King Zhu Shu of Qi rushed out of Prince Yan's Mansion and rushed directly to Tianjin... The cold wind carried the smell of wealth, and the closer it got, the stronger it became.
It's as if there really is a mountain of gold piled there.
At this moment, Xu Jingchang was also settling accounts with Zhu Di in Prince Yan's Mansion. He firmly opposed the transfer of the shipping terminal to Qi King Zhu Shu... If he couldn't defeat Zhu Di, he would have wanted to slap these two guys. The family was not so defeated!
Zhu Di, on the other hand, was very reasonable and confident, and didn't think there was any problem at all.
The King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, the King of Zhao, Zhu Gaosui, and his grandson Zhu Zhanji were all there. Especially the little good guy, his eyes widened and his fists clenched. He had to listen carefully, how much money Grandfather Dog had wasted!
Zhu Di could not see the looks of these guys interrogating the prisoners, and spoke first, "I have thought about it a long time ago, and I have also asked Xia Shangshu about this matter. He means to abolish sea transportation and use water transportation instead. I think Xia Shangshu's opinion
Yes, you have made a miscalculation. I will transfer the shipping terminal that is destined to be abandoned to King Qi. Even if he can make some money, it will never be a lot, so there is no need to make a fuss."
When Xu Jingchang heard Xia Yuanji's suggestion, his eyes widened with anger. It seemed that Lao Xia and his gang had a way to get past him and contact Zhu Di... Zhu Di would not just listen to Xu Jingchang. Wouldn't that really become a bias?
The foolish king who listens to partial beliefs!
But Xu Jingchang firmly believed that abolishing sea transportation was a very ridiculous thing. Either Xia Yuanji made a miscalculation or lost his head!
"Your Majesty, please bring me the map."
Zhu Di nodded, "Okay, I also want to see what is the best way!"
Zhu Di sent someone to get the map, and he also took out Xia Yuanji's memorial.
On this side, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui also came over, and the father and son of the emperor and his ministers had a heated discussion...
First of all, in many people's minds, water transportation is far less effective than sea transportation... The reason why the Ming Dynasty maintained water transportation was not because of poor navigation technology.
After all, being able to build Zheng He's fleet shows that the Ming Dynasty's navigation technology was adequate.
Since navigation technology is sufficient, why do we still retain inefficient water transportation?
Millions of water workers are responsible for food and clothing.
Huge river transport interest groups block advanced and efficient maritime transport...
Now that the matter has reached this point, it seems that we have a complete answer, and we can scold the vested interest groups for hindering progress.
But don’t ignore one thing, that is, in the Yuan Dynasty, there was sea transportation.
In addition, maritime transportation was extremely developed in the Yuan Dynasty. In most years, three million shi of grain had to be transported from Jiangnan to supply the consumption of Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty.
When Zhu Yuanzhang went on the Northern Expedition, he also borrowed sea transportation. The emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were not ignorant of the benefits of sea transportation.
However, when discussing whether to continue sea transportation, the Ministry of Revenue, which is in charge of finance and taxation, put forward the idea of abandoning sea transportation and running water transportation. It is really incredible!
"Your Majesty, the disadvantages of the canal are obvious. The investment in maintaining the canal every year is huge, and the transportation capacity is limited. I have calculated that even if I use all my strength, the annual grain supply will not exceed four million dan. In order to maintain this small amount of grain,
, hundreds of thousands of people were needed, not counting the civilians who dredged the rivers. The imperial court spent countless financial and material resources, how could it compare with the convenience of sea transportation? Xia Yuanji’s advice must be because he was afraid of sea transportation, and I thought it was absolutely unfeasible.
.”
Zhu Di was calm and said with a smile: "Xu Jingchang, if you only have this little knowledge, I'm afraid I will have to listen to the Xia Qing family this time."
Xu Jingchang was stunned. Zhu Di's finger clicked on a few places on the map. Xu Jingchang watched silently. Suddenly, he seemed to realize something.
Have you made any preconceptions?
Do you think sea transportation is definitely better than river transportation?
Then I didn’t think about it carefully, why did the Ming Dynasty insist on water transportation for six hundred years?
Is it true that there are only disadvantages and no benefits?
Xu Jingchang looked at the places Zhu Di pointed out... Huguang, Jiangxi, South Zhili, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan!
Suddenly, Xu Jingchang discovered his blind spot.
He hurriedly turned his attention to the coastline, especially the coastline north of the Yangtze River. Gradually, Xu Jingchang had the answer, so that's it!
When choosing between water transportation and sea transportation, you should not just consider the advantages and disadvantages of the two modes of transportation, but also need to consider the overall situation.
Take today's Ming Dynasty as an example... The main wealth areas are the provinces mentioned above, and these provinces happen to be run through by the two water systems of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.
A grand canal connects the north and the south and can spread over half of the world through other tributary waterways.
Especially the North China Plain, almost all of them are included.
This is so important.
The fiscal and taxation of the Ming Dynasty was mainly in-kind tax on grain.
The biggest feature of the in-kind tax is that it is wide in scope and dispersed in quantity... The Grand Canal, plus the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, and several water systems gathered together, are like a huge octopus entrenched in the Central Plains.
Judging from the current situation, if a batch of grain is shipped from Shanxi, it can be easily transported along the Yellow River, passing through Henan, arriving in Shandong, then entering the Grand Canal, and then sent north to Peiping.
The same is true in other places in the Central Plains.
The Grand Canal provides not only a waterway, but also a transportation hub extending in all directions.
All major financial and taxation centers can reach their desired destinations through the nearest water system, shipping routes, and relying on the Grand Canal.
Is it efficient?
Not to mention!
Is it fast?
It’s out of the question!
But... such a grand canal can connect the entire world together and allow the imperial court's financial and material resources to reach one place as quickly as possible.
This is the value of the Grand Canal.
On the other hand, sea transportation... transporting grain from the south of the Yangtze River to Peiping is fast, efficient and has less losses... it seems to have no harm at all.
But the problem is that from Jiangnan to Beiping, it is only point-to-point transportation.
The most stops were in Jiaozhou, Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places...but these places were not considered the financial and taxation centers of the Ming Dynasty, and were very far away from the heart of the country.
Even if all the grain is concentrated in Peiping, what will happen?
There was a drought in Shandong, and the government needed relief, and grain was allocated from Peiping... If there was no canal, we had to go overland. Could it be carried on the shoulders of horses?
How much does this cost?
Moreover, in the Taiping years, Shandong and Henan were important grain-producing areas. Without canals, how could the grain in these two places be concentrated?
This is the agricultural age, not the industrial age... Bulk trade in the industrial age involves sending raw materials to an industrial center, processing them into finished products, and then shipping them out together.
In this case, point-to-point transportation is not a big problem.
But the Ming Dynasty was different. The most important thing that needed large-scale transportation was grain...and these grains were scattered in every county. Every summer and autumn, officials in various places collected grain, and then collected the grain and transported it from the county to the government.
, and then to the province...like a series of greedy snakes, and finally passed through the Grand Canal, benefiting the whole country.
Instead of using this canal and switching to sea transportation, the problem is how to concentrate the grain to a certain port in the south of the Yangtze River?
After it is shipped to Peiping, how do you send it to other places?
In short, even if sea transportation is developed, water transportation cannot be given up.
"Then, why did the Yuan Dynasty still rely mainly on sea transportation?" Zhu Gaosui couldn't figure it out.
Xu Jingchang said in a deep voice: "The Yuan Dynasty was a nomadic country. They only needed to get food and didn't care much about controlling the Central Plains. Emperor Taizu said that their governance was loose. That's why. It was precisely because of problems in the Central Plains that they were ruined.
I have to say that I am unhappy with my retribution if I lose the Great Yuan Dynasty!"
Xu Jingchang added: "Moreover, the Yuan Dynasty inherited the mess caused by the Song and Jin Dynasties. The Yellow River overflowed and the rivers silted up. They wanted to restore water transportation, but they were unable to do so. It was not until Jia Lu controlled the Yellow River that the floods improved slightly. At this time, the Yuan Dynasty also
It’s time to reach the end of our rope.”
Zhu Di smiled in front of him. When he saw that Xu Jingchang had already figured it out, he smiled and said: "Xia Yuanji has already said that no matter whether there is shipping or not, there must be a canal. The annual expenditure on maintaining the canal is so high that it cannot be less. Since
In this way, there is still sea transportation, which has no other use except to waste national money and people's wealth. Therefore, isn't it logical to abolish sea transportation?"
Xu Jingchang was suddenly startled, and he half agreed with these words.
What I said in the first half makes sense. When it comes to bulk transportation in inland areas, before the train came out, the best choice was the canal... In fact, the decline of canal transportation did not occur until the rise of the train.
It is impossible to expect horse-drawn carriages to eliminate canals.
So no matter what, water transportation must be maintained, and no amount of money should be spent on the Grand Canal.
In this case, it is natural to abandon sea transportation and replace it with water transportation.
Zhu Di smiled and said, "Xu Jingchang, my ministers are not all losers, right?"
Xu Jingchang took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, I have to admit that what Xia Shangshu said makes some sense. But I also want to show your Majesty another picture."
Zhu Di nodded and said with a smile: "I want to see if you have something different."
After a while, a huge map arrived, just covering the map in front.
With this picture, looking down at the overall situation, it suddenly becomes clearer and the field of vision becomes broader.
"Your Majesty, please take a look. Nowadays, farms are being set up around Peiping, and there are more farms. There is a market in Daning, and there is a tea and horse market in Guangning... Where can these grains and livestock go more conveniently?"
Zhu Di stared at the map, thought for a moment, and then understood, "You mean to go to Tianjin?"
Xu Jingchang nodded vigorously, "Your Majesty, this is Jiubian, this is Monan, this is Liaodong, this is North Korea, this is Japan..."
Xu Jingchang drew a long line with his hand, and then said seriously: "Your Majesty, these places have products, and they will become more and more abundant. They all require trade. We can't build the canal, right?"
Zhu Di couldn't help but take a deep breath, it was really impossible!
Xu Jingchang continued: "Your Majesty, water transport is inferior to sea transport... but water transport has less wind and waves and is very safe. If it is used to transport grain, it is overkill and underutilized. Instead of transferring food to sea transport, use water transport to transport more tea and porcelain, and strengthen the north-south
Wouldn’t it be better to trade and exchange goods?”
"What I mean, in a nutshell, is to pay equal attention to rivers and seas, use canals to govern the country, and use sea transportation to connect the world... Water transportation and sea transportation are my right and left hands in the Ming Dynasty, and they are indispensable."
"And Tianjin Port is the highlight of northern shipping. Its value is so great that it is hard to estimate. Your Majesty has really given King Qi a golden mountain!"
