Preface
Which is more difficult to resist the temptation of money or power, and what kind of unpredictable chemistry does it inspire when the two are intertwined? From ancient times to the present, there have been many stories of the pursuit of money and power, but the ending is often lamentable. Why don't we look to this past for some inspiration from thousands of years ago?
1. Isn't it human nature for rich businessmen to curry favor with the Son of Heaven?
Shen Wansan, as the richest man in Jiangnan at that time, had wealth that ordinary people could hardly imagine. Legend has it that his family has been in business for generations, and even the most ordinary servants are equipped with gold and silver ornaments. Today, it looks like the window of a luxury store. It is hard for us to imagine that in ancient times, when industrialization had not yet begun, there were people who could live such a luxurious life.
However, such extravagance is clearly not hard-won. Frequent wars throughout history have made doing business extremely difficult. Shen Wansan's ancestors relied on their outstanding business acumen and bold and enterprising spirit to accumulate such a family business step by step. In Shen Wansan's generation, he vigorously expanded this family heirloom, and finally made the family business reach its peak.
However, the good times were short-lived. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the war swept in, and the career accumulated by the Shen family for many years came to naught overnight. The similarity of the histories reminds us of the decline of many family businesses in recent history.
Seeing that his hard-working business was on the verge of collapse, Shen Wansan realized that this era had changed. A new dynasty is about to rise, and he must find a backer. So from supporting Zhang Shicheng's rebellion to Zhu Yuanzhang's proclamation as emperor, Shen Wansan was trying to curry favor with the powerful. We can't just call this inflammation. Because in any era, if you want to survive, currying favor with those in power is the most direct and effective way. Just like we will give benefits to the leaders to celebrate their birthdays, Shen Wansan is just a more expensive and expensive "gift".
In fact, if you think about it carefully, in this matter, Shen Wansan is not treacherous. As a businessman, currying favor with the powerful and obtaining political asylum is the most normal means of survival. To put it bluntly, it's a bargain you and I will. The powerful need financial support, and businessmen need political status. Both sides just take what they need, and there is nothing wrong with it.
2. Isn't the jealousy of the Son of Heaven a human nature?
Relatively speaking, we have to say that the psychological changes on Zhu Yuanzhang's side are more complex and elusive. As a grassroots anti-thief leader, he has experienced turmoil and hardships far beyond others.
He was originally just an ordinary peasant, but his family was destroyed in the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and he was forced to join the rebels. In order to survive, he had to kill people and set fires, and even betray his comrades. You can see what a dark time it was. Perhaps, it is precisely because of these experiences that Zhu Yuanzhang has cultivated the extremely suspicious character in the future. He knows very well that there is no shortage of hidden arrows in this world, and as long as he is not careful, he may lose his life.
Such people, once they gain power, find it more difficult to control their desires. The pain of growing up made him sympathetic to the poor and prejudiced against the landlord class and the powerful. We can understand that. However, what is even more puzzling is that he even looks down on businessmen. You know, how can society be rich without the development of commerce?
However, Zhu Yuanzhang has such a heart. When Shen Wansan repeatedly offered to help, Zhu Yuanzhang did not have the slightest gratitude. On the contrary, it only makes him more suspicious. In his opinion, Shen Wansan obviously had other plans. How can a merchant's family property be more than his own genius? This is simply a complete trampling on his authority!
We, ordinary people, will probably never be able to imagine that kind of mentality. The king of a kingdom is jealous of the wealth of his subjects. It is conceivable that this has seriously hurt Zhu Yuanzhang's self-esteem. For such a person, the slightest sign that might threaten his position of power would be like a fuse, igniting a raging anger in his heart.
3. Isn't the art of discourse just being able to speak human words?
Obviously, Shen Wansan made a fatal mistake in handling his relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang, because he did not understand the art of words at all. He has forgotten the most basic rules of survival: in the face of the powerful, some things cannot be said even if they are the truth; There are some things that I can't say.
He shouldn't take the initiative to give those "gifts" that he himself dislikes again and again, which will only further arouse Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion. Zhu Yuanzhang is already narrow-minded, and Shen Wansan's actions are tantamount to adding insult to injury. His intentions may have been good, but the means were too stupid. It's not so much flattering as it is stimulating pathological self-esteem.
Perhaps, the extravagant and pompous merchant world at that time made Shen Wansan lose the ability to deal with ordinary people. He was Xi using money and jewelry to solve everything. As everyone knows, in the court, money does not play a role, but is easy to attract death. We have to suspect that perhaps the long years of smooth sailing have left him without any sense of crisis, so that he will misbehaved in the sensitive field of power.
This is most obvious when Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately made things difficult for him. A smart businessman should be aware that this is clearly tentative and provocative. And Shen Wansan not only didn't realize the danger, but also showed that he was rich, and bluntly said that he could easily reward the soldier with a tael of silver. We can even imagine that when he said this, there may have been a glint of superiority in his eyes. But this is tantamount to slapping Zhu Yuanzhang in the face.
In fact, all this could have been avoided. Shen Wansan could have avoided such a fate. If he had been a little more cautious in his words and deeds, this disaster would not have happened. After all, dealing with the powerful can easily offend them, and there is no good fruit to eat. Shen Wansan finally realized this with a very painful lesson.
Fourth, grassroots and feudalism, water and fire are intolerable!
There is another important factor that we cannot ignore. That is, the positions of Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan are very different. One believes in agriculture and repression of business, and the other is a typical example of a super businessman. How is it possible to find a point where two worldviews with opposite worldviews intersect?
Zhu Yuanzhang disliked the landlords and looked down on businessmen, which was inextricably linked to his upbringing. He blamed all sins on social injustice. In his eyes, merchants and landlords are undoubtedly the profiteers and vested interests of this rotten system.
In addition, he has extreme populist ideas, bent on supporting agriculture, believing that business is not born; At the same time, he also believed in science, believing that the life of a merchant was too extravagant. It can be said that the entire value is against a super-rich man like Shen Wansan. Shen Wansan is the most disgusting and disgusting kind of person in his eyes.
If you really want to say it, the root cause of many of the policies he pursued to suppress the commodity economy after he ascended the throne is this deviation of values. These moves are motivated by his biases. And for people like Shen Wansan, his rejection is naturally even worse. Because Shen Wansan is simply the aggregate of all his prejudices.
Therefore, when this businessman and rich man, who symbolized all the things he despised, took the initiative to send it to the door, Zhu Yuanzhang could endure it, and it was simply beyond ordinary people's divine power. Shen Wansan has become the best outlet for him to vent his resentment for many years. The contradictions between the two can be said to be inherently irreconcilable. So it is not difficult to understand why this emperor, who always likes to scold businessmen, is extremely strict with Shen Wansan.
This actually gives us another perspective that we should reflect on. Many radical changes in history have often been based on certain extreme value judgments. Once these path dependencies are formed, they are very difficult to change. Zhu Yuanzhang is like this, his policy orientation is destined to be biased towards the common people, because that is his background; He was also destined to resent the merchant because that was the end of his upbringing. Once this negativity accumulates enough, it will explode at some point, leading to uncontrollable consequences.
epilogue
When the two are intertwined, there is no shortage of precedents that have caused tragedy since ancient times. We may never be able to judge with certainty who is right and who is wrong, but we can only say that the cause has a certain effect. However, the wheels of history are rolling forward, and the greed and dark side of human nature are vivid and have never changed.