Datang: From exiled prince to eternal tyrant

Chapter 59 Personal interests and people's well-being, I want them all!

Li Ke certainly knows that industrial changes will have a great impact on the current society.

At present, the entire Tang Dynasty is still dominated by men farming and women weaving. Once Li Ke's textiles flow into the Tang Dynasty in large quantities, it will inevitably cause the cloth hand-woven by peasant women to be unable to sell.

But the society is constantly progressing. If you want to change the social labor relations and attack the gentry group, you must take a step forward.

Of course, he also left a way for ordinary people to help them cope with the impact of industrial transformation.

"Everyone, listen to me!"

"The Shu Chamber of Commerce will open textile factories in various places to produce textiles. Its production efficiency is far better than that of peasant women."

"But my factory still needs a large number of workers who are proficient in weaving. I will recruit ordinary peasant women from the society and pay them a salary higher than the market price to increase the income of these people."

"In addition, after the cloth is produced, there are many follow-up matters such as sewing and reinforcement, which require a lot of manual labor. These things will be done by ordinary local peasant women to subsidize their income."

"Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce will also open a clothing store, which also needs a large number of female workers..."

"These positions can effectively help those low-level peasant women improve their lives and allow them to cope with the impact of changes in the textile industry!"

Li Ke made his ideas clear word for word.

At this time, Wei Zheng and Qin Qiong, who were still frowning before, had slowly stretched their faces, and the others were even more surprised, and they were full of admiration and praise.

Only then did they understand that Li Ke had already thought of something more far-reaching, and that his various measures had only benefits for the common people, and no harm.

Wei Zheng has always believed that the people are the foundation of the country, which is why he was reluctant to join the Chamber of Commerce of the Shu State.

But after listening to Li Ke's analysis and explanation, he is willing to believe that Li Ke can make these low-level people live a better life.

Following behind such a prince, Wei Zheng felt much more at ease.

Li Ke's ascension to the throne is at least much better than that Li Chengqian who only knows how to enjoy himself and does nothing.

"Okay! I am willing to join!"

"I would too!"

Both Wei Zheng and Qin Qiong nodded emphatically in the end, agreeing to join the Chamber of Commerce of the Kingdom of Shu.

"All right!"

Seeing that everyone agreed to join the Chamber of Commerce, Li Ke began to explain his business layout to them.

Among the chamber of commerce, Li Ke only invested in technology and accounted for [-]% of the shares, while the rest contributed money and collectively accounted for [-]% of the shares.

Of course, this is just a method of profit distribution. Li Ke will not give them any say or control over the Chamber of Commerce.

Li Ke's knowledge far exceeds that of others. He came to control the development direction of the Chamber of Commerce, and everyone can accept it, so this proposal was quickly passed.

For these people, joining the Chamber of Commerce can ensure that their families will not be impacted by Li Ke, and that they can earn a certain amount of money and income, which is enough.

However, when Li Ke proposed that [-]% of the profits of the chamber of commerce should be taken out and handed over to the state as taxes, everyone was unhappy.

"Thirty percent...that's too much!"

Cheng Yaojin was the first to refuse.

Although the others did not speak, their frowning expressions showed that they were in agreement with Cheng Yaojin's thoughts.

Take [-]% of the profit, and then distribute the remaining [-]% of the profit, and they can only get [-]% of it. In this way, the tax is indeed too heavy.

Seeing that the crowd didn't understand what he was doing, Li Ke laid his hands on his hands to signal them to be quiet first.

"The main tax of our Tang Dynasty is the agricultural tax. It means that the whole country is based on agriculture and depends on the fields to support..."

Li Ke said.

"This is not very good!"

Cheng Yaojin hurriedly interrupted. Since ancient times, the country has been like this. It is based on agriculture. Isn't it good?

Li Ke shook his head, and said in a deep voice: "Putting agriculture first will inevitably lead to a large amount of land hoarding by gentry groups, which will eventually result in land annexation and the displacement of the people..."

"At the same time, the big gentry group occupies a large amount of land. They will gradually control the country, profit from the country, and hurt the country's foundation!"

"This method of production is not conducive to the long-term stability of the Tang Dynasty, so we have to impose heavy taxes on the chamber of commerce, and supplement the agricultural tax with commercial taxes."

"Doing this can effectively enhance the voice of the chamber of commerce in the country. The one who gives the money is the uncle!"

"At the same time, gradually reduce agricultural taxes so that those farming people can live better and lower the status of gentry."

His words were high-sounding, and everyone who heard them praised him.

"Unexpectedly, the structure of the King of Shu is far bigger than ours!"

"The king of Shu cares about the people, so he is really a good king!"

Hearing these compliments, Li Ke smiled wryly in his heart.

The reason why he handed over [-]% of the benefits was just a matter of rights and interests.

With so many gentry at once, how can we get a good deal if we don't pay some protection fees?

The most important point is that he wants to use the money to win Li Shimin to his side.

The eldest grandson Wuji and the others were very powerful in the court, and Li Shimin relied on them a lot.

Only when Li Shimin sees real benefits will he support Li Ke.

Of course, it is not a bad thing to help the people improve their lives along the way.

Among the crowd, Wei Zheng was the first to agree to this plan.

When he heard that heavy taxes can help the people reduce agricultural taxes, he nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Wei Zheng's heart was constantly stirring.

Every word Li Ke said penetrated into his heart.

For many years, Wei Zheng has been seeking a solution to solve the problem that the country is controlled by the gentry group and the people are increasingly weak.But with what he has learned, he has been unable to find a way out.

But today, Li Ke's words made him suddenly enlightened.

Only by reforming Datang's taxation and letting Datang break away from the production model that relies entirely on land, can all this change.

Looking at Li Ke again, Wei Zheng couldn't help sighing: Is this really a young man who hasn't reached the crown yet?

Why does he see and know far more than all the important officials present, far more than these social elites who are much older than him and have more experience than him?

Wei Zheng secretly made a decision in his mind: he wants to bet the future of Datang on this young man!

He believed that Li Ke was the answer Datang needed most!

Others didn't understand it before, and a few were unwilling to accept it.

But when Li Ke mentioned that by imposing heavy taxes on the chamber of commerce, the remaining money could be used to supplement the poor people and help the farmers hit by the factories, everyone was speechless.

This secret meeting finally achieved a complete success, and Li Ke successfully reached an agreement with the members of the Shu Royal Party.

And they all promised that they would try their best to support Li Ke in the court in the future...

In the court of the Tang Dynasty, the Shu King Party officially formed a community of interests, and it has become a force that cannot be ignored.

(End of this chapter)