Although, in the process of opening up the mutual market, a lot of hardships have been put in.
However, under the joint auspices of the Huangdian and the Ministry of Household Affairs, the wealth that flowed into the Ming Dynasty through mutual trading in the past two years truly restored the Ming Dynasty's national strength very quickly.
Not to mention anything else, at least the national treasury is much richer and there is no need to pay for peppercorns anymore. The court did not increase taxes to local governments even though many major events were unsustainable. Even after the restructuring of craftsmen's households,
, many craftsmen received more money and food.
Of course, little food is produced on the grasslands, but after a stable period, Zhu Qiyu has begun to encourage Huangzhuang to accept the use of cattle and sheep for trade. Although these cattle and sheep cannot be used for farming, they can be transported to the inland.
However, they will be sold below the market price. In this way, Huangzhuang's profits will be affected to a certain extent, but it will make the prices of cattle and sheep near Gyeonggi extremely stable.
Recently, Zhu Qiyu has even considered whether to open up some pastures specifically to raise these cattle and sheep.
In addition to the ordinary trade with Tatar, there is also the tea-horse trade with Oara. Although Oara occasionally cheats and uses some bad horses to pass off as good ones, after all, it does not affect the overall situation. With these horses
, in border towns such as Datong and Xuanfu, the scale of the cavalry can further begin to expand.
These are real benefits, and the most important thing is that there is no need to impose exorbitant taxes or send more corvees. Only when the court has money can it do more things, and when there is a disaster in the local area, there will be
The confidence to obtain tax exemption.
If the situation after the switch of Longqing in his previous life only made Zhu Qiyu start thinking about the problems of merchants, then the huge role played by the mutual market is to make him truly realize the usefulness of merchants.
There is nothing wrong with focusing on agriculture and suppressing business, but this does not mean that business is only bad for the country. The key depends on where it is used.
Mutual trading is certainly good, but it has a major flaw.
That is, it can only be done by Huangdian!
Huangdian has a monopoly on mutual trade, but there are many inconveniences. For example, Huangdian’s various supplies are purchased from Gyeonggi and then shipped to the border for trade. The horses obtained from the trade can be incorporated into the officialdom on the spot.
Army, but the excess still had to be transported back to the mainland. As for cattle, sheep and other items, they also had to be transported back and then sold.
This process is very troublesome and requires a lot of manpower and material resources. However, neither Zhu Qiyu nor Shen Yi feels inappropriate about it.
You know, if you are purely looking at cost, the best way is actually to open a sales market at the border, buy it directly from the imperial store, and then sell the exchanged materials locally, or from the perspective of the Ministry of Household Affairs, go one step further and open it to the private sector.
For trade, you only need to set up a special trading location and then set up people to collect taxes.
The taxes paid by Huangdian are already higher than those in the mainland, but they cannot withstand the huge profits from mutual trade. Once private trade is opened up and higher tax rates are set, it will certainly be able to attract a large number of businessmen. Cho
Moreover, the scale of the imperial store was limited after all, and many small tribes had no chance to join the mutual market. If the scale was expanded and private merchants were allowed to enter, it would not be a problem if the imperial court's annual revenue from the mutual market doubled.
But no!
Although his thoughts on trade have changed, Zhu Qiyu is still very clear-headed and is not blinded by this huge sum of money.
At this time, we have to mention the usefulness of Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue. Although this great situ is greedy for money, he still knows the pros and cons of mutual trading very clearly.
After the opening of the mutual market, he reminded Zhu Qiyu many times to maintain the current scale and frequency and not to continue to expand.
As for the reasons, they are very complicated. To put it bluntly, mutual trading is not only an economic issue, but also a political issue and a military issue.
Although the Ming Dynasty and the grasslands do have a mutual trading relationship, this is essentially a tribute trade based on each tribe's oath of surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Once civilian trade is opened up, this will be broken.
At the same time, mutual trading itself is a means of restraint. Compared with its economic significance, it is more important to regulate the situation of the grassland in this way.
In addition, once the crackdown among the people is opened, even if it is just setting up a sales market at the border, controlled by the imperial shop, and the merchants can trade internally, it will have serious consequences.
Smuggling at the border has been banned repeatedly. The only and best way is to strictly prohibit unauthorized private traders from doing business at the border.
Zhu Qiyu has always been very vigilant about this, so he said that in many cases, people's wisdom comes from experience.
In his previous life, when I paid tribute and reopened the mutual trade, Zhu Qiyu had already seen the consequences of the imperial court not controlling private trade.
You must know that at that time, the imperial court had not completely liberalized trade, but even under heavy bans, countless private merchants still swarmed across the border, and some of them even took risks and sold arms on a large scale.
Therefore, this gap must not be opened, and the mutual market must be controlled by the Huangdian. Even the merchant trade in each border town must be strictly inspected and controlled. Cho
Of course, Zhu Qiyu is not that naive. There will definitely be nothing wrong with the imperial store. There are always people who are greedy for profit.
However, as the Huangdian is a Tianjia property, it is very convenient for him to investigate and deal with it. More importantly, it is not scattered like the private sector. Even if something goes wrong, it can be easily repaired.
Therefore, if border trade is inconvenient, it can only be inconvenient. The Imperial Store has to spend so much time transporting it back and forth, so it has to be like this.
In essence, this is not in line with the pursuit of profit, but for various reasons, it can only maintain the status quo.
However, the countries in Thailand and Spain do not have this problem.
There are many difficulties in mutual trade between the Ming Dynasty and the grassland tribes. They are on guard against each other because they are close to each other and the grasslands are bitterly cold. Therefore, the two are naturally hostile and prone to war, so many preparations have to be made.
However, there is a vast ocean between the Western countries and the Ming Dynasty. At least for now, there is no confrontational relationship. The Western countries do not have the ability to cross the ocean to attack the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty also does not have the ability to attack each other. The journey is too long.
, the logistics supply alone can kill all thoughts. Cho
Because of this, if trade with other countries in Thailand and the West begins, then the imperial shop will no longer have to control everything, but private merchants can be allowed to go to sea. The court can follow the example of the previous Song Dynasty and set up a shipping department to collect taxes and supplement the national treasury.
Of course, it is very difficult to achieve this!
The first thing to bear the brunt was the imperial government's policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business. Zhu Qiyu had such an understanding because he was used to seeing the rise and fall of hundreds of years. However, for many ministers in the court, they did not have such an understanding, so
, if private merchants are to be allowed to go overseas, they will inevitably encounter strong opposition.
Moreover, even the reasons are ready-made. The maritime ban policy established by Emperor Taizu is the best weapon. This is an ancestral system and cannot be violated easily.
In addition to this, there are practical problems. To put it bluntly, they are Japanese pirates. Japanese pirates occur frequently in the southeast. This is the biggest problem that hinders private commerce. Although the imperial court has prepared Japanese troops, Japanese pirates are scattered and difficult to capture, and
Once it enters the vast sea, it is difficult for anyone to find traces and it is impossible to suppress them. If this problem is not solved, it will be very difficult to open up sea trade.
However, you have to eat one meal at a time and do things one by one. Don't be too hasty. Now is the first step, so you have to take it steadily.
Looking at the huge map in front of him, Zhu Qiyu pointed to the many places in it that only had names but no descriptions of topography and mountains, and said.
"Zhangzhou Prefecture is close to the sea. After Uncle Dai Wang moved to the feudal state this time, the first thing he did was to send a fleet for me to find out whether the records on the map were accurate and complete the map."
The tone of these words was calm, but there was a faint commanding tone. Obviously, he was not discussing with Zhu Shixi.
After hearing this, the acting prince said with a bitter look on his face.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that I have lived half my life and have never even seen the sea. Even if I want to find out for Your Majesty, I am not strong enough. Besides, I know nothing about navigation. This..."
"It's okay if you don't know how to sail. You can learn now."
Zhu Qiyu waved his hand, motioning for people to reroll the map on the ground and put it away, saying.
"Uncle Wang can take this map with him when he leaves the palace. In addition, I will order someone to copy a copy of the nautical charts, routes, etc. in Qintian Prison and give them to Uncle Wang. In addition, before leaving the capital, Wang
Uncle can go to the Ministry of War and take away a copy of the account of Zheng He's voyages to the West that has been kept by the Ministry of War. When you get to Zhangzhou Prefecture, you can read it slowly." Cho.
Ah this...
Zhu Shiyi was stunned for a moment, then his expression became more hesitant and he said.
"Your Majesty, these charts and descriptions are the secrets of the imperial court. How dare I take them out of the capital at will? Furthermore, when the Sanbao eunuchs sailed to the West, their fleets were huge and equipped with ordnance and officers and soldiers. Even if I have your majesty's will, how dare I
Forming such a fleet? This is something that only the imperial court can do. I dare not exceed my authority and I am unable to complete it. Therefore, I boldly ask your Majesty to take back the order."
This is true. Strictly speaking, charts and routes are military secrets. Otherwise, they would not be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.
This kind of thing cannot be followed by the emperor just telling him, otherwise, if he is not careful, it will be a big disaster.
The vassal king has a noble status, but when it comes to military and political matters, he must be cautious.
Let’s not talk about the Japanese plague, just talk about the many hidden reefs and maritime disasters in the sea. The dangers are unpredictable. If you want to ensure the greatest survival rate, the best way is to form a huge fleet. Cho
This was the case when Zheng He made his voyages to the West. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, every time Zheng He went to the West, the number of people was at least more than 27,000, of which more than 20,000 were officers and soldiers.
A fleet of this size will still suffer a lot of losses every time it goes to sea. Is it possible that he, a mere acting king, can build a larger fleet?
Even if he could, he wouldn't dare!
You know, a fleet of this size is actually, to put it bluntly, an army. The vassal kings from all over the country don't even have regular guards now. If such a fleet is really created, he is afraid that he will be in Zhangzhou Prefecture.
It hasn't been built yet, so I have to pack up and go to Fengyang to squat.
There are no other people here, so there is no need to answer so many riddles.
What's more, this acting prince, who has always been submissive, finally spoke so forcefully once, naturally he had a reason that he had to say.
Zhu Qiyu looked at Zhu Shixi's face and knew what he was hesitating about.
However, he did not get angry because of this, but instead spoke with a gentler expression.
"Uncle Dai Wang, these words are serious. I have not said that I will repeat Zheng He's voyages to the West. With the current state of the treasury, even if I agree, the Minister of Revenue, Shen Shangshu, will not agree."
"I just want to know whether this map is authentic. According to what the missionary said, the countries of Europe and America, as well as America and other places on this map, have many features that are not found in our Ming Dynasty. If we can bring back some
, is also good.”
"If Uncle Wang is worried about money and food, I will turn around and issue an order to increase the annual salary of the prince's palace to ten thousand shi, and he can draw it in his own way."
"In addition, I will find some sailors for Uncle Wang who went to sea with Zheng He. Nanjing built some sea ships in the past few years. Uncle Wang can also take them away. After arriving in Zhangzhou, Uncle Wang only needs to return to Zhangzhou.
Recruit some good men and form a fleet of three to five hundred people, and then you can go to sea, and there is no need to make a fuss like Zheng He's voyage to the West."
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Huixun blinked at the side.
The Emperor is really generous with his actions this time! Cho
You know, getting rich every year, this is not an ordinary favor.
Before that, due to the various evil deeds of Dai Wang Zhu Gui, Dai Fan's annual salary was reduced again and again. Even though Renzong later added a lot more, it was still only six thousand dan, and the rice banknotes were still paid in half.
This time the emperor not only added money back, but also made sure to withdraw it at the original price. The money inside and outside here is not much different from the money added by six thousand stones.
Especially nowadays, when the officials in the imperial court are obviously interested in rectifying the vassal vassal, giving a higher salary to the vassal vassal will inevitably lead to pressure from the court.
However, the difficulty has been reduced and the conditions have become better, which is not a good sign...
Seeing that King Dai was a little tempted, Zhu Huixuan sighed secretly and then spoke.
"Your Majesty, I think that serving the country is the right thing to do. How can I invite you to reward me like this? What's more, although the fleet goes to sea with three to five hundred people, although it is quite a lot, after all, Japanese pirates are frequent in the southeast. If the Japanese pirates gather, I am afraid that
It is difficult to deal with, but if the fleet is too large, it will be difficult to make the trip. Therefore, I also feel that it is best for the imperial court to handle this matter." Cho.
These words immediately made Zhu Shiyi, who was still a little excited, sigh. A fortune of ten thousand dollars is certainly tempting, but it does not come without a price. If the emperor gives grace, he must do things well, otherwise, what he gets is
Suilu, I'm afraid it will become a hot potato in the end.
Zhu Qiyu was sitting at the top, his eyes fell on Zhu Huixuan, and he couldn't help but shook his head slightly. Sure enough, in terms of mental agility, it was him, the uncle of King Min.
These words fell into the ears of King Dai, reminding him of how capable he was and how much benefit he had gained.
But to Zhu Qiyu's ears, it was obvious that King Min had seen through his previous plan...