prosperous age

Wei Guangde certainly hasn't thought that far ahead yet, let alone about controlling capital in banks.

At this time, the lending business he was still doing was the most primitive. Merchants would take out collateral and borrow money from him to use for business operations. What he wanted most was the interest.

Only if a merchant loses money in business and is unable to repay his debts will he reclaim the collateral.

To be honest, the collateral obtained varied in quality, but most of it consisted of residences and shops in Beijing, with a small amount of farmland as well.

However, most of the farmland is located in the surrounding prefectures and counties, which are not considered good.

At this time, Wei Guangde still supported loans with collateral. If he did not support merchants to do business, then the future of the Ming Dynasty's economy would be hard to predict.

So even if the collateral is subpar, he still takes the business.

It's like he now owns three bookstores. But what's the real value of a bookstore? These days, besides printing the Four Books and Five Classics and other works for the imperial examinations, the only other thing that can make a little money is printing novels and fictional stories.

However, because he was the Grand Secretary, the head of the civil officials, and also owned a publishing house, many impoverished scholars who couldn't find a place to publish their own books would come to him and request his publishing house to publish them.

Anyway, those people got the fame and fortune, and in the end, it was Master Wei who bore the losses from printing the book.

Despite the seemingly unreasonable nature of the business, Wei Guangde had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue.

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," and perhaps this is where he has to spend his money. Being bound by fame and fortune, he may suffer losses, but fortunately, he can earn them back elsewhere.

Fortunately, although he lost money here, he also gained a good reputation.

At least the old scholars of the Hanlin Academy wouldn't glare at him, the head of this corrupt faction, and no one would talk behind his back about how money-grubbing he was.

As he rode back to his residence in a carriage, Wei Guangde was still pondering how to deal with the situation after the New Year.

Next year, we must remove the Aoshan Lantern Festival from the inner court's control. We can't let those eunuchs manage it anymore, otherwise it's too expensive.

Perhaps the imperial court and the inner court would each contribute 100,000 taels of silver, and the rest could be sponsored by the merchants' associations in the capital.

Wei Guangde had an even bolder idea: the New Year's lantern festival would not only cover the entire Chang'an Avenue, but also extend all the way to Zhengyangmen, with lantern mountains also set up on the main street outside Zhengyangmen.

As long as private capital is attracted to participate, this model can be promoted to provincial capitals.

In the future, lantern festivals will no longer be exclusive to the capital, but will also allow people from all over the country to experience the peace and prosperity of the times.

The concept of a prosperous era is ultimately something that is created through the writings of scholars.

In fact, Wei Guangde had read some opinions in the past that China's so-called golden age was all just hype.

As the saying goes, "When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer." Whether a dynasty is in a time of peace and prosperity or at the end of its reign, the common people are always in a state of great hardship.

In times of peace and prosperity, although people may be poor, there is no threat of death. But when a dynasty ends, things are not so certain, and one might not even be able to save their life.

This also led to the saying, "Better to be a dog in times of peace than a citizen in times of chaos."

We often talk about the golden ages of the Han and Tang dynasties, and because of these two representative dynasties, the term "Han people" or "Tang people" has become a common way of referring to Chinese people.

Chinatowns abroad are areas where Chinese people gather.

Chinese characters, Chinese language, and Chinese culture are all referred to as "Han," and the largest ethnic group in China is the Han people.

The characters Han and Tang each independently represent attributes related to the Chinese people, including their writing system, language, and lifestyle.

That's because the Han and Tang dynasties were famous golden ages in Chinese history, and they were renowned on the world stage.

The Han Dynasty was the second large-scale centralized dynasty after the Qin Dynasty established a unified dynasty.

After a period of recuperation and development, the Han Dynasty was at its peak, its power and prestige shaking the world and its fame spreading far and wide.

They drove away the Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples who coveted the Central Plains. Historical records state: "They sealed the wolf's lair and exiled the Xiongnu."

Similarly, the Tang Dynasty, a golden age, with its prosperous reigns of Zhenguan and Kaiyuan, attracted tribute from all nations, earning it the title of the Celestial Empire.

Many countries around the world came to China to witness the grandeur of the Celestial Empire, bringing with them unique Western Region features and legends from the East China Sea, and taking away Tang Dynasty porcelain and silkworms.

Countless writers and poets used words to inscribe this great dynasty; they rejoiced and celebrated.

Let us sing praises to this prosperous era, and sing praises to our bright future that is within our grasp.

Being born in this era feels like stepping into paradise for everyone.

Living in peace and contentment perfectly describes their lives. Under favorable circumstances, they were the embodiment of "human harmony," together forming that great era.

In history books, that golden age has always been glorious. Countless historical evidence proves that the Han and Tang dynasties are the guiding stars in the long river of Chinese history, shining brightly throughout the ages.

However, just like paper, history has two sides.

When the front is facing up, it tries every means to show the viewer that it is thriving; naturally, when it is facing down, the reason for its turn is unknown.

Behind the prosperity, while some enjoy a peaceful life, there are always others who are bearing heavy burdens.

The prosperity of the Han and Tang dynasties, as seen in ancient poems, was largely characterized by economic prosperity, a positive international image, and harmonious diplomatic relations.

There is no strife in the imperial court, and no lowly people below the court.

A wise and sensible monarch sits high on the throne, thus ushering in a golden age.

But that was the upper class that wrote the history of the dynasty. The lives of the middle and lower classes, whom we cannot see, were not as good as we imagine.

"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road lie the bones of those frozen to death"—this is perhaps the most vivid description.

While the upper class gathered together to lavishly consume delicacies, fine wines, gold, and jewels, the lower class was impoverished, so poor that they couldn't afford to eat or wear warm clothes, and they had no idea where their next meal would come from.

However, most scholars were unaware of their existence.

Wei Guangde didn't think about creating a great Ming Dynasty, but he knew that making the pie bigger, easing the court's finances, reducing taxes and levies, and alleviating the people's survival pressure was the true way to achieve a prosperous era.

To make the pie bigger means to make commerce more prosperous, so that the imperial court can make up for the fiscal deficit through commercial taxes, and thus have the confidence to reduce the burden on the people.

Of course, since the tax base of the Ming Dynasty is now distributed on land, it will not be a simple reduction in land tax, but rather the exemption of poll tax, thus reducing the tax burden on the people.

It is widely believed that the Ming Dynasty had the lowest tax rate of any dynasty in history, but this is actually a very one-sided view.

The Ming Dynasty's low taxes were due to the classification of taxes. Do you think the "Single Whip Law" reduced the burden on the people?

No, there isn't any.

In fact, the taxes collected under the Single Whip Law included not only those collected by the central government, but also miscellaneous taxes previously levied by local governments.

The only relief for the people was that they no longer had to pay taxes to the government multiple times a year, but could instead complete the collection of taxes for the year in one lump sum.

The taxes that ordinary people have to pay have not been reduced by a single penny.

Of course, it's not to say that there was no reduction at all. After all, Zhang Juzheng, under pressure, deducted some miscellaneous taxes that landlords used to impose on the people from the land, so that the landlords themselves had to pay them.

Another change was to convert corvée labor into silver and allocate it to the land so that the "landlords" could pay it, instead of the previous system of levying taxes on each household.

To put it bluntly, it was about shifting some of the pressure from poor peasants to landlords and rich peasants who had a greater capacity to bear it.

The commercial tax system of the Ming Dynasty needs to be implemented gradually. What Wei Guangde needs now is to change the views of some scholars, so that they can not only look up at the sky, but also look down at the ground and see the most real lives of ordinary people.

"Could we start a newspaper, using serialized storytelling as a thread, to depict the lives of ordinary people?"

The thought popped into Wei Guangde's mind as the carriage arrived in front of the Wei residence.

The official gazette was ultimately a publication for the imperial court to issue decrees and make propaganda; it was not suitable for reporting that was relevant to the people.

Although the official gazette was a central newspaper and was read by local officials and gentry, ordinary people generally did not read it because it was too distant from their lives.

After getting off the carriage, Wei Guangde helped his wife down and said, "Madam, you should go back to the inner quarters to rest. I still have something to tell Zhang Ji." "Alright, sir, you must be tired from your journey today. You should come back and rest early."

Xu Jianglan immediately said.

I know it won't take long.

"The water in the inner quarters should be ready by now; Madam may wash up."

Wei Guangde smiled and nodded.

After the maid followed the lady to the backyard, Wei Guangde beckoned Zhang Ji over and went to the study.

"There are now three bookstores in the manor?"

"Yes, sir, they were all given to the household."

Actually, aside from the shops, which are worth some money, the bookstore doesn't make much profit.

Along the way, Wei Guangde kept asking Zhang Ji about the situation of the bookstores in the mansion.

In fact, as long as the three bookstores didn't print the works of those pedantic scholars, they could still earn several hundred or a thousand taels of silver a year, especially in the years of the imperial examinations, when publishing the top scholar's articles could make a fortune.

Nearly ten thousand students gathered in the capital, eagerly seeking out good articles.

Moreover, a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations doesn't seem to be short of money.

However, printing such books is too expensive. Wei Family Bookstore is already losing two thousand taels of silver on Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica".

Of course, if we look at it from a long-term perspective, as long as all the printed books are sold, we can still earn back the two thousand taels of silver, although it will take a long time.

Compared to the other businesses invested in by the Wei family, the bookstore is genuinely losing money.

"Sir, actually, why don't we merge the three bookstores into one? That way, we can free up the shops in the other two bookstores, and whether we sublet them or do other business, we might make more money."

Zhang Ji suggested in a low voice.

"I called you here today for this very reason."

Entering the study, Wei Guangde sat in the armchair and then said to Zhang Ji, "The three bookstores have merged into a bookstore association. One will continue to print books, mainly those people's books, as well as annotations of the Four Books and Five Classics."

Now all the books from several companies have been moved there.

This bookstore will henceforth specialize in publishing books.

The other one, I plan to make into a bookstore that can be found all over the country.

Find someone to take charge and clean up all the shops in the prefecture, requiring that this bookstore establish bookstores in every prefecture and county across the country to sell books.

"We'll have a unified printing and distribution system, so these bookstores won't be operating independently anymore. I want to connect them all."

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, Zhang Ji frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Does the master mean that this bookstore will specialize in selling books in all prefectures and counties across the country, so that books printed in the capital can be directly distributed through these local bookstores?"

Similar to establishing branch offices of a bookstore?

"Yes, that's what it means."

Wei Guangde nodded and continued, "What I want is for the books printed in the capital to be distributed to bookstores throughout the Ming Dynasty within two months through them."

If this speed could be increased to one month, that would be even better.

"Oh, well, there's also the bookstore. What are your plans, sir?"

Zhang Ji knew that Wei Guangde already had a plan, so he had already arranged two bookstores, and he must have a plan for the remaining one as well.

"The remaining one is a bit special; I plan to have them take charge of printing the newspaper in the future."

Wei Guangde stated directly that he had already come up with a plan: to set up a 16th-century media company, with the three bookstores serving as a publishing house, a newspaper, and a chain of bookstores as retail channels.

By the 16th century, such media companies were already quite sophisticated.

In fact, many bookstores in the Ming Dynasty at that time were run by gentry, who didn't really care about making money.

Making money is of course the best, but even if you can't make money, you can still get some fame.

Therefore, they never considered the bookstore business as a business that could be scaled up and strengthened.

Wei Guangde didn't think the bookstore would make much money, but he valued its influence even more.

Later media empires could even influence the outcome of US presidential elections.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not need to hold general elections, but their attitudes could be slightly influenced, as long as it wasn't too radical.

With him as the Grand Secretary, it could be guaranteed that Emperor Wanli would not issue an edict to shut down the bookstore.

In fact, Wei Guangde had already thought of his first memorial after the New Year, which was to restore the academy.

During Zhang Juzheng's reign, academies were banned. Now it's time to abolish some of his policies and gradually diminish his influence.

Perhaps, the scholars' animosity towards Zhang will lessen somewhat.

Once the academies are restored, popular thought will inevitably erupt, and at that time, newspapers will be needed to provide some guidance.

Chain bookstores are used to sell books and newspapers.

However, given the current transportation conditions, it is impossible to deliver newspapers to various locations in a timely manner, so two months is already a very tight timeframe.

Wei Guangde was well aware of what he was going to do, but Zhang Ji was confused, since he didn't know what a newspaper was.

"Sir, what is a newspaper?"

"The official gazette is similar to that thing, except that the official gazette publishes documents of the imperial court, while the newspaper is aimed at the common people and their lives."

Doesn't the bookstore employ several writers who write vernacular stories?

Let them every ten days.

At this point, Wei Guangde thought about it again and felt that ten days was too long and five days was too short. He wondered if it would be good to introduce the church's concept of "week".

After a slight hesitation, Wei Guangde continued, "It's done regularly, like every five or ten days."

Newspapers serialized stories about these people, and also commissioned writers to write about everyday life.

Note that this only addresses the general public's daily life.

In the eleventh year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Wei Guangde initiated the creation of a newspaper, but he did not intend to use it as a platform for public opinion.

He was worried that if he started ideological debates through newspapers too early, people might not accept this format, and a series of impeachments could lead to the emperor shutting down his newspaper, which would be troublesome.

It might be better to wait a year or two until everyone starts to accept newspapers as a new thing, and then invite famous people to spread their ideas through newspapers.

Even if they argue over the newspaper, at least they've accepted it.

As a medium, they wouldn't be so resistant.

Their attention will be focused more on the focus of the argument than on the newspaper itself.

"Therefore, all the skilled woodblock engravers in the bookstore have to be sent here."

Wei Guangde continued his explanation. (End of Chapter)