King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Zhu Tan smiled and said, “I have prepared 1000 muskets, 50 cannons, horses, and million taels of silver for you!
I wonder what the master thinks?"

Zhu Di:.
So, this is where the confidence comes from?
The monk Daoyan, who was standing not far away, also had his eyelids twitching wildly.

Amitabha!
Foreign monks can chant sutras.
Your murderous intention is stronger than mine!

Are you planning to kill all the grassland people by bringing so many weapons?

Zong Wang clasped his hands together, shook his head and said, "Your Highness, I am going to the grassland to spread Buddhism, not to fight."

Zhu Tan nodded and said, "I know! But the Buddhist sect has a heart of a bodhisattva, but also has the means of a diamond! It is inevitable to encounter wolves, tigers and leopards on the grassland. These weapons are only for the master and disciples to defend themselves!"

Zong Wang nodded and said, "In that case, thank you very much, Your Highness."

"You're welcome, Master."

"My accompanying disciple told me that those guns and cannons need bullets and shells, and Your Highness must prepare those things as well!"

"Enough! Master, rest assured!"

Zhu Di:.
He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Monk Daoyan and curled his lips.

That's it?

Do you want to add more white to my king?
Look at what the monks are doing!
What else can you, a monk, do besides studying court reports?
Monk Daoyan turned his face away in embarrassment.

Amitabha.

It doesn't seem like Zongwang went to the grassland to spread Buddhism.

Instead, it was like going to the grassland for physical salvation.
Yingtian.

Forbidden City.

A most luxurious restaurant.

Auspicious spring.

at this time.

It was filled with wealthy businessmen from all over.

The glass, which had been interrupted for a period of time due to Zhu Tan's Northern Expedition, finally began to be displayed to the world!

And today is the day when Lushang Salt Company organizes an auction.

The entrance of Ruixiangchun Restaurant.

There was a large banner hanging upright.

There are several large characters written on it.

"August in the Summer of Ming Dynasty, Glass Collection Auction"

The calligraphy was written by Xie Jin, who had already gained fame in the Ming Dynasty's literary, calligraphy and painting circles.

The font is elegant, handsome and cool.

Originally, Xie Jin refused to write to Zhu Tan.

After all, there were festivals during the imperial examinations.

Even when Zhu Tan offered to give him 1300 taels of silver, taels for each character, he still refused.

It was not until later that Zhu Tan ordered someone to use 1000 taels of silver to hire the most popular lady in the brothel to accompany Xie Jin.

The word was obtained.

I even got more than ten paintings.

It was written by Xie Jin using different fonts, different angles, and different pen strengths.

He generously let His Royal Highness Prince Lu choose and use whatever he wants.

at this time.

Inside the restaurant.

The decoration is extremely luxurious.

In the center of the hall are several rows of long mahogany tables, each covered with a pure white linen tablecloth with exquisite peony patterns embroidered on the edges.

On the table are tall blue-and-white porcelains, each of which is painted with landscapes or flowers and birds, and is exquisitely crafted.

The porcelain is filled with all kinds of seasonal delicacies, such as abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, etc., as well as expensive ingredients cooked with various spices, which are mouth-watering.

Large silk paintings are hung on the walls around the hall. Most of these paintings are by famous painters, depicting the scenery of the Jiangnan water towns or the vast grasslands of the north.

Between the paintings are intricately carved wooden screens, on which are carved auspicious patterns such as dragons and phoenixes.

Hanging from the ceiling are exquisite wooden lamp stands, each decorated with red silk lanterns with built-in oil lamps, emitting warm and soft light.

There are several large flower troughs in the corner, filled with various flowers and plants, such as peonies, orchids, etc., which emit a faint fragrance. Next to the flower troughs, there are several exquisite copper incense burners with sandalwood burning in them. The air is filled with a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

The waiters in the restaurant were wearing uniform green gowns and moved swiftly.

In a private room.

Here.

It is a very inconspicuous place in the restaurant.

But you can see the whole picture of the restaurant.

And under the exquisite layout of the restaurant.

It is difficult for outsiders to see what is going on inside the restaurant.

In the box.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Zhu Tan and others, who were in disguise, sat among them.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the situation outside.

I couldn't help but frown and said, "These lawless merchants! We saw many people wearing silk! Humph!"

Zhu Biao and Zhu Tan smiled bitterly when they heard this.

The clothing requirement for merchants in the early Ming Dynasty was that they could only wear cloth and linen.

Silk is strictly prohibited.

However, in the entire Ming Dynasty, apart from the dignitaries, only these merchants could afford to wear silk!

You allow peasants to wear silk, but which real peasant can afford that stuff?
Say.

Why do they wear silk?

Farming?
Many merchants still dare not wear silk outside.

Normally, people wear silk inside and a cloth or linen garment outside to cover themselves.

Zhu Tan said with a smile: "Father, we are here to watch a show today, so don't take it too seriously! Besides, those merchants only dare to wear them indoors! They should wear cloth and linen when they go out. Didn't you see the followers around them holding cloth clothes in their hands?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and said, "These lowly dogs dare not disobey our orders!"

talking.

He said angrily, "It's only been a few years! How come these merchants are so rich! Look at the furnishings in that restaurant!

Damn!

Our lives are not as good as these bastards!
Is it true that we have collected too little tax?"

Zhu Tan coughed dryly and said, "Father, the tax rate is 1 in 30. No matter which dynasty it is, merchants will worship you as a living Buddha! It is normal for them to have money. The court provides these merchants with various convenient conditions for doing business, but in the end they only get such a small amount of tax. Of course, they make money quickly!"

In fact.

There is one thing Zhu Tan didn’t say.

At present, many of these merchants are independent merchants or those passed down from business gangs.

However, there are already many agents from noble families or agents of important officials in the court.
Even if the Ming Dynasty paid low salaries to officials, these people could still live comfortably. This is the key to the problem!

Their income has long ceased to depend on salary!

However, Zhu Tan feels that now is not the time to crack down on collusion between officials and businessmen.

Quite the contrary!

If you want to bring about reforms in the Ming Dynasty, you have to encourage collusion between officials and businessmen!
In a peaceful and prosperous era, if the Ming Dynasty has entered the stage of stock game, then collusion between officials and businessmen is a cancer for the Ming Dynasty. They will violate fairness, infringe on the interests of many legitimate businessmen and ordinary people, and thus cause social unrest, while these officials and businessmen make a lot of money.

But at this moment, Zhu Tan’s goal is to usher in the Ming Dynasty’s Age of Discovery!
After solving the grassland problem.

The future of the Ming Dynasty should be in the ocean, in the South Seas, in the West, in the New World! Those places are vast and desolate.

Only when officials and businessmen collude together can the entire Ming Dynasty be better motivated to see benefits. When the great era of navigation begins in the future, officials and businessmen cooperate with each other to support and support voyages to the sea!

By then, there will be no need for Zhu Tan's instigation.

There will be countless explorers and investors stepping forward!

Go to Southeast Asia, go to Australia, go to America!

Even to Africa!
In short.

Such a vast area needs people to occupy and develop it!
Collusion between officials and businessmen is the most efficient.

It is also the easiest way for Zhu Tan's policies to gain support from the largest proportion of the people.

and so.

Zhu Tan had no intention of reminding Lao Zhu about this.

However, too low commercial taxes are indeed a hidden danger.

If in the future the Ming Dynasty really sees great commercial prosperity and geographical discoveries.

At that time, the imperial court still maintained a tax rate of 1% to 30%.

By the time.

It will be difficult to share the dividends of this era!
At that time, merchants will become extremely powerful and uncontrollable!

After all, the wealth they control will expand hundreds of times!

By then, the merchants might even establish their own country.

And if the Ming court had asked to raise the tax rate at that time, it would have encountered even greater resistance!

By then, I am afraid that tax reform will be a complete failure!

It would be better to take action now.

Even if Lao Zhu didn't say this, Zhu Tan would talk to Lao Zhu about raising the business tax rate.

in fact.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang implemented light taxes and low tax rates out of good intentions.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty had just experienced the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

At that time, after the Red Turban Army defeated the Yuan Army, they fought each other, and there were more than a dozen separatist forces alone!
The South is horrible.

Just think about it, Yangzhou, which was famous for its prosperity, only had eighteen households left!

In the north of the Ming Dynasty, the people in the Yuan court were engaged in crazy infighting. The emperor fought against the prime minister, the prince fought against the emperor, and the emperor fought against the princes. It was simply insane and chaotic, and the north was in ruins.

Zhu Yuanzhang treated the newly emerging business at that time with great care, just like a young seedling.

Moreover, the commerce at that time also served the function of communicating the wealth of the world and making full use of the effectiveness of materials from all over the world.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang only set the tax rate at 1:30.

It’s a serious matter of releasing water to raise fish.

However, the time has come to reform the tax system.

At least, with the commercial tax so low, it is no different from the Ming Dynasty court directly giving money to merchants.

Although it was only eighteen years.

At the same time, during these eighteen years, the imperial court continued to wage wars in the south and the north.

But the Ming Dynasty was already quite prosperous.

Overall, it has almost recovered.

The population grew to nearly 70 million.

Cities in Jiangnan expanded rapidly.

A large amount of wasteland has been reclaimed.

Whether it was trade in salt, tea, wine or even iron, it all achieved great development.

under such circumstances.

There is no reason why business taxes should continue to remain so low.

Collecting more commercial taxes will not affect the prosperity of business at all!

Zhu Tan was thinking about this.

I couldn't help but stare blankly.

Zhu Biao stood beside Zhu Yuanzhang, smiled slightly, and said, "Father, today's auction is really unique! The highest bidder wins! It seems that these glass products of my tenth brother can be sold at a sky-high price!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

Then he shook his head and said, "We can't let the extravagant trend continue! This kind of auction will only happen once! Old Ten, don't hold it in the future!"

Zhu Tan nodded and said with a smile: "I obey your command! Although it is estimated that the income of such an auction house can reach 1.8 million taels of silver, or even more!

But if the emperor doesn't like it, I won't organize it in the future!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this.

I couldn't help but ask, "How much did you say?"

Zhu Tan said indifferently: "One million to eight hundred thousand taels of silver! I estimate that it is no less than that! This glass product has enough gimmicks, and it has just been launched. There must be a lot of people who will be fooled. No, a lot of people know the value of it!

The price I’ll call out by then will definitely be very high!”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes twitched when he heard this.

So much silver!
And it was only once!
He looked at Zhu Tan and asked, "Old Ten, how often did you plan to hold an auction like this?"

Zhu Tan thought for a moment and said, "I think once a year is not too much."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "How can that be? You let the rich people in Yingtian buy such a good thing? What about the rich people across the country? You have to let them have the opportunity to buy it too!"
Look, Suzhou, Chengdu, Changsha, Peking, Luoyang!
There are also Qingzhou and Yanzhou, which are developing well in your fiefdom!
There are many rich places in our Ming Dynasty!

There are more rich people!

You can’t just make money from Yingtianfu, you can’t just let the rich people in Yingtianfu see the benefits of glass!”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan was stunned.

So dad wants to expand this auction house nationwide?
That's fine.
Plunder the rich people all over the world!
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "And the frequency of this auction! It's too low!

Once a year?
There are four seasons and twelve months in a year! How can it bloom only once?
Although opening it once a month is a bit frequent, it is definitely fine to open it once a season!

I think you should open it four times a year! Open it all over the Ming Dynasty!
By the way, we must open one in Taiyuan, especially!
Although those Shanxi merchants were attacked repeatedly by us, we were able to earn new money every time!
It's enough to see how rich they are!
We heard that the Shanxi merchants never spent the money they earned and rarely bought land. A lot of the money was taken back and melted into molten silver and poured into their homes to turn into a silver floor!

How much money would that be? What a waste, they need to spend the money!"

Zhu Tan and Zhu Biao were speechless after hearing this.

Father, this is also
That’s too much, isn’t it?
Zhu Tan couldn't help but ask, "Father, aren't you afraid of encouraging extravagance?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened and he asked, "Let me ask you, why can they be so extravagant and wasteful?"

Zhu Tan was stunned by the question.

why?
“Because they have money.”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Yes! Because they are rich! If we earn all their money, then they can no longer live such a luxurious life. In this way, we are fighting against extravagance! There are only benefits, no harm!"

Zhu Biao:.
Zhu Tan:.
Zhu Yuanzhang said as he spoke.

Suddenly, an inspiration came to me.

He said to Zhu Tan, "By the way, isn't the auction going to start soon? Should the peddler shout a few times to introduce this item?"

Zhu Tan laughed dryly and said, "Father, that's called an auctioneer!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said indifferently: "It's all the same! You can arrange for someone to tell the auctioneer that you have also sent these glass products to the palace. I have seen them with my own eyes and I like them very much! These rich people bought them because they are similar to what we use!"

Zhu Biao heard this.

Everyone was shocked.

爹.
This is called usurpation!

For silver
You don't even care about this etiquette? (End of this chapter)