eldest son of Ming dynasty

The idea of ​​a whitelist is instructive.

In fact, except for engineering procurement, this method can also be applied to other procurements conducted by the government, which are nothing more than modifications and supplements in details.

As an institution that manages a large amount of national assets, the Shaofu not only gathers wealth, but also has the function of distributing wealth.

Because currency is only a resource for power, the key is to convert it into more practical and useful things, such as troops, food supplies, assets that can generate return funds, such as cities that never sleep.

It is an absolute miser's idea to transport the money home and cover it up.

As an emperor, if private commerce withers and agriculture is ruined, no matter how much money you hide in your treasury, it will be consumed quickly in the end.

If you don't take the initiative to distribute the wealth, the common people will let you pay passively.At least large-scale investment in construction is much better than large-scale counter-insurgency suppression.

In addition, Gu Zuo's dialogue with the three candidates on the way from Yangzhou to the capital also gave him more room for imagination.

Later in the prison, the dark and quiet environment gave him enough time to think.

From this perspective, it is not good or bad to close it for a month.After all, if he was outside, how could he think so much about pure theory when he was surrounded by mundane affairs.

But at that time, I decided to write it down because I felt that I could no longer see the emperor.

But he also felt that some of his thoughts were very important, so he chose to record them on paper.

If one day his life is lost, at least he can entrust someone to hand over such things to the emperor, so that he can die without regret.

Gu Zuo didn't tell the emperor about this mentality, he didn't need to show his loyalty, the emperor knew very well whether he was loyal or not.

So it's just a matter of presenting things.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao knew that Gu Zuo was writing something in prison, so he understood it as soon as he submitted it, "It's a book?"

Zhu Houzhao is also a little curious about what kind of economic works people in this era can write.

"It should not be regarded as a book, it's just a humble work of a humble official. If you have time, please read it."

Zhu Houzhao beckoned, and Liu Jin took the things over.

"...Tell me. Why did you write this book?"

"As I said earlier, Weichen met three Juren by chance on the boat. They are all local merchants in Yangzhou. They have been familiar with business and money since they were young. Along the way, Weichen mentioned treasures to them. Banknotes, silver, sea trade, food. There is a saying in the booing that the minister was greatly shocked."

"What?"

"After the imperial court opened the sea, a large amount of tea, porcelain, and silk were exported overseas, and a large amount of silver was imported into China. If things go on like this, the more silver there will be in China, the price of silver will inevitably decrease day by day, so the price of rice and salt will inevitably increase gradually. The more silver there is, the more difficult it is for the people. To solve this crisis, we need to exchange some food for silver at the same time. Only food can fill our stomachs."

"Three Juren?"

Gu Zuo immediately said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed inappropriate for these three people to discuss government affairs indiscriminately. However, I have been with them for several days and know that they are not disloyal or filial. Please forgive them."

"No, you will be wrong about what I mean." Zhu Houzhao looked at the book in his hand, "I am surprised that the three Juren can have such an opinion. In fact, what they said is quite right."

Liu Jin was a little surprised when he heard it from the sidelines. Gu Liqing was Gu Liqing, and his holy favor was really not ordinary.

"Your book is titled "On Maritime Trade". Although it hasn't been opened yet, it must be very exciting. As for the names of the three people, I won't ask too many questions. The imperial examination is about to take place. Let them take the exam first." The name is justified, the emperor is always easy to arrange."

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

"As for your discussion, you have gradually realized the essence of currency. That is, currency itself has no value, and it has value because everyone recognizes it. In practice, it is also a cost-effective transaction for the imperial court to exchange silk and porcelain for food. , these are all fine. But it cannot be said that currency is useless.”

"For example, if the imperial court wants to build roads, silver is still the best resource. It is not easy to use porcelain or silk, at least inconvenient. Therefore, for a period of time, it is a good choice to import overseas silver into China. It is actually a bit like What I told you earlier was to give the people the means to make a living, so that they have money to spend. The import of silver from overseas also has the same effect."

To put it bluntly, economic activities must have a sufficient amount of money.

If the currency is not enough, the transaction is troublesome, which is actually quite a big constraint, and it can even be said that one should hardly think about the word prosperity.

Historically, the Ming Dynasty was still a country with relatively little silver during this period, so hundreds of millions of silver were imported in the next few decades.

From a market point of view, if the price of silver in China is so low that no one wants it, then merchants will naturally not want silver for overseas trade.But in fact this did not happen.

"I also heard that the country of Dongying has huge silver mines."

"Silver mine?!" Even Gu Zuo was envious for a moment.

If you are envious, you will want it.

But these are still far away, the Ming Dynasty didn't even have a decent navy.

"It's just what I heard. Liqing, I'd better read your book first. If you don't mind, I'll make some notes on the side."

Gu Zuo was flattered, "I will do what Your Majesty wishes."

"Okay, then you go back first."

"Yes."

Zhu Houzhao actually had a weird feeling,
If it weren't for him, a visitor from later generations, how could anyone in Ming Dynasty think about trade and currency?

So he looked at it seriously with a hint of curiosity.

The name of "On Maritime Trade" is a bit random, but it does not affect its content. The book is divided into four parts as a whole. The first part introduces the background of the imperial court's opening of the sea.

In fact, it was some of the reasons for the people of Zhejiang and Fujian to go to sea to make a living that the imperial court considered.

Zhu Houzhao felt that he avoided some questions, such as why the court banned the sea during the Hongwu period.Courtiers dare not write, but he, the emperor, can make decisions.

Any era has its own characteristics and special reasons. At the beginning of the founding of the country, facing the double attack from the southeast and the North Yuan, it was correct for Emperor Taizu to make such a decision.

It was right to ban the sea at that time, and it is also right to open the sea at this time.This is called pragmatic and flexible.If the atmosphere of governance can have these two things, it will be great luck.

Because in the final analysis, there is no politician who will not make mistakes. The key is to correct it immediately if it is found to be wrong.This ability is often more important than how much to make the right decision.

"Liu Jin, go and get the "Taizu Shilu"."

"Yes."

Afterwards, the emperor spread out Gu Zuo's book, and added these contents according to the actual records in the gaps between the characters. After years of hard work in his characters, he can still write beautiful hairpin lower script.Although it is actually not as good as Gu Zuo, laymen can't see Dao Dao.

The second part of the book deals with trade and money.

Its main content is to write about the importance of trade and the support of currency for trade activities.There are some inaccuracies in it, because after all, Gu Zuo was born in an era of small-scale peasant economy, and he inevitably had a sense of superiority in the central dynasty that "everything is abundant, and everything is available", so he regarded trade activities as a kind of superiority. of grace.

Zhu Houzhao made a comment here. He did not want to eliminate the sense of superiority of these people. He wanted to tell people that although the Ming Dynasty had abundant products, they could only be exchanged for silver if they were sold.

Silk cannot be eaten.

From this perspective, conducting trade activities is for the people of the country.

I can't think that I am a kingdom of heaven, if I want to trade with you, I will trade with you, and if I don't, I will seal it off. What should the people who do maritime trade in this country do?
Regarding currency, Zhu Houzhao added a comment: currency can be defined as a general equivalent.

This is what he learned in high school textbooks. In fact, the definition of currency is controversial in academic circles, and its connotation is not easy to explain clearly.

But it is enough for now, enough for people of this age to comprehend for many years.If it is really written as "a contract about the right to exchange corresponding to labor equivalents", then they must understand it.

The third part of the book is about how the current Ming Dynasty should develop maritime trade.The fourth part is about the future prospect of overseas trade.

In general, "Marine Trade Theory" can be defined as the first book in ancient times to think about the gains and losses of China and overseas trade, and it jumped out of the shackles of "making money" and systematically described trade and currency. Relationships have played a role in motivating contemporary literati to think more about economics.Although there are some shortcomings and mistakes, this is the first time that the bureaucratic elite of the Ming Dynasty and the academic staff of the academy began to treat economics as a subject.

In this sense, its impact cannot be overstated.After that, most of the new economic officials promoted and appointed by Emperor Zhengde were also influenced by this book.

On the other hand, Zhu Houzhao also began to contemplate the reorganization of Shaofu.

With the gradual expansion of the financial resources under his control, the "secondary" institution under the household department of Shaofu has become more and more like a first-level institution. The false god of wealth, Shangshu of the household department, is crying poor everywhere, because the treasury's money has long been determined. .The Shaofu Ling became the real God of Wealth.

Today's Shaofu is in charge of shipyards, grain merchants, and the city that never sleeps, and the Beijing City Planning Department is also part of it. In addition, a rudimentary bank has been prepared...Compared to the empty treasury, this is the real gold mountain.

After all, there are the most officials who want to climb up here, so the motivation is naturally different from other yamen.

After Gu Zuoguan returned to his post, he immediately devoted himself to government affairs with little time to adjust.
For example, resetting the deadline and time for the opening of the city that never sleeps, convening manpower to study and compile the white list, and asking Qingzhengyuan Shipyard to report the production situation...

Each of these things is complicated.

Amid the busy schedule, the time has come to July,
In July, the silver taels confiscated in Yangzhou began to be sent to the capital;

In July, the ministers of the court gradually realized that the emperor had no interest in appointing a new transfer envoy to the Huaihe River, until the emperor told them that the imperial court would no longer retain the envoy to transfer salt to the Huaihe River.