It is an interesting suggestion to fundamentally improve the status of businessmen.
It has to be said that since the late Jin Dynasty, the status of merchants has been greatly improved, which can be regarded as one of the influences of Hu Feng's spread to the south. Because the Hu people produced little and could not be self-sufficient, they paid special attention to trade.
When they wreaked havoc on the Central Plains and were gradually assimilated, they also brought over some customs and habits of the Hu people. This was the process of Hu Feng's spread to the south.
The status of merchants was significantly improved during the Daye period. Yang Guang did a lot of things to be able to communicate with the Western Regions.
He first sent troops to attack Tuyuhun and the Tuqiang tribe, and finally opened up the Hexi Corridor. Then he patrolled Zhangye in the west, attracting kings from the Western Regions to come to pay their respects.
Yang Guang was intoxicated by the grand occasion of the Western Tour to Zhangye, which was indeed extraordinary. At that time, the kings of twenty-seven countries in the Western Regions came to see him and presented countless rare treasures. Later, it was called the Exposition of All Nations.
Yang Guang himself also climbed Yanzhi Mountain to worship heaven and earth. That was perhaps Yang Guang's most glorious moment.
As the number one traveler in the Central Plains, he was the first emperor to travel so far. In the past two years, he led 500,000 people to patrol Yulin. The grand occasion was no worse than this time. The Turkic Qimin Khan paid homage at the foot of the steps. He is also known as the Holy Khan.
Because of this western tour, Tuyuhun, the middleman, was finally driven away. In the past, merchants from the Western Regions and Han merchants had to obtain permission from Tuyuhun before they could trade in the Hexi Corridor.
The biggest victory of Yang Guang's inspection to the west was the opening of the Hexi Corridor, and the happy moment for the merchants came. They could go directly to the Western Regions, and their income from a round trip increased several times, or even dozens of times.
In order to enhance the influence of the Sui Dynasty in the Western Regions, Yang Guang issued many edicts to encourage trade. Commercial taxes at checkpoints on the road were exempted if possible, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of merchants.
The nine surnames of Zhaowu who were active in the Zhangye area at that time were the biggest beneficiaries of this incident. For example, brothers An Xiuren, who had previously been influential in Guzang City, were born in the nine surnames of Zhaowu.
Businessmen have received attention, and their social status has naturally improved. Moreover, many of them are attached to noble families. The aristocratic families use them to make money, so they will naturally tolerate this group of people.
Generally speaking, merchants in the pre-Sui Dynasty lived a pretty good life as a whole, and many of them successfully entered the common class by becoming lackeys of powerful families.
Samurai Yu is a very typical character among them.
Li Po was born in the military and had a natural aversion to businessmen. When he was in Yunnei, he cut off business contacts and his methods could be described as cruel.
Of course, no one who is still doing business with the Turks is innocent.
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"Who is Samurai Yu? What he said is quite insightful. What is his current position? I can invite you to meet him later."
The monarchs and ministers were talking among the crowd, while heading towards Liangyi Hall. Apparently Feng Deyi wanted to have a meal before going back.
"Yiyuan County Duke Warrior Xun was a wealthy businessman in Bingzhou. Li Yuan was helped by him in raising an army, and he was awarded the title. Li Yuan was the Minister of Household Affairs at that time. He was a heroic character, easy to socialize with, and very talented. However, he was burdened by Li Yuan and his son. Lost his official position.
I saw that he was sincere in submitting his service, so I submitted a letter on my behalf. Your Majesty wants to see him, and tomorrow I will invite him to the palace to see you."
Li Po nodded, but added with a half-smile, "Submit a letter for me? Without your embellishment, how could his writing be so concise and neat?"
Feng Deyi's flattery followed immediately, "I knew I couldn't escape the wise eyes of the Supreme Being... When I present it to the Supreme Emperor, I can't be rash, but I don't dare to go too far. I just want him to be more knowledgeable in arts and sciences."
Li Po didn't blame him harshly, he just smiled and said: "It's not easy for just one businessman to reach the position of Minister of Household Affairs... Li Gui and Xue Ju were both former wealthy businessmen of the Sui Dynasty, with a fortune of tens of millions. They rose up in time to compete with other heroes.
And, it can be seen that there are heroes among businessmen."
Feng Deyi secretly glanced at the emperor's face. He didn't understand what he meant. He could only reply: "The warrior Xun is different from Xue Ju, Li Gui and others. From my perspective, he is not that big."
ambition."
Li Po laughed and said, "Those with great ambitions will die quickly. I hope he is a smart man. Businessmen value the profit of wealth and goods... The world will soon be at peace. Businessmen's exchanges can prosper the streets and stabilize people's hearts. Although I don't like them,
But it might as well be used to stabilize the world.
It is said that in the pre-Sui Dynasty, there were many business houses in the outer city, and the business leaders lived in the capital all year round, so that the emperor could consult him at any time, is there anything going on?"
Feng Deyi nodded, "That was during the Daye period... Emperor... Yang Guang lived in Luoyang all year round, so there were more business houses in Luoyang... I also learned the stories of the kings of the Western Regions, and the illustrated records of the Western Regions compiled by Pei Hongda and others.
, which is what it talks about.
There were many merchants walking in the palace of the king of the Western Regions. When Yang Guang visited Zhangye, the kings came to pay homage to him and told him a lot about the customs and customs of the Western Regions. Yang Guang was delighted when he heard about it. After he came back, he made many incredible rules. Otherwise, how could the merchants be allowed to visit the palace?
An elegant hall?"
Li Po laughed in his heart, not showing off his dignity? You haven't seen businessmen rule the world yet...
"Then do you think Yang Guang's policy of preferential treatment to merchants has any benefits?"
Feng Deyi pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "Apart from creating some famous big businessmen, there are not many benefits. On the contrary, some families in the capital have become rich, but they do not pay any taxes...
At that time, there was a saying in the court about using national power to invest in wealth, but Yang Guang was on the rise at that time, and no one was willing to comment on such trivial matters."
Liang Yi Palace was already in sight. Li Po smiled and said quietly after a long time: "Now that the world is exhausted, it is necessary to promote business in the future, but it is impossible to just rely on merchants to trade back and forth.
The soldiers at the front fought bloody battles to open up trade routes. The farmers worked hard to finance the military. The king gained the reputation of being able to communicate with the Western Regions and all nations came to court. The merchants gained wealth. The nobles profited from it. It looked prosperous, but in fact it was a waste of people and money. The soldiers
His blood was shed in vain.
Therefore, business matters still need to be considered, and the six strategies of negotiation... we can ignore the others and let the new money circulate around the world faster through the hands of businessmen. In addition, if we can make those foreign races feel that our new money is useful...
…Well, it’s indeed a good suggestion.”
Feng Deyi was shocked. Is this the emperor's attitude towards businessmen? It's far different from Yang Guang... It can only be used, not reused. I think we understand it correctly, right?
Moreover, the emperor didn't seem to want the merchants to make too much profit, and he didn't say anything about imposing heavy taxes. To be honest, he regretted recommending the warrior Xun to the emperor.
That guy was originally a business traveler. It was easy to associate him with Xue Ju, Li Gui and others. He would definitely not be liked by the emperor. If he got any special position in the future, he would have to stay away from them.
When the time comes, he will be splashed with blood.
In fact, Li Po still had something to say, which was that once a businessman made too much profit, people would be jealous, so everyone gathered to do business. For an empire that was still in the farming era and had just experienced an unprecedented civil war.
, it’s simply a disaster.
Moreover, businessmen have always been greedy. After tasting the sweetness of political influence, what is the first thing that comes to mind? War. Only war can make businessmen profit the most.
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Of course, these matters are still far away and are not worthy of serious treatment by an emperor.
When he was eating, he put all these things behind him. Eating is the most important thing in the world. Let the businessman and his six strategies of speech and business go to hell.
During the meal, Cen Wenwen from Zhongshushe came to see him and told the emperor that the prince had broken the head of Dou Dan's son while practicing martial arts today. Then the mother-in-law of Dou Dan's family went to the palace to plead guilty, and then killed the crying child.
Got beaten up.
This greatly affected Li Po's appetite. If Li Yuan were in front of him, he would definitely taste a big slap from his father... So Li Po had to casually give instructions, "Dou Dan, the Minister of Household Affairs, is diligent in the king's affairs and loyal to his duties.
Special promotion to Doctor Guanglu."
The child's painful childhood was exchanged for his father to be promoted to an official position. Well, this is very characteristic of the feudal empire.
So there was another pair of bowls and chopsticks in the Liangyi Palace. Unlike Li Yuan, the emperor always liked to have fun with his ministers, so the opportunity to have a meal with the emperor was extremely rare. Naturally, Cen Wenwen came here with a view to the meal.
Li Po obviously valued Cen Wenwen very much and asked the palace servants to serve him fine wine. Feng Deyi didn't get this treatment and was a little jealous.
Cen Wenwen is considered an old minister of Jinyang. He is young and has outstanding talents. Coupled with his good writing skills, he will almost certainly reach the position of prime minister in the future.
Now that Xiao Mian has been conquered, there are more and more talented people in Jiangnan, and they will inevitably surround people like Cen Wenwen.
Li Po drank a few drinks with the two of them.
Cen Wenwen said: "The right of Jiang River has been decided. I thought I could write a book to Du Fuwei to tell him about his coming and returning. He has been looking left and right for many years. It seems that he has no intention of competing. If he can surrender without fighting, it will be a great good."
Feng Deyi blinked his eyes and glanced at the young Zhongshu Sheren. He felt a little envious and a little jealous, but he had to laugh at him secretly.
Young men don't know that official career is dangerous. If I say a few words at this time, I might have to send you to Jiangzuo to persuade Du Fuwei to surrender. I don't know if you will come back.
He didn't know how Cen Wenwen got to Jinyang, otherwise he would have to add that this guy doesn't have a long memory.
Fortunately, Li Po was not Xiao Mian, so he nodded in agreement, "Jing Ren's article is well written, so I'll ask you to write a letter for me and send it to Du Fuwei, asking him to come to Chang'an to see me as soon as possible, otherwise there will be no talent in my palace."
Jiji, there is almost no place for him."
By now, Li Po had finally figured out that Du Fuwei was a very special person among the heroes of the late Sui Dynasty. He might have come to Chang'an to ask for a title in a sudden thought, and he had sent his adopted son Wang Xiongdan to Chang'an.
It's obvious that this person's mind is different from others.
If this person really comes, how should he be treated? The first prince to surrender without a fight seems to have many big ships in his hands, which is really eye-catching...
This chapter has been completed!