The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 30 is far from enough!

To earn silver for the Ming Dynasty.

This was a matter of concern for every official of the Ming Dynasty.

In the early days of the nation, the people, having experienced the ravages of war, were naturally impoverished.

Not to mention Yang Siyi, the Minister of Revenue, who was worried sick, even Xu Da, the military general, was always cautious and thoughtful in matters of war, avoiding unnecessary expenses.

When Zhu Xiong Ying spoke of making money, the three dukes and the minister were all somewhat stunned.

Legend has it that Shen Wansan, the richest merchant in the country at the time, was intelligent and had an exceptional business mind from a young age, but he only truly began doing business at the age of thirteen.

Now that His Highness the Crown Prince is only ten years old, he's already saying he wants to make money?
"Your Highness, we, your subjects, will certainly find a way to handle the matter of the silver. Please do not worry about it!"

Yang Siyi quickly spoke up.

To be honest, Zhu Yunwen's words of "increase taxes" in court really frightened him.

If Zhu Xiong Ying were to become like his foolish younger brother, Yang Siyi would be furious.

"Your Highness, Minister Yang is absolutely right."

"We, your subjects, will naturally give this matter much thought."

Li Shanchang's expression turned slightly serious, and he spoke as well.

He wanted to seize more power during his regency, not to really ruin Zhu Xiong Ying's reputation!

Otherwise, when His Majesty and the Crown Prince return, the Secretariat will have to bear the blame for failing to provide adequate assistance.

However, Zhu Xiong Ying simply smiled and said to their advice: "I understand your loyalty to the emperor and the country."

"However, a country is like a family. As Yi Yin once said, governing a large country is like cooking a small fish."

"When the national treasury is in short supply, it is natural to try to make money. Although I am young, I am thinking more about things for the Ming Dynasty. Would my grandfather blame me?"

"Besides, my great-uncle joined the army at the age of fifteen and fought alongside my grandfather. Is it too much for me to be thinking about ways to make money at the age of ten?"

After saying that, Zhu Xiong Ying clapped his hands, and Yu Hua Tian stepped forward.

Zhu Xiong Ying handed over the documents that had been prepared on the table, and Yu Hua Tian distributed them to the four people.

Lan Yu first straightened her back, her face full of pride.

Back when he fought alongside his brother-in-law, Lan Yu was no ordinary young master soldier who just hid in his tent.

His brother-in-law, Chang Yuchun, was a vanguard, known for his fierce fighting style, and even achieved the terrifying record of being the first to charge into battle in almost every fight.

For this family, charging into battle alone was an everyday occurrence!

His Highness the Crown Prince is the son of the Chang family's daughter, a young man with great courage. What's wrong with that?!
"This is."

However, when Lan Yu looked at the documents in her hand, intending to praise Zhu Xiong Ying no matter what and stabilize Zhu Xiong Ying's momentum, she was truly dumbfounded.

"Map of the Ming Dynasty's post stations?"

Xu Da frowned slightly and spoke softly.

The so-called data actually consisted of the distribution of post stations throughout the Ming Dynasty, the number of soldiers stationed at each station, and the costs incurred.

Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to post stations after establishing the country, and therefore built many more than during the Yuan Dynasty, numbering nearly a hundred.

The couriers at these post stations were indeed a major headache for the Central Secretariat.

The reason is simple: it's a money pit!
The post station needed to raise horses, receive officials, and deliver official documents.

These may seem like trivial tasks, but they cost nearly 100,000 taels of silver to the Ming Dynasty every year.

But unfortunately, they can't be laid off!

The speed of official documents and military reports depended on the relay stations!

"Is Your Highness planning to take action against the post station?"

Li Shanchang's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes filled with worry.

Using the Crown Prince's hand to abolish the post stations was indeed a good idea.

The Crown Prince is young, which allows him to suppress many dissenting voices, thus easing the financial burden on the Ming Dynasty. However...
Is it really appropriate to pin such a huge blame on the Crown Prince?

Yang Siyi clearly saw through Li Shanchang's thoughts and remained silent.

He was pondering how to support the Crown Prince's idea without causing serious harm or eliciting opposition.

"Your Highness, the post station must not be moved rashly."

However, just as Li Shanchang was pondering, a voice rang out.

It was none other than Xu Da, the Duke of Wei.

This was the first time the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat, the current Duke, who had not uttered a single word since entering the Wenhua Hall, had spoken!

“The post stations, which deliver urgent military reports and official documents from various places, are the eyes and ears of Yingtian.”

"It is true that it is a waste of money when it is not used."

"But when you need it, you can't do without it!"

"Now that our Great Ming Dynasty has just been established, although the Northern Yuan has been driven out, it still looks on with predatory eyes. Various anti-Ming forces within our borders are lying in wait, making the situation extremely dangerous!"

Xu Da, with a solemn expression, spoke in a deep voice, offering his advice.

Lan Yu, who was standing to the side, wanted to support Zhu Xiong Ying, but could only nod to indicate that he thought the same way as Xu Da.

His Majesty toured with the Crown Prince, while the Imperial Grandson oversaw the state affairs. To put it bluntly, no one expected him to achieve any great merit.

even,

Everyone's expectation of Zhu Xiong Ying was simply that he wouldn't make any major mistakes.

The post station was definitely among the major ones.

If any military incidents occur due to the closure of the post stations, then things will get complicated.

Seeing the four of them looking so anxious and flustered, Zhu Xiong Ying smiled.

even
He even glanced at Hu Weiyong, the man who was diligently writing and reviewing memorials at the small table by the door.

It must be said that although these officials had their own thoughts, overall they were still doing what was best for the Ming Dynasty!

The elderly who have lived through countless wars always understand how hard-won all of this is.

The Ming Dynasty is like a towering tree; even when they reach out to fight, they always leave one hand to hold onto the trunk.

"The three dukes, Minister Yang, and you all..."

You're mistaken!

"I'm talking about making money through open source, how could I use methods like layoffs?"

Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile.

Then, the Crown Prince slowly rose, picked up a map of the Ming Dynasty's post stations, and said:
"These Ming Dynasty post stations were established after the Emperor consulted many ministers. Each post station receives a stable allocation of five hundred taels of silver per year, plus subsequent subsidies."

"Last year, 80,000 taels of silver were spent on post stations!"

"This number seems like a lot, it might even be enough to provide relief for the snow disaster in Shanxi this time, but... let me be honest."

"I don't care about this little bit of money!"

Upon hearing Zhu Xiong Ying's words, everyone's lips twitched!
Eighty thousand taels,
You, a ten-year-old imperial grandson, look down on him?
Your Highness, do you know how much an ordinary family of four spends in a year?

Five taels of silver!

Even if all four members of the family are adults and can eat their fill!
Putting everything else aside, if Emperor Hongwu had eight taels of silver back then, he could probably have bought an ox to plow the fields himself, instead of having to herd cattle.
"Gudong!"

Lan Yu swallowed hard, and suddenly felt that her great-nephew was quite domineering!

However, Zhu Xiong Ying's next words made everyone gasp in shock!
"Nearly a hundred post stations are far from enough!"

"I will not only not abolish these post stations, but I will also rebuild them!"

(End of this chapter)