back to ancient times to be emperor

Chapter 30
Lu Chengqi happily returned from the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry, and he was no longer so afraid of those ferocious nomads.After all, technology is the primary productive force, and the power of technology is enough to offset the inherent disadvantages.As long as the production of black and gunpowder is well protected, it will definitely defeat the nomads.

However, Lu Chengqi, who returned to the Chuigong Palace, suddenly remembered that in the Song Dynasty in history, technology was also very advanced, and the sophistication of weapons was beyond the reach of those nomads. Shame.Of course, there are factors in the sixteen prefectures of Youyun, but there are more reasons, Lu Chengqi thinks, it is nothing more than the lack of training of the army.

An iron-blooded army should be professional soldiers. They have superb military skills, skilled tactical movements, strict discipline, and most importantly, they have faith and the belief in defending their homeland.But looking at history, in addition to the modern army, the Qi family army in the Ming Dynasty had similar training methods and beliefs, because the soldiers of the Qi family army were themselves poor farmers who had been ravaged by Japanese pirates.

Lu Chengqi, who has a broad vision, knows that if a nation or a country wants to be iron-blooded, it must carry out ideological brainwashing from top to bottom.The Song Dynasty did not do this, so the literati misled the country; the Ming Dynasty did not do this, and the literati still caused the huge empire to collapse.The reason is that the interests of these vested interest groups conflict with the interests of the country. Taking the Ming Dynasty as an example, before Zhang Juzheng’s reforms, the tax revenue in the Ming Dynasty was less than 500 million taels of silver, which was even lower than that of the Southern Song Dynasty.Is the country really poor?No, after Li Zicheng broke into Henan, he broke into King Fu's mansion and ransacked the house of King Fu Zhu Changxun, and the wealth he looted was more than four times that of the national treasury!After Zhang Juzheng's reform, all kinds of taxes were converted into tens of millions of taels of silver.However, after Zhang Juzheng's death, this whipping method was quickly overthrown by vested interest groups.Since then, the Ming Dynasty has no possibility of ZTE.

When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the total amount of silver seized by the Dashun Army occupying Beijing from the Ming Dynasty official's mansion was as high as 7000 to 2 million taels.Coupled with cellars in other places, scholars estimate that there were at least [-] million taels of silver in private cellars in the late Ming Dynasty.

This large sum of silver, calculated in the hundreds of millions of taels, usually hides quietly in the cellars of corrupt officials and rich people.At that time, all the silver stocks of the entire Ming Dynasty - including the silver accumulated from the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, the silver produced in the Ming Dynasty, and the silver inflow from overseas - totaled only about 7.5 million taels.The 7.5 million taels of silver were cast into silverware and silver ornaments in large quantities, and flowed into Central Asia in large quantities, and only part of them became the currency of the Ming Dynasty.Not all of this part of silver currency entered the market circulation, and a large proportion was hoarded by people and withdrawn from the field of circulation. The result of people doing this was to cause serious deflation in the economy at the end of the Ming Dynasty. According to people at that time, It's called "silver power is exhausted".

Is this really the country out of money?no!It is rich businessmen, corrupt officials, gentry, etc. who have hidden all the money from the peasants!Although wealth was hidden among the people, the country had no money, no ability to organize an army, and no ability to deal with disasters. In such an environment, the Ming Dynasty died of internal and external troubles and hatred.

The root of this matter of course lies in Zhu Chongba, that is, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.He was born as a beggar, and when he became emperor, he loved the power of the people and hated corrupt officials.He formulated low taxes, and the officials' salaries were just enough to eat, which was originally excellent.However, he made a mistake in formulating the vassal system, which became a major cancer in the Ming Dynasty.When the tax was low, there was no money during the war. Looking at the Chinese dynasties, the Ming Dynasty had the most corrupt officials, and Zhu Yuanzhang was the one who should bear the greatest responsibility.The limitation of his vision has laid the foundation for the death of the Ming Dynasty.

Taking history as a mirror, although this is the history of a different time and space, Lu Chengqi still has to learn from it, and he will never let history repeat itself.Therefore, the most urgent task is to revive the economy.

The collection of business tax a few days ago has achieved good results.But this was not enough, Lu Chengqi felt that there was still a need to fuel the flames.And how does this fire burn?

Lu Chengqi, who has a vision beyond the ancients for a thousand years, naturally has a way, which can not only arouse the blood of the nation, but also make money by the way, and restrain gambling.In history, people in the Song Dynasty liked to gamble very much. From high-ranking officials and dignitaries to peddlers and pawns, everyone gambled.And in this different time and space, it must be the same.That being the case, blocking is worse than sparse, and it is better to legalize gambling.And the best way to legalize it is the lottery.Among lottery tickets, there is nothing more exciting than Football Lottery.

Football is a competitive game that is popular all over the world. Since it exists, it must have its unique charm.Lu Chengqi has long planned to make football in this era, that is, cuju, a daily entertainment for the people of Dashun.

Lu Chengqi wrote down the rules of modern football, the specifications and requirements of football, the requirements of venues, the printing and distribution of football lottery, and the odds. Then he called Xu Chongguang, the chief assistant of the cabinet.

Lu Chengqi handed the written plan to develop Cuju to Xu Chongguang. After Xu Chongguang read it carefully, he immediately understood what Lu Chengqi meant, that he wanted to develop Cuju into an economic project to fill the national treasury.But this idea was too advanced, and Xu Chongguang couldn't accept it for a while, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, can this Cuju really enrich the national treasury?"

Lu Chengqi thought: "You have never seen the charm of football, the overwhelming advertising sponsorship, the income from selling football lottery, the income from watching football tickets, and the development of the retail industry... Which one is not a huge income?"

However, he explained carefully: "I know that you can't accept it for a while, but I have made up my mind to do this. The economy is the lifeblood of the country, and I can't let it dry up. Cuju is imperative. But , I also know that if the people can't accept it for a while, then let me be the spokesperson..."

Xu Chongguang asked in confusion: "What is a spokesperson?"

"Plainly speaking, if I take the lead and the whole people play Cuju together, the folks will naturally rise."

Xu Chongguang was taken aback, and advised him: "Your Majesty, you can't..."

Lu Chengqi waved his hands impatiently, and said, "The body is... er... the capital of great achievements. Cuju can strengthen the body. I must promote it. Not only must it be promoted, but it must also be personally participated in!"

Xu Chongguang secretly sighed in his heart, and didn't say much.He also knew that with the cabinet system, no matter how stupid the emperor was, he would not be afraid that political affairs would be left unattended.

Lu Chengqi said with a smile: "Xu Qing, don't worry, Cuju is a matter of benefiting the country and the people, and it is also a great event in the future. I believe that this matter is definitely a good thing to strengthen the country and benefit the people, and it will not harm the country or the people!"

Hearing Lu Chengqi's affirmative tone, Xu Chongguang knew that he couldn't persuade him, so he silently agreed and went back to the cabinet to make an order.

A few days later, in the city of Chang'an, large-scale construction was carried out on an open space covering an area of ​​more than ten mu, which attracted the residents of Chang'an to stop and watch, and there was a lot of discussion.At the same time, several Cuju teams were quietly established in the Royal Academy, which were named Royal Cuju Team by Lu Chengqi himself.A cuju reform came quietly.

(End of this chapter)