Chapter five hundred and ninety fourth tenacious Zhu Biao
Peng Zaozhu danced and talked about Zhang Shicheng's deal with the salt merchants, which was a happy life. In his early years, Peng Zaozhu didn't have a good life at home. He could only buy the kind of salt mixed with sand and mud. Even so, he couldn't bear to part with it.
Just add a little more when you are working.
Can’t you afford it?
Now think about how difficult it is for ordinary people!
Not to mention whether Lao Zhu agreed or not, Peng was willing to stay early.
What about using grain ships to transport salt, what about delivering salt to the grain chief, sending 10,000 shi of grain, and returning 100 shi of salt to the people... Peng Zaozhu felt that all these methods could be implemented.
The worst case scenario is that the fish is dead and the net is broken. First kill all the salt merchants in the world and let you eat people without spitting out the bones. This is the reward!
This Zhang Shicheng is also a wonderful man. When he fought with His Majesty, he was so cowardly that he couldn't stand it. Now, he is possessed by the God of War and is killing everyone. Moreover, the measures he proposed are not only ruthless, but also feasible.
If it is really sent to Zhu Yuanzhang, I estimate that there is at least a 70% certainty that it can be implemented.
Why don't you really give it a try?
Faced with Peng Zaozu's dangerous idea, Zhang Ximeng just wanted to say, whatever you say, if I send it up, I will lose!
"Businessmen always like to compromise. For example, in our house, if you say that it is too dark and that a window must be opened in the wall, some people will object. But if you say that the roof should be removed, someone will come out.
How convenient it would be to open a window!" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "With Zhang Shicheng's troubles, I guess the salt merchants will be much more honest, and our affairs will be much easier to handle."
Zhu Biao was beside Zhang Ximeng and listened silently. His mother had told him that he should pay more attention to Mr. Zhang's eloquent remarks and keep them in mind at all times and never forget them.
He felt that what he said about opening the window just now must be written down. It was so insightful.
Peng Zaozhu pondered for a moment and nodded quickly, "Xiang Zhang, I've written it down." Then Peng Zaozhu pondered for a while, and then asked with courage: "Xiang Zhang, I really can't show off my face and use the salt method."
Have you completely changed it?"
Zhang Ximeng laughed and said, "Young Marshal Peng, it has only been a few days since you took office. After you work for a few days, you will understand. Then you can come back to me and tell me this."
Peng Zaozhu bowed and nodded, "Sure, I've written it down. I'm going down now."
He turned around and walked away happily.
Zhang Ximeng looked at the list again and found that it was equivalent to two million coins, many of which were gold and silver. Zhang Ximeng looked at it for a while and suddenly smiled and said: "Your Highness, have you ever heard of the allusion of the golden house hiding the beauty?"
Zhu Biao nodded, "I've heard of it. It was told by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty when he was a child. It's a pity that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty still lied. Speaking of which, most of the emperors of the Liu family were cold-blooded, both Liu Bang and Liu Che."
Zhang Ximeng smiled faintly, and Zhu Biao was shocked, "Sir, is this disciple wrong?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "How to comment on the ancients is a big question, and I may not be able to say it to the point. But the key to these four words is not the hidden beauty, but the golden house! Now let's take a look at what the golden house is!"
Zhang Ximeng said and led Zhu Biao to the warehouse.
Only when he got here did Zhu Biao feel trouble. As Zhang Ximeng, didn't he just go in as soon as he said he was going in?
Sorry, that doesn't work!
My waistband was checked three times to verify my identity, and I was asked to write down the reason why I came here.
Zhang Ximeng also followed the instructions one by one, but in the reason column, he wrote that he was bringing His Royal Highness to see the world, which made Zhu Biao blush a bit.
It's as if he is ignorant and causing trouble for everyone.
However, this little emotion disappeared immediately after entering the vault.
It contained not only the money paid by the salt merchants, but also the property seized from Dadu and Xanadu, as well as the properties confiscated from Dadu's wealthy families. All added up, there should be hundreds of thousands of taels.
Anyway, for Zhu Biao, everywhere he looked, there was something golden and dazzling.
Zhang Ximeng stretched out his hands, grabbed a gold brick, and handed it to Zhu Biao. Zhu Biao grabbed it hard and almost dropped it.
"It's so heavy!" The young man admired from the bottom of his heart.
"Your Highness, in the palace, the places that should be decorated with gold are often gilded and painted with gold powder. Brass is even used in the harem. Do you know why gold is so precious?"
Zhu Biao shook his head, "I don't know, please give me some advice."
Zhang Ximeng also smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't be too busy asking. There are so many gold bricks here. Just build a gold house one by one and see what it looks like."
Zhu Biao was slightly startled, then nodded quickly, his excitement palpable.
The golden house!
That was something that even my father had never seen before.
Zhu Biao was so motivated that he took the gold bricks off the shelf and piled them up one by one.
It was very enjoyable at first, but after moving dozens of pieces, Zhu Biao was out of breath. He had no choice but to do it. This thing was too heavy. One gold brick was a hundred taels, and some were even 200 taels or 16 taels. It is heavier than many bricks.
Zhu Biao's busy forehead was covered with sweat, and gradually, the muscles in his arms trembled slightly.
In front of him, the golden house was not built, but a golden wall more than one foot high was built.
Zhang Ximeng saw this and smiled and said: "Your Highness, stop working so hard, sit down and have a rest!"
Zhu Biao was granted amnesty and looked around. The only chair was occupied by Zhang Ximeng, so he had no choice but to sit down on the golden wall he built.
After sitting on it, Zhu Biao suddenly had a strange feeling. This was gold!
The extremely precious gold, which even the father is not willing to use more, is sitting under his butt. How luxurious is this!
Zhang Ximeng had a smile on his face, "Your Highness, what do you think of these yellow and white things now? Do you think they are very valuable and important?"
Zhu Biao touched the gold brick under his buttocks and felt confused for a while, "Sir, if you want to say it is precious, it is naturally not more valuable than gold. But after I moved it for a while, I just felt it was extremely heavy, and it seemed to be nothing special."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Your Highness, this is also the reason why I asked you to come here. You can live without some things, but you must be knowledgeable and aware of it. This will be especially true when Your Highness rules the world in the future. No matter how much you say, you can govern the country and manage finances, enrich the country and the people. , in the final analysis, it is just about controlling wealth instead of being controlled by wealth."
Zhu Biao's eyes widened and he nodded quickly. Recently, Mr. Zhu said a lot of golden words, which are really important.
"Sir, can you say more?"
"Well!" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Let's start with Zhang Shicheng's plan! If he did that, of course he could cause heavy losses to the salt merchants, and even kill many salt merchants. But doing that may not be true. It’s appropriate because it will destroy the circulation of money.”
Zhu Biao lowered his head and thought seriously. In fact, he was also thinking about this. He would make the salt cheaper, or even give it to the people to prevent them from being exploited. His father would definitely agree.
But my husband said no, why?
"Your Highness, wealth is like water, which way it flows represents the direction of benefit and the court's thoughts." Zhang Ximeng sighed: "With your majesty's prestige and means, you can naturally distribute salt to all the people, and every common person will be grateful and obey.
Your Majesty has given orders, and the world is running in order, and there will be no trouble. But if we come to His Highness, will He have the prestige and means? What will happen after Your Highness?"
Zhang Ximeng continued: "Even if you are your Majesty, will it cost a lot of money to immigrate from Jiangxi to Huguang? Do we need to be fully prepared? If it is just a decree, the officials below will not be able to handle the matter safely, and the people will still suffer.
"
Zhu Biao listened carefully, "Sir, what should I do?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled and pointed at the gold bricks under Zhu Biao's buttocks, "What Your Highness needs to learn is to use the word "utility" to promote the development of the world and use industrial and commercial means to enrich the country and the people. And if you want to use this method, you must first accumulate wealth.
Simply put, you must have money on hand, and then you can take it from the people and use it for the people!"
…
In this treasury, Zhang Ximeng talked eloquently, telling the biggest shortcomings of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, which could even be said to be the shortcomings of all dynasties.
That means the financial capacity is too weak.
Even Zhao Song, who was famous for its abundant tax revenue, had very little money that could really be used for development. Military expenditures, salaries, and royal expenses basically drained the tax revenue. If there were natural or man-made disasters, it would be in the red.
.
Therefore, Zhao Song's treasury revenue seems to be very high, but in fact the state's capabilities are appallingly weak.
Of course, in this regard, the Ming Dynasty was even worse.
In the middle and late stages, with an annual income of several million taels, it was difficult to do anything, even basic expenses.
Why is it said that Zhu Yuanzhang can be different? The reason is very simple. He arranged millions of military households on the nine sides, and these people must guard the border for Zhu Yuanzhang honestly.
But after Zhu Yuanzhang, who still has this prestige?
What should we do after the military household system collapses?
If you want to recruit soldiers, you need food and money.
As a result, the finances are exhausted. What else can we do besides squeezing the people?
The same goes for salt. It is a good idea to have the grain chief distribute it to the people now, but the problem is that it is hard to say how long the grain chief system can be maintained. How can the salt policy be built on the grain chief?
"Your Highness, I have always advocated the development of industry and commerce. Your Majesty does not agree with my ideas. The reason is that he can transcend these and use his supreme prestige to promote many things. Just because he does not need it does not mean that His Highness does not need it. The price of salt is too high
Yes, it is squeezing the people, but it is not a good thing to really make the salt worthless. It is best to make the salt affordable for the people and at the same time fill the treasury."
Zhang Ximeng said: "If His Highness is really worried about the people and that some people cannot afford it, he can establish affordable salt stores in various places to avoid driving up prices."
Zhu Biao listened attentively and nodded repeatedly, "Sir, I have thought carefully and my disciple has benefited a lot. Control wealth and not be influenced by it. Disciple understands!"
Zhu Biao nodded vigorously. It was only ten days since he finished talking to Zhang Ximeng. Peng Zaozhu asked to see him again. This time he not only sent money, but also a letter of appointment.
Half of the shares of Changlu Saltworks were handed over to Zhu Biao.
"Your Highness, Zhang Shicheng has estimated that the money is not much. It will only be 10 million yuan a year!"
Zhu Biao trembled for a moment and almost dropped the appointment letter.
Zhu Biao, you have to hold on!
Control wealth and never be knocked down by wealth!