Chapter 299 I regard you as your humerus, and you as your treasury.
"One kilogram of the land of Qi is one kilogram and two taels of the land of Chu, and one kilogram of the land of Chu is nine taels of the land of Zhao. Your Majesty will unify the four seas, and the world will return to Qin. Such differences should be eliminated. Once unified, it will be unified for all generations. Jiang Shang asked your majesty
, unify weights and measures!”
Lu Buwei, who is good at national affairs and even better at business, loudly asked for orders. The old man who had traveled all over the country to do business was very familiar with the weight of each place.
In addition to affecting the independence of previous countries like writing, roads, and customs, differences in measures, quantities, and measures also affect the economic development between different places.
"Sir, you have never forgotten your roots."
The First Emperor learned everything that happened in Han from spies and knew about the existence of the Lu Chamber of Commerce.
He thought that Lu Buwei was admonishing him because he wanted to make money and do business, just like Ying Chengyu did to develop foreign wealth.
From a clear perspective, the businessmen would benefit the most from this matter, so he said something profound.
The ministers who did not know Lu Buwei's true identity would not think about business like the First Emperor. The first thing they thought of was their own interests.
They looked at Lu Buwei with even more hatred. In the area where nobles from aristocratic families were sitting, someone immediately stood up to refute.
The person who stood up was not a minor nobleman, but Wei Zhang, the head of the Wei family. This thin, middle-aged man had just scolded Li Si, a scholar, and seemed to be the main reason why Li Si lost the title of Tingwei.
"On the battlefield, those who rush in to seize glory are easily ambushed. If they fail to kill the enemy, they will die on the spot. The same is true for state affairs. It cannot be done overnight. What the Prime Minister said is a pertinent statement, but it should not be implemented at this time. It can last three years.
It’s better to go later.”
Compared to scolding Li Si, Wei Zhang, who did not know the details of Lu Buwei, seemed very polite when he spoke this time.
No one can achieve this position. Even if he hates Lu Buwei deeply in his heart, Wei Zhang does not want to hastily make an unknown powerful enemy before there is a formal hostility.
However, Lu Buwei didn't think so. He came to court this time not to make friends, nor to be Marquis Wenxin, who had dominated the Qin State decades ago and led the Qin State's civil servants.
When he comes back this time, it’s a reform!
The old man will always remember what Ying Chengyu said to him in the room last night.
"Reform is not about treating guests to dinner, writing articles, or painting and embroidering. It cannot be so elegant, so leisurely, so gentle, so gentle, courteous, and thrifty. Reform is a riot, a violent action in which one class overthrows another class."
Recalling the warning given by King Xiao Qin last night, the domineering look similar to that of the late king made Lu Buwei's originally serious face unconsciously smile.
He faced Wei Zhang, and the heartfelt smile on his face made Wei Zhang immediately smile back and nod slightly.
[This Jiang Shang can still communicate.]
The First Emperor, who was still slightly prejudiced against Lu Buwei, didn't want to rely on Lu Buwei in everything or provide benefits to Lu Buwei, so he nodded towards the thin Wei Zhang.
"Lao Tzu once said: Managing a big country is like cooking small delicacies. Wei Zhang's words are similar to those of Lao Tzu, so this matter should be put aside for the time being."
The ministers breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that okay, okay, this Jiang Shang is still humane after all.
At that moment, Lu Buwei, who had a warm smile on his face, shook his head firmly.
"No, this must be implemented immediately."
Wei Zhang's face darkened.
The faces of the officials darkened.
[He is determined to kill us! This man deserves to die!]
Wang Wan shook her head slowly in her heart.
[Chang'an Jun lost his sense of proportion, and Lu Buwei also lost his sense of proportion. Even if you really want to do something, you must consider it carefully.]
Li Si closed his eyes to cover up the flickering light.
[Go forward without any retreat, is this what you will do in the future? Only in this way can you enter the eyes of your majesty?]
"It will be implemented in three years. Are you going to get money from the treasury for another three years? Your calculations are really better than those of businessmen!"
In this era, merchants are synonymous with lowliness, their place of origin is lowly, their status is higher than that of slaves, and lower than that of common people.
Even if the Qin State had a merchant prime minister, it would not change the reality that merchants had a low status.
Lu Buwei compared the ministers with the businessmen. The ministers felt greatly insulted, and some good people jumped up to show Lu Buwei that Qin Jianli was disadvantageous.
If it weren't for the fact that you were not allowed to bring weapons into the palace, dozens of Qin swords would have been slashing at Lu Buwei at this moment.
The First Emperor listened to Lu Buwei's words without politeness, and when he saw the reaction of the officials so fiercely, he suppressed the hatred in his heart that was as thin as a hair.
He said in a deep voice: "How do you say this?"
"Salary, tax."
Lu Buwei was the first to utter two words.
The First Emperor, who had just been confused, suddenly became enlightened. He looked at the officials who were shouting below, with undisguised anger in his eyes.
[You want to deceive me!]
The ministers restrained their behavior one after another, as if they were afraid of the power of the First Emperor. They sat back on their seats with confused expressions as if they didn't know why His Majesty was angry again, and cursed Lu Buwei in his heart for not being a human being.
In the Qin State, taxes were paid in grain, and grain was measured by weight. For example, the maximum salary in the Qin State was two thousand shi, and this shi was the unit of weight.
In fact, this was true for basically all countries throughout the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. This is because in ancient times when productivity was insufficient, food was the most reliable hard currency.
"I don't know how much this person's salary is. I think that for someone who can go to court and dare to speak like this, his annual salary should be no less than two thousand dan. Your Majesty lives in Xianyang, and the two thousand dan given to this person is Qin's two thousand dan. There is no objection.
"Within Hangu Pass, Qin's quantity can be carried out, and there will be no problem in salary and taxation. But what about other lands? If Zhao's land collects 50,000 shi of grain, should it be based on Qin's quantity or Zhao's quantity? When Chu officials distribute their salaries, should they be based on Qin's quantity?
, or Chu Liang?
"If measurement, measurement, and weighing are not unified as soon as possible, I dare to say that the kings who are in charge of the court will have their hands in salary and taxes. One stone in Chu is measured, and one and a half stones are measured in Qin. If the land of Chu collects 50,000 stones of grain, the local area will be measured according to Chu.
Conquered and handed over to Qin.
"Your Majesty will receive 50,000 shi from Qin, and you will receive 25,000 shi from Qin. The amount from Zhao is less than the amount from Qin, and one stone from Qin is equivalent to one and a half shi from Zhao. If there are thousands of Qin officials in Zhao, each of them should be given a salary of 200 per Qin.
stone, the total salary is 200,000 stone.
"After leaving Hangu Pass, Zhao only had 200,000 shi left in salary, and each of the Qin officials in Zhao had only 200 shi. Zhao's 100,000 shi would be left in Hangu Pass and in the granaries at the homes of the kings.
.Your Majesty, do you think this matter should be slowed down?"
Lu Buwei's words were like a switch that controlled the expressions of the ministers. The more he spoke, the wider the switch was, and the darker the faces of the ministers became.
What Lu Buwei said was just the roughest and reasonable way to make money. In actual operation, what the officials did would be much better than what Lu Buwei said.
But the essence of the matter remains the same, which is to make money by making use of differences in degree, quantity, and balance in compliance with Qin laws.
"I regard you as your humerus, and you as your treasury."
The First Emperor was furious and looked at Wei Zhang who stood up first with cold eyes.