The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 421 The Emperor's Suppression

"Great victory!"

"A great victory at the Jiedushi Prefecture."

On the streets of Datong, someone shouted excitedly, immediately attracting people to inquire.

A clever person spotted a business opportunity and quickly launched a booklet recording various things that people were concerned about. Each booklet cost thirty coins and was less than three pages long. Five hundred copies were printed as a trial, and to everyone's surprise, they sold out on the same day.

"What great victory?"

At this moment, someone asked curiously.

"I heard that several thousand Hu people were wiped out in Da Ning."

“The Hu people are becoming more and more useless these days.” Another middle-aged man sighed: “Ten years ago, they could easily number in the tens of thousands. Five years ago, they even gathered 100,000 iron cavalry from the northern desert and marched south. Our entire town of Datong was on high alert. Even today, gathering a few thousand Hu people is considered a major force.”

"It's not easy to have persisted for so many years under the constant attacks of our military governor."

Although everyone's face was pale and malnourished, they were dressed cleanly and simply, and their faces were clean, showing no signs of hunger.

Everyone living in Datong has their own way of making a living.

There are rich people and poor people.

However, many places in Datong are now hiring, especially the larger businesses.

Each person must have at least six days of vacation per month, and the working hours per day cannot exceed five hours. They must also have holidays and annual leave. If they work overtime during holidays, they must be paid double. Furthermore, they can only work a maximum of fifty hours per ten-day period.

For offenses exceeding fifty hours, in addition to confiscating illegal gains, a fine of ten times the amount of unjust enrichment will be imposed.

No major trading company dared to risk testing the inspectorate's enforcement capabilities.

Many businesses couldn't survive and had to close down in Datong, but even more businesses survived and weathered the most difficult period. Their businesses were not only unaffected, but their profits increased, and the competition became more manageable.

An industry can accommodate more businesses, and each business can obtain sufficient profits.

Moreover, Datong Prefecture, a region with a population of just over 500,000 within the Great Wall, seemed to have inexhaustible wealth. No matter how much goods were brought from within the Great Wall, they could be sold out. Even under natural disasters, the supply of cattle, sheep, horses, mules, donkeys, and even furs, which could be supplied in previous years, remained stable.

Horse-drawn carriage wheels rolled over the streets paved with blue bricks.

Shops lined both sides of the street, and pedestrians passed by under colorful flags and signs overhead. Further in, people rode horses and mules, with manure bags hanging from their hindquarters. There were people who collected the manure when entering and leaving the city gates, and the manure could actually be exchanged for money, although not much.

Inside are horse-drawn carriages, and at the very back are freight wagons.

Order was maintained only in the crowded streets.

Zhou Wen quietly looked at the endless heads outside the carriage. The number of people in Datong City was unbelievable, more than double that of before. What was even more unbelievable was that people often had smiles on their faces.

Even though the streets were so crowded, most people weren't in a hurry.

People have plenty of time, and many people have things on their hands.

Some carried two fresh fish, their gills tied with knots of straw, their fingers hooking the knots; others carried baskets half-full of rice and flour; some had half a bolt of cloth wrapped under their arms; some carried a pot; and some carried a strange box.
The carts carrying goods were loaded to the brim, and the drivers skillfully moved with the flow of people.

The livestock hauled the goods indifferently, as if it were a routine, working as hard and without complaint as the laborers.

If some people questioned Wang Xin in the past, now, with the visible changes in Datong, more and more people no longer question him, but instead have confidence in Datong.

More and more businesses are spending several times the cost to open a branch in Datong in pursuit of profit.

There are countless disaster victims now, and free labor is readily available everywhere. However, in Datong, it takes a huge price to obtain labor. It is an unbelievable situation, yet the merchants do not refuse it.

However, if they were allowed to do this in mainland China, no businessman would accept it, and they would take drastic measures to resist.

Zhou Wen looked exhausted when he returned from the capital.

When he saw Datong again, he recalled the scenery he had seen in the capital. Comparing the two, Zhou Wen felt increasingly melancholy.

"Relations of production".

Zhou Wen murmured to himself.

This is a concept that Wang Xin often mentioned and promoted to businessmen.

The degree of social prosperity is determined by the relations of production.

Why was the Song Dynasty so materially abundant and economically prosperous? Because its production relations were superior to those of other dynasties. So why did the Song Dynasty ultimately fail?

As the number of termites increased, the relations of production began to deteriorate, and more and more people could not survive.

Previously, no one took Wang Xin's theories seriously, but Zhou Wen did not see it that way.

As a previously unpopular illegitimate son of the Zhou family, Zhou Wen, though relatively unknown, witnessed his family's cooperation with the Jiedushi Prefecture, various changes in Datong, and the underlying reasons. Zhou Wen had a more straightforward understanding of these events than most people.

"Ugh."

Hearing the faint, excited discussions about the great victory outside, Zhou Wen couldn't help but lower his head deeply.

"Master."

"You're finally back."

The butler said with delight, "The master is bedridden."

Zhou Wen was shocked and immediately questioned, "Why didn't you send someone to tell me?"

"We've already sent people."

Zhou Wen then stopped pursuing the matter and hurriedly went to visit his father. "Before we left, Father was still in good health. How did he become so ill that he can't even get out of bed?"

"It's all because of those people outside."

The stewards were united in their hatred of the enemy.

The Zhou family still holds a full 10% stake in Juzhongchang. The largest shareholder is the military, which holds 20% of the shares. Due to the strong demands of the other owners of Juzhongchang, the military governor's office finally accepted the requirement to distribute 20% of the shares as dividends every year.

The interests of the military are aligned with those of the other shareholders.

Everyone is equal.

Shareholders receive dividends, and the military receives dividends as well.

If the other shareholders don't receive dividends, then the military won't receive dividends either.

Now that the Zhou family has fallen out with the Jiedushi government, Old Master Zhou has lost his mind and is disregarding his own interests. The other shareholders are not happy about this, and some have even proposed to vote to kick the Zhou family out because the Zhou family is affecting the interests of Juzhongchang.

As for the Zhou family's shares, they were acquired at market price.

Upon learning that he had received a lot of support from his employers, Zhou Shiming was furious and went out to meet them in person. However, he was met with a cold shoulder. The Zhou family, which had once been so popular in Datong, now had no one responding to him. On the contrary, many wealthy families were disgusted with the Zhou family.

Compared to the substantial immediate benefits and the foreseeable future, the Zhou family, which influences them, has become a destabilizing factor.

Looking at his elderly father lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, Zhou Wen made a decision in his heart.

The Zhou family cannot continue down this wrong path.

"The military governor is about to return to Datong and has already sent people to inform all the businesses that a general business conference will be held next month, mainly to discuss tax collection matters," the steward hurriedly informed him of another important matter.

Zhou Wen wasn't too bothered by the idea of ​​taxes.

Taxation is acceptable as long as there is profit involved, just like the employment regulations in Datong, which are acceptable because they are profitable.

These things would have been unimaginable in the past.

Instead of thinking about how to deal with Wang Xin, he thought about how to continue doing business in Datong and expand his business. He felt relieved. Doing business in Datong was too easy, as long as he did not violate the Datong Law.

Thinking of meeting Li Yuan, the Minister of War, in the capital and hearing his instructions, Zhou Wen frowned again.

The emperor would eventually have to deal with the various towns.

The three princes of Dongping, Xining, and Wang Xin were the most prominent among them.

Although Wang Xin was only a military governor and had only served in that position for a few years, he was already comparable to a prince who had held a hereditary title for centuries. I wonder how Wang Xin will deal with the emperor's suppression next.

Faced with the complex situation, Zhou Wen thought it over and over, and decided that the best course of action was to secure a position first.

Let's wait until the situation becomes completely clear.

(End of this chapter)