Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 819 The Special Contribution of the Four Seas Trading Company to the Development of Ming Dynasty
In Zhu Youjian's overall plan for Ming Dynasty, agriculture is still the ballast stone, but this agriculture does not only refer to food, but to the comprehensive development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline fishery, and a more modern agriculture oriented towards animal husbandry and economic crop cultivation.

In this overall plan, the vassal states in South Asia will play a very important role.

Needless to say, the benefits brought by animal husbandry, its products will greatly reduce Daming's dependence on food while satisfying the appetite of Daming's population and bringing richer nutritional value.

The breeding industry needs a large amount of miscellaneous grains. The role of Daming's own land is to ensure rations and prevent crises caused by long-term extreme natural disasters. So where does the food needed for the breeding industry come from?At this time, the importance of the South Asian vassal state was highlighted.

Zhu Youjian has no intention of helping the vassal state to develop its economy, at least he will not do so before the first industrial revolution led by Ming Dynasty. The mission of the vassal state is to provide food for Daming, and wait for all economic forms of Ming Dynasty to go well. If it is on the right track, then you can consider transferring some backward handicraft industries to the vassal states, in the name of the suzerain state supporting the vassal states' economic development.

As a responsible big country, it is Ming's unshirkable obligation to help people in various countries improve their quality of life.

The common people of Ming Dynasty can sell their surplus grain to Sihai Liquor or Guancang. The price is currently set at three renminbi per shi, and it will fluctuate upwards with the increase in prices in the future.

After earning money from selling grain, the common people can buy crops such as corn, soybeans, and rice from South Asia at very low prices from the Sihai Grain Bank, and then use these grains supplemented with other grass feed to feed livestock and poultry. After the cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks grow up, they are sold in the market.

During this time and again, what the people of Ming Dynasty paid was nothing more than time and labor. As for the cost of feeding food, it was already making money.

Selling grain for three yuan and one stone, and buying grain for one yuan and one stone, in a simple transaction, the common people and farmers made two yuan invisibly, plus the silver money obtained from the sale of poultry and livestock, in the long run, they can get rid of poverty and even live a well-off life Not a problem.

The profits earned by the farmers are actually given by the imperial court. It is difficult for the Four Seas Commercial Bank to obtain profits in this industrial chain, and even lose money, but this matter, the Four Seas Commercial Bank must do it, which is the meaning of its existence.

The purpose of the existence of the various industries of Sihai Commercial Bank is not only to make profits, but more importantly, this huge economy that has actually become a semi-state-owned economy must make contributions to stabilizing society, developing the economy, and driving more ordinary people to become rich. Unrivaled contribution.

The Four Seas Commercial Bank involves too many types of industries, and its annual profits are too astonishing. It has become the cornerstone of the Ming economy, and it should also shoulder its social responsibilities.

How much money the firm earns every year is an unsolved mystery. Except for Zhu Youjian, the first assistant Sun Chuanting, the second assistant Lu Xiangsheng, several officials from the household department, and other specific handlers, no one else can know, but according to interested people It is speculated that it should not be below 800 million taels.

Because the largest shareholder of this behemoth in the business world is the royal family, it can only be regarded as semi-state-owned, but even this semi-state-owned can also play a vital role in the transformation of enriching the people and strengthening the country. How much will this role be in the future? Years later is also irreplaceable.

It is with this kind of strong support that Zhu Youjian dared to let go and take strong measures to promote various plans to benefit the people and implement them.

Hospitals, schools, nursing homes, subsidies for farmers, etc. all need to spend a lot of money, and it is far from enough to rely on Taicang income alone.

In addition to about half of Taicang’s income to support various military expenditures, the rest will be divided into several pieces, used for repair and maintenance of water conservancy facilities and roads, disaster prevention and mitigation, purchase of grain into warehouses, distribution of official salaries, urban Renovation and maintenance and many other aspects related to people's livelihood.

Zhu Youjian knew that there might be ways to save money in other areas, but military expenditures cannot be saved anyway, especially the salaries of officers and soldiers, which must be paid in full and on time, which he has especially emphasized.

At his request, every time the salary payment day comes, the military discipline officer directly under the leadership of Jin Yiwei will supervise the whole process on the spot, and will conduct unannounced visits afterwards. Under such an open and transparent mechanism, for more than ten years, there has never been a case of deduction of soldiers' salary. This has fundamentally guaranteed the loyalty of officers and soldiers to the emperor and the court.

In addition to this important matter that concerns the hearts of the army, another major item of military expenditure is the guarantee of military supplies. The north, northwest, and northeast directions become the largest consumption of military supplies. Cotton clothes, quilts, boots and hats alone consume a lot of money and materials every year.

Considering that these places are all in extremely cold regions, Zhu Youjian specially ordered the Ministry of War to greatly increase the cotton content in the mandarin duck jackets to improve warmth and comfort, so that officers and soldiers would not be injured by frostbite during daily drills and patrols. For staff reduction, the style and material of cotton boots, hats and helmets should be more suitable for officers and soldiers to keep warm. Cotton gloves, ear caps, and cotton scarves are all made by Zhu Youjian after imitating the products of later generations. of.

Officers and soldiers are required to keep out the cold every three years, and summer and autumn unlined clothes are distributed every two years. The officers and soldiers who have replaced them can take them home and use them for their families. This is also a kind of welfare in disguise.

Now various large and small water conservancy projects in Daming are in full swing. Since they involve local areas or even the overall situation, the completion of each project cannot be calculated in years, and it will take decades or hundreds of years to constantly grasp it.

The Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry will come up with a total budget of 200 million silver coins every year, and then distribute it according to the situation reported by each province. Among them, the three provinces of Hubei, Jiangxi, and Henan are the most important, and more than [-]% of the total budget will be invested in the three provinces Relevant prefectures and counties, whether they are continued or newly opened, will receive a large amount of funding from the imperial court.

Because the amount of money involved in water conservancy projects is too huge every year, in order to prevent serious money corruption, Zhu Youjian specially ordered the local Jinyiwei to send elite troops to the project command office responsible for purchasing materials and paying wages, and keep an eye on every payment. In and out of money, keep a close eye on every official involved in the payment of money, so that a penny of silver does not become the private property of some people.

The Four Seas Commercial Bank will also dispatch accounting experts to conduct irregular account audits. With such a combination of measures, it will be difficult for major loopholes to appear in money expenditures.

In order to improve the work enthusiasm of officials, the imperial court has also introduced various incentive measures, including various subsidies that participants can receive in addition to their salaries. The accumulation of these subsidies is not a small amount, and the generous treatment is enough to make everyone willing I put all my energy into it.

(End of this chapter)