At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, Zhu Yunwen exchanged his wealth for the feudal kingship!
Eleven years have passed, and the vassal king has lost his country and his army, but has gained unimaginable wealth. They have gained massive wealth by relying on their near-monopoly of minerals and cheap labor.
In particular, King Zhu Zhi of the Liao Dynasty, King Zhu Min of the Min Dynasty, and King Zhu Gui of the Dai Dynasty. Zhu Zhi and Zhu Chun made their fortunes more by relying on Nanyang trade. The reason why Zhu Gui's wealth was astonishing was entirely because he controlled the official and private coal mining industries of the Ming Dynasty.
Nowadays, Zhu Gui is burned to the ground, and the coal mines have been included in the imperial court, but the iron ore, lead mine, tin mine, limestone mine, etc. are still under the control of other feudal kings. Although these minerals are not monopolized by the feudal kings, The court produced most of the minerals for its own use, but the wealth that the feudal king gained from these minerals was immeasurable.
In addition to the vassal kings, there are also Shanxi merchants and Hui merchants. In recent years, a group of Fujian merchants, Guangzhou merchants, and Hui merchants have emerged. Although the floating tax rate continues to cut off the flesh from the merchants, as the commercial cake grows bigger, even if it is Cut in half, the merchants still hold huge financial resources, which is not good for the court.
"I heard that Shanxi merchants attach great importance to education. They have funded many young people to enter schools and even set up private schools for tutoring. Hui merchants have also continued to donate to the Imperial College. Every year, they will use the donation to import a group of children. You How do you see it?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
Zhu Wenkui was a little nervous. He had never thought about this issue in detail, so he slowly replied: "Shanxi merchants, Hui merchants and other merchants are emphasizing education. This is in response to the emperor's father's policy of opening up the people's wisdom and spreading education. For the court, There is nothing wrong with it, after all, these people are the people of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Yunwen is deeply
Looking at Zhu Wenkui, these answers were superficial and superficial.
Zhu Wenkui saw that Zhu Yunwen's face was serious and there was no smile at all. He knew that his answer was not the key, but what was the key?
The children of Shanxi merchants also have the right to receive education.
Huizhou merchants donated money to the Imperial College, which was a good supplement to the Imperial College's increasing expenses. In exchange, there seemed to be nothing wrong with accepting their people.
There must be something wrong. There must be a problem. My father would not mention the education of businessmen for no reason. The people he asked about before were wealthy businessmen and wealthy people, not the sons or nephews of these people.
Zhu Wenkui lowered his head and pondered.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Wenkui and smiled lightly.
In the final analysis, it was too early to place high hopes on Zhu Wenkui. He was still a child and was still a few years away from adulthood. He shouldered too many important responsibilities at an age that should have been innocent and carefree.
Some things cannot be seen through, not because of his lack of wisdom, but because of his experience, his knowledge, and his lack of experience, and these all need to be accumulated little by little with age.
"At the beginning of Taizu's founding of the country, Li Shanchang fought with Liu Ji."
Zhu Yunwen reminded softly.
Zhu Wenkui looked at Zhu Yunwen in confusion, recalling that period of history. Back then, Li Shanchang represented the Huaixi Group and Liu Ji represented the Zhejiang East Group, constantly attacking each other for the interests behind them.
Why did your father mention this matter?
A light flashed through Zhu Wenkui's mind. He understood it instantly and took a step forward: "What my father means is that Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants are working hard to cultivate literati and even officials who are close to them, so as to form a team in the court. A force that speaks for them?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled, heavily
Nodding: "Yes, whether it is Chang Baiye or Shen Yiyuan, they are all businessmen. They are still doing big business and are based on the long term. Obviously, they hope to have a place in the court. These people started to use this kind of We have to use various methods to demand power. Backed by the Chamber of Commerce and supporting a group of officials with huge financial resources, these people will definitely try their best to loosen the shackles of businessmen."
Zhu Wenkui was worried.
Behind the appearance he saw, there was actually a shadow of power hidden!
Do these people really dare to intervene in the court and influence the court's policies?
Zhu Yunwen put his hands behind his back: "Don't underestimate the power of businessmen and consortiums. Do you still remember what my father once told you about Bangzi Country? Their national destiny is all decided by the consortium. Anyone who is disobedient will use all their means." Get rid of it!"
Zhu Wenkui clenched his fists.
The Ming Dynasty cannot be left to the consortium to have the final say. No matter how rich it is, it cannot defy the court, fight against the court, or influence the court's policies!
As the monarch of the Ming Dynasty, your policies should be based on the long-term, focusing on the people and the common people, not businessmen!
What demands can a businessman make?
It is nothing more than lowering business taxes, or even completely abolishing business taxes, to satisfy their desire to maximize profits.
"Father, the Ming Dynasty will not allow such a thing to happen, never allow it!"
Zhu Wenkui said firmly.
Zhu Yunwen looked outside the palace and said calmly: "Yes, the court does not allow the emergence of forces supported by consortiums, and does not allow parties to form parties for personal gain. But how to do it depends on your wisdom."
"My wisdom?"
Zhu Wenkui didn't understand.
Dad, this is none of your business. Let me deal with those feudal kings
Uncle, how can we solve the consortium...
Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Wenkui seriously: "It takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people. You don't think that those people can occupy a place in the court and form a force in just a few years, do you? Ha, they are looking for death. If you want to last long, You can only take it slowly, maybe ten years later, maybe twenty years later, such a long time is not enough for you to think about countermeasures?"
Zhu Wenkui understood that the merchants were not in a hurry: "But Father, if you give them another ten years, wouldn't those vassal kings and giant merchants..."
Zhu Yunwen walked towards the palace door and said confidently: "Don't worry, the business tax policy can still add a few elements, such as inheritance tax, which is not necessary for ordinary people, but for businessmen with wealth exceeding half a million or one million It is most appropriate to say, although this may cause dissatisfaction among some people. But it is not important anymore, foreign enemies no longer exist, and the imperial court has enough power to deal with anyone..."
The imperial court holds supreme power. If it wants to deal with anyone, it only needs to come up with policies and deal with them with the sword of policy.
The world-wide attack on Ming Dynasty has failed, the foreign enemies that should be eliminated have been eliminated, and those that should be honest have become honest. Except for Wala and Uzang, the foreign war has basically come to an end.
The imperial court, which had its hands free, had no problem dealing with some giant businessmen.
These measures are not unacceptable to officials. After all, no official can have such a huge amount of wealth, and the money collected can also be used to increase the official's salary. It can be regarded as using the hands of the scholar class to attack the giant business collective. , and this measure will not have any impact on most middle-class and ordinary wealthy households.
It will not bring local turmoil and unrest.
What the court wants to kill is a fat pig.
The largest and fattest pigs, there are not many but very fat pigs.
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