Three Kingdoms

These businessmen in Wancheng were terrified. They thought they were having another reckoning.

The merchants were trembling, but the Wancheng officials who were above the merchants were not too panicked.

Even a little excited...

Because this means that you can fish in troubled waters.

We eat big fish at the top and dried shrimps at the bottom, having fun together.

Therefore, some innocent people inevitably appeared in Wancheng. Some merchants were arrested, and an unknown number of unlucky ones were also arrested.

I would rather do that than do that, which is not the motto of Bald Qiang.

The blood spread, and the sound of crying enveloped the sky above Wancheng along with the smell of blood.

Zhang Shiping walked out of the government office, his back already soaked with sweat. He sighed deeply and clenched the token in his hand.

At this moment, he felt more and more the difference between money and power.

Money is like sand. Although it is gathered together like a tower, the tighter you squeeze it, the faster it will leak out.

But authority is as stone as iron...

Hold it, it's freezing cold.

Zhang Shiping held the token tightly, then hurriedly called his followers, and then headed to the head of Wancheng to find Huang Zhong.

He wants to save some people.

Some businessmen may deserve to die, but equally, some businessmen do not deserve to die.

Not all people are good people, and not all people are bad people. Businessmen are also human beings, so the same principle applies. Some deserve to die, but some are also innocent.

Zhang Shiping exchanged a piece of his friend's Zilubu for the token, and now he wants to use the token to exchange for the lives of more ordinary businessmen.

This may be a loss-making business, but Zhang Shiping feels that he can take the risk.

Maybe it's because of Wancheng, maybe it's because of Hussar, maybe there are other factors.

Merchants appeared very early in China, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, the jurisdiction and governance of merchants were very backward, even to an outrageous degree.

Can China live without businessmen?

Obviously not.

Although businessmen are also among the four people, they are excluded from the "people" in daily life.

The feudal dynasty's emphasis on agriculture and neglect of commerce does not mean that there is no soil for commercial operations, but that there is a great shortage of merchants. After all, China is so big and the distribution of resources is very uneven. If there are no merchants, ordinary people in many areas will be in trouble. They can only live hand to mouth, cannot develop, and it is impossible to condense into a huge empire.

The word "Shang" was originally the name of the country of the Yin Shang Dynasty, and it is said that the Yin Shang Dynasty embarked on the road of conquest because the king was killed in the process of doing business...

Wang Hai coughed twice, indicating that it was too shameless to say this.

Of course, this matter may be true or false, and it is difficult to verify it after a long time, but it proves that businessmen were actually easily targeted in various ways because of their large wealth very early on.

Not many businessmen die a good death.

In addition to the Shang Dynasty, which was founded on business, well, perhaps it was also because of the Shang Dynasty's move to establish a country on business that made the rulers of subsequent feudal dynasties very uneasy, so they often suppressed merchants intentionally or unintentionally, even in the millennium. In the process of evolution, the management methods of commercial activities have always lagged behind. In many cases, there is no way to obtain any tax revenue from businessmen, so businessmen are excluded. In addition, the landlord class, the protector of the local small peasant economy, attempts to monopolize production and consumption. He advocated agriculture as the first place for all profits, which led to the general trend of thought in the entire feudal society to be jealous of business and hate business.

Most of the people follow blindly, and maybe some people know that some businessmen around them are not bad people, but when the knife is raised, these people often either keep silent or take advantage of it. Those who can resist adding insult to injury are already considered very moral.

Most of the brainless people will be distorted by the theory of the uselessness of businessmen advocated by local powerful people, just like later generations often advocate the theory of the uselessness of knowledge, happiness must come first, etc. In addition, businessmen often have more wealth. , but the people themselves did not, so they became more and more dissatisfied and vented their resentment on all businessmen, without thinking about why and how this happened.

If it is said that being rich is unkind, then there are also astonishing wealth in noble families and powerful families in the countryside...

There were even many "traitors" among the merchant class. For example, Sang Hongyang in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He came from a family of merchants, but betrayed his own class and helped Emperor Wu perform "forest calculations" and "reporting misfortunes", which led to "Merchant merchants and above are most likely to be defeated."

Even Sima Laoer couldn't bear to do this. Of course, Sima Laoer felt that many of Emperor Wu's actions were slaps on the forehead and slaps on the butt, so he sarcastically recorded this period of history, saying that in such a situation Under the policy, most businessmen went bankrupt and business development was severely hit. All the proceeds from the hard work of merchants and businesses were returned to the state overnight. As the saying goes, those who have constant production have perseverance, and the people's enthusiasm for production has been greatly damaged. People began to stop thinking about production, and just "eat and clothe themselves" instead of developing their own industries. In the end, Sima Qian commented, "If you increase the budget, you will be punished. If you gain more, you will benefit less."

Because there was such a "wise and wise man" as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, merchants since the Han Dynasty, well, of course, refers to pure merchants among the four peoples, and their status has been very low. Officials and businessmen are not among such tragic groups, which results in private commercial activities having no risk tolerance. When encountering war, they are the first to shrink, and instantly return to solution... uh, a hundred years ago.

This large-scale shrinkage of private merchants from time to time, in turn, stimulated the vigorous development of the small-scale peasant economic system of the landlord class and the unscrupulousness of official businessmen.

In a manor, there are farming, weaving, and various craftsmen. Everyday necessities are not purchased from outside, so why do merchants use them?

Everything seems perfect, but as the old saying goes, all gifts given by fate have already been marked with a price.

The suppression of business has indeed made the Chinese feudal dynasty, which was mainly based on farming, more stable, the region more stable, the people more honest, management more convenient, etc. It seems that everything is for the best, but in fact the legacy it brings, even if Feudal society is over, but it still lingers on the land of China like a resentful spirit, never leaving.

The simplest point is that in a place where the small-scale peasant economy is strong, how can there be any official authority or unified decree at all? The pace of China's unification will always stop at the counties and counties, and the way forward will be cut off invisibly.

The succession of outstanding kings of the three generations of the Qin Dynasty successfully transformed the feudal feudal prefectures into prefectures and counties. The Han Dynasty inherited the system of counties and counties, but could not go any further. The subsequent feudal dynasties also stopped here one by one. It’s not that no one wanted to change, but because they all came from this landlord class, their own families were the beneficiaries of the manor and small peasant economic system, and it was difficult to repair themselves...

Such a truth is obviously not something that Zhang Shiping can deeply understand. He just imitates Huhu and feels that something is wrong with the current situation in Wancheng. And he couldn't just close his eyes completely, plug his ears, and pretend he didn't see or hear anything.

Regarding the reform of the commercial system in the feudal dynasty, even Fei Qian only had some ideas about Momo Huhu, and also asked Yi Zhenmi to experiment and adjust in Chang'an, a commercially developed area, so the Pangshan people in Wancheng were naturally more interested. It's not a very high opinion.

It's just that because of Wancheng's geographical location and the continued surge in commercial activities, Wancheng is more commercial-focused than Chang'an, so Pangshan people are also unwilling to participate in this large-scale purge process. This led to the direct and complete decline of Wancheng's business, so Zhang Shiping was given a chance, which could also be regarded as an opportunity for Wancheng's private business.

And the one who serves as a bridge is the dead Su Shuang.

Su Shuang proved with his good deeds that there are still good things about businessmen...

No matter what Su Shuang's original intention was at that time, he did save a lot of refugees at that time. This is understandable, and we cannot deny everything Su Shuang did by saying that Su Shuang might have had any selfish motives at the time.

Just like we cannot let those who act bravely become defendants at every turn.

Such a dirty thing should not be established in itself. This is the lack of social government management functions and the dereliction of duty by the main person in charge.

Either in order not to take responsibility, or to trigger traffic, or to fill in something on one's political achievements, even though they know that there are problems with this kind of prosecution, they still accept it, and then arouse public opinion, and then pretend to show what they uphold. What, in the end, he sanctimoniously stated that he maintained the so-called fairness and justice, but he didn't know that in fact, the courageous person who acted for justice had to stand in the dock in despair after exerting courage beyond ordinary people and taking on greater responsibilities. , which in itself has harmed the fairness and justice of the entire society.

Zhang Shiping hurried forward, and the further he went, the stronger the smell of blood became.

From a distance, he saw some soldiers wearing red and black uniforms under the city wall.

The red and black war robes were the uniform uniform for soldiers of the Han Dynasty. However, Zhang Shiping heard that in the early days of the Han Dynasty, the soldiers wore yellow robes, but now the red and black colors of the Han Dynasty represent the stained blood. …

Zhang Shiping originally thought that the Han soldiers were stained with the blood of the enemy, but when he reached a certain age, he discovered that not all of them were actually the blood of the enemy.

Of course, this is just a legend. Zhang Shiping has never seen the yellow shirts of Han soldiers, so he is not sure whether it is true or not. But one thing he can be sure of is that not all those captured and killed by these Han soldiers are enemies. .

"Knife, there are people under the sword..."

Zhang Shiping shouted, raising the token high, as if he was holding a heavy life, but also like a light word.

Huang Zhong looked at it with squinted eyes, and then signaled the soldiers to pause.

Zhang Shiping arrived in front of Huang Zhong, bowed his head to pay homage, and then narrated in general what he had said to Pang Shanmin in the government office, "The general has a clear warning, and you have something to say. If you don't clearly accuse him, you don't deserve to die." 』

Huang Zhong pointed to the various prohibited items searched nearby, as well as the spies who had been captured or killed, "What do you say about these?" 』

Zhang Shiping looked at it and sighed, "The boss can be killed, but most of the associates are innocent." I hope the general will learn from this. 』

"Heh..." Huang Zhong squinted his eyes, nodded and said, "That's it." 』

Huang Zhong waved his hand.

The soldiers began to select the merchants, shopkeepers and ordinary clerks.

For most of the clerks, they were just following orders. Maybe they were aware of the illegal behavior of some shopkeepers, but they might not be aware of it, so after catching these illegal merchants, they killed the ordinary clerks together. It may be a way to eliminate the root cause, but it is undoubtedly a bit too cruel.

Zhang Shiping gave the guys involved a chance to survive, but the businessmen in charge quit because they thought the guys' lives were in vain...

"ah!

Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang! It's me, it's me... I don't know anything! It’s unfair, it’s unfair! "Someone tried to break away from the soldiers and shouted loudly to attract Zhang Shiping's attention, "I don't know anything! I hired this guy temporarily, but he ended up harming me! I don't know him at all! do not know! Just a temporary hire! I was wronged..."

Perhaps he really felt that he had been wronged, so when he shouted the word "wronged", the merchant's mouth opened wide and his little tongue trembled.

Huang Zhong squinted his eyes, as if he was watching and listening, but he didn't seem to care at all.

Zhang Shiping sighed again and took a step forward, "Since he is the one in charge, if he receives the benefits, he will naturally bear the consequences!" If you don’t know someone well, you will suffer the consequences! Is it possible to be exempted from sin by not being aware of it? ! 』

The person who complained was stunned for a moment, "Brother Zhang!" I really don't know! I'm from Zhongshan too... I've had a drink with you before..." The man shouted, and other businessmen immediately started shouting too. Those who wanted to build friendships, build relationships, and even promised to repay in any way they wanted. No matter how much money is given, or there is a vague threat, just to survive, you have to try any method.

Huang Zhong stroked his beard slightly and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

Zhang Shiping shook his head and said: "Fellowship from the same hometown is not a reason to avoid death!" Everyone! Listen to me! 』

No matter what Zhang Shiping said, everyone was struggling and shouting as loud as possible, as if they were trying to use up all their strength in the last moments of their lives, creating a chaotic scene.

These merchants originally knew that they were bound to die, so they had nothing to struggle with. But now that they saw Zhang Shiping, they suddenly felt unwilling to give up. Why could Zhang Shiping be alive and kicking outside, while they had to face death?

The desire to survive made these people who were just waiting for death suddenly feel like fish being thrown to the shore, jumping around and trying to get back into the water.

Huang Zhong stood on one side and watched as Zhang Shiping tried his best to shout, but it was mixed in with the shouts of a group of people. He could not hear what he was shouting, and naturally there was no way to calm down this group of crazy merchants.

"..." Huang Zhong's eyes moved slightly and he motioned to the guards around him.

The guard nodded and stepped forward, immediately drew his sword, walked up to the merchant who shouted the loudest, and beheaded him with one blow.

The scene suddenly felt as if everyone was being strangled by the throat, and it was so quiet that only the gurgling sound of blood spurting out from the broken neck could be heard...

Huang Zhong looked sideways at Zhang Shiping.

Zhang Shiping quickly took the opportunity to shout: "Pang Shijun has a favor!" Everyone, listen carefully! 』

"First, those who have made a living and have clear supporting evidence can avoid death!" For example, there are those who have been awarded the title of Zhangzi Lubu by the Hussar..."

Most of the people were at a loss. Suddenly, in the corner, a man shouted with the joy of surviving a disaster: "I have Zilubu!" I have! 』

Huang Zhong waved his hand and asked the soldiers to come forward, and immediately pulled one person out.

The man choked and said: "At the beginning of the fifth year, I, I, I, I... I purchased a batch of herbal medicines and transported them from Nanyang to Chang'an. When they arrived near Lantian, there were refugees living in the wild, and epidemics occurred frequently. I... I was like that at that time The medicine was scattered in the wild, and some people survived... Qiaoqi gave me the title of son Lu Bu..."

Zhang Shiping nodded and said, "Where is Lu Bu today?" 』

"At... at home, not around..." The man's face changed a little, and he obviously realized that something was wrong, so he said hurriedly, "I have a witness, a witness!" 』

"who? ” asked Zhang Shiping.

The man said: "The Nanyang Deng family has a long-lasting reputation. The medicine I brought with me saved him!" Later he passed the imperial examination in Chang'an and was appointed Cao Cao in Lantian. I later met him by chance in the city! He can vouch for me! 』

The Deng family of Nanyang was originally a great surname, but later it was involved in court disputes and was almost wiped out, and the remaining people declined.

Zhang Shiping looked at Huang Zhong, Huang Zhong nodded slightly, then waved his hand, "Take him to custody first, and then deal with him after verification." 』

The man burst into tears with joy, his legs and feet became weak, and he was carried down by the soldiers.

"Is there anyone else who has Zilubu?" ” Zhang Shiping asked again.

But this time, everyone stared and no one responded.

"Secondly," Zhang Shiping raised his second finger, "If there are good merchants settled in Wancheng and five people act as guarantees for them, they will be exempted from death!" However, if the insured is later found guilty, the guarantor is also guilty! 』

This is actually a deformed Baojia-sitting system.

In fact, the Baojia system was not only in the feudal dynasty era, nor does it mean that this system represents ignorance and backwardness, because even in later generations, variations of this system are often seen. For example, "if one person is reborn, the whole village will be sterilized", and "throwing an object from high altitude, the whole building will be punished", etc. are actually deformed states of the Baojia and Sitting system.

Using the merchants settled in Wancheng as guarantors will invisibly stabilize the status of the merchants settled in Wancheng, so that more and more merchants will settle in Wancheng, which will undoubtedly make the value of the merchants in Wancheng better reflected. It will also allow more businessmen to settle in Wancheng.

Similarly, the continuous sitting system will make Wancheng merchants more cautious and will not make guarantees at will. This is the same nature as the guarantor of a loan in later generations. The law of joint liability has never been out of date.

Zhang Shiping ignored the anxious thinking of these merchants, and did not wait for them all to have a good idea. He directly said the third order, "Third!" If you are the first to report other people's crimes, you can be rewarded or exempted! 』

After Zhang Shiping finished his third sentence, everyone was in an uproar.

"I want to report!" I accuse Pang of engaging in..." Among the crowd, someone suddenly shouted loudly, "I accuse him of extortion, accepting bribes, and passing off inferior products..."

"I want to report it too!" 』

"I...I want to..."

Suddenly there was chaos.

Some people were eager to report him, while others shouted angrily, "Aren't you afraid of killing yourself and annihilating your clan by suing Sang Hongyang?" ! 』

There was some indescribable expression on Zhang Shiping's face, "If you can't sue, is it right to hide your guilt?" 』

Although some people objected and were very angry and kept their mouths shut and did not report others, feeling that it violated their conscience and loyalty, but more businessmen were rushing to report and report in an attempt to exempt themselves from some of the culpability. …

Suddenly, the scene was chaotic.

What no one expected was that greater chaos was still to come.