Smuggling Daming

In the study room of King Zhao's Mansion, Zhou Zhong was sitting leisurely behind the desk drinking tea, and Jiao Fang was sitting in front of him, also leisurely said: "My lord, the matter has been clarified, the last letter is very likely* *It was sent by Wang Qiong. (Ping Nan> "Hehe, it really is him. Although this Wang Qiong is a capable minister, but this slick temperament really makes people feel a little worried. If I hadn't sent the letter directly to the emperor brother , I'm afraid he will visit secretly the next day, then pledge his allegiance to me, and encourage me to fight for the throne." Zhou Zhong tapped his fingers on the table and said with a half-smile on his face.

"Your Majesty's words are wrong. Although Wang Qiong's strength of character is not good, and he likes to exploit, but he is a rare talent, and after supporting His Majesty's tour last time, his reputation has greatly increased. The old official entered the cabinet, but he was not as powerful as Wang Qiong, so after seeing Wang Qiong today, the old official has formed an alliance with him, which is a good thing for both parties." Jiao Fang looked solemn opened the mouth.

"Hehe, I don't care what agreement you have with Wang Qiongda, or what kind of selfishness Wang Qiong has, as long as you all work together to help Da Ming complete the final transformation, the fame and fortune you need, the emperor and I will naturally not be stingy! "Zhou Zhong said with a smile. Although his tone was soft, Jiao Fang's spirit was shocked. What the world seeks is fame and wealth, even a cabinet minister like him is no exception, and he can satisfy him. Only His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness Zhao Wang are the only ones pursuing these two words.

"Don't worry, my lord. Although I haven't had a good life for a few years, at least I still have good ears and eyes. As long as we are given a few years, we will surely be able to help His Highness clean up the ills of Ming Dynasty like we did in the Governor's Mansion before!" Jiao Fang said with her old but But a very firm voice assured Zhou Zhong.He originally thought that he would not live for a few more years, but now that he returned to the cabinet, Jiao Fang suddenly felt full of strength all over his body, as if he would have no problem living a few more years.

Hear Jiao Fang's promise.Zhou Zhong also nodded.Then the two chatted a few more gossips, and Zhou Zhong personally sent Jiao Fang out of the palace.Now that Jiao Fang has entered the cabinet, in terms of status, she is no less than him, the King of Zhao, so she must be courteous.Otherwise, it will make people feel that Zhou Zhong, the king of Zhao, is very arrogant.

After sending Jiao Fang away, Zhou Zhong went back to his study. Since he returned to the capital, he spent far more time in the study than in the bedroom. Sometimes he slept directly in the study at night, which made him feel a little I'm sorry for Jinxuan and the others, but now Daming is in a critical period.My imperial brother is also a lazy character, leaving all the government affairs to himself, which makes Zhou Zhong have to cheer up and deal with the upcoming changes in Ming Dynasty.

The changes in Ming Dynasty first started from the sea.Especially after Zhou Zhong assumed the post of Governor of the Four Seas, although Daming's sea ban is still in name, it has actually been abolished long ago, and the entire coast of Daming is open, which allows coastal residents to go fishing in the sea, and there is an extra way of life , In addition, the coastal ports are also active again. Countless commodities are shipped from the coast of Daming to Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf and other places. Sea trade is extremely developed.

It is precisely because of the prosperity of the sea trade that greatly stimulated the industry and commerce within the Ming Dynasty. At the beginning, it was the traditional industry and commerce such as silk, tea, and porcelain in the south. The commodities produced by these industries were the number one commodities in the sea trade. How many people go out, the overseas high voices are in short supply, which makes the industries related to these industries develop extremely rapidly, and even become one of the economic pillars of the entire South.

However, the influence of sea trade is far more than that. With the development of sea trade, the commodities of sea trade are gradually showing a trend of diversification. Exceeding silk and porcelain, it has become one of the most important commodities overseas in Daming. In addition, there are iron-related products, such as agricultural tools, weapons, etc., which are also very popular commodities overseas.

Among the above products, cotton cloth has the greatest impact, especially for the people in the north. The corn and sweet potatoes that Zhou Zhong donated to the court made them full, but cotton cloth left them with spare money. After all, cotton This thing is very suitable for growing under the climate conditions in the north. In addition, the land mergers in the north are serious. Many people can only enter the city to find a way of life because they have no land. This makes manpower and raw materials available. Therefore, when the sea After the trade’s demand for cotton cloth expanded, people in many places in the north began to spin cotton cloth, and large textile workshops with thousands of people were formed in many places, which led to a surge in the production of cotton cloth in the north. Therefore, in some northern ports, Most of the goods transported are cotton cloth.

Cotton cloth is only a representative of the many goods in the sea trade, and there are many other products. These products are exported overseas, which greatly stimulates the industry and commerce in Daming, and the prosperity of industry and commerce makes the people of Daming think a lot of money. , Daming's treasury also received a large amount of tax revenue, it can be said that the initial prosperity of the people and the country was truly achieved.

On the surface, all aspects of Daming are developing in a good direction, and most of the people no longer have to worry about freezing and starving. It was the corrupt ruling group of Ming Dynasty, which not only failed to promote domestic industry and commerce, but even seriously hindered the development of industry and commerce.

In fact, there were problems with the rule of Ming Dynasty, especially the corruption of officials and unreasonable laws, coupled with the decay of the army and continuous natural disasters, the whole Ming Dynasty was troubled by internal and external troubles, and the rule was also in jeopardy. It is no exaggeration to say that, As long as one is not careful, the rule of hundreds of Ming Dynasty will collapse. Zhang Juzheng launched the Wanli New Deal after seeing the crisis of Ming Dynasty decades later, which abruptly extended the rule of Ming Dynasty for decades.

But now, due to the influence of Zhou Zhong's crossing, the development of Daming Maritime Trade has driven the development of all aspects of Daming, especially the prosperity of the people, making the entire Daming look extremely prosperous, and the various ills before are also covered by this superficial The prosperity of the city is covered up, and most people can't see it at all.

Zhou Zhong single-handedly caused the current changes in Daming. He naturally knows better than anyone else that the prosperous and prosperous Daming on the surface is actually not reliable. Even if you uncover the prosperity on the surface, you will find that the interior of Daming is actually rotten. If there is no way to remove the internal corruption, then within a few years, the situation that Zhou Zhong painstakingly managed will be eroded by the internal corruption, and the entire Ming Dynasty will become even darker than before.

It is precisely because of this that Zhou Zhong has long wanted to carry out some targeted reforms on Daming, especially the two major areas of law and official administration, which are the root of the corruption of Daming. As long as these two areas are healed, Then Daming will develop healthier.

The laws of Ming Dynasty were arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yuanzhang was very problematic. He thought that he could leave an iron-clad country for future generations, so he used the law to bind all aspects of Ming Dynasty in a frame, There are even very detailed regulations, and there are even regulations on who should wear what clothes.

What's even more frightening is that Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a humble background, has a simple view of life, that is, "the dragon begets the dragon, the phoenix begets the phoenix, and the son of a mouse can make holes." The children and grandchildren will definitely be soldiers, and the children and grandchildren of craftsmen must still be craftsmen, etc., so there are strange groups of military households and craftsmen, and their descendants are all restricted to a certain occupation. If you want to change, then There will be a huge price to pay.

Perhaps at the beginning of the founding of the country, these legal provisions of Zhu Yuanzhang played a considerable role in restoring the national strength, but after more than 100 years, these legal provisions set by him have become the shackles of Ming Dynasty. If these shackles are not removed , then it will only strangle the newly awakened dragon, Da Ming, to death.

In addition to the law, the administration of officials in the Ming Dynasty is also a big problem. The problem of the administration of officials is mainly manifested in corruption. Almost everyone in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is not greedy. Famous officials, they have also received bribes as usual, some of these bribes are not given to them by others, but gray income from their positions, if they don’t take them, they will be rejected by the entire officialdom and become an outlier in the officialdom, For example, Hai Rui decades later, he should be the only upright official in Ming Dynasty who was not corrupt, but he left his family torn apart, not only starved to death, but also his three wives. Not even a son remained.

The corruption of officialdom was doomed as early as Zhu Yuanzhang's time. The emperor who was born as a poor peasant had a natural hatred for officials, but he had to rely on officials to help him govern the country, so he set the salaries of Ming officials extremely low. Officials at each level have undergone strict calculations, which is just enough to feed the official family, but there will be no surplus money left, and he has formulated harsh punishments, thinking that this can prevent corruption from happening.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang forgot that the price of goods is not static, especially after the Ming Dynasty’s national strength strengthened, the price of goods began to soar, so the salaries of officials were relatively less and less enough, and they even couldn’t even eat enough. Under such circumstances, officials can only risk corruption for the sake of their own belly. After all, it is impossible for them to watch their family members starve with their own eyes. put an end to.