I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 126 Gentlemen, can you understand my painstaking efforts?
Zheng Luo, the general manager of the Supervision Office, said: "Your Highness just said something very right. The best way to govern the country and care for the people is to improve efficiency.

The Ming Dynasty operated from top to bottom, including the grain transport, and every grain and penny was borne by the people. We have improved efficiency and reduced expenditure, and the burden on the people has been greatly reduced.

Changing from canal transport to sea transport should significantly improve efficiency.”

Li Zhi replied: "Mr. Fan Xi, changing to sea transportation will definitely improve efficiency. For example, all the land taxes in Huguang, Jiangxi, Nanzhili and Lianghuai, which are far away and inconvenient to transport, should be converted into gold and silver, such as the Yitiaobian system.

Then use this silver to purchase grain in grain-producing areas such as Jiangnan and Annan, transport it to Dagu by sea, and then transport it to Tongzhou and the capital via the Wei River and Lu River. In this way, you can save millions of taels of silver in transportation costs. "

Xiao Daheng shook his head and said, "It does save money and improve efficiency. But it is not a good thing for the people in Huguang, Jiangxi and Nanzhili. The court does not collect grain, but gold and silver instead. Where can the people get silver?
They had to sell grain and silk cocoons to get silver, and then they were exploited by merchants. When Gui Wenxiang (Gui E) implemented the Single Whip Law, many county residents had no silver to pay, and the government officials and tax collectors were pressing them to pay, so they had to borrow from loan sharks, and ended up losing their land and becoming tenants.

Yang Wenxiang (Yang Yiqing) and others seized on this point and impeached Gui Gong, forcing him to retire in disgrace.

Wu Dui stroked his beard and said, "What Yue Feng (Xiao Daheng) said is very true. When I was appointed as a local official, I knew that the people worked hard all day long, and only earned a few stones of grain and dozens of hemp threads a year. They had to buy salt and iron, or sell grain, or chickens and ducks. It was not easy to get a few dozen coins.

The Single Whip Law was implemented, and taxes were paid in gold and silver, but the people were still exploited and suffered terribly.

Everyone was speechless.

Zhu Yijun was also speechless.

This has to do with low productivity and has nothing to do with currency.

No matter whether you use copper coins, silver, treasure notes or paper money as currency, the people cannot make any money, and the only wealth they have is food.

The imperial court implemented the Single Whip System, which used currency as a tool for statistics and tax payment. This was much simpler and saved a lot of costs, but the people had no money and had to sell their grain for money, and they were also exploited.

Xu Wei looked around at everyone and said, "The Single Whip Law has its advantages and disadvantages. But at least in the southeast and other places, I believe it is beneficial.

The people in the southeast are prosperous and commerce is developed. They have food and silk cocoons, and it is much easier for them to get money than in Huguang, Jiangxi, and Lianghuai.

Paying taxes with gold and silver will definitely reduce many drawbacks and bring convenience to the people. As His Royal Highness said before, there is no perfect method in the world. The key is to adapt to local conditions and the times, and not be rigid or stubborn. "

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Mr. Wenchang is right. A thousand words are not as good as putting it into practice. As long as it benefits the country and the people, and is convenient for both sides, it is a good idea. Otherwise, we should just change it."

"Correct."

Everyone smiled and agreed.

"Okay, let's get back to the maritime law. Gentlemen, can you see what my intention is in promoting the maritime law?"

The most important thing for a team is to have the same ideas so that they can be united.

Liu Tao stroked his beard and said, "I am old, so I will just throw out some ideas to stimulate discussion."

"Please come in, Mr. Daichuan!"

"I am in charge of the navy under the order of the emperor, and I know the pros and cons of it. The navy has great benefits, but it is very expensive. To sail out to sea, you need money and food; to repair ships, you need money and food; as the crown prince once joked, a cannon shot is worth a million ounces of gold. All that is fired is silver.

Eunuch Yang of the Southeast Office of the Coordination Bureau has been working hard to run the business, but he is barely able to maintain it. However, it cannot last long.

Later, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince transferred Qi Yuanjing to the north to train a new army, and I had some insights. The quality of the soldiers is not the number, and the quality of the navy is not the number.

Your Highness has divided the navy into three divisions, each with one battalion as the main force and one or two battalions as auxiliary forces. This is very wise. Good steel should be used where it is needed most. "

Liu Tao's voice was deep and slightly hoarse.

"But the navy is different from the land army. The land army infantry only needs to recruit strong young men, train them for half a year, and see blood. If they are not afraid, they are good soldiers.

The navy's ability to operate sails, maneuver boats, fire cannons and engage in naval warfare cannot be learned in a year or two. It will take at least three to five years to see results.

I was ordered to form the Three Seas Navy with Admirals Lu, Yu, and Chen, and almost plundered all the available sailors, causing complaints from merchants and civilian ships, and almost delayed overseas trade. "

At this point, Liu Tao's eyes flashed, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is now proposing to open up sea transportation, which is indeed a wise move. Shipping grain and goods from the southeast and even Lingnan to the capital by sea requires more than a thousand ships, and each ship has at least a hundred people. There will be more than 100,000 sailors at once. After three to five years, these sailors can be selected and enlisted in the navy. The Three Seas Navy will have no worries about the source of soldiers."

Xu Wei echoed, "What Daichuan said hits the nail on the head. The Coordination Bureau is planning to develop industry in Kaiping. By then, the population, food, and materials required will be incalculable, and there may be more than a thousand ships.

Moreover, Kaiping's industry is booming, and it produces a large number of various tools and machines. Shipping them to various places is definitely the most convenient way. At that time, more sea vessels will be needed, and it can easily reserve hundreds of thousands of sailors and thousands of sea vessels. "

What he said made sense, but Zhu Yijun was still looking forward to hearing more. His eyes turned around and fell on Li Zhi.

I don’t know if he can surprise me again.

Li Zhi seemed to sense Zhu Yijun's gaze, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Your Highness, everyone, I am from Quanzhou, a place with many mountains and little land. The few acres of land I have can barely fill my stomach.

When the sea breeze came, they would go hungry. But Quanzhou had been famous for its wealth since the pre-Tang Dynasty. Why? Because of the maritime trade. With the maritime trade, porcelain, silk, and tea from all over the country would gather in Quanzhou and be sold to the maritime merchants, who would then buy food and cloth, so they had no worries about food and clothing and were rich for a while.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince often told me that agriculture is the foundation of a country, industry can strengthen a country, and commerce can enrich a country. I understand this deeply.

Now the Crown Prince proposes to change to sea transportation. Once the northern route of sea transportation is developed, then the places north of Nanzhili, such as Haizhou, Jiaozhou, Weihai, Dagu, Leting, and even Jinzhou in Liaodong, will have the opportunity to prosper through trade like Shanghai and Jiangyin in Nanzhili, Ningbo and Wenzhou in Zhejiang, Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Yuegang in Fujian, and Guangzhou in Guangdong. "

Everyone was shocked and couldn't help but turn their heads and stare at Li Zhi.

Previously, everyone was confused about why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince specifically selected this unknown person to join the Lifanyuan. Now, we know that this person is very talented!
Zhu Yijun was very happy and relieved.

Li Zhi was called a madman by his contemporaries and most of his books were burned because he was ahead of his time.

But for me, it is just right.

Xiao Daheng asked a very cautious question: "The grain transport is of great importance, and it is very difficult to change it. Your Highness, what should we do?"

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "We won't force it, nor will we confront it head-on. We will use a roundabout approach.

Now, the shipyard in Wusongkou can build sea-going ships of more than 4,000 to 5,000 tons. In the process of imitating the Portuguese carrack, it even combined the respective advantages of the carrack and the Fu ship to design a lock ship of more than 4,000 tons.

Ningbo, Leting, and Dengzhou can all build seagoing vessels of more than 4,000 tons. We have ships available to promote northern shipping.

Yang Jinshui can be asked to step forward, mobilize merchants, set up a private shipping company, purchase seagoing ships, recruit captains, and open a northern shipping route from Shanghai, Ningbo, Quanzhou via Haizhou and Dengzhou to Dagu.

Then, all licensed businesses that ship their goods to the capital, Shandong or Huaidong must set aside a portion of their goods and hand them over to shipping companies for sea transportation.

The New Army Camp, Warrior Camp, Ji-Liao Town, and other border army camps under the supervision of the Supervisory Office also allocated a portion of their required food, salaries, and military equipment and sent them for sea transport.

Once the northern sea route becomes unblocked, the share will gradually increase.

Ocean freight is cheap and the delivery time is fast. Anyone who knows how to choose will know how to choose. We are not changing the canal transportation, we are just stealing their business!"

Stealing business?
Then there is nothing to say.

The person who is most powerful in snatching business in the world is Yang Jinshui, and the boss behind him is the crown prince and the emperor.

Li Zhi asked, "Your Highness, what if merchants are concerned about the risk of disruption in shipping?"

Good job, Li Zhi, you hit the nail on the head.

"According to the example of the Bank of Aid, an insurance company is established. A certain percentage of premium is added to each freight and given to the insurance company. If the ship arrives safely, the premium goes to the insurance company. If the ship capsizes, the insurance company will compensate according to the agreed share!"

what!
Is it still possible to do this?
Zhu Yijun's words shocked everyone. They vaguely felt that their previous understanding might be wrong.

The best businessman in the world is not Yang Jinshui, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

(End of this chapter)