jdhmnovel Chapter 633 Let's eat two pounds of goji berries tonight!
Chapter 633 Let's eat two pounds of goji berries tonight!
“Things such as salt production in salt fields, salt sales in various prefectures and counties, and mining must all be controlled by the imperial court.”
"It's useless to talk about benevolence and morality with the local gentry and merchants; they simply don't have those things."
"They care about their own interests, not the lives of ordinary people."
If things like salt, iron, and ore are left to the discretion of local gentry and elites, the only outcome will be loss of control.
Give the simplest example.
When the Ming Dynasty was in the Little Ice Age, Liaodong, which was controlled by Cheng Liang and Zhao He, was also in the Little Ice Age.
While the common people of the Ming Dynasty could die of poverty and starvation, the descendants of the Jianzhou Zhaohe clan could still occasionally raid the Ming Dynasty despite its blockade.
They carried firearms that were originally intended for the Ming army, and ate rations that were originally intended for the Ming army.
Where did these things come from?
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "If Your Majesty and Prime Minister Xu do not believe it, they can find any prefecture and lift the restrictions on the state monopoly on salt and iron. Then, after waiting for a month or two, Prime Minister Xu should be able to see our Great Ming's salt and iron in Hu Yuan's territory."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Emperor Zhu, his face darkening, scolded, "If you can't give examples, then don't give examples."
Xu Da said with a dark face, "Although I am now the Duke of Wei, the Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, and the Grand Commander, I was poor before. I have seen the faces of those gentry before, so there is no need for the Prince Consort to remind me."
Ah, yes, yes.
You two have both witnessed the true colors of the local gentry and gentry.
You both know to be wary of local gentry and merchants.
Even the black sesame dumpling far away in the capital understands these principles.
What's the point anyway?
The principle you understand, does your good grandson understand it?
Even if I were here, you wouldn't send your sister away before sending your eldest son away. I could even trick your eldest grandson... and teach him a lesson he won't forget. The question is, what about your eldest grandson's son? What about your grandson?
There's an old saying: "You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days."
While you're alive, you can protect yourself from local gentry and merchants, and your eldest son and grandson can also protect themselves from them. But what about later?
Who knows, another idiot like Zhu Yunwen might appear someday.
Who knows, maybe one day they'll dare to play a trick on you, sending one of your descendants to study abroad.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was mentally ranting, Emperor Zhu said with a dark face, "Continue."
Yang Shaofeng composed himself and said, "The main reason for promoting the development of soldiers, artisans, farmers, and merchants is that simply relying on farming cannot make people rich."
Emperor Zhu gave an "oh" and immediately started arguing: "I remember during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing of the Han Dynasty, there weren't so many messy workshops. The common people mainly relied on farming. How could they have become rich back then?"
"Moreover, not only are the common people rich, but the imperial court is also rich. It is said that even the strings that hold the coins together are rotting in the warehouse."
"I remember someone in the Discourses on Salt and Iron used this to refute Sang Hongyang, and Sang Hongyang didn't refute it, right?"
Yang Shaofeng almost burst out laughing.
No.
Does anyone really think that Liu Heng and Liu Jing are easy to get along with?
Both father and son are heartless!
While inwardly complaining, Yang Shaofeng said, "I remember there was a Rebellion of the Seven States during the reign of Emperor Jing?"
"If it weren't for that unlucky fellow being detained in the Prince's mansion by the State, it might have turned into the War of the Eight Princes?"
"It seems the cause was related to coinage?"
Emperor Zhu's face immediately darkened.
Although that scoundrel is being sarcastic again, there really was a Rebellion of the Seven States during the reign of Emperor Jing.
The apparent reason was, of course, the reduction of the power of the feudal lords, but what was the real reason?
In fact, it really is what this scoundrel was talking about: the right to mint coins and the monopoly on salt and iron.
Yang Shaofeng continued in a sarcastic tone: "Yes, I admit that during the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, the Han Dynasty did indeed have light taxes and levies, and the people were relatively wealthy."
"The key question is whether the statistical methods used during the Han Dynasty can be applied to the Ming Dynasty?"
"It seems there were no community schools or border markets during the Han Dynasty?"
"Most importantly, the Han Dynasty during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing suffered a great deal of humiliation at the hands of the Xiongnu."
"Besides, later rulers all praised the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, but didn't Emperors Wen and Jing also praise ancient sage kings during their reigns?"
"Oh, no, we also admire the wise kings of ancient times, especially during the Three Sovereigns period."
The Emperor Zhu's face darkened even further.
Damn it, all we did was argue with him a couple of times, and this bastard started spewing sarcastic remarks like crazy!
No.
We can't let him bully us for nothing.
Let's eat two pounds of goji berries tonight!
Just as Emperor Zhu was secretly ruthless, Yang Shaofeng continued, "The reason I set up so many workshops is to try and see if I can find a way for the people to live in addition to farming."
Emperor Zhu's expression gradually softened.
As it turns out, workshops do indeed bring some benefits to the people.
It could even allow the national treasury to collect more commercial taxes.
More importantly, because of the existence of these chaotic workshops, the Ming Dynasty has been able to increase its control over the surrounding vassal states.
Putting aside everything else, just look at the envoys and merchants from these vassal states at the Dengzhou border market. Which one of them didn't act humble and subservient? Which one of them didn't willingly become a grandson?
Damn it, this bastard is infuriating, but everything he does is beneficial to our Great Ming Dynasty.
Or should we let him off the hook for today?
Just as Emperor Zhu was pondering this, Yang Shaofeng continued, "Facts have proven that these workshops do indeed bring many benefits to the people."
"At the very least, the people of Ningyang County can live in brick and tile houses."
"Although the people of Dengzhou Prefecture might still go hungry by farming, they no longer need to worry about starving because of the continuous supply of grain from the border markets."
"Furthermore, Dengzhou Prefecture can now continuously export salt, iron, and various dried seafood to other prefectures."
Ok.
That's not wrong.
At least when we were in Dengzhou Prefecture, we didn't see any of our former colleagues.
Otherwise, should we send these two pounds of goji berries today?
Just as Emperor Zhu was pondering whether or not to eat two catties of goji berries, Xu Da frowned slightly and said, "If other prefectures and counties also start setting up workshops, wouldn't the workshops in different prefectures and counties have to compete with each other?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly.
This is an inevitable situation that will not change according to human will.
Unless the imperial court intervenes and directly intervenes at the county level to specify which workshops a county can and cannot establish.
Otherwise, it's only a matter of time before the workshops in different counties start competing with each other.
Even local gentry and gentry would get involved.
Moreover, those local gentry and gentry wouldn't talk about martial virtue.