I'm really not doing business

Chapter 796: I also want to thank free trade

"It's nothing more than a trick used by the Azuchi shogunate to cover up its defeat. Without the instigation of the shogunate's nobles and daimyo, a bunch of unrefined compradors and a bunch of lunatics who believe in bliss, how could it have succeeded?" Zhang Juzheng shook his head after hearing Wang Chonggu's words.

The White Feather Movement was the superficial phenomenon, while the Azuchi shogunate's concealment of its defeat was the essence.

Phenomena come from essence. When Zhang Juzheng looks at a problem, he never just looks at the phenomenon.

If someone uses all kinds of sweet words to stir up all kinds of public opinion, putting phenomena above essence, and only letting most people see the phenomena but not the essence, then this must be a scam.

The inference from Qi Jiguang's new military strategy "On War" is that military failure will spread to political activities most quickly, leading to political failure.

The White Chicken Feathers incident of Japan was the result of Japan's defeat in the Korean battlefield.

"There is a shortage of soldiers and the morale on the front line is low, but there are not enough troops to replenish them." Zeng Xingwu, the Minister of War, determined Zhang Juzheng's perspective on the issue.

Judging from the battle reports, Japan was short of troops on the Korean battlefield. Its successive defeats had left its morale low. There were not enough reinforcements in the rear, and many of its attacks and defenses were just perfunctory. Sometimes it even surrendered deliberately, exchanging bells for more than a decade of full meals.

The Azuchi shogunate needed more samurai and foot soldiers to enter the battlefield. Even though the battle reports repeatedly exaggerated the victory, the battle line was shrinking frequently.

It has been fifteen years since the Ming Dynasty opened its seas. When Japanese merchants came to Nagasaki to trade, they would always bring some battle reports from the Ming Dynasty. These battle reports were not all about great victories like the military reports from the headquarters.

On the contrary, the news that they were castrated and sent to the Xianbei Plain to grow potatoes had spread throughout Japan.

Samurai and foot soldiers generally did not want to enter the battlefield because that would mean death.

The humiliation method of white chicken feathers inspires the so-called samurai spirit. If you don't die on the battlefield, you will die in humiliation.

Even soldiers who were wounded and retreated from the front lines had to face this kind of humiliation, so much so that the Japanese samurai foot soldiers would rather die in the front lines than return home to face the humiliation of being killed.

Shen Li thought for a moment and said, "According to Wan Zongbo's national dynasty construction, Japan is at a critical time when it has not completed the national dynasty construction. Specifically, it has certain morals and some small etiquette, but no great righteousness. This is the state of Japan at this time."

"If it had been before the Ming Dynasty intervened, whether it was Oda Nobunaga, Hashiba Hideyoshi, or Tokugawa Ieyasu, whoever had completed the unification of Japan, they would have completed the construction of the dynasty."

"If we have enough consensus, we should use all our national strength to fight and unite as one. Why should we humiliate the foot soldiers and send them to the battlefield in this way?"

"If it were like other barbarians, the country would not even have dug a foundation. It would be like the ancient Inca Empire, which fled in all directions when faced with Western colonizers. There would be no war at all."

"This is also the reason why the Azuchi shogunate allowed the trend of white chicken feathers to intensify."

The Minister of Rites discussed this issue from the perspective of ritual itself. The Japanese country is currently in a trance, which led to such an abstract scene.

If we go further, there will be no war against Korea, and it will be impossible to organize it;
If you go further up, just conscript able-bodied men, there's no need to bother with the free stuff.

Li Youzi listened for a long time, frowned and said: "According to the Japanese sword hunting order, Japanese civilians cannot possess weapons, but samurai foot soldiers can."

"It would be fine if those unarmed people were humiliated, but how can these wounded soldiers who retreated from the battlefield, who have weapons in their hands, be humiliated like this?"

Li Youzi couldn't imagine that all this would happen in the Ming Dynasty. If it really happened, all the many martyrs' shrines built by the Ming Dynasty would have been built in vain.

"Yes, how can one be humiliated while holding a weapon?" Zhu Yijun spread his hands, thinking that it was truly miraculous that the Jile Cult could accomplish this.

It is really a strange thing that a man holding a knife was humiliated by someone holding chicken feathers.

If the Minister of Justice had not reported it, Zhu Yijun would have thought it was a rumor to encourage a quick victory.

Some people in the Ming Dynasty were extremely arrogant. The Ming Dynasty had abundant resources and could make full use of them. The soldiers were well-trained and well-equipped. They thought they could push Japan into the sea in one month and occupy the entire territory of Japan in three months.

Both quick victory and quick defeat are absurd arguments that are inconsistent with practical reality. Confrontations between countries are always protracted.

Wang Chonggu replied: "There are few people. There are 150,000 Japanese soldiers on the front line, and another 150,000 on standby. There are many Gokuraku in the city, and the samurai foot soldiers left behind are few in number. With so few people, even if they are indignant, they can only commit suicide."

"The bravest men died in the battle; the less brave but thoughtful ones survived in the mountain cities built on the Korean battlefield; those with some sense of shame could not stand the humiliation of white chicken feathers and were ready to enter the battlefield."

"The remaining mob will be completely unable to resist."

Wang Chonggu explained the key to this issue in detail. A defeat in war or a victory with huge losses is like a bone-pulling pain, pulling out the backbone of the dynasty. Naturally, all kinds of demons and monsters will emerge one after another.

"So that's how it is. I understand." Zhu Yijun understood, and Li Youzi also understood that these people were armed and were the weaker party in the coastal towns in the rear.

Wang Chonggu continued, "The White Chicken Feather Operation of the Paradise Cult is in line with their teachings."

"In the eyes of the followers of the Pure Land, the war against Korea completely offended the Ming Dynasty, causing it to completely tighten the Maritime Customs. Before the war, Japanese merchants could still operate in Wanguo City, but after the war, they could no longer set foot in the Pure Land of Bliss."

"The Gokuraku believers believed that war cut off their path to the other shore, the Pure Land. Therefore, the shogunate that started the war was the sinner, and the foot soldiers and samurai who participated in the war were accomplices."

"Then it is only right to humiliate these wounded soldiers and cowards who refuse to go to the battlefield, because they are all sinners, sinners with original sin."

When Zhu Yijun heard the words original sin and sinner, the corners of his mouth twitched immediately. This religious odor was too strong!

Even if it's a bit of feudalism!
This is the real selling of indulgences. All kinds of religions sell indulgences. The poor and hard-working people, who work hard and fight for their lives, can all use the little money they earn as indulgences, and they can hardly even get psychological comfort.

This is also the reason why Zhu Yijun is very resistant to the Great Light Church. His attitude remains firm, because if his attitude were a little loosened, the Great Light Church would probably spread everywhere in the Ming Dynasty.

"Tsk tsk, the demons are dancing wildly." The Minister of Works, Wang Daokun, who is usually not talkative and has some faith in the gods of water, fire and steam engines, rarely expressed his opinion.

too messy.

"Your Majesty, the spread of the Paradise Sect in the Ming Dynasty should be strictly prohibited. We must take strong measures to define it as an evil sect and impose severe punishments on it. It must not be allowed to spread widely in the Ming Dynasty." Wang Chonggu mentioned this in order to strictly prohibit the spread of the Paradise Sect in the Ming Dynasty.

"Yes, Wang Ci Fu, go ahead!" Zhu Yijun said with certainty: "When necessary, the imperial guards can be dispatched to cooperate in the operation."

The Northern Pacification Office's Tiqi had priority in law enforcement, and the Tax Inspection Office was under the Northern and Southern Pacification Offices. The deployment of the Tiqi represented the emperor's heavy blow.

It is much more outrageous than the soul-calling technique of Songjiang Prefecture. The soul-calling technique at least has some shadowy elements. This Paradise Cult is completely evil and is several times more abstract than the Heyi Cult of Wang Xiangu back then.

"I obey your command." Wang Chonggu bowed his head and accepted the order. He actually wanted to explain that the Censors in various parts of the Ming Dynasty were not just for show. They were really assigned tasks. These members of the Paradise Sect became part of the target, and the Imperial Guards were generally not needed.

Wang Chonggu didn't say it out loud, but if you want to work in the officialdom, you have to leave some room for yourself.

If the situation gets really serious and the Censorate can't suppress it, we'll have to rely on the Imperial Guards.

"The Ministry of Works has reported that on May 17, the construction of Kowloon University officially began. Half of the funds will be from the national treasury and the other half will be from local governments. Currently, the governors of various regions have responded positively and are all committed to ensuring that the first phase of the project will be completed by the end of this year and that students will begin to enroll after the Lantern Festival next year." Zhang Juzheng reported on the specific situation of Xingwen.

Like the Royal Institute of Technology, the construction was divided into four phases. First, the school dormitories and classrooms were built and the stalls were set up. Then other places were added in the next four years.

Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao to bring the checkbook, opened the pen, wrote the lowercase and uppercase numbers, signed his name, tore off the check, handed it to Feng Bao and said: "The first installment of the 2 million silver coins borne by the imperial treasury will be withdrawn by the Ministry of Revenue from the imperial treasury after the court is dismissed."

"I obey your order." Wang Guoguang took a deep breath and took the check from the Emperor.

Your Majesty is still transferring money extremely quickly.

I have to say that the way the emperor tore the check was much more cool than Shah Mamtim throwing the money bag. After all, Shah Mamtim only threw a few thousand taels of silver a year, while Your Majesty could throw away two million taels of silver with a wave of his hand.

When it comes to serious matters, Zhu Yijun is never stingy and spends money like water;
But as for less serious matters, such as rewarding one hundred arts or something like that to show off one's wealth, I would respectfully decline.

Minister of Finance Wang Guoguang stood up and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty has achieved coal-silver convection, and the economy has begun to circulate. Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty and to Your Majesty."

"We, the ministers, congratulate the Great Ming and Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng led the ministers to congratulate the Great Ming and the emperor.

There are two things worth celebrating here. The first thing is naturally what Wang Guoguang called the coal-silver convection. The coal in the north and the silver and goods in the south formed a convection, and the economic cycle was established.

When the coal-silver convection was established, and when 1.2 billion kilograms of coal flowed south every year, a wound finally stopped bleeding.

Since the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, the rift and confrontation between the North and the South began to intensify. After the Kaizhong Law, which was originally used to regulate silver and various goods, became completely ineffective, the North and the South began to dislike each other. The South thought the North was a vampire, and the North thought the South was a fat sheep.

(Silver is cheap in border areas and grain is expensive; silver is expensive in the hinterland and grain is cheap)

It took Daming a full fifteen years to sew up the wound and stop the bleeding. As for when he will be able to fully recover, only God knows.

The economic division led to political division and consensus division, and the final result was that Dorgon led the northern Han people to conquer the world again.

After the Qing Dynasty unified the world, they enthroned four Han people, Wu Sangui, King of Pingxi, Shang Kexi, King of Pingnan, Geng Zhongming, King of Jingnan, and Kong Youde, King of Dingnan, who had made great military achievements.

The first Han prime minister of the Qing Dynasty was Hong Chengchou, who was a key minister in helping the Qing Dynasty gain control of the Central Plains and the backbone of the Chongzhen Dynasty.

During the reigns of Tianqi and Chongzhen, Shanxi merchants continuously smuggled various types of steel and fire feathers to Liaodong. When the Qing Dynasty came to power, they became guests of honor of the Tartar king.

Hong Chengchou pacified the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River and governed five provinces. He was devoted to the cause of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, after the Qing Dynasty secured their rule, all these people were listed in the Book of Traitors, and were labeled as traitors who "failed to serve their master in times of crisis and had a broken heart." The Shanxi merchants were also harvested by Kangxi, who collected military funds to fight the Dzungar Khanate.

The coal-silver convection bridges this contradiction. After all, coal, cotton, machinery, woolen cloth and other raw materials in the north are rigid demands in the south.

The economy is the foundation of everything. Once the economic cycle is established, the economic divide between the North and the South will begin to stop and consensus will be re-established.

Shen Shixing told Yao Guangqi that the North and the South could certainly compete, disagree, and even oppose each other, but they must be united in opposition.

This unity of opposites must be based on economic unity. Without improving the economic foundation, the rift between Ming Dynasty and Ming Dynasty will become more and more serious.

"The 4 million dan of grain were indeed the food and clothing of the millions of canal workers back then. But looking back today, we find that these 4 million dan of grain are also a shackle for these millions of canal workers and a shackle for the canal economic zone," Wang Guoguang said with emotion.

The coal-silver convection is to dig out coal from Shanxi and Suiyuan, process it into coke locally, and then transport it to the capital via the Chidao, and then go south through the Beijing Canal. When the Bohai Bay is not frozen, sea transportation is a better choice.

Instead of using canals, sea transportation was used, which freed up the transportation capacity of the Grand Canal. Some more expensive commodities would choose the safer water transport. The Grand Canal, this major artery, has never been so prosperous.

This is the second reason worth celebrating. In addition to the realization of coal and silver convection, the Ming Dynasty's main artery, the Grand Canal, finally regained its vitality.

When transporting 4 million dan of grain, the river's carrying capacity was occupied for four months, resulting in extreme poverty on both sides of the canal. Poverty breeds ignorance and poverty breeds gangs.

On both sides of the canal, there were more than a hundred large and small shipping gangs, all kinds of messy evil spirits, bewitching people. These evil spirits spread everywhere along with the goods, and the court was completely powerless. First, it had no energy, and second, it needed ignorance to maintain stability.

The contradictions here are extremely complicated, and local officials are simply unable to control them. But now, with the formation of the economic belt, the gangs are gradually disappearing.

The government no longer needed to rely on these gangs to collect taxes. The government had more money than it could spend just from the commission points collected at the customs. The people on both sides of the strait no longer needed to unite closely around these gangs to resist the pressure from local gentry, powerful local tycoons, and government officials.

The Cao Gang and evil culture, which had been growing stronger and stronger, lost their soil and gradually withered away.

When discussing the alienation of religion on people, Lin Fucheng and Li Zhi believed that in order to prohibit the spread of evil spirits and the influence of religion on people, the first thing to do is to get people out of the environment they must escape from.

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Emperor Yao said: When the ruler and his subjects are of one mind, their strength can break metal; when they are of one mind and one heart, their strength can break jade. Now I am admonishing you to make sure that the ruler and his subjects are of one mind and work together for national affairs."

"The success of the Ming Dynasty's revival today is not my achievement. You are all the backbone of the revival, and the military, industry and civilians are the foundation of the revival."

The Wanli Reform of the Ming Dynasty achieved initial results, all thanks to the wisdom of the Ming emperor, the dedication of his ministers, and the hard work of the soldiers, craftsmen, and the people!
Of course, one thing that all the foxes in Wenhua Hall know tacitly is that they should also give a little thanks to free trade.

As for how goods in the Ming Dynasty flowed freely and whether the profits were reasonable, the emperor, his ministers, and the literati would not discuss it too much during this flourishing time.

The Japanese cult of bliss seems to have nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty. It was not created by the Ming people, nor was it spread by the Ming people, nor did the Ming people deliberately allow the cult to grow. But all of this is closely related to the Ming Dynasty's opening of the sea.

Even if someone opened the history books to accuse Zhu Yijun of his crimes in the future, he would not care. No one dared to say anything when he was alive, and he was dead... He was dead, dust to dust, no one could say anything.

"The court is now stretched to the limit in some areas. I think we can follow the example of the Suiyuan Highway, issue some national debt, and borrow money to build the highway. What does the Ministry of Revenue think?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang.

It is true that the Suiyuan Road of the Ming Dynasty has not yet paid back its investment, but the national debt of 10 million silver has been repaid, and the Ministry of Revenue has also repurchased some of the shares originally issued at the Yanxinglou Trading House. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty's finances were stable, Zhu Yijun set his sights on the national debt.

There is still some silver in the treasury, but it is not enough to repair the highway.

"Your Majesty, the money you borrow must be repaid. If the court does not repay, then the people of Ming will have to repay." Wang Guoguang bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the court is not suitable for borrowing money."

Wang Guoguang does not advocate debt-based development because he once said: Debt will make people lose their freedom and turn them into slaves.

This statement is true for individuals, and it is also true for the court.

"Debts are also assets." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang and said with certainty, "The effect of Suiyuan Chidao is also highly recognized by the Grand Tutor."

"When the imperial court borrows money, the borrowed silver is wealth that can be used. Although this wealth needs to be repaid, it is also part of the assets."

"The court borrowed money and used it for various operations, such as building highways, dredging waterways, establishing schools, building government factories, plantations, etc., which brought rich returns to the court, and we only had to pay the interest."

“If the income from debt is greater than the interest, then debt can be used for development.”

Zhu Yijun tried his best to convince the Grand Tutor and the Junior Tutor that borrowing money was not dangerous, and as long as it was kept within a reasonable range, the Ming Dynasty could develop rapidly for a period of time.

After rapid development, the debt must be repaid, and the economy will enter a downward cycle. However, as long as the income from debt is greater than the interest, it is a benign debt, which is not only harmless but also beneficial.

In the up cycle, you can borrow money to develop rapidly. As long as you accumulate more assets and the return on assets is higher, you will get more returns in the down cycle.

At that time, the development would at most be considered slow, not downward, and it could even be considered counter-cyclical.

The Grand Tutor and the Junior Tutor of the Ming Dynasty always regarded debt as a disaster.

"Your Majesty has said it many times. It's not that I don't believe in theory. Your Majesty's idea is right, but I still can't borrow money." Wang Guoguang was very tough. He continued: "I don't trust people."

"Going into debt is like taking opium. At first, the scale of debt is intentionally controlled. But once people get a taste of the sweetness, they will continue to go into debt and use new debt to pay off old debt. Eventually, the scale of debt becomes so huge that no one can handle it. When the debt avalanche occurs, it will drown everyone."

Borrowing new money to repay old debts and using one debt to pay off another is likely to cause the debt to grow bigger and bigger and eventually become unsolvable.

Felipe has gone bankrupt twice. If it were not for the huge wealth of the New World as support, I am afraid that the confidence of the people of the West in him would not support his third debt issuance.

The emperor raised the issue of whether to borrow money for development more than once, and the Ministry of Revenue refuted it more than once.

As long as there are enough emerging industries, enough asset accumulation, and sufficiently rich asset returns, the overall speed of debt cycle development will be higher than the speed of development of prudent fiscal policy.

Because of debt-financed development, assets accumulate faster.

Suiyuan Chidao and Suiyuan Mining. At that time, the imperial court had no money, but urgently needed to build Suiyuan Chidao and the official mining factory. After borrowing money, it immediately had enough funds to invest.

And looking back several years later, this was an extremely successful debt investment, and the early returns it received exceeded the interest paid.

Complete asset accumulation earlier and make profits earlier.

Zhang Xueyan stepped out of the line and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, if we develop through debt, we will definitely fall into a cycle of ups and downs. There is a problem here that the Ministry of Revenue, the court officials, and Your Majesty must consider."

"That is, how can we resist taking on more debt in a downturn to appease people's dissatisfaction with the slow development?"

"It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality."

Debt-driven development moves faster, and when the cycle is up, everything is thriving; but when the cycle is down, everything becomes a mess.

Everyone, from the emperor to the common people, is accustomed to the huge benefits brought by rapid development. When it comes to repaying debts in a downward cycle, the economic growth rate slows down and the incremental profits that can be distributed decrease.

This huge gap is difficult for everyone to accept calmly.

The resentment of the people will increase, the cohesion of the people will be shaken, and the voices of doubt against the dynasty will grow louder, and will eventually be transmitted to the ears of the emperor by the ministers, chattering endlessly.

Keep issuing bonds, the debt scale will expand, and eventually everyone will be crushed.

This is why the Ministry of Revenue strongly opposes it. Uncontrollable debt is worse than no debt at all.

"Your Majesty, send Li Yashi back to the West. The Ming Dynasty has enough interpreters, and there is no need for him to continue translating Western books." Shen Li immediately stood up and said with his head bowed.

Legazpi told His Majesty how Philip II made money. Philip II used the gold in his hands to issue a large number of bonds. Genoese merchants rushed to Madrid, bought these bonds, and then resold them to others for profit.

Felipe declared bankruptcy twice. After bankruptcy, there was no need to repay the money and continue to issue bonds.

In Shen Li's opinion, it was all the fault of the Westerner, Li Yashi, who had corrupted the Emperor!
Your Majesty has repeatedly mentioned issuing bonds and actions that would shake the foundation of the country. If it wasn't for this Li Yashi who said it, how could the benevolent Majesty have such an idea!

"We have made plans for the scale of our debt and the benefits of development, and we will not let the debt get out of control," Zhu Yijun said tentatively.

Using mathematics as a rein to firmly constrain the size of the debt, and using various indexes to measure the economic situation and control the size of the debt seems to be a good choice.

Of course, it looks reasonable.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, government orders ultimately need people to implement them."

Wang Chonggu, the Five-Step Snake, once summarized three things about being an official in "On the Self-cultivation of Treacherous Officials". In Wang Chonggu's view, being an official is very simple. As long as you figure out these three things, you will be a good official.

They are: What to do if the people below are dissatisfied; How to answer when the people above ask questions; Who to assign specific tasks to?

As long as you think about these three things clearly and understand them, when you leave office, you will be able to gain a few umbrellas of the people and it will be easy.

What Zhang Juzheng meant was that cold data cannot restrict people’s decision-making.

Degree bypass can only be a reference at best, but it cannot influence people to make various decisions that are inconsistent with the rules and objective facts in order to maintain their status, power and wealth.

Moreover, no matter how sophisticated these cold data are designed, they will eventually be modified to compromise with government orders.

Whether it is to whitewash the truth or to pursue promotion, no matter what the purpose is, the statistical data will be distorted.

Zhu Yijun looked around and found that no one in the court supported debt-raising for development.

"Okay, let's continue the court discussion." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and waved his hand. The issue of borrowing money still could not be passed by the court.

In fact, there was another reason that the ministers did not say out loud, that is, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was not the King of Spain like Felipe. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty could not break his promise, let alone default on his debts, as this would be fatal damage to the imperial power.

Felipe II could break his promise because his power was limited and each locality had a high degree of autonomy.

But the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty cannot break his promise. If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty breaks his promise to the world, people will become suspicious and the country will no longer be a country.

Carrying the sun and the moon on your shoulders and holding the country at your fingertips has never been an empty talk, but a reality.

In fact, Zhu Yijun's idea is quite simple. The debt is too big, so he will dissolve the court. I was deceived by treacherous officials. It was all the treacherous officials who misled me! I will definitely change my past, eliminate the accumulated evils, and continue to do my own thing.

This method is too common. For example, Chao Cuo was killed because he failed to properly reduce the power of the feudal lords, which led to the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. For example, Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan caused unrest in the whole country, so they were executed, which was enough of an explanation.

This kind of trick is not uncommon. The East has its own way of playing, and the West has its own way of playing.

The ministers did not want to agree. They were all old foxes with thousands of years of experience, and no one could hide their little thoughts from each other.

Just as Your Majesty understands his subjects, I also understand Your Majesty very well.

"Is there no objection among the censors regarding the law of selecting officials?" Zhu Yijun asked about the implementation of the decree.

"Your Majesty." Liang Menglong bowed his head and said, "Wang Ci Fu's method is very effective. Speed ​​is of the essence in war."

"Yesterday, I arranged for 150 clerks to attend school. The news spread among the clerks first, and then the officials got to know about it. Now that it's done, the officials can't object."

The reason why officials are officials and clerks are clerks is because of the huge difference in the channels and speed of obtaining information. Officials are the first to know about many changes in wind direction, and these clerks can only survive by relying on officials.

But this time, the clerks knew about the law of official prosecution first.

One order opens the gate of heaven and ten thousand waves shake the universe. When the officials know this method, they are all grateful to the emperor for his kindness!

It basically means: Your Majesty has me in your heart!
(End of this chapter)