"Zhang Yushi, the prince of Yiyuan County invites you to go, saying that there are a few big merchants in Chang'an who want to see you!"

When Zhang Chao heard this, he knew that it was Wu Shi Tong who actually took the initiative to introduce a few businessmen to him. Since cooperating with Wu Shi Tong, Wu Shi Tong is responsible for contacting businessmen, and has not taken the initiative to have much contact with Zhang Chao. Wu Shi Tong used to be a timber merchant before he took refuge in Li Yuan, and because he had been in business, he was also discriminated against and rejected by the scholars. The scholars adhered to the proposal of "Confucius Er", and then said that businessmen valued profit over righteousness, and said that businessmen were a group of people without moral integrity, so they were restricted from being officials. In fact, there is no explanation for this kind of, and in order to curb commerce, they do not hesitate to use the so-called demeaning method of merchants to maintain their ruling privileges. And this is actually an insult to businessmen, because there are good and bad people in any industry. Even the scholars, those who were deeply educated by Confucianism, were undisciplined. And most of the negative hearts are scholars, which is enough to show that they are not necessarily educated, so they must be people with good moral character. Businessmen are not necessarily bad people, so suppressing commerce does not mean degrading businessmen as a group.

"Zhang Yushi, this is the largest medicinal herb merchant in our state, he specializes in the medicinal herb business, and he is a first-class rich man. His name is Jinli! Samurai said.

And that Jin immediately said: "I'm not as good as Brother Wu, I can actually become the county prince of the imperial court, we are still a businessman, I can't compare!" ”

"Hey! I'm not much better now, and the real power is actually not as good as this Zhang Yushi! Samurai said.

Samurai looks like a "character" in front of those old brothers in business, but in fact, he is also very depressed in his heart. Because of his merchant background, he was ostracized by those scholars, and even more ostracized than those poor families. If they allowed the opening of a road to the imperial examination for the children of the poor families, they absolutely did not allow businessmen to enter politics. As long as you are in business, you are a slut within three generations, and the discrimination against business in the early years of the Tang Dynasty was also very strong. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, another set of household registration was even formulated specifically for merchants, and once they became merchants, they were businessmen for almost all generations, and it was not easy to change the household registration of merchants, and the process was more difficult. Therefore, as long as you are in business, you are untouchables and are not taken seriously.

And Wu Shi Tong was able to seize the opportunity of the troubled times of the former Sui Dynasty to become the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty, which can be said to be a model among businessmen and a model of being an official. Therefore, many merchants also envied the samurai, thinking that they could obtain the status of the founding heroes and also obtained a knighthood, which was enough for the merchants to envy them. However, the samurai would rather go back to the old days of being a merchant, because at that time he was still relatively free, unlike being this miserable official in this court and sulking by those scholars.

This is also known as the siege effect, where the people on the outside want to go in, and the people on the inside want to get out. The businessmen envied the samurai Tong as an official or a founding hero, a high-ranking official, enjoying a rich salary, and his social status was much higher than theirs. However, the samurai envy the relative freedom of the merchants, which is actually the envy of each other. It's not that some emperors even envy being born in ordinary people's families, hoping that they will not be born in the emperor's family in the next life, because the emperor's family is too cruel. However, there are countless people who hope to become emperors and enjoy this noble glory and wealth for generations. There are many more such examples, and they are simply too numerous to mention.

"Brother Samurai, you're joking. You are the prince of the court, and you are at ease, how can you be like this? Someone asked.

Samurai shook his head and said, "If I can truly be at ease, then how can I be like this?" So, what is at ease, it is needless to say. Today, we are mainly introducing Zhang Chao to you, and the one who proposed that we open the Hope Academy is also the one he proposed. In the future, we can also let students be admitted to the officialdom and then cooperate with us. Otherwise, we will not be able to achieve true security. ”

Zhang Chao took the initiative to meet with several businessmen, and he knew each other. And Zhang Chao came to see them this time, in fact, he hoped that they could contribute money to provide for himself to advance in the officialdom. Because any political group needs money, after all, in ancient times, if you wanted to be an official, you couldn't do it without money. If you don't have enough financial support behind you, then even if you become an official in your life, you will only be a petty official, and you will never become a high-level official. If you want to keep a political group alive, you must have enough financial resources to do so. This is the reason why all parties in later generations have to pay party dues, and party dues are the most basic funds for maintaining the normal operation of a party. And many parties are not only like this, but even have their own property and other income, which are their additional income.

If you don't have enough economic strength, what kind of politics do you do, you can go home and pick up your children. Therefore, Zhang Chao hopes that they can support themselves with some funds, and then help themselves solve many things, so that they can lay a foundation for further progress in the future. On the other hand, they can also give them a certain reward when they rise to a high position, such as formulating policies that are beneficial to businessmen and policies that are conducive to business development, so that they can rely on each other. And politics in this world is nothing more than economic interests, and all political behaviors are to be fed back to the economy, even in ancient times. The reason why the ancient scholars deified themselves, and then mastered the officialdom and prevented the Hanmen from becoming high-level Han, was actually to safeguard their economic interests. They took advantage of the troubled times to gather a large number of slaves, and then they hoped to gain continuous exploitative power, which was the purpose of their control of officialdom. They control the officialdom, that is, in order to maintain their exploitative power, if the poor have the opportunity to be officials and can become high-ranking officials, then they will not be able to continue to exploit the people and exploit the poor. The government is also a tool for their exploitation, and they use the government as a tool for exploiting the people.

And those who use their economic strength to support themselves to become officials or even emperors, but on the other hand, they also use the public power of the government to maintain their exploitative power, and even further exploit it, which is the thinking of their scholars. This is actually a process of continuous exploitation. And if the Hanmen wants to be an official, the disadvantage is not a little bit compared to the scholars, in addition to inheritance, ability, thinking, and even the degree of unity, etc., they are at an absolute disadvantage, so if they don't want to supplement it economically, it is impossible to develop it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think businessmen are people without any virtue. A person's moral character cannot be judged by the profession he is engaged in. And since ancient times, there has been no shortage of patriotic people, for example, Ma Yi Nie Yi during the Han Dynasty took the initiative to help design the Huns for the sake of the imperial court. Although he didn't succeed in the end, he can't be blamed. And there are many records in the history books about businessmen for the country, so businessmen are not unscrupulous people. It is too biased to say that businessmen value profit over righteousness. And it is true that businessmen value profits, but they are not necessarily light. Zhang Chao said.

Zhang Chao has long had the ability to see people and talk about ghosts, so he also knows that when he arrives here, he must compliment businessmen well, so that they can feel that they have a future to support. As for the next, I actually hope that they can cooperate, and then support Zhang Chao and them together.

And after hearing this, the medicinal herb merchant Jin Li also said: "It seems that Zhang Yushi is really a person who knows right from wrong, how can we businessmen do anything to harm the people?" In fact, most of us merchants love the people, but if the scholars are like this, then we can't do it. And in the past, even those who were poor scholars looked down on us businessmen, and we businessmen were really not doing well! ”

In fact, Zhang Chao knew that there were not a few people who wanted to restrict the Shi clan in the past, and Cao Cao and Liu Yu also did this kind of thing, but in the end they all failed. In fact, the main reason is that the scholars have not been able to hit the economic base, and the scholars still have a tenacious economic foundation, which is the reason for the tenacious survival of the scholars. In addition, the princes of those troubled times all need the economic strength and talents of the scholar clan to support, so they cannot do without the scholar clan. In fact, the princes of that era also had another method, that is, to cooperate with merchants. Why do we have to rely on the nobles to provide the economic base, why can't we try to rely on the merchants to provide the economic power? Businessmen actually have enough economic power, but they don't have enough social and political status, and if someone is willing to cooperate with businessmen, then most of them are willing.

However, too many people looked down on merchants before, and those princes also regarded merchants as ATMs and blackmailers, and did not really regard them as economic support. And in ancient times, the literati who read books all looked down on merchants, and many of them thought that merchants were untouchables. And they treat businessmen like this, so that they block the conditions for cooperation with businessmen. I have to say that those ancient cultured people spared no effort to belittle the merchants, and as a result, the lies that were told a thousand times became the truth, so that everyone also thought that the merchants were not credible. Therefore, no prince tried to cooperate with the merchants, which caused them to discriminate against the merchants, and even further used the merchants as ATMs for extortion at any time, which was actually attacking the merchants, but made the merchants dare not cooperate with them.

And even those poor sons of the Tang Dynasty later, they rose up against the Shi clan in fact, they ultimately relied on land accumulation, and did not think of cooperating with merchants. It is conceivable how the ancient literati discriminated against merchants, and those Confucian classics also added a lot of private goods, which proved that merchants were gravity and light on righteousness, and could not be trusted. And this kind of thinking, even with the elimination of the scholars, has not been able to change. This is also the reason for cultural inheritance, and ordinary people cannot break through this idea.

And Zhang Chao came from later generations, so he was naturally not afraid to cooperate with businessmen, but was willing to cooperate with businessmen, which is the reason why businessmen value him. Because other poor people are unwilling to cooperate with the poor family, even the poor officials look down on businessmen. Zhang Chao can get along with businessmen on an equal footing, which is why they attach importance to their relationship with Zhang Chao.

"Those scholars are actually not in business, they are not only in business, but while doing business, they use the power of the court to suppress us merchants. They take advantage of the power of the imperial court, and then attack us in the process of competition, and it is really difficult for us merchants to live! "Yes! These gentlemen were hypocrites, who said that the merchants were lowly, but on the other hand, they also supported others to do business, and then gave them a lot of money. "Yes! They are a bunch of hypocrites, saying that businessmen are gravity and light on righteousness, but are they much better? Didn't they also use the power of the court to suppress us, we didn't have an easy time! ”……

Soon, this meeting also became an opportunity for the merchants to criticize the nobles, who were bullied by the nobles. Although the nobles were untouchables, they monopolized commercial profits through various methods, and then influenced commerce through various methods. While shouting to suppress commerce, merchants are untouchable scholars, but behind the scenes, they are also using commerce to make profits. On the one hand, they restricted merchants to officials, but they used their status and privileges to become officials, and then controlled various businesses to achieve their own ideas and maintain their high profits. Use power to collude with officials and businessmen, and then lay the groundwork for more profits for themselves.

These are the so-called nobles, and they are a bunch of hypocrites. They do not really uphold the teachings of the ancient sages, they have the right to interpret the so-called classics of the sages, and then make the interpretation that is most suitable for them and in their own interests. They then use this cultural interpretative power to assert their privileges, finding a plausible explanation for their privileges. They also use this power of cultural interpretation, and then they can find a reasonable explanation for their special status and their noble bloodline, and then use it as the basis for ruling the people. And other classes must accept their exploitation, and this is their so-called thinking.

But once the time comes when the sage texts are not in their favor, they will also find ways to circumvent the restrictions of these texts, and then use various methods to protect their own interests. So, many times these books of the sages were misinterpreted by their people and then used as the basis for ruling over the nations. They are completely saying one thing and doing another, and only the state officials are allowed to set fires and the people are not allowed to light the lamps. Many people are deeply affected by it, so everyone is very indignant about their behavior, and naturally they will not approve of them.

But the merchants, though very indignant at them, could do nothing about them. These nobles have one thing on the surface and one thing on the inside, but many ordinary people also recognize them, thinking that they are sacred and inviolable, and they are people with divinity. The gentry used their culture to explain their rights for many years, and then fashioned themselves as natural rulers with noble blood, and they used this method to fool the people. And again, a lie is told a thousand times before it becomes the truth. The common people have also recognized this in the propaganda of the Shi clan for hundreds of years, and they have also recognized that the Shi clan is of noble blood and is a natural ruler.

And although the businessman is very angry about this, but the whole people also think so, so they can't do anything about it.

"Guys, if we want to be able to normalize the whole market, we have to restore normal business order. If these nobles continue to use their privileges to exploit us, then it is impossible for us merchants to survive normally. If our business goes on like this for a long time, it will not be possible for it to develop normally. The use of privilege by the nobles to do business is actually a destruction of our commerce. So, we have to come together. Zhang Chao said.

The reason why commerce could not develop in ancient times was that the government interfered too much in the market. Since ancient times, the government has been very strict in controlling the market, strictly restricting commerce. And how can a government-controlled market be viable? The reason why later generations said that they would change the functions of the government was actually mainly to hope that the government would not interfere too much and let the "invisible hands" regulate themselves, so that it would be a healthy market. However, many government officials still believe that the market should be absolutely controlled and the government's power should be maintained. In fact, this can easily breed corruption and make the country's economy unable to develop.

In ancient times, the scholars were actually using the government's public power to control the market, they used their power as officials, and then monopolized the market step by step, and finally allowed them to control the lives of ordinary people economically. This is the construction of a market economic system, and they have spent hundreds of years building this system. It is difficult for ordinary businessmen to break through this system, because although ordinary businessmen have the talent to do business, they are not able to become officials. The nobles restricted merchants from becoming officials, but not mainly because of the teachings of the saints. In fact, the main thing is that in order to protect their vested interests, the nobles will restrict merchants from becoming officials.

If the businessmen can become officials, the businessmen will have the same privileges as them, so their vested interests will definitely not be guaranteed. Therefore, in order to maintain their own exploitation system, they naturally will not allow businessmen to become officials, otherwise they will definitely lose their privileges, and then further lose more of their things.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if we want to preserve our wealth and our power to move forward, then we must cooperate. We poor students don't have wealth, but we have official positions. And you merchants have wealth but no official positions, and we are all the objects of exploitation by those nobles. In the eyes of the scholars, we are just some low-blooded beasts, so if we don't unite well, then how can we fight against the scholars? In the past, we were scattered, so naturally we could not fight against the scholars. But we must unite now, and the enemy of our enemies is also our friends. We need to work hard to glorify the power of our ancestors, and businessmen need to maintain the security of wealth and maintain the opportunity of business to be normal and not be excluded by the scholars, so we have a deep possibility of cooperation. So, I think we can work together a little bit so that we're on a solid footing. Zhang Chao said.

"Okay, Zhang Yushi is right, the scholars are all our common enemies. If I don't cooperate, then we can only be exploited by the nobles. And the hypocrites of the Shi clan, if we don't clean them up, then we are destined to not be able to achieve true stability. In the past, we businessmen were full of struggles and did not think about cooperation. And the poor students also look down on us, it is rare for Zhang Yushi to look down on us and be willing to get along with us on an equal footing, so naturally we have nothing to say. Jin Li said.

Of course, Jin Li knew that Zhang Chao was rare, because other poor students also discriminated against businessmen, looked down on businessmen, and were unwilling to cooperate with businessmen. In the past, those people could not limit the elimination of the scholars, but in fact, they themselves were too arrogant, looked down on the merchants, and were unwilling to pay attention to the merchants, which was the reason why they could not eliminate the scholars. Zhang Chao is different, Zhang Chao is willing to cooperate with businessmen, and is willing to treat businessmen as equal existences, which is the reason why Gionee feels that Zhang Chao is different.

If it were the children of other poor families, they would not choose to cooperate with businessmen, because they were too deeply influenced by the ideas of the ancients, and they all discriminated against businessmen. Although ordinary children of the Han family thought that they should fight against the scholars, they did not think that they should cooperate with the merchants. In fact, they all learned from the ideas of the ancients, believing that merchants should be discriminated against and commerce should be suppressed. And Zhang Chao is different, he comes from the later generations, which was an era that attached importance to business, and naturally did not discriminate against businessmen, but was willing to cooperate with businessmen. There are too few "intellectuals" like Zhang Chao who can treat businessmen equally, so Gionee knows that cooperating with Zhang Chao is the only choice, and only Zhang Chao will truly treat businessmen equally.

"I tell you, only the unity of us weak people is the basis of the struggle against the nobles. If we are not united in the face of the strong, then we will only be eaten by the strong bite by bite. So, I hope you can all realize this, and then go together to fight against the exploitation of those nobles. Only if we are united is the only way for us to be safe, otherwise we will all be eaten by others. Zhang Chao said.

And Jin immediately said: "No urgency, we must unite, no matter how we merchants are, they are rotten ships and three catties of nails, if we don't unite, then how can we resist the exploitation of the scholars?" If we, the weak, just accept our fate and don't want to unite, then aren't they even more arrogant? So unity is our only way out, especially for our weak. ”

"That's right, I have to be united!" "Yes! We have to unite, or we really won't be able to survive! ”