The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 416 Reason
The population outside the pass is easy to count; a rough estimate can be easily obtained based on the agricultural reclamation teams and ranch teams.

However, the exact number is unknown.

Casualties from land reclamation outside the pass could not be reported to the Jiedushi government in a timely manner.

However, there were at least 200,000 refugees taken in from outside the Great Wall, and with the initial 170,000 people from outside the Great Wall in those years, the population outside the Great Wall had exceeded 400,000.

According to Wang Xin's plan.

The area outside the Great Wall that accommodated disaster victims numbered in the millions.

It encompasses the entire Hetao region, the area along the Yellow River, and several of the wealthiest areas outside the Great Wall, including Daning, plus a scattered population of two to three hundred thousand non-Han people, ultimately not exceeding one and a half million.

The population of Datong exceeded 500,000, including about 100,000 disaster victims and 160,000 soldiers and their families, who were considered military personnel.

This ratio is unhealthy.

Even with the addition of the newly acquired Daizhou and several small mountain towns in northwestern Taiyuan, which brought in an additional 300,000 to 500,000 people, the actual population figure was still unknown to the Jiedushi government due to the inaccuracy of the data in the fish-scale register.

It's probably around three to five hundred thousand.

We'll take one of those options and calculate it.

The population under the control of the Datong Military Governor's Office, excluding the non-Han people who have not yet been fully brought under its rule, was approximately 1.4 to 1.5 million.

Datong appears to be prosperous and strong, but its prosperity is based on its economic circulation with the mainland.

Datong mainly supplied cattle, sheep, horses, leather, cowhide, beef tendons, muskets, and matchlock guns, while needing cotton cloth, hay, grain, silk, bronze mirrors, fans, timber, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and liquor from the inland areas.
If only half of the goods were produced by Datong itself, barely maintaining self-sufficiency, then Datong would need a population of over ten million to achieve this.

However, Datong, as a single city, cannot possibly support a population of ten million.

This model differs from farming and from the strategy of using war to sustain war. While it can bring tremendous power, it also puts greater strain on production relations.

Zhang Hui's dissatisfaction.

Wang Xin did not easily refute.

Ideally, we need a smart person to speak up for us; previously it was Zhou Shiming, and now it's Xue Yan.

Xue Yan has absconded.

Zhou Shiming turned hostile.

This is because neither of them can accept their own beliefs; the only difference between them is the degree to which they disagree.

Although Xue Baochai was a good helper, she was a woman.

When Lan Huai was invited by Wang Xin, he heard the complaints and suggestions of several of his colleagues. Lan Huai's eyes darted around, and he quickly understood the predicament and difficulties of the military governor.

"Dear owners."

Lan Huai cupped his hands in greeting and said bluntly in front of everyone, "The people of Datong are getting richer and richer. Although there is a shortage of food, wages are still being paid. This year, before winter has even arrived, the coal consumption of Datong City has already exceeded that of the capital."

"Manager Lan."

Zhang Hui and the others cupped their hands in greeting.

Everyone recognized Lan Huai, knowing that he was the general manager of Xuejia Yongxin Ticket Office in Datong.

Nowadays, people can't do business without banknotes.

This thing is so useful.

Everyone knows that banknotes are extremely profitable, but what they require is credibility—not just personal credibility, but the credibility of the business that establishes itself in this industry. Many conditions are indispensable; if you have them, you have them, and if you don't, you don't.

The Xue family's business has been established for over a century, and they were even imperial merchants.

Their reputation is impeccable.

In addition to being one of the four major families, and now having Wang Xin's connections in Datong, the Xue family's long-standing trade in Datong, as well as its channels within the Great Wall, all these factors combined to make it easy for the Xue family's banknotes to be accepted by the public.

Because they understood each other, the employers did not look down on Lan Huai just because he was a worker; on the contrary, they were all very polite to him.

Lan Huai's rebuttal wasn't because of Wang Xin; he actually agreed with Wang Xin's line of thinking.

"The high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital have already started using coal, while the hundreds of thousands of people in Datong have long been using coal on a daily basis. Although there are one or two million people in the capital and surrounding areas, several times more than in Datong, the number of people who use coal on a daily basis does not exceed one hundred thousand, which is several times less than in Datong."

We are all smart people.

Lan Huai said bluntly, "Master Zhang wants to reduce labor costs, but the prosperity of Datong today and the booming business of various companies in Datong are based on the labor costs stipulated by the Jiedushi Prefecture. Everyone else is doing this, but Master Zhang and your companies want to reduce costs. In fact, it is too shameless."

"Manager Lan, is there any need to swear?" Zhang Hui said, dissatisfied.

Lan Huai disagreed, saying, "Juzhongchang is an old brand in Datong and one of the earliest to participate in trade outside the Great Wall. It got the biggest share of the pie and should have been a leader in the industry, leading the industry to prosperity. But instead of giving back, it wants to undermine its foundation. It is indeed a short-sighted person."

Juzhongchang was a business owned by the boss, established by a group of merchants who pooled their money to start it up.

Now it has been surpassed by several newcomers.

Zhang Hui was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He stepped forward in a huff.

“Let’s be reasonable, don’t hurt people maliciously,” Wang Xin said.

Because Wang Xin intervened, Zhang Hui couldn't get angry and kept his anger bottled up. If even Zhang Hui was like this, the others dared not say anything more.

Wang Xin was not worried about the merchants' dissatisfaction, nor did he object. He then said, "If you think the labor costs are high and want to reduce them by changing the Jiedushi's (military governor's) labor regulations, then you can submit a proposal to the Jiedushi."

"what?"

Zhang Hui and the others were stunned, thinking that their application had been rejected.

Everyone looked at each other.

Lan Huai frowned. He had heard the young lady describe Wang Xin's character to some extent, but this was going too far.

Wang Xinzhen didn't care and laughed, "We've said it before: merchants are ordinary people too. No one is inferior to anyone else. We are all equal. Since that's the case, we certainly won't take your proposal lightly."

Zhang Hui was speechless, and his slight dissatisfaction vanished, replaced by a secret sense of smugness.

A gentleman deceives others.

It seems like I can try more of these in the future.

Lan Huai hesitated, wanting to say something but feeling it was a waste of breath, and felt even more regretful.

"How should we submit our proposal to the military governor's office?"

Someone asked curiously.

“Didn’t we have a large meeting before? Let’s do it the same way. You submit your proposals to the military governor’s office, and everyone participates in the discussion. If everyone agrees, then it’s approved,” Wang Xin said matter-of-factly.

Everyone was shocked.

Zhang Hui's face turned pale with fright.

How can you debate something like this in public?

The more a truth is debated, the clearer it becomes.

When that happens, everyone in the world will know that these few merchants are scoundrels. People have a scale in their hearts. If they lose the hearts of the people, which business can survive? No one in the industry will dare to trust them.

"We can't afford to lose face," someone quickly said with a fawning smile, "Please allow us, Governor, to go back and reconsider this matter carefully."

"can."

Wang Xin smiled calmly and said, "The gates of the Jiedushi Mansion are always open to you."

Look at what this says.

How beautiful.

In contrast, in the government offices, which merchant wasn't summoned and dismissed at will?

Even if it's their own business.

Those clansmen who held official positions were also high and mighty, while those who did business could only stand and offer toasts. Only in Datong did the business truly belong to them.

The military governor's office handled matters openly and transparently.

They should refrain from bringing up their shady, secretive ideas that the public couldn't see through.

Some people have already given up; let the high labor costs be.

The profits may be less, but they are still substantial.

After seeing the merchants off, Wang Xin turned to Lan Huai and asked curiously, "What happened to Miss Baochai?"

Lan Huai had already given in, and upon hearing this, his expression turned serious.

(End of this chapter)