central Plains, but also eliminated a powerful enemy for the Xia people.

At that time, there were a large number of barbarians in the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the princes in the four borders also had the need to educate the barbarians. The propaganda of Confucianism attracted a large number of high-quality talents to their places, which was a great thing for the princes. Therefore, the princes of the Han Dynasty would send generous money to the various Confucian factions every year to support them in establishing schools and spreading their ideas.

With the support of these princes, Confucianism became more and more prosperous in the Han Dynasty.

The Mohist school has always been superior to the Confucian school. The bills proposed by the Mohist school every year would cause a huge sensation among the literati in the Han Dynasty. They are truly promoting the benefits of the world and eliminating the harm of the world.

Young people are always full of idealism, and Mohism satisfies their fantasies about ideals. The Mohists of the Han Dynasty have noble morals and work for the welfare of the people of the world. There are more worthy causes in the world to join, so every year a large number of scholars join the Mohist School and want to become a Mohist.

Qin Bo also accepted everyone and recruited a large number of interns every year, but there were only a few scholars who could truly accept the strict Mohist laws.

(End of this chapter)