In a sense, the demise of the Ming Dynasty has a great relationship with the huge clan group.
Of course, although the clan group was huge, there were only a few hundred or two hundred thousand people, and they could not defeat the Ming Dynasty.
It's just that these people are too selfish and greedy. The emperor's family can't take the blame. They still have a lot of fish and meat. The country doesn't have a few acres of land, and they are still grabbing land and land.
In addition, these people never paid taxes and stretched out their hands to ask for things from the emperor every day. They were like moths, eating away at the pillars of the palace of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Zhi could imagine what it would be like two hundred years later. The imperial court gave salaries to the clan and officials, but when they were waiting for military pay, when they looked at the finances, they still lost millions of dan.
What to do?
We can't stop paying the soldiers, right?
What else can we do? Increase taxes.
The people are complaining. If there is any natural or man-made disaster at this time, the Ming Dynasty will be completely over.
The Ming Dynasty stove is out of food. If everyone wants to eat, they can only start a new stove. However, people surnamed Zhu may not be welcome to eat at the new stove.
In order for the descendants to have good food and survive, and in order for the Ming Dynasty to be passed down for generations, the clan and the royal family must be separated. There is family affection, but there cannot be a relationship between supporting and being supported.
Letting the clan find its own way out was a decision Zhu Yunwen had to make, and Zhu Zhi and Zhu Geng were the people chosen by Zhu Yunwen.
There is only one point at the core of all Zhu Yunwen's calculations:
The income from business was used to replace the feudal king's salary.
If the feudal prince's salary was truly eliminated from the court's expenditures, then the Ming Dynasty would be able to save a lot of money and food every year, and this money and food could be used to strengthen the country and the army!
However, the ideal is plump and the reality is skinny.
Today is not the Tang Dynasty, where plumpness is regarded as beauty, and many people like skinny ones.
If you want the feudal king to hand over his fiefdom to engage in business, wouldn't that cost people's lives?
I eat the royal food well at home, live in dignity, and be respected by thousands of people. You want me to haul food and sell cloth? Then what kind of prince should I be? Just find a crooked-neck tree and hang it up.
Even if it is difficult to disobey the emperor's order, it forces the feudal king to engage in business.
But not everyone can play this business. If you are unlucky, the market is down, and you lose money, how will your family eat?
Being poked in the spine and laughed at, where would the prince put his face?
Zhu Zhi and Zhu Geng were not shameless and engaged in low-status businessmen as princes, but they knew very well that their faces were worthless compared to the lives of future generations.
Zhu Gui
, Zhu Mei, and Zhu Quan were silent.
They never thought that Emperor Jianwen was so far-sighted and that what he did was not for the immediate benefit, but for the eternal prosperity of the Ming Dynasty for generations to come!
"I was wrong to blame the emperor."
Zhu Gui sighed.
I originally thought that the emperor was bullying King Liao and King Min, but now it seems that I am still too shallow.
Just looking at appearances will never get you to the truth.
Only by asking for the root causes can we see clearly what lies beneath the surface.
Zhu Gui, Zhu Mei, and Zhu Quan looked at each other, stood up slowly, stood in a row, and bowed deeply to Zhu Zhi who didn't know why.
"This gift will be performed by our descendants for generations to come!"
Zhu Gui said solemnly.
"Brother Thirteen, how can I bear it?"
Zhu Zhi quickly stepped aside.
Zhu Gui laughed and said: "How can you not do it? You and King Min have endured too much. It is not borne by you two, but by Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Quan had admiration in his eyes and said, "Looking at how wealthy Fifteenth Brother is, he must have made a lot of money from his trade. Is the rumored medical gauze really weaved by you and King Min?"
"If outsiders ask, I should nod. We are a family. Since you ask, I can only tell the truth. The medical gauze and alcohol were actually made by the harem. King Min and I People are just responsible for buying and selling matters."
Zhu Zhi said frankly.
"Harem weaving?"
Zhu Gui and others were taken aback, and immediately realized that the output of the harem was naturally difficult to buy and sell, so Zhu Zhi and King Min were allowed to engage in business. They only needed to be responsible for buying a certain amount of materials and selling them to the Ministry of War.
Zhu Zhi and King Min themselves would not lose anything, but could gain a lot of profits.
No wonder the two of them can easily enter into business. With the Queen and the Emperor as their backers, what's there to be afraid of?
"Fifteenth brother, please let me know the truth. How much does business earn in a month?"
Zhu Kai asked softly.
Zhu Zhi shook his head slightly, took out an account book from his sleeve, and said: "This is the income and expenditure in the past few months. Recently, we are planning to set up Zhonghua Bookstore. The Queen is the big one, accounting for 70%. King Min and I, but Out of 30%..."
"Hiss, the profit is so huge?!"
Zhu Quan took a deep breath.
According to the account book data, Zhu Zhi's monthly business income is at least more than 2,500 taels, and his income in that year may exceed 30,000 taels! And the salary of ten thousand dan is only converted into more than 5,000 taels, which is the original salary.
Six times as much!
"This, how is this possible?"
Zhu Kai couldn't believe it.
Kunning Palace.
Ma Enhui handed the summary account book to Zhu Yunwen and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the revenue of the harem has been clarified, totaling 128,500 taels."
"Have you eliminated the expenses of Stove Shop and Zhonghua Bookstore?"
After Zhu Yunwen took it, he looked at Ma Enhui and asked.
Ma Enhui nodded slightly and sighed: "Of course, I still know this. I really didn't expect that in less than half a year, the harem could acquire such amazing wealth. How much money will the giant private businessman have?"
Zhu Yunwen looked through the account books, looked at them carefully, and said: "The businessmen have not yet formed much power, and their financial resources are not strong enough. But in a few years, they will grow up. Two to three hundred thousand taels, just a middle-class businessman, hundreds of A person with a fortune of tens of millions of silver can be called a big businessman. As for the giant businessman that the Queen mentioned, hehe, I am afraid that his family fortune is tens of millions of silver."
"Tens of millions of dollars for two families?"
Ma Enhui looked a little pale, grabbed Zhu Yunwen's arm, and said forcefully: "Your Majesty, if a businessman has such wealth, it will be detrimental to the country!"
The merchants were so rich that they could rival the country, so how did the Ming Dynasty deal with itself?
Zhu Yunwen patted Ma Enhui's hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I am here, there will always be a way to deal with them. I need them now. In this prosperous Ming Dynasty, I need their contribution."
To revitalize the Ming Dynasty's economy, it is not feasible to rely solely on official purchases and official sales. Merchant capital must participate.
Shanxi merchants, Huizhou merchants, Guanshan merchants, Dongting merchants, Jiangxi merchants, Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants, Longyou merchants, Wu'an merchants, etc., these merchants who will be famous in later generations should also become active.
The new business strategy is a carnival for businessmen, so why is it not a carnival for the Ming Dynasty?
Zhu Yunwen is very aware of the terrifying power of businessmen and the consequences of the formation of plutocratic power, but now is not the time to worry about this.
If Ming Dynasty wants to move forward, it must install the wheel of merchants.
Just when Zhu Yunwen was looking at the account books and preparing to plan the central bank, Shuangxi hurried over and said to Zhu Yunwen: "Your Majesty, Wei Guogong asked to see him and said that there was news from Zheng He."
Zhu Yunwen's eyes lit up, and he quickly put down the account book and said to Ma Enhui: "Queen, please rest and wait until I come back to figure it out."
Zheng He asked for permission to go to sea to pursue the Japanese bandits, and Zhu Yunwen gave Zheng He permission. However, Zheng He left for more than a month, and there was no news, which made Zhu Yunwen always a little uneasy.
Now there is news, I don’t know whether it is good or bad.
