warring states careerist

Chapter 676
When the question was asked, the person in charge of the Mohists who were active in the Yunzhong area first said with a Qidi accent: "I have an idea, but whether it can be successful or not needs to be studied by the higher-ups."

He was originally from Qi, and he also had a surname, Guoshi. He was a descendant of the Guo and Gao clans that the Emperor Zhou was responsible for supervising, or "assisting" in Qi.

Both clans have the surname Jiang, but after the separation, although they are Jiang Qi's Zhengqing, the specific appointment still needs to be canonized by Zhou Tianzi.Even though they are Jiang Qi's vassals, according to the feudal law, the vassals of my vassals are not my vassals, but the special feature of the Guogao and Gao clans is that they are Jiang Qi's vassals, and at the same time they are counted as the Zhou Emperor's vassals. Vassals and like Jiang Qi, when the two clans of Guogao alternated power, they were also canonized by Emperor Zhou.

After all, Jiang's surname is not Ji, he is an outsider.

So that when Guan Zhong reformed, among the fifteen baronials responsible for dispatching troops, ten of the Guogao clan were in charge, which was somewhat similar to the powerful clans like the Liuqing of Jin, and they were also the second of the three armies and two commanders when they dispatched troops.

It's just that the political turmoil in the Qi State later, the nobles of all parties joined forces, the Tian clan won, and the Guogao clan had withered.

The Mohist of the Guo family who is now in the cloud has a single name of Gang, and when he became an adult, he took a character, Ce, and his ancestors can be traced back to his father who participated in the Battle of Chengpu.

Guogang is a side branch of the Guo clan, but in fact he no longer has the noble status of a scholar. He joined the Mohist family in Qi State in his early years, and was later sent to Yunzhong because of his outstanding talents.

Before the specially dispatched Mohists came, Gao Liu told them to ask the local Mohists carefully for their opinions. Some things are feasible in Sishang, but not necessarily applicable in remote areas; some principles can be rationalized in Sishang. For practice, but in the cloud may require some workarounds.

Guogang's thinking is also considered sharp, and he feels that this is an excellent opportunity to show his talents, but he still has some doubts in his heart.

So he said that his opinion is just an idea, whether it is feasible or not needs further study.

The specially dispatched Mohist said: "You say so. Everyone can give their opinions."

Guogang nodded and said, "Actually, let's think about the problem in the cloud, we can think so."

"We are rich and have a lot of handicrafts, but the location in Yunzhong is remote and the transportation is not easy. With so many people rushing in at once, the price of food may be problematic."

"At the same time, our purpose in Yunzhong is not to make money, but to have enough troops and population to resist the barbarians' looting and restrain the Zhao family at the same time."

"This problem can be solved with some old wisdom examples in "Luxury" and "Light and Heavy" by the Guanzi School of Qi State."

This involves academic disputes, and there have been many disputes between the Mohists and the Guanzi School. It is this reason that led to Guogang's hesitation before.

The special commissioner himself has read a lot of books, and he has dabbled in many schools of thought, and he also knows a little about the dispute between Mohism and Guanzi School. Hearing what he said, he nodded and said, "You say so. The way is different, and we don't conspire with each other. The way is the same, the technique can be used."

Guogang hummed and said: "The difference between our Mohist school and Guanzi School seems to lie in the dispute between "Luxury" and "Frugal Use", but in fact the difference lies in whether the world needs a class that does not work hard and owns fiefdoms to obtain wealth. Only handmade goods can make the world stable."

What he said is correct, and he has indeed captured the essence of the debate between Mohism and Guanzi School in recent years.

In the five years in the cloud, there really wasn't much entertainment, Guogang was always reading.

He himself was born in Qi State, and he is familiar with some people of Guanzi School, and was deeply influenced by Guanzi School when he was young.

There are quite a few people in the Mohist family who came from other families and then defected to the Mohist school, including the previous giant, Qin Hualina, who was a traitor to Confucianism. The Mohist school was very tolerant of scholars from other families and did not criticize them too much.

Although he does not talk about eclecticism, Guogang has been pondering economic theories for the past five years, integrating the debates between the Mohist School and the Guanzi School, which are dominated by Shi, and his understanding of some economic laws can be regarded as a "blessing in disguise", if it is not in the cloud. In a remote place, he may not have so much energy to think about these things.

After first expressing his disapproval of the Guanzi School, he said: "Our current situation is that we have money, but what we need is food, or money here is not like it is in the Qiluwei area of ​​the Central Plains. You can also get enough food in exchange.”

"So, what is money? This question must be clarified first."

The commissioner put down his pen, thought for a while and said, "The Guanzi School says that gold, jade and copper coins are the currency of the people. Our Mohists say that gold, jade and copper coins are general equivalents. In fact, the meaning is similar. There is not much difference between currency and equivalents."

Guogang nodded and said, "It's just that I have been thinking about it for five years, but I feel that there are some different meanings in it."

"For example, if Sishang saves money, because it is not used elsewhere, the profits can be reinvested to expand production. For example, if I have saved enough money in Sishang, I can use it to invest in South China Sea, Huaibei, Song Kingdom and other places. Or Purchase land, or invest in industry and commerce, and the value of money will increase due to labor, so as to continue to benefit.”

"But it doesn't work in the cloud. Since we believe that labor is the root of wealth acquisition and increase in wealth, then using reinvestment methods in the cloud is somewhat unworkable."

"We try our best to avoid the situation of mercenary farming in the cloud. For some people who already have money, the money can only be spent on buying handicrafts, but it cannot be used to increase value."

"When buying land, there are wastelands that can be reclaimed everywhere in the cloud. If there is no manpower, the wasteland will always be wasteland. The prerequisite for buying land is that there must be enough manpower. In fact, what they buy is the labor of others."

The commissioner was thoughtful, and Guogang said slowly: "Money is very useful in Sishang, Song and Qi, because money itself has two meanings."

"One is capital that can be turned into production and the other can be turned into money to buy goods."

"Money is liked precisely because it has these two meanings."

"Now in the cloud, we have money, but it is difficult to exchange money for what we want, which is actually quite understandable."

This is not the first time that the special commissioner has heard such a similar statement. After pondering for a while, he asked, "How do you say it?"

Guogang said: "We are in the cloud. For the sake of the soldiers and the serving population, we must avoid the situation of hired farming this year. Then it will be difficult to turn the money into capital for re-investment. Land is everywhere, and we support those who will be relocated. Those who come here, if they have [-] mu of land and farm tools, cattle and horses that we support and loan, who is willing to hire someone to do the farming?"

"Similarly, Yunzhong is too far away from the Central Plains, and it is difficult to transport all kinds of goods here, making it difficult for money to be used to buy goods."

"Since the former is our established keynote, money cannot be turned into capital for reproduction in the cloud, so if you want to spend money, you can only use some of the methods in "Luxury" and "Severity" to make money Money can buy enough goods, so that the people who came first in the cloud are willing to exchange food for money, or exchange for handicrafts that they can get, so that we can spend the money.”

"The crux of the problem is that we have money but no food, so how can we get us to spend the money."

"If you want to solve it, you have to figure out what money is. This goes back to the original problem. Money is the currency of the people, and money is an equivalent thing, but it is not something that can be directly prayed to heaven to turn into food or armor. of."

"This is the true meaning of the Guanzi school's so-called 'holding the three coins is not beneficial to warmth, and eating it is not beneficial to satiety. The former kings used to protect property and control civil affairs, so as to calm the world'."

After enlightenment, there are actually quite a few people in Sishang Mohists who know about currency.

If there is no basic understanding, I am afraid that the entire economy of Sishang will be in chaos, because there are banknotes in Sishang itself.

But among the people the commissioner met, there were not many who could reach such a high level of understanding of money and currency.

From the perspective of future generations, Guogang's ideas are still somewhat problematic, but at this time, not counting the small group of people on the side of the Mohist family, they can truly understand that the Mohist's "Jiang" and "National Wealth" are integrated again. The Guanzi School's "Light and Heavy" and "Luxury" and summed up these principles are indeed outliers in Zhao Di.

The special commissioner who was immersed in the debate and logic of the Mohist school immediately figured out some different tastes, and suddenly felt the lingering fragrance in his mouth, and he couldn't extricate himself from the immersion.

After staying for a while, he asked, "Tell me, how do you spend the money?"

Guo Gang said: "Since it is said that a certain amount of money has been allocated from above to be invested in the cloud, then this money does not necessarily need to be spent in the cloud. Because our purpose is not to spend money in the cloud, but to exchange money for For food, in exchange for Yunzhong's active cultivation of land next year."

"The essence of the art of "Light and Heavy" lies in the fact that the government guides the direction of consumption, uses taxation and borrowing to regulate production, and at the same time can borrow money first to encourage consumption, and rely on the leading consumption direction to promote the production of something."

"The essence of the art of "Luxury" is that consumption feedback promotes production, encourages consumption to expand the industry, and if there is money to make, it is natural for someone to invest money and invest in a certain industry."

"This is a method that must be used. Please give an example."

Guogang gave an example based on the particularity of the cloud. He believes that if the money is shipped directly, the local prices will be inflated. There are so many commodities in the city, and money can't buy land or hire people, so the prices of all kinds of goods in the city will skyrocket.

However, if you buy a large amount of goods in Handan, Gaoliu and other places and transport them to the cloud, you have to consider what goods to buy.

For example, ironware, Yunzong is actually saturated. If a large amount of ironware is brought over, it will still not be able to exchange too much food, and it will not be able to stimulate Yunzhong's enthusiasm for farming next year.

(End of this chapter)