Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 294 Lao Zhu: I want you to help him ascend the throne and become emperor!
"Tell us quickly, where is Zhu Sun?"

Old Zhu stood up suddenly, rushed to Yang Rong, stared at him and said.

The sound was so loud, like thunder, startling everyone in the field.

"He is in the East Palace!"

Yang Rong did not sell the circle again and answered directly.

"Let's go find him now."

Old Zhu walked outside without even looking back.

Yoshigaki, Jiang Lin, and a group of Jinyiwei hurriedly followed.

Everyone can see that His Majesty is really anxious.

Since arriving in Shanghai, Lao Zhu has begun to study Shanghai's operating model and the "economic principles" behind it.

If it were in the past, Lao Zhu would not take it seriously at all.

Anyway, the entire Ming Dynasty belongs to the Zhu family, and the world belongs to the Zhu family. What's wrong with the court borrowing some money?
The worst that can happen is that I won’t pay back the debt.

The country is in your hands, but you are afraid that the creditors will not be able to collect the debts.

But today, Zhu is no longer the "old farmer" who knew nothing about economics and ordered the printing of banknotes at random.

Today, Mr. Zhu has a very deep understanding of the national economy.

I also know very well what it means if I can't pay back such a large amount of money.

If a country's credit goes bankrupt, it will be a real disaster.

In the past, when banknotes were printed, because of their relatively large denominations, the actual usage rate among the people was not high. Most of the time, ordinary people either used copper coins, or simply bartered, or used grain and cloth as general equivalents.

Therefore, although the devaluation of Baochao caused a lot of trouble, it was still within the country's tolerance.

Today, the new version of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Note has truly penetrated into the daily lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Its widespread use is a far cry from before.

The money in the Ming Bank is the deposits of millions of Ming people.

The court owes money to the people of the world. If it cannot pay it back, something serious will happen.

No wonder Lao Zhu is so anxious.

Yang Rong hurriedly followed.

A smile inadvertently appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Become!

Finally, they succeeded in diverting the Emperor's attention from Zhu Sun to the country's debt.

Later, even though the Emperor knew that Zhu Sun was Zhu Yunhu, the first thing he thought of was to ask him why he owed so much debt and how to solve the debt problem, instead of holding him accountable for impersonating Zhu Sun and deceiving him.

As the saying goes, start with a burst of energy, then it weakens, and then it is exhausted.

As long as His Majesty the Emperor does not hold me accountable for counterfeiting right from the start, and has the opportunity to use the debt as a buffer, once the debt is settled, this matter can be raised high and then put down lightly.

For example, now, His Majesty the Emperor is only concerned with going to the Eastern Palace to look for someone, and has not even asked why Zhu Sun is in the Eastern Palace.

However, Yang Rong's happiness only lasted for a moment.

Soon, Old Zhu walked out of the Daming Academy of Sciences and got on the carriage. He turned around and said, "Come with me in the carriage, and tell me why Zhu Sun is not in the Daming Academy of Sciences but in the Eastern Palace?"

……

Yang Rong had no choice but to get in the car.

Yoshigaki was about to get on the carriage to serve, but was driven away by Lao Zhu, who ordered him to "watch outside and not allow anyone to approach the carriage."

The carriage rumbled forward.

Inside the car, Yang Rong knelt down quickly.

Old Zhu said calmly: "Zhu Sun? The so-called Zhu Sun is our rebellious grandson, right?"

Yang Rong looked up, his face full of astonishment: "Your Majesty has a keen eye and sees through it..."

"If we still can't see through it, wouldn't we be fools?" Old Zhu snorted.

"Your Majesty is wise and I admire you!" Yang Rong remained prostrated, not daring to look at Zhuge Liang.

"Were you the one who wrote all those letters to us?" Old Zhu asked coldly.

"Yes!" Yang Rong's voice trembled slightly: "I have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, and I deserve to die."

"Look up!" Old Zhu's majestic voice sounded, "Look at me."

Yang Rong raised his head slowly.

Old Zhu stared at him and said, "Since you are the ghostwriter and a close confidant of that traitorous grandson, you must have some skills."

"I'll give you some time now. Please explain to us clearly the debt owed by the Ming Dynasty court and how you plan to repay it in the future."

Yang Rong was stunned for a moment, then kowtowed and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will explain this matter clearly to His Majesty."

Old Zhu said coldly: "We want you to speak! If you can't explain it clearly before the carriage arrives at the East Palace, we will chop off your head and put your whole family in prison."

As the words fell, murderous intent suddenly rose.

After entering the warm carriage, the temperature seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.

Yang Rong's heart trembled. He knew that the emperor's words were no joke.

The emperor’s wrath is not to be underestimated.

He took a deep breath, realizing that he had to speak.

He quickly cleared his mind and said, "It's actually very simple. It's like borrowing money to do business. As long as the business can make money, the debt will not be a problem."

Old Zhu looked at him and said nothing.

Yang Rong continued, "Five hundred million taels of silver is naturally a huge sum of money."

"But because it is a loan from the Ming Bank, the interest rate is extremely low. The annual interest that needs to be repaid is only 4%, and the total amount is about 20 million taels a year."

"The commercial and customs taxes collected by the Department of Taxation now amount to more than 30 million taels a year. Add to that the existing taxes on grain, which amount to more than 20 million taels. The total is more than 50 million taels."

"The court's income can fully afford this interest expense."

Old Zhu said coldly: "You only pay the interest, what about the principal?"

Yang Rong said: "This is the beauty of state loans. The principal does not need to be repaid."

"No need to pay it back?" Old Zhu was stunned for a moment and frowned slightly.

Yang Rong nodded gently and said, "The debt of 500 million silver is not just one debt, but multiple debts."

"Nominally, you have to pay it back in installments."

"In reality, it is nothing more than paying off old debts and incurring new debts."

"If the total size of the debt remains the same forever, it means that you never have to repay the principal, and you only have to pay the interest."

He paused, and continued, "In fact, the scale of the debt will continue to expand, from 500 million taels to 600 million taels, 700 million taels, and even 100 million taels, 200 million taels... Not only does the principal not need to be repaid, but it can also be continuously supplemented and increased through new loans."

Old Zhu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He has learned a lot about economics, but he does not have a deep understanding of the concept of "debt-driven economic development".

From beginning to end, all the correspondence between Zhu Yunhuan and Old Zhu was written by Yang Rong.

In order to reply, he also read all the letters written by Lao Zhu.

Therefore, Yang Rong knew Zhu's knowledge structure in economics very well.

“Investment will generate returns, which will lead to rising state revenues.”

Yang Rong went on to explain: "It's like the Manufacturing Bureau investing 10 million taels of silver to smelt steel. Because the manufacturing bureau has a high level of technology, the steel smelted can still make a high profit even if it is sold at a lower price."

"This investment of 10 million taels of silver will soon pay for itself, even after deducting the interest."

“There is no need to worry about not being able to repay the debt.”

As soon as these words came out, a gleam of light suddenly flashed in Lao Zhu's eyes.

If in the past, Lao Zhu still had some doubts about this, but now, after visiting the manufacturing bureau's production factory for several consecutive days, he has already had a deep understanding of the manufacturing bureau's technical level and production efficiency.

Yang Rong was right. The Manufacturing Bureau has greatly reduced production costs and its production efficiency is incredibly high. There is no doubt that it will be very profitable.

If you lend money to the Manufacturing Bureau, you don't have to worry about not being able to pay it back.

"Even if the money from the Daming Manufacturing Bureau can be repaid, the Daming Manufacturing Bureau does not have so much money."

Old Zhu was still very angry: "We thought the Ming court had no shortage of money and had endless silver to spend, but we didn't expect that all of it was borrowed. You said that the money from the Manufacturing Bureau can be earned back, but what about the other money?"

"Other money actually generates income, but they are long-term investments with lower returns, but they are vital to the country."

Yang Rong said: "Repairing the roads will greatly speed up the mobilization of our Ming army, because transportation is more convenient, and we can also gather more troops."

"In this way, if there is a war with the outside world, we can mobilize the army of the whole country and gather the strength of the entire Ming Dynasty."

"If there is an riot or rebellion, we can quickly send troops to suppress it."

"If there were no such roads, it would be impossible to do this."

Yang Rong knew very well what Zhu Yuanzhang cared about most. He did not start from the perspective of economic interests, but put military interests first.

Lao Zhu did not refute this point.

Yang Rong then added: "Not only that, with these roads, business travel is more convenient, more goods can be transported, trade is more prosperous, and the commercial taxes that the court can collect will naturally be more, which can be regarded as a return on investment."

Old Zhu snorted again and did not comment.

Yang Rong added: "As for the construction of reservoirs, granaries, and dams, they are great and good things that benefit the country and the people."

Old Zhu sneered, "It's a good thing, but why don't you do what you can instead of borrowing money? Borrowing new debts to pay off old debts, you've made a good plan. In the future, all the tax revenue of the country will be used to pay the interest?"

"No!" Yang Rong shook his head repeatedly: "His Royal Highness has a complete plan."

"According to the budget, the Ming Manufacturing Bureau will generate a total revenue of 50 million taels from the sales of steel, glass, paper, and other items next year."

“Moreover, it will continue to grow every year.”

“The commercial taxes that the Department of Taxation can collect are expected to increase by more than one-fifth each year.”

"According to estimates, the total revenue of the Ming Dynasty court next year will be as high as 100 million taels of silver."

"The year after next, we will be able to increase it by another 50 million taels, and the year after that, we will be able to increase it by another 70 million taels."

"And so on, every year it gets higher than the last."

"Within ten years, the Ming Dynasty's annual tax revenue will exceed 500 million taels."

"Five hundred million taels may seem high today, but by then, it won't seem like much."

Old Zhu seemed a little unconvinced: "How can the Ming Dynasty have so much tax revenue?"

Yang Rong said firmly: "This is still a very conservative estimate, and it does not include overseas income."

"In fact, according to His Royal Highness's plan, if the Ming Dynasty goes out to sea on a large scale and expands overseas markets, the court's income may be able to increase several times."

"His Royal Highness said that the purpose of establishing a bank is to mobilize the money of the entire Ming society and use it for national construction."

"The imperial court now has limited tax revenue each year. If we don't raise funds through banks, our initial investment and development will be like a housewife without rice, unable to make a living."

“Bank capital can only continue to expand, not decrease.”

"Once the Ming Dynasty society enters a period of rapid development, the people of the Ming Dynasty will all have enough food and clothing."

"The court's debt will naturally decrease in substance as society develops and taxes increase."

"If the imperial court's tax revenue is only 20 million taels a year, but it owes 500 million taels in debt, that's indeed a lot."

"But if the court has an annual income of 500 million taels, what does it matter if it owes such a small debt?"

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this. His Royal Highness has already drawn up a five-year plan."

"Within five years, the Ming Dynasty's total tax revenue and other revenues must reach 500 million taels."

……

Yang Rong spoke eloquently and elaborated on the specific contents of the five-year plan.

This plan is just a proposal and has not been announced to the public.

But as Zhu Yunhuan's "secretary", Yang Rong was responsible for the entire drafting process and knew it very well.

At this moment, he spoke fluently and fluently.

More importantly, he had communicated with Lao Zhu a lot before, and he knew what knowledge Lao Zhu had mastered and what he didn't understand.

However, due to the limitation of writing brushes in previous correspondence, some things were not explained clearly enough.

In addition, Zhu Yunhuan dictated how to reply to the letter.

Zhu Yunhuan only spoke the important words.

Talking about it face to face at this time is naturally different.

How Yang Rong will use bank capital to promote national economic development and improve productivity... How will the financial industry develop after economic development, how will bank capital be further expanded, etc., how will the country use debt to drive economic development, how will people's lives improve, and how will the country's fiscal revenue skyrocket? He told Lao Zhu in detail.

Old Zhu already knew about these things, what he lacked was just a systematic organization.

Yang Rong also learned it from Zhu Yunhuan.

At first, he himself didn't quite believe it.

Later, he carefully analyzed it and compared it with the phenomena he observed, and found that what Zhu Yunhuan said was actually the truth.

Old Zhu's expression also gradually changed from serious to relaxed, and he nodded frequently with a smile on his face.

He had already studied it for a long time and had a very deep understanding of it. At this point, he just needed a little pointer to understand it.

What Zhu Yuanzhang was most worried about was that the imperial court was collecting so much tax. Wasn’t that draining the pond to catch fish?
Know that the people will only get richer.

This also matched what he had seen and heard in his research in Shanghai, and his doubts were gradually put to rest.

After a while, Yang Rong finished his story.

"Great!" Old Zhu praised: "You are indeed a talent of the Unicorn. With a minister like you as his assistant, our grandson will have no problem governing the country."

Yang Rong hurriedly said, "These are all what His Majesty the Grandson said. I am just a humble servant who often serves His Majesty and listens to his teachings. I know a little bit. I am ashamed to receive your praise."

"This knowledge may seem simple, but it is actually extremely difficult." Lao Zhu said, "It's already very good that you can understand it and have your own understanding."

He looked at Yang Rong deeply and said, "Our grandson is really good at judging people."

"Yao Guangxiao, Yang Shiqi, and you are all good."

"All of you have the talent to govern a country."

"We can now safely hand over the Ming Dynasty to him."

Yang Rong couldn't help but feel moved.

In private, he discussed this matter with Yao Guangxiao and Yang Shiqi.

His Majesty the Emperor has been indifferent to state affairs and seems to intend to pass the throne to Zhu Yunhuan and become the emperor emeritus.

This is certainly what they want.

After all, although the position of crown prince is stable, he is not the emperor after all, so unexpected events may occur.

But this kind of thing is not something that they, the ministers, can interfere with.

The Emperor's sigh at this time seemed to have a hidden meaning.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Lao Zhu's voice.

"Yang Rong, you are a confidant promoted by my grandson. I want you to do something."

There was an unusual look on his face, and his tone was extremely solemn.

Yang Rong was surprised.

I just felt that the old emperor in front of me seemed to have become different.

But I can't say what it is.

He quickly responded: "Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will never refuse even if I die!"

Old Zhu looked at him and said slowly: "The Ming Dynasty cannot be without a master for a day! From today on, I want you to help my grandson ascend the throne and become emperor!"

……

(End of this chapter)