Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 1289 Merchants

  At the beginning of the second year of Yanping, Fei Qian finally got a little leisurely, but in the short term, he still had to deal with some political affairs near Pingyang, and in the rest of the time, he could consider some technological and technological development issues.

After all, the political index of the prefects in several large counties and counties at hand is at least 80 or above. Many things are dealt with directly in the local area, and there is no need for Fei Qian to ask in person, which saves a lot of tedious back and forth. Potential administrative pressure.

  So Fei Qian also had some time to go out with Huang Yueying, stroll around, look at the mountains and rivers, which can be regarded as compensation for what he has not been able to do over the years. Speaking of which, women in the Han Dynasty were more reasonable, at least not like the later generations who forgot certain days and felt like the sky fell, and even when they were shopping with them, they needed to put on a bright appearance when they were on call, otherwise ,hehe…

  To be honest, Fei Qian really feels like time is passing by now. If he is making a report on the work of General Zhengxi, the unshakable words "time slowly passes by" are really sincere.

  Of course, the more direct sensory experience is the popularity of the surrounding area.

Economic prosperity brings more population, which in turn promotes the demand for commodities, and then promotes further economic development. As long as this positive cycle is not restrained and broken, there is a high probability that it can continue for a period of time. For quite a long time, until one day when Pingyang developed to the state of the original capital city like Chang'an or Luoyang in the Han Dynasty, it was restricted by some unique production and living conditions.

  Pingyang is actually not suitable as the capital of a country.

After all, the surrounding grain-producing areas are not very large, and the current climate is gradually becoming bitter and cold, and Zhuang He's production cycle is also forced to be compressed to one season or one and a half seasons. It is not possible to plant hemp first and then harvest the hemp in summer like the old ancestors did before. Plant another crop...

In other words, because the weight of grain production always has an upper limit, when the population reaches a certain level, it will be necessary to transfer grain and grass outside. However, under the traffic conditions of the Han Dynasty, the cost of transportation is still a problem. of.

"Lang Jun! I didn't expect that this road has been repaired here!" Huang Yueying jumped up and down, pulling Fei Qian's sleeve and said, very excited, just like Erha who finally let the house go, and was almost shaken He barked with his tail.

  Human beings should belong to nature by nature, but this natural attribute is often castrated in later generations.

Fei Qian smiled slightly, pampered Lou Huang Yueying's head and said, "Do you know who built this road?" This is a road leading to the mountainous area west of Pingyang, passing through the valley, although most areas It is yellow land, but it has been leveled and even covered with a layer of **** cement, which is a special product of Pingyang Gongfang. Well, people call it "gray stone" now.

Although this kind of **** cement is not as hard and firm as the cement of the later generations, it has the characteristics that the yellow earth does not have. It will not change much solid state due to water absorption. Unlike the yellow earth, it is naturally hard when it dries. But once it rains, the mud is like a small swamp, step on your shoes and come out with bare feet...

"Who? Zao engaged in? If it wasn't for the former Du engaged in?" Huang Yueying guessed the names of several people, then subconsciously pulled her fingers, and said, "It will cost a lot of money to build such a road? This manpower and material resources... Ok…"

"Neither. And this road, speaking of it, we have made money..." Fei Qian smiled, stepped on it with his foot to see how solid the road is, "You may not believe it, it's Bai Shiqiang's people .”

   "Bai Shiqiang?!" Huang Yueying's eyes widened, "How is this possible?"

In Huang Yueying's impression, the Qiang people and the Huns are basically the same, wearing tattered leather robes, covered with fleas, and the creases on the face and neck are covered with layers of gray-black human body fat and a mixture of dust…

   Such a person can still build roads?

  Huang Yueying looked at Fei Qian in disbelief, then lowered her head to look at the road.

Although the road is not completely straight, but mixed with yellow mud, gravel and **** cement mixture, it can generally provide a relatively stable support and driving area for passing vehicles, although there are also some that are crushed by vehicles in the middle The imprint, but it doesn't collapse like ordinary yellow land, only cracked and a little smashed. If it is repaired, it is basically not very different from other roads...

"Bai Shiqiang came to see me before, and he mentioned this business road during the chat, saying that if it rains or snows, it will be considered as a cut off, but sometimes some goods can't stand the rain, and the road along the way There are always some losses..." Fei Qian said to Huang Yueying as he walked, "Later, I gave Bai Shiqiang an idea... Every time their caravan came, when they returned from Pingyang, they would leave the Pingyang workshop for five The car, loaded with gray stones, followed them, each time a section was paved, Bai Shiqiang only needed to pay for some materials and construction costs, and over time, it extended to this place..."

   "Oh..." Huang Yueying nodded, "I didn't expect..."

   "Didn't expect what?" Fei Qian said with a smile, "Didn't expect the barbarians to be useful, or didn't expect businessmen to be able to build roads?"

Huang Yueying tilted her head slightly, thought for a while, and then said: "Well... there should be all of them... It's not about Lang Jun, I really don't know there is such a thing... But, Lang Jun, it's not like in the book that merchants seek profit , east, west, north, south, each use their ingenuity. Good clothes and good food, there are twelve benefits at the age of 12, and there is no tax on rent..."

"What did young man Gong say?" Fei Qian looked into the distance and said, "Young man Gong also wrote a letter saying that the officials who pick pearls, jade, gold, silver and cast money should be replaced by those who pay rent, taxes and rewards... Those who believe in books should have no books and also…"

  Fei Qian didn't finish speaking, but looked around, pointed to the grassy **** beside him, and said, "Let's set up camp there, and then let Zichu hunt some animals..."

"Okay!" Huang Yueying didn't mean to ask, anyway, any topic of the businessman was more important to her than a picnic, so she excitedly took Mo Dou and a few nuns to the grassy slope, and then greeted Then people took some utensils and other things from the luggage cart and began to prepare.

  Fei Qian, when he is in this position, he doesn't need to do it himself, he just waits to eat. However, if you don't do it, you need to use your brain, Huang Yueying's words touched Fei Qian invisibly.

  The status of merchants seems to have declined at the end of the Han Dynasty, that is, at this point in time. This is completely different from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods...

   Fei Qian walked slowly up the hillside, and then sat down on a rock.

   This can be regarded as an overcorrection, or in other words, in the history of China, there have always been overcorrections time and time again...

Taking the Shang Yang Reform as the dividing line, the legal status of merchants in ancient China can be divided into two stages. From the period when China entered the civilization inheritance period until the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the legal status of merchants was not low, and the peak of merchants even appeared during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. period, but since the Shang Yang Reform, especially after the Qin and Han Dynasties, the legal status of merchants has been severely degraded, and even suppressed heavily.

  Merchants were a special class in ancient Chinese society, but it is very interesting that in ancient times, most of the words for merchants were positive or neutral, and it only became worse and worse later on.

  The Shang Dynasty originally referred to the group of people who did business in the Central Plains, so it was called Shang. There is a saying in the "Book of Changes": "Paoxi's family died, Shennong's family made it, and it was listed in the country. Japan and China are the market, so that the people of the world can gather the world's goods, trade and return, and each gets what he wants."

  Even in the Shangshu, there is a statement that Shun once "traveled in Dunqiu, and then lost Xia" before he was abdicated by Yao. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, due to the implementation of the "industrial and commercial food official" system, the ruler did not have to implement the policy of suppressing and lowering merchants. Until the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the feudal landlord class had not yet fully established its dominant position, and even the golden age of ancient Chinese merchants appeared at this time.

  For example, Duke Huan of Qi appointed Guan Zhong, who was born as a merchant, as his prime minister to rectify the state affairs.

   Also like Fan Li, Zi Gong, Yi Dun, Bai Gui and so on.

   There is also Lu Buwei.

  Although the standard legal provisions of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were not handed down much due to the war, judging from the status of these big merchants, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the status of merchants was not humble, and they enjoyed extensive rights.

  Confucius’ Zigong was also a big businessman. It can be said that Zigong contributed a lot to Confucius’ establishment of Confucianism. "Tie four horses together, tie silk coins, and enjoy the feudal lords; wherever they go, all the kings will fight against him. If the husband makes Confucius famous all over the world, Zigong will follow him first."

   But later, the status of businessmen gradually declined.

   Tian's and Lu Buwei's pot?

Maybe.

  How low were merchants in the Han Dynasty?

There is a statute in the Qin Bamboo Slips called "Wei Ben's Law of Destiny": "... Tell the general: False door, Nilu, son-in-law, stepfather, or people who don't work, don't rule the house, and widows don't want to. Let's kill them, I can't bear them Don't let the clan rats. Siege the city with its insufficiency, and the general with the arrogance..."

  This decree is to send merchants, travelers, sons-in-law, etc. who do not do farming or housekeeping into the army. According to this law, merchants, travelers, sons-in-law, and stepfathers become people without full personal rights. This kind of law that discriminated against merchants continued to the Qin and Han Dynasties, so that it affected the entire Chinese feudal society.

  Qin Shihuang regarded merchants as sinners and dispatched them to border counties as garrison soldiers.

  In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the law of "relegation of seven subjects" was enacted. Depriving the seven kinds of people of some of their personal rights, the state can send them into the army at any time. Among the seven kinds of people, businessmen rank fourth.

   Is it because there were no smart people in the dynasties of all dynasties, and they couldn't see clearly the role of businessmen?

Fei Qian shook his head. After he arrived in the Han Dynasty, he discovered that the wisdom of the ancients was not bad, and even surpassed the people of later generations in some areas. deeper reasons.

  Fei Qian felt that apart from Lu Buwei's factors, the biggest reason was probably the natural opposition between the feudal system of the small peasant economy adopted by the Central Plains Huaxia, the superstructure formed by the big landlord class, and the free economic system between merchants.

   If you are not in your position, you will not seek your own government.

Now Fei Qian is the leader of the entire Zhengxi Group, and the whole of China seems to be reproducing the situation of the separatist regimes and disputes between the princes in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. Therefore, the status of merchants who can communicate with each other has been raised again, because the geography of the princes in various places The scope is always limited, and some materials cannot be produced locally, and must be traded by merchants.

These caravans under Feiqian's jurisdiction can get the acquiescence of the princes from all over the country, and trade in their territories. Of course, there are some factors in the face of Feiqian, the general who conquered the West, but more of these princes also hope to use the business Teams get what they want.

  So at this point in time, no one is proposing any policies to suppress merchants.

But once the division returns to unity, the ruling class of the big landlords will inevitably hope that all people in the world will be bound to the land, and their children and grandchildren will pay for the land, and then use the registration to restrict the flow of the population, and obtain various taxes that have been handed over from generation to generation. …

  It is not surprising that all dynasties and generations have continued to promote agriculture and suppress business.

Restricting businessmen, especially small and medium-sized businessmen who used to be peasants, and belittling their social status in one way or another, the intention is to "drive the people back to their mothers", and at the same time curb businessmen from competing for profits with the state, so as to increase the status of the state. of financial revenue.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Dong Zhongshu’s suggestion of “abolishing all schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism”, Han Confucianism integrated the legalist’s thought of emphasizing the foundation and suppressing the end of the Warring States period, and also believed that only agriculture can produce wealth. This kind of thinking continued until it reached a corner of Pian’an The Song Dynasty was relaxed, but the geographical environment of the Song Dynasty can also be regarded as a four-country or multi-country version of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States...

  Merchants drive the flow of goods and promote regional communication. At the same time, like Baishi Qiang, they will indirectly develop the road network, and even promote the advancement of technology to a certain extent, because the profits of novelty things must be higher.

  But how can the status of businessmen be neither high nor low, so that they will not fall into the situation of overcorrecting again after the unification?

   Fei Qian suddenly felt that this problem was a bit stuck in an endless loop.

As long as the feudal dynasty is unified, the landlord class will inevitably rise, and the rising landlord class will naturally suppress all enemies that destroy the self-sufficient and natural economy of the small peasant system, and then society will gradually enter a stagnant state. The next round of outbreaks...

  Is there any method that can be used for reference to change this situation?

  Decentralization?

   No, Chinese people, strictly speaking, are human beings, but all decentralization must involve internal consumption all the time. Although there are centralized powers, they are relatively few.

  Fei Qian closed his eyes, recalled what he had seen or heard as much as possible, searched for the memories left in his mind, and found that there seemed to be a way to try...

  (end of this chapter)