I'm really not doing business

Chapter 559 Ming Dynasty Weightlifting Champion Zhu Yijun

The interests of the Ming Dynasty can only be protected if revenge is possible. This is what Wan Shihe stated to the emperor in the Huangji Palace. Rouyuan people cannot do it. To blindly show kindness to others is hatred. Not grace.

The Ming Dynasty's consecutive victories in the East, punching Spain and kicking Portugal... The Governor-General's Palace has finally won the respect it deserves.

If Felipe II had a better response strategy, he would never have said to the Ming Emperor in such a lowly manner, "If you continue to be so harsh, I will stop playing with you."

To say this is actually to give in. Communication between countries cannot be so playful. But if Felipe wants to complain about his dissatisfaction, he cannot object fiercely and cause Ming to overreact. He can only say In this case, let the Ming Emperor see his dissatisfaction.

In later generations, it was generally believed that the commercial exchanges between Portugal and Spain and the Ming Dynasty were part of the tribute trade, but now it is gradually becoming a reality.

The wealth plundered by Portugal and Spain through colonial methods was all plundered by the Ming Dynasty through trade. Silver represents wealth, and the Ming Dynasty is like a glutton, not rejecting anyone who comes and swallowing up the world's silver.

"Love will come or not." Zhu Yijun commented on the credential. He smiled and said to Zhang Juzheng: "If he doesn't come, we will go. In short, Taixi's money belongs to our Ming Dynasty, and Felipe is in Xinjiang." All the silver plundered in the world belongs to the Ming Dynasty!”

Ming Dynasty came to get the money, and Felipe came to bear the money. This was Zhu Yijun's attitude.

It doesn't matter if he comes or not. Ming's global caravan will bring money back to Ming from all directions.

Another reason for this attitude is that the dam formed by the current influx of silver in the Ming Dynasty requires time to dredge. The first major hurdle, the annual silver coin output must be broken through, otherwise the continuous increase in the inflow of silver will inevitably form a new dam.

Therefore, it does not matter much to the Ming Dynasty whether the relationship between the two countries will turn from friendly relations to hostility. Even if it reduces the inflow of some silver, it will be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty in the short term. The Ming Dynasty's voyage caravans trade with swords, never Extravagantly seeking the other party's permission and mercy, and strong force are the first guarantees of commodities and silver.

"Your Majesty, there are only 15% of the population in the cities of the Ming Dynasty, and 120% of the population in the countryside of the Ming Dynasty. It is inevitable to dredge silver into the countryside. It is urgent to increase the production of silver coins." Zhang Juzheng arrived this time. Tonghe Palace is not only to present memorials and letters of credence sent by the Ministry of Rites to the cabinet, but also to discuss monetary policy issues with His Majesty.

The Ming Dynasty needed more currency, and now there was a shortage of silver.

The Ming Dynasty actually had 135% of the population. The extra 35% was naturally not because Zhang Juzheng was not good at mathematics, but because of the hidden people of the Ming Dynasty. The countryside was the hardest hit area for the hidden people, and the silver coins and Tongbao were the Ming Dynasty's regulation of all aspects of society. An important starting point for class conflicts.

"The Gewuyuan side has tried its best." Zhu Yijun didn't have a good solution to this matter. The world is material, and materials need to be used to solve problems, not based on human will. Even if Zhu Yijun puts more pressure on the Gewuyuan , to no avail.

Doctors from the Five Classics of Gewu Academy have really worked hard to improve hydraulic technology and manufacture more hydraulic pads faster and better, but this all takes time.

The Bingzhan Bureau Mint and the Ming Baoyuan Bureau Mint are continuously expanding their production in order to produce more currencies and solve the deep-rooted money shortage problem in the Ming Dynasty.

"Eleven years have passed, and the money shortage problem still hasn't eased in any way. It's even getting worse." Zhu Yijun rubbed his brows. The more silver there is and the faster the development, the greater the demand for currency. The gap between the quantity of currency and the demand for currency. is increasing.

The silver dam was in front of the mint. The mint was working hard to produce silver coins, but the gap in the world's supply of silver coins was increasing. This was actually a manifestation of the court's incompetence.

"Your Majesty, there is actually a way." Zhang Juzheng said in a low voice: "Just stop releasing silver from the internal funds to the outside world."

"Isn't this nonsense? If silver is not circulated, it is a dead thing. What's the point of it if it is not circulated?" Zhu Yijun spread his hands and said with a frown.

Zhang Juzheng's proposal is outrageous. The amount of silver entering the country is increasing every year. If the emperor Zhu Yijun does not release the money, that would be a great evil. Burying silver in a pigsty is no longer a metaphor, but a reality.

"Issuing banknotes." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said: "The silver in the internal funds is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's banknote law. The five hundred thousand Luzon currency banknotes previously issued by the Ministry of Revenue were recognized and the response was extremely positive. Taking this opportunity , issue the Ming Dynasty Tongbao banknotes.”

After listening to the emperor's words, the Ministry of Household Banknotes issued five hundred thousand banknotes. This batch of banknotes arrived in Luzon smoothly and was recognized. There was nothing they could do if they were not recognized, and Luzon was also short of money.

There are eleven large copper mountains in Luzon, which produce more than 10 million kilograms of red copper every year. However, these red coppers all flowed to the Ming Dynasty for use in making coins. The emperor's relative's surname was more concerned about the Ming court's control of the Luzon Governor's Mansion. He didn't look too much at Lu Song. Lu Song was seriously short of money.

And the most important thing is that the Ming Emperor, who is supreme and honors his promise, promised that all treasure banknotes can be cashed. Also shipped to Luzon are 200,000 newly minted copper coins. These copper coins are the reserve fund, and every year Luzon can keep one million catties of red copper for reserves.

Lu Songsi could not mint money by himself, so red copper was a reserve that could be transported to the hinterland for minting money.

The right to mint money is the power of the Ming Dynasty. Anyone who mints privately will die. If the minions of the Ming Dynasty, those coastal defense inspections discover the private minting, I am afraid it will cause a crisis of trust. Therefore, Luzon investigates private minting very strictly. Just like Yunnan copper is not minted in Yunnan, but is sent to Huguang.

The Ming Dynasty's current predicament that the more silver there is, the greater the currency gap, is actually caused by Zhu Yijun.

A large amount of silver went into the internal funds. Zhu Yijun did not bury the silver in pig pens. The internal funds invested the silver in large sums. There were imperial mansions everywhere in Nanya, and they were all the emperor's tong gardens, weaving bureaus, and money casting furnaces. , carpentry workshop, blacksmith workshop, just the industrial chain of the shipyard, His Majesty invested 1000 million silver, and the Nanyang Plantation was also built with heavy investment.

These investments have brought development and caused the silver coin gap to further increase. If Your Majesty tightens investment here, the Ming Dynasty's demand for currency will naturally decrease.

Similarly, issuing banknotes can also effectively alleviate the current predicament of the Ming Dynasty, and the huge amount of silver in the internal funds is the confidence for the Ming Dynasty to issue banknotes. This is the only way Zhang Juzheng thought of. Maybe it is not the best, but it is the most suitable one at present. .

"No, the Ministry of Household Affairs has a "Bao Banknote Anchor Guide" that describes this problem very clearly and clearly. Now that banknotes are being issued, there are insufficient anchors." Zhu Yijun immediately rejected Zhang Juzheng's proposal, and the time for issuing banknotes has not yet come.

Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath and said: "Your Majesty, you don't have to do everything when the time comes. Sometimes you have to eat raw rice."

The emperor of Ming Dynasty was naturally willing to wait for the time to mature before implementing the banknote method, but things in the world are generally like this. The world will not wait for you to be fully prepared before changing. Of course, a gentleman must think twice before acting. Likewise, he must make constant decisions. Instead, he suffered chaos.

The problem of money shortage in Ming Dynasty has been fully discussed, and there is no better way.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said: "Wait a little longer, sir, Ming Dynasty cannot bear to break its promise to the world again."

"As long as His Majesty is here, it won't happen." Zhang Juzheng said with certainty.

The reason why he made such an assertion was entirely because of His Majesty, Jiajing. During the Longqing period, he did not mention the banknote method. Just like the secret method, if used well, it is a sharp tool for governing the country. If used improperly, it is the source of chaos in the world. It is obvious that the place has transformed into a vassal town. The Ming Dynasty's error-correcting power reported to the court. , and the governor-general denied or even slandered him in secret, then I am afraid that the story of An Lushan and Tang Xuanzong will happen again.

If the density method is not used well, the error correction power will be ineffective under the density method.

Zhang Juzheng believed that His Majesty's reputation, coupled with the massive amount of silver, was enough to implement the banknote method. Judging from the acceptance and exchange business of Huitongguanyi, the people of the Ming Dynasty generally trusted the court and His Majesty. For the convection of goods from the north to the south, most merchants chose After all, it is not convenient to carry a large amount of silver without Huitongguanyi's acceptance and exchange.

A more convenient accounting currency, money order, has become an inevitable choice.

"I am also a human being. Sir, don't think too much of me. The current situation under the Ming Dynasty's New Deal is the result of the efforts of thousands of people. I am just a captain, and I have to make some forced choices at certain moments." Zhu Yijun He shook his head and said, "Bottom-up, my husband taught me."

Knowledge and action are consistent with conscience, and contradictions explain everything. The main method of the theory of contradiction is to let people look at the two sides of the problem, and not just look at the advantages and not the disadvantages. This is the fundamental methodology of the theory of contradiction.

Zhu Yijun is indeed the emperor, and the sun is high in the sky, like the sun hanging high in the nine heavens. But it is also because of this that he is extra cautious when it comes to the people. The excessively hot light will roast the seedlings to death.

Most of the time, Zhu Yijun is more radical than Zhang Juzheng, but when it comes to the word "people", Zhu Yijun becomes a conservative.

Zhang Juzheng saw that His Majesty's holy will was decided, and knew that it would be useless to talk any more. Over the years, His Majesty has always been convincing him. After thinking for a while, he said: "Then reduce some investment, which will reduce the demand for currency and give the craftsmen more money." Let’s take some time and let them dredge the silver dam.”

"I can agree to stop investing, but the silver is no longer blocked among the people, but in my internal funds. I can't bear it. How about this? Investment can be narrowed, but we can use some means to Silver flowed into the hands of the people, for example, they set out from the capital to open up wasteland in Suiyuan, Liaodong, Peking and other places, and paid labor remuneration to Anjiayin, such as Jingkaichi Road and Jinmichi Road. "Zhu Yijun. means keep investing.

But change the focus, change it to Chidao, and directly invest in silver. Although silver has poor circulation and is inconvenient to use, it is also the best currency at the moment. Isn't it much better than Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes?
"Tongqu Department Store, that still increases the demand for money." Zhang Juzheng frowned. His Majesty likes to make money and spend money. And he is not building imperial mausoleums or personal extravagance, but he likes large-scale construction.

This is indeed the basic point of the distribution theory he advocated. The court should be responsible for downward distribution. Downward distribution is to adjust the contradictions between various classes in society. Downward distribution can change the production relations of strong personal dependence. It can make the Ming Dynasty’s economy take a step forward and transform into a commodity economy.

Universal benefit is the basic proposition of distribution theory.

"Yes." Zhu Yijun thought for a long time and finally said with conviction: "Then we will postpone the investment and wait until the production capacity of Ming Dynasty imperial silver coins increases."

Having money but not being able to spend it can be considered a happy trouble.

The silver barrier lake is a very, very dangerous thing, especially for the Ming Dynasty, which is at a historical turning point. Once this barrier lake breaks its banks, it will be a scene of destruction, and those who can afford so much silver , only the Ming Emperor himself.

Only the emperor himself can withstand the huge thunder of the silver barrier. For any other person or group to have such a huge amount of silver suppress their liquidity, it will be an overwhelming and earth-shattering event.

Zhu Yijun, the Ming Dynasty weightlifting champion!
Zhu Yijun chose to be conservative this time. While not using the currency method, he did not make additional investments, which meant that the Ming Dynasty's demand for money would not experience a terrible increase. At the same time, major government factories and major engineering corps camps resettled the poor. Civil coolies are waiting for the increase in silver coins and tongbao.

Being conservative is not necessarily wrong. Conservative strategies contributed to the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time that Zhu Yijun confirmed that the Ming Dynasty needed to reduce the inflow of silver, Sauron began to go north. He could not wait to go to the capital to meet the Holy Spirit and asked His Majesty why he abandoned his allies and chose Lisbon.

Of course, he did not encounter any obstacles when entering the capital. A large number of envoys came to Tianjin on a painted boat. The people responsible for receiving Sauron were two young ministers of Honglu Temple, Gao Qiyu and Xu Jiugao, and Felipe. Send Ming envoy Legas.

Legaz's dress had become a Confucian robe and a square scarf instead of a missionary's dress. He was not planning to go back, so he actively integrated into the Ming Dynasty, and integrated well. At least as a special envoy, he did not Encountered widespread discrimination.

It is not unusual for the Ming Dynasty to appoint Hu people. There is a special official position called Tatar official. After the Tatars surrendered, they acted with Han surnames and Han names, such as Wu Yuncheng, the respectful uncle, Chai Bingcheng, the governor of the rear army, and the old Yuan army who returned to Cheng. Then they were called Dajun, and the Hu people who surrendered were called Damin, Dada, border people, etc. During the Hongwu period, there were more than 600,000 Guicheng Tatars recorded, while during the Yongle period, there were more than 400,000 Guicheng people. During the Wanli period, after the Ming Dynasty defeated the Tuman Khan and the Anda Khan, there were more More than 600,000 border residents returned, and the Ming Dynasty also had a safe way to resettle the Hu people.

Although Legas looks a bit strange, his daily life is not that difficult.

"What is this?!" Marcus said in horror as he looked at a carriage pulled by an iron horse running on the galloping road.

Marcus comes every year, Solon comes to China for the second time, and John Harrison comes to China for the third time. Ming Dynasty, Portugal, and Spain, the three gluttonous diners on the table are ready to kick England off the table. , it is true that it is to embarrass England. John came here this time to try to obtain Ming's understanding or cooperation through diplomatic means.

Marcus, who has been to China many times, has never seen this thing before!
"Steam engines have been around since the seventh year of Wanli. However, due to limited technology, they have never been used on a large scale. People in the Ming Dynasty called this thing an iron horse, an iron lump that pulls the cart." Ligas looked at the iron horse whizzing towards him. , said with emotion.

The principle, structure, and working principle of the steam engine were all published in newspapers. It was an extremely hot topic of discussion. The principle was very simple. The key point was this thing. Legas did not believe that Taixi could build it, so at least he had to give it to Taixi. It would take another two hundred years of predatory development to give birth to such a monster.

"Then why do you never translate such technical things?!" Sauron looked at the iron horse with white smoke billowing from it, and immediately understood how terrifying this thing was.

Legaz looked at Sauron, shook his head and asked: "Can it be made by translating it? Besides, the principle of this thing is simple, but its manufacturing and core secrets are all in the War Bureau and the Royal Collection under the Internal Affairs Bureau. Courtyard, is there any information that I can find out if I want to?"

"The Ming Dynasty is very open and tolerant in many aspects, but it is also very conservative and closed in many aspects. For example, this 16-horsepower iron horse is the latest improved product of the Royal Academy of Furniture. You can't even understand it, let alone imitate it."

A steam engine is a systematic project. How to control the air pressure, how to control the flow rate of steam, the mechanical structure between the curved rods and flywheels, dynamic seals, and the production of cylinders are all things that are not discussed in newspapers, or in other words This is something that even the editors of miscellaneous newspapers don’t understand.

Even if we translate all the miscellaneous reports of the discussion, the final result is still that we can get nothing.

The realization of the project is a very complicated matter. With the power of the whole country of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty established the highest palace of Gurwu, the Royal Gurwu Academy, and spent a lot of money to finally come up with something. Its application scenarios still need to be realized by Chidao. .

If there is no Chi Dao, the Iron Horse can only save some manpower when mining.

There is no application scenario in the West, because in the West, human power is cheaper than animal power, and animal power is cheaper than mechanical power. The price of each horse power in the Ming Dynasty is as high as 157 silver! If you need to pump water, you can capture ten slaves. If you starve to death, you can capture them again.

Slavery was common in the West, but in the New World, slavery was used in the colonies. If there was a lack of labor, just catching slaves would be enough. Where is the need for such expensive iron horses?

That is to say, Ming Dynasty can have such luxury to manufacture such terrible machinery.

At that time, when there was only one steam engine, there were widespread doubts both inside and outside the Ming Dynasty. Gewuyuan tinkered with a toy for His Majesty to play with. It had a bloated and huge mechanical structure, a deafening roar, constantly vibrating steam, and a monster with billowing black smoke. The result was that It has the strength of a horse, but isn’t it just a toy?

At that time, His Majesty said that the current steam engine is still a toy, it is still a baby and cannot be expected to do anything.

And now it's finally coming to fruition.

"That should also be translated!" Sauron waved his hands very angrily. The fatigue of the boat and the bumps on the sea caused him to have violent mood swings. On the one hand, he was impressed by the power of the Ming Dynasty, and on the other hand, he was worried about the final outcome of this trip. fail.

He was not sure whether he could fully express the anger of Felipe II, because only by arriving in person could he know the rapid changes of the Ming Dynasty. Sauron had already seen the ocean-covering Dragon in Songjiang Mansion, as well as the flying aircraft armed to the teeth. Cloud number.

Sauron was very anxious, so he lost his temper towards Legas for no reason.

Legaz was not angry and got into the car with all the envoys.

"Woo!" The whistle of the steam engine suddenly sounded, startling all the envoys. This somewhat distant and powerful sound impacted the eardrums of all the envoys, and also impacted their cognition.

They had never seen such a strange product before, and they lost themselves in the clanging sound.

Along the way, they saw countless canoe boats that were almost submerged underwater on the Tonghui River, saw an endless stream of houses, saw trackers shouting slogans pulling the boats, and saw a continuous stream of busy people. Da Minglifu saw the salesmen carrying lunches and large bowls of iced herbal tea for sale.

They saw the most people in their lives, and there was an endless stream of people.

Compared with last year, Songjiang Mansion and the Capital of the Ming Dynasty were more prosperous this year.

Legaz did not communicate too much with Sauron in the car. He waited for Sauron, Marcus, John Harrison and others to stay at the Huitong Inn before he found Sauron and closed the door to talk.

Some things are inconvenient to talk about when there are too many people, especially when Sauron has just been tired from traveling and is at his most emotional, it is even more inconvenient to talk about it.

Sauron looked calmer now.

Ligas looked at the somewhat lost Sauron and said with a smile: "Sixteen iron horses are not used on a large scale. It is just to intimidate the envoys, so the emperor sent one specially. Most of the iron horses are still in the north. There is no need to worry about testing between Chengdu, Xitucheng and then Nanhaizi, Daxing County.”

"As you can see, the Ming Dynasty is far more prosperous than ours in the West. Their largest city is now home to two million people. It is right in front of you. You can see it with your own eyes."

"Next to Donghua Gate, Ming Dynasty is building a tall building over thirty feet tall to tell the time. After it is completed, the hourly chime can be heard outside the city."

"Do I need to say more? I am very aware of the anger of our King, but I cannot convince the officials of the Ministry of Ming Dynasty and His Majesty to treat us more favorably."

"Antonio put on the five chapters of Gun uniform. It looked nondescript and even a little funny, but it was the clothes that he surrendered in exchange for, which allowed him to secure his position as king."

Soren sat there blankly, stunned for a long time, and then said: "Yes, in fact, we are waiting, waiting for those who oppose Antonio in Portugal to push him off the throne. His Highness Felipe's anger is mainly due to the large number of people in Lisbon. The distribution of goods brought wealth to Portugal and gained Antonio’s popularity.”

"You know, Antonio only has the support of the common people. Now that he has the power to collect and distribute goods, he has the support of the nobles. Now that Portugal has transformed from a piece of scattered sand into a whole, it will be difficult for His Highness to achieve his plan."

"Ugh."

Sauron explained that the root cause of Felipe II's anger was his plot against Portugal. After negotiating peace, Felipe did not give up his plan, but was like a calm hunter, quietly waiting for the opportunity to come. that day.

As a result, Felipe did not wait for the opportunity, but waited until Antonio gained more support. Antonio, who already had the support of the civilians, and the support of the nobles, Felipe II knew clearly that he might never have Portugal again. .

Assassination has become a good method, but the security of the entire Sintra Palace is protected by the Tiqi from the Ming Dynasty. These Tiqi come from the Duntai Yuanhou and coastal defense inspections, and are good at spying on intelligence. They know how to guard against infiltration and assassination. They are all the Iron Forest Army of the Portuguese King.

After receiving the blessing of Ming Dynasty, Antonio's throne became more stable.

"What can we do?" Ligas looked at Sauron and asked in a low voice: "Can you persuade His Highness to accept the canonization of the Ming Emperor? If you can convince him, then there is still room for discussion."

"How is that possible? It is impossible for His Highness to agree. Your Highness is not Antonio. There is no way to go but to seek asylum from the great eastern country!" Sauron immediately replied.

The nobles and bureaucrats of Spain's autonomous principalities, the Holy See, and the Habsburg family are all unlikely to agree.

If Felipe agrees, he will be guillotined! Felipe II was completely different from Antonio who had nothing.

"Therefore, it is inevitable that the Ming Dynasty's policy will be inclined towards Antonio. At least in name, King Antonio of Portugal is your Majesty's feudal king and the founding of the country." Legas explained the reasons for the Ming Dynasty's policy preference.

Our own people are definitely treated differently.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty did not really regard Antonio as a vassal state with a barrier, but as a simple political restriction, a deeper diplomatic relationship than an friendly country. Otherwise, the emperor's war loan to Antonio would not be so high. interest.

Nowadays, there are a little more economic restrictions, and the long-distance trade relationship is not that deep.

But just such a small relationship made Felipe II feel like he was stuck in his throat, and expressing his anger was like child's play.

"Have you heard of Rui De?" The purpose of Legas' trip was to persuade Sauron not to be at odds with the Ming Dynasty. He found a typical case. Messenger, Rui De.

"A very famous warrior, he is a loyal believer." Sauron nodded.

"He became a martyr. When the news of the capture of Malacca City reached the capital, he was on a mission in the capital as an envoy. He once roared in the Wenhua Palace for his faith and for Goa, which angered His Majesty, but in the end Your Majesty forgave him, but in the end, he failed to forgive himself." Li Yashi asked tentatively: "Do you want to go to his grave? Daming buried him and erected a tombstone for him."

Because Rui De's past is unknown, there are only records of his two missions to the Ming Dynasty on the tombstone.

"So, I advise you not to confront His Majesty in the Wenhua Palace. There will be no other gains except suffering. I talked about him to tell you that what the Ming Dynasty or, to be more precise, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted, No one can stop it," Legas stated his point again.

It is a very dangerous thing to offend the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. This is not a divine punishment, nor a divine punishment, but the anger of a human emperor.

(End of this chapter)