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Chapter 951 There is still time
If there is another Mu family in the Ming Dynasty, Hong Tao will strike without hesitation. But the Mu family has accumulated these assets for more than 200 years, and each generation has been valued by the court and has never been treated unfairly. This kind of treatment is not only unmatched, but also unparalleled for princes of different surnames.
Not being able to feed the rich does not mean starving. The princes were the second group that Hong Tao targeted. Although their salaries had been cut in half, the court still had to spend more than 400 million taels of silver every year for their support, which was painful to think about.

Since we can't let all these relatives starve to death, nor can we let them all do hard labor, we can only cut flesh with a soft knife. When the country needs it, it's time for you to make some contribution.

I am not saying that I will confiscate your property. I am just showing my sympathy to the royal family by allowing Sun Moon Bank to provide door-to-door services. However, the silver must be paid first, and the new currency will be paid after a while. This will free up the time difference.

Will the royal family members agree? This is beyond their control. The emperor has to go through the formalities to deal with ministers, but punishing members of the royal family is a family matter that only needs to be handled through the Zongrenfu, and no one else can interfere.

"They have so much money, why don't they deposit it in the bank and earn interest?"

It was the first time that Oyani heard that the royal family could come up with more than 10 million taels of silver, all in cash. She was very upset, and she couldn't understand what the point of keeping so much cash at home was.

"The concept of wealth here is different from that in Europe. Profit is not the first priority, but safety is. As the folk proverb says, wealth should not be exposed, because people are afraid of being known to be too rich and being targeted.

In fact, they also take out some cash to lend, but it is not systematic and there is no scale. Most of them are small-scale operations around the territory, but it is better than nothing. "

As Europeans, they certainly don't understand why the rich people in the Ming Dynasty would rather hide their silver than invest it. In fact, Hong Tao didn't quite understand the reason and could only give a random explanation.

"But they still couldn't escape the Emperor's covetousness in the end... Oh, yes, I heard from Gabriel that most of the Portuguese in Macau want to settle in the Ming Dynasty. But they still have some concerns that make them undecided."

Oyani may have understood it, or may not have quite understood it. She casually said what was really in her mind, but then realized that it was inappropriate, so she quickly changed the subject.

"I have made it very clear to him that the laws of the Ming Dynasty must be obeyed, and no religion can be above the law!"

Hong Tao was a little unhappy when he heard the news. The conditions he offered them were already very favorable. They only needed to abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty and they could continue to live in Macau. Could it be that they wanted to govern themselves? That would be too ignorant!

"Your Majesty has misunderstood. They are no longer devout Christians and will not pledge allegiance to the church. They are just waiting for a reply from the Governor-General of India. It seems that there have been new changes in Portugal."

"Then let them wait! Is there any new news from Europe?"

Hong Tao was not concerned about the final choice of Gabriel and the Portuguese in Macau. The coming and going of a small group of people in a small place would not affect the overall situation. Instead, it was more worthy of attention to how the war in Europe was going.

Ever since I learned from Liu Shimin the year before last that the Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria defeated the Bohemian army in White Mountain and captured the capital Prague, that Elector Palatinate Frederick V fled to the Netherlands in a hurry, that the Protestant uprising had completely failed, and that the Evangelical Protestant League had been dissolved, I have not heard from Europe since.

If the Europeans stop fighting at this point, we will have to immediately send more naval fleets and marine guards to garrison Enniao Port. The Europeans will soon find that there is a thorn in their side on the way to the Spice Islands, and they will definitely not give up.

"I heard from Cohen that the Dutch, English and French are raising money to support King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway to become the leader of the Protestants again and lead his troops south to fight against the Catholics."

Hong Tao asked the right person. In addition to being passionate about finance, Oyani also used her work to learn a lot about the latest developments in Europe from the Portuguese and Dutch.

"The Kings of Denmark and Norway... Do you think Christian IV can defeat the army of the Holy Roman Empire this time?" When Hong Tao heard that the King of Denmark was going to join the war, his heart immediately settled down.

The Thirty Years' War in Europe was divided into several stages, of which the Danish stage was an important one. As long as the Danish king appeared, this stage would be won, and Europeans would not have much energy to care about the East, which must be considered good news.

"With the support of England, the Netherlands and France, Christian IV can hire a lot of troops. Together with the Protestant forces in northern Germany, he should be able to compete with the Holy Roman Empire. If Spain can contain the English at sea, the balance of victory may tip to the Holy Roman Empire."

Oyani showed her strategic vision again and analyzed the situation of European countries. From land to sea, she did not give a conclusion, but two possibilities, both of which were inseparable from two countries, Spain and England. "Are you so sure that Christian IV will join the war?" Facing Oyani's well-reasoned analysis, Hong Tao nodded repeatedly to show his agreement, and then raised a very critical question.

"I heard from the Danish captain that his company has received orders from the king to return to their homeland immediately, probably to participate in the war!" The answer given by Oyani was beyond Hong Tao's expectations. It was not just a guess, but a witness!
"You were able to meet the Danish captain?" Hong Tao was puzzled. He had never heard the navy mention that there were Danish ships entering the South China Sea. So where did the female prime minister meet him?
"Haha, Your Majesty doesn't know about the Danish East India Company? Hahaha, they have established a supply point just above the port of Colombo for four or five years, and every year merchant ships arrive in Batavia to buy spices.

But I heard from Cohen that the goods they bought were mainly tea, which they shipped to Britain and France for sale, and the profits were not small, so it did not conflict with the Dutch spice business.

Hearing the emperor's question and looking at his expression, Oyani laughed heartily. She had been in the Ming Dynasty for so many years, but this was the first time she had answered the emperor's questions. It was also the first time she had discovered that the emperor did not know everything, so she must have been very proud.

"Denmark also has the East India Company! Do you know what their supply points are called? Where are they approximately located?" Hong Tao was not pretending. He really didn't know this piece of knowledge. He stood up and walked quickly to the large map, staring at the southern part of the Indian Peninsula.

"It seems to be called Tranquiba... It's not far to the north of the gap. Cohen said there is a small fortress there, and there are about a hundred Danish mercenaries." Oyani did not take the pen handed to her by the emperor because she did not know the exact location.

"Shua...Tranquiba...Go tell Cohen that starting next month the number of muskets shipped to Batavia will double and the price will increase by 30%!"

The gap that Oyani mentioned was the strait between the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon Island. Hong Tao picked up a pen, drew a circle on the north-east side of the strait, wrote his name, and stopped discussing the issue. Instead, he increased the number and price of muskets shipped to Europe.

"Okay, this is very exciting news. Your Majesty's muskets are very popular among the Russians, and we can sell more!" Oyani didn't pay much attention to the Danish supply points. When she heard about the muskets, her true nature was revealed, and her eyes were full of greed.

"Not yet. The Imperial Army also needs more guns, and the factory is overwhelmed."

Unfortunately, the emperor rejected the proposal without even a second thought. Everyone knew that selling arms could bring huge profits, but the timing was not right. The three largest machinery factories were currently working hard to modify percussion cap rifles and could not spare many manpower to manufacture muzzle-loading flintlock rifles. He could only sigh and resign himself to the loss.

“If Your Majesty can allow private investment in building factories to produce muskets, the output will increase several times in less than half a year.

The war between the Danes and the Germans will not end soon. The Swedes are fighting with Poland and Lithuania, England is fighting with Spain, the United Provinces is fighting with Spain, and Persia is fighting with the Ottoman Empire. They all need your Majesty's muskets!

Spices, sugar cane, and cocoa need to be planted, and they need to wait half a year to a year before they can be harvested. Silk also needs to be cultivated, and it also takes a long time to wait. But muskets don't need to be, as long as there are enough factories, they can be produced every day, bringing Your Majesty a steady stream of income! "

As long as the topic of making money came to mind, Oyani would no longer be a submissive subject. She would dare to make comments and even accuse and criticize the emperor.

"Hiss..." Hong Tao swallowed his saliva hard while inhaling. It was so tempting. Europe and western Asia were at war. According to Oyani's idea, it was indeed a good opportunity to make a fortune as an arms dealer.

"The manufacture of muskets requires steel, and the empire's current steel production is not enough to supply so many factories. Let's wait a little longer, the output will double in a year at most." But in the end, Hong Tao rejected Oyani's suggestion on the grounds of insufficient steel production.

In fact, the barrel of a muzzle-loading smoothbore gun does not use good steel, and it can still be used by rolling a cylinder with iron sheet. What? Durability, this is an export and smuggled product, it is good enough to guarantee the quantity, and it is impossible to provide after-sales service!
But Hong Tao thought it was too early to spread the technology of muskets to the public. Although it was a muzzle-loading smoothbore musket, it was still a musket after all. No one knew how many muskets could be produced by the public once it went into production, and whether they would all be sold to Europe.

If someone provides it to the Yarkand Khanate, the Bukhara Khanate, the Outer Khalkha and the Oirat Mongols, or even the group of monks on the plateau, the advantage of the army will be greatly reduced in the future, which is not conducive to internal stability.

In governing a country, making money is important, but it is not the top priority. Ensuring domestic stability is the priority. Otherwise, the money earned may not be enough to put out fires everywhere, which will not be worth the loss. As an emperor, it is good to pay attention to the economy, but you can't just focus on money. Money is only one of the necessary conditions for maintaining rule!

(End of this chapter)