The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 334 Mercantilism
Yan Chengping felt that Yue Wenxuan was definitely right, but the term "mercantilism" was too unfamiliar to him, and he had no idea how to approach it.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "I remember that when the Northern Song army had just liberated Yizhou, your Yan family was the first to step forward and offer a large amount of iron, sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, and other items to Lady Gong. Your family must have some related business, right?"

Yan Chengping nodded: "My family used to run a fireworks business."

Yue Wenxuan: "How many people does your family employ to handle matters related to fireworks and firecrackers?"

Yan Chengping: "My family's business is very large. We have more than a dozen gunpowder makers, as well as paper makers, gunpowder rolling shops, and sales shops... The entire industry employs more than two hundred workers."

"Only two hundred people?" Yue Wenxuan muttered to himself, "That's not enough to solve the employment problem."

Yan Chengping: "Employment?"

Yue Wenxuan spread his hands: "The so-called employment means that people have jobs. Look, your Yan family's fireworks business can enable two hundred people to leave the fields and survive by doing manual labor. If there are many merchants engaged in various industries, and each industry solves the livelihood of hundreds or even thousands of people, wouldn't the number of people who rely on farming for a living be greatly reduced?"

Yan Chengping snapped out of his daze. As expected of the top scholar, his reaction was extremely quick. He immediately understood: "In other words, the better the commerce is developed, the fewer people will rely on the land. Similarly, the better the commerce is developed, the more merchants there will be. This is what Young Master Yue was talking about earlier, the new class... This class is different from the bureaucratic landlords. They do not rely on the land to survive, so naturally they can't get along with the bureaucratic landlords."

“That’s right!” Yue Wenxuan laughed. “So-called mercantilism is about supporting commerce and getting more people off the land. When that happens, there will be much less resistance to implementing reforms.”

Yan Chengping: "How should we support them? Should we exempt them from taxes?"

“Tax exemption is not feasible,” Yue Wenxuan said with a smile. “If the merchant class is exempt from taxes, the tax burden will fall entirely on the farmers, making them even more overburdened and only making the world worse. The real secret to supporting commerce lies in creating a favorable business environment.”

Yan Chengping: "???"

Yue Wenxuan: "Improve the status of businessmen, simplify the procedures for doing business, improve urban planning, and enhance transportation efficiency..."

He briefly recounted these events.

Yan Chengping was incredibly intelligent; he understood immediately. No wonder Young Master Yue told me all this, not to others. It was because I was going to be in charge of Chuzhou, which had just been burned down and rebuilt. It would become a completely new city, free from deeply entrenched gentry and landlords, old forces, narrow streets, and crowded houses.

This city needs new construction!
The people here are all recently reformed bandits!
There are no corrupt officials or slick bureaucrats here.

It's like a blank sheet of paper; whatever you draw on it will appear, unlike other cities where the paper is already filled with drawings, leaving no room to put pen to paper.

Yue Wenxuan continued, "Although Chuzhou is now burned to the ground, it is actually a city that is very suitable for doing business. Since you are well-read, you should understand this."

Yan Chengping's spirits lifted: "Chuzhou is a hub for grain transport, a vital point for salt transport, and a place where southern and northern ships meet. It is where the Huai River and the Grand Canal meet, making shipping highly developed. To the north, it connects to Shandong and Hebei; to the south, it connects to Jiangnan; and to the east, it borders the sea."

"Hmm, well said." Yue Wenxuan: "Go on, what kind of businesses are suitable for this location?"

Yan Chengping's mind raced, and he quickly drafted another "strategy" in his head. He then summarized: "Shipbuilding, textiles, winemaking... Chuzhou has Yancheng County under its jurisdiction, which also has a salt industry. Oh, and this place also has abundant clay resources, which is suitable for developing a ceramics handicraft industry."

"Very good!" Yue Wenxuan could tell that this guy had already done some research on Chuzhou before taking office, which showed he was very thoughtful.

“Yes, we can do all of these industries,” Yue Wenxuan said. “But we must be careful not to do them all through official channels. We should encourage private individuals to engage in these industries, cultivate a group of private businessmen, and develop them together with official channels, walking on two legs at the same time.”

Yan Chengping: "The merchants in the private sector are all cunning and treacherous. If we let them get involved, wouldn't that harm the people?"

"No, if everything is run by government officials, it will be even more harmful to the people," Yue Wenxuan said. "Competition is the driving force for progress. Competition is the source of workers' welfare. Have you heard of the Zheng family's papermaking in Jiaoshui County?"

Yan Chengping had indeed heard of it. When he went to Jiaoshui County to participate in the imperial examination, he purchased a batch of writing implements in Jiaoshui County, including products from Zheng's Paper Mill. Sure enough, the paper from Zheng's Paper Mill was of good quality and cheaper than the paper made by the official paper mills. He bought a lot of it at once.

Yue Wenxuan: "That Zheng family papermaking business was supported by me."

Yan Chengping: "Huh?"

He was stunned for a long time before he finally understood.

When Young Master Yue told him this, he meant one thing: while developing the official commercial district, he should also support people like the Zheng family in the private sector.

Yue Wenxuan suddenly chuckled: "By the way, there's something I need to warn you about! Your Yan family also has businesses, but you're not allowed to do business in the areas under your jurisdiction."

Yan Chengping was startled again: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan: "You are a smart person, you should understand the reason behind this."

Yan Chengping thought for a moment and immediately understood.

Yue Wenxuan: "I don't like businessmen becoming officials, nor do I like officials doing business. If your Yan family wants to develop better in the officialdom in the future, I suggest you transfer all of your family's businesses... Of course, if you don't transfer them, I won't do anything to you! It's just that it may be more difficult for you to become a marquis or prime minister in the future."

After saying that, he made a gesture of touching the ceiling with his hand and chuckled, "Here, the ceiling for businessmen to become officials is relatively low."

Yan Chengping bowed deeply and said, "I understand."

"Okay! Let's stop here for today."

Yue Wenxuan didn't say anything more. Changing the social system is not something that can be accomplished overnight. What we've talked about today is enough. If he hadn't read Yan Chengping's essay on national finance and his new perspective on "reform," he wouldn't have told him so much at once.

In short, let's wait for Yan Chengping, this newcomer, to gradually improve, and let Chuzhou also progress through trial and error.

This person and this city should complement each other.

Let's see if Chuzhou can become a new benchmark!

Yue Wenxuan himself wasn't sure if his idea was right, so he could only proceed cautiously, feeling his way forward.

(End of this chapter)