Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 196 Father, I am tired!
Zhu Yuanzhang had a loud voice.

The anger in it was almost unconcealed.

Zhu Biao's face turned pale, but he still insisted: "I know that what Xia Zhibai said is not entirely right. I know that he has his own thoughts. I even know that what Xia Zhibai said is biased to a certain extent."

"As I said, Xia Zhibai's goal is to revitalize the northern economy. He himself will not stay in the north for long, and the development of the north will be within the court's vision."

"The court can see more clearly."

"If we really find a problem, we can stop it in time."

"I do not expect Your Majesty to agree immediately."

"But I have a request, which is to ask Your Majesty to allow me to privately investigate the salt companies in the south."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked in a deep voice: "What are you going to do?"

Zhu Biao said: "Xia Zhibai told me a few possibilities. These officials and gentry in Jiangnan may be using the money, grain and pig iron provided by the court to seek personal gain in a reasonable way."

"The blueprints for building the steam engine came from Li Sheng."

"I have not yet obtained the relevant information about the local salt enterprise construction, but if the local officials said that there was a problem with Li Sheng's drawings and caused a batch of salt 'loss', and wrote this batch of 'loss' in the memorial, can the court verify it?"

"I want to investigate privately."

“In the past, smuggling was mostly done by local people, but this is smuggling by government officials.”

“Some of them are of a more egregious nature.”

"If it is true as Xia Zhibai said, that officials in Jiangnan are so greedy, I am afraid there will be unrest in the South."

Zhu Biao looked serious.

There was something cold and solemn in his eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at Zhu Biao suspiciously. He understood that the officials were "embezzling money", but he did not understand why there was a turmoil in the south.

Fang Xiaoru also looked confused.

Zhu Biao said: "I have some knowledge of steam engines."

"The emergence of the steam engine can greatly improve the efficiency of salt production. At the same time, it will also greatly reduce the number of employees. Salt production is well developed in the south, and most of the salt transport offices in the world are located in the south. If local officials use steam engines to make a lot of money, or even promote them with all their efforts, I am afraid that hundreds of thousands of salt farmers in the south will become unemployed."

Fang Xiaoru asked, "What's wrong with this?"

"If the South saves so much labor, there will be more available people in the world."

Zhu Biao shook his head.

He said in a deep voice: "There are many people in the south and little land. The livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people is a big problem, but the local officials are greedy and don't care about the lives of these people. When the time comes, these unemployed people will either become long-term workers, hired workers, or tenant farmers, but I'm afraid it will still not be enough."

"With so many people losing their livelihoods, how can there not be trouble in the area?"

"Moreover, it is very likely that these salt producers will continue to produce salt, but they will just resort to smuggling. Then the steam-powered salt that costs the imperial court a lot of money and grain will suddenly lose its original meaning. At that time, local officials can also find ways to sell these salt companies at low prices."

"In the end, it only enriched officials and merchants."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

He remembered that Wei Heng had written about this in the memorial to him. Once local salt companies were established and produced in large quantities, local salt prices would drop, which would not only appease the restive people, but also reduce the burden on the court, because supporting hundreds of thousands of salt households was a considerable expense for the court.

However, Wei Heng and other officials did not mention how these unemployed households would be resettled.

I'm afraid these people have never thought about it at all.

A trace of anger and murderous intent emerged in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

He knew it.

None of these officials are good.

They all want to find ways to deceive and cheat themselves.

Fang Xiaoru pondered for a while and said hesitantly, "Then according to what Your Highness said, the court should stop the construction of salt enterprises in the south?"

Zhu Biao shook his head and said, "Of course not."

"There are many people in the south, but the north is short of them. If we can send these extra people to the north, it will not only speed up the integration of the north and the south, but also increase the population of the north. This method is Xia Zhibai's 'business'. Through certain methods, we can send the 'surplus' people in the south to the north."

"The North is short of people."

"Coal, iron, salt, etc. all require people."

"With the population of the north, it is simply not enough to support it. But if we send people from the south over there, we can completely solve these problems."

"And I also vaguely sensed something."

"Xia Zhibai seems to want to use things like 'steam engines' to greatly improve production efficiency, thereby filling the population shortage in the north, using fewer people to do more work and gain greater profits."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were filled with uncertainty.

He also thought of the idea proposed by Zhu Biao.

It’s not that easy just to relocate the population.

He has spent so much effort in relocating people over the years, but has only relocated tens of thousands of households. Can he relocate tens of thousands of households just by relying on some businesses?
He didn't believe it.

There was one thing he agreed with.

The Ming Dynasty cannot walk on only one leg.

Nowadays, there are indeed too many cooks and postmen.

With such a huge number, if something goes wrong, it will easily shake the stability of the Ming Dynasty. He had not considered this in the past, but was suddenly awakened by Zhu Biao's reminder.

Just open sea.

He was still somewhat reluctant. The sea route could indeed gather wealth from all over the world, but these merchants who traveled by sea were too good at evading taxes, and it was difficult for the court to receive money from them. Moreover, opening the sea route was also a hidden danger to the national security of the Ming Dynasty, especially since there were frequent invasions by Japanese pirates along the surrounding coasts.

According to the investigation he sent people to investigate, many of them were nearby fishermen who were secretly colluding with the Japanese pirates.

There were even more people privately trading goods with each other.

In the 17th year of Hongwu, he issued an edict "forbidding people to go to sea to fish in order to prevent the Japanese pirates", but he still felt it was not enough and wanted to crack down further. At the same time, because of the court's vigorous ban on the sea, a large amount of property from overseas countries eventually fell into his hands.

He enjoyed it very much.

Once the sea is opened, there will probably be trouble in the coastal areas again.

But just opening a coastal trade route doesn’t seem to be a big deal?
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered secretly.

He actually knew that what Xia Zhibai said was not without reason, but it was contrary to his philosophy. What he wanted was a stable world, a world with "fixed quotas" that did not require so many fancy changes. He also hated such changes.

It was just that Xia Zhibai reminded him again and again, telling him that his theory wasn't feasible.

Maybe it works in his hands, but not in others.

He also gradually understood why Xia Zhibai kept saying these things to him again and again, because there were some things that only he could do and no one else could do, not even Zhu Biao. He could kill millions of soldiers in Jiangnan because he had the prestige and the ruthlessness to do so.

But Zhu Biao couldn't do that.

Zhu Biao was a qualified crown prince.

But he could not become his second self, not because Zhu Biao was not ruthless enough, but because Zhu Biao could not reach his own prestige, not even half of it. Although the second and third brothers, Lan Yu, Chang Sheng and others were respectful to Zhu Biao, it was mainly because of himself.

If I were gone.

Can Zhu Biao really suppress it as tightly as he is doing now?

impossible.

He did a lot of things to promote agriculture and suppress commerce.

There was no way Xia Zhibai didn't know this, but he didn't care at all and continued to speak.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

He doesn't want to change, and he doesn't want to change.

The system he designed drew on the experiences of past dynasties.

It is extremely exquisite.

Once it is changed, there will be too many things to move around. The government will inevitably expand, and there will inevitably be many more taxes and levies. By then, the Ming Dynasty will have followed the path of other dynasties. Although the current Ming Dynasty seems to have many problems, they are all minor problems.

As long as his low-tax system and a complete supporting guarantee system for saving tax expenditure can operate normally, the Ming Dynasty can always exist stably.

As long as the subsequent emperors of the Ming Dynasty can raise the sword, there will be no problems for the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes gradually became firm.

He raised his head, looked at Zhu Biao who was expectant, and said in a cold voice: "Okay, I don't want to listen to this nonsense, and I don't have the heart to listen. Don't you want to send someone to investigate? Let's let the Jinyiwei investigate. As for what you said, we will discuss with the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to limit the number of salt companies."

"As for opening the sea, or something else."

"We don't want to hear it again."

"The reason why we gave Xia Zhibai such great power in the north is to let him help us solve the problem of population shortage in the north. We also agreed to it because we thought the steam engine could solve certain problems, but we didn't let him do whatever he wanted."

"We don't want anyone to tell us what to do."

Zhu Biao looked bitter.

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, who had an indifferent expression, and knew that his father had not listened at all.

My father had no intention of changing at all.

But now that the situation in the world has changed, how can we stop so easily?

Zhu Biao lowered his head and continued, "Father, please think twice. I may not have expressed myself clearly, which led to your misunderstanding. I beg you to summon Xia Zhibai and let him explain it to you personally. I think the Ming Dynasty cannot always be so slow."

Zhu Biao's heart was beating violently.

He could faintly hear his own heartbeat.

In the past, when his father was angry, he rarely dared to argue, but this time, he chose to insist.

he knows.

My father also understands this truth.

It was just that my father's inherent pride and self-esteem wouldn't allow him to admit that he was wrong.

But governing a country cannot be done in such a domineering way.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes suddenly widened like an angry lion. He looked down at Zhu Biao, his pupils filled with blood and anger.

Zhu Biao's face turned pale and he said weakly, "Father, I am a little tired."

Hear the words.

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a moment.

The might that had been suffocating the people around them dissipated in an instant.

Looking at Zhu Biao, who was haggard and sweating, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with heartache, and he said softly: "I don't think so much. Since you want me to meet Xia Zhibai, then I will do as you say. Let's meet him."

"Go back and have a good rest for us."

(End of this chapter)