The idea of whitelisting is very inspiring.
In fact, in addition to engineering procurement, this method can also be applied to other procurements conducted by the government. It is nothing more than modifications and additions to the details.
As an institution that manages a large amount of national assets, the Shaofu not only accumulates wealth, but also has the function of distributing wealth.
Because currency is just a resource for power, the key is to convert it into more practical and useful things, such as troops, food supplies, assets that can generate return funds, such as the city that never sleeps, etc.
Transporting the money home and covering it up is an absolute miser's mentality.
As an emperor, if private commerce languishes and agriculture deteriorates, no matter how much money you have hidden in your treasury, it will be quickly consumed in the end.
If you don't take the initiative to distribute wealth, people will let you passively pay for it. At least large-scale investment and construction is much better than large-scale counter-insurgency suppression.
In addition, Gu Zuo's conversations with the three officials on the way from Yangzhou to the capital also gave him more room for imagination.
Later in prison, the dark and quiet environment gave him enough time to think.
From this perspective, being closed for a month is not a good or bad thing. After all, if he were outside and so busy with worldly matters, how could he have so much thought to think about purely theoretical things.
However, I decided to write it down because I felt that I would no longer be able to see the emperor.
But he felt that some of his thoughts were important, so he chose to record them on paper.
If one day his life is in danger, at least he can ask someone to deliver such a thing to the emperor, so that he can die without regrets.
Gu Zuo did not tell the emperor about this mentality. He did not need to show his loyalty. The emperor knew very well whether he was loyal or not.
So it’s just a matter of presenting things.
In fact, Zhu Houzhao knew that Gu Zuo was writing in prison, so he understood as soon as he submitted, "Is it a book?"
Zhu Houzhao was also curious about what kind of economic works people of this era could write.
"It shouldn't be considered a book, it's just the humble work of a humble minister. If you have time, please ask the Holy One to read it."
Zhu Houzhao waved, and Liu Jin took the things over.
"...Tell me. Why you wrote this book."
"As mentioned before, Wei Chen met three Juren by chance on the boat. They are all from local merchant families in Yangzhou. They have been exposed to it since childhood and have an unusual understanding of business and money. Along the way, Wei Chen mentioned the treasure to them. Banknotes, silver, maritime trade, food. There was a remark that shocked the humble minister."
"What words?"
"After the imperial court opened the sea, a large amount of tea, porcelain, and silk were exported overseas, and a large amount of silver was imported into China. If things go on like this, the more silver there is in China, the price of silver will inevitably decrease day by day, so the price of rice and salt will inevitably become increasingly expensive. In the end, they will become The more silver there is, the harder it is for the people. To solve this crisis, we need to exchange for some grain at the same time as silver. Only grain can fill our stomachs."
"Three candidates?"
Gu Zuo immediately spoke, "Your Majesty, there is indeed something wrong with these three people's arrogant discussion of government affairs. However, I have been with them for several days and know that they are not disloyal and unfilial people. Please forgive them."
"No, you will be wrong about what I mean." Zhu Houzhao looked at the book in his hand, "I am surprised that the three Juren can have such an opinion. In fact, what they said is quite right."
Liu Jin was a little surprised when he heard this. Gu Liqing was Gu Liqing, and his holy pet was really not that good.
"Your book is called "On Sea Trade". Although it has not been opened yet, it will definitely be very exciting. As for the names of those three people, I don't want to ask too much. The imperial examination is about to take place, so let them take the test first. . It’s fair to say that I, the emperor, am always easier to arrange.”
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"As for your discussion, we have gradually realized the essence of currency. That is, currency itself has no value. It has value only because everyone recognizes it. In reality, it is a good deal for the court to exchange silk and porcelain for food. , these are all fine. But we cannot say that currency is of no use because of this.”
"For example, if the imperial court wants to build roads, silver is still the best resource. It is not easy to use porcelain or silk, or at least it is inconvenient. Therefore, for a period of time, it is a good choice to import overseas silver into China. It is actually a bit like What I told you before was to give the people the means to make a living and give them money to spend. The import of silver from overseas also has the same purpose."
To put it bluntly, economic activities must have sufficient currency.
If there is not enough money and transactions are troublesome, it is actually a big restriction. It can even be said that you should almost not think about the word prosperity.
Historically, the Ming Dynasty was still a country with relatively little silver during this period, so hundreds of millions of silver were imported in the next few decades.
From a market perspective, if the price of silver in China is so low that no one wants it, then merchants going overseas will naturally be unwilling to ask for silver. But in fact this did not happen.
"I also heard that there is a huge silver mine in the country of Japan."
"Silver mine?!" Even Gu Zuo felt envious for a moment.
If you are envious, you will want it.
But these are still far away. The Ming Dynasty didn't even have a decent navy.
"I just heard about it. Sir Li, I'd better read your book first. If you don't mind, I'll make some notes on the side."
Gu Zuo was flattered and said, "I will do as your Majesty wishes."
"Okay, then please step back first."
"yes."
Zhu Houzhao actually had a weird feeling.
If it weren't for him, a visitor from later generations, how could anyone in the Ming Dynasty think about trade and currency?
So he looked at it seriously with a trace of curiosity.
The name of "On Sea Trade" is a bit random, but it does not affect its content. The book is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the background of the imperial court's opening of the sea.
In fact, these were some of the reasons that the imperial court considered for the people of Zhejiang and Fujian to go to sea to make a living.
Zhu Houzhao felt that he had avoided some questions, such as why the imperial court banned the sea during the Hongwu period. The ministers did not dare to write, but he, the emperor, could make the decision.
Every era has its own characteristics and special reasons. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, facing the two-sided attack from the Southeast and Northern Yuan Dynasties, Emperor Taizu made such a decision.
It was right to ban the sea at that time, and it is also right to open the sea now. This is called pragmatism and flexibility. If the atmosphere of governance can have these two things, it will be a great blessing.
Because in the final analysis, no politician will make mistakes. The key is to correct them immediately if you find something wrong. This ability is often more important than how well you make the right decision.
"Liu Jin, go get the "Records of Taizu"."
"yes."
Afterwards, the emperor spread out Gu Zuo's book and added the content in the gaps in the characters according to the actual records. After years of hard practice in handwriting, he could write beautiful hairpin regular script. Although it is actually not as good as Gu Zuo, a layman cannot tell the truth.
The second part of the book is devoted to trade and currency.
The main content is about the importance of trade and the support of currency for trade activities. There are some inaccuracies in it, because after all, Gu Zuo was born in an era of small-scale peasant economy, and he inevitably had a sense of superiority from the Central Dynasty that "everything is abundant and everything is available", so he regarded trade activities as a kind of superiority to the country. of grace.
Zhu Houzhao made an annotation here. He did not want to eliminate these people's sense of superiority. He wanted to tell people that although the Ming Dynasty had abundant products, the products could only be exchanged for money by selling them.
Silk cannot be eaten.
From this perspective, conducting trade activities is for the sake of the people of the country.
You can't think that I am a kingdom in heaven. If I want to trade with you, I can trade with you. If I don't, I can block it. What will happen to the people in this country who are engaged in sea trade?
Regarding currency, Zhu Houzhao added a note: currency can be defined as a general equivalent.
He learned this from high school textbooks. In fact, the definition of currency is controversial in academic circles, and its connotation cannot be easily explained.
But it is enough for now, enough for people of this era to understand it for many years. If it is really written as 'a contract about the exchange rights corresponding to the equivalent of labor', then they have to understand it.
The third part of the book is about how the current Ming Dynasty should carry out maritime trade. The fourth part is about the future prospects of overseas trade.
In general, "On Sea Trade" can be defined as the first book in ancient times to think about the gains and losses of China's trade with overseas countries. It breaks away from the shackles of just "making money" and systematically describes the relationship between trade and currency. Guanxi has played a role in inspiring contemporary literati to think more about economics. Although there were some shortcomings and mistakes, this was the first time that the Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic elite and academic staff in the academies began to regard economics as a subject.
In this sense, its impact cannot be overstated. Afterwards, most of the new economic officials promoted and appointed by Emperor Zhengde were influenced by this book.
On the other hand, Zhu Houzhao also began to plan for the reorganization of the Shaofu.
As the financial resources at his disposal gradually expanded, the Shaofu, a 'second-level' institution under the Ministry of Revenue, became more and more like a first-level institution. The pseudo-god of wealth, the Minister of Household Affairs, cried about poverty everywhere because the money from the treasury had already been decided on where to go. . And Shaofu Ling became the real God of Wealth.
Today, the Shaofu is in charge of shipyards, grain merchants, and the city that never sleeps. The Capital Planning Department is also affiliated with it. In addition, a rudimentary bank has been prepared... Compared to the empty treasury, this is the real golden mountain.
After all, there are the largest number of officials who want to climb up here, so the motivation is naturally different from other yamen.
After Gu Zuoguan was reinstated, he immediately devoted himself to government affairs with almost no time for adjustment.
For example, they set a new deadline and time for the opening of Evernight City, gathered people to study and prepare the white list, and asked Qingzhengyuan Shipyard to report on the production situation...
Each of these things is complicated.
In the midst of my busy schedule, it’s July.
In July, the silver coins confiscated from Yangzhou began to be sent to the capital; in July, 5,000 young girls from the primary election entered the capital one after another;
In July, the ministers gradually discovered that the emperor had no interest in appointing a new salt envoy to the Huaihe River, until the emperor told them that the court would no longer retain the salt envoy to the Huaihe River. As soon as the news came out, the government and the public were shocked.