I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 340 Economic Assumptions
"Since I am using you, I naturally trust you. Just do your best."

Seeing Yang Sichang bowing and saluting, Zhu Youxiao immediately encouraged him and asked him to achieve something good.

Seeing that the matter was over, Zhu Youxiao also stood up and walked out of the side hall, minding his own business. Upon seeing this, Yang Sichang quickly followed behind him.After leaving the Wenhua Palace, Zhu Youxiao gave Yang Sichang a few more instructions and asked him to retreat. He also got on the dragon boat and headed to the Qianqing Palace.

On the Longhu, he couldn't help but think of what Yang Sichang said just now.

Yang Changsi saw the problem sharply and the strategies he proposed were very reasonable. Zhu Youxiao also knew the underlying reason behind this, which was to increase employment and give the people a livelihood.

But the situation in the north during the Ming Dynasty was completely different from that in the south. The economy in the north was dominated by agriculture, commerce was far less developed than in the south of the Yangtze River, and the level of urbanization was not as high as in the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, refugees were a problem and would cause trouble.

But Zhu Youxiao cannot force all the refugees to go to Jiangnan, and Jiangnan cannot support such a large population.So the best way now is to develop industry and commerce in the north.

It’s just that the development of industry and commerce does not appear out of thin air, but requires consumption stimulation. Without a market, who would do business?

Therefore, Zhu Youxiao knew that if he wanted to do business in the north, he must target the group of people with the greatest consumption potential, and for these groups, Zhu Youxiao had already made a general plan.

"He Ning, I ordered Wang Ying, the Minister of Household Affairs, to come to the throne."

"As ordered."

Long Chu quickly stopped at Qianqing Palace. Zhu Youxiao got off Long Chu and went directly into Dongnuang Pavilion. He asked Zhang Chang to bring him a book about the military expenditure in Liaodong and the opening of Tianjin, Denglai and other prefectures. After that, he read it with relish.

"Your Majesty, Wang Shangshu is here."

"Let him in."

Zhu Youxiao sat on the throne and stared at the question book in his hand. Even if He Ning came, he did not raise his head and directly asked Wang Yingjiao to come in.

"Your Majesty Saint Ann."

"No courtesy, please sit down. Wang Yingjiao, I want to ask you. Last year, the imperial court decided to lift the sea ban. It also built naval forces in Denglai, Tianjin and other places to transport food by sea. I wonder how it works now?"

Before Wang Yingjiao came, he also asked Emperor He Ning why he asked him to enter the palace, but He Ning could not explain the reason. He simply revealed that the emperor was more concerned about the Shandong Civil War.

Therefore, Wang Yingjiao originally thought that the emperor called him here to ask for money from him.

Unexpectedly, the emperor directly raised the issue of shipping before his butt was still hot.After hearing the words and thinking for a while, he could only say:

"Your Majesty, the shipping of grain and grass to Liaodong is indeed under the control of the imperial court, but now the summer wheat tax has just been escorted to Beijing, and the naval forces in Tianjin and Denglai have not been completed yet. Therefore, after the grain and grass are purchased and shipped, even if it is shipped by sea, it will only transport two It’s done, the rest still needs to be done by land.”

Zhu Youxiao shook his head when he heard this. This speed was too slow.

But he had no expectations for this result, so he continued to ask:
"Since the maritime ban has been lifted, have there been more ships traveling to and from Tianjin, Denglai, etc.? Have tariffs increased?"

Wang Yingjiao was even more confused. Why did the emperor suddenly ask this?However, these data were sent to Tianjin Prefecture and Denglai Prefecture every month. He naturally knew about it. When he saw it, he immediately raised his hands and replied:
"Your Majesty, since the sea ban was lifted last year, although there are ships from Tianjin, Denglai, etc., most of them are fishing boats. Most of them go to sea for livelihood, and few actively do business. Therefore, most of the ships coming and going are from Jiangnan, Fujian, and Guangzhou Waiting places.

There were only a few of these merchant ships last year, only thirty or forty ships per month, but they have increased in number since today.

Especially in Tianjin Wei, there are now more than a hundred sea-going ships entering and exiting the port every month, and countless other fishing boats. The monthly tariffs are as high as more than [-] taels; Denglai is close to Liaodong, North Korea, Japan and other places, and every month The monthly tariff is more. "

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but feel happy after hearing this, and was obviously very satisfied with this number.

"It seems that there are no ships. As soon as the policy is relaxed, there will be many people who want to do business. A few days ago, Yang Lian also wrote me a book, saying that when he was inspecting the Gaizhou Guard (Yingkou) in Liaodong, he discovered that There are cargo ships from Jiangnan coming to buy and sell furs. There are more than [-] ships every month, and the profits are huge.

Wang Aiqing, I asked you why the profits of these sea-going ship trades are so huge. Then why do most of those who dare to go to sea to do business come from Jiangnan?Why is it that after the maritime ban was lifted, few people in the north were willing to go to sea to do business? Starting from Tianjin to Liaodong is not only a short journey, but also very profitable. "

After hearing the emperor's question, Wang Yingjiao thought for a while and replied:
"Your Majesty, the accounts cannot be settled like this. Liaodong has great benefits, and everyone knows this. However, the sea ban in the north has been closed for a long time. Although the sea ban is now open, the people are still afraid of going to the sea.

For one thing, the cost of buying a ship out to sea is so high that ordinary people cannot afford it, and it requires multiple sources of financing.Secondly, the sea is elusive and unpredictable, and it is easy to lose your way. It is common to hit a reef, encounter pirates or encounter undercurrents. If you encounter any of these, the whole ship will be destroyed. Even if a person is lucky enough to survive, on the vast ocean , there is no boat to rescue him, he can only be buried in the belly of the fish, his body will die, and his wealth will be lost.

Three, the common people are still unclear about the imperial policy, and are afraid that the imperial court will impose a sea ban again, so they still have fear.Therefore, currently only Denglai is the only place in the north that is willing to take the initiative to go to sea. This is due to the severe drought in Shandong, which has forced many people to go to sea for their livelihood. "

Wang Yingjiao's words made Zhu Youxiao nod his head repeatedly. The reasons can be summed up simply in three words: no money, no dare to do it, and risky.

So next, Zhu Youxiao must resolve the concerns of these people, because only in this way can the economy of the entire north or Hebei, Shandong, Liaodong and other places be revitalized, so that more people can have a livelihood and work without causing trouble.

Zhu Youxiao had just been thinking about how to stimulate the economy of the north and develop the industry and commerce in the north.After much deliberation, he discovered that the place where the entire northern court spent the most money was not Jiubian or the Gyeonggi region, but Liaodong.

Liao's annual salary is as high as more than 560 million taels. This is not enough, and additional payments are needed every year.When so much money arrived in Liaodong, in addition to the expenses of buying horses, fodder, weapons and armor, etc., it was a huge sum of money to distribute the remaining salary to officials and even soldiers in Liaodong military towns.

And these people can't live with their money, so they are bound to spend it. This is a huge consumer group.

But in reality, due to the underdeveloped economy in Liaodong and the low grain output, many people have money and cannot spend it, which has caused high inflation. One stone of rice in Gyeonggi Province only costs one tael of silver, but in Liaodong it costs five or six taels of silver.

The final analysis of this abnormal economy is that the supply of materials in Liaodong is less than the demand, and silver has become worthless due to inflation.

Especially in history, the Ming Dynasty suffered successive defeats on the battlefield in Liaodong. The huge amount of silver that the imperial court sent to Liaodong every year was taken away by the Jianqi as Liaodong continued to be defeated, allowing the Jianqi to swallow up this rich water to continuously expand their own strength.

Therefore, Liao's wages were like a huge faucet, leaking all the large amounts of silver flowing in from overseas into Liaodong, but it did not cause any waves, nor did it have the slightest stimulating effect on the Ming Dynasty's economy.

As a result, the silver in the entire Ming Dynasty was like a leaky money bag, and the economy gradually declined and became distorted. It was undoubtedly a vicious circle.

But Liaodong is now different from the past. With the stabilization of the Liaodong front, Liao's wages have no longer flowed to Jianlu since the situation reversed.

Therefore, Liaodong is a group with huge consumption potential. They have money but little material, but have high spending power and are willing to buy things.Moreover, although Liaodong has a cold climate, it is vast and sparsely populated, and there are a large number of unsaleable materials that are in short supply in the mainland, such as furs and medicinal materials.

If we vigorously develop Liaodong trade, expand the market size, encourage northern merchants to trade in Liaodong or strongly encourage immigrants to Liaodong, not only can the huge amount of Liao salary allocated by the court every year to Liaodong flow back to the customs, revitalize the northern economy, increase employment, but also provide benefits to the people. A livelihood.

Immigration to Liaodong can also reduce the pressure on the north and increase the court's control over Liaodong. This is a matter of great benefit and no harm.

What Zhu Youxiao has to do is to remove the obstacles to trade and immigration between Liaodong and the Pass, and now it seems that he has almost done it.

Nowadays, although the offensive in the Liaodong war is insufficient, the defense is more than enough; the civil uprising in Shandong has been put down, and the imperial court has set up offices in Tianjin and Denglai to prepare for shipping.The potential hidden dangers in the north have been solved by Zhu Youxiao. The next step can be to revitalize the economies of Hebei, Shandong and other places around Liaodong.

"Wang Aiqing, I understand what you mean, but it seems to me that the people have no confidence or dare not do this. In the final analysis, the court's policy is not effective.

I have seen Xiong Tingbi and Yang Lian complain several times in their title books that people's livelihood in Liaodong is difficult, prices are extremely high, and although the land is vast, there are not enough people. Everything requires transportation and relief from the imperial court. It is not a long-term solution to continue like this.

In this case, we cannot just rely on the imperial court. Now that commerce is developed, especially maritime trade, the imperial court should encourage commerce and transport materials.

For example, we can reduce or reduce tariffs for those who transport grain to Liaodong. Shandong and other places do not have many refugees due to drought. We can recruit more refugees to Liaodong. I think all of these can be done, and we can take bigger steps.

The soldiers and civilians in Liaodong can avoid the suffering of high prices, the court can also avoid unnecessary expenses, and the refugees in Hebei and Shandong also have a way to survive, so why not do it. "

Wang Yingjiao immediately understood the emperor's purpose of summoning him today. After all, it was actually to solve the livelihood problems of the refugees in Hebei, Shandong and other places. Either let them go to Liaodong to farm, or rely on Liaodong trade to give them a livelihood. They don't want to rebel.

"Your Majesty, it is not impossible to do this, but if this matter is to be effective, it will not only be exempted from tariffs, but also need to be coordinated by Liaodong Dusi, Shuntian Prefecture, Shandong Chief Secretary and other yamen.

I am afraid that I cannot make the decision on my own, so I would like to ask your Majesty to convene the six ministries of the cabinet to discuss the matter, or to issue an order for a court meeting. "

　Ask for a monthly pass

　　
　
(End of this chapter)