Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 110: The world does not talk about equality, but only about parity! (Second update)

The sound was like a tide and lasted for a long time.

Xia Zhibai stood in front of the wooden platform, looking at the endless crowd in the distance, and a feeling of heroism rose in his heart.

Although ambition is strong, one must take one step at a time and one cannot become fat in one bite.

Nor can they push down the mountain of corruption that weighs down the people.

Right now, we must focus on production first.

When the cheers from all around gradually died down, Xia Zhibai stood on the stage again, bowed to the people around him and the businessmen on both sides of the street, and said slowly: "I, Xia Zhibai, value trust, and I keep my word."

"Since the common people and businesses all agree on this data."

"I, Xia Zhibai, will certainly not deny it."

He stood on tiptoe and grabbed the white cloth on which the clerk was calculating.

Under the gazes of hundreds of people around, Xia Zhibai pulled off the piece of white cloth covered with densely written numbers with force.

Noisy!
Xia Zhibai threw the white cloth into the air and said loudly: "The goal of 500,000 kilograms has been achieved with the concerted efforts of tens of thousands of people and the city's industrialists and businessmen. This piece of white cloth that restricts the people from obtaining real benefits is no longer of any use."

"I, Xia Zhibai, solemnly declare."

"From now on, the highest price of fine salt in Yingtian Prefecture of Jingdu Salt Industry will be 15 coins per catty."

“It will never go up.”

“All the peoples of heaven and earth are witnesses and overseers.”

"Okay." Someone responded loudly.

"The heaven has eyes, the heaven has eyes, Mr. Xia, you truly care about us people, please accept my greetings." An old man in the crowd blushed, his old voice trembled, and his old body knelt on the ground in public.

Xia Zhibai quickly jumped off the platform and helped his father-in-law up.

He can't bear this kneeling.

Xia Zhibai smiled bitterly and said, "Old man, you are really embarrassing the young man."

"In this world, only the younger generation kneels to the elders, how can the elders kneel to the younger generation?"

"I just did what I should do. I don't deserve such a great gift. Besides, I still have a lot of things to do in the future, and I can't afford to shorten my life like this."

"If you really want me to get well, you'd better get up quickly."

But not many people around bought it.

"Master Xia, you are an official, and it is only natural that the people should kneel before the officials."

"How much money you saved us."

"You are a living Bodhisattva."

"."

Xia Zhibai helped the old man up and said solemnly to the people around him, "I really can't afford your gift. This is not a humble remark, but a sincere one. I do business because it is profitable, not out of selfless dedication."

"The land of China has never been about equality."

“Just equality.”

"The ruler and his subjects are not equal, the father and his son are not equal, and the elder brother and his younger brother are not equal either. However, all kinds of etiquette and laws require equality."

“The Confucian sages particularly emphasized this.”

"A ruler should be kind, a minister should be loyal; a father should be merciful, a son should be filial; an elder brother should be friendly, a younger brother should be respectful, and so on."

"Huaxia has never been a one-sided effort."

“I also do things with principles.”

"I am a businessman, I sell goods, and I seek money and food."

"You pay for the salt, and I take the money and sell the salt."

"Everyone gets what they need, and it has always been equal."

"You don't have to think too highly of me, nor do you have to praise me too much. You spent money to buy salt and didn't say anything about the salt. I took the money and didn't complain about the amount of money. That's the deal. It's not that I did anything for you. I just did what I should do and earned what I should earn."

"That's all."

"Besides."

“Business is about serving the people.”

"Being an official is also serving the people."

“There’s not a lot of difference between the two.”

"Of course I also understand why you are so emotional. The world is in distress and people's lives are difficult."

"The new dynasty has been established for eighteen years, but the impact of decades of war has not been completely eliminated. The remnant Yuan forces are still eyeing the world. There are still Japanese pirates invading the coast, and the southwestern border is also unstable. The people are still living a difficult life."

"It is the norm in the world to be hungry and poorly clothed."

"Especially as the old order changes, there is unrest and violence in many places, and it is difficult for people to see any improvement in their lives."

"People's lives are difficult, and every penny counts."

"Salt is something you cannot do without."

"But some time ago, Shouzhou and Chuzhou were hit by floods, and the price of salt has risen. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and it is time to collect taxes in the new year. Life is already difficult, so it is naturally difficult to bear the higher price of salt. The emergence of Kyoto Salt Shop has solved the urgent needs of many families and greatly reduced their daily expenses."

"It also makes it possible for many families to survive."

"You should not be grateful to me, but to yourselves."

“God helps those who help themselves!”

When Xia Zhibai's voice was heard, the crowd suddenly fell silent.

Xia Zhibai's words were beyond everyone's expectations.

It also left many people confused.

Xia Zhibai walked out of the crowd and stood on the high platform again. He put the brass trumpet to his lips and continued, "Compared to most people in the world, I have read a few more books than you and know more about the world. I don't know what people in the world think of me, but from what I heard, many ministers in the court have made fun of me."

"Businessmen have always been a low class." "And since I am an official doing business, I am naturally ridiculed by others."

"But I don't care."

"Merchants pursue profits. This is the nature of merchants."

"But in my opinion, when officials engage in business, they do seek profits, but they must also take people's livelihood into consideration."

"Since ancient times, merchants can actually be divided into three categories."

“One: to make a living.”

"Most of these merchants are peddlers walking the streets!"

"Second: to benefit the family."

“Most of these merchants are wealthy businessmen in the world, and can be considered relatively pure businessmen.”

"Profit-seeking."

“Third: Seek benefits for the country and the people.”

“This is the greatest business!”

"There are very few people like me in the world. I would like to call myself an entrepreneur."

"I volunteered to do business as an official in order to find a third way."

"To seek benefits for the country and happiness for the people."

"Today, the world's production is not well developed. After a long period of war, many aspects have not recovered, especially those related to people's livelihood. Part of the reason is that some advanced production technologies and skills were lost in the war, and part of the reason is that many people adhere to the family workshop model."

“I am not against home workshops.”

"But after more than a decade of war, many places were devastated and many technologies and techniques became damaged and incomplete. Although there have been some improvements after more than a decade of restoration, most of them are difficult to restore to their original state, or it will take a long time."

"But the people can't afford it."

"People's livelihood is already difficult, and production should be restored at all costs."

“So I chose to do business in order to break the existing ideas in the world.”

"We should seek technology sharing among industry and commerce, unite and cooperate, and resume production as quickly as possible, or even improve productivity as quickly as possible."

"On the one hand, it helps reduce costs and increase efficiency for industry and commerce, and on the other hand, it helps improve people's livelihood as much as possible."

"I don't force it."

Xia Zhibai glanced at the teahouse and continued, "During this period, many people have been secretly asking why the Jingdu Salt Shop can produce salt so quickly and with such good quality. I can tell you the reason, because I have adopted new technology and a new brine extraction machine."

"Many of you should have heard about it."

"That machine is called a steam engine."

"I won't keep secrets."

"In the next few days, I will publish the first and second versions of the steam engine drawings for other businessmen to study and discuss."

"I will also publish some feasible ideas and suggestions for others to refer to."

"I'm sure."

"The next few decades will be the era of steam engines."

"Moreover, the family-run business model of the past will gradually be replaced by more advanced and institutionalized business models."

"It won't be long."

"The only advice I can give is to help each other and stop working in isolation. In the past three months, I have recruited a lot of craftsmen and engineers, and I can also seek help from officials from the Ministry of Works of the imperial court. If you have any technical ideas or encounter technical difficulties, you can come to me and I will try my best to solve them for you."

"Or maybe they value some of the technologies in Kyoto's industry and want to achieve their goals through technology exchange."

"I welcome them all."

"in short."

"Kyoto's salt industry is open to everyone in the world."

"As long as you have the technology and ideas and are willing to seek further breakthroughs, you can become a partner of Kyoto Salt."

"I am Xia Zhibai Zhongxin."

"The technology shared with other businessmen will only be used in Kyoto Salt's own industry and will never be leaked to others."

"My idea, Xia Zhibai, is very simple."

"It is to improve the production efficiency of handicrafts as much as possible."

“Increase the productivity of the people.”

“To improve people’s livelihood.”

"Merchants make profits, the people benefit, and the whole world benefits. Why not do it?"

"If you only focus on your own little piece of land, thinking that if you are well fed, the whole family will not be hungry, then don't blame the new technology and new trends for not giving you any room to struggle when they come rolling in. When the world abandons you, cruelty will come especially quickly."

"The world needs to enter a period of mass production!"

Xia Zhibai's voice rolled out in all directions, but there was complete silence all around.

There was no response, only a long silence.

The people who were most touched by Xia Zhibai's words were the salt merchants.

They have the most say.

It is also the most powerless.

Luo Gan, Zhang Yuan and others looked frustrated, angry and helpless.

But they had to admit that Xia Zhibai was telling the truth. When Xia Zhibai officially took action, they had no room to resist. They could only watch helplessly as everything they once had was taken away in an instant, without any ability to fight back.

It's just so fast and crazy.

(End of this chapter)