Li Ang was sitting in the auditorium, pressing a newspaper lightly with his palm, closing his eyes and relaxing.
Friends around him knew that he was meditating and subconsciously lowered their conversation voices to avoid disturbing him.
The first one to play was Pei Jing. He fought fiercely with his opponent for more than a quarter of an hour, and finally won a thrilling victory.
Exhausted, he raised the Canghai Sword high above his head.
The cheers of the audience were roaring, and in the stands high up, Emperor Yu, Minister Pushe Pei Su and others also showed happy smiles.
Then came Ren Chao, Ashina Que Teqin, Li Hui, Shangguan Yang Yao...
Game after game, the audience cheered and cheered one after another, but Li Ang still closed his eyes, thinking about something.
This world is so real that it’s a little ridiculous.
The competition in the martial arts arena is indeed related to national honor.
The performance of the younger generation of monks represents the overall situation of monks in various countries in the next ten or twenty years, and means the peace and stability of the country.
Seeing their players win, whether it is Emperor Yu, Chief Shan, Cardinal Taihaoshan, or the royal family of Jing Kingdom and Zhou Kingdom, the smiles on their faces are real.
In the audience, the proud cheers and cheers of the citizens of Yu State are also real.
But...
Li Ang lowered his head and glanced at today's newspaper.
In Luoyang, workshop workers destroyed new spinning machines.
The cause of the incident was that the workshop owner purchased the latest large-scale spinning machine.
Since the spinning machine was more efficient and required fewer workers to operate it, the workshop owner laid off a group of workers and lowered the wages of the remaining workers.
And threaten all workers who say they want to resign - if you don't work, others will rush to do it. Even if the salary is reduced, the wages in the workshop are still higher than those in farming.
So the workers beat the extremely arrogant workshop owner until he fled, then destroyed and burned the large spinning machine, and dispersed before the government officials arrived.
...
All this seems so familiar.
Li Ang subconsciously clenched the newspaper with his palms.
He has been to Suzhou and seen the spinning workshops there with his own eyes, and knows how bad the production environment in the workshops is.
Diffuse and flying dust fibers,
Hot and humid air,
Mechanically numb labor.
The workers in the workshops, in their twenties, look as if they are forty years old.
Luoyang workers destroyed machinery not just because they were worried that the machinery would take away their jobs, but more out of an intolerable resistance to oppression and exploitation.
They have never studied the Four Books and Five Classics, nor do they understand those profound and abstruse principles.
But they instinctively know that the introduction of large-scale spinning machines will make the workshop owners more unscrupulous in lowering wages, will make the workshop owners even more ignorant of the harsh environment of the workshops, and will make the workshop owners even more wanton and treat people as if they can
Mechanical parts ruthlessly discarded.
Sadly, I unknowingly contributed to all of this happening.
Li Ang took a deep breath. The land annexation in Suzhou has become quite serious.
Workshop owners are willing to spend five times or even ten times the price to purchase land along the river suitable for building workshops.
Many workshops have been established in the villages closest to Suzhou City.
Like a straw, it crazily absorbs the surrounding population.
Everyone in the world knows that the former Sui Dynasty was destroyed in the situation of "the rich had vast fields and the poor had no place to stand", but what can be done?
Farmers' ability to resist risks is extremely low. Once they encounter natural or man-made disasters, land production will be reduced, or even family members will become sick.
It is easy to go bankrupt and be forced to sell the land.
Once they lose their land, farmers who have no means of livelihood can only be forced to become workshop laborers and let others slaughter their fish and meat.
In the past, because the workshop efficiency was low, profits were not exaggeratedly high.
The expansion rate of Suzhou's textile workshops is still within a reasonable range - the textile workshops use waterwheels to provide power and must be built along the river, and the available addresses are relatively limited.
But the Aura machine, which Li Ang provided the idea for and Su Feng started to implement, is completely different.
Reiki machines do not require strict site selection, and a workshop can be established anywhere.
Moreover, the power source of the spiritual energy machine is the ubiquitous spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which can work without interruption.
Its production efficiency and profit margin far exceed all previous textile equipment.
Under this circumstance, the pace of workshop expansion will also be greatly accelerated.
The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
Li Ang looked around. The place where he was was the Academy, the pinnacle of the Yu Kingdom.
Nowadays, how much of the country’s wealth does the richest two percent of people in Yu State occupy?
Fifteen percent? Twenty percent?
This is already an exaggeration.
And once Reiki machines are widely spread and various workshops have sprung up all over the country, how much wealth will these two percent of the rich occupy?
Forty percent? Fifty percent? Or eighty percent?
If it is allowed to develop, Li Ang can completely foresee that the overall wealth of Yu State will increase rapidly with the help of the spiritual energy machine, and the scholars, businessmen, and wealthy nobles will become more extravagant and lustful.
And for the larger number of workers and farmers, their quality of life will decline to some extent instead of rising——
Faced with the exaggeratedly efficient Aura machines, workers and farmers have no bargaining power and can only choose work that is physically and mentally destructive, working seven or eight hours a day to earn a meager salary to support their families.
Even resistance has little effect.
A monk is equivalent to an army. Facing Zhuxiao who can come and go freely, no matter how many ordinary people there are, it is meaningless.
The Reiki Machine is a panacea that can cure illnesses and save lives.
It is also a bloodthirsty beast that eats people without spitting out their bones.
Li Ang opened his eyes, slowly closed the newspaper, and his eyes stayed on the front page headline - it was an article praising the monks of the Academy, praising the monks' performance in academic exchanges and winning glory for Yu State.
.
It also used a lot of words to praise Li Ang.
Simply... black humor.
Li Ang shook his head,
He entered the Academy to allow more people to live a dignified and decent life, not to make inventions and creations the wealth that the rich and powerful can enjoy alone.
It was he who released the scourge of the spiritual energy machine like a Pandora's box.
He should also hold the reins of this evil beast firmly and strangle its throat to prevent it from eating the flesh and blood of the people of Yu Kingdom.
With influence in all aspects, the academy that controls Yu State is the best platform.
To achieve this, you need more prestige, higher status, greater power, and even... personal absolute force.
In the broadcast at the martial arts arena, the names of Li Ang and Bian Chenpei were announced.
In the auditorium in the distance, Bian Chen Peishi stood up with a smile on his face, enjoying the focus of everyone's eyes, and slowly walked towards the ring below.
He is the proud son of heaven and a member of Mount Taihao who rules all the people in the world.
"The sun is rising, it's your turn."
Li Leling reminded softly.
"Yeah."
Li Ang stood up slowly and placed the newspaper beside his seat with a firm gaze.
Now, let’s start with... blowing Bian Chenpei’s head off.
This chapter has been completed!