In his heart, he was more aware than anyone that this task was a complete failure. The guest, alone and armed with extraordinary courage and wisdom, resolved the White Bone Cult, skillfully used mechanisms and Dao Skill to alleviate the drought, stabilizing popular sentiment.
Yet, when they went out on their mission, they were completely manipulated by the Salt Merchants like a swarm of headless flies, hitting obstacles everywhere, leaving him feeling incredibly guilty and self-reproachful.
Contemplating deeply, Yan Shan realized that the Salt Merchants’ actions had clearly been meticulously planned and prepared. As soon as the Court began to act, they quickly responded, unhesitatingly choosing to feign submission, adopting an extremely low profile to handle the Court’s investigation, giving no chance to expand the situation.
They were like a pack of cunning foxes; in the moment danger arrived, they swiftly retreated into their burrows, rendering the Court’s heavy blows like hitting cotton, without any leverage.
Xu Qing slightly furrowed his brow, falling into deep thought.
After a moment, he slowly spoke: "These Salt Merchants undertake the transportation and sale of salt from various places, controlling a vast business network. During my last reform of the salt law, I didn’t touch them, considering the inherent complexity. Matters of the world cannot be rushed; sometimes, the more you do, the more mistakes you make.
In all my reforms, the core focus is to expand the overall interest, mastering the initiative through reallocating benefits. This is the key.
If we regard the Salt Merchants as a cohesive whole, breaking through their defenses will be exceedingly thorny; do you understand what I mean?"
Yan Shan, thoughtful as he weighed his words carefully, said, "Guest, should we send out a message that whoever can provide 300,000 shi of polished rice will be the general merchant of this session’s Salt Conference? Perhaps in doing so, we can leverage their internal conflicts to make them voluntarily hand over the rice."
"Weizhong, your idea has a certain logic and could be a strategy. But such a trick might have worked before, causing those Salt Merchants to fight over interests, allowing us to reap the fisherman’s benefit. But now, the situation is different." Xu Qing gently shook his head, "Today’s Salt Merchants, after repeated bouts with the Court, have become exceedingly shrewd. They understand my approach and strategies like nothing else; such a simple temptation likely cannot sway them anymore."
After hearing, Yan Shan fell silent. He secretly reflected, realizing that the Jiangnan nobles are no longer those who only seek pleasure and are short-sighted.
They thoroughly studied Xu Qing’s teaching materials in the Recovery Society and private conversations, much like diligent students, striving to learn how to respond to the Court’s policies and measures. Through repeated confrontations with the Court, they continually evolved, becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.
Yet, in Xu Qing’s view, this was not entirely a bad thing.
As time moved forward, subtly, many nobles started to shift their thinking towards becoming business principals. They gradually understood that governing locally according to Xu Qing’s concepts not only improved efficiency but also reduced the resistance of the lower classes.
Because commoners are also human, they need to enjoy life and want respect and care. Giving them some sweetness allows them to live a relatively prosperous life, and they will work harder, creating greater value.
It must be said that it is precisely because Xu Qing has vigorously developed maritime trade and industry and commerce that the living standards of Jiangnan nobles have markedly increased. Nowadays, asking them to return to the days before Xu Qing’s reforms would be something they are one hundred times unwilling to do because there is a stark difference in material enjoyment and life quality.
In fact, Xu Qing’s philosophies and thoughts have long unintentionally become deeply ingrained, becoming a new trend and direction.
Yan Shan, as an eyewitness and participant in all the reforms, has the deepest understanding of the changes involved. He knows better than anyone the nobles’ dual feelings towards the guest.
They love the guest’s policies, which have brought them tangible benefits, further solidifying and elevating their wealth and status, making life more luxurious and comfortable; yet they hate that the guest continually strives to secure more rights for the lower classes, disrupting their original privilege and interest structure, making them feel that their interests are threatened. Fınd the newest release on novel fire.net
Yan Shan even often suspected that if the guest truly one day decided to cooperate with the nobles, agreeing to restore the previous dynasty’s tax farming system, these people might immediately jump up in gleeful excitement, hesitating not a moment to cloak the guest in royal robes and proclaim him emperor.
In fact, from certain perspectives, implementing tax farming today may result in the Court’s revenue increasing in the short term.
Xu Qing proposed never to increase corvee and taxes, and there was similar consideration. However, he submitted this policy after paddy clearance, through which the Court regained partial grassroots authority, causing Imperial Power since the Grand Ancestor to once more touch the countryside level.
Yet, Yan Shan understood in his heart that beneath the seemingly calm surface, these grassroots powers are facing a huge crisis.
Those clerks currently exercising grassroots authority could very likely, in coming days, be drawn in and corrupted by local powers, becoming local wealthy bullies, and by then, the Court’s hard-won grassroots authority might again fall into local power hands.