Daming: Lend the system to Emperor Hongwu at the beginning

Chapter 61 Early Development of Industry and Commerce
Looking at Zhu Di who was kneeling on the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao looked at each other and smiled.

"Fourth brother, we are all a family, can I still believe you?"

"Why so!"

"Get up quickly!" Zhu Biao pulled Zhu Di up from the ground.

"Fourth, it seems that you didn't disappoint us, and you weren't fascinated by any emperor!"

"Follow your eldest brother and do things well, there will be something better for you than this throne in the future!" Zhu Yuanzhang's tone of voice was a little softer.

It can be seen that he is still very satisfied with Zhu Di's choice.

After saying this, he even stood up and patted Zhu Di on the shoulder.

With such a simple action, Zhu Di, who just turned 12 years old this year, couldn't help but get slightly reddened eye circles.

When Zhu Di also left, only Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang were left in the hall.

Zhu Biao pondered for a while before saying: "Father, I heard you talk to Mr. Liu before, do you want to strictly investigate corrupt officials in the future?"

"That's right!"

"The thing we hated the most since we were young are corrupt officials. You have never endured hardship. I don't know how much harm these officials would do to the common people if they were corrupt, or even colluded with officials and businessmen."

"You have also seen the history of this side of the world during this period of time. Except for the Hongwu Dynasty, all the following are corrupt officials. The whole Daming was corrupted by these corrupt officials. If we don't rectify them, who will we rectify?"

"Not only do we have to govern officials, but we have to continue to increase our efforts."

"It is recorded in the later history books that the officials of the Hongwu Dynasty called the officials to be unhappy. We think this is very good.

Zhu Biao couldn't help but sighed when he heard the words: "But have you ever thought about one thing, father and emperor, if the salary of the officials is set too low, it will be easier for them to lose control when they face temptation."

"After all, they hold great power and manage the entire empire for you. The bigger the official, the more temptation they will face. For people like them, it is too easy to want to be corrupt."

"After I read the history of the Ming Dynasty, I found that there were no officials who were not corrupt in the Ming Dynasty, even Zhang Juzheng, because if he did not accept bribes, although others would respect him, they would also be afraid of him, stay away from him, and dare not make peace with him. He worked together and in the end he couldn't get anything done."

"It's rare for an honest official like Hai Rui."

"So Zhang Juzheng's reform failed!"

"My body is not upright, and my natural foundation is unstable."

Zhu Yuanzhang commented sharply, and he couldn't help but snorted: "Besides, we have carefully calculated those officials, their salaries are enough for them to eat and drink, and even hire a few servants to take care of the family. Now, compared with them, in my Ming Dynasty, there were many people who couldn’t eat. They didn’t have to work with their backs facing the loess, and they didn’t need to be exposed to the wind and the sun. ."

"As for those who dare to reach out and be greedy, we will cut off their hands and kill their heads."

"Biao'er, you still worry too much, let me tell you a truth, this civil servant is like a leek in the field, if you cut a stubble, a stubble will pop up soon, you don't have to be afraid that no one will take care of it for you. this country."

"It's a bad thing to be too kind to them."

Zhu Biao: "...!"

He found that he would never be able to speak to Zhu Yuanzhang when he said the great truth.

Seeing that Zhu Biao seemed to be getting hit hard, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Biao'er, we know what you mean, how can we not understand the principle of high salary and integrity, but now the country does not allow it!"

"Now that the country has just been established, it is just a time when all the wastes are waiting to be done. When the people need to cultivate their lives, we cannot charge too much tax, whether it is commercial tax or agricultural tax."

"The current tax revenue is barely enough, and some of the extra tax should be used in case of emergencies and used for disaster relief and people's relief, but there is no way to increase the salaries of officials."

Zhu Biao nodded when he heard the words.

To be honest, this question is quite unsolved.

It is a question of productivity. If productivity is not raised, the country will be poor, and the salaries of poor officials in the country will naturally be low. If officials have low salaries, they will naturally become greedy, and then the country will become even poorer.

It's a spell.

It is the fundamental reason why most of the feudal states in ancient China did not exceed 300 years.

"I have a suggestion!" Zhu Biao said suddenly.

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang's face showed a hint of interest.

"I want to set up a few more government-run commercial firms, including papermaking, sugar refining, textiles, and all other industries that have technological improvements in the late Ming Dynasty, and then set up workshops in the early Ming Dynasty."

"The specific operation of these workshops requires suitable businessmen to run them. The imperial court does not interfere in specific internal affairs, but it can send people to supervise them, and at the same time, give these businessmen a part of the net income as compensation every year."

"And part of the remaining profits can be used to subsidize the country, and part of it can be used to continue to expand production. What does the emperor think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up when he heard the words.

Two years ago, Zhu Biao suggested the establishment of the Royal Steel Firm.

After two years of development, this firm has established twelve large-scale smelting workshops across the country.

On the one hand, the iron pots, farm tools and other tools smelted in the workshop have greatly alleviated the current situation of scarcity of private iron products, and because of the use of new steel-making methods, these iron products are of better quality and cheaper The common people have benefited.

On the other hand, there were two new workshops where a natural disaster occurred last year. After Zhu Biao's coordination, both of these workshops attracted a large number of refugees to work in the factories, which greatly alleviated the local disaster.

And there is profit.

Even though Zhu Biao had told Shen Wansan that the farm tools produced by the firm deliberately cut prices, but last year the Royal Iron and Steel Firm still demonstrated its terrifying gold-absorbing ability, and its net income last year reached 300 million taels of silver.

You must know that this was 300 million taels of silver in the early Ming Dynasty, and it was not the time when the price of silver depreciated after a large amount of overseas silver flowed in at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

The purchasing power of 300 million taels of silver was terrifying in the early Ming Dynasty.

The most important point is that the 300 million taels of silver earned by the Royal Iron and Steel Firm was not earned by buying low and selling high, and hoarding goods for odds. This was real material production.

Just as farmers get food from farming, the Royal Iron and Steel Firm also smelts iron pots and farm implements.

Just as the people must eat food, the people also need to use iron pots and farm implements.

You can't cook without an iron pot, and you can't farm without farming tools. How could Zhu Yuanzhang not understand this truth?

Therefore, he is very clear that Zhu Biao's proposal to establish this Royal Steel Firm is indeed a great deed that benefits the country and the people.

It was precisely because he realized this that he valued Song Yingxing so much.

The industrial system mentioned in Song Yingxing's "Heavenly Creation of Things", and now Zhu Biao's proposal to establish the Daming National Commercial Guild, and the proposal to build a large number of government-run workshops, are actually quite similar in meaning to the same purpose. They are all expanding. The most fundamental productivity issue.

And this is what Zhu Yuanzhang values ​​most.

(End of this chapter)