Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 30: Emphasis on Agriculture and Suppression of Commerce? Early Morning Advice [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Although Liu Kuan was surprised that Zhu Yuanzhang would ask about the situation in Shanghai, he didn't mind introducing it.

He said: "Although Shanghai was a small, remote county at that time, its location at the mouth of the Yangtze River and on the coast of Songjiang Prefecture made it a convenient place for maritime trade. Therefore, its commerce, mainly based on maritime trade, later flourished."

"Towards the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus were forced to open their borders to the Western barbarians with their powerful ships and cannons, forcing them to open many coastal cities as trading ports. Shanghai, due to its unique geographical location, became one of these trading ports."

"After that, the Western powers used the pretext of leasing land to establish embassies, trading companies, and foreign-style houses in Shanghai, thus establishing concessions."

"Merchant ships from Western countries arrived in droves, carrying foreign goods, making Shanghai a prosperous metropolis, and commerce and maritime activities flourished."

"At that time, the commercial taxes and customs duties paid by Shanghai alone to the Qing court exceeded those of many prefectures."

"After the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the recovery of the concessions, Shanghai developed rapidly, with numerous factories and businesses and a population of millions. The value of its output and the taxes it paid were almost comparable to those of some provinces."

"So later on, the country elevated Shanghai's administrative status to that of the capital, placing it directly under the central government to facilitate governance."

After hearing Liu Kuan's words, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Li Gui and Sun Ge were all quite surprised. They did not expect that Shanghai would undergo such great changes in the future.

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but comment: "The Qing Dynasty is truly incompetent. They couldn't even preserve such a beautiful place, and it was actually occupied by the Western barbarians. They deserve to be destroyed!"

Sun Ge didn't know that the Qing Dynasty was the successor dynasty of the Ming Dynasty. He was a little confused when he heard this, but he tactfully didn't ask any more questions - after all, he was just a centurion, not one of the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty like Xu Da and Tang He.

Zhu Biao said, "Father, the fact that Shanghai has been able to develop and prosper in the future is a testament to its unique geographical location. If so, perhaps the Ming Dynasty could provide early support to Shanghai County to help it prosper sooner rather than later."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded at first, then looked at Liu Kuan and asked, "Liu Kuan, from what you just said, it seems that later generations attach great importance to commerce?"

When Liu Kuan heard this question, he subconsciously wanted to complain that Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay enough attention to business and commercial taxes.

But thinking about how he had casually talked about the division of the six departments that day and how it didn't go well, he finally resisted the urge to "talk about it" again.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Your Majesty, there is a saying in later generations: Without agriculture there is no stability, without industry there is no wealth, and without commerce there is no life."

"That is to say, in the future, if a country wants to be stable, it must ensure that agriculture produces enough food; if it wants to be prosperous, it must have a strong enough industry; and if it wants the country to burst with vitality and have a vibrant economy, it does need to have good commerce."

After saying this, Liu Kuan originally thought that Zhu Yuanzhang might scoff at the idea of ​​attaching importance to industry and commerce, or at least would not agree with the idea of ​​attaching importance to commerce.

After all, he had seen many statements on the Internet about Zhu Yuanzhang "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce" and "looking down on merchants."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly after hearing this. "Without agriculture, there is no stability; without industry, there is no prosperity; without commerce, there is no life—this is indeed true, and it can be regarded as good advice for governing a country. Biao'er, you must remember this."

"Yes, father." Zhu Biao agreed obediently.

After hearing this, Liu Kuan finally couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty should be implementing the policy of 'promoting agriculture and suppressing commerce' at this time, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Not bad."

"Then why does Your Majesty think that the twelve words I just mentioned are good advice for governing the country?"

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to explain directly, but suddenly he had the idea of ​​testing Zhu Biao and said, "Biao'er, you explain it first."

"Yes, Father," Zhu Biao replied, turning to Liu Kuan and saying, "Young Master Liu, I'm sure you understand the emphasis on agriculture. From ancient times to the present, every dynasty has always emphasized agriculture."

"Just as Master Liu said, only by producing enough food to prevent the people from starving can we ensure national stability and discuss other matters."

"As for suppressing merchants, when the Ming Dynasty was first established, we experienced the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The population decreased significantly, and large tracts of farmland were left barren. Only by suppressing merchants can the people live in peace and contentment."

"After all, merchants make profits more easily than farmers, and they don't produce anything. If the court doesn't restrict merchants, many people will abandon their farmland and go into business."

"Not only will the fields be left uncultivated, but even those engaged in business may not be able to profit. If they fail, they will become refugees, which will be even more detrimental to national stability."

"However, although my father has adopted a policy of suppressing commerce, he does not despise trade. For example, in the city of Nanjing, there are several large markets, such as the East, West, and South, dedicated to merchants' trade."

"In addition, my father has always strictly prohibited officials from oppressing and extorting merchants."

"Once, a merchant had his goods detained for over a month without reason by a customs official. As a result, he missed out on trading opportunities and lost all his money. When the Emperor learned of this, he not only dismissed the official but also ordered him to compensate the merchant for his losses."

Having said this, Zhu Biao stopped.

His meaning was also very clear - it was correct that Zhu Yuanzhang implemented the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, but it did not mean that he despised commerce.

Liu Kuan listened thoughtfully.

Although Zhu Biao's words made him realize that Zhu Yuanzhang did not despise commerce and look down on merchants as some later generations said, he did not attach much importance to them either.

This can be seen from the careless way Zhu Yuanzhang formulated commercial taxes.

Of course, this may not be entirely Zhu's fault.

After all, although the various systems after the founding of the Ming Dynasty were decided by him, they were not necessarily thought up by him - most of them were proposed by civil officials of the Hongwu Dynasty such as Li Shanchang.

Liu Kuan did not immediately advise Zhu Yuanzhang to pay more attention to business, because it would probably lead to a long speech, not to mention that he had not yet thought of the words, and now was not the right time.

Moreover, since Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards business was not extremely contemptuous, it would not be difficult to persuade him as long as a suitable opportunity was found in the future. Zhu Yuanzhang himself might even change his mind.

Even his mention of the prosperity of Shanghai in the future and the four words "no business, no life" may have elevated the status of business in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart...
While Liu Kuan was thinking about this, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject.

He said in a loud voice, "Liu Kuan, you will start work at the Ministry of Industry's Science and Technology Department tomorrow. Then you can just focus on your work."

"We will build a train for you, clearing away all obstacles and making things much easier. I only hope you can build the train soon so this railway can be put to use as soon as possible."

Liu Kuan bowed and said, "I will do my best to build the train as soon as possible!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and continued, "The Queen has already found someone to pick a date and is about to discuss the wedding with you. She is already in the Rouyi Palace, so please go over there."

Liu Kuan was about to leave when he suddenly remembered the morning court session.

In order to avoid becoming a miserable person who has to get up at four in the morning every day to "go to work", Liu Kuan decided to bite the bullet and give some suggestions to Lao Zhu.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to report."

"What's the matter?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a smile, "Have you already written the memorial for the division of responsibilities among the six ministries?"

"Um," Liu Kuan said, slightly embarrassed, "The division of the six ministries is a serious matter, and I have been busy studying court etiquette and rules these days, so I haven't finished writing the memorial yet."

"Then what do you want to report?"

"Morning matters."

Morning court?

What is there to report about what happened in the morning court?

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were both surprised.

Liu Kuan continued, "I just learned a few days ago that Your Majesty will attend the morning court at 5:00 AM. This means that Your Majesty will most likely be up at 5:00 AM—and the same is true for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I have also heard that Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince often handle government affairs late into the night. Going to bed late and getting up early must mean they are seriously sleep deprived."

"We later learned through medical research that sleep is the best way for the human body to eliminate fatigue and recover from injuries."

"Long-term lack of sleep will not only weaken the body and accelerate aging, but may even lead to disease."

In order to avoid getting up early in the morning to "go to work", Liu Kuan tried his best. He felt that his language potential was stimulated and his speech became much smoother than before.

Having said this, he cupped his hands and said more earnestly, "For the sake of your Majesty and the Crown Prince's health, I implore your Majesty to postpone the morning court session!"

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in Fengxian Hall.

If someone pays close attention, they will find that Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and even Li Gui all have slightly strange expressions.

After a few breaths, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly smiled and said, "Liu Kuan, could it be that you, the boy, didn't want to get up in the early morning to attend court, so you deliberately made up such a reason?"

Liu Kuan's forehead was covered with sweat.

Unexpectedly, Old Zhu immediately saw through his intention.

He raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I do have some selfish motives in suggesting this, but what I say is also the truth. The court session begins at 12:00 AM, so getting up before 12:00 AM is indeed too early."

"Also, since your majesty, no one, whether the Ming emperor or the later Qing emperor, has ever held a morning court session every day."

"Especially during the Qing dynasty, the emperors had the cabinet and the Grand Council to assist them in handling government affairs. The emperors only attended court when there was something important to do, or only held court once every ten days or half a month, yet they still managed state affairs in an orderly manner."

"After what I explained that day on the Loujiang Gate Tower, Your Majesty must have known that not everyone is as energetic and self-disciplined as Your Majesty."

"Therefore, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty's successors, Your Majesty should change the morning court and court meeting system as soon as possible so that future generations can adapt to it."

"If future Ming emperors were as diligent and self-disciplined as Your Majesty, they would not have died prematurely due to excessive diligence."

"If he had not been diligent and self-disciplined, the Ming Dynasty would not have been thrown into chaos and neglected due to the emperor's laziness and willfulness."

Having said this, Liu Kuan stopped.

The initial sense of guilt and embarrassment had all dissipated, because his words were well-reasoned and were indeed for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the descendants of Zhu.

Now it depends on whether Lao Zhu can think it through and is willing to make changes.

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(End of this chapter)