lady, please calm down

After the early morning meeting on the ninth day of the lunar month, Chen Chu returned to his residence, changed into plain clothes, and went out again with Tiedan and Jiao Tu.

At the beginning of the morning, in the dining room of Anfeng Inn, Shen Gai and Chen Bokang, who had just recovered from a serious illness, arrived one after another. There was a dazzling array of meals, but neither of them had any appetite.

Lin'an inquired about the progress of the peace talks, several times a day.

Shen Gai, who had arrived in Anfeng years ago, faced Qi's appetite that could swallow the heavens. In the past two months, except for vomiting blood twice because of anger, he could not make any progress.

Later, Du Zhaoqing, Minister of Rites of the State of Qi, simply terminated the negotiations unilaterally, took his maids with him for a spring outing, and left them to hang out in the post house.

The new peace envoy Chen Bokang has been here for six or seven days and has not even seen the other party's face.

Also, Qi's warships, which bombarded the coast from time to time in Qiantang Bay, were still there, and the Huaibei army, which occupied all of Huainan with overwhelming force, was still there, so Qi was naturally not in a hurry.

When the two of them were facing each other in silence, they suddenly heard a report coming from their entourage, "The King of Jin is here."

Both Shen and Chen knew that whether it was Chen Jingan who represented the Anfeng Dynasty or Du Zhaoqing who represented the Qi State, it was the King of Jin who took orders!
Since the peace talks began, the person the Lin'an Dynasty had always wanted to communicate directly with was the King of Jin. However, he only showed up once or twice and avoided seeing him most of the time.

Today, the other party suddenly came to visit. The two of them were naturally excited and hurriedly got up and went out to greet him.

In the post house, Chen Chu stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his hands, leaning in front of a winter jasmine to smell the fragrance of the flowers. He looked as comfortable as if he were traveling.

"Master Shen, are you feeling better?"

As soon as they met, Chen Chu first greeted Shen Gai, who had repeatedly vomited blood. After the other party said that he was fine, he turned to look at Chen Bokang.

In November last year, Chen Bokang, who had close contacts with Huaibei, was detained in Lin'an. In just a few months, not only did he become thinner, but the wrinkles on his face became more obvious.

"Master Chen, I haven't seen you for many days, so I'm suffering."

Compared with the formulaic politeness when facing Shen Dai, Chen Chu did have some genuine concern when facing Chen Bokang.

Chen Bokang sighed silently. Even if Huaibei and Huainan got along well in the past, now they belong to two different dynasties. Chen Bokang could not show too closeness. He only raised his hand and made a gesture to invite Chen Chu into the room to talk.

Chen Chu shook his head and said, "I have just finished the morning court and I haven't eaten yet. Why don't you, Mr. Chen, accompany me to the street to have some food together?"

"Alright."

Nowadays, if everyone is a slave and I am a fish, Chen Bokang would naturally not deny the King of Jin's face with such a small request.

Shen Gai on the side also followed. Chen Chu, who had walked a few steps with Chen Bokang, suddenly turned around and said, "Master Shen, I have a few words with Master Chen. Master Shen doesn't need to accompany you anymore."

"."

Shen Gai couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He was sent to Anfeng as envoy. He naturally regarded himself and Chen Bokang as one, representing the Lin'an court.

But the King of Jin made it clear that he did not want to take him with him. Combined with the rumors in the court about Chen Bokang's connection with the King of Jin, Shen Gai looked at Chen Bokang with displeasure and scrutiny.

Unhappy, unhappy, Chen Chu wouldn't let him follow, so he could only stay in the post house.

After leaving the door, Chen Bokang sighed helplessly, "Why did King Jin harm me?"

Chen Chu said, "Even if I didn't harm you, wouldn't Mr. Chen still be detained by the Lin'an court years ago?"

Chen Bokang smiled bitterly and remained silent.

The two of them walked along the long street in front of the post house for more than a hundred miles, and as they got closer to the Huaibei Army's barracks in the city, there were more and more vendors selling food around them.

Business is popular in Huaibei, but after so many years of development, various industries are close to saturation and competition is fierce.

Therefore, many hawkers who were bold enough to venture chose to follow the Huaibei Army.

Wherever the Huaibei Army fought, they followed them. The Huaibei Army's soldiers were well paid and the sergeants had money. The hometown food sold by the vendors could comfort the soldiers' homesickness and was particularly popular.

Over time, it became a good project for some low-level entrepreneurs with meager capital.

Chen Chu and Chen Bokang stopped in front of a small stall with a vertical banner of "Wang Ye Dou Nao". The latter was attracted by the name of the stall and couldn't help but asked with a smile: "Little brother, is this Wang Ye Dou Nao of yours?" Where did it come from?”

The busy hawker was busy serving bean curds to a customer, and then he raised his head and replied: "Your Majesty, I don't know. Our bean curds in Huaibei were first popular in Luliuwei, Tongshan, Tangzhou. You know Luliuwei?" No? This is where our prince started his business. People say that he invented it, so he called it "Wang Ye Dou Nao."

Chen Bokang glanced at Chen Chu beside him with a playful smile, and then asked: "As a small vendor selling bean curd, you are titled 'Prince'. Aren't you afraid that King Chu will punish you when he sees it?"

"Hey, that's what you said. Our prince is not that stingy. In Caizhou, we have a princess who makes dough and a princess who makes meat buns. I haven't seen anyone being punished." After the hawker explained with a confident face, no. Wang Wangsui said: "Sir, please try my tofu nao. This is a specialty of Huaibei. I heard that the Princess of Qi came to Caizhou and the banquet was served with this tofu nao!"

"Haha, okay! How can I sell this bean brain?"

"It costs four cents for a bowl. You can add salty brine or sugar, but sweet ones will cost an extra cent."

"Bring me a bowl of something sweet."

After saying that, Chen Bokang looked at Chen Chu again and asked, "Do you eat sweet or salty food?"

Chen Chu did not answer him, but said directly to the hawker: "Four bowls of salty food and ten fried dough sticks."

There were exactly four people in the group, including Tie Dan and Jiao Tu, but Chen Bokang clearly said that for those who eat sweets, they should have one sweet and three salty.

"Sir, did this uncle want something sweet?" the vendor asked confused.

"No, he must eat something salty!"

He changed Chen Bokang's attitude domineeringly, and Chen Chu and others sat at the long table.

The tables and chairs of such mobile vendors were naturally not very clean, but Chen Chu sat down without hesitation. Chen Bokang knew countless people and had seen those officials and gentry who went out to perform folk performances to show their closeness to the people.

But in Chen Chu's case, he was so natural and casual that he didn't look fake at all.

Chen Bokang couldn't help but think of the scene when the two met for the first time in Huainan. At that time, the King of Chu was wearing a farmer's short brown suit, his calves were covered with mud, and he was sitting in the shade of a tree, holding grass in his mouth and doing nothing.

He even boasted that he had seen a flying iron bird.

Nowadays, that braggadocio is a current hero who holds the title of king of Qi and Zhou, and can stir up the world with every move he makes.

As for himself, he had just been released from prison in Dali Temple. The Lin'an court wanted to use his good relationship with Huaibei to promote peace talks, but the emperor and Qin Dynasty were increasingly suspicious of him. In the future, his fate in the Great Zhou Dynasty was really worrying.

Thinking of this, Chen Bokang couldn't help but feel that things are right and people are wrong.

However, Chen Bokang is an open-minded person who pays attention to the things of eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor. Currently he is responsible for the peace negotiation, and he still wants to reach a peace agreement with as little damage to the interests of the Lin'an Dynasty as possible.

After eating a bowl of beans, Chen Bokang wiped his beard and said proactively: "King Jin, Qiantang Bay has been sealed off for two months, and nearly a million people nearby are in fear all day long. King Jin has a reputation of loving the people. In this case, why not First withdraw the navy of Qi State, and then discuss the terms of peace in detail."

There was only the bottom of the bowl of bean curd left, and it was difficult to scoop it up with a spoon. Chen Chu simply picked up the bowl and poured it into his mouth regardless of the image.

More than ten steps away, the hawker saw that Chen Chu was eating delicious food and couldn't help but said proudly: "Sir, my bean curd tastes authentic!"

"Hey! It's delicious!"

Chen Chu replied with a smile, wiped his mouth, then looked at Chen Bokang and said, "It's good to withdraw the troops."

"." Chen Bokang couldn't help but be startled. There has been no progress in the peace talks for many days. He just raised the topic tentatively. The other party agreed so easily?

Then, Chen Chu said: "However, I have a few conditions that you, Lin'an Dynasty, must first comply with."

"The amount of compensation is too huge." Chen Bokang thought that Chen Chu was going to pay compensation for "ten million taels" of silver again, but the latter interrupted: "That's not the case. The prerequisite for the withdrawal of Qi's naval forces is only two taels. First, the war criminals who provoked border provocations will be handed over to Qi State for disposal, and second, Mr. Chen needs to recruit some people for the Anfeng Dynasty."

"Who do you want to recruit?"

Chen Bokang directly ignored Chen Chu's first condition. Anyway, the latter did not name who the war criminal was, so the matter was not difficult to handle.

But the second condition made him wary.

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Chu opened his mouth, he shook his head like a rattle.

"Tao Chunlai, the magistrate of Shouchun County, Xue Huiyan, the magistrate of Yangzhou, and other former officials from Huainan, total five people."

Chen Bokang used to be a manager of Huainan, so he naturally knew that the people in charge of the various states were officials who were willing to do practical things and had certain requirements for their own character.

Persuading these people to defect to the Anfeng Dynasty truly shook the foundation of the Lin'an court.

Furthermore, if Chen Bokang becomes a lobbyist and later returns to Lin'an, how will he deal with himself?
Seeing Chen Bokang's firm refusal, Chen Chu pretended to sigh and said leisurely: "Before, I thought Master Chen was one of those detached people who can distinguish right from wrong. He should understand that his allegiance is to all the people of the world, not to a certain decadent royal family, but Unexpectedly, Mr. Chen is also so pedantic."

"The King of Jin does not need to provoke me with words."

Hearing Chen Chu's rude words, Chen Bokang said without changing his expression: "It's not that I can't see the general trend of the world, but I'm not optimistic that your Huaibei model can make the people live a better life."

These words were quite bold and straightforward, and he saw clearly the general trend of the world, and it meant that "he also saw that Lin'an Dynasty was embarrassed by his great responsibility."

And being "not optimistic about the Huaibei model" is even more likely to anger Chen Chu. After all, everyone knows that the King of Chu has been cultivating Huaibei for nearly ten years, and Huaibei is probably his proudest achievement.

There was a derogatory meaning in Chen Bokang's words.

Chen Chu did not get angry. Instead, he stared at Chen Bokang curiously and said, "Oh? Why is Mr. Chen not so optimistic about my Huaibei model? I am all ears."

This time, Chen Bokang pondered for a while to organize and refine his language. He had been an official in Huainan for several years and was always observing Huaibei.

What he said next was something he had never said to anyone before, "Prince Jin, do you know that since the rise of Huaibei, a large number of shops that imitate Huaibei have appeared in Huainan."

"Isn't this what you want?" Chen Chu said with a smile.

"At first, I did think so. But last year, I went to various states and counties for a plainclothes visit, but I felt that this place was not a blessing to the people!"

"how do I say this?"

"Last summer, I arrived in Xiatang Town, Luzhou. The water here is suitable for cotton cultivation. It is the most concentrated area for cotton cultivation in Huainan. Therefore, a large number of cotton cloth workshops have been built."

"Are you shocked after seeing this?" Chen Chu asked calmly, as if he had expected it.

Chen Bokang glanced at Chen Chu in surprise and continued: "Indeed! I have visited hundreds of prefectures in my life, but that Xiatang Town..."

As if recalling something he couldn't bear to say, Chen Bokang paused for a moment and then said in a deep voice: "This place seems prosperous at first, and the owners of the workshops are all very rich. However, the atmosphere inside the workshop is smoky, and the workers are naked and skinny. They go to work every day. The working hours start at seven hours, and there are many children under the age of ten, and some even have unknown origins and work with their feet in chains! But some workers are a little slow, and the supervisor often whips and beats the workers, making them look so miserable. Worse than a tenant!"

The more he talked, the more excited Chen Bokang became. He noticed that his emotions were slightly out of control. Chen Bokang took a few breaths. After his mood calmed down a little, he continued: "This is just a situation in the farm. Besides, farmers, growing cotton in Huainan is now far more profitable than growing grain." Rich, the local evil gentry's desire for land is even stronger than before! They use all means to drive the farmers into bankruptcy, steal the fertile land and convert the grain into cotton to supply the mills! It’s full of bones!”

Chen Chu, who had been silent for a long time, then added, "Our spinning machines in Huaibei can now spin sixteen spindles of cotton yarn at the same time. Your Huainan technology is backward and only has four-spindle spinning machines. In order to compete with Huaibei in terms of price, you naturally have to spin the cotton yarn in Huainan." In order to reduce the cost of labor, there are many slave laborers who are trafficked in the spinning field. "

What Chen Chu said was objective reasons, but Chen Bokang felt very uncomfortable when he heard it. Furthermore, after contacting Chen Chu several times, he always felt that this young man with a different political stance had a benevolent heart.

But after listening to his almost cold-blooded analysis, Chen Bokang couldn't help but get angry and said: "All this is not thanks to you Huaibei! The harm to the business is better than the evil gentry!"

"Then according to what Mr. Chen said, how come we in Huaibei are not in such a miserable situation?" Chen Chu said calmly.

Since Chen Bokang had thought so much, he would not fail to analyze the situation in Huaibei, and immediately said: "Firstly, 80% of your land in Huaibei has become public land, and you can allocate resources independently. Secondly, you have the convenience of technology in Huaibei, but you don't try your best To reduce labor costs, we can also cover costs by selling at high prices. Thirdly, supervision is strict but this method cannot last long!”

"Why?"

"You only have millions of people in Huaibei, but your goods are sold all over the world, which is equivalent to prospering your Huaibei area with the benefit of the world! If you wait until the Qi, Zhou, Jin and Xia are unified, there will be nearly ten million people to feed. How can there be such a large market supply by then? You feed so many people! Shop owners from all over the country are bound to compete to keep costs down, and then the misery within the shops will only get worse!"

Chen Chu secretly admired Chen Bokang. In this era, it was extremely difficult for him to think of these things.

What is even more valuable is that Chen Bokang considered this matter from the perspective of all people.

However, historical limitations caused him to ignore the changes in production relations brought about by the explosion of technological accumulation.

But it is rare to see the destructive nature of the fangs of capitalism.

Next to him, Jiao Tu had already eaten five fried dough sticks, and Tie Dan had a big appetite, but next to Chen Chu, perhaps to maintain his appearance, he stopped using his chopsticks after eating one.

Chen Chu picked up the chopsticks and picked up another one for Tie Dan, and said softly: "Eat, just eat."

Then he said to Chen Bokang again: "Master Chen, you should know that this king is from overseas, right?"

"." Chen Bokang was confused for a moment. He didn't know why Chen Chu suddenly mentioned this matter, but he still nodded subconsciously.

Chen Chu thought for a moment and said: "In our Dongsheng Shenzhou, there is England. During the first industrial revolution in their country, the average life expectancy of factory workers was only fifteen years old. There were many skilled workers in textile farms and mines who were eight or nine years old. In the United States, in a factory owned by a businessman named Rockefeller, workers had to work eight hours a day. In 1914 according to the Dongsheng Calendar, the workers went on strike in order to get a two-quarter-hour lunch break. Shopkeeper Luo himself The maintained security team was equipped with armored chariots and volleys of fire cannons, and more than people were killed on the spot."

Most people who know the history of capital development know this.

But even so, Shopkeeper Luo is still regarded as one of the greatest businessmen of the twentieth century.

Therefore, in that turbulent era, there was a reason why Marxism-Leninism was born in the country of capital.

In terms of not being a good person, capitalists are no worse than evil gentry.

Chen Bokang said hurriedly: "In this case, the King of Jin is still promoting this method in Huaibei? Aren't you afraid that China will do the same in the future?"

But Chen Chu suddenly said solemnly: "Master Chen! There are other countries in this world, not just Qizhou, Jinxia, ​​etc.! We are not developing, but others are developing all the time! Wait for others to fight with armored chariots, armored ships, and continuous fire cannons." When you and my descendants work as slaves and maids in our land of Central Plains, we will scold our ancestors for losing the opportunity to develop!"

"."

Chen Bokang fell silent. Over the past hundred years, the Zhou Kingdom had fought successively with Xixia, Liao, and Jin, with few victories and many defeats. The killing and kidnapping of border people was not new.

But in recent years, Huaibei's thunder cannons and fire guns have indeed become weapons that can determine the outcome of the battlefield.

He didn't know to what extent the countries of Dongsheng Shenzhou had developed. However, if it was true as Chen Chu said, the other side even had armored chariots and fire cannons. Once the other side crossed the sea and attacked, it would be the fall of Shenzhou. .

After a long time, Chen Bokang murmured: "According to the wishes of the King of Jin, does the world have to follow Huaibei's method in order to compete with the countries in Dongsheng?"

Chen Chu did not directly answer Chen Bokang's question. Instead, he said leisurely: "Capital accumulation is bloody and cruel. It either squeezes inward or plunders outward."

Chen Bokang seemed to have heard something and hurriedly raised his head to look over. Chen Chu said again: "I have just said that there is more than Qi Zhou in this world. In the future, if we take over the fertile black soil thousands of miles outside the pass, in less than ten years, we can survive Tens of millions of people. If we go south and occupy Indochina, we can grow three crops of rice a year, and how many people can survive?
In addition, Haidong Fusang also has a mountain of silver that can be seen with a stone, and more than ten thousand taels of silver can be hidden.
Traveling thousands of miles to the west, there are many royal families eagerly waiting for me to buy Chinese tea, silk and porcelain.
These are all methods for living people. As long as the government encourages and organizes it, the gentry and the people can organize their own caravans to travel around the world, expand territories, settle down to do business, and even impart education."

Due to historical limitations, even the current elites do not understand the world as thoroughly as Chen Chu did.

After saying this, Chen Bokang was stunned for a long time, but the cautious and conservative nature of farming civilization made him subconsciously ask: "If all the people are chasing profits, who will farm?"

When Chen Chu heard this, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Grain and silver are resources, aren't they population? As long as the captive population has a mouth to eat, what kind of work can't they do?"

"." Chen Bokang was stunned for a moment.

Taking people captive for work is indeed against Confucian morality. Chen Chu noticed that his expression was strange and couldn't help but sigh: "I just said that the process of capital accumulation is very cruel. If we don't squeeze internally, we can only plunder externally." ”

Chen Bokang quickly retracted his shocked expression and changed his look to a sanctimonious one. He only heard him calmly say: "How can it be called plundering? This is obviously for enlightenment!" (End of Chapter)