Unfortunately, Xun Shuang guessed wrong, and he was completely wrong.

What seemed important to him was nothing but a small matter to Wang Jing.

What political allies, ministers in the court? Wang Jing holds military power and has powerful military force. He doesn't take this group of old bastards seriously at all, and doesn't expect to get their support. It is enough for them to behave themselves and not make trouble.

On the contrary, Wang Jing is very concerned about making money, because only by making continuous profits can we continuously draw nutrients from the old social wealth and promote the process of industrialization.

Money itself is not important. What is important is to earn real money so that the industry can grow and develop and revitalize the economy.

Therefore, Xun Yu's answer surprised Xun Shuang, an old-school bureaucrat and politician. Xun Yu said with deep emotion: "My uncle guessed wrong. The lord summoned everyone today, but did not talk about any major events. Instead, he sold us some new things. I brought a few back and was going to ask my uncle to taste them."

After saying this, Xun Yu asked his servant to bring a set of sofas into the study. After setting them up, he also asked Xun Shuang to try them out himself.

Compared to wooden chairs, the soft leather sofa is so fluffy that it seems like you can sink into it. Xun Shuang tried to sit on it and found that it was indeed more comfortable than kneeling, and he felt very relaxed. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "This thing is called a sofa? It's soft and fluffy. It really feels like sitting in a pile of flowing sand, fluffy and soft. It's a wonderful idea and the name is also very good."

Sitting on the sofa is indeed very suitable for chatting. Xun Shuang decided to put up a set of sofas in both his study and living room to entertain guests. It would not only provide topics for conversation but also make him look good.

However, Xun Shuang soon remembered what Xun Yu had just said, and frowned: "Marquis Qi is now in a high position and should be a role model for the world. He should be extremely cautious in his behavior, but why is he doing such a business? Even if he wants to sell furniture to earn military funds, wouldn't it be better to let his subordinates come forward?"

Wang Jing's subordinates are not without business talents, such as the brothers Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao from the Wuji Zhen family. These two people have now joined Wang Jing and are working for the Northern Army, and have made a great reputation in Luoyang City.

Now, Wuji Zhen family has placed a heavy bet on Wang Jing, hoping that Wang Jing can conquer the Central Plains.

If Zhen Mi was not still young and unsuitable for marriage, the two would have wanted to marry their sister to Wang Jing so that she could become the emperor's uncle. With the current status and influence of the Zhen family, it would be much better to let the brothers Zhen Yan and Zhen Yao promote furniture than Wang Jing himself.

After Confucianism became the only official doctrine, aristocratic families and wealthy clans began to look down on craftsmen. Merchants, who were very stingy and cunning, were difficult to be fooled and brainwashed by Confucianism, and were therefore suppressed and targeted.

Wang Jing's personal efforts would never be regarded as a good thing by others, but more likely to be seen as a joke.

Therefore, Xun Shuang was a little puzzled and his mind was full of questions.

Xun Yu said, "My lord, this move may have a profound meaning."

"Oh? Wen Ruo, did you notice something?"

Xun Shuang admired his nephew very much, because he could always see the key to a problem at a glance, and he had a strong foresight when looking at people and things, and what he foresaw was often very accurate.

Xun Yu was silent for a moment, then said: "I think that the Lord's move reveals several key messages. The first is to boost the development of industry and commerce. Through this incident, we can gain the trust of merchants and clearly show our position that we will never discriminate against businessmen."

Both of them were smart people, and they obviously knew why the Confucians persisted in suppressing and discriminating against the merchant class.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, merchants had much greater influence than they do today. They even formed their own school of thought and called themselves merchant merchants.

The academic thought of this school was even seen in the "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Merchants" written by Sima Qian.

The way of military struggle is to "follow the situation", and the way of business struggle is to "follow the time". In addition, there are also the rules of "four grades of business talents" that must not be violated, otherwise all merchants in the world will abandon you.

Fan Li, the Saint of Commerce, Bai Gui, the Ancestor of Commerce, Duanmu Ci, the God of Wealth, and Lü Buwei, the Master of Lü, were the four most outstanding talents among the merchants and the creators of the four grades of business talent.

During the Warring States Period, a time of great contention, powerful businessmen were even able to influence a country's political affairs and interfere with world affairs through their massive financial power.

In order to further expand the influence of his own school, the merchant family even established an organization called Mirage Ghost Market, hoping to become the shadow emperor who controls the country behind the scenes.

During the reign of Lu Buwei, the Mirage Ghost Market almost succeeded in seizing power and taking over the Immortal Qin Dynasty.

Unfortunately, he met the greatest emperor of all time, Ying Zheng, and ultimately failed.

It was after this battle that the Cargo Breeders were liquidated by the Xian Qin Dynasty and suffered heavy losses. After the establishment of the Yan Han Dynasty, the Cargo Breeders were jointly suppressed by the Taoists and Confucians and had to hide underground.

But merchant merchants still left deep marks in history. For example, a country with ten thousand chariots must have merchants with ten thousand golds, and a country with a thousand chariots must have merchants with a thousand golds.

The prosperity of the world is for profit; the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit.

Even during the Dong Zhuo Rebellion in Luoyang, there were suspicions that merchant merchants were behind the scenes, but there was no concrete evidence and even the secret guards could not find many useful clues, which shows how deeply the other party was hiding.

Because of Lu Buwei's original act of usurping power, Confucianism has always been very wary of commercialists.

Now that Xun Shuang heard that Wang Jing was personally involved in commercial activities, he was somewhat worried that he might have been influenced by the merchants. This would not be a good thing for the Confucian school, which was already in turmoil.

But Xun Shang did not intend to tell these things to Xun Yu. After all, Wang Jing was Xun Yu's lord, and there were some things that were not convenient for Xun Yu to interfere in. It would be better to let these old guys investigate the matter secretly first.

So Xun Shuang remained calm and asked calmly, "Anything else?"

Xun Yu then plucked up his courage and continued, "Secondly, the establishment of the Imperial Academy of Engineering is probably just the beginning, not the final goal. In the future, there will be more laws and policies that need to be promulgated for industry and commerce. Therefore, the lord did not hide his attitude and wanted to observe the attitude of our nobles through this matter."

"As for this last point, I'm afraid it's also for fishing. The bait has been put out, and those who are willing will take the bait."

Hearing this, Xun Shuang stroked his white beard and laughed out loud, "What a good saying, if you are willing, you will take the bait. Wen Ruo, when did you learn the evil taste of Feng Xiao?"

"As the saying goes, a red bird becomes redder if it is close to him, and a black bird becomes blacker if it is close to him. My nephew doesn't want to do that either."

Xun Yu explained with a smile, and his mentality was very relaxed, because he knew that Xun Shuang was also very optimistic about Guo Jia, and hoped that Xun Yu and Guo Jia could maintain a friendly relationship, which was in the interests of the Xun family.

"Wen Ruo, who do you think is that fish?"

"Uncle, actually, the fish has already taken the bait."

Xun Yu truthfully recounted Cui Lie's performance today. There was no doubt that this abnormal behavior of buying furniture in a large amount made things even more obvious.

"Alas, Cui Weikao is a man who really doesn't know how to live or die."

Xun Shuang couldn't help but sigh. After all, they had served in the same court and they saw each other every day, so they had some friendship.

But no matter how great the friendship is, it cannot compare to the survival of the family.

Sure enough, a few days later, Wang Jing received a message from the secret guard in charge of surveillance: "Sir, Cui Lie has indeed found a group of carpenters and intends to imitate the products of Qiqiao Pavilion."

"It looks like the fish has taken the bait, so it's time for us to take action."

Guo Jia smiled and suggested to Wang Jing: "Cui Lie has mobilized so many resources, it is impossible for him to invest without seeking returns. As long as we promote the promulgation of the patent protection law at this time, we will be able to cut off his retreat."

This is undoubtedly a sting operation. After all, to enforce a law, the best way is to find a sacrifice that is large enough. Otherwise, how can you make an example of someone else?
Since Cui Lie came forward himself, there is no need to be polite to him.

This method is clearly to kill whoever shows up. The purpose of deliberately spreading rumors before but not forcing the promulgation and implementation of the patent law is just this.

Wang Jing received the advice and went to the palace to meet Emperor Liu Xie without saying a word.

Although he didn't take this restless little emperor seriously in his heart, it must be said that Wang Jing did his best to save face. He would not bother Liu Xie for no reason. After all, he still had to give the Sword Saint Wang Yue some face.

In order to win over the power of royalists such as Xun Yu, as well as the Liu clan of the imperial dynasty, Wang Jing even allowed clan members to have a hand in many industries.

Don't underestimate this point, these industries can make money, which means that Wang Jing allowed Liu Xie to control the financial resources, which were enough to cover many expenses in the palace. You must know that during Dong Zhuo's reign, the income and expenditure of the palace were all decided by Dong Zhuo, and the days of relying on others were really too sad.

So what if you are the emperor?
In order to survive, don't we have to bow down and beg for mercy like a beggar?
Because of this, many concubines and even princesses in the harem were harmed by Dong Zhuo.

Wang Jing is not Dong Zhuo. He is not as greedy and stupid as him. It will never last long if you eat alone. If you want to do big things, you have to learn to distribute the benefits so that you can win more partners and allies.

For example, now, Wang Jing did not spend much money and successfully tied all the Han royal family members to his chariot. Even Liu Bei had to work for him obediently, and Zhang Fei and Guan Yu also gradually accepted Wang Jing and led troops to fight outside to support the Han Dynasty.

Anyway, most of the royalists are useless and can't cause any trouble. Wang Jing can settle the matter by spending a little money. It's a huge profit.

Not to mention that there are outstanding talents like Liu Ye among the royal family, so the money is well spent.

Although Wang Jing has the power and status now, even if he really wants to force the law through, it only takes a word. Why must he make the situation awkward when something can be solved with money?

Instead of spending time on intrigue, it would be better to think about how to create new sources of income.

After a trip to the palace, Wang Jing successfully reached a consensus with the young emperor Liu Xie. During the morning court session the next day, the patent protection decree was successfully passed and entered the stage of specific promotion and implementation.

In the study room of the Cui family mansion.

Cui Lie was furious when he heard the news, and cursed wildly: "Wang Jing, you took my money and didn't promote me, and you cut off my source of income. This is really too much!"

The Cui family invested 10 million yuan, purchased a large amount of high-quality timber, and converted several farms into furniture factories. In order to start production as soon as possible, they also spent a lot of money to hire many skilled carpenters.

But at this time, the patent protection law was introduced, and the speed was so fast that it was hard to keep up.

What’s even more terrible is that the furniture designed by Qiqiaoge is an innovative invention and is still under patent protection according to the new law.

Whoever counterfeits is breaking the law!

Cui Lie's youngest son Cui Jun said: "Father, Wang Jing's move is clearly aimed at our Bo Ling Cui family!"

The eldest son Cui Jun also had an unwilling expression on his face: "Now that things have come to this, our Cui family has no way out. I don't believe that a mere decree can do anything to us."

The Cui family invested 10 million yuan, which is enough to buy two high-ranking officials. How could they stop without recovering the cost?

Even though the Cui family is wealthy and powerful, such a loss is enough to cause them serious damage.

Cui Lie also made up his mind and made a decision: "That's right, we must not retreat at this time. Even if Wang Jing issues a decree, I don't believe that all the noble families in the world will listen to him."

The power of the aristocratic families and wealthy clans is still huge, and Cui Lie thinks that the worst that can happen is that he can find a way to compensate after making money. Wang Jing can't destroy the Cui family just because of such a small matter, right?

What's more, the shape of the furniture is so simple that it is too easy to imitate. Cui Lie doesn't believe that there will be a bunch of counterfeit goods on the market by then. Can you, Wang Jing, catch them all?
Just like that, the entire Cui family was united in purpose and determined to go all the way and never look back.

Situ Mansion, pavilion in the backyard.

The scorching heat was blocked by the water in the lotus pond, and the cool air turned into a breeze, which came slowly, creating ripples and gently caressing the temples.

Taifu Yuan Wei visited today and was sitting on a stone bench, playing Go with Yang Biao. Neither of them cared about winning or losing. They just wanted to find something to do while chatting.

"Mr. Wen, who do you think will win this round, Cui Weikao or Wang Yuanxu?"

Yuan Wei held the black pieces in his hand, but he was asking about the outcome outside the chessboard.

Yang Biao smiled but did not answer. Instead, he looked at his son Yang Xiu who was accompanying him and said, "Grandpa De, what do you think of this?"

Yang Xiu first glanced at the chessboard, then at his father Yang Biao and Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, and replied with only four words: "The winner is decided."

Yuan Wei suddenly realized it, took a look at the chessboard, and then smiled and said, "Dezu is worthy of the name of a child prodigy. His eyesight and calculation ability are indeed the best among his peers."

The outcome of the chess game had indeed been decided. After being reminded by Yang Xiu, Yuan Wei realized that he was likely to lose.

However, Yuan Wei did not care much about the victory or defeat between the black and white pieces. Instead, he was very interested in the fight between Cui Lie and Wang Jing. Because Yang Xiu was one of Wang Jing's close ministers, he thought he should know some inside information, so he asked, "Grandmaster De, is Marquis Qi planning to take action against the Cui family?"

Yang Xiu smiled, cupped his hands and asked, "Master Taifu, there are many ways to take action. I wonder which one you are asking about?"

"Interesting question. Which one do you think I want to ask?"

After Yuan Wei asked this question, he waited quietly for what would happen next.

Yang Xiu did not continue to keep him in suspense. Yuan Wei and the Yuan family were now Wang Jing's political allies after all, so it would not hurt to tell him something: "Grandmaster, the Lord once said that violence is not the best way to solve problems. Unless there is no other way, we should not think of resorting to force first for any matter."

This sentence also shows Wang Jing's current attitude towards internal conflicts - he will not kill people unless necessary.

After listening to this, Yuan Wei remained calm on the surface, but he began to ponder the deeper meaning in his heart. He soon felt that Wang Jing's political tactics were quite sophisticated. If such a person became an opponent, it would be even more frightening.

The brave are reckless, the wise are timid, and there are ways to deal with both.

But if the opponent is both intelligent and brave, it will be very difficult to deal with. Unless you have absolute strength to crush him, it will be difficult to defeat him.

Yuan Wei sighed, feeling sorry for his two nephews. He was afraid that the Yuan family would have no hope of gaining control of the world, because Wang Jing had no flaws at all.

Then Yuan Wei was very curious about how Wang Jing would deal with Cui Lie: "Grandpa De, Cui Weikao is quite capable, and his son Cui Zhouping is also quite capable. If we don't use force, how can we force them to stop?"

In Yuan Wei's opinion, it is difficult to prohibit the buying and selling of furniture, so what about patent protection laws?
Haven’t the court implemented enough laws in recent years?
But what is the actual implementation effect? ​​As long as everyone is not blind, they know that it cannot be implemented at all at the grassroots level.

For example, if a carpenter builds a set of new furniture for someone in the countryside based on the finished furniture styles of Qiqiaoge, how would you catch him? How would you punish him?

How do we define the standards for punishment?

If one is not handled properly, the officials will force the people to rebel and the public will be filled with resentment.

The Cui family dare not sell the furniture produced in Luoyang, but they can sell it to other places, especially in the territories of other princes. The decrees of the court are nothing but waste paper. What can you do to them?

Anyway, Yuan Wei himself couldn't think of it, unless Wang Jing imposed severe punishments. But in that case, it would inevitably create many false cases and lead to chaos under his rule. This would be a completely self-defeating and self-defeating approach.

Facing Yuan Wei's question, Yang Xiu said without thinking: "Master, do you know what productivity is?"

"productive forces?"

Yuan Wei was stunned when he heard this. It was obvious that this unfamiliar term made him a little confused.

Yang Xiu took the opportunity to explain for him: "This word comes from the Lord, and it refers to the ability of human beings to transform nature in order to survive and develop. For example, farmers grow crops and craftsmen do work. These are all manifestations of productivity. The Lord believes that productivity is the cornerstone for the survival and growth of a civilization."

The truth is not difficult to understand. The importance of productivity is common sense and even a truth revealed by the laws of social development.

But the magic of the world is that understanding is a question of the brain, while being willing to accept and support is often a question of the buttocks, and in the end, it is often the buttocks that decide the head. (End of this chapter)