Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Racism, it really does have both good and bad aspects!"

Looking at Zheng Sanjun's memorial, Zhu Youjian sighed.

His concern was that after the theory of long-lived and short-lived species was implemented, scholars would no longer regard commoners as their own.

Zheng Sanjun's memorial had not yet reached this point, yet he had already stopped treating refugees as human beings.

Expanding the scope of the crime of depravity and regarding all vagrants as depraved is clearly treating vagrants as criminals.

His reasoning was that the refugees had degenerated into a short-lived species and posed a threat to the long-lived species.

Although Zhu Youjian knew that refugees were a destabilizing factor for the Ming Dynasty, as the emperor, he could not openly treat these people as inhuman.

He sternly reprimanded Zheng Sanjun's proposal, and during the convening of the National Assembly's monthly meetings, he publicly stated:
"The draft of the Etiquette Law states that all citizens of the Ming Dynasty are equal before the Etiquette Law, regardless of their property status, residence, or other differences."

"As long as the refugees do not commit crimes and have the status of citizens of the Ming Dynasty, they enjoy all the rights of citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"The purpose of the imperial court in relocating refugees was to provide them with a way out, so that they would not fall into depravity or rebel."

"Instead of directly viewing them as degenerates or criminals."

Being publicly reprimanded by the emperor in front of so many people, Zheng Sanjun was quite embarrassed.

However, his view of vagrants as degenerates is indeed inappropriate and has been met with opposition from many people.

Congress, as the body representing public opinion, reacted most strongly to this.

Because their power comes from the people, the Ministry of Justice's treatment of vagrants as criminals sets a dangerous precedent.

If this proposal is passed, more people will view criminals in the future.

What right does Parliament have to be ranked alongside the assembly of ministers?

Members of Parliament such as Chen Jiru and Sun Qifeng strongly opposed the proposal.

The high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty who participated in the New Year and Full Moon Conferences also began to recognize the power of the parliament.

They must take Congress’s attitude into account when making decisions in the future.

The so-called "public opinion" is no longer a figment of imagination, allowing people to represent it at will, but rather there are real representatives.

Zhu Youjian felt very pleased as he watched this scene.

His purpose in establishing parliament was to have someone check and balance the ministers in the court.

Otherwise, it would be too frustrating to be misled by those ministers who take public opinion and make irresponsible statements, and to refute them would seem to put one in opposition to public opinion.

Now that we have genuine representatives of the people, let's see how those bureaucrats can still talk nonsense about letting the people rest—

It was the bureaucrats who truly disturbed the people and prevented them from resting; the emperor always hoped for more self-cultivating farmers as taxpayers.

In a cheerful mood, Zhu Youjian addressed the officials and councilors:

"Remarks about long-lived and short-lived species have been rampant lately."

"It explains, to some extent, the difference between Chinese and barbarians."

"This theory should focus on outwards, while inwards it should primarily focus on protecting the elderly."

"The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice should work with the National Assembly to formulate laws specifically to protect the rights and interests of the elderly and to provide convenience for their lives."

"I will say one thing here: we should strive to cover all scholars and all elderly people over sixty years of age with old-age insurance."

"For the Ming Dynasty to be able to provide for the elderly, this is a necessary condition for entering the era of Great Harmony."

This statement received unanimous support from everyone present.

Regardless of what the current emperor actually does, he has a whole repertoire of eloquent words that make people feel comfortable.

However, Liu Lishun, who is from Henan, offered a less pleasant suggestion.

As the speaker of the Shuntian Prefecture Council, and wielding considerable influence in the preparatory office for the National Assembly, he proposed:
"During the migration of refugees, the mortality rate is highest among the elderly and children."

"I believe that almshouses should be established in Henan and other places to temporarily exempt the elderly over sixty years old and children under twelve years old from migration."

“We will relocate them after their children or parents have settled down overseas.”

This is a great suggestion, but it will cost a lot of money.

The imperial court already spent a great deal of money relocating refugees, not to mention supporting the elderly and children.

Bi Ziyan and others in charge of finances opposed the proposal.

Grand Secretary Han Kuang also disagreed, because he needed to spend money to achieve political success.

Putting aside other factors, his red line is a 7% growth rate in industry and commerce over three years.

If he fails to complete this task, he will inevitably have to leave office.

Despite facing opposition from so many ministers, Liu Lishun remained unfazed and addressed them:
“Retirement and childcare do not require a lot of money.”

"I have heard that when Henan was relocating migrants, families with less than two mu of land were forcibly relocated."

“Some of these people’s lands were seized by local gentry.”

"I believe this is inappropriate. It should be taken over as government land and used as land for almshouses."

"With income from the land, they can be self-sufficient."

This suggestion was something Zhu Youjian hadn't anticipated, or rather, he hadn't considered it and deliberately ignored it.

However, the ministers in the imperial court knew perfectly well that this kind of thing was not limited to Henan.

In fact, after the policy of relocating surplus laborers was promulgated, some places began to relocate surplus laborers with less than two mu of land.

Most of these people were landless, but some owned a few acres or a small plot of land. After they were relocated, where did those scattered plots of land go? They were, of course, bought by the gentry.

These people easily acquired the land by presenting either IOUs or contracts.

The migration system did not improve the lives of the lower classes; instead, it accelerated land accumulation.

The difference is that the land was not concentrated in the hands of large landowners, but rather in the hands of small landowners and rich peasants who owned less than a hundred acres of land.

These people are now the largest group. After many official families split up their households, most of the clan members only own less than 100 acres of land.

Liu Lishun's proposal affected the interests of all officials, naturally drawing their fierce opposition.

Yang Sichang, the Chief of Staff who attended the meeting, said:
"I object!"

“Those people have very little land and are mostly in debt.”

"They were relocated because of the imperial court's policies, and it will be difficult for them to return later."

“The creditors are taking their land to collect debts, how can it be used as land for an almshouse?”

The other ministers echoed this sentiment, all disagreeing with Liu Lishun.

There are some councilors who stand on the side of the people, and some want to speak up for them.

However, with Parliament still being prepared, there are far too few members representing poor families—people from these families have little reputation and are naturally unlikely to be appointed as members.

Therefore, Liu Lishun was at a significant disadvantage, with very few legislators supporting him from the perspective of the displaced people.
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Zhu Youjian supported increasing the amount of official land, but seeing the situation was overwhelmingly in his favor, he quickly changed the subject, saying:
"Immigrant debt is a big problem."

"Given the current transportation conditions, it is very difficult for migrants to return to their hometowns after they have moved away."

"They are even afraid to return because of their debts."

"The imperial court must come up with a solution to help them resolve their debt problems and not let the creditors suffer losses."

These words were spoken entirely from the perspective of the creditors, which naturally pleased the officials and members of parliament who came from wealthy families.

While their pretext of acquiring land as debt repayment was indeed a pretext, it also served the purpose of recovering their debts. They would naturally be even more willing to help the immigrants repay their debts if the imperial court was willing to do so.

Bi Ziyan, Minister of Revenue, said:

"If the imperial court helps immigrants repay their debts, all debts can be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue Bank for settlement."

At this point, instead of mentioning the financial strain and the lack of funds in the imperial court, they pushed the Ministry of Revenue Bank out.

Zhu Youjian treated the Ministry of Revenue Bank as a central bank, so of course he wouldn't give them such specific business, lest they waste their energy.

Moreover, he had no intention of getting the court to pay for it, and immediately rejected the idea:
"The Ministry of Revenue Bank bears important responsibilities for the imperial court and should not be confined to such trivial matters."

"My idea is to establish several debt management companies with special government licenses to be responsible for debt management."

"We will pursue those who fail to repay their debts and restructure those who are truly unable to do so."

"After debt restructuring, the debt company can acquire non-performing debts at a certain discount, and the debtor's debtor will be transferred from the original creditor to the debt company."

“These debt collection companies can set up branches in the vassal states to continue collecting debts.”

"This way, lenders won't lose everything, and it also prevents some people from using immigration to pay off their debts."

This suggestion caught the attention of many people.

Because this debtor company is clearly profitable.

If you can acquire debt at a discount of 20% or even 50%, and then continue collection overseas, even demanding interest from debtors, you could potentially earn several times your initial investment.

The franchise system for debt companies, in particular, was extremely beneficial to these powerful ministers.

Whether local small creditors suffer losses as a result is not something they should even consider.

Faced with such great benefits, they were naturally abandoned, and even their interests were to be extracted.

The ministers inquired about the debt company's requirements and how many licenses it needed to issue.

Zhu Youjian had anticipated this outcome when he proposed the debt-financed company. He intended to reduce the profits of small landowners by offering concessions to his ministers.

After setting limits on the maximum amount of land owned by officials, they still need to be allowed to eat meat. Otherwise, sooner or later, some ministers will break the rules and exceed those limits.

Moreover, it's better to have ministers in charge of debt companies than to let criminal gangs control them.

The imperial court could also use debt companies to intervene in the vassal states, making it impossible for them to escape control.

Of course, we cannot push the immigrant population too hard; we must impose restrictions on them.

Zhu Youjian said:
"The number of debt companies should be at least two per province, and each company may operate in two or three provinces, with a maximum of thirty companies."

"Officials are allowed to invest, receiving shares according to their rank. Promotion grants more shares, while retirement requires relinquishing all shares."

"However, legal means must be used when collecting debts, and interest rate restrictions must be observed."

"Interest rates exceeding 36% per annum or 100% per ton must be strictly prohibited."

"Anyone who violates this rule will have their business license revoked."

"Congress can enact a debt bill to regulate related behavior."

This matter was left entirely to the officials, with the royal family remaining completely uninvolved, to avoid incurring public resentment.

The ministers knew that pressing for debt repayment would easily provoke public resentment, but the profits in this area were too great, and they would not give it up.

Even if the emperor restricts usury, they can still obtain stable profits from it.

Putting aside other matters, according to the current immigration policy, immigrants arriving in the vassal state are guaranteed land. If they cannot repay their debts, they can use grain to settle them. The debt-paying company simply buys grain at low prices and transports it to the Ming Dynasty's interior, where grain prices are high, for resale.

Such companies are almost guaranteed to make money; they are extremely profitable.

Many ministers are already exchanging glances, planning to form a debt company together to control the debts of one or more provinces.

After successfully bribing the ministers, Zhu Youjian then said:

"With debt corporations, immigrants won't have to use their own land to pay off debts."

“They can give the land to their relatives or exchange it with the government to obtain more overseas land.”

"These extra government-owned lands, just as Liu Qing said, should be handed over to local almshouses for the care of the elderly and children."

“Anyone over sixty years old and under twelve years old who does not wish to relocate can be temporarily placed in the nursing home.”

“Those with disabilities or illnesses can also be housed in nursing homes set up by Huimin Pharmacy to minimize the mortality rate of immigrants.”

"The expenses incurred are considered as personal debts of immigrants and are managed by a debt management company."

This would leave all the immigrant families who stayed behind with debts, which the courtiers were naturally very happy about.

They also place greater emphasis on reducing the immigrant mortality rate, hoping that these immigrants will migrate as healthily as possible in order to pay off their debts.

They used to see immigration as a burden, but they have discovered that it can also be a profitable business.

They can also squeeze money out of immigrants.

After Zhu Youjian offered this benefit, the ministers' enthusiasm for immigration soared, and they also supported turning the immigrants' land into government land.

Zhu Youjian achieved his goal—

Increase the proportion of government-owned land and nationalize land as much as possible.

As for the debts incurred by immigrants as a result, there was nothing he could do to help.

These debts might actually motivate immigrants to work harder.

Moreover, their safety is better guaranteed by the protection of debt.

Debt companies won't just let them die; the officials in charge of debt companies will care more about them.

This is the positive role of debt companies, and Zhu Youjian wanted to make the most of its advantages.

He also offered advice to his ministers:

"In addition to personal debt, debt companies can also manage corporate debt and sovereign debt."

"When a company is insolvent, we go bankrupt and reorganize it, acquire its debts at a discount, and operate the remaining assets to pay off the debts."

"Sovereign debt is obtained by having vassal states use their territories as collateral to lend money to them for the development of their fiefdoms."

“When these vassal states are unable to repay their debts, they can use their territories to do so, and debtor companies can apply to the imperial court for titles.”

This was another preferential treatment, and it also gave the ministers the opportunity to obtain titles.

However, it would be quite difficult to get them to lend hundreds of thousands or millions of taels of silver to their vassal states.

These people didn't intend to invest that much capital.

In response, Zhu Youjian laughed heartily and said:

"Who said you had to pay for it yourselves? Don't money shops and banks all have silver?"

“Debt companies can provide guarantees and even buy up their bad debts.”

"If they can't get the money, why can't you?"

Let these people wreak havoc on the vassal states, and let the emperor mediate.

Inspired by him, his ministers proposed measures such as personal bankruptcy debt restructuring, forced emigration of bankrupt individuals, and farming overseas to repay debts, and enacted laws on personal and corporate bankruptcy.

They even suggested lending money to immigrants to increase their debt, and specifying that they purchase agricultural tools, gold mining equipment, and other production tools to facilitate faster debt repayment.

The demon of finance, unleashed by Zhu Youjian, has begun to display its power. (End of Chapter)