In the Wenhua Palace.
Looking at Shen Yi who suddenly became eager, Zhu Qiyu looked a little unnatural, with a dark face and said displeasedly.
“Shen Qing asked why?”
“I have agreed to give double the amount of silver to the Ministry of Household Affairs to compensate for the losses during transportation.”
“Even if the Ministry of Revenue transports the materials for repairing the city wall to the border, it will cost tens of thousands of silver taels more than usual.”
“It will not affect the stability of the Kaizhong Law, and the Ministry of Revenue will benefit. Is there anything else Shen Qing is dissatisfied about?”
In normal times, if the emperor had such a sullen face and could barely write the words "I am not happy", Shangshu Shen would have stayed as far away as possible.
But this time, Shen Shangshu not only did not run away, but also moved forward and said seriously.
"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. Although I am in charge of the household department, I am actually managing finances for the imperial court. How can I only care about the profits of the household department?"
This righteous and awe-inspiring look was the same as the one who was tempted by the hundreds of thousands taels just now.
Shen Shangshu felt it, and continued to speak with an expression of loyalty, diligence, and compassion.
"Since the imperial court implements salt and tea management, then as the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, I naturally have to know the whereabouts of every salt and tea introduction. In this way, I can live up to your majesty's trust."
“What’s more, salt and tea are both necessities for the common people’s daily needs, and they are also the life and fortune that countless salt merchants and tea merchants rely on for their survival.”
“Such a large amount of salt and tea flowing into the market will inevitably create a backlog for salt merchants and tea merchants. Although they are not involved in production, they are still citizens of the Ming Dynasty.”
“Your Majesty is very wealthy, but I really can’t bear the merchants and common people who invest all their wealth in business and lose everything.”
“Therefore, I sincerely request your Majesty to tell you the truth. Otherwise, I will have difficulty handing over the salt and tea to Your Majesty.”
Zhu Qiyu's face turned a little darker.
This old fox must have noticed something.
Seeing Shen Yi stop talking, Zhu Qiyu sighed and said.
“Don’t worry, Qing Shen, I am taking these salt and tea coins with the intention of distributing salt. After distributing the tea, I will sell them at the border and not in the capital. Naturally, I will not squeeze the market of ordinary salt merchants.”
Border?
Shen Yi's heart skipped a beat, he swallowed and said tentatively.
"Your Majesty, since our country has implemented the law of opening up China, the place where the most salt is imported is probably around the border. You don't sell in the Gyeonggi area where it is easy to sell, but instead go all the way to the border. This is not in line with the principles of doing business. ah."
Although there are not many salt fields on the border, the model of opening up China and France determines that the border is the source of salt import.
With salt guides, there will naturally be no shortage of salt. The merchants who go to exchange salt guides will naturally bring enough salt.
So actually, compared to the mainland, the prices of salt, grain, etc. at the border are relatively low.
So, the ordinary method of transporting salt from the capital to the border is simply not worth the gain, unless...
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Zhu Qiyu simply stopped covering up and said directly.
"Shen Qing, there is no need to inquire in such a roundabout way. You guessed it right. I don't want to sell these things to the people on the border, but I plan to trade with the Mongolian tribes!"
Although he had some vague guesses in his mind, Chen Yi was still a little stunned when he heard the emperor's straightforward admission.
In the years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, most of the time, transactions with all ethnic groups outside the customs were prohibited, both from the official and private sectors.
The only legal way for grassland tribes to obtain materials from the Central Plains is to pay tribute.
Bowed to the Ming Dynasty and paid tribute every year. In return, the Ming Dynasty would give some daily supplies as a sign of reconciliation.
It should be said that the trigger for this massive attack on the Ming Dynasty was the Ming Dynasty's rejection of the return gift from his thousands of envoys.
In addition to tribute, any supplies flowing into the grassland tribes, even daily supplies, are regarded as smuggling.
For smuggling merchants, the various yamen at the border are extremely harsh in punishing them. If they are caught, not only will their goods be confiscated, but their property and life may not even be saved.
Of course, this is for the people. If this kind of trade is organized by the court, it is called...
Facing Shen Yi’s shocked gaze, Zhu Qiyu said frankly.
“I want to reopen border trade!”
Taking a long breath, Shen Yi managed to calm down and said.
“Your Majesty, this is not a trivial matter. The reason why our country has not opened mutual markets...”
Halfway through his words, he saw the emperor raising his hand and stopped him.
At this moment, the emperor no longer felt as relaxed as before, but looked solemn and said.
“I know the pros and cons of mutual trading in my heart.”
“Our country will not open mutual markets for two reasons. One is because this will strengthen the power of the Mongolian tribes, and the other is because it is difficult to ensure the safety of mutual markets.”
Although it was a bit inappropriate in such an occasion, Shen Yi still felt a little embarrassed.
Their Majesty is good at everything, but he likes to talk to his ministers.
Now that you have finished speaking, what do you want me to say?
Handed his hands, Chen Shangshu said.
“Your Majesty is wise, that’s exactly what happened. The disasters of the former Song Dynasty are a lesson to us. If these two problems cannot be solved, this mutual market may not be able to open up.”
To say that the most frequent trade with other tribes was during the former Song Dynasty, but the collapse of the former Song Dynasty also gave a powerful warning to the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty.
Although the demise of the former Song Dynasty cannot be entirely attributed to this, it still has a lot to do with it.
Those who are not of my race must have different minds.
Because the ethnic groups within the customs occupy the most favorable living environment, they are naturally coveted by the tribes outside the customs.
When the central dynasty was strong, the tribes outside the pass naturally lay dormant and lingered.
But once they become strong, or if the central dynasty becomes weak due to turmoil, they will definitely move towards the pass as soon as possible.
Therefore, the border policies implemented in the past dynasties were nothing more than two points: curbing the development outside the border and maintaining the stability of the central dynasty.
Whether it is war or prohibition of mutual trade, they are just means to inhibit the foreign tribes from becoming stronger.
Salt, tea, iron, grain, and even cloth and jewelry, these supplies are common in the Ming Dynasty, but on the grasslands, they are rare and good things.
Once these supplies are sufficient, the Mongolian tribes can quickly develop and become powerful.
This is the fundamental reason why Ming Dynasty did not open mutual markets.
As for the so-called pride in the country and unwillingness to lower one's status and trade with foreigners, it is just a rumor among the people.
During the Hongwu and Yongle periods, the Ming Dynasty actually tried to open up mutual markets to a limited extent for a small number of tribes that had a good relationship with the Ming Dynasty.
But the result was very bad.
Merchants of the Ming Dynasty had to travel across mountains and rivers to the border to carry out trade, and after the exchange, they needed to be transported back to the inland for turnover, which was very costly.
Coupled with the fact that Ming Dynasty was in a dominant position in trade, these merchants usually set prices very high, several times higher than prices in the mainland.
Therefore, many Mongolian tribes often choose to take desperate risks and flee after robbing things.
Even later, these tribes no longer traded at all, but came directly with their cavalry to rob the market.
With such a commotion, all the merchants were in danger and were unwilling to risk their lives. In addition, the court itself was worried that mutual trade would allow the Mongolian tribes to develop too quickly and threaten the safety of the dynasty.
Since neither the court nor the people are willing, this mutual trade naturally cannot be opened...
This chapter has been completed!