eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 185 Imperial Power: Refusing to Share

The matter of the Huangdian happened to start in the Zhengde period, but the historical Emperor Zhengde probably opened the store for fun, so he opened a tavern in Yongxiang in the second year of Zhengde.As soon as the emperor opened the tavern, all the eunuchs and maids went to join him. Because it was a playful work and lacked planning, it basically became a tool for making money later.

Of course, Zhengde also made his reputation even more unreliable.

This is not the case with Zhu Houzhao now.

In the East Palace, the three elders and several ministers heard the prince's plan to discuss how to deal with the shops and workshops, but they couldn't understand the prince's intention for a while.

Generally, merchants' families commit crimes, and people are more concerned about money, but they don't use their brains to think about how to continue the operation of those shops and workshops. Most of the time, they just put a seal on it.

Min Gui didn't understand what he meant, so he thought of a 'good' idea first, "Your Highness, the imperial court is in short supply of silver, and disaster relief, Beibian, and river construction are all major events that require hundreds of thousands of silver. Can shops and workshops be used as rewards for meritorious ministers? This can also save the court money."

This suggestion is a bit outrageous. Rewarding silver taels can save some money, but the old men who read sage books lack economic acumen. Zhu Houzhao does not blame them for this, "What do you think, Da Situ?"

Han Wen originally wanted to open his mouth to speak, but his brows were still furrowed, and then he shook his head, "I'm stupid, I can't offer a plan to Your Highness."

Hubu Shangshu said so, and the others lost their heads.

Zhu Houzhao didn't try to be mysterious, his idea was something that these people dared not even think about.

"Before expressing the meaning of this palace, Mr. Liu Ge, Mr. Li, Mr. Xie Ge, as well as Otsuka Zai (Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials), Da Situ, Da Sikou, and two servants Gu Zuo and Liang Chu, my palace I want to ask you something first."

Everyone didn't expect the prince to be so formal, so they didn't dare to neglect, "Please speak, Your Highness."

"I would like to ask you, in your hearts, is this palace more public or selfish? Is it for yourself or for the common people? Liu Jin and other internal officials are here today. Even when the minister is away, I can Have you ever asked for something delicious and fun, or are you interested in some novelty?"

Liu Jin talked about flattery with the least psychological cost. He immediately knelt down and said with some emotion: "Your Highness reads books every day in his spare time, and governs politics when he is busy. His thoughtful offering of treasures also taught His Highness a good lesson."

These words are not for Zhu Houzhao to give himself money. In his previous life, he was a boring man who was educated by exams. Food and clothing were not his hobbies. Isn't it a waste of time to research where there is good food?
Facts are facts, and ministers naturally cannot give a second answer to this question.

Wang Jia was the one who could understand the prince best. He first said: "Your Highness puts the people first in everything. Since ancient times, there are very few people who are as sincere as His Highness and serve the people."

Everyone knows this. The crown prince is diligent and handles various government affairs without messing around. The outside world says that he does not accept advice. It is a joke. As long as he is from the perspective of the people, the crown prince is very easy to be persuaded.

"I say this... not to boast, but to ask the ministers to trust me."

The words were serious, several ministers all knelt down and listened to the prince's instruction.

"...But I don't have any selfishness or desires at all. My selfishness is to establish my own immortal feats, and my desire is to let Daming reproduce the celestial dynasty of Taizu and Taizong! So, Liu Jin and the others sometimes I also asked if His Royal Highness is tired... Hey, I told them that when doing what they like, even if they are tired, they don't know they are tired."

These are words from the heart.

After hearing this, Liu Jian and other ministers felt agitated. These boring old men, like the prince, also have a heart to strengthen the country and enrich the people, and also have a desire to leave a name in history.

"Your Highness is holy! Being blessed by the ancestors, it is really a blessing for all the people in the world and a blessing for the country and the country to have a prince like His Highness in Ming Dynasty!" Min Gui highly respected the Crown Prince of the East Palace.

Even Zhu Houzhao joked, "You can ask the stubborn Min Shangshu to say something nice about me. It seems that I am not bad as a prince."

Min Gui said bluntly: "My ministers are stubborn, but stubbornness does not mean disregarding right from wrong and treating black as white. Since His Royal Highness handled the government affairs, his concern has never been temples and palaces, but the daily necessities of the people. These ministers and colleagues all look at it. in the eyes."

"Thank you all."

How could they dare, so they kowtowed again.

Zhu Houzhao was so provocative, just to pave the way for the future. He pondered for a while, and then said, "Da Sima once said that the East Palace took silver from Zhejiang. There are no outsiders here today. I can tell you that the silver is all there."

These words are a bit shocking,

For a moment, the note-takers in the corner stopped writing in shock.

The crown prince glanced at Zhong Yunlun Wenxu and Wu Liang, "What I say, what you remember, leave it for the world to see, and leave it for future generations to see."

This is the weather of a prince who dares to face the judgment of history.It may seem a little hypocritical, but the power of historical writing was very powerful in the moral environment of ancient times.

Lords like Tang Taizong and Kangxi asked to see the official historian's records more than once, but they were actually afraid of being remembered for something bad.

"...the money is all there, and there is not a tael of money that is spent indiscriminately."

"Your Highness..." Wang Jia was already in tears.

Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hand, signaling that he didn't need to say anything for himself, "Some people in Zhejiang used to say that I, the crown prince, was fighting for the interests of the people, but how can the people of Ming Dynasty benefit? It is also logical to say that the people's livelihood is suffering, and at the same time, it is logical to fight for the interests of the people." It doesn't make sense. To be precise, I am fighting for profit with corrupt officials! Instead of letting them pocket their own pockets, I might as well enter the private treasury of the Eastern Palace. At least I can spend every tael of silver on state affairs and on the people. !so……"

At this point, he made it official, "...so I decided to do it after much deliberation, gentlemen, this idea has been pondering in my mind for several years. I want to set up an official Business number!"

Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, etc. are civil servants who are familiar with history books. When they heard the prince's words, their faces changed drastically, and they exclaimed: "Your Highness! No!"

Why not? In fact, there is no need to talk about any major reasons. It is a big problem to say that once power and business are combined, corruption will easily breed.

In addition, in the Ming Dynasty, there is another point that cannot be justified, that is, scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen are the last, and people with some ambitions will not go into business.And it is not a simple matter of face, it is also related to the status of the businessman.

To put it simply, if all the princes go into business, then naturally it is not good to be cheap, so will the status of businessmen be improved?If yes, what impact?
These are unanswerable questions.

Of course, everything has pros and cons.

For example, if the imperial court owns a large-scale grain merchant, then its ability to mobilize grain will naturally be strengthened, and it will have a certain ability to deal with famines, wars, and grain price fluctuations.

But people in this era can't see this, Liu Jian immediately said: "Your Highness, I dare to assure you that none of you ministers will question your highness's heart for the people, but I also ask your highness to think carefully and do business in the name of the court. Going out is detrimental to His Majesty's holiness, and detrimental to His Majesty's reputation. Besides, there are only so many livelihoods in the world. If the court occupies one place, the people will have one less place. Your Highness's original expectation is far from it!"

Li Dongyang didn't agree very much either, and basically complied with Liu Jian's suggestion.

Zhu Houzhao listened patiently to what they had to say, and then responded plausibly, "If the imperial court can't touch any business, why is the salt and iron tea run by the government? I know that if this is not careful, there may be serious harm, but Ministers, have you ever thought that the national treasury is always unable to make ends meet? Looking at the panic-stricken Ming Dynasty, but a disaster has forced us to do nothing. The Ministry of Households is in charge of the world's money and food, but what can Da Situ do? Nothing more Increase income and reduce expenditure. After a few years of saving money, there was a flood, and the drought disappeared again. The financial resources of the central government are so weak, how to deal with various situations? The people ask us to be the head of the family, who of you has the ability to be the family?"

"In addition, when officials and businessmen in Ming Dynasty became rich, they did two things. One was to buy land, which led to the increasing concentration of fields and more and more landless refugees; the other was to build a cellar to bury the money. This led to the increasing shortage of silver in the Ming Dynasty. The shortage means that the court has no silver to use, the people have no silver to use, and the people are in a disadvantageous position in the distribution of wealth. The country is short of silver. Where can they get silver? In this way, all industries will also As a result, it has been declining day by day.”

"Since this is the case, it's better to concentrate the silver in the hands of the imperial court, and let's spend the silver and let it circulate again. Wouldn't it be better?"

Han Wen has been listening carefully, and I feel unsatisfied when I hear this, "Dare to ask Your Highness, how to spend it?"

"To control rivers and build roads, as long as the court has money, it can hire people with money instead of making them do hard labor."

Everyone's eyes lit up. If labor can really be exempted, the burden on the common people will be reduced by more than half, but the money will be huge.

The crown prince talked so much all at once, and the ministers doubted himself a little, and it seemed that there were indeed some benefits.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Actually, this palace is already doing it. The academies and women's medical centers all spend money to hire the poor people in the capital as laborers. All the ministers live in the capital, so they can feel it naturally. The people at the bottom have To make a living, have the refugees and hungry people in the capital decreased?"

"Your Highness," Elder Xie Ge didn't speak for a while. He asked a more critical question, "My minister is bold. If His Highness governs the government, this method may be more beneficial than harmful. But it is to ask for the silver of the world to use it. Your Highness must also consider the imperial court's century-old plan."

There is no way to guarantee this Zhu Houzhao, and it can be said that he will give birth to a bastard.So I still shook my head and cast out this suspicion, "Later generations also have the wisdom of future generations, we have to trust future generations."

Besides, which dynasty will never die.His duty is to create a great prosperous age and show the glory of the Han nation in the years he can control. It is not to let the Ming Dynasty last for another five or six hundred years and send an emperor to future generations. He knelt down and shouted long live three times, he probably hated him to death.

Seeing that the prince and the ministers were at a stalemate, Wang Jia suggested, "I think the benefits of what your highness said are obvious. Can this be done? Your highness often says whether it is okay or not, and whether it is good to practice. It is better to delay the law of government-run firms." Try it out slowly, and it won’t be too late to make a decision at that time.”

The cabinet doesn't talk, but it's really done. Who has the ability to let the prince cancel it?Who is this trick for?

"Your Highness." Li Dongyang thought for a long time, but he also had a question, "If the imperial court wants to do business in this way, can the governor's office do business? Can the royal family do business? Can foreign relatives, eunuchs, and ministers do business like this? In this way , can people's livelihood be difficult?"

The deeper the discussion, the more direct the rhetorical questions.

Mr. Li Ge originally thought that this issue was very critical, and indeed it was, because once this hole was released, it would really be a big claim for private wealth.To be honest, officials below the fourth rank of the dynasty can do business. Zhu Houzhao has been thinking about changing this rule.

So he answered this question very resolutely and shamelessly, with a childish voice that cannot be questioned, "Of course they are not allowed to do business! Why? My Ming Dynasty still has such rules, what the court does, what the royal family does , They all demand to do it too? The emperor calls himself Zhen, should they also call themselves Zhen?! Mr. Li Ge, this palace can talk about it. There is no room for negotiation on this matter. The people you mentioned are all alone None. If anyone really has great ability and thinks it’s unfair, simple, then please let him display his ability and establish a country for this palace to see, and then I, the Zhu family boy, will regard him as emperor!”

This is a bit unreasonable, but what is imperial power?Imperial power is four words: refuse to share.

You can't have what I have, but I allow you to have what you have.

(End of this chapter)