Chapter 1,259: The food and clothing of millions of water workers
"Husband, I don't understand something."
Wang Keyue was happy but also a little puzzled.
Happily, my husband is indeed omnipotent, and I am the king of the Wang family, able to take whatever he wants.
What I don’t understand is, why doesn’t my husband want more magical weapons and precious weapons, but only the land and the academy?
"Although these properties are valuable, they shouldn't be of much value to my husband."
"Besides, if the land rent price is lowered, it won't be a good thing for the husband."
"In this way, the income from the land will drop significantly."
Chu Qianqiu had no shortage of land. He cut off half of the territory of all overseas countries and turned it into the private property of the Chu family.
Now the Chu family transports thousands of people every day to explore overseas lands.
The entire Dajiang Gang and Tianjian Sect are opening up wasteland everywhere overseas, and manors are being built everywhere. The disciples of the Yaowang Sect travel with the ships to treat various overseas diseases and spread the fire.
In other words, Chu Qianqiu is now the number one landlord in the world.
The land he owns cannot even be compared to that of the Wang family.
However, most of the farmland is wasteland and is still in the stage of land reclamation.
As a result, Chu Qianqiu's income from the land was completely destroyed, down to less than 20%.
Normally, the rent for land and land is at least 30%. In a state where people and land are tight, you can even receive more than 50% of the rent.
Doesn’t this reduce your own profits?
"That's a good question, madam."
"It's true that I don't need the money. For me, if I get the land income, I will get better things."
Chu Qianqiu smiled and said.
"Something better?"
Wang Keyue didn't understand.
“During the Taizong period, long-term workers could buy 6 liters of rice per day to feed their families, but during the Mu Zong period, they could only buy 1.5 liters of rice per day, barely surviving, let alone supporting their families.” (Note 1)
"Madam, do you know why this is?"
"Too many people?"
Wang Keyue was not a fool. The war had just ended during the Taizong period, and a large number of fields were uncultivated. Naturally, the wages of long-term workers were much higher.
But in the Mu Zong era, everything was lacking, except for people.
"Yes."
"This will create a vast class of extremely poor people without any motivation for social progress."
Chu Qianqiu is not an ignorant person. He knows very well how Europe can escape the nightmare caused by involution.
The answer is the Black Death, which lasted for hundreds of years and caused a long-term labor shortage in Europe.
At that time, European landowners had to beg farmers to come over and cultivate their land.
Otherwise, the land will be worthless if it is abandoned.
Under such conditions, the farmers quickly rebelled against the landlords. They received far better distribution conditions than their counterparts in the East, and their wages continued to rise.
At the same time, because labor became expensive, there was eventually a need for technological advancement, such as steam engines.
Countries in the East cannot avoid the internal competition brought about by population expansion.
Anyway, if you don’t do it, there are people who do it.
Today Zhang San's salary requires 3 liters of rice, tomorrow Li Si will only need 2 liters, and the day after tomorrow Wang Wu will directly smash the market and only demand 1 liter.
One liter of rice is only enough for myself, not for anyone else.
The landlord class, in their competition with each other, took away all the surplus value, and the tenant farmer class lost everything due to internal friction and competition step by step.
Because the negotiation advantages of both parties are completely different.
Of course, Chu Qianqiu also had other solutions, which was to release the [Disaster Insect] to let the plague hang over the Shenwu Dynasty. According to the changes in the Black Death, he would regularly clean up the population to ensure a shortage of labor.
The problem is that this is too cruel.
Therefore, if he wants to get rid of this internal friction and increase the speed of social development, he must break down the income from land and improve the distribution model.
We cannot allow the big landlord class and various sects to severely exploit the people, leaving them with nothing.
Of course, Chu Qianqiu also has [mutated bugs] on his body, which can unleash technological revolution, but direct technological revolution cannot promote social progress if it cannot improve distribution.
To use the simplest analogy, if Chu Qianqiu invented cheap robots and supplied them to the landlords and wealthy people, then a large number of long-term workers would have no choice but to wait to die, or let the court die.
In the Shenwu Dynasty, landowners riding in sedan chairs were considered kinder than those riding in horse-drawn carriages.
Because riding in a sedan chair can support four long-term workers, but riding in a carriage can only support one long-term worker.
Just like after the Opium War, foreign vehicles and ships, with extremely advanced machinery and convenience, and the opening of ports, caused hundreds of thousands of long-term workers in the logistics industry to be laid off and unemployed.
These laid-off and unemployed long-term workers chose the most promising job, that is, rebellion.
Thus the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was born.
The livelihood of millions of water workers is not entirely a self-justification of vested interests, but a serious problem rooted in society.
Chu Qianqiu is naturally not afraid of people's rebellion, but he can't kill all the unemployed refugees.
"So our goal is clear, to slowly increase the money in the hands of farmers."
"This way they will buy clothes, food, and houses."
"Only in our workshops can we make money, and the resources of the entire society will flow."
"It's not that the landowner Lao Cai made money and either bought land or hid it in the cellar."
Chu Qianqiu smiled and said that he had also said this to his eldest wife Huang Xiaoxiao. (Note: Chapter 168)
But at that time, Chu Qianqiu could only accumulate food and grass to cope with the famine.
But now he wants to change the distribution model of the entire society.
"My husband said it was so complicated."
"But as long as it is your husband's opinion, I will definitely work hard to implement it."
"If you think 20% is too high, you can lower it to 10%."
Wang Keyue blinked. After all, this is the Wang family's property, and she won't feel bad if the income is reduced.
"Hey, that's right."
"As long as a few ladies work together, we can break through the land rent prices in the entire world."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Chu Qianqiu has deeply controlled the entire country, and can do more and more things.
"Overseas countries are still pioneering, which can attract a large number of labor forces, and Lingzhou and Fengzhou are constantly opening workshops, which can also attract a large number of labor forces."
"The prosperity brought about by such investment will hopefully raise the price of the entire labor market and get out of the nightmare of involution."
As Chu Qianqiu spoke, he used more and more nouns that Wang Keyue couldn't understand, so she could only write them down as hard as she could.
"I understand."
"You really understand?"
Chu Qianqiu hugged his wife and asked with a smile.
"No, I don't understand."
Wang Keyue pursed her lips, feeling a little silly.
"Don't worry, Xiaoxiao has figured it out."
"You can just ask her for advice then."
Chu Qianqiu would not let the backyard catch fire, so he firmly supported the little authority and let her take charge of the harem.
"Don't worry, husband, I will definitely listen to my eldest sister's words."
"I will never fight with my eldest sister."
Wang Keyue has gained too much this time.
If she does not show respect for Huang Xiaoxiao's status, it will cause an imbalance in the harem.
The Wang family is ready to unite around her, and the power she can mobilize instantly fills the entire Jiangzhou, and even the Shenwu Dynasty.
"Very good. With the help of ladies, my husband's dream will be closer."
Chu Qianqiu nodded, raised the Ya Sheng statue again, and put it back to its original position.
He looked at this Confucian saint and said softly:
"I don't know how you would feel if you heard this while you are still alive."
"It's just that for me, I have my vision and the ability to implement it."
"If you stand in my way, even if you are a Confucian saint, you will be shattered to pieces."
"After all, the people are the most important, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important."
"I think the Confucian tradition is equally light."
"If this social change comes at the expense of Confucianism, what would you think?"
As soon as Chu Qianqiu finished speaking, the context of Jiangzhou and the Ya Sheng statue once again resonated incredibly.