The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 417 The Xue Family and the Jia Family

If all goes well, sweet potatoes can be planted in all the places outside the pass and in Datong, which should be enough to absorb one million people. At that time, the total population of the two places will be controlled at around two million.

With 1.5 million in the area outside the pass, and 500,000 retained in Datong and Daizhou, the entire trade system would be fully operational without any hindrance.

With a population of two million, controlling the horses outside the Great Wall, it wouldn't be difficult to support an army of sixty to seventy thousand.

But has the imperial court been able to tolerate this situation?
Even if the court is currently unable to deal with him and maintains peace with him, it will definitely find a way to target Datong as soon as it sees an opportunity or recovers its strength.

The imperial court had many methods for dealing with Datong.

The simplest and easiest way is to block trade. For the imperial court, all it takes is a decree. Even if it cannot be completely cut off, it can still severely damage Datong and eventually collapse on its own.

Moreover, Wang Xin wanted to save even more disaster victims.

To save as many disaster victims as possible, with a target of at least ten million, it would probably take over the entire Shanxi province just to barely make ends meet, or more accurately, to keep them alive.

He directly announced his rebellion and led his troops south.

Having successfully taken over various parts of Shanxi, given Datong's size, it would take at least two or three years to digest the situation. Unless they adopt a strategy of using war to sustain war, they would absolutely not use that method.

Moreover, the imperial court will not sit idly by and will certainly do everything in its power to deal with the situation.

If trade routes are cut off, it will be impossible to promote sweet potatoes, reclaim wasteland, or reform distribution in a stable manner.

The cost of heading south was too high.

Whether we like it or not, this process will inevitably result in the deaths and injuries of more than a million people. In particular, the disaster relief process will be completely disrupted, many plans will be affected, and the consequences will involve more than ten million disaster victims.

The area outside the Great Wall is now virtually secure. After so many years of continuous suppression, the threat from the barbarians has diminished, and the foundation has been solidified. The next step is to usher in a period of peace, stability, and great development.

Therefore, it is not difficult for Datong Military Town to have a population of two million.

You can observe and wait.

If the imperial court fails to provide adequate disaster relief in three to five years, the situation will inevitably turn out the same way, because the court will be unable to attend to the disaster relief efforts in the next few years, or it will be unable to solve the problem of the disaster victims. The situation may be better by then.

But this wasn't the outcome I wanted.

The natural disaster has left tens of millions of people starving and thousands of miles deserted. The snowball effect has caused even greater man-made disasters in the entire north. The damage caused by these massive disasters will take decades to recover.

In the grand scheme of history, a few decades is but a blink of an eye.

But for Wang Xin, it was his whole life.

Wang Xin valued the present more than the future.

If people in the present don't even value it, isn't it ridiculous to talk about valuing the future?

The future belongs to those who value the present.

Every cause must have an effect.

It's not that there's a cause before there's a effect.

Therefore, understanding the current situation of the imperial court, knowing its bottom line, and then deciding what one can do and what methods to use to break the deadlock will be crucial.

Unexpectedly, Lu Zhongheng did not come, and Lan Huai first asked a question.

“Small businesses go without saying, but to develop into large businesses, it is necessary to involve many people, which is what we encourage.” Wang Xin knew that Lan Huai was an extremely intelligent young man.

Lan Huai was very respectful and also very bold, and took the initiative to speak up, "This approach will definitely succeed."

"Why?" Wang Xin asked deliberately.

"The latter keeps attracting new shareholders to obtain more funds and channels. How can traditional commercial banks compete with them? The gap between the two will only widen," Lan Huai said without a doubt.

indeed so.

But that's not the only benefit.

You must have heard about Juzhongchang.

Lan Huai lowered his head slightly, not speaking rashly.

Wang Xin was not afraid of others' suspicions. He had a clear conscience about this matter. As long as he handled it openly and impartially, he was not afraid of people's gossip. What he feared were those who claimed to be handling official business impartially but actually abused their power for personal gain.

The more impartial and selfless the approach, the more public discussion should be encouraged.

The more someone uses public office for private gain, the less they want outsiders to discuss it.

"The Zhou family members were dealt with according to the law for their misdeeds. Although the Jiedushi Prefecture handled the matter officially, people are still bound by human nature. It is only natural that Master Zhou would hold a grudge against the Jiedushi Prefecture. As long as he does not break the law, it is not illegal to hate someone."

"Many people have expressed their deep admiration for the Jiedushi's actions."

Lan Huai sincerely said, "The General is no ordinary man."

Wang Xin accepted the offer without hesitation, saying, "Because Juzhongchang adopts a joint-stock system, although the Zhou family holds the most shares, they cannot shake the interests of the entire business because of one family. Therefore, Juzhongchang continues to operate normally."

indeed so.

Juzhongchang remains one of the biggest competitors of the Xue family business.

The Xue family business had always hoped for the downfall of Juzhongchang so they could reap its benefits. However, the other owners of Juzhongchang were keeping a close eye on things, giving the Zhou family no chance to act recklessly. "It's actually the same principle as officials trying to suppress imperial power. A good emperor can indeed improve efficiency and make many difficult things easy, but how many good emperors are there?"

Why are we bringing up the emperor again?

Lan Huai was startled. Although he prided himself on seeing through everything, he dared not discuss this matter lightly and remained silent.

Wang Xin sighed with emotion.

Even the most brilliant emperors, how many of them are not senile in their old age?
More often than not, they are incompetent fools.

The disruption caused by the rules is indeed out of control.

The worst thing about the development of things is that they become uncontrollable.

"The larger the business grows, the more resources the owner controls, forming de facto power. If this phenomenon cannot be controlled, it will create new monopolistic elites, so it is inevitable to divide shares."

“Yongxin Bank has done a great job. It has distributed its shares while also getting you to work diligently and willingly. Only a bank like this can compete with other banks. If other banks can’t keep up, they will eventually be eliminated.”

"Your Excellency is wise."

Lan Huai laughed.

That's why they support the military governor.

"So that's why Xue Yan is avoiding me," Wang Xin thought to himself.

Xue Yan was ultimately an old-fashioned man.

Or rather, traditional business owners are mostly old-fashioned figures who are unwilling to give up their shares in their businesses.

Can also understand.

Which nobleman would be willing to have no actual fiefdom of his own, and who would want his son to be demoted instead of inheriting his title?

They were both nobles.

The difference between the nobles of the Zhou Dynasty and the nobles of the Great Zhou Dynasty was like heaven and earth; this was progress.

"We all believe that with the support of the Governor, Yongxin Bank will surely be able to facilitate remittances throughout the world and bring convenience to everyone," Lan Huai said modestly.

This young man is ambitious.

It's a good thing.

Only capable people can have ambition.

Helping others achieve their goals is a virtue.

It's wrong to be unable to bear seeing others do well.

Wang Xin nodded.

Xue Baochai was willing to share the profits; there aren't many people like her.

The Xue family business is undoubtedly on its way to becoming a behemoth.

Concentrate resources to accomplish major tasks.

The same applies to business: the larger the share capital, the stronger the effect.

The benefits are visible, but the drawbacks are also obvious.

The solution to the problem is not to simply ban it, which would be like killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own. The best way is to distribute the shares, keep developing and keep distributing them, and it wouldn't be surprising if the original owner only had one percent left.

The ideal scenario would be to ensure that all ordinary people have a share in the benefits, so that as businesses grow, ordinary people can benefit, rather than only the powerful and wealthy.

There are benefits as well as risks.

If the business closes down, the people will also lose money.

There is no such thing as a perfect thing in the world.

Is he really going to marry Xue Baochai?
After all, it's a matter for the Xue family, and Xue Baochai is a woman, unless she has a powerful husband's family.

For example, Lady Wang.

The reason they were able to dominate the Jia family back then was because of Wang Ziteng.

After Prince Teng died.

Jia Lian dared to chase after Wang Xifeng with a sword. He would never have dared to do such a thing if Wang Ziteng were alive or had not lost power. Even when Wang Xifeng made him furious, he could only obediently endure it.

However, while the Xue family was very important to him, the Jia family was also very important.

Politics and economics are interdependent and inseparable.

There is no such thing as one being more important than the other.

Both are important.

(End of this chapter)