I'm really not doing business

Chapter 771 Let everyone believe that the Ming Emperor is really rich

On the 25th day of the 12th lunar month in the 14th year of the Wanli reign, the Ming Emperor received a memorial from Luzon. Yin Zhengmao told His Majesty the tragedy in Luzon without any concealment.

This was a premeditated attack against the Han Chinese living in Luzon from the Ming Dynasty. The most important purpose was Tongxiang Town.

The reason why these barbarians broke into houses, killed people and abducted women was to get several hesitant tribes nearby to join the attack on the Ming Copper Factory. After committing such a serious crime, the governor from the Ming Dynasty would naturally suppress it. In this case, they could only capture Tongxiang Town together and then make plans.

In the eyes of these barbarians, the Ming people had robbed the wealth that should have belonged to them. Even though Tongxiang Town was discovered by the Ming Dynasty and built on a large scale to reach its current size, the Ming Dynasty took away the copper materials but refused to let them become richer.

"I will submit a memorial to the cabinet. I fully agree with all the decisions made by Marquis Sishui." Zhu Yijun approved the memorial.

He did not curse, did not get angry, and did not even lose his temper. He just calmly approved of all the government orders, including the implementation of policies such as not establishing household registration for the Yi people, separating the Han and Yi people, not investigating concubines, not imposing industrial restrictions, not giving tax incentives, constituting attacks as wars, rice-smoke convection, straight-line demarcation of boundaries, raising thugs, and passing on knowledge and skills, etc.

Zhu Yijun and Yin Zhengmao had some discussions in correspondence about the issue of the Luzon Governor's Office. According to Zhu Yijun, these should have been done long ago. Zhu Yijun very much agreed with what Wan Shihe said, "The barbarians have wolf faces and beast hearts, they fear power but not virtue." If you show them a little bit of good face, they will start to tear down the house and make trouble.

Even the Lee Dynasty of Korea, which was highly similar to the Ming Dynasty, was the same. The stories of Lu Dongbin and the dog, the farmer and the snake, and Mr. Dongguo and the wolf were always put on new clothes and performed over and over again.

The Ming Dynasty really suffered a lot in this regard.

"That Li Yashi still needs to be locked up for five more days, right? Let's release him and let him spend the New Year in peace. Don't keep him there until New Year's Eve, which would make the New Year a restless one." Zhu Yijun specially pardoned Li Yashi.

This guy still had five days left in his sentence, so Zhu Yijun released him and let him have a good New Year. Li Yashi was almost about to take a loud speaker and yell in the emperor's ear about the pitfalls that the Ming Dynasty might fall into during the colonization process.

But there are some pitfalls that cannot be avoided. Only when you fall will you feel the pain. Only when you are cheated will you put away the moral sense brought by the highly developed society.

The Ming Dynasty's compassion for all living beings is also a kind of arrogance.

Feng Bao sighed and said, "If Li Yashi knew that the Ming Dynasty suffered such a great loss in the process of conquering Luzon, I'm afraid he would make up another joke."

"Laugh if you want to." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Even if you stepped on a pit and fell, you can't let people say a few words?"

"I obey the order." Feng Bao obeyed the leader's order.

Zhu Yijun picked up Lin Fucheng's "Travels in Southeast Asia". Lin Fucheng visited and investigated the plantations in depth and explained the plantation economy very clearly.

The plantation economy is a large-scale agricultural organization form that uses slave labor and grows one or a few crops mainly for export. The large-scale agricultural organization form is relative to the small peasant economy.

In comparison, the production efficiency of the small peasant economy in the Ming Dynasty was actually not high, and the crops were mainly used for food rather than as commodities.

The main commodities in Luzon are palm oil, rice, sugar, spices, rubber, abaca, timber, etc., most of which are agricultural products that need to be processed.

Lin Fucheng spent a lot of space to describe the production process of these agricultural products. For example, the refining of palm oil is a very, very hard job.

The coolies from the plantation pulled the palm fruit bunches to the oil mill, where they began to beat the palm fruit bunches. There were about two thousand palm fruits on a bunch. After beating, they screened out the dead leaves of the palm fruits and threw buckets of palm fruits into an iron pot to start steaming. After half an hour of steaming, they began to crush them.

The coolie held a pestle to crush the palm fruit, picked out the palm kernels, put all the palm meat into the rotary press, and began to squeeze out the palm oil. The red palm oil was squeezed out under the strong pressure of the screw press and flowed into wooden barrels. A small wooden barrel could hold about 300 kilograms of oil.

Palm kernel oil is yellow in color and has a walnut-like aroma, so it is more expensive.

The plantation land, palm trees, carts pulling palm trees, the land of the oil mill, the oil mill's wooden sticks, screen frames, iron barrels, iron pots for steaming palm fruits, and rotary presses all belong to the manor owner. These production tools are not allowed to be taken out of the workshop, and even various crowbars are fixed to the machines.

Only the palm dregs after oil is extracted will be added to the grain and mixed with it to feed the coolies. If there is too much palm dregs, it will be taken to Hanxiang Town to make wine.

The same is true for the production of other agricultural products.

"Your Majesty, Lin Fucheng's travel notes have solved my doubts." Feng Bao said with deep emotion: "Whether in the plantation or the workshop, slaves cannot resist the slave owners."

Uprising? Not happening.

Lin Fucheng's travel notes introduced the lives of these coolies. They did not rise up in rebellion, but only tried to please.

The first reason is that the cost of resistance is extremely high and the success rate is very low.

The first thing a coolie who is determined to rebel should guard against is the coolies around him. As long as he reports you to the owner of the manor, the coolie can not only have a big meal and some reward money, but may even become the one who manages the coolies.
Coolies generally lacked weapons, and the manor owners were not in the manor most of the time, but lived in the Han town. They would only go to the fields during the harvest time of the year. The walls of the Han town were insurmountable high walls.

The stewards who lived in the manors and were in charge of managing them had weapons such as swords, spears, halberds, bows and arrows, and even muskets.

Success means having a good meal, failure means death, and it is very easy to die.

The second reason is that the living and working environment is extremely bad. It is normal to not have enough to eat. Even food mixed with dregs is extremely precious. After eating and working, you will have no strength left.

After working for a long time, I don’t have the time to think about who I am and why I have to suffer. When I take a break, I fall asleep immediately because tomorrow will be another hard and tiring day.

Lin Fucheng summarized it as: every day is repeated so similarly until death.

"So the plantation is very profitable. We only need to provide the most basic food rations, and the rest are all production surplus." Zhu Yijun didn't care much about this.

There were about 600,000 Japanese slaves working in these plantations in Luzon, Cebu and Mindanao, accounting for two-fifths of the plantation laborers. Another two-fifths were local barbarians, and one-fifth were from the Ming Dynasty, who were mainly responsible for managing the various plantations and the workshops affiliated with the plantations.

Lin Fucheng also observed a phenomenon, Nanyang Sister.

Most of the Ming people who went to Southeast Asia went there alone. Only a few, like Ding Yang, went there with his family. Areas with a high concentration of young and middle-aged men are hotbeds of prostitution and business opportunities.

These young and middle-aged people who have worked all day need to vent, and they have money in their hands.

It is not known since when, outside Tongxiang Town and Hanxiang Town, one after another custom streets began to appear. In Tongxiang Town alone, there were 1500 prostitutes serving the craftsmen of Tongxiang Town. In the twelve Tong towns of Luzon, there were at least prostitutes.

Among these prostitutes, 50% were Japanese, 40% were foreigners, and the remaining 10% had more complicated origins, including Persians, red-haired foreigners, golden-haired foreigners, and black foreigners.

Lin Fucheng couldn't quite understand why these black movies also had business and seemed to be doing pretty well.

After the Japanese women boarded the ship at the Nagasaki Governor's Office, they would first go to Matsue Prefecture for screening. After being screened, they would then flow to Southeast Asia.
Persian women, red-haired barbarians, golden-haired barbarians, and black barbarians were all brought to Luzon by Arab and Western merchants.

The fact that there were no Han women working in this field does not mean that there were no Han women in the population migration to Southeast Asia. Rather, the Han women who migrated to Southeast Asia were usually the craftsmen’s first choice for mates. Moreover, because of their small number and serious imbalance in supply and demand, the bride price was also extremely high.

Even if a craftsman died accidentally, thanks to the government factory's pension policy, these women did not have to engage in menial jobs and could support themselves, and they could even raise their children without remarrying.

On the main island of Luzon, especially in places with more developed transportation such as Manila, bride price also began to spread to the barbarians.

The barbarians simply understand it as those who can provide high bride prices can provide a more stable life. The trend of bride prices has spread rapidly in Luzon, impacting the lives of local people. This is also the reason why many local barbarians would rather choose to be Nanyang sisters than get married.

Lin Fucheng talked about the changes that the invasion of bride price brought to the local area from the perspective of Nanyang Sister. Such changes also include intensive farming, composting of manure, and so on.

From the changes that the Ming Dynasty made towards Luzon, Lin Fucheng finally revealed his true intentions and talked about a problem: the Ming Dynasty’s doubts.

The powerful military force of the Ming Dynasty, the huge ships visible to the naked eye that sailed away from the port like moving castles on the sea, the dazzling array of goods, the luxurious lifestyle, the noble and polite way of dealing with people, and the international status of the Celestial Empire all made the barbarians suspicious.

As long as the Yi people and the Ming Dynasty have a little contact, they will involuntarily wonder, what force has created such glory? What system and what kind of management method have laid a good foundation for all this? Is everything in the Celestial Empire accidental or inevitable? Will they live the same life as the Ming people if they imitate it completely?

Lin Fucheng’s answer is no, and the reason is simple: imitating someone ugly.

Lin Fucheng believes that what is even more bizarre is:
The scholars of the Ming Dynasty were shouting that the Ming Dynasty was heading for danger, and that everything about the Wanli Reform should be opposed, and that any achievements should be questioned;
Even the Ming officials were worried. Is it good or bad for Ming to take this path? The benefits are visible to the naked eye, but the disadvantages are also like a shadow.

The struggle volume personally compiled by the supreme emperor even came to an absurd conclusion that the Ming Dynasty would surely perish. Such a powerful Celestial Empire would also perish.

The Ming Dynasty was changing the world, at least as far as the eye could see, and the Wanli Reform was creating all kinds of doubts, not only overseas, but also in the heart of the Ming Dynasty.

"The Ming Dynasty is a besieged city. People inside want to get out, and people outside want to get in." Zhu Yijun approved Lin Fucheng's "Travels in Southeast Asia" and allowed it to be published in "Xiaoyao Yiwen" and circulated throughout the country.

The Ming Dynasty was indeed influencing the direction of the world, for example, the Ming Dynasty enthroned the King of Portugal, the Mongol Empire sent children of princes and nobles to study in the Ming Dynasty, and the rapid development of the Great Light Sect.

The culture of the Ming Dynasty is impacting the world along with goods and along the rivers, and is also quietly reshaping the world.

"Your Majesty, Shanxi Governor Zhou Liangyin has submitted a congratulatory memorial." Feng Bao placed a memorial in front of the emperor.

Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial, thought for a moment and said, "After the New Year, let Chen Mo take two thousand households to Xuanfu and Datongfu. It's not that Zhou Liangyin has to say anything."

After Zhou Liangyin eliminated redundant staff in Guangling County, he began to extend the elimination trend to Datong Prefecture and Xuanfu. At the end of the 14th year of Wanli, Zhou Liangyin reported that the elimination of redundant staff in the two prefectures had been completed.

The reason why the elimination was accomplished was that the local powerful and wealthy people, as well as the local gentry, could no longer tolerate the inefficient administration.

The highway brought about the rapid circulation of goods, but also brought about the need for efficiency. Salt from the capital of the Ming Dynasty was sent to Xuanfu, and it would take half a year or even a year for it to flow from the treasury to the people. In a government office, most people were idle, and only a few worked like oxen and horses, doing endless work. These oxen and horses asked for more staff, but when they looked at the list, they found that there were too many people.

The people to be cleared out are those who receive salaries but do not work.

There were 27 clerks in Datong Prefecture, who were responsible for the storage of materials in and out of the treasury. However, there were only four people working on the job, and the rest were rarely seen once a year. This time, they were all laid off.

Zhu Yijun was a little skeptical about the extravagant and beautiful things Zhou Liangyin said in his memorial, so he asked Chen Mo to take two thousand judicial officers and two hundred imperial guards to Xuanfu and Datong to visit the people and see if the situation was as Zhou Liangyin said. If it was really as Zhou Liangyin said, then this would be a valuable experience in reform.

If Zhou Liangyin really succeeded in Shanxi, Zhu Yijun would definitely invite Zhou Liangyin back to the court and appoint him to the Ministry of Personnel as the Left Vice Minister, specifically responsible for improving administrative efficiency.

"This week, the governor probably used some methods that are not convenient to write directly in the memorial." Feng Bao did not doubt the truth. According to the year-end audit, the administrative costs of Datong Prefecture and Xuanfu were rapidly declining. Moreover, judging from the performance evaluation system, the administrative efficiency of Datong Prefecture and Xuanfu was rapidly improving.

Zhu Yijun smiled and asked, "Feng Daban, what rumors have you heard?"

Feng Bao bowed his head and said, "I did hear that. Governor Zhou's memorial was very high-sounding, but that's not what I heard. He just followed the list of the Jin Party and was criticized by many of them. All the Jin Party's connections in Datong and Xuanfu were eliminated."

"Some censors of the Jin Party also scolded Governor Zhou. It was not a purge at all, but a party-building campaign to exclude dissidents! They said that he, Zhou Liangyin, also wanted to be Wang Chonggu!"

When it comes to layoffs and retrenchments, it's easy to cut off the main arteries. Only those with connections can fish in troubled waters and not do their real work, and even not report for work for many years. People without connections can only work desperately, and if they are late or leave early, they will lose their jobs. Can layoffs and retrenchments affect those with connections? Then they can only cut off the main arteries.

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This was also the reason why Zhou Liangyin's first clearance operation in Guangling County failed completely. He was so embarrassed that he had to invite back those who had been cleared out.

But this time Zhou Liangyin only targeted those with connections, which looked more like a party struggle, driving away all those who were disobedient, rather than the elimination that Zhou Liangyin had mentioned.

"Anyway, the work has been done. I don't care how he did it." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and decided to wait for the visit of the imperial guards.

In fact, Zhou Liangyin's purge was based on the same concerns as those mentioned by Shen Shixing in his previous memorial. The Wanli Reform was destroying and disintegrating the old production relations and establishing a new order. In this new order, the Ming Dynasty's political system and administrative system must be able to bear all the burdens brought about by the changes.

A typical example is Wang Xiyuan, the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture. He is so busy all day long. Shuntian Prefecture is changing so fast that Wang Xiyuan feels genuinely unfamiliar with it.

"What is Wang Ci Fu going to do? He wants to build 10,000 official residences?" Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in front of him, somewhat confused and puzzled.

"I wish I had thousands of spacious houses to shelter all the poor people in the world and make them happy." Feng Bao answered this question carefully and understood the proposal from a positive perspective.

The Shanxi Party is declining, but the Labor Party is getting stronger, and not just a little stronger. For example, now the Xishan Coal Bureau and the Yongding Yongsheng Woolen Factory are going to build another 10,000 official residences. The Labor Party has already built 10,000 official residences and put them into use, forming a large workshop on the banks of the Yongding River.

As the number of craftsmen increased, official residences were no longer sufficient.

These 20,000 government residences represent 20,000 households. Most of them were poor laborers, and only with the government-owned factories could they have a stable source of livelihood, because the government-owned factories provided housing, rice, flour, grain, oil, firewood and other necessities of life, so they could invest more of their resources in their children's education.

This is the Labour Party’s base.

These are just the woolen cloth factory and the coal bureau. If all the government factories throughout the Ming Dynasty follow suit, there is no doubt that within twenty years, the Labor Party will be an indispensable and powerful force in the Ming Dynasty's politics.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "It is indeed cheaper to build official residences in government factories, so let's approve it. If government factories are to be built in various places, their scale and style must be approved by the Ministry of Revenue to ensure that they are capable of building them. They must not blindly follow the trend."

The reason why Wang Chonggu wanted to build another 10,000 official residences was indeed because the original ones were not enough, but there was another important reason, which was to distribute 30% of the profits to the lower levels. Without making destructive salary increases, the only option was to provide houses.

The profits of Xishan Coal and Iron Bureau have increased again this year. With the gradual closure of coal kilns, more and more craftsmen have joined the coking plant, water and fertilizer plant and ironmaking plant under the Coal Bureau. The production capacity of water and fertilizer has increased again this year, but the bulk of the profits still come from ironware.

This time it was not an iron pot, but a stove made in the capital, which had been sold all over the country.

A craftsman named Chen Yilin turned the upper layer of the stove into a horseshoe-shaped return air structure. This type of return air stove can allow the fuel to burn more completely, saving at least one-third of the fuel, and reducing poisoning incidents caused by incomplete combustion of gas.

(Horseshoe return air structure)
It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford a stove made in Beijing, you can build a clay stove at home. Building this structure can also increase combustion efficiency, and it is itself a structure that increases air intake.

There were many furnace builders in the Ming Dynasty who specialized in building furnaces for various families. The quality of the furnace depended entirely on the skills of the furnace builders. The Xishan Coal Bureau found nearly a hundred craftsmen and taught them how to build this kind of horseshoe return air furnace.

"Your Majesty, Wang Ci Fu is the first leader of the Labor Party. He must do something for the Ming Dynasty while he is still alive. In this way, Wang Ci Fu will no longer be the biggest weakness of the Labor Party." Feng Bao once again expressed Wang Chonggu's motive of benefiting the world.

The biggest weakness of the Labor Party is Wang Chonggu. He is in power now and has tremendous power. After he leaves, Wang Chonggu will undoubtedly be the best breakthrough point for breaking through the Labor Party.

As long as Wang Chonggu is completely defeated, the Labor Party will fall apart, and it will be very easy to defeat them one by one.

Zhu Yijun approved Wang Chonggu's idea of ​​building a large official residence. After all, food, clothing, housing and transportation are all very important to the people.

"Go and call the Grand Tutor and the Junior Tutor. I am a little confused about their memorial." Zhu Yijun was holding a memorial in his hand, and he was a little unsure.

On the 25th day of the 12th lunar month, government offices and factories of the Ming Dynasty had already closed for the New Year. The holiday lasted from the 24th day to the 6th day of the first lunar month. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, they would be closed again until the 20th day of the first lunar month to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

The folk holiday is directly extended from the 24th to the 20th of the first lunar month, but in recent years, some folk workshops have started to go back to work on the 6th.

The cabinet will remain in office until New Year's Eve.

Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan took a small train to the door of the imperial study in Tonghe Palace. After the eunuch reported, the two Si Tu walked into the imperial study.

"Starting next year, goods from the Ming Dynasty can be purchased with gold. Why is that? Shen Shixing said before that the Ming Dynasty's currency system is a bimetallic standard, that is, a copper-silver standard. This is already very complicated. Wouldn't it be even more complicated if gold is added?" Zhu Yijun asked puzzledly.

The Ministry of Revenue submitted a memorial requesting that starting next year, the Ming Dynasty accept transactions in the precious metal gold, rather than just silver.

This bimetallic standard has really become a trimetallic standard, which is even more troublesome and changeable. The Ministry of Revenue's previous attitude towards gold was dispensable, but it seems that the Ministry of Revenue has changed its mind.

"Your Majesty, this is actually for the purpose of issuing Ming Treasure Notes. These gold will not be directly redeemed. After the gold is collected into the national treasury, it will be reserved to endorse the Ming Treasure Notes." Wang Guoguang explained the reason why the Ministry of Revenue changed its mind, for the Ming Treasure Notes.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "How can this unredeemed gold be used to back Ming Baochao?"

"Confidence." Zhang Xueyan explained the reason succinctly.

As long as paper money is issued, even if it is a pure silver standard, over-issuance is inevitable. The Ming Dynasty court cannot issue one tael of silver for one string of banknotes. Since over-issuance is bound to occur, the most important thing about paper money is not the standard, but confidence. The standard actually has this function.

Gold is also a way to support confidence.

Let everyone believe that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is really rich.

Zhang Xueyan sat forward and said, "Your Majesty, the national treasury has 10 million taels of gold. At the current price, that is 160 million silver coins, which can be used to issue at least 500 million strings of treasure notes. If the people of the Ming Dynasty believe that the national treasury has 10 million taels of gold, then these 500 million strings of treasure notes are real money."

"I understand what you said. Isn't it just a lie?" Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "There are only 930,000 taels of gold in my treasury, and I haven't touched it."

"If we give some gold coins as rewards to royal family members and meritorious officials every once in a while, everyone will believe it." Zhang Xueyan reported the details of the scam and took out some coins from time to time as rewards to make people believe that there was really so much gold.

Zhu Yijun smiled and shook his head and said, "Young Master, why don't you say that I used gold to decorate the table, or simply made a pair of golden boots, so that people would believe it?"

Wang Guoguang's eyes lit up and he said, "Your Majesty, this is a good idea!"

"Yes, just make some expensive gold items that have no practical use, mark them with a higher premium, and put them in the imperial farm. Anyone who passes by the farm and sees the gold items will know that your majesty is very wealthy! It would be best if a few of the Maritime Customs Offices can also allow the purchase of gold with silver. As long as it can be bought in the Huitongguanyi, it will be enough for people to believe it."

Wang Guoguang really admires His Majesty's business acumen. He has pointed out the key to how to make people believe and tell a good golden story!
In order to make people believe it, it must be within reach. As long as a few Huitongguanyi can buy gold, no one will question how much gold there is in the national treasury.

"Um, Grand Tutor, is it possible that I am speaking in a sarcastic way and that I do not agree with the banknote system?" Zhu Yijun spread his hands and said helplessly. The Ministry of Revenue was probably crazy. Having lost the right to mint coins, the Ministry of Revenue could only issue some overseas banknotes to maintain its face.

"Your Majesty, we are short of money." Wang Guoguang sighed and said, "The growth in the demand for silver in the Ming Dynasty is greater than the growth in the inflow of silver. The price of red copper is barely stable because of Tongxiang Town."

"It's barren again?" Zhu Yijun said in surprise. Zhu Yijun spent 30 million taels of silver on the Kailong Chidao, but it hasn't been long and it's not enough again.

"Your Majesty, at this time last year, the Ministry of Revenue predicted that the prices of rice, flour, grain, oil and coal would rise a little this year, by about 3% to 5%. But this year, not only did the prices not rise, the price of oil even dropped a bit. This is because in recent years, overseas palm oil has increased from barrels to barrels." Wang Guoguang said helplessly.

One large barrel weighs 1700 kilograms, and the increase of barrels is million kilograms. Last year alone, the volume increased by barrels.

"Is that so? Then let's collect gold starting next year." Zhu Yijun approved the Ministry of Revenue's opinion and agreed to the practice of collecting and storing gold. The current price stability in the Ming Dynasty is due to the large influx of silver and copper. Once the flow is cut off, there is a possibility of a sharp drop in prices.

The plummeting prices were like an avalanche for the Ming Dynasty, which did not have the policy of banknotes.

This means that everyone's wealth is shrinking. If the workshops sell all their inventory, they will lose money. Moreover, production will stagnate, the Ming Dynasty workshops will go bankrupt, and the livelihoods of the unemployed craftsmen will be affected. Once this trend occurs, even issuing Ming Dynasty treasure notes will be necessary to stop this avalanche.

Without development, we cannot allocate incremental growth. Without development, we will have to retreat, so we have to allocate existing stock.

(End of this chapter)