Greece’s Roman Road - Chapter 294

You can search “Greek Roman Road Search Novels ( in Baidu to find the latest chapters!

The two who were talking happened to encounter Prime Minister Venizelos who also left the conference room.

Hearing the topic the two were talking about, he was immediately attracted and stopped.

“How could Prince Andreas think of such a question?” Venizelos asked curiously.

“After serving as a director of Royal Bank during this period, I have been dealing with business people almost every day. In the office, I receive businessmen who come to handle business, participate in various social occasions, and need to meet and talk with many businessmen, even today. To participate in the meeting organized by the government is also full of business elites,” Andreas said helplessly.

In addition to government officials, there are also a large number of representatives from large and small companies in the Greek business community who came to the meeting today.

“In contact with them, the core of the problem is always inseparable from money”

“After participating in the meeting today, I was suddenly curious about the changes in the status of the merchant group,” Andreas explained the same to Venizelos.

Constantine and Venizelos looked at each other. Although Andreas might just have a whim, this question successfully attracted the attention of the two.

Before the Industrial Revolution, merchant crowds were suppressed by the authorities, both in the East and in the West.

In the East, scholars, peasants, industry, commerce, and merchants belonged to the bottom of society and the bottom stream.

Even the imperial examination system expressly stipulates that the children of businessmen are prohibited from taking the imperial examinations.

Suppression and discrimination against businessmen are obvious.

Some people may have objections, believing that scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants did not truly reflect the real social stratification in ancient society. At least, the status of “peasants” was overestimated, which is in contrast to the generally low status of farmers in the feudal era in the public impression. contrary to the impression.

There may be some misunderstandings here. The “peasant” in the business and industry of scholars, farmers, wants to become a member of the “peasant”, and the minimum standard is also a self-cultivation farmer who owns his own land.

Tenant households, a group that rents and cultivates other people’s land, although they belong to the majority of the general public, do not belong to the “peasant” group.

In other words, the “peasants” among the scholars, peasants, businessmen, and peasants should be considered as the landlord group, which is more appropriate.

In the West, the status of businessmen is also not high.

In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the impressive miser Sherlock has a long history in literature. When talking about the merchant Sherlock, people will think of words such as “greedy”, “invincible” and “vampire”.

Shakespeare extracted the concept of disgust for businessmen in the impression of the real society at that time, and through artistic processing, the literary image of Sherlock was revealed.

Although people hated Sherlock, his Jewish identity was an important factor, but the Jewish community was ostracized by Europeans, and their merchant identity was the main reason.

To this day, insatiable, insatiable, and vampire are still words that are often heard scolding businessmen.

Christianity, which has a strong secular influence in Western countries, is also full of contempt for businessmen in its teachings.

In the Middle Ages, Christian culture was also anti-business, and the rich couldn’t go to heaven.

Relying on lending to make a fortune, the famous Medici family in Florence, Italy, even if they were wealthy, could not stop the secular people from being judged against them. The Medici family was expelled from Florence three times at the beginning.

The American legend, Benjamin Franklin, once wrote a pamphlet that swept the North American continent. In the book, Franklin deliberately explained those businessmen who felt guilty in their hearts for earning wealth.

Even in the period of the Eastern Roman Empire, which was the center of communication between the East and the West, merchants were a group that was suppressed. The rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire were only businessmen who came and went, and regarded them as business travelers who charged tolls.

In the feudal era, whether in the East or the West, the status of merchants was not high, and they were cast aside and scolded by secular morality.

If everyone has a negative attitude towards the merchant group, there must be a deep logic behind this phenomenon to support everyone in doing this. This is not a coincidence that can be explained.

The reason is also very simple, businessmen do not produce.

In the feudal era before the Industrial Revolution, businessmen themselves did not create wealth, they were just porters of wealth.

Merchants re-buy and re-sell, just play the role of an intermediary.

They really have nothing to praise.

In ancient times, land cultivation was almost the only way to produce wealth, and the power was held by large and small landlords, who of course excluded the merchant class.

From the emperor or the king to the bottom-level small landlords, in essence, they are large and small landlords, and their power comes from the control of the land.

They were the powerful class of the feudal era.

The merchant class and the landlord class themselves are in a competitive relationship. The target of the competition is the limited wealth produced in the land. Will the dominant landowner class look good on their competitors?

Land is the “eternal wealth” that can be passed on to future generations, and will continue to produce wealth – food.

No matter how much money you have, until you convert it into land, it’s floating money!

This is not a land worship, but an ancient reality. Apart from land, you can’t find any other investment channels, not to mention the preservation and appreciation of value.

There is no stock market, banks, treasury bonds, factories, except land, you have no other way to invest if you have money.

After the ancient officials or businessmen made a fortune, they would soon return to their hometown to purchase land and become new landlords.

Why was lending in ancient times reviled?

In the dream of Red Mansions, Wang Xifeng released the printed money, and was scolded for degrading his virtuousness. Later, after the Jia family was raided, the loan memorandum was found, and Wang Xifeng’s husband, Jia Lian, was convicted.

In the West, Christianity directly condemns moneylenders as vampires.

According to the moral concept of the 21st century, it is only right and right to pay off debts. Although the high interest rate of usury is controversial, if you borrow money, you should really repay reasonable interest.

So why was lending a shady profession in ancient times, both in the East and the West?

First of all, 21st century money is different from ancient money.

The 21st century is paper money, while the ancient is precious metal currency.

The issuance cost of paper money, which is almost negligible relative to its face value, will gradually depreciate over time.

If the same number of banknotes are lent and withdrawn, the borrower does suffer a loss due to the devaluation of the currency, and it is reasonable to demand interest as compensation.

In ancient times, money was generally a precious metal currency, gold, silver or copper. Under the premise that the fineness of the currency remained unchanged, there was no such thing as a currency devaluation.

There is no such thing as a claim that a borrower needs to be compensated for interest due to the loss of currency depreciation.

Second, in later generations, money, as one of the factors of production, can be put into production activities to generate income.

People can often hear how much gdp has increased compared to the previous year, and how much has increased month-on-month, so it is reasonable for borrowers to ask for interest as income.

But before the Industrial Revolution, the situation was completely different, society was static

, the annual harvest depends entirely on the quality and quantity of the land.

Is it possible to reap twice or more returns by investing twice as much in a piece of land?

Before the Industrial Revolution, there was no such thing as borrowing money and putting it into production to generate profit!

The wealthy people will definitely not borrow such things as usury, and almost all the people who borrow are poor.

What if I can’t pay off the loan sharks?

Those who can engage in usury are all powerful people, and there is no possibility of lying. Selling a house, selling land, or even selling your body as a slave, you have to pay it back.

When it comes to lending, everyone will associate it with bankruptcy and bankruptcy. Who will have a good impression of the lenders?

It is appropriate to scold Wang Xifeng for giving away money.

Therefore, lending money in ancient times is indeed to earn **** wealth, and there is nothing wrong with the accusation and contempt of lending by social morality.

Venizelos’ explanation for the low status of merchants in the feudal era of Constantine, after careful consideration, agrees and thinks it makes sense.

“So after the Industrial Revolution, the status of the merchant group has undergone a more natural change,” Andreas said thoughtfully.

“After the Industrial Revolution, everything changed,” explains Venizelos.

Businessmen after the Industrial Revolution are no longer just businessmen, to be precise, they should be said to be businessmen, and this is a key factor in the transformation of the status of businessmen.

After the Industrial Revolution, businessmen themselves were the main producers of social wealth, and factories replaced land and became the main tool for wealth production.

Industrial output has become the data that governments are concerned about.

In fact, businessmen replaced the former social status of the landlord class and held power in society.

Just like the feudal era, the landlord class, who controlled the land, held the political power.

After the Industrial Revolution, businessmen became the most dynamic and creative group. Theoretical science was transformed by businessmen and then commercialized into technologies that can be practically applied.

“Whoever creates wealth, who controls wealth, is precisely because of this, the most advanced industrialized countries have successively experienced capitalist revolutions. Its essence is that the merchant class replaces the previous landlord class and controls the state power,” Constantine added. road.

Although it is only a few words, it can explain the wave of reform that swept the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

“So, Andreas feels absolutely correct that the merchant class now has a wide range of influence in society,” Constantine said to Andreas.

“The Royal Bank is an important layout of the royal family in the economic field. It is the link between the royal family and the merchant class. You should now understand the meaning of this sentence better. Your work is very important to the royal family.” After Andreas, Constantine bids them farewell.

･･･

Valvis was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and blue denim suspenders that had been starched and faded, but clean, carrying a schoolbag his mother had sewed out of tattered linen, although he was twelve years old, and because of the recent family Affected by the war, his body looked a little short and thin, and he rushed home from school with his younger brother, Little Loves.

Valvis came to the intersection as usual, and suddenly noticed a crowd gathered, seemingly watching something.

The curiosity of the young people was aroused. Valvis took advantage of his short stature and squeezed into the crowd, and finally noticed the scene in the crowd: after several workers removed the dilapidated notices on the notice board, they painted Paste and carefully post several new notices on the notice row.

Valvis, who was already studying in elementary school, noticed the words “The government encourages landless people to reclaim wasteland, 50 acres” and other words, and let out an exclamation, “Yah”, his face turned red because of excitement, like jumping loach. After squeezing out the crowd, he dragged his younger brother, Little Loves, who had no time to react, and rushed into the alley.

“Mom, mom, come and see!” Valvis shouted a long way from his own addition.

In the low stone hut, Kalia was mending some old clothes given by her neighbors today. Because they were too large, they needed to be trimmed before they could be worn by the two Velvas brothers.

Hearing his son’s cries, one of them had an accident and hurriedly opened the door: “What’s the matter, Viervas, you can’t be more obedient, don’t cause trouble”

Although she is only 29 years old, due to the difficult life in the recent period, Kalia has a tired face and dark circles under her eyes.

“Mom, the notice from the government is related to the reclamation of wasteland,” Viervas said breathlessly, out of breath.

The Kariya family originally lived in the Eastern Rumelia region of Bulgaria. After the outbreak of the war between Greece and Bulgaria, the situation of the Greeks living in Eastern Rumelia suddenly deteriorated.

After Eastern Rumelia was controlled by Bulgaria in 1885, due to the small population, most of the locals were Bulgarians, and the Greeks living there began to be discriminated against and suppressed by the Bulgarians.

After the outbreak of the war between Greece and Bulgaria ~www.mtlnovel.com~ the contradiction between the two sides further intensified. The Greeks living in Eastern Rumelia were sacked by the Bulgarians, their lands were confiscated and their properties were looted.

While fleeing into Greece, many Greeks were attacked and killed, including Kalia’s husband.

Due to the death of her husband while fleeing, Kalia, who became a widow at a young age, and her two young sons, relied on begging or the help of the Orthodox Church along the way, and only moved to Kavala in the past month. small town.

Since there is no income and a widow, life in Kavala has been very difficult. Fortunately, the two brothers benefit from compulsory education in Greece, can go to school for free, and can try free lunch at school, which greatly relieves Kariya Otherwise, with just one woman, Kalia, there is no way to support two children.

After the war, there have been rumors that in order to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland, the Greek government will introduce measures to grant uncultivated wasteland to the people for free, which has become the only chance for the Kalia family, who has no source of income.

“Really?” Kalia exclaimed, and without stopping, she dragged the two brothers towards the intersection.

The latest chapter address of the Roman Road in Greece: https://

Read the full text of the Greek Road to Rome: https://

Greece’s Roman Road txt download address: https://

Greek Road to Rome Mobile Reading: https://

For the convenience of reading next time, you can click on the “Favorites” below to record the reading record of this time (Chapter 293 Change of businessman status), and you can see it when you open the bookshelf next time!

If you like “Greece and Roman Road”, please recommend this book to your friends (QQ, blog, WeChat, etc.), thank you for your support! ! ()