Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 1395 Arrangement
Boss Zhu summoned the fourth brother immediately.

Zhu Di quickly washed himself, making himself look brand new inside and out to get rid of the bad luck. Accompanied by his brothers, he walked into the Qianqing Palace which he had not seen for a long time.

He originally thought that he would be scolded by his father, or even beaten by his father in anger.

Unexpectedly, the emperor did not scold him, nor did he beat him. Instead, he walked down the stairs himself and helped up his fourth son who was crying.

"Don't cry. What did we teach you when you were a child?" Boss Zhu wiped his tears with his thumb.

"Your Majesty, if you gamble you must admit defeat, and if you make a mistake you must accept the punishment." Zhu Di hurriedly sobbed.

"That's right. If you make a mistake, you must admit your punishment. After you've been punished, won't that be the end of the story?" Zhu Yuanzhang patted his shoulder vigorously and said, "You stubborn fellow, you can't just bow your head like this! Remember, whether you are a prince or not, you are Zhu Yuanzhang's son! You must get up from where you fell, and you must jump higher than last time!"

"Yes, I will remember your teachings and will never let you down!" Zhu Di nodded heavily, his eyes red with emotion again.

"You have never let your father down." Zhu Yuanzhang whispered in his ear, "Well done, Old Four!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di could no longer hold back his tears and started to cry.

Zhu Yuanzhang also had moist eyes. He waited for him to calm down before he said in a muffled voice, "Go and see the Queen Mother quickly. She has been worried sick for a while."

"Yes!" Zhu Di responded, kowtowed three times to Zhu Yuanzhang, and said emotionally: "I will leave Beijing with my sixth brother tomorrow. I don't know how many years it will take for me to see you again. You must take care of yourself!"

"Go away, stop being sentimental." Zhu Yuanzhang was almost driven to tears by him. He waved his hands and said, "How can a gentleman cry like this?"

"Yes!" Zhu Di quickly wiped his tears with his sleeves, kowtowed three times to his father, and then left reluctantly.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Zhen also took their leave and prepared to accompany the fourth brother, but Zhu Yuanzhang stopped Zhu Zhen and said, "Don't join in the fun. Stay and talk with us for a while."

"Okay." Zhu Zhen responded and stayed obediently.

~~
In the Qianqing Hall, only the emperor and the sixth brother and his son were left.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his favorite son for a while before he said in a low voice, "Are you really leaving?"

"Father, didn't I tell you? I will be back for the hero's coming-of-age ceremony next year." Zhu Zhen said softly.

"Not just next year, but you must come back every year!" Zhu Yuanzhang pressed on, "When there are fewer things to do in Yunnan, you can live in both places."

Zhu Zhen couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "I have been traveling all year long." "That's a bit unreasonable." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "Dad is old, I just want to see you more..."

"Yes, father. I will come back more often." Zhu Zhen also felt sad. The biggest feeling he had when he came back this time was that Boss Zhu, who had always been domineering, majestic and powerful, had admitted that he was getting old.

"Yes. In any case, your focus will be on Yunnan from now on. Some things should be made clear to avoid disputes in the future." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, walked to the imperial desk, picked up an imperial edict and handed it to him, saying:

"I have discussed this with your eldest brother. The Prime Minister's Navy Office will be under your control forever. Of course, you have to pay 20 million taels of silver every year. The court is still waiting for the money. How is it? Do you feel any pressure?"

"I can only say it's OK..." Zhu Zhen nodded, and did not give up his habitual crying poor because of the father-son relationship just now: "But at present, 20 million taels of silver is indeed the limit that the Navy Office can take out. If there is more, it will not be enough."

~~
Zhu Zhen's words were true. At present, the profits of the Navy Office mainly came from foreign trade, Japanese silver mines and the sea transportation of grain.

Among them, foreign trade accounts for the majority, with an annual income of about 30 million taels, but it fluctuates greatly. Especially in the past two years, the Timurid Empire has risen and occupied Persia and the Mesopotamian region. Although it has not affected trade yet, such a powerful country will bring great uncertainty. No one knows whether it will suddenly turn against each other one day.

As for the Japanese silver mine, combined with trade with Japan, it can bring in a stable income of 20 million taels every year. Now that Japan is firmly under control, there is no need to worry too much.

Then there is the sea transportation of grain and the accompanying domestic trade, which also brought in an income of 10 million taels... This area is growing rapidly, and with the increase in the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, unless there are major accidents, it will continue to grow for decades.

Therefore, the total income of the Navy Office is about 60 million taels, which seems to be rich enough to rival a country, but the expenses are also astonishingly high!
The headquarters in Taicang and the dozen or so domestic Maritime Customs Offices were just the tip of the iceberg. If the overseas part was included, the entire Maritime Administration had tens of thousands of ships of all sizes, more than 300,000 sailors, and twelve port cities throughout the Ming Dynasty's offshore waters and Southeast Asia, as well as the annual shipbuilding and repair costs... All these factors together would cost about 20 million taels.

This is when there is no major war. As the saying goes, a cannon shot is worth a fortune. Once a war breaks out with a country, the expenses will be huge!
Oh, and by the way, Yunnan has to be subsidized several million taels every year...

Therefore, Zhu Zhen's ability to hand over more than half of his profits to the court every year was absolutely a selfless contribution.

Of course, this is only the current income and expenditure situation. In the future, once the Navy opens up new prospects overseas, such as establishing a Eurasian trade route, opening up the South American galleon trade, and even entering North America, its income level is bound to rise.

But that is all in the future, there is no need to reveal everything now.

~~
Seeing that Lao Liu was so reluctant, Boss Zhu took the initiative to give in and said, "Of course, we know that you have a big hole in Yunnan, and it all depends on the income of the Navy. Let's make a rule. 20 million taels per year is the upper limit, and we will never ask you for a tael more. If the year is not good, you can also apply to the court for a partial exemption. Is that okay?"

"Okay, I will listen to you, father." Zhu Zhen nodded. He was touched and thought that his father had really changed and actually allowed bargaining.

Who knew that the feeling of being touched lasted only three seconds, and then Boss Zhu waved his hand and said:
"Don't be impatient, I haven't finished yet. I've thought about it carefully. The two overseas provinces you requested to set up, Jiuzhou and Goryeo, are not like Yunnan, which is integrated with the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, they are separated by mountains and seas, with small areas and poor people, and it is difficult for the court to directly manage them. Although it has been decided to send a prince to govern, it is inevitable that he will need to provide relief today and suppress rebellions tomorrow. If the court agrees, the burden will be too heavy; if it disagrees, the prince will be unstable, so let's put them under the Prime Minister's Navy. All overseas provinces set up in the future will follow this example and be under the jurisdiction of the Navy."

"Father, what you mean is that the Navy Department will also be responsible for their expenses in the future?" Zhu Zhen finally understood why the old thief emphasized that only 20 million taels were needed. It turned out that he wanted to pass these burdens to him.

(End of this chapter)