Showdown?
What brand?
All the ministers were stunned, instantly attracted by the emperor's words, and looked at the emperor curiously.
"Yuan Aiqing, please tell me about my preparations for this, Sun Aiqing will be responsible for supplementing!"
Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli responded in unison, and then Yuan Keli looked at the ministers: "My lords, your Majesty has done many things since he ascended the throne to promote commerce and establish maritime bans.
In the second year of Chongzhen, His Majesty ordered Zheng Zhilong's caravan to establish the Nanhai Navy Fleet, and then instigated Yu Zigao to join the Navy and Marine Corps.
It is estimated that many colleagues thought that Nanjing, Denglai, and Chaohu Navy involved so many nobles and generals that it would be troublesome to rectify them.
It would be better to order Zheng Zhilong, who had a large merchant ship and sailors and strong combat power, to save trouble, convenience and speed. "
All the ministers nodded in unison.
That was indeed what they thought at the time. Only Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Hubu, and Hou Xun, the Minister of War, were startled, with a sudden realization in their eyes.
Because the Ministry of Revenue did not pay a penny for the military salaries of the Nanhai Navy Fleet and the cost of building warships, they were all paid by Zheng Zhilong.
They initially thought that this was Zhao'an's condition. After all, although Zheng Zhilong's caravan was powerful, it violated the Ming Dynasty's ban on sea sealing and gathered soldiers privately. If we really counted, the entire caravan could be cut down by 99%.
Now let's forget all the blame, and give him an official position, responsible for one or two years of military pay and building warships. This is very reasonable. It can be regarded as buying life money!
But what kind of people they were, just by hearing Yuan Keli ask this, he knew the emperor's intention.
Sure enough, Yuan Keli's next words verified their conjecture.
Yuan Keli continued: "Convenience and speed are just one of them, but they are not the most important.
Your Majesty is mainly interested in Zheng Zhilong's caravan, because this caravan has not only been to Fusang, but also to Luzon, Annan, Dadi, Boni, Champa and other countries, and is familiar with the conditions and routes of each country.
Many people are even proficient in Lusitan, Franconian (Portugal), Anglican (Dutch), Spanish, etc.
This is exactly what the Ming Dynasty lacked after the opening of sea trade.
The South China Sea Navy was formed with Zheng Zhilong's escort sailors to defend against foreign enemies such as Japanese pirates, the Netherlands and Spain along the South China Sea.
It is also responsible for escorting the sea after the sea ban is imposed, and the Marine Corps is responsible for opening up strongholds. "
The officials were stunned again.
They thought they had guessed the truth correctly, but they didn't realize they were so wrong.
It can't be said that they are related at all. It's simply not related at all.
In fact, we can't blame them for this. At that time, the slave establishment was rampant, the Mongolian tribes followed suit and harassed them from time to time. The rebellion in She'an in the southwest was still unsolved, the Yao people were causing trouble, and the internal guards were in chaos.
In this case, the emperor should concentrate on settling matters first. Who would have thought that the emperor would just jump out and arrange things for a few years later.
"The second thing is that His Majesty visited Suzhou last year. Suzhou's wealthy businessmen and gentry jointly resisted. Zhou Tingru launched a series of reforms in response to this matter, such as credit assessment, road guidance, etc.
These are all given by His Majesty to improve the business environment. Judging from the current feedback, the results are quite good.
But this is just one of them. It is estimated that many colleagues already know that a department store supply and marketing cooperative appeared in Suzhou City after that. The shopkeeper was Sun Chunyang, the owner of Sun Chunyang South Store, which is quite famous in Suzhou.
Many people thought that Sun Chunyang wanted to grow bigger, so he expanded the store and increased the variety of goods.
In fact, this was established under His Majesty's instruction and funded by internal funds. Its main purpose is to stabilize prices and deal with future phenomena such as the joint monopoly, suppression, and price increases by wealthy businessmen in Suzhou.
It uses the best service, fair prices, and superior quality to force surrounding shops to follow its lead. So far, the results are pretty good. "
"It is indeed your Majesty's handiwork!"
Xi Duanfan, who was waiting by the gate, sighed secretly in his heart, his eyes full of admiration.
He went to the department store supply and marketing cooperative and found that the furnishings, goods, services, etc. inside were all excellent.
What surprised him most was the supply and marketing cooperative's various external publicity methods, which gave him the illusion that his decades of business experience were in vain.
Some of the ministers had heard of the department store supply and marketing cooperative, but they did not expect that it was the emperor's handiwork.
But some ministers frowned, especially those from the Supervisory Office and the Sixth Section. A censor came out and said: "Your Majesty, although the Department Store Supply and Marketing Cooperative is good, the imperial court has not competed with the people for profit since ancient times... "
"Master Cao, this is wrong!"
Bi Ziyan spoke up: "It is right not to compete with the people for profit, but I have another opinion on this.
The struggle for profit here is to satisfy selfish desires and adopt some means that harm the interests of the people, such as imposing heavy taxes, forcibly expropriating land, engaging in monopoly operations, corruption, etc.
And this sentence also corresponds to another sentence, which is called not to seize the people's business, such as Wang Anshi's reform,
The intention is good, but the implementation of the Equalization Law, the Market Change Law, the Young Crops Law, etc., all increase national fiscal revenue by depriving or restricting private business, agriculture, finance and other activities.
So I would like to ask Mr. Cao, do department store supply and marketing cooperatives have a monopoly? Is there any deprivation or restriction of the development of private business?
Not only did it not happen, but it caused surrounding businesses to change, and it was the people who ultimately benefited.
You can ask about this..."
When Bi Ziyan said this, he looked at Xi Duanfan at the door: "You can ask Advisor Xi if this is the case?"
"My lords, that is indeed the case."
Xi Duanfan raised his hands to everyone: "I have seen several stores in the Department Store Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Every time a store is opened, the local people cheer and encourage it, while the surrounding merchants are frightened.
For the same goods, the prices of department store supply and marketing cooperatives may not necessarily be the lowest, but they will not shirk responsibility if there is a problem, and they will never look down on a customer because of their status. They are all valued customers when they enter the store.
As far as I know, as long as the department store supply and marketing cooperative is located in Fucheng, the surrounding businesses are working hard to make rectifications.
Although they may not be on par with department store supply and marketing cooperatives, their service attitude and prices can be close. This is what the people hope for most.
As for whether the merchants will suffer losses as a result, there is no need to worry. Each store has its own customers, and the quality of the goods is different.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. If you can't continue to operate, it's your own problem.
Moreover, department store supply and marketing cooperatives and the government have not prohibited other merchants from opening them. There are two supply and marketing cooperatives jointly opened by the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce in Suzhou City, and they are still very good so far.
Many businessmen think that department store supply and marketing cooperatives are a troublemaker for business. Most of these people are cheaters, because the emergence of supply and marketing cooperatives makes them uncomfortable and makes a lot less money.
But there are also some businessmen who believe that department store supply and marketing cooperatives are the royal guards of business, intimidating all businessmen to keep them in line and earn the money they deserve.
What Mr. Cao said about fighting for the interests of the people is more appropriate to say that it is fighting for the interests of the people. "