Song Dynasty: Yuan Dynasty, you didn't expect this, did you? I'm still alive.

The 25th year of Yongsui (1449).

This year is an important year.

Gewu Academy successfully synthesized ammonia directly from nitrogen and hydrogen in its alchemy room using high temperature, high pressure, and metal catalysts (such as osmium), and quickly achieved large-scale industrial production.

From then on, the Eastern Song Dynasty was freed from its dependence on saltpeter mines.

During the Eastern Song Dynasty, nitric acid could be produced on a large scale, and smokeless gunpowder was used to completely replace black powder.

Weapons and equipment have undergone a major upgrade and transformation.

However, at this time, the Eastern Song Dynasty had few rivals in the world, so the need for upgrading its weapons was not high.

The biggest impact of ammonia synthesis technology is on agriculture.

This means that the Eastern Song Dynasty could produce fertilizers on a large scale, and previously barren land could be cultivated with yields no less than those of fertile land.

In the era before chemical fertilizers, the yield per unit area of ​​barren land (such as sandy soil, red soil, and saline-alkali land) was only 10%-30% of that of fertile black soil, and farming was "extensive planting with low yields".

Ammonia synthesis increases the yield of these lands to the same level as fertile lands, meaning that the "effective productivity" of low-yield fields is instantly activated.

The amount of arable land in North America and Central China has increased several times over.

At the same time, tractors began to be widely used.

An agricultural laborer using animal power (oxen, horses) can plow about 2-3 mu of land per day, while a tractor can plow 50-100 mu of land per day. What used to require hundreds of farmers and hundreds of livestock to cultivate a farm of tens of thousands of mu can now be done by just a few tractors and a few farm machinery operators.

This freed up a massive agricultural population, who flocked to cities to become the "workers" and "consumers" needed for industrialized production.

In addition, liberating animal power also meant that land that was originally used for growing livestock feed was also freed up.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Revenue.

The grain output of the Eastern Song Dynasty increased from 1200 billion jin in the first year of the Yongshui era to 3 billion jin in the thirtieth year of the Yongshui era. (Enough to feed 300 million modern Chinese people for a year)

Currently, there are only 200 million registered Song people in the Eastern Song Dynasty.

And this is not the limit, because there are still large areas of land in the Americas and Central China that have not been cultivated.

The Song people in the Central Plains also began to understand why the Song people in the South Seas had developed the habit of wasting food.

The Eastern Song Dynasty thus entered an era of unlimited food supplies.

Surprisingly, even though the Eastern Song Dynasty had more food than it could eat, the barbarians in its colonies such as India and Japan were still starving, which was something the people of the Eastern Song Dynasty couldn't understand.

. . .

That year, General Motors adopted standardized assembly line production, which significantly reduced the price of cars, making them accessible from luxury items for the wealthy to ordinary families, ushering in the era of widespread car ownership.

The Song people, who had just finished eating and drinking to their hearts' content, faced new demands.

Buy your own car.

Of course, no one from the Song Dynasty thought this was impossible.

Because the Song Dynasty is flourishing, which is visible to everyone.

. . .

The 30th year of Yongsui (1454).

The Penguin Emperor ascended to heaven, and as he requested, he was buried in Antarctica.

Because Emperor Penguin was also very long-lived, he became the second emperor of the Eastern Song Dynasty to outlive his crown prince.

His grandson, Zhao Zhao, ascended the throne.

The reign title was changed to Mingzhang.

Zhao Zhao is a very interesting person.

He is very studious and loves reading.

I especially like Legalist books.

The first thing he did upon ascending the throne was to read books he had never read before.

Among his father's collection, Zhao Zhao found the "Xingwei Xinlue" (Strategy for Establishing Power).

I was blown away after reading it.

He was never really satisfied with his great-grandfather's ancestral teachings. As an emperor, how could he allow his subjects to control him?

His favorite approach was the Legalist school's three core methods of governing the country: "law," "technique," and "power."

"Law" requires public laws and regulations, equal treatment, and clear rewards and punishments; "techniques" refers to the strategies for managing officials, which the monarch uses to examine and control his subordinates; "power" requires the monarch to have absolute authority, and the monarch holds the power of life and death, which is the prerequisite for implementing law and techniques.

Zhao Zhao believed that his greatest talent lay in "arts," such as the way a monarch controls his ministers, which must be kept secret so that the ministers cannot fathom the monarch's true thoughts and thus dare not do evil easily; for example, deliberately saying the opposite or arranging the opposite to test loyalty and treachery, etc.

Seeing Emperor Xingwei's pinnacle imperial strategy at this moment, I felt as if my whole being had been elevated.

Emperor Xingwei's imperial strategies were in no way inferior to those of the Legalists!

"I will not let anyone control me."

A meaningful smile appeared on Zhao Zhao's face.

This is his habit; even when no one is around, he will subconsciously hide his expression so as not to leave any flaws in front of outsiders.

The second book Zhao Zhao read was "Das Kapital".

I was blown away after reading it.

"Our Great Song Dynasty is truly full of talented people."

In Zhao Zhao's view, "Das Kapital" is in no way inferior to "Xingwei Xinlue".

Zhao Zhao strongly agreed with several of these viewpoints.

The first is relative surplus value. With technological advancements, workers actually "lose out."

Imagine there's a steamed bun shop owner who employs several workers to make steamed buns.

Initially, the workers worked 8 hours a day. The money earned from selling the buns they made in the first 4 hours was just enough to pay their wages for the day; these 4 hours were called "working for themselves." The money earned from selling the buns they made in the last 4 hours went entirely to the boss; these 4 hours were called "working for the boss for free."

Later, the boss bought an automatic steamed bun-making machine, which doubled the efficiency. What used to take a worker four hours to make, now only takes two hours. This means that the money a worker earns from selling steamed buns in the first two hours of work is enough to pay their wages for the day. The remaining six hours, all the money from selling the steamed buns, goes to the boss.

结果就是：工人「为自己劳动」的时间从4小时缩短到了2小时，「为老闆白干」的时间从4小时延长到了6小时。老闆没有给工人涨一分钱工资，却靠提高效率让工人多白干了2小时。

This is relative surplus value.

"So that's what capitalists profit from—the extra working hours," Zhao Zhao sighed deeply. "How wicked."

The second is its description of employee stock ownership.

Some companies allocate stock to their employees, making them minority shareholders. While this might seem like employees are no longer simply wage earners, Ma Si argues that this practice doesn't change the fundamental nature of exploitation.

For example, the boss of a company owns 90% of the shares, while an ordinary worker only receives 1%. The worker's main job is still to work, work overtime, and follow the boss's instructions; his monthly income mainly comes from his salary. At the end of the year, when profits are distributed, the boss takes 90% of the profits, while the worker only receives 1%.

This 1% dividend is actually a small portion of the profits that the workers have worked so hard to create, taken by the boss. The money that workers earn from stocks is far less than the value they create for the boss through their labor. Moreover, how the company is run, how wages are set, and whether or not to lay off employees are still entirely up to the boss.

Therefore, employee stock ownership does not change the fundamental fact that "bosses make big money from workers' labor." The shares that workers receive are more like a crumb that the boss breaks off from a big cake.

The third is piece-rate wages.

Piece-rate wages mean you get paid for each product you make, which seems fair – "the more you work, the more you earn." But Ma Si points out that this is just a variation of hourly wages, and in essence, it's a more covert form of exploitation.

举个例子：一个工人一天做240个包子，每个包子卖1块钱。老闆定的计件价格是每个包子0.5元。那幺工人一天拿到手的钱是120元，另外120元归了老闆。

In other words, for every two buns a worker makes, the boss only pays them for one. The money a worker earns from making the first bun counts as their wage; the money earned from making the second bun is given to the boss for free.

Can a worker make only 120 buns and earn 60 yuan? No, because 60 yuan isn't enough to cover food and rent. He has to work incredibly hard to survive. And for every extra bun he makes, the boss gets paid for it.

This is the secret of piece-rate wages: the harder the workers work, the more the boss gets for free.

"So that's what the economy is like."

Zhao Zhao suddenly understood, so he issued an imperial edict to bring Ma Si back to Nanjing at full speed.

Ma Si was completely bewildered when she returned to Nanjing.

He had considered the possibility of returning to the Central Plains, but that would only happen when an economic crisis broke out and people had no other choice but to ask him to come back.

But the Song Dynasty is still at its peak, so why bring him back?

Moreover, it was Zhao Zhao, the largest capitalist in the Eastern Song Dynasty, who invited him back.

"It seems that the current emperor has inherited the style of Emperor Shizong."

As soon as Ma Si entered the palace, Zhao Zhao ran out to greet him without even putting on his shoes.

Although the trope was old, Ma Si was still very touched.

He could feel the respect from the officials.

"It is truly a blessing for all the people of the Song Dynasty to have such a benevolent ruler."

"My dear minister, I have read your Das Kapital and have many thoughts, but there are still some things I don't understand. I hope you will not hesitate to enlighten me!" Zhao Zhao said sincerely.

Deeply moved, Ma Si talked with Zhao Zhao all night long until the elderly Ma Si was too old to continue, at which point Zhao Zhao sent someone to take him back.

This news, of course, could not be kept from the ministers in the court.

Although Das Kapital was banned, that was only for the general public.

The scholar-officials themselves enjoyed reading this book, and its interpretation of economics was particularly insightful.

However, this does not mean that the scholar-officials were willing to accept the government's adoption of Marxist doctrines to govern the country.

As a result, a large group of people requested to enter the palace to meet Zhao Zhao.

At this moment, Zhao Zhao summoned several leaders of the Royal Chamber of Commerce.

Zhao Zhao held up Das Kapital, a meaningful expression on his face.

"First, starting today, the working hours of the Royal Chamber of Commerce workers will be extended by 20%."

"Secondly, I wish to share wealth with the workers. From this day forward, workers may use their wages to purchase shares in the Royal Chamber of Commerce. From now on, everyone will be a master of the Chamber of Commerce and must strive to contribute to it."

"Third, all the Royal Chamber of Commerce factories switched to piece-rate wages, telling the workers that the more they work, the more they earn!"

He wants to study "Das Kapital" in reverse!

This is truly a great book. If he hadn't read it, he wouldn't have known there were so many ways to make money.