jdhmnovel Chapter 1164 What kind of deep-seated hatred or grudge could this be?
Chapter 1164 What kind of deep-seated hatred or grudge could this be?
"And Yang Siyi, don't think he's some hothead who'll rush into a fight if your brother-in-law eggs him on."
"Having been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for so many years, Yang Siyi is actually more shrewd than anyone else."
"He saw that opening the sea to the sea was an inevitable trend, so he took the opportunity to act, in order to tie an extra knife when opening the sea ban, to prevent others from taking a bite out of the lucrative maritime trade."
"..."
At this time, Emperor Zhu was not an emperor, but Zhu Chongba, who was patiently teaching his eldest son how to run the household.
At this time, Zhu Biao was not the crown prince, but a good eldest son who listened carefully to his father's teachings and studied diligently.
However, as the first unlimited fighting tournament in the imperial court in the eighth year of Hongwu's reign gradually came to an end, Zhu Chongba instantly switched from Zhu Chongba mode to Zhu Yuanzhang mode, and Zhu Biao also instantly exited the "good son" mode and transformed into the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, namely the famous black sesame glutinous rice ball.
Emperor Zhu looked at the officials, their faces bruised and swollen, their hats askew, their clothes tattered, and said with a dark face, "The officials have lost their decorum in the court, and the Censorate has also failed in its duty. You are all truly despicable!"
After all the officials bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger," Emperor Zhu looked at Li Shanchang with a dark expression and said, "Those who support the ban on sea trade have their reasons, and those who support opening the sea trade have their own arguments. Mr. Shanchang, what is your opinion?"
Li Shanchang bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, the ancients said: 'It is better to guide than to block.'"
"For example, the system of travel permits existed as early as the Qin and Han dynasties. However, while our dynasty implements the system of travel permits, there are rumors among the people that the emperor is using the system of travel permits to imprison the people."
“Desperately blocking private merchants from participating in maritime trade will ultimately result in these merchants holding large amounts of money and grain that are not circulating, and may even lead to land consolidation.”
"Instead of doing that, it would be better to loosen the restrictions appropriately and allow private merchants to participate in maritime trade."
"..."
The officials who supported lifting the maritime ban immediately showed delight, and their gazes toward Yang Siyi became more confident and hostile.
Before these officials could even enjoy their joy for three seconds, Li Shanchang changed the subject, saying, "During the Han Dynasty, Sang Hongyang presided over the discussion on salt and iron, and Huan Kuan wrote 'Discourses on Salt and Iron'."
"During our dynasty, Prince Consort Yang presided over the Dengzhou border market and wrote 'On the Gentry' and 'Capital'."
"Whether it is 'Discourses on Salt and Iron,' 'On the Gentry,' or 'Capital,' they all point out the fact that wealthy merchants and gentry who control large amounts of capital in the private sector will inevitably seek expansion, and the ultimate goal of expansion is the imperial court, which will then lead to the comprehensive exploitation of the people."
"If the maritime ban is fully lifted without strengthening supervision, the end result will be that these wealthy merchants and gentry will have some inappropriate ideas, and it will be difficult to repeat the shame of the Song Dynasty."
Turning his head to glance at the officials who supported opening the sea, silently mourning for them for a second, Li Shanchang continued, "I believe that the sea should be opened, but it cannot be opened completely."
“Strict controls should be imposed on them in terms of the scope, scale, and taxation of their permitted operations.”
"At the same time, a government-merchant alliance should be established, headed by the Ministry of Commerce and Trade under the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet, and the Dengzhou Trade Market, to oversee all matters related to maritime trade."
"..."
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, the officials who had been secretly pleased just moments before suddenly felt as if they had been hit over the head with a club, and their heads were spinning.
Something seems off.
It seems the sea ban has been lifted.
But it gives the impression that it would have been better not to release it at all.
The reason everyone advised the emperor to open the sea was that the maritime ban was too strict, which forced merchants to go overseas, risking their lives. More importantly, the national treasury lost a lot of tax revenue. It seemed like a losing proposition, so it would be better to lift the maritime ban and then strictly regulate it again.
The advantage of doing this is that after the sea ban is lifted, the money that people used to earn secretly can now be earned openly. Although some profits will be lost, it is still better than earning money with the risk of losing one's head or even having one's entire family executed.
But when Li Xiang said it, it all took on a different meaning.
It seems that as long as the seas are not opened, powerful families, gentry, and merchants will expand uncontrollably, and the Jingkang Incident could even be repeated.
The key point is that Li Xiang used the issue of travel permits as an example, and proposed to form a new official-merchant system led by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Economy and Trade under the Ministry of Finance and the Dengzhou border market, so that the official-merchant system could take full charge of maritime trade.
So, the maritime ban was lifted, but a noose was put around the necks of all maritime merchants, who might be hanged at any time. Moreover, they were hated by those in power.
This is worse than not opening the fishing season at all!
The officials who supported opening the sea to the sea had grim faces, looking as if they had lost their parents.
Hu Weiyong chuckled and muttered under his breath, "One, two, three... so many officials, and if you include their entire families or even their nine generations of relatives, you could probably gather another one or two thousand people, right?"
Wang Guangyang glanced at Hu Weiyong and said in a low voice, "There are so many people, you should give some to this old man."
Hu Weiyong snorted coldly and said, "What are you dreaming about?"
Wang Guangyang also snorted coldly and said, "If you don't give it to me, I'll hold your Liaodong region by the throat right here in the Ministry of Industry!"
Hu Weiyong's expression changed instantly, and he said with a fawning smile, "Look, you were talking nicely and then you got all anxious. I said you wanted to eat shit, but I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you, right?"
Just as Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang were engaged in a power struggle, Yang Siyi jumped out again and loudly proclaimed, "Prime Minister Li's words are incorrect!"
There's an old saying that it's better to guide than to block, but there's another old saying: "A thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole!"
“If they open a crack even slightly, they’ll dare to tear it into a fissure and then dig that fissure into a deep pit.”
"Therefore, this maritime trade must absolutely not be opened!"
After saying that, Yang Siyi didn't wait for Li Shanchang to speak. Instead, he quickly took a few steps back, moved closer to Yang Shaofeng, and whispered, "Your Highness, you must help me figure out the scope of their territory and the tax rates."
Yang Shaofeng was completely stunned.
So?
I was just discussing the Salt and Iron Theory, the Gentry Theory, and Capital Theory yesterday, and today you want to open up the seas, and you want to drag me into it as well?
No, what's the point of you guys always doing these hurtful things to each other?
This is totally boring!
Li Shanchang, left standing in front of all the officials, twitched his eye and snorted coldly, saying, "If we don't open this door, let them smear the sea ban as they smear the travel permits, and then frantically smear the emperor, saying that the emperor has banned the sea, that the emperor does not allow the people to go out to sea to fish, just like they say that the emperor wants to confine the people to their homes?"
hiss~
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the court.
What kind of deep-seated hatred or grudge could this be?