"How are the sales of the products now? Have the accounts reported by the various bureaus and factories been checked? Has the conquest of the Rakshasa Kingdom succeeded in stimulating the economy so that the bureaus and factories no longer have to reduce production?"
Not long after Zhu Youxiao returned to Beijing, he asked his ministers about the economic situation of the Ming Empire.
Whether the increasingly prominent economic crisis of the Ming Empire can be resolved through foreign war is what he is most concerned about now.
As for the large number of middle-class people who eagerly hope that the court will reform the system, he, the emperor, has no time to care about it.
Over the years, as Zhu Youxiao grew older and deepened his study of Chinese culture, he had different ideas on how to govern the Ming Empire, which had now entered another social form.
When he first came to the throne, because the Ming Dynasty had only been in crisis for 24 years according to its original history, he dared to take a risk and innovate to eliminate shortcomings regardless of the consequences.
But now, he is no longer so eager for restructuring, and even tends to be slow.
In the past, the conservative ones were the bureaucrats and scholar-officials, while the radical one was the young emperor Tianqi.
At that time, Zhu Youxiao would overturn the table at every turn, forcing a group of old ministers to either become corpses on his way to reform and eradicate evils, or become new nobles whom he single-handedly supported, in a way that would probably lead to the resumption of rebellion.
But now it is he, the emperor, who is conservative, and many bureaucrats and scholar-bureaucrats who are radical.
In the previous Ming Dynasty, only rentiers participated in politics.
In today's Ming Dynasty, in addition to rentiers, more ordinary people participate in political activities. Among these people are a large number of students, a large number of businessmen, a large number of employees, and a large number of farmers who no longer pay taxes to the court.
Therefore, today's Ming Dynasty society is more complex, the middle class is very large, and it is more like an olive-shaped society.
And most of them have high cultural popularity.
As a result, there are many people who have radical political demands due to unsatisfied desires.
Zhu Youxiao now believes in Sima Qian's words, which is: "The ears and eyes are craving for the good sounds and colors, the mouth is craving for the taste of the grasshopper, the body is comfortable and happy, and the heart is boasting about the glory of the power. The customs have been gradually spread among the people for a long time, even though the household has Talking about it, it cannot be transformed. Therefore, those who are good follow it, the next is to facilitate it, the next is to teach, the next is to order, and the lowest is to fight with it."
Nowadays, he is too lazy to take the initiative to make changes, but would rather follow the current situation of the world and take one step at a time.
It can be said that he is only willing to change his mind when someone puts a knife to his neck and forces him to do so.
Because in that situation, Zhu Youxiao was sure that his reform was in line with the current situation of the world. If he resisted again, he would become the first emperor to be sent to the execution platform.
Naturally, Zhu Youxiao will not forcefully stop the general trend.
He knew that with the increase of the bourgeoisie and craftsmen, the decline of monarchy was inevitable.
Therefore, the emperor Zhu Youxiao now neither takes the initiative to give up power nor forcibly stops him. He is gradually peeling himself off from groups holding various ideological groups, and like a tinker, he only uses it to still be in charge. The imperial power of the world repaired all the problems in the economy and people's livelihood of the empire.
Of course, the less energetic Zhu Youxiao also knew that when faced with the industrialized new Ming Empire, he indeed no longer knew how to transform him in terms of political structure.
"Back to Your Majesty, sales have improved a lot. According to the accounts reported by various government-owned industries, the profit situation has greatly improved. The expedition against the Rakshasa Kingdom and the dispatch of troops to the Japanese country have also increased the various government-owned industries. There are many orders, especially military orders! The standard for production reduction can be lowered, but it is not yet to the point where production can be increased, especially for some civilian industrial products. The main reason is that the market has not been completely opened, whether it is Japanese or Luo Sharen, they haven’t completely become a group that can consume our Ming Dynasty industrial products!”
Liu Hongxun replied.
As an auxiliary minister, like Emperor Zhu Youxiao and other auxiliary ministers, when he was in power, he only used his power to repair various practical problems of the empire or to benefit the world, and would not propose any reforms. Things are coming.
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao nodded, frowned, and said to himself: "It's not surprising that we haven't reached the stage of increasing production yet, and there is such a big difference in the wealth between foreign countries and our Ming Dynasty!"
Having said this, Zhu Youxiao asked again: "What else is important recently?"
Lu Xiangsheng stood up at this time and said: "Your Majesty, according to reports from overseas colonial governors and vassal kings, in recent years, in our Ming Dynasty's colonial areas in Southeast Asia, India, and Myanmar, the native people The number and scale of riots have increased significantly, and the so-called independence movement is surging!"
"This is related to the fact that the overall economy of the Ming Empire has begun to slump. Because the income growth of domestic people has dropped, demand has decreased. And our Ming Dynasty's various industries in the colonies, such as mining, have to reduce local employees, so that the native people have to reduce their income. decline, and dissatisfaction begins to sprout!”
"In addition, our local powerful bureaucrats and gentry have been exploited too much, which has led to an increase in the number of rebels, who have begun to clamor to restore their own nation and restore their original dynasty! And these colonial areas have also become more unrest due to intensification of unrest. It affects the local market, which in turn affects local commodity exports."
"These are all chain effects, which can only be solved by waiting for the Ming Dynasty to continue to expand from the outside, and try to reduce the number of people who are not engaged in production. At least those who are not engaged in production are only Han people."
As Zhu Youxiao said, he asked again: "Is there anything else?"
"Back to your Majesty, reports have been reported to Dongchang in various places. Recently, more and more scholars have been secretly organizing to come to Beidu to petition and submit petitions. They say they are requesting the imperial court to reform the law. The contents are just to limit the power of the monarch and grant local autonomy. power, streamline institutions, eliminate redundant officials and soldiers, make transactions in all walks of life more free, etc. Many of them are talking about using school strikes and market strikes to let the emperor and ministers listen. What is the true voice of the people.”
Han Zanzhou replied at this time.
"The business growth is not as good as before, and the contradictions have become more prominent. They are all trying to gain more benefits for their own class within their own countries!"
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.
"What your Majesty is saying is that in recent years, the growth of foreign market demand has slowed down, and domestic competition has become fiercer. Naturally, more and more people have taken the opportunity to demand reforms. This is not unexpected."
Liu Hongxun replied.
"I am not opposed to reform, but it depends on how it is changed. Once this law changes, it may make our country, the Ming Dynasty, even worse!"
Zhu Youxiao said, "Just now, didn't it mean that the recent war has not completely opened up the outside market, and we still need to continue to reduce production. In this case, let's simply issue an edict. In addition to transportation, government affairs, and military matters, In addition, all other practitioners must take a three-month break! Their income and losses during the three-month break will be subsidized by the imperial court! In addition, various official services are free, and losses are also subsidized by the imperial court. This is also It’s like sending money to stimulate the economy! Let them all come to Beijing to see me!”
Liu Hongxun was shocked after hearing this: "We stopped production for three months and still allowed him to come to Beijing. Why is this, Your Majesty?"
"Of course I want to hear more people's thoughts, lest they say that I can't hear the real people's voices, and I'm also worried that they will only hear the people's voices around them!"
"Pass my message to Tianjin, Jiangnan, Shuzhong, Jianghan, Jianghuai, Liaodong, and all the densely populated areas of the Ming Dynasty, and tell them, from the octogenarians to the teenagers who have not graduated from primary school, especially the young people who have not graduated from primary school. Workers and farmers all came to see me and let me hear their voices."
Zhu Youxiao said: "Since there is a movement, all the people must join together! We cannot just ask the reform scholars and businessmen to participate."
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