Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2326 Fengshan (Twenty-three) Linqing Chaoguan (Part )

Gao Youshi's statement is easy to understand for people in later generations. It is nothing more than market saturation, or to be more precise, market saturation under current conditions. But for Zhu Yijun, it is more difficult to understand.

Although according to Gao Youshi's experience, "don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients" is completely reasonable, and underestimating the "ancients" is likely to suffer a great loss. However, the "wisdom of the ancients" here usually refers to their understanding and use of human nature is not inferior to that of later generations, but the speed of human nature development and improvement is negligible compared to the speed of scientific development and improvement.

But the wisdom of the ancients is not omnipotent. We cannot expect them to break through the limitations of their knowledge and show foresight on certain professional issues - such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, which require a complete academic system built from the foundation, or the overall logic of economic operation and development.

Playing tricks with the ancients, people in later generations may not have much advantage. If they want to have an advantage, they can only introduce other variables that are beneficial to themselves - such as Gao Youshi's introduction of new equipment to gain commercial advantages, and the introduction of new weapons and corresponding tactical systems to gain battlefield advantages.

In short, his victories at all levels over the years were actually achieved by introducing a set of variables that only benefited him as a time traveler. Why were Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, Shen Yikuan and others always restrained when facing him?

There are two aspects. First, Gao Youshi's layout was launched when Zhu Yijun was still the crown prince. The first-mover advantage was ridiculously large. The variable that allowed him to lay out in advance was that he knew the original history, which was a variable that he enjoyed exclusively.

Second, while he was making early arrangements in the power system, he also took advantage of the academic and theoretical characteristics of the practical school. He had already started a successful business under the banner of "practice makes perfect" and had acquired strong economic capital.

This means that Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, Shen Yiguan and others all need to rely on the money of the Jiangnan chaebol to form a political and business alliance, but what about me, Gao? Sorry, I am both a businessman and a politician.

If I want to deal with you, I just need to find some corruption involving collusion between the government and business circles between you two, and you will have to resign if you should, and step down if you should. But if you want to deal with me, what can you do? Can you accuse me of colluding with myself?

Therefore, your only recourse is to frame me and accuse me of plotting rebellion. If framing me for rebellion is not justifiable, then you can say that I am too powerful to be removed. Apart from this, what else can you do?

  But whether you intend to rebel or you are too powerful to be defeated, the key is that the emperor believes you! At least the emperor will doubt me because of your words, then you have a chance!

Unfortunately, you still can't do it, because I deliberately set up a "business" in southern Xinjiang. This "business" is not big - it is a remote and barbaric place in the south; it is not small either - it is in charge of the politics of several countries.

The emperor was relieved by this: Oh, it turns out that his ambition is not in the court but in the countryside, then it’s okay.

Why did Gao Youshi do this, and why did the emperor think so? Just look at Wang Jian's conquest of Chu. General Wang Jian not only asked Ying Zheng for rewards in advance before he set out, but also asked for rewards from time to time on the way to the battle. Why? With such a great achievement in conquering Chu in front of him, as long as the battle was won, would he be afraid of not getting rewards according to Qin's military merit system?

Of course not. Asking the king for rewards is just a way of self-affirmation, to show in advance that "this is all I want", and through this action, one is to defile oneself to a certain extent, that is, to let people all over the world see that "I am greedy for money and have no intention of anything else."

What about Gao Youshi? The reasoning is the same: "I have managed the wealth of the world for Your Majesty. Not only has the national treasury become more prosperous, but I have also become the richest in the world." "I have quelled the rebellion of the four barbarians for Your Majesty, and I also ask Your Majesty to grant me a piece of the barbarian land to pass on to my descendants."

At this time, the issues that the emperor had to consider became much simpler. He was freed from the chain of suspicion of "whether this person has other intentions" and now only had to consider "whether the exchange proposed by this person is worthwhile."

So, is it worth it? Of course it is!

  The imperial court was originally extremely poor, the military pay for the border troops in various places had been delayed for three to five years, the three main palaces had been damaged for many years and there was no money to repair them, the purchase of some jewels for the royal family celebration was almost overwhelmed by the advice of court officials in the Imperial Household Department, and the previous emperor was almost criticized as a king who lost his country when he gave some jewels to his concubine... What a horrible life, how can it be like being an emperor!

What about now? Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were spent at will, and the Ministry of Revenue was too lazy to even raise objections, let alone resisting the order. Even if the expenditure plan lasted for several years and was at the level of millions, the Ministry of Revenue could clearly explain where the money would come from and how much long-term benefits it would reap in the future. The emperor did not have to worry about it at all, and could make a "wise and prudent decision" with a rough calculation.

  As for the emperor's own treasury, the income was even higher. The Liaonan salt field was booming, the sea trade alliance secretly held shares and paid dividends every year, and he even got 80,000 hectares of land in Nanyang for free not long ago... Which emperor would not use and favor such a prime minister who could handle both public and private affairs?

Not to mention his political achievements, he pacified Annan, assisted the north, conquered the east, conquered the west, and pacified the interior. He really demonstrated the power of the Ming Dynasty to the fullest. In just twenty years, he made the four barbarians bow down and all nations come to pay tribute. What else can I say? Even if Taizu were alive again, he probably wouldn't have the intention to kill such a minister. He would only try to make him continue to assist the prince honestly, right? [Note: This may be because Zhu Yijun underestimated the suspicion of his ancestors...]

Zhu Yijun certainly had his suspicions from the beginning to the end, but Gao Youshi knew him too well, and he always deliberately left just the right "loopholes" in advance, making the emperor think that he fully understood Gao Youshi's thoughts - "Your Majesty, I promise to help you with this matter. As for the benefits, we will divide them, you take the biggest share, and I will take some as well."

If it were an extremely confused emperor, he might have thought, "These are all mine, you can't take them unless I give them to you." But as I said before, Zhu Yijun was never that kind of person.

In the original history without the influence of Gao Youshi, Zhu Yijun had two major advantages: first, if he wanted you to do something, he would be willing to delegate power, and if someone affected your work, he would eliminate the influence so that you could give full play to your ability; second, he was not the kind of person who "could not tolerate any sand in his eyes", but was quite humane. For example, when it came to Li Chengliang, although he made great mistakes in his later years, he still considered Li Chengliang's early contributions and was willing to suppress various impeachments to ensure that Li Chengliang had a good end.

  Gao Youshi knew Zhu Yijun's character very well, so he deliberately exposed these "flaws" as a kind of exchange for Zhu Yijun to choose. Obviously, Zhu Yijun approved of these exchanges and even took the initiative to propose better conditions such as promotion and teaching the prince. [Note: Teaching the prince means "future" political influence, so it is a kind of preferential treatment in the eyes of the emperor.]

All of the above are related to the logic of power operation. Zhu Yijun can understand them clearly and understand Gao Youshi's hint. However, Zhu Yijun cannot understand things like "the Linqing banknote tax quota cannot be further increased because the canal trade has peaked" and needs Gao Youshi to explain.

In fact, the rise of Linqing itself relied on the canal. If it was in the original history, it could even be said more precisely that the prosperity of Linqing's canal transportation drove the development of Linqing's urban economy, making Linqing in its prosperous period an important source of tax revenue in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In the 1423st year of Yongle (), Shandong Governor Chen Ji suggested to Emperor Chengzu: "Huai'an, Jining, Dongchang, Linqing, Dezhou, and Zhigu are where merchants gather. Now the capital is Beiping, and the goods are twice as much as before. It is appropriate to send people to supervise the commercial tax for one year and set it as a fixed amount." Emperor Chengzu accepted his suggestion and began to collect commercial taxes in Linqing and other places. As merchants and travelers gathered and vehicles and ships converged, the Ming court collected a lot of taxes.

Starting from the fourth year of Xuande (1429), the Ming court set up "Huanxian, Jining, Xuzhou, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Shangxinhe, Xushu, Jiujiang, Jinshazhou, Linqing, and Beixin customs", among which "only Linqing and Beixin collected goods taxes, and each sent an imperial censor and the head of the Ministry of Revenue to supervise the collection."

In the tenth year of Xuande (1435), the imperial court promoted Linqing Banknote Customs to "Taxation Branch of the Ministry of Revenue". Later, Linqing Banknote Customs was abolished several times. After the Tartars entered the pass during the chaos, they inherited the Ming system and the Qing court also established Linqing Banknote Customs.

It can be said that since its establishment, Linqing Bank has made great contributions to the taxation of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the early and middle Ming Dynasty, the annual tax collection was more than 40,000 taels of silver, and reached more than 83,000 taels during the Wanli period, which was higher than the tax revenue of Chongwenmen in the capital. It ranked first among the eight major banknote customs in the country and accounted for a quarter of the total tax revenue of the country at that time.

In the early period of the Qing Dynasty, although Linqing was not as prosperous as in the Ming Dynasty, it was still an important source of tax revenue for the Qing court. For example, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, in addition to the original banknote customs, four more checkpoints were set up in Linqing on the grounds of collecting "all detour goods taxes". According to the "Linqing County Annals", "The amount of money collected from the Linqing Banknote Customs...was as much as 60,000 or 70,000 yuan, or as little as 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, and the rest of the money collected was all taken by the government. Therefore, there was a rumor at that time that 'Is 66,000 yuan enough?'"

During the annual canal transportation period, Linqing presents a spectacular scene of "sails like a forest, and general merchandise piled up like a mountain". In the Ming Dynasty, Li Dongyang once vividly described the prosperous scene of Linqing in his poem "Passing Aotouji": "Ten miles of houses are divided on both sides, and the tall buildings reach the blue sky. Official ships and merchant ships pass by one after another, and the sound of drums and gongs can be heard everywhere. The river is broken and the waves are like spring thunder day and night. There are thousands of fireworks in the city, and tens of thousands of masts are on the river."

Linqing relied on the canal and the trade transit function of wealthy merchants to maintain close economic ties with all parts of the country. Given its status as a trade transit center, the market gathered goods from all over the country. Most of the goods circulated and resold in the Linqing market were daily necessities, with grain, silk, and cotton cloth being the main commodities for resale, and cotton, pear dates, silk fabrics, sheepskin, and felt being the main commodities for export. Among them, grain and cloth mostly came from Jining, silk mostly came from Suzhou and Hangzhou, tea mostly came from various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, iron pots came from Wuxi and Guangdong, and porcelain mostly came from Jiangxi.

During the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, Linqing's commerce was already well-known. Choi Pu, a Korean envoy, passed by Linqing on his way north from Ningbo to the capital via the canal during the Hongzhi reign and witnessed its prosperity. He once wrote in his diary: "Linqing is located at the intersection of the capital and is a place where merchants gather. The city and the area within dozens of miles outside the city are densely packed with buildings, prosperous markets, rich goods and wealth, and a large number of ships. Although it is not as good as Suzhou and Hangzhou, it is the best in Shandong and is famous throughout the world."

During the Jiajing period, Linqing had become the leading city in Shandong. It became even better during the Wanli period. Linqing "stretched from Tawan in the north to Touzha in the south, stretching for dozens of miles, with shops and markets rubbing shoulders with each other". According to Zhao Shiqing, who served as the Minister of Revenue at the same time, there were "32 satin shops", "73 cloth shops" and "65 grocery stores" in Linqing City. It can be said that Linqing at that time was already crowded with merchants and prosperous.

This was already the case in the original history, and Linqing in this life has developed even better thanks to Gao's pragmatic reforms.

In terms of commerce, in addition to the above-mentioned goods trade, Linqing also has several other "bulk commodity trades". For example, the various steel and iron products produced by Jinghua near the capital, including agricultural tools, hardware, mechanical parts and other main products, although they are not sold via the canal but by sea when sold to the south, they must pass through Linqing when sold in Shandong, and even when sold from Shandong to Henan and other places in the west. Therefore, Linqing also reaped the dividends of the industrial development in the north and benefited from it as a commercial hub.

In addition, Linqing itself also gained the ability to generate income that it did not have in history because of Gao Youshi. This is quite interesting, because Gao Youshi did not know Linqing at first. It was after he became the Minister of Revenue that he asked all localities to report the details of their local characteristic industries to the Ministry of Revenue, and then he looked at the tribute brick industry of Linqing, and then he made an industrial plan for Linqing.

Linqing is located in the alluvial plain of the Yellow River, with fine soil rich in iron, commonly known as "lotus soil" locally. The bricks fired from this soil are extremely hard and very suitable for construction work.

The history of brick-making in Linqing can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, but due to its small scale, it did not attract much attention. However, an unexpected change occurred in the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Di seized the throne, he decided to move the capital to Beijing and began to vigorously build a new capital. He repeatedly issued edicts to Shandong, Henan and Hejian prefectures in Zhili to build kilns for brick-making.

In addition, since the dredging of the Grand Canal in 1415, Linqing-Beijing water transport has become more convenient, which has created good transportation conditions for large-scale brick burning. Since then, the brick burning industry in Linqing has flourished rapidly, and the bricks it burns are listed as tribute bricks because they "sound like copper when struck and have no holes when broken".

In the early Ming Dynasty, the production of Linqing tribute bricks was supervised by the Ministry of Works, which was located in Zhongzhou, hence the name Gongbu Factory. It was quite grand, with millions of bricks collected annually. When Gao Youshi saw this, he remembered that Linqing tribute bricks were of high quality, so the capitals, imperial gardens, and emperors' mausoleums of the Ming and Qing dynasties were all built from bricks taken from here.

After that, the brick kilns of Linqing government "opened pottery and attracted investment, and the number doubled compared with the past." When Linqing started to make tribute bricks, there were four brick factories in total. As the demand continued to increase, their scale gradually expanded.

According to the proposal submitted by Linqing to the Ministry of Revenue, they counted the brick kilns of all sizes along the canal and found that there were brick kilns of all sizes stretching for more than 60 miles, from East and West Diaomaqiao to East and West Baita Kilns, then to Zhangjia Kiln in the northeast, and finally to Hekui Zhangzhuang in the southeast.

According to their reports, there were 192 brick kilns in Linqing at that time, each with two kilns, for a total of 384 kilns, which shows the huge scale of the kilns, and thus we can also infer the huge number of tribute bricks produced. The production of Linqing tribute bricks attracted a large number of craftsmen to gather in Linqing, and also promoted the prosperity of the city of Linqing.

After Gao Guoshi saw the proposal, he immediately sent people from Jinghua Mining to Linqing and surrounding areas for investigation. He finally found that Dongchang Prefecture, where Linqing is located, has very good cement manufacturing-related mineral deposits, which are not only comprehensive in variety but also of high quality. Based on Jinghua Mining's research and analysis, it is considered very appropriate to open a cement plant in Linqing.

The materials were locally available and of high quality, the transportation was convenient for export, and the local population was large, making it easy to recruit workers... All the conditions could not be better, so Jinghua's first large-scale cement plant in Shandong was quickly established. Since then, the cement plant has not only sold its products in Linqing and its surrounding areas, but also radiated most of Shandong and even many areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River that are accessible by land and water.

The above are also the main reasons why the current Linqing tax can be more than 30,000 taels more than in the original history.

Gao Youshi analyzed these sources of tax revenue one by one to the emperor, and Zhu Yijun suddenly realized it and said, "I understand. The amount of tax revenue in Linqing depends on how much business the merchants in this area do. If the merchants' business reaches a certain limit and cannot continue to increase, then the tax revenue in Linqing will not be able to increase... Is that the truth?"

"That's right." Gao Youshi said.

Zhu Yijun scratched his head and said, "Although I understand the principle, I still don't understand the solution. You just said that it might be the 'canal trade volume has peaked'. Does this mean that the canal is too narrow to accommodate more merchant ships? But wasn't it repaired, widened and deepened once last year? Do you think it needs to be widened further?"

Prosperous business certainly depends on convenient transportation, but convenient transportation alone is obviously not enough.

As expected, Gao Youshi shook his head and said, "That's not the case. I think the widened canal is sufficient for the time being. The current stagnation of Linqing's commercial development is due to other reasons."

"What's the reason?" Zhu Yijun asked.

"I think there are two reasons. First, the prosperity of maritime trade has led to the fact that trade between the two capitals in the north and south often no longer passes through the canal. Not to mention Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, which must have been transported entirely by sea. As a result, the canal trade has lost a large part of its original cargo exchanges.

Secondly, under the competition of shipping, Linqing and other places along the canal were not proactive enough and failed to find ways to develop other trade to make up for the trade volume taken away by shipping. As a result, although new industries have emerged in various places in recent years, the canal coast has not been able to take advantage of them. They can only stare with their eyes and drool, but they can't eat anything. "

Zhu Yijun nodded after pondering for a moment, and then asked, "Is there any solution?"

"Yes, there is, but this time I'm afraid it will require the cooperation of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue. And it may not be effective immediately. It will take two to three years, or even three to five years."

"The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue cooperate?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously, "How?"

  Gao Shishi said: "Let the Ministry of Personnel combine the examination system to put greater performance pressure on local officials along the canal, and let the Ministry of Revenue provide some short-term training for officials who report to the capital or are sent out for the first time to teach them some ways to develop local advantageous industries and expand trade with neighboring areas."
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Thanks to book friends "doni", "adamyjl", "Long Time No See", and "Ye Xue Lei Shang" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!

PS: I will not describe the emperor's visit to Linqing in detail, because the descriptions of various places are often similar, and writing about each place is too homogeneous, so I will just write about Tianjin and be done with it, saving some ink and space. The main purpose of this journey south is to summarize the achievements of the reform and describe the two emperors and ministers solving "new problems in development".