Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 268: Lao Zhu's Enlightenment! Grasshoppers on the Same Rope!

Zhu Gaochi did not understand these economic principles.

I just thought that since Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunhuan differently, I would just put the blame on Zhu Yunhuan regardless of anything else.

At least you can avoid getting scolded.

As for whether this action would lead to Zhu Yunhuan being scolded, that was none of his business.

When Old Zhu heard this, his body trembled.

He has been studying economics for the past few months.

Zhu Sun once explained the relevant principles to him in a letter.

Banks have a monetary amplification effect.

With the establishment of banks, the development and prosperity of the financial industry, there must be more and more money in the market.

Silver and money are just the general equivalent of commodities.

It would be meaningless for the court to simply increase silver and money without increasing the supply of goods.

It will only lead to the crazy depreciation of Ming Baochao like in the past, until no one is willing to use it.

Zhu Sun clearly stated in the letter that, on the surface, it was the Ming Bank that controlled the Ming economy.

But in fact, the real foundation lies in the Ming Manufacturing Bureau and the Ming Academy of Sciences.

Only by developing science and technology and making full use of technology for large-scale production can we greatly enrich social materials and keep prices stable.

The reason why the value of Ming Baochao has always been stable is that the products produced by the Ming Manufacturing Bureau have provided an outlet for a large amount of currency.

Old Zhu still doesn't quite understand this principle.

It sounds like it makes sense, but I still don’t quite understand it.

At this moment, everything suddenly became clear, as if the clouds had been cleared away.

……

If there were not a wide variety of rich products produced by the Ming Manufacturing Bureau, silver and money would be closely tied to grain.

To stabilize the value of the Ming Baochao, countless amounts of grain must be available.

But food production is ultimately limited.

After the establishment of the bank, the number of banks in circulation in the Ming Dynasty increased dozens of times.

Even after Zhu Yunhuan tried his best, the increase in grain production would not exceed one half.

Such an increase in a short period of time is already incredible.

But compared with the skyrocketing amount of silver and money in the market, it is still a drop in the bucket.

The price of grain did not rise along with the increase in the amount of silver and money. The key point was that the silver and money were used to purchase glass products, ironware... and various handicrafts produced by the Ming Manufacturing Bureau.

Zhu Sun also said in the letter that letting the people rush to buy useless things would, on the surface, seem to have a bad influence on social morals.

But in fact, this is a salvation for the lower-class people.

They will feel that life is getting better and better.

Because the money earned in a day can be used to buy rice to feed someone for a month.

The money earned from the remaining twenty-nine days will be used to buy mirrors, glass ornaments, iron and copper products... If there is an adequate supply of cotton and wool in the future, it can also be used to buy countless clothes and so on!

Human desires are endless, and people will not be lazy and stop working just because they have a full stomach.

Instead, they will work hard to buy these "useless things".

"Extravagant style" will become the goal of their lives and the motivation for their work!

They will pursue more beautiful and better-looking clothes, and they are not satisfied with clothes that can only keep them warm.

They would want the decoration in the room to be more beautiful and not be satisfied with the simple shelter from wind and rain.

They also want to eat better delicacies from land and sea, and want to eat delicious dishes cooked by chefs, rather than just filling their stomachs.

They want to have a more luxurious wedding than others, wear a gold necklace and gold earrings... They want to look more impressive in front of outsiders...

When the pursuit of luxury and comparison becomes a new social trend, the vast majority of people will succumb to this trend.

They are even willing to work day and night and overtime for this.

This seems to be a very "bad" society, with corrupt morals, people's hearts are no longer pure, and everyone is pursuing "comparison".

But at least it's very stable.

Because at that time, food prices could still be maintained at very low levels.

Even the poorest of the poor can fill their stomachs without any effort.

No one would risk being beheaded to overthrow the court anymore.

If someone really can't live anymore, as long as he can see through the social atmosphere, discard useless things from the outside world, not pursue face in front of others, and don't be vain, then he will be able to live a very easy life immediately!
But such people are destined to be only a very small minority.

In society, most people are unable to see things clearly and cannot let go of their "face".

So, they will volunteer to work hard like slaves.

But no matter how much they complain about the hardship, tiredness, and pressure, they will never risk their lives in rebellion.

Because if they really have the courage to rebel at the cost of their lives, how could they not let go of something external to their body, such as "face"?

If he could let go of his "face", not pursue "comparison" with others, not pursue nice clothes, not pursue a bigger house, a nicer carriage... and just seek simple food and clothing, then he could live a very easy life, so why would he rebel?

It's a perfect closed loop.

In that society where "rituals are in decline and music is in decline" and the pursuit of "luxury" is in decline, those who can let go do not need to rebel, and those who cannot let go cannot rebel!

The court's rule is naturally extremely stable.

Of course, this does not mean that in such a society, propriety, integrity, morality and literature are unimportant.

On the contrary, the court still needed to carry out propaganda vigorously.

Especially when it comes to officials.

Officials must remain honest and upright, because they are still relied upon to maintain social order.

But that society as a whole was a society driven entirely by "consumption".

We should encourage people to consume rather than restrict them.

Ordinary people at that time had to wear beautiful clothes instead of patched ones.

Lao Zhu was in Shanghai at the time and witnessed the city's development, which made him feel somewhat touched.

However, the construction of Shanghai had just started and it was still a trading port, lacking the important link of production.

I have some understanding of what Zhu Sun said, but it is not very profound.

Only when I came here did I truly understand.

Zhu Gaochi noticed the change in Old Zhu's expression and added, "His Royal Highness said that the furniture displayed in the restaurant's rooms are samples to promote the Ming Manufacturing Bureau."

"Merchants who come to the Daming Manufacturing Bureau can intuitively see which products they like and which ones will sell well from the goods displayed in the room, and then place orders with the manufacturing bureau to purchase goods."

Old Zhu nodded, waved his hand and said, "We all know it. It's getting late. We want to rest early. You can leave first."

Zhu Gaochi bowed respectfully and left the room.

After walking out, he let out a long sigh and felt instantly more relaxed.

Obviously, he wanted to win the praise and commendation from the Emperor, but for some reason, in the end, he just wanted to avoid being scolded.

The Emperor's aura is really too strong.

I didn’t have any feeling about it before, maybe because I was too young.

Now that I am older, I can slowly feel how terrifying Grandpa Huang's "dragon power" is.

No wonder my father always said that Zhu Yunhuan was able to publicly oppose Zhu Yunwen as the crown prince in the court that day. His courage and spirit were rare in ancient and modern times.

He never understood it before, after all, he was just a grandson who seldom saw Lao Zhu.

When we met, I just felt that the emperor was a kind and amiable grandfather.

Now that I am in charge, I realize how terrible the Emperor is.

Sure enough, Zhu Yunhuan’s ability was not comparable to his own.

Being able to win the position of crown prince is by no means a fluke.

It was a wise decision for my father to choose to submit to him and even to take him as his teacher!

Unknowingly, Zhu Gaochi's "loyalty" to Zhu Yunhuan had actually increased a lot.

……

inside the room.

After Zhu Gaochi left, Old Zhu went to the window and looked down at the city below through the clean and transparent glass.

It was already dark at this time, and the lights outside were bright, creating a bustling scene.

It is said that Jinling City is still under curfew except for the special night market.

Zhu Yunhuan was not in a hurry to change this policy.

But this is outside Jinling City, so night travel is not prohibited. At this time, the crowds outside are bustling, three times more than during the day.

Old Zhu sighed softly.

It was not until today, after witnessing the production efficiency of the factories under the Daming Manufacturing Bureau, that I truly understood what Zhu Sunzeng meant by the "overproduction" described in the letter.

Unfortunately, in the original view of Old Zhu, since there is overproduction, the poor in the world should live well.

However, in Zhu Sun's theory, this is not the case.

The phenomenon of "rich people enjoying wine and meat, while others freezing to death on the streets" is still prevalent in the era of overproduction.

The life of the poor will still be extremely hard and difficult.

Old Zhu didn’t quite understand it at first, but now he finally understands.

After all, life is short.

"Comparison" and "vanity" are the roots of all evil, but they are also the driving force of social development.

Fortunately, as long as the government makes a little adjustment, in a society with a large overproduction, the poor will at least not starve to death, unless they want to die.

Compared with the Ming Dynasty where most people could not get enough food, this is still a huge improvement.

"Zhu Sun, what a strange man!"

It turned out that he just felt that Zhu Sun was a man of extraordinary insight and that he could get along well with him. Although they had never met before, they had been friends for a long time.

Now it seems that I underestimated him before.

His knowledge and understanding are far beyond what I had expected before.

This cannot even be described as a "strange man", he can be called a "divine man".

"See you tomorrow..."

As Lao Zhu was thinking about this, he suddenly remembered another thing.

"Would such a brilliant man really be trapped by the head of Science magazine, and would his fame and fortune be taken away by those officials, so that he could not make a breakthrough?"

In the past, Lao Zhu never doubted this.

Because he also knew that such things were indeed common.

It is not uncommon for officials to hire staff whose abilities and capabilities far exceed those of the officials themselves.

Zhu Sun’s explanation also makes perfect sense.

But if you really understand Zhu Sun, you will find that it is not that simple.

With his ability, even if he is in shallow water, I am afraid that he cannot be suppressed by the head of Science journal.

Unless he voluntarily goes into hiding...

"Don't worry about him. We'll know the answer tomorrow when we meet."

Lao Zhu shook his head.

Afterwards, he washed up and went to bed with the help of Yoshigaki.

After all, he was an elderly man, and after being out all day, he was indeed a little tired.

……

Jinling City.

East Palace.

It was late at night and Zhu Yunhuan was listening to the report from his subordinates.

"His Majesty the Emperor visited the factory of the Daming Manufacturing Bureau today and stayed in the restaurant of the Manufacturing Bureau to rest at night."

The man reported in detail how Lao Zhu entered the steel plant of the Manufacturing Bureau, how he had a conflict with the guards, how he later went in to visit, what his reaction was after seeing it, and so on.

Although the whereabouts of Lao Zhu and his group were top secret, it was impossible to hide them from the eyes and ears of the Eavesdropping Department.

Of course, Zhu Yunhuan did not dare to, and would never send anyone to monitor Zhu.

That will only lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

However, the public security and vigilance in the periphery were secretly cleaned up and strengthened along the way.

After all, we can't let Lao Zhu fall into danger, we have to make sure he is safe.

He had no idea what Lao Zhu did or said every day.

However, today when Lao Zhu entered the Manufacturing Bureau, the situation was naturally different.

There is no need for the Inquiry Bureau to inquire, Zhao Rui will report the matter in detail.

"It seems that Grandpa Huang was greatly shocked today!"

Zhu Yunhuan waved his hand, signaling the person reporting to leave, and laughed.

Yang Rong reminded him, "Your Highness, His Majesty came back this time to see Zhu Sun."

"If he knew that Your Highness was the 'Zhu Sun', he would probably be furious."

Zhu Yunhuan's smile froze for a moment.

At that time, it was because Lao Zhu wrote a letter to the journal Science that he wrote back to Lao Zhu under the name of "Zhu Sun".

I originally thought that I just had to deal with Old Zhu first.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhu became more and more excited about writing.

The contents of their correspondence ranged from state affairs to family matters, and then to personal ideals, ambitions, and even private matters.

Talk about almost anything.

When introducing the medical achievements of the Ming Academy of Sciences, it even mentioned medicine that can help men regain their virility.

Old Zhu also said in the letter that he is old and a little weak, and if this medicine really exists, he must pay more attention to it for him.

Of course, this is a secret and must not be told to outsiders.

……

Zhu Gaochi pinched his brows. Things seemed to be a little complicated and a little troublesome.

Is Mr. Zhu really angry?
To be honest, it's really not his fault.

It was Lao Zhu who wrote the letter first, but it was not initiated by him.

Besides, you signed your first letter with "Zhu Yuanzhang", so didn't that reveal your identity clearly?

Although it was not mentioned in the subsequent letters, that was because there was no need!
Besides, I am not hiding it, my signature is "Zhu Sun".

Just tell Lao Zhu that I am his grandson.

Old Zhu didn't expect this, so he can't blame himself.

but.

Will Lao Zhu reason with him?
Zhu Yunhuan suddenly felt a little overwhelmed.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked Yang Rong.

Yang Rong shrank his head.

He didn't dare to interfere in matters between the emperor and his grandson.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is intelligent and wise, with unparalleled talent. No one in the history can match you. You have your own way to resolve this. I am a dull student, not even a fraction as good as Your Highness..."

You are quite good at complimenting others.

Zhu Yunhuan yelled angrily: "Get lost!"

Yang Rong was very quick and without any hesitation, he bowed respectfully and stepped back.

"return!"

Zhu Yunhuan called him back and said with a smile, "You wrote all the letters to the Emperor. You are indispensable when I go to see the Emperor tomorrow."

Yang Rong's expression suddenly froze.

If the Emperor knew that those letters were written by me, would he beat myself to death on the spot?

But the letter was indeed written by myself, I can’t escape it!

He felt a little tearful.

"What are you afraid of? An ugly daughter-in-law will eventually have to meet her parents-in-law." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "Don't worry, Grandpa Huang is not an unreasonable person."

"I'll beat you to death any more, but I won't implicate your family."

"Besides, I'm here to protect you."

"We are now grasshoppers on the same rope, sharing happiness and difficulties together."

"You'd better think about it quickly and find a way to resolve it."

"After all, saving me is saving yourself."

……

(End of this chapter)