The wealth of the former Song Dynasty was fascinating.
If the Ming Dynasty was truly as wealthy as the Northern Song Dynasty, and did not suffer from the "three redundancies", wouldn't its territory and prosperous age far exceed those of the Han and Tang Dynasties?
Zhu Di looked deeply at Zhu Yunwen. Although he was young, he possessed wisdom that was difficult to fathom and peep into. His outline of the future of the Ming Dynasty had exceeded his imagination. Just as he proposed to take back the Western Regions, this even Taizu just thought about it, just thought about it.
The Western Region is too far, so far that the Ming Dynasty's national power can only be controlled at the Jiayuguan line. If it goes further, it is simply uncontrollable. Except for the strategy of restraining the emperor, it is simply impossible to win over the local areas.
However, is it really not feasible?
Zhu Di is very clear that there have been many changes between the current Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty during the period of his father Zhu Yuanzhang. There are three changes related to military strategy:
First, the new army's strategy allows the sergeants' combat effectiveness to stabilize and improve.
Second, the Second Artillery Bureau. The emergence and application of new firearms have proven their power on the battlefield. The imperial court is now actively expanding the Shenji Battalion among the three major battalions, which is a significant change.
Third, concrete!
Concrete is no longer simply used in roads. The gates in the Jining water tank and the plan for the Capital Martyrs Monument all prove that concrete can be used to build buildings, such as cities!
It was difficult for the Ming Dynasty to protect the territory outside the pass. One of the biggest factors was the lack of cavalry. The vast prairie was unobstructed, and it was difficult to ensure that the Mongolian cavalry would not be eaten by the Mongolian cavalry.
But if a city suddenly appeared on the grassland, it would be a different matter.
The Ming Dynasty is not very good at field battles, but it is still first-rate in defending the city. No matter how fierce the cavalry is, the horses cannot fly to the city wall. It is impossible to climb the wall on horseback. They can only use people to pile up. I just don’t know how much the Mongols are willing to pay. Chewing over one city after another...
The emergence of concrete city walls is enough to change the Ming Dynasty's pattern outside the pass. Even after leaving Jiayuguan, a new city can be built outside Jiayuguan. By then, the Ming army can completely transform the Western Region from a state of restraint to actual control.
Of course, this requires money, lots and lots of money...
Zhu Di is vaguely looking forward to it. He hopes that Zhu Yunwen can achieve that step. When the time comes, his name will also be marked in the annals of history!
Xu Huizu felt his blood boiling. Although he had not experienced the battlefield of gold and iron, and did not have the grace of his father Xu Da and the founding generals, the Emperor Jianwen he followed was not a mediocre person. He had ambitions and plans, and was not impulsive. Don't be timid, follow him, and you will definitely have a chance to rival your father's generation!
Xie Jin's eyes were a little fanatical. Zhu Yunwen's layout was never one-dimensional. He emphasized both people's livelihood and sergeants, defense and offense.
He was very kind to his own people. There were countless offenders among the officials and many who made mistakes. As long as it was not a major matter that caused anger and resentment, officials basically lived well, and most of them were exempted from official duties. At the same time, he was cruel to the outside world, because his military orders killed countless Annan people, Beiyuan people, Japanese, and Nanyang people.
After four years of getting along and accompanying each other, Xie Jin still has not seen through Zhu Yunwen, but now Xie Jin seems to understand that the prosperous age Zhu Yunwen wants is the prosperity of the Song Dynasty and the domineering power of the Han and Tang Dynasties!
Zhu Yunwen didn't know what Zhu Di and others were thinking, so he wandered in the bustling city and inspected the people's sentiments.
Xie Jin looked at the shops not far away and said, "Master, do you know who has the most merchants in Yangzhou City?"
Xu Huizu chuckled, and Zhu Di nodded repeatedly. This was a good question.
Zhu Yunwen walked onto the bridge, looked at the boats on the river, and said with a smile: "Suzhou and Hangzhou mainly focus on silk, agricultural products, and foreign products, but Yangzhou is very different. Although there are silk, agricultural products, and foreign products here, salt is the dominant one. "
Xie Jin and others accompanied him with a smile.
There are many salt fields in Daming, mainly including Lianghuai, Liangzhe, Changlu, Shandong, Fujian, Guangdong, Haibei and other salt fields.
But in terms of scale and status, the leader is the Lianghuai Salt Farm.
The two Huaihe Rivers are Huaibei and Huainan, bounded by the Huaihe River. In Huaibei, most people use sun-dried salt, while in Huainan, most people use fried salt.
In the Ming Dynasty, the salt system was adopted, with one batch weighing two hundred kilograms and one large batch weighing four hundred kilograms (occasionally it would change in the middle and later periods, even reaching five or six hundred kilograms).
According to data from the Hongwu period, the Lianghuai salt field produced 350,000 tons of salt, while the national salt output was only more than 1.3 million tons. The Lianghuai salt accounted for 27%, nearly one-third, of the national salt output. one. Because of this, there is also a proverb among the people that "the salt of the two Huaihe Rivers makes the world salty".
"How about we go check out the price of salt?"
Xie Jin suggested.
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, and there was a salt shop not far away. The salt shop in the Ming Dynasty was similar to the sales point and canteen of later generations, but its sales targets were retail investors and common people. They sold by the pound. If you don't do it, you don't have the conditions to do wholesale.
Salt is indispensable to every household, and buyers are indispensable for daily necessities.
Sure enough, as soon as I entered the salt shop, I saw an old woman buying salt.
When the shopkeeper saw that the old woman was still refusing to pay, he couldn't help but feel a little angry. When he saw Zhu Yunwen and others coming in, he couldn't help but pull the old woman aside: "Just think about it slowly. I'll discuss it with you later. How much do you want to buy, guests?" Salt?"
Zhu Yunwen looked down at the salt basket. The salt in it was not the white refined salt of later generations, but coarse salt. The color was a bit dark, and some salt particles were larger than peanuts. He couldn't help but ask: "Is there no refined salt here?"
"Fine salt?" The shopkeeper was a little confused and said quickly: "You are talking about fine salt, right? They are all tributes. We don't have fine salt in this small shop."
Zhu Yunwen was helpless. Later generations still had to eat coarse salt lumps in the 1980s and 1990s. Don't even think about expecting Ming Dynasty to produce fine salt. It seems that it needs to be improved in the future...
"What's the price of salt?"
Xie Jin asked from the side.
The shopkeeper said with a smile: "Chenghui is eighteen cents per catty."
"Eighteen articles?"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Xie Jin, Xu Huizu and Zhu Di. The three uncles were a little confused. They didn't know whether the price was high or low. The lowest status was Xie Jin. He was also a cabinet minister. He didn't have to buy salt by himself. He didn't know the capital. How much does salt cost?
The old woman shouted from the side: "Shopkeeper, it was only fourteen cents a month ago, why did it suddenly increase so much?"
The shopkeeper looked a little ugly, and helplessly, Zhu Yunwen and others explained with a wry smile: "We can't change the salt price just by asking for it. We still need to check with the water dealer, not the dental shop. This is also a small business. If it's cheap, I'll lose money." If you don’t tell me, you won’t be allowed to do it at Yaxing.”
Zhu Yunwen picked up a piece of salt, looked at it carefully and said, "How many years have you been selling salt?"
The shopkeeper lamented: "To be honest with you, my salt shop has been open for more than ten years, and I have always been a child."
Zhu Yunwen looked at the shop. Judging from its age, it was almost more than ten years old. He asked, "I wonder if the shopkeeper still remembers the price of salt in the first year of Jianwen?"
The shopkeeper nodded and said: "Remember, in the first year of Jianwen, the price was ten cents per catty."
"What about the Hongwu Dynasty?"
Zhu Yunwen continued to ask.
The shopkeeper thought for a moment: "The highest price of salt in the Hongwu Dynasty was twenty-four years after Hongwu. The Yellow River captured the Huaihe River and destroyed many salt farms. The price of salt was fourteen cents per catty."
Zhu Yunwen was a little confused and asked: "The Yellow River has taken over the Huaihe River and destroyed countless salt fields. Under the reduction in production, the highest price of salt is only fourteen cents per catty. Now the world is peaceful and the famine in the Huaihe River has passed. Why has it reached eighteen cents per catty instead?" The price?”
The shopkeeper shook his head bitterly: "Hey, to be honest with this guest, I don't know why the price of salt is so high, but the dental store has stipulated that it is eighteen cents per catty of salt. This is the lowest price. Don't believe me. Go to another street and ask, some of their salt shops cost 19 or 20 cents."
Seeing that the shopkeeper was really in trouble, Zhu Yunwen didn't ask any further questions.
The old woman was in embarrassment and begged the shopkeeper for a cheaper price, but the shopkeeper did not dare to agree. Seeing the old woman taking out fourteen copper coins from a worn handkerchief and handing it to the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper couldn't help but refuse: "I have told you so many times, you need to first Take the copper coins and exchange them for treasure notes. You need to use treasure notes to buy salt. Copper coins are not easy to use. If you use copper coins here, fourteen coins can only be used together with thirteen coins."
The old woman was embarrassed and looked down at the copper coin in her hand: "This is also the copper coin of the imperial court."
The shopkeeper waved his hand and said resolutely: "Our dental store has regulations. You must use treasure banknotes to buy salt. If you buy salt with non-precious banknotes, you need to pay one penny for travel expenses. We will exchange it for treasure banknotes."
Zhu Yunwen looked at this scene and did not stop it.
Although both copper coins and silver have purchasing power and are currently legal currencies, in order to make common people more aware of treasure banknotes, increase the proportion of treasure banknotes in circulation, and alleviate the dilemma of insufficient silver and copper coins, we can only bind treasure banknotes to salt. together.
The imperial court has reached an agreement with merchants such as Shanxi Chamber of Commerce and Heroes Chamber of Commerce. The merchants are responsible for actively promoting the circulation of treasure banknotes. Although this small shop is inconspicuous, it shoulders the important mission of expanding the circulation of treasure banknotes.
Yes, this has brought some inconvenience to the people. They need to exchange their copper coins and silver into treasure notes before purchasing goods. However, considering the long term, considering that it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to import a large amount of silver at the moment, they want to promote business continuity. This is the only feasible way to continue development.
The businessman is still honest, and he did not shirk or delay when he promised to the court. This is probably related to the fact that he made a lot of money in Annan.
"I just need to go to the bank to exchange money. Please give me the copper coins, and I will give you the treasure notes."
Zhu Yunwen turned sideways and looked at Xie Jin.
Jie Jin had no choice but to take out a ten-coin banknote, plus two two-coin banknotes, and took the copper coins from the old man's hand.
Initially, there were only six denominations of imperial banknotes, namely: 100 Wen, 200 Wen, 300 Wen, 400 Wen, 500 Wen, and Yiguan.
However, with the circulation needs of treasure banknotes, the court will inevitably need to produce a certain amount of small banknotes.
Regarding the design of the denomination of small banknotes, the Ministry of Accounts proposed that the minimum denomination be ten cents, and then increase by ten cents each time, up to fifty cents.
However, Zhu Yunwen considered that ten coins could not replace copper coins at all, so he ordered the design of one coin, two coins, five coins, ten coins, and fifty coins, a total of five grades. At the same time, he canceled the three hundred and four hundred coins in the large banknotes, and only retained one hundred coins. Wen, two hundred wen, five hundred wen, one pass.
The design and issuance of this small banknote laid the foundation for the replacement of copper coins by treasure banknotes, and also made the circulation of treasure banknotes in the market smoother.
