Xinshun 1730

Chapter 265
"The system and etiquette of the Celestial Dynasty are all superior to those of the West. What the West is good at is only a coincidence. This time, I will send more craftsmen to France. Scholars should not go. Whoever is sent will be regarded as a shame. And he only sees strange skills and tricks, and he can't learn much."

"I have to pay some money from my own money to encourage them to concentrate on studying in the French country and repay them in the future. The key is that these people must never believe in religion. If they believe in God in the French country, they will not come back. .”

Up to now, the emperor and courtiers are quite confident in the institutional etiquette of the Celestial Dynasty.

Liu Yu’s reforms like boiled frogs in warm water are all fabricated out of thin air, and basically do not touch the interests of vested interests, and they are played under the guise of a coincidence, which contains huge power and the risk of tearing society apart in the future. It hasn't even shown up in the slightest.

Since craftsmen were to be sent, there was no need to go to the government for this matter, Liu Yu could choose people to go there by himself.

Liu Yu thought that this was another chance for him to take advantage of the loopholes. Qi Guogong went to Paris and reckoned that he could hear a lot of "no king and no father".

Before Qi Guogong's envoys came back, Chen Zhen, who was like a ticking time bomb that Liu Yu had been worried about, didn't know what he would see in France or what ideas he would have.

It is better to take this opportunity to send this group of people out as soon as possible.

Going abroad to study in this era is very embarrassing. The hard power of the West has just been manifested. There are still a hundred years before the era of qualitative leaps and black chimneys everywhere. Even going abroad will not bring too much shock.

He didn't want the emperor to send people there. The emperor sent people were basically the conservative landlord class. What they saw and what Liu Yu let people see would not be the same perspective.

"Your Majesty, the personnel ministers have been selected. They are all craftsmen, and some are children. The craftsmen go to learn shipbuilding, and the children go. Learn more and read more, and it will be convenient for translation in the future. Craftsmen can return in five years, and children in ten years. Fang Hui."

"If the French mission wants to go back, it has to wait until this winter's wind. Please, if the French mission asks to visit the south of the Yangtze River or go down the canal, it must not be done."

"One is worrying that it will steal my skills in silk and porcelain; the other is that there are many poor people along the river. If you look at them, it will damage the dignity of the Celestial Dynasty and make them look down on us."

What is going on in this world, the emperor still has a certain idea in his heart.

The glamorous Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Guangdong are naturally not comparable to the impoverished areas in the interior.In particular, the existence of water transport requires a large amount of conscripts to transport grain; although money is given to repair the Yellow River, the money paid is actually lower than the level of local hired labor, and under the small-scale peasant economy, only the slack time works, even if the money is paid, it is actually not enough It is forced labor.

Of course, the emperor was unwilling to show these dark and dirty places to foreigners, as long as he knew it himself.

"Your words are very true. It is already August, and they won't stay here for too long. At that time, they will follow Ai Qing back to Weihai. Wherever they come from, they will go from there. I will deny them and go along with it." Please play the canal down Songjiang."

"It's just that there is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days in the world. If Westerners really have the heart, unless they completely retreat, it will be difficult to stop some people who are ungrateful and unscrupulous from passing on silk and porcelain skills. According to Qing, now Westerners People can actually make porcelain?"

Liu Yu thought for a while and decided to remind the emperor.

"Yes, but the burning is still a bit poor. It may be as long as a hundred years, or as little as 50 years. As for silk, Persia, Lumi and other countries also produce a lot of silk, and France also has silk weaving workshops. At the end of Ming Dynasty , the Spaniards raised silkworms in the Americas. The minister said that the days of lying down and making money will not be too long."

"As for tea... In fact, there are many places overseas that can grow tea. It's just that the British Guild has imposed heavy taxes on tea, and the East India Company is not profitable, so it doesn't want to invest too much in tea cultivation. Once the British Guilian chooses to let go Tea tariffs, I am afraid that Westerners will grow tea and pick tea."

"Since this dynasty has chosen to open and close trade, it must bear the consequences. Everything has advantages and disadvantages."

For a long time, Dashun was the only one in the high-end porcelain and silk market, but it was hard to say in the low-end market.

The emperor sighed, thinking that the children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and when the descendants, if the craftsmen of the Westerners are more sophisticated than the dynasty, then they can only solve it by themselves.

Although it is necessary to plan ahead, the emperor has nothing to do with such an unprecedented event.

Before this, where was the situation that the foreign top grade was better than the domestic one?
But it is tens of thousands of miles away, and it cannot be stopped. Think about what Liu Yu said, the gunpowder was brought by the Mongols in the Western Expedition, and it took only two or three hundred years for the Westerners to come from behind. In the future, porcelain and silk will surpass it. possible.

However, why did the Westerners quickly overtake?

A trace of doubts arose in the emperor's heart, but he didn't ask Liu Yu, because he guessed that if he asked Liu Yu, it would be the same old rhetoric: promoting real schools, running schools...even reforming the imperial examination.

It's better not to give him a chance to say such crazy words.

Li Gan's judgment on the outside world and his actions in support of the reforms were all based on the fact that he regarded Liu Yu as an eunuch who could make the internal money abundant in the previous dynasty, let Liu Yu reform the military system to maintain the rule, and let Liu Yu preside over trade. Hugging money... Zheng He can also do this job.

Through the reception to the French mission this time, the emperor made up for the situation in some European countries, and he was more concerned about the temptation of Liu Yu's "monopoly of Nanyang spices".

The military reform went smoothly. He didn't think about the legacy left by Li Guo and the loose door cracks. He left enough talents outside the imperial examination to make the military reform so smooth.

So he just felt that as long as he had money, there was nothing wrong with it.

And Li Guo's legacy seems to have become something that should be taken for granted by now, and he never thought about how difficult this military reform would be without the foundation laid by Li Guo back then.

He only thinks about money, and of course he is also very concerned about Westerners stealing technology, but he has no solution.

"Since there is no solution to Aiqing's Western porcelain silk, there is no need to think about it. Just be careful."

"I have no choice. If you control it, you will die, and if you let it go, you will be chaotic."

"I just want to talk about strict inspections. The local governor must write a letter to cut off the trade, so as not to make mistakes. Or destroy the porcelain workshops around the customs, or make the daily inspections make the subordinates take the opportunity to collect money."

"As the saying goes: If you are not afraid of thieves stealing, you are afraid of thieves thinking about it. As long as Westerners think about it, and the country opens and closes trade, it will be stolen sooner or later. Let him go."

"Fortunately, the expulsion of the missionaries can always delay some."

Liu Yu thought it was true, and it was impossible to control the grassroots control.

The United Kingdom keeps the steam engine so secret, hasn't it been kept for 30 years?

The emperor had other matters to discuss with Liu Yu, so he asked the British Duke to step down first, and prepared a golden knife plan against the Russians, forcing Russia to make concessions on the issue of border demarcation in the northwest.

As soon as the Duke of England left, the emperor asked Liu Yu a very strange question.

"I have learned more about the Western countries these days, and I also asked about the East India Company. But what do I think, the East India Company is fighting for the interests of the people?"

"For example, the East India Company of Yingyi has a monopoly on the trade from the east of the Cape of Good Hope. If there is private trade between Yingyi and Yi, the East India Company can sink it. If it can be captured, half of the goods on board will go to the treasury and half to the East India company."

"That is to say, even if we all know that the Celestial Dynasty is rich in products and can earn a lot of money, it would be a serious crime if we dare to go private."

"I've thought about it for a long time, but I really don't know how Yingyi can ensure that the people's opinions will not be flooded with accusations and competing for interests with the people? According to you, this king of Yingyi is not the kind of person who says the law is right."

Liu Yu thought about the definition of competing with the people for profit, and said: "Your Majesty clearly sees that the East India Company is competing for profit with the people. However, on the one hand, it is convenient for taxation, and the money can enter the hands of the royal family; Eat alone. In fact, Yingyi’s East India Company has had problems many times, but it just issued new shares, so that those who shouted to fight for profits with the people would buy shares, and no one shouted anymore.”

"As for Guochao's current trading companies, the reason why no one calls out to compete with the people for profit is because they are not profitable. The country of Wa retreats, and whoever has the ability to get the trading card of the country of Wa can trade."

"If the Wa country switches in the future, it will be another scene."

"But as far as I can see, it is in the interests of the people not to form a trading company. But it is beneficial for the government, internal funds, and treasury to form a trading company. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Please ask your Majesty to rule on this."

The emperor thought to himself, what kind of cut is this?Naturally, it is allowed to form a trading company and allow monopoly power.

As for what free trade is beneficial to the people, smuggling was rampant in the previous Ming Dynasty, and it was indeed beneficial to the people, but the court has no money, so what can it do?
If the world is only a corner in the southeast, it is easy to say, but the current situation in the world is to collect taxes in the southeast to subsidize other places, so there is no way.

Only relying on naval and customs inspections, the coastline is long, and once Japan opens up trade in the future, it will be unstoppable.

It's better to throw it out all at once, including tax. If there are smugglers, the trading company's boat will catch them.

As for those who were dissatisfied, the emperor thought it would not be difficult after listening to Liu Yu's explanation of "not eating alone".

.Nowadays, there are many investors in Xungui. Those who eat this food include Xungui, the royal family, and coastal merchants.

But what he wanted to ask was not about Japan.

"A few days ago, you said that you would send a ship to Europe in the name of escorting the Swedish people captured by the quasi-military. I was thinking, since Britain, Holland, France, Sweden and other countries can form the East India Company, that is to say, apart from his company, there are no private businessmen from Western countries who can come to China for trade?"

Liu Yu didn't know what the emperor wanted to ask, and felt a little strange in his heart. After thinking about it vigilantly, he could only nod.

"Yes."

"Then, if I want to form the Europa Company and grant monopoly power, I need the navy to be able to defeat Britain, Holland, and France, force them to switch trade, and take back the monopoly power of the East India Company; we also need to close the port customs and prohibit Western merchant ships from entering the country. When entering the port, only the Europa ship can transport western goods, right?"

Liu Yu could already hear that something was wrong, but what he said was true, so he could only call it true.

"That's definitely not possible. Then, what if I take all the trade with the West as an official operation? I will pay for it from within, and grant monopoly power in the way of a trading company. Only Westerners are allowed to control the monopoly of the chamber of commerce. Carry out trade. In this way, the profit will be more, and the tariff will be 200 times higher. I can spend an extra one or two million taels of silver every year to build a navy, is that possible?"

"The money is in the hands of the merchants, and they don't have the money to build ships. I want to invest money, but I have no money. If I can do this, I think it will be beneficial to the country."

"With the annual trade volume of millions of taels in Western countries, I can get at least 300 million taels of silver every year. In this way, I can spend 100 million taels a year to immigrate to the Western Regions and Whale Sea; 100 million taels to return to the land; 100 million taels Two into the Navy."

Liu Yu reacted for a moment, pondered for a while, and was scared out of his wits.

I thought to myself, isn't this bitch with a leg just a trader?

His complexion changed drastically, and he kept saying: "I think...it is absolutely impossible. I implore Your Majesty not to do this. This will not benefit the country, but will only cause great harm."

(End of this chapter)