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

Chapter 487, Merchants Meeting

On February 8th of the 20th year of the Han calendar, the emperor agreed to pilot the state-run economy in Chen County and notified Zhou Bo through Guangbao. Zhou Bo and Li Si were overjoyed and began to contact all the merchants whose workshops had closed down due to the economic crisis.

Chen County, Shangheli.

Compared with the desolation of Chenjun, the economic crisis has also had an impact on Shangheli, but it is ultimately limited. The villagers here have found that it is difficult to find a job in the city this year, so they simply return to the countryside to rest. The fields in the countryside are the confidence of these villagers. However, because Shangheli is close to Chenjun, they are more aware of the news of Chenjun and have a deeper understanding of the harm caused by the economic crisis.

"People in the city are having a hard time now. It is said that dozens of people jump into the Honggou every day. Even if the Han officials in the city send a garrison of soldiers, they can't handle it. Those who jumped into the river and died look very miserable, with pale faces and bloated bellies, floating on the river." A villager who returned home from Chen County said with sympathy.

The village head Qu Lu said: "The world outside is not doing well these days, so everyone should stay at home and guard our one acre and three mu of land so that we won't starve to death."

But some villagers still hesitated, saying, "If we don't go out to work and earn money, we won't starve to death, but we won't have money to spend. In this world, everything costs money. How can we make money if we stay in the village?"

Qu Lu snorted coldly: "Now everyone in the city wants to jump into the river, and you are still thinking about making money. I'm afraid that after you get out, you will be the next ones to jump into the river."

The villager who just spoke also said: "What Mr. Qu said is right. Now there are tens of thousands of people in Chen County without jobs. These are people with skills. They can't find jobs, let alone us. What's more important is that tens of thousands of people have nothing to do. Who knows what these people will do? The city is too unsafe now."

Seeing that some villagers were still unconvinced, Qu Lu scolded them, "Look at Zhao Yun. He worked hard for more than ten years, but this time he lost everything. Even someone as talented as him lost and had to flee back to the village. Do you think you are better than him?"

The young and strong people in Shanghe were speechless. Although Shanghe was small, it also produced the elders of the Han Dynasty. Their former head of the pavilion had now become the Tingwei, one of the nine ministers of the Han Dynasty. This was also what Shanghe was most proud of.

But such high-ranking officials are too far away from the grassroots people. Zhao Yun, who was born and raised in Shanghe, is the role model for these young people. Relying on his daring and hard work and a little luck, Zhao Yun opened a factory in Chenjun and became a wealthy businessman with a fortune of millions. He became the envy of all the villagers.

It was a pity that their role model also fell under the economic crisis this time. It was said that the workshop owed a large part of the loan to the bank and could not repay the debt now. Even the workshop had to stop. Now he was hiding in the old house every day. This made every young man in Shanghe who took Zhaoyun as his role model feel sympathetic. It was not easy to survive in the outside world.

While the villagers in Shangheli were chatting, a horse-drawn carriage drove into Shangheli. The young man in the carriage saw the villagers and asked, "Is this Shangheli?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me, where is Zhao Yun's home?"

When they heard the young man asking about the location of Zhaoyun's home, everyone became alert.

The villagers looked at the carriage carefully and found the words "Industrial Bank" on it, which made them more alert, because they all knew that Zhao Yun was in debt and had to hide in Shanghe. Naturally, the villagers did not want to expose the location of Zhao Yun's home.

Qu Lu thought for a moment and said, "I don't know why the young man is looking for Zhao Yun. He is not here now. You can tell us what you want to bring and we can pass it on to him."

The clerk said, "On February 12, the court will call a meeting for merchants like them who have stopped production to find a solution to this problem. Remember to notify him to go. If he doesn't, his workshop will be confiscated by the court."

The waiter probably understood what the villagers were thinking, so he simply told them what happened and asked them to pass the message to Zhaoyun. Then he left Shangheli to inform the next family.

All the villagers looked at each other when they saw the guy leaving.

"Mr. Qu, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? Should we inform Brother Zhaoyun?"

Qu Lu said: "The court is still trustworthy. Let's tell Zhao Yun the news and let him make his own decision."

Then Qu Lu came to Zhao Yun's old house. Zhao Yun's old house was a three-in-one courtyard-style building, all made of brick, stone and cement. It had three floors and 16 rooms. It was considered the best building in the small Shanghe. It was built a few years ago when Zhao Yun was making the most money in business.

When Zhaoyun's wife Han saw Qu Lu, she immediately bowed and said, "Mr. Qu is here! I will go and get some tea."

Qu Lu stopped him and shouted, "Zhao Yun, just now a clerk from the Industrial Bank came over and said that on February 12, the court will call a meeting for merchants like you who have stopped production to solve the problem."

At this time, Zhao Yun came out of the house and said, "The clerk from the Industrial Bank is here. Where is he?"

Qu Lu said: "I am worried that he is here to collect the debt, so I will say that you are not here. After all, you still have the capital to turn things around with this house. If even this house is confiscated, you and your family will have no place to live."

Then Qu Luyou blamed him, "How many times have I told you not to take risks in business? In this world, those who can earn a fortune are not considered capable. Those who can keep a fortune are the real capable ones. Look at how you have worked hard for more than ten years, and now all your fortune has been lost. What can I say to you?"

Qu Lu has grown up with all the young people in Shanghe, and Zhaoyun is one of the most talented people in Shanghe. He doesn't want to see Zhaoyun become decadent like this.

Zhao Yun smiled bitterly and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Qu. I only mortgaged my own workshop. No matter how much the workshop is worth, if the money can't be repaid, it's the bank's own fault. At most, they can take my workshop, but they can't take this old house. In this shabby world, even the government will lose money if they do business."

Then he said, "Now that the government has said that they want to find a way to resolve the crisis, I will go to Chen County the day after tomorrow to see how bad the situation can get."

Notices like this were everywhere in the entire Chen County and the countryside. Countless merchants who had already broken their despair grasped this last straw and began to flock to Chen County.
On the eighth day of the second month of the twentieth year of the Han calendar, in Chen County, outside the prefectural governor’s mansion.

A large group of merchants entered the prefectural governor's mansion under the reception of the Han officials. Zhao Yun, who was outside the prefectural governor's mansion, saw so many companions and felt a hope in his heart. Maybe with the help of the court, his business could be revived. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Zhao Yun did not want to see his workshop closed down. This was an industry that he had spent more than ten years to build, and he did not want to be the one who lost everything.

At this moment, a group of craftsmen suddenly rushed out and surrounded the county governor's mansion, scaring Zhao Yun and other merchants.

"Jingyan, you bastard finally showed up." A group of craftsmen surrounded a merchant and shouted.

"How dare you run away? We have worked for you for three months, but you didn't pay us a penny and you disappeared without a trace. Do you know how we have been spending these three months? We have to support our parents and wives, and we also have to eat. You will come with us today to see the officials. If you don't let us eat, we will let you go to jail." The captured Jing Yan said in panic: "Xiong Ju, you think I want to do this? The cloth can't be sold, and all my property has been mortgaged to the bank. I asked you to use the cloth to pay off the debt, but you didn't want to. What can I do? Even if you arrest me, I can't make money. This time I came to the county governor's mansion to find a solution."

Xiong Ju said angrily: "You treacherous villain, do you think we will still believe you? I will arrest you today and report you to the authorities and accuse you of not paying your salary."

Jing Yan said helplessly: "Why are you so stubborn? I have no money. How can I pay the salary? Now the court has to solve this problem. Can't you wait a few more days until the court finds a solution and the factory can start operating again? I will naturally have money to give you."

There were more than one such scene. Everywhere there were merchants besieged by craftsmen. Their demands were very consistent, which was to ask these merchants to pay their salaries.

The most unlucky ones in this economic crisis are the low-level craftsmen. Most of the merchants can survive even if their boats are broken and they still have three-tenths of nails, but the low-level craftsmen rely on salaries to make a living. If they don’t get salaries, they won’t even have food to eat. These workshop owners generally began to default on salaries before the economic crisis broke out. The longest default was almost half a year. If they didn’t have savings, and this era didn’t pay attention to installment payments, the craftsmen had no foreign debts, and they still had some savings and deposits, and had a certain ability to resist risks. In addition, the Mohist power in Chen County was huge, and they helped the low-level craftsmen and maintained the situation in Chen County. (I have to complain here. The economic model of installment payments really drives ordinary people to a dead end. Merchants in this model make money, but ordinary people really have no ability to resist risks. This is a technique of digging up leeks.)
"What are you doing here? This is the county governor's office, not a place for you to cause trouble." The Han officials in the county governor's office saw that the craftsmen had surrounded the place and shouted loudly.

Xiong Ju said: "It is only natural to pay back debts. You happen to be an official, so we are here to file a complaint. These people owe us salaries and want to starve us to death. We want to see the governor, file a complaint, and make these profiteers pay us back."

"Yes, these profiteers owe us salaries. We want to see the governor, we want to file a complaint, and we want these profiteers to pay us back!"

Thousands of people shouted in unison, the sound shaking the sky.

This caught Zhou Bo's attention, and he immediately appeared outside the prefectural governor's mansion and asked a clerk nearby, "What happened?"

The clerk could only tell the craftsmen that the merchants owed them wages.

After hearing this, Zhou Bo cursed inwardly: "Wang Dao, you bastard, Nai Gong has to clean up your ass every day."

The economic crisis had only been going on for three months, but the wages owed to the craftsmen were as high as half a year. It was obvious that these workshops had already started to have problems half a year ago. He was helping Wang Dao take the blame.

Zhou Bo immediately said to the craftsmen on the scene: "Don't worry, it is only natural to pay back debts. The court will definitely take care of this. If anyone dares to owe you a penny, the court will not let him go. But a group of you gathering here is not a solution to the problem. It just so happens that the court wants to discuss with these merchants how to get through this crisis. After this meeting, the court will give you an explanation."

At this time, another group of people came to the outside of the county magistrate's mansion, led by Tian Yang, the leader of the Mohist school in Chen County.

Tian Yang looked at Zhou Bo and said, "Prime Minister Zhou, isn't it too late to explain now? It's not just the merchants who are wailing in the Han Dynasty. We craftsmen are living an even more miserable life. You held a meeting and only invited these merchants but didn't think of us craftsmen. When you were solving the crisis, you didn't think of how to help us survive. Are these merchants the only people in the world?"

Zhou Bo immediately said, "How could the court ignore you? During this period, the court has been arranging unemployed craftsmen to settle in the south of the Yangtze River. If you go to the south, you will have land, and if you have land, you will not starve to death."

When the economic crisis broke out, the reclamation camps set up offices in various counties in the south. Those people without jobs could sign up to go to the south for reclamation or to the territories of the princes in Nanyang. In just three months, 200,000 people had signed up, a number that had exceeded the total number for the whole of last year.

But Zhou Bo's words did not satisfy the craftsmen on the scene. Tian Yang snorted coldly: "The economic crisis that broke out this time was caused by those greedy merchants. We craftsmen are all victims. Why should we bear the consequences of the crisis caused by them? If we have to go to Jiangnan to cultivate the land, it should be these merchants who caused the crisis, not us, the craftsmen who work diligently."

Zhou Bo said helplessly: "Now is not the time to pursue responsibility. The main thing is to find a way to resolve this crisis, so that the workshops in Chen County can start operating, the goods can be sold, and the craftsmen can use their salaries to support their families. In this way, you are also victims and can send representatives to participate in the meeting. You can supervise and see if the court is trying to solve the problem."

Tian Yang said, "Let's not talk about attending the meeting. The key is whether the court can make a decision for us. Now the longest time we have been in arrears of salary is already half a year. The food supply at home is almost gone and my wife and children are almost starving to death. What's the point of attending the meeting if this problem is not solved?"

Zhou Bo said, "I will arrange for people to help the craftsmen. Any craftsmen who have no food to eat at home can come to the county governor's office to get rice and flour."

Tian Yang scolded: "What's the use of this? We don't want to beg for food, but the court should adopt a practical policy to protect the rights and interests of craftsmen like us."

Zhou Bo said: "I don't have the power to make laws. If you want the court to formulate a policy to protect craftsmen, you can only ask your leaders to initiate a proposal at the Sages Conference. I can only temporarily solve your living problems now."

Tian Yang also knew that Zhou Bo was telling the truth, so he stopped worrying about it. After a while of arguing, Tian Yang and the other Mohists sent five people as representatives of the craftsmen.

Now, those merchants who did not owe the workers wages were extremely lucky, otherwise they would be embarrassed this year. Zhao Yun was one of them. Before closing the factory, he tried his best to scrape together some money, so he finally did not owe the workers wages.

Because there were so many merchants coming, the county magistrate's office arranged a square and put chairs on it to create a simple meeting place. More than 800 merchants sat here, asking each other about the court's rescue measures. Would it be like last time, building infrastructure or continuing to cultivate land in the south? If so, it would be extremely disadvantageous for them because they would hardly need their workshops.

Just when their discussion was at its most intense, Zhou Bo brought a group of people to sit on the podium, and after the scene quieted down.

Zhou Bo said: "I convened this meeting today, and everyone knows some of the contents more or less. The core is to save the market, and everyone should work together to overcome this economic crisis. I have reported to the emperor that Chen County will be used as a pilot county to implement a government-run economy, and the emperor has agreed."

"Government-run economy!" Zhao Yun and his people frowned when they heard the word. These merchants were well-informed. They naturally knew about the debate between the Legalists and the Enriching People School at Xiangshan Academy a few months ago. At that time, the Legalists proposed that the government-run economy could solve the economic crisis. But the government-run economy was not good for them.

Zhou Bo didn't care what they thought and said, "Everyone present here can no longer repay the loans from the imperial bank. According to the contract, the four major banks of the imperial court can confiscate your workshops to reduce losses."

"If the court wanted to take advantage of the situation, why did they call this meeting to inform us?" An anxious merchant said immediately. The workshops were confiscated, what else did they have to do? Did they want to mock them again?
Zhou Bo said calmly: "If the court wants to do this, why should I call this meeting? You think the court wants your workshops? Before the crisis, the court had already started selling off a large number of workshops. It was to resolve this crisis that the court had to take action."

"The court has only one solution, which is to convert debt into equity. In the future, the court will own 2% to 3% of the shares of these workshops, and you can own % to %. In this way, the court and you can work together on a private and public basis. At the same time, the court can also hand over the workshops to you to continue to operate. The court only needs to have the right of supervision."

"Isn't this just taking advantage of someone's misfortune?" Jing Yan said disappointedly. Most of the shares of the workshop were taken by the imperial court, so they just became hired craftsmen.

Zhou Bo said coldly: "The court could have kicked you out or even arrested you, but now it is giving you 20% to 30% of the shares. You should be grateful. Of course, the court has never forced people to do anything. If you don't want to do it, you can refuse. We will do everything according to the rules of business. You repay the loan and the court will return your workshop. If you can't do this, the court will also confiscate your workshop according to the rules of business. This makes sense both emotionally and logically. It is only natural to repay debts."

It was only at this point that these merchants realized that they were already like fish on the chopping board and had no right to resist.

(End of this chapter)