Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 461: Golden Mountain, Silver Mountain, in the Palm of Your Hand_1
"These matters need to be closely monitored. Even the slightest mistake could lead to the loss of mountains of gold and silver." Wang Linchi ordered Zhang Lin to move the heap of already reviewed memorials.
Zhang Lin watched this scene, his exhausted face filled with helplessness.
"I still don’t quite understand. The Ministry of Revenue is always spending, yet the money never decreases, but rather becomes more abundant. The profits of each family are increasing, and the lives of the common people are getting better and better," Zhang Lin expressed his perplexity.
Things can’t just appear out of nowhere, can they?
"Money has never changed; it has always been the same, merely going from the left hand to the right," Wang Linchi sat down and spoke at a leisurely pace.
The entire Dajing had entered a mode of rapid development. From top to bottom, everyone was making a fortune, making Dajing’s national strength as strong as a downhill car accelerating without braking. Anyway, the wheels were almost smoking from running.
Wang Linchi said this, but he concealed a very important point: productivity.
The series of steam engines he developed had, through a series of magical changes in this period, proliferated into a powerful productive force.
This, along with corresponding food planning and initial investments and concessions from the Great Families, combined with methods like continuous benefit returns, ultimately allowed everyone to profit.
It seemed to appear out of thin air, but in fact, it was the increase in productivity that had led to this golden age in Dajing.
There was a drawback. Wang Linchi was the largest capitalist, controlling the complete means of production. If he were to step away, Dajing would collapse immediately. Furthermore, because productivity could not match output, the original continuous benefit returns would transform into exploitation of the lower class by the upper class. The consequences were predictable: Dajing would inevitably revolt. People would likely face starvation, and if they didn’t rebel, who would?
"If the money hasn’t changed, then what has been created out of nothing?" Zhang Lin was very smart; otherwise, he couldn’t have become the head of the Southern Zhang Clan and also assumed the position of Grand Secretary in Dajing. He had his skills.
"Nothing has been created out of nothing. You Great Families, along with the Court, have been exploiting the common people from beginning to end, making them run themselves ragged."
"However, what these exhausted people get in return leaves the common folk with no profits. Once the climate goes wrong, they will not only earn nothing but even lose everything, selling their children or even themselves."
"Exchanging an inexhaustible mountain of gold and silver for a few taels of silver, and you talk about something being created out of nothing," Wang Linchi couldn’t help but mock.
"That’s not right. Even if they are slaves, they still work, don’t they?" Zhang Lin, with his keen sense, caught the problem in Wang Linchi’s words and quickly found the key point.
"It’s not the same; it’s a problem of output. When working for you, the things they produce can’t circulate."
"You need to go to the grassroots level more to understand this, instead of asking me here." Wang Linchi hinted to Zhang Lin, indicating that he didn’t want to talk anymore and suggested he should leave.
Zhang Lin indeed noticed the matter of productivity. However, this matter, I’m afraid, is not so easy to replicate.
The technology of steam science was in his hands. Without Wang Linchi, not to mention other things, smelting alone could get them stuck at the first step.
Even with the help of Spirit Masters, Dajing’s development was not necessarily optimistic.
Seeing that Wang Linchi didn’t have much interest, Zhang Lin naturally didn’t continue to press for answers.
"Then I will take my leave first." Saying this, Zhang Lin stood up to leave.
"Remember, this matter needs to be handled properly. Those disobedient Great Families and squires, all of them should be dealt with. What you are doing is forging mountains of gold and silver; you can’t let this rabble cut off your lineage and wealth," Wang Linchi gave another reminder.
"Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I have this matter in mind," Zhang Lin responded. Ever since Wang Linchi ascended to power and took control of the government, Zhang Lin had been tireless in repeating such assurances.
The fact was, as Wang Linchi said, a bunch of minor Great Families were truly narrow-minded. They still thought it was like before, that false accounting was fine, and they even dared to mess around.
With their capability, did they even deserve to match wits with the team Wang Linchi had built? The data on the reports could reveal problems at a glance.
Maintaining the same figures as previously submitted to try and fool them, or wanting to stake out their own territory and operate for their own benefit—all these things could affect the data, and their discrepancies would be obvious.
Next, it would be time to hold them accountable layer by layer and apply pressure.
This matter would be divided between the Southern Zhang Clan and the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes, and then the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes would pursue those responsible within their jurisdiction.
Wang Linchi divided the whole of Dajing into thirteen regions, with each Great Family responsible for one region. Thus, in Dajing, these thirteen reorganized Big Aristocratic Families were called the Thirteen Clans.
Therefore, when Wang Linchi encountered problems, he would turn to one of the Thirteen Clans. These clans, operating in the thirteen areas assigned to them, divided their territories according to the system Wang Linchi had proposed, ensuring every possible area was covered. The individuals responsible for these areas were also Great Family members.
If a problem arose within a certain area, the corresponding clan was obligated to consult the Great Family members in charge of that area. Similarly, this chain of command extended further downward.
Wang Linchi would not directly deal with the minor Great Families involved in incidents. Instead, he would confront the clan responsible, criticizing their management practices.
The accused party wouldn’t dare retort or retaliate, only managing to appease Wang Linchi with assurances of rectifying the situation to his satisfaction.
As for the notion of the twelve other clans uniting to oppose Wang Linchi—they would be mistaken if they assumed the other clans were so foolish. Their reasoning would be: ’They mishandled their own duties, jeopardized everyone’s interests, lost face, and now they want us to lose money too?’
From top to bottom, while everyone belonged to the same interest group, there were distinct factions.
Wang Linchi did not claim the benefits, but he was the one distributing them.
The profits distributed to the Thirteen Clans and the Royal Family every month were proportioned according to their performance.
However, the Royal Family always received a fixed 51% of the profit, while the remaining 49% was shared among the Thirteen Clans and the various small and medium-sized Great Families in their affiliated territories.
In essence, everyone had a share of the spoils. This was in addition to their own growing industries; as the kingdom expanded, the businesses under the Royal Family and Great Families also grew. The dividends and personal profits together equated to two shares for each party.
One share was a mountain of gold, tied to Dajing’s stability and prosperity—a money-making machine that wouldn’t stop as long as Dajing survived. The other was the silver mountain of their own making. However, Wang Linchi held the reins of both these mountains; if he were to reclaim them, Dajing would immediately revert to its former state.
"My lord, His Majesty invites you to a game within the palace."
A eunuch, who had been waiting for most of the day, only mentioned this invitation after Wang Linchi saw Zhang Lin off.
The subject of their meeting had not been concealed from the eunuch.
Wang Linchi knew this New Jing Emperor had purposefully assigned this eunuch to spy on him. However, Wang Linchi didn’t care about such petty tactics.
Even if the eunuch discovered something, the New Jing Emperor wouldn’t be able to fully comprehend it. Even Zhang Lin only had a partial understanding, let alone the Emperor.
"What drama is playing out today?" Wang Linchi massaged his temples. This Emperor Jing, unskilled yet fond of meddling, treated him like a deceitful minister.
However, his abilities were quite limited; even the Imperial Guards didn’t favor him.
The Emperor did have various strong resources at his disposal, such as the Imperial Guards. But because Li Zheng had allied himself with Wang Linchi for a time, the Emperor considered him untrustworthy.
Well, that assessment wasn’t entirely wrong, but others were trustworthy.
Instead, he ended up promoting a deputy commander who played political games against Li Zheng, the actual commander. This caused chaos within the Imperial Guards, rendering half of them useless.
The Imperial Guard was also at odds with the head of the Imperial Guards, for reasons unknown.
He was also in conflict with the Royal Family.
The patriarch of the Royal Family was an elder of Emperor Jing and a highly competent man; he clearly saw that Wang Linchi’s abilities could ensure Dajing’s stability for hundreds of years.
All Wang Linchi sought were honors during and after his lifetime. The best approach would have been to delegate power, as the previous Emperor did, and then indulge in worldly pleasures freely.
But the new Emperor, he wouldn’t do that; he insisted on micromanaging.
Therefore, the Royal Family, the Great Families, the ministers, and even the common people were all trying to restrict the new Emperor.
Next, the Emperor constantly found ways to harass Wang Linchi, either inviting him for drinks or chess games, or attempting to manipulate him into misspeaking.
However, most of the people around the New Jing Emperor were part of Wang Linchi’s interest group. This resulted in Wang Linchi being victorious without even lifting a finger. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Everyone respected and feared this ’God of Wealth’.
"It’s a type of minor chess game," the eunuch reported, then added in hushed tones, "Apparently, the plan today is to have you leave the Capital, my lord, to lead troops and conquer the neighboring states."
"You people, always at His Majesty’s beck and call... tell him to take it easy for once." Wang Linchi sighed. "Let’s go."
The eunuch was undoubtedly Emperor Jing’s man, but his relatives outside the palace were not. I can’t bribe him, but he wouldn’t want me to cut off the ’incense’—the prosperity his family enjoys because of me, would he?
Because of Wang Linchi, even the eunuch’s family outside the palace had begun to prosper.
