Under the current circumstances, sugar-making workshops are a type of handicraft industry and a type of traditional handicraft industry. In a simple agricultural society like the Tang Dynasty, it is a dream to carry out an industrial revolution, but it may be possible to change the pattern of government income in the Tang Dynasty and transform the simple agricultural income into a three-legged situation of agriculture, commerce and handicraft industry.

Before any country transitions from an agricultural society to an industrial society, there will be a difficult situation where the old traditional handicraft industry cannot meet market demand due to the great development of social economy. This is because of this. Market demand stimulates technological progress, and thus directly triggers the industrial revolution due to commercial factors. In other words, when social wealth accumulates to a certain level, when the market hunger enters a very dangerous situation, the industrial scientific and technological revolution will naturally come.

It is not that people deliberately promote it to allow the Tang Dynasty to enter the industrial society many years in advance. Even if steam engines and automatic machines are now made, the number of commodities in society can increase significantly, but what about the people's purchasing power? After it is made, it must be sold and regained funds, and then reproduction. Without this process of regaining funds, how can we reproduction be made? Are the people of the Tang Dynasty very rich? Can they afford a lot of commodities?

This is undoubtedly impossible. Even if the steam engine is now made and the development of science and technology is promoted in an artificial way, what is the point? The biggest driving force comes from the needs of the whole people. If the whole people do not have such needs, the emergence of technology can only be a tragedy. How many of the invention geniuses who appeared in the world too many years in advance have been defeated by the times.

Suning doesn't have the interest in firing steam engines or new machines. Not to mention that he was a liberal arts student, he knew nothing about science and technology and industry, and he would not be crazy about technology and technology until now. The development of science and technology is gradually carried out with the needs of mankind, and the scientific and technological revolution cannot be completed overnight. The causes are also diverse. The industrial revolution can last for many years, the scientific and technological revolution can also last for many years, and even every day is a scientific and technological revolution.

Humans always have to survive, right?

What do Lingnan people need? What do Tang people need? The most basic thing now is to have a full stomach. What the whole nation desires most is to have a full stomach. If you don’t have a full stomach, everything is nothingness. Everything is meaningless. Now you put a steam engine and a bag of rice in front of a farmer. He will definitely choose rice, not a steam engine, or some people say that it is a fool of the people and do not understand technology, but people can’t even survive. How about technology?

No matter what you talk about, you must have a basic premise, eat a lot and survive!

There are not many people in the Tang Dynasty who can survive well. They can only say that they will barely starve to death. That's all. The current agricultural productivity of the Tang Dynasty can only be said to ensure that people will not starve to death. If you want to eat well, eat enough, and reach the point of having no worries about food and clothing, it is still too far away. Human needs are a gradual process. The bottom is to survive with fullness. The Tang Dynasty has not even achieved the lowest level. How dare you wish to live a good life and carry out the industrial revolution?

As of now, Lingnan is a region with great potential and will be the first area in the Tang Dynasty to surpass agriculture. The huge wealth brought by maritime trade will create a large number of wealthy people in Lingnan in a very short time, and they will bring rich social wealth. This wealth will overall increase the social purchasing power of Lingnan society, and will indirectly promote the development of Lingnan business. Lingnan's business will develop in a short time, wealth will accumulate rapidly, and will prosper quickly.

Just like Shenzhen in the past, the entire city of rising overnight will also follow Shenzhen's footsteps and develop quickly. Its development level will even be faster than that of Chang'an City, which is even more incredible. However, its hidden dangers will be very great. For example, social wealth increases, the gap between the rich and the poor increases, purchasing power increases, but productivity cannot keep up with the pace of purchasing power.

Those with purchasing power are extremely wealthy maritime merchants. They are at the top of the social pyramid, with strong financial resources, but too few people, and the vast majority of civilians are still penniless. Except for the land brought by the imperial court to promote the equal-field system and the high-yield crops that are about to be obtained, they can only eat enough to eat. Nothing else, there will be a serious polarization problem in Lingnan. Some people die and some people have no money.

The foundation of a country is the middle class. When evaluating the wealth of a country, we must start from the middle class. The main purchasing power of society comes from the middle class. The main service objects of the basic industry for the country's survival are the vast middle class. Their strength and increase in number are symbols of the country's strength. No country or region will lack extremely rich people, and extremely rich people cannot actually make a country rich.

If Lingnan people cannot reach the point where every household is well-off, then everything is meaningless. The reason why Suning set up the Maritime Bureau and the Audit Bureau specifically deals with maritime businessmen is that it has the idea of ​​robbing the rich to help the poor. Suning deeply understands that letting some people get rich first, regardless of those who are not rich, is the country's hidden danger, and how serious the polarization between the rich and the poor will be.

The wealth obtained by maritime merchants was subject to heavy taxes and a heavy collection of money was collected. This money would definitely not dampen the enthusiasm of maritime merchants, and would only prompt them to work harder to devote themselves to maritime trade. However, the court that received this money could gradually reduce and exempt agricultural taxes through the income from these commercial taxes, and even reach the state of no tax for farmers, protect the interests of farmers, and allow the vast majority of peasants in the Tang Dynasty to truly own their own property and actually support the middle class.

If the middle class is strong and complete, then we can say that the Tang Dynasty is rich and extremely rich. There are countless cases of extreme wealth in ancient China, but is China rich?

The most ideal state is to collect taxes from the rich to complete the national welfare system and ensure that no national will die due to poverty, rather than just exploiting the middle class and civilians below the poverty line, which will make the rich rich.

The Audit Department is a sword hanging on the heads of maritime merchants. Suning believes that tax evasion will soon occur. At that time, it is time to kill chickens for monkeys to see. The dignity of the law and the majesty of Zhenguan Law are definitely not something that a group of maritime merchants can challenge. Anyone with a lot of wealth will be the target of tax collection. When the Tang Dynasty no longer collects taxes from farmers, the Tang Dynasty really began to become rich.

Suning set up a sugarcane workshop in Lingnan, and vigorously invited some large merchants who were already engaged in handicraft manufacturing to set up larger workshops, hire more workers, produce more goods, and tell these people the most basic principles - people who come back from sea will be very rich, and spend a lot of money at that time, a big customer can buy your total production in one year.

Suning took the lead. Not only did it join forces with Feng Ang to set up a super-large sugarcane manor covering an area of ​​more than 10,000 acres, it also found in Guangzhou, Gaozhou and other places officially stated that it would open a branch of Weixianju. It was the first time that Weixianju has set up a branch of Weixianju in Jiangnan since it was established in Xiangyang and Jinling. It was also the first time that Weixianju branch was set up in Lingnan. Since it would be bigger and better, it would also recruit workers in Lingnan. I hope that all the honest, reliable and powerful Lingnan men come here to work and receive better treatment.

Although the soil and climate conditions in Lingnan are unique and ripe for three years are not bad, there are still people who have free time. After planting the land, they have nothing to do. They also want to do odd jobs to earn some alcohol to nourish themselves and improve their quality of life. Suning hopes to increase the amount of wealth held by earning the money from the rich and then giving it to the common people for their wages, objectively accelerating the formation and growth of the middle class, and improving the overall economic level of Lingnan.

Things must be planned now. Once many people get rich overnight, it will have a certain impact on Lingnan society. Now the Audit Department and the Maritime Bureau have firmly controlled all aspects of sea transportation, and the navy is also maintaining order and protecting safety on the sea surface. People who purchase spices from the north and go to Jiangnan quickly rushed to Guangzhou to stay. The wealth growth in Lingnan will appear in an explosive manner.

Of course, after that, Suning also held a secret meeting and secretly enclosed the South China Sea islands as they know. According to their wealth and status, they divided the sphere of influence of these people by dividing the highest five islands and the lowest one island. There is no money to make, but there are many people who want to make money, many of them are civilians and there is not much land. You already have so much land, so give you a few islands as your own sphere of influence. Don’t compete with the civilians for the time being, these islands are enough for you to develop for a while.

People from Chang'an and Lingnan people attended the spoils sharing meeting. Everyone accepted this condition. Feng Ang did not object and nodded and agreed. So the initial division of interests was determined. Civilian maritime merchants obtained the mining power of islands by paying money, while these people with status could not expand their sphere of influence within one year. After a year, they divided it according to the actual situation. The highest number of islands that civilian maritime merchants could mine was three islands. Unlike people with status, they were directly used as their private property. Civilian maritime merchants paid to rent islands, and the sovereignty of the islands was in the hands of the court.

A whole month later, when some of the first fleets that went into the sea had already returned, Suning arranged everything well, and then looked at the development of the results. On the day when the first fleets landed, many people went to the dock to greet them, and then started business on the spot. Spices, strange things in Izhi and even the natives caught were trading at the dock. The tax officer of the audit department was dispatched and set up the tax department at the dock. A group of strong soldiers armed to the teeth patrolled everywhere with steel knives. The threat was obvious.

Suning and Feng Ang came to the dock personally to inspect and saw the maritime merchants transporting ships of spices and slaves to the land. Then the hungry buyers immediately bargained with them and negotiated prices. They took the spices and slaves away from each car, leaving behind mountains of copper coins and silk cloth, and some were directly traded with silver. There was no way, the quantity of goods was too large, and copper coins and silk cloth were not enough to pay.

Then these maritime merchants honestly took all the wealth obtained from the transaction to the tax officer's stall to pay taxes. After the tax officer carefully checked the amount of money, they collected taxes based on the ratio from 10 to 30 to 100 taxes and 500 taxes. Those who did not meet the standards were directly allowed. These guys had no chance to evade taxes. The strong soldiers were dispatched by Feng Ang personally. They were eyeing the inspection and had no chance to transport property in batches.
Chapter completed!