Chapter 461, the first confrontation between old and new forces
"Your Majesty, there are more and more factories, workshops, etc. in our capital, and the number of workers is also increasing. This also means that more people will come to our capital. In the future, the housing problem in the capital will be
A big problem."
In the Sun City Community, Liu Jin took Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, and Zhang Mao to walk around and visit the community very casually.
The people present were all the people at the center of power in the entire Ming Dynasty. Although they came to see the Sun City community, they naturally talked about national affairs.
While taking them on a tour, Liu Jin explained to them the current situation inside and outside the capital.
"This is indeed a problem. The capital was not so congested before, but now it has become very congested. Moreover, there are many temporary shanties built outside the capital, especially around some large factories. The number of shanties is very large.
There are a lot of people living there.”
After listening, Li Dongyang nodded and said.
He has always paid attention to this matter and had noticed this problem a long time ago.
"Because a large number of people have flowed into our capital, it has also brought about various problems, such as security issues. Now the security in our capital is relatively poor. Various crimes often occur, and gangs are rampant and divided into large areas.
Large and small spheres of influence, etc.”
Liu Jin nodded slightly, and then said again.
After hearing what Liu Jin and Li Dongyang said, Emperor Hongzhi frowned slightly. He was a good emperor and an emperor who cared about the people. He saw the suffering of the people in his eyes and was worried in his heart.
"How can these problems be solved?"
After thinking about it, Emperor Hongzhi asked.
"The scope and size of the capital city have been defined and cannot be changed. This means that no matter how it is transformed within the capital city, the population it can carry will always be limited."
"So it is necessary to develop a lot outside the city and build more places like Sun City outside the city, so that we can better meet people's needs for housing."
"As for public security issues, my suggestion is to crack down hard on local gangsters, gangs, etc. These hooligans, gangs, etc. run rampant, bully men and women, and do almost all kinds of evil. If we don't crack down hard, society will be in ruins."
The morals and folk customs will be damaged."
The problem Liu Jin mentioned is very common, and it will be the same in later generations. With the rise of industry and the rapid development of a city, various problems will appear.
Generally at this time, if the court is strong enough and can be ruthless enough to crack down on various forces, then it can create a civilized and harmonious city.
If the power of the imperial court is not enough to effectively combat various forces, then there will be Shanghai in the movies of later generations, and the gangster forces in South America that are so powerful that they are not afraid of the government.
"However, if we vigorously develop outside the capital, without the protection of the city wall, if foreign enemies invade in the future, wouldn't these people be left to their own devices?"
Xie Qian thought for a while and asked.
"Since ancient times, all cities have been protected by city walls. Without the protection of city walls, once something goes wrong, the casualties will be very heavy."
"The population of the capital is increasing, which is very unfavorable for the capital. According to the construction of ministers, the number of people coming to the capital should be strictly restricted, the household service system should be strictly enforced, and private circulation among the people should be strictly prohibited."
"In this case, these outsiders in the capital will naturally return to their place of origin, and the security and other problems in the capital will naturally be solved."
Xie Qian was from the south, and he could actually be regarded as the representative figure of the southern scholars in the court. His position was naturally on the side of the southern scholars.
Historically, Ma Wensheng, the former Minister of War, once suggested that Emperor Hongzhi levy commercial taxes due to insufficient military expenditures. This was strongly opposed by Xie Qian, and the matter was settled.
It can be seen from this that he is actually a representative of the big businessmen, big landowners, and big gentry in Jiangnan. He opposes the imposition of commercial taxes. He is also opposed to many changes in the Beijing-Tianjin area.
After hearing Xie Jin's words, Emperor Hongzhi and Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but frown slightly.
If the household service system is strictly implemented, then all the factories, workshops, etc. in the Beijing-Tianjin area will die, because they can't recruit people, and there will be no one to do the work. No matter how good your business is, it won't matter.
Now these emerging capitalists in the Beijing-Tianjin area are already active, asking the court to abolish the household service system and allow people to move around freely. Only in this way can more people be attracted to work in the Beijing-Tianjin area.
The demand for labor is simply too great.
There are more and more factories and workshops of all kinds, and their scale is getting larger and larger. Due to the restrictions of the household service system, only people from around the Beijing-Tianjin area will come to work.
This has hindered the development of capitalism and caused dissatisfaction among emerging capitalists.
Emperor Hongzhi and Prince Zhu Houzhao are the biggest capitalists. They have too many industries. If the household service system is strictly implemented, all their industries will collapse, and then there will be no money flowing into them.
Pocket.
All this will go back to a few years ago, when Emperor Hongzhi had had enough of the days when he had no money, and it was very uncomfortable to feel like he was being criticized for even the slightest thing.
“Mr.
"
"A few years ago, one tael of silver a month for hiring a person here in Beijing was already very high. But now, in the Beijing-Tianjin area, hiring a young man without two taels of silver is not enough to take care of people. Even if
She is a female worker, working in a textile factory, and she can earn almost two taels of silver a month."
"This is enough to show that the emergence of a large number of factories and workshops brought more benefits to the people of Ming Dynasty."
"So not only should the imperial court not restrict the movement and circulation of people, but it should also abolish the household service system so that people can move around freely and engage in all walks of life freely."
Zhang Mao stood up first. He is also an emerging big capitalist. If the household service system is strictly implemented, he, a big capitalist, will suffer. What will happen to the many industries under his command?
There has already been a labor shortage in the capital, and slaves from the grasslands have now been sold for dozens of taels of silver each, which is enough to illustrate the emerging capitalists' demand for labor.
They all wished that the imperial court would abolish the household service system, so that not only people from the Beijing and Tianjin areas would come to work, but also people from Shanxi, Henan, Shandong and other places could come to work on a large scale. Capitalists like them would not
I'm worried that I can't find any workers.
And once a large number of people come in, the wages can be lowered, which will be more conducive to reducing costs and improving the competitiveness of their products.
There is no way now. Because of the labor shortage, everyone has to take the initiative to raise money to retain these workers. Otherwise, capital is cannibalistic. How do you expect these capitalists to take the initiative to improve workers' wages? Just dream.
"Your Majesty, the household service system must not be abolished. This is the foundation of our Ming Dynasty. Since ancient times, there has been a strict division between scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, just like the way of monarch and minister, the way of father and son. Once the household service system is abolished, wouldn't this be the rule?
Chaos, the country is shaken~"
When Xie Qian heard this, he immediately became anxious and objected quickly.
Liu Jin watched silently and coldly on the side. Xie Qian and Zhang Mao each represented their own interest groups. Xie Qian represented the interests of the traditional big landowners, big businessmen, and gentry.
Naturally, what they hope for is still everything as before, kings and ministers, fathers and sons, everything is under their control, and they are also the beneficiaries of the old system.
As for Zhang Mao, he represents the interests of emerging capitalists. They urgently hope to break some traditional constraints, so as to be more conducive to the development of capitalism.
Of course, each of them does not know what capitalism is, but they all proceed from the perspective of their own interests and strive for policies that are beneficial to their own interests as much as possible.
"Is this a battle between emerging capitalists and traditional forces in the Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Jin couldn't help but smile.
Yes, Liu Jin is indeed laughing.
Xie Qian and Zhang Mao are both court ministers and pillars of the country. Things have reached their level. What does this mean?
This shows that the capitalism of the Ming Dynasty has developed to a certain extent and has a certain strength, so it is fighting with the traditional old forces at the highest level.
If the strength is not developed enough, there will definitely be no way to reach the highest level.
Liu Jin couldn't help but recall the history of the development of capitalism in Europe. The development of capitalism in Europe has gone through an extremely long process.
First, capitalism sprouted in the Age of Discovery, relying on the bloody plunder of colonies for primitive capital accumulation. After the advent of the steam engine, capitalism truly developed rapidly. Finally, capitalism and traditional feudal forces broke out in various European countries.
war, thus determining the status of capitalism.
Now the situation in the Ming Dynasty is a little different, because of the emergence of Liu Jin, Liu Jin also knew from the beginning that he wanted to transform the largest traditional feudal power into an emerging capitalist.
The emperor, Zhang Mao and other noble groups are all the largest feudal forces, but now they have successfully transformed into emerging big capitalists, which is conducive to the development of capitalism.
This is also the reason why in a very short period of time, the power of capitalism has been able to confront traditional power at the highest level.
The current confrontation between Xie Qian and Zhang Mao has just begun.