I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 155: Make money, not shabby

A group of people were discussing the matter at once, and some even started to make harsh remarks, saying that if Wang Jing really dared to go his own way, they wouldn't mind "educating" Wang Jing physically.

Yuan Wei was secretly resentful about this, because Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had led armies to attack Wang Jing before, so he knew better than outsiders how powerful Wang Jing and the Northern Army were. If he really had to resort to force, he would have done it long ago. Why would he have to deal with the New Party like he was doing now?

At this moment, Yuan Wei felt quite embarrassed and anxious as he was in a difficult situation.

But now that the momentum has been built up, he can't back down even if he wants to.

Because at this time, not only the aristocratic families of the four counties under Wang Jing's rule, but also the various princes who had been defeated by Wang Jing before, as well as local powerful families, also gathered together to form a massive "anti-Wang Jing" alliance.

Although this "opposition" is currently only within the framework of opposing the "Inheritance Law".

But who knows whether it will evolve into a political or even military conflict?

Yuan Wei began to panic. Once the situation got out of control, he, as the regent, would be the first to bear the brunt and be hit by the Northern Army.

But Wang Jing, who was on the other side of the situation and was opposed by everyone, was not panicked at all. Instead, he was a bit relaxed and at ease.

At this moment, General Wei's Mansion, located in the eye of the storm, is still calm.

In the study, Wang Jing took the secret report sent by the secret guard, glanced at it quickly, and then asked with a smile: "Gongda, have you found out who is stirring up trouble behind the scenes?"

"We have found out. Xu You and Xu Ziyuan from Nanyang are advisers under Yuan Shao. Five days ago, he sneaked into Luoyang through the Mengjin Port Ferry. After that, he acted secretly, connecting with the famous families in various counties and stirring up trouble."

"Oh, the older you get, the less courageous you become. It seems that old man Yuan Wei has really gone backwards. He can't even control the Yuan Clan of Runan anymore, and has been pushed to the front by a junior to serve as a shield."

Wang Jing raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, his tone quite disdainful.

It is obvious that the New Party's attack on Wang Jing at this moment was pushed by Yuan Shao behind the scenes, and the purpose was also very obvious, which was to create trouble for Wang Jing.

As the leader of the new party, Yuan Wei would be the first to fall into the sword if Wang Jing lost his temper and started a killing spree.

Therefore, Yuan Shao's strategy was extremely vicious. If Wang Jing did not care, the division in the court would intensify, thereby delaying the development of the Northern Army.

If Wang Jing was in charge, Yuan Shao would intensify the conflict between the new party and the old party, wait for Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji to be killed, let Wang Jing bear the blame, and Yuan Shao would naturally take over the political interests and network of contacts of the Yuan family in Runan.

Xun You was also a smart man. He saw what Yuan Shao was going to do at a glance, and then he couldn't help but sigh: "The Yuan family of Runan is now so divided internally. It is true that flowers cannot bloom forever, and people cannot be good forever. Even if there are three officials in four generations and the family is prominent in the imperial dynasty, there will be a time when the curtain will fall."

Xun You then asked how to deal with Xu You: "My Lord, Xu You is extremely daring and even has a criminal record of assassinating the previous emperor. Do you need me to send out secret guards to take the initiative?"

Killing may not be effective, but it is definitely the most efficient way.

What's more, even Yuan Shao probably didn't have many advisers of Xu You's level. If one died, it would be a question whether the rest would dare to come again.

However, Wang Jing only thought about it for a moment before rejecting the proposal. He smiled calmly and said, "It doesn't matter. Let him do whatever he wants. It won't affect the overall situation. And who knows, there might be some unexpected surprises afterwards."

Xun You found that he was increasingly unable to understand his lord. The current situation, although seemingly calm, was actually extremely dangerous.

How vast is the amount of land and population occupied by the world's aristocratic families?

It can be said that they have already mastered absolute advantageous resources and monopolized the vast majority of top talents.

And if Wang Jing stands directly against the aristocratic family, wouldn't that mean the whole world will rebel?
In Xun You's opinion, this was clearly a strategic mistake and a situation in which there was no chance of survival.

But based on past experience, Xun You had to suppress his anxiety and wait and see how Wang Jing would break the impasse.

However, in the next two months, Wang Jing did nothing but travel around with his beautiful wives all day, or occasionally show up at Mohist Academy to teach and satisfy his desire to be a teacher.

Even Yuan Wei thought that Wang Jing had given up on promoting the "Inheritance Law", but was temporarily unable to save face, so he resorted to this tactic of procrastination.

But although Wang Jing seemed to be doing nothing, the situation in the capital Luoyang was quietly changing under his skillful manipulation.

August is the golden autumn and the season of harvest.

Outside Luoyang City, endless rice fields converge into a golden ocean.

On the official road, however, there were thousands of ragged refugees, some with their families, being driven by a team of cavalry. Their dull eyes would only glow with vitality and spirit when they fell on the golden ears of wheat.

"What are you looking at? If you want to have a full meal, get on with your life!"

The leading knight was wearing armor and had a long sword on his waist. Although he kept urging them with harsh words, he did not dare to really abuse the refugees in front of him. He even sent people to treat the refugees when he saw them collapse from exhaustion, for fear that they would die.

In the wheat field, several tenants who were harvesting wheat looked over here curiously: "This is the third wave this month, right? Why did the Hongnong Yang family recruit so many refugees? Are they going to reclaim the wasteland?"

"Hey, you don't understand this?"

The insider began to brag: "I heard from my seventh uncle's second cousin's neighbor's friend that the Hongnong Yang family is under the care of Qi Hou, and now they are said to be opening a textile workshop, so they need to recruit a large number of workers."

"Recruiting workers? Isn't it enough to just pay them?"

"Hey, what do you know? Hiring workers earns 300 wen a month, but hiring refugees only requires giving them food. How can this be compared?"

"Oh my god, the Yang family is a prestigious family with three generations of officials, how can they be so evil?"

"What a sinister thing to say. This is just a good deed. These refugees were originally going to starve to death, but now they have a bite to eat. Isn't this a good thing?"

"That's right. This world is a cannibalistic place. Originally, my family also had thirteen acres of land. If it weren't for Yuan..."

"You are crazy, talking nonsense here!"

"Humph, what are you afraid of? With Marquis Qi here, how dare the noble families be as arrogant as before? Besides, I have already sent my child to study at the Mohist Academy under the name of Hongdumen School. Who knows, there may be a chance for him to become an official in the future."

"Alas, for us little people, we just need to survive. Why worry about so many things? As for becoming an official, you might as well dream about it."

The Yang family of Hongnong was busy recruiting refugees to work, and the common people who didn't know the details could only make jokes and brag about it in their spare time.

But in the aristocratic circle in Luoyang, there was a complete uproar.

The two textile workshops opened by Yang Biao used the latest jacquard machines developed by Qiqiao Pavilion. They purchased large amounts of silk and spun it into silk for sale. The income from just two months was enough to cover the annual harvest from all the farms under his name!
This data is amazing!

Everyone who knew about this had tears in their eyes!

Running a silk weaving workshop is really profitable!

In just over two months, the Yang family of Hongnong earned what others would earn in a year. Moreover, all they needed for production was enough raw materials and workers. They did not have to rely on the weather for their livelihood, and their income was guaranteed regardless of drought or flood.

Precisely because the contrast was so obvious, the overwhelming economic benefits of industrial products over agricultural products were laid out so intuitively before everyone for the first time, causing deep shock among the aristocratic families and wealthy clans.

Previously, Huang Wan and Yang Biao, two pillars of the old party, had successively turned to Wang Jing, and Yang Biao even let his legitimate son Yang Xiu devote himself to Mohism. This matter was laughed at for a long time in the upper circles of the aristocratic families. People thought that Yang Biao and Yang Xiu, father and son, must have gone crazy and actually believed in Wang Jing's lies.

But now that the profits of the textile workshop have been exposed, they are suddenly dumbfounded.

There are twelve months in a year, and farming depends on the weather and season. You can't just plant whenever you want. If you encounter a natural disaster, you may have a reduced yield or even lose money.

But the machines in the textile workshop can run twelve hours a day!
More importantly, the quantity is large and the harvest is guaranteed regardless of drought or flood!
Suddenly, those aristocratic families who had been clamoring to boycott Wang Jing stopped clamoring and started to make their own plans.

Even though the sages in the Confucian classics teach people not to pursue profit, how many aristocratic families do not pursue profit?
Their land was seized from self-employed farmers by lending at high interest rates, which shows that they are never polite when it comes to pursuing profit.

However, in the eyes of some wealthy families who value economic benefits more, if they can make a lot of money by running a workshop, they are really not willing to farm.

As long as they are not seriously ill, they can easily compare which is more profitable, operating the land or opening a workshop, by simply calculating the comparison between the input cost and the output benefit.

In fact, as early as the Warring States Period, even if merchants found that doing business could make more money than farming, the business was just not very stable. However, opening a workshop is now a business that is sure to make money, because Luoyang has gathered a large number of rich people and businessmen, and even some Hu merchants from the Western Regions are in a state of hunger and thirst.

The things produced by the Yanhan Dynasty were more precious than gold to the Western Regions, so much so that they traveled thousands of miles to Luoyang, loaded with gold, silver and jewelry, to purchase them. In such an era of extreme material scarcity, if the things you produced were useful, you would not have to worry about not being able to sell them.

With the example of the Hongnong Yang family, Wang Jing didn't have to do almost anything, and the originally precarious situation was completely reversed by him with a single move.

At the General Wei's Mansion, Xun You walked into Wang Jing's study with a look of admiration on his face: "Turning your hand makes clouds, turning your hand again makes rain, my lord, you really have a good way."

"Haha, Gongda, we've been waiting for you, please take a seat."

Li Ru and Jia Xu were already sitting in the study.

Jia Xu, who was appointed as the governor of Henan and in charge of Luoyang government affairs, twisted his beard and said with a look of joy: "My lord, this move is really brilliant. With just a little push, the alliance of the aristocratic families collapsed."

Li Ru also smiled and said, "The next thing will be much simpler. We will divide and disintegrate them, win over some and attack some, and take advantage of the situation. Then the world will be settled."

The noble families compete for fame and fortune.

In order to consolidate his own regime, Wang Jing took necessary political measures to survey the land and count the population.

But if I do it, I will offend the aristocratic families, and if I don’t do it, it’s also not possible. It’s really a dilemma.

But now it is much simpler. It is nothing more than an exchange of interests. The noble families who are willing to accept the new laws will be allowed to join the new industrial and commercial system, pull them on board, and share the huge benefits brought by technological progress.

Although aristocratic families are arrogant, but making money is not shameful.

In this way, those stubborn people who refuse to accept the new laws can be successfully isolated, making it much easier to crack down on them.

It was only at this time that Xun You really understood Wang Jing's intention, and he sighed sincerely: "To separate the noble families from the land is really to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron. The lord is so thoughtful, I can't match him."

Why can aristocratic families and powerful clans remain standing?
Because they owned land and controlled a large number of tenants through these lands, they controlled a large population. Some people had food, and then they built forts and even formed their own private armed forces, which immediately became small countries within the imperial dynasty, firmly blocking the tentacles of the court.

The Yanhan Dynasty was a time when the imperial system and the feudal system coexisted from the very beginning. Emperor Wu of Han struck a blow against the major vassal states with the Enfeoffment Order, but the problem was still not fundamentally solved.

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the power of the landlords had increased instead of decreased, to the point where there were many cases of assassinations of the emperor and open rebellions.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, anyone who was dissatisfied with the imperial policies or their own treatment would immediately rise up in rebellion, demonstrating their lawlessness.

For example, Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, who rebelled together with the Wuhuan people in Youzhou, were typical examples. The same was true of Xu You, the governor of Jizhou, Wang Fen, Zhou Jing of Pei State and others who conspired to depose Emperor Ling of Liu Hong. It can be seen that in the eyes of the aristocratic families and the powerful families, the imperial power was neither sacred nor majestic, and they could rebel as long as they were unhappy.

From this we can see that aristocratic families and powerful clans have become the most unstable internal factors in the Yanhan Dynasty.

If the country is to be stable and the court's policies can be implemented smoothly, the problem of the deep connection between the aristocratic families and the land must be solved.

Killing is certainly a solution, but it is actually a stupid solution and will cause endless harm.

Wang Jing does not need to use such cruel means. After all, the efficiency is too low. Instead of using a knife, it is better to spend money, using huge amounts of money until some enlightened families are moved.

We can take advantage of the situation and push Chinese civilization towards science and technology. Why not do it?
Now, more than one-third of the aristocratic families in Luoyang have begun to change their attitudes.

They didn't dare to come to Wang Jing, but instead turned to Yang Biao one by one, hoping that he would let bygones be bygones and continue to be their leader.

Yang Biao didn't dare to handle the matter on his own, so he pushed it to Wang Jing.

Jia Xu was inspired and suggested, "My lord, please establish a special organization to manage such affairs."

Wang Jing was thoughtful after hearing this. The prosperity of business cannot be too disorderly, otherwise it will breed various problems. Obviously, Jia Xu's suggestion is very pertinent.

"Well, let's follow Wenhe's advice and set up an industry association in Luoyang on a certain day to facilitate the court's overall planning and management."

In Chinese history, it was not until the Tang and Song dynasties, when the commodity economy had developed to a certain extent, that large-scale and formalized guild organizations gradually began to appear among the people.

The purpose of guild organizations is to adjust relationships among peers, resolve conflicts among peers, protect the interests of peers, and coordinate relations with the government. Peers or related industries unite to form guilds, which have both regional and industry characteristics.

The development of the silk industry directly affects Wang Jing's land policy and is of great significance. Therefore, it must be handed over to a trustworthy person to manage it so that he can feel at ease.

Therefore, Xun You asked, "Does the lord have a suitable candidate in mind for the president of this silk weaving company?"

"Oh, does Gongda have any suggestions?"

"I think there is one person who is most suitable."

"Oh, who is it?"

"Lu Fang."

"He... is quite suitable."

Wang Jing was naturally very satisfied with his steward. The key was his special identity. On the one hand, he was Wang Jing's retainer, and on the other hand, he was a Mohist. He also participated in the improvement of the old jacquard machine. So it was reasonable for him to be the president.

Lu Fang was born in a carpenter's family and had a humble social status. Without Wang Jing's support, he would be nothing. Therefore, there was no need to worry about him becoming too powerful and he could be employed with confidence.

…………

Luoyang, Xiyuan.

The former palace of Emperor Lingdi has now become a place for Wang Jing to entertain distinguished guests.

With Wang Jing's current power and status at its peak, those who received the invitation naturally would not dare to refuse him. Even if they themselves did not go, they would send important figures in the family to show their support.

Huang Kui, the son of Grand Commandant Huang Wan, Yuan Yin, the son of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, Yang Xiu, the son of Minister Yang Biao, and others were all prominent figures in Luoyang City.

At this moment, everyone was sitting quietly in their seats, waiting for the main character to enter.

Soon, an arrogant figure appeared in everyone's sight.

"It's Lord Qi!"

"Marquis Qi is here!"

When they saw Wang Jing coming, everyone stood up and saluted, with expressions of respect and awe on their faces.

What people respect is his achievements, and what people fear is naturally his invincible record.

As an invincible warrior on the battlefield, even though Wang Jing was not wearing armor or equipped with weapons at this moment, he still had a domineering and bravery that could flatten mountains of corpses and seas of blood, which made people tremble with fear, as if they were facing a ferocious beast from the ancient times.

Facing the penetrating gazes of the crowd, Wang Jing remained calm and raised the wine bottle in his hand: "Everyone, drink this cup to the full!"

"Thank you, Lord Qi, for the wine!"

Everyone raised their glasses and drank happily.

As the wine got to the top, the atmosphere became relaxed and warm.

Wang Jing was in the first seat. As the leader, he smiled and said, "I invited you all here today to discuss the establishment of a guild."

Although Wang Jing's wine tastes good, it is obvious that no one came here to drink today.

As soon as they heard Wang Jing talking about business, everyone's eyes became serious and they listened attentively to every word Wang Jing said, afraid of missing any word.

"You all recognize this thing, right?"

Wang Jing ordered his people to distribute silk samples to every guest present.

(End of this chapter)