My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 106 Northern Switch (4k)

Bashu Guild Hall.

Tu Zemin sat idly in front of the tea stall in front of the guild hall, his eyes full of fatigue.

In the first year of the Longqing reign, he was still the governor of Fujian, a high-ranking official in charge of pacifying the area.

When the new emperor ascended the throne, he wrote a letter requesting the lifting of the maritime ban, which was supported by the cabinet, and Yuegang was subsequently opened.

However, during the process of opening and closing the Yuegang Port, Tu Zemin offended the powerful and was later besieged and impeached by the Ministry of Personnel, and the emperor ordered an investigation.

But after this survey, it was October of the second year of the Longqing reign.

There has been no progress in his case.

During this period, he went to the Censorate and found out that even the censor who impeached him was no longer working in the Censorate, and there was no one in the Censorate to handle his case!

Tu Zemin asked for help from people everywhere, but there was still no progress in the case.

No one said he was guilty, nor did anyone say he was innocent, it just hung there in obscurity.

Tu Zemin's money was almost gone and he could only live in the Bashu Guild Hall.

As his political future dimmed, his treatment became worse and worse.

There's nothing you can do about it, that's just how human nature is.

A few days ago, when Tu Zemin was borrowing the "Yuefu Xinbao" from the guild hall, he saw Su Ze's "Haiguo Ji".

Of course, he knew this young Hanlin who was stirring up trouble in the capital, so with a try-it-out attitude, Tu Zemin wrote a letter to Su Ze, and also wrote in the letter some interesting stories about his conversations with the captain of the Red Barbarian ship when he was in charge of the opening of Fujian.

I didn’t expect Su Ze to actually come to visit!
Su Ze also asked him to write an article, and Tu Zemin immediately wrote an article for "Yuefu Xinbao".

When that issue of "Yuefu Xinbao" was published, everyone in the Bashu Guild Hall enthusiastically visited Tu Zemin. They all said that he would soon be employed by the court and would be successful.

Unfortunately, after a few days of the newspaper being published, there was still no movement in the court.

Tu Zemin had actually experienced several ups and downs, but he was still unwilling to give up yesterday and went to Su Ze's house to deliver a visiting card.

Tu Zemin has made up his mind that if he fails this time, he will simply return to his hometown in Sichuan to study and retire.

At this moment, the manager of the Bashu Guild suddenly rushed out, saw Tu Zemin at the tea stall, and quickly pulled him aside and said:
"Master Tu! Su Hanlin is here!"

Su Hanlin?
Is Su Ze coming to visit again?
Tu Zemin quickly cheered himself up. He was pulled by the manager of the guild hall to the flower hall.

It’s Su Ze!
Tu Zemin hurried forward to greet him.

Su Ze pulled him and said:
"That's unacceptable. Although Futai Tu is on the investigation, his official position is higher than Su's."

The Governor of Fujian is of the second rank. Of course, the officials in Beijing are three ranks higher, so if this second rank is converted into a Beijing official, it is a fourth rank position.

Even if converted in this way, it is still much higher than Su Ze's position.

But in official circles, besides official position, influence also matters.

Su Ze was favored by the emperor and was very popular. He was also a disciple of Minister Gao, and even Zhang Siwei, the official selected by the Ministry of Personnel, had to contribute articles to his newspaper.

Tu Zemin was just an idler on a survey tour and had no backing in the capital.

Having met before, Su Ze skipped the small talk and asked directly:
"I've already told Minister Gao about Futai Tu's matter. Hasn't the Ministry of Personnel completed its investigation yet?"

When Tu Zemin heard that Su Ze had already greeted Gao Gong, his eyes lit up, but he said dejectedly, "I went to the Ministry of Personnel yesterday, but there is still no progress on the case."

It seems that Tu Zemin has offended quite a few people. Su Ze asked Xu Wei to close the door and asked:

"What did Tu Futai do in Fujian to attract such criticism?"

Tu Zemin sighed:

"Tu was so proud that he asked Your Majesty to open the gates, and then he submitted a memorial to the emperor, citing two other matters."

"What's the matter?"

Tu Zemin said:
"One reason is that the imperial court collected too little tax."

Afraid that Su Ze didn't understand, Tu Zemin said, "I'm afraid Su Hanlin doesn't know that the profits from maritime trade are so huge that ordinary people can hardly imagine! Every time a ship of goods arrives at the port, there are hundreds or thousands of times the profit. The ships at Yuegang are connected day and night, and huge amounts of money are handled here. The court only collects 30,000 silver coins a year. It's really ridiculous!"

Tu Zemin said indignantly:

"Take the ship's charter, for example. A large ship costs ten taels of silver, and a small ship costs five taels. But these are just the official prices. In reality, a ship's charter can cost hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver, and none of this money goes to the court."

Su Ze was naturally aware of the huge profits from maritime trade.

Otherwise, the West would not have been able to embark on the Age of Navigation with so many people.

What Tu Zemin said is indeed correct. The profit from shipping is so high, but Yuegang only earns 30,000 taels a year, which is indeed not enough.

Just like the unique financial system of the Ming Dynasty, although 30,000 taels were collected on the surface, the actual amount was far more than that.

Tu Zemin obviously touched someone else's cake, so he was attacked by everyone.

This means that the interests involved behind Yuegang are extremely huge, and they can even easily kill a second-rank governor.

Su Ze asked Tu Zemin:

"Then according to Tu Futai's opinion, how should we deal with this?"

Tu Zemin said:
"In my opinion, the court has two options."

"One is to increase the amount of money paid for ship tolls. By selling them, we can increase the amount of money earned in Yuegang alone by 300,000 taels per year!"

"But this method will lead to rampant smuggling because the fees are too high, and we will be back to the old ways before the sea ban."

Su Ze asked again: "What about the second one?"

"Second, simply abolish the use of ship guides, open more ports, and allow ships to dock freely, but impose strict taxes on the goods leaving the port."

“Why are strict taxes only imposed on goods leaving the port?”

Tu Zemin said, "The goods leaving the port are from the Ming Dynasty. Shouldn't the court collect taxes?"

"And the things that enter the port are what our dynasty needs, so of course we should be lenient with them."

Su Ze looked at Tu Zemin and realized that he had underestimated the abilities of these professional technical bureaucrats in ancient times!
Although they have not studied economics, they can vaguely understand the mediating role of tariffs based on common sense.

Su Ze nodded repeatedly and said:

"What Futai Tu said is absolutely right."

Su Ze asked again:
"What about the other thing?"

Tu Zemin sighed and said:
"At that time, Your Majesty sent the Maritime Customs to Yuegang to purchase ambergris. I wrote to the Maritime Customs, saying that merchants, knowing that the Ming Dynasty was in a hurry to buy ambergris, would inevitably hoard it and sell it at a high price. I asked Your Majesty to hold off on purchasing it, and thus offended the Maritime Customs."

Su Ze was also speechless. Master Tu, you can be so powerful even without the system!
One increased taxes and the other prohibited the Maritime Customs from purchasing incense, offending both the gentry who profited from maritime trade and the eunuchs who purchased ambergris.

Su Ze looked at the dejected Tu Zemin and said:

"Tai Futai, I am neither a censor nor a civil servant, so I cannot help you get an official position."

Tu Zemin's expression became even uglier, and Su Ze said again:

"I'm going to write a letter to Chen Kaihai. Would Governor Tu be willing to sign it?"

Tu Zemin looked at Su Ze in surprise. Su Ze said:

"I will write to His Majesty, requesting that the northern ports be opened to trade as well!"

Tu Zemin looked at Su Ze in surprise, and Xu Wei in the flower hall was also surprised.

Xu Wei's expression changed, he looked at Su Ze and asked:

"Dong Weng wants to reopen the tribute market with Japan?"

Tu Zemin took a breath.

The court chose to open the gate at Yuegang because Fujian had a tradition of trading with Southeast Asia, and its geographical location was suitable for doing business with Southeast Asia.

But if the northern ports are opened, who will be the trading partners?

North Korea?

Korea was so poor that it had to beg for food in the capital, but the Ming Dynasty was too lazy to trade tribute with them.

Then it can only be Japan.

As Xu Wei had participated in the Anti-Japanese War, it was obviously difficult for him to accept.

Su Ze looked at Tu Zemin and asked:
"Tu Futai, after the opening of Yuegang, has trade with Japan been banned?"

Tu Zemin nodded first, but finally shook his head.

He sighed and said, "How can we ban this? These Japanese merchants use the Ryukyu flag to enter and exit Yuegang. I heard that there are even merchants who transport goods to Ryukyu and then transport them back to the Japanese island. How can we ban this in such a vast ocean?"

The first step in opening the port during the Longqing reign was to ban trade with Japan, but in reality, it was impossible to ban it.

Su Ze knew that in this era, Japan's Iwami Silver Mine was producing a large amount of silver, and it was this large amount of silver output that supported the so-called "Warring States Period" of Japan.

Japan needed this silver to buy weapons, food, treasures and works of art, and they re-exported part of it to Westerners in exchange for their muskets and cannons.

This silver also supported the demand for luxury goods among the upper-class daimyo during the Warring States period in Japan.

On the other hand, merchants in the Ming Dynasty also needed to exchange their goods for precious silver.

One is willing to buy and the other is willing to sell, but the imperial court's ban cannot stop the trade between the two sides.

Xu Wei's face looked a little ugly, and he said:
"Back then, Hu Butang wrote a letter suggesting that Japan might invade Ryukyu. Unexpectedly, his words came true."

Su Ze said, "In fact, Tu Futai also knows that maritime trade is like controlling a river. It is better to drain it than to block it. Now that the Japanese rebellion has subsided, since it is difficult to stop the border trade between the two sides, it is better to control this trade in the hands of the court."

Xu Wei's face still looked a little ugly. He was from Zhejiang, and his hometown had been devastated by Japanese pirates. He had personally participated in the anti-Japanese war and hated the Japanese pirates to the core.

Now that Su Ze proposed to open the border in the north and resume trade with the Japanese pirates, Xu Wei naturally felt uneasy.

Su Ze looked at Tu Zemin again. Seeing that this initiator who had once strongly advocated for opening up trade had a hesitant look on his face, he knew how much resistance he would face if he proposed to open up trade in the north.

However, the resistance is great, and opening the northern switch is something that must be done in Su Ze's plan.

Su Ze took a deep breath. If he couldn't even explain his plan to the two people in front of him, he wouldn't be able to carry it out as he wanted even if he forced it through the system.

So Su Ze decided to start by persuading the two people in front of him.

Su Ze took a breath, but did not talk about opening the sea ban. Instead, he started with taxes:
"Tai Futai Tu, you have served in Fujian. Do you know the shortcomings of the current tax laws?"

Tu Zemin frowned. He was a third-class Jinshi and was promoted step by step from the grassroots county magistrate, so he was very familiar with local government affairs.

Tu Zemin was naturally aware of the disadvantages of the tax law that Su Ze mentioned.

History enthusiasts all know that there are three major pitfalls in history, namely the official system of the Song Dynasty, the military system of the Qing Dynasty, and the finances of the Ming Dynasty.

Needless to say, the official system of the Song Dynasty was extremely complicated. When the new official system after the Yuanfeng reform was added, the official system of the two Song Dynasties could be described as a disaster.

Sometimes when I look at three or four rows of official titles, I don’t know how many people they are referring to.

The same is true of the military system of the Qing Dynasty. From the tribal slave system to the modern military system in the late Qing Dynasty, the military system of the Qing Dynasty can be said to be the culmination of two thousand years of military systems, and it is also extremely complex.

The finances of the Ming Dynasty are a pile of shit inherited from our ancestors.

Simply put, the financial and taxation system designed by Zhu Yuanzhang was based on taxation in kind, with no design for financial redundancy, and it would easily lead to bankruptcy.

The rulers of the Ming Dynasty made countless efforts to maintain this mess, but ultimately ended in failure.

Tu Zemin naturally understood the drawbacks of the tax law. He sorted out his thoughts and said:

"Taizu was benevolent and kind, and the land tax levied by this dynasty was the lowest in history. However, although the original amount was small, the additional levies were too heavy. Labor service was heavier than the taxes, and the people's strength was further exhausted."

Su Ze nodded repeatedly, but Xu Wei was a little confused.

Su Ze also knew that no one is a jack of all trades. Xu Wei helped Hu Zongxian plan the anti-Japanese war and did some military and strategic work, but he himself did not know much about basic government affairs such as finance and taxation.

Yes, Xu Wei himself went bankrupt many times, and Hu Zongxian would not let him manage the finances.

Tu Zemin explained it specifically and said:
"Take the tribute tea from Wuyi Mountain in Fujian for example. Actually, the amount of tribute tea the imperial court needed each year was not much, only about 500 kilograms in total. These 500 kilograms of tea are the 'original color'."

"But these 500 kilograms are for the tea to be transported to the capital and then delivered to the internal transport warehouse. The government requires the tea farmers to deliver this amount of tea to the capital. Mr. Xu, can you guess how much tea is consumed along the way?"

Xu Wei asked, "One thousand jin?"

Tu Zemin shook his head and said:
"Five thousand pounds isn't enough."

Xu Wei lost his voice.

Tu Zemin said:
"Tea is easily affected by moisture. When it is transported to the capital, it must be inspected and approved by the eunuchs in the inner transport warehouse before it can be released into the warehouse."

"Even if the eunuchs in charge of the inspection were completely impartial, only 500 kilograms of the 5,000 kilograms shipped to the capital would pass the test."

"Wuyishan tribute tea is a major concern for Fujian. Every year, a large number of Wuyishan tea farmers abandon their production and flee, especially in recent years."

Xu Wei recalled the painful expression on Hu Zongxian's face every time he proposed those costly counterattack plans when he was preparing military operations for him.

Xu Wei also recalled how Hu Zongxian was trying to raise money everywhere to fight against the Japanese invaders.

While fighting against the Japanese pirates, we also had to bribe Yan Song and his party and take care of the people in the southeast. The pressure was heavy to think about.

Su Ze said:

"So Su has always had an idea, which is to change the tax collection from the original tax to the tax collection from the discounted tax, so that the people can be freed from the suffering of corvée."

Xu Wei nodded repeatedly, and now even Tu Zemin nodded.

But what does what Su Ze said have to do with opening up trade in the north?

Tu Zemin looked at Su Ze in confusion.

Su Ze said:

"This method is fine in places like the southeast where money and silver are common, but it will cause serious problems in the north."

Tu Zemin immediately understood what Su Ze meant, and he asked:

"Is it because money is not accepted in the north?"

(End of this chapter)