Father can be an enemy to the country

"Damn, I was so careless..."

Boss Zhu is vigorous and resolute, and he is a data maniac. He has all the files from the previous government and immediately ordered someone to take a look. Then I saw that what Zhu Zhen said was not true at all, and even said that it was missing——

In the first few decades of the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan court's annual income, including tariffs and direct participation in maritime trade, increased year by year. By the Yuan Dynasty, it reached a maximum of three million yuan.

Then it began to decrease sharply year after year. By the early days of Emperor Yuan Shun's reign, it had shrunk to less than 300,000 guan. Then it will return to zero directly during the Zhizheng period...

"Of course we wouldn't care if the people from the Zhongshu Province just showed us the shipping revenue in the last few decades of the Yuan Dynasty." Boss Zhu finally realized that he had been fooled. He said angrily:

"So in this dynasty, we didn't pay much attention to the affairs of the Shipping Department. We couldn't collect 10,000 guan in taxes every year, and we still attracted lawless people, colluded with Japanese pirates, spied on intelligence, and sold weapons. The gains outweighed the losses, so we simply Stop the shipping company."

"Then my father, have you ever thought about why the Shipping Company, which had always been very profitable before, stopped making money in the late Yuan Dynasty? Is it because maritime trade is no longer profitable, or is it simply that the Shipping Company cannot collect taxes?" Zhu Zhen asked in a deep voice.

"No, there are so many things going on everywhere in the country, how can we cover everything?" Zhu Yuanzhang said sarcastically. Of course he would not admit it, or because he was restricted by his background and had no experience in this area, so he never thought about it at all.

"Then do you know what's going on?"

"Although I haven't had time to investigate, I'm sure that sea trade has always been very profitable - Shen Liu Niang said that her family became extremely rich by relying on overseas trade. And Wang Dayuan also confirmed that sea trade can be profitable. The profit is ten times greater. And..." Zhu Zhen paused and said:

"When I was in Taicang, I saw a forest of ships laden with cargo. If maritime trade was not profitable, how could there be so many ships out to sea?"

"Well." Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his chin and said with a thoughtful expression, "That's the truth."

"So there is only one possibility left - it is simply that the Shibo Department cannot collect taxes!" Zhu Zhen patted his chest and said: "Father, please hand over the Shibo Department to your ministers. I guarantee that the reason will be found out and the Shibo Department will be Increase the income!"

"I'll give it to you if you want it." Zhu Yuanzhang agreed immediately. Before Lao Liu could thank him, he changed the subject and said, "But as I said before, you have to earn your own money. I want to wear my pants now." No, I really don’t have the money to bother you.”

"Father, this is what you said. If you don't pay, any profit or loss will be mine..." When Zhu Zhen heard this, he was immediately elated. Is there such a good thing?

"No regrets!" Zhu Yuanzhang high-fived Lao Liu again.

~~

After the two men finished chatting, His Royal Highness also raised his head and said, "I've finished reading."

"Awesome..." Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the thick memorial in the prince's hand in shock and asked: "How is it? Do you feel the same way?"

"When I first read it, I really couldn't complain about it." The prince smiled bitterly and said, "But I thought that I couldn't take quotes out of context, so I decided to read the memorial before making an evaluation. When I read 16,500 words, , finally read the key points.”

And that memorial only has a total of 17,000 words...

The prince turned to the last five hundred words and showed them to his father. Zhu Yuanzhang saw that in the last five hundred words of the memorial, Ru Taisu proposed five strategies, four of which were quite insightful.

"This old girl is quite knowledgeable," Boss Zhu sighed after reading it.

"Then let's skip the rest..." the prince advised.

"No need." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Bring him in."

After a while, the guards carried the bruised Ru Taisu into the palace.

"The guilty minister pays homage to the Emperor, the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the King of Chu." Ru Taisu forced herself to kneel down and salute.

"That's all." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and personally checked his injuries. They were really serious.

"Oh, it's really hard to be a king, but it's not easy to be a minister." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said to Ru Taisu: "The reason why we ask to speak frankly is to let you say what you have to say. There are too many words, so I will listen to you. You say You, why do you have to make a long speech when you can clearly explain it in five hundred words?"

After a pause, he added: "The beating of the royal stick was in vain."

"Yes, I know I was wrong." Ru Taisu also said with a look of remorse: "It's a long speech that is harmful to others and yourself."

Seeing this, Zhu Zhen said to himself, it seems that civil servants in this era are not proud of the imperial staff. He remembered that in future generations, if anyone received the imperial cane, he would become famous all over the world in an instant.

Alas, I don’t know when that bad trend started.

"From now on," Zhu Yuanzhang became serious again and announced: "All official documents and memorials must be concise and concise. The prince asked Zhongshu to write an edict to stipulate the format and word count of future suggestions. All civil and military officials must implement them effectively. Violators will be severely punished!”

"Yes, father." The prince responded solemnly.

~~

After coming out of Wuying Hall, the prince accompanied Lao Liu to pay his respects to his mother.

As the prince walked away, he asked Lao Liu: "Just now I heard you told my father that you want to reopen Shibo Company, but also want to find out the reason for Shibo's meager income?"

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded and said: "Anyway, I just mentioned it first. You have to listen to big brother when to do it."

"You have to be careful about this matter." The prince reached out to brush off the dust on his shoulders and said, "I didn't pay much attention to the affairs of Shibo Division before. I only heard some rumors."

"What rumors?" Zhu Zhen asked hurriedly.

"Back then, Zhang Shicheng was separatist in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the most powerful maritime merchant group was in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They supported Zhang Shicheng for a long time, which disgusted my father." The prince said slowly.

"Didn't you say that those who support Zhang Shicheng are the landlords in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?" Zhu Zhen asked in confusion at first, and then suddenly said: "Is it the same thing?"

"I heard it is like this." The prince nodded and said: "The Yuan Dynasty's control over Jiangnan was very weak. Basically, each region was autonomous, and the Yuan Dynasty people were only responsible for collecting taxes.

"This has created a class of wealthy gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who are self-interested and self-interested, and who are both officials and businessmen. After they make a fortune through maritime trade, they seek official positions to protect themselves, or after obtaining official positions, they turn to overseas trade. Then after they make a fortune through overseas trade, they He will also purchase land and property in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. So, the two are the same thing."

As he spoke, the prince looked at Zhu Zhen worriedly and said, "Moreover, as soon as the ship went to sea, it was out of the jurisdiction of the imperial court. They have been sailing overseas for a long time and had conflicts with pirates, Japanese pirates, and foreign countries, making these wealthy merchants lawless and acting without scruples. . If you want to compete with them for jobs, you have to prepare for the worst."

"I remember, brother." Lao Liu nodded heavily.

"Besides, I can't really let you start from scratch." The prince smiled and said: "I will give you 20,000 yuan as capital. If you make a profit, pay me back with interest. If you lose, just pay it..."