Aspirations for Nation and Beauty: Section 4 Transformation

"Although Cheng Song speaks out boldly, the reform in Kansai is imperative. If it drags on, it will definitely affect the king's next plan." Wu Feng nodded emphatically, with a serious expression on his face.

"Your Highness, in fact, the crux of the Kansai reform lies in how to change the ideas of the land aristocrats, so that while they support His Highness, they can also walk out of the current dead end according to His Highness's ideas and become part of the emerging class." Fang Chengsong's words were a blockbuster, "In fact, the nobles in Kansai are also eager to gain wealth. They are not unaware of the growing power of the business class over the past few decades, and the wealth accumulated by the merchants is even more enviable to them. Among them People of insight are also thinking about how to reverse the current situation that is increasingly unfavorable to their entire class, but they first have to deal with their own identity and face, and whether there are other nemesis ways to change all this, so they can only change it by acting like the government. Pressure demands to limit the rights and status of business forces to ensure that their dominance will not be replaced, but smart people know that this is only for a short period of time, and when the time is right, this change will be irreversible, so in fact, they still feel the same panic in their hearts , especially after His Highness took charge of Kansai, they saw the changes in the situation in the neighboring counties. Although the rise of industrial and commercial forces in the Northwest was due to the fact that the land aristocracy was wiped out by the Luobei people at that time, it was also related to His Highness’s strong support. Now that His Highness has taken over Kansai, but there has been no movement, I am afraid that they are also worried that His Highness will make a big move to sweep the acupoints, which will completely change the current situation in Kansai."

"But this is exactly what this king does not want to see and cannot act like this. Kansai nobles have always been known for their conservatism. Most of the land in the six prefectures of Kansai is fertile, and most of them are controlled by the big nobles. The main income, land is their only reliance, and hostility to the industrial and commercial class is inevitable. If the king takes too much action because he wants to change the situation in Kansai, it will inevitably arouse their hostility and opposition, causing the situation in Kansai to be turbulent. If it is used by someone with a heart, I'm afraid it will be self-defeating." Wu Feng also clapped his hands and sighed.

"But Kansai aristocrats are human beings, and they also have the same normal thinking. It is everyone's invariable nature to desire wealth. Seeing the pockets of businessmen constantly bulging, Cheng Song is thinking of them and suffering in his heart, right? Fang Chengsong showed a confident smile on his face, "If we can mobilize their desire for wealth and use their desire to cooperate with some of our measures, Cheng Song thinks maybe we can find some ways to change them." .”

"Oh, be more specific, Cheng Song." Wufeng felt more and more that the Governor of Kansai he had chosen was not simple.

"For example, most of the nobles in Kansai rely on the land tax handed down from their ancestors for a living. Although the land tax income is stable, it is much meager compared with the profits obtained by industry and commerce. Drought locust plagues will make it difficult for tenants and hired farmers to pay enough rent and taxes, while landlords have to consider the next season's life of tenants and hired farmers and have to adjust. The commonly used method is to wait until the funds have accumulated to a certain level before using them. When floods and droughts occur, and some self-cultivated farmers can no longer support themselves, they will come forward to buy the other party's land and expand their own land scale. The hostility between self-cultivated farmers and hired farmers, and the land output obtained by the same funds are often far less than the profits obtained by those industrial and commercial owners, this is their current contradictory mentality.”

"Yes, these are an important means for the landlords and nobles to expand their wealth, but their wealth is concentrated on the land, which makes the contradictions with the peasants more and more prominent. Once natural and man-made disasters occur, they will If these burdens are passed on to the peasants, it will easily lead to peasant riots." Wufeng nodded in agreement with the other party's analysis, "But how to make them realize the transformation?"

"There is only one way, and that is to let them change their investment methods. When their funds are transferred, their identities and even their thoughts and concepts will gradually change. As a human being, this is a gradual process, but Chengsong believes that, Once this head is opened, everything behind will become logical." Fang Chengsong's thin face is full of confidence.

"Cheng Song's idea is to choose some investment projects to raise shares in the form of joint stock, which is a common way in the western continent. Here, we can consider our actual situation and give priority to landlords with noble status. Quan, the initial effect may not be very good, but we can choose some advantageous projects as pilot projects first, such as mines, and then gradually promote them to other industries. As far as Cheng Song knows, after your lord took over Kansai, some of the original Taiping Army relations Merchants who are ambiguous have been punished, and their assets have been frozen and confiscated. This is just right to select some advantageous projects as the first batch of pilot projects, such as mines, cigarette factories, dye factories, and breweries. The profits of the government's exclusive management are quite rich. I believe it will attract many landlords to invest in the purchase. If there is the first batch, there will be the second batch. When the noble landlords find that the profits brought by these workshops are far greater than After the land is produced, they will gradually lose interest in buying land and land, and may even sell the land to transfer funds to these industrial and commercial industries."

"Now His Royal Highness is in the ascendant. I believe that the Kansai nobles are also visionary. With the continuous expansion of His Royal Highness's territory, such as Burmese rubber trees, cocoa, sugar cane plantations and finished product processing industries, North Lu The tobacco, coffee, and sugarcane planting and processing industries in the Song Dynasty, and the wool processing and textile industries on the Tengger Grassland, the profits brought by these industries will stimulate these noble landowners to invest their funds in emerging industries in these frontier areas. Landlords will even find that sometimes it is more cost-effective to invest money in banks than to buy land. When all this becomes normal, I think the status of nobles will gradually become members of the emerging class. And their concepts will also undergo a fundamental change, and they will even be more eager to expand and take risks than the original business class.”

While nodding thoughtfully, Wufeng was also analyzing the basis of the opponent's remarks. This guy seems to have based the transformation of these aristocratic statuses on the pace of his continuous outward expansion. Only by constantly expanding outward and grabbing wealth and markets can he satisfy these emerging classes with growing wealth desires. Only they can truly defeat all stumbling blocks on their own road, which seems to be seen more clearly by the other party than themselves.

"Very good, very innovative, Cheng Song, although your idea seems to come from the colonial expedition organizations supported by the Western Continent, but it is combined with our reality, at least in my opinion, in our Eastern Continent It should be feasible. Of course, this is a gradual process, and we also need to have more measures and means. We can’t expect to see great results in a year or so, but as you said, as long as there is a good In the beginning, no one can stop this torrent, because it is in line with people's profit-seeking nature." Wu Feng laughed and applauded in approval.

"What Your Highness said is true. As far as Cheng Song knows, the Western Continent is now stepping up efforts to develop commerce and trade, and the preliminary preparations for developing commerce and trade are foreign adventures and colonization. Many islands and land in the ocean have become a paradise for many explorers in the western continent to rush to adventure. Although Cheng Song does not know how the situation in the western continent has been in recent years, the increasing number of caravans from the western continent to our eastern continent can roughly Knowing that the Western Continent is becoming more and more powerful in this regard, Cheng Song even heard a businessman from the Western Continent two years ago say that someone has discovered a large piece of land in the southern ocean~IndoMTL.com~I don’t know the situation Is it true or false."

Although Fang Chengsong's words were relaxed and simple, they aroused Wufeng's endless interest, "Oh? When did you hear about it? Where is the source of the news?"

Seeing Wufeng attaching so much importance to this situation, Fang Chengsong was also a little surprised, and quickly replied: "This is what Cheng Song heard when he received a group of caravans from the small coastal country of Sardinia in the southern part of the Western Continent before he was imprisoned. But it seems that even the businessman who told me the news didn’t quite believe the news, but Cheng Song never heard about it again.”

"Oh," he gave up asking in disappointment. Wufeng didn't think the news was unfounded. As early as when he was studying at Heidelberg University, he had heard that the Haiyuan members from the south talked about not only There are many islands, and there has been a legend among the aborigines living on the islands since ancient times that there is a large piece of land further south of the islands where they live, but no one has ever been there. Perhaps this is a legend, but it is more likely to be a story brought back by people who have been to that land, but it is more difficult to set foot on that land, and it is more difficult for people to do it, and too few people know about it.

Seeing that Wufeng gave up asking questions, Fang Chengsong turned the topic back: "Chengsong believes that if we want to completely change the concept of these nobles and stimulate the great development of the industry and commerce, we can also properly appoint a group of officials in the selection of officials." Those born in the industrial and commercial class can stimulate the self-motivation of the industrial and commercial class, and show the world that the industrial and commercial class in Western Xinjiang has gradually become an important part of the upper class. Of course, this needs to consider the acceptance of the nobles. But Cheng Song personally thinks the risk is worth taking."

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