Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 183: Ju Zheng was in trouble in the Tea and Salt Government Camp!
"What needs to be saved is not the market, but our great Ming Dynasty." Zhu Houcong, wearing a thick Songjiang cotton cloth with nine dragon patterns and wide sleeves, walked slowly and said to himself, "The fifty-eighth chapter of the Tao Te Ching says: 'When the government is dull, the people are honest. When the government is strict, the people are lacking; when the government is strict, the people are lacking. ... People are confused for a long time.' If you are lenient, you are wrong; if you are strict, you are wrong. Are the people confused? I am also confused. Are you not confused?"

Zhang Juzheng knelt down holding the embroidered cushion, and Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin followed suit.

Zhang Juzheng continued, "Your Majesty, the mistakes in leniency and severity are all our fault.

The cabinet has not figured out the business of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of our Ming Dynasty. I think whether to immediately adjust the national market is to reassure the people and stabilize the economy. If we allow merchants to grow wildly, we are worried that other troubles will arise. "

The fate of the Shanxi and Anhui merchants who colluded with the enemy and committed treason gave all the merchants of the Ming Dynasty a profound lesson, but it also made the merchants of the Ming Dynasty see the huge profits.

"A man cannot be rich without external wealth, and a horse cannot be fat without night grass." Zhang Juzheng was worried that domestic merchants would follow the old path of Shanxi and Anhui.

Zhu Houcong had already walked to the row of large bookcases in the main hall and stopped in front of the bookcase with the "Song Dynasty" logo on it: "There is no need to go through so much trouble. Scholars often say, 'Learn from history to understand the rise and fall.' Although the Song court was weak, it was not poor. The Song court was rich, but what made it rich?"

"Your Majesty, the Song Dynasty's prosperity comes from commercial taxes, the monopoly market and other imperial systems." Zhang Juzheng knew what the emperor was asking, but he didn't dare to tell the truth. The word "etc." almost summed up the essence of the Song Dynasty's prosperity.

"hehe."

Zhu Houcong smiled, and ran his finger over the book covers on the bookshelf, stopping at the book "Official Business" and said, "My Great Ming Dynasty did not levy commercial taxes, but did it not have market taxes?"

The border tax refers to the tariff on trade in border towns.

Taking the Song Dynasty as an example, trade with Liao, Western Xia, or Jin could only be conducted in specific locations established by the parties, which were called quasi-trades.

The tax on the trade market was generally low. For example, the tax on the trade market between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty was recorded as being only one thousand and fifty percent.

Previously, the Ming Dynasty and Tatar still imposed a market tax on the trade in Datong Town, but the tax rate was not high, only one percent of one hundred.

Even so, it was still twice as high as that of the Song court.

A mutual trade transaction generated more than 100,000 taels of silver in customs duties for the Ming Dynasty.

Even if the Ming Dynasty opened trade once a month and maintained such a large trading volume, the maximum annual market tax would be only two million taels of silver.

Even if new trade was added, including opening up trade with the Jianzhou Jurchens, the market tax that could be generated in a year would only be a few million taels of silver.

The commercial taxes collected in the Ming Dynasty were basically this amount each year.

It is unimaginable that the total amount of commercial taxes and market taxes could be 10 million taels of silver.

But what was the highest tax levied by the Song court in a year?

More than 160 million taels of silver!

The civil officials used commercial taxes and market taxes to fool many emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and now they are using them to fool him, the current emperor.

Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and the other three who were kneeling on the ground knelt in silence, not daring to say anything else.

The prosperity of the Song Dynasty came from four aspects.

First, in the fields of textiles, ceramics, papermaking, etc., product quality and production technology have been improved.

The second is the relatively relaxed business system and overseas trade.

The third is a peaceful external environment.

Fourth, various industries are run by the government.

First, there was a hundred years between the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. Many things in the Central Plains were destroyed by barbarians, but those areas were definitely not included. The Ming Dynasty was innovative and made new breakthroughs in textiles, ceramics, papermaking, etc. Second, during the Hongwu period, the business system of the Ming Dynasty was indeed strict, but after Emperor Chengzu Wen ascended the throne after the Jingnan Rebellion, in order to save the devastated dynasty, Emperor Renzong, when he was still the crown prince, almost lifted all restrictions on business.

As for overseas trade, the eunuch Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, but they were not just for sightseeing.

Third, it can be said that before the Battle of Tumu Fortress and the "Northern Expedition" of Emperor Yingzong, the Ming Dynasty had always been invincible in the world, and the external environment was at least several levels more peaceful than that of the Song Dynasty.

One, two, and three, the three conditions for the Song court's wealth were often met during the Ming Dynasty, but the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty was always very low. It is self-evident where the problem lies.

Government-run.

What were the government-run industries in the Song Dynasty?

Horse ranching, salt, tea, wine, vinegar, alum and coal.

That’s right, the first industry run by the Song court was horse breeding.

It took the Song Dynasty three hundred years to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun until its demise, let alone the Hetao area, which did not have the geographical and climatic conditions for horse raising. However, the official horse breeding industry of the Song court was the most prosperous.

The Song Dynasty invested countless financial and human resources into the horse breeding industry to maintain the number of pastoral horses and war horses in the Song court and to safeguard the security of the Central Plains.

Even the final collapse of the Song court was somewhat related to the decline of the state-run horse ranching industry.

In addition to the state-run horse ranching industry, which is related to national security, the Song court's state-run tea, salt, wine, vinegar, alum, and coal are all closely related to people's livelihood.

In life, the Song court carried out point-to-point government management for food, clothing, housing and transportation, in exchange for billions of wealth.

What were the government-run industries in the Ming Dynasty?
Mining, textiles, ceramics, shipbuilding, porcelain, and firearms manufacturing.

These have either no relationship with people's livelihood or only an indirect relationship, and generate no taxes or very little taxes.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty court became poorer every year, but its officials and businessmen became richer every year.

Zhu Houcong pulled out the book from the bookcase and said, "I want to reopen the horse-breeding, tea, salt, wine, vinegar, alum and coal industries."

This tone.

Not to discuss, but to inform.

In other words, it was an imperial edict.

Zhang Juzheng's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Gao Gong, and seeing that he remained silent, he felt like cursing.

It can be said that the industries that Your Majesty just mentioned are all controlled by the families of officials of the Ming Dynasty.

Hundreds of thousands of officials in the Ming Dynasty, both honest and corrupt, were involved in this. If this were allowed to be carried out by the government, the cabinet would be cursed to death by officials all over the world.

His Majesty has already cut off too many ways for Ming Dynasty officials to make money. Now that all industries are run by the government, some court officials who are used to spending lavishly will probably starve to death relying only on the meager salaries.

"Your Majesty, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are the necessities of people's livelihood. If the court intervenes in them, it may compete with the people for profits and hurt their foundation." Zhang Juzheng had to say.

Zhu Houcong took the book, turned around, and looked at Zhang Juzheng who was kneeling on the ground. For the first time, impatience appeared in his eyes and he said, "Zhang Juzheng, which of these livelihood businesses you mentioned is controlled by the people? Officials have two mouths. One mouth eats the Ming Dynasty, and the other mouth eats the common people. There is nothing you don't eat!
You fooled me once, fooled me twice, and you want to fool me a third time. Do you think my Emperor's Sword is not powerful enough?"

(End of this chapter)