The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 602 Magical World

In fact, there is another factor that Mo Zibu did not tell Asen about maintaining his power, and that is finance.

The emperor must have control over finances and military power in order to be as stable as a rock.

The previous fall of the Ming Dynasty was actually due to the emperor's inability to control the finances, or more precisely, the power to dominate the finances.

Starting from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, that is, Emperor Xiaozong, who was praised to the skies by civil officials but actually had serious problems, the imperial power's say in finance declined rapidly.

Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, several emperors did try to salvage the situation to a certain extent. For example, the calculating and cunning Jiajing promoted Yan Song and his son in order to restore his financial power.

I, Emperor Wanshou, was trying every possible way to make money for myself, building palaces in various ways, and transferring the court's income to myself through various channels and budgets.

Apart from the fact that he himself was indeed too extravagant, another important reason was that he wanted to use this method to take back some of the control over the finances.

That's why Jiajing was so upset when he found out that Yan Song and his sons and their cronies were making more money than he was.

Because he thought he had gained control of some financial power through Yan Song, but in fact it was still in the hands of civil servants.

It was just that the money was divided from the imperial court and turned into private division by the Yan Party.

The salt tax of 10 million taels at the beginning of the dynasty was reduced to around 1 million taels during the Hongzhi period. The Jiajing period recovered it from 1 million taels to 3 million taels, but the dynasty still could not control it itself and had to rely on the Yan Party.

Therefore, even though Jiajing knew that he would not be able to gain much benefit from Xu Jie and his gang after Yan Song's downfall, he still condoned the ministers to overthrow Yan Song. This was a real breach of defense.

Although Wanli's intelligence was not as good as his grandfather's, he still knew the importance of financial power.

If you can't control financial power through court officials, then use eunuchs, who will act like Pi Xiu, only taking in and not giving out.

Tianqi was also well aware of this. He was still worried about Wei Zhongxian until his death. This was not because he was afraid that his companion would not have a good end, but because he was worried that his foolish brother would destroy the already precarious Ming Dynasty.

Sure enough, as soon as Chongzhen came to power, all the money was swindled away by the old and cunning ministers. Not only was he unable to provide disaster relief to the people, but even the soldiers who had traveled thousands of miles to support him could not even get enough money to feed them a full meal. If the country did not perish, it would be really unfair.

Mo Zibu touched his chin. After sorting it out, he realized that what he said about the fall of the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wanli was indeed correct.

Because there were only two ways to stabilize the finances of the late Ming Dynasty. One was the Jiajing model, using treacherous ministers to do things, and the emperor retreated behind the scenes to control the situation.

The second is the Zhang Juzheng model, in which the emperor simply acts as a half-mascot, uses wise ministers, and gives power to those ministers who are willing to realize the Four Sentences of Hengqu, allowing them to form a powerful cabinet to stabilize financial power, which is commonly known as the "virtual monarch with real power" model.

The former requires too much ability from the emperor and is not the right way. Jiajing was unable to do it in the end, let alone others.

The only feasible option is the latter. As long as this model is stabilized, although the imperial power is still in a weak position, the cabinet can represent part of the imperial power, so that it can barely fight against the gentry headed by the ministers of Jiangnan.

Not to mention that Zhang Juzheng lived a luxurious life, even if he was an extremely corrupt official, from the emperor's perspective, he should be allowed to be corrupt, and he should not take revenge indiscriminately because of the psychological trauma he suffered in his childhood.

Wanli just couldn't control his thoughts and brutally retaliated against Zhang Juzheng, completely blocking the second path and the last possibility of reform in the Ming Dynasty.

By the time it came to Tianqi's hands, the imperial power had declined to the point where it could only use eunuchs. No other avenues were feasible, and the country was already on its last legs, and would eventually collapse.

Because the eunuch model cannot be recognized by the people of the world, it is like the world of martial arts. If you are proficient in the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms but cannot become the leader of the martial arts world, then can you convince everyone by cutting oregano and practicing the Book of the Golden Flower?
How is that possible? They will only despise you more.

This situation would definitely occur in the later period of Mo Zibu's Dayu Dynasty, and even in the early and middle stages, so Mo Zibu made three preparations.

First, the financial power was directly divided, and the military expenses of the army's guards and navy were directly paid by the royal family.

Half of the cost is borne by finance and taxation, and this part of the military expenditure does not go through the Ministry of Revenue, but directly goes to the Inner Court Transportation Bureau.

The second is to establish Fuxing Company.

This is a monster group that includes coal, iron, shipping, education, franchise monopoly, even coinage rights, human trafficking, and colonial construction. The purpose is to have another big hand that can control financial power besides the court officials.

Therefore, Mo Zibu dared to employ Heshen, a corrupt official proven by history, because he was not afraid of Heshen's corruption.

As long as he could continue to grow Fuxing Company and allow Mo Zibu to control the financial power, embezzling a few million taels would not be a big deal.

Mo Zibu was even afraid that Heshen was not greedy. If he was not greedy, how could the emperor motivate such a capable minister?

If he was more corrupt, like in history, and embezzled tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of taels, that would be great. He would not be a corrupt official, he would be supported by the royal family.

No, it doesn't need to be raised by the royal family. It is a big fat pig that can feed itself and then appear when its owner wants to eat meat.

If there were pigs like this in the future, the farmers would cry with happiness.

However, Mo Zibu is very clear about this from what he sees from Heshen's behavior. He knows that the royal family cannot follow the path of raising fat pigs on their own, so he is very restrained and cautious in his greed.

The third point is to cultivate the bourgeoisie, or more precisely, to cultivate the bourgeoisie who are not from powerful and aristocratic backgrounds.

In the end, a republican parliament will certainly be introduced on the Continent, and the House of Commons (the House of Commons) will be filled with such capitalists.

The emperor guaranteed their status with privileges, and they became bourgeois royalists.

They don't need to give money on weekdays, but instead deposit the money directly into the Fuxing Bank, allowing the royal family to obtain a portion of the profits through financial means.

In this way, the Mo Dynasty formed a chain of traps.

Since the imperial court was controlled by ministers, the inner court was used to seize political power, and the Fuxing Company was used to seize financial power.

If there are problems between Fuxing Company and the inner court, then release the Jinyiwei and replace the company's middle and senior management with the factory guards.

Since the Censorate and Guards are too powerful to be eliminated, then the power of the outer court will be expanded and civil officials will be used to eliminate the Censorate and Guards.

Because the civil officials and nobles were too powerful, they relied on the capitalists in the Republican Parliament and relied on them.

Well, as for these people who are unreliable and can't even dance on eggs, they will naturally perish. Everyone should just do what they should do.

Mo Zibu had taught Arsen that there was no permanent solution, so he naturally understood that no matter how good a system was, there would always come a day when it would no longer work. All he could do was to make sure that day wasn't so harsh when it came.

. . . .

"Fuxing Company's attention in Japan should focus on three aspects.

As for the contract workers, no matter who does this business, the management fee cannot be reduced by a single cent, and all gold and silver transactions must be conducted through the account of Fuxing Bank.

At the same time, we cannot collect management fees and then do nothing. Supervision work must be in place and we cannot let them go too far.

As for the debts of the various eastern feudal lords, my minimum is to forgive 75% and let them repay the rest in the form of tribute year by year.

Then, 20% will be allocated to the Reconstruction Bank for future development in North America."

Heshen, who was standing beside the emperor, kept agreeing and even took out a booklet and started taking notes.

After conquering the entire East Asia this time, Mo Zibu immediately announced a financial restructuring plan for the 300 feudal domains of Japan.

The plan is very simple, which is to use a knife to physically reorganize it.

The reason why the Tokugawa shogunate declined was that the wealthy merchant groups that they used to control the three hundred feudal domains were out of control.

Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada, who designed this system, certainly wanted the wealthy merchants under their control to become the open creditors of the feudal lords who were tired of systems such as Sankin-kotai.

The three hundred feudal domains, at least those that were the most difficult to control, were all made paupers, while the Tokugawa shogunate controlled the wealthy merchants and acted as their invisible creditors. When it ran out of money, it would kill the wealthy merchants to make up for its losses.

But in the end, the Tokugawa shogunate lost the ability to kill the wealthy merchants, resulting in the shogunate and the three hundred feudal domains all owing debts to the wealthy merchants that they could not repay, and each of them was extremely poor.

This is equivalent to the Fuxing Company founded by Mo Zibu himself becoming a creditor of the royal family, and the royal family can do nothing about the Fuxing Company.

It's worth it!

So, after Mo Zibu conquered Japan, he used the wealthy merchants of Japan as negative examples and directly used the handle of a knife to ransack all their homes.

The gold and silver entered the Fuxing Bank as collateral for the issuance of silver dollars, and the commercial system was directly taken over by the Fuxing Company's Oriental branch.

The debts of the three hundred feudal domains were restructured, with 50% to 75% being forgiven. This was done in a way that showed favors while controlling these Japanese feudal domains.

At the same time, 20% of these forgiven debts will be used to prepare for the future development of western North America after the finances of each town and fiefdom improve.

Heshen did a very good job in Japan because he knew exactly what the emperor wanted.

In fact, most of the benefits of conquering Japan were taken by the imperial court. All taxes and other levies from the five provinces of Penglai, Yingzhou, Asahi, Fuso, and Silla were collected directly by the Ministry of Revenue.

The Toyo Zongli Yamen was also one of the departments of the imperial court. Its specific affairs were directly connected with the imperial court and it was under the leadership of the imperial court.

The emperor used this method to gain unanimous support from everyone for his war of conquest, so that the more expensive wars in Transoxiana and North America could gain the support of the majority of people.

Therefore, if the emperor also wanted to gain benefits in the territory of the Dongyang Mission, he would need to revive the company and need people like Heshen to carry out more meticulous operations.

Heshen did not find it difficult at all. He enjoyed the challenge brought by this task. Otherwise, how could his abilities be demonstrated?

"Zhizhai, I heard that there was a rebellion at Mitsuiya in Edo. How many thousands of people participated?" Mo Zibu asked Heshen in a low voice. Heshen nodded, knelt before the emperor and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. Most of the participants were former wealthy merchants, some samurai who were dissatisfied with being annexed by China, and some people whose interests were damaged by the Tokugawa family.

The Emperor has already dispatched two battalions of the Liwei Army and the Susong garrison, and the situation will be quelled soon."

"Well, then kill them all. It's better to kill the wrong ones than to let them go!" Mo Zibu sneered. He didn't expect that the Mitsui family had already had some power at this time. It was a good opportunity to eliminate these guys.

"Zhi Zhai, the special envoys from Britain and France will be here soon. You should sit there and listen. These two countries will be the ones competing with China in the future." After giving the order, Mo Zibu said to Heshen.

"I obey your order." Heshen was actually not as concerned about Britain and France as Mo Zibu. This was also the general perception of the Chinese people at that time. They did not think that Britain and France were qualified to compete with China.

On the contrary, a large number of people were very wary of Russia, because Tsarist Russia was really capable of causing trouble for Dayu in the Xianbei Desert and the river.

. . . .

In Ziguang Pavilion, Mo Zibu first summoned the French envoy.

He was still prepared to save France temporarily, but it was just a gesture to ease the crisis in France.

Because the debt of more than 200 million taels of silver is impossible to solve at the moment, well, it is not impossible.

Mo Zibu had an idea, which was to raise his right hand, divert the conflict, and learn from the old artists of World War II.

Because a large part of the debts owed by France was owed by Jewish capital groups.

For example, the Rothschild family, which was praised as a god by later generations but was actually a loan shark vampire, and the Baring family, which was well-known and had the British and French governments as its major clients.

However, if this matter falls on Mo Zibu, he dares to do it and can do it, but France cannot do it.

Not to mention whether Louis XVI had the ability or whether the current French government can do it, the problem is that they simply dare not do it.

Because it is a time when Britain and France are competing fiercely, and capitalism is booming.

If France dares to default on its debt or even raises its right hand, then these Jewish capitalists will collectively bet on England, and France, which is already at a disadvantage, will be even more doomed.

Moreover, the noble clergy and the great aristocracy in France were also engaged in this business, so the usury imperialism of later generations was not called that for nothing.

The French envoy this time was named Antoine Lecht. He was a very capable man who had climbed up the ranks from being a baron's illegitimate son to becoming a favorite of Louis XVI and the deputy minister of finance of the kingdom.

In the future, he would serve as the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of War, and was eventually executed in the September 9th Massacre during the French Revolution.

"Yes, Antoine, you are right. I do have some opinions about you French people. Of course, these opinions do not affect the friendship between our two countries or my personal friendship with King Louis."

After learning that Antoine Lecht had spent a long time in North America and was a director of the French Mississippi Company, the protagonist of the famous Mississippi Bubble incident.

Mo Zibu immediately addressed him affectionately as Antoine instead of "special envoy" and also brought the matter to North America.

"You French people have no idea what a monster you have created in North America, that you have created a real nation in North America.

It's a disaster, you know, Antoine, it's a disaster because the conditions in North America are so good, far away from conflicts and with abundant resources.

This newborn America will surely thrive in this land and grow into a strong and prosperous nation."

Heshen and Jinyiwei commander Chen Xu, who participated in the meeting, both curled their lips in their hearts.

"Your Majesty, you should change your words, because the last time you talked about India, you used the same tone."

Antoine Lecht was also very puzzled. He didn't think that those little hooligans like Washington and Jefferson could accomplish anything great. He was very familiar with these two people, typical country bumpkin slave owners.

However, he heard Mo Zibu's hidden ambition for North America, "Your Majesty, America can never be that powerful. As long as France and Spain are still in North America, they can't cross the Appalachian Mountains."

Humph, Mo Zibu snorted inwardly, these French guys still think they can gain a foothold in North America.

Historically, it was you who sold Louisiana to the Americans, paving the way west for them.

However, the situation in Louisiana is a bit special now. It is not in the hands of the French, but nominally belongs to the Kingdom of Spain. France and Spain have a lot of dirty tricks here, and it is not the time for China to intervene.

"Antoine, this is exactly what I'm worried about. Your French financial crisis is so serious. Do you really have the ability to continue investing money in North America?" Mo Zibu leaned forward a little.

"How about you sell me some of the shares of the Mississippi Company? As a great power, China still doesn't own even a little bit of land in North America or even the Americas. This is too embarrassing."

Mo Zibu's words were very direct. When talking to these Europeans, one has to be direct. Anyway, even a fool wouldn't believe Mo Zibu when he said he had no interest in North America.

The Mississippi Company, although its name kept changing, was even called the French East India Company for a period of time.

But its main business has not changed, which is to colonize the central and eastern United States around the Mississippi River that runs through the north and south.

Antoine Lecht had an idea. This was not a bad idea. The company's performance had been getting worse and worse over the years. This was a good opportunity to liquidate these non-performing assets.

For example, he himself had company shares worth 150,000 livres, equivalent to 20,000 silver dollars.

If the emperor really wanted to buy it, maybe he could sell it for 300,000 livres, which would be great. As for China entering North America, it would pose a threat to France.

Haha, isn’t North America threatening enough now? Besides, this is selling company shares, not selling colonial outposts. The emperor can only send a few directors and get a small place for his own entertainment.

"Of course, Your Majesty, the shares of the Mississippi Company have always been traded on the Paris financial market. This is not a problem."

Mo Zibu chuckled in his heart. In history, you used Louisiana to make a lot of money from the Americans. Fifteen million US dollars is almost equivalent to twenty million silver dollars.

In comparison, the current market value of the Mississippi Company is only about 1.5 million silver dollars, which is completely incomparable.

As for Louisiana today, a large part of it is still in the hands of Spain. Haha, Mozibu is not a French royal family of the same clan as the Spanish royal family. After obtaining the ownership, he will just slap Spain in the face.

"Then I am prepared to invest 300,000 silver dollars. What do you think, Antoine?" Mo Zibu stretched out three fingers.

"And I can let you do it for me, as long as the premium doesn't exceed 50%."

Antoine Lecht couldn't help swallowing. If he handled it properly, he could get at least 10,000 silver dollars, no, at least 15,000 silver dollars in compensation, and this did not include the proceeds from the sale of his company shares.

"Your Majesty, I have come to China this time with one more matter I would like to consult you about. His Highness Armand II, Duke of Aiguillon, has a matured deposit of one million livres and is looking for a new partner. I heard that your Majesty's Banque de la Reconstruction handles this kind of business."

Mo Zibu understood immediately that the French finances were on the verge of collapse due to these incredible things, but the nobles and high-ranking clergy were looking for people to borrow money from everywhere.

Because they knew the country's situation best, they were no longer willing to lend money to the French government, and they were also afraid that their money would be "robbed" by the government if it was kept in their home country, so they were looking for a way out for their wealth.

Historically, these funds have flowed to England, Germany, and even America and Russia.

It is said that much of the $15 million that Americans spent to buy Louisiana was previously loaned to America by French nobles.

Mo Zibu thought about it and realized that the rebelliousness was also Louis XVI's rebellion, not his, so why should he worry about it?

The Duke of Aiguillon belongs to the Richelieu family. Armand II is the great-nephew of the current Duke of Richelieu and a great nobleman in France. One million livres is about 130,000 silver dollars.

Then, this amount of money must be just for exploration. Mo Zibu estimated that these great nobles and great priests have assets worth at least 10 to 20 million silver dollars that can be raised.

Please note that this is real gold and silver that can be transported out without being ostentatious. It is not all of their assets and certainly does not include antiques or the like.

"Antoine, I can tell you that the Chinese Empire is about to recover the lost territory in Central Asia, and it does require a large amount of funds, but the interest."

Mo Zibula raised his voice, and He Shen beside him immediately responded, "Your Majesty, as the Vice President of Fuxing Company, I am here to contact the Special Envoy on this matter."

"Oh my god, you slutty Tartar, you're really quick!" Chen Xu was greatly surprised and looked at Heshen with a higher opinion.

"Okay, Zhizhai, you can discuss the details with the special envoy." Mo Zibu nodded to Heshen. The French funds came out for risk aversion, and he certainly could not offer high interest rates.

Well, or high interest is also acceptable. It feels so good to use your money to buy your shares.

Moreover, it was only a dozen years before the French Revolution. If the loan term was extended, in case a big family or a big missionary was defeated in the revolution, they would not have to pay it back.

Mo Zibu had an idea and thought that it seemed necessary to continue to maintain good relations with the French, because he found that China might be able to reap the benefits after the fall of the Bourbon dynasty in France.

"Antoine, I basically agree with Louis' proposal to rebuild the spice trade route from Batavia to Europe.

As long as France can deal with the United Provinces, this route will be shared by the French company and the Odyssey company of Shinra.

As for the percentage, I think we can hold a tripartite meeting in a few days to discuss the details."

In the end, Mozibu agreed to Louis XVI's request, but did not make any statement about the French Kingdom borrowing money from the Chinese Empire.

At this moment, Asen, who was observing politics once again, had his three views shattered again.

The French envoy came from a long distance, but the main topic of discussion was not about saving the country on the verge of bankruptcy, but private transactions.

King Louis XVI of France was so poor that he had to borrow money from the Chinese Empire. However, his ministers had plenty of money and not only did they not lend it to their own government, they also asked the Fuxing Company to borrow money from them.

This world is so magical!
Thirteen-year-old Arsen said that it was really hard for him to understand!
(End of this chapter)