My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 343: Lao Li's story is heart-warming

Zhu Yuanzhang had just returned from the shipyard and was in a good mood. The hull of the ironclad battleship was basically formed, and the steam engine serving as the power had also been installed on the ship. Looking at the huge hull that was as majestic and domineering as a hill, he was in a good mood.

Maybe it won’t be long before the Ming Dynasty will be like in the future war videos, with countless ironclad warships occupying the sea and galloping across the land. That would be quite a sight!

The project is progressing smoothly, and we are just waiting for the naval gun to be successfully trial-produced and installed on the ship.

He didn't know whether Lao Li had replied to his letter or what opinions he had on the production plan he proposed. Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang was still a little expectant.

After returning to the palace, he went straight to the Buddhist temple and saw that Li Han had already replied.

This time, Lao Li replied very quickly. Could it be that he also thought his idea was feasible? Let's see what Lao Li said.

He picked up the letter, walked quickly back to the imperial study, opened it and read it carefully.

"Old Zhu, your ideas are very advanced. You can actually think of using a plan to arrange production tasks. This kind of economic model is generally called a planned economy."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up. Planned economy?

It seems that my idea is correct. Mr. Li even used special terms, which means that my idea is feasible!
He began to feel proud in his heart. Who is we, Zhu? We must have a forward-looking vision, otherwise how could we become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty?

"Before I get into the main topic, let me tell you a story first."

Hehe, Lao Li is going to tell a story again, and I just like watching it.

However, just reading the story is boring, it also needs to be accompanied by tea. I was thinking of calling the eunuch to pour tea, but the eunuchs had been sent outside by myself, and it would be too troublesome to call them again, so I decided to do it myself.

Pour a cup of fragrant tea, take a sip, and your mouth will be filled with the aroma of tea. Only then will you have the atmosphere and feeling of reading a story.

“About five hundred years in the future, in the northwest of the desert, further northwest than the Western Regions but before reaching Europe, a brand new regime was born.

Because the foundation and ideology of the regime it established are incompatible with those of other countries. Once it spreads, it will shake the ruling foundation of the existing regimes in these countries.

Therefore, when this regime was first established, the surrounding forces all wanted to destroy it, and the domestic opposition forces were also constantly persisting in their rebellion.

So in the face of internal and external troubles, there is only one thing this regime has to do to survive, and that is to use all its strength, try every possible means, and concentrate all resources to deal with internal and external enemies.

In a state of total war, there are actually only three resources that a regime needs to ensure the most: food, steel and manpower, which correspond to agriculture and industry, as well as the most important resource, people.

How did they do it? First of all, in terms of agriculture, they adopted a method called the surplus grain collection system, which was to form grain collection teams to forcibly collect grain in rural areas across the country. Except for the food rations for farmers to ensure their survival, the rest of the grain was collected by the state free of charge.

Of course, you can express it by openly robbing, and that’s not a big problem.

But Old Zhu, you have to ask, what about the landlords? Do they also have to pay taxes?
I can tell you very clearly that landlords are not subject to taxation because they are the ones to be eliminated.”

With a puff, Zhu Yuanzhang spat out the tea in his mouth, leaving water stains all over the letter paper.

He quickly wiped the letter paper carefully with a handkerchief, fearing that the words on it would be blurred.

Oh my God, what kind of regime is this? Is it so powerful?

Even though Zhu was extremely angry with the landlords, he could not take action against them directly. He could only use industrialization to gradually weaken the influence of the landlord class according to Li's suggestion. This peculiar regime was able to eliminate them directly in one step.

Although there are factors of war involved, and doing so can guarantee the supply of food during the war for a certain period of time, aren't we afraid that the peasants will rise up in rebellion?
Throughout history, there are too many such examples in China.

"Of course, because the landlords' land was distributed to the peasants for free, it also eased the contradiction between the peasants and the grain collection policy to a certain extent. As a result, although the peasants' protests have never stopped, they have never caused any major disturbances."

So that's how it is. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded thoughtfully, it was like a slap in the face followed by a sweet reward.

“The implementation of the surplus grain collection system ensured the food needs of the army and urban population during the war. Judging from the results alone, it achieved the expected effect.

In terms of industry, this regime implemented a policy called comprehensive nationalization, that is, all factories, large and small, whether they were food factories producing flour or smelters producing steel, were nationalized, that is, all of them were managed and operated by the court.

How resources are allocated and what is produced is entirely determined by the state through planning, thus ensuring the supply of industrial products, especially weapons, during wartime.

Yes, yes, yes, this is what Old Zhu wants!

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up. All resource production and allocation were under state control. What a perfect model.

“As for human resources, this regime implements a universal compulsory labor system, stipulating that every citizen has the obligation to work, and if they do not engage in public welfare work, the government can take compulsory measures.

This system is actually very suitable for the military state and is conducive to the rapid and reasonable deployment of human resources. "

Isn’t this corvee labor?
Voluntary labor sounds so good, but Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat disdainful of this. What he was most interested in was nationalization.

“Although these wartime measures have caused great controversy and received mixed reviews, it is true that these policies did ensure that the new regime survived and developed despite internal and external troubles.

After the war, this country still implemented the planned production model with centralized industrial management. In just twenty years since its establishment, it has transformed from a poor agricultural country with only a little industrial foundation into the world's second largest industrial power.

"

Second in the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang recalled what Li Han had introduced to him before, about the national situation 500 years later. At that time, the world's industrial powers included the United States, England, Germany and other countries. To be able to develop into the second largest country in the world among these powers, you can imagine how powerful this planned economy is!
Doesn’t this prove that my idea is completely correct?

In order to confirm his guess, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't wait to continue reading.

"Moreover, this regime has continued to expand and annex other countries, until it has become a terrifying country with the largest territory in the world, stretching from the Bering Strait in the east to the Baltic Sea in the west!"

Bering Strait and the Baltic Sea?
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly took out the map, found these two places, and then couldn't help but gasp.

It is indeed the world’s largest territorial entity, comparable to the Mongol Empire!

"but……"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang saw the word "however", he immediately cried out in his heart that something was wrong. Old Li was starting to play these tricks again!

(End of this chapter)