My father is Jiajing

Chapter 404 The Foundation of Hegemony
Zhu Zaigui thought for a moment, took a sip of water, and then began to speak.

"After the disaster, the North lacks people but not land, and lacks food but not goods. So if we want to make the reconstruction of the North effective, we must find a way to solve the fundamental food problem in the North."

"So, I have a small suggestion. I suggest that the Northern Construction Bank temporarily invest in purchasing the rich grain from the big households, and then sell it to the local people at a fair price."

After Zhu Zaigui finished speaking, Qiao Wanjin hesitated, because this kind of matter was really not something he could decide.

And even if he has this intention, he may not be able to convince others.

After all, the Northern Construction Bank is not decided by them alone. Salt merchants, Huizhou merchants, etc. also have a say.

For these people, something obviously unprofitable like this is like skipping gold ingots on the water. It's really heartbreaking.

Zhu Zaigui also noticed Qiao Wanjin's silence.

Zhu Zaigui chuckled, "Of course, I will not let these big households suffer losses. President Qiao should have seen the new building material cement used in the Beijing Special District, right? If President Qiao can persuade the big households to temporarily donate grain to help the northern people tide over the crisis, then I am willing to make the cement production method public to the big households selling grain this time, so that they can also do this business."

Cement, of course Qiao Wanjin knew what it was. Over the past year or so in the Special District of the Capital, although he was the owner of a Shanxi merchant bank that had never been involved in worldly affairs, he was well aware of all the developments and changes in the Special District of the Capital.

Especially the cement that the Beijing Special District got from the Xishan Limeyard, which is still fresh in people’s memory. This stuff is so powerful that it is even more powerful than the lime mud mixed with millet soup.

They had actually been coveting such a magical building material for a long time, but because the Xishan Limeyard was a government-run limeyard supervised by the palace, it was difficult for them to get the cement formula even if they wanted to use their connections.

Moreover, the imperial court and the palace had already issued clear orders regarding the secret recipe of cement. Anyone who dared to secretly make Xishan cement without permission would have his property confiscated and be punished.

Therefore, even though those big companies covet cement, they dare not have any evil intentions towards Xishan Cement.

Now, Zhu Zaigui is willing to publish the formula of Xishan cement for the sake of the people in the north. Qiao Wanjin must be able to understand the benefits and value of this.

Qiao Wanjin said: "If the prince can really publish the formula of Xishan cement, I believe there will be many kind-hearted villagers willing to release their stored grain to help the people in the north tide over the difficulties."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "Very good, I can definitely do it, but I have also said before that the cement secret recipe can be made public to the big households willing to sell grain, but when these big households produce this cement, they must also pay a certain amount of patent fees to the Xishan Cement Plant."

"Of course, if they can develop more powerful building materials or other inventions that benefit the people and the Ming Dynasty, they can also apply for patent protection in the Beijing Special District. At that time, anyone who wants to learn from them will have to pay them patent fees."

"So, this matter must be explained clearly. I don't want things to end up in a mess and then have to go through the trouble of explaining it again."

Qiao Wanjin immediately replied, "I understand what Your Majesty means. I have heard about patents a long time ago, but I only know that this is practiced in Shunyi and Xishan, and there is no such law in other places. Now that Your Majesty is willing to protect patent inventions in the Beijing Special District, I think there will definitely be many folk strange skills that apply for patent protection in the Beijing Special District to promote the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty's skills!"

After hearing what Qiao Wanjin said, Zhu Zaigui couldn't help but look at Qiao Wanjin again. This jealous Shanxi man actually had such a high vision, which was really amazing!
Zhu Zaigui said: "President Qiao is right. What I want is for all flowers to bloom and everything to flourish! Only in this way can I hope to rebuild the north on a place that will last forever. When future generations look back on this period of history, perhaps a visionary like President Qiao will be able to open a separate page."

When Qiao Wanjin heard Zhu Zaigui praising him like that, he immediately became excited.

Qiao Wanjin said, "I will live up to your expectations, Your Highness, and will definitely get this done." Zhu Zaigui nodded and let Qiao Wanjin go first, leaving only Gao Gong.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong and said, "Mr. Gao, your authority is no less than that of the Minister of Revenue. Even the money that the Minister of Revenue can control is less than one-tenth of what you have. Tell me how you feel about serving as the Chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve during this period."

After listening to Zhu Zaigui's words, Gao Gong also sighed.

"I have had many feelings during this period, and I deeply feel that the Ming Federal Reserve is a national treasure. But why did the prince distribute such a precious treasure among the fifteen directors instead of controlling it in the hands of the court?"

Zhu Zaigui said: "The court is not omnipotent. If the Ming Federal Reserve has no checks and balances, it is only in the hands of the court. Mr. Gao thinks that those wealthy businessmen will be so willing to join the Ming Federal Reserve with real money?"

Zhu Zaigui's rhetorical question also left Gao Gong silent.

Indeed, that won’t happen. These wealthy businessmen are able to expand their businesses to such a large extent, and the forces behind them must be complicated and intertwined, and they are definitely not something that the imperial court can control just because it wants to.

Therefore, if you want these people to take out their money, you have to pay a certain price, otherwise forget it.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong and said, "The court's responsibility is to manage and protect the interests of the people of the Ming Dynasty. The people of the Ming Dynasty naturally include all people in the Ming Dynasty, regardless of whether they are scholars, farmers, merchants or workers. Therefore, on this basis, the court only needs to do its job well, and leave the rest to professionals."

"Mr. Gao is familiar with economics and has done a lot of research on it, but can Mr. Gao guarantee that the officials selected by the imperial examination system have the same abilities as Mr. Gao?"

"Therefore, in order to prevent the Ming Federal Reserve from becoming a complete bureaucratic institution, and in order for the Ming Federal Reserve to shoulder the responsibility of invigorating the Ming economy, the chairman of the Federal Reserve must be selected from among professionals."

"These people may be selfish and ignore the interests of others. But they will never joke about their own interests. And any guaranteed banknote issued by the Ming Federal Reserve is actually their core interest."

"So, no matter what, these people will cherish the value of Gang Dui Notes as if they cherish their own lives. In this way, Gang Dui Notes will not follow the footsteps of Ming Baochao. It will become a banknote that can truly buy everything in the world!"

"And this is my ultimate goal!"

"Although the Ming Dynasty has two capitals and thirteen provinces, it is still too small compared to this world. If the foreign vassal states that come and go from the Ming Dynasty have to exchange their gold, silver and goods for our hard-to-exchange notes before they can trade with us, then Mr. Gao, imagine what this world will be like?"

After Zhu Zaigui said these last words, he left Gao Gong in the study, leaving him alone to digest what he had just said.

At this time, Gao Gong was indeed filled with a huge wave of emotion in his heart. He never expected that Zhu Zaigui's ambition was so great that he actually wanted to control the entire world with the hard-to-redee banknotes issued by the Ming Federal Reserve!

If this ideal can really come true, then the Qin Emperor, Han Emperor, Tang Emperor and Song Emperor would all look up to the brilliant achievements of this era!
Because in this era, the Ming Dynasty not only inherited their cause of unification, but also pushed it to another unattainable peak!
So, Gao Gong was really excited at this moment. He felt that he seemed to have a goal in his life again, and he couldn't help but want to devote all his enthusiasm and energy to turn what Zhu Zaigui had just said into reality.

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(End of this chapter)