prosperous age

Chapter 740 839 Mining ban and mining

Emperor Longqing immediately became silent when he heard that it was the clan and military salaries that were dragging down the Jiajing Dynasty's finances.

Because he had realized that the stubborn diseases of the Jiajing Dynasty seemed to still exist in the Longqing Dynasty.

Emperor Longqing frowned and asked hesitantly: "Shaloan, apart from taxing grain, grass, salt and silver for the imperial court's silver tax, is there any other way to make money?"

Emperor Longqing finally decided to lose his shame. As things stand now, the court will go bankrupt.

Wei Guangde below also understood the emperor's intention and wanted to levy new taxes, but this was not easy.

The way to make money is simple to say, it is nothing more than "increasing income" and "cutting down expenditure".

If the imperial court wants to cut costs, the officials below will probably scold you to death behind your back.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

Having become accustomed to spending the court's money lavishly, who would want to live a shabby life.

And if you want to increase your income, it is also very difficult to follow the rules set by Taizu early in the morning.

Regardless of the fact that Taipu Temple always has silver in its treasury, the silver is actually discounted silver from pastures and horse owners. If you can't hand over the money, you have to hand over the horses to the court.

In other words, it was actually old wine in old bottles, and the horses that should be handed over to the court were exchanged for silver. Doesn’t the court buy horses without silver?

"Your Majesty, since taxation began during the Zhengtong period, the imperial court has not added any new tax laws for nearly a hundred years. It's not that we don't want to, but that we really can't find them."

Wei Guangde spoke.

"Are there none?"

Emperor Longqing didn't believe it, "Then tell me how much money the imperial court has received over the years?"

"Since the first year of the year, the imperial court has collected a total of 170 yuan. This amount was included in the total reported by the previous ministers."

Wei Guangde replied.

Kai Na is actually selling an official position, but what is sold is a false title rather than a real position, and the price is often not expensive, so many squires flock to it.

In later generations, wealthy people in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were often called Yuanwai. In fact, "Yuanwai" refers to officials other than full-time officials, and can also be regarded as alternate officials. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, each department in the six ministries also had the official position of "Yuanwailang".

As a result, squires gradually began to be called Yuanwai, and Yuanwai also deviated from its original meaning. In modern times, it has evolved into a pronoun for landlords and rich people.

"What if we increase the amount of money required and give it a higher grade? Can it increase the court's income?"

Emperor Longqing asked again.

"Yes, but the total amount will not increase too much. After all, the donation is just a name. For them, no matter how high the grade is, it is actually useless. When they meet the local parents, they are still a head short."

Wei Guangde shook his head and said.

"Does it mean that my Ming Dynasty really has no way to make money?"

Emperor Longqing felt a little depressed at the moment, and his tone of voice was very gloomy.

Emperor Longqing's performance immediately stumped Wei Guangde. Did the Ming Dynasty really have no means of making money?
Of course not, it’s just that once these actions are implemented, there will be a lot of opposition, or the results will be slow. After all, with the current productivity, it is simply impossible to achieve rapid industrialization.

However, in fact, most people who are familiar with the history of the late Ming Dynasty still know how the emperor made money in the end.

Wei Guangde considered the pros and cons of telling this matter in his mind, but still felt a little unsafe, so he raised his head and looked at the emperor, then at the eunuchs around him, and then lowered his head again.

Wei Guangde's small actions naturally did not escape the eyes of Emperor Longqing. He immediately understood that Wei Guangde must have something to say, but there are many people here.

Yes, when they were in Prince Yu's Mansion, the two of them often discussed some things behind the eunuch's back. Many times, even Li Fang, the eunuch who had been serving him, was sent to visit the house.

"You all go out, I want to have a word with Shandai."

Emperor Longqing gave instructions, and then the eunuchs on both sides bowed and backed away from the hall.

"There's no one else around, Shandai, it's still the same as it was in Yudi. Just tell me what you think of and let me make the decision."

"His Majesty."

Wei Guangde raised his head, just said something, then looked around again, and finally his eyes fell on the palace door, and then he looked back.

He took two steps forward, bringing him closer to the emperor, and then lowered his voice and said: "If you want to increase tax revenue, there is no other way but to mine."

Emperor Longqing's eyes immediately widened when he heard that Wei Guangde's solution to the financial crisis was "mining".

If we follow the laws of economic development in later societies, whichever place is rich in mineral resources will have a relatively developed local economy, and local residents will benefit more or less.

Because having a mine means more job opportunities and more tax payments, many local governments are eager to open mines, thinking that it is a hugely profitable thing.

Of course, after the mining starts, it will also bring about a series of problems such as mining accidents and environmental pollution. The longer the mining time, the more troubles there will be.

But looking at the history of the Ming Dynasty, you will find a very strange phenomenon. The richer the minerals in a place, the heavier the burden on the local people. Not only did the people and places not benefit from the minerals, but they were deeply burdened by them.

If you look at the history of the Ming Dynasty, you will find that rebellions by miners were common in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the emperor who loves mining and collecting taxes has not yet ascended the throne, so the current mining tax of the court is not much, because most of the mines were closed during the Zhengtong period, and the Ming Yingzong ordered the mines to be closed.

Later, although the imperial court allowed some mines to resume mining in order to ease financial pressure, the scale was small and the output was limited. Private mining and illegal mining became prevalent, which not only wasted resources but also caused many miners to rebel.

It is true that China has a vast territory and abundant resources. There are countless mineral resources buried under this land. If they are mined and realized, it will of course be a huge wealth.

But at the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be extremely wary of mining.

Not long after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty had a clear view, that is, "(mines) will only benefit the officials in a small amount, but will harm the people in a large amount, so they should not be opened."

In other words, mining would not be of much benefit to the court, but would be even more harmful to the people.

Zhu Yuanzhang's view is in line with the facts at that time, although it does not conform to modern people's views.

In capitalist countries such as the West, the early stages of the industrial revolution all started with setting up factories, mining, and establishing trade.

Why did being alone in the Ming Dynasty only bring harm to the court and the people, but no good?

This is the difference between management system and business model.

In ancient China, whether it was mining, building ships for Zheng He's fleet, or building bridges and paving roads, as well as the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, political and economic activities were not distinguished, and industry was carried out in a political way.

When it comes to mining specifically, the mine is not run as a business. The costs must be paid to ensure stable profits.The emperor sent eunuchs to mine for him, which became a political activity that no one could bargain with.

Mining is a political task assigned by the emperor. To obstruct mining is to oppose the emperor. This method of setting the agenda and making accusations has been tried and tested in imperial societies.

What does that mean?

To be precise, in the mines that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave way to, the officials who managed the mines were all people close to the emperor, that is, eunuchs, and they had great power.

They can use public power to force local people to work for them almost free of charge, and dig out the minerals without paying any cost to the local area. The "use" comes from the local area, and the mining equipment and operating costs are borne by the local government. .

Under this operating mode, no matter where the emperor wanted to mine, the local people would strongly oppose it.

Not only did the common people have to provide people to mine for free for the emperor, but the local government also had to find ways to raise money for the mining, but they had no profit from the minerals.

Of course, a more accurate description would be that most of the benefits fall into the pockets of those who manage the minerals, while the court and the emperor receive only a small portion, while doing no harm to the local people.

The Ming Dynasty used this method to mine, and the results can be imagined.

Moreover, because the safety of mining during the Ming Dynasty was very low, and the risk of mining disasters was much higher than in later generations, people engaged in mining at that time were generally regarded as desperadoes who risked their lives.

The Ming court also believed that the miners were extremely vicious and profit-seeking, difficult to tame and manage into an army, and could easily cause trouble.

When such people gather together, in order to safeguard their interests, they will inevitably stick together for warmth, resist the management and ban of the imperial court, and become a destabilizing factor in society.

The uprisings of Ye Zongliu and Deng Maoqi that broke out during the Zhengtong period were miners' uprisings caused by the imperial government's mining operations to solve financial problems. Because the impact was too great, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty issued an order to ban the mines.

But later, due to financial needs, it had to be reopened.

Of course Wei Guangde has noticed this, but his tentacles have not reached out to the mines yet, because judging from the current situation, the profits generated by mining are controlled by various chains of the interest chain, and an unspoken rule has been formed.

Anyone who dares to open a mine will naturally have someone behind him who recognizes and provides protection.

The more he understands the current Ming Dynasty, Wei Guangde often has to admire Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, who is really an out-and-out peasant emperor.

The system he designed for the Ming Dynasty should be more than enough to manage a purely agricultural country, because the Ming court was a restrained and conservative government that governed the country entirely in the same way as managing an agricultural society.

But since it was Wei Guangde who proposed mining, of course he would not continue the method before the Ming Dynasty, allowing people to mine for free by doing corvee service.

To put it bluntly, instead of working for the court for free, it is better to join a private mine and at least have some income.

"But the dynasty has always implemented a policy of banning mining and lending. You have to know that farming is the foundation of the dynasty. Mining will destroy farming.

Moreover, the profits from mining are higher than those from farming. Driven by profits, a large number of ignorant people will flock to this industry in order to make profits. If things go on like this, farming will inevitably be abandoned. "

Knowing that Wei Guangde's suggestion was to open mines to increase income, Emperor Longqing immediately made a cross in his mind. He could not agree with Wei Guangde's opinion and use this method to increase the treasury.

Well, at least the idea of ​​​​the mine cannot be started until the end of the road is exhausted.

"Your Majesty, today is different from the past."

Wei Guangde had already expected what Emperor Longqing would say, so after the emperor finished speaking, he just smiled and said casually,

“At the beginning of the establishment of the dynasty, the land was devastated by war and the population dropped sharply. The new country needed to cultivate its moral character and slowly restore its national strength.

But today, after a hundred years of peace, the people's strength has long been restored. The population is large but the land is insufficient. It is time to start mining and divert some of the people away. "

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Emperor Longqing became a little interested, but still not very interested.

In his opinion, people should stay in the fields instead of gathering in the mines. That is really dangerous.

"Your Majesty, do you know how the government used to recruit miners for mining?"

Now that Wei Guangde had spoken out, he naturally would not give up halfway and directly began to explain the imperial mining model in detail.

Emperor Longqing frowned when he heard that it was a method of collecting corvees to allow the people to provide their labor for free. He had already vaguely guessed that this was the source of miners' rebellions in Fujian, Shanxi and other places during the Jiajing Dynasty.

“In fact, there are many private mines, and most of them are not approved by the court. They are private actions of local officials and gentry. In addition to hiring people, they often deceive people into working for them for free by collecting corvees.

It is precisely because of this that miners often commit murders because their lives cannot be guaranteed, leading to chaos.

In order to conceal their faults, local officials often linked such rebellions to the mines set up by the imperial court to get away with it. "

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, Emperor Longqing became furious and said, "How dare you do this?"

“Your Majesty, throughout the previous dynasties, from the Chenghua Dynasty to the Jiajing Dynasty, mines were reopened to solve financial difficulties, but in the end they were banned again due to harassment by miners.

Among them, in addition to the corruption and cruelty of the mine supervisors, there are also unscrupulous people sneaking in to make profits.

Because once a mining riot occurs, the imperial court will definitely order the closure of the mine, and they can operate from it and quietly mine for profit.

It can be seen that there must be huge benefits to mining, otherwise they would not be so bold and dare to take risks.

To solve the imperial court's financial difficulties, the mine must be reopened.

Reopen the mines so that the profits go to the top and the mine thieves become conscious. "

Wei Guangde said finally.

"I know how to make money from mining, but..."

Emperor Longqing is not a fool. What are the people below doing mining? It must be because the profits are huge.

However, when Wei Guangde heard what he said, many people were forced to work in the mines as corvees, he couldn't bear it. He also felt that mining seemed very bad and would increase the burden on the people.

"Your Majesty is right to be worried. It is their blessing to care about the people in the world."

Wei Guangde first flattered Emperor Longqing, and then continued: "I think we can't reopen the mines in the same way as before. It's better to recruit landless people to mine and pay them like landowners and tenants in the countryside. The wages allow him to support his family.

Since it is a mine owned by the imperial court, it is natural that we cannot treat the people as harshly as those mining thieves. The monthly payment can be increased. After all, mining in the cave is risky, and if a mining disaster occurs, appropriate compensation must be provided.

Doing this will also give the people who have no means of food and clothing a way to survive, so that they can feel the grace of our Emperor. "

Emperor Longqing was still hesitating, but Wei Guangde had already made up his mind. In the early stage of the development of natural capitalism, it was about setting up factories, mining, and doing business. So he might as well take this opportunity to cash in the mines of the Ming Dynasty and solve the current financial crisis.

Perhaps, after such a move, the economy of the Ming Dynasty would really transition to capitalism.

(End of this chapter)