The ruthless emperor in the late Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 109 Capital Monopoly Is Too Scary (Subscribe)
Three days later, by the canal pier in the east of the city, Zhu Cihong brought Queen Zhou and his younger brothers and sisters to see him off, and none of the civil and military officials were left behind.

On the pier, more than [-] ships of all sizes docked.

The 2 carefully selected elites have all boarded the ship, and the newly made weapons, armor and military uniforms, plus the redistribution from the [-] Chinese army, at this moment [-] people are no longer like beggars.

This time, there were also 3 female soldiers from Hong Niangzi, the second-in-command of Dongchang Jinyiwei, and a large number of factory guards, plus nearly [-] boatmen.

"My dear concubine, do you remember everything I told you?"

"Well, the courtiers and concubines are all recorded in the notebook, take care, Your Majesty..."

The red lady nodded, her voice choked with sobs, she had never been spoiled like this since she was a child.

Thinking that he will not see this little emperor for more than a year in the future, his eyes are a little moist at this moment, and his face is full of reluctance.

"My concubine, take care too, I will come to Jiangnan within a year at most."

Zhu Cihong was also somewhat reluctant, wishing to keep her by his side and loving her every day, but apart from Hong Niangzi, there really was no one she could trust.

The two said a few more words, and seeing that Empress Zhou and Zhang Yan had finished their farewells, Zhu Cihong came to Zhang Yan and said, "Auntie, I will work hard for you this time, don't worry, the child will come to Jiangnan in person in one year at most. Next, from now on, my son will be filial to you, and in the future, my son will take you back to your hometown in Henan to visit relatives!"

"Yeah! Hong'er has a heart, and Auntie has nothing else to ask but you and your father to reconcile as soon as possible." Zhang Yan nodded, obviously she still couldn't let Chongzhen go in her heart.

"The child will let the father follow."

"This uncle can rest assured."

Then Tai Kangbo also brought a group of family members to bid farewell to Zhang Yan.

Apparently it hadn't been long since it was released.

And those nobles who were arrested at the beginning will all be dispatched to Qiongzhou after Jiangnan is stabilized.

As for Tai Kangbo, he will also go to Qiongzhou with Zhou Guozhang, but the treatment will be better.

Zhang Yan also simply said hello, and boarded the boat with the help of the red lady.

Obviously, she has relatively indifferent feelings towards these relatives. In her heart, she is not as good as the uncle Chongzhen and the nephew Zhu Cihong.

As the fleet went away, Zhu Cihong brought Zhou Hou and his younger brothers and sisters back to the palace.

And the civil and military officials also dispersed one after another, and on the way back, they still scolded the little emperor for being too shameless in their hearts.

To actually send the Empress Dowager Yi'an and the imperial concubine to Nanjing together is obviously an attempt to use both hard and soft tactics to complement each other.

But while everyone scolded, they also had to admire the little emperor's hand. Although it was a bit shameless, the effect was definitely the best.

……

In the next few days, Zhu Cihong took over the errand of the red lady, and went to the military camp in the west of the city every day to personally supervise the training of the soldiers.

At the same time, he was busy with the planning of Beijing city.

After more than a month after Jiannu was defeated, merchants from the south finally arrived by boat.

The boat is full of daily necessities such as rice noodles, salt, cloth, and so on.

Obviously wanting to take the opportunity to make a fortune.

There is a royal shop in Rice Noodle Salt Bar, and everyone has no choice but to stock up temporarily and not sell it.

But the price of cloth has risen again and again.

In just a few days, one piece of the worst cotton cloth was sold for three taels, and the slightly better ones were sold for four or five taels. As for the silk and satin, it was even sold for tens of hundreds of taels, which even the dignitaries could not afford.

Although he knew that as the number of merchants increased, the price would definitely drop, but Zhu Cihong was still very angry, but he couldn't arrest them, otherwise they wouldn't come, after all, Jiangnan hadn't recovered yet.

"Xinlan, isn't there any merchant or farmer who weaves and spins in the capital?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, according to the investigation of the servants, during the Jiajing period, the farmers near the capital did not weave and spin, and most of the cotton cloth was transported from the south of the Yangtze River.

By the time of Wanli, there were very few farmers weaving fine linen in the north, and almost [-]% of the cotton and satin came from the south of the Yangtze River. In the past ten years, there were not even a few cloth dyeing workshops in the capital. "

Liu Xinlan patiently explained.

"Forget about silk and satin, but cotton can be grown anywhere, so why is it monopolized by Jiangnan? Don't merchants in the north organize farmers to weave and spin?"

Zhu Cihong was also shocked. In ancient China, men plowed and women weaved. If these women don't weave and spin, what's the deal?Can you rebel without going bankrupt?
"The servant has also inquired about it, and it is said that there are large workshops in the south of the Yangtze River, which focus on weaving and spinning, and the looms and spinning machines seem to be faster and better.

At the beginning, the cotton cloth in Jiangnan was sold very cheaply. The cotton cloth produced in the north was not as good as that in Jiangnan, but also more expensive.

Over time, no merchants were willing to ask for the cotton cloth woven in the north, and without the support of the merchants, the farmers were unable to weave and spin yarn. At this time, the price of cotton cloth in the south of the Yangtze River began to rise again, and it became more expensive every year. Never lowered the price again. "

Zhu Cihong's scalp also went numb after listening to it.

No matter how it sounds, it sounds like the basic operation method of capital for monopoly. First, use strong financial resources to fight a price war, bankrupt the other party, and then implement monopoly, and then raise prices.

What's more, Jiangnan also has a technical advantage. If he can beat others, there will be ghosts.

Take a peek at the whole picture.

Zhu Cihong also realized that the reason for the collapse of the Ming Dynasty may have a lot to do with the serious economic imbalance and the concentration of all manufacturing industries in the south of the Yangtze River.

The key is that Jiangnan merchants don't pay taxes, and they bury the money they earn in the ground. This will lead to a steady stream of money from all over the country being absorbed by Jiangnan, and the court cannot control it.

In addition to Zhang Juzheng's whipping method, only silver was collected for taxation, which made prices soar. Silver was expensive and copper was cheap. As a result, farmers in northern provinces went bankrupt.

The situation in the barren northwest must be the worst and the first to go bankrupt. This also explains why the uprising broke out in the northwest in the late Ming Dynasty.

He guessed that if it wasn't for Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, who continuously donated money to Daming for blood transfusions, he might not be able to survive long ago.

"No, clothing, food, housing, and transportation are the most important. No matter what, cotton cloth must not be monopolized by the south of the Yangtze River. The north must produce it by itself."

Zhu Cihong said with a sullen face that in ancient times, besides food and salt, cloth was the largest commodity in circulation, and it was also an indispensable thing for the common people.

The fine linen and cotton cloth correspond to ordinary people. As long as the cotton cloth can be produced in the north, it can avoid being continuously sucked by the south of the Yangtze River.

If cotton cloth can be monopolized by the north, then the economies of the north and south of Ming Dynasty are likely to maintain a balance.

"But Your Majesty, no one in the north knows how to spin and weave cotton, and the spinning machines and looms in the south are better. Even if we can weave it, I'm afraid it won't be able to sell to them!"

"If you don't know how to spin and weave, you can learn it. If you can't sell it, let's build better and more efficient spinning machines and looms. If it doesn't work, I will send people to Shandong to buy cotton forcibly."

In Zhu Cihong's case of hammering the dragon, he has decided that no matter what, he must place cotton cloth manufacturing near the capital, and then radiate the entire north to form an industrial chain. If commercial means cannot compete, don't blame him for cheating and interfering with administrative means.

Immediately, Zhu Cihong drove to the manufacturing prison. He didn't want to wait any longer. Every moment he waited, a lot of money would flow into the cellars of the gentlemen and businessmen in Jiangnan.

However, the dyeing and weaving workshops in the palace only produce high-quality silk and satin, and do not weave cotton at all. Fortunately, the principle of the loom is similar to that of the spinning machine, but it is more refined.

Looking at the original spinning machine with only one spindle, Zhu Cihong also remembered that in history, it seems that the British invented a spinning jenny in the middle of the [-]th century, with more than a dozen spindles, which greatly improved the efficiency of spinning ten times.

It seems that a flying shuttle loom was also invented, which also greatly improved the efficiency of weaving.

It's a pity that he only knows the name, not the principle and structure at all, but he believes that Chinese craftsmen are not as stupid as the British, it's just that this damn society limits their creativity and imagination.

When the Chinese wear linen cloth, it is not known in Europe whether they are naked or wrapped in leaves.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cihong also felt great hatred. Farming and textiles have been China's strong point for thousands of years.

Really didn't want to wait for a moment, and more than 200 people gathered together, including women who can spin and weave, and carpenters who can build looms and spinning machines.

Another [-] skilled carpenters were selected from the Ordnance Supervisor to set up a special creation supervisor.

"From now on, in addition to eating and sleeping, you will improve the spinning machine and loom. Every time this spinning machine produces an additional spindle, each person will be rewarded with 500 taels of silver. Those who propose a method will be even more sealed." If you are an official, this loom is the same, every time the efficiency doubles, each person will be rewarded with 500 taels of silver, and the person who proposes the method will also be appointed as an official..."

After Zhu Cihong finished speaking, the eyes of more than 500 carpenters and palace maids stared straight, eager to rush over to tinker with these two machines immediately.

After the announcement, Zhu Cihong gave some more instructions and left.

He can't help with this kind of thing, he can only seal the official and make a wish, let them think about improvement.

He also didn't expect to be able to produce the spinning jenny and shuttle loom at once. As long as the efficiency of the spinning machine can be increased by two or three times, he will be satisfied, and the efficiency of the loom can be doubled.

And there is a plan to develop the textile industry.

Zhu Cihong also made adjustments to the planning of the capital, and finally decided to expand three more outer cities.

An outer city is expanded to the west, which will be used as an industrial area in the future.

He planned to wait for the improvement of the spinning machine to use hydraulic spinning to concentrate production and spin cotton into spindles.

Then sign an agreement with ordinary farmers to provide them with spindles and looms, let them process and weave at home, and then recycle at the price of a piece of cloth.

Finally, find merchants in various provinces to cooperate and let them open dyeing workshops, and the sales will be handled by the royal store.

In this way, the initial production and final sales are all in his hands, and then the cotton production area is in his hands, and the price is also in his hands.

In the other two outer cities, one will be used as a residential area and the other will be used as a commercial area. The residential area will be built in the north, and the commercial area will be built in the east.

In this way, there will be an outer city on all four sides of the inner city, and the area will be at least two or three times larger than it is now, and all the dignitaries in the inner city will be relocated to the residential area in the north.

From now on, apart from the imperial palace, government offices, and academies, private residences are no longer allowed in the inner city.

As for the current outer city as a slum, the buildings there are too messy and can't be changed at all. Even if Wu Xiang tried his best to rectify it, Zhu Cihong went to check it a few times and was not very satisfied.

After the winter wheat is planted, hundreds of thousands of military households in the three armies can start building.

And the Ministry of Industry, one of the six ministries, finally has work to do.

The faces of all the officials changed drastically after hearing Zhu Cihong's regulation.

"Your Majesty, such a project is too vast and should be planned slowly..."

"You don't need to worry about this. I won't let you be responsible for the construction. What you have to do is to draw the blueprint according to my requirements and ideas, and carefully improve it. It is best to make a wooden model. Then you will be responsible for supervising the construction. "

Zhu Cilang waved his hand, interrupting the minister of the Ministry of Industry's rambling, and then ordered in a stern tone.

"I will obey your orders!"

"It's just Your Majesty, the salary has not been paid for more than half a year, and the minister's family really can't get rid of it!"

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

As a bold little official said with a sad face, the rest of the officials also nodded frequently.

Obviously, everyone now understands that this little emperor is not as brutal and bloodthirsty as he appears on the surface. He almost never kills or punishes random crimes, so he is more courageous.

"Okay, the Ministry of Industry will reissue one month's salary first, and all of them will be paid in real money, but I'm ugly as I said before. After receiving my salary, I didn't manage the time difference. I will be convicted one by one!"

Zhu Cihong waved his hand impatiently, and then warned.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely do my best to satisfy Your Majesty..."

Everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly replied.

(End of this chapter)