"Lao Liu is really a talent, what he said makes sense~"
"I didn't expect that this prince not only made money, but also supported so many people, allowing these hundreds of thousands, no, millions of people to live a good life."
"Yes, this is the way to govern a country. Let more people live a better life. This is the way to govern the country. As for benevolence and virtue, they are all nonsense. They can only shout
Empty slogans make it impossible for people to see anything practical.”
After Zhu Houzhao heard Liu Jin's words, his little eyes suddenly narrowed and he kept nodding his head. That's good, that's good. Why didn't he find out before that he had done so many good deeds without knowing it?
Blessed millions of people.
As for Wang Shouren, his head was also buzzing at this time.
He always felt that something was wrong with what Liu Jin said, but he could never find any rebuttal.
Liu Jin used data to speak. How many factories, workshops, how many workers there are, how much monthly money is there, and how many families make profits. This is so persuasive, compared with what kings, ministers, benevolence and righteousness are.
Empty words like morality are much more convincing.
At the same time, Wang Shouren vaguely felt that Liu Jin's words were correct. The way to govern a country for a king should not just shout slogans in the temple. It should go deep into the bottom, understand the needs of the people, and then let them know the needs of the people.
More people live a better life.
This kind of statement is very simple. Although it is not as beautiful as the language summarized and condensed by their Confucian tradition, it is rough but not rough and contains profound truth.
If Wang Shouren was a traditional scholar or nerd, he would definitely refute Liu Jin immediately. However, Wang Shouren is a person who is good at thinking, discovering and exploring. He will study anything in depth, so he thinks what Liu Jin said
That's right.
"If you have a solid warehouse, you will know etiquette; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace!"
Here, Liu Jin spoke again.
"For ordinary people, what they care most about is not who will be the emperor or who will govern the country. What they care most about is whether they and their families can fill their stomachs and whether they can have enough clothes to keep out the cold."
"Brother Wang, you come from a privileged family. Your father is the number one scholar. You have never had to worry about food and clothing since you were a child. Naturally, you cannot understand the suffering of ordinary people."
"I came from a poor family and lost my father when I was young. It was only my mother who raised me and provided me with education. So I know very well what ordinary people need most."
"In fact, to put it simply and popularly, the way to govern a country is to let the people live a good life. These people are not just the scholar-bureaucrats among the scholars, nor are they just the landlords, but the people at the lowest level.
Farmers are craftsmen and military households. They are the water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
"Governing a country can be done from many aspects. Scholars pay attention to righteousness, benevolence and morality to the people. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this. But we can also think from another aspect, thinking about how to govern a country from an economic perspective.
."
Liu Jin spoke slowly and began to tell the two about economic theories that were generally popular in later generations.
In the future, the most important thing for all countries in the world is the economy, because whether the economy is good or not is closely related to the vital interests of the people. If the economy is good, the number of unemployed people is small, and everyone's income increases every year, the people will naturally have hope for life.
The economy is not good. There are many people in the industry and incomes have dropped, so the people's lives will naturally be difficult. In the final analysis, it is actually an economic problem.
When the economy is good, there are fewer social problems of all kinds; when the economy is bad, there are more social problems of all kinds. This is a very simple truth.
But for this era, it is difficult for everyone to understand, what is the relationship between governing the country and the economy?
When a country is good, the king should be diligent and caring for the people, be diligent and thrifty, and be close to the virtuous ministers and stay away from the villains. It is best to rule the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats. This is the best time.
When a country is in bad condition, it is basically because the king is cruel, extravagant and lustful, and the state is treacherous. Anyway, to put it simply, the country prospers because the emperor is close to the scholars and civil servants, and the country declines because
The king is not good. He is close to villains and does not value their scholars.
The pen is always in the hands of the scholars. No matter what, it will not be the fault of the scholars. The fault lies with the king and the villain.
Therefore, the way a king governs a country has nothing to do with the economy or ordinary people. After all, the ordinary people are ignorant and don't need to care.
"...I put this silver in the cellar, what is its use?"
"It is of no use. It can neither be eaten nor used for clothing. The purpose of this silver is to spend it. Only when this silver is spent can it drive consumption. When there is consumption, there will naturally be more.
people to work and create more wealth.”
Liu Jin's speech was a bit dry and his speech was rather confusing.
However, Zhu Houzhao and Wang Shouren generally understood some of the content and principles of later economics taught by Liu Jin.
"Our court has no money, and the annual tax silver is less than 5 million taels (which has increased, since the salt farm has to pay 2 million taels of silver tax per year), but what is buried underground in our Ming Dynasty
I don’t know how much silver there is.”
"Has this money played any role in our Ming Dynasty?"
"No, it didn't do anything. It was just some lumps buried in the cellar. It can neither be eaten nor worn. It has no effect at all."
"…So, His Highness and I started these industries and talked about how to make money. We made profits for ourselves, but at the same time, we were also making contributions to the Ming Dynasty."
"Ordinary people can work and support their families with their own hands. The court can collect tax money from our industries. The court also has money and can do more things, such as running more schools and strengthening border areas.
Town construction can also increase everyone’s salary and so on.”
"Also because we run industries, everyone works hard and produces more things. For example, Miyun Iron Works can produce 100,000 kilograms of steel in one furnace operation. The output in one month is more than the entire steel production of Ming Dynasty before.
The output is even higher.”
"With as much steel as we have, we can build more farm tools, cultivate more fertile fields, and build more weapons and armor to strengthen our Ming army..."
What Liu Jin said was very confusing, and he wished he could tell it all in one go.
Zhu Houzhao and Wang Shouren also listened quietly. Liu Jin's words opened a new window, a brand new world, thinking about how to govern the country from the perspective of economics, and thinking about the prosperity of past dynasties.
"Governing the country from an economic perspective~"
"I like it~"
"Lao Liu is such a talented person. Even though he did something so shameless, he managed to rise to such a high level. I admire him."
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but express his admiration for Liu Jin again. His ability was really unparalleled, but the prince liked him and what he said made sense.
It is a lie for me, the prince, to make money, but to serve the country and the people is the real thing.
As for Wang Shouren, he frowned and pondered. Liu Jin's words made sense. All dynasties have used the way of saints to govern the country, but why do dynasties change and history reincarnate?
Is it really all because the king is stupid and incompetent?
This may not always be the case. Many kings who have subjugated their countries may not really have no talent, nor may they be really stupid and incompetent. There must be some truths in this that no one has discovered until now, which can reveal the changes of dynasties and the prosperity of the country.
.
This set of Confucianism has no way to explain these things. Perhaps from an economic point of view, we can find out the truth about the changes in dynasties and find out the laws.
In addition, what Liu Jin said is to let the people live and work in peace and contentment. The original method can also be achieved. The people have fields and can also support themselves and their families.
If these workers lose their jobs, what will be the difference between farmers who lose their fields and have no fields?
In essence, they are all the same, so how to explain it all?
There were many, many doubts in Wang Shouren's mind, and there were too many, too many things that he couldn't figure out clearly, but soon he became energetic.
He is a person with a strong research spirit. If he is placed in future generations, he will definitely be a great scholar or great scientist, because once he is interested in something, he will go all out and devote himself to it, and he must put his whole heart into it.
Only when the principles are thoroughly studied will we stop.
"Economics~ Maybe you can give it a try. Like Liu Jin, open some factories, workshops and the like to study it yourself, so that you can truly understand the truth."
Soon, Wang Shouren had his own thoughts and ideas. He was going to open a factory like Liu Jin, and then study some of the principles contained in it by opening the factory.
He is such an awesome person. He can devote himself wholeheartedly to whatever he studies. He does not work to make money, but just to study the things Liu Jin mentioned.
Because he feels that if you have not personally experimented or experienced anything, you are not qualified to discuss it. It is easier said than done. Many things can only be achieved by trying and doing them yourself.
Really understand the difficulties and reasons.
This is a code of conduct that he has always adhered to. He dares to try, sum up experience and lessons from practice, and thus explore the truth hidden in affairs.
Liu Jin didn't know that Wang Shouren in front of him actually had the idea of opening a factory. If he knew, he would probably be shocked, because his words actually fooled Wang Shouren into the path of a capitalist. He didn't know whether it was good or bad.
