At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Even if Parthia gets through the difficulties and starts trading with them again, the problem will still exist. There will be fewer people willing to do business, and they will have concerns.

The commercial tax revenue of the Zhenxi Dufu Mansion is likely to be sluggish, and in the end it still depends on agriculture to support the family.

Cao Ang felt that there was nothing wrong with this. During the prosperous business period, everyone was too radical. Seeing the soaring commercial tax figures, a group of officials were overjoyed. their faces.

Desperately encourage the development of commerce, encourage people to borrow money to set up shops and trade with Anxi people and Guishuang people.

As a result, the economic crisis hit, shops closed on a large scale, and people panicked on a large scale.

After the crisis has generally entered a period of calm, when Cao Ang held a meeting again, many officials expressed lingering fears.

They suggested that Cao Ang should implement a stable and controllable business development policy in the future, and never allow those small businessmen and hawkers to make unrestrained requests to set up shops.

At the same time, the person in charge of the Ministry of Finance also stated that they will submit a form to the central government, requesting to further improve the standards of loan issuance, or simply stop this dangerous behavior and limit the scale of private commerce.

What's more, they further stated that no more shops should be allowed to open, and they should be kept at this level. Those who survive this wave will be allowed to exist, and those who cannot survive this wave will be fine. New ones will not be allowed in the future. appear.

They think that in this way, they can prevent problems before they happen. Even if there is another shock next time, they will be invincible if they face the shock with this posture.

As long as I have no business, what kind of business crisis do you have to deal with me?

I don't have any, what are you going to do to me?

As long as I don't have it, you can't take anything from me!

This ostrich mentality was severely criticized by Guo Peng.

When talking with Cao Ang alone, Guo Peng severely criticized this negative and slack in politics.

"When the environment is good, one or two encourage the people to set up shops for the sake of political achievements in order to increase taxes. When the war comes, the environment is bad. When the problem arises, they forget who is behind all this!

No new stores are allowed to open, what a genius, a genius!This kind of talent should be the secretary of the Ministry of Finance, let Wang Can go back, and let him be the secretary of the Ministry of Finance. It won't take a year or two for our country of Wei to soar up! "

When Guo Peng got angry, Cao Ang accepted it with his head down, not daring to speak.

When Guo Peng's mood stabilized, Cao Ang explained to his subordinates.

"Your Majesty, this crisis is really the first time I have faced it. I have never faced such a serious crisis before. I just feel that everyone will have no food. They are very panic. Also very terrified."

Guo Peng sat down and was silent for a while.

"So I will not suggest that the emperor punish anyone. This incident itself is not their fault. It is a bit harsh to insist that they made a mistake. I don't know what will happen after the incident, but it is wrong to punish the person before the incident. wise conduct."

"Taishang Huang Mingjian."

Cao Ang was really worried that Guo Peng would mess with them, and they were really innocent.

"Having said that, you have gained experience in this crisis, and you know the dangers of business, right?"

"exactly."

Cao Ang smiled wryly with lingering fear: "I never expected that such a thing would happen when the Supreme Emperor came here, and the Supreme Emperor laughed."

"No, I think you have done a good job. In the face of unknown risks, you can stabilize the situation, stabilize people's hearts, and resolutely prevent the army from entering the city to restore order. Such behavior is very appropriate. You are also a mature official. .”

"The Supreme Emperor's absurd praise, I dare not bear this praise."

Cao Ang shook his head: "If the Supreme Emperor did not give me advice from time to time, it would be difficult for me to hold on and stabilize the situation."

"Your credit is your credit, there is no need to push it to me."

Guo Peng shook his head and said, "I just hope you can be calmer and wiser than those frightened people, don't give up because of choking, don't dare to develop business when you think there will be a crisis, or even beat you to death with a stick. .

This is timidity, lazy and irresponsible behavior. The three prefectures of the Western Regions and the two prefectures of Yongliang and Liangzhou cannot develop agriculture in the Central Plains and Jiangnan. If they do not develop commerce, the people here will have a hard life. It's not good for the country either.

You have to learn lessons from this incident, accumulate experience, and understand how to deal with this kind of incident in order to minimize the loss, instead of passively avoiding it, avoiding it, how will the three prefectures of the Western Regions and the two prefectures of Yongliang and Liangzhou develop? "

Chapter 1545. One thousand four hundred and sixty-five crises lie not only in business, but also in politics

Cao Ang was quite moved by Guo Peng's words.

He quickly remembered how proud the officials under his command were when the economy was prosperous a few years ago.

Now that the economic crisis is coming, people are panicking and self-closing.

He sighed.

"What the Supreme Emperor said is absolutely true, the ministers must not be afraid."

"Politicians must have courage, boldness, and the courage to take responsibility, instead of avoiding responsibility when they encounter it, and just thinking of dodging. Such a person cannot entrust great power to take on great responsibilities, so Zixiu, you understand Have I expected of you?"

"I understand."

Cao Ang nodded resolutely: "I will never shrink back, I will never slack off, before being transferred, I will do my best to rectify the business and agricultural affairs of the Zhenxi Dufu Mansion, try my best to restore it, and will do my best with my successor afterwards. Good handover, after everything is ready, return to Luoyang."

"Okay, this is the person I fancy."

Guo Peng smiled and patted Cao Ang on the shoulder, encouraging him.

Cao Ang laughed for a while, and suddenly thought of something, his face changed.

"Taishanghuang, if Zhenxi Protector's Mansion is under such an impact, then the three Western Regions and Yongliang Prefecture... Anxi merchants will not come to Zhenxi Protector's Mansion, nor will they go there, then they..."

Guo Peng restrained his smile, nodded solemnly, and said, "Among the three prefectures in the Western Regions, the Zhenxi Duhu Mansion has the best agricultural development and the lowest proportion of commercial taxation. Panic, almost on the level of a catastrophe.

Now the crisis should have gone along the Dachi Road to the Beiting Dufu Mansion and the Annan Duhu Mansion. The two agriculture depends entirely on the oasis, and the business tax ratio is very high. A more serious crisis for the Protectorate. "

"Isn't that going to be a problem?"

"There will be problems, but it's not too serious, because including Zhenxi Dufu, the total population of the three prefectures in the Western Regions combined is less than that of Liangzhou. A small population means that the losses are limited, easy to deal with, and easy to contain. Good rectification.

Moreover, the three prefectures of the Western Regions do not produce too many products. The relationship between local people and commerce is mainly concentrated on agricultural products. "

Guo Peng took a deep breath: "Compared to the three prefectures of the Western Regions, I am more worried about Liangzhou and Yongzhou, and compared with Yongzhou, I am more worried about Liangzhou."

"What does the Supreme Emperor mean?"

"Yongzhou and Liangzhou have a large population. When the crisis comes, it will spread to a wider area. However, Yongzhou still has trade in Hanzhong, Shuzhong, and Luoyang. The proportion of foreign trade is not large, and agricultural production is stable enough. Something really happened. Mao Jie was able to hold on.

The most worrying thing is Liangzhou. To the west is the three prefectures of the Western Regions, and to the east is Yongzhou. After taking over the three prefectures of the Western Regions and Yongzhou, there is no way out at both ends. Once there is a problem, it will explode. Moreover, Liangzhou has a large population and agricultural development. But limited. "

Guo Peng looked worriedly towards the east, in the direction of Liangzhou.

"Agriculture is not well developed, and the power to deal with the crisis will be much smaller. Liangzhou's agriculture cannot be compared with the Central Plains. Once the crisis breaks out, I am really worried that Lu Qian will not be able to handle it."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

Cao Ang's complexion changed drastically.

Guo Peng waved his hand.

"The problem will be very big, but it won't lose everything. Fortunately, my registered residence, Wei, has land. Private business is mostly caused by one family doing two things. A family usually divides into two groups. , while farming the land, while doing business.

So even if the business fails and you can’t go on, you still have land and food, and you will not starve to death when you go home to farm. That is to say, the debt problem is serious. question. "

Cao Ang froze for a moment, his face relaxed a little.

He remembered that the problem of Zhenxi Protectorate was also contained in this way.

People who do business have land outside the city, and some family members are still cultivating the land. Even if the shop closes down or goes bankrupt, they can return to the land to cultivate the land, self-sufficient, and will not starve to death.

This is the last escape route left for them by the Wei Empire. With this retreat route, the economic crisis will kill no one.

Unless they have too much debt and can't afford it for a while, the court will not force them to pay off the debt immediately.

As long as the court stabilizes itself and gives them enough time to repay slowly, they will not be driven to a dead end, and they will eventually be able to pay off their loans and write off bad debts.

Guo Peng's behavior of dismantling local tyrants and distributing land, demolishing powerful manors and granting land to all private households has in fact given the people all over the country the bottom line. The farm model of garrisoning farmland allows them not to starve to death even if they fail in business.

The people who run businesses in the city are often the families in the farms outside the city with surplus labor, or the elderly and women.

Their original intention of opening a shop is to make extra money.

They can't earn extra money, the land and the house are still there, as long as the court gives them time, they can use agricultural production to repay the loan, the court will not be damaged, and they will not be unable to survive.

As long as this is the case, the impact of the economic crisis will not be able to destroy the economy of the Wei Empire, and the agricultural economy of the Wei Empire can still continue to operate.

That is to say, the business level will suffer a lot of losses.

Many people went bankrupt and had nothing, so they had to go home and continue to cultivate the land, and they had to pay back the money owed to the court.

There are also problems in the handicraft industry. Without Anxi, a big customer, many handicraft workshops in Liangzhou and Yongzhou, some porcelain and lacquerware workshops, and some government-run enterprises affiliated to the inner court will all be affected, and the products will accumulate and cannot be sold. .

The inner court has the emperor's internal treasury, and it can maintain a certain cash flow even if the products are piled up and cannot be sold, and it will not go bankrupt.

The handicraft workshops set up by private individuals will be impacted, the products will be piled up and cannot be sold, the workshops will close down, and the workers will lose their jobs.

If this is an industrial society, it is a big problem.

In industrial society, agricultural productivity has been greatly improved, so much labor is not needed, and surplus labor has no place on the land, and must go to urban factories to survive and become urban residents.

Once the economic crisis occurs and the factories close down, the workers will have nowhere to live, and they will not be able to find a place to stand when they return home, not to mention that many people have no land as a way out.

Therefore, the productivity of industrial society is high, and once a crisis occurs, it will be extremely destructive.

But the agricultural society, or the current Wei Empire is still the same sentence.

There are fields at home, and the labor force is not too much. If you can go home and farm, you will not starve to death.

In addition, the biggest impact on the society of Wei State is panic. The psychological panic caused by the economic crisis will destroy the safety valve of many people, making them think that developing business is a very dangerous behavior in their hearts.

So the biggest trouble is not Lu Qian, but Guo Jin who is in Luoyang, Guo himself, and the political forces in the DPRK and China that support the development of commerce and advocate a certain degree of loosening of commerce.

The crisis is not just about business, but more about politics.

Even during Guo Peng's reign, conservative forces continued to attack these business innovators, saying that the experiments they conducted in the three prefectures of the Western Regions and the two prefectures of Yongliang and Liangzhou were messing up people's hearts and killing themselves.

However, due to the good economic environment at that time and the increasing commercial tax revenue, Wang Can, Minister of Finance, under the instruction of Guo Peng, gave this political force a platform and withstood the impact of conservatives.

The conservatives were intimidated by Guo Peng, who did not publicly express their stance behind Wang Can, so they did not dare to further attack the reformers.

In a certain sense, the brand-new production model brought by the reformers brought more people engaged in commerce and handicrafts among the people, and the emergence of these people increased the competition intensity of private commerce.

Most of the conservatives are officials themselves, and there are other members of the family who run business, and even friends and slaves do business, relying on their power to obtain commercial benefits, and then feed them back economic benefits.

Relying on such a traditional model to realize the combination of government and business within a family has nothing to do with his own family.

The rise of private business forces, and the government's encouragement of private business, will naturally have an impact on the commercial forces that rely on political power to protect these traditional wealthy families, thereby affecting their interests.

They naturally don't want this situation to continue to spread in the country, further increasing the difficulty for them to gain benefits in business and gain political advantages.

But Wang Can is the emperor's favorite minister, and when Wang Can speaks out, it must be the emperor's instigation behind him.

They didn't dare to go any further against the emperor, so they could only endure it.

As a result, the business model of the three prefectures of the Western Regions and the two prefectures of Yongliang and Liangzhou was preserved and greatly developed. After the fiscal revenue of the imperial court increased, this model was also partially imitated in other regions.

For example, Qingzhou and Yangzhou, where maritime trade was very developed, Qingzhou governor Xin Ping and Yangzhou governor Gu Yong also relaxed the restrictions on squares and cities to a certain extent, allowing commercial development, encouraging commercial development, and driving local economic development.

After the situation in Jiaozhou was gradually pacified by Manchong, Manchong also planned to use the huge advantage of Jiaozhou's seaside to develop commerce, allowing to break the boundaries of squares and cities, loosening restrictions on private commerce, vigorously developing maritime trade, and accumulating wealth for the development of Jiaozhou.

The rest of the inland states have also followed the Yongliang model in the central cities where commercial transactions are very developed.

Like Runan, like Xiangyang, like Jiangling, like Chengdu, like Yecheng, like Jixian, all of these cities have a relatively large amount of commercial trade, which is suitable for the development of commerce, and is sufficient to do so.

In this way, business taxes will continue to increase.

Moreover, this ratio of commercial taxation is mainly a domestic circulation, and has nothing to do with Rome, Anxi, or Guishuang abroad.

Until the emperor Guo Peng abdicated and became the Supreme Emperor, the power to suppress the conservatives suddenly disappeared. Although the power of the reformers has developed, they are not strong.

Under such a situation, once an economic crisis occurs in the Northwest and affects the government's fiscal revenue, those conservative forces that have been suppressed for a long time will inevitably climax collectively, and will inevitably launch a vigorous attack on the reformers immediately.

The impact on the external economic model will definitely also impact this relatively stable domestic circulation of commercial taxation.

At that time, conservatives will exert unprecedented political pressure on the emperor, and it is still a question of whether bureaucrats at all levels who support innovation can resist the pressure.

Of course, the most important thing is the emperor's attitude.

Chapter 1546 One thousand four hundred and sixty-six Sima Yi is worried

As a centralized emperor, Guo Jin's attitude is crucial.

If he withstands the impact of the conservatives, he will be able to stabilize the established situation in the country, will not let the achievements of innovation over the years go to waste, and can further improve the country's financial strength.

If he can't hold on, if he falters, it's a big problem.