Why did the emperor rebel?

Although it is said that in the process of opening up the mutual market, a lot of hardships have been paid.

However, under the joint auspices of the Huangdian and the Ministry of Household Affairs, the wealth that flowed into Daming through the mutual market in the past two years really helped Daming recover quickly.

Not to mention anything else, at least the national treasury is a lot more abundant, and there is no need to use pepper and sumac to pay salaries. The imperial court did not raise taxes to the local area when many major events continued. , Many artisan households thus obtained more money and food.

Of course, there is very little food produced on the grasslands, but after the stable period, Zhu Qiyu has begun to encourage Huangzhuang to accept the use of cattle and sheep for trading. Although these cattle and sheep cannot be used for farming, they can be transported to the interior. However, it will be sold at a lower price than the market price. In this way, the profits of Huangzhuang will be affected to a certain extent, but the price of cattle and sheep near Gyeonggi has become extremely stable.

Recently, Zhu Qiyu was even considering whether to open up some pastures to raise these cattle and sheep.

In addition to the ordinary trade with Tatars, there is also the tea horse trade with Oala. Although it is said that Oirat occasionally steals, rapes and plays tricks, he will use some inferior horses as shoddy horses, but after all, it does not affect the overall situation. With these horses In frontier towns like Datong and Xuanfu, the size of the cavalry can be further expanded.

These are all real benefits, and, most importantly, there is no need to impose exorbitant taxes, and there is no need to send additional corvees. Only when the court has money can it do more things. The confidence of tax exemption.

If the situation after the switch of Longqing in the previous life only made Zhu Qiyu start to think about the problem of merchants, then the huge role played by the mutual market is to make him truly realize the usefulness of merchants.

There is nothing wrong with emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, but this does not mean that business is only bad for the country. The key depends on where it is used.

The mutual market is of course good, but there is a major flaw.

That is, it can only be done by the Huangdian!

The Huangdian has monopolized the trade in the mutual market, but there are many inconveniences. For example, all kinds of materials in the Huangdian are purchased from Gyeonggi, and then shipped to the border for trading. The horses obtained from the trade can be incorporated into the official Army, but the surplus still has to be transported back to the mainland, as for cattle and sheep, etc., they also have to be transported back for sale.

This process is very troublesome, and requires a lot of manpower and material resources, but neither Zhu Qiyu nor Shen Yi felt that it was wrong.

You know, if you start from the cost alone, the best way is to set up a market at the border, buy it directly from the imperial store, and then sell the exchanged materials locally, or from the perspective of the Ministry of Households, go further and open up the private sector. For trade, you only need to set up a special trading location, and then set up a tax.

The tax paid by the imperial shop is already very high compared to those in the mainland. However, it cannot bear the huge profits of the mutual market. Once the private trade is opened and a higher tax rate is set, it will definitely be able to attract a large number of businessmen.

Moreover, the scale of the imperial store is limited after all, and many small tribes have no chance to join the exchange market. If the scale is expanded and private merchants are allowed to enter the market, it will not be a problem to double the annual revenue of the imperial court on the exchange market.

But, no!
Although his thoughts on trade have changed, Zhu Qiyu is still very clear-headed and has not been blinded by the huge sum of money.

At this time, I have to mention the usefulness of Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Accounting. Although this great Situ is greedy for money, he still has a clear understanding of the pros and cons of the mutual market.

After the opening of the mutual market, he has repeatedly reminded Zhu Qiyu that it is enough to maintain the current scale and frequency, and not to continue to expand.

As for the reasons, it is very complicated. To put it bluntly, the mutual market is not only an economic issue, but also a political issue and a military issue.

Although it is true that Ming Dynasty and the Grassland now have a mutual market relationship, it is essentially a tributary trade based on the tribes' oath of submission to Ming Dynasty. Once the folk trade is opened, this point will be broken.

At the same time, the mutual market itself is a means of restraint. Compared with its economic significance, it is more important to adjust the situation on the grassland in this way.

In addition, once the openings of the people are released, even if it is only to set up a discussion field at the border, controlled by the imperial shop, and internal transactions between merchants, it will also bring serious consequences.

Smuggling at the border has been repeatedly prohibited. The only and best way is to strictly prohibit private businessmen without permission from doing business at the border.

Zhu Qiyu has always been very vigilant about this point, so in many cases, people's wisdom comes from experience.

In the previous life, when I paid tribute and the mutual market was reopened, Zhu Qiyu had already seen what the consequences would be if the imperial court did not control private trade.

You know, at that time, the imperial court did not completely liberalize trade, but even under the heavy prohibition, there were still countless private merchants flocking to all parts of the border, and some of them even took risks and sold arms on a large scale.

Therefore, this opening must not be opened, and the mutual market must be controlled by the Huangdian. Even the merchant trade in each border town must be strictly checked and controlled.

Of course, Zhu Qiyu wasn't naive, there must be no trouble in the imperial store, there are always people who are greedy for profit.

However, as the Tianjia property, the Huangdian is very convenient for him to investigate and deal with. More importantly, it will not be scattered like the folks. Even if something goes wrong, it is easy to picket and recover.

Therefore, the trade at the border is inconvenient, and it can only be inconvenient. The Huangdian has to spend so much time and effort every time, and it has to be transported back and forth.

In essence, this is not in line with the starting point of profit-seeking, but, for various reasons, the status quo can only be maintained.

However, the Thai and Western countries do not have this problem.

The mutual market between Daming and the grassland ministries is full of difficulties, and they are on guard against each other because they are close to each other, and the grassland is bitterly cold, so the two are naturally hostile and prone to war, so they have to make a lot of preparations.

However, there is a vast ocean between the Thai and Western countries and Ming Dynasty. At least for now, there is no confrontational relationship. Well, the logistics supply alone can kill all thoughts.

Because of this, if the countries of Thailand and the West start trading with each other, then there is no need for the imperial store to control everything, but private merchants can be opened to go to sea. The imperial court can follow the example of the former Song Dynasty and set up a city ship department to negotiate taxes and supplement the national treasury.

Of course, it is very difficult to achieve this!
The first thing that bears the brunt is the state government that the imperial court has always emphasized on agriculture and restrained business. Zhu Qiyu's ability to have such an understanding stems from the fact that he is accustomed to seeing the rise and fall of a century. However, many ministers in the court do not have such an understanding, so , If you want to open private merchants to go to sea, you will inevitably encounter strong opposition.

Moreover, even the reasons are ready-made. The sea ban policy established by Emperor Taizu is the best weapon. This is the ancestral system and cannot be violated easily.

In addition to this, there are practical problems. To put it bluntly, there are Japanese pirates. The frequent occurrence of Japanese pirates in the southeast is the biggest problem hindering private commerce. Once entering the vast sea, it is difficult for anyone to find their traces, and they are constantly suppressed. If this problem is not solved, it will be very difficult to open up sea trade.

However, you have to take one bite at a time, and you have to do things one by one. You can't rush it. Right now is the first step, so naturally you have to take a steady step.

Looking at the huge map in front of him, Zhu Qiyu pointed to many places in it that only had names but no descriptions of terrain and mountains, and said.

"Zhangzhou Mansion is close to the sea area. After Dai Wangshu moved his domain this time, the first thing he did was to send a fleet of ships for me to find out whether the records on the map are accurate and complete the map."

The tone of these words was calm, but with a faint command tone, obviously, he was not discussing with Zhu Shixiu.

Hearing this, the acting prince had a bitter look on his face, and said.

"Your Majesty knows that I have lived half my life and have never even seen the sea. Even if I want to find out for Your Majesty, I will not be able to do it. What's more, I don't know anything about navigation. This..."

"It's okay if you don't know about sailing, you can learn it now."

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand, motioning for people to roll up and put away the map on the ground, and said.

"Uncle Wang can take this map with him when he leaves the palace. In addition, I will order people to copy the charts and routes in Qintianjian and give it to Uncle Wang. Uncle Ke went to the Ministry of War and took a copy of Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas kept by the Ministry of War, so that he can read it slowly when he arrives in Zhangzhou Mansion.”

Ah this...

Zhu Shixiu was stunned for a moment, but immediately, his face became more hesitant, and said.

"Your Majesty, these charts are all imperial court secrets. How dare I take them out of the capital at will. Besides, the eunuchs of the Three Treasures went to the West with a huge fleet, and they were equipped with military officers and soldiers. Even if you have His Majesty's will, how dare you Forming such a fleet? This is a matter that can only be done by the imperial court. I dare not exceed my authority, and I am unable to complete it. Therefore, I boldly ask Your Majesty to take back the order."

This is true. Strictly speaking, sea chart routes are all secrets of military aircraft. Otherwise, they would not be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.

This kind of thing can't be followed by the emperor telling himself, otherwise, if he is a little careless, it will be a catastrophe.

The vassal king's status is lofty, but once it involves military and political aspects, he must be cautious.

Just don't talk about the Japanese invasion, just talk about the many hidden reefs on the sea, shipwrecks, and unpredictable dangers. If you want to ensure the greatest survival rate, the best way is to form a huge fleet.

This was the case with Zheng He's voyages to the West. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, every time Zheng He went to the West, the number of people was at least more than 7000, and more than 2 of them were officers and soldiers.

A fleet of this size will still suffer a lot of losses every time it goes to sea. Is it possible that he can form a larger fleet with a mere acting king?
Even if he could, he wouldn't dare!

You know, a fleet of this size is, to put it bluntly, an army. The vassal kings of various places don’t even have regular guards now. It hasn't been built yet, so I have to pack up and go to Fengyang to squat.

There is no one else here, so naturally there is no need to play so many charades.

What's more, this acting prince, who has always been submissive, finally spoke so forcefully, so naturally he has a reason to say it.

Looking at Zhu Shixiu's expression, Zhu Qiyu knew what he was hesitating about.

However, he didn't get angry because of this, instead he said with a more gentle expression.

"Uncle Dai Wang's words are serious, and I didn't say that I would repeat Zheng He's voyages to the West. Given the current state of the treasury, even if I agreed, Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs would not agree."

"I just want to know whether this map is true or not. According to what the missionary said, there are many things in the countries of Thailand and the West, as well as America and other places on this map that I did not have in Ming Dynasty. If you can bring back some , is also good."

"If Uncle Wang is worried about money and food, I will decree when I look back, to increase the annual salary of the Daiwangfu to ten thousand stones, and take it as I am."

"In addition, I will find some sailors for Uncle Wang who once sailed with Zheng He. Nanjing built some seagoing ships a few years ago, and Uncle Wang can also take them away. After arriving in Zhangzhou, Uncle Wang only needs to go to sea again. Recruit some good players, form a fleet of 500 people, and you can go to sea, and there is no need to make a fuss like Zheng He's voyage to the west."

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Huixun blinked at the side.

This time, the Son of Heaven is really generous!
You know, this is no ordinary grace.

Before that, because of the various evil deeds of Dai Wang Zhu Gui, Dai Fan's annual salary was reduced again and again. Even though Renzong added a lot later, it was only six thousand shi, and it was still half of the rice bill.

This time the emperor not only added it back, but also took it in his true colors. Here and there, it is not much different from adding six thousand stones.

Especially in today's situation, when the court officials clearly intend to rectify the suzerain vassals, adding salary to the vassals will inevitably come under pressure from the court.

However, the difficulty has decreased and the conditions have improved, which is not a good sign...

Seeing Wang Dai's somewhat tempted appearance, Zhu Huixun secretly sighed from the side, and then spoke.

"Your Majesty, I think that serving the country is what you should do. How can you invite His Majesty to reward you? What's more, although there are a lot of three to five hundred people in the fleet, there are frequent pirates in the southeast. We can deal with it, but if there are too many fleets, it will be difficult to make the trip, so I also feel that it is better for the court to do this matter."

These words immediately made Zhu Shixiu, who was still a little bit excited, breathless. Of course, Suiluwanshi is attractive, but it is not without price. Sui Lu, I'm afraid it will become a hot potato in the end.

Zhu Qiyu sat at the head, his eyes fell on Zhu Huixun, and he couldn't help shaking his head slightly. Sure enough, in terms of quick thinking, he had to be the uncle of King Min.

These words fell into Dai Wang's ears, reminding him how much he can get and how much benefits he has.

But in Zhu Qiyu's ears, it was obvious that King Min had seen through his plan just now...