Two days later, Yan You came to the hotel early in the morning and happily asked Jiang Hexing to follow him. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info Jiang He traveled with him through the streets and alleys, and then came to the door of a large mansion, just now all the way to many mansions, this mansion, although large, but there is nothing special.

Jiang Hexing just arrived at the door, Jiang Hexing thought that he would have to wait for the report, but a person in his 50s at the door stood at the door, looking at Yan You and Jiang Hexing with a smile.

The man was relatively tall, with a long jade body, a long jade face and a long beard, a wide white robe on his body, and the sleeves of the robe trembled slightly when the breeze blew, so he had the demeanor of a Confucian master.

Look at the momentum, look at the face, this is the legendary Wang Mang, the An Han Gong of the Han Dynasty.

Jiang Hexing really didn't expect that the famous Duke An Han, the real ruler of the imperial court, would actually stand at the door waiting for him. He hurriedly stepped forward to give a salute, but was grabbed by Wang Mang, and said with a smile: "Mr. Jiang, no need to be formal, come into the house, enter the house." He took the river in one hand and walked into the house.

Passing through the yard, there is nothing special in the yard, a simple house, and a lot of vegetables are planted on both sides of the road. It is the early summer season, and the vegetables are green and tender, and it seems that there is a lot of care to take care of them.

The two of them entered the house, the room was very simple, after all, Jiang Hexing had just arrived, and he glanced at it a little. was arranged by Wang Mang for the two to kneel opposite each other, with a small table in the middle and some tea on it. Jiang Hexing was taken aback, and his eyes looked straight at the tea.

Wang Mang saw the strangeness of Jiang Hexing, pointed to the tea and said: "This is tea, drinking it can be enlightened, now only very few people drink it, but I have a VIP to come, so I am willing to take out some, come to Yan You, and taste it together." ”

The three of them picked up the tea bowl and tasted it separately, the least accustomed to it was Yan You, who could see that he had really not drunk much, and he had to finish it with a helpless face. Jiang Hexing hadn't drunk tea for a long time, and although it didn't taste like him, he was still very satisfied, and his face was full of intoxication. Only Wang Mang drank it and looked very bland.

"This thing is taken from the land of Shu, there is a mountain called Mengding Mountain, this thing is produced, and it is offered to the palace. I was also rewarded by the Queen Mother, and I had some at home, and I was willing to drink them together when VIPs came. ”

Jiang Hexing didn't expect that there would be tea in the Han Dynasty, and it seems that there will be business to do in the future. But when he heard Wang Mang being so polite, and he regarded himself so important, he hurriedly took out the gift he had prepared from his arms, handed it to Wang Mang with both hands and said: "An Han Gong, the north is poor, the property is poor, there are only more cattle and sheep, so I specially use sheepskin to make a book and give it to An Han Gong as a gift." ”

Wang Mang took it, the cover was written with two big characters "Five Classics", opened it and looked, the first part is the "Book of Songs", and the back is "Shangshu", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes", "Spring and Autumn", which are all written by Lishu, the handwriting is clear, and it is very light to hold.

Wang Mang laughed, held his long beard, looked at the book, looked at the river, pointed to the river, and pointed to himself: "Those who know me, Mr. Jiang also." ”

Jiang Hexing himself was stunned, Wang Mang's words were too impulsive, just chatted a few words, and actually said so. He originally wanted to send a few of these books to the magnates of the Han Dynasty, so that more people could use parchment, and there were many sheepskins on the grassland, and many of them were wasted if they were not used.

Jiang Hexing said: "An Han's public words are serious, I just feel that it is not easy to read now, and specially appointed people to make books in sheepskin, and now the books we have there are like this." ”

At this time, Wang Mang and Yan You were both surprised, how convenient it should be to read in this way, and how many people should be able to read.

Wang Mang looked at Jiang Hexing and said, "Why did Mr. Jiang think of making books?" ”

"I used to be a teacher, but I was killed on the way, drifted to the Han land, and was able to gain a foothold in Daijun because of the dedication of the tap fire. Later, I planned to teach a few students to read there, but found that there were too few books and it was not easy to make, so I made this book for the convenience of students and teachers. ”

"You offered the tap fire?" Wang Mang looked at Jiang Hexing in surprise.

"Yes, I was brought to the capital by Daijun Taishou Su Wen at that time, and I didn't come. Can the tap fire still work? ”

"It can be used, it can be used, now the sacrificial fire is used to make fire, the sky is sacrificed with yang, the earth is sacrificed with yin, and now there is a little less water than when I first came. The court and the central government sighed that non-immortals could not make this thing, and the yin and yang came from the fire, and they were all guarded by special people. ”

Jiang Hexing laughed secretly in his heart, these buns, if you want to be able to cross, you have to bring more lighters.

Wang Mang asked him again what he saw the state of the phoenix at that time, and Jiang Hexing told Su Wen about it again, and the two were amazed.

Then Jiang Hexing said how he met the refugees from Qingzhou, why he attacked Wuhuan, and why he killed Fuyu. In this way, Wang Mang even introduced Jiang Hexing as a confidant.

At this time, Yan You said: "Mr. Jiang, do you know what An Hangong did when he learned about the disaster in Qingzhou?" ”

Jiang Hexing shook his head, I am busy with the war, and I have no contact with the government, how do I know how An Hangong rescued the disaster.

Yan You continued: "In the second year of the first year, that is, the year you dedicated the fire. There was a great drought in many parts of the country, and then there was a plague of locusts, and the victims had no harvest, and they sold their children and girls, and almost changed their children to eat. You've also seen some Qingzhou refugees, you know all of this. At that time, Qingzhou was the hardest hit, and the victims were wandering around. An Han Gong immediately sent people to Qingzhou to reduce rents and taxes and distribute relief. An Han Gong donated millions of dollars and gave up his farmland, and 230 officials saw what An Hangong had done, and donated their fields and houses one after another, with the intention of relieving and relocating the victims. 1,000 houses were also built in Chang'an City to resettle the victims. There is also an Han Gong who also wrote to the imperial court, canceled the Huchi Garden in Anding County, set it up as Anmin County, and let all the victims live in. At that time, when the book was published, there was a lot of discussion, do you know how many people were very dissatisfied with this? That's the royal garden, think about how much pressure An Hangong has? ”

Jiang Hexing only knew that he had helped some Qingzhou victims, but looking at what Wang Mang had done, Wang Mang was more powerful.

Jiang Hexing looked at Wang Mang, and said with a deep salute: "What An Han Gong did, I admire it very much, and because An Han Gong did it, countless refugees have been relieved." In the year of the catastrophe, Fang showed the benevolence and love of the Han Gong. ”

Wang Mang let out a long sigh and said slowly: "Thinking of the suffering of countless victims, what we have done is so insignificant. When there will be no more suffering of the displaced people, it is my heart's wish. ”

Jiang Hexing doesn't have a very good impression of Wang Mang, maybe in his memory, this is a bad guy, a big bad guy. But just as Wang Mang said, compassion and compassion make people admire, and the rivers and rivers are a little awe-inspiring.

Chatting and chatting, it was almost time to eat, and the three of them simply ate together. After the meal, the three of them continued to chat, Jiang Hexing talked about some things in the north, and talked about opening up commerce and trade, and communicating with each other. In Wang Mang's eyes, the trade that Jiang Hexing asked for was nothing more than cowhide and sheepskin, it didn't matter, these were all trivial things, and he easily agreed. Because of his large territory and small population, Jianghexing wanted to recruit people from the Han land, hoping that Wang Mang would let him go, and then discussed it again.

Seeing that Jiang Hexing was entangled in these trivial issues, what business requirements, what immigration requirements, what national treatment, etc., Wang Mang asked a little tiredly: "Mr. Jiang, what do you think is the basis for politics?" ”

Jiang Hexing saw Wang Mang change the topic, so he had to follow him and said: "For politics, people's livelihood should be the foundation." ”

"What is the basis of people's livelihood?"

"People's livelihood should be employment-oriented?"

"Why are the employed?"

"Employment means that the people have their own work, their work, and their happiness. Farmers have fields, workers have their own affairs, and businessmen are profitable. The more people employed, the better people's livelihood. ”

Wang Mang continued to ask: "How to achieve more jobs? ”

"To put it simply, low transaction costs. This cost includes tax costs, interest costs, transportation costs, opportunity costs, ground rent costs, etc., which are collectively called transaction costs. ”

For example, there are many more people now than there were at the time of the founding of the Han Dynasty. When many merchants make money, they buy some fields and live on land rent, which is fixed, but there are more and more people, which causes the rent to be higher and higher, and more and more people cannot afford to rent land. They may wander around and become homeless, on the one hand, they will not have a good life, and on the other hand, they will also cause a lot of uneasy things such as theft and robbery. ”

Wang Mang nodded and said: "These businessmen are really hateful, buying so much land, the small people who are harmed have no land to plant. The princes of Fubi who lived by themselves forced others to be ragged and exiled. What's even more hateful is not only this, in the disaster year, everyone who hoards grain and raises the price of grain cannot afford to eat it, but he makes a lot of money. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Mang slammed the tea bowl in his hand on the table, looking furious.

Jiang Hexing didn't expect this effect, he just wanted to talk about the problem of transaction costs, but when he came to Wang Mang, he became a businessman.

In Jianghexing's view, under the guidance of prices, the market automatically regulates supply and demand, which is far more efficient than other means. The risk of businessman speculation is actually very large, and few real speculators can make money, especially those who have been speculating for a long time. Therefore, he has never been against speculation, and this test for businessmen is actually far beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and those who can successfully speculate for a long time can almost reach the ranks of sages.

If the long-term range, the average price can be maintained within a certain range, speculators are basically doing a zero-sum game, there are successful businessmen, but countless failed businessmen, but people turn a blind eye, in fact, the net worth and even the life of the failed businessman is the price of the speculator.

Therefore, Jiang Hexing was reluctant to discuss the culpability of businessmen, and continued: "This transaction cost is not only a matter of money, but also the cost of time to a large extent. That is, let's see if we can make the roads smoother, the transportation faster, and the transaction costs can be reduced. Speaking of this, Jiang Hexing thought of something, and then said: "In fact, the cost of land rent is high, and there is another way to make it low, that is, to let businessmen have better opportunities to make money." When the time comes, they will not value land, but other investments. With less money to invest in, the price of land rent will naturally fall. ”

Wang Mang was a little unhappy, he didn't expect that Jiang Hexing, a politician, would always find a way to excuse businessmen, and his face sank and said: "Businessmen try their best to make money, regardless of etiquette, righteousness and shame, especially some big businessmen, relying on some money, colluding with corrupt officials and cool officials, bullying the poor and the weak and good, arrogant and lascivious, what is the benefit of the country, the money they earn is their own, just to make their lives better, and others are worse." In addition, big businessmen bully small businessmen, and often force small businessmen to barely survive. They rely on funds, on officials, to plunder, to rob, they are simply a group of moths of the country. ”

Jiang Hexing didn't expect that Wang Mang had such a big opinion on businessmen and didn't want to talk about business anymore, anyway, he had already gotten what he had gotten. He just didn't understand why Wang Mang was like this?

Thinking of this, Jiang Hexing asked, "An Hangong, I see that you have a lot of opinions about merchants, I don't know why?" ”

Wang Mang smiled faintly, looked at Jiang Hexing and said: "Mr. Jiang, you are from the Republic, you are not from my Han Dynasty, and you may not know anything about my Han Dynasty." I'm not dissatisfied with businessmen, I'm dissatisfied with many, and businessmen are just one of them. ”

Wang Mang took a sip of the tea bowl, and then said: "This matter is a long story, I'm afraid it will delay your time." ”

Jiang Hexing hurriedly said: "I wish to listen to the high opinion of An Han Gong." ”

"Our Wang family is now a rare powerful family in the Han Dynasty, but I lived very poor when I was a child. I will serve my mother and my widowed sister-in-law, and I will raise my brother's children. Tired, that's when I realized how difficult it is for people to live. Later I found out that most people's lives are actually the same as me, with many difficulties. And my cousins and cousins, relying on the power of their families, live a life of arrogance and indulgence. What do they do every day? Who's horse is fast, who is looking for a beautiful woman in the competition, who can eat what tricks in the competition, looking for good wine every day, and looking where there is fun every day. At that time, I was thinking, what do people live for? What kind of life they live is a lifetime, and the days of poverty like mine are also a lifetime, what should people live for?

I have seen a lot of people living in hardship, many people can't afford to eat, they can't afford to wear clothes, and some people don't have a lot of salt because it's too expensive. And my cousins and cousins, as well as those big families, the children of rich merchants, they eat the leftovers that are going to be thrown away, and many poor people go to grab them and take them back to their children to eat like treasures. Because their children have not eaten such a delicious food, but the robbers are reluctant to eat it.

At that time, I was not very old and had too much confusion, so I read books and looked at the books to find out why. After reading more, I realized that they had completely abandoned the teachings of the saints, who taught us to observe etiquette, understand respect and humility, and order the elders and children. Do you see what etiquette is understood by those rich merchants? What clothes look good to wear, what is comfortable to wear, completely forget their status. There is a cloud in the "Book of Rites", "The benevolent make a fortune and the unkind make a fortune", none of them want to be benevolent, they each have to be unkind. If everyone is benevolent, is there still so much unkindness?

The more books I read, the more I feel that there is a big problem in this society, everyone is chasing fame and fortune, and no one is really indifferent to fame and fortune, and indifference to fame and fortune is more of a loser's statement to cover up his wounds. Mr. Jiang, do you know why? ”

Jiang Hexing shook his head and did not speak.

Wang Mang continued: "They have all forgotten the teachings of the sages and saints, and I want them to know how the sages teach in the future. As an official, you must know that you are diligent and thrifty, and the "Book of Shang" has clouds, and you are diligent in the state and thrifty at home. If officials can do this, how can there be so many corrupt officials? "Shangshu" also says that if the public destroys the private, the people will allow it, and if the officials are all doing things for the people with public intentions, and have no selfish intentions, the people will naturally support him......"

Jiang Hexing has never been very interested in these Confucian classics, but today he has met a Confucian master, who can quote scriptures and find examples where things can become better according to the teachings of the sages. Fortunately, people in later generations may have a far better understanding of human nature than Wang Mang, a Confucian scholar.

Jiang Hexing knows that no matter how beautiful things are said, how reasonable they sound, they are not based on real human nature, and in the end they are all empty. Jiang Hexing thought to himself that many people are easily confused when they encounter pyramid schemers, but he will not, which is nothing more than some flaws seen by common sense of economics and logic. Today, Wang Mang is also a pyramid schemer, and the Confucianism he talked about cannot stand the test of logic, let alone the scrutiny of human nature. But if it were anyone else, they basically believed that Wang Mang would definitely be able to take everyone into an ideal world.

Wang Mang talked about the Book of Rites from the Book of Rites, and then from the Book of Rites to the Analects, Jiang Hexing pretended to be very interested, and asked two small questions from time to time to fully show off his erudition to Wang Mang.

Wang Mang talked about the principle of self-cultivation and self-cultivation to govern the country and level the world, and then said: "How good it is, you see that I am an example." Self-cultivation first, then Qi family, then governing the country, and in the future, the world will be leveled. ”

Speaking of this, Yan You gave Wang Mang a look, and Wang Mang waved his hand and said: "Yan You, although I am a first friend with Mr. Jiang, I know that he understands my hard work, and what I do is not for myself." I am for the people of the world! My personal rise and fall is small, but the people of the world are the greatest. Therefore, for the sake of the good life of the people of the world, I want to take power for the people of the world, and I want to do things for the people, so that they can all live a good life. ”

Jiang Hexing stood up and said with a deep salute: "An Han Gong always cherishes the heart of the people, and Jiang Hexing admires it." ”

Wang Mang hurriedly stood up and grabbed Jiang Hexing: "Wang Mang's personal strength is small, and he still relies on the help of everyone. Jiang Hexing said that he would be optimistic about Wuhai and do a good job of the northern barrier for Dahan. Then discussed how to make a pilgrimage to the queen mother and the emperor, it was already dark, Wang Mang stayed in the river to eat and drink together, the banquet was over, the river went back, Wang Mang was sent outside the gate, and the two waved goodbye.

Yan You accompanied Jiang Hexing back to the hotel, and then went back himself.