Under the current situation of Ming Dynasty where wages are paid once a year, although the people of Ming Dynasty have the highest income in the world during this period, their consumption power has not been released.
In itself, the Chinese nation has advocated diligence and frugality since ancient times, saving whenever possible, thinking more about future generations, and leaving as much wealth as possible to future generations.
Now that wages are paid once a year, this large sum of money is used to buy new clothes and shoes for the elderly and children in the family, and to buy some New Year's goods. Most of the wealth is still buried in the jar.
, buried underground.
The consumption power of the Ming Dynasty has not increased much. Otherwise, with the population of hundreds of millions in the Ming Dynasty and the high income, the domestic demand of the Ming Dynasty alone will be extremely large, enough to allow the capitalists within the Ming Dynasty to obtain a sufficient market.
If wages can be paid once a month, although a lot of money will still be saved, the consumption power will definitely be boosted.
It is necessary to buy more clothes for the four seasons, and it is indispensable to eat, drink and have fun. Coupled with some other expenses, domestic demand can naturally be stimulated.
Of course, the benefits of stimulating domestic demand need not be elaborated. When the economy in later generations is not good, they always talk about stimulating domestic demand, which shows the importance of domestic demand.
Of course, the reason why Emperor Hongzhi applauded the case was because Liu Jin had a public heart. Although he was the largest capitalist, he could always think about the ordinary people below and consider the long-term interests of the Ming Dynasty. This was extremely
rare.
They are all capitalists and important officials in the government. Liu Jian, Zhang Mao, and Li Dongyang, in contrast, are more decisive than others and oppose the payment of wages on a monthly basis, because this is very detrimental to big capitalists like them.
Can't they see the disadvantages of paying wages on an annual basis?
Of course not. Anyone who has reached this position is a smart person and does not lack foresight. However, since this matter goes against one's own interests, he will naturally oppose it.
In the final analysis, it is still a question of interests.
"Listening to what you said, it seems to make sense."
As soon as Zhang Mao rolled his eyes, the old fox immediately changed the direction of the situation.
Zhang Mao had plenty of money, so there was no problem in paying his workers monthly wages. The British government itself was a noble representative of the Ming Dynasty, and had a solid foundation accumulated over generations.
He was also the first to follow Liu Jin to set up factories, go to overseas colonies, etc., and had a lot of money. Unlike Li Dongyang, Liu Jian and others, they started late, had a weak foundation, and the money in their hands was very tight. It would be best if they could make money once a year.
If it is paid on a monthly basis, the capital chain will be even tighter.
I had no choice but to set up many factories, buy a huge family business, and open a stall. The money was also tight.
"For a country to develop and prosper, it actually involves two issues. One is how to make the pie bigger, and the other is how to distribute the pie."
Looking at Zhang Mao, Liu Jin smiled, and then continued to talk about a very famous theory in later generations, that is, the issue of making cakes and dividing cakes. Of course, Liu Jin changed it to cakes here.
“Make the pie bigger?”
“How to divide the pie?”
When everyone heard this, they were immediately dumbfounded. Liu Jin was always able to tell some weird things, but he also had something that contained great truth. Everyone listened attentively.
Especially Emperor Hongzhi, who was in charge of the world and knew that being the emperor was not an easy task. Not everyone could bear the burden of hundreds of millions of people.
He loved the people like his own son, was always diligent in government affairs, worked hard to govern, and wanted to build a powerful Ming Empire.
Therefore, he valued virtuous ministers, stayed away from treacherous and villainous people, and thought of various ways to manage this huge empire.
But in the past, he found that even though he was the emperor, he had too many helplessness. Even though he worked hard, the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty did not get much better. A snowstorm gave away the so-called prosperity of the three northern provinces.
Tear to pieces.
Although most of the appointed ministers were loyal and upright, they did not have any extraordinary talents and were unable to truly change the fate and situation of the Ming Dynasty.
It wasn't until the appearance of Liu Jin that he saw the hope of changing the fate and situation of the Ming Dynasty. Every policy and method Liu Jin proposed could always solve the existing problems well, making the Ming Dynasty more and more prosperous and powerful.
.
This is also the reason why he has always reused Liu Jin, because it was Liu Jin who brought hope and new life to this huge empire, and brought new glory to this ancient nation.
Emperor Hongzhi would listen very attentively to many of the things Liu Jin talked about, especially those involving the national level, and then carefully ponder and understand them based on his own experience in governing the country.
Now that Liu Jin was talking about making and dividing cakes, he became more energetic and listened carefully.
The same goes for everyone else. Liu Jin is a descendant of an elite and can always make remarks that no one has heard before. Liu Jin can always be one step ahead or see further in what he says and does.
What he said is definitely worth thinking about and pondering.
"Let's talk about making cakes first."
"It may be easier to understand by reducing a country to a very small scope. Suppose there is a noble in a country. At the same time, the noble is also an official and is responsible for managing the country. There is also a gentry landlord and eight farmers below."
Liu Jin looked at everyone and continued.
Everyone listened carefully, and when they heard Liu Jin's words, they immediately understood that the nobles undoubtedly represented the ruling class, the gentry and landlords represented the middle class, and the farmers represented the large number of lower-class people.
"In this country, farmers are responsible for making cakes. In the past, farmers could only make ten cakes a day. These ten cakes were just enough for ten people in the country, and each person got one piece of cake."
"However, this piece of cake is obviously not enough, so the nobles and gentry have the final say on how to distribute these cakes."
"So the nobles and gentry shared an extra piece of cake, each of them got two pieces of cake, so they could eat enough, and the remaining six pieces of cake were distributed among the eight peasants."
"These eight farmers were full on one piece each. Now that they are missing two pieces, they are even fuller, but they can still manage to eat without starving to death."
"But if the nobles and gentry are too greedy and feel that eating two pieces of cake is not enough, and they want to eat one more piece, then the remaining four pieces of cake will not be enough for eight peasants, so these peasants will
When some people starve to death, naturally they will not continue like this, they will make trouble, and they will find ways to snatch the bread from other people's hands."
Liu Jin was explaining in simple and popular terms, and Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jian, and Li Dongyang were listening attentively.
All smart people will know what Liu Jin means by the nobility, gentry, and peasants here, and they also know that this cake represents the wealth of the world.
At the same time, when they heard that farmers would starve to death and snatch cakes from other people's hands, everyone couldn't help but feel a chill. Although what Liu Jin said seemed very plain, everyone knew that if it were magnified to the national level,
, what does it mean once you reach this step.
This means peasant uprisings, wars, changes in dynasties, and turmoil in the country and the country.
"But if this person eats one piece of bread a day, it is indeed not enough. The nobles and gentry cannot have enough to eat, and the peasants cannot have enough to eat either. How can we solve the problem?"
This thought came to everyone's mind, because everyone knows that human desires are endless. Don't expect the nobles and gentry to be noble and noble, and don't think that the peasants will be easily satisfied. You must know that the nobles and gentry have also been in the past.
The farmers were transformed.
"In the past, farmers made cakes by hand. Eight farmers could only make ten cakes a day. One day, these farmers suddenly mastered new cake-making technology and used machines to replace manpower. They could make twenty cakes a day.
Piece of cake.”
"Suddenly there are ten more pieces of cake. Not only the rulers and gentry can eat enough, but also the peasants can eat more and be fuller."
"If thirty loaves of bread can be made in a day, even if the rules and the gentry eat five loaves a day, there will still be enough loaves left for the peasants to eat."
Liu Jin continued, and when he said this, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up, and they immediately understood what Liu Jin meant.
I just want to say that the emergence of machines has greatly improved labor efficiency. In the past, one person could only cultivate ten acres of land. Now with machines, he can easily cultivate hundreds or even thousands of acres of land. This production
The food produced is naturally different.
There are also a large number of factories, and the production efficiency of the factories is extremely high. For cloth, the efficiency has increased by dozens of times compared to before.
"Of course, people are greedy. The nobles and gentry will definitely not distribute it like this. They will definitely find ways to occupy more cakes. It's just that the huge number of farmers also need cakes."
"Make the pie bigger. If you make more, there will be room for distribution."
"But we must also establish a correct distribution system. We cannot say that the nobles and gentry eat too much, so that there is not enough bread for the peasants."
"Under a good distribution system, even if it is ten loaves, the entire country can maintain a good delivery order. Under a bad distribution system, even if it produces a hundred or a thousand loaves a day, the nobles and gentry will occupy too much."
If there are too many, farmers will still not have enough to eat and will starve to death, and the country will be in turmoil."
"A perfect distribution system should first ensure that everyone in the country from top to bottom can have a piece of cake to eat, and then consider who should be fed first if there is any excess cake left."
