The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 70 Do you still support the Northern Expedition and the reduction of feudal lords?

Zhu Jianxuan completed his mission and went back to report to his father, the emperor.

After listening to the negotiation, Emperor Zhu Zhonglin of the Ming Dynasty said with a smile:
"That's right, this war doesn't put too much pressure on us now, so we can still hold on for a while.

"Speaking of which...when you were making alarmist remarks at the beginning, you didn't expect this kind of situation to happen, right?"

Zhu Jianxuan was speechless when he heard his father's comments.

Dad felt that what he did not expect was that the Ming Dynasty’s fiscal revenue did not decrease significantly during the war, and the people were relatively supportive of the war.

Because the export tariffs of the Ming Dynasty have indeed been greatly reduced in recent years, but the commercial taxes in the Ming Dynasty have been gradually increasing.

The logic behind this is rather difficult to explain. The key point is that although my father is not a particularly stupid person, he is somewhat stubborn due to his age.

It takes some effort to convince him, but on the other hand, it's nice to make him happy if I make a wrong prediction.

So Zhu Jianxuan deliberately admitted his mistake very seriously and sincerely:
“Father, what your Majesty taught me is that I was too self-righteous when I was young.

“At that time, we did not consider the issue comprehensively enough and ignored the role of war in promoting the market.”

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin of the Ming Dynasty was very pleased to hear his son admit his mistake, but he could no longer hold back when he heard the following details of his mistake:

"You were a kid? You're talking like you're an adult now?"

Zhu Jianxuan said seriously:
"I already consider myself an adult."

The emperor waved his hand directly:

"Don't be so frivolous. I know you must have some ideas. Please explain them to me clearly."

Zhu Jianxuan was helpless:

"The reason for this situation is that, first, our Ming Dynasty has an excellent foundation and talent, and second, I have been working hard to save it over the years."

Zhu Zhonglin raised his eyebrows:

"What do you mean by excellent basic endowment? How did you work hard to save something?"

Zhu Jianxuan sorted out the language:

"First of all, unlike Britain and France, we in the Ming Dynasty have a huge internal market of 200 million people, which is the size of the entire Europe.

“Although the vassal states in the Ming Dynasty are complex, they will not refuse Ming Dynasty merchants from entering and leaving, and they can still provide sufficient markets.

"Then, the Qing Dynasty to the north of the Ming Dynasty also has a population of more than 100 million. This is also a potential market for Ming Dynasty industry and commerce, equivalent to the neighboring markets of European countries.

"Ming merchants also do business with Shun, Indian princely states, the Ottoman Empire and other countries, just like Britain does business with continental European countries.

"Including the Qing Dynasty, Shun State, India and the surrounding countries, the local handicraft industry is far less developed than that of the Ming Dynasty.

“Even though the Ming Dynasty was occasionally in a nominal state of war with them, neither side could prevent civilian commercial activities from continuing to operate.

"This is because the Ming Dynasty has excellent basic endowments. We have enough markets and enough craftsmen, and we do not rely on external supplies to wage war.

“But even so, if the most profitable European and American luxury goods trade is directly cut off, the court’s income will also suffer heavy losses.

“Regular trade with other countries simply remains the same, and of course cannot make up for the decline in luxury trade.

"But I have improved vulcanized rubber, improved the steel smelting industry, invented bearings and bicycles, and improved reinforced concrete.

"The most important thing was the improvement of the steam engine, which led to the development of steam-driven machine tools, textiles, ships, trains and other industries.

“The new industry first created new jobs and also developed more local and internal consumer markets.

"It is the tax revenue from this new investment and consumption that makes up for the loss from the decline in luxury goods exports.

“This is the result of my hard work over the years.

"Of course, my efforts can only be truly realized and produce sufficient results with the support of my father and elder brother."

The Ming Dynasty was already standing on the threshold of the Industrial Revolution.

Zhu Jianxuan’s important inventions in recent years have served as a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution, rapidly giving rise to a large number of new industries.

Zhu Jianxuan had long known that technological upgrades could ease social conflicts, which was why he cooperated with his father and elder brother in publicity and promotion.

It now seems that the results are quite good, and the added value of the new industries has basically made up for the losses in foreign trade.

New investment and consumption have also accelerated the circulation of capital, making the actual transaction volume of the entire market even higher than before.

After hearing this, Zhu Zhonglin nodded slightly:
"That makes sense. Why would Ming merchants support the war? How do you understand it?"

This question has a bit of a testing element to it.

Zhu Jianxuan already had his own ideas about this:

“The feudal states do have markets, but it is indeed more troublesome for merchants to operate in the feudal states, as they do not have the same freedom as in the central court.

“So in recent years, merchants in the Ming Dynasty have been constantly advocating the reduction of feudal lords.

“Do they really care about cutting vassal ties? They care about the market.

"Ming merchants were suppressed in the Qing Dynasty, and many industrial investments and transactions were conducted in secret.

“Merchants need to maintain good relations with Qing officials and nobles, and they need to devote a lot of energy and profits to run their business.

“So the merchants also continued to advocate for a northern expedition, demanding that the imperial court retake the old capital.

“Do they really care about their old homeland? What they care about is the market.

"When Ming merchants arrived in Indian princely states, Oman and the Ottoman Empire, the culture was obviously different from that in the Central Plains of China." Ming merchants had to adapt to more rules and were subject to more restrictions.

“So merchants would advocate expansion, hoping to turn the places where they operate into colonies of the central court.

“Businessmen still want markets in these places.

“Because the Ming Dynasty’s central government encourages industry and commerce, it is the place where Shenzhou’s craftsmen and merchants thrive.

“So merchants from the Ming Dynasty tend to hope that the central court system will be extended to the places where they are doing business.

"The most direct manifestation is that Ming merchants supported the Ming central government's foreign wars.

"Eliminate all obstacles they encounter in their business, including the Eight Banners nobles of the Qing Dynasty and the Brahmins of India.

“At the same time, the development of Australia and the war in America certainly cost money for the court, but it made money for the people.

“The court had to spend money to hire craftsmen, purchase supplies, and organize a fleet.

"Craftsmen and merchants in the private sector can make money, and the court will collect taxes in return.

"Spending war supply expenses on the domestic market with a strong business atmosphere like this will create a 'war boom' to a certain extent.

“But war and prosperity are like tiger and wolf medicine, which cannot be sustained for a long time. If used too much, it will damage the foundation.

“So before starting a war, we must first consider how to end it.

"Although I threatened the British, saying that the Ming Dynasty is not in a hurry to end the war, in fact, the sooner the better."

These are Zhu Jianxuan’s summary of historical experience, and there are many that are not directly stated.

As for the fundamental contradictions of the Ming Dynasty, the development of new industries, new colonies, or war and prosperity are only temporary solutions and do not address the root causes.

If we fail to carry out drastic reforms of the existing production relations under favorable circumstances, contradictions will sooner or later break out again.

This reform issue can be said to be very urgent.

But there are more pressing matters at hand.

The next biggest challenge facing the Ming Dynasty is the natural disasters that have lasted for five years in the Shenzhou region, which cannot be avoided artificially.

The butterfly effect caused by one person on Earth cannot affect the activity patterns of the sun outside the Earth.

Therefore, all of Ming Dynasty’s current wars must end before 1783.

After that, the Ming court had to concentrate on responding to natural disasters and dealing with refugees fleeing famine in Ming territory and even in the north.

The best option was to send it directly to North America, which required the war to end before 1782.

He had to become the king of the United States before 1783 and prepare an immigration ship.

There is no way to explain these predictions about the future to my dad.

After listening to Zhu Jianxuan's explanation, the emperor said with emotion:
"Now that you have 'grown up', do you still support the Northern Expedition and the reduction of feudal fiefdoms like the merchants?"

Zhu Jianxuan immediately said:

"Yes, I support the Northern Expedition and the reduction of feudal lords, and I will always support them throughout my life.

"If my father and my elder brother do not support me, I will use the power of the vassal state to fight a northern expedition after I am enfeoffed!"

The emperor immediately glared at Zhu Jianxuan fiercely:
"Shut up!"

Zhu Jianxuan immediately shut up, and at the same time he vaguely understood in his heart that his father might not object to his plan.

Otherwise, they would not have just told him to shut up, but should have seriously refuted and admonished him.

Merchants are always calling for the reduction of local military governors, which must make the local governors very uncomfortable and they must complain to the emperor frequently.

As the emperor's favorite youngest son, if he publicly called for the reduction of the power of the feudal lords before he became their fiefdom, the feudal lords might think that the emperor was really preparing to reduce the power of the feudal lords.

The vassal state would certainly be nervous and would certainly prepare for a response, and might even be unable to resist taking the initiative to cause trouble.

Now, reducing the power of the feudal lords and the Northern Expedition are actually the same thing. The status of this matter should be that if it is said, then don't do it, and if it can be done, don't talk nonsense.

Since dad told me to shut up and not say anything, does that mean I should just do it?

Zhu Jianxuan thought about this in his mind and put forward his own ideas accordingly:
"Father, by the time the North American Armistice Agreement is signed, I will be twelve or thirteen years old, and I can really do some serious work.

“So I want to visit my own vassal state when the time comes.

“I want to go to Australia to see the industrial development there, and I also want to go to North America to hold an inauguration ceremony to secure the throne of the United States.

"If you still don't think your son is annoying, then I will go around and come back to see you."

The emperor was silent for a few seconds, and finally nodded gently:

"You can go if you want, but be careful about your safety and it's best not to live in European cities or houses.

“The places where they live are too dirty, and it is easy to get various diseases living there.

"It's best to live in your own guard camp."

Zhu Jianxuan immediately agreed:

"My son understands."

(End of this chapter)