Wei Zheng was so angry that his white beard stood up. He pointed his halberd and said: "It's just full of nonsense and nonsense! The land of Goguryeo is barren and sparsely populated. What's the point of conquering and occupying it? There is so much undeveloped land in the Tang Dynasty. Tens of thousands of acres, even though we have so much land that we have never cultivated, we still care about other people’s land and want thousands of soldiers to shed their blood in vain! Come on, come on, you yellow-mouthed boy, tell me, how can I be deceived by my lies? Everyone, how can you be short-sighted? Tell me one, two, three, and I will apologize to you. If you can't tell me, I will risk my life today and strangle you, a sycophant, to death!"
Wei Zheng was furious and glared at Fang Jun, wanting to bite him to death...
After wallowing in the court all his life, countless people have scolded him, and there are tons of people who hate him, but no one has ever dared to scold him for his evil words and short-sightedness!
The old man lost his temper, raised his beard and bared his teeth, thinking that if Fang Jun couldn't tell him anything, he would fight him to the death!
When the farmers nearby saw Erlang and Wei Zheng pushing cattle, they all shivered in fear and backed away automatically. Even the imperial guards who followed His Majesty Li Er and the officials of Sinong Temple also looked nervous, fearing that Chi Yu would be harmed...
When they reached the level of Wei Zheng and Fang Jun, ordinary officials would naturally avoid them.
Fang Jun also lost his temper. He pulled off the bamboo hat on his head and glared at Wei Zheng. We are talking to the emperor. It is your fault. Open your mouth to be a sycophant and shut up to be a sycophant. Why don't others be impatient?
Come on, old man, today let your second brother teach you what global strategy is, what colonialism is, and what dumping is!
"In ancient conquests, one was land and the other was population. It is true that Goguryeo's land was barren and the population was sparse. It seemed almost worthless, and it was a pity to throw away the food. However, as a senior official of the Tang Dynasty, Zheng Guogong had to know how to keep pace with the times. We must also know how to forge ahead and blindly stick to the old, which is really a big crime! Although the population of Goguryeo is sparse, how can it be in the millions? With so many people, the amount of money required for food, clothing, housing and transportation is really astronomical. As long as the Tang Dynasty can control ten of them. Seven to eight times, it can create millions or even tens of millions of profits for the national treasury every year!"
Wei Zheng was confused after hearing this, and hurriedly waved his hands and asked: "How can the food, clothing, housing, and transportation of the Goguryeo people bring profits to the Tang Dynasty? Is it possible that you want to nationalize all the land in Goguryeo and then lease it to the Goguryeo people?" In addition to taxes, don’t we also need rent? No, no, if this happens, as long as Goguryeo is not dead, the resistance will never stop! It’s simply stupid!”
When fighting a war, the most difficult thing is not to eliminate the opponent's military power, but to appease the people at the bottom.
You have occupied all the land. If the people’s land is not theirs, how can they identify with you?
If I don’t rebel against you, then that’s the devil!
Fang Jun looked at him sideways and sneered: "So, Mr. Zheng Guogong is short-sighted..."
Seeing that Wei Zheng's expression changed and he was about to get angry, and His Majesty Li Er also had a searching look on his face, Fang Jun quickly said: "Economic laws are subject to ever-changing changes, and using land to tie up the people is really the worst policy. Tang products are extremely popular in Goguryeo, such as silk, porcelain, glass, etc. The first two, Goguryeo, both have their own output. Although the quality is not good and it is difficult to compare with the high-quality products of Datang, the price is cheaper, and Goguryeo It would impose high taxes on the products of the Tang Dynasty, which in fact constituted a boycott of the products of the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty conquered the entire Goguryeo one day, it could support a puppet regime and then sign a trade agreement with the other party, stipulating that every year A certain number of Datang commodities must be given tax-free or low-tax qualifications so that they can flow into Goguryeo and completely deal a fatal blow to Goguryeo's local business..."
At this point, he pointed to the cotton seeds in His Majesty Li Er's hand: "Your Majesty just asked Wei Chen why all the land is planted with cotton instead of grain. What Wei Chen wants to tell Your Majesty is that this thing can be seen
It seems cheap and not as important as food, but when all the idle land in the Tang Dynasty is planted with cotton, the income of all the people in the Tang Dynasty will at least double what it is now!"
His Majesty Li Er was surprised: "That's it?"
Fang Jun nodded: "That's it! Food, clothing, housing and transportation, clothing should be ranked before food, which shows its importance. Your Majesty, don't underestimate cotton. Why is Jiangnan so rich? Although the humid climate and land output are one reason, but silk
The wealth brought cannot be ignored! In the south of the Yangtze River, every household had to raise silkworms to make silk, and silk became the most important foreign trade goods of the Tang Dynasty! When one day, every household in the south of the Yangtze River weaves brocade, and every household in the north weaves cotton, the silk and silk of the Tang Dynasty
Cotton cloth is sold overseas, so why worry about the people not being rich and the empire not being strong?”
What is the greatest value of cotton?
In the current social situation of the Tang Dynasty, the greatest value was the handicraft industrialization of cotton spinning! The quality of cotton cloth is countless times better than that of kudzu and cheaper than silk. Once it comes out, it will definitely be a revolution that sweeps the world.
revolution!
And Goguryeo was the dumping ground for Tang products!
Fang Jun's eyes burned brightly: "We occupied Goguryeo and then strictly prohibited the local people from weaving cotton. Of course, they did not have cotton... Your Majesty can imagine that if millions of Goguryeo people all wore Tang Dynasty cotton, we could contribute to Tang Dynasty every year.
How much wealth will be created? Most of this money will flow into the hands of the people who cultivate cotton and spin cotton cloth. This is the real wealth hidden among the people! If the people are prosperous, the country will be safe. Everyone will have enough to eat and warm clothes.
Who would rebel because they are crazy?"
Wei Zheng stared, unable to understand...
It's not that he's stupid, it's that this change of concept made it difficult for him to adapt for a while.
Since ancient times, there are only two outcomes of war, either to occupy the land and bring the people of the enemy country under their control, or to burn, kill, loot and return to the court, leaving behind a scorched earth...
But Fang Jun didn't need to kill or rob, and he could still make huge wealth by relying on this kind of business behavior?
His Majesty Li Er thought far more than Wei Zheng!
War is cruel, and no matter whether you win or lose, you need to fight for it with blood, so soldiers have been tired of war since ancient times. Even if they have military merit and nobility, no one is willing to provoke a war for no reason. But I want to achieve merit.
The eternal hegemony of the Three Emperors must be supported by war after war and victory after victory.
Even if he is the emperor, even if his prestige is as high as the mountains and the sea, it is impossible for everyone to willingly risk death to expand the territory...
But if Fang Jun's idea can really be implemented, the situation will be completely different!
That kind of huge economic benefits will directly drive all the aristocratic families to flock to it, and even go crazy!
Don't be surprised, even if His Majesty Li Er is unwilling to admit it, he still can't get rid of the fact that the military system has gradually been controlled by the noble families. He tried his best to suppress the noble families and support the rise of the poor families. The most direct reason is the army
It has gradually become an area hardest hit by the infiltration of aristocratic families.
But at this stage, once the dividends of the war arouse the enthusiasm of the family members, there is no doubt that the Tang Dynasty will become a crazy chariot, crazy to conquer cities and territories, crazy to expand territories, crazy to launch wars, wars It will burn into the territory of every surrounding country!
The war opens the way and the economy benefits!
His Majesty Li Er put his hands behind his back and silently looked up at the falling misty rain. Because of the emergence of firearms, the situation of the war has quietly changed; is it now because of the economy that the nature of the war will change?
Wei Zheng's face was full of disbelief!
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu clearly states at the beginning: "Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. We must observe them."
This masterpiece on the art of war, which is famous throughout the ages, further elaborates on the seriousness of the consequences of war in terms of the relationship between war and economy. It repeatedly points out that "carrying a hundred thousand armors" will "cost thousands of gold a day" and "prolonged violence will lead to insufficient national supplies." , "There is no such thing as a country benefiting from foreign troops"... In short, war is expensive and cannot be used easily.
But if Fang Jun's theory is followed, not only will war not lead to serious consequences due to severe losses of domestic money and food, but it can actually make money through war?