Chapter 102: Sincere Hypocrisy (I)
The people do not oppose it and think that it is good governance, but there is also a lot of business in this good government.
Just before Shi Shi's visit to Shangqiu, a group of people, mainly some big businessmen and clans in Shangqiu, formed a chamber of commerce and put forward an argument.
They believed that both the maintenance of the army and the development of production required taxes, which in turn were collected from the people.
These big merchants and some of the people of the old clan proposed a good way of "the people do not give the country enough money", that is, after the tax barriers of the Song State were broken, their chambers of commerce would pay for the purchase of the right to sell in several townships and counties, and other merchants were not allowed to enter.
For example, the iron and salt in some towns and counties in the eastern part of the Song Kingdom were obtained by the Chamber of Commerce for franchise licenses, and this large amount of money could allow the government to collect less taxes and fees from farmers, and the best of both worlds.
And vigorously advocate the stamp duty policy in Sishang, believing that the iron ware entering the Song Kingdom is purchased by the Chamber of Commerce, and then stamped and sold by the Chamber of Commerce, and the private sale will be punished, and the franchise of the Chamber of Commerce should be "open and fair", and the land price must be high, but it must be set within half a month, and it must be the Song people because of this will "cherish the Song people" and not be too harsh for profit.
In this way, the people paid less taxes, and there were iron tools to use, and the center had money to use for civilian production, which was really beautiful.
Times are always progressing, and progress is sometimes the awakening after suffering countless hardships, and the people are disgusted with the aristocracy at this time, and are vaguely aware of the abomination of the merchants, but have not yet summed up the horrors of the franchise, this argument is very marketable.
However, the peasants were extremely opposed to it, because the peasants were originally against the merchants, and what they had learned in Sishang was enough to make them realize the harm of such behavior.
Therefore, the peasant family expressed their opposition, and believed that if they could not get support, then the townships under the jurisdiction of the peasant family would pay military taxes normally, and would never sell the franchise to outsiders.
This is a compromise solution, the farmer thinks that the merchant will make a profit, although it seems that the people pay less national taxes, but in fact the merchants do not seek profits, not out of good intentions, so in fact the money is actually paid by the farmer, and even more than the normal tax.
However, the farmers themselves support the "market price", so the farmers hope to operate as a monopoly, because they believe that their "conscience" can make the people profit without making a profit, and even if they sell, they will not take profits from the people.
However, the peasant's plan for the unified pricing of the entire Song State could not be recognized by others, and the opposition of some old forces in the Song State that had changed their face made it impossible to implement the plan of the Song State's unification policy.
In a compromise, the peasants had to admit this policy, but they hoped to be able to borrow a sum of money from the Mo family, so as to monopolize the sales of the townships they were going to govern, and use their conscience to ensure that the market was not worth the same price, so as to ensure that the people would not lose too much profit.
As for the crookedness in this, it is appropriate to know, in fact, when the big merchants of the Song Kingdom discussed this matter with the old nobles who had changed their identities, they knew about it.
For this matter, he neither supports nor opposes, nor refuses to express any opinion, because the revolution of the Song State is very incomplete, and one day in the future, of course, it will destroy these things like the franchise, but these things are best opposed by the awakened Song people themselves, if it really doesn't work, and when the world is decided, it has not been solved and has not awakened, then the Mo family will clean it up with violence.
The Song State can only be regarded as a "region" now, not a country, because economically, the Song State has basically been a subordination of Sishang, a dumping ground and a raw material production area.
In the short term, the people's living standards must have improved by obtaining land, reducing taxes, reducing the private soldiers of the aristocracy and the military in general.
In the long run, when the people gradually open their minds, give them a little guidance, and have external support, then they will naturally rise up against these unreasonable policies, but it is appropriate to hope that the people themselves will strive to wake up.
After all, the Song Dynasty belongs to the world, the Song people are a part of the people of the world in the future, and the awakening and reshaping of the world needs the awakening of the people of the world, and the things that come from charity will never last long and be cherished.
Sishang is in the position of a producer, and its own profits are enough, so between the wholesale price and the retail price, the wholesale price is closely related to the interests of Sishang, since the big merchants and the old nobles who have changed their faces want to grab these benefits, they must be prepared to bear the price of backlash in the future.
If the Mo family does not comment on this matter, then this matter may be harmful to the world or beneficial to the world in the official explanation of the Mo family, and one day when it is necessary to comment, it will naturally give a definition.
Shi even knew that Dai Cong's family also had great interests in it, and hoped to use his status as the Great Yin of the Inquiry Yuan to obtain enough benefits, of course, he would not come forward in person.
A farcical change will inevitably bring about farcical results. The farcical result is exactly what the Mo family hopes for at this time.
As for the remaining statements, they are all closely related to the interests of the old aristocrats and big merchants who were "transformed" in the Song Kingdom.
Opening banks, controlling currency issuance, and unifying the currencies of Sishang and Song were the means by which the Mohists controlled the Song Kingdom.
The share capital of the bank was not paid by the Mo family itself, and some of it had to be left to the nobles of the Song Dynasty, since they didn't want to rule directly for the time being, they had to raise a few obedient dogs and give them some bones to eat.
In the future, if something happens because the businessmen exploit the people too much, it has nothing to do with the Mo family, but the people will "welcome the king", or spontaneously revolutionize.
This time, the farce-style reform of the Song Kingdom has always made some progress, striking at the aristocracy of the feudal system, the old ruling class is finished, and new contradictions are still in the bud and brewing, which is too early.
By the way, more people in the Song Kingdom had the means of production and could afford the handicrafts of Sishang, which contributed to the education system in Sishang, which cost a lot every year.
As for whether the chaotic political structure of the Song State can pass the bills of those big merchants and the remnants of the aristocracy, it is the Song State's own business for the time being. It is best to prove that the people of the Song Kingdom are enough to control their own destiny, understand where their interests lie, and focus on the Zhuxia of Kyushu, which cannot be measured by monetary interests; It doesn't matter if it passes, the bottom line of the land reform of the Song State remains unchanged, so that Sishang can grab more wealth, raise more soldiers and literate people, and come to rescue them in the future.
Shi Xin knew very well that all that he had done was still known as "one of Mozi's most important disciples", but if Mozi was resurrected, he was afraid that he would not be killed by the Thirteen Swords.
The attitude towards Mozi's doctrine is actually "abstract affirmation" and "concrete negation".
In the whole abstract sense, the content of benefiting the people, equality, virtue, and love is talked about every day.
However, in terms of the overall specific operation, I am afraid that many practices are unlikely to be recognized by Mozi, and they are contrary to each other.
After talking about these things about the Song Kingdom, Shi preached again: "Everyone in the world is the minister of the Emperor of Heaven, and all the countries in the world are the land of Kyushu." ”
"Instead of attacking and killing soldiers, it is the wish of tens of thousands of my Mo family."
"When I came to Shangqiu today, I thought that the two military meetings in the past were solved under Shangqiu City. After the army, there was no war in the Central Plains for a hundred years, and the people were healthy and prosperous, which was really a blessing for Kyushu. ”
Shangqiu was the place where the Jin and Chu fought for hegemony in Zhuxia and the two military alliances were concluded, so it can be said that it is inevitable to think of this problem when you come to Shangqiu.
These questions do not seem to have been addressed to the people, but to the princes through the words of this public occasion, for it seems that the people do not decide the peace of the world.
However, this is not the case.
"The matter of killing soldiers, when my Mo family was the son of Mozi, I always wanted to promote the world to fight again, not to attack peace. In the past, after the first battle of Shangqiu, he wanted to kill Wei Chu's soldiers, but he couldn't. ”
"In the past, the eight hundred princes, such as the rest of today, but Chu, Ba, Shu, Wei, Zhao, Han, Qi, Qin, Yan, Zheng, Song, and Wei districts and several countries, the war and disaster are continuous, and the people are precarious, making everyone hateful and difficult to love."
"There are many unrighteous tyrants among the princes, but I still hope that the countries can fight against each other, not attack, and make peace."
"Peace is good, war is loss."
"There are ironware, cotton, xuanlin, and ceramics on Si...... This can make the people's lives better, but it is a pity that the princes of the world are all for selfish interests and are constantly fighting. ”
"If there is no war, customs duties will be banned in Kyushu, the law will be changed, land will be granted to the people, talents will be exchanged, sages will be on the throne, and goods will be trafficked...... What kind of wonderful world would that be? ”
Shi is not an idiot, of course, he knows that what he says is, and it is impossible and unrealistic.
But he had to say it.
The people like to listen to it, and they also like to believe that the Mo family is working hard for the world's soldiers, and working hard to solve the war that the people in the world don't like the most.
Shi's attitude towards some of Mozi's doctrines is "abstract affirmation" and "concrete negation", and the same is true for non-attacking soldiers.
Before joining the Mohists, Mozi's lifelong pursuit was to hope that all nations would be equal under the whole world, and to build a new system of international law and morality, so that the big would not invade the small, the strong would not bully the weak, and all countries would be equal in their national character, constituting a brand-new Zhuxia system.
This is, of course, a beautiful idea that meets the aspirations of the people at the bottom at that time under historical conditions.
Under the "abstract affirmation", of course, he supports peace without attacking and destroying troops, but in the practice of "concrete negation", he believes that the solution to the problem of killing troops is to unify the whole world, not only to fight, but also to fight fiercely and quickly, and the faster and more tragic the civil war is more beneficial to the Kyushu Zhuxia, and the more it drags on, the easier it is to be estranged in the future.
Therefore, in front of the people today, he still has to shout "no soldiers, peace, and non-attack", because he knows ...... Even if he shouted loudly, the princes would not agree.
So, who is "unjust" that causes the war?
Anyway, it's not the Mo family, but the giant of the Mo family is shouting in Shangqiu, asking the world to kill soldiers, and the princes of all countries get together to establish a League of Nations that is different from Zhou Tianzi, everyone sits down to solve the problem, cancel tariffs and establish a customs union in Kyushu, and if there is any problem, it should not be solved by war, but by the meeting of the League of Nations......
This is obviously a fool's dream, not realistic.
Suitable is not an idiot, so this dream has another meaning.