Rule over Ming Dynasty

In previous lives, everyone hated the evil capital.

However, compared with the feudal era, the landlords with solid granaries are actually more hateful. They wish to trap the tenants in the fields forever. They will never take the initiative to promote social development, and are even an obstacle to social development.

On the other hand, although the greedy big capitalists exploit workers frantically, after experiencing the depression period of pouring milk, they realize the other value of the working class, which is not only to vigorously develop social productivity, but also to promote social progress.

Zhu Youtang has been strengthening military construction in recent years and has also built the Ming Dynasty into the overlord of the ocean, but he has also been quietly building large enterprises that can shoulder the responsibility of social development.

With the economic knowledge from his previous life and the advanced technology he has today, he has been quietly establishing "technology companies" and growing them.

Because of this, he is not only the largest landlord in this feudal society, but has also become the largest capitalist of this era.

"I obey your order and will arrange for the Royal Pharmaceutical to go public!" The Imperial Concubine Yang Zisu was the real person in charge of the Royal Pharmaceutical, so she expressed her opinion in a proper manner.

In fact, Royal Pharmaceuticals is not short of money now and has very considerable income every year, but this is the emperor's arrangement, so she will naturally do it unconditionally.

Emperor Zhu Youtang naturally could not be a capitalist. He immediately looked at the women present and encouraged them, "The throne of the Ming Dynasty will definitely belong to the prince in the future. But if your sons want to get more shares, they have to make their companies bigger and stronger! Of course, if you want your sons to live a simple life, I can also give them a fiefdom, and let them live a life of luxury in the fiefdom according to the rules for princes established by Emperor Taizong!"

The Ming Dynasty's vassal system actually had both advantages and disadvantages. Although the number of vassal states became the last straw that broke the camel's back in history, the existence of vassal states actually prevented situations such as the Three Families Dividing Jin from occurring.

However, by now, he has gradually liberated most of the clan members of the Ming Dynasty, allowing those clan members who are already distant relatives to participate in the construction of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the real threat to Emperor Taizong's lineage came from their close relatives. For example, the Jingjiang Prince's Mansion was not even of Taizu's bloodline, so there was no need for the court to continue to support this population of nearly 10,000.

Zhu Youtang knew that he had to guard against the situation of Quwo replacing Yi, but since the disadvantages of keeping hundreds of thousands of royal family members in captivity were greater, he naturally had to make appropriate choices.

As for his sons, he did not intend to keep them in captivity. He did not want them to become useless people in China who would just eat and wait for death, so he began to cultivate their business talents from an early age and make them become outstanding entrepreneurs.

Zhu Youtang insisted on the system of primogeniture on the throne, so he kept his other sons away from politics since childhood and instead worked towards becoming chaebols, thus helping to push the Ming Dynasty forward.

"I will keep this in mind and will never let the emperor down!" Concubine Jing and other concubines knew the emperor's good intentions very well, and they expressed their opinions in a proper manner.

They were naturally opposed to the feudal system. Even though their sons had no worries about food and clothing, they had to report if they wanted to step out of their fiefdom, and there was no chance for them to return to Beijing.

On the other hand, if they can run the business well, they can not only find a good job for their sons in the future, but also leave an additional inheritance for their sons.

Zhu Youtang's eyes fell on Su Yuner, and he gave her instructions: "I heard a few days ago that the stock market is overheated. Has the situation improved now?"

"I have sold a lot of stocks in my hands recently, which has alleviated the speculative sentiment in the Beijing Stock Exchange to a certain extent. So the situation in Beijing is still benign, especially our key enterprises are making real money. But the stock market in Suzhou is obviously overheated. I heard that many wealthy people hired servants from Southeast Asia to work on the land and specialize in stock speculation. Now the market value of my mother's family, Su Silk, has exceeded that of United Textiles!" Su Yun'er smiled bitterly and reported seriously.

Although the Beijing Stock Exchange was established as early as the 10th year of the Hongzhi reign and had achieved great success, due to geographical reasons, it was relatively difficult for wealthy people in Jiangnan to participate in stock trading. After all, it was not easy to come to Beijing.

After years of continuous applications, the imperial court approved four local exchanges, namely Nanjing Exchange, Suzhou Exchange, Hangzhou Exchange and Guangzhou Exchange, in the 15th year of Hongzhi, allowing more citizens to participate and providing a financing platform for enterprises in these regions.

Among them, Suzhou Stock Exchange has been the most active of the five major exchanges since its inception. Its stock price fluctuations are obviously too large, and its valuation level is the highest in the country.

Take Su Silk as an example. Although Su Silk has considerable profits every year, there are many competing products for silk, and the demand in this upper-level market is easily saturated.

In contrast, United Textile not only occupied the second place in the Ming Dynasty cotton cloth market, but also exported a large amount of cotton cloth overseas, even doing better than Royal Cotton Cloth.

What was the result? Under the crazy speculation of the wealthy people in Jiangnan, the market value of Su Silk actually exceeded that of the more promising and profitable United Textile. This valuation was obviously unreasonable.

However, the Royal Treasury’s shares are mainly concentrated in the Beijing Stock Exchange, and the distance between the two places is too far, so it would be difficult for them to cool down the stock market by selling off their shares.

Zhu Youtang showed a bitter look on his face, and found that Jiangnan was indeed restless.

Even if the Ming Dynasty was getting better and better, there would still be various problems. The Chinese love gambling, which is indeed an intractable disease, and today's stock market just happens to provide a place for these people to speculate.

Zhu Youtang knew that some things should not be interfered with too much, and he also said his own approach: "I have ordered the Ministry of Revenue to increase the stamp duty of the Suzhou Stock Exchange, and at the same time crack down on some attempts to manipulate the stock market, but I still feel a little uneasy in my heart!"

Although overheated speculation in the Suzhou Exchange was a problem, the court had been levying taxes through stamp duty, so this phenomenon in the Suzhou Exchange actually benefited the court.

If we were to ask what the Ming Dynasty court's greatest confidence is today, it is that it has a very healthy financial system that can fully cope with any emergency.

"Your Majesty, Su's Silk has indeed made a lot of money in recent years, and Su's Silk is the face of the Suzhou Stock Exchange. Investors there have no better choice, so they are rushing to buy Su's Silk. I think this is a good phenomenon, and the bubble will slowly digest!" Fragrant Concubine Han Youying added another cup of new tea, appearing very optimistic.

The imperial concubine nodded slightly, agreeing with this view.

Although they are all exchanges, the Beijing Exchange can provide high-quality stocks such as Royal Shipping, Royal Textiles and United Textiles, while enterprises in Suzhou and other places started relatively late and can only be like the monkeys who become kings in the absence of tigers.

Zhu Youtang was naturally aware that the companies that represented the world's technology were now in the Beijing Stock Exchange. He reached out and picked up the teacup with a hint of worry and said, "It's hard to build public confidence, but it's easy to lose it. It's said that flowers don't bloom forever. No one can guarantee that there will be any unexpected events. We have to make some bad plans!"

He was not too worried about the Beijing Stock Exchange. After all, the current Beijing Stock Exchange was equivalent to a high-tech exchange in a certain country in the future. However, the Suzhou Stock Exchange made him see a familiar shadow.

China has never lacked speculators, and now the Ming Dynasty dominates the four oceans and has become a true maritime overlord. The dividends here are actually very considerable.

Since all walks of life have been making money in recent years, even the dumbest people who enter the market can become stock gods.

However, China's stock market has not experienced any major storms. Once a systemic risk appears, the stock market is likely to fall sharply, and a group of radical speculators will suffer. A few years ago, they could send bankrupt people to the Golden Basin, but now the Golden Basin has been divided up, and it is not appropriate to continue sending people to the American continent at this stage.

That's right. He not only has to guard against a possible stock market crash in the Suzhou Stock Exchange, but also needs to be prepared for the worst. Where should these bankrupt people be sent this time?
Concubine Jing Su Yun'er nodded as if she understood, but even though she was very smart, she had never seen the big storms in the stock market, so she didn't fully understand Zhu Youtang's worries.

Later, the three sons arrived.

Since today is Concubine Jing's birthday, Zhu Youtang held a small celebration for her in the West Garden.

As the number of royal family members increases, birthday parties are held almost every month, which also brings a bit of warmth to the royal family.

Because Concubine Jing likes barbecue, a unique barbecue party is held in front of Tingchao Pavilion today, and there are naturally all kinds of ingredients and spices here.

"Father, I grilled this for you. Please try it!" Zhu Houfeng was the son of Concubine Jing. He presented a string of golden grilled chicken wings in a flattering manner.

Zhu Youtang looked at his sons in front of him and couldn't help but sigh.

It seemed as if they were still waiting for food yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, they have all grown up, especially his eldest princess, who has reached the age to marry a prince consort.

Zhu Youtang picked up the freshly grilled chicken wings from the tray and began to eat them with relish.

"Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand. Please enlighten me!" Zhu Houfeng did not leave, but said seriously.

Zhu Youtang had a completely different attitude towards his daughter and his man, so he said with a straight face, "What's the matter?"

Zhu Houfeng exchanged glances with his two younger brothers, and then told them what he had seen and heard at the Beijing Stock Exchange today. He concluded by saying, "Father, if everyone is investing in the stock market, who will still focus on farming?!"

"How many people are there in the hall of the Beijing Stock Exchange?" Zhu Youtang asked the question without thinking while chewing the delicious barbecue in his mouth.

Zhu Houfeng said without hesitation: "I estimate there are two thousand people!"

"How many people are there today?" Zhu Youtang asked another question.

Zhu Houfeng thought seriously for a moment: "Since my father ascended the throne, the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the population of our Ming Dynasty has continued to grow over the years. In the 1th year of Hongzhi, the Ministry of Revenue estimated that the national population would reach million, and now the total population should be million!"

The happiness index of a dynasty is often reflected in its population growth. During the years when Hongzhi was in power, the population of the Ming Dynasty continued to grow, and even experienced a rare blowout phenomenon.

In terms of taxation, the Ming Dynasty adopted light taxes, which gave the people more living space.

In terms of water conservancy, the Ming Dynasty strengthened water conservancy construction to provide a more solid foundation for agriculture.

In terms of natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty successfully managed the Yellow River and adopted more technological methods to control locusts, thereby reducing natural hazards.

In terms of land, the Ming Dynasty recovered Jianzhou and built the granary of the Northeast, and at the same time built a golden granary in the Americas. Today, the grain industry of the Ming Dynasty has reached its highest level in history.

In terms of seeds, the Ming Dynasty introduced high-yield crops from America. Thanks to the promotion of potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn, it not only increased the people's grain output, but also solved the food problem of the lower-class people.

It was under Hongzhi's governance that China ushered in its first period of population explosion. The current population has doubled compared to when Hongzhi ascended the throne.

"What you saw today in the hall of the Beijing Stock Exchange were two thousand people speculating there, but there are 120 million people in the country, and most of them are working diligently. Isn't this just seeing the whole picture through a tube?" Zhu Youtang's vision had already been based on the overall situation, so he asked in return.

When the three Zhu Houfeng brothers heard this, they couldn't help but nod their heads, realizing that they didn't see the big picture enough. They only saw the crazy speculators in the trading hall, but these two thousand people were just a drop in the ocean across the country.

Zhu Youtang did not want to dampen his son's confidence, so he immediately added: "You can see that the overheated stock market has indeed made some progress. My original intention in establishing the stock market was to hope that citizens could share profits with enterprises. Now that the stock market is overheated, speculation really needs to be poured on!"

"Your Highness will always remember your father's teachings!" Zhu Houfeng and the other three were immediately delighted and expressed their opinions solemnly.

From childhood to adulthood, the person they respected the most was naturally the wise and capable father in front of them.

It’s not entirely because of the tremendous power their father possesses, but because their father is deeply loved by his subjects, which makes them, as sons, deeply proud.

During the years of growing up, they witnessed the changes in Beijing, and the people's support for their father was beyond words. The outside world was very interested in everything about their father, and every time the father went out, the streets would be deserted.

Zhu Youtang knew that Zhu Houfeng was about to travel to the Indian Ocean, so he gave him some special instructions.

Night falls inside the Qianqing Palace.

As usual, after taking a bath, Zhu Youtang went to the East Warm Pavilion to read information from all over the world.

Thanks to the use of the telegraph, the intelligence in his hands is no longer the originals sent from various places, but the intelligence reported by various places and then copied and sent by the intelligence supervisor.

This method greatly increased the speed of intelligence transmission and enabled the emperor to obtain the latest developments from various places in a more timely manner, thereby enabling him to make the quickest response measures.

Zhu Youtang opened the intelligence from the Indian Ocean and couldn't help but frown. It turned out to be a letter from the Lodi Dynasty to the Indian Ocean Governor's Office asking for help. (End of this chapter)