At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 690, Liberal Economics
Several people came to the hall. Dou was taking care of his grandchildren. Seeing them, he smiled and said, "Xiao Deng is here again. Have you eaten yet?"

Deng Tong smiled and replied, "Your Excellency and I have already had dinner at the government office."

Liu Heng said to Dou: "You two take care of the younger one, I want to talk."

Dou waved to Liu Piao, and then left with the child.

Only Chen Wu, Liu Qi and Deng Tong were left in the hall.

Liu Heng looked at Chen Wu and asked, "How is your shipping company doing?"

Chen Wu said with a hint of pride: "The court is vigorously developing the power grid, and the copper mines needed have increased greatly. The world's largest copper mine is in Nanlu, and my son-in-law has all the ocean-going transport ships. By transporting copper mines, the profit of shipping has increased threefold this year."

Now the profit of his shipping company is more than that of his fiefdom, and now his father asks him to invest in his own fiefdom. It is said that money is a man's courage. With this shipping company, he, the prince, lives a more comfortable life than any other prince.

Liu Heng said: "After the Han Dynasty's industrial upgrading, more raw materials are needed, and other vassal states are also vigorously developing infrastructure led by railways, and industries led by steel and textiles. In the next few decades, the scale of shipping will only get bigger and bigger. Xiaowu, you will definitely achieve success in the shipping industry. Don't be fickle and do whatever industry you see making money. That is not the attitude of doing business, but just being a slave to money."

Chen Wu said respectfully: "My son-in-law understands."

Then he looked at his son Liu Qi and asked, "How is the situation in Xihai County?"

Liu Qi shook his head and said, "The land is vast and sparsely populated, development is slow, and infrastructure is extremely scarce. The county where I live has only 2,000 households, but its area is not inferior to a county of the Han Dynasty. The plateau is barren, and it is difficult to harvest even from grazing. The only crop grown is barley, which has a lower yield than wheat. The only good thing is that the court exempted farmers in Xihai County from land tax two years ago, but this tax reduction is only better than nothing, and it is difficult to change the poor appearance of Xihai County. Now all the adults in Xihai County are running to Guanzhong, and the best way out is to join the army. My county office is a pavilion office. Even the young and strong cannot stay, and the plateau cannot develop at all."

The plateau is now almost an uninhabited area. Liu Qi is the magistrate of Wusu County, Xihai County. However, the county seat is nearly a thousand miles away from Chang'an City, and several hundred miles away from the county office. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is isolated from the world.

This is also the situation of the entire plateau. Although its area is equivalent to three Central Plains, the population has been greatly lost, with only tens of thousands of people left.

However, the plateau is of great strategic significance, overlooking the entire Shenzhou, so a sufficient population must be retained.

The Han Dynasty court tried every possible means to take care of the development of Xihai County. Yaks raised on the plateau could be sold to Guanzhong by rail for free. The Tibetan mastiff industry and highland barley wine industry were also supported. Every year, 200 million yuan was directly used for fiscal transfers to Xihai County.

Xihai County cannot be considered rich, but because of the abundant resources per capita, it is definitely not poor. The living conditions of ordinary people are one level better than those in the desert, but the climate on the plateau is too harsh, and there is a wealthy audience nearby for comparison. No one wants to stay on the plateau, especially for the new generation of young people, who prefer to make a living in Guanzhong.

Chen Wu was stunned and said, "Brother Qi is actually the county magistrate in such a barren place. Why doesn't your Excellency arrange a good position for Brother Qi?"

Liu Heng said: "Liu Qi is young, so he should gain more experience in the local area. Although the plateau is barren, it is at least the homeland of our Han Dynasty, which is much better than the wild continent that our fathers cultivated."

"Shi Fen, the county governor, is a founding hero of the Han Dynasty. He is upright, strict in the law, loves the people, and is strict with himself. He is also a good parent. The children of his family are not ostentatious or boastful. He is a hardworking and honest person. He is a first-class good official of the Han Dynasty. You should all learn from him. It is also worth learning for your father."

Shi Fen's development in this historical line was also not bad. Just as Liu Heng said, he was a rare Han official who was strict with himself and abided by the law. Few Han officials in high positions and with great power could do this, not to mention those who could maintain a strict family tradition. Even Liu Heng would favor his eldest daughter Liu Pi, which can be said to be an extremely outstanding noble character.

It was precisely because of his upright style that the Han court arranged for him to go to Xihai County, a place with complicated folk customs.

Shi Fen served as the governor of Xihai County for ten years. He was able to reward and punish the Han and Qiang people fairly and impartially, without shielding or favoritism. He handled matters in accordance with Han laws and took care of the lower-class people within the legal framework. Everyone in Xihai County was convinced of Shi Fen.

Liu Heng arranged for his eldest son to be the county magistrate of Xihai County, which was intended to give him experience and also to let him learn from Shi Fen.

Liu Qi already knew his father's attitude, so he didn't show any expression, but he still said: "Father, the governor of Shi County ordered me to come to Chang'an this time to ask the court to build a railway connecting the hinterland of the plateau, so that goods from Guanzhong can reach the plateau, and the specialties of the plateau can reach Guanzhong. If you don't find a way to boost the economy of Xihai County, I'm afraid there won't be many people left in the plateau."

Liu Heng frowned and said, "The plateau is a strategic location and should indeed be taken seriously. However, it is not easy to build a railway on the plateau. When the Han Dynasty built the railway connecting the West Sea Capital, it not only cost a lot of money, but also caused a lot of casualties."

Deng Tong immediately said, "When the railway from Longxi to Xihai County was built, hundreds of railway soldiers died. Almost one soldier died for every ten miles of railway. The climate in the hinterland of the plateau is even worse, and it is an uninhabited area. If we want to build a railway, both the technical difficulty and the construction difficulty are extremely huge."

Liu Qi looked at Deng Tongdao with some disgust: "Just because of this difficulty, this railway will not be built. When has our Han Dynasty ever been scared by difficulties? If the mountains block us, we will blow up the mountains. If the rivers block us, we will build bridges over the rivers. Even the Qinling Mountains can be opened up, so what can the harsh environment of the plateau do?"

The Han Dynasty was in a period of explosive productivity. Over the past few decades, the Han Dynasty had opened up land that was dozens of times larger than that of the Central Plains. This has led to the Han people's overflowing self-confidence, which is the highest point in thousands of years.

The reverence for God was the weakest in thousands of years. The Han people now believed that man could conquer nature, and that the technological strength and mechanical power of the Han Dynasty could defeat nature. They were full of motivation to transform nature and the environment, so the Han officials dared to build canals in the mountains, cut off the Yangtze River, and even built a canal from the desert inland to the Han Dynasty. They dared to think and act, and believed that they could overcome any difficulties.

Especially people like Liu Qi's generation, they truly grew up in the golden years of the Han Dynasty. They had the highest self-confidence and execution ability of the Han Dynasty, so he did not think that a small plateau could stop their progress.

Deng Tong was speechless and said, "I am not denying this railway. The plateau is an important place in Shenzhou and must be under the control of our Han Dynasty. However, this railway is not too urgent. We can build roads first and improve local infrastructure. Then the court will send people to the plateau to collect information and build railways when we are fully prepared."

Liu Heng nodded in agreement and said, "This is what Lao Cheng said."

"By this time, everyone on the plateau will have run away." Deng Tong's words made Liu Qi dissatisfied, and the atmosphere at the scene became a little tense.

Chen Wu changed the subject and asked, "Sir, have you ever heard of free economics?"

"Free economics?" It was the first time that Liu Heng heard this term. He had been busy with government affairs in recent years and rarely paid attention to academic things.

Chen Wu said: "This is a new academic concept that came from the Tang Dynasty in the New World. It comes from Sima Tan, a Huang-Lao scholar. The core of liberal economic thought is to advocate free competition, oppose the court's intervention in the economy, and emphasize that the market plays a leading role in economic operations."

Liu Heng said: "This is in line with Mr. Huang's philosophy."

Chen Wu continued, "Sima Tan believed that the pursuit of profit is the driving force of social development and is a self-interested behavior that conforms to human nature. Although factory owners pursue personal interests, their personal interests can bring benefits to society, just like the pursuit of efficiency by textile factories can bring benefits to factory owners, but at the same time it also increases the wealth of the entire society and can benefit the entire society."

The best way to satisfy people's selfishness is to achieve economic freedom, not to interfere in any way with private economic activities, and to allow factories and labor to be freely invested and transferred.

At the same time, he also believed that the best economic policy for a country is economic liberalism, and that free operation, free competition and free trade should be implemented.

The role of the imperial court is limited to maintaining national security and personal safety, and organizing some unprofitable projects for private capitalists. Economic development should be handed over to the private sector, and the private sector should promote the development of the entire society. "

After hearing this, Liu Heng smiled calmly and said, "This is indeed a combination of the ideas of the Miscellaneous School, and also a bit of the ideas of the People-oriented School. Do you have a manuscript?" Chen Wu said, "Yes!"

Then he gave Sima Tan's manuscript to Liu Heng, who gave it to Deng Tong after reading it. Deng Tong took it, glanced at it, and immediately understood what he meant. Then he flipped through it casually and seeing that there was nothing else, he gave it to Liu Qi.

After reading it, Liu Qi said, "It's not that the above content is unreasonable, but from reading it, we can see that Sima Tan is just a doctor in an academy and has no actual experience in handling government affairs."

Chen Wu was surprised and said, "Brother Qi is very insightful. Sima Tan is a doctor from the Third Academy and has never been an official. However, the various vassal states in the New World use this set of ideas to develop their countries. Whether it is the Tang or Chu, they have relied on this set of ideas to develop very quickly in recent years, and their speed is not inferior to that of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Qi said: "That's just because the New World is a wild land. As long as the land is developed, there will be wealth. At the same time, the New World is rich in specialties. They have the capital to govern by doing nothing and still accumulate wealth. If this is used in the barren Daqinzhou, it will be the root cause of unrest. Isn't the chaos in Daqinzhou over the past decade the result of letting the economy develop without restraint?"

"Everything in the world has its good and bad sides. This article only talks about the advantages of liberalism, not its flaws. The Han dynasty used the Huang-Lao philosophy of laissez-faire for the first twenty years of its founding. Isn't this a variant of liberalism? But in essence, this philosophy makes the court give up power and lets the people eat the small fish. It can only breed a bunch of tyrants."

Liu Heng was satisfied after hearing what Liu Qi said. He then looked at Deng Tong who didn't agree and said with a smile: "What do you think?"

Deng Tong said calmly: "Industrial upgrading is what our Han should do. I am not interested in these nonsense."

As long as it is the Huang-Lao system, its essence remains the same, which is to reduce the court's interference in the people. However, this system was abandoned by the court decades ago. Now the economic scale of the Han Dynasty is hundreds of times larger than it was decades ago. Not interfering in the economy is simply irresponsible to the people of the Han Dynasty.

And as Liu Qi said, because of its richness, the New World is one of the few regions that still has a trade surplus with the Han Dynasty. Every year, the Han Dynasty imports large quantities of fertilizers, cotton, tobacco, coffee, flour, rice, cocoa beans, sodium quinone and other precious medicinal materials from the New World, not to mention the New World's extremely large gold and silver mines and massive oil exports.

For the vassal states in the New World, their trade with the imperial court is not completely free competition. Cash crops such as cotton and tobacco, and goods such as oil and grain are subject to quota restrictions by the imperial court, and they cannot fully utilize the advantages of their size.

The New World wanted to seize the Han market with its own products, so it proposed the idea of ​​free trade. In the final analysis, all this is just a matter of interests.

Liu Heng smiled when he saw Deng Tong's reaction and said, "Each school of thought has its merits. If the Han Dynasty does not make progress, even the best policies will become rigid. Sima Tan's new thought is a new path. Whether it works or not, it is experience for the Han Dynasty. We should follow the good ones and change the bad ones. In the Han Dynasty's exploration of a harmonious world, every path is an extremely valuable experience."

Deng Tong nodded with an expression of being taught, "You are right. The Han Dynasty needs old ministers like you to take a high-level view. I will just charge into battle under your leadership."

Liu Qi rolled his eyes and whispered, "Flatterer."

Liu Heng said with a smile: "You have gained experience over the years. Do you have any plans to govern a region? Shentu Jia, the governor of Donghai County, has written to the court, asking the court to send an official who is good at developing industry to serve as an official in Donghai County."

Donghai County was not considered wealthy in the pre-Qin period. In the Han Dynasty, it benefited from the great voyages and had relatively significant economic development. However, Donghai County's geographical location was too extreme. To the south was the wealthy Kuaiji County, to the west was Chen County, the industrial center of the Han Dynasty, and to the north was Linzi County, which was developing rapidly due to the dividends of the New World. Surrounded by the three most powerful counties of the Han Dynasty, the development of Donghai County could not be said to be difficult, but it could also be said to be extremely painful as it was siphoned off.

It was not a problem for Donghai County to have enough food and clothing, or even to become a little wealthy, but it was extremely difficult to go further. While counties in other regions could only break through one ceiling in their development, Donghai County faced a three-ceiling blockade.

The current governor of Donghai County, Shentu Jia, learned from his mistakes and believed that only by developing its own industrial system could Donghai County get rid of the siphon effect of the three counties. Then he thought of finding an official from the Shaofu to engage in industrial construction.

Deng Tongdao: "Prefect Shentu has a long-term vision and wants to change the backward situation of Donghai County. Now the industrial upgrading of the Han Dynasty is the best opportunity to catch up. As long as a core pillar industry is created, even if Donghai County cannot become the first-class county of the Han Dynasty, it still has a chance to become a second-class county like Sanchuan County. Industrial upgrading is to give all the backward counties of the Han Dynasty a chance to change their fate."

The industrial systems of various counties in the Han Dynasty were highly competitive. If one fell behind, they would fall behind step by step. However, with the industrial upgrading, the original industrial system of the Han Dynasty has loosened up.

When Liu Heng heard Deng Tong's words, he laughed and said, "Little Deng, you may look modest on weekdays, but you are actually very arrogant in your bones."

Deng Tongdao: "Developing industry happens to be my Mohist strength. If I am modest even about this, people will say that my Mohist school is deceiving the world and stealing its reputation."

Seeing the two people talking happily, Chen Wu finally understood Liu Qi's dissatisfaction with Deng Tong. If he didn't know the situation in Liu's mansion, he would have thought that Deng Tong was the master's illegitimate son.

Outside the hall, Liu Piao was also somewhat surprised and asked her mother, "What is the origin of this Deng Tong? It seems that father attaches great importance to him?"

Dou said, "Deng Tong is an elite of the Mohist school. He was appreciated by the emperor and was also valued by your father. In recent years, the Shaofu has closed many factories. He was the one who handled these factories and resettled the unemployed craftsmen. There were no major disputes between the upper and lower levels. He is your father's best helper in government affairs."

But she was still a little unconvinced and said, "Father is old and confused. How could he not promote my second brother but promote someone else instead?"

Dou slapped Liu Pi and said, "You are talking nonsense. Our Liu family is already rich and prosperous, and it is impossible to exceed it."

Then she said helplessly: "Unless your father retires now, it will be difficult for your two brothers to make further progress."

Liu Heng is not the only one in the Liu family who holds high power. Liu Heng's cousin Liu Bi is now also the commander of the Zhenhai Navy and the number one in the Han Navy. In recent years, Liu Bi has also wanted to compete for the position of general, and he has met the requirements in terms of prestige, qualifications and merits.

But Liu Heng also wanted to compete for the position of prime minister of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty court would not allow the Liu family to appear in both civil and military positions. In this case, only one person could advance and the other could retire. Because of this, Liu Bi began to distance himself from the people, and it was naturally more difficult for Liu Qi and others to advance.

At this time, the top leaders of the Han Dynasty still had to have some shame. Relaxing the restrictions on the second generation was already the limit of the Han Dynasty. They were extremely averse to things like father and son being with high-ranking officials.

June 55, 10rd year of the Han calendar.

Deng Tong had just started work when he received an order to come to a guesthouse in Jianzhang Palace, and then he saw Shentu Jia, the prefect of Donghai County.

Shentu Jia pulled Deng Tong in a friendly manner and said, "Xiao Deng, Mr. Liu said that you are an elite in industrial construction. I invited you here today to discuss the direction of Donghu County's development."

Deng Tongdao: "I am not familiar with the situation in Donghai County, so I dare not speak nonsense."

Shentu Jia immediately took out some documents and said, "This is the economic data of Donghai County this year."

Then he ordered his men to take out a pile of documents and said, "This is the economic development data of Donghai County in recent years. Take a look first."

Deng Tong didn't hesitate and picked up the pile of economic data to look at it.

(End of this chapter)