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

Chapter 682: The Sanctity of Private Property and Instigation
After the loan was agreed upon, Liu You, as the landlord, invited Kuai Che to Jin Yumantang, the best restaurant in Chang'an City. But as soon as the two of them walked out of the restaurant hall, a servant came over and said that his old friend Zhuo Wangsun invited him to a gathering.

The two followed the attendants to a bustling private room, where there were the Ji family from Hebei, the Wang family from Wuyue, the Zhuo family from Shuzhong, the Wuyan family from Hedong, and more than a dozen other wealthy Han businessmen.

Liu You laughed and said, "Why didn't everyone call someone during the gathering?"

Zhuo Wangsun forced a smile and said, "The money bank manager invited us to Chang'an, saying that it was about money bank matters. We came here to meet each other because it was a rare opportunity, but we didn't expect to meet Master Liu and Brother Kuai."

Zhuo Wangsun, whose ancestral home was from the state of Zhao in Guandong, later fled to Shuzhong to avoid the war. They were an iron smelting family with expertise in smelting technology. After the founding of the Han Dynasty, with industry as the foundation, skilled craftsman families like the Zhuo family began to rise. He borrowed money from the development bank of the Han Dynasty to build a new steel plant, and then recruited poor people in Shuzhong to mine iron ore and smelt iron and steel.

Because of the good quality and low price, the steel farms and tools of Zhuo's Steel Factory accounted for half of the market share in Shuzhong, and were even exported to various vassal states in the south. Zhuo Wangsun not only had good skills, but was also a genius in business. Over the decades, he had a net worth of hundreds of millions and more than a dozen factories, becoming the richest man in Shuzhong.

Because Shuzhong is also considered to be the area of ​​Jiangnan, Kuai Xu and Zhuo Wangsunhai had several exchanges, and soon Zhuo Wangsun became humble and recognized Kuai Xu as his elder brother. The reason was very simple. No matter how rich Zhuo Wangsun was, he was just a businessman, while Kuai Xu had a good father, Kuai Che, whose Mo Nan Trading Company had made great contributions to the Han Dynasty's conquest of Mobei.

After the war, Xu Fan did not treat Mo Nan Trading Company harshly. The president, Kuai Che, was granted the title of (virtual) viscount for his merits, and nine others became barons. That was the last large-scale enfeoffment of meritorious officials by the Han Dynasty. When it came to Kuai Xu's generation, he still had the status of a baron of the Han Dynasty.

Zhuo Wangsun started his fortune much later. By the time he became successful, the Han Dynasty had already ended the process of large-scale enfeoffment, and there were no powerful enemies in Shu. Therefore, although both of them were wealthy businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhuo Wangsun was naturally shorter than Kuai Xu.

Zhuo Wangsun then enthusiastically moved the chairs aside and said, "Please sit down, brothers."

Although these wealthy businessmen present came from all over the world, they were very familiar with each other and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Ji Chen pulled Liu Youyou and complained, "Your cousin is too ruthless and has no regard for human relationships. As soon as the imperial court announced the blockade, our Ji family's fleet was still on the sea and hadn't received any news, but it was still convicted of smuggling. Not only was all the goods confiscated, but they were also fined 300 million."

The object of Ji Chen's complaint was Liu Bi, who had been promoted to General Zhenhai. As a navigator who discovered the New World for the Han Dynasty and proved that the earth was round, Liu Bi had always been a hero of the Han Dynasty, and there were dozens of folk operas with him as the protagonist.

It can be said that the circumnavigation brought Liu Bi great prestige. His career in the Han Dynasty was also extremely smooth. He first became one of the four fleet captains in the Han Navy. After serving as a fleet captain for two terms, he was promoted to the head of the Han Navy, General Zhenhai, with a rank equivalent to the three dukes of the Han Dynasty. Ji Chen, who was born in Guangyang Duke's Mansion, dared to complain.

Wang Lun also complained: "We are not saying that the court's policies are bad. After all, the Xiongnu want to be the enemy of our Han Dynasty. As citizens of the Han Dynasty, we should naturally do our part. The economic blockade can indeed weaken the Xiongnu's war potential, but at least it will take some time. The trade between the Han and the Xiongnu is as high as tens of billions. Many of our orders will become waste because of this sudden blockade."

"We have a large family and business, so we can afford the loss of tens of millions, but how can ordinary people of the Han Dynasty bear such a huge loss? The officials of the court are high above, making strategies without considering the implementation at all. I don't know how many factories in Kuaiji County have gone bankrupt because of this. These are all people of the Han Dynasty, but they have suffered because of the Han Dynasty's policies. This is also damaging the majesty of the emperor. As a general of the Han Dynasty, your uncle should find out the loopholes for the emperor instead of issuing orders in a one-size-fits-all manner."

Other wealthy businessmen also looked at Liu You with some resentment. This sudden economic blockade had caused them considerable losses, but they did not have enough status and position to dare to complain.

Liu You said, "It's the same for me. I have more than a billion dollars from the Xiongnu, but now I can't take it out. The laws of the Han Dynasty are strict, and we are just fish and shrimps under the laws. We have to bear it. If you feel dissatisfied, go to the Sages' Association to complain this year."

These people were not convinced and he was depressed. After this battle, his wealth was reduced by half. His brother could only persuade him to take it easy.

But soon he added, "But the Huns can't hold on for much longer. They've been through an economic crisis and were badly defeated by the Han. I'm afraid all of the Huns' listed companies have fallen to rock bottom prices. We can buy the Huns' assets at bargain prices after the war. Junchen is doing a good job as Chanyu. The Huns have accumulated a lot of high-quality assets over the years."

Liu You's statement enlightened the merchants present.

Ji Chen said: "How about we team up and buy the Xiongnu's factory after this war is over."

Everyone present nodded, and the risk was greatly reduced if they teamed up together.

On May 54th, the 5th year of the Han calendar, in Chang'an City, the headquarters of the Global Development Bank.

Kuai Xu and others came here one after another, even Zhao Gang who was overseas came back to Chang'an City. Kuai Xu recognized the visitors one by one and found that all the owners and managers of the money houses in the Han Dynasty were here. This discovery made him frown, and he was afraid that the visitors to this meeting might have bad intentions.

His father's experience told him that when Dahan summoned a large number of merchants, it meant that there was something that needed their money. His father clearly told him that merchants in Dahan were fat pigs, and asked him to focus more on Xiangshan Academy.

Soon, Song Dian, the money bank manager, came over and said with a smile, "I'm late because of some busy work."

Everyone present flattered him, "Your Excellency is here on time, not late at all."

Although the money shop chief only had 2000 shi, it was a high-ranking but powerful department in the Han Dynasty. Especially for the wealthy businessmen in the Han Dynasty, the money shop office was specifically responsible for them.

As long as the assets of the Han Dynasty merchants reached a certain level, they would set up private money houses. This was not necessarily for the purpose of absorbing deposits, but just to integrate their own resources and better serve their subordinate factories. At the same time, they also carried out some investment business. Moreover, it was easier for the money houses to make money. If the Han Dynasty had not continuously suppressed the profits of the money houses in recent years and had not implemented extremely strict supervision and accountability systems for the money houses in the Han Dynasty, I am afraid that the money houses in the Han Dynasty would be hundreds of times more than they are now.

After all, compared to the hard work of screwing screws, it is faster to make money by transferring wealth through money houses. But what makes them helpless is that the Han people have been lowering the interest rates of loans, and the profits that money houses can get are only half of those of factories. Some poorly managed money houses will lose their capital as soon as there are a few bad debts, let alone making money. Therefore, there are very few private money houses in the Han people, only a few hundred, and most of them do business with acquaintances, and their influence cannot go beyond the local area.

"Ahem!" Song Dian said seriously, "In order to fight against the unjust Xiongnu, the Allies need to issue another 100 billion war bonds. You all know that the interest rate is %, and there is a % discount. This is a good thing that the court has handed over to you. Of course, you can also act as agents for the issuance of these bonds."

Ji Chen was unconvinced and said, "You pushed these unsellable bonds to us and said it was a good business."

Wang Lun said sarcastically, "We dare not compete with the imperial court for business. Otherwise, these bonds will be purchased by Kaifa Bank. After all, the interest rate is 10%, which is a rare high interest rate for banks in the Han Dynasty."

"Ahem!" Song Dian said, "The funds for the development of banks around the world are all used for the development of various countries. It is because of the lack of funds that you have the opportunity."

Ji Chen said: "We would rather not have this opportunity."

Song Dian thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll make the decision and give you a 90% discount."

Wang Lun said unhappily, "Even if it's a 50% discount, we dare not buy it. Seleucid is a poor country, and the country has been destroyed. How can they repay more than 20 billion? These are junk bonds. If you are not careful, you will go bankrupt if you buy these bonds."

Song Chang said sternly: "The court says this is a high-quality bond, so it is a high-quality bond. This is the task assigned to you by the court. If you do not accept it, the court will raise the reserve ratio of your bank."

As soon as these words were spoken, the owners of these money houses were frightened and broke out in cold sweats. Now the interest rate spread of the Han Dynasty money houses is about 2%, which seems to be not profitable, but the money houses can spend one penny and get the effect of five pennies, which is a % profit. However, this relies on a fast turnover model. If the court raises the deposit reserve ratio, they will not be able to continue the business of two people covering ten bottles, and the money houses will go bankrupt directly.

Zhao Gang immediately said: "A Feihai Bank is willing to subscribe to 10 billion yuan of bonds."

Song Chang was overjoyed and said, "Well, you are worthy of being the owner of the first overseas bank. I will write a letter to the emperor and write a plaque for your Feihai Bank, "Home of Loyalty to the Emperor", to commend your Feihai Bank's loyalty to our Han Dynasty."

After Zhao Gang's example, Ji Chen said helplessly: "We, Ji's Bank, will subscribe for 500 million coins."

Wang Lun also said helplessly: "We subscribe for 500 million yuan."

Afterwards, merchants in the Han Dynasty, some with hundreds of millions and some with less, subscribed to bonds worth tens of millions. Soon, the 10 billion bonds were divided up by these money house owners.

These people walked out of the bank and government office with their heads down, feeling aggrieved and saying, "What the hell is this?"

Ji Chen was even more angry and said, "I will definitely sue Song Chang at this year's Sages Conference."

Zhuo Wangsun was puzzled and said, "Hasn't the court always been reasonable? Why is it so brutal this time?"

Ji Chen said: "Brother Zhuo, you used to run a steel mill, which made you a useful person to the court. The court not only treated you reasonably, but also found ways to support you, so that you could produce more steel and create more wealth. But now that you have opened a bank, to the court, you are not a producer of wealth, but a collector of wealth. At this time, the court must suppress and restrict your development."

Zhuo Wangsun was surprised and asked, "Is there such a thing?"

Wang Lun said: "You can also dissolve the bank. Anyway, your bank has only been established for a few years, so the loss is not big."

But Zhuo Wangsun was unwilling to do so. Mining and smelting iron were so hard work, and they could not make money as quickly as making money from a bank.

Zhao Gang said: "If you are dissatisfied with the policies of the Han Dynasty, you can also invest in other places. Rome has been developing rapidly in recent years, and the profits from building factories are higher than those of the Han Dynasty. The most important thing is that the Roman Senate will soon introduce a property law, one of which stipulates that private property is sacred and inviolable." Zhuo Wangsun was surprised and said: "Is this true?"

For newly rich people like Zhuo Wangsun, what he was most worried about was how to preserve his property and how to prevent it from being plundered by the imperial court. This decree really hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Gang nodded and said, "Of course it's true."

In fact, the Roman nobles were frightened by the actions of the Datong Society. They said that the land should be distributed equally, but the land that their families had worked hard to save was divided up. Hundreds of senators had their homes confiscated. These nobles felt the same for the first time and thought that such behavior must be stopped. Rome was an aristocratic republic, and it was unacceptable to harm the interests of the nobles.

As a result, a trend has been popular in Rome in the past two years. It says that private property is sacred and inviolable, and it has also won the support of most Roman citizens and civilians. It is now in the legislative stage.

Kuai Xu said: "There are also wise men among the foreign races. This decree is in line with the great principles. The imperial court should protect private property. We should call for the protection of private property at the wise men's conference."

"Brother Kuai is right. Private property is sacred and inviolable. The sooner such laws to protect the rights and interests of the Han people are implemented, the better."

These bank owners had just spent hundreds of millions or even tens of millions to buy a pile of waste paper. At this moment, they extremely approved of this decree and even had the idea of ​​visiting Rome.

Ji Chen sneered, "Our Han Dynasty is a public world. You are thinking that private property is sacred and inviolable. How absurd! According to your logic, the world belongs to the emperor. Not only do your property belong to the emperor, but you also belong to the emperor. According to this logic, it is nothing for the court to take a little money from you. It is just taking back what belongs to you."

Wang Lun said disdainfully: "According to this logic, there is no Han Dynasty. The world today still belongs to the Xia Dynasty. Do you know that in addition to laws, there is also violence in this world?"

June 54, 6th year of the Han calendar, Seleucia, Demetrius Manor.

This manor is less than 10 miles away from the city of Seleucia. It is now one of the few safe areas in the entire Seleucid land. Since the invasion of the Huns, the entire Seleucid Empire has been in chaos, with rebels and guns everywhere. These rebels took the cannons and muskets supported by the Han people, shot their private soldiers and servants, and blew up their castles. As far as he knew, hundreds of noble families had been massacred by the rebels.

This situation made Dmitri live in fear every day, and the Huns became more and more greedy. They demanded their land, their property, and their help in capturing able-bodied men to be sent to the war front. Soon these able-bodied men were sent to the bloody slaughterhouse, the battlefield of Antioch.

Now not only did the rebels hate them, but even their servants and the people under their rule began to look at them with hatred. Several castles had been opened because of rebellion by the servants and even their relatives inside, allowing the rebels to kill the entire families of the nobles. Faced with this increasingly chaotic situation, Dmitry and other Seleucid nobles regretted why they had invited the Huns over in the first place, and it was too late to regret it now.

It shouldn't be like this. Before they returned to Seleucus, they had already discussed how to carry out reforms, learn from the advanced experience of the Han Dynasty, establish a Shaofu, build factories to make money to supplement the military industry, build railways, liberate slaves, open up land, and a series of reform measures to enrich the country and strengthen the army. These reform measures should make the country stronger and stronger, so how did it become like this? Dmitri couldn't figure it out. Why did the same strategy succeed in the Han Dynasty but fail here?
Dmitri anesthetized himself with alcohol, returned to his room and fell asleep. Perhaps under the influence of alcohol, he had a rare good sleep since coming to Seleucia. He didn't know how long it had been before the butler woke him up and said that his friend wanted to see him.

Dmitri came to the hall of his castle with a strange look on his face, and then he said excitedly as if he had seen a savior: "Ambassador Li, did you receive my letter?"

Li Shang saw Dmitri's depressed face and said angrily: "You have studied in the Han Dynasty for four years, and you have learned how to sell out your country and your people. I am ashamed of you. Don't say you are a student from the Han Dynasty in the future."

Demetrius murmured in shame, "I have no choice. I just want to live and let my family live, but the situation in Seleucus has forced me to live."

Li Shang snorted coldly, "You want to survive, but when you were reforming the Seleucid Empire, why didn't you think about letting the people of Seleucid survive?

Don't you know how the Han Dynasty was established? The tyrannical Qin Dynasty had a million troops, but it was not merciful and was eventually overthrown by the emperor of the Han Dynasty, who led 800 prisoners. Now the people of Seleucus are being forced to live by you, so the people of Seleucus are also making you live. When the people of Seleucus give up order, it will be the time for you to perish. "

Dmitri was so ashamed that he was speechless.

Li Shang said in a lighter tone: "Now your only chance to redeem yourself from your crime is to turn the tables on the battlefield, help the rebels capture Seleucia, and cut off the Huns' food supply."

Dmitri asked in a panic, "Rebels?"

Li Shang said: "In the name of the commander-in-chief of the Han allied forces, I can guarantee the safety of your family."

Demetrius was delighted and then whispered, "I don't want to stay in the Seleucid Empire anymore. Can the ambassador guarantee that my family and I can go to the Han Dynasty?"

Li Shang said: "Sure!"

Dmitri whispered, "Can my property be preserved? My family and I went to the Han Dynasty to start a new life."

Li Shang suppressed his anger and said, "You can take a small amount of property with you. This is the last condition. If you dare to raise another condition, I will turn around and leave."

He immediately shook his head and said, "No more, no more!" Dmitri was really afraid that Li Shang would leave. Now only Li Shang could guarantee the safety of his whole family.

Li Shang said coldly: "Five days later, I will lead the army to attack Seleucia. You will find a way to open the city gate and welcome the rebels in."

"Understood!" Dmitri nodded immediately.

On June 54, the 6th year of the Han calendar, Seleucia, a suburb 12 miles away.

The 80,000 rebel soldiers carried brand new rifles on their shoulders and wore brand new uniforms. They were all in high spirits, waiting for inspection. The Seleucids' war of resistance was very easy because they had the Han Dynasty as a plug-in. Their military equipment was not inferior to that of the Huns, and their logistical supplies were funded by the Han Dynasty. They only needed to fight the Huns.

These soldiers and the Huns had national hatred and family feuds. Their fighting will was not inferior to that of the Huns, but they were far inferior to the Huns in organization and combat experience. However, after more than a year of guerrilla warfare, these soldiers had accumulated sufficient combat experience. The Allied forces sent instructors to organize and train them, and the combat effectiveness of the rebels had also improved. Today's battle was the time to test the results of their one year training.

Li Ji shouted to the rebel soldiers: "Behind you are your families and your motherland. You have no way out."

Li Shang drew out his Han sword and pointed it at Seleucia, saying, "Recapture Seleucia and completely annihilate the Xiongnu invaders."

Eighty thousand volunteer soldiers roared in unison: "Retake Seleucia and annihilate the Hun invaders completely!"

"set off!"

Seleucia, headquarters.

Yu Dan frowned as he looked at the sand table of Seleucia. He had been feeling scared since this morning, and he always felt that something big was going to happen. And now the situation in Seleucia, and even the entire Seleucid Empire, was very unfavorable to the Xiongnu.

His father's strategic soldiers who attacked Antioch can only restore their morale now, but this cruel war made the people of Seleucid Kingdom hate the Huns very much. Fifty thousand young and strong men died in the meat grinder battlefield of Antioch, and fifty thousand families lost their pillars. At the same time, because the military officials let the Seleucids die, the Seleucid middle and high-level officials were completely disappointed with the Huns. They also did not pass on intelligence to him. The consequence of the Huns losing the hearts of the people is that the Hun army in Seleucia has become a deaf and blind man, and he knows nothing about the situation of the rebels around him. Yu Shan could only use Hun soldiers mixed with Seleucid pseudo-troops to defend the fortress of the grain road, but such a division of troops left Seleucia with only 2 troops, but 1.5 of them were Seleucid pseudo-troops.

"Boom boom boom!" The sound of intense artillery fire was heard.

"What's going on?" Yu Dan walked out of the command center.

At this time, a Xiongnu soldier ran in and said, "General, tens of thousands of rebels are coming to attack us."

Yu Shan was surprised and asked, "How could there be so many rebels? What happened to the spies? Why did the enemy not find them until they reached the city?"

"Report, General, the Seleucids have rebelled and opened the city gates."

"Boom boom boom!" The artillery bombardment became more and more intense. Yu Dan could hear infantry artillery, light and heavy mortars, and rockets here.

Yu Shan said dejectedly: "The allied forces have prepared tens of thousands of troops in Seleucia. How can our Xiongnu not be defeated?"

Yu Shan's guard said anxiously: "General, it is important to escape."

(End of this chapter)