Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

Bi Maokang couldn't understand. Actually, during these days in Yangzhou, Bi Maokang's impression of Jiang Han had changed, because he was no longer a master. When he went out, there was no one carrying a sedan chair or hanging curtains. He had to blindfold himself and ignore the streets. The amounts from the Ministry of Revenue no longer occupied his mind. This also allowed him to calm down and see what kind of life ordinary people were living.

Many officials say that the people are suffering, but where exactly are the people suffering? They can't explain it. They only know that they are suffering, but they don't know how the people are suffering. They don't know that the people under them are so hungry that they have to exchange their children for food, stew their wives for food, dig dirt from the mountains, eat until their stomachs are full, and then suffocate to death.

The same was true for Bi Maokang. He had no idea about the suffering of the people. Only after he was captured and taken to Yangzhou, when those additional factors were completely removed, did he see the people with his own eyes, hear their voices, know what they wanted, and see the impact of Jiang Han's policies on the people.

Putting aside his stance, he still respected Jiang Han very much. He was a man who really worked for the people. He had accomplished things that the court officials dared not do, or wanted to do but could not do. Let's not talk about the fact that you and I were enemies. From this point of view, he admired Jiang Han very much.

It was precisely because of this that he came to ask. He didn't understand why Jiang Han reacted so violently and took such a cruel action when it was just a strike. Wasn't he afraid that these people would do something even more terrible? Wasn't he afraid that if he killed the merchants, no one would dare to do business under his rule? Most importantly, was it reasonable and just to do this? What was your reason, or did you just not tolerate dissidents?

He wanted to get things clear, to get to the bottom of it. If he didn't get to the bottom of it, he would be unable to swallow his anger.

Jiang Han smiled after hearing this: "Old sir, so this is what you want to ask. Okay, I'll explain the twists and turns here to you."

"Old man, you only know that these merchants are going on strike, but do you know why they are going on strike?"

"I have heard that it is about the business tax."

"Yes and no"

Jiang Han shook his head and continued, "They want to reduce or exempt business taxes, they want to stop the land tax, they want to maintain the original state of the Ming Dynasty that has been corrupt for hundreds of years, so that they can continue to suck blood from the people and maintain their extremely luxurious lives. Mr. Bi, these so-called businessmen, these scholars, landlords and businessmen who have united to form this ugly demon called capital, every pore of their body is filled with blood and filth, and people will feel sick as soon as they get close to them!"

What happened today is so sad. Such good girls were treated like this by this damn Byte. We thought the five girls were shining on the stage, but they were actually suffering in the fire.

Volume 245: Chapter Chapter : Conversation

Continuing from the previous story, Bi Maokang saw Jiang Han killing the merchants who were on strike in the city. He was indignant for a moment and wanted to find someone to ask for clarification. However, Jiang Han was determined to shock people with his words, and the moment he opened his mouth, Bi Maokang was stunned.

“I’m all ears”

Bi Maokang wants to see what tricks you can come up with.

"You are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, the Ming Dynasty. You are in charge of the taxation and grain of half of the Ming Dynasty. I believe you also have an impression that in these years, banditry is rampant in the northwest, natural disasters are frequent in northern Zhili, and there is no harvest. Liaodong has been attacked for years. The grain production of the entire Ming Dynasty falls into the hands of the south, in the hands of you, Master Bi in Nanjing."

"But you must also know that relying solely on government relief is not enough to feed everyone, so there is commercial trade. More than half of the grain in the Ming Dynasty was sent to the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty through trade, and not a penny of tax was paid."

"Do you know how much a stone of grain costs in places like Henan in northern Zhili? Eighteen taels, and you can only buy inferior grain mixed with sand. Even so, you can't buy it even if you want to."

"Eighteen taels, Lord Bi, as the Minister of Finance in Nanjing, how much is your annual salary? How many people do you think can afford eighteen taels per stone of grain?"

Many people may be curious about how much one tael of silver in the Ming Dynasty was worth. The author has checked a lot of information. In this regard, there is a serious lack of historical data. After the Qing army entered the pass, a large number of books, written records, and yellow books from the Ming Dynasty were burned. There are really not many archives handed down to today. There is only one book left, which was written by Shen Bang, the county magistrate of Wanping County, a suburban county of Shuntian Prefecture, during his tenure in the 18th year of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It is called "Wan Shu Za Ji", which contains relevant records.

We will make calculations based on what is written in this book. In the Ming Dynasty at that time, tea and silk were absolute luxury goods. In the ninth year of Wanli, the estimated value of each catty of bud tea was about 0.08 taels, and that of leaf tea was 0.02 taels. As for silk fabrics, red and yellow Hangzhou fine silk was 0.96 taels per piece, close to one tael per piece, red gauze was 1.28 taels per piece, and yellow gauze was 1.28 taels per piece.

The raw materials for these cloths, the price of white hemp per pound basically fluctuates between 0.02 and 0.03, while that of jute ranges from 0.03 to 0.01.

Comparing the selling prices, one can see the huge profits of silk fabrics. This is also the reason why Jiang Han wants to engage in silk fabric and tea trade. It’s so damn profitable. Isn’t this more profitable than that crappy movie?

I searched for a picture of the prices of the various items, you can take a look at it, just to get an idea

Image url: "Images/1652303011-100274913-108760964.jpg

Image information: "Price list",

The price of a pound of pork is about 20 cents, while the price of rice is 2.5 cents per pound.

One tael of silver is equivalent to 1000 wen, which can buy 400 kilograms of rice. According to the Ming Dynasty's measurement system, one kilogram is equal to one kilogram and two taels in modern times. Therefore, it can be concluded that the purchasing power of one tael of silver is approximately 480 kilograms of rice.

According to today's rice price, it is about two to three yuan per catty. As a compromise, 2.5 yuan per catty, it is about 1200 yuan.

Many people on Baidu may say that one tael of silver is two thousand yuan, but I calculated it roughly based on this record and it may be different, so everyone is welcome to correct me.

With this foundation, it will be much easier for everyone to understand how much money this eighteen taels is actually worth.

The weight measurement in the Ming Dynasty followed the specifications of the Song Dynasty. One shi was actually one hu, because the measurement of rice used capacity units, liters, dou, and hu, and shi was actually a unit of weight. It was recorded in "Han Shu and Han Li Zhi" that thirty jin was one jin, and four jin was one shi.

In the Song Dynasty, one catty was 59,2 grams. According to the third volume of Mengxi Bitan, every stone is based on catties. By rough conversion, we can conclude that one stone of grain is about kilograms.

Looking at the figures, everyone can probably see that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the price of food had reached such a high level that it was not surprising at all that people were starving to death.

Bi Maokang didn't say anything. He knew that most people couldn't afford to buy food and that many people starved to death. He was tired of reading the court bulletins every day.

"Is the Ming Dynasty really so short of food? Why has the grain price risen to such an extent, and no one is managing it? Lord Bi, when you passed through the streets and alleys of Nanjing, did you ever ask about the lack of wine? Why is the Jiangnan region still brewing wine on a large scale? How much grain is consumed to brew a pot of good wine? Lord, you must know better than me? Why is it that some people are struggling on the line between life and death, but others are still tasting fine wine and living a life of debauchery?"

Inside the city is heaven on earth, outside the city is hell on earth.

"These merchants are hoarding large amounts of food, waiting for prices to rise. Do you know how much food I seized from the houses in Yangzhou? It's more than enough for the entire city to eat for three years! What about other places? Suzhou? Wuxi? Changzhou? Nanjing?"

"The famine in the Ming Dynasty has reached this point. Natural disasters cannot be ignored, but can we ignore man-made disasters? You Ming Dynasty officials keep saying that you are pleading for the people, but what have you done? In other words, those people who starved to death outside the city are not considered the people of your Ming Dynasty? They refused to pay commercial taxes, not even a cent to the court. Not only me, but also your Ming Dynasty. They opposed the equalization of land tax, so that no one would know how much grain they have hidden. You did nothing and turned a blind eye. I am different. I want to do practical things. I want to let the people have enough food and live like human beings. Things like this that lie on the people and squeeze their bones and marrow will never be allowed to live in this world!"

"What do you know? The relationship between scholars and gentry is unbreakable. If they are not handled carefully, it may cause civil unrest. Isn't this strike the same? How many merchants are there in the world? If you kill one, can you kill all of them? The righteous have many supporters, while the unrighteous have few supporters. Why don't we want to intervene? But can this be solved by killing people? If you kill people, who will deliver food? Who will maintain the business? Isn't this killing the chicken to get the eggs? Have you ever thought about what will happen if they don't agree to reopen the market?"

Bi Maokang couldn't help but retort.

"Then keep killing, kill so many of his heads and so many rivers of blood! Mr. Bi, maybe you have forgotten one thing, or you have been unwilling to admit it. Now is a time of chaos, and in times of chaos, severe punishments must be imposed. Since they dare to go against me, don't want to pay any taxes, and dare to gamble with their lives, I will swallow all their belongings into my stomach! The world today lacks everything, but it lacks people! Without Zhang the Butcher, there will still be Li the Butcher and Wang the Butcher. Commercial activities are immortal, but rules must be set. If you want to do business, you have to follow my rules. Either do as I say, or die!"

Jiang Han's tone was firm. He was now exhausted by the rotten things in the late Ming Dynasty and increasingly lacked sympathy. "To you, the world is a mess now. You can't see the direction when you are in it, because you have the emperor above you and the old rules to restrain you. But it's different for me. For me, when I see the mess, I just need to use a sharp knife to cut it into pieces. When my iron wheels move forward, I will crush into pulp all the arms that stand in my way."

"You....you! You have no king and no father!!"

Bi Maokang was very angry at Jiang Han's rebellious words.

"Don't mind me, Mr. Bi. I've rebelled. I'm a person without a king or a father. I don't like your king. In my opinion, he's not as good as me. I think my ability is average and my level is limited, but compared to Chongzhen, I think I'm still a little more confident. After all, not everyone can be fooled by those disgusting people in the court without knowing it."

He looked at Bi Maokang's chest rising and falling, and continued, "You may not know this yet, Mr. Bi, but many officials in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty have connections with Liaodong. Every one of them is extremely wealthy, rich enough to rival a country. If you go to their homes, you can even dig out several million taels of silver. The Ming Dynasty is completely rotten."

Sorry everyone, I watched Jiale's live broadcast today, and I really don't feel like typing. I'm numb. I never thought that capital could be so disgusting and low-brow, but what can I do?

Volume 246: Chapter Chapter : Riverside Gathering

"Do you know how long these merchants' hired workers have to work every day? I'll tell you, eight hours."

(In ancient times, one hour was equal to two hours)

"They start working at the first crow of the cock and finish at noon, every day without rest."

"In the weaving workshops of many weaving merchants in Yangzhou, a large number of female workers work here. They are so skinny from hunger that the clothes they wear can only cover their bodies. The workshops are dirty, messy and extremely cramped. Many female workers have eye diseases of varying degrees. Their arms are swollen and deformed from operating the looms all year round, but they cannot be cured. Because they have no money, the wages they earn are barely enough to make a living. Together with the wages of the men in the family, they can barely maintain the daily life of the family. Is this reasonable?"

"It shouldn't be like this. There is a gate called monkey show. The owner leads the monkey to perform in front of the people for fun. They earn a reward. At the end of the day, if the reward is a hundred coins, he may only take out a copper coin and buy a little food for the monkey. How similar is this to the life of these workers?"

"But they are not monkeys after all, but human beings. Even though they live in troubled times, I want them to live as human beings."

Bi Maokang didn't quite understand what Jiang Han said: "But, the silver was paid by the merchants, the looms and white linen were all purchased by the merchants, and these workers were also hired by the merchants. The remuneration they receive is already in line with their labor, so why is it wrong?"

(For the sake of safety in this book, I will replace some dangerous keywords with professional unit terms. Please bear with me and look up related vocabulary at the same time.)

"Why? I said that the living standards of these workers are seriously inconsistent with their work output, but you think that the merchants' goods, tools, and even these workers are their property, and the workers have already received their labor income, so you think it is reasonable. However, there is a key point in this, which is that the manifestation of exploitation is the infringement of the surplus value of these workers. But surplus value is a very mysterious and invisible thing. According to your logic, these merchants even gave these workers a way to survive. Without them, the workers would have nowhere to work and would starve to death."

"But there is something invisible in this, that is, who decides the shares of these distributions? Who decides the so-called surplus value and the value? Who decides the value of the labor and output of these workers?"

Is it the government? Or are these businessmen?

“The essence of exploitation is not reflected in the surface characteristics such as long working hours, lack of health protection, and disproportionate labor output, but lies in the deprivation of pricing power. Therefore, the reality of exploitation is the invisible class division.”

As long as it is a class society, exploitation is bound to exist. It is not an essence but a way of realization.

"The people of the Ming Dynasty are divided into four classes: scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. This is the political class division that is on the surface, but what is it like in reality? These businessmen have used exploitation to blur the economic and political identity definitions. These farmers, these workers, the general public who should have a higher status than them, have become people below them. Isn't it strange?"

Bi Maokang stopped talking, and cold sweat began to appear on his forehead.

"Are these merchants who you call your servants really your servants, as stipulated by the laws of your Ming Dynasty, who do not wear fine silk, live in luxury houses, and go out in simple clothes? I'm afraid you know better than me, Mr. Bi."

Jiang Han showed a mocking expression

"Your so-called system of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans has already been reversed. The so-called people-oriented system is just a slogan. You, Mr. Bi, are in Nanjing, so you should know better than anyone else. So guess where the food in the hands of the Tartars outside the Great Wall came from? Where did the copper and iron used by the Tartars outside the Great Wall come from? Where did the bows, crossbows and arrows in the hands of these bandits, and the horses they ride, come from? Mr. Bi, you are devoted to the country and want the Ming Dynasty to have weapons to resist the Tartars outside the Great Wall, but have you ever thought about whether everyone thinks the same as you do?"

Bi Maokang left in a daze. He had received too much information in this conversation to digest it all. There were too many ideas in his mind waiting to be confirmed. He needed to imagine and think carefully.

Jiang Han was not in a hurry either. He let Bi Maokang leave with peace of mind. Now, the seeds of doubt had been planted and the roots of thought were spreading. It would not matter even if he let him go back to Nanjing.

Jiang Han made no secret of his provocative attitude. He said openly that he was provoking you, but do you dare not take it seriously? Will you not take it seriously? When you fall asleep at three o'clock in the middle of the night, won't there be a villain in your mind talking to you?

It's very blue.

After talking for a long time, Jiang Han silently picked up the teacup and drank a sip of water. The budding bourgeoisie of the Ming Dynasty is still in its early stages, but this kind of exploitation behavior is already quite mature. It's just that because the commercial activities have not reached a certain scale, they have not been deepened. Or, in other words, this class has been solidified enough and there is no need for this implementation method to carry out further operations.

What was the actual move to carry out this operation in later generations?

Many people may say that 996 is meant to make you work twice as hard, squeeze you to death, and make you work hard without rest, but in fact, this time arrangement is very unreasonable in terms of the pursuit of business efficiency.

Go to work at 9 am and get off work at 9 pm. Why not from 6 am to 6 pm? Get up at 9 am to eat breakfast, go to the company at 9 am, get used to it, and can you really organize any efficient work from this time to 11:30? It will only end halfway, and after 6 pm, after dinner, the whole person is actually in a very sleepy and tired state, and there will be no good work efficiency. Most of the time, you will be slacking off.

But the company doesn’t care whether you slack off during this period of time. They may even be happy that you can slack off. However, you have to slack off at your workstation. This inefficient time management method has its real purpose. Combined with what I wrote above, what is the essence of exploitation?

Why must we work from 9am to 9pm? If we get up earlier, work from 6am to 12pm, take a two-hour break at noon, and then work from 2pm to 6pm, wouldn't it be more efficient? Why not arrange it this way?

The key lies in these three hours from 6 to 9. In our traditional cultural habits, these three hours are generally used for dinner parties, negotiations, public relations, chatting, and expanding personal connections.

In Chinese culture, most collaborations are not concluded during business negotiations, but rather at dinner parties and social events, and most of the time for these activities is concentrated in this period.

Because of 996, you have no time for any dinner parties, business negotiations, or private public relations. You also have no chance to compete upwards and become their competitor. Your class is fixed at this time.

Can I resist if I slack off? Can I resist if I lie flat? Neither.

Do you understand? The essence of the 996 initiative is not exploitation as many people say, but domination. You come from the dictatorship of your boss and your superiors.

He had to impose sanctions on this group of unscrupulous businessmen. He was originally too busy to do anything because of various measures, but now, these people could be said to have put their heads on the bullet hole, so he must satisfy them.

Many scholars gathered on the banks of the Yangtze River, and a large number of students criticized Fang Qiong and looked down upon the marquis of the past.

A scholar stood by the river, watching the scholars gathered around him, his heart was filled with excitement, and he shouted: "We have seen that since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have personally punished the gangsters, personally decided the case of rebellion, and your wise judgment is unparalleled in the history! However, this traitor Jiang rebelled against the emperor, occupied Yangzhou, and killed the good people. This is a tragedy for all righteous men and an indignation for all loyal officials!"

These scholars highly praised Chongzhen's move to eliminate the eunuch party and restore Donglin, and pointed the finger at the traitor Jiang Han.

"We are full of passion, following the Donglin, uniting with the righteous people! Together we will support the crumbling Ming Dynasty!"

The scholars became more and more excited as they talked, and their red faces rose. They all felt that they were the saviors of the Ming Dynasty, who would turn the tide and save the collapsing empire.

Some people also expressed their concerns. If we do this so blatantly, will the Jiang bandits send troops to deal with us?

His companion waved his hand and said, "We scholars gather together to advocate the unity of scholars and to care about national affairs. We represent the people's hearts and minds. Could it be that Jiang the traitor wants to silence the people?"

If he is sensible, it's fine. If he is not, we scholars will write a book to curse him to death! We will ruin his reputation and make him infamous forever!

This group of scholars was having a great time, and not far away, Liuzi was squatting on the eaves, silently watching the gathering in front of him, chewing the cake he had just bought.

A young man with his pants tied up walked over, turned his head and looked around on the street, and found Liuzi squatting there. He quickly stepped forward and whispered in Liuzi's ear:

"Sixth Brother, everyone is here"

"All ready?" Liuzi responded calmly, and ate the remaining biscuits in two or three bites. He then put his fingers into his mouth to suck out the ice chips, and slowly wiped them on his body: "Then let's get ready. Today is the day for us to behave well and change our way of life."

As usual, there is another chapter in the early morning. I was so angry that I didn't sleep all day yesterday. I took out Marx and Kant and read them for a long time. Today's content may contain a lot of random nonsense from the author. Please forgive me.]q裙16⑧2①7妻一六

Volume 247: Chapter Chapter : Changes in the Ming Army

Let’s not talk about the internal troubles, let’s talk about the external troubles first.

The Ming army was organizing a siege. Morale is a very wonderful thing. Most of the time, you only need to make them suffer mentally and physically, and you can reduce the morale of the other army by several points.

Sometimes, such operations may have a counterproductive effect and boost the morale of the other party, such as now.

Jiang Han's extreme actions tortured the Ming army badly. In the past two days, they couldn't sleep well or eat well. But when you are extremely hungry, no one cares whether you smell good or bad. In my mouth, it's a piece of meat!

Some Ming soldiers were so hungry that they could not bear it anymore. They just swallowed the corn porridge. Ouch! The stench went straight up their mouths and hit their foreheads. It hurt, it was so painful. It was extremely painful for the Ming soldiers.

But, a blessing in disguise, nor is it a disaster for Song Zi to be blind. Now Zhao Zhilong has been beaten to a pulp by Jiang Han, and Wang Yanchang's navy has lost nearly twenty ships. The two of them were originally scheming against each other, but now both sides are hurt. Instead, hey, they can sit at the same table and talk about things.

"Master Wang, you have also seen that this thief Jiang is not easy to deal with."

Zhao Zhilong's sighs sounded less fake, he was well aware of this, and the stench that could not be covered up by his three packs of incense was very convincing.

"Don't say anything, Lord Zhao. I was wrong here. I was too eager for quick success and it delayed the cause of defeating the bandits."

Wang Yanchang was angry and weak at this moment. Why? You are not confident. How many ships are you on? Twenty people died when they met. Although Zhao Zhilong was smelly, at least not many people died.

Those hundreds of people, those hundreds of people...they also worked hard, didn't they? As for me, I didn't do anything. This guy kept making noises and bombarding me with nonsense. If I hadn't been quick, I would have almost died there.

Now he was no longer so arrogant. He calmed down and the two of them discussed together how to attack Yangzhou City.

"I'm afraid that the main force of this expedition to Yangzhou will fall on you, brother."

Wang Yanchang's tone was somewhat dejected, there was nothing he could do, the water level in Yangzhou was so low that who knew what kind of evil magic had been unleashed, his boat would explode when he went up there, while other people's boats could sail through it as if it were flat ground. He was afraid that he could not sail on this waterway, although he also wanted to be promoted, but it was still a question whether he would be able to take the position alive.

If you fight for Yangzhou and spend all your wealth, even if you are offered an official position, can you sit still?

Zhao Zhilong was also somewhat pleased when he heard this. Humph, no matter how cunning you are, you still have to drink my foot washing water. Do you think the navy is noble? You were still beaten to a pulp, Jiang the thief, well done!

He praised Jiang Han highly in his heart, but he soon realized that this beast had made himself so stink!

Thinking of this, he sighed and shook his head: "This Jiang thief is cunning and his methods are quite strange. It is not easy to deal with him. Moreover, my soldiers have not had a good rest for a day because of the stench he released in my granary. Their morale is low and it is not easy to deal with him."

Yes, several people even died that night. Many soldiers looked at those people who were killed by the stench and felt sympathetic for their fellow soldiers. Their fighting spirit dropped seriously. You see, after a lifetime of military service, when you die and go to the underworld, the King of Hell will ask you how you died. It was too humiliating to die of the stench.